Gabby15

Vaulev takes a knee for the first time in his career :shock:

Shame he's never shown footwork like that in the ring

Team Ali Chebah, represented by Don Majeski, put in the winning purse bid for the WBC light welterweight final eliminator between Ali Chebah (33-1, 26 KOs) of France and Alose Olsegun (28-0, 14 KO) of Nigeria.

Team Chebah came first with a bid of $112,000 thousand dollars. There will be a 50-50 split on the money and the fight will most probably take place in late September or early October - in France or in Algeria. The winner of the elimination bout will face the unified champion of the WBC and IBF, Devon Alexander.

War Ajose!!

Breaking News

by James Slater - It's been just over six months since heavyweight contender Kevin "King Pin" Johnson's disappointing challenge of WBC champion Vitali Klitschko. That December 2009 day in Switzerland, when the then undefeated 30-year-old appeared to have no real ambition other than to go the full 12-rounds (which he did), gave us one of the most boring heavyweight title bouts in years, and it was especially disappointing given the great talk Johnson, now 22-1-1(9) was coming out with beforehand..

To be fair to Johnson, he did announce how he'd been carrying an arm injury throughout the fight, and this may have been a big reason for his negative-looking tactics. Certainly, this is what "King Pin" claimed via his official website a few months after the unanimous decision loss. Since the fight, though, we've heard practically nothing else from the man with the superb left jab. Until now.

According to a number of boxing web sites, Boxrec.com among them, the 30-year-old will actually be back in action, in a very low-key affair, tonight, June 18th. Set to face the limited and virtually unknown heavyweight that is 39-year-old David Saulsberry of Kentucky, Johnson is down as fighting him in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The bout is scheduled for eight-rounds, and it seems Johnson is happy enough to slip back into action without any fanfare or hype to accompany him.

Saulsberry, 6-2(6) turned pro in 2005 and he won his initial five bouts. Boxing in either North Carolina or Kentucky, the 39-year-old who weighs approx 300-pounds then ran into Wes Taylor and, a heavyweight you may be familiar with, Devin Vargas. Both men stopped him, in three and two rounds respectively. Since then, Saulsberry has had one bout, a 2nd-round KO win over an unbeaten guy named Roberto White - back in March of 2008!

It's clear to see, then, that Johnson is taking no chances at all in his first fight back after Klitschko. Unless he wants to get some rounds in so as to restore some of his old confidence, Johnson should be able to take his man out as and when he pleases. The comeback really presents the fast-talking Johnson with no test at all, but it will be interesting to hear what he has to say after he wins. What are Johnson's plans? How soon does he plan on fighting again? Will he up the level as far as his competition goes? Has "King Pin" actually retained his old self-assured attitude?

Of added interest to fans may be the fact that 1990's heavyweight title challenger "Smokin'" Bert Cooper is scheduled to be in action on tonight's bill. Inactive since 2002, the 44-year-old who once fought Evander Holyfield for the heavyweight title is set to face another unknown, in 26-year-old Cory Winfield. The North Carolina man is 3-6(2) and unless Cooper has absolutely nothing left, he should get himself his first win in almost a decade tonight.

Cooper, by the way, is down on Boxrec as fighting again in August, once again in North Carolina.

Kingpin is back :notworthy:

Oh, and Holt vs Feliciano is off, claimed it's due to weight issues, more likely because Holt was apparently in prison again last weekend

No chance :-)

Fraudly is hopeless and you know it

I get the feeling our Gabby is on the ESB "Audley Harrison Express" and is bringing his posting habits over here for our amusement

I hope to Christ this fight doesn't happen as I like Haye and don't want to see the ridicule he'll deservedly get if it does. Having said that if it does happen it'll be over inside 2 minutes, and Harrison will still be counting stars on the canvas when the cleaners arrive.

One star on the canvas will be counted.

That star will be David Haye once the A-bomb lands on his fragile British mandible

Yep, been reading Rico's posts too much.

Haye will absolutely **** destroy Harrison, he's already done it several times in sparring for **** sake, this fight will be a joke and I'm pissed off with Haye for taking it (although I do understand the reasoning, big money zero risk)

I'm taking great amusement at the moment....as the Klitschkos slate Haye for taking Harrison, VITLAY is ducking Valuev of all people, who Haye already beat. Oh **** dear.....what a pussy. Confirms what I always said, VITLAY is just a bully. Give him an opponent that hits back or is bigger, and those pants get filled with shit.

Now now Witton, surely even you don't believe he'd duck that Russian retard?

Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer thinks a heavyweight showdown between WBA champion David Haye (24-1, 22 KOs), and Olympic gold medal winner Audley Harrison (27-4, 20KOs), would be a "big, all-British showdown."

As previously reported on BoxingScene.com, Harrison accepted an offer worth £1million to fight Haye on November 13, with Sky pay-per-view carrying the fight. Harrison's side told UK publication, Daily Mail, they were waiting on Haye's team to finalize the deal.

Schaefer has received a lot of positive feedback on Haye-Harrison from the British press. Golden Boy promote Haye in the United States. Schaefer says the final word on a fight with Harrison will come from Haye and his manager/trainer Adam Booth.

"The British media was telling me that the English fans were pretty excited about Audley Harrison, and they think that it could become, in England, one of the great showdowns between two British fighters," said Schaefer to BoxingScene.com.

"They're both very outspoken and very charismatic, and so we will see. But ultimately, of course, it will be David and Adam Booth of Hayemaker Promotions dictating which way that it's going to go."

Fail. Read something other than biased press, it's a complete joke.

A few weeks ago, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer had tried to create a rematch between Bernard Hopkins and the recently retired Joe Calzaghe of Wales. After a have few positive conversations, Calzaghe made a decision to stay retired. With a Calzaghe rematch out of the way, Schaefer is exploring the possibility of matching Hopkins (51-5-1, 32 KOs) against undefeated IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute (26-0, 21 KOs).

If Schaefer is able to reach an agreement with Interbox, who promote Bute, he would like to stage the fight in the fall. Bothe fighters saw action in the month of April. Hopkins won a twelve round unanimous decision in a rematch with Roy Jones Jr. Bute stopped Edison Miranda in three rounds. The Hopkins-Bute fight would likley take place at a catch-weight between 168 and 175-pounds. In several past interviews, Hopkins said he was able to make 170-pounds for a fight with Bute.

"I actually talked with our friend at Interbox Promotions, Jean Bedard, who is the CEO of Interbox, which promotes Lucian Bute. We spoke about the possibility of putting together a fight with Bernard Hopkins. And they would be open to doing a fight between Bute and Hopkins," Schaefer told BoxingScene.com.

"And so we're currently discussing that. The fight would be sometime between September and November -- somewhere between that window. That's what we would like to do. And I'm waiting for Jean Bedard to get back to me."

Am I the only one not sold on Bute?

No chance :-)

Fraudly is hopeless and you know it

I get the feeling our Gabby is on the ESB "Audley Harrison Express" and is bringing his posting habits over here for our amusement

I hope to Christ this fight doesn't happen as I like Haye and don't want to see the ridicule he'll deservedly get if it does. Having said that if it does happen it'll be over inside 2 minutes, and Harrison will still be counting stars on the canvas when the cleaners arrive.

One star on the canvas will be counted.

That star will be David Haye once the A-bomb lands on his fragile British mandible

Audley KO 1 False Prophet Haye

You don't seriously believe that do you?

When the A-Bomb is unleashed, no-one stands up to it. Not Haye, not Wlad (even without being poisoned by Lamon Brewster) and not Vitali. It's Audley's destiny to become the world heavyweight champion and destiny cannot be prevented. Certainly not by a false prophet.

Yes

He

Can

Personally speaking....I know there's some very obnoxious females out there, but nevertheless I don't like to see men hitting women whatever the provacation.... It doesn't seem right somehow.

Are you saying "Baselayers" is a man? :shock:

Catfight!!

C'mon Audrey! Haye's going to lose a lot of respect if this is true.

Sources close to the situation have advised BoxingScene.com that Sergio Martinez (45-2, 24KOs) notified the WBC on Wednesday that he plans to vacate their title at 154-pounds. Martinez will remain in the middleweight division as the WBC champion.

Martinez moved up to middleweight in April to win the WBC middleweight crown with a twelve round unanimous decision over Kelly Pavlik. The sanctioning body handed him a 24-hour deadline on Tuesday to vacate their title at 154, or at 160. After reviewing the ratings and some possible opportunities, Martinez and his team made a decision to remain at middleweight.

As part of his decision to remain at 160, Martinez will have to make a mandatory defense of the title against German fighter Sebastian Zbik (29-0, 10KOs), who is the interim-champion.

Zbik sucks.

Audley KO 1 False Prophet Haye

According to a report in Daily Mail, Audley Harrison has agreed to a £1million offer to challenge David Haye for the WBA heavyweight title on November 13. The fight would be carried on Sky pay-per-view. Harrison's promoter, Matchroom Boxing, is waiting for Haye's side to finalize the deal. If the deal has indeed been reached, it means heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko will be moving forward with his mandatory WBO title fight against Alexander Povetkin.

The fight everyone wants to see on November 13th is done!!

The former WBA heavyweight champion Nikolai Valuev is losing interest in a fight with undefeated Olympic gold medal winner Odlanier Solis. The "Russian Giant" would rather fight WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko right now. They were negotiating the fight earlier this year but no deal was reached. Klitschko's camp said Valuev and his co-promoter Don King were not being reasonable by demanding a guaranteed purse of $4 million dollars.

When they could not reach a deal and mandatory challenger Ray Austin began to have problems with his management, the WBC ordered a fight between Valuev and Solis. The winner will get a shot at Klitschko. Negotiations to make a fight with Solis have been taking too long for Valuev's liking. To make matters worse, the German television networks are not very interested in a fight between Valuev and Solis.

"I do not want to fight Solis. I've gotten tired of always facing these up and coming boxers. The Cuban is not interesting to me. I want the fight with Vitali, which will be a real mega-fight," Valuev said.

"My promoters Wilfried Sauerland and Don King assure me that they are keeping in contact with Shelly Finkel, adviser of the Klitschko brothers. But I don't have any news or details on it. Nevertheless, I am confident that our fight with Vitali will take place. This fight has so much interest that the financial differences betweenour two sides will be settled."

Realised that he has no better options & has come crawling back to Vitali. FAIL.

World title boxing is coming to Wearside.

The passion of Sunderland fight fans, through their support of Tony Jeffries, has persuaded promoter Frank Maloney to put the city on the world stage next month.

His man Jason Booth challenges Canadian champion Steve Molitor for the IBF world super-bantamweight title on July 23 at Rainton Meadows Arena.

Jeffries's eighth professional contest will also feature prominently on the bill, which will be screened live in north America and across Europe, as well as in the UK by Sky Sports.

The night will bring a fresh landmark for Jeffries, who steps into the ring for his first eight-round contest.

It will be only the second world title fight ever staged on Wearside. Local hero Billy Hardy had the first when he lost by a split decision to Texan Orlando Canizales for the IBF world bantamweight crown at Crowtree Leisure Centre in January 1990.

Molitor, 31, won the IBF crown for the second time when he outpointed Takalani Ndlovu in March.

His first reign as champion started in November 2006 when he knocked out Hartlepool's Michael Hunter in five rounds.

The 30-year-old from Ontario has lost only one of his 33 pro contests in a career stretching back 10 years.

Fighting for a world title is the latest step in a remarkable personal journey for Nottingham's Booth, 32, who is a recovering alcoholic and has also overcome drug problems to turn his career around.

Booth said: "The world title fight is such a bonus for me and now I want to win it so much.

"I am so lucky to have the things I do in life now – if I hadn't had boxing, I'd be dead; the drink would've beaten me."

Maloney said he always wanted to bring the scrap to the North East after winning the right to stage it in Britain, but he feared he might have to take it elsewhere due to a clash with the Sunderland Airshow.

Maloney said: "I'm delighted we've found a solution and I'm grateful for the help of Rainton Meadows Arena and Sunderland Council to ensure I can bring world title boxing to the North East for the first time since the great Billy Hardy was at his peak.

"This is going to be a huge weekend for Sunderland with the airshow and the city getting worldwide exposure as a result of the Booth-Molitor showdown.

"Since I started promoting Tony Jeffries, boxing fans in Sunderland have responded with passionate support and Sky TV love that because it adds to the spectacle.

"Tony will have his first eight-round fight on the same bill and I'm hoping to add a British title fight to the card as well."

Ticket details are likely to be released later this week.

Jeffries has had four fights in the North East since turning pro after claiming a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics. He is unbeaten in seven pro contests, stopping Derby's Matt Hainy in the second round at Peterlee Leisure Centre last time out on June 4.

During a 14-year career, Booth has won British and Commonwealth flyweight titles, the IBO super-flyweight crown, Commonwealth bantamweight championship plus British and Commonwealth belts at super-bantamweight.

He will hope Wearside is a lucky venue, having stopped Hartlepool's Hunter at the Seaburn Centre last October.

Trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr. is very upset with Manny Pacquiao being honored with the BWAA's [boxing Writers Association of America] award for fighter of the decade. Mayweather felt that his son, Floyd Mayweather Jr., should have been the recipient.

Speaking with Percy Crawford of fighthype.com, Mayweather Sr. went after Pacquiao's record, and attacked him as a person.

"What award they gonna give my son when he whoops Pacquiao," Mayweather Sr. said. "Pacquiao ain't no f**king fighter of the decade. He is a p*ssy. Pacquiao has two draws and a loss in this decade. Lil' Floyd is undefeated in this decade and in his career."

"On top of that, Pacquiao beat two guys Lil' Floyd already beat and struggled twice with a guy Floyd blanked out twelve rounds to nothing."

Mayweather Sr. is adding some fuel to the fire. Pacquiao currently has a defamation suit pending in Las Vegas against Mayweather Sr., Mayweather Jr., Roger Mayweather and Golden Boy Promotions heads Oscar De La Hoya and Richard Schaefer. Pacquiao claims the parties damaged his credibility by making allegations that he is using performance enhancing drugs.

Floyd Sr. is a legend 8)

Shah Khan, the father of WBA junior welterweight champion Amir Khan, says lightweights Michael Katsidis and John Murray are asking for too much money to fight his son. Shah confirms to hometown paper, The Bolton News, that his son will fight the winner of the Juan Manuel Marquez-Juan Diaz rematch, taking place on July 31 in Las Vegas.

Murray and Katsidis have been attacking Khan in the press. Shah says they approached their team for a fight and now attack Amir for fighting smaller boxers.

“They approached us and now they are saying these things,” Shah said. “Murray and Katsidis want silly money for the fights and their demands are just not feasible.”

Amir will return in November or December against the Marquez-Diaz winner. The fight will take place in either the UK or the United States. Shah hopes a deal is struck fast with the Marquez-Diaz winner, after their fight is over.

“We are hoping that a deal will be struck shortly for Amir to fight the winner,” Shah added. “It will be a tough fight for Amir but a really good test against boxers who have been former world champions.”

I don't think Marquez has that much left in the tank tbh, probably enough to get by Diaz but I don't think he's on the level he once was

Last exam at 1:30, then it's home to watch some sexy football from the Brazilians

Promoter Gary Shaw had a recent meeting with HBO and pitched the idea of a big 140-pound tournament. Based on Shaw's idea, the tournament would include champions Timothy Bradley, Devon Alexander, Amir Khan, and Juan Manuel Marquez - if he beats Juan Diaz next month.

As part of Shaw's idea, he wanted HBO to hold a big press conference where the fighters, or at least two of them, would pick their first round opponent from a hat in a lottery style selection.

According to Shaw, Khan and his promoters Golden Boy Promotions were not interested in being involved.

"If we pulled [the name of] Devon Alexander, then we would fight Devon Alexander. Golden Boy said no. Amir Khan doesn't want to fight anybody. Bradley will fight anybody and to Devon Alexander's credit, he will fight anybody," Shaw said. "We would do it and Devon Alexander would do it."

"As a bonus, I said for the winner of the tournament should get $500,000. A check direct to the fighter."

Shocker.

“WHADYA like?” says Anthony Cantanzaro, owner of Portobello’s Pizzeria and Sicilian Kitchen in Manhattan and also Paulie Malignaggi’s manager. Feeling like I had to rush, I panicked and said, “Meat, I like meat” and, as an afterthought, “Jalapenos”. He swiftly returns with two of the biggest pizza slices I have ever seen, one a spicy chicken behemoth and the other a sausage edifice that defied belief.

Portobello’s, situated on Murray Street, is small but popular, especially at lunchtime, and as Cantanzarro’s most decorated client walks in, Paulie is almost immediately accosted by a fan asking for a picture. Ever obliging, Malignaggi accedes to the request and then joins me. He orders a light starter and a mammoth plate of pasta that, even before he tells me, I know he could never eat during a training camp.

He is hungry, he admits to being around 170lbs but the former IBF light-welterweight champion is happy. After four weeks of soul-searching following his stoppage loss to WBA king Amir Khan, Malignaggi is ready to begin the new phase of his career, at welter, and is full of praise for his most recent conqueror, having watched the tape of their fight.

“I saw it once, I saw a couple of things,” he revealed, for the first of many times delaying the flight of his pasta-laden fork from the plate to his mouth. “Amir fought a very disciplined fight, stuck to the gameplan and never really got carried away. I don’t think they ever tried to knock me out, it just happened – all that talk of ‘We’re gonna’ stop Malignaggi inside three rounds’, I never got the sense that he tried to knock me out. He just took what he had and got out. You see a lot of guys getting sucked in when they land punches and end up getting caught themselves so for a 23-year-old I was impressed with his maturity.”

Malignaggi’s lunch will go cold long before he is finished – the portion may be large but he likes to talk and we are working on a rate of a mouthful every five minutes. Not only that, but Paulie’s beloved Italy – for whom he will soon have citizenship – are playing Mexico in a pre-World Cup friendly on at least two TVs at Portobello’s. Mexico are winning 1-0 and if not for some Mexican profligacy in front of goal, it could be four or five. “At least the [mostly Mexican] staff will be happy,” quips Cantanzarro, as dismayed as Malignaggi at the Azzurri’s lacklustre performance.

“You know what really took me out of my gameplan?,” Malignaggi continues, warming to his topic now. “I saw a quote from Freddie [Roach] saying, ‘Paulie pulls out a lot but he won’t be able to use the pull against a guy like Amir, who’s tall with speed’. I knew that going into the fight – my line of defence is rolling the shoulder and countering. If you’re tall and quick, even if I have him missing it’s hard to get back with my shots.

“So I had to get under his shots and the problem we had was every time I got underneath him, Amir would hold me down. That’s part of boxing but I had Steve Smoger for the [Miguel] Cotto fight and this fight and he’s a nice guy but the worst referee I’ve ever had. If you don’t give a fighter a strong warning he’s gonna’ keep doing it and as the fight went on, Amir started hitting me when he was holding me. I don’t fault Amir for that, I do fault Smoger. Not the reason I lost though – main reason I lost is that Amir’s a very good fighter.”

Malignaggi is happy to give Khan credit for most things but, as Mexico waste another gilt-edged chance and after Paulie laughably says he’s picked England to win the big one in South Africa, the Brooklynite focuses on Amir’s power – or lack thereof.

“He’s not a big puncher – he scuffs you basically,” Malignaggi states. “I had a lot of scuff marks on me, a lot of scrapes and stuff. He might have power if he sits down on his punches a little bit more but that could take away from his speed.

“But Amir Khan should change nothing about himself. He has a very difficult style to deal with. He knows how to win rounds and when he takes control of rounds, he knows not to give it back to you. Against bangers like Cotto or Juan Diaz you can go toe-to-toe if you have to and you know that you can just go across the ring and find them. With Amir, you go across the ring, he might not even be there. He’s a very complete fighter – he and Cotto are the best I’ve fought.”

Paulie, who listens to Italy’s malaise being accompanied by Spanish – one of three languages he speaks – commentary, is not focusing solely on the past. His future could involve Matthew Hatton and the European title but IBF kingpin Jan Zavec is another target.

“I saw highlights of Jan Zavec’s last fight on ESPN against Delvin Rodriguez and Rodriguez dropped him twice,” Paulie recalls. “From the highlights Delvin beat the s*** out of the guy but they robbed him and gave it to Zavec. But from that, I’m not too impressed with Zavec.”

Italy lost 2-1, but Malignaggi, with his virtually unmarked features, slur-free speech and sharp intellect, is still ahead of the game.

WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao returned back home to the Philippines after vacationing with his family in the United States and Mexico. Upon his return, Pacquiao told reporters that he was ready to fight anyone in November, whether it's Floyd Mayweather Jr. or a rematch with Miguel Cotto, who recently won the WBA junior middleweight title.

Pacquiao even mentioned a rematch with Ricky Hatton, which drew laughter from reporters. The Filipino champion himself began laughing to let everyone knew that he was joking around. The date of November 13 has been set aside by Top Rank for Pacquiao's next fight.

"There's negotiations ongoing with Mayweather, and Cotto also said that he wants a rematch," Pacquiao said to ABS-CBN News.

Cotto has asked for a rematch with Pacquiao, who might be tempted to move up for an eight divisional belt. If the Mayweather fight falls apart, Antonio Margarito is waiting in the background as the next in line to fight Pacquiao in November.

A rematch with Cotto is about a pointless as Floyd having a rematch with Hatton (For which you know he'd get ripped apart by Pactards should that ever happen)

Iron boy 8)

WBA champion Yuriorkis Gamboa, of Miami by way of Cuba, will likely face newly-crowned IBF king, Orlando Salido, of Ciudad Obregon, Sonora, Mex., in a unification bout on July 24 at the Palms Casino Resort, in Las Vegas, Gamboa's manager, Tony Gonzalez, informed FanHouse moments ago.

Gonzalez said that there was a consideration for a bout with 30-year-old, interim WBA super featherweight (130 pounds) titlist, Jorge Solis (39-2-2, 28 knockouts).

But Gonzalez said that the 28-year-old Gamboa (18-0, 15 KOs) chose the 29-year-old Salido (34-10-2, 22 KOs) after reviewing a video of Salido's September, 2004, unanimous decision, featherweight loss to Juan Manuel Marquez, the latter of whom is now the WBA and WBO lightweight (135 pounds) titlist.

"Coincidentally, last week, we were looking at Solis, and Yuriorkis and I were watching the video of the fight with Marquez at the featherweight division. Yuriorkis feels that Salido's style is very well suited for him," said Gonzalez, who helped Gamboa defect from Cuba, for whom he was an Olympic gold medalist.

"That was four, five years ago that Salido was fighting Marquez, and he was slow then, and Yuriorkis caught on to that. So if he was slow then, he's probably slower now," said Gonzalez. "Salido's a world champion, and if God allows us to, and we win, then he wins another belt. So it's looking more and more like Salido, and a way for us to get another strap around our waist. We would be the IBF champ."

Gamboa is coming off of last month's lopsided, 12-round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Jonathan Victor Barros (28-1-1, 16 KOs) in the third defense of his title.

Prior to that, Gamboa had scored a second-round knockout of Tanzanian-born Rogers Mtagwa (26-14-2 18 KOs), dropping him once in the first round and twice in the second before referee Steve Smoger waved an end to the fight at 2:35 at Madison Square Garden's WaMu Theater in New York.

Before facing Mtagwa, Gamboa had impressively disposed of Whyber Garcia (22-7, 15 KOs), starting Garcia's demise with a left-right combination that dropped the oncoming challenger face-first on the canvas early in the round.

Salido is coming off of last month's split-decision, featherweight rematch of world champions that dethroned then-IBF titlist, Cristobal Cruz, of Tijuana, Mex., in Salido's hometown of Ciudad Obregon, Sonora, Mex., at Estadio "Tomás Oroz Gaytán.

Salido won for the third striaght time, while the 32-year-old Cruz slipped to 39-12-2, with 23 knockouts. Salido's last loss had come against Cruz, who defeated him by split-decision in October of 2008 for the vacant IBF crown.

The win over Salido was part of a run of 5-0-1 by Cruz that ended with the loss in their return bout which also stopped his run of three straight title defenses.

Cruz had been among the possible names mentioned as opponents for fellow featherweights such as Gamboa, WBA super champion, Chris John (43-0-2, 22 KOs), 26-year-old southpaw WBO titlist, Juan Manuel Lopez (28-0, 25 KOs), and WBC king, Elio Rojas (22-1, 23 KOs).

The victory over Barros ended Gamboa's run of seven consecutive knockouts.

"It's not the first time that he's gone the distance, but it is the first time that he's gone the distance in a championship fight. So I think that it was good for Yuriorkis to have to go the distance. It's something for experience. You know, after all, he still has less than 20 professional fights. So that's definitely good for him to have experienced that to keep in touch with what it's like to have to go 12 rounds," said Gonzalez.

"If there's an opponent or a fighter that is not going to go down once he gets hit, then that's something that he's going to have to keep in the back of his mind. If anything, it makes him train harder because that way, he knows that if it's not going to be a one or two round blowout, that he can adjust and go the distance," said Gonzalez. "He knows that he has to get his conditioning down for 12 rounds. So, yeah, it does help him for that, and I think that that's something that he's learned from this past fight, which is invaluable at this point in his career."

I like Yuri, cracking fighter

Update on Valero from Fischer's mailbag

I’m still in a funk regarding Valero’s death. I wouldn’t be shocked if some outside foul play was involved with the murder-suicide, but my gut tells me that Valero had spun hopelessly out of control from the time of his second title victory (vs. Antonio Pitalua). It all came crashing down with the violent quickness of one of his right hooks.

I was recently talking to a South American source of mine, who was close to Valero for many years until they had a falling out (which happened with most of the fighter’s friends and advisers). He told me that Valero suffered from “ezquizofrenia.” I’d never heard of it, but he told me it was the Spanish word for schizophrenia -- a severe psychotic disorder characterized by a loss of contact with reality and disintegration of the personality. He told me Valero was diagnosed with it when he returned to Venezuela following his stay in Japan.

He told me Valero was on medication to treat the illness for a time but he took himself off of it and it wasn’t long before he was “self-medicating” with every illegal drug known to man. My friend said Valero had become increasingly paranoid and hostile around his own family. He thought his younger brother was having an affair with his wife. No kidding, Valero was off on some Jake LaMotta s__t. Rumor has it Valero and his younger brother, Luis, got into a fight over this allegation before the Antonio DeMarco fight and I was told that Luis knocked Edwin out.

By the way, Luis, who is 19 and has had some amateur fights, is planning to turn pro. He’s a 130 pounder and I’ve been told he’s got Edwin’s power with the moves of Jorge Linares. His nickname is “El Poder,” The Power.

Let’s hope he has the power of self-control or the willingness to get help if he ever needs it. That was Valero’s downfall.

There is continued talk that Olympic Gold medal winner Audley Harrison will become the fighter to meet WBA heavyweight champion David Haye in either October or November. Both Klitschko brothers want to fight Haye, but the British fighter may elect to meet his countryman instead.

Former champion Barry Mcguigan was quoted by Golzka as stating that he believes Harrison has a chance to beat Haye. The public is giving Harrison the status of a "big underdog" in a Haye fight. Mcguigan gives Harrison a chance to win if he lands his big punch on Haye's questionable chin. The former champ is not sure if Harrison has the courage to go punch for punch with Haye.

"Harrison, who has vacated the European heavyweight title, is trying to fill the void created by the failure of the Klitschko brothers to strike a deal with David Haye. You can't say he hasn't got a chance. On the strength of the punch that knocked out Sprott, he has a chance against any. The question is does he have the courage to stand in punching range? Only he can provide that proof," Mcguigan said.

"It would be marvellous were he to pull it off. Every Olympic champ wants a shot at the world title. It seems the natural progression. The difference with Harrison is that he thought he could rewrite the rule book."

Let's go Team Harrison!!!

The new WBA junior middleweight champion Miguel Cotto is open to a future rematch with Mexican rival Antonio Margarito. The tough Mexican handed Cotto his first career loss in 2008 with a TKO in eleven rounds.

Quotes by Golzka, Cotto said he was open to fighting Margarito again if the Mexican's license issue is corrected. Margarito's license to box was taken away in February 2009 by the boxing commission in the state of California. Margarito was found guilty of loading his gloves before a scheduled fight with Shane Mosley in January 2009.

The battle between Cotto and Margarito took place at welterweight. At the present both rivals are fighting at 154-pounds. Margarito would have to reclaim his license to box in the United States for a Cotto rematch to happen.

"If he settles the issue with his suspension and the money is right, it's possible," Cotto said.

Sweeeeet 8)

Retired super middleweight king Joe Calzaghe will review the urge to make a ring return if the right offer comes along. A rematch with Bernard Hopkins is not the kind of offer to make Calzaghe return to the ring. Calzaghe retired not long after beating Roy Jones in November 2008.

Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer had recently spoken with Calzaghe regarding a comeback and tried to put together a rematch with Hopkins. The Welsh fighter passed on the comeback chance. Hopkins claims he was robbed in his close decision loss to Calzaghe in early 2008. The claims by Hopkins don't matter because Calzaghe doesn't see anything worthy in a Hopkins rematch to tempt a ring return.

“I am retired, simple as that,” Calzaghe said to Wales Online. “There has been a lot of speculation about me coming back, but when I said I was retiring I meant it. I am happy retired. I would be a fool to come back now. I am 38 and I am enjoying my time with my family, my kids. That’s it definitely.”

“[Hopkins is] a 45-year-old man who just doesn’t bring anything to the table, so he can keep on as much as he likes. I suppose he’s going to do that because he lost. Boxing has given me a great life and I am grateful for that, but I do not miss it. I miss beating people up and getting paid for it though. There are people I’d like to beat up now but I can’t!”

Inbred cokehead

Just hours before the Boston Celtics tied the NBA Finals series when they defeated the Los Angeles Lakers yesterday, Oscar De La Hoya revealed that negotiations for a mega-fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao are close to being finalized. Speaking to Spanish sport show República Deportiva via satellite in front of the STAPLES Centers, De La Hoya briefly talked about the current status of negotiations and, with a grin on his face, hinted that the two sides were extremely close to making the biggest fight in boxing a reality. "These negotiations have been real difficult for various reasons, but we're really close to finalizing the contracts, even though they've been complicated," he commented.

Of course, De La Hoya's comments were cryptic at best, reminding the viewing audience that he wasn't at liberty to talk about negotiations, however, on several occassions, he did stress that they were close to making the mega-bout a done deal. "But I think that both fighters realize that this fight has to happen because the fans want this fight and today it is biggest fight in boxing right now. It's a huge fight and I think that we're really, really close to finalizing the negotiations for the contract," De La Hoya added. "Today, I can't really talk about the negotations, but we're really close."

It should be noted, however, that when it comes to this particular bout, De La Hoya actually has very little to do with the negotiations. Although he likely has second-hand knowledge of the proceedings, it's actually Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer and Top Rank President Todd duBoef who have been doing the majority of the talking, albeit their strings are likely being pulled behind the scenes by Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum and Mayweather adviser Al Haymon. Whether or not the two sides actually are close to coming to terms remains to be seen, however, those that are looking for a positive sign can take De La Hoya's comments for what they're worth.

Won't believe it until I see Manny laid out on the canvas or Roach pulling him out

I've got a hustler flow

For $50 mil [million]

I will drink Manny Pacquiao's blood

And watch my muscles grow

You bitch!

Royce Da 5'9>>>>>Balquiao

A typical boxing press conference today at Scottrade Center in St. Louis suddenly turned raucous after undefeated unified 140-pound world champion Devon Alexander’s trainer Kevin Cunningham told former WBA junior welterweight champion Andriy Kotelnik, a Ukrainian making his first visit to America, “That’s a long way to come for an ass whuppin.’ Kotelnik responded “There will be an ass kicking, but St. Louis will be surprised who will be doing it.”

Alexander (20-0, 13 KOs), from St. Louis, will put his WBC and IBF crowns on the line against Kotelnik (31-3-1, 13 KOs) in an Aug. 7 world championship doubleheader that will also feature undefeated IBF light heavyweight champion Tavoris “Thunder” Cloud (20-0, 18 KOs), from Tallahassee, Fla., taking on former IBF world champion Glen Johnson, from Jamaica now fighting out of Miami.

Kotelnik did not take kindly to Cunningham’s comments on behalf of Alexander.

“They say it’s a long way to come for an ass kicking, but I have a question for Devon Alexander after his people have made all these boasts,” Kotelnik said. “Will Devon come back and fight me in a rematch in the Ukraine after I kick his ass?

Cunningham had more for Kotelnik.

“I never make predictions, and I wasn’t going to tell the public this, but I just told my team last week that Devon’s going to knock out Kotelnik in two rounds. We’re kicking his ass.”

Alexander was more reserved in his comments.

“Kotelnik is a good, solid fighter. But I’m a better fighter. His time has come and gone. He was a champion but he’s not anymore, and he’s certainly not going to be champion after this fight.

Cunningham, before he made his bolder comments, spoke of how proud he is of Alexander.

“Devon is the perfect example of what you can do with hard work and dedication,” Cunningham said. “He was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He wasn’t even the best fighter in my gym, but look at him now. Look at what hard work and remembering to rise above your circumstances can do.”

Promoter Don King was his normal effusive self.

“So you know, what we have is here is like when Dorothy clicked her heels in the Wizard of Oz, like when Marvin Gayle said, ‘Something’s Goin’ On,’ we’ve got something big going on in St. Louis on Aug. 7,” King said. “Two world championships already, and I’m not done building the card yet.”

Light heavyweight world champion Cloud said his fight with Johnson will be a good one.

“Glen comes right at you and nobody will be running in this fight,” Cloud said. “That’s not my style. Glen is a good fighter and so am I. St. Louis will get more than their money’s worth come Aug. 7.”

Johnson’s thoughts were much the same as Cloud’s in summing up their fight.

“I see a lot of similarity in my style and Tavoris Cloud’s style,” Johnson said. “He likes to come forward and so do I. We’re both going into the kitchen to do some cooking, and St. Louis will get the meal.”

Tickets priced at $17.50, $35, $70, $150 and $300 went on sale this morning at Scottrade Center Box Office, all Ticketmaster Ticket Centers, by phone at 1-800-745-3000, or online at ticketmaster.com. A per ticket facility fee will be added to all tickets purchased at all locations, including at the Scottrade Center Box Office. Additional Ticketmaster service charges and handling fees apply. For disabled seating, call 314-622-5420. The event is being promoted by Don King Productions, and doors will open at 5:30 p.m. followed by a full undercard. The above-mentioned world championships will be televised live on HBO’s Boxing After Dark beginning at 10 p.m. ET/PT (9 p.m. CT). Cloud vs. Johnson is presented in association with DiBella Entertainment and Warriors Boxing Promotions.

I love Devon Alexander, IMO he's a great fighter & the top guy at 140 these days. Lots more potential there as well

Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer confirmed BoxingScene.com's story from Thursday - that Amir Khan's scheduled return on July 31 has been put off until December. Schaefer told Ron Lewis of the Times Online that a meeting was held with Sky TV and a July date was not the best direction.

“After the World Cup and during the holidays is not a good time to do pay-per-view,” Schaefer said. “Given the success of the Malignaggi fight, which got great viewing figures in America, it might not be the best thing to have a poor pay-per-view. Better to wait.”

There are three options that include Juan Manuel Marquez [if he beats Juan Diaz next month], Marcos Maidana and Joel Casamayor. Khan and his trainer Freddie Roach are pressing to land Maidana, but Schaefer says a fight against Marquez would be a bigger fight for the British star.

“Amir and Freddie Roach tell me they want Maidana, but I think Márquez, if he beats Juan Diaz in their rematch will be bigger,” Schaefer said. “That fight could be in England or the US.”

Do you think it's Khan himself or the people around him who would keep him away from threats?

Audley got that A-Force Meth.

Khan's July fight is off

Not allowed to take PED's during Ramadan then?

Wonder if he'd agree to testing for a Floyd fight....or would the Dope Coach shit himself at the thought again? 8)

I have the strangest sensation in my neck, feels like someone is breathing down it.

Freaking out a bit.