Rush to fight Pacquiao, Floyd!

Boxing cannot afford to miss the mark at this critical moment. The call is to side with truth and stand in the gap. It’s time for every sports lover to take steps unhesitatingly for the good of all and the Sweet Science.

Reason is deaf to “reasoning” that insults intelligence. Halt dim “defenses” being proffered in media these days to conceal the light by hacks or by knocks. Debunk pretenses, for who can defend the defenseless? No moron, not even Gandhi or Hitler.

But why rush to officially announce the “Pacquiao-Bradley” rematch as reported? Are wily Bob and devious Koncz afraid that they would not earn the usual bucks from their cash cow in the proposed “Charity Fight”? They say the offer is serious but their actions tell it’s not. Why panic?

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IBF Orders Froch/Groves Rematch!

Carl Froch has been ordered to give domestic rival George Groves a rematch within 90 days or be stripped of his world title by the International Boxing Federation.

Froch claimed on Friday that Groves rejected “a seven-figure sum” for a second chance after their controversial fight in November, which the champion won with a contentious ninth-round stoppage to keep his WBA and IBF belts.

Groves admits he has turned down an offer but is adamant he is as eager as ever to get back into the ring with Froch, and his cause has been helped after the IBF decided the bout was controversial enough to merit an immediate rematch.

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Groves confused by Froch’s press statement

George Groves (19-1, 15 KO’s) turned down a 7-figure offer for a rematch from IBF/WBA super middleweight champion Carl Froch (32-2, 23 KO’s) after being unsatisfied with the specific requirements written into the contract. Groves is waiting for another offer that is more to his liking.

However, Froch responded to the rejection of the offer by Groves to make a statement saying that Groves has refused the 7-figure offer made to him, and he would be looking to fight former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. instead.

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Tyson Fury vs Omar Basile on February 15

Heavyweight sensation Tyson Fury will take on Argentine puncher Gonzalo Omar Basile at the Copper Box Arena on Saturday 15th February.

Fury features on the big multi-title show – headlined by his rival and European Champion Dereck Chisora – in a ten-round International contest, live and exclusive on BoxNation (Sky Ch. 437/Virgin Ch. 546).

The heavily tattooed Basile, from Buenos Aires, is a veteran of 70 fights with 23 championship title fights in a near ten-year career. The 39-year-old, who has 61 wins and 28 knockouts, is the reigning IBF Latino Champion, winning the title last year with a seventh round stoppage of Victor Dario Gimenez and defending against Alfredo Diaz in December.

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Garcia vs. Burgos: Is Burgos just a stepping stone for Mikey’s big plans for 2014?

Fresh off a banner year for boxing in 2013 this Friday and Saturday will be the busiest fight weekend so far for 2014. And since the rematch between Jhonny Gonzalez and Abner Mares is postponed due to injury this will also be the last major network (not HBO2 Macua) championship fight card until March, when the boxing year will really heat up.

Normally one of the major network premium channels will take advantage of the bye week on the Saturday a little over a week before the Super Bowl.

Shane Mosely vs. Antontio Margarito was the biggest fight that I recall of late that filled a void from the overdose of hype before the big game.

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Peterson vs. Jean/Rosado vs. Charlo: Showtime fights this Saturday feature “real” matchups

by Chris Carlso, photos © Paul “Paparazzi” Jones/ESB — Counter programming was the norm last year and this Saturday night marks the first battle in the ongoing war that turned cold between HBO a.k.a. Top Rank and Company and Golden Boy now in exclusive cahoots with Showtime who is broadcasting their event from the nation’s capital city Washington D.C.

Showtime who may not lead HBO in subscribers had clearly been the better network pound for pound the last 2 years.
The two fights that top the bill are very legit with the main event between Lamont Peterson and Dierry Jean basically a 50-50 type fight on paper. Peterson comes in a slight favor according to the betting websites yet more and more fans and scribes are leaning towards the challenger Dierry Jean.

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Carl Froch says a Vegas fight with Julio Cesar Chavez Junior motivates him more than a Groves return

It seems Carl Froch will not be facing bitter British rival George Groves in a rematch – not in his next fight, anyway. “The Cobra,” who says he has many options, told Sky Sports Ringside that a fight with Mexico’s Julio Cesar Chavez Junior is “closer to being made than a Groves rematch.” Froch also said that the idea of facing Chavez in Las Vegas, where he has never boxed, motivates him hugely.

Under fierce pressure from Groves to grant him a rematch – with many fans also asking for a second slice of the action that ended prematurely back in November – Froch says he is not all that interested in “going over old ground and beating George Groves again.”

Froch said that should he fight twice this year, as he usually does, he will look at facing Groves and Julio Chavez Junior but, “not in that order.”

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Airich fails medical – David Price now faces Istvan Ruszinski on BoxNation

David Price believes his work with a sports psychologist can help propel him back into the mix for heavyweight glory.

The Liverpudlian banger makes his ring return against Istvan Ruszinski, live this Saturday on BoxNation, where he will enter the squared circle for the first time since his emphatic back-to-back defeats against American hitman Tony Thompson. The losses to Thompson last year came at a time when Price’s name was being touted as one of the genuine contenders to take over the throne of the dominant Klitschko brothers.

So crushing were the defeats for the British heavyweight that many speculated they could well have signalled the end for the rising pugilist.

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Schaefer: Victor Ortiz wants to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. again

Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer is going to be trying to rebuild the career of his fighter former WBC welterweight champion Victor Ortiz (29-4-2, 22 KO’s) in 2014. Ortiz, 26, hasn’t fought since his loss to Josesito Lopez in June of 2012, and he’s lost his last two fights with one of them being at the hands of Floyd Mayweather Jr. That’s who Ortiz wants to fight again if possible, but it’s going to take a lot of hard work by him and Golden Boy for that rematch to take place.

“There’s a lot of 140lb and 147lb match-ups we’re working on for this year and Ortiz-Collazo falls within that talented weight class. ‏He wants to get back on the road and fight Floyd Mayweather again but he can’t look past Luis Collazo.”

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Canelo: I’ll still be the future of boxing despite loss

(Photo credit: Hogan Photos) Former WBA/WBC junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (42-1-1, 30 KO’s) still feels he’s going to be the guy that carries the sport of boxing for a long time to come despite his one-sided loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. last September. Canelo was pretty well clowned by Mayweather until the 36-year-old fighter backed off in the last 4 rounds and took it easy on him. Canelo isn’t bothered that he looked so bad. He thinks he’s going to bounce back in his next fight against his hand-picked opponent Alfredo Angulo ((22-3, 18 KO’s) and resume where he was before his loss to Mayweather.

“Losing is part of boxing. Muhammad Ali lost and he’s still the greatest of all time,” Canelo said. “So a loss isn’t going to prevent me from being the future of boxing.”

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