Boxing News

Saturday night in Biloxi, Mississippi saw Ann Wolfe outfight nemesis Valerie Mahfood to defend her IBA light heavyweight title and move into position to set a shocking precedent in her next bout. The thirty-four-year- old from Waco, Texas won her second contest over Mahfood, who handed Wolfe her only career loss five years ago. In this rubber match, Mahfood was never able to get a handle of the highly muscular Wolfe, who applied a heavy beating to her fellow Texan. Wolfe, 22-1(15), is scheduled on October 15 to fight a man, Roy Skipper, who has recorded a 11-3-2 (7) mark. Thirty-five-year-old Skipper hails from Laurel, Mississippi and has lost to the three fighters he's faced that had winning records. All of those losses have been by way of stoppage and Skipper is riding a two-fight losing streak.

Fight fans! The Hernandez’ had some business to take care, but have returned and we now have a winner. Shirley Turbyfield, you are the lucky fan that will receive the autographed gloves. Congratulations! On behalf of Carlos and Veronica Hernandez and Saddoboxing.com, thanks to all of the great fans that participated in this give away.

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Remember to visit www.carlosfamosohernandez.com for updates, merchandise, and other great stuff on one of boxing’s true warriors.

Writer’s note: On behalf of myself and Saddoboxing.com, THANK YOU VERY MUCH CARLOS AND VERONICA!

It was a little more than a year ago when Juan Lazcano finally saw the opportunity that he'd been working for so long to earn. The Sacramento man was riding a streak of 19 straight victories going back to 1998 and had

just dusted off respected former world champion Stevie Johnston in his most recent outing. The occasion was a chance to fight for the vacant WBC Lightweight title but Lazcano would have to prove to be the better of perhaps the toughest opponent in the division, Jose Luis Castillo. For twelve hard rounds the two proud men traded punches and gave their all with Castillo gaining the advantage late in the bout. When the smoke cleared at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas it was Castillo who found his hand raised and Juan Lazcano retreated to California to recover from the tremendous battle he had just taken part in. More...

At 33 years of age, Audley Harrison is finally on the fast track to becoming a heavyweight contender with his bout tonight on Fox Sports' broadcast from San Diego, California. The 2000 Olympic Gold Medallist faces his first real threat in the form of southpaw Robert Wiggins,

20-4-1 (12), a very wilfull banger who comes to fight. More dangerous than Wiggins himself perhaps is the damage that may be done to Harrison's future propsects. Should Audley experience more than a rocky moment or two at the hands of the short, stocky and very strong American campaigner, the mumurs of doubt that have dogged his career since day one will certainly become more pronounced.

It is however Harrison's opportunity to capitalize on and he's definitely being given the push by Fox Sports in America. They've been featuring previews of this bout and interviews with the big Brit heavily during the lead up to tonight. If Harrison is as good as he appears to have the potential for being, he'll keep Wiggins on the outside all night and pick the Rhode Island man apart. But neither Monte Barrett nor DaVarryl Williamson were able to pull that off as Wiggins got inside on both. Should the veteran find Audley's chin, there should be more questions about what that is made of, but in any case this is a very important fight for a division screaming out for a unifying force.

Hot Australian prospect Michael “Rocky’ Katsidis takes on Filipino Ranee Ganoy on Friday night for the WBO Asia Pacific Light Welterweight crown at the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Brisbane. Katsidis has been hailed by some observers as Australias best home grown prospect since Jeff Fenech.

A high volume puncher and Olympian in Sydney 2000, he has cut a swathe through all before him in the paid ranks, notching up a record of 17-0 with 15 coming inside the distance.

A non-stop punching machine, Katisidis spits out combinations like an assault rifle, and the comparisons with Fenech, one of Australian boxing’s greatest sons, are warranted. Former Australian 140lb world champion Barry Michael coined Katsidis’ nickname “Rocky’ when he compared him to former WBC Junior Middleweight champ Rocky Mattioli.

The bout will be no pushover for Katsidis. Ganoy is riding the crest of a three fight winning streak, all of them by knockout.

A victory for would be the perfect birthday present for Katsidis, who turned 25 on Monday.

European welterweight champion Oktay Urkal will put his crown on the line against undefeated Dane Thomas Damgaard on September 3 in Berlin, Germany in a battle between the two best 147-pound boxers on the continent. Both men have previously worn the European light welterweight title belts while Damgaard, 36-0 (27), briefly held the welterweight title in 2000. For Urkal, 35-3 (11), the contest will ideally provide him with further respectability in the division as the German based Turk is seeking to do what he was unable to do at 140-pounds, and that is secure a world title. For Damgaard, this bout marks the first time in thirty-six bouts that he'll be facing a world class opponent in their prime and the man from Morkov, Denmark will also have to travel to Germany, always a daunting prospect, to do so.

I just got off the phone with 122-pound monster, Daniel Ponce-De Leon, who advised this writer that he has been added to September 17, 2005, Barrera vs. Peden card. Ponce-De Leon is going to challenge for the vacant WBO super bantamweight title, which was vacated by Joan "Little Tyson" Guzman earlier this year.

Daniel was not sure of the name of his opponent, but did say that his foe is from Thailand. This fight adds that much more to the Barrera-Peden card, as Ponce-De Leon is an all out, blood and guts warrior who comes forward with both hands blazing. Be looking out as Daniel will be providing Saddoboxing.com with pictures and information from his first championship training camp.

During the post fight press conference in the aftermath of Jermain Taylor's huge upset of Bernard Hopkins for the undisputed middleweight championship of the world, Bernard "The Executioner" Hopkins and Oscar de la Hoya told the assembled media that the rematch would happen and HBO had already set October 1, 2005, as the date. This fight is not signed and sealed as yet, but it looks like a return bout will happen soon. Hopkins was coming on late and a sequel would have many intriguing questions.

More to come from the MGM Grand.

We here at SaddoBoxing are very lucky to be involved with this great offer to boxing fans from ring warrior Carlos "Famoso" Hernandez, and of course, since we announced the stipulations for the giveaway, you great fans responded. I mean, who wouldn't want to own a pair of signed boxing gloves from a champion such as "Famoso"? Well,

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this offer cannot go on forever fight fans so make sure you are in for a chance to win this great prize and you never know, it could very well be you that is announced the winner on this site. All you have to do is visit www.carlosfamosohernandez.com and enter a message into the guestbook with the name SaddoBoxing.com in the title and you will automatically go into the draw for the signed gloves. Don't miss this chance and the announcement of the winner on this site coming soon. To add a little incentive, study the picture of those gloves carefully, because they might be in your memorabilia collection very soon.

During the telecast of ESPN's Tuesday Night Fight's boxing series, Diego "Chico" Corrales told Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas that a rematch against Jose Luis Castillo has been finalized and will happen on October 8 of this year. Corrales said, "You know, it was such a great fight and he (Castillo) deserves a rematch." The first confrontation between the two was a classic with both enduring each other;s savage wrath until the tenth round. Corrales went down twice from Castillo's left hook but roared back to force a referee's stoppage that same round. The aftermath of the fight revealed some very heated debates about the nature of referee Tony Weeks' stoppage of Castillo and it is likely this factor that weighs heavily in the event of the rematch taking place.

SaddoBoxing had the privelege of speaking with Ebo "The Extreme Machine" Elder briefly about his upcoming bout with Prawet Singwangcha, who is the number one contender in the WBA rankings. Despite many attempts at making the anticipated match-up with current WBA lightweight titleholder Juan Diaz. Ebo has to stay busy and occupy time until the day arrives when he and Diaz finally go head to head.

Stay tuned for a full exclusive interview with Ebo Elder coming soon exclusively to SaddoBoxing.com. Don't miss what "The Extreme Machine" has to say.

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"Who's next!? Who's next!?" Was the bombastic message that Samuel Peter yelled at the television camera after he knocked out Taurus "The Bull" Sykes in the second round. After a nondescript first stanza, Peter came out showing more aggression in the second round. Samuel was shooting jabs to the head and body. He followed a jab with a clubbing right hand to the side of Sykes' head which severely stunned "The Bull," sending him into the ropes. Peter followed his wounded prey, swinging with evil intention, until a sharp, short right hand landed flush putting Sykes down for the court. The referee, Vic Drakulich, counted to five, and decided to wave the contest off after Taurus looked too hurt to continue. Samuel looked sensational, but it was against Sykes. He still drops his right hand when he shoots the jab making him susceptible to left hooks. He also tends to freeze with any little feints and is wide open for the jab. It will be very interesting to see how Peter does against better opposition.

Veronica Hernandez, wife and manager of former 130-pound IBF super featherweight titlist Carlos "Famoso" Hernandez spoke to this writer today and confirmed that Hernandez and Jesus Chavez are going to do it again. The fight is scheduled for October 8, 2005 and will be in Las Vegas, Nevada. The first fight was a WAR! This one should be no different.

Stay tuned fight fans as Carlos "Famoso" Hernandez is one of the guests of this week's "TKO Boxing Show."

I am thrilled to announce that former IBF super featherweight champion of the world Carlos "Famoso" Hernandez has agreed to take part in a question and answer session that will air on the very next edition of the "TKO Boxing Show" coming this weekend. "Famoso" always gives his all in the ring and aside from being a true champion,

"Famoso" is responsible for many memorable moments in the ring against the likes of Erik Morales, Floyd Mayweather and most recently, Jesus Chavez. In addition to this fantastic opportunity that "Famoso" is giving the fans, he has also signed a pair of boxing gloves which will be sent to one lucky winner.

Read on for more details. More...

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Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. easily had his way with a decent journeyman on Saturday night's Mayweather - Gatti undercard in Atlantic City and entertained the audience with a methodical breakdown that brought back images of his famous father in his prime. Rueben Galvan was certainly no world beater but at nineteen years old, Chavez Jr. showed maturity and strength

as he brushed away the Indiana man's offensive efforts while landing stinging shots, being particularly effective with a heavy left hook to the body. Galvan almost didn't make it out of the initial frame but his experience saw him through, grabbing hold of the much taller and seemingly larger Chavez Jr. The young son of the Mexican legend showed a bit of the father's mean streak, at one point throwing a retreating Galvan through the ropes and nearly out of the ring itself. More...

Many felt Floyd Mayweather's pre-fight boast that he would easily take Arturo Gatti apart to be a typical arrogant, egotistical statement but that's exactly what the now three- weight world champion achieved last night at Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall. While the fight itself ended in a stoppage by Gatti's corner after

all of five rounds, it was really a series of repetitive sequences that played out in numbing fashion. Gatti tried to work behind the jab, the primary weapon installed by trainer Buddy McGirt when he reinvented the former brawler four years ago, but when that was taken away by Mayweather's superb ability to pull back and counter with a long knifing right hand, the Jersey City hero had no answers. The challenger's footwork also played a part in the methodical destruction as Mayweather, 34-0 (23), shifted and fired far quicker than Gatti, 39-7 (30), could anticipate, react to, or even defend against. Many times the popular fighter would simply shell up and dip low after getting hit with cracking combinations but would only get a spearing shot to his side for his efforts.

Read on for more of SaddoBoxing’s exclusive ringside coverage courtesy of our very own Curtis McCormick. And don’t forget to scroll down the main news page for exclusive Gatti-Mayweather and Harris-Maussa photos. More...

Vivian Harris lost his WBA belt and any credibility of being a world-class operator he carried into the ring in Atlantic City last night on the under-card of the Mayweather-Gatti card. Long gone is any sense of mystique that Harris, who had begun to claim references in the press as being

the most underrated and avoided of the light welterweight champions, had accumulated during his reign. Carlos Maussa came into the fight regarded as something of a speed bump for Harris, who was widely expected to stop the lanky, balding Colombian but left as the new WBA champion. Maussa did not so much as win the bout as Harris lost it. Perhaps not used to fighting anyone as tall, Harris also simply could not deal with Maussa's "no-style" style of hands down, chin up, just swing away style. Amateurish but effective was Maussa, constantly swinging with roundhouse punches and keeping Harris moving. Confronted with this tall, thin and clownish boxer in front of him, Harris tried mightily to knock his adversary out but even when he did land, except during a sequence early in the fight, his blows had little effect on Maussa, who has also disposed of the myth that Harris carries true knockout power in either hand.

Curtis McCormick reports from ringside in Atlantic City, exclusively for SaddoBoxing.com More...

Fight fans, this should have have been a round by round account of the Gatti vs. Mayweather fight, but the contest was so one-sided, that there is really no point. Arturo's best round was the first, and he ended up being knocked down in that stanza. Gatti came out shooting jabs to Mayweather's body and head. He landed a few early, but Floyd started to find a home for his lightning fast leaping left hook which landed repeatedly throughout the course of the fight. During the last thirty seconds of the round, Mayweather leaned in on Gatti, and landed some shots while the referee appeared to be breaking them. An angered Gatti dropped his hands to complain to the referee, only to be caught by a lightning left hook which put him down for the count. Although Gatti was not hurt, it was still a bad move as the round ended being a 10-8 round in favor of Mayweather. The next five rounds would follow the same trend, as "Pretty Boy" Floyd continued to have success with leaping left hooks, and started to repeatedly land sharp, straight right hands to Arturo's face. By the third round, Gatti's eyes were showing the signs of the punishment as they were swelling fast. After that, the flow of the fight went with Mayweather landing left hooks and straight right hands at will. The sixth round was brutal, as Floyd unleashed four to six punch combinations which landed flush throughout the stanza. A dejected Gatti made his way back to the corner, prompting his trainer, James "Buddy" McGrit, to halt the contest, awarding Mayweather a TKO victory, and the WBC 140-pound title. It was a great night for the Mayweather's and a horrible night for "Thunder."

Writer's Note: Fight fans, what can I say? This was not shocking at all, but I really wanted Arturo "Thunder" Gatti to prove the "experts" wrong and take Mayweather out. To put it Gatti's way, "Gracias mucho" Arturo "Thunder" Gatti for all that you gave us and we hope that we see you again soon.

Last night, the main event of the evening on Telefutura's "Solo Boxeo" boxing series featured 122-pound monster Daniel Ponce De Leon taking on Phillip Payne for the vacant NABO super bantamweight title. It was an entertaining, brisk contest that featured several exchanges early. The difference in power quickly showed as Ponce De Leon floored Payne in the opening stanza of the fight. Phillip's pain continued throughout the night until the fight was halted in the seventh round, awarding a TKO victory to Daniel, and the vacant strap. De Leon is now in position to challenge current WBO 122-pound titlist, Joan Guzman. I hope that fight is made as it would be a war.

Writer's Note: Stay tuned fight fans for an exclusive interview with the newly crowned NABO champion, Daniel Ponce De Leon, that can only be found on SaddoBoxing.com.

SaddoBoxing has the privilege of speaking with one of boxing's dynamic duos, Wayne "Pocket Rocket" McCullough and Cheryl McCullough, his wife and manager on his upcoming rematch against Oscar Larios, his reason behind the loss to Scott Harrison, his book coming out in a few months titled, "Wayne McCullough: The Fighter That Never Quits." The book deals with Wayne's career in boxing and the circumstances leading up to the loss against Harrison, also from Cheryl's point of view, we will learn what it is like being wife and manager to a world championship level fighter, the upsides, the downsides and everything between.

Stay posted for these exclusive interviews from the fighter and his wife/manager on the same site coming soon.