Pacquiao Thinks About Valero, Chavez Jr. and Cotto!

At a few days removed from his next bout against Ricky Hatton of England, the four times world champion Manny Pacquiao looks just about ready for his big test from what could be seen this last Wednesday when the “Pacman” opened his camp to the assembled media according to the Venezuelan web portal meridiano.com

Pacquiao (48-3-2, 36KO) will face off against Hatton (45-1, 32KO) on Saturday May 2nd at the MGM Grand in the mecca of boxing, Las Vegas, NV, and it will be broadcast by PPV presented by Top Rank in association with Golden Boy Promotions.

“We have had a great training camp. I know that I have gotten prepared to the best of my abilities for this fight since we know that Hatton is a strong fighter,” Pacquaio said who is coming off his destruction of Oscar De La Hoya last December.

In 2008 Pacquiao collected both teh WBC 130 lbs. and 135 lbs. titles and finished off his year with a mega fight against the “Golden Boy’ at 147 lbs.

For his efforts Pacquaio was selected as the fighter of the year by the associated writers of the United States for his three sensational wins over Juan Manuel Marquez, David Diaz and De La Hoya and is looking forward to starting 2009 on the right foot.

He has been training for nearly two months in Hollywood under the tutelage of Freddie Roach and looks quick, strong and confident for his bout with Hatton.

“It is important to be focused in my work and do the right thing in the gym. We know that they key to victory is preparation and that is why we have worked so hard for this fight,” Pacquiao stated who has sparred with Urbano Antillon and Mike Alvarado among others.

Without wanting to talk about future opponents to much, Pacquiao mentioned that there is some names that he is interested in after his fight with Hatton.

“First it is Hatton and I am focused on him but obviously there is other fighters I am interested in facing like Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., Edwin Valero and Miguel Cotto without forgetting about a third fight with Marquez or a fight against Shane Mosley but I want to say again that at this time, I only thinking about Hatton,” Pacquiao said.

Concerning the retirement of Oscar De La Hoya announced this week, Pacquiao shared “he had a great career and he did a lot for the sport of boxing.”

Story taken from myboxingfans.com

Klitschko predicts Haye knockout

Wladimir Klitschko has vowed to knock Wladimir Klitschko out in the 12th round in their heavyweight clash in Gelsenkirchen on 20 June.

Klitschko is defending his IBF and WBO titles at Schalke 04's Veltins Arena, a bout Haye has called "the biggest heavyweight fight of all time".

"I understand he is a young and insolent man," Klitschko said at a news conference in Germany on Thursday.

"My advice would be to control his emotions and save them for the ring."

Haye, 28, a former undisputed cruiserweight world champion, has only fought as a heavyweight twice before.

But he promised to take boxing "to a whole new stratosphere" in beating Klitschko and that the fight would presage "the beginning of a legend".

"I have declared war on the Klitschko family," said Londoner Haye, who has 22 wins and 21 knockouts from 23 fights.

"First on Wladimir and then [WBC heavyweight champion and Wladimir's elder brother] Vitali. On 20 June the war will begin.

"I am in my prime, my resume speaks for itself and I am not coming here to pick up a pay cheque like the rest of his opponents."

Ukrainian Klitschko, who has 52 wins and three losses, with 46 knockouts, simply replied: "I will give him a lesson."

The fight will be the 33-year-old Klitschko's seventh defence of his IBF title which he won against Chris Byrd in April 2006.

He beat Russia's Sultan Ibragimov in February 2008 to add the WBO crown and his last fight was a seventh-round stoppage of former world champion Hasim Rahman last December.

Haye's only defeat came against fellow Briton Carl Thompson in 2004, when he was stopped in the fifth round.

But he beat Frenchman Jean Marc Mormeck in Paris to claim the undisputed cruiserweight crown in 2007, before destroying Welshman Enzo Maccarinelli last March.

Earlier this month he said he had taken the fight to "save boxing".

"I'm doing this for Jack Dempsey, Rocky Marciano, Joe Louis, Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier and all the other great, smaller heavyweights of the past," he added.

"I feel as though I've been sent by all the great heavyweights of yesteryear to clean up and save the heavyweight division."

Story taken from news.bbc.co.uk

Froch Ready To Deliver

WBC super-middleweight champion Carl Froch believes he will be too big and strong For American Jermain Taylor when the pair meet for Froch’s title at the MGM Grand in Foxwoods, Connecticut on April 25.

Taylor made it clear earlier this week that the undefeated Englishman will be way out of his depth come April 25 but Froch insists Taylor is the one that will be in for a shock come fight night.

"Clearly his best days were at 160 lbs,” said Froch. “But on April 25th we’re going to see what he has left. For his sake it had better be more than what we’ve seen out of him lately.

"The reality is that I’m too big and strong for him."

Taylor, insists he is in the best shape of his life and will be too slick and experienced in his first high profile fight. Understandably, Froch completely disagrees.

"I guess he has to say stuff like that to get him in a good frame of mind” said Froch. “That’s fine. On April 25 he’ll see how misguided he is .

"I love it when people think I’m not that great on tape. They think I’m slow and awkward. They find out about me in a hurry once they step in to the ring with me."
April 15, 2009

Story taken from secondsout.com

Boxer Oscar De La Hoya Retires

De La Hoya retires from ring!

Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - Former boxing champion Oscar De La Hoya announced his retirement on Tuesday.

The 36-year-old "Golden Boy" last appeared in the ring against Manny Pacquiao on December 6, but was battered in an eight-round lopsided loss. De La Hoya suffered a bruised left eye in the eighth and his corner decided to not let him continue.

De La Hoya, a 10-time champion in six different weight classes, ends his brilliant career with a 39-6-0 record with 30 of the wins coming by knockout. He won titles in the super featherweight, lightweight, light welterweight, welterweight, light middleweight and middleweight divisions.

"These last four months have been difficult for me and today I'm announcing my retirement," De La Hoya said. "It's over for me. My career inside the ring is over."

The native of Los Angeles and chief executive in Golden Boy Promotions returned to the ring on May 6, 2006 after a 20-month layoff and captured the last of his titles with a sixth-round TKO of Ricardo Mayorga for the WBC light middleweight crown.

A year later he battled Floyd Mayweather Jr. for 12 rounds before losing on a split decision. A May 2008 win over Steve Forbes preceded his final bout against Pacquiao.

"Every time I stepped inside the ring, I gave it my best," De La Hoya added. "I'm looking forward to continuing to be the best outside the ring. That is just as important as everything I've accomplished inside the ring."

Among his many accomplishments, De La Hoya claimed the only U.S. gold medal in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics after beating Marco Rudolph by a 7-2 decision.

De La Hoya turned professional on November 23, 1992 and earned a first round knockout of Lamar Williams. He quickly moved up the ranks and won the WBO super featherweight title after taking down Jimmi Bredahl in 10 rounds on March 5, 1994.

Following a single title defense, De La Hoya went up to the lightweight division and knocked out Jorge Paez in two rounds in July of 1994 to take the WBO belt at 135 pounds.

He jumped to the 140 pound division in 1996 and beat Julio Cesar Chavez for the WBC light welterweight title, then to 147 pounds and garnered the WBC welterweight crown from Pernell Whitaker. He had seven successful title defenses before bowing to Felix Trinidad in a 12-round controversial setback in September 1999.

The former champion was stopped by Shane Mosley in June 2000 as De La Hoya attempted to reclaim his title. However, he would become a light middleweight and knocked out Fernando Vargas on September 14, 2002 for the WBC crown. His reign lasted just two fights, as Mosley captured a unanimous decision in September 2003.

In June 2004, De La Hoya claimed the WBO middleweight title with a unanimous decision over Felix Sturm, then lost to Bernard Hopkins three months later in a bout for the undisputed middleweight crown. The ninth-round KO kept De La Hoya sidelined for nearly two years before his comeback against Mayorga.

De La Hoya, regarded as one of the best pound-for-pound boxers, is expected to relocate to Pasadena, California, along with wife Millie and his two children. He was previously residing in Puerto Rico.

Story taken from sportsnetwork.com

Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Erik Morales

Current WBA/WBO lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez more than likely will face three divisional champion Erik “Terrible” Morales of Tijuana, MX, in the fall according to Esto.com.mx.

Marquez’s manager Nacho Beristain felt compelled to squash the rumors coming out of Venezuela that said newly crowned WBC lightweight champion Edwin Valero was the next opponent for Marquez. Beristain stated that Marquez would reappear in September and that his next opponent will be Morales.

Beristain explained that Marquez is not interested in Valero since the Venezuelan is not in the plans of his promoter, Golden Boy Promotions.

According to Beristain, Juan Manuel is ready to face Floyd Mayweather Jr. but the negotiations for that bout have hit a stalemate because Mayweather was asking for Marquez to go up to welterweight which would be impossible for the Mexico City fighter. Juan Manuel was willing to go up to the junior welterweight limit of 140 lbs. but not more.

Since both parties can not come to terms, Marquez’s promoter Oscar De La Hoya has another option: to face Erik Morales, one of the biggest ticket sellers in recent years.

Story taken from myboxingfans.com

Sauerland Events wins WBA Heavyweight Purse Bid !!

It has just taken place the Purse Bid process for the WBA Heavyweight Championship CHAGAEV vs VALUEV II

At 18:00 h. CET at the European Boxing Association - EBA office in Vitoria, Spain, were presented the representatives from the WBA bonafide promoters: Universum Box-Promotions (Mr. Stefan Braune) and Sauerland Events (Mr. Hagen Doering). The biddings from both promoters were:

UNIVERSUM BOX-PROMOTIONS: 2.164.660 USD

SAUERLAND EVENTS: 2.814.414 USD

The 3 possible dates and places from the winning offer are:

1st: Helsinki, Finland - May 30th 2009
2nd: Nürnberg, Germany - May 30th 2009
3rd: Halle-Westfalen, Germany - May 30th 2009

Cotto Might Lose WBO Belt!

The Puerto Rican fighter Miguel Cotto and his uncle Evangelista Cotto could be suspended by the Puerto Rican Boxing Commission as well as the WBO which Miguel holds the welterweight title of this according to Esto.com.mx.

These decisions will be rendered as soon as the public and the aforementioned organizations are informed of the consequences that both parties must adhere to for the altercation between them last Wednesday afternoon.

After Cotto and his uncle present their case Monday morning at the superior court of Caguas, their hometown, Dommys Delgado Berty, President of the CBPUR (Puerto Rican Boxing Commission) will decide what the apt punishment if any would be for the actions of the Cottos.

“Independently of whether one or both are going to be held responsible by the authorities, we see their actions as not consistent with the image we would like our sport to portray so they must be sanctioned or at least warned. I will not make that decision by myself but with the other eight members of the commission when we meet next week,” Delgado Berty assured.

She explained that both could lose their license for a determined period of time, from six months to a year or monetarily fined.

The President of the WBO, Francisco “Paquito” Valcarcel stated to the press that if one or both of the accused of aggravated battery or property damage, they could very well be suspended by the organization and Miguel Cotto could lose his title.

“When a professional fighter is accused of a crime, if the crime is proven or he is sentenced then the boxing commission will suspend the license and the professional organizations must decide how to deal with the situation which could lead up to the ending of the career of the accused,” Valcarcel stated. “If both parties agreed not to press charges, then the career of Cotto would not be affected.”

Story taken from myboxingfans.com

Paul Williams batters Winky Wright for unanimous decision

LAS VEGAS - If Paul Williams thought the world’s top boxers were scared of him before, just wait until they see the holes he punched in Winky Wright’s once-impenetrable defence.

Williams worked Wright like a heavy bag with dozens of relentless blows on the way to an emphatic victory by unanimous decision Saturday night in a meeting of two much-avoided middleweights.

Williams (37-1, 27 KOs) pounded at Wright’s famed defensive posture from the opening bell at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, relentlessly breaking down the former champion in Wright’s return from a 21-month ring absence.

With so many punches to block, Wright (51-5-1) simply didn’t have time to land enough scoring blows against his taller, longer opponent. Williams barely appeared tired by the closing bell, chasing Wright around the ring up to the final seconds.

"I felt like I did in the first round in the 12th," Williams said. "That was because of my hard training, and running seven miles a day. It helped my breathing. ... I expected Winky to throw big shots, and he did. We went 12 hard rounds. I anticipated that it was going to be a tough fight. I would have loved to knock him out."

Judges Jerry Roth and Robert Hoyle favoured Williams 119-109, while Adalaide Byrd gave every round to Williams, 120-108. The Associated Press had Williams winning 118-111.

Williams threw an astonishing 1,086 punches, connecting with 23 per cent, while Wright managed just 511. Nearly two-thirds of Williams’ punches were power shots, gradually taking an inexorable toll on Wright.

In his first fight since losing a decision to Bernard Hopkins in the same ring in July 2007, Wright still had strong defences - but they weren’t enough. For every counterpunching shot landed by Wright, Williams constantly replied with elaborate combinations, forcing Wright to retreat again.

Wright’s left eye swelled nearly shut by the 11th round, making his corner’s pleas for a knockout pretty much pointless.

"I just couldn’t get my punches off," Wright said. "He was very tall and awkward with really long arms. He would throw a lot of punches, and they were coming from all different directions, and I didn’t know how to dodge them. I had a long layoff, but I felt this was a great fight."

Wright hadn’t been in the ring since his disappointing 170-pound loss to Hopkins, whose technical wizardry was more than Wright could handle. While Wright spent the next year welcoming his son’s birth and hitting the casinos on fight nights, he didn’t seem particularly eager to fight again - an opinion underscored by rumours he had rejected several possible bouts on financial terms.

Wright insists he never considered quitting, but couldn’t get a significant fight from Kelly Pavlik, Jermain Taylor or the other big names around his weight. He finally agreed to take on Williams in an HBO fight that should pay both men more than US$1 million.

Williams hasn’t had the luxury of being so choosy. His six-foot-one frame - which appears much rangier in the ring - and an almost freakish ability to slide among weight classes without losing power make him an unpleasant matchup for welterweights, middleweights or anybody in between, leaving him relegated to second-tier showcases and undercard fights until Wright accepted this bout.

Williams has lost just once, in a decision to Carlos Quintana in February 2008, and he avenged it with a first-round knockout of Quintana four months later.

Since both fighters are used to rejection, they had a healthy mutual respect for accepting the bout. They embraced at Friday’s weigh-in, both spoke reverently of each other afterward.

Story taken from chroniclejournal.com

Pascal helping Froch prepare

Carl Froch has enlisted the help of former foe Jean Pascal to put the finishing touches on his training for his first WBC super-middleweight title defence.

Nottingham's unbeaten champion is training in Niagara Falls, Canada, ahead of his clash with the world's leading contender Jermain Taylor on April 25.

Froch beat Pascal for the belt in December and 'The Cobra' has confirmed he is stepping back into the ring with the Canadian in sparring.

"Pascal is like me, an old-fashioned warrior, and that's why he's helping me prepare for such a big occasion," Froch told the Mirror.

"I told myself a long time ago that I would be a real champion and fight the very best even if that meant travelling to their backyard.

"Taylor is ranked by some people higher than me, even though I have the belt and that is the type of motivation that I need."

Story taken from skysports.com

Froch-Taylor suffers TV blackout

By Nabil Hassan

Carl Froch has suffered a television blackout, with his world title clash against Jermain Taylor failing to secure a deal with a UK broadcaster.

Froch defends his WBC super-middleweight title against American Taylor in Connecticut on 25 April.

The contest in Mashantucket will be shown live by US broadcaster Showtime.

But Froch's promotion team Hennessy Sports confirmed on Saturday that his fight with Taylor will now only be available online and not on UK TV.

Froch's promoter Mick Hennessy had been in talks with both ITV and Setanta Sports but after weeks of negotiations a deal failed to materialise, with the credit crunch and recession being blamed.

Unbeaten Nottingham fighter Froch told BBC Sport in March that he found it "laughable" that Britain's only world champion had not been able to secure broadcasting rights for the first defence of the title he won by beating Jean Pascal in December.

At the time he was still hopeful a TV deal would be struck but now fans must watch the fight online, with Hennessy Sports eager to prevent a total blackout.

The news is especially surprising when you consider that Taylor, 30, is a marquee name of the sport and a former undisputed middleweight world champion.

"Big industries, small industries are suffering and sport is no different," Froch told BBC Sport.

"The last time there was a recession was the 1930s so it's frustrating that I've become world champion at this time."

Froch, who is unbeaten in 24 fights with 19 knockouts, defeated Canadian Pascal on points in a bruising and thrilling encounter at the Nottingham Arena.

The fight was considered a British boxing classic at the time and Froch had hoped that having finally become a world champion, he would gain the recognition he felt he deserved.

But despite not being able to secure a deal with a UK broadcaster, he is confident future paydays will follow.

"I'm not in the sport for the money, I'm in it because I love it," he said.

"It's frustrating to not get the publicity and the coverage that we want. We'll be out of this hole soon and I'm confident I'll be world champion for a few years and will benefit as a later date."

Froch's bout against Taylor will be broadcast live by BBC Radio 5 Live.

Story taken from news.bbc.co.uk

Jones vs. Adamek is What Roy Wants, Lacy is Secondary

By Lyle Fitzsimmons

TAMPA, Fla. – It was hard to tell what Roy Jones Jr. was really thinking.

The 40-year-old former multi-division world champion was at the University of South Florida’s Sun Dome on Saturday night, joining a host of Sunshine State boxers to take in St. Petersburg native Jeff Lacy’s first hometown bout in more than two years.

Presumably, Jones made the 460-or-so mile trip from the northern Gulf Coast to at least sniff out the possibility of answering Lacy’s recent statements indicating he’d like to meet the still-active Pensacola product in an all-Florida bout later this year.

Jones stopped Omar Sheika, a former Lacy foe, in five rounds last month at the Pensacola Civic Center.

And following a much-closer-than-it-was-supposed-to-be majority decision over former reality TV participant Otis Griffin in a 10-round light heavyweight match, Lacy took the in-ring microphone and took his case directly to Jones, seated at ringside.

“I want to thank all the fans for coming out tonight, and I’m hoping that there’s a chance for another big fight in Tampa real soon,” Lacy said, building toward his crescendo. “As you all know, we have Roy Jones Jr. here in attendance tonight, and if he’s not done yet, I’d love to challenge him to a fight here in the Tampa area.

“Any time, but it has to be here in Tampa.”

Amid enthusiastic cheers from the estimated 2,000 in attendance, Jones predictably reacted with a thumbs-up to the invitation. But when asked directly in a one-on-one interview before the fight, his enthusiasm for the idea was something less than explosive.

“Jeff’s been talking about wanting to fight me, so it made sense for me to come down and take a look and see what’s happening,” said Jones, who climbed into the ring with Floridians Andre Berto, Edner Cherry and Nate Campbell for between-fight introductions, then spent the duration of Lacy’s bout watching from a VIP row adjacent to Griffin’s corner.

“He’s not really an opponent who was necessarily on my road map, but people don’t always work off the same road maps. It’d be a wonderful fight for Florida. But I’ll say what I already have been saying. I want Tomasz Adamek. I’ll fight Clinton Woods. And if those fights don’t get done, then sure, I’d fight Jeff.”

Adamek, a former belt-holder at light heavyweight, is now the IBF champion at cruiserweight. And Woods – whom Jones TKO’d in six rounds in 2002 – lost to Antonio Tarver in an IBO/IBF unification bout at light heavyweight in Tampa last April.

Before that bout, Jones said, “Right now, the only one who isn't losing at the top level is Woods, but that will change if we meet next up. I gave it to him in 2002 and I would do it again, only this time I would stop him even earlier.”

As for often-rumored rematch target Bernard Hopkins, whom Jones defeated by unanimous decision at middleweight in 1993, Jones was succinct.

“No, he don’t want to fight me,” he said.

And as for Lacy, his audition for an audience with Jones was bumpier than planned.

Story taken from www.boxingscene.com

Cottos To Meet In Court on Monday!

Fighter Miguel Cotto and his uncle Evangelista Cotto need to show their face at the Caguas courthouse this coming Monday in regards to the scuffle that ensued between them earlier this week, this according to Puerto Rican web portal PrimeraHora.com.

The judge Elba Melendez Ortiz will study the evidence and decide whether she will file charges against the Caguas native and now his ex trainer.

Hilda Rivera, city of Caguas Public Relations Director stated to PrimeraHora.com that Miguel Cotto will file a complaint against his uncle for property damage for throwing a cement block thru the window of the fighter’s Jaguar. Also, Evangelista Cotto damaged furniture in the home of his nephew where the altercation ended after initiating at the Bairoa Gym around 3:15pm Wednesday afternoon.

Also after Evangelista Cotto visited the hospital for a lesion to his nose a complaint has been filed against Miguel Cotto for aggravated assault although Evangelista has not shown interest in actually pursuing any legal action against his ex fighter. Rivera mentioned that is up to the city’s attorney to decide if charges are going to be pursued after Miguel Cotto.

“The investigating officer has the obligation to consult with the court even though the participants have no interest in pressing charges. The court system will be the one to decide if charges are going to be filed or not,” Rivera expressed via telephone.

According to Rivera, the judge might render a statement saying that both parties intend not to proceed or the judge might file charges against one or both even if the actual participants decide not to file.

Evangelista Cotto suffered an abrasion to his nose while Miguel also suffered a cut to his nose.

Story taken from MyBoxingFans.com