Shane Mosley: I’ll Fight With or Without Mayorga on Saturday / “Back-Up Fighter In Place

08/25/201508/24/2015 Olly Campbell

With Saturday’s scheduled catchweight rematch battle against fellow old timer Ricardo Mayorga in serious jeopardy due to a Don King lawsuit, “Sugar” Shane Mosley has insisted that the show will go on in L.A with or without the chain-smoking Nicaraguan in the opposite corner.

King filed emergency injunction papers in Miami recently, claiming he still has Mayorga under contract and hasn’t given his okay for him to compete in the bout, something that is looking increasingly likely to be true after last Thursday’s hearing in Miami, which Mosley attended.

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Abner Mares: “I’m Better Than I Ever Have Been” Ahead of Leo Santa Cruz Fight

08/24/201508/23/2015 Olly Campbell

If Don King succeeds in putting the kibosh on next Saturday’s Mosley/Mayorga rematch, then fight fans will only have the PBC on ESPN Leo Santa Cruz/Abner Mares bout – that takes place at the Staples Centre in LA on the same night – for their fistic viewing pleasure.

Not that there will be too many fans disappointed by that mind you, given they were set to pay $49.95 for the “priviledge of watching the ageing veterans go at it, yet one of the protagonists in the latter, free-to-air bout – Abner Mares – has promised he has returned to his form of old and will be looking to stun his fellow California-based Mexican rival in their long awaited, and far more relevant bout.

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Andy Lee: Venue Switch Can Potentially Change the Game / Fight “Closer” Than Before

08/24/201508/23/2015 Olly Campbell

After a venue switch from Thomond Park in his Limerick, Ireland hometown, to the Manchester Arena in England, WBO middleweight champion “Irish” Andy Lee has conceded that the dynamic of his October 10th fight with Hatfield’s Billy Joe Saunders has ostensibly shifted, now that it is the challenger, rather than Lee himself, who will be on “home” soil.

The “party line” is that the champion was suffering from a virus that caused the change of date and location for the contest, although poor ticket sales are still thought to have been a deciding factor – something that will no longer be a problem given the stacked “World War 3” triple-world title bill the fight now headlines.

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Josh Warrington Wants Future Lee Selby Fight

08/24/201508/23/2015 Olly Campbell

If he comes through his September 5th Commonwealth title fight with Australia’s Joel Brunker (28-1, 16ko) in Leeds, then unbeaten featherweight Josh Warrington (21-0, 4ko) is eyeing a potential world title clash with new IBF champion Lee Selby in the none too distant future.

While it’s no foregone conclusion that the fanatically supported Yorkshireman will beat Brunker – whose sole blemish came against Selby last October – Warrington is confident he can indeed do the business and disagrees with Selby’s assertion that Brunker will beat him next month.

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Wladimir Klitschko v Tyson Fury Set for Huge 54,600 Sell-Out says Mick Hennessy

08/23/201508/22/2015 Olly Campbell

Tyson Fury’s October 24th world heavyweight title challenge to dominant lineal champion Wladimir Klitschko at the 54,600 capacity Espirit Arena in Dusseldorf, Germany is poised for a sell-out according to Fury’s long-time promoter Mick Hennessy.

The fight, which became a done deal at the 11th hour ahead of a scheduled purse bid, has seen a huge demand for tickets from passionate Brits who believe the giant 6ft 9″ challenger may well be able to pull off the upset over the Ukrainian WBO/WBA and IBF champion, especially given the rare size advantages Fury is set to enjoy over “Dr. Steelhammer.”

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Mosley v Mayorga 2 in Serious Jeopardy / Don King Trying to Pull the Plug

08/23/201508/22/2015 Olly Campbell

After the initial ridicule over veteran Shane Mosley’s August 29th rematch bout with fellow old timer Ricardo Mayorga, there was a feeling eventually among some on social media that maybe it wasn’t actually going to be all that bad after all – at least some of us in the UK who could watch as part of our normal Boxnation subscription, rather than shell out for a PPV like our American cousins, thought that way anyway.

Plus, with all the hard work and promotion Sugar Shane was putting in, especially via his must-read twitter feed, encompassing the dual risks of fighting in AND promoting the event, this writer for one was wishing the former champ the best with the endeavour, regardless of if the catchweight fight between the two was pretty much an irrelevance to most right-thinking fans – me included.

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Carl Frampton Fight No Nearer says Scott Quigg / “Out of My Hands”

08/23/201508/22/2015 Olly Campbell

There are a couple of big all-UK world title fights the fans there want to see, and sadly it seems, neither are any closer to fruition.

One is obviously the seemingly dead in the water Kell Brook/Amir Khan fight that I guess we can dream of happening one day if Amir runs out of excuses to avoid it, and the other is the seemingly unlikely fight (at least for now) between IBF 122lb champion and rival divisional belt holder, WBA (reg) champion Scott Quigg.

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Golovkin Has More of Everything Than He Has Shown says Abel Sanchez

08/22/2015 Olly Campbell

Unbeaten Kazakh knockout artist Gennady Golovkin has big power. Of that I think everybody can agree.

The last fight of his to go the distance was an 8 rounder in 2008 against Amar Amari in Switzerland, and since that time his destructive streak has wreaked havoc on all who stood in his way, bar none.

Obviously a belief exists among some that “he hasn’t fought anybody” yet – anybody of similar dominance or who is operating at elite world class level anyway – at 160 or beyond – although on October 17th he will at least be facing the hardest puncher he’s ever stood in front of in Canada’s IBF middleweight champion David Lemieux.

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Brian Viloria: Promising Action Against Roman Gonzalez

08/21/2015 Olly Campbell

One fight hardcore fans are getting excited about along with all the upcoming treats this October and November, is the big flyweight clash that will take place on the Golovkin/Lemieux HBO PPV bill from Madison Square Garden, between Nicaraguan P4P star Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez (43-0, 37ko) and America’s “Hawaiian Punch” Brian Viloria (36-4, 22ko).

Even though the American former champ at fly and super fly is approaching 35 years old, he is still considered one of the most credible tests for the unbeaten Gonzalez, and has warned that he is far from “past-best,” promising that he still carries one of the hardest digs in the lower weight classes and cannot wait for fight night.

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Wilder: Selling 2nd Tier Opponents to His Hometown Fans

08/21/201508/21/2015 Olly Campbell

American boxing fans in particular must be bemoaning the news that unbeaten WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder will be facing French WBC #12 ranked Johann Duhaupas (32-2, 20ko) on September 26th in his home state of Alabama in a scheduled PBC on NBC broadcast.

It is a frankly disappointing defence against more low-level opposition from the Al Haymon “advised” fighter – of whom fans are demanding much more – and at the first official presser to announce the fight on Thursday, it was evident the delicate process of polishing a turd had already begun.

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