World Boxing News 2010-2013

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]                                   ...

matchroomboxing.com Champ defends British light heavyweight title with 5th round stunner against McIntosh Tony Bellew sent a chilling warning to Euro champ Eduard Gutknecht after a stunning fifth round knockout of Danny McIntosh in his British light heavyweight title defence live on Sky Sports at the Echo Arena in Liverpool. The hometown star delivered an over hand right at the start of the fifth that was a fitting finish to The Big Bang billing, and there was only one winner from the start as Bellew bossed proceedings in front of his raucous army of fans. Bellew rocked McIntosh in every round, finally flooring the Norwich fighter at the very end of the fourth round. McIntosh had a minute to recover, but it was not enough as Tony put the icing on a dominant performance with his devastating knockout blow. McIntosh came into the fight brimful of confidence knowing he’s prospered in tough waters before after winning the European title in France against Thierry Karl. ...

Phil D. Jay WBN Editor Dominican earns second world title shot Delvin Rodriguez’s ten-round war against Pawel Wolak last July was voted WBN Fight of the Year for 2011 and now the US-based Dominican has earned another world title shot on the back of his one-side return in December. The 31 year-old will battle WBA 154lb title holder Austin Trout at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California on June 2 nd in his second bid to become world champion. Rodriguez failed in a close attempt at the IBF welterweight belt against Isaac Hlatshwayo in 2009 and is determined to succeed second time around. “I’m extremely excited to fight for the WBA title,” Rodriguez told World Boxing News. “Austin Trout is a rising star and he is going to be a great test for me. I have a lot of respect for him for stepping up and wanting to face the best competition out there. “I have been through a lot of ups and down in my career and I’m not going to let this opportunity pass me by. I will ...

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor Contender eyes another world title shot Two-time world title challenger Alfonso Gomez was left disappointed last week when he was forced to pull out of a high-profile bout with Jessie Vargas on the undercard of Floyd Mayweather v Miguel Cotto on May 5 th . The likeable 31 year-old, who shot to fame coming third on the first series of The Contender in 2004, has been suffering from back spasms in training leading to him being replaced by another former Contender star in Stevie Forbes and Gomez told WBN of his intention to face the winner of next week’s 140lb bout. “I'm doing therapy right now at the Chivas USA Training Center with their head therapist Anthony Garcia and I’ve been doing that for a week now and will continue till its healed up,” Gomez told World Boxing News. “Steve Forbes is an excellent fighter when he comes in at 100 percent, but given the time frame it all depends on Steve. “I would definitely fight the winner. I’d li...

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor ‘Bomber’ on top to retain Lonsdale belt British light-heavyweight champion Tony Bellew proved a dominant force as the Liverpudlian stopped former European champion Danny McIntosh in five rounds at the Echo Arena in Liverpool. The 29 year-old, who lost out to Nathan Cleverly in a recent world title tilt, jabbed and moved his way through a routine defence and looked a class above the Norwich man, as he made his first defence of the domestic belt. Bellew could not miss with his right hands as McIntosh spat out his gum-shield on several occasions over the fifteen minutes and finished with a crisp hook to end the challenge of ‘Big Mac’ to take his record to 17-1. After the fight, a confident Bellew once again called out world champion rival Cleverly for a rematch and questioned the Welshman’s desire to face the best fighters in the division as he, himself eyes a second world title tilt.

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor ‘Magic Man’ hoping for Wi-Fi signal in Ukraine Former light-welterweight world champion Paulie Malignaggi is set to tweet to his 21,000+ Twitter followers during rounds as the New Yorker attempts to become a two-weight world champion in Ukraine this weekend. The 31 year-old, who has pronounced himself as the ‘Twitter King’ due to his frequent tweets and tendency to reply to his fans, told World Boxing News of his intention during a recent interview as he attempts to dethrone WBA 147lbs champion Vyacheslav Senchenko. ““If the Ukraine has Wi-Fi then yes, I may do it. If they don't, then it will have to be on hold on until I get back to the United States,” he stated. Malignaggi then backed up his statement to his followers on the social networking site by saying that he will definitely tweet if the Wi-Fi is working and with the fight being shown live in the US and the UK, his fans will be able to witness a boxing first at the Donbass Arena ...

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor Mayweather wants random testing Floyd Mayweather is attempting to bring in mandatory random blood and urine tests into boxing in the near future as the negotiations for his potential bout with Manny Pacquiao remain dead-locked. The WBC welterweight champion, who faces Miguel Cotto on May 5 th in Las Vegas, has continually locked horns with the Filipino over drug-testing and more recently the purse split, as the fight the whole of boxing wants to see continues to stall. “Everyone should be on an even playing field,” Mayweather stated at a recent conference call. “Pacquiao has done a lot for the sport but he should be standing with me (on drug-testing). Manny should be saying 'I'm a clean athlete and if I want to be the best I will take the test' but he's not. "Health is more important than money. I want every fighter to go into the ring & know the fighter across from him is clean. Eventually random blood and ur...

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor ‘Money’ digs at Pacquiao and Margarito at conference call Floyd Mayweather Jr. took part in a media conference call yesterday and in his usual style, made some controversial points as he clarified his position as the number one fighter on the planet. The five-weight world champion is aiming for a tenth world title on May 5 th when he faces WBA light-middleweight title holder Miguel Cotto at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and is confident in cementing his place at the top of the sport once again. "I'm the reason they don't talk about heavyweights anymore. I'm doing record breaking numbers. I'm the face of the sport,” emphasised Mayweather. "When I go into an arena if the fans cheer: great. If they boo: great. They're keeping me relevant. They know me.” ‘Money’ also took the opportunity to mention the fact that rival Manny Pacquiao would only face Cotto at a catch-weight when the pair met in 2009 and gave Cotto’...

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor ‘Sugar’ Shane aiming to reclaim WBC title Three-weight world champion Shane Mosley is ready to prove he can still mix it with the young champions at the age of 40, when the Californian squares up to WBC light-middleweight title holder Saul Alvarez in Las Vegas next month. The former undisputed 154lb champion, who is without a victory since January 2009, will attempt to become the first fighter to defeat 'Canelo' in 40 contests at the MGM Grand on Cinco de Mayo and knows another loss could leave him with nowhere left to go after almost 20 years in professional boxing. “I feel confident that I will prove the critics wrong,” Mosley told World Boxing News. “My son, Shane, Jr., is the same age as Alvarez, but I'll be the teacher in this fight.” Some parts of the press have been quick to dismiss the experienced Mosley’s chances against the strong champion, although Mosley says it just gives him added motivation to claim another wor...

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor ‘Raging Bull’ switches codes following agreement Entertaining fighter Pawel Wolak is finally ready to move to MMA following an agreement with Top Rank to release him from his binding contract early to pursue the switch from boxing. The Polish-born puncher, who is based in New Jersey, lost to Delvin Rodriguez last December in a rematch of their ‘Fight of the Year’ bout five months prior and decided to call it a day following a one-side defeat at Madison Square Garden. The 31 year-old, who ended his boxing career with a record of 29-2, with 19 KO’s, had planned to make the shift to Mixed Martial Arts earlier this year, but was blocked as his contract with Top Rank was still valid. The ‘Raging Bull’ has now come to an amicable agreement with his previous employers at Top Rank and will concentrate on his new career immediately with an expected fight in the coming months. “I have been training for MMA since December as well as keeping up ...

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor ‘Junito’ ready to end Floyd's run WBA light-middleweight champion Miguel Cotto has spoken to WBN at his recent media day from his gym in Orlando and seemed confident as he approaches his biggest career test on May 5 th against Floyd Mayweather Jr. The Puerto Rican three-weight world title holder worked out for the world’s press and answered numerous questions as the buzz surrounding the Las Vegas bout continues to grow.  “It's been a great camp. With 16 days to go I’ll be keeping my edge and the last eight days will be in Las Vegas,” Cotto told World Boxing News. “You know, I've been in super fights before so this is nothing new to me. We have a plan but it wouldn't be smart to reveal it before May 5th.” The two fighters, who are recognised as two of the greatest of their generation, have shown total respect to each other in the build-up and Cotto believes that his past achievements have made Floyd think twice about hand...

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor ‘Magic Man’ ready for second world title on April 29th Paulie Malignaggi has been sparring in Milan this week as he prepares for his seventh world title fight on April 29 th against WBA champion Vyacheslav Senchenko at the Donbass Arena in Ukraine. The New Yorker, who held the IBF light-welterweight title between 2007 and 2008, is ready to use his wealth of experience to overcome the undefeated title holder and believes that his preparation is the key to his success. “Camp has been great, I can't complain at all,” Malignaggi told World Boxing News. “I'm in Italy with a great team behind me. My trainer, sparring partners, friends and are family out here. We have @navmansouri (British fighter Navid Mansouri) @nolosworld and @crepaldiandrea1 (Andrea Crepaldi) out here. It's perfect, although the weather hasn't been so nice though.” The 31 year-old leaves his Italian base to travel to the Ukraine for his fifth world title ch...

Great Britain boxing team captain Tom Stalker has revealed that he goes to bed at night dreaming of winning a gold medal at this summer’s Olympic Games. Speaking in a video to mark the launch of Betfair’s partnership with the British Amateur Boxing Association, the 27-year-old admitted it plays on his mind. Tom Stalker said: ”I think about winning gold every night before I go to sleep. But I can’t just think about gold. I’ve got to think about each fight. There’s going to be five tough fights to win the gold and anything can happen. “I went to the Commonwealth Games in India and that was a great experience, I loved that. So to be in my home country and experience what’s going on, to be part of it, I just can’t describe it. It’s going to be brilliant.” Tom’s team-mates are just as excited at the prospect of representing the country on home soil at the Games in July. Anthony Joshua, a Londoner, believes he has a chance to make his mark when he steps into the rin...

Juan Manuel Marquez v Sergiy Fedchenko (interim WBO light-welterweight title ) New Mexico City Arena, Mexico City, Mexico 12x3                                                  Marquez                    Fedchenko                           -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------                  Round 1                         10                                9              -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------   ...

Phil D. Jay WBN Editor Cuban out-boxes ‘Bam Bam’ in Vegas A classy Richard Abril should be celebrating becoming the WBA lightweight champion following an assured performance against former title holder Brandon Rios at the Mandalay Bay Hotel. The 29 year-old, who was the only fighter who could claim the belt as Rios failed to make 135lbs yet again, totally out-boxed a sluggish Rios for at least eight rounds to take the fight 117-112 on my scorecard. How judges Jerry Roth (116-112) and Glenn Trowbridge (115-113) saw the contest for Rios is beyond belief and is only doing a dis-service to boxing as a spectacle and a sport. Adalaide Byrd was more accurate carding 117-111 as Abril out-manoeuvred and bamboozled Rios at times as ‘Bam Bam’ walked in taking combinations from the Cuban all night. The only criticism you could level at Abril was his clinching once Rios came in close, but he was warned twice by referee Vic Drakulich and it would never have affected the outcom...

Brandon Rios v Richard Abril ( WBA lightweight title ) *title only available for Abril as Rios 2lbs overweight Mandalay Bay Hotel, Las Vegas, USA 12x3                                                    Rios                             Abril              -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------                  Round 1                        9                                  10              ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------...

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor ‘Mile High’ improves to 33-0 Unbeaten light-welterweight Mike Alvarado edged a step closer to a world title shot in yet another entertaining battle against Californian Mauricio Herrera in Las Vegas, Nevada. Both fighters gave their all in for the full duration of the ten rounds as they traded full-blooded punches with neither man willing to give ground to the packed Mandalay Bay crowd’s delight. The early rounds were close, but as Herrera’s left eye began to swell, Alvarado seemed to take over control of the fight with the cleaner work and volume of punches. Herrera, 31, was rewarded with a high-profile bout for his victory over previously undefeated Ruslan Provodnikov in January 2011 and a more recent majority decision win over Mike Dallas Jr and didn’t disappoint anyone with his efforts. Alvarado, also 31, just proved to have the classier shots in his armoury to take the contest 99-91, 97-93 and 96-94 on the cards and if there was to...

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor Californian off to a flyer Former US amateur fighter Eric Flores produced a crunching right hand in his bout with Wilbert Mitchell at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas to end his first professional contest in just 40 seconds. Flores, from Inglewood, fought on the World Series of Boxing following an amateur career that culminated in a silver medal at the National Championships and seems to have taken to the paid ranks well if his first bout is a sign of things to come. The lightweight stormed from his corner and showed fast hands to catch Mitchell with solid punches every time he threw a combination, with his third flurry producing the punch that ultimately ended the fight. Mitchell backed into the corner as Flores saw his opportunity to end the fight and another hard shot put the 31 year-old down and referee Tony Weeks waved off the contest with no complaints from the Texan.

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor Promoter aims to keep Irish champion at home Mick Hennessy has explained his world title plan for Tyson Fury on the back of the unbeaten heavyweight’s fifth round Irish title victory over Martin Rogan at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast. Fury, 23, has stated his willingness to fight one of the world champion Klitschko brothers in the past and although Hennessy believes Fury is ready for a shot, the promoter stated that his fighter will only face a world title holder who is willing to travel to British or Irish soil. “He can go all the way. He can be world champion as quick as he wants,” stated Hennessy in the post-fight interview with Channel 5’s Mark Pougatch and Al Bernstein . “We are just going to keep him busy now. He’s looking at June 30 th on Channel 5. He’s had the British, the Commonwealth and now he’s got the Irish title so the European would be nice and then genuine world honours. “Look, he would beat Povetkin (WBA champion) t...

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor Irish title dream fulfilled in Belfast Tyson Fury recovered from his usual slow start to stop Martin Rogan in five rounds at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast to become the Irish heavyweight champion and fulfil a lifelong ambition. The 23 year-old initially surprised all by opening the fight in the southpaw stance and seemed to struggle to adjust in the first round as Rogan piled in with some wild punches to take the opening round. Rogan, 40, then continued his good work into the second round as Fury chatted in his ear for most of the session until a left hand got through from the home fighter and Fury was caught clean for the first time in the fight. The third round represented a shift in the contest as Fury seemed to get to grips with his switch and began pound his right hand jab into Rogan’s face with more damaging effect. A swinging left at the end of the round then put Rogan down, although the former Prizefighter champion seemed unhurt a...