Eddy Reynoso, Canelo Alvarez’s longtime trainer, told Box Azteca that Alvarez wants to fight twice before the end of 2020.
Canelo Alvarez evidently plans to make the most of the rest of this year.
Eddy Reynoso, Alvarez’s longtime trainer, told Box Azteca that Alvarez wants to fight twice before the end of 2020. One bout would take place in September (Mexican Independence Day is Sept. 16) and another in December.
Alvarez had been negotiating to fight super middleweight titleholder Billy Joe Saunders but, according to Reynoso, no opponents have been selected for one of the sport’s biggest stars.
“We realistically want two fights this year,” Reynoso told the Mexican outlet. “We couldn’t fight in May, so we are looking at September and December. We’re talking about [potential opponents] like Billy Joe Saunders. There’s also [super middleweight beltholder] Caleb Plant and the WBC world titleholder at 168 pounds (David Benavidez). There are several [possibilities].”
Middleweight titleholder Gennadiy Golovkin is an option for December.
Alvarez and Golovkin fought to a draw in September 2017, and Alvarez won the rematch by a majority decision a year later. Golovkin, who turned 38 years old in April, is planning to face mandatory challenger Kamil Szeremeta when coronavirus restrictions allow it.
“Golovkin could be the fight for December,” Reynoso said. “His people have already said that he doesn’t want to fight Canelo until after the [Szeremeta] fight.”
Chris Mannix and Sergio Mora give their thoughts on how they believe a VasiliyLomchenko-Gervonta Davis fight might go .
Gervonta Davis appears to be headed toward a showdown with Leo Santa Cruz in the fall.
But the popular fighter from Baltimore obviously has another potential opponent on his mind, too: Vasiliy Lomachenko, Boxing Junkie’s No. 1 fighter pound-for-pound.
Davis recently said that he envisions breaking down the Ukrainian star and stopping him late in the fight.
Is that realistic?
In this episode of Jabs with Mannix and Mora, DAZN commentators Chris Mannix and Sergio Mora give their thoughts on how they believe a Lomchenko-Davis fight might go .
Bob Arum said that Deontay Wilder wasn’t offered $10 million to step aside so Tyson Fury could go directly into a fight with Anthony Joshua.
One lingering rumor says that Deontay Wilder was offered $10 million to step aside as Tyson Fury’s next opponent so Fury could go directly into a fight with Anthony Joshua.
Not so, promoter Bob Arum told Ringside Reporter.
“Directly the contrary,” said Arum, who co-promotes Fury. “The Wilder people, when they saw these stories, made it known to us and MTK that Wilder was not amendable to step aside, that he wanted to fight Fury again and gain revenge. So these stories about step-aside were fantasies.”
Fury stopped Wilder in February, after which Wilder exercised a clause in their contract that allowed for a third fight between them. It was set for July 18 but later postponed because of the coronavirus threat.
Wilder also said on The PBC Podcast that he injured his biceps in the Fury fight and needed surgery. However, Arum said he was told by Wilder’s handlers that he could fight Fury as soon as October.
“I’ve been informed by the Wilder people that the original October date was acceptable and he could make a fight as early as that date,” Arum said. “So certainly November, December would be a no-brainer.”
Joshua’s scheduled next opponent, Kubrat Pulev, also indicated that he is unwilling to step aside.
Terence Crawford seemed to be leaning toward a fight with British veteran Kell Brook when the coronavirus threat took hold a few months ago.
Terence Crawford seemed to be leaning toward a fight with British veteran Kell Brook when the coronavirus threat took hold a few months ago, pushing those discussions to the back burner.
Where do things stand now?
Well, if Top Rank President Todd DuBoef knows, he isn’t saying just yet.
“We’re in a pause right now,” DuBoef told Sky Sports. “Terence is a very, very special fighter, probably pound-for-pound one or two on everybody’s list, in a great division. People have talked about him and Errol Spence, people have talked about him and [Manny] Pacquiao, so he has lots of matches to be made.
“He’s just a special fighter with great boxing ability, power, and he’s come up the ranks by that door opening, and he took that opportunity against [Yuriorkis] Gamboa and really made a name for himself. He’s doing terrific and we look forward to getting him back in the ring as soon as possible.”
Crawford and Brook, a former 147-pound titleholder who has fought as high as 160, seemed to be on track for a fight before the pandemic.
DuBoef acknowledged that Crawford had expressed strong interest in the fight. And Brook went so far as to tell Sky Sports that “everybody is on the same page,” which might be another way of saying an agreement in principal was in place.
Then COVID-19 hit.
“A couple of months ago, in February, there was a lot of chatter about Kell Brook,” DuBoef said. “And Crawford says, ‘I’ll go up in weight, he can come down, I don’t care. I’ll take care of him. I want to fight him.’
“Kell and his team have reached out to us, and I think we were going to … be meeting with him in New York for those March events.”
Brook said he ran into Top Rank CEO Bob Arum on a recent trip to Las Vegas.
“I saw Bob out in America,” he told Sky Sports a few weeks ago. “I seen him walking through the lobby in the MGM Grand. I basically went over and said, ‘You’re running out of opponents for Crawford, and I’m the guy to beat him. I’m here.’
“I saw Terence Crawford. He said he was ready for it. So everybody is on the same page. Everyone wants to make the fight. We just need to make the numbers count for me, for it to make business sense, and then we can get training and get ready for the fight.
“The weight won’t be a problem. Obviously, I’m going to have to get the steppers out, chase the kids around the house, and that will help me get the weight off. I’ve got enough time. If we can agree on what we need to, we can get into gear and we can make welterweight for the world title championship.”
Brook hasn’t fought at 147 pounds since he was stopped by Errol Spence. Jr. in May 2017. He has won three consecutive junior middleweight fights since.
Evander Holyfield said that George Foreman and Riddick Bowe, not Mike Tyson, punched him hardest.
Evander Holyfield revealed the hardest puncher he ever faced. And it wasn’t Mike Tyson.
Holyfield said in a The 3 Point Conversion interview that George Foreman and three-time opponent Riddick Bowe landed punches that were more punishing than those of Iron Mike in their two fights.
Holyfield defeated 42-year-old Foreman by a unanimous decision in defense of his title in 1991. “The Real Deal” went 1-2 in a classic series with the prime and much bigger Bowe between 1992 and 1995.
Holyfield stopped Tyson to regain the heavyweight title in 1996 and won by disqualification in the rematch the following year after Tyson chewed off a portion of his ear.
“George Foreman hit me with the hardest punch,’ Holyfield said. “But Riddick Bowe hit me more than anybody with big shots. In not winning my first fight with Riddick Bowe, I was kind of inspired by the people saying, … ‘If you hit him (Holyfield), he’s not gonna stop coming.’
“I always remember that was inspiration that I could take something. Everyone was asking, ‘What’s gonna happen if he gets hit by some big guy?’”
He went on: “I guess the first heavyweight fight that was really kinda taxing was when I fought Michael Dokes. But after Michael Dokes, I kinda grew into how to hang with guys who are bigger and had a little bit more experience than I.
“… I remember at one point in time I thought I could never be hurt because it never happened to me. But the first time Bert Cooper caught me with a shot, they gave me my first eight count. Then I realized, ‘Wow.’ When he hit me I didn’t see the shot. All I remember is my legs rubber banding. … But I never got hurt again until I fought Riddick Bowe.
“The art of the game is you only get hit when you do something wrong. So even sometimes you may get by, you do something wrong and the guy didn’t swing, so you’re kinda thankful. Either you’re in a position to hit the guy or the guy is in a position to hit you.
“Either you hit the guy or you move. If you don’t hit the guy and you don’t move, chances are you’ll get blasted. If you miss the guy but you move, the guy tends to miss you.”
Tyson, 53, and Holyfield, 57, have announced their intentions to return to the ring for charity exhibitions. They reportedly are in talks to face one another a third time.
Jamel Herring reportedly will be one of the first big-name opponents to return to the ring amid the coronavirus threat.
Jamel Herring reportedly will be one of the first big-name opponents to return to the ring amid the coronavirus threat.
The junior lightweight titleholder will defend his title on July 2 in Las Vegas, he told ESPN. No opponent has been selected. Herring had been tentatively set to face former two-division beltholder Carl Frampton in Northern Ireland but that fight fell out because of the pandemic.
The site also hasn’t been finalized, although it will be a MGM Resorts property.
“It’s fluid,” said Carl Moretti, director of boxing operations for Top Rank. “We’re on calls every day with stuff. So what we thought was happening on Tuesday is not, and what we thought was happening on Wednesday is now happening. So it just changes and changes.”
Herring (21-2, 10 KOs) won his title by outpointing Masayuki Ito in May of last year. He successfully defended with a decision over Lamont Roach in November.
The 2012 U.S. Olympian is working with trainer Brian McIntyre in Omaha, Nebraska, according to ESPN. He said he doesn’t expect to be rusty when he steps back into the ring.
“It’s funny, I actually felt good for my first sparring session,” Herring said. “So that tells you that even though I haven’t been in a gym setting, the workouts I had been doing at home during my free time, they’ve been paying off.
“So when I got back into the swing of things, it wasn’t a hard adjustment. It’s only one week, and this gives me almost a full eight weeks until the fight arrives.”
Herring won’t face Frampton in July but still wants that fight.
“That’s still the No. 1 priority, for sure,” he said. “I’m still actually shocked from the latest story that I’ve seen, where he’s not willing to fight unless he’s fighting me. If it comes around the December time frame, he will have been out for like an entire year.
“But for me, I just want to stay as busy as much as possible. I’m not getting younger as it is. So why risk coming into big fights with the ring rust on you still.”
DAZN commentators Chris Mannix and Sergio Mora discuss whether there is reason for concern about Mike Tyson’s well being.
Mike Tyson says he’s ready to go back to war at 53 years old.
That could mean a series of exhibitions to benefit charity, as the former heavyweight champion has suggested. That might include a third meeting between Iron Mike and former rival Evander Holyfield, who also says he wants to fight for a good cause.
Or Tyson’s comments could mean something else. Perhaps he’s seriously considering a return to competitive boxing.
In this episode of Jabs with Mannix and Mora, DAZN commentators Chris Mannix and Sergio Mora discuss whether there is reason for concern about Tyson’s well being.
Danny Garcia said on Instagram Live that he expects to fight either Manny Pacquiao or Errol Spence Jr. in the fall.
Danny Garcia is planning to go big when he returns to the ring.
The former two-division titleholder said on Instagram Live that he expects to fight in the fall. He added that his two potential opponents are among the biggest names in the sport: Manny Pacquiao and Errol Spence Jr.
“I’m coming back, baby. September. Back in the ring, September,” Garcia said. “I’m fighting in the fall, we don’t know [who] yet, either Pac Man or Spence, that’s where it’s at.”
Garcia (36-2, 21 KOs) has defeated Adrian Granados and Ivan Redkach since he lost a close, but unanimous decision against Shawn Porter in September 2018.
The Philadelphian hasn’t held a title since he lost his welterweight belt to Keith Thurman by a split decision in March 2017.
Pacquiao rejuvenated his career last year by outpointing Adrien Broner and then Thurman to win a 147-pound belt. Still, at 41 and being a small welterweight, he would be perceived as an easier mark than Spence for Garcia.
Of course, that’s assuming Spence is fully recovered from his car accident this past October. Spence, coming off a decision over Porter, is a big, strong, prime 147-pounder.
Muhammad Ali displayed his killer instinct when he stopped Ron Lyle in 11 rounds on this date in 1975.
Muhammad Ali was never known as a big puncher.
“The Greatest” was everything but that. He was quick, athletic, strong, durable, a brilliant boxer and a long list goes on. One more thing that isn’t necessarily associated with him: He had a killer instinct.
That characteristic was on display on this date – May 16 – in 1975 at the Convention Center in Las Vegas, when he faced bruiser Ron Lyle, a decent boxer with tremendous punching power. The former convict is best known for his classic fight-of-the-year brawl with George Foreman the following year.
Ali had regained the heavyweight title two fights earlier with his stunning knockout of Foreman in the “Rumble in the Jungle,” the result of his now-famous rope-a-dope tactics that wore Big George down.
Ali vs. Lyle was largely tactical. Ali fought flatfooted much of the fight, covering up in a rope-a-dope fashion as Lyle fired punches but mixing in a consistent jab and enough power punches to lead on two cards after 10 of the scheduled 15 rounds. The third card was even.
Lyle and his cornermen seemed to have learned from the Ali-Foreman fight, as Lyle paced himself throughout the fight. That’s why it was still competitive going into the 11th round.
Then BOOM! A right hand to the jaw put Lyle on his heels and hurt him badly, which energized Ali and ignited a barrage of almost 50 hard, remarkably accurate punches that did further damage and had Lyle staggering around the ring.
“Ali smells blood!” commentator Howard Cosell yelled in the middle of onslaught.
Lyle was taking a horrible beating with his back to the ropes in the final seconds when Ali stopped for a moment to signal referee Ferd Hernandez, as if to say, “C’mon man, stop it.”
Finally he did, at 1:08 of Round 11, ending one of the more breathtaking stretches in the incredible career of Muhammad Ali.
Evander Holyfield said 22-year-old son Evan Holyfield can have great success in boxing if he’s willing to put in the work.
Hall of Famer Evander Holyfield said he doesn’t expect 22-year-old son Evan to live up to his legacy but then set the bar high for the younger Holyfield, a promising middleweight.
“Yung Holy” is 4-0 (3 KOs) since turning pro in November.
“Evan does not have to live up to my legacy, he has to live up to his,” Evander Holyfield told BoxingScene. “That’s what I tell him. He can be better than me, but is he willing to pay the price?
“Evan is a very knowledgeable kid. He had choices to do a lot of things. I told him, ‘Boxing is not for everybody.’ He told me, ‘Dad, I love it.’ Boxing is a tough thing to love, and you have to put the time into it. You need a lot of confidence to step into the ring.”
Evan Holyfield reportedly has taken part in only four official amateur boxing matches but he was a Tae Kwon Do champion and, he claims, he has spent much of the past decade as a gym rat.
He has weighed between 154 and 157½ pounds for his four pro fights but, at 6-foot-2, he could end up at 168 or heavier. His father, who is 6-2½, won the light heavyweight bronze medal in the 1984 Olympics and fought as a cruiserweight and heavyweight as a pro. He has talked about returning to boxing for charitable exhibitions at 57, possibly against former rival Mike Tyson.
The younger Holyfield, promoted by Main Events, is trained by Maurice “Termite” Watkins and works with conditioning coach Tim Hallmark, the elder Holyfield’s longtime teammember. Watkins reportedly was hospitalized with the coronavirus for a month.
“I told [Evan], ‘This is the time you have to work when nothing is happening,’” Evander Holyfield said. “When the curtain comes back up, it will be your time to make a leap. Another fighter’s mentality could be that, ‘This is a time to rest.’ As long as you’re in shape, you can take what they do, but you can give it too?”
He went on: “I know the game of boxing. A trainer is like almost being a father. You owe it to them with time. I can walk in there and say, you need to do this, this and this, because I’ve done it my whole life. I didn’t have anything else growing up.
“I didn’t have a dad who was the heavyweight champion of the world. I did not have a mom with a lot of money. I had to really focus. I gave my all to boxing, because that was the only thing I could do without any help.”
Evan Holyfield said his father is always available to him.
“He’s always there for me through advice,” he said. “We talk a lot, and bounce ideas off each other, all the way down to the business of boxing. If he sees something that I need to improve on, he’ll let me know. He tells me that each generation gets better.
“He wants me to be better than him. I’ve been wanting to chase this myself. It wasn’t a decision I made on a whim. Respect is earned, not given. I have to make a name for myself as my career moves along. I’m really cut for this, and actions speak louder than words. I’ve paid my dues.
“I’m not riding on my father’s name. I’m actually working for my own legacy. I want to be the first father and son tandem in the Hall of Fame. I’m willing to do whatever it takes.”
