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Friday, December 14, 2007
HBO to Replay Best Fights of 2007
It’s a holiday treat for HBO Boxing fans. For five consecutive nights during the holidays, HBO Sports will replay five of the most memorable, most significant, most compelling bouts of 2007 that were broadcast on the HBO service.
The lineup includes:
Tuesday, Dec. 25 at 11:00 p.m. - Jermain Taylor vs. Kelly Pavlik
Wednesday, Dec. 26 at 11:00 p.m. - Joe Calzaghe vs. Mikkel Kessler
Thursday, Dec. 27 at 11:00 p.m. - Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather
Friday, Dec. 28 at 11:00 p.m. - Miguel Cotto vs. Shane Mosley
Saturday, Dec. 29 at 12 midnight - Floyd Mayweather vs. Ricky Hatton
All times are ET/PT.
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Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Abraham Wants Taylor, Pavlik in America
Undefeated IBF middleweight champion Arthur Abraham is looking forward to his first fight on foreign territory as he takes on Britain´s Wayne Elcock in Switzerland on December 8. Today the two fighters met for the first time at a press conference in Basle.
“It is my goal to make big fights in America, so Switzerland will be a good first step,” King Arthur (24-0, 19 KOs) said. “I am really looking forward to boxing in Basle.”
After knocking out mandatory challenger Khoren Gevor in Berlin, Abraham is confident of success against the 33-year-old Brit. However, he has promised not to underestimate his opponent.
“I take him very seriously,” Abraham stated. “Just like me, he has defeated Howard Eastman, who is a very good puncher. I´ll be starting my training camp tomorrow and will be highly concentrated.”
The fight will also spell Elcock´s first appearance outside Great Britain.
“That does not make a difference for me,” the challenger (18-2, 8 KOs) said. “I am coming here to win the title and that is all that matters.”
After the press conference in Basle, Abraham and his coach Ulli Wegner travelled straight to their training camp base in Zinnowitz (Baltic Sea), where practice will begin tomorrow morning.
“We´re eager to start the preparation. I´m sure the boys will have a lot of fun,” Wegner said with a smile.
Meanwhile, manager Kalle Sauerland revealed that King Arthur is getting more and more popular all over the world.
“The TV interest in his fights is very high and can be compared to the Valuev fight in Basle (vs. Jameel McCline),” he stated. “King Arthur´s popularity is growing, especially in America. They have some well-known middleweights over there. That´s why our champion is of big interest to them.”
Sauerland added that a showdown with Jermain Taylor and Kelly Pavlik is planned for the near future.
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Monday, October 08, 2007
Hirsch Added to Brunson Card
Promising light middleweight Tony Hirsch has been added to the Settles Entertainment fight card headlined by Tyrone Brunson’s attempt to break the world first round KO record this Saturday, October 13 at Chez Paree Club in Carter Lake, Iowa.
Hailing from the mean streets of Oakland, CA, Hirsch has won both of his professional contests since joining the paid ranks in June of this year and will square off over four scheduled rounds with Nebraska based journeyman Reuben Rodriguez, 3-6 (0), who has beaten two of the four undefeated fighters that he has faced.
Hirsch capped off his amateur career by winning a Gold Medal at the 2006 San Francisco Golden Gloves competition but the quick-fisted 23 year old also enjoyed success on a different field of play; as a member of the Arena Football League San Jose SaberCats, and was briefly with the NFL’s Oakland Raiders before being beat out for the cornerback spot by Phillip Buchanon.
“After the Raiders, I just wanted to do something else,” said Hirsch. “Arena football wants me back but I really want to make a career of boxing and I think that with my skills, I can do that.”
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Monday, September 24, 2007
Miranda Set to Return Against Porras
One of boxing?s most exciting young warriors, Edison Miranda has captured the hearts of the fight world since his United States debut in 2005. Now, on Tuesday, October 30th, at the Seminole Hard Rock Live Arena in Hollywood, ?Pantera? begins his long-awaited assault on the super middleweight division when he takes on Henry Porras.
?I?m rested, ready, and I can?t wait to get back into the ring on October 30th,? said Miranda, who will be in action for the first time since a hard-fought May defeat to Kelly Pavlik in his final bout at 160 pounds. ?I promise the fans that I will be better than ever when I fight Porras, and I will win by knockout.?
Miranda-Porras, a 10 round super middleweight bout, headlines a hard-hitting night of world-class boxing presented by Seminole Warriors Boxing and DiBella Entertainiment, in association with Arena Box Promotions and the Seminole Tribe of Florida.
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Friday, September 07, 2007
Miguel Espino Training Camp Notes
WBC CABOFE middleweight champion, Miguel Espino has been looking sharp in training camp. Trainer John Bray reports the north Hollywood native is handling everyone in sparring. San Fernando is home to the “John Bray Boxing Club”, where Espino has been doing most of his damage. Recently the Russians have been invading Bray’s gym, bringing in tough dancing partners to square of against Espino. Last week Victor Oganov got a glimpse of what Espino brings to the table as he was broken down after 4 rounds. Espino has also been sparring tough Mexican fighters out of Phill Paulina’s “Throwback Boxing Gym” in Burbank Ca.
All in all, Miguel is ready for anyone in the middleweight division. First on the list is his classmate, Juan De La Rosa, from the first season of the “Contender” reality show. They are set to square off on September 21st at the Double Tree Hotel in Bakersfield, Ca. When asked about how training camp was going, Espino stated, “Right now I feel invincible. Everything seems to be coming together for me right now. All my punches are hitting their spots and my stamina is the best it’s ever been. I know my fight with De La Rosa will be tough, but I’m doing everything I can to prepare myself for the victory. It’s going to be a great fight, one the fans will remember.”
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Taylor Plans to Bang With Pavlik
With just a little over 3 weeks remaining World Middleweight Champion Jermain Taylor has been enjoying the peace and quiet he’s finding in the mountains of Pennsylvania, where he’s training for his September 29th title defense against Kelly Pavlik at Borardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. But what has Taylor (27-0-1, 17 KO’s) most excited is the prospect of a slugfest with hard-hitting Kelly Pavlik. Taylor relishes the opportunity to swap power shots with the top-ranked contender in his showdown.
The bout which is being billed as “Throwback” is being promoted by DiBella Entertainment, in association with Top Rank Inc. “From a style standpoint, my last couple of fights were wrong for me, but they were fighters who stepped up to the plate,” Taylor said.
“Kelly Pavlik is a fighter , just like me. He comes to fight, no running, no holding. It’s about time. People are going to be surprised by what they see on September 29th. I’m expecting a lot of fireworks in the ring with Kelly Pavlik. This is my kind of fight.”
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Monday, September 03, 2007
Duddy Headlines Card on October 20 in Dublin
Unbeaten middleweight sensation John Duddy will look to continue his march to European and World honours on the next Hunky Dorys Fight Night at the National Stadium, Dublin on Saturday, October 20th on the night of the “Celtic Tigers”.
Duddy will headline the event with support from Irish middleweight champion, Matthew Macklin and undefeated light welterweight Paul McCloskey on what promises to be a real showcase of Ireland’s finest fighting talents.
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Sunday, September 02, 2007
Abraham Nearly Breaks Rope Jumping World Record
IBF middleweight champion King Arthur Abraham almost wrote his name down the history books on Saturday night when he attempted to break the speed rope skipping world record. Featuring in front of a live national TV audience in the “Guinness World Records” show, Abraham managed 237 speed skips within 60 seconds - just four shy of the old mark of 241. “I would have loved to set a new record,” the 27-year-old said afterwards. “It would have been an honour to find my name in the Guinness Book of Records. I got quite close.”
With Ulli Wegner as head coach, Abraham is no stranger to rope skipping at all. “I´ve been doing it a lot in practice and also during the preparation for the fight against Khoren Gevor. I knew it was hard to set a new record, but I really wanted to give it a shot.”
After Abraham tried his luck, 23-year-old fitness coach Olga Berberich set a new record of 251 skips in one minute. “It was a lot of fun and very interesting,” added Abraham, who had retained his IBF belt with an 11th-round KO victory over Gevor a fortnight ago.
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Zuniga Upsets Oganov; Kirkland Stops Said
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TACOMA – In exactly the type of well-matched, hotly contested fight that exemplifies what “ShoBox: The New Generation” is all about, Fulgencio Zuniga (20-2-1, 17 KOs) registered a convincing ninth-round TKO over previously undefeated World Boxing Organization (WBO) No. 8 contender Victor Oganov (26-1, 26 KOs) in a one-sided war for the vacant International Boxing Organization (IBO) super middleweight championship Saturday on Showtime.
In the co-feature of a tremendous “ShoBox” fight card, highly regarded unbeaten WBO No. 10-ranked 154-pound contender James Kirkland (20-0, 17 KOs) demolished Mohammad Said (22-6-1, 14 KOs), dropping him three times en route to a scintillating second-round knockout.
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Saturday, September 01, 2007
Oganov-Zuniga, Kirkland-Said Quotes
Victor Oganov (left) and Fulgencio Zuniga each weighed in at 167 pounds Friday. The hard-hitting Oganov (26-0, 26 KOs) and Zuniga (19-2-1, 16 KOs) clash for the vacant IBO super middleweight title in the main event in a special edition of “ShoBox: The New Generation’’ Saturday on Showtime (10 p.m. ET/PT).
Victor Oganov (26-0, 26 KOs), of Syktyvkar, Russia, will look to continue his dominance when he battles former world title challenger Fulgencio Zuniga (19-2-1, 16 KOs), of Padilla, Columbia, for the vacant International Boxing Organization (IBO) super middleweight championship on Saturday, Sept. 1, in a special edition of ShoBox: The New Generation (Showtime, 10 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast).
In the co-feature, hard-hitting WBO No. 10 junior middleweight contender James Kirkland (19-0, 16 KOs), of Austin, Tex., will continue to make his case for world title contention when he takes on Mohammad Said (22-5-1, 14 KOs), of Secaucus, N.J., by way of Brazil.