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By Robin York
www.scottharrison.net

The long awaited clash between Scotland’s’ WBO Featherweight king Scott Harrison and Manchester’s Michael Brodie is almost upon us. Billed as ‘The Battle Of Britain’, this fight has been eagerly awaited for over a year now and in that time both fighters have changed dramatically.

Brodie put up a tremendous fight in his first battle with Injin Chi for the WBC championship last October but had to settle for a controversial draw. The Manchester man was stopped in 7during the rematch last April, ceding the WBC crown to the Korean brawler. (more…)

It’s just a week or so away to the fight now and I thought a short message about me preparation would go down well.

Every time I have gone into training for each fight, I feel that I have improved and been getting better and better and none more so than this one. I’m stronger, fitter, faster, and smarter and I have made the weight easier than ever.

I feel more powerful, I have lifted considerably more weights than normal and I think I feel the way I do simply because my diet has been better. I’ve been able to eat like a pig and what a difference its made. (more…)

The final scores showed Chavez’s dominance. 100-88, 99-89, 99-89 were the statistics that told the story of his win over Ivan “Mighty” Robinson tonight in the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. However, it may not be the final time that Chavez laces up the gloves for a competitive event. Almost twenty-thousand fight fans jammed the Los Angeles arena to see the living legend Chavez in what was meant to be his “Adios” fight. One can imagine that if Chavez can make those kinds of numbers alongside great feature attractions such as Rafael Marquez and the Carlos Hernandez-Jesus Chavez fight, that it will not be out of the question for Chavez to continue for some time yet, especially against opponents as limited as Robinson.

Former super featherweight champions Jesus Chavez and Carlos Hernandez proved why their fight deserved great attention this week by providing a thrilling contest which Chavez narrowly won by a split decision. In a back and forth battle, Chavez nicked the final score with a tally of 115-113 and 117-111 while the other judge had Hernandez winning by a score of 115-113. With the win, Chavez becomes the mandatory contender for WBC super featherweight champion Marco Antonio Barrera’s title.

Stay tuned for the result of the Julio Cesar Chavez-Ivan Robinson fight coming soon.

In one of the top attractions tonight at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, IBF bantamweight champion of the world successfully defended his title for the fifth time by posting a win over game Ricardo Vargas. The final scores were as follows: 118-109, 116-111, 116-111.

Vargas, though defeated becomes only the third man to survive to the end of a fight with Marquez. Vargas’ record now falls to 37-11-3, while Marquez stands atop the bantamweight division with a sterling record of 34-3.

In some of the featured bouts of the evening in support of the main event of Julio Cesar Chavez versus Ivan Robinson, we bring you the early results from the following fights:

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. knocked out Adam Wynant in the very first round.

Hawaii’s top-ranked flyweight contender Brian Viloria pounded his opponent Ruben Contreras into submission in the sixth round. In a note of concern, Contreras was rushed to hospital after collapsing due to injuries suffered during the fight. We wish him well and will keep you updated as to his condition.

Middleweight contender Jesus Gonzalez kept his winning streak going with a unanimous eight round decision over journeyman Dewey Welliver.

Stay tuned for more to come soon.

European heavyweight champion Luan Krasniqi retained his championship and tooka step closer to capturing a world title by knocking out American challenger Lance “Mount” Whitaker in six rounds tonight. The fight was the main event of the card held at the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle in Stuttgart, Germany. Bad blood preceded the contest as the fighters almost came to blows at the pre-fight weigh-in. But it was Krasniqi that had the last laugh as he outclassed Whitaker and finally put an end to the big man’s misery with a crunching right hand in the sixth round. Krasniqi will now be installed as the number one contender for WBO heavyweight champion “Relentless” Lamon Brewster.

In under-card acttion, former WBC cruiserweight champion Juan Carlos Gomez returned to form since losing his undefeated record to Cuban Yanqui Diaz by stopping Brazilian George Arias in five rounds.

Stay tuned to SaddoBoxing for more results coming soon.

Hennessy Sports Carl Froch and Junior Witter – who co-headline at the Nottingham Arena on Saturday July 9th – have come in for glowing praise from six-weight world champion Oscar de la Hoya for flying the flag for Britain on the world stage.

De la Hoya – who’s Golden Boy Promotions have formed a strategic partnership with Hennessy Sports – witnessed Froch stop the highly ranked Henry Porras and Witter dominate the world class Lovemore N’Dou from ringside in America recently.

“I respect what Junior and Carl are doing because they want to truly be genuine “world” champions,” said de la Hoya.

“That means going outside of your home country if that’s what it takes to fight the best competition and improve your game.

“Their commitment to being the best is obvious, and US fans love fighters who are willing to put it on the line each and every time out.

“Junior and Carl are obviously different fighters with their own distinct styles, but they share one thing in common – the desire to be the best and to test themselves against top opposition.

“It’s a trait that will carry both of them very far in this game. I would be shocked if they didn’t have genuine world title belts around their waists within the next 12 months.”

The Golden Boy, who should know a top fighter when he sees one, continued: “For a fighter making his US debut in just his 15th fight, I was amazed with Carl’s poise against Henry Porras. Nothing shook him at all, and he was impressive in stopping a very tough opponent.”

On Witter he added: “Power, speed, style – Junior showed it all against Lovemore N’Dou, and to beat a world-class fighter like that just confirms our belief that he is going to be a world champion very soon.”

CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, Richard Schaefer, was similarly impressed.

He said: “I think they’ve made a big impact already. American fans have heard of European fighters being reluctant to leave their home countries to fight abroad, but Witter and Froch have shattered that notion by making it clear that they will go wherever they have to go to become world champions.”

There are plenty more excursions to follow.

“Me and Frochy loved bringing the heat to America, so after we have taken care of business on July 9th we will be looking to head back out there as soon as possible,” said WBC #3 Witter, who next defends his European title against tough mandatory contender Andreas Kotelnik.

“By getting us fighting on both sides of the pond, Hennessy Sports have given us a fantastic opportunity. It is something no other promotional outfit can offer.”

Witter added: “I am going to target – and beat – the best light welterweights in the world.

“I want Floyd Mayweather, Arturo Gatti, Miguel Cotto and Kostya Tszyu, once he has finished with Hatton.

“At some point I will still want to squeeze Ricky in as well. It’s not about business, its personal. I want to knock him out.

“I am happy to go to all their backyards to do it; to prove to British fans that I can beat anyone anywhere.

“At the end of the day, that is what this is all about – getting the nation behind me and in love with the sport once again.

“I’m not going to do that by fighting soft touches, or hiding behind fringe titles.”

Like Witter, Hennessy Sports teammate Carl Froch is also doing things the hard, and proper, way.

“From day one, I have said I want to prove to British fans that I am the best by beating the best,” said Froch. (more…)

In a shocking and passionate outburst during last night’s Friday Night Fight’s broadcast from Florida, seasoned American trainer and current broadcast analyst Teddy Atlas made some scathing remarks about the current state of boxing in regard to the WBC, Don King and their practises in arranging title fights. The discussion with commentator Joe Tessitore centred on the current mix-up between WBC light middleweight champion Javier Castillejo, Ricardo Mayorga and Fernando Vargas. Atlas outlined that promoter Don King was attempting to push Mayorga into an undeserving position ahead of Vargas to challenge Castillejo for the championship. Atlas went as far as to assert that the WBC is practically owned by King thanks to his relationship with its chief Jose Sulaiman and that notable political figures such as Senator John McCain, who has already worked to clean up boxing, should step in and organize a federal commission for boxing. While many boxing people hold that there is some truth to Atlas’s comments, it was an outburst that occurred on national television and one that may draw some repercussions from Jose Sulaiman and Don King, if not both.

We will keep you updated as to any developments in this story.