Boxing News

Click for larger image © Joe Miranda

IBF/IBO champions Rafael Marquez (bantamweight) and Vic Darchinyan (flyweight) participated in open media workouts Tuesday as they finalized preparations for their upcoming world title fights Saturday, March 3, at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. More...

Hammer fisted heavyweight Danny Williams is less than three years removed from his spectacular knockout of Mike Tyson but the ex-British and Commonwealth champion now finds himself at a crossroads, awaiting what could be the last major bout of his career when the Londoner clashes with reigning British champion Scott Gammer this Friday, March 2 at the Sports Centre in Neath, Wales.

Returning from bitter defeats during his last two outings against hated rivals Matt Skelton and Audley Harrison, the intimidating Williams is putting everything he has into this last crack at top level and like a cornered 265 lb alley cat, the "Brixton Bomber" aims to attack Gammer with every ounce of his being. More...

Can a little man defeat a naturally bigger boxer, or does the physically larger man have the advantage? Does size matter? Will this eagerly awaited confrontation, as many predicted once contracts were signed, turn out to be the Fight of the Year? More...

Jonathan Thaxton makes the first defence of his British Lightweight Title on the March 16 Hennessy Sports show insisting that the best chapter of his comeback story is still yet to come.

Thaxton faces Stoke’s Scott Lawton (20-2-1) in front of his home fans at the Norfolk Showground after his unanimous points win over fellow Hennessy Sports boxer Lee Meager in Dagenham in December. More...

"Pacmania" has officially hit San Antonio and it has hit in a big, big way. The box office for the Manny Pacquiao vs. Jorge Solis WBC International super featherweight championship fight opened Saturday at 10 AM, and by the close of business on Sunday, it stood alone as the second-biggest opening weekend for a boxing event in San Antonio history. Bigger than Oscar De La Hoya's 1997 welterweight title defense against David Kamau, and even bigger than Pacquiao's 2003 knockout victory of Marco Antonio Barrera. Only the legendary welterweight title fight between Pernell Whitaker and Julio Cesar Chavez in 1993 had a bigger opening. More...

Saturday, March 3, 2007, Live at 9 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast)
In a highly anticipated battle of Mexico City-born world champions, Israel Vazquez will defend his World Boxing Council (WBC) and The Ring Magazine super bantamweight titles against International Boxing Federation (IBF)/International Boxing Organization (IBO) Bantamweight Champion Rafael Marquez in the main event on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING (9 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the west coast) Saturday, March 3, at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.

So, who is going to triumph in what many expect to be the “Fight of the Year? Can a little man (Marquez) defeat a naturally bigger boxer, or does the physically larger man (Vazquez) have the advantage? Does size matter? More...

World light welterweight contender Paulie "The Magic Man" Malignaggi answered some critical questions concerning his ring career off of his one-sided performance February 17 against Edner Cherry (21-5-2, 10 KOs) in the HBO main event live from the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. Malignaggi won a unanimous 10-round decision (100-90, 98-92, 98-92) More...

Hennessy Sports promoted John O’Donnell faces Stuart Elwell for the vacant English welterweight title at the Nottingham Arena on March 23rd, glad that someone has at last agreed to box him.

A series of experienced fighters have turned down the chance to face O’Donnell, who is becoming arguably the most avoided boxer in Britain. More...

CN8, The Comcast Network "sounds the bell" with exclusive live broadcast coverage of Evander "Real Deal" Holyfield vs. Vinny Maddalone on Saturday, March 17 at 10:00 PM/ET. In addition to airing on CN8, the Holyfield-Maddalone boxing event will be made available to all Comcast Cable systems nationwide with an opportunity to reach more than 24 million homes. More...

It Ain’t Easy Being Green

This Saturday, March 3, Allan "Sweetness" Green faces off against dangerous puncher Edison Miranda over a scheduled 10 rounds on the undercard of the Miguel Cotto - Oktay Urkal fight on HBO. SaddoBoxing caught up with Green before he departs for Puerto Rico and discovered that the man is hot to prove his naysayers wrong beneath a cool exterior.

Allan Green began his amateur career as a light heavyweight and finished with a record of 55-6 (40), holding the distinction of having the quickest amateur knockout, terminating Detroit’s Tommy Crupe in a mere six seconds.

Green stayed in the same weight class as a pro until 2005 when he dropped down to super middleweight and since then has KO’d all but two opponents, including the one opponent who sent him to the canvas for the only time in his career.

No wonder he’s miffed that critics have already written him off as cannon fodder for Miranda. More...

Undisputed Cruiserweight Champion of the world, O’Neil "Supernova" Bell, was alleged to have recently attacked a sparring partner with a hatchet. Bell found himself in police custody before the authorities decided not to press charges. Our own Prince Naseem Hamed chose to show his remorse for paralysing a father of two in a road accident by leaving prison in a stretched limousine and subsequently suffered the ignominy of being stripped of his MBE. With role models like these, it is small wonder that boxing has become a minority sport, watched by few and practiced by fewer.

Boxing’s many enemies would undoubtedly see this only as a good thing, a positive step towards a utopian civilisation where pacifists live in wonderful harmony. But to reduce the “noble art” to merely a visceral and malicious blood sport is to miss the subtleties of its place in modern society and would be a great pity, since the benefits, particularly to the participants, are legion.

In schools across the London Borough of Bromley, children are discovering this first hand as boxing is back on the curriculum and I for one think that this can only be a good thing. Boxing is the most physically demanding of all sports, requiring fitness levels above and beyond those required to complete ninety minutes of football, whilst at the same time instilling the discipline and respect that many Premier League footballers sorely lack. More...

When British heavyweight titlist Scott Gammer puts his crown on the line this Friday, March 2 against hard punching former champion Danny Williams, it's sure to be an all-action fight for as long as it lasts but the two men will also be heralding a new initiative in live internet broadcasting. While UK viewers can watch the bout on Sky Sports, viewers outside the UK have the

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opportunity to witness the entire two hour fight card from the comforts of home during a live broadcast streaming service on 101knockouts.com.

The Sports Centre in Neath, Wales plays host to this clash of heavyweight titans and Williams must step into this lion's den, packed to the rafters with local man Gammer's rabid fans, if he is to emerge from the heat of battle once again in possession of the British heavyweight title. More...

Click for larger image © Joe Miranda

Sycuan Ringside Promotions’ Israel “El Magnifico” Vazquez participated in an open media workout Monday as he continued to wrap up preparations for his upcoming WBC super bantamweight title defense Saturday, March 3, at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. More...

Fresh off his championship performance in Denmark, Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero wants to greet his newly hired trainer Freddie Roach, who will be in San Francisco on Tuesday February 27th, for the Oscar De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather "The World Awaits" press conference. More...

ESPN’s Friday Night Fights was live form Scranton, PA this past Friday and the newly renovated Scranton CYC Center was filled to the rafters with fight fans eager for the promised action that the fight card offered.

The featured bout of the evening was between two hard-hitting cruiserweights as journeyman Darnell "Ding-A-Ling Man" Wilson took on former IBF Champion Kelvin "Koncrete" Davis. This was a crossroads fight for both men as the cruiserweight division is wide open and hungry for stars to bring it’s participants to the consciousness of fight fans.

Wilson entered the bout riding a two fight KO win streak and a minuscule buzz that goes along with such victories. Davis, on the other hand, entered the bout after campaigning in the heavyweight division in his last two outings. The fight was advertised as a sure fire, all action affair and the buzz inside the Scranton CYC Center fed off of it.

In the opening stanza, both fighters took the time honored tradition of feeling each other out. Davis came out firing stiff jabs in order to befuddle the stalking Wilson. Wilson’s jab was used solely for the purpose of setting up his devastating right. Opting to "paw" with his jab, rather than use it for any actual offensive weapon, Wilson was yearning to punish Davis with his much ballyhooed right hand power. More...

Five-time world champion and reigning WBA cruiserweight title-holder Virgil "Quicksilver" Hill crosses the Atlantic on Saturday for his March 31st fight against Henry "The Gentleman" Maske, headlining "The Rematch" pay-per-view event, at Olympia Hall in Munich, Germany. More...

Hennessy Sports promoted John O’Donnell, who fights for the English welterweight championship on March 23rd, has been described as the outstanding rising talent in Britain by British and Commonwealth super middleweight champion Carl Froch.

O’Donnell, 21, faces Stuart Elwell (9-0) for the vacant belt on the Hennessy Sports “Cobra’s Hood’ event at the Nottingham Arena as chief support to Froch’s 12 round international super-middleweight contest against highly ranked Russian Sergey Tatevosyan. More...

Frank Maloney Promotions will stage Ian Napa's (13-5) challenge of European bantamweight champion Simone Maludrutto (24-1, 10 KOs) on March 9 in London.

"Ian has lost some big fights that I thought he won," said Napa's trainer Brian Lawrence. "But this time he's had proper notice and Maludrutto will find out that it's going to be a very hard fight." More...

Tickets in all price ranges remain for Saturday’s terrific fight card at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. Priced at $25, $50, $75, $100, $150 and $200, they are on sale at all TicketMaster outlets and on-line at TicketMaster.com. Tickets also may be purchased at The Home Depot Center box office from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday and on Fight Day starting at 10 a.m. More...

By The Professor

Veteran trainers and boxers will tell you that in this game you have to stay ready because you never know when an opportunity will present itself. Aiken, South Carolina born featherweight Johnnie Cortez Edwards (11-0 7kos) has recently found this to be sage advice. Edwards, know as Cortez to his friends, gets the opportunity of a lifetime when he meets undefeated prospect Elio Rojas (18-0 13kos) on Friday, March 2nd, at the Belterra Casino & Resort, in Belterra, Indiana. What makes this such a big fight is that it will be the main event on a Don King promoted card and will be broadcast live on the Showtime Network. I had the chance to interview Johnnie Cortez Edwards over the weekend and he was gracious enough to answer some questions that I had for him. Here is that interview: More...