This Friday night at the York Hall in Bethnal Green, London, England, Esham Pickering puts his British Super Bantamweight title at risk against Matthew Marsh.
In a Hennessy Sports promoted fight night, thirty one year old ʽBrown Sugarʼ Pickering of Newark, Nottinghamshire, makes his second defence of the title against the lesser-experienced, younger, Marsh of Sidcup. More...
In a scrap I'm personally looking forward to, Bolton's Amir Khan defends his Commonwealth Lightweight belt against tough Mancunian Michael Gomez this Saturday night in Birmingham, England.
For Khan, this could be one of his last tests before hopefully being pitched in for a world title opportunity. For Gomez, this could be his last chance at the big time.
Champion Khan is unbeaten in 17 bouts with 13 knockouts. Now looking comfortable as he matures into the lightweight limit, Khan for me produced his most mature complete display last time out, stopping Dane Martin Kristjansen in seven rounds in April.
Gomez, although only 30, is the veteran in this bout. A professional now for 13 years, Gomez has spent the majority of his career at the super featherweight limit. More...
Yesterday, at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, England, Amir Khan, 17-0 (13), came face-to-face with Michael Gomez, 35-8 (24), as they weighed in ahead of their Commonwealth Lightweight title contest tonight at the NIA.
First up was the challenger Gomez, a former British and WBU Super Featherweight Champion, who immediately stripped naked before stepping on to the scales. He neednʼt have worried as he made the weight at 9 stone 8 lb (134 lb).
Next up was the Champion, Khan, who - looking in fantastic physical condition - calmly took to the scales and weighed in half a pound under the limit. Both men were ʼtight-lippedʼ as they faced each other for the obligatory press photograph.
Khan remained cool and expressionless while Gomez couldnʼt suppress the ʽglintʼ in his eye and the wry smile that sneaked on to his lips in the closing seconds. More...
This Sunday at the Suttons Leisure Centre in St.Helens, Merseyside, England, Steve Woods of VIP Boxing will be hosting another action-packed fight event.
Billed as "HomeGrown" - the main event features local-boy Martin Murray, as he faces Belgian boxer Michael Recloux in a super middleweight contest. Murray hopes to add to his perfect record of 6 and 0 with another win.
Chief support will be Brian Rose, who trains out of Bobby Rimmer's Boxing Academy in Manchester.
Rose faces another Belgian fighter, Kobe Vandekerkhore, in a middleweight contest. Popular Blackpool boxer Rose will be looking to improve on his record of 8 wins, no losses and 1 draw.
British title fights are almost always entertaining, but this Friday’s all Scottish clash at Kelvin Hall, Glasgow between champion John Simpson and hot prospect Paul Appleby could well turn out to be a mini classic.
In one corner, we have an experienced 24 year old belt holder who took the featherweight crown in his third attempt and will stop at nothing to keep it in his possession.
In the opposite corner, we have a relentless attacking machine who is determined to prove his mettle and become Bonnie Scotland’s youngest ever holder of the prestigious Lonsdale strap.
Some people have said that at just 20 years of age and with only 11 professional fights under his belt, Appleby is not ready for a contest of this magnitude but the truth is that the youngster from the Edinburgh district of South Queensferry has crammed a lot into his short term as a professional fighter.
Since his first paid outing against Blackburn’s Graeme “Dezzi” Higginson in January 2006, Appleby has got in some serious tuition, spending time at Freddie Roach’s world famous Wildcard Gym in Hollywood as well as Glenn McCrory’s Newcastle academy.
He’s also held his own in sparring with Scotland ’s latest world champion, Alex Arthur, and more recently, former British light-welterweight king Barry Morrison.
So, has this opportunity really come too soon for the prospect?
Boxing makes a return to the HP Pavilion in San Jose on Thursday night with this year's second installment of the popular "Fight Night At The Tank" series. Headlining the bill are a pair of heavyweights that meet at a crossroads.
For the first time in his career, Teke Oruh will be stepping into the ring without the luxury of being an undefeated heavyweight. Manuel Quezada enters this bout on an 11 fight win streak and now has his goals set on notching the biggest victory of his career.
The Nigerian born Teke Oruh started his professional career a solid 15-0 and came within one round on one scorecard of keeping his undefeated record in tact with a draw.
While just a prospect, Oruh has already shared the ring with some of the most successful heavyweights of the last 20 years. Having served as sparring partner for Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis and the Klitschko brothers, Oruh certainly knows his way around the ring. Now faced with the task to bounce back from his first loss, "The African Prince" looks to reignite his career with a victory over Manuel Quezada.
His opponent's last fight came in March, but it was not a boxing match. He crushed heavyweight Charles Hodges, knocking his opponent out in the first round of their mixed martial arts contest.
He puts the boxing gloves back on Thursday in hopes of landing a career defining victory, looking to top his December knockout over Galen Brown. He'll have his hands full with the talented Oruh. More...
Tonight at the Burg-Waechter Castello in Dusseldorf, Germany, WBA Bantam ruler Wladimir Sidorenko puts his title on the line against Panamanian southpaw Anselmo Moreno on the top of a very big bill.
Sidorenko, 21-0-2 (7), won the WBA belt in early 2005 with a unanimous decision over Mexico's Julio Zarate and to date has retained the title seven times in a row.
This will be the first trip back to Germany for Sidorenko since March of last year as the 31 year old Ukrainian native won his last two contests in France and Japan.
Tonight, Sidorenko will carry his high work rate style into the ring against Anselmo Moreno, a young and hungry challenger from El Martillo, Panama.
The 22 year old southpaw is the reigning WBA Fedecentro titlist and won a WBA title eliminator last August by crushing longtime former NABF beltholder Ricardo "Chapo" Vargas in just one round. More...
Friday night sees another Steve Woods / VIP Boxing promoted fight night at the Robin Park, Wigan, England. It is sure to be another action-packed night - the ‘bill’ consists of seven contests:
Heavyweight: Scott Mitchell versus Paul Bonson
Light Middleweight: Chris Johnson versus Darren Gethin
Light Middleweight: Brett Flourney versus Vladimir Borovski
Super Bantamweight: Mike Robinson versus Mike Holloway
Welterweight: Chris O’Brien versus Kristian Laight
Super-Middleweight: Martin Murray versus Dean Walker More...
Have you ever heard the saying that things happen in threes? The rule of three is a principle that suggests that events happen or repeat themselves three times which is exactly what Stevie Johnston is hoping will be a reality tomorrow night when he faces Edner Cherry on ESPN’s Wednesday Night Fights in Jacksonville, NC.
Former lightweight champion “Lil, But Bad” Johnston is a 35 year-old veteran of the fight game looking to follow in the footsteps of fellow veteran lightweights Nate Campbell and Joel Casamayor.
The 36 year-old Campbell defeated the formerly undefeated 24 year old Juan Diaz to claim the IBF, WBA and WBO Lightweight Titles at the beginning of March. Two weeks later a 36 year-old Casamayor showed he still had what it takes to be on top by defeating another formerly unbeaten fighter 27 year-old Michael Katsidis, claiming the Interim WBO Lightweight Title and retaining the Ring Lightweight Championship.
In the former two cases each veteran was in their mid-thirties while their opponents were undefeated and in their mid-twenties. Although Cherry is not undefeated he is 25 years-old and will be the biggest challenge Johnston has faced since his KO loss to Vivian Harris in 2006.
Last year Cherry had his most high profile fight when he moved up to light welterweight to face Paulie Malignaggi who outboxed him over ten rounds loosing by scores of 100-90 and 98-92 twice. More...
Current WBC 140 lb title holder Junior Witter, 36-1-2 (21), can be described as anything but ordinary. Just ask him and he will be the first to tell you exactly how good he is.
In fact, ask anyone who has ever spent time interviewing Witter or attended one of his press conferences and more than likely, they will tell you that Witter never stops talking about himself, although, in all fairness, Witter has earned some bragging rights.
Witter has not tasted professional defeat in almost eight years and that was a unanimous decision loss in 2000 to a young, dangerous Zab Judah, who at the time reigned as the 140 lb IBF world champion and was steamrolling anyone brave enough to step into the ring with him.
Following the loss, Witter went on a 15 bout KO streak, and those he did not KO, he defeated rather easily, eventually picking up the division's vacant WBC belt when he faced DeMarcus Corley in September of 2006.
After two defenses of the strap since that time, one being an impressive seventh round stoppage over highly regarded former WBA titlist Vivian Harris, Witter now feels it is his time to shine as the divisionʼs premier star.
But Witter has company in the division who seem to be much in the spotlight. One of these is the undefeated brash and even more self praising IBF titlist Paulie Malignaggi, a man who, with or without a belt, talks so much it is hard not to look his way.
The other fellow is a man that Witter seems to feel has been standing in the way throughout his entire career, Ring Magazine Champion Ricky "The Hitman" Hatton. More...
American box-puncher Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley could never be accused of lacking confidence. The 24 year old light-welterweight from Palm Springs, California, may never have fought outside of his home state, let alone his home country, but he is confident that he will take possession of the WBC title in Nottingham, England, this weekend when he tackles champion Junior “The Hitter” Witter at the Trent FM Arena.
Bradley, 21 – 0 (11), has certainly been talking a good game in the run up to this fight, stating his intentions are to unify the division after beating Witter and going onto say he intends to become a ring legend like Ali, Leonard and Robinson but, the truth is, on the evidence of the names on their resumes, this Saturday’s combatants are worlds apart.
Before winning his title, Junior Witter had been a British, Commonwealth and European champion. Add that detail to the fact that the Bradford trickster has defeated four world titlists and you have a very accomplished 140 pounder.
Bradley, on the other hand, has not really fought anyone of note, with almost 50% of his victories coming against pugs with losing records and the rest made up of lowly rated fighters floating around the southern California club scene, so a win on away turf and in a clash of this magnitude looks an extremely tall order.
Despite this, Bradley should not be taken lightly. He has decent speed and can dig, eight of his eleven knockout victims not making it past the fifth, and Witter is not a fighter known for keeping his chin well guarded.
If the Bradford native comes into this bout looking at it as merely a stepping stone in this quest for a battle with Ricky Hatton, then he could be made to pay.
One similarity between the two combatants is that they are both returning to the squared circle on the back of lengthy lay offs (8 months for Witter and 10 for Bradley) and it will be interesting to see how they shake off the proverbial rust. More...
Tonight at the Home Depot Centre in Carson, CA, light middleweight Oscar De La Hoya makes a rare appearance in the ring when he takes on Steve Forbes over a scheduled 12 rounds.
De La Hoya, 38-5 (30), will be fighting for just the third time since being stopped by World Middleweight Champion Bernard Hopkins in 2004 and will be looking to improve upon his 2-3 mark since 2003.
At 35 years of age and a successful boxing promoter, "The Golden Boy" is coming off a major loss to Floyd Mayweather last May and this contest against Forbes is clearly a tune up bout for another crack at Mayweather later this Autumn.
Forbes, 33-5 (9), is a former IBF Super Featherweight Champion who's career has been on the downside since losing his title to Carlos Hernandez in 2003. More...
There are three European title fights taking place across the continent tonight and we start off at Lotto Arena in Antwerp, Belgium where that country's top boxer, Jackson Osei Bonsu, meets undefeated Ukrainian Viktor Plotnikov over twelve rounds.
Born in Ghana, the 27 year old Bonsu, 27-1 (23), nicknamed "Sugar The Ball Brains", won the European Welterweight title last year with an eight round KO of French Champion Nordine Mouchi and has since stopped Cristian De Martinis and Mouchi again before posting a rare twelve round appearance in defeating another Frenchman, Brice Faradji, this past January.
Bonsu has the reputation as one of the top pound for pound sluggers in the world today and will hold a massive advantage when he defends against Plotnikov, 19-0 (9), who has never fought outside of his native Ukraine.
Plotnikov has seen the competition stepped up over his last three appearances and has risen to the occasion by winning the IBF Eastern European/Central Asian and GBU belts against the likes of Eugenio Monteiro, Carlos Donquiz and Marat Khuzeev but Bonsu represents a much higher grade of opposition and Plotnikov must pull off a performance of a lifetime if he is to walk away with the European crown.
In neighboring France, European Cruiserweight king Johny Jensen will be making his maiden defense when he meets local hero Jean Marc Monrose at the Palais des Sport in Marseille. More...
If prizes were handed out for being humble and keeping your feet on the ground, then Leicester ’s European Super Bantamweight Champion Rendall “Two Tone” Munroe would have a trophy cabinet larger than Manchester United’s.
Just eight weeks ago, the stylish southpaw outlclassed Kiko Martinez to take the hard hitting Spaniard’s prized EBU strap and he hasn’t allowed the success to go to his head. Every morning, come rain or shine, Munroe gets out of bed and goes to his day job as a bin man and the only treat he’s allowed himself since his career best victory is the purchase of a second hand motorbike.
“I'm a humble type of person," he told the BBC recently. "I keep myself to myself, and don't go around thinking I'm anything special.
“A lot of people say the binman is a down and out person's job, but I think more people are realising now that any job that you do can be just as respectable as the top job.”
This Friday evening, Munroe, 14-1 (6), returns to the scene of his title winning tilt when he takes on the tough Frenchman Salem Bouaita at the Harvey Hadden Leisure Centre in Nottingham, England.
The victory over Martinez in early March was seen as something of shock at the time. The Spanish puncher was undefeated, ranked number eight in the world by Ring Magazine, and was riding high after stopping the highly touted Irishman Bernard Dunne in 86 one sided seconds last August. More...
There is a big show at Freiberger Arena in Dresden, Germany tonight as WBO Light Heavyweight ruler Zsolt Erdei and WBO Light Middle kingpin Sergiy Dzinziruk put their title belts at risk on a Universum promotions bill.
Hungarian Erdei, 28-0 (17), will look to make his tenth title defense after a close call against Panama's Tito Mendoza last November. "The Firebird" will be facing 35 year old American prospect DeAndrey Abron, 15-1 (10), from Youngstown, Ohio who won the WBO NABO title last September by turning back the previously undefeated Shane Benfield.
This will be Abron's first bout outside the US and he'll be taking a big step up in facing Erdei, who has yet to suffer defeat over the course of a seven year pro career. More...
Tomorrow night, Saturday, April, 26, Steve Woods of VIP Boxing is staging what's sure to be another action-packed night of boxing at the Robin Park, Wigan, England.
The main event sees Lancashire boxer, Mark Thompson, face Polish man Maurycy Gojko in a ten round welterweight contest. But also on the bill, popular Blackpool light middleweight Brian Rose is looking for a good win this time, having earned a draw in his most recent outing against Manocha Salari.
Trainer Bobby Rimmer spoke to SaddoBoxing this morning and confirmed that after a last minute substitute, Rose is now fighting 'Gypsy Boy' - Ernie Smith of the Midlands, who was originally scheduled to fight Alex Matvienko on the same bill.
'Brian is absolutely fantastic!' Rimmer enthused, 'he's feeling very confident and, as usual, training has gone absolutely great!'
Interbox stages a show tonight at the Repentigny Arena in Repentigny, Quebec which sees middleweight Renan St. Juste, 16-1-1 (11), square off with Elkeana Ali Saunders, 8-1-1 (4), of The Bahamas over ten rounds.
Also on the bill are Quebecois prospects Benoit Gaudet, and Sebastien Gauthier.
Renan St. Juste: 160 lb
Elkeana Ali Saunders: 158.6 lb
Benoit Gaudet: 135.9 lb
Pedro Javier Torres: 135.9 lb
A fight that has been years, not months, in the making finally takes places this Saturday at the Thomas and Mack Centre in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Its a fight at light heavyweight between two men with a combined 41 successful defences of their world titles.
Welshman Joe Calzaghe will be attempting to stop a disappointing run of results in Camp Calzaghe. After world title defeats for stablemates Gavin Rees and Enzo Maccarinelli, the undefeated World Super Middleweight Champion will be desperate not to make it third time unlucky.
Bernard Hopkins stands between Joe and a place in boxing history. A pro now for 20 years, Hopkins won the middleweight title at the third attempt, stopping Segundo Mercardo in seven back in 1995, having lost and drawn previous title attempts. More...
The next Steve Woods/VIP Boxing event takes place on Saturday, April 26, 2008 at the Robin Park Arena in Wigan, England. Please note the change of venue - which was originally to be held at the GH Carnall Centre in Davyhulme, Manchester.
Featuring nine fights - this is sure to be another action-packed night of boxing!
The main event sees popular welterweight Mark Thompson fighting for the vacant Masters International title and promising Blackpool light middleweight Brian Rose, both against opponents to be announced.
A week before the big Calzaghe vs. Hopkins light heavyweight showdown, Sheffield's Clinton Woods defends his IBF title against Antonio Tarver in Tampa, Florida.
For Woods, this is his well deserved spot in the big league, topping an American bill as champion. A pro since 1994, Woods has won titles at domestic, Commonwealth and European level at super middleweight and light heavyweight.
In his first tilt at world honours, Woods had the misfortune to run into Undisputed World Light Heavyweight Champion Roy Jones Jr, then at the peak of his powers, losing in six rounds in September 2002. After a draw and a points loss verdict to veteran Glencoffe Johnson, Woods finally made it fourth time lucky, stopping American Rico Hoye in five in March 2005, wining the vacant IBF title. More...
