Boxing 2013

[Byrnie]

Has anyone seen the state of Broner? He has a serious amount of weight to lose.
He's playing with fire by not taking Maidana seriously.

[loadsoftrophies]

Ha fucking hell the strate of Broner, only a month to the fight, Maidana worth a bet mind you he always is.

[loadsoftrophies]

Just read Golovkin v Murray is signed for Feb 1st, really hope thats true.

[Kevin D]

What a puncher Donaire is.

[Byrnie]

He certainly is Kevin. He was having a frustrating night up until that, fantastic left hook.

I was very disappointed in him up until that.


Garcia was awesome, hopefully Gamboa and Garcia fight next.

[Byrnie]

Martin Murray said he's not fighting Golovkin. They are just on the same card.
I'm not surprised, Murray said after Golovkin - Macklin that he'd need a baseball bat to get in with Golovkin.

[Byrnie]

Ha fucking hell the strate of Broner, only a month to the fight, Maidana worth a bet mind you he always is.

 

Look at the difference in him and Mayweather. Both now 147lb fighters, Mayweather not in camp, Broner a month away from a big fight and he's about 2/3 stone heavier.

 

Broner must have his his pops genes.

[loadsoftrophies]

Martin Murray said he's not fighting Golovkin. They are just on the same card.

I'm not surprised, Murray said after Golovkin - Macklin that he'd need a baseball bat to get in with Golovkin.

Ah fair enough, disappointing.

 

Garcia is brilliant, another domination with a big KO.

[DanDanShaw]

^{Donaire is a fool, he needs to knock this "rely on the left hooK" stuff on it's head.  If he'd of boxed Vic, he'd of KO'd him with 5 or 6 rounds, like last time.  He literally doesn't throw punches, he just looks for an opening to land 1 left hook.  His power is good, but he's a fucking idiot. Rigondeaux knew exactly how to deal with him, I'd even pick some of our fighters to beat him.  Frampton would, easily as well.}

 

^{Garcia is brilliant to watch, he doesn't waste any shots and has a right nasty streak in him.}

 

^{If you follow Broner on twitter he's in shape.  The picture with Floyd was from September (Canelo fight) the one next to Maidana is misleading because he's in some serious shape.}

^{November 8th}

 

^Yesterday

[Kevin D]

http://ringtv.craveonline.com/blog/181847-chavez-vera-ii-aimed-for-march-1-arum-likes-donaire-vs-walters

 

A rematch between Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Bryan Vera is being considered for March 1 either in Las Vegas “or one of the Texas towns,” Top Rank CEO Bob Arum told RingTV.com.

 

 

Vera, whose home state is Texas, lost a controversial 10-round unanimous decision to Chavez in Carson, Calif., in September. That bout took place at a 173-pound catchweight because Chavez was not able to make the originally contracted weights. The return bout will happen at the super middleweight limit of 168, according to Arum.

 

 

Arum met with Pelullo in Corpus Christi this past week in advance of Saturday's HBO-televised tripleheader featuring Nonito Donaire's stoppage of Vic Darchinyan , Mikey Garcia's knockout that dethroned WBO junior lightweight beltholder Roman "Rocky" Martinez, and Demetrius Andrade’s WBO 154-pound title winning split decision over Vanes Martirosyan.

 

 

The rematch was originally supposed to take place in February but Arum said the new date was chosen to avoid conflict with the Feb. 7-through- 23 Winter Olympics in Russia.

 

 

“That's what we're looking at, but we're not sure yet. It will either be in Las Vegas or one of the Texas towns,” said Arum. “They (HBO) don't want to go against the Winter Olympics.”

 

 

According to CompuBox, Vera had a 176-125 advantage in overall punches landed, as well as winning 109-98 in power shots compared to Chavez, who was awarded the decision by scores of 96-94, 97-93, and 98-92, by Carla Caiz, Marty Denkin and Gwen Adair, respectively.

 

 

Of a poll of 59 media members, 53 scored the bout in favor of Vera, with six draws. In its round-by-round,RingTV.com scored the fight for Vera, 97-93.

Click here for RingTV.com's Chavez-Vera round-by-round.

 

 

ARUM EYES DONAIRE-NICHOLAS WALTERS

 

Arum said he would like to match Donaire with Jamaican featherweight contender Nicholas Walters, who scored his third consecutive stoppage win on Saturday, doing so at 1:57 of the fourth round over Mexican rival Alberto Garza.

 

A 27-year-old who is nicknamed "The Axe Man," Walters improved to 23-0 with his 19th knockout victory, and Garza fell to 25-6-1 with 20 knockouts.

 

 

“Walters punches like a mule,” said Arum. “He's not technically great, but geez, is he strong. That fight would be a great fight. It would be bombs away. We'll have to talk to Nonito to see when he's ready to fight again. Walters ready to go as soon as possible, so we'll figure it out.

 

http://www.scotsman.com/sport/more-sport/boxing/wbo-orders-ricky-burns-to-make-mandatory-defence-1-3183224

 

The Scotsman is a strange site so I can't copy and paste properly.

[Jairzinho]

RICKY Burns, the world lightweight champion from Coatbridge, has been ordered to make a mandatory defence of his WBO title against undefeated American Terrence Crawford, it has emerged.

 

The Scot, 30, had hoped to persuade the World Boxing Organisation to sanction a rematch with Mexican Raymundo Beltran after it was generally held that Burns, who suffered a broken jaw, had been fortunate to escape with a draw when the pair met in September.

 

But Burns’ promoter, Eddie Hearn revealed yesterday: “We received a letter from the WBO on Friday to the effect that we must begin negotiations with Crawford’s people, adding that we should get back to them within 30 days stating where we are at.

 

“But it’s quite a complex situation. Top Rank represents both Beltran and Crawford and we made them an offer which Beltran’s team was happy with but Top Rank was not.

 

“In the meantime, I have asked the WBO for a voluntary defence against Beltran in February. I am also in talks with Miguel Vazquez and Richar Abril regarding a unification bout that would supersede a mandatory defence so there are lots going on.

 

“But Top Rank is trying to force our hand and they have made their position very clear in that they would like Ricky to fight Crawford.

 

“If it has to be Crawford then we will fight him. The split is 75-25 in favour of the champion and I am very confident that I could bring that fight to Scotland. We are not looking to going to America to fight Crawford and it would take an incredible offer for that to happen. But the fight everyone wants to see is Beltran and it is the right fight for boxing after what happened last time.

 

“I am not saying that fight is completely dead but we have done everything we can to try to make it happen, as Crawford would not hold the same attraction for Scottish fights fans. Despite the fact he is very good, he is not particularly well known over here.

 

“He is tough but also unproven to an extent. But whatever happens, Ricky will be fighting in February, either in a voluntary defence, a unification bout or against Crawford.”

 

According to Hearn, Burns is making sound progress after he underwent surgery to have a plate fitted in his damaged jaw.

 

He added: “When I last spoke with the doctors recently they said that it should be six to eight weeks after the operation before Ricky started full training and ideally 12 weeks before he sparred, as a safeguard.

 

“That takes us to mid-December when he can start sparring although he is already back training.

 

“The doctors are quite confident, but we won’t know for certain about his jaw until he spars and it comes into contact with punches.

 

“Ricky is disappointed about what happened in his last fight and that he didn’t have the chance to perform like he can.

 

“So he wants the chance to set the record straight against Beltran although that is now dependent on several factors”

[DanDanShaw]

Crawford beats Burns' easily, unless it's in Scotland and then he will he have to KO him to get a Eddie Hearn draw.

[El Rojo]

What sites do people use to catch up on fights after the weekend if they've succeeded in avoiding the result?

[Kevin D]

https://sites.google.com/site/swe37b0x1ng/streams/2013-fights-and-events

[Bjornebye]

Very surprised. 

 

Just watched 'The Gloves are off' Middleweights. 

 

Genuinely thought Froch was complete favourite , 2 said Groves, 2 said Froch.  Still think Froch will win but not going to bet anymore. 

 

Also, If you haven't seen it, watch the heavyweights one with Bruno, Fury and Lewis. Very good watch. 

[dickie mint]

Great to see and hear Larry Holmes on Sky last night.

[DanDanShaw]

Last night was an embarrassment to British boxing.

[The Golden Eel]

Very surprised. 

 

Just watched 'The Gloves are off' Middleweights. 

 

Genuinely thought Froch was complete favourite , 2 said Groves, 2 said Froch.  Still think Froch will win but not going to bet anymore. 

 

Also, If you haven't seen it, watch the heavyweights one with Bruno, Fury and Lewis. Very good watch. 

Lee's his mate though, isn't he?

 

The one with Eubank, Steve Collins, Roy Jones, Woodhall was funny.  Calzaghe was on there too but he's as interesting as a piece of wood. 

[Kevin D]

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/k4P0ka9bztRZ044SGBe

 

 

http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/id/9975798/andre-ward-says-ready-get-busy-get-groove

You've mentioned in recent weeks that your right shoulder feels stronger today, after surgery, than it has at any other point in your career. How long had it been bothering you?

People don't realize, I tore my rotator cuff when I was 12 or 13. At that time, being so young, we decided just to not have surgery. And doing all this research leading into the surgery in January, I realized finally I should have gotten surgery back then. The doc said, "It's a miracle you've dealt with this as long as you have and been able to compete with this torn." We went ahead and got it fixed, and what I mean when I say that is, I didn't have the pop, the strength, the power in the right hand that I have now. In order to feel this, consistently, is exciting.

 

Does that added power give you even more confidence in yourself entering Saturday's fight?

Absolutely. I think what we had to do over the years was try and get the shoulder as strong as possible, but I had to kind of let the right hand have a mind of its own. I was predominantly a left-handed fighter. If you look at the Chad Dawson fight, it's probably 70/30 with the ratio between using the left and right hand. I could use it when I needed it, but now I can use it when I want to use it because it's strong and it's powerful.

 

What was the hardest part about being out of the ring for the past 14 months?

Just the unexpected news. It's one thing to have a tweak -- as I originally thought it was -- in a normal sparring session. I just felt a tweak in the shoulder and stopped. I started getting some light rehab, nothing too serious. I'm thinking it's not a big deal, and to go from that to four months later sitting in a doctor's office and hearing "surgery," it's just mind-boggling. That's what you don't want to hear, especially where I was in my career coming off the Chad Dawson victory. Just having to deal with the shock of that, the concern about doing surgery.

[+] Enlarge

Alexis Cuarezma/Getty ImagesAndre Ward is excited about the possibilities after right shoulder surgery, which he says has helped him unlock his power.

Your time away from the ring provided more opportunities for you as a broadcaster. How has that experience and unique perspective helped you as a fighter?

Obviously, you can see how the business is run from the inside and out. That's very interesting. I had the best seat in the house, with a great broadcast team that I work with. It has made me hungrier, and it has also given me a greater appreciation to be around this sport but not able to participate. That is tough to be around the game, that close and that personal, and there's nothing I can do about it and can't come back. That's very humbling. It just makes me appreciate. I remember Instagramming a picture when I first went back to the gym saying that I missed this place. You really don't hear that when you talk about a boxing gym, but I did. I'm just happy to be back.

 

There has been plenty of talk that you preferred a softer touch in your first fight back but that you were forced into this matchup by HBO. How much of that was true?

I don't think at this point in my career that I or my team is going to allow me to be forced into anything. I think that we weren't looking at Rodriguez. This wasn't a guy where I was saying, "I want to fight him." We had other guys on the list, but, for one reason or another, those fights weren't made and Rodriguez's name kept coming up. I wasn't looking at it as a situation where I was being forced. I looked at it as, "OK, if this is what the network is really pushing for, let's do it." I remember as clear as day giving my whole team -- James Prince, Antonio Leonard and Dan Goossen -- the green light to say, "Make the fight. Let's do it. Let's stop the back-and-forth with the media." And then the fight started to come together slowly.

 

What was your reaction to how easily Rodriguez disposed of Denis Grachev during his first-round TKO in July?

I think you have to respect it, for sure. It was a tremendous offensive onslaught. But I think being a fighter and being a guy who is going up against him, you have to put it in perspective. Take nothing away from the guy who he beat. I look at the good and acknowledge it. He did his thing. It was a great victory. But then I look at the guy he fought and the type of style he had. Who did that guy beat leading up to this fight, and what type of fighter was he? Then I look that [Grachev] took 20 or 30 punches before he finally hit the ground, so I kind of look at it a little different. I acknowledge the good but look at the holes and put it all into perspective.

What do you identify as Rodriguez's greatest strengths and weaknesses?

I think it's similar to when I fought Froch. His greatest strength is eagerness and willingness to be a great fighter. He's eager in the ring and confident, but that's also going to be his downfall. He doesn't mind his defense as much as he should, and that's going to catch up with him in this fight, I believe. It's something you have to respect because it lets you know he's hungry and he's not coming here feeling like an opponent, but it also gets him in trouble because he's going to be really anxious, and the way he responds to it in the ring is fighting harder. I just think, at this level, that works to a certain level, but, at another level, you have to think and you have to be aggressive. I don't think he thinks sometimes, he just reacts. And that will be his downfall.

The name that keeps coming up when potential opponents for you are discussed is Gennady Golovkin. What's your take on his recent rise, and do you believe he's for real?

 

I think the kid has got a good punch, for sure. I don't think that's in question. I think he put up a great performance against [Curtis] Stevens, who is a friend of mine. I don't know. It's hard because I look at it from an objective standpoint. I'm not a media member, so I look at it where I acknowledge the good, but I personally see holes, which I'm sure they see when they see me fight. I'm not making him out to be this invincible individual because that person doesn't exist. He's a good fighter and he's got a good punch, but it takes a lot more than just that sometimes to reign for a long time. If we meet paths, or whenever we cross paths, I think it will be a great fight.

 

How much longer do you intend to compete at 168 pounds before making the move to light heavyweight?

I'm definitely a super middleweight right now. I don't walk around at 200 or 190 like so many guys. Me and [trainer] Virgil [Hunter] talked about this a lot two years ago. I wanted to move up just for the sake of doing it, and Virgil was like, "No, it's not time. Your time will come, and we will know together when that time is right." So, I'm just trying to follow his lead right now, but being a multidivisional champion is something I want to accomplish and have always wanted to do.

Does it excite you that business has picked up in the light heavyweight division thanks to the rise of big punchers Adonis Stevenson and Sergey Kovalev, both of whom could prove to be future opponents for you?

Absolutely. Under me at 160, in my weight class and also at light heavyweight, there's always movement, and the excitement is a good thing for everybody involved. But, at the same time, I know those guys are not who I'm fighting now. They are not my next fight. So it's a situation where I'm just kind of locked in. I'm aware of the noise and aware of the hype. I'm watching these guys, and I'm sure they are watching me. I tend to lock in on a guy when it becomes a reality, and right now those guys are not a reality, although they very well could be in the future.

 

You are two years removed from effectively cleaning out the super middleweight division and have fought only once in the past 23 months. How active do you want to be moving forward, and do you feel compelled to make up for any lost time?

 

Not really make up, but I definitely want to get busy. Virgil has always said that, when you get into a groove, that's when things are going to come and you are going to see a fight that you didn't know existed. It's just the way it is. You don't have to have these long training camps or anything like that because you're fighting often. If I could get in the ring two to three times a year, I think that's enough to get me into a nice groove, and it's going to start [saturday] against Edwin Rodriguez.

 

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/boxing--edwin-rodriguez-believes-he-has-all-the-tools-to-defeat-the-great-andre-ward-184729302.html

 

 

When Ronnie Shields was asked if he was interested in training Edwin Rodriguez, he didn't immediately say yes.

 

It's not often that a trainer doesn't jump at the opportunity to work with a highly touted unbeaten prospect, but Shields wanted to watch some film of Rodriguez first to see if he felt they'd mesh.

 

What stuck out as Shields watched many hours of fight footage of Rodriguez was the lack of defense. But Shields also noticed brief moments when Rodriguez showed extraordinary boxing skills.

 

"I knew this was a guy I could work with," Shields was saying a few days before the biggest challenge of Rodriguez's professional life, when he meets the great Andre Ward on HBO on Saturday for the WBA super middleweight title. "Edwin had a lot of offense, but he was lacking defense. He was making mistakes he shouldn't have made.

 

"But what I saw was that he had the ability to do it, and to mix the two. He just needed to work on it and improve on some things."

 

View gallery

.

Has Edwin Rodriguez improved enough to handle the great Andre Ward? (Getty Images)

 

And so a little more than two years ago, Shields brought Rodriguez (24-0, 16 KOs) to his gym in Houston and set about rebuilding his game.

 

 

Rodriguez had a coming-out party when he faced the tough Donovan George on HBO on St. Patrick's Day 2012. HBO executives loved the match because both Rodriguez and George had reputations as entertaining offensive fighters with defensive issues.

 

That may not lead to long, successful careers, but it does make for good television.

 

Shields talked the bout up repeatedly as a toe-to-toe slugfest, but he had a little secret that he kept to himself.

 

"Edwin's a very smart guy and he was picking things up very quickly, and as we did things, he realized that he could box when he needed to," Shields said. "I challenged him in that fight with Donovan George. I told him, 'Listen, Edwin. You can box this guy and make this an easy fight. That's what you need to do. Go out there and box him.'

 

"Everyone thought it was going to be this toe-to-toe slugfest, a knockdown, drag-out brawl. But we'd worked on Edwin's boxing so hard, and he went out and boxed the guy beautifully."

 

It was that performance that announced Rodriguez as a legitimate title contender. He cemented that status in a tournament in Monte Carlo, when he defeated former Argentine Olympian Ezequiel Osvaldo Maderna in March and then knocked out Denis Grachev in the first round in July.

 

When the opportunity to fight Ward, the 2004 Olympic gold medalist and the best fighter in the world not named Mayweather, Rodriguez never hesitated.

 

"I feel like I've been ready for a while now," Rodriguez said. "… I've been asking for this fight for a while now. This is my time. I'm ready."

 

But in Ward, he's facing a rare talent, and a guy who, as great as he is, seems to be improving. Ward (26-0, 14 KOs) is coming off an impressive 10th round stoppage of Chad Dawson last year.

 

Ward has had a reputation as a guy who is tough to hit, though Shields said, "I wouldn't put him in Floyd Mayweather's class in terms of defense, because no one has a defense like Floyd Mayweather."

 

But Ward's offense has become more effective, and he expects it to be even better because he had a torn right rotator cuff that bothered him for years surgically repaired.

 

Rodriguez is under no illusions about what he faces, and said there is no simple way to win. All of the lessons he's learned from Shields will come into play Saturday.

 

View gallery

.

Perhaps only Floyd Mayweather Jr. is a better boxer than Andre Ward. (Getty Images)

 

"It's more about being able to not just fight inside, but being able to do it all and to be able to fight him on the outside and the inside, all over the place," Rodriguez said. "It's not going to be a fight where it's going to be determined where a fighter is going to take over the inside or the outside.

 

 

"It's going to be [my ability] to adapt to the things that he's doing right, and adapting to it, and doing my own thing right, and keep moving to different things, because he's a smart fighter and he’s able to catch onto these things."

 

In other words, it's going to be a chess match. Ward is a grand master, but Shields said Rodriguez is right there.

 

Rodriguez stands on the precipice of history, with the opportunity to hand one of the world's greatest fighters his first defeat and to take his world championship.

 

Shields said the timing is perfect for Rodriguez to pull off the upset.

 

"He needs to get in there and make Andre fight a different kind of fight than he's fought before, and you know what?" Shields said. "He's definitely capable of doing that. Andre's a good fighter and we can't take a thing away from him. But everybody talks about [how] Edwin hasn't seen a style like Andre's before. Let's be honest, though: Andre hasn't seen a style like Edwin's before, and that's the big difference.

 

"We wouldn't have taken this fight if we didn't feel the time was right and that Edwin had a chance to win it. As good as Andre Ward is, and we concede he's very good, Edwin Rodriguez is 24-0 and he has everything he needs to win this fight. Trust me when I tell you that."

[Kevin D]

 

 

 

 

http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/id/9982890/edwin-rodriguez-misses-weight-andre-ward-fight

 

Super middleweight contender Edwin Rodriguez missed weight by 2 pounds at Friday's weigh-in, costing him a chance to win the world title against champion Andre Ward.

 

Rodriguez is due to fight Ward on Saturday night (HBO, 10 ET/PT) at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, Calif., but Rodriguez no longer is eligible to win the championship after weighing in at 170 pounds, 2 more than the 168-pound division limit. If Ward, returning from a 14-month layoff because of surgery for a right shoulder tear, loses the fight, he still will retain the title. He weighed 167.8 pounds.

 

Under California State Athletic Commission rules, Rodriguez had two hours to try to shed the extra 2 pounds.

 

 

"We're going to work on [losing the 2 pounds]. I feel pretty good," Rodriguez said while still at the scale after being overweight. "I'm gonna work on it."

 

But Rodriguez was depleted. He had nothing left to lose, and he never went back to the scale to weigh in again.

 

"I think there's a chance Edwin might not be able to make this weight again," Lou DiBella, Rodriguez's promoter, told ESPN.com. "He couldn't lose another ounce. He couldn't even spit."

 

For missing weight, the commission fined Rodriguez 20 percent of his career-high $1 million purse. Of the $200,000 fine, half will go to the commission and the remaining $100,000 will be given to Ward, boosting his purse from $1.9 million to $2 million.

 

As part of a deal made with the Ward camp, Rodriguez is required to reweigh at 9 a.m. PT on Saturday and cannot be heavier than 180 pounds.

 

And if he weighs more than 180?

 

"It's at his peril," DiBella said.

 

There also were ongoing discussions between the camps about Rodriguez (24-0, 16 KOs), 28, of Worcester, Mass., making an additional payment to Ward (26-0, 13 KOs), 29, of Oakland, Calif., to go through with the fight, but there was no resolution as of Friday night.

 

DiBella, a vocal critic of fighters who fail to make weight, did not hold back on his own fighter.

 

"I'm greatly disappointed and I'm really annoyed," DiBella said. "I'm not a hypocrite. I've been public about this situation with other fighters and talked about their unprofessionalism, and I'm not going to change my tune because he's my fighter.

 

"This is the opportunity of your lifetime, this is everything to this kid and his family, and I'm greatly disappointed. I truly believe in him as a fighter and that he had a chance to do something great, and now he is in a situation where he can't win the belt, and he has been docked money his family desperately needed, and I have a hard time believing he will be at his best. I have empathy if he simply couldn't make the weight, but that doesn't change the annoyance or disappointment or stop me from saying I'm sorry on behalf of his team to Andre Ward, Ward's team, HBO and to the fans."

[chrisbonnie]

 

 

http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/id/9982890/edwin-rodriguez-misses-weight-andre-ward-fight

Super middleweight contender Edwin Rodriguez missed weight by 2 pounds at Friday's weigh-in, costing him a chance to win the world title against champion Andre Ward.

Rodriguez is due to fight Ward on Saturday night (HBO, 10 ET/PT) at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, Calif., but Rodriguez no longer is eligible to win the championship after weighing in at 170 pounds, 2 more than the 168-pound division limit. If Ward, returning from a 14-month layoff because of surgery for a right shoulder tear, loses the fight, he still will retain the title. He weighed 167.8 pounds.

Under California State Athletic Commission rules, Rodriguez had two hours to try to shed the extra 2 pounds.

 

"We're going to work on [losing the 2 pounds]. I feel pretty good," Rodriguez said while still at the scale after being overweight. "I'm gonna work on it."

But Rodriguez was depleted. He had nothing left to lose, and he never went back to the scale to weigh in again.

"I think there's a chance Edwin might not be able to make this weight again," Lou DiBella, Rodriguez's promoter, told ESPN.com. "He couldn't lose another ounce. He couldn't even spit."

For missing weight, the commission fined Rodriguez 20 percent of his career-high $1 million purse. Of the $200,000 fine, half will go to the commission and the remaining $100,000 will be given to Ward, boosting his purse from $1.9 million to $2 million.

As part of a deal made with the Ward camp, Rodriguez is required to reweigh at 9 a.m. PT on Saturday and cannot be heavier than 180 pounds.

And if he weighs more than 180?

"It's at his peril," DiBella said.

There also were ongoing discussions between the camps about Rodriguez (24-0, 16 KOs), 28, of Worcester, Mass., making an additional payment to Ward (26-0, 13 KOs), 29, of Oakland, Calif., to go through with the fight, but there was no resolution as of Friday night.

DiBella, a vocal critic of fighters who fail to make weight, did not hold back on his own fighter.

"I'm greatly disappointed and I'm really annoyed," DiBella said. "I'm not a hypocrite. I've been public about this situation with other fighters and talked about their unprofessionalism, and I'm not going to change my tune because he's my fighter.

"This is the opportunity of your lifetime, this is everything to this kid and his family, and I'm greatly disappointed. I truly believe in him as a fighter and that he had a chance to do something great, and now he is in a situation where he can't win the belt, and he has been docked money his family desperately needed, and I have a hard time believing he will be at his best. I have empathy if he simply couldn't make the weight, but that doesn't change the annoyance or disappointment or stop me from saying I'm sorry on behalf of his team to Andre Ward, Ward's team, HBO and to the fans."

Your man missing weight will just serve to speed up his inevitable demise at the hands of ward.

 

What a wanker for missing weight though. Who misses weight for a world title fight in this day and age?

 

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

 

 

[sir roger]

To be fair he looks in great shape in the pictures, so I assume he has just outgrown the division.

[Bjornebye]

Lee's his mate though, isn't he?

 

The one with Eubank, Steve Collins, Roy Jones, Woodhall was funny.  Calzaghe was on there too but he's as interesting as a piece of wood. 

 

Dunno?

 

Eubank is great to watch , same as Bruno. 

[littletedwest]

Great to see and hear Larry Holmes on Sky last night.

didn't see it .Larry always seemed bitter though about the lack of attention he got compared to Ali.

 

and he seemed dislike George foreman. think George would have had his number myself.

[Pidge]

Decided to watch the Ch5 fights today. Should take me through until some South American sports team take part in a certain global pastime later, or basketball... not sure which yet.

 

Will be interesting to see Eubank Jr, looking to see how DeGale shapes up in the pro scene as well.