Danny Jacobs v Chris Eubank Jr – A Battle At 160

04/25/201504/25/2015 Olly Campbell

Danny Jacobs (29-1, 26ko) is a fighter I’ve come to admire, and after everything the “Miracle Man” has had to endure outside of the ring as a cancer survivor, last night’s impressive victory over Caleb Truax as part of the PBC broadcast from Chicago, was all the sweeter given it was the first defence of the WBA (reg) title he won last time out against Australian Jarrod Fletcher.

For a man who was once told he may never walk again, Jacobs is a fighter in every sense of the word. Last night in Truax, he came up against a hometown fighter who is as durable as they come. And he did the business in style for me. It was a classy performance, that gave Jacobs the valuable rounds under his belt that he so often is denied due to his power. He’d been 10 rounds just the once, 6 years ago against TMT’s Ishe Smith, taking a UD.

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Is Badou Jack A Better Fight For George Groves?

04/25/201504/25/2015 Olly Campbell

Before last night’s upset Stateside, there was one fighter who had been keeping a careful eye on proceedings between Anthony Dirrell (27-1-1, 22ko) and Badou Jack(19-1-1,12ko) and that was Britain’s “St.” George Groves, mandatory challenger to the WBC 168lb strap.

Groves (21-2,16ko) had originally stepped aside to let Dirrell make a voluntary defence of the belt, a move that backfired on the Michigan fighter spectacularly when he dropped a MD to “The Money Team” fighter by scores of 114-114, 115-113 and 116-112.

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Deontay Wilder v Tyson Fury – Who Wins?

04/25/201504/24/2015 Olly Campbell

This weekend lineal heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (63-3,53ko) returns to America to fight Philadelphia’s Bryant Jennings (19-0,10ko) at Madison Square Garden in New York, the big Ukrainian fighter’s first fight on American soil in seven long years.

Nobody expects relative novice Jennings to trouble the dominant champion in a fight that is for all intents and purposes a mismatch. Jennings has only been boxing for 6 years in total, amateur AND professional and the question lies more in who is going to be the next star of the division?

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Arum: Money Means Nothing To The 1%

04/24/2015 Olly Campbell

The Mayweather-Pacquiao ticket saga, after rumbling on since the fight was announced, came to an end inside a minute yesterday when all of the public allocation were snapped up within seconds.

Top Rank boss Bob Arum has spoken to CNN regarding the cost of tickets to the mega-fight, which as of Friday afternoon (BST) are currently re-selling on Stub-Hub for in excess of $128,000. Serious, serious money.

He said; “The 1% have so much money that they don’t know how to spend it. Whether it’s yachts, paintings or tickets to a fight, the money means nothing to them. We’ve never seen anything like this in all of boxing, and I don’t think, for any sporting event”

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Give Up On Floyd, Amir

04/24/201504/24/2015 Olly Campbell

It’s looking increasingly likely that Britain’s Amir Khan (30-3, 19ko), who fights American Chris Algieri (20-1, 8ko) in New York on May 29th, will have to give up on his dream of fighting Floyd Mayweather, a fight he has been chasing for the better part of 2 and a half years.

Mayweather has stated equivocally that win or lose on May 2nd, his last fight will be in September.

“My last fight will be in September. I don’t know who I will fight in September, but I shan’t be overlooking anyone”

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Klitschko v Fury – Is Jennings Able To Spoil The Party?

04/24/201504/24/2015 Olly Campbell

Ahead of this weekend’s heavyweight clash from New York that pits dominant lineal champion Wladimir Klitschko against Philadelphia’s Bryant Jennings, Frank Warren has written in his weekly column for the Independent in the UK to talk of his hopes for British #1 Tyson Fury, and how he wants the fight for his man against Wladimir in the UK.

Fury is the mandated challenger to Wladimir’s WBO belt and should Klitschko beat Jennings Saturday night as all expect him to, then Warren and the Klitschko’s have 30 days to put the fight together before it goes to purse bids.

Warren wrote of Klitschko;

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Joe Calzaghe Talks Mayweather v Pacquiao – “Being Undefeated Can Be A Burden”

04/23/201504/23/2015 Olly Campbell

Legendary British 168lb wizard Joe Calzaghe has spoken to the BBC ahead of the Vegas super-fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao, predicting a win for Floyd, though calling his undefeated record “a massive burden.” If there is anyone well placed to talk of the burden of protecting an ‘0’ then it’s Calzaghe, who finally retired in 2008 after an unblemished 46-0 record and 11 long years a world champion.

He was involved in many memorable contests throughout his hall-of-fame career, including his destruction of American “Mini Mike Tyson” Jeff Lacy in 2006 and his US victories over living legends Roy Jones Jr and Bernard Hopkins in 2008. Not to mention his MASSIVE showdown with Denmark’s Mikkel Kessler that unified the 168lb titles in front of 50,000 in Cardiff in 2007.

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Andre Ward vs Paul Smith Jr on June 20 in Oakland

04/23/201504/23/2015 Olly Campbell

So after much rumour and speculation, the confirmation has finally arrived, and it will be Britain’s Paul Smith (35-5, 20ko) who squares off in the opposite corner to the returning Andre Ward (27-0, 14ko) on June 20th in Oakland, California.

Ward is one of America’s best in my opinion, and despite a 19 month lay-off will walk into this non-title bout a heavy betting favourite against the Liverpool fighter, who has been cruelly referred to by fans as “not even the best super middleweight in the Smith family” in reference to younger brother, undefeated 168lb contender Callum Smith (15-0, 11ko).

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Video – Maloney Returns To Boxing Promotion Following Gender Reassignment

04/23/2015 Olly Campbell

Legendary British promoter Kellie Maloney, who famously guided Lennox Lewis to the world heavyweight title in her former incarnation of Frank, has spoken to the BBC’s 5live in the UK today to signal her return to boxing.

Maloney left the fight game following then charge David Price’s crushing losses to American Tony Thompson, ostensibly because she “had fallen out of love with boxing”.

The reality was that the promoter had finally decided to face a life-long gender identity crisis away from the unforgiving glare of the boxing public.

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Mayweather v Pacquiao Tickets At Last!

04/23/2015 Olly Campbell

It appears that the rich and powerful can finally sleep a little easier tonight, as Mayweather-Pacquiao tickets appear to finally be going on sale later today.

Well around a thousand rich people can sleep easy anyway, as of the 16,500 seats inside the venue come fight night, that’s the amount that will be available to the public.

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