Boxing News

Fight Of The Century?

Floyd Mayweather Jr and Oscar De La Hoya will climb through the ropes on May 5 for what could be the fight of the century. Whether or not this will be the case come May 6 remains to be seen.

We have the pound for pound king in Mayweather against the seasoned warrior De La Hoya in a super fight that has the world's attention and looks set to break tv viewing figures of old with the fight available in 176 countries around the world.

The hype machine has been in full effect for months now with massive media coverage and HBO’s fantastic 24/7 four part series going behind the scenes in both camps, showing us the huge clash of styles and cultures. More...

David Haye’s dream of becoming the first British boxer to hold the World Heavyweight and Cruiserweight titles moved a step closer at Wembley Arena last night as the 26 year old South Londoner outclassed the talented Tomasz Bonin.

Bonin seemed stunned by Haye’s power-punching and the 33 year old Pole was down within a minute. Haye, fighting at Heavyweight for the first time, was clearly benefiting from appearing at his natural weight and his increased power was remarkable.

Bonin, seeking his 12th consecutive victory in a 38 fight career encompassing a sole defeat, failed to regain his composure as Haye attacked again, flooring him for the second time. More...

By Ben Lettman

On the undercard of David Haye's heavyweight debut against Tomasz Bonin on Friday night, welterweight Craig Watson scored three knockdowns against Robert Lloyd Taylor on his way to a one sided points victory at the Wembley Arena in London.

Watson, famous for scoring a knockdown against Amir Khan in the amateurs, knocked Taylor down in the sixth, seventh and eighth rounds to claim a unanimous points win.

Both fighters started off very slowly with Taylor perhaps doing the better work by using his reach to keep Watson at bay. It seemed that Taylor was cruising to a points victory when he was suddenly caught by a big left hook by Watson in the sixth. More...

Staten Island’s Gary “Kid” Stark, Jr. (18-1, 8 KO’s) will take center stage in the main event vs. Miami’s Andres Ledesma (13-5, 8 KO’s) on Wednesday night, May 2, when DiBella Entertainment’s Broadway Boxing Presented by StubHub returns to the Grand Ballroom at Manhattan Center in New York City.

Fighting out of Staten Island, Stark has a stellar ring record of 18-1, including 8 wins by way of knockout. Stark’s one career loss was a highly controversial decision coming in his last outing on February 16th.

In a USBA Super Bantamweight championship that had high energy and fast-paced action from start to finish in which both boxers fought valiantly, “Kid” lost the most controversial decision of the year to champion Mike Oliver at Buffalo Run Casino in Miami, Oklahoma. Prior to the loss, Stark reeled off an impressive 18 consecutive victories. More...

Hennessy Sports promoted John Murray is not surprised that his British lightweight rival Amir Khan rejected an offer to fight him this Saturday on potentially the biggest event in boxing history, despite the Olympic Silver medalist’s false claim that he “played’ with him in sparring.

Undefeated Manchester star Murray, 22, will have his 21st professional fight on the undercard of the highly anticipated showdown between Oscar de la Hoya, his US co-promoter, and Floyd Mayweather at the MGM Grand.

Murray's team-mate John O'Donnell, the English Welterweight champion, will also feature. “The Golden One,’ who has strong Irish heritage, boxes Mexico’s Christian Solano over ten rounds.

The opponent for Murray, who impressed US fight fans after impressively outpointing Johnny Walker on the Lacy-Reid undercard in Florida in 2005, is set to be announced shortly. More...

Mia St. John, IFBA Lightweight Champion of the World, Tony Burton, "Duke" in all six Rocky films, and Jake LaMotta, The Raging Bull, will be doing a public autograph signing May 4th and 5th in Las Vegas.

That’s the same weekend thousands of fight fans will be in town for the De La Hoya -vs- Mayweather fight at the MGM Grand.

The signing event, hosted by Gallery of Legends, will give fight fans a chance to meet these stars and get their autograph, as well as, a photo-opportunity with them. More...

Denver's prodigal son Stevie "Lil' But Bad" Johnson isn't the only Colorado native returning home to fight May 18 for an IBA world title on the "Rocky Mountain Mayhem: Return of the Champ" card, promoted by Silverhawk Championship Boxing, at the Broomfield Event Center in Broomfield, Colorado.

While it's been 6 1/2 years since Johnston (40-4-1, 18 KOs), who will defend his IBA World lightweight title belt in the 12-round main event, since he last fought in Colorado, NBA light welterweight champion Adrian "Juanito" Mora (18-0-1, 10 KOs), of Thornton (CO), hasn't fought in Colorado since January 31, 2006.

Mora fights former NABO title challenger Marc Thompson (15-1, 12 KOs) in the 12-round co-feature for the vacant IBA light welterweight championship. Mora's most notable victory to date is a 10-round decision against former NABF lightweight champion Steve "The Mongoose" Quinonez (30-7-1), which marked Adrian's first 10-round fight in only his 12th pro bout, on July 1, 2004. More...

Undefeated South African bantamweight champion and WBC #5 Simpiwe Vetyeka needed very little time to settle in to his base in Tokyo, Japan, ahead of his up-coming challenge for Hozumi Hasegawa’s WBC world title.

Much of that has to do with the fact that Vetyeka’s promoter, Branco Milenkovic of Branco Sports Productions (BSP), facilitated the early departure of his charge and trainer Nic Durandt.

Instead of leaving for Japan just a few days ahead of the May 3rd fight at the renowned Ariake Coliseum, Milenkovic ensured that the Vetyeka entourage settled into their base comfortably 10 days ahead of time. More...

World Boxing Association lightweight champion Juan “Baby Bull” Diaz added the World Boxing Organization championship to his list of accomplishments last night after Acelino “Popo” Freitas’s trainer Oscar Suarez threw in the towel during the one-minute break between the eighth and ninth rounds at Foxwoods Resort Casino.

Juan Diaz: “I’m really happy to become a two-time world champion. I’m very elated right now.

“This was the biggest fight of my career but I have faced opponents who hit harder than Freitas did tonight. I took his best punches and gave back five or six when he got in two or three. More...

In a classic night of rematches in Oberhausen, Germany, both Felix Sturm and Stipe Drews delivered in spades to defeat men they had previously been mastered by and won WBA world titles in the process.

Sturm, 27-2 (12), of Hamburg, Germany was widely expected to defend his middleweight crown last year against aging former WBC Light Middle champ Javier Castillejo but was shocked via a tenth round stoppage.

This time the 28 year old German turned in a much sharper effort, conserving energy and making Castillejo, 61-7 (41), of Madrid, Spain put in maximum effort over the 12 long rounds.
More...

There were two 12 round WBO title fights last night at Coliseo Universidad Del Norte in Barranquilla, Colombia and when the smoke finally cleared, both reigning champions held onto their belts.

Longtime WBO Minimumweight king Ivan "Iron Boy" Calderon, one of Puerto Rico's most decorated active professional fighters, was involved in an absolute smoker against hometown hero Ronald Barrera.

For twelve intense rounds Calderon, 28-0 (6), and Colombian Super Fly titlist Barrera, 20-3-1 (12), battled back and forth with the tide turning in each man's favor more than a few times but it was Barrera who seemed to have more in the tank by the end of bout. More...

Last night at Lords Sports Club in Perth, Australia, light middleweight Daniel Dawson regained the PABA Light Middleweight title with a stirring fifth round knockout of visitor Lee Oti.

"The Rock" solidified his postition as one of the top men in Oz at 69.9 kg (154 lb) with the pounding of hard punching Oti, 7-6 (5), who had never been stopped previously.

The result bodes well for Dawson, 28-0 (19), as Oti had dropped top domestic man Daniel Geale in a losing effort for the IBF Pan Pacific/OPBF titles in February. More...

Belarussian slugger Yuri Romanov retained his European Lightweight title last night with a third round knockout of former European Super Feather Champion Tontcho Tonchev last night at the Palace of Sport in Minsk, Belarus.

Romanov, 19-2 (13), overcame the long experience of Tontchev, 37-5 (21), to shatter the Bulgarian veteran's composure with powerful blows that soon found Tontchev on the canvas and unable to continue by the third frame of the contest.

This bout was a homecoming of sorts for Romanov, who for years had been a road warrior posting significant victories in England before winning the European crown with a knockout of Juan Carlos Diaz Melero in Cuidad Real, Spain. More...

Click for larger image © Jim Everett / Saddo Boxing

The newest edition to Irish Ropes Promotions, Aloysius Kelly made his professional debut Thursday at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. Kelly has been in the U.S. via his homeland of Ireland since September of last year, training with countrymen John Duddy and competing in New York ’s Golden Gloves in preparation for his professional debut.

Saddoboxing had the opportunity to speak with Kelly in an exclusive interview at an Irish Ropes press conference in New York City . The press conference announced their second card for 2007 with John Duddy headlining on May 18 at the Beacon Theatre, where Kelly will also be featured on the undercard. More...

Acelino "Popó" Freitas is one of the most accomplished champions currently in the sport. Growing up in impoverished conditions in his native Brazil, Freitas put aside an early interest in soccer and instead chose to pursue boxing as the path to a better life.

Primarily known throughout his career for his aggressive style and fearsome punching power, Freitas began with an extensive amateur career, stacking up an impressive 84-4 record on his way to his first major success in boxing, a silver medal in the 1995 Pan American Games.

Freitas followed that success by turning professional on July 14, 1995 at the age of 19, and immediately began earning his reputation as one of the most dangerous fighters in the sport by knocking out each of his first 29 opponents.

A four time world champion in two weight classes, Freitas won his first on August 7, 1999 with a dramatic first round knock out of the reigning WBO Super Featherweight champion, Anatoly Alexandrov. His destruction of the reigning champion was particularly overwhelming. In less than one round of action, Alexandrov was knocked unconscious for nearly five minutes and eventually removed on a stretcher.

While such success made him a huge celebrity in his native Brazil, a celebrity that rivaled, if not surpassed, that of the legendary Brazilian Bantamweight Eder Jofre, one of Freitas’ childhood heroes, he believed that the respect deserved from the rest of the boxing world, primarily in the United States, was slow in coming. More...

Undefeated USBA super bantamweight champion Mike “Machine” Oliver headlines “Battle Zone 3” in a 10-round non-title fight against Vernie Torres on May 4 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.

“Battle Zone 3,” promoted by Alpha Omega Entertainment Group in association with Sprint, Mohegan Sun and NESN, will be taped live and shown on NESN on Thursday, May 24th at 8:00 PM/ET. More...

Popular Gary Kid Stark, Jr. (18-1, 8 KO’s) had the right to be depressed after his controversial loss to Mike Oliver on Showtime’s nationally televised monthly series, ShoBox on February 16, the first setback of his pro career. Everyone but the three judges thought that Stark was the victor. More...

WBC number one cruiserweight David Haye served notice to the heavyweight division last night at London's Wembley Arena by knocking out Polish hardman Tomasz Bonin in a single round.

The massively powerful Haye shattered any illusions that the Londoner won't be able to carry his punch up to the heavyweight ranks when he dazed seasoned campaigner Bonin with a jab before finishing off the 231 lb Pole with hammering combinations. More...

By Simon Jackson

The waiting is almost over for David Haye, 18-1 (17KOs), who makes his initial heavyweight appearance at Wembley Arena tonight. Haye is aiming to become the first man in British history to hold both the World Cruiserweight and Heavyweight titles and tonight he meets Tomasz Bonin, 37-1 (20 KOs), to set the process in motion.

The weigh-in ahead of Friday's clash took place yesterday afternoon at the Third Space Gym in London's West End where David Haye stepped onto the scales at 15 stones and 7 pounds (217 lb) to Tomasz Bonin's 16 stones and 7 pounds (231 lb).

Peter Oboh, 14-5 (12 KOs), who returns to the ring after an absence of almost four years to defend his British Light Heavyweight title against Tony Oakey, 23-2 (5 KOs), weighed in at 12 stones and 2 pounds (170 lb) to the former Portsmouth resident's 12 stones and 6 pounds (174 lb). More...

World title contender "The Pride of Providence" Peter Manfredo, Jr., bouncing right back from his April 7 loss by controversial stoppage to undefeated WBO super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe, returns to the ring May 11 headlining "The Pride Is Back" against veteran Ted Muller in the 10-round main event at the new Twin River Event Center in Lincoln, Rhode Island.

"The Pride Is Back," promoted by Jimmy Burchfield's Classic Entertainment & Sports, Inc. (CES), is the inaugural show in "The Budweiser Night at the Fights" series, promoted by CES at Twin River. More...