After a rocky road to winning a world title, Quebec based Romanian Lucian Bute now is now going to kick his feet back and engage in an easy money fight. This Friday evening, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, the unbeaten southpaw takes on America veteran William Joppy in what is an awful first defence of his IBF super-middleweight crown.
But, will the 14,000 or so Canadian fans that will cram into the arena on Friday night care, or even realise, that Bute’s opponent, despite being a three time WBA middleweight champion, is over half a decade past his best and not beaten anyone of note since he picked up a much disputed decision over Howard Eastman in 2001?
It’s doubtful.
Despite hailing from Galati, Romania, Bute has possibly the biggest and most passionate fan base in the whole of Canada and, as they have proved in the past, they will turn out in their droves to see their man perform no matter what level of opposition he’s in against. Bute has been attracting over 10,000 fans to his fights since he was he was fighting third tier super-middleweights such as Lolenga Mock and James Obede Toney.
Bute, 21-0 (17), is only 27 years old and, although he now holds an alphabet title and has a large fan base to please, he is the first to admit that he is still developing as a fighter and is not quite ready for the Calzaghe’s and Kessler’s of this world. That said, he is widely regarded as the man who will take over the 168 Ib reigns if and when Messrs. Calzaghe and Kessler move north to light-heavyweight. More...
A sell out crowd of around 2000 are expected to turn out to see Kevin McIntyre and Kevin Anderson, the two best welterweights in Scotland, get reacquainted at Glasgowʼs Kelvin Hall this evening. As with their previous clash, the British title is on the line and Sky Sports will televise.
Last November, the pair met at the Magnum Centre in Irvine and 29 year old McIntyre, 25-5 (8), walked away with Andersonʼs prized Lonsdale belt, in what was possibly the biggest domestic upset of 2007.
Most fans and pundits before their first meeting expected to see a routine nightʼs work for Buckhavenʼs hard punching Kevin Anderson but McIntyre hadnʼt read the script and fought the fight of his career to rip the title way from a man who, had he won, would have had the historic belt for keeps.
McIntyre, a postman by day, had success from the off that night as a thudding right hook dumped Anderson on the canvas in the opening stanza. In the second round, McIntyre found the target again as another right hand forced Anderson down.
Anderson did weather the storm and land some decent shots of his own later in the fight but, on the most part, McIntyre dominated and was duly rewarded with a decision. The three judges scoring the fight 118-107, 119-108 and 118-110.
Southpaw McIntyre, attributes his performance to the help given to him by sports psychologist Dr. Alan Curley before the match up. Apparently, he was hypnotised and instilled with a winner's mentality. Cynics, however, would say that McIntyre just fought well because Anderson was feeling the effects of having four tough fights in 12 months and was far from fighting fit. More...
One day before Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez renew their rivalry on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING, America’s No. 1 Fight Network will hit you with one of the most anticipated ShoBox: The New Generation fight cards of the year when IBF featherweight champion and ShoBox alum, Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero (21-1-1, 1 ND, 14 KOs), defends against Jason “The American Boy” Litzau (23-1, 19 KOs) live on SHOWTIME (11 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the west coast). More...
Don King was in St. Louis today to formally announce his championship boxing twin bill at Scottrade Center on March 27 featuring hometown stars Cory Spinks and Devon Alexander.
Spinks will defend his International Boxing Federation junior middleweight championship against former three-time world champion Verno Phillips while Alexander, the World Boxing Council Continental Americas champion, will take on World Boxing Association FEDELATIN champion Miguel Callist. More...
Chicago’s #1 Prospect Michael Walker (18-0) Steps in on 24 Hours Notice To Face Antwun Echols in Tonight’s Main Event on ESPN2’s “Friday Night Fights”
February 28 (Chicago, IL) - Chicago’s #1 prospect, undefeated middleweight Michael Walker (18-0-1, 12), faces former title challenger Antwun Echols (31-7-3, 27) in the main event of tonight’s edition of ESPN2’s “Friday Night Fights” at 8 p.m. CST from the Paragon Casino in Louisiana. With just 24 hours notice, Walker agreed, without hesitation, to take the bout. More...
IBO Light Heavyweight boxing champion and Boys and Girls Clubs Alumni Antonio Tarver continues his commitment to giving back with special visit to Royal Theatre Boys & Girls Club Arts Academy of Friday, February 29 from 5-7PM.
The Royal Theatre Boys & Girls Club Arts Academy is located at 1011 22nd Street South in St. Petersburg, FL.
Jessica Rakoczy and Belinda Laracuente made weight and are set to battle for the NABF Lightweight title tonight at the Tachi Palace Casino in Lemoore, CA . More...
David Martinez, of Albuquerque, NM, will challenge champion Rogers Mtagwa, of Philadelphia, PA, for Mtagwa’s NABF Featherweight title in the scheduled 12-round main event Friday evening, March 7, at the New Alhambra in South Philadelphia. More...
IBF Featherweight Champion Robert "The Ghostʼ Guerrero, 21-1 (14), steps into the ring on February 29 to defend his title against Jason Litzau, 23-1 (19), in a bout that will be televised on Showtimeʼs ShoBox series. This will be the second defense of Guerreroʼs title in his second reign as IBF Featherweight Champion.
Guerreroʼs first reign as champion came when he defeated Eric Aiken in September, 2006. He then lost his title to Orlando Salido on points two months later. Salido tested positive for drugs after the bout and was stripped by the commission. In February, 2007 Guerrero defeated Spend Abazi via ninth round TKO for the vacant title and became champion for the second time in less than six months. It was a busy up and down half year to say the least for the then 23 year old fighter out of Gilroy, CA.
Since that time, Guerrero has defended his belt against the tough Martin Honorio, needing less then a round to dispatch the veteran from Mexico City. Come Friday, February 29, Guerrero is not just looking to make another successful defense of his title but make a statement as well.
Knowing full well his opponent is the type of fighter who can not only bang, but box, Robert is doing anything but overlooking Litzau and will not allow this bout be just a routine title defense where the champion does just enough to retain the belt.
When all is said and done, at the final bell, Guerrero wants the boxing world to know that not only has he arrived, he is looking to go nowhere except higher in the ranks towards becoming one of boxing's elite.
After a long training camp and full week of press conferences, SaddoBoxing was able to get in touch with the IBF Featherweight Champion, who was nice enough to give us a few minutes of his time to speak about Friday's bout, what his plans for the future are and even a prediction on the Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez bout coming up this March. Here is what Robert Guerrero had to say exclusively to SaddoBoxing. More...
Last night at The Enterainment Centre in Sydney, Australia, WBA Super Middleweight Champ Anthony Mundine was pushed very hard in a twelve round title defense by former Australian, IBF Pan Pacific and OPBF Light Middle titlist Nader Hamdan before pulling out the unanimous decision win.
Hamdan, 40-6 (18), spent the early part of the bout attacking Mundine's body and the champion made the challenger pay for the transgressions with sharp counter shots on the inside but that seemed to have very little effect on Hamdan.
As the contest wore on, Hamdan forced Mundine into countless pitched battles that saw both men dealing out and absorbing punishment along the ropes and the center of the ring.
The challenger relentlessly pursued Mundine but with perhaps the fastest hands in the division, "The Man" began to pull clear and win rounds as he beat Hamdan to the punch on most of the exchanges. More...
“The Wladimir Klitschko heavyweight title fight last Saturday was everything that is wrong with boxing. Vazquez-Marquez III is everything that is right about the sport. We need more fights like this one.
“What happened yesterday (a Tuesday press conference to announce another fight in Los Angeles) was also totally wrong. More...
Marvis Frazier Trains Steve Kwasnik for his Debut Fight with Danny Bonaduce
Televison presenter and film actor, Steve “Little Big Man” Kwasnik has recruited big name trainers in Marvis Frazier and Val Colbert to prepare him for his debut ‘celebrity’ fight against Danny Bonaduce of The Partridge Family fame and star of Breaking Bonaduce & VH-1’s My Kid’s a Child Star. More...
Undefeated WBC No. 1 cruiserweight contender Matt “Too Smooth” Godfrey (16-0, 9 KOs) broke his Hartford-based training camp on Tuesday and departed for Germany to acclimate himself for his March 8 WBC title elimination showdown against unbeaten No. 2 ranked Rudy Kraj (13-0, 10 KOs) in Krefeld. More...
Chicago based World Boxing Council Lightweight Champion David Diaz is busy preparing to battle Ramon Montano on Saturday, March 15 at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, NV.
However, the collision course has been set for Diaz by his promoter, Top Rank Inc., to square off with boxing’s “Mexicutioner,” Manny Pacquiao later this year. More...
Two popular blasts from the past, Vinny Paz and “Irish” Micky Ward, will be in opposite corners on March 14 as honorary captains of Team Italy and Team Ireland, respectively, for the Italian-Irish themed “Rumble at the River” pro boxing show at Twin River Events Center in Lincoln, Rhode Island. More...
WBC Interim Heavyweight Champion Samuel Peter continues his “best training camp ever” arriving in beautiful Cancun, Mexico, for his March 8 HBO date against WBC kingpin Oleg Maskaev.
The “Nigerian Nightmare” described his preparation “as the most serious ever,” arriving from Las Vegas two weeks ahead of the fight date. New head trainer, Stacey McGinley, joins Pops Anderson, and a world class conditioning group of conditioning trainers and nutritionists. More...
International Boxing Federation No. 1-ranked lightweight and mandatory challenger Nate “Galaxxy Warrior” Campbell is confident going into his match against undefeated unified lightweight world champion Juan “Baby Bull” Diaz on March 8 at Plaza de Torros in Cancun, Mexico.
“I don’t want to sound conceited or overconfident but Juan Diaz is not a demigod,” Campbell said. “A demigod is half mortal, half god and I just don’t see that. Unless my team and I have been in this sport too long—or not long enough—we are seeing a lot of hype.” More...
After a dismal performance by Wladimir Klitschko and Sultan Ibragimov in last weekend's unification match at Madison Square Garden, the boxing world is desperately searching for a new torchbearer among the heavyweights. Here in England, promoter Barry Hearn hoping to inject some excitement into the weight class with a knockout tournament at London's York Hall but it will take time to see if the concept can renew public interest in the big men. More...
Joe DeGuardia's Star Boxing presents yet another exciting night of boxing, March 6th at The Grand Ballroom at The Manhattan Center, and once again GoFightLive's "World Fight Night" will be there to cover all the action! More...
Featherweight Jason "The American Boy" Litzau, 23-1 (19), seems to have one mode when in the boxing ring; seek and destroy! Anyone who has seen Jason in action knows exactly what I mean. Over recent years, Litzau has been showcased on many ESPN fight cards and each time out, his bouts become more and more exciting. The reason is not because Litzau becomes a more complete fighter in each outing, but it has more to do with the frame of mind in which Jason steps into the ring.
Prior to his return bout after a lone career blemish, a KO loss to Jose Andres Hernandez in a bout he was winning comfortably up until the knockout, Jason was asked in an interview if he would change his style and add more defense. His reply was, "I am still going to fight the same way I always do, I step in the ring and it will be either me or him. The fans pay money to see the fight and with me they will get their money's worth".
A statement that we as fans appreciate, but also one that some observers have to question; how long can a fighter with that mentality last in this business? Especially with the featherweight and adjacent divisions being so deep in talent.
On February 29, Litzau will face IBF Featherweight title holder Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero, 21-1-1 (14), another 24 year old fighter who has gained a reputation for being all business in the ring and letting it all hang out once the bell sounds.
Add Guerreroʼs southpaw stance and the challenger from St. Paul, MN will be in for a tough task come fight night. More...
