Mundine 'officially' relinquishes title for Kessler
Anthony Mundine, the now former WBA super middleweight has officially relinquished his world title.
However Mundine is not the no1 at 168lb as far as the WBA are concerned as that honour belongs to WBA ‘Super Champion’ Joe Calzaghe.
It is also believed that the Welshman may also relinquish his version of the 168lb title himself - so it could pave the way for Mikkel Kessler to contest the 'Super Champion' title he actually lost to the Welshman in November last year.
Mikkel Kessler and Dimitri Sartison (pictured) will now fight for the vacant 'regular' title on June 21 unless Calzaghe decides to relinquish beforehand.
The WBA have also stated that the winner of this bout between Kessler and unbeaten Sartison is to contest German Danilo Haussler within 120 days of their fight.
The stocky Haussler, who drew in his last fight against Cristian Sanavia for the European title, has already been soundly beaten by two Dane's already in Rudy Markussen (L12) and also Mads Larsen (L12) and is doubtful to win against a fighter of the pedigree of Kessler.
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Hudson claims Mosley knowingly took steroids...
Shane Mosely's former trainer, Derryl Hudson last year accused Mosley of taking steroids and is now being sued by Shane for defamation of character.
The steroidal formula, made famous for all the wrong reasons by Conte's 'Balco Labs' was seen to be injected by Mosely, in front of Hudson.
Hudson also states that this occurred when he was in preparation to fight Oscar de la Hoya.
“Mr. Mosley admitted to me that he knew the drugs provided to him by Mr. Conte were illegal performance enhancing drugs,” Hudson said, according to the papers filed in court.
Sugar Shane, who recently lost to Miguel Cotto and has had his fight with Zab Judah postponed due to sticthes sustained to Judah in an accidental fall, had this to say about the situation in a statement to clear his name of any wrongdoing.
“I explicitly sought and received Conte’s assurance that everything he was recommending was entirely legal and authorised for use in my sport,” Mosley stated.
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Is Solis The Bigger Threat Than Haye At Heavy ?
30.05.08
Lots of noise and rightly so, has made about the impending adventures of fan favourite David Haye into the league of the 'fat slobs' as he calls it, or The Heavyweight division as the rest of us know it.
With talk of Klitchko and Sam Peter, Rahman and Briggs as all possible impending opponents of the Hayemaker.
But one man at Heavyweight has been quietly flying under the radar. A man who fled his country with fellow amateur team mates Yan Bartelemi Varela and the rapidly rising Yuriorkis Gamboa Toledano. A man who beat his legendary countryman, Felix Savon twice in their three epic fights.
Odlanier Solis or 'Goldie' to his friends was an Amateur phenomena. The 28 year old, 6'1 Cuban heavyweight has to be one of the most decorated amateur boxers of this era.
Aged 21 at the 2001 World amateur finals, he took Gold - with wins over Sultan Ibragimov (a Russian Olympic silver medallist the year before)in the semi final... and a TKO win over David Haye in the grand final itself.
In the final against Haye, Odlanier was caught with a thundering shot by the Hayemaker during the opener which would have sank a battleship, but Solis took a standing count.
Haye roared into the lead, taking a 9-4 lead into the second round of their bout but Solis came out with a renewed intent and proved his worth with huge right hands. After rocking Haye towards the end he forced the Londoner to take a standing count and by the end of the round had 19-15 lead at the bell.
Round three began with more of the same, Odlanier landing thundering punches on Haye, forcing another standing count for the englishman before the referee had seen enough punishment soaked up by the brave Hayemaker.
Odlanier proved his quality again and again following that win in Belfast by winning the World Amateur gold again in 2003 (Heavyweight) and 2005 in Mianyang (Super Heavyweight).
Then Odlanier entered the Olympic games in 2004 at Athens and won the Olympic Gold medal by outpointing Alexander Alexeev.
His final amateur record was a mightily impressive 227 victories, with only 14 losses - with many close defeats reversed in rematches.
His career as a professional began with defection from the national Cuban boxing team in December 2006, during training in Venezuela for the Pan-American Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Odlanier along with Yan and Yuriorkis, made their way to miami and then signed with a German promoter and has since began his foray into the Professional ranks.
His debut came against Andreas Sidon in April 2007. Sidon who was 32-7 was destroyed in only 47 seconds. His next opponent Alex Mazikin, was destroyed in only 43 seconds whilst fighting on an undercard in Turkey 3 months later.
Since that pro debut he has racked up 9 wins, 6 of which by KO in his first year and will make his Stateside debut in Miami against Heavyweight veteran Francois Botha.
2008 promises to see Odlanier take on bigger challenges before launching his own assault on the titles and that could lead to a mouthwatering rematch between Solis and Haye at some point down the line in what would be a blistering match-up between two new and hungry additions to the heavyweight division.
Odlanier Solis vs David Haye VIDEO (World Amateur Final 2001) :-
* CLICK HERE FOR FULL FIGHT *
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Mundine defeats Soliman again.... whoopee
Anthony Mundine (32-3, 23 KO) beat Sam Soliman (35-11, 13 KO) over twelve round in a unanimous decision on Wednesday night against at Vodafone Arena in Melbourne, Australia.
Official Scores were 116-112, 116-112, 117-112.
In a fight nobody really cared for, nor proved anything to anyone, 'The Man' outboxed Soliman for a third time.
In their first encounter, in 2001 for the 'Pan Pacific' IBF title they fought to a split decision in Mundine's favour.
Then in 2007 they fought again and this time the much improved Mundine beat the smaller Soliman by KO (3 knockdown rule in round 9).
So this third encounter really had no basis for taking place at all.
Mundine also ruffled feathers with uncalled for religious remarks where he stated "I'm a muslim and there is no way i can allow a Christian to beat me" which was both unsportsmanlike and typical of 'The Man' as he likes to be called lately.
Many boxing fans are also less than impressed in the fact that Mundine is choosing to duck Mikkel Kessler and vacate his WBA title in the process, to 'chase big fights at middleweight' and that Mikkel 'Needed some wins before challenging me'.
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Oscar and Mayweather to have Catchweight bout
Despite them both being WBC poster-boys, news reaches us that no title will be on the line in their proposed rematch 'pencilled in' for September 21st later this year.
The bout is rumoured to be set for a catchweight of 150 lb.
Oscar de la Hoya has already campaigned earlier this year at that weight in a unanimous decision over Contender star Steve '2 pound' Forbes at the Home Depot Centre, California.
Meanwhile Floyd Mayweather has been busy living up to his new 'Money Mayweather' moniker by earning several million for his appearance on the WWE Wrestling PPV against Big Show.
Floyd's present WBC title at Welterweight may also be vacated soon due to Floyd not facing a ranked mandatory. Andre Berto is possibly being lined up against a fellow WBC ranked opponent to contest the vacant title.
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The cream of British Boxing cheer on Ricky Hatton
25.05.08
By Anders Gomez
Ricky 'Hitman' Hatton (44-1, 31ko's) last night closed the show at his Homecoming in front of over 55,000 fans who packed into the City of Manchester Stadium last night to cheer on their hero.
I spoke to Ricky in the changing rooms and we discussed the nerves surrounding his return to the ring.
"Yeah, it's always gonna be a bit nerve racking, coming back from a knockout defeat" he smilingly told us, whilst shadow boxing to the sounds of the Stone Rose's 'Mersey Paradise' in the background.
"How's our Mathew doing?" he asked "I get nerves for him too... as long as he's giving as good as he gets i'll be happy"
Several of the cream of British boxing were also present, with Carl Froch (pictured) and David Haye amongst the friends and family mingling around.
The Hitman made his hilarious entrance to the remixed 'High Ho Silver Lining' whilst wearing a sumo-sized sky blue 'Fat Suit' to the raucous laughter of the tens of thousands of fans, before stripping down and entering the ring to the now infamous version of 'Blue Moon' by Supra.
Hatton began fiercely, attacking and tracking the Mexican born, Californian resident.
Feinting and countering, with left hooks to the body and right hands to the head, it was one way traffic for short spells.
At one point in the first round Ricky wobbled Lazcano and seemingly got a smell of blood. This triggered the offensive mode and he seemingly started looking for the KO and put his foot on the gas.
But time and time again, when the referee was peering in as if to stop the action in Hatton's favour, the tough Lazcano came back strong, winging in shots of his own - and many of them shook Hatton in the later spells.
In the final interval before the 12th, Billy Graham made quite clear that Ricky was not to take any gambles and that the fight was won. However the Hitman still pressed the action and the two fighters exchanged to the final bell (and even slightly past it) before embracing and smiling at each other.
120-110, 118-110, and 120-108 were the final scorecards for the fight between Hatton and Juan Lazcano or the 'Hispanic causin' Panic' as he prefers to be known.
Panic, was hardly what Lazcano brought to the table, but the judge's scores do not credit the Mexican's bravery and toughness and last night's fight shown why he'd gone the distance in both a Lightweight and Light-Welterweight title fights with Jose Luis Castillo and Vivian Harris respectively in the last few years.
Next up for Ricky? well it would seem a match-up with Paulie Malignaggi is in the bag already.
The only question remains is, whether or not the fight will be made at Madison Square Garden... or will Vegas make the promoter's an offer they simply cannot refuse.
Our crystal ball tells us it might be .. LAS VEGAS again.
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Jamie Moore to fight mexican Esau Herrera at Homecoming
29 year old Jamie Moore (28-3, 19ko's) is set to face 23 year old Mexican Esau Herrera (14-3, 6ko's) in this Saturday's 'Homecoming event' at the City of Manchester Stadium.
The fight will be the first outing for the Salford native in 2008, following his victory over Andrew Facey in October last year and since his successful shoulder operation a few months ago.
Jamie is a massive Manchester United fan and his comeback appearance at the home of arch rivals City has already caused some banter with his good friend and Sky Blue fanatic Ricky Hatton.
“I text Ricky and told him that I’ll be wearing my United shorts for the fight and he text back ‘You better make sure you knock him out quick because you lot get no points at our ground.’” (Laughs)
On a more serious note, he added: “It’s fantastic exposure for me and hopefully I can get a good performance out because they will be some important people there from America, you know, people from Goldenboy. If I impress it might be sooner rather than later when I get a shot.”
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Lazcano's Trainer - We have come to win !!
May 20, 2008
The position of a trainer in the sport of boxing is perhaps the most crucial piece of the puzzle when it comes to putting together a successful fighter. The best trainers command a great deal of respect for their unique abilities to raise the performance levels of their boxers and as a result, are in high demand the world over.
Ronnie Shields, a former two-time world light welterweight title challenger himself, is one of these rare birds, training or having trained such current or recent champions as Juan Diaz, Vernon Forrest, Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Kassim Ouma, Jesse James Leija and Jesus Chavez among others.
This week, the Houston, Texas native is in Manchester, England, bringing junior-welterweight contender Juan Lazcano, 37-4-1 (27), in tow for a challenge against IBO/Ring Champion Ricky Hatton, 43-1 (31), in front of 55,000 fans at City of Manchester Stadium this Saturday.
"I’m here in England to train Juan Lazcano for his fight with Ricky Hatton and make no mistake, we have come here to win," said Shields flatly.
Hatton is returning to fight in the UK for the first time since 2005 after a four bout American tour came to a close when "The Hitman" was levelled by pound for pound king of the sport, Floyd Mayweather, last December.
While Mayweather mastered the defensive approach to dealing with Hatton’s attacking style, Shields doesn’t envision his fighter trying to take a page from the same playbook.
"Juan is a completely different fighter than Floyd Mayweather, so we can’t really follow Mayweather’s fight plan against Ricky," said Shields. "But Juan is a top class fighter, one of the best junior welters in the world and we’re going to surprise Ricky Hatton and beat him."
Hatton is as well known for his gruelling regimen while preparing for fights as he is for his lack of that discipline between contests and Lazcano’s trainer thinks that the toll of such will be Hatton’s downfall.
"He lives a very bad lifestyle for a fighter," said Shields. "Anyone who goes out and drinks the way he does, it has to take an effect. Personally, I think it started taking an effect in the Floyd Mayweather fight. Floyd Mayweather isn’t a big puncher, yet Floyd knocked Ricky out. As could be seen, round and round after round, Hatton got more and more tired and that’s for the simple reason that his lifestyle is starting to take an effect on him.
"Just watching the fight, I could see this happening round after round, and after about the sixth round, I thought that Floyd had the chance to knock Ricky out because Floyd hurt him with a couple of those check hooks. Gaining all that weight, losing all that weight and then gaining it all back again, that takes a hell of a toll on your body, I don’t care who you are."
Despite the long odds his fighter must overcome to defeat Hatton in front of a British record-breaking amount of highly partisan hometown fans, Ronnie Shields remains unshaken in his Saturday night prediction.
"Juan Lazcano is going to push Ricky all the way through those twelve rounds," he said. "We’re going to make him fight for 12 rounds, so there’s no excuses, no nothing; I’ve been hearing something about how he’s been sick, but if you’re sick, don’t get in the ring because then you’ve got an excuse. But if you do jump in that ring, then you have no excuses.
"When Juan beats Ricky, we don’t want to hear anything except for his team to say that Juan Lazcano was the best fighter that night."
Saturday, May 24, 2008 will feature the biggest selling fight in the history of British boxing, IBO/Ring light welterweight champion Ricky Hatton vs. Juan Lazcano, in front of 55,000 fans at City of Manchester Stadium in Manchester, England on a shared production between Frank Maloney Promotions, Punch Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions.
Chief support features IBF light welter champion Paulie Malignaggi, 24-1 (5), vs. former titleholder Lovemore N’dou, 46-9-1 (31), and Commonwealth welterweight champion Craig Watson, 12-2 (4), defending against Matthew Hatton, 33-3-1 (13).
Two other championship fights will be featured with English junior middleweight title bout between the champion Andrew Facey, 19-5-1 (6), going against Manchester’s Thomas McDonagh, 31-1-2 (6), and Liverpool’s Mark Moran, 9-0-1 (2), squaring off with Danny Wallace, 12-4-1 (6), for the vacant English super bantamweight title.
Two-time British light middleweight champion Jamie Moore, 28-3 (19), also sees action on the card, facing Esau Herrera,14-3-1 (6), of Mexico City in an eight rounder.
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