Though he lost his last fight (albeit controversially) 38 year old superstar Manny Pacquiao is not yet ready to call it a career and leave the ring. Writing a short message on his twitter page, Pac Man had the following to say:
“I love this sport and until the passion is gone, I will continue to fight for God, my family, my fans and my country.”
We are almost two-and-a-half months removed from the first fight between heavyweights Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko, yet we still don’t know if there will be a rematch, and if so where it will be held.
Okay, in today’s boxing world, where the big-name heavies fight on average twice a year, two-and-a-half months is not very long at all, but Klitschko did say, shortly after his exciting stoppage loss to Joshua, that he would make a decision on his future by the end of June. We are now approaching mid-July and we still don’t know if the 41 year old future Hall of Famer will box again.
So, the huge upset huge underdog Jeff Horn scored in that hugely controversial decision win over Manny Pacquiao was legit after all. How do we know this, because the WBO had the July 2 fight re-scored, with five independent judges viewing the action.
The results of the re-score had Horn winning by a 7 to 5 margin in rounds, or 115-113 – which is the exact same score Horn won by via two of the official judges on fight night. Horn, who never doubted the validity of his win, is pleased with the results of the re-scoring process all the same.
Fight fans have more than likely read about superstar Floyd Mayweather’s request to the IRS to have a little time to pay off his 2015 taxes; with Mayweather reportedly wanting to use the enormous pay cheque he will receive from his August 26 bout with Conor McGregor to settle his debts to the government.
The fact that “Money” asked for a little extra time to settle his taxes inspired suggestions that the 49-0 great is having financial problems. McGregor himself told TMZ Sports that Mayweather “should of paid his taxes and stayed retired and kept my name out of his mouth.” But, in quick time, Mayweather has shot down any notion that he is struggling. Floyd took to instagram to ensure his fans that his empire is “rock solid and intact!”
Brace yourself! The pay-per-view price-tag for the August 26 “Super Fight” between Floyd Mayweather Junior and Conor McGregor was always going to be pretty stiff; the sheer hype alone saw to that. But how much will fight fans have to shell out to watch the Vegas extravaganza from the comfort of their armchairs?
A new article courtesy of GQ Magazine, taken as it is from a new book by gifted writer Elliot Worsell, professes to list “The five most devastating knockouts in boxing history.” Though the clearly well thought out list is a good one, such a top-5 is, and can only be, subjective; down to opinion.
If superstar/moneybags Floyd Mayweather Junior ever runs the risk, or is currently running the risk, of going broke, then what chance have we mere mortals got! Fans may have read the recent story that informs us how the 40 year old great, who has earned an estimated $700 million during his boxing career – $220 million alone from the 2015 Manny Pacquiao “Fight of The Century” – has asked the IRS for time to pay his 2015 tax bill until after he picks up the expected payday bonanza he will get from his August “Super Fight” with MMA’s Conor McGregor.
Though fight fans would very much like to see a light-heavyweight unification showdown between Andre Ward, recent KO winner over Sergey Kovalev, and Adonis Stevenson, the WBC king, it doesn’t look like happening. Not this year anyway.
Yvon Michel, Stevenson’s promoter, told Radio Canada that Ward “never rushes his decisions,” and that after his win over Kovalev, he “spoke of the possibility of going to cruiserweight or heavyweight.”
In sad news from Canada, top referee Marlon B. Wright died on Friday (July 7), having lost his battle with skin cancer. Wright, born in Jamaica but relocating to Montreal, Canada at a young age, was just 51 years old.
Over his refereeing career, Wright worked a number of big fights, including bouts featuring world champions such as Lucian Bute, Gennady Golovkin, David Lemieux and Kell Brook. Tributes from fighters like Bute, Lemieux and light-heavyweight champ Adonis Stevenson have been coming in.
In a genuine bad blood match-up that had been preceded by plenty of trash-talk and a near brawl at the weigh-in, unbeaten 140 pounders Josh Taylor and Ohara Davies engaged in a battle that lived up to the hype last night.
Taylor, 9-0 going in, proved too tough, too clever and too good for Davies, 15-0 going in. The fight in Glasgow, Taylor’s home town, was eventful though. Southpaw Taylor, seen by many as a definite world champion of the future, decked the cocky, arrogant Davies in the 3rd, and it looked for a time as though the fight would end quickly.