World Boxing News 2010-2013

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor ‘Pacman’ steadfast as BIR continue to probe WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao remains focused on his boxing as the Bureau of Internal Revenue in the Philippines continue to probe his tax payments following a huge drop in his revenue to the country. The 33 year-old, who meet Timothy Bradley on June 9 th in Las Vegas, is leaving the situation in the hands of his lawyers after the BIR urged the Filipino Congressman to sort the matter out in earnest. "I am not affected (by the tax situation).That is nothing to me (it’s in my lawyers hands)," said Pacquiao. "I have been reading the bible to gain strength and inspiration. I am still focused and I won't allow these issues to affect my concentration." The eight-time champion is in danger of losing his lucrative endorsements as the threat of prison is bandied around as is the seriousness of the matter, but Pacquiao is pulling is all his efforts into readying himsel...

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor ‘Pacman’ urged to submit tax documents Eight-time world champion Manny Pacquiao is facing stern penalties if he fails to submit his tax documents to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) in the near future according to Commissioner Kim Henares. Henares is hoping that any forcible action can be avoided and is awaiting the relevant information to see one way or another why Pacquiao dropped over 100 places in the Philippine taxpaying list in a two-year period. “Why the sudden drop?” Henares asked. “The sooner he submits, the sooner this controversy will die down. We haven’t mentioned of any liability yet, that’s why we are investigating him. “We have to see the gravity of the violation. As of now, we are not even talking or thinking of tax evasion. We are only asking him to submit the documents,” she added. Pacquiao, 33, is currently in the preliminary stages of training for his bout against Timothy Bradley on June 9 th , but will wan...

 Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor 'Pacman' want's two fights a year until he turns 35 WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao has four fights left in his career after announcing his intention to promoter Bob Arum and the boxing public some time ago.  The Filipino Congressman plans to have two fights a year until he retires at the age of 35 in 2013 and made that clear before recent reports of an impending retirement and without saying anything to the contrary since. Pacquaio, 32, fought a close fight with Juan Manuel Marquez in November following a win over Shane Mosley to complete his two bouts in 2011. He now fights Timothy Bradley in June and should also fight again in November, possibly against Marquez once more to leave him with two contests remaining going into his final year. Bob Arum outlined the Filipino's plans months before the recent scaremongering talk that continues to dominate the headlines and Pacquiao will still have four more bouts before...

An international hit who has thrilled fans everywhere from his native Canada to his ancestral home of Italy, Phil "The Italian Sensation" Lo Greco will expand his reach even further in the coming months and years, as it was announced today that the unbeaten welterweight has signed a promotional agreement with Golden Boy Promotions who will co-promote him along with his Italian co-promoter OPI 2000. "This is the greatest moment of my career so far and I promise Golden Boy Promotions that I will give them many more great moments before I'm done," said Lo Greco. "I am looking forward to fighting the best the division has to offer both here at home and around the world and my goal, just like any boxer's, is to win a world championship." "We're excited to have Phil Lo Greco on our team and we believe he has what it takes to become another Golden Boy Promotions world champion," said Oscar de la Hoya, President of Golden Boy Pr...

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor Irish title challenger working hard for Rogan Former British and Commonwealth heavyweight champion Tyson Fury is to battle his way down to 248lbs from his last fighting weight of 257lbs after admitting he still doesn’t like what he sees when he watches his fights back. The 23 year-old, who battles Martin Rogan on April 14 for the Irish heavyweight title, was tipping the scales at over 260lbs for the majority of his career until he made a significant change prior to defeating Dereck Chisora by cutting out all junk food. That brought his weight down considerably as he dropped around a stone in just over a year and with the help of a new nutritionist team, intends to shed at least another half a stone before his fights at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast next month. “I am embarrassed every time I look at myself in my last couple of fights,” Fury told The Express. “Now that fat kid is gone, everyone will see the huge difference that has take...

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor Former champ leaves Detroit Experienced campaigner Steve ‘2 Pound’ Forbes is training with Freddie Roach at the Wildcard Gym as he heads towards a ring return following the collapse of his move to the UK. The 35 year-old, who captured the  IBF upper-featherweight title in 2000, is currently fighting at what he says is his natural weight of 140lbs and will tackle Emanuel Augustus on April 12 in a warm-up before his fights for a fringe world title. The 45-fight veteran was pencilled in for a two-fight stint in England starting in January, but the deal fell through at the last minute and Forbes felt a complete change was needed from his old haunt in Detroit at The Kronk. “I’m at the wild card gym and loving it,” Forbes told World Boxing News. “I have been getting great work in there with world title challenger Jorge Linares and welterweight world title holder Sergiy Fedechenko.” “Freddie Roach is not my trainer officially, but ...

Tyson Fury says winning the Irish heavyweight title will be like standing on the Olympic podium with a gold medal around his neck. Fury meets Belfast hard man  Rogan  for the vacant Irish title at the  Odyssey Arena  on  April 14  four years on from being denied the opportunity to box for Ireland at the Olympics in Beijing. The Titanic battle between Fury and Rogan, proudly presented by  Hennessy Sports , will be broadcast live on  Channel 5. The undefeated former British and Commonwealth heavyweight is determined to show he is a true Irish warrior by knocking out Rogan and then going on to win the World heavyweight title. The pain of missing out on the Olympics still hurts Fury but he says winning the Irish title will help to ease that pain. “When I knock out Rogan and get that Irish title around my waist it will be like me winning the gold medal at the Olympics. To win the title in the year of London 2012 will b...

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor Boxing writer suffers cardiac arrest Boxing writer Bert Sugar, famed for his fedora and cigar, has passed away over the weekend at the age of 75. The iconic scribe, who was inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame in 2005, suffered a cardiac arrest on Sunday after a battle with lung cancer and died at Northern Westchester Hospital in New York. Sugar was born in Washington in 1936 and studied law before becoming a writer in the 1970’s and covered some of the biggest fights of the era, including some of Muhammad Ali’s greatest nights.

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor Brian Green drafted in as Mike Glenn pulled Mike Glenn’s pro boxing debut against Kimbo Slice has now been cancelled as he failed to provide Team Kimbo with the appropriate footage of his previous fights according to cagepotato.com. The 34 year-old, who has fought extensively in MMA, was due to face Slice (3-0, 2 KO’s) at the O’Reilly Center in Springfield, Missouri but has now been pulled out of the fight. His replacement is another Mixed Martial Artist and a middleweight at that in Brian Green, who will also step in for his boxing debut and give away a significant amount of weight to Slice, who hopes to get back to knockout ways following his first decision win over Charles Hackmann in December. Slice, 37, real name Kevin Ferguson, is also pencilled in to fight on May 12 th at the Lucky Star Casino in Oklahoma as the former backyard brawler continues his foray into the heavyweight ranks.

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor Controversial start mars Welshman’s win Enzo Maccarinelli is the new British cruiserweight champion following an amazing start to an all-round entertaining clash at the Civic Hall in Wolverhampton as Shane McPhilibin was roundly beaten after a blistering start. The 26 year-old title holder was fighting in only his 11 th pro contest tonight, but rocked the former world champion in the first round more than once and had the Swansea man down after just over two minutes of the opener. The controversy came as Maccarinelli rose to his feet with 2:08 on the clock and the bell keeper at ringside astonishingly signalled the end of the round after a few more seconds with Maccarinelli apparently out on his feet. McPhilbin never seemed to make much fuss about the ending to the round but it may have been a completely different story if the Nottinghamshire fighter was able to finish his good work and end the fight to retain his belt. Maccarinelli...

Shane McPhilbin v Enzo Maccarinelli (British cruiserweight title) Civic Hall, Wolverhampton, UK 12x3                                                                                                          McPhilbin                   Maccarinelli               -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------                  Round 1                      10 (1)                               8         ...

Phil D. Jay WBN Editor Former champion’s comeback off Scott Harrison’s long seven-year road to a professional fight return looks to be at an end following his arrest for a series of incidents at a supermarket earlier this week. The 34 year-old, who was due to fight in Blackpool at the end of this month, was snapped up by Frank Maloney following his release from a six-year sentence in a Spanish prison, only to be questioned by police over an alleged theft with just days until his scheduled bout. The one-time WBO featherweight king’s career is now in tatters once again as Maloney has distanced himself from the rugged ex-champion as Harrison attempts to deal with his ongoing issues. Harrison’s father Peter, who also trains and manages his son, told BBC Scotland : "The legal wrangle over who was to promote Scott's up-coming comeback fight has caused a great deal of stress and anxiety to Scott which has been shown in the last 48 hours. "Scott is now ta...

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor Title challenger predicts early finish British-born cruiserweight Ola Afolabi is confident he can halt WBO cruiserweight champion Marco Huck’s two and a half-year reign and become the first man in over four-years to KO the German when they meet on May 5th in Erfurt. The 32 year-old, who demolished former belt holder Enzo Maccarinelli in nine rounds, believes his can gain revenge on Huck, who took a controversial points decision over the US-based fighter 27 months ago. “I'm going to go for the KO or get KO’d myself, “ Afolabi told World Boxing News. “The judges might as well stay home cause this one is not going the distance!” Huck, 27, recently failed at an attempt to win the heavyweight crown from WBA title holder Alexander Povetkin and Afolabi is not surprised that the Berlin-based champion moved back down the weights after failing to land a rematch. “Huck had nowhere to go after he lost to Povetkin,” said Afolabi. “Most he...

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor Briton pines for another wave of greats Former undisputed heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis has admitted that boxing’s top division is in a catatonic state whilst the Klitschko brothers run their rule over all the major title belts. The 46 year-old, who reigned as champion for ten years between 1993 and 2003 before retiring on the back of a victory over Vitali Klitschko, is hoping that a spark comes through that ignites the heavyweight scene after years of dull fights involving the Ukrainian brothers. "Right now, the heavyweight division is dead," Lewis told German magazine Stern . "The Klitschko brothers and their opponents are just filling their (money) bags. Their opponents will not improve, they wouldn't have even made sparring partners for me. "(Always) At some point, the referee steps in and stops the fight. They are boring. "If you are looking to find the best boxer in the world it must be decided...

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor ‘Kid Chocolate’ eyes big scalp before champions Undefeated middleweight contender Peter Quillin is ready to take on one of the world champions at 160lbs once he has defeated a former undisputed king and future Hall of Famer Ronald ‘ Winky’ Wright on May 26 th . The 28 year-old, who has a perfect 26-0 record with 20 stoppages, meets the one-time best light-middleweight in the world in the late spring after negotiations almost failed before the fight was eventually agreed this month. "I've been working hard to get a good fight, so this is a sign of relief that I got the fight I wanted," Quillin told World Boxing News. "He is a good fighter who has accomplished a lot during his long career, but all good things must come to an end.” Quillin has been steadily taking out fringe contenders on his way to the world’s top 10 and has ended his last five bouts early on his march toward a world title tilt, but thinks Wright may be ...

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor ‘III Generation’ embarks on family tradition Leon Spinks III made a crushing start to his light-welterweight pro career by taking just over a minute to dismantle Casey Crane at the Ameristar Casino in Saint Charles, Missouri on Friday night. The 24 year-old, who becomes the fourth fighter in his family to don the gloves, couldn’t have made a more impressive start and is now looking to keep active as he attempts to move quickly through the 140lb rankings. “I was nervous before the fight and I had to use the bathroom every two minutes,” Spinks III told World Boxing News. “I was excited though because I have been doing this for so long that I could not wait to take the head gear off because I’m a much better fighter now. “I want to fight every month if possible, to stay fresh an active. It’s a competition now because I want to be the best Spinks of all time. You can’t rush God's work though, and in order to be great you have to be patie...

USBA Welterweight champion and IBF #3 rated “Kid” Carson Jones has made a career out of shattering his opponents’ dreams. The 25-year-old Oklahoman has impressive wins over knockout artist Tyrone Brunson, 2000 Olympic Silver Medalist Ricardo Williams, world rated Said Ouali and title contender Michael Clark, but recognizes that there are plenty of fish to fry. Enter brash Brit Kell Brook. Like Jones, Brook is a rising star who’s rated highly by the IBF. With a dynamic personality backed by an outstanding record of 27-0 with 18 wins by knockout, the Sheffield native’s widely regarded as the second coming of Naseem Hamed. Although he continues to improve with each performance and is fresh off a dominant victory over Matthew Hatton, many would argue that Brook is yet to challenge a legitimate contender; such as Carson Jones. “Kell Brook thinks he’s more than what he is at this point,” said Jones, who has a 33-8-2 record with 23 KO’s and went from being regarded as an oppone...

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor Former champion set upon in the street Likeable one-time heavyweight champion of the world Frank Bruno has lifted the lid on an unprovoked attack that happened in Milton Keynes when the former fighter was enjoying a day out with his daughter. The 51 year-old, who lifted the WBC title in 1995, was minding his own business when a man approached him in broad daylight and headbutted him square in the face, leaving him blind in one eye for three months. "I try to get on with my life and not bother anyone at all but sometimes people bother me. I'm not looking for sympathy but people take liberties. At the time I had to swallow and let it go,” Bruno explained to Piers Morgan on his ITV show ‘Life Stories.’ "I'm sure my computer could find his face and point him out but what am I going to gain out of it? It was only an eye. "We are living in a world today where things like that happen, you dust yourself down and get on wit...

Phil D. Jay                                            WBN Editor                                   ( )  = Record in 2012                       [ ]  =  Jan 2012 ranking 1. Floyd Mayweather   [1] 2. Manny Pacquaio   [2]   3.  Nonito Donaire  (1-0)   [4]                                                           4.  Wladimir Klitschko  (1-0, 1 KO)  [5] 5. Sergio Martinez  (1-0, 1 KO)  [10]   6. Bernard Hopkins   [6]                          ...

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor ‘Maravilla’ on course for Chavez Jr. Argentinian Sergio Martinez ended a game Matthew Macklin’s chances of scoring a huge upset with an eleventh round stoppage win at Madison Square Garden in New York. The 37 year-old looked far from his age as he survived a rally by the Irishman between rounds three to seven, to come away with yet another win inside schedule, his fourth in a row since stopping Paul Williams. Martinez started brightly as Macklin began to try and workout his southpaw stance and took the opening two rounds, before allowing the former European champion to gain a foothold over the next three. Macklin, 29, then scored a suspect knockdown in the seventh when a punch-come-shove had Martinez touching down and referee Eddie Cotton gave him a standing eight-count. All that did was incense the former unified champion into a dominant spell in the fight that culminated in two knockdowns in the eleventh round and Buddy McGirt in M...

Sergio Martinez v Matthew Macklin (middleweight) Madison Square Garden, New York, USA 12x3                                                   Martinez                     Macklin                          -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------                  Round 1                         10                                  9              -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------           ...