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Tuesday, March 06, 2007
EEC - March 6, 2007
Everyone remember to check for crusties in your eye before you start reading…
News, Notes, and Rumors:
- Freddie Roach has said that Manny Pacquiao should postpone his fight against Jorge Solis on April 14th because he feels that Pacquiao is distracted with his foray into politics and also because he hasn’t had enough time to train. Pacquiao responded in The Manila Standard Today, letting everyone know that he is ready…
In the face of criticism about his plan to run for the congressional seat of South Cotabato while at the same time preparing for his fight with Solis, Pacquiao said he is perfectly capable of handling both tasks.
- Max Kellerman is slowly making his way back into the spotlight…
Yesterday on his ESPN 1050 radio show, Kellerman stated that he believes the majority of the top boxers in the heavyweight division are on steroids and that no one should be shocked when they learn that a well-known boxer is linked to the giant Balco scandal.
Is he talking about Holyfield or someone else?
“Seven out of the 10 top heavyweights are on the juice,” Kellerman said. “Most of the top guys are (juicing).”
Some Good Reads:
ESPN: Pernell Whitaker: The undefined champion
Eastside Boxing: Bowe vs. Lewis: The Best Fights – Which ‘Never’ Took Place Part 1, Many of The Brightest Stars in boxing Today are One Dimensional
Boxing Scene: Barrera-Marquez: A super-featherweight’s burden
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Thursday, February 22, 2007
EEC - February 22, 2007
Woooooooo!
News, Notes, and Rumors:
- Lalia Ali will participate in the next edition of ABC’s Dancing With The Stars…
- Jim Lampley was sentenced to three years of probation after pleading no contest to a misdemeanor charge of violating a restraining order. He was also was ordered to stay away from Candice Sanders as well, a continuation of the restraining order.
- Joel Casamayor was stripped of his WBC Lightweight Title for discussing a fight between himself and WBO Lightweight belt holder Acelino Freias. David Diaz has now been named the WBC champ. Strict I know…
Casamayor and his promotional company released this statement
Santa Barbara Management strongly disagrees with the decision of the WBC to strip Joel Casamayor of his Lightweight Championship. Joel won his title the way a true champion should, in the ring. He has done nothing to justify this outrageous decision by the WBC and we are considering all of our options, legal or otherwise. Joel and everyone at Santa Barbara Management would like to thank all of the fans and others within the boxing community who have phoned and emailed us to show their support.
- Reports are coming out that Nikolai Valuev will make a mandatory title defense against Ruslan Chagaev on April 14th in Germany like we previously reported. Just another reason to stay on top of us for the latest news…
- Tommy Morrison will speak in an interview after his fight tonight according to Versus…
VERSUS will have a pre-taped interview with Tommy Morrison as well as a live interview during the telecast tomorrow night as part of its VERSUS Fight Night in collaboration with Top Rank Boxing at 9 p.m. ET from the Mountaineer Race Track & Gaming Resort in Chester, West Virginia.
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Saturday, February 17, 2007
Lampley Violates Restraining Order
Some more on the whole Jim Lampley front…
He was charged yesterday was violating his temporary restraining order against Candice Sanders. Although this story was reported by many outlets, not one actually said what he did to violate the order.
If he is convicted of this, he will face up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. Lampley has already stated that he will fight this charge in court as well
Friday, February 16, 2007
EEC - February 16, 2007
Here comes the weekend…
News, Notes, and Rumors:
- Famed boxing manager Bob Botto passed away in his home early yesterday morning. Botto managed many former contenders including Randy Mack, Johnny Carter, Mike Mungin, and current supper middleweight star Omar Pittman.
Weekend Fights:
Friday -
Verno Phillips vs Eddie Sanchez - Las Vegas, Nevada - Junior Middleweight (ESPN 2)
Gary Stark Jr vs Mike Oliver - Miami, Oklahoma - Junior Featherweight (Showtime)
Derek Ennis vs Allen Conyers - Miami, Oklahoma - Junior Middlweight (Showtime)
Tony Thompson vs Timor Ibragimov - Beverly Hills, California - Heavyweight (FSN)
Andre Dirrell vs Kenny Kost - Beverly Hills, California - Super Middleweight (FSN)
Jorge Paez Jr vs Jaime Alvarado - Beverly Hills - California - Welterweight (FSN)
Saturday -
Paulie Malignaggi vs Edner Cherry - New York City, New York - Junior Welterweight (HBO)
Ishe Smith vs Sechew Powell - New York City, New York - Junior Middleweight (HBO)
Andre Berto vs Norberto Bravo - New York City, New York - Welterweight (HBO)
Audley Harrison vs Michael Sprott - London, England - Heavyweight
Michael Katsidis vs Graham Earl - London, England - WBO Lightweight Title
Amir Khan vs Mohammed Medjadji - London, England - Lightweight
Some Good Reads:
ESPN: Malignaggi still has moxie after loss to Cotto
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Wednesday, February 14, 2007
WBC President Announces World Summit on Sport of Boxing
WBC President Jose Sulaiman has called for a meeting between boxing executives from around the world to discuss how to improve boxing as well as the future of the sport.
The heads of the WBA and IBF have already stated that they will be attending the meeting which will take place in Cancun, Mexico next year.
Sulaiman wants to have a few meetings prior to the summit in order to come up with issues that can be discussed. He also stated that the intentions of the summit will include uniformity on rules, upgraded safety precautions, and welfare for boxers…
Thursday, February 01, 2007
EEC - February 1, 2007
Your morning boxing news coming at ya…
News, Notes, and Rumors:
- The Milburn family of Windsor, Ontario has donated a pair of Joe Louis’ gloves that he used in his historic battle with Max Schmeling in 1936 to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. The Milburn family originally received the gloves from relatives who were close with Louis’ long time manager.
- WBC President Jose Sulaiman thinks that it’s time for Erik Morales to hang up the gloves…
“When someone loses hunger, he loses the desire to win,” Sulaiman said. “I think fighters lose the motivation to get up at 4 a.m. in the morning and go running, and the motivation to go on a diet. And I believe in that regard, Erik has not taken care of himself. He put himself through inhuman levels to lose weight, and he has picked the best to fight with the least amount of conditioning, and that is why he is in the situation that he is.”
Sulaiman also thinks that Morales needs one last fight…
“But my opinion is that he wants to retire with a victory, and he believes he can win the championship at lightweight. Erik doesn’t want to go out a loser in the way that he lost against Manny Pacquiao. He doesn’t want to go out in the minds of the people thinking of him on the canvas. So there are two motivations for him: his fourth world title and his leaving boxing with a different image for fans who’ve seen him for so many years.”
What does this all mean? Since Joel Casamayor will fight Acelino Freitas, that leaves David Diaz open for Morales’ taking. Look for a WBC Lightweight Title fight in either March or April…
- Floyd Mayweather Jr’s advisor, Leonard Ellerbe, has told The Las Vegas Review-Journal that Freddie Roach’s training methods aren’t going to have an impact on the fight between Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya:
“Oscar had two chances to win this fight, slim and none, and slim just left town when he hired Freddie,” Ellerbe said. “I have a lot of respect for Freddie as a great trainer, but to compare Freddie Roach as a trainer to Mayweather Sr. is like comparing (Manu) Ginobili to Kobe Bryant.”
- Manny Pacquiao has not yet decided whether or not he wants to run for mayor of his hometown or for a seat in the House of Representatives in the Phillipines.
Some Good Reads:
FOX Sports: The big time has called Kelly Pavlik
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Tuesday, January 30, 2007
EEC - January 30, 2007
It’s a beautiful day in the KO Corner neighborhood…
News, Notes, and Rumors:
- Lou DiBella announced yesterday that he reached a tenative agreement with Roy Jones Jr. to become his promoter along with Jones’ own promotional force, Square ring.
“Roy Jones Jr. is not only one of the legendary fighters of this generation, but one of the greatest boxers in the history of the game,” DiBella said in a statement. “I am excited about the opportunity to promote him with Square Ring.”
- Apparently Kostya Tszyu didn’t unoffically retire after going back to school after all…
Tszyu has told the Australian Daily Telegraph that he would be interested in coming back to fight for a world title.
“A big name would be interesting,” Tszyu told Australia’s Daily Telegraph, “but I would need to see the offer first.” But, the former champion said, “It has to be a real offer. They know I’m available—that’s why I have not announced my retirement.
“I’m just waiting for an offer to come up and then I’ll consider it. How it will come, I don’t know. If I decide to do it, I can’t concentrate on my business.
- Teddy Atlas had some interesting comments for Sports Illustrated on the situation involving Vitali Klitschko, Oleg Maskaev, and Samuel Peter…
“It’s a disgrace,” says Atlas. “Every one of these organizations is corrupt. It’s a joke. Peter has been mandated the number one contender, twice in fact. Now all of a sudden, because of money, it’s OK for the mandated guy to be pushed aside and to give the fight to a guy who has been away for two years? These organizations have rules that say that at anytime they can forego all other rules and do whatever they want. There is actually a rule that says that. It’s nuts.”
- The IBF announced late last night that Ricky Hatton will be stripped of his title if he decides to go along with his scheduled bout against Jose Luis Castillo in June and ignore his mandatory title defense against the winner of Naoufel Ben Rabah and Lovemore Ndou this weekend.
Some Good Reads:
Bosing Scene: Does “No” to Floyd Meayweather Sr., Mean “Yes” To Victory for Oscar De La Hoya?
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Thursday, January 25, 2007
EEC - January 25, 2007
Well the return of Vitali Klitschko means three things: Samuel Peter is getting screwed, the heavyweight division gets that much better, and we will never see the titles unified until he retires again…
News, Notes, and Rumors:
- The Los Angeles Times is reporting that Oscar De La Hoya will not use Floyd Mayweather Sr. as his trainer for his superfight against Mayweather’s son in May. A spokesman from Golden Boy Promotions said that the asking price of $2 Million to train Oscar was way too high and then De La Hoya has rejected the offer for the final time.
Even though he won’t be part of the May superfight unless his son mysteriously asks him to help out which is very unlikely, Mayweather Sr. apparently hasn’t ruled out working with De La Hoya in the future if the opportunity presents itself…
- The British Boxing Board of Control suspended Scott Harrison yesterday after he failed to show up to a scheduled hearing to discuss the cancellation of his fight with Nicky Cook last year. The association released this statement:
Despite confirmation of his attendance received from the office of his manager Barry Hughes, Scott Harrison failed to appear before a tribunal of the stewards scheduled to take place at the board’s offices. Accordingly his licence will remain suspended and he will not be permitted to take part in any boxing contest within the board’s jurisdiction until such time as the stewards permit him to do so.
- Confused about the whole Vitali Klitschko returning situation? This might help...
WBC President Jose Sulaiman says that the decision of Vitali Klitschko to return to boxing will provide a “New air of enthusiasm in the heavyweight division.” As an emeritus champion, or legend, WBC rules mean that Vitali could have an immediate crack at the current champion Oleg Maskaev. But Sulaiman says that the Board of Governors must vote on the next step, and their ruling is expected within ten days.
If they ordered an Eastern block confrontation the winner would then be ordered to fight number one challenger Samuel Peter next. Don Jose said, it depends on the Governors decision, but if the fight happened, he would be happy if took place in Russia. He also revealed that Vitali had discussed with him, the possibility of resuming his ring career as long ago as when the two met at the WBC’s Convention in Croatia last year. Vitali has retired in 2005 due to a knee injury.
But the momentum appreciably gathered pace a few days ago, when Vitali phoned Sulaiman at his home, “full of enthusiasm,” to explain that the doctors have given him a clean bill of health to return, he was back training in the gym and feels great. The WBC is awaiting the medical report. Don Jose said: “In his telephone conversation with me, Vitali was very determined. And I think that Vitali Klitschko’s return will be a progressive injection to the Heavyweight Division. There’s no doubt about that. “He was at his peak when he retired, he’s still at the right age, and so we’ll have to see.”
Some Good Reads:
ESPN: Pavlik not looking past Zertuche, but craves title shot
Boxing Scene: The Downward Spiral of Heavyweight Iron Mike Tyson
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Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Samuel Peter is Pissed Off
Trust me, if I was in Samuel Peter’s position, I’d be a little ticked off too…
If this whole thing sounds just a bit familar, it’s probably because we have been through this already. Peter was supposed to get a title shot after beating James Toney the first time around. Then Oleg Maskaev took a voluntary defense before the deadline of 2007 and defeated Peter Okhello. So Peter went ahead and beat Toney once again.
Now it’s time for a title shot right? Not exactly…
We told you a while back that Vitali Klitschko was seriously thinking about attempting a comeback. Well now rumors are swirling that his official return to boxing is only weeks away. Of course it tends to not be a rumor anymore once the president of the WBC is actually speaking to Vitali about fighting in the coming months.
Jose Sulaiman is currently awaiting a phone call from Vitali and his camp about the opportunity of getting an immediate title shot against Maskaev. Vitali was originally promised an immediate title shot if he decided to come out of retirement from injury. It looks like he actually may get it.
That would mean that Vitali would be jumping right over Peter in the rankings and would receive a title shot before him. Rightfully so, Peter is pretty pissed off about this whole thing. Sulaiman however just wishes that everyone would calm down for the time being…
“I am waiting to hear something back from Vitali,” Sulaiman said. “Vitali contacts me directly from the Ukraine or wherever he is. He called me a week ago speaking about this comeback. It’s very clear that an immediate title shot is what Vitali wants. I took notice of that just as I have taken notice of (complaints from) Dino Duva, Don King and Iyavailo Gotzev made on behalf of top contender Samuel Peter.”
Sulaiman may say that he is going to hear arguments from both sides but it’s obvious what he wants to do as of right now. Peter knows that too:
“It’s a disgrace! I fought my way into this position without taking shortcuts. I paid my sanctioning fees not once, but twice. I wasn’t even supposed to fight the second time, but people were questioning their judges, so I fought again to prove myself. They’re trying to take away everything I worked for all those years. I’m number one and they’re going to have a very big problem if they allow this. They are putting their own hands in the fire and making a big mistake.”
Why did he (Klitschko) wait till I beat Toney the second time to say he was coming back? Why not announce before? Because he’s not a true champion. He got his title when Lennox Lewis retired. And now he wants to fight Maskaev, who is also not a true champion because he’s avoiding me. Let me go against Maskaev and I’ll knock him out and then I’ll knock out both Klitschko brothers on the same night!
They tried to bribe me to get me to shut up. I don’t care about money. I want the heavyweight championship. I came to the United States six years ago and I’ve worked very hard to be in this position. They are all going to pay for this!”
If boxers can be measured by the words they say, then Peter is an animal. If that Superfighter thing ever gets started up again, Peter should lay out an open challenge to both Klitschko brothers and see what they say…
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EEC - January 24, 2007
Not much today so bear with me. I’m trying to have KO Corner’s official rankings up by the end of the week at the latest…
News, Notes, and Rumors:
- Juan Lazcano and Vivian Harris will battle in a WBC Super-Lighyweight elimination bout on February 10th as part of the undercard of Shane Mosley vs Luis Collazo…
- The latest on Nikolai Valuev and Ruslan Chagaev per Boxing Scene:
Next up for WBA heavyweight champ Nikolai Valuev is the mandatory defense against Ruslan Chagaev. The WBA will call for purse bids on February 9 if no agreement is reached before that and wants the fight to go ahead no later than April 15.
- Stevie Johnston will take on Tyrone Harris for the vacant IBA Lightweight tile this Friday in Orlando, Florida.
- Rocky Balboa did not receive a Razzie nomination for one of the worst movies of 2006, the first time in years that Sylvester Stallone or a movie of his hasn’t been nominated apparently…
- Dominick Guinn has a taken a fight on extremely short notice and will take on Zuri Lawrence on February 2nd as part of ESPN’s Friday Night Fights.
Some Good Reads:
ESPN: Reid’s a mean one, a la Grinch
Eastside Boxing: Is Inactivity Killing The Heavyweight Division?
Boxing Scene: Barrera-Marquez - A Beautiful Bastard Child
The Sweet Science: Weird Boxing Endings