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"This clown sitting to the
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- Ricardo Mayorga
About his upcoming fight with Oscar De la Hoya
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Top Boxer for Each Division
5.
6.
8.
10.
11.
12.
Last updated on 03/08/06 based on reports and stories covered by FightKings.Com and compiled by Michael Amakor.
Meet him at the FightKings forum!! for a 13th round discussion about this list.
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O'neil Bell
Zsolt Erdei
Antonio
Margorito
Manny
Pacquaio
Injin Chi
Johnny Nelson
Shane
Mosley
Eric
Morales
Scott Harrison 
Felix Sturm
Wladimir
Klitchko
Sergio Mora
Jhonny
Gonzalez********************
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IBRAGIMOV IS ONE STEP AWAY FROM GLORY
IBF ORDERS ELIMINATOR BETWEEN UNBEATEN HEAVYWEIGHT SULTAN IBRAGIMOV AND RAY AUSTIN FOR #1 CONTENDER SPOT
HOLLYWOOD, FL, April 28 – After his stunning seventh round stoppage of Lance ‘Mount’ Whitaker last December, the boxing world stood up and took notice of unbeaten Heavyweight contender and 2000 Olympic Silver Medalist Sultan Ibragimov, as one of the division’s brightest stars.
The International Boxing Federation (IBF) obviously agrees, as the world sanctioning body has ordered an elimination bout between Sultan Ibragimov (19-0, 16 KOs) and always tough Ray ‘The Rainman’ Austin (24-3-3, 16 KOs) to determine the number one challenger to newly crowned champion Wladimir Klitschko.
“I have always dreamed of becoming the Heavyweight Champion and now I’m just one win away from my goal, said the former Olympian Ibragimov, a native of Rostov-na-Donu, Russia. “There is no Heavyweight in the world that can beat me.”
“Sultan is the premier contender in the Heavyweight Division, and he has the style and charisma to bring positive attention back to the weight class,” added Ibragimov’s manager Boris Grinberg. “We thank the IBF for this opportunity, and we can’t wait to get in the ring with Ray Austin and show the world that Sultan is truly the next great Heavyweight.”
Ibragimov’s promoters, Warriors Boxing Promotions and Sampson Lewkowicz will commence negotiations with Austin’s representatives as soon as possible to determine a date and venue for this outstanding Heavyweight matchup.
“We are excited and looking forward to making this fight happen,” said Leon Margules, Executive Director of Warriors Boxing Promotions. “We will do everything in our power to see this fight through as Sultan is ready, willing and more than up for this challenge. He is a well deserving opponent and his accomplishments speak for themselves.”
Ibragimov’s co-promoter Sampson Lewkowicz was equally enthusiastic and said “I have been working with Sultan since May 25, 2002 when he turned pro. I never had a doubt that he would become the World Heavyweight Champion”.
For more information on Warrior’s Boxing, please visit our website at www.warriorsboxing.com
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Result From Humble Fight Card
By CeeCee Dogins
Local boxing promoters Joe Dumas of Dumas Promotions and Roy Foreman of RoRo Entertainment, Inc. Sports and Entertainment - Houston gave the crowd what they promised; one of the biggest and most exciting combative sports events that southeast Texas has ever seen when they introduced family entertainment designed to please all ages at the Humble Civic Center Outdoor Arena, Friday night, April 28, 2006, titled, RUMBLE IN HUMBLE. The event card covered six professional match-ups that were headlined by heavyweights, Brad Bowers (6-2) and Alfred Happy (3-0), who both left the ring victorious after both bout match-ups.
On the same card hometown implant from the Bahamas, popular 6th Ranked World MMA Ultimate Fighting talent, turned boxer, Yves Edwards (1-0) at 155 lbs, gave the audience a first round knockout, as he put his opponent, Darryl Nolan, to rest within seconds. Making his professional boxing debut with a bang, Houston’s own Don Mouton (0-0) 175 lbs finished Dallas’s Michael Waters in seconds. Then there was Jose “Topita” Gutierrez, who gave the audience an electrifying performance as he stood toe to toe with Wichita’s Chris Ranard Regular for a four rounder that concluded with a unanimous decision in Gutierrez’s favor. The combative event was marketed by Houston’s premier sports marketing company S.I.B. Marketing & Media Company.
The family fight-night event that featured a Karate Exhibition presentation by Jason D. Frank, a 6TH Degree Black Belt who played one of the original power rangers and four USA Boxing amateur matches joined with a set of very electrifying mixed martial arts match-ups was well received by the audience. The next date is currently set for a repeat performance on June 23, 2006 @ The Hiumble Convention Center.
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Bearing The Weight Of Hatton's American Gatecrash
The Ever Changing Heavyweight Picture
By Jim Amato - April 24, 2006
Although I know that in boxing you should take nothing for granted, I just
can't see Serguei Lyakhovich losing to
Kevin McBride. Hey, beating Tyson at this stage of his career should not
get you a title shot, but it worked for Danny Williams, so, why not? I
would have rather seen McBride-Valuev. That may have set a combined weight
record for a heavyweight title fight.
To me, Rahman is still the man to beat. James Toney is right there, too.
Wlad was impressive beating Byrd so he's right back in the middle of the
mix. Then you have Sergei Liakhovich. Wladimir Klitschko and Sergei may be
the best all around boxers in the heavyweight division. Chris Byrd and
John Ruiz seem like nice people but they have had their time and I don't
think I'll miss watching them fight if they do decide to hang them up.
Calvin Brock and Sam Peter need to face a real name opponent to prove they
belong in the ratings but for now they're as good as anyone else in the
bottom half of the Top Ten. It will be interesting to see how Lamon
Brewster fares if he fights again. Danny Williams and Dominick Guinn used
over rated Audley Harrison to jump start their respective careers. Monte
Barrett needs a win to protect himself from being dropped from the top ten
consideration. Oleg Maskaev and Owen Beck do not deserve title shots but
neither did Jean Pierre Coopman when Ali ruled the roost. Larry Holmes had
his Lucien Rodriguez.
On paper, Sergei, Valuev and Rahman should have little trouble in their
proposed upcoming title defenses against McBride, Beck and Maskaev, but as
they say, "You never know."
Joe Calzaghe On Lacy, Jones and Manfredo
April 21, 2006
As speculation continues to mount surrounding the selection of "Super" Joe Calzaghe's next opponent, the Welsh Wizard goes into his scheduled July 8 outing at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium still riding high from the utter domination of Jeff Lacy less than two months ago. "Against Lacy, I think that I fought the best I ever have and also I think that maybe he took the fight for granted," said Calzaghe. "I had Lacy on my mind morning, noon and night for a few months. I had never been so psyched up and so focused on any fight. It was a dangerous contest and I knew I had to perform. I set myself a standard in the last fight and now people will be expecting that kind of performance from me all of the time."
It's still not clear who WBO/IBF Super Middleweight Champion Calzaghe, 41-0 (31), will face on the 8th of July but the sharply skilled southpaw comments on recent reports that American fighter Peter Manfredo, who received widespread notoriety on both side of the Atlantic for appearing on NBC's "The Contender" TV program, is being considered. "Peter Manfredo is just one of the fighters that we've taken a look at on the list of who was available to fight," said Joe. "For obvious reasons, we'd prefer to fight an American. If you asked me about Manfredo six months ago, I probably would have laughed, but at the end of the day he's stepped up and had a good win over Pemberton and got himself ranked, so he's a possibility."
One fighter that Calzaghe is not particularly interested in facing is Roy Jones, Jr., despite the fact that the former pound for pound king of the sport was at the top of the Welshman's hitlist for years. "Jones has been knocked out in two of his last three fights, so of course I'm not looking to fight him the way I used to," said Calzaghe. "I don't think that fight is going to happen because my promoter Frank Warren was speaking to Jones' people the other day and I think Jones has just basically priced himself out, asking for too much money. He's been knocked out a couple of times now and if I knock him out then people will say 'big deal, he's an old man'. Or, if all of a sudden Roy Jones has a good fight then I'm gonna get slagged off for that. I'd rather fight a good fighter in his prime rather than a good fighter that's on the slide."
Calzaghe is fully aware that the bout on July 8 is the most dangerous of his career given the enormous potential opportunities that will go down the drain should he lose. "I'm looking forward to getting an opponent that I can focus on and getting back into training and fighting in the ring," he said. "Obviously, more people are going to take notice of me next time I fight, so I want to give a real performance again and make a good impression. Against Lacy, I showed what I could do as a boxer.
"For 12 entire rounds, every single minute of every single round, I put on a masterclass. So, whatever I do in the future now, I want to go onto bigger and better things but I do feel a big, massive relief as far as my boxing career goes. I finally silenced the doubters and people who said that I had never fought anybody. Although I'd been a champion for eight years, I was never really given recognition because people said I was a protected European fighter who avoided all the top Americans. Right now I'm basically getting 100% recognition all around and that's great."
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RAY
AUSTIN: LOST IN HEAVYWEIGHT SHUFFLE
By Jim Amato - April 21,2006
Cleveland, Ohio heavyweight Ray Austin must be wondering
what is going on. Just last year, he outpointed the highly regarded Owen
Beck. Now where do you think Mr. Beck is going to be June 3rd? Well, he'll
be in Germany to face the newly crowned WBA titleholder Nicolay Valuev.
Ray Austin is probably thinking, "Why not me?"
Austin has paid his dues and he has earned the right to fight for a piece
of the title, any piece! Ray has had 30 fights and since 2002, has fought
draws with Lance Whitaker, Zuri Lawrence and Larry Donald. Add in his win
over Beck and you can make a solid case that Ray deserves a shot at the
title more then Beck.
The WBC title will probably be held up for a while as champion Hasim
Rahman is meeting Oleg Maskaev. The winner is to meet James Toney. The
question is, what in the world did Maskaev do to earn a title shot?
Chris Byrd takes on Wladimir Klitschko this weekend for the IBF title.
There is a possibility of Austin meeting the winner of this bout. Sergei
Liakhovich is the WBO title holder. Sergei beat Lamon Brewster to win the
title in Cleveland and he won a lot of fans there as well.
Sergei-vs-Austin could be an interesting and Cleveland would be a perfect
place to hold it. Rumor has it, though, that Sergei is going to meet Kevin
McBride. So, for the time being, Ray appears to be frozen out of the
heavyweight picture.
Ray sports a fine 24-3-3 record, with sixteen knockouts against some tough
opposition. I can see now why maybe he's being avoided.
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"Battle at Brookhaven”
April 21, 2006
Strong Arm Promotions, a premier boxing promotions company located in Atlanta, GA, is bringing its inaugural fight night to the ATL with the “Battle at Brookhaven” - a live show that will feature seven premium boxing matches at Atlanta Live at the Dekalb Events Center on Friday, April 28 7-11PM.
Ticket prices start at $35; VIP seats on sale now for only $125, so grab your spot before it sells out!
A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Economic Empowerment Initiative (EEI), Tickets availble at ticketmaster.comAMAZING MAIN EVENT & A TOP-RANKED FEMALE BOXER
Cedric Boswell (22-1-0, 16 KO's) - Atlanta Native, Cedric Boswell is ready to continue his climb to the top of the heavyweight division.
Boswell’s record makes him an undeniable contender and if you throw in his strengths of conditioning, powerful punches and being able to pull off a comeback unlike any other known fighter, time after time it’s very likely that Boswell’s greatest career achievement could very well be yet to come.
Ijeoma Egbunine (9-1-0, 7 KO's) - Ijeoma Egbunine is the newest phenomenon in women’s boxing - she holds the WBE Women's Super Middleweight and Light Heavyweight Titles, and the WIBF Light Heavyweight Title!
Guests can enjoy a cash bar and light hors d’ oeuvres while watching some of the industry's favorite fighters try to earn some respect inside the ropes - Vega$ style!
Members of the media interested in covering the event please contact kim@kimistry.com for credentials.
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WHO: Strong Arm Promotions, LLC
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WHAT: “Battle at Brookhaven”
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WHEN: Friday, April 28 from 7-11PM
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WHERE:Atlanta Live at the Dekalb Events Center
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WHY: To introduce Atlantans to an amazing Vegas- style boxing event that will feature seven premium boxing matches.
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RUMBLE IN HUMBLE
By CeeCee Dogins -
April 21, 2006With the recent rash of new and returning promoters swinging in and out of the local boxing scene, promoters Joe Dumas of Dumas Promotions and Roy Foreman of RoRo Entertainment, Inc. Sports and Entertainment - Houston are set to produce one of the biggest and most exciting combative sports events that southeast Texas has ever seen, when they introduce family entertainment designed to please all ages at the Humble Civic Center Outdoor Arena, Friday night, April 28, 2006, titled, RUMBLE IN HUMBLE.
The event card covers six match-ups that will be headlined by heavyweights, Brad Bowers (6-2) and Alfred Happy (3-0). Also on the same card will be popular MMA Ultimate Fighting talent, turned boxer, Yves Edwards (1-0) at 155 lbs, John Rarden (1-0) at 140 lbs, Eleazar Renteria (2-0) at 130 lbs and making his professional boxing debut Houston’s own Don Mouton (0-0) 175 lbs.
The family fight-night event will feature a Karate Exhibition presentation by Jason D. Frank, a 6TH Degree Black Belt who played one of the original power rangers. There is to be at least four USA Boxing amateur matches joined with three of very electrifying Mixed Martial Arts Ultimate Fighting match-ups. The three mixed martial arts bouts will include fights by Jeff Messina 175 lbs / 0-0, Chan Martin 170 lbs / 0-0 and Elias Siam 195 lbs /0-0, all of who is trained by professional boxer Louis Woods.
Advanced ticket prices for the general public is $15.00 and $50.00 ringside seating. The first event will start promptly at 7:00p.m., the gates open at 5:00p.m.. Come early to receive autograph photos from various popular boxing talents and music talents.
The ring girls will be provided by the Ritz. Corporate tables, sponsorships and venders spaces are available. Contact CeeCee Dogins (713) 785-5668 for more information.
EVENT DETAILS
- April 24: Official Sparring Session. 2pm - Finish
- April 26: Press Conference. 1pm to Finish
- Apirl 27: Official Weigh-In. 6.30pm
- Rumble in Humble: 7pm.
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Frank Maloney On The Current
State Of Boxing
When we've all been expecting some really good fights for this coming year, it seems that boxing has gone topsy turvy once again. Here in Britain, were all waiting for Ricky Hatton to fight the likes of Gatti, Mayweather or Corrales but it seems that his new advisors have decided to take him another way at the moment. In the long run, only time will tell if he has made the right decision or if the people who are guiding him know how to play in the big pool.
Also, we've seen my own man WBO Featherweight Champion Scott Harrison's fight with Joan Guzman fall out after all the name calling and bravado from the Guzman camp about how Harrison can't make the weight and was looking for excuses to get out of the fight. It turns out that it was Guzman who seems to have the weight problem and who doesn't fancy the fight. There are two losers in this situation; one is Scott Harrison, who really wanted this fight even though I was against it, and the other losers are the true boxing fans who were really waiting for that one.
It may be that Joe Calzaghe's next outing in July won't be the huge fight that as was originally hoped for. But knowing how Frank Warren works, I'm sure that Joe's next fight after that will be something truly special. There isn't a whole lot to look forward to in the heavyweight division at the moment, compared to the division's glory days. People talk about being around during the Ali and Tyson eras but for me, I was pleased to be around in the Lennox Lewis era. Whatever you want to say about Lennox, he dominated the heavyweight division for ten to twelve years and he won a Gold Medal at the Olympic Games.
People say that winning the Olympic Gold Medal is a ticket to success in the pro game but ask Audley Harrison about that. He won a Gold Medal, but in the professional ranks he's still trying to make it. He won the medal six years ago and has had twenty-one pro fights. At that stage of his career, Lewis Lewis was ruling not only his division in Britain and Europe but I believe at the world level as well. I think that says a lot about where Audley Harrison is at despite winning a Gold Medal.
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“Touch of Sleep” returning
with a chip on his shoulder.
Denver, Colo: DaVarryl “Touch of Sleep” Williamson (22-4, 18) will return to the ring on Saturday, May 6, 2006 at the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts versus “Magnificent” Mike Mollo (15-0, 9) as part of the Don King promoted card featuring Jose Antonio Rivera vs. Alejandro Garcia to be broadcast by SHOWTIME.
Williamson is returning the ring for the first time since his failed attempt to lift Chris Byrd’s IBF Title in October 2005. It will also be his first fight following elbow surgery at the Steadman/Hawkins Group in which a mass of scar tissue, 15 “foreign bodies”, 2 bone spurs & fluid in the joint were removed in a two-hour surgery.
“I feel fantastic” proclaims Williamson “This is the best my arm has felt in quite some time, the right hand is back, it feels like it did when I first laced on a pair of gloves. Anyone who thinks that I am done, “shot” or got old overnight is in for a very rude awakening. The right hand that got me this far in my career will be back come May 6th, and I will return to my fan-friendly, all-action powerful style. Mollo has stated that 2006 is his year, but I have a bit to say on the matter and I’m telling him right now that it’s going to be a short year!”
Mollo, ranked #15 by the WBO and #26 by the WBC has loudly proclaimed that 2006 will be his year. He was quoted in an interview with BraggingRightsCorner.com as stating that “the heavyweight division is wide open, with the exception of Lamon Brewster, none of the champions have showed us anything. They’re all old, unpopular and boring. Maybe they should take the Vitali Klitschko road and retire so some new blood can make the division exciting again.”
As the current holder of the WBC, WBO and IBF Latino heavyweight titles; belts that he won in November 2005 by defeating unheralded trial-horse Rogerio Lobo, Mollo has slowly stepped up his level of opposition, and captured some titles, including one that used to belong to Williamson; the WBO Latino Title. “Tell Mike I want my belt back, and I’ll be happy to take the other belts he’ll be carrying into the ring” said Williamson.
While the Williamson-Mollo bout will not be televised, Williamson is confident that it will be that fight of the night, and show the Heavyweight division that he is not done yet. In fact, Williamson is putting the division on notice, “that was not me back in October, and once I dispatch of Mollo, I want another crack at either Wladimir or Chris. If they don’t want the fight, tell Valuev I’ll be thrilled to walk into his living room and take his title.”
Tickets priced @ $250.50, $100.50, $50.50 & $35.50 are available at the DCU Center Box Office, all Ticketmaster locations, charge-by-phone at 617-931-2000 or 617-228-6000 or online @ www.ticketmaster.com
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COUNTDOWN
TO DE LA HOYA-MAYORGA
SATURDAY APRIL 22, 6:30PM ET/ 3:30PM PT and AGAIN at 11:30PM ET/PT
Immediately following the live Byrd-W. Klitschko World Championship Boxing
telecast, HBO Sports presents a 30-minute special featuring fighter
profiles, expert discussion and
full coverage of the upcoming HBO Pay-Per-View on May 6 when Oscar De La
Hoya faces Ricardo Mayorga for the 154-pound title.
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Open Letter From Ricky Hatton To The IBF
Hatton Gives Up IBF 140lb Title!
April 16, 2006
It is with the greatest regret that I must surrender my IBF Light Welterweight Title. Winning the IBF Championship was without doubt the greatest night of my life and to have to give it up outside of the ring is truly a painful experience. Much worse than the punches I had to take to wrestle the title from Kostya!
It has NEVER been my or my team's intention not to defend my title against the IBF's appointed challenger but sadly due to outside influences, legal problems and problems meeting TV schedules, it seems that this is the situation I find myself in.
I have worn my championship with pride and I hope that in winning the unification bout with Carlos Maussa, I have also made the IBF proud of their champion.
I hope that in the near future I will get the opportunity to become an IBF World Champion again and that I will have the chance to defend my title. Like all fighters, we take great risks in the pursuit of our dreams of becoming World Champions and I hope that in the future I will only win and lose titles in the ring.
Once again I would like to thank you all for the time I spent as your champion and look forward to becoming one again soon, although in my heart I will remain your champion!
Ricky "HITMAN" Hatton
The better of two wrongs
almost made Zab right
By Robert McInnis
April 16, 2006
Some would argue that the Floyd Mayweather versus Zab Judah fight should never have taken place to begin with, but with the strong demand from fight fans to see Mayweather fight a formidable opponent and at the same time eager to see a revitalized Zab Judah score an upset, their wish was granted. This past Saturday night at the Thomas Mack Center my prediction almost came true. as Zab almost defeated Floyd Mayweather by a very “controversial decision”, but it just wasn't meant to be.
Zab started the first 4 rounds fighting furiously and gave his fans who paid the monstrous $44.95 pay per view fee and his homies from Brooklyn New York something to believe in, but it did not last long and by round five our hopes began to fade away as Mayweather finally figured out how to land his punches against the crafty Zab Judah fighting off the southpaw stance, as the fight progressed he began to fire off combinations that connected to Judah's nose with blistering consistency.
Still, taking nothing away from Mr. Brooklyn who was still fighting by round 10 he was just about done until my prediction began to take on a life of its own, Zab unleashed a vicious low blow that landed squarely on Mayweather's groin cup contorting his face and sending him dancing about the ring in a world of pain. This low blow so infuriated his team and trainer Roger Mayweather who stormed the ring to be countered by an equally incensed team Judah who also flooded the ring and started a riot that could have degenerated into a wild melee reminscent of the Riddick Bowe versus Andrew Golata fiasco back in 1997 but for the quick intervention of ringside security .
According to the rules of the Nevada Athletic Commission the referee Richard Steele could have ended the fight by disqualifying Mayweather outright, curiously, he allowed the unofficial combatants of the night to be escorted out of the ring and the fight continued. To his credit Mayweather sucked up the pain and gathered himself to see the end of the twelfth round to hear the ring announcer repeat his treasured legend "And still undefeated”.
So which was the worst wrong, Zab’s low blow or trainer Roger Mayweather entering the ring. Well we will know more on Thursday as the commission continues to investigate the wrongs trying to make the fight right
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Can a Wrong finally make it Right?
By Robert McInnis
April 7 2006
Ok, ok, ok, I was wrong about Roy Jones over Tarver, wrong about Oscar de la Hoya over Hopkins, wrong about Zab Judah over Baldimor, wrong about Felix Trinidad over Winky Wright, Jeff Lacy over Calzaghe, and just recently wrong about Brewster over Sergei Liakhovich… I guess you get the picture, so If I go out on a limb and say I have picked Zab Judah over Mayweather, would I be considered a contrarian, or just plain wrong, again.
Zab has gotten it wrong when it really counts to be right, so my thinking is that finally he will have adjusted his wrong thinking, wrong training, and lost millions to finally get it right this time. Beyond his suspect chin, he has great talent, appears to be the stronger of the two, and still quick on his feet, but that’s just the point, he has to remain on his feet for this one.
Mayweather on the other hand is pound for pound one of the best fighters in boxing today . He is at the top of his game at the moment, and like a talented neuro-surgeon performing heart surgery he carves out the heart of his opponents with pure skill.&