Ruslan Chagaev “sparring” with Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov

Ruslan Chagaev "sparring" with Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov

Former world heavyweight champion Ruslan Chagaev is wrapping up training camp for his July 6th WBA world championship bout against Puerto Rican veteran Fres Oquendo on Grozny, Russia. The “White Tyson” has done most of his preparation in the Chechen capital training not only with head coach Artur Grigorian and his manager Timur Dugazaev but also with a “political heavyweight”: Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov who is a huge boxing fan and used to be a decent amateur fighter himself.

Kadyrov is one of the main factors of the world title fight landing in Chechnya. The President and his government support the promotion and are turning Grozny into a huge boxing ring for the event

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Burns faces Zlaticanin tonight in Glasgow

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Former two weight world champ Ricky Burns (36-3-1, 11 KO’s) will be looking to convince his many doubters that he’s not an over-the-hill fighter when he faces the much smaller 5’6” Dejan Zlaticanin (18-0, 13 KO’s) tonight in a fight for the vacant WBC International lightweight title at the Braehead Arena, in Glasgow, Scotland.

At best, Burns could get a title shot against WBC lightweight champion Omar Figueroa if he wins tonight. At worse, Burns could face someone like #2 WBC Jorge Linares in a WBC eliminator with a win over Zlaticanin.

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Errol Spence – Something better than Gold

Errol Spence - Something better than Gold

photo by Esther Lin / SHOWTIME – Errol Spence Jr has been seen as the cream of the crop of the 2012 United States Olympic Boxing Team by the boxing world. That much is certain. However, what’s uncertain is how he will fair against higher level competition. This is a test that all prospects must face at some point in their career, yet Errol is electing to take on the scrappy veteran Ronald Cruz in a ten round bout at the Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas this Friday, June 27th.

The welterweight division in boxing may be the hottest most competitive divisions in boxing in a few years from now, and several names are eyeing a position to explode as the figurehead of the division. Errol Spence is a recipient of good timing as he has the skill-set and upward ceiling to improve to incredible heights in a post Mayweather period.The attributes continue to build, as he possesses the power, speed, ring IQ to defeat his opponents. Not to mention he is a southpaw.

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“ALL ACCESS: Canelo vs. Lara” Episode 1 Premieres Friday, June 27 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME

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The huge July 26th fight between Erislandy Lara and Saul Canelo Alvarez will be previewed this Friday, July 12th on Showtime ALL ACCESS at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

This is the first episode of the series which give fans a chance to see the two fighters before their big Showtime PPV fight on 7/26. For Canelo this is a must win if he’s to be the star of the future, because he was put in his place last year in his loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr.

After years of hype about Canelo, we saw him finally in the ring with an excellent fighter in Mayweather, and he failed badly. It wasn’t just that Canelo lost the fight, it was how he lost it. He failed to make any adjustments, and he, along his corner, looked lost. Lara is considered to be the 4th best fighter in the junior middleweight division by many boxing fans, behind Mayweather, Miguel Cotto and Canelo.

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Gamboa not worried about Crawford’s height advantage

Gamboa not worried about Crawford's height advantage

The 5’5 ½” Yuriokis Gamboa (23-0, 16 KO’s) will be giving up nearly 3 inches in height and 5 inches in reach this Saturday night in his fight against 5’8” WBO lightweight champion Terence Crawford (23-0, 16 KO’s) at the CenturyLink Center, in Omaha, Nebraska, USA.

This fight is basically a featherweight vs. a light welterweight, because Gamboa’s best weight class was in the 126 pound division after he turned pro in 2008. Crawford has always been a big lightweight, and more of a light welterweight in size. In fact, Crawford said that he plans on moving up to the light welterweight division [140] after this fight.

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Hearn wants Khan for Brook if he gets passed Shawn Porter

Hearn wants Khan for Brook if he gets passed Shawn Porter

Kell Brook (32-0, 22 KO’s) hasn’t yet passed his test against IBF welterweight champion Shawn Porter (24-0-1, 15 KO’s), but his promoter Eddie Hearn already has the first fight he wants for Brook’s initial title defense for the IBF belt and that’s against Amir Khan.

Hearn has been after Khan for a long time now in trying to get him to agree to a fight against Brook, and finally he’s on the verge of having the bait to get Khan to agree to a fight. With the IBF title, Brook may get the Khan fight, but winning that belt won’t be easy. Porter has an aggressive fighting style that Brook has never seen before, he’s considerably better than the best opponents – Vyacheslav Senchenko and Carson Jones – which Brook has fought before.

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Australian Boxing: Michael Zerafa versus Joe Rea this Friday night

Middleweight Michael ‘Pretty Boy’ Zerafa (14-0, 7 KOs) will look to extend his unbeaten record when he faces battle tested Joe ‘Sugar’ Rea (9-13-1, 4 KOs) over eight rounds this Friday night at the Malvern Town Hall, Melbourne, Australia.

After scoring an impressive victory over unbeaten Luke Sharp in February, Zerafa will look to solidify his position as one of the best prospects in Victorian boxing, with a view to really step up his level of opposition this year. In fighting Rea, he faces a legitimate challenge with a fighter who has taken to the ring against world class middleweights Martin Murray, Patrick Nielsen and Gregorz Proksa.

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Tyrieshia Douglas “Anyone can get it from 108lbs to 115lbs”

Tyrieshia Douglas "Anyone can get it from 108lbs to 115lbs"

Tyrieshia “Lady Tiga” Douglas 4-0(1KO) returns to the ring on June 28th at DuBurns Arena in Baltimore, MD. She will face Christina Fuentes in a six round bout. In her last bout she had a rematch against Marisol Miranda in which she completely dominated once again and also forced Miranda into retirement. Douglas is campaigning from 108lbs to 115lbs challenging anyone who will face her. Her goal is to be a world champion before the 2014 year is up.

She recently made a few changes in her camp and now trains with promoter and trainer James Hogan. Douglas and Hogan share the same goal of gaining recognition for women’s boxing. The card she is fighting on will also be host to the main event between Tori Nelson vs Nicole Woods.

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Danny Garcia, Lamont Peterson & Daniel Jacobs To Headline SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING Tripleheader On Saturday, August 9 At Barclays Center

Danny Garcia, Lamont Peterson & Daniel Jacobs To Headline SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING Tripleheader On Saturday, August 9 At Barclays Center

BROOKLYN (June 24, 2014) – Golden Boy Promotions is back at Barclays Center on Saturday, August 9, with a SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® tripleheader featuring the sport’s brightest young stars in pivotal world title fights. Boxing on Brooklyn’s biggest stage will be Unified Junior Welterweight World Champion Danny “Swift” Garcia who will meet “Lightning” Rod Salka, IBF 140-Pound Titleholder Lamont Peterson who will face New York’s Edgar “El Chamaco” Santana and Brooklyn’s own Daniel “Miracle Man” Jacobs will challenge Australia’s Jarrod “Left Jab” Fletcher for the vacant WBA World Middleweight Championship.

“This is my third fight at Barclays Center, and it feels like a second home to me,” said Garcia, the undefeated Philadelphia native. “I’ll be ready for Rod Salka, and I’m going to give my Brooklyn fans another great show.”

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Nelson: Burns will beat Zlaticanin

Nelson: Burns will beat Zlaticanin

Sky Sports commentator Johnny Nelson is confident that former two division world champion Ricky Burns (36-3-1, 11 KO’s) will come out on top this Friday night in his fight against #13 WBC Dejan Zlaticanin (18-0, 13 KO’s) at the Braehead Arena, Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom.

Burns, who is coming off of a loss to Terence Crawford last March, has been saying that if he wins this fight on Friday, his promoter Eddie Hearn will set him up with a title shot against WBC lightweight champion Omar Figueroa. Burns is ranked only #15 by the WBC, so if Hearn is able to get him a title shot off of a win over #13 WBC Zlaticanin then it’s going to have to be an optional title defense by Figueroa.

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