RSSRumors
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Rumor: Briggs-Ibragimov Moving to USA
We reported last month that Shannon Briggs would finally get a chance to defend his WBO Heavyweight Title against Sultan Ibragimov on June 2nd in Russia. The two will still fight on June 2nd but the fight may now be taking place in the USA according to Ibragimov’s promoters, Golden Grain Promotions.
The reason for the change is that Vitali Klitchko and Oleg Maskaev are set to clash on the same date in Russia thus creating a problem for those involved in setting up the Briggs-Ibragimov bout who would have to now deal with another fight on the same date in the same country that will most likely be the bigger draw.
Golden Grain Promotions released this statement concerning the possible move of the bout to the United States:
“Regarding all the boxing achievements of the current WBC Champion Oleg Maskaev and taking under consideration that it’s hardly possible to stage two great boxing events on the same day in Moscow, we decided to take Ibragimov-Briggs fight to the USA”.
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Friday, March 30, 2007
Rumor: Jones Jr May Face Hanshaw on Showtime
Roy Jones Jr’s promoter, Lou DiBella, has told ESPN that his fighter has reached a verbal agreement with Showtime to fight Tony Hanshaw in a light heavyweight bout on June 9th.
“Roy has given me a verbal ‘OK.’ It’s basically done,” DiBella told ESPN.com, though he admitted he won’t believe it until Jones signs. “I think it’s an interesting fight. I’m more interested in seeing an older guy fight a young, hungry guy than in seeing two older guys fight.”
No site for the potential bout has been determined yet.
Showtime boss Ken Hershman knows for a fact that nothing is set in stone. Jones has been known for pulling out of things and changing his mind at the last minute, most recently his proposed December fight against Manuel Siaca in Philadelphia which I was going to go and cover for KO Corner myself.
“I go by what Lou tells me, so we are drafting the contract as we speak,” Hershman said. “I’m thrilled. I think it’s great. It’s nice to see another graduate of ‘ShoBox’ get a big fight and fulfill the mission of that [prospect-oriented] show. We’ll see what Roy has left in his arsenal.
I’ll have more news on this when it becomes available…
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Monday, March 26, 2007
Rumor: Holyfield’s Next Fight in Calgary?
Rumors are swirling that not only will Evander Holyfield’s next fight not be in Texas, the state where he has fought the last three fights of his comeback, but that it won’t even be in the USA…
Holyfield is expected to return to action at some point in June. His promotional company, Main Events is said to be attempting to bring Holyfield’s next bout to Calgary, Alberta, Canada against an opponent that has yet to be named.
Be sure to stay here for any updates on this…
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Monday, February 26, 2007
Rumor Killer: Lewis Not Coming Out of Retirement
Lennox Lewis has once again denied reports that he is planning to restart his career to take on the also recently unretired Vitali Klitschko.
“Although I’m flattered that the boxing community is eager to have me back in the ring, I have no plans to return,” Lewis said in a statement on his Web site.
“I have no idea how these rumors get started but I am a man of my word, I will remain retired.”
Klitschko has been attempting to coax Lewis out of retirement ever since he started training again to get back into shape…
Monday, February 19, 2007
Rumor: Ibragimov May Face Brock for WBO Interim Title
The Miami Herald is reporting that Sultan Ibragimov is still planning to fight at Madison Square Garden on March 10 since the fee to rent out the arena was already paid for by his promoter.
Since Shannon Briggs will be unable to fight, Warriors Boxing is petitioning for Ibragimov to fight for the Interim WBO Heavyweight Title. The WBO has stated that they will rule on the matter on Tuesday.
Warriors Boxing is also saying that Calvin Brock is the only fighter willing to take the bout. This would work out just great except Brock has already signed to fight an opponent to be named on March 17 as part of the Holyfield-Maddalone undercard.
Are we going to see another Cotto-Margarito situation involving Brock this week? We just might…
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Friday, February 09, 2007
Gatti-Corrales Rumor Killer
Apparently there was a huge rumor floating around that Arturo Gatti would be taking on Diego Corrales in his July 14th farewell bout. I’ll tell you the truth, I didn’t even know this rumor existed until now…
Gatti’s publicist, Don Trembley, stated earlier today that even though their are multiple possible opponents being discussed, Corrales is not one of them:
“We have a meeting coming up with HBO to discuss the details of Gatti’s next fight. There are a few different names being discussed (for Gatti’s opponent), but I can tell you that Diego Corrales is not one of them,” Tremblay said.