Abraham/Smith II: This time Smith knows he can win

02/21/2015 Ryan Forde-Kelly

photo by S. Heger – Paul Smith, 35-4 (20KO’s), travels back across enemy lines tonight when he faces WBO super middleweight champion Arthur Abraham, 41-4 (28KO’s), in Berlin.

It’s been 6 months since the absorbing first bout was marred by some confusing scorecards and in the case of Fernando Laguna’s 119-109 sheet – comical. But, the right decision has been arrived upon and the challenger aims to take full advantage.

“I always thought that this rematch would come. I would be lying if I didn’t think that it might not come off for one reason or another, the only doubt I had really was that he wouldn’t want the fight as he knows that he was in a hard and close fight.

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Martin Murray: Still paying his dues

02/21/2015 Ryan Forde-Kelly

In an era rich in superfluous World title variations the term ‘paying your dues’ just doesn’t carry the same weight as it once did.

Unless of course you’re referring to fighters like Martin Murray, 29-1-1 (12KO’s), who today challenges arguably the most feared man in boxing – Gennady Golovkin, 31-0 (28KO’s) – in Monte Carlo.

It’s Murray’s third World title tilt and his most difficult to date. To say that about a man whose previous attempts came against Felix Sturm in Germany and Sergio Martinez in Argentina illustrates the enormity of the task at hand.

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Golovkin vs. Murray: Martin plans to ruin GGG’s yearly European vacation

02/21/201502/21/2015 Chris Carlson

Gennady Golovkin meets Martin Murray in a place very familiar to each with Golovkin’s middleweight titles on the line. Most of the debate stateside for the outcome of this bout is not about who will win but how long Martin Murray can last. The majority of experts feel Murray doesn’t have the right style or enough power to keep Triple G off of him. Many believe at some point Martin’s pipes will burst under Gennady’s constant pressure.

This fight will mark the third time Martin will have challenge for a world title, the first coming in a draw to former 160 pound champ Felix Sturm. The second came against the lineal middleweight champion at the time, Sergio Martinez. Both contests were razor close decisions that could have gone Murray’s way had he not be the road fighter in the champions home country. Monte Carlo isn’t a home affair for Martin it is however somewhere he’s comfortable with and could help him if this fight goes the distance.

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Abraham vs Smith: Weigh-In Video

02/20/201502/20/2015 Wasserman Boxing

Arthur Abraham (41-4, 28 KOs) and Paul Smith (35-4, 20 KOs) both made weight today ahead of their WBO World Super Middleweight Championship rematch on Saturday night at the O2 World in Berlin, Germany. The fighters took to the scales in front of raucous crowd of close to thousand German and British fans at the capital’s famous Berlin Mall.

Full list of weights below:

WBO World Super Middleweight Championship:
Arthur Abraham: 76.1 kg
Paul Smith: 75.1 kg

Heavyweight – 10 Rounds:
David Price: 114.8 kg
Irineu Beato Costa Junior: 119.5 kg

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Golovkin vs Murray: Weigh-In Video

02/20/201502/20/2015 HBO Boxing

Amid a raucous atmosphere with the Barmy Army in full voice, WBA and IBO middleweight champion and WBC Interim champion Gennady Golovkin and official challenger Martin Murray both weighed inside the limit at the official weigh-in at Monte-Carlo Casino on Friday afternoon. Saturday’s HBO Boxing telecast airs live at 5:45 p.m. (ET/PT).

The HBO telecast from the Salle des Etoiles venue in Monte Carlo is a special presentation featuring reigning world middleweight title-holder Gennady Golovkin, seeking his 13th successful middleweight title defense, against challenger Martin Murray.

Official Weights from Monte Carlo:

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Lartey targets knockout against undefeated Vazquez

02/20/201502/20/2015 Prince Dornu-Leiku

US based Ghanaian welterweight, Emmanuel Lartey has vowed to stop unbeaten Sammy Vasquez in their 10-round scheduled fight at CONSOL Energy Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania later tonight.

33 year old Lartey of Brooklyn, NY by way of Ghana last fought in June last year when he ended a 2-fight losing streak (his only career defeats) with a unanimous points victory over Steve Forbes at the Emerald Queen Casino, Tacoma, Washington, USA.

But the Ghanaian remains unfazed, speaking tough after making a weight of 146.5 kilos to the 147.25 of home boy, Vasquez at yesterday’s pre-fight weigh-in.

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Martin Murray: “It doesn’t bother me that Golovkin hits hard”

02/20/201502/20/2015 Hennessy Sports

World middleweight title challenger Martin Murray has heard all about the reputation of Gennady Golovkin, his next opponent, and respects the fact he’s widely considered the hardest puncher in all of boxing right now. But that doesn’t mean the Briton is overawed or fearful of the imposing Kazakh.

In fact, rather than hide from the reality of the situation, Murray has instead confronted it head on and says he’s looking forward to sampling Golovkin’s power when the pair clash on Saturday (February 21) in Monte Carlo.

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Sources: Mayweather vs Pacquiao A Done Deal, Waiting For Floyd’s Announcement!

02/20/201502/19/2015 Joe Latti

Joe Latti, Brick City Boxing.com – The boxing world is certainly buzzing today as it seems we are one step closer to the mega-fight that is Floyd Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao.

A series of tweets today have informed us that negotiations are allegedly complete between the Mayweather and Pacquiao camps, and all that is left is an official announcement from Floyd Mayweather himself. The announcement of the fight was supposedly negotiated into the agreement as well, stating that only Floyd can make the announcement and it will be on his terms. Speculation suggests it will happen as soon as Friday, February 20th.

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The Al Haymon Takeover

09/15/201602/19/2015 Michael Montero

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few months, you’ve heard about the “Premiere Boxing Champions” series being launched by Al Haymon. The powerhouse boxing manager has recently announced contracts with NBC, CBS, Spike TV and ESPN – with rumors of upcoming deals with BET, Telemundo and possibly more networks on the way. What short, middle and long-term impact will this series have on the boxing landscape? What complications lie ahead? And how may this all affect potential super-fights that boxing fans have been clamoring for?

The PBC series officially kicks off on March 7th from Las Vegas with a co-feature between Adrien Broner and John Molina, while Keith Thurman faces Robert Guerrero in the main event.

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Robert Garcia discusses undercard for Floyd vs Manny

02/19/201502/19/2015 James Sexton

In an interview with ESNEWS, Robert Garcia , former world champion and, trainer and brother to talent Mikey Garcia, discussed the idea of what an undercard would look like on the biggest night of boxing in the history of the sport.

He started out by saying that the paydays for the two top attractions would leave very little money left to pay for good undercard fights, there is also the belief that an undercard would not really be necessary as the fight is so big and well publicised that it would carry itself.

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