‘Preview’

After three years of talking and postponements the heavyweight unification fight we all want to see is finally taking place at the magnificent Immtech Arena in Hamburg.

60,000 fight fans will at long last see WBA champion David Haye take on the WBO and IBF Champion Wladimir Klitschko in arguably the biggest heavyweight fight in a decade.

This is the Hayemaker's third title defence. After defeating the giant Nikolay Valuev back in November 2009 Haye has dispatched challengers John Ruiz and Audley Harrison in convincing fashion.

In all, this Hayes sixth fight in the heavyweight ranks. A former cruiserweight world champion he travelled to France in 2007 to defeat veteran Jean Marc Mormeck in seven rounds to win the title.

Only one defence would follow when he crushed domestic rival Enzo Maccarinelli in two rounds to unify the title.

For Haye, it's all about the big fights now. Vowing to retire on his 31st birthday, he wants to box both Klitschko brothers to try and clean up the division. More...

Saul Alvarez is aiming to be Mexico’s next big boxing star. With a record standing in at 36-0-1 26 KO’s, he is well on his way.

He now holds the WBC Light middleweight title that was vacant when he fought Matthew Hatton for it a few months ago.

Beating Hatton, but becoming visibly frustrated with not being able to get the Briton out of there, it was a good test for the “Cinnamon Kid” who can do no wrong in the eyes of the nation whose boxing heroes are worshiped like gods.

Again, Canelo faces a British fighter, this time it’s “The Spice Boy”, Ryan Rhodes, tonight at Arena VMG in Tlajomulco de Zuniga, Mexico.

Rhodes 45-4-0 31 KO’s, is an experienced fighter, almost qualifying as a veteran. A product of the St.Thomas Gym, Wincobank, Sheffield, the same gym that produced Naseem Hamed, he's trained by the Ingles.

In fact, Rhodes and Hamed were best friends coming through the ranks together in their prime. They would often be on the same show and Naz would tell anyone who listened that Rhodes was equally as good as him, just a bigger version.

Their prime was of course about 12-13 years ago. Rhodes fights like a classic product of that gym; he is not conventional. More...

WBO super fly kingpin Omar Andres Narvaez returns to action tonight at the famed Luna Park Stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Narvaez, 34-0-2 (19), will be looking to retain the 115 pound crown for the third time after he graduated from a seven year reign as WBO flyweight champion.

The 35 year old Cordoba based southpaw will face the challenge of a much younger rival, Colombian slugger William Urina, 17-1 (14).

The 25 year old from Barranquilla is coming off a loss to Johnny Garcia for the WBC Fecarbox strap in January, in which both men had to climb off the canvas before Garcia won a decision and Urina's WBO Latino title.

Urina has vowed to bounce back however and believes he has the punch to bother the champion, who is coming off a successful points defense in April against previously undefeated Cesar Seda. More...

© Tom Casino / Showtime Boxing

In meeting Glen Johnson tonight at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ, Carl Froch continues his run of hard fights against top-level opposition.

Froch’s last five fights were Against Jean Pascal, Jermain Taylor, Andre Dirrell, Mikkel Kessler and Arthur Abraham.

It is refreshing to see a fighter face top-level boxers one after the other, as recently boxing, as a sport, is taking some flack in regard of top guys not facing each other.

Johnson himself has had his fair share of hard fights against excellent competitors, meeting the likes of Bernard Hopkins, Sven Ottke, Clinton Woods (three times), Roy Jones Jr, Antonio Tarver (twice), Chad Dawson (twice) Tavoris Cloud and Allan Green.

Johnson face all these and more in a pro career spanning 18 years. His record stands at 51-14-2 with 35 KO’s. And although the opponents named above are impressive, he lost to Hopkins, his first and only career stoppage. He lost to Ottke, with Woods he went 1-1-1.

The two times he fought Tarver, he was 1-1. Dawson beat him twice and Cloud also beat him. Johnson defeated Jones Jr and Green. So a varied top-level record, generally when he meets elite fighters at the top of their game, he will lose. (Jones was past prime, and Green isn’t elite) More...

Popular Mexican middleweight Julio Cesar Chavez Jr challenges reigning WBC Champ Sebastian Zbik for the title tonight at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

At age 25, Chavez Jr, 42-0-1 (30), has developed a big fan following after a career devoted to defeating a long line of Grade B opposition, winning regional WBC belts at light middle and the WBC Silver title at middleweight last year against John Duddy before defending it against Billy Lyell this past January.

Now, Chavez gets the chance to face another second tier fighter, Sebastian Zbik, but this time it's for a world title.

However, Zbik, 30-0 (10), is undefeated and probably the best opponent that the less than world class talent Chavez has faced so far.

The 29 year old German held a regional WBO crown at middle for three years before winning the Interim WBC title against Domenico Spada in 2009 and defending it three times, posting victories over Emanuel Della Rosa, Spada in a rematch and most recently Jorge Sebastian Heiland in July, 2010.

Zbik had very difficult bouts against Spada and Della Rosa and wasn't dominant against the under experienced Heiland but Chavez had difficult fights against Matt Vanda, Luciano Leonel Cuello and Lyell so this one isn't easy to predict. More...

A bitter boxing rivalry which started as amateurs comes to a head tonight when Olympic Gold Medalist James DeGale meets George Groves at the 02 Arena in London.

At stake is both DeGale's British and Groves' Commonwealth Super Middleweight titles.

Back in 2006 when both were amateurs, Groves won a decision victory over DeGale. Since then, DeGale has won Olympic Gold and is now eager to set the record straight as a pro five years on.

Both men are unbeaten as pros with 22 wins between them. Make no mistake, there’s no love lost between these two. DeGale has also upped the stakes in this one by betting his entire purse on the outcome.

This one is an in interesting clash of styles. In one corner you have the slick boxing skills of DeGale and in the other you have the aggression of Groves.

For Groves to win this one he needs to be aggressive and put the pressure on. There’s a chance if he does that that he may be able to break DeGale's heart.

However, Groves was in desperate trouble in a title defence against Kenny Anderson in November before pulling out a win. A question mark could also be the stamina of Groves.

DeGale on the on the other hand, has never experienced any pressure in his 10 professional fights. More...

The season's most anticipated rematch takes place tonight at Montreal's Bell Center as WBC and IBO light heavyweight kingpin Jean Pascal once again tangles with the seemingly ageless Bernard Hopkins.

The pair first rumbled this past December in Quebec City and the early rounds belonged to the champion Pascal, at 28 far younger than the 46 year old Hopkins, who put the veteran down twice during the first four frames before Hopkins came back strongly in the second half of the bout, using Pascal's exhaustion to good effect.

The result was a majority draw that allowed Pascal to keep his titles and the verdict incensed Hopkins, who has spent the entire pre-fight build up to the rematch vowing to right what he sees as a wrong decision by the judges in Quebec City.

For tonight's clash, Pascal is again the favorite but if he is to retain his belts he'll have to wage a far more mature contest as he is unlikely to KO the challenger with a barrage attack as was discovered in the first bout.

Pascal, 26-1-1 (16), must use a more measured approach and make Hopkins work at a higher pace than the aging Philadelphian can sustain but at the same time, the Montreal man cannot go too slow. More...

© Tom Casino / Showtime Boxing

Tonight at Carson, California's Home Depot Center, WBA super middleweight champ Andre Ward defends against challenger Arthur Abraham as part of the ongoing Super Six Tournament.

Ward is coming off a rough and tumble affair with hardened veteran Sakio Bika in November, and that clash was probably the perfect warm up bout for this evening's test against Abraham.

Undefeated at 23-0 (13), Ward will face a seasoned ex-IBF middleweight king in the form of Abraham, who, like Bika, will bring pressure and wild swings to the party at the Home Depot Center.

Abraham, 32-2 (26), saw a return to form in his most recent outing, a good scrap in February with ex-WBA super middle title challenger Stjepan Bozic that was cut short when Bozic retired in the second with a hand injury. More...

Ok, so its not Pacquiao vs. Mayweather, but we've got a decent enough substitute when Manny Pacquiao defends his WBO welterweight championship against American veteran 'Sugar' Shane Mosley in Las Vegas this weekend.

For Pacquiao, this is his second defence of the crown he won by stopping Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto back in November, 2009. A multiweight world champion, Pacquiao has fought and more often than not defeated the very best of his era over a career spanning sixteen years.

In Mosley, he meets a man who himself has had a glittering career, a three weight world champion over 18 years and 54 fights. You could argue that neither Pacquiao or Mosley has ducked an opponent.

Its very easy to write Shane off in this one. However, if you look closely at his career losses one thing can be established. He struggles against the bigger and taller opponents. Fights against the late Vernon Forrest and Ronald 'Winky' Wright would prove this.

In Pacman, Mosley meets a man shorter than himself and one could argue that Shane can at least match Pacquiao for speed. Certainly against fellow speedsters such as Oscar De la Hoya, Mosley has been successful. Mosley last year even had major success against Floyd Mayweather before losing on points.

With all that being said, Manny is a different kettle of fish. At welterweight, Pacquiao has frightening speed and power. Once he's worked out an opponent's style, the fight is usually his. He also seems to be getting better and better each fight whereas the close to 40 year old Mosley has not won a contest since January, 2009.

I can see Mosley starting well in this one. Pacquiao will certainly have to be wary of Mosley's leaping left hand. However, I can gradually see the older man being worn down by the short compact punches of Pacquiao en route to Mosley's first career stoppage loss in about 10 rounds.

Big night of fights this evening with three world title bouts taking place on two different cards south of the border.

We kick things off at Coliseum Don King in Texcoco where WBC light fly supremo Gilberto Keb Baas, 35-20-4 (22), looks to retain his title for a third time when faces the challenge of Adrian Hernandez, 20-1-1 (12).

After a career full of disappointments, Keb Baas shocked Omar Nino Romero last October to take the WBC green belt and defended it in February against Jose Antonio Aguirre.

Now, the Yucatan veteran must stave off the challenge posed by former NABF strapholder Hernandez, of Toluca, Mexico.

The pair have already scrapped once, with Hernandez winning via fourth round stoppage for NABF, WBC Continental Americas and WBC International light fly honors.

Revenge will obviously be on the mind of Keb Baas, but Hernandez will likely have the edge in confidence from their first meeting and also has won his last seven appearances. More...

IBF light flyweight ruler Luis Alberto Lazarte revisits his title defense against former champion Ulises Solis tonight as the rematch takes place at Club Once Unidos in Mar Del Plata, Argentina.

Lazarte, 48-9-2 (18), made the second defense of his title against Solis, 32-2-3 (21), in December at Club Once Unidos, retaining the belt via majority draw but the outcome produced such controversy that a rematch was mandated almost immediately.

In the initial contest Lazarte, who had been disqualified four times previously, two of which were world title bouts, went between two approaches, either doing very little in a defensive posture or rushing in wildly and repeatedly rabbit punching Solis.

It's remarkable that Lazarte only lost points for this tactic on two occasions or even more so that two judges saw the bout at 113-113 while the third had it as 117-109 for Solis.

It will be interesting to see if Lazarte, now 40 years old, takes a cleaner or at least more active approach to the rematch.

Although just 5'1 tall and lacking a big punch, Lazarte is physically very strong and can be very effective with his swarming, mauling style but also has a tendency to absorb punishment on the way in. More...

© Tom Casino / Showtime Boxing

Tonight at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles, CA, bantamweights Yonnhy Perez and Vic Darchinyan tangle for the vacant IBO crown.

This should be a thrilling bout in the classic format of boxer vs. puncher as southpaw Darchinyan impulsively throws everything he has into nearly every punch while Perez is much more measured.

Darchinyan, who held the IBF and IBO titles at flyweight along with the WBC, WBA and IBF belts at super fly, generally enjoyed a strength advantage against opponents in those divisions but has found that not to be the case at 118 pounds. More...

Tonight sees a good welterweight fight scheduled at Foxwoods Casino in Manshantucket, CT as Andre Berto puts his WBC title at risk against former light welterweight contender Victor Ortiz.

Since winning the title against Miguel Angel Rodriguez in 2008, Berto, 27-0 (21), has defeated the respectable lineup of Steve Forbes, Luis Collazo, Juan Urango, Carlos Quintana and Freddy Hernandez.

While Forbes was years past and weight classes above his best and Hernandez was just too inexperienced, Collazo, Quintana and Urango provided varying degrees of difficult opposition for Berto to overcome.

Interestingly, all three are southpaws and could serve somewhat as a look at what could be expected this evening as Ortiz is also a lefty.

None of Berto's three opponents listed above had trouble hitting the WBC champion and that is the hole in the Floridian's armor; defense.

However, Berto has phenomenal offensive skills and relies on his lightning quick hands to keep his opponent from punching back most of the time. Collazo showed what can happen when that doesn't work as Berto barely won that fight. More...

The cavernous MEN Arena in Manchester, England is the stage for Amir Khan's fourth defence of his WBA light welterweight championship when he takes on tough Irishman Paul McCloskey tonight.

For Khan, this is his first fight since the tough defence in Vegas four months ago when he was rocked a couple of times against the big punching Argentinean Marcos Maidana.

That fight in Vegas for many proved more than Khan's previous three defences put together when in arguably his first fight against a big puncher since the Breidis Prescott shock, he showed character and a chin in securing a tough decision win.

The future at the moment is shining very bright for Khan. Should he get through this bout, a unification fight against the canny American Tim Bradley is being mooted for July in the States so he cannot afford to overlook his Irish challenger.

McCloskey is unbeaten in 22 fights with 12 KOs and is the current European champion. He has also held the British title and holds wins over respected opponents such as Colin Lynes. He also holds a win over Cesar Bazan, a man deemed good enough to challenge Jose Luis Castillo for world honours.

Khan must be the overwhelming favourite. He has by far the more experience in the big fight environment, having won an Olympic silver medal and three successful WBA defences including wins in big fight cities such as New York and Las Vegas.

Although seen by many as a marking time fight, I feel that McCloskey's slippery awkward southpaw style will cause Khan problems. However to be successful, McCloskey will be the one who needs to take chances and I think Khan, once he has worked out the Irishman's style, will begin to take over. More...

On Saturday, Juan Manuel Lopez or ‘Juanma’ will face off against challenger Orlando Salido in defence of his WBO Featherweight title. Juanma’s record stands at 30-0 with 27 KO’s, whilst Salido’s is 34-11-2 with 22 KO’s.

Obviously, on paper, Juanma will blow Salido away, but in reality, it will be a shock if that happens.

Salido is a very tough fighter, eight of those eleven losses happened between the ages of 15-21. He was still plying his trade, learning his craft. It is the same for many Mexican fighters, thrown in at the deep end early in their career.

Salido got his first shot at a world title in 2004, against a younger Juan Manuel Marquez, who at the time was 42-2-1. The IBF and WBA Featherweight titles were on the line. Marquez is a surgical operator, and he can punch.

The majority of the fight Salido was completely out boxed, but then Marquez is a master boxer. He got caught on the counter rushing in, but if there is something to be said for that performance its that Salido never looked like he was going to be stopped or in serious danger, and he continued to pressure Marquez until the final bell. By all accounts Salido lost a unanimous decision, but the heart was there. More...