World Boxing News 2010-2013

Former world champ bows out after almost eleven years After coming into the professional game at the age of 28, Nathaniel “Nate” Campbell accomplished what most boxers who spend a lifetime in the sport, dream of doing, unifying the world title. Despite his late blooming, Campbell quickly found his feet in the boxing ranks and racked up 23 straight victories, capturing NABA and NABF Super-Featherweight Titles along the way before suffering his first defeat at the hands of the talented Joel Casamayor. His career seemed to stutter after his first defeat, as he lost twice to Robbie Peden in an eleven month period, the second being his first shot at a world title as he lost an IBF via eighth round TKO. With periods on inactivity mixed with stand-out performances against Almazbek Raiymkulov and Wilson Alcorro over the next three years, he was handed what many people believed was an impossible task of dethroning Juan “Baby Bull” Diaz in his second world title attempt. Campbell turned...

Illness could scupper Uzbeki fighter’s chances The World Boxing Association has placed a mandatory challenge on record for heavyweight champion David Haye, which the “Hayemaker” must follow through by April 3rd. Haye, 30, must defend against number one contender Ruslan Chagaev before the given date, or he may be stripped of his title as he tries to negotiate with the Klitschko brothers for a unification bout in the spring. Chagaev came through his WBA Title eliminator against American Travis “Freight Train” Walker last week and now hopes to get the Haye fight made even though he has been advised not to fight in his current condition. The 32 year-old was diagnosed with Hepatitis B in 2009 but has fought three times since, as it seems his level of the disease is currently low and there is no risk of him passing it on during a fight. David Haye has made no secret of his desire to unify the heavyweight division, with a fight with Wladimir Klitschko being his preferred choice, as h...

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor Ghanaian brought in for Liverpool show When the news broke earlier today that Michael Clark would not be taking on Kell Brook on December 11th at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, it came as no surprise to World Boxing News as the fight was almost dead in the water before it was announced. The bout was originally announced on November 4th with the American not even having received a contract for the fight, let alone signed one and his court injunction for non-payment of child support had always stopped the 37 year-old from travelling anyway. Now Britain’s top welterweight will take on the boiled-down African Philip Kotey, who has an unimpressive record of 21 wins 5 defeats and 2 draws and has never been anywhere near Kell Brook’s league, so shouldn’t cause the Yorkshireman any problems whatsoever. Kotey, 28, has never even won his national title as he was defeated by Laatekwei Hammond on points in 2005, a man who was blown out by Junior Witter in tw...

Phil D. Jay WBN Editor Mexican eyes third encounter with Pacquiao Juan Manuel Marquez picked himself off the canvas to stop brave Australian challenger Michael Katsidis and successfully defend his WBO and WBA lightweight titles at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Marquez, 37, laid siege to “The Great” in the ninth round, raining down unanswered blows until referee Kenny Bayless had no other option but to call a halt to proceedings and save Katsidis from further punishment. Katsidis had started well in the opening rounds and caught the unified champion with a sweet left hand to put him on the floor in the third round, but Marquez showed all his class and experience to get up and finish the round the stronger of the two. “Dinamita” recorded his 52nd victory in his 58th outing (38th KO) and now hopes to lure Filipino legend Manny Pacquaio into the ring for what would be their third fight after a draw in 2004 and a close split decision win for Pacquiao four years later. W...

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor New light-middleweight champ is PPV powerhouse Manny Pacquiao’s tremendous performance against Antonio Margarito has become his third Pay-Per-View fight in the last three years to exceed one million buys - a record that only the awesome puncher of the 80's and 90’s Mike Tyson can match. Pacquiao, 31, totally out-classed the two-weight world champion Margarito in front of a capacity crowd of 41,000 at the Cowboys Stadium in Texas, picking up his eighth world title in an eighth weight division to cement his place among the greats of the sport. His 2008 retiring of Oscar De La Hoya generated 1.25million buys through HBO PPV, then in 2009, his brutal beating of Miguel Cotto sold 1.2million and the Antonio Margartio mauling netted 1.15million PPV Buys to give Pacquiao a share of the record with the now retired Tyson. According to the figures, Pacquiao’s total PPV buys is over five million in the last five years, proving what a top drawer attra...

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor Manny’s decision to fight on till 2013 means super-fight should happen After the news of WBC Light-Middleweight champion Manny Pacquaio’s confirmation that he will fight on for the next three years, it’s a distinct probability that the fight the world wants to see would almost certainly have taken place by then. Pacquaio, who turns 32 next month, pulverised Antonio Margarito earlier this month to claim the WBC 154lb title and has announced to numerous media sources in the last few hours that he will stay on in the fight game, but not after his 35th birthday in 2013. This now means that the potentially highest grossing fight of all time, still has three years to be made, news which will delight the avid boxing fan and will have the boxing media licking their lips in anticipation. With all of Floyd Mayweather's problems and the fact that Pacquiao intends to concentrate on his political career as a Filipino Congressman for the next six months, it...

Unbeaten Mexican challenges for IBO belt 20 year-old Mexican sensation Saul “Canelo” Alvarez will challenge wiley old campaigner and former IBF Light-Welterweight champion Lovemore Ndou on December 4th in Veracruz, Mexico. Alvarez turned pro at the tender age of 15 in 2005 and has racked up 34 wins since, with no losses and just one controversial draw as a 16 year-old against journeyman Jorge Juarez.  “Canelo” is on the back of his most impressive performance to date, knocking out former WBC Champion Carlos Baldomir in six rounds at the Staples Center and has also beaten the likes of Jose Miguel Cotto and Luciano Cuello in recent months. Ndou: IBO Champ With 26 knockouts on his record, Alvarez has shown devastating power and the 39 year-old South-African-born Australian Ndou will have his hands full when the pair meet in early December.  "The Black Panther" (48-11-0) almost lost his title a year ago against Britain’s Matthew Hatton, brother of ...

Heavyweight scene a step too far for aging champ With reports gathering about another possible venture into heavyweight by former undisputed light-heavyweight king Roy Jones Jr, WBN believes that a match up with the big punching Pole Tomasz Adamek is the last thing that Roy needs at this stage of his career. Jones Jr, 41, lost his last fight at 175lbs to old foe Bernard Hopkins in April, whilst his last venture up the divisions ended with a devastating first round knockout defeat at cruiserweight against Australian IBO Champion Danny Green. A further move up for Jones could be a career-ending move as Adamek himself is a former crusierweight, but has added an extra twenty pounds to his frame and I fear, it could be too much for Roy, who should really have retired after his second defeat against Antonio Tarver in 2005. With all of Roy’s achievements, being a four-weight world champion and holding numerous world titles, Roy should be able to relax and wait for his place in the boxi...

Hatton to make decision on future when license returns After a week of speculation of a comeback by the “Hitman”, Ricky Hatton has spoken about his dramatic weight-loss and the rumours about a possible return to the ring against American legend Oscar De La Hoya. Hatton, 32, according to livefight.com , has been enjoying the build up to his brother Matthew’s European welterweight title defence, spending time in the gym and sites fitness supplements as a helping hand in his slim physique. “I am not working as hard as I did when I was fighting, but it is all down to products from this company Vyomax Nutrition. I am down to 12 stone and feeling fantastic and happy,” said Hatton. Hatton also spoke about the rumours in the Daily Mail about a possible summer bout with Oscar De La Hoya, who himself has come out this week and told of his annoyance about the possibility of the two fighting. “Oscar said he was angry over the story and I don’t blame him. “I can say its absolute rubbis...

Williams pulls out over money wrangle Evander Holyfield’s December 9th WBF title defence has been called off again after opponent Sherman "The Tank" Williams asked for his purse up front and Holyfield’s promoters could not come up with the funds. The bout should have taken place on Bonfire Night originally but was put back to November 12th before being moved again to December 9th, which prompted Williams’ manager Si Stern to ask for a purse advance. “I asked for Sherman’s purse to be advanced because of all the postponements but that never happened,” Stern told boxnews.com.ua. “I was told last week that the promoters again couldn’t come up with the necessary funds and that there would be no fight. All the while tickets were being sold in Detroit and advertisements were out for the new Dec 9th date.” The bout now looks dead in the water and with Holyfield turning 48 in October, time is not on “The Real Deal’s” side as he looks to claim a version of the world title in...

Offer on the table for Ricky to consider comeback Jeff Powell of the Daily Mail has reported that Robert Diaz, executive of Golden Boy Promotions, has offered Ricky Hatton a dream fight with one of heroes on home soil which could prove too good to turn down for the “Hitman”. Ten-time world champion Oscar De La Hoya is willing to travel over to England to potentially sell-out Hatton’s beloved City of Manchester stadium, an offer Ricky would very hard to resist and re-applying for his boxers license could be in the very near future. Its been well documented in the press why Hatton lost his license. The two-weight world champion has just started to get back to the gym, losing almost two stone in the last four weeks and could set aside a summer date at the stadium to make his dream fight with De La Hoya. De La Hoya announced his retirement in April 2009 after his loss to the number one fighter on the planet Manny Pacquiao and may feel he can retire with a victory in what w...

Phil D. Jay WBN Editor Filipino legend picks up another title Manny Pacquiao picked up his eighth boxing title in an eighth different weight-class by easily out-pointing Mexican former three-time world champion Antonio Margarito at the Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, Texas. The “Pacman” took immediate control from the first bell and won almost every round on the judges scorecards as the “Tornado” wilted under the pressure of Pacquiao’s speed and pressure combinations. Pacquiao’s relentless come forward style was all too much for Margarito, opening up a cut on his cheek and gradually closing his right eye to the point that Pacquiao asked the referee to step in and stop the fight in the eleventh round. Margarito did catch the eight-time champion with a superb body shot in the sixth, dipping the legs of Pacquiao, but the Filipino came back with yet another combination to make it to the end of the round. Margarito made it to the last bell, but the judges scorecards...

                              HAYE       HARRISON ---------------------------------------------------------- Round 1                                  10                          9 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Round 2                                  10             ...

David Haye bt Audley Harrison  ( TKO ) 3rd Round ( WBA Heavyweight Title ) George Groves bt Kenny Anderson  ( TKO ) 6th Round ( Commonwealth Super-Middleweight Title ) Stuart Hall bt Gary Davies  ( TKO ) 7th Round ( British Bantamweight Title )

Fighting for the first time at home in two years, IBO Middleweight Champion “The Pride of Providence” Peter Manfredo Jr. displayed a strong body-punching attack en route to a win by 6-round technical knockout against Colombian power-puncher Jhon Berrio in the non-title, main event on tonight’s “Homecoming King” card at Twin River Event Center in Lincoln, RI. Manfredo (36-6, 20 KOs), rated No. 11 by the IBF, Berrio (15-8, 11 KOs) pounded Berrio’s ribs until the Colombian was unable to answer the bell for the seventh round. “It was an ugly fight,” Manfredo said. “I got in some rounds. He was strong and wild. I didn’t want to get cut. I hit him with short shots to the body until I broke his ribs.” In an intra-state battle between friends, Woonsocket’s Joe Gardner won a unanimous 6-round decision versus Keith Kozlin in a spirited contest for the EBA New England Light Heavyweight Championship. Heavyweight Mariusz “The Polish Giant” Wach won his 23rd fight without a loss when the 6-7, ...

Hitman loses two stone as he starts training Former two-weight world champion Ricky Hatton maybe about to sensationally return to fighting after his father confirmed that “The Hitman” is back in training and has lost two stone in the process. After his much-publicised troubles, Hatton, 32, has been training in his own private gym and father Ray has revealed that Ricky is getting back to his own self and enjoying training again. “He's fine at the moment, he's working out at his own gym at home, his coming in to the gym here and working out with the other boxers here,” Ray told Sky Sports News . “He's got a bit of a spring in his step, working back here and giving a little advice and obviously he's feeling a lot fitter.” Its well-known in boxing circles that the boxer/promoter doesn’t really train unless he has an upcoming fight and there could well be an announcement soon regarding a possible ring return. Hatton’s last fight was a two-round demolition defeat a...

WBC wont sanction bout in row over fee Timothy Bradley will now defend his WBO Light-Welterweight against Devon Alexander “The Great” on January 29th as planned, but will no longer be able to take the World Boxing Council Champion’s belt. When the fight was originally made, Alexander also held the IBF Title and the bout was touted as a winner take all unification bout, but if Bradley does come out victorious, the WBC version of the title will become vacant with Bradley number one contender. Bradley’s promoter Gary Shaw, who told Fanhouse .com, gave the reason as Bradley not agreeing to pay the WBC’s sanctioning fee, therefore the belt would not be on the line for him to gain, but Alexander will take Bradley's belt should he come out on top. Alexander, 23, was stripped of his IBF Light-Welterweight Title when he failed to sign on to defend against the IBF’s number contender Kaizer Mabuza before December 28th and with the bout set for January, there is no possibility of the de...

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor State of heavyweight boxing disappoints former champ Former three-time heavyweight champion of the world Lennox Lewis has been talking to The Daily Mail about the chances of former Olympic gold medallist making a sensational return to the ring. World-beater Lewis has become disillusioned with the fighters on the heavyweight scene in recent years and is finding it harder to resist to temptation to make an audacious challenge to the dominant Klitschko brothers. “Yes, it's on my mind again, I am talking myself out of it but the temptation is growing. Definitely,” said Lewis to the British newspaper. “When I see guys like Shannon and Hasim still fighting (Lewis has beaten both men) it does make me think,” he added. Lewis also believes his age should not coming into question when Evander Holyfield, who holds the lowly recognised WBF title, is 48 going on 49 and is still challenging the world heavyweight champions. “I’m only 45, I can still b...

Undefeated Polish heavyweight prospect Mariusz “Polski Olbrzym” Wach has been added to Friday night’s “Homecoming King” pro boxing card at the Twin River Event Center in Lincoln, R.I. IBO Middleweight Champion “The Pride of Providence” Peter Manfredo Jr. (35-6, 19 KOs), rated No. 11 by the IBF, headlines “Homecoming King” in a 10-round, non-title fight against Colombian power-puncher Jhon Berrio (15-7, 11 KOs). “Homecoming King” is presented by Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment & Sports, Inc (CES) in association with DiBella Entertainment and Twin River. The 6-foot-7, 260-pound Wach (22-0, 10 KOs), fighting out of Poland, was supposed to fight on last Saturday night’s show in New Jersey, but his opponent pulled out. The TWBA heavyweight champion Wach will be fighting veteran Galen “Bad Boy” Brown (33-14-1, 20 KOs) in a 6-round bout. In the 6-round co-feature, West Warwick’s (RI) Keith Kozlin (6-1, 4 KOs) takes on Woonsocket’s (RI) Joe Gardner (6-1-1, 1 KO) for the v...

18-0 prospect keeping busy in quest for title Lightweight knockout specialist Adrien “The Problem” Broner was at it again at the weekend, stopping Ilido Julio in 94 seconds at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey to record his 18th victory. Broner, who is still just 21, recorded the 15th knockout of his career. He has been ripping through his opponents, stopping his last nine and is now looking forward to getting back in the ring at the end of the month. “Well I feel great. I knew the guy was going to come to fight so I was well prepared,” Broner told WBN. “Now I have to go right back to the gym because I fight November 27th in Cincinnati (his hometown) were I will be main event, so I'm just trying to stay busy and next year I should be fighting for a world title, I know I am ready!” Broner’s opponent is yet to be named for the date in just over two weeks, but after recording his eighth first round knockout against Julio, he we be super-confident of recording yet an...

“Baby Bull” has no plans to return to the ring At 27 years old and with four defeats in his last six bouts, Juan “Baby Bull” Diaz is taking his time before deciding what direction to take with his boxing career. Amidst reported offers to fight in the UK and an American fan base clambering to see the former unified lightweight champion back in the ring, Diaz has decided to wait until at least 2011 before he makes a decision. “As of now, I haven't really decided yet. I love the sport but not sure if I want to be a part of it any more,” Juan told WBN. His last outing in the ring was a twelve round decision defeat to Juan Manuel Marquez, who defends the titles he gained off Diaz against Michael Katsidis later this month in Las Vegas. He also has other venture’s in his life, with a property development business and his studies to be lawyer but maye sometime in the future, boxing will have a part to play once again.

“A comeback is not going to happen,” says Joe Speaking to BBC Sport on the two-year anniversary of his last foray into the boxing ring against Roy Jones Jr, Joe Calzaghe he reiterated his desire to keep the boxing gloves well and truly hung up. The Welshman left the sport after 46 unbeaten contests, holding the WBO Super-Middleweight title for over ten years before unifying the division against Mikkel Kessler in November 2007 and says there is no chance of a ring return in the future. "I always made sure I was in amazing shape but that started to ebb away in the build-up for Roy Jones as I started to cut corners so I had to get out before I got beaten and lost the honour and mystique of being unbeaten. "And I was put down in my final two fights and that is a sign - I'm not invincible and wanted to be one a few fighters that quit at the top and unbeaten. "Normally fighters have to come out of retirement because they need the money but I invested well, have o...

Manny makes declaration in 60 minutes interview WBC Light-Middleweight Title contender Manny Pacquiao has announced who he thinks is the greatest professional boxer of all time in an interview on television magazine show “60 Minutes.” Seven-weight world champion Pacquiao spoke to “60 Minutes” interviewer Bob Simon and when asked who was the greatest boxer of all time, Pacquiao answered: “Including me? “ then after confirmation from Simon, he said “of course, me.” Pacquiao, 31, is only five days away from an eighth world title in an eighth different weight if he can overcome the biggest and strongest boxer he has ever faced in Antonio Margarito. Although reports suggest there will be as little as five pounds between them when they enter the ring on Saturday night in Texas. Margarito is looking for redemption after the allegations of cheating labelled on him after his defeat against Shane Mosley, when a hard substance was found in his gloves before the fight. Manny Pacquio v Anto...

Stephen with the title, brothers Liam, Callum, Paul Jr and father Paul Sr Swifty recovering well from hand injury Newly crowned Commonwealth Featherweight Champion Stephen “Swifty” Smith has been speaking to WBN this weekend about the hand injury he incurred when claiming the title from Scotland’s John Simpson. After his stunning split decision victory in September, the unbeaten Liverpudlian was immediately ruled out for six months with a broken hand he suffered during the bout and spoke to WBN editor Phil D. Jay this morning to update his situation. “I still cant make a fist yet, so not there yet but it is coming on. I cant wait to be able to punch again,” explained Smith. “I’m getting a lot more movement back in the hand and I am hoping to be back in the ring by february. Hoping to be challenging the winner of Lindsay v Simpson for the British Title or at least defending my Commonwealth Title,” he added. Stephen will no doubt be at ringside next month when older brot...

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor American says fight with Brook won’t happen British Welterweight Champion Kell Brook’s proposed opponent for his December 11th date at the Echo Arena in Liverpool has spoken exclusively to World Boxing News today and revealed he hasn’t even signed a contract for the fight. Reports have been widespread and the fight is pencilled in on Boxrec but Clark spoke to me a few minutes ago and denied that the fight would even happen. When asked for a short interview about his upcoming fight with Brook for WBN, Clark replied: “Haven’t even got a contract for the fight yet, don’t think it’s going to happen.” Clark, 37, has an impressive record of 40 victories in 47 fights and has twice challenged for a world title at lightweight before moving up to light-welterweight to claim the NABO USA Light-Welterweight title in his last bout against Jason Pires. It remains to be seen whether a contract will arrive from Frank Warren or whether Brook may look for ...

Things hotting up between light-heavyweight pair Tavoris Cloud has virtually called out the whole top ten in his division this week and it seems that one man fancies his chances against the IBF Light-Heavyweight Champion. Out of the five men Cloud called out, Nathan Cleverley, ranked number 4 by IBF, has stepped forward as the man who seemingly wants to take up the Tallahassee fighter’s offer to “beat them in their own hometown.” Cleverley, 23, fights for interim WBO Title at the Echo Arena in Liverpool on December 11th, whilst Cloud (21-0) takes on Fulgencio Zuniga just six days later and if both come through their respective title bouts, it could set up an explosive clash between the two unbeaten fighters in the New Year. Cleverley: Title chance Cleverley’s opponent on the night is Alejandro Lakatos (31-5-2), who lost a unanimous decision to Zsolt Erdei in his last WBO Title challenge and the Welshman will be confident of picking up the interim belt. Cloud 28, m...

SUNDAY 31ST OCTOBER 2010 Daniel Geale bt Roman Karmazin  ( TKO ) ( 12th Round ) (IBF Middleweight Title eliminator)                                 Leonardo Zappavigna bt Ji-Hoon Kim  ( KO ) ( 1st Round ) (IBF Lightweight Title eliminator) SATURDAY 30TH OCTOBER 2010 Sebastian Sylvester bt Mahir Oral  ( UD ) ( 117,107-117-107,119-106 ) ( IBF Middleweight Title ) Raul Garcia bt Luis De La Rosa  ( SD ) ( 114-113, 114-113, 112-115 ) (Interim WBO Minumumweight Title ) Jesus Geles bt Omar Soto  ( MD ) ( 115-113, 115-113, 114-114 ) (Interim WBO Light-Flyweight Title ) Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam bt Avtandil Khurtsidze  ( UD ) ( 117-111, 115-114, 115-114 ) (Interim WBA Middleweight Title ) Vusi Malinga bt Michael Domingo  ( MD ) ( 117-111, 115-113, 114-114 ) (IBF Bantamweight Title eli...