Tommy Coyle v Michael Katsidis (12 x 3 – IBF International Lightweight Belt)
Tommy Coyle now 19-2 (8KO’s) is thrust into the biggest test of his career, on paper at least, against the Australian banger Michael Katsidis 30-6 (24KO’s) for the IBF International Lightweight title. Both fighters find themselves at a crucial stage in their careers where a defeat would be fatal to any aspirations they have of continuing to top the bill on shows such as this.
O. De La Hoya – Let me introduce to you the current WBA and IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion and obviously a future first ballot Hall of Famer. He won the Middleweight World Title in 1995, and defended that title 20 times, solidifying his place as one of the best, if not the best middleweights in boxing history.
Bernard Hopkins, not only are we talking about the fighter who is the best in this era, but can possibly be the best in any era. When you talk about comparing the ’80s and the ’70s and the ’60s and 1990 and the 2000s, well Hopkins is a fighter you can say would have competed, if not would have been the best, in any era. That’s what we’re talking about right here.
GENERAL SANTOS CITY, PHILIPPINES (October 23, 2014) — Fighter of the Decade and World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight champion, Congressman MANNY “Pacman” PACQUIAO (56-5-2, 38 KOs), the lone congressional representative from the Sarangani Province of the Philippines, his Hall of Fame trainer FREDDIE ROACH and Hall of Fame promoter BOB ARUM hosted an international Media Conference Call today. Emanating from General Santos City, Philippines, where Pacquiao has been in deep, rigorous training for his title defense battle with undefeated WBO junior welterweight world champion CHRIS ALGIERI (20-0, 8 KOs), of Huntington, NY on Long Island, their eagerly-anticipated world championship collision is just five weeks away.
At today’s press conference in the Philippines, Freddie Roach, the vocal trainer for WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao (56-5-2, 38 KOs), took the opportunity to point out that some of Pacquiao’s sparring partners are better than Chris Algieri (20-0, 8 KOs), who Pacquiao will be fighting on November 22nd on HBO Championship Boxing from the Cotai Arena, Venetian Resort, Macao, in Macao S.A.R., China.
The sparring partners that Roach is likely referring to as being better than Algieri are Mike Jones and Viktor Postol. They are certainly good fighters, and it would be a toss-up if Algieri were to face either of these guys.
On November 22nd, #1 WBC George Groves (22-2, 15 KOs) will be in action against southpaw Denis Douglin (17-3, 10 KOs) in a 12 round bout at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, UK. This fight is to get Groves ready for a title shot against the southpaw WBC super middleweight champion Anthony Dirrell in 2015.
Whether a guy in Douglin’s class can help Groves get ready for someone like Dirrell remains to be seen.
Groves wants to look good in this fight, and steal the spotlight from the headliner fight between Tony Bellew vs. Nathan Cleverly. It’s going to be tough for Groves to accomplish that if his fight turns out to be a one-sided mismatch. You have to realize that Douglin has been dominated by the likes of Jermell Charlo, Jose Angel Rodriguez and Doel Carrasquillo in the past.
In an interview for Polsat TV a couple of days ago, W. Klitschko bluntly dismissed Kubrat Pulev’s chances of becoming a real challenge. Wlad did not like the question whether Pulev would be a tougher opponent for him than Alex Leapai and asked in return what the reporter would say if Pulev got KOed in the first round.
W. Klitschko is not a trash talker and he is generally very tolerant towards his opponent’s antics and stunts. He usually has kind words for his foes but he seems to have none this time especially after Pulev brought up the Olympic drug testing issue. Klitschko is very sensitive to this subject and he blames Pulev’s promotional team, Sauerland, for trying to “get under his skin”.
IBF/WBA light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins (55-6-2, 32 KOs) might be nearing 50-years-old and losing punching power, but he still feels he’s at a higher level than his opponent WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev (25-0-1, 23 KOs) who he’ll be facing on November 8th on HBO Championship Boxing at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Hopkins thinks he’s going to take the hard hitting Russian Kovalev to school next month and show him the difference between the levels he fights at and the one Kovalev has been fighting at during his career.
British heavyweight Tyson Fury (22-0, 16 KOs) still hasn’t taken care of Dereck Chisora in their rematch next month and yet Fury already has his eyes set on who he wants to fight next. Fury says he wants to fight undefeated and untested British prospect Anthony Joshua (9-0, 9 KOs) so that he can prove himself against him.
Never mind the fact that a fight between Fury and Joshua would make no sense at this point considering that Joshua isn’t a belt holder, and has never beaten anyone remotely talented. Fury still feels like it’s a fight that he wants.
Welterweight contender Tim Bradley (31-1, 12 KOs) says he’s going to be moving up in weight to 154 to target the top fighters in that weight class. He’s specifically interested in fighting Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Miguel Cotto. Besides those guys, Bradley says he’d like to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr, because he’s already fought Manny Pacquuiao and Juan Manuel Marquez in the past.
Interestingly enough, Bradley doesn’t see Mayweather as being the toughest opponent for him. He doesn’t say who’s tougher, but you’d have to assume he means Pacquiao, Cotto or Canelo. Bradley’s coming off of a 12 round decision loss to Pacquiao in his last fight in April of this year in a one-sided loss.
Both Matchroom and Warren Promotions stage rival shows this coming weekend in two of England’s fighting cities, showcasing some of the best talent these shores have to offer in their dress rehearsals ahead of enormous shows planned by each organisation for the end of November, in doing so displaying the increasing confidence they have in the British public’s appetite for the fight game.
Hull and Liverpool are the chosen venues to play host to a number of British boxing’s brightest prospects, including 2012 Olympic Gold Medalist Luke Campbell, the much maligned and supremely talented Chris Eubank Jnr and recently crowned IBF Bantamweight Champion Paul Butler (Butler subsequently vacated the belt, to drop back to his more natural Super Flyweight division). All of who are beneficiaries of the increased promotional activity propelling their promising careers.