Author: Boxing Press

There has apparently been a breakdown in the communications regarding the possibility of a super fight in the lightweight division. WBO world champion Diego “Chico” Corrales was set to fight WBC champion Jose Luis Castillo. The fighting spirits of these two fighters cannot be questioned as they were set to fight one another immediately after they both had two hard fights, Corrales against Acelino Freitas and Castillo against Joel Casamayor. Now that the communications between the camps have ended, it would appear that both Castillo and Corrales are free agents in regard to whom they will fight first in 2005. We will keep you up to date to the latest developments with these two champions.

British and Commonwealth super middleweight champion Carl “Cobra” Froch looks like he’ll have to sit the early part of 2005 out in the cold as yet another high-profile fighter has declined to meet him in a fight. Northern Ireland’s former IBO super middleweight champion Brian Magee was offered the fight against Froch but it hasn’t

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taken his camp long to respond to the proposal with a flat-out refusal to face Froch. Magee is said to be aiming to capture the European super middleweight title, a tactic Froch cannot understand. Froch, from Nottingham in the UK is undefeated in his campaign of fourteen fights, eleven of which are stoppage wins. Now that virtually all of the top British super middleweights including Brian Magee, Joe Calzaghe and Robin Reid have refused Froch, what does the Nottingham man have to do to get a fight? We will keep you up to date with developments.

British promoter Mick Hennessy made a statement today concerning the status of his fighter, Howard Eastman’s challenge to undisputed middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins next month. Hennessy stated that as far as he is aware, Hopkins is only willing to put his WBC middleweight title at stake against Eastman, the only title that he is mandated by the organization to defend in their fight. Hopkins has previously dismissed Eastman’s challenge as mediocre but has become a lot more respectful of Eastman as the fight became more of a reality. Industry people and knowledgeable boxing fans know that Eastman is the genuine article despite what his loss to William Joppy showed. A loss for Hopkins against Eastman would assure that he remains the WBA, IBF and WBO middleweight champion.

German middleweight Bert Schenk had a result over the weekend in the ring but perhaps has a bigger one to contemplate out of the ring as he is the March opponent for Felix Sturm. Sturm’s name is one that received worldwide acclaim as he seemed

to have done enough to outpoint Oscar de la Hoya last year, only to lose a disputed decision. Since then Sturm has gone to great lengths in the media to assure that his name is not lost. Sturm called out De La Hoya again as well as current undisputed champion Bernard Hopkins and middleweight star Jermain Taylor. However, it seems that the powers that be concerning Sturm’s career see him partaking in many lucrative fights in Germany and presumably, the fight with Schenk is the first of that ilk.

Still no official word from the Warren camp has been released but it looks on the surface as if the light welterweight showdown between IBF champion Kostya Tszyu and challenger Ricky Hatton is certainly on as both fighters begin to tackle their training schedules. Though the fight is scheduled for June 4th, Hatton has hit the gym early

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for what is easily the biggest fight of his almost forty fight professional career. Tszyu has already begun the mind games he is famous for, indicating through the press that he intends to stop Hatton with the left hook to the body that the Englishman has become renowned for stopping opponents with during his fights. We will keep you informed on the latest news in this story and keep checking us out for the latest interviews from the fighters and concerned personnel as we conduct them.

Ebo Elder, one of the most prolific fighters in the world and current lightweight contender may be about to have all of his hard work pay off as a world title shot could be coming his way in his next fight. Currently holding a professional record of twenty-two wins with only one defeat, Elder is looking to aim himself at the current light weight champions of the world. Diego Corrales is the current WBO world champion, Jose Luis Castillo is still the WBC champion, Juan Diaz will defend his WBA championship this week and Julio Diaz is the current IBF lightweight champion. Look for news of Elder’s participation against one of these fighters in the near future.

European featherweight champion Nicky Cook was scheduled to defend his title against Dazzo Williams next month. Unfortunately, Cook was recently involved in a car accident that injured one of his shoulders, making him unable to make the defense of his championship so soon against Williams. Cook won the title with a stoppage of French fighter Cyril Thomas in nine rounds. With an abundance of worl-class featherweight fighters around and a considerable amount of big names in the English domestic scene, it is hoped by Cook and his camp that upon disposing of Williams’ challenge, Cook wil be able to concentrate on a world title shot. We will keep you informed of Cook’s injury status and news of his return to the ring.