Kessler vowing to retire if he loses to Froch on May 25th

05/12/2013 Michael Collins

kessler#11 We’ve seen IBF super middleweight champion Carl Froch (30-2, 22 KO’s) talk about retirement if he were to lose, and now WBA super middleweight champion Mikkel Kessler (46-2, 35 KO’s) is saying he’ll retire if he loses to Froch in their fight this month on May 25th at the O2 Arena in London, UK.

I don’t know that I believe that Kessler will retire no matter how bad he looks in getting beat by Froch, but I do think it’s a smart way to market the fight. When you make the retirement threat, boxing fans seem to pick up interest in the fight thinking that it could be the last time they see a particular fighter making the threat.

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Hearn: Burns won’t be fighting Gonzalez again

05/12/2013 Michael Collins

gonzalez54 Eddie Hearn, the promoter for WBO lightweight champion Ricky Burns, won’t bother giving injured challenger Jose Gonzalez a chance for a rematch after he injured his left wrist and was halted in the 9th round last Saturday night.

Hearn wants to match Burns against IBF lightweight champion Miguel Vazquez this September if he can put the fight together. That’s a big question mark because Burns and Vazquez were scheduled to fight each other not too long ago and the fight failed to come off.

It’s hard to imagine what Burns could gain from going back to this fight because it’s not as if Vazquez has a huge worldwide fan base. However, if Burns can capture another belt it might give him more respect from boxing fans.

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Burns complains he couldn’t get video of Gonzalez before fight

05/12/2013 Michael Collins

burns43 burns43 In what appears to be WBO lightweight champion Ricky Burns (36-2, 11 KO’s) making a partial excuse for his poor performance last Saturday night in beating Jose Gonzalez (22-1, 17 KO’s) by a 9th round stoppage, Burns complained after the fight that he hadn’t been able to study Gonzalez going into the fight because of the lack of video out there on the 29-year-old fighter from Puerto Rico.

Gonzalez had been flying under the radar for so long in fighting less than world class opposition during his 5-year pro career that there just wasn’t much for Burns to see of him on video.

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Burns defeats Gonzalez in injury stoppage

05/11/201305/11/2013 Michael Collins

WBO lightweight champion Ricky Burns (36-2, 11 KO’s) defeated previously unbeaten challenger Jose Gonzalez (22-1, 17 KO’s) by a stoppage after the 9th round tonight when Gonzalez quit on his stool, complaining of an injury to his left wrist at the Emirates Arena, Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom.

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McDonnell defeats Ceja

05/11/201305/11/2013 Michael Collins

Using movement, a nice jab and some skillful roughhouse tactics, bantamweight contender Jaime McDonnell (21-2-1, 9 KO’s) defeated Julio Ceja (24-1, 22 KO) tonight by a 12 round unanimous decision to win the vacant International Boxing Federation (IBF) bantamweight ttile at the Keepmoat Stadium, in Doncaster, United Kingdom.

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Haye: I’m going to put Charr flat on his back

05/11/2013 Michael Collins

charr43 charr43 Former WBA heavyweight champion David Haye (26-2, 24 KO’s) has set a goal for himself in his fight against #8 WBC Manuel Charr (23-1, 13 KO’s) next month on June 29th at the Manchester Arena (formerly M.E.N Arena), Manchester, Lancashire, United Kingdom.

Haye, 32, wants to improve upon the job WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko did last September when he tore Charr’s face to ribbons in stopping him in the 4th round.

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Burns’ trainer: Jose Gonzalez doesn’t hit as hard as Roman Martinez

05/11/2013 Michael Collins

burns#11 (Photos courtesy PR Best Boxing Promotions/Joel Colon) Billy Nelson, the trainer of WBO lightweight champion Ricky Burns (35-2, 10 KO’s) feels that his opponent for Saturday night Jose Gonzalez (22-0, 17 KO’s) isn’t the puncher that many people think is. In fact, Nelson thinks Gonzalez isn’t even as big a puncher as former WBO super featherweight champion Roman Martinez, who Burns defeated by a close 12 round unanimous decision in 2010 to take his title.

Nelson said to RingTV “Ricky has a superb chin and in my opinion Gonzalez doesn’t hit as hard as Martinez. To this day, Roman is the hardest puncher Ricky has faced by a long way, but he still couldn’t get the job done.”

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Khan sees Mayweather as too skilled for Guerrero; thinks he’s got the style to beat Floyd

05/07/201305/04/2013 Michael Collins

Amir Khan is hoping to get Floyd Mayweather Jr. in the ring in the near future, possibly in September if Mayweather gets past Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero tonight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Khan likes Mayweather in that fight due to his skills.

Khan said as quoted by thesun.co.uk “Guerrero’s a tough guy but skill-wise he’s not in the same league as Mayweather…I have a great team around me and we have a game plan for defeating Mayweather.”

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Khan: I want the Danny Garcia fight

04/29/2013 Michael Collins

khan111 khan111 It’s no secret that Amir Khan (28-3, 19 KO’s) looked pretty bad last Saturday night in beating Julio Diaz (40-8-1, 29 KO’s) by a 12 round unanimous decision. Khan was knocked down in that fight in the 4th and hurt to the point where he needed to hold onto Diaz in the 11th.

Khan was also hurt in the 9th and 10th rounds from shots from Diaz. The judges gave him a close decision by the scores of 114-113, 115-113 and 115-113. Khan now will be off until December at which point he’ll be likely facing Lucas Matthysse, Danny Garcia or Lamont Peterson.

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David Haye to fight Manuel Charr on June 29th; press conference this Wednesday

04/28/2013 Michael Collins

charr435 Heavyweight contender Manuel Charr’s campaigning for a fight against former WBA heavyweight champion David Haye (26-2, 24 KO’s) has paid off, as the two fighters will be facing each other on June 29th in the Manchester Arena in Manchester, UK. There will be a press conference to announce the fight this Wednesday. The fight will be shown Sky Sports.

Charr (23-1, 13 KO’s) has only been beaten once in his career in losing to WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko last year by a 4th round TKO. However, Charr also has had it pretty easy in terms of opposition. There’s his one fight against Vitali, and the rest of Charr’s opponents have been mediocre at best. Is it an accident that Charr has been brought along so carefully by his promoters? No, I think it’s the norm in the heavyweight division nowadays.

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