Boxing News

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© Jane Warburton / Saddo Boxing

Yesterday at the Gateway Hotel in Nottingham, England, promoter Frank Maloney hosted the official weigh-in ahead of tonight's European super bantamweight title clash between reigning champion Rendall Munroe and former European bantam titlist and WBC world title challenger Simone Maludrottu.

Proceedings went smoothly and quickly. The two men quietly took turns weighing in and both posed for the obligatory ‘face-off’ photographs. As you would expect from these two boxers - there was no goading or verbal onslaught from either man.

Munroe looked in fantastic shape and was calm and relaxed throughout.

Weights were as follows:

European super bantamweight championship, 12 rounds
Rendall Munroe: 8 stone 10 pounds/122 lb
Simone Maludrottu: 8 stone 9 and a quarter pounds/121.25 lb More...

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© Jane Warburton / Saddo Boxing

Today at the Gateway Hotel in Nottingham, England, promoter Frank Maloney hosted a press conference ahead of Friday's fight night at the Harvey Hadden Leisure Centre, in which Leicester binman Rendall Munroe will defend his European super bantamweight title for the fifth time.

Munroe's opponent, former European bantamweight champion and WBC title challenger Simone ‘Boom Boom’ Maludrottu of Italy arrived in England yesterday and sat at today's press conference alongside his trainer.

Unable to speak English, Maludrottu answered questions via an interpreter, who sat between Maludrottu and his trainer.

A confident Munroe sat alongside his team of Jason and Mike Shinfield. Munroe's good friend and British super bantam champion Jason Booth was on hand to offer support as were Munroe's stablemates, light heavyweight Ovill McKenzie and light welter Scott Haywood, who also fight on Friday's bill. More...

Miguel Cotto defends his WBO welterweight title tonight against challenger Manny Pacquiao in a hotly anticipated clash at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, NV.

Pacquiao, 49-3-2 (37), comes into the bout riding a four year, 10 bout win streak at super feather, lightweight and light welter with the most recent victory coming against Ricky Hatton for the IBO 140 lb crown in May.

Cotto, 34-1 (27), a former WBO light welter and WBA welter champ, has bounced back from his sole career defeat to Antonio Margarito last year to win the vacant WBO welter crown against Michael Jennings and then defend in a difficult contest against Joshua Clottey in June.

If Cotto is to win this clash he will have to come into the ring as a fundamentally different fighter than he has shown himself to be in the past, and that is not likely to happen.

The difference between the two combatants in this bout will be Pacquiao’s movement and ring generalship, backed up with his incredible stamina and power in both hands.

Cotto’s fundamentals as a fighter are strong, however, he needs to be set to order to punch and when forced on the back foot he is vulnerable. He comes to opponents in a straight line, bobbing and weaving, and against a constantly moving target such as Pacquiao, the Puerto Rican star could be exposed the same way Oscar De la Hoya was in his fight against "Pac Man". More...

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© Jane Warburton / Saddo Boxing

Yesterday at Hatton Health & Fitness Centre in Hyde, England, Hatton Promotions hosted the official weigh-in ahead of this evening's fight night staged at the Fenton Manor Sports Complex in Stoke-on-Trent, England.

It was a relaxed and friendly atmosphere in the smart new surroundings of the Hatton 'centre', where Hatton would weigh-in alongside N'Dou for the IBO welterweight title.

Hatton stepped up to the scales first - weighing in at 147 lb followed by N'Dou, who tipped the scales at 145 lb.

Both men were quiet as they posed for the usual 'face-off' photographs. More...

© Jane Warburton / Saddo Boxing

Ricky Hatton's younger brother, Matthew Hatton, takes on former IBF light welter titleholder Lovemore N’dou tonight at the Fenton Manor Sports Complex in Stoke, England for the IBO welterweight title.

The last us Brits would have seen of both of these fighters would have been on the undercard of the Ricky Hatton vs Juan Lazcano fight in May of last year.

N’dou fought IBF light welter champ at the time Paul Malignaggi in a rematch, losing via a split decision while Hatton faced Craig Watson for the Commonwealth welter title, losing via a unanimous decision.

Since that loss, Hatton has had four fights, one of them being Ted Bami, another, South African hardman and older brother Ricky's former victim Ben Tackie. More...

A five star matchup in anyone's eyes takes place tonight when Puerto Rican WBO welterweight champion defends his crown against multi-weight world champion Manny Pacquiao at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas.

For Cotto, himself a two weight world champion, it's the second defence of the title he won back when stopping Michael Jennings in five back in February.

The 29 year old Cotto has only one defeat in 35 fights. That loss came in controversial circumstances in July last year when he was stopped in 11 by Antonio Margarito.

Cotto, like his opponent tonight, has taken on all comers in his title reigns at 140 and 147 pounds.

His first world title sucesss came in September, 2004 when he won the vacant WBO light welterweight championship stopping Kelson Pinto in six in an exciting scrap. More...

© SE / Photo Wende

After what seems like an eternity, David finally meets Goliath when David Haye challenges Nikolai Valuev for his WBA Heavyweight Championship in Nuremberg, Germany tonight.

For Haye, this fight ends a year of inactivity.

After unifying the World Cruiserweight championship in March last year, Haye set his sights on heavyweight honours.

His first serious outing came 12 months ago against American veteran Monte Barrett. In an exciting fight, Barrett was finally stopped in the fifth round. More...

This Friday at the Leagues Club in Parramatta, NSW featherweights Jackson Asiku and Heriberto Ruiz tangle for the vacant IBO crown in what should be a thrilling contest.

Asiku, 25-3 (13), comes into this one riding a 14 fight win streak over the last five years and during that time the 31 year old native born Ugandan has held the Commonwealth, Australian, African Boxing Union and IBF Australasian titles.

The Adelaide resident has picked up notable wins over Gairy st. Clair, Jamie McKeever and Marc Callaghan during that stretch but now has to come to terms with his most experienced opponent to date.

32 year old Ruiz, 42-8-2 (24), is a textbook Mexican warrior who has fought just about everyone at bantam and super bantam over the course of his 15 year career, losing only to ex-world champions Steve Molitor and Eric Morel over his last nine contests.

The Los Mochis native will be stepping to to featherweight for the first time in his career however and that will almost certainly be a factor in this hotly anticipated clash. More...

Tonight at Treasure Island Casino in Las Vegas, NV, IBF bantam champ Joseph Agbeko faces the challenge of Yonnhy Perez in what should turn out to be an epic battle.

Agbeko, 27-1 (22), of Ghana, came out of nowhere in 2004 to lose a narrow IBF title challenge to Wladimir Sidorenko in Germany before capturing the vacant Commonwealth crown later that year.

After a two and a half year absence from the ring, Agbeko returned with three bouts in 2007, the last of which won him the IBF bantam crown when stopping Luis Alberto Perez in the seventh.

After a difficult majority decision victory against William Gonzalez last December, Agbeko really hit the limelight when soaking up everything multi-weight champ Vic Darchinyan had to offer in July, banging out a unanimous decision after 12 absolutely furious rounds.

Tonight, the 29 year Bronx resident puts his IBF belt at risk for the third time, facing undefeated Colombian Yonnhy Perez, 19-0 (14). More...

IBF light middle champ Cory Spinks returns to the ring this Saturday as the slick southpaw squares off with challenger Carlos Molina at Treasure Island Casino in Las Vegas, NV on the undercard of the Joseph Agbeko vs. Yhonny Perez IBF bantam title clash.

Spinks, 37-5 (11), a former unified welterweight champion, recaptured the IBF 154 pound crown in April by winning a tough split decision against younger crosstown rival Deandre Lattimore.

At 31, Spinks may have lost a step but should still have it together enough to get past the challenge posed by Molina.

However, Molina is fresher at age 26 and has been much more active than the champion, with this being the sixth bout he's performed in since December of last year. More...

A mouthwatering and fascinating clash takes this place this tonight at the Bolton Arena in Bolton, England when Salford's Jamie Moore defends his European 154 pound title against Sheffield's Ryan Rhodes.

As well as being a clash for European honours, it is also probable that the winner will fight an official eliminator for the WBC title currently held by Sergio Martinez.

Rhodes is a 14 year veteran of the squared circle. Beginning his career as a light middleweight, he won the British title at only 20 years of age, defeating the equally prodigious Paul Silky Jones in eight back in 1996.

Just one year later, Rhodes moved up to middleweight and came so close to winning the WBO title in December 1997, losing a narrow 12 round decision against Otis Grant. This is the same Grant who would go on to challenge a peak Roy Jones Jnr a year later for the light heavyweight crown.

After such a promising start to his pro career, things went downhill for the Spice Boy when he was KO'd in two rounds by Jason Matthews in another bid for WBO honours in July, 1999.

After that, Rhodes seemed to have disappeared altogether from the world scene. In reality, the next six years were largely spent fighting four and six rounders either on undercards or small boxing shows. More...

© Winfried Mausolf

An exciting concept in the world of boxing kicks off tonight in Nottingham, England and Berlin, Germany.

Featured is a tournament comprising of six of the world's top super middleweights which will attempt to find out who the premier 168 pounder really is.

Certainly this isn't the first time an elimination tournament has taken place. One looks back to the eight man elimination tournament held in 1967 and 1968 to find a successor to Muhammad Ali, who was stripped of his heavyweight title. This series however could prove to be the most exciting. More...

There's a big show tonight at Madison Square Garden in New York as WBA feather champ Yuriorkis Gamboa and WBO super bantam titlist Juan Manuel Lopez put their respective crowns on the line.

Former Cuban defector Gamboa, 15-0 (13), could be the most impressive professional to come out of the boxing-rich island but it's too early to tell yet if this is truly the case.

After only 15 pro bouts, Gamboa has displayed stunning speed and reflexes that have thus far supported his superb punch selection and aggressiveness.

But, with such an emphasis on offense, there are holes in the defense. This has resulted in the Cuban phenom getting decked a few time but "El Ciclon de Guantanamo" has always gotten back up to win.

Last time out, the 27 year old Gamboa won the Interim WBA belt by stopping Jose Rojas in the tenth in April and has since been elevated to full WBA champ. More...

Tonight, Nathan Cleverly defends his British and Commonwealth Light Heavyweight titles against Courtney Fry at York Hall in London's Bethnal Green.

This should be a run of the mill defense for Cleverly, who recently just got pipped to the post by British welter titlist Kell Brook for the Boxing Writer's Young Boxer of the Year award, where apparently it was the closest ballot in the award's 57 year history.

Brook has to get past former beltholder Michael Jennings next month, no easy task.

The same thing cannot be said for Cleverly, who has an easier job this Friday. The Welshman's opponent Courtney Fry, now at 13-2 (5), does not have a wealth of experience.

The only recognisable name Fry has been in with is former Commonwealth, British and WBU Light Heavyweight champion Tony Oakey, and that was three rounds in February of this year in a Prizefighter tournament, albeit in the semi-final…and Fry lost.

Other than that, some of the keener fans may remember Ovill Mackenzie winning the last cruiserweight Prizefighter tournament, more because of the lack of talent in that particular round robin, but Fry has gone 1-1 with him in two three rounders. More...

© Lawrence Lustig

The successful Prizefighter series continues tonight at London's Excel Arena when eight of the country's top heavyweights go head to head in an elimination tournament.

Amongst the eight attempting to bag the £32,000 prize fund are bitter rivals and former opponents Danny Williams and Audley Harrison.

Both men boast one win apiece over each other and should both men win their opening two bouts, they are scheduled to meet in the final.

The beauty of this tournament is that the matches are held over three consecutive three minute rounds. Seedings in tournaments like this tend to go out of the window, so one shouldn't be surprised if a lesser known fighter upsets the odds. More...

Tonight at Staples Center in Los Angeles, the WBC heavyweight title is up for grabs as Vitali Klitschko defends against undefeated Cristobal Arreola over 12 scheduled rounds.

During the media buildup to this one, a lot has been made of the power of Arreola, 27-0 (24), by his promoters and while it's true that their man does have a very good punch, it pales in comparison with that of Klitschko.

Towering Vitali, 37-2 (36), has belted out every one of his victims with the exception of fellow 6'7 tall Timo Hoffman when the two clashed for the European title in 2000.

And that's what this fight comes down to in a nutshell; can Arreola take Klitschko's punches for all 12 frames?

Most of Klitschko's stoppages over the last 10 years have been in the later rounds. Since losing a controversial bout to Lennox Lewis in 2003, four of Vitali's five finishings have been in the eighth or ninth rounds. More...

The O2 in Dublin, Ireland hosts a big occasion later today when local hero Bernard Dunne meets Thailand's Poonsawat Kratindaenggym.

On offer will be Dunne's WBA super bantam crown, won six months ago in the very same venue against Panama's Ricardo Cordoba in a major upset.

Can Dunne, 28-1 (15), turn the trick again and send another more experienced operator home from Dublin empty-handed?

It'll be a tough assignment.

The 28 year old from Sakon Nakhon won the PABA bantam belt in just his fourth pro contest and kept it over 17 defenses against mostly obscure competition until an Interim WBA title shot came up in 2005. More...

© Tom Hogan - Hoganphotos

The moment of Floyd Mayweather's return to a boxing ring has finally arrived tonight as the top boxer on the planet faces Juan Manuel Marquez over twelve rounds at welterweight at Las Vegas' MGM Grand.

There isn't much that hasn't already been said or written about this pairing and it's obvious that Mayweather is the favorite heading into tonight's clash.

But there are variables to the accepted wisdom of Mayweather having the advantage in size and speed, not the least of which is the former multi-weight champ having been away from pro boxing since stopping Ricky Hatton in December, 2007. More...

Big show tonight at Neubrandenburg's Jahnsportforum with the vacant IBF middleweight belt and the European Union heavyweight strap on offer.

Ready to rip for Arthur Abraham's vacanted IBF crown are two-time European kingpin Sebastian "Hurrikan" Sylvester, 31-3 (15), and Giovanni Lorenzo, 27-1 (19).

Greifswald based Sylvester had a shot at the big time last November but failed to lift Felix Sturm's WBA trophy in a brave 12 round effort and currently holds the IBF International title.

Lorenzo makes the trip all the way from New York, having won an IBF title eliminator by knocking out Dionisio Miranda in two this past February after narrowly losing to Raul Marquez in 2008. More...

For those who have witnessed the rise of Oakland's super middleweight Andre Ward, 19-0 (12), from Olympic Gold Medallist to world class contender, it is easy to envision greatness and the possibility of world titles.

By gradually stepping up his level of competition with each bout, Ward has managed to build both a solid reputation and fan base.

In a division as stacked as the super middleweights, Ward has managed to garner enough acclaim from ringside observers to become the youngest of the top ten fighters at 168.

However, in order to continue this rise, he must once again take the next step up the ladder.

After his most recent bout, a defeat of the rugged Edison Miranda, Ward found himself in the middle of the unprecedented Six Six tournament that will solidify the true ruler of the division.

In his first bout of the tournament, Ward will face off against the hard punching WBA champion Mikkel Kessler, by far his toughest opponent to date. More...