Boxing Insider Notebook: Pacquiao, Canelo, Dawson, Crawford, Tyson, Cunningham, and more

By William Holmes

The following is the Boxing Insider notebook for the week of September 16th to September 23rd, covering the comings and goings in the sport of boxing that you might have missed.

WBC Issues a Letter to Pacquiao and Mayweather

The WBC has sent out the following letter in regards to a potential Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather bout:

After Floyd Mayweather clearly defeated Marcos Maidana in their much anticipated rematch, there have been countless news stories, articles and statements in the press regarding the fight that has been in the makings for several years. Clearly and simply – the world wants to see Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao.

Mayweather, the WBC Welterweight and Superwelterweight champion of the world, has been the pound-for-pound driving force of the sport in recent years, while Pacquiao is an iconic champion who has reestablished the interest of the boxing world after his dramatic loss in his
fourth fight with Juan Manuel Marquez.

The WBC has been extremely supportive, and in fact ranked Pacquiao as number one contender in the welterweight division after his comeback victory against Brandon Rios.

With this ranking in the month of December, 2013, Pacquiao was in line to have the fight against Mayweather, but unfortunately his plans were different and he challenged Timothy Bradley, conquering the WBO championship.

The WBC hereby ratifies complete support and commends Mayweather and Pacquiao to sit down and make the fight happen, if Pacquiao successfully wins his upcoming fight against Chris Algieri.
Both Mayweather and Pacquiao have great history in the WBC and without a doubt their fight would be one of the biggest events in the history of boxing and our sport.

Pacquiao vs. Algieri Pay-Per-View Undercard

On Saturday, November 22nd at the Venetian Macao Manny Pacquiao will face off against Chris Algieri, and the undercard has just been released for this pay per view offering.

Vasyl Lomachenko will make the first defense of his WBO Featherweight Title against mandatory challenger Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo of Thailand. Jessie Vargas will also be on the card and will be defending his WBA Super Lightweight Title against Antonio DeMarco. Zou Shiming will also be on the card and will face off against Kwanpichit Onesongchaigym in a twelve round WBO
Flyweight world title elimination bout.

Canelo Alvarez and Golden Boy Sign Deal with HBO

Much of the talk about boxing has been the “cold war” between HBO and Showtime and between Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank Promotions. The cold war between HBO and Golden Boy might officially be over as Canelo Alvarez, Oscar De La Hoya, and HBO Sports president Ken Hershman will be announcing a contract between Golden Boy Promotions, Canelo Alvarez, and HBO.

The details of the deal should be revealed in the new few days but it is known that Canelo has signed an exclusive long term deal with HBO. The first fight for Canelo is rumored to be Joshua Clottey who is coming off a win against Anthony Mundine in Australia.

Terence Crawford to Defend Title Against Ray Beltran

On Tuesday, September 30th at the CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Nebraska undefeated WBO Lightweight World Champion Terence Crawford and the number 1 conender to his belt Ray Beltran will host a news conference to announce their World Lightweight Championship Fight. The news conference will be open to the public and should begin at 12:30 p.m. CT.

This bout will take place during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend on Saturday, November 29th at the CenturyLink Center and it will be televised live on HBO Boxing After Dark.

Mike Tyson Stars in New Commercial for Turning Stone Resort Casino

Mike Tyson will hit the New York airwaves this week in a new TV ad for Turning Stone Resort Casino. Tyson, who has frequented the resort as a boxing promoter, stars in the commercial and repeatedly demands to be “hit” by a Turning Stone blackjack people. He also weighs in with his thoughts on the resort, calling it a “knockout.” The commercial continues by showing Tyson weaving through Turning Stone casino and all the offerings available to it’s clientele.

The commercial can be viewed on the Turning Stone website at www.turningstone.com/sports/boxing.

Tickets on Sale Now for Steve Cunningham vs. Natu Visinia

Steve Cunningham is slated to return to the ring on October 18th at the 2300 Arena in South Philadelphia. His bout is scheduled to be broadcast on NBCSN Fight Night and will feature Cunningham facing off against natu “The Truth” Visina. There will also be a ten round junior lightweight contest between Edner Cherry and Jerry Belmontes. The show is slated to start at 7:00 PM and tickets can be purchased online at www.peltzboxing.com

Fury Restrained by Tape, Chisora Vows KO Win

Dereck Chisora promised to knockout heavyweight rival Tyson Fury when they clash at the ExCeL London on Saturday, November 29th.

Tyson Fury showed up at the latest press conference with tape strapped over his mouth and “BBBofC????” written on it- in reference to his fine by the Board for misconduct at a previous press conference with Chisora- and vowed to stay silent until fight night.

The Fury vs. Chisora fight will be for the European, British, and an Eliminator for the WBO World Championship. At the latest press conference Tyson Fury did not say a single word and his trainer Peter did all the talking.

“The Board wanted us to done it down so here’s Tyson- the Board dummy,” said Peter.
Tyson Fury did gesture that he would knockout Chisora in two rounds.

Chisora stated, “I will knockout him, plain and simple.” He continued,” I’m not saying what round, all I’m say is he’s going to be knocked out.”

Chad Dawson Returns to Foxwoods Resort Casino on October 4th

On October 4th DiBella Entertainment and Warriors Boxing will stage a Showtime Boxing Special Edition with reigning undefeated IBF Champion Rances “Kid Blast” Barthelemy (20-0) defending his super featherweight belt against Fernando Saucedo (52-5-3) in the main event of the night.
Chad Dawson (32-3) is also scheduled to appear on the car and will be fighting for the first time in his home state in five years. He will be facing former world title challenger Tommy Karpency (23-4-1).

“It means a lot to me to be back fighting in front of my hometown fans, to be back on the East coast and not in enemy territory,” said Dawson. “I’m looking forward to putting on a great performance in front of my fans, friends and family in attendance.”

George Groves Back with a Unanimous Decision Verdict, Named WBC Mandatory

George Groves (20-2) returned in style and scored a unanimous decision victory over the Frenchman Christopher Rebrasse (22-3-3) in a final eliminator for the WBC World Super Middleweight Title.

“It feels great to be back,” said Groves. “Rebrasse was a good opponent, a very tough guy, he took an awful lot of shots and kept coming. I knew it was going to be a hard fight. I felt in good condition but you always have to be cautious against a guy that has never been stopped. I want to entertain, I want to knock people out. I didn’t manage that tonight but I gave it a real good go. Things are only going to get beter from here. We’re getting ready to take over the world!”

The former British and Commonwealth Champion can now add the European and WBC Silver titles to his resume, and prepare for a mandatory challenge for Anthony Dirrell’s WBC belt.
Donaire vs. Walters Announced for October 18th on HBO

Nonito Donaire (33-2) will be facing off against rising Jamaican boxer Nicholas Walters (24-0) for the WBC Featherweight belt on Saturday, October 18th at the StubHub! Center in Carson, California. This bout will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET. The telecast will also feature Gennady “GGG” Golovkin defending his title against Marco Antonio Rubio.

“I am very excited for this fight. We are doing everything we can to be ready for everything Walters brings on October 18,” said Donaire.

“This is my dream fight. It’s now the time to show everyone who is the best 126 pound world champion in the entire world.”


Tickets will be available online at www.axs.com

Lange-Jeter 2 Rematch Set for November 15th

Jimmy Lange and Tony Jeter are set to square off in a 10 round rematch on Saturday, November 15th, 2014 at the patriot center. Tickets, starting at $50, are now on sale through all Ticketmaster outlets and the Patriot Center Box Office. The NABA USA Middleweight belt, as well as the possibility of moving up in the WBA ratings, will be on the line.

These two faced off against each other on October 27, 2012 with Jeter pulling off the upset by way of split decision.