By: William Holmes
The following is the Boxing Insider notebook for the week of December 10th to December 17th, covering the comings and goings in the sport of boxing that you might have missed.
Arthur Abraham Victorious Against Bouadla
Arthur Abraham (35-3) stopped Mehdi Bouadla (26-5) in the 8th round of their super middleweight bout on Saturday at Nuremberg, Germany. Bouadla was considered by many to not be an opponent worthy of a title shot and it showed in the ring against Abraham. By the eighth round Bouadla was badly beaten down and the referee stopped the fight at 2:11.
George Groves Easily Defeats Glen Johnson
Glen Johnson (51-18-2) came out of retirement to take on George Groves (16-0) for the commonwealth super middleweight title in London, England. Johnson has not looked like a top contender in years and by all accounts he looked old and slow on Saturday night. Johnson was knocked down in the last round after a combination from Groves and lost on the scorecards by a score of 120-107, 120-107, and 119-109.
Narvaez and Maidana Win in Argentina
Omar Narvaez (38-1-2) took on David Quijano (15-3-1) in San Miguel de Tucuman, Argentina on Saturday night for his junior bantamweight title. Narvaez dominated Quijano and won by scores of 120-106, 120-108, and 119-109.
Welterweight Marcos Maidana (33-3) knocked out Angel Martinez (13-4-1) in the third round on Wednesday night in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The end came when Maidana landed a left to the body and Martinez went down for the count at 1:38 of round three.
Martin Stops Goecmen for WBU Belt
On Friday, December 14th at the Gary Hincks Malta Knights Promotions Christmas Crackers event at the Sky Club in Paceville, Malta Steve Martin beat Germany’s Sabri Ulas Goecmen to become the new WBU Light Welterweight International Champion. Martinez pounded Goecmen through five rounds before his corner threw in the towel to stop the fight. Also on the same card WBU Super Middleweight Champion Scott Dixon defeated Dominik Ameri. Dixon won with a points victory of 80-71 on all three judges’ scorecards.
James DeGale Vacates EBU Title
After winning the WBC Silver title against Fulgencio Zuniga, James DeGale has decided to vacate his European title to concentrate on his quest for world honors.
DeGale stated, “It has been a real honor to be EBU champion and it’s a shame that I have had to choose between the two championship belts I hold. However, I feel my decision to relinquish the European belt is the right decision at this stage in my career. I’ve won it and defended it twice and I feel the best course of action is to defend my WBC belt on route to a world title.”
Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame to Announce Its Inaugural Class
On Wednesday December 19th at 11:00 A.M. PT Rich Marotta, founder and CEO of the newly established Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame will announce their historic inaugural class of inductees at the Richard Steele Boxing Club in North Las Vegas, Nevada. Inductees from the following categories will be announced: Nevada Resident Boxer, Non-Nevada Resident Boxer, Non Boxer Participant, Officials, Media, Promotions, Executives, Special Contributors.
Team Sauerland Signs Deion Jumah
Team Sauerland has announced the signing of British Amateur star Deion Jumah. He’s a two-time ABAE Cruiserweight Champion and a former England international. He’ll join a stable of cruiserweight champions including Marco Huck (WBO), Yoan Pablo Hernandez (IBF) and Mateusz masternak (European). Jumah has already ammased an amateur record of 22-1 and trains out of London’s famous Ddale Youth Amateur Boxing Club.
Having spurned the advances of a number of British promoters, Jumah has opted to sign with Team Sauerland. ”I met Nisse Sauerland in London and we got on really well,” said the 23-year-old. ”I grew up watching Sauerland fights. As a cruiserweight I always followed boxing on the European scene as the division is stronger there than in the UK or US. It is an honour to think that I can now be a part of that.”
Adamek vs. Cunningham Fight Night Schedule
Tomasz Adamek (47-2) will be rematching Steve “USS” Cunningham (25-4) on the NBC network on Saturday in the heavyweight division. Tor Hamer (19-1) will be fighting Vyacheslav Glazkov (13-0) in a co-feature in the heavyweight division on the same card. The weigh-ins will be open to the public and held on Friday December 21st at 2:30 PM at the Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. I
Tomasz Adamek Workout Quotes
Tomasz Adamek: “I am a different fighter than I was in 2008. I’ve changed everything. Everyone can see. I don’t stand straight in front of my opponent anymore and I move my head. I am stronger.”
Roger Bloodworth: “If Cunningham thinks that he will able to do the same things he did against Adamek four years ago, he will have very unpleasant surprise. Adamek is a very different fighter right now; maybe even a completely different fighter altogether.”
Tomasz Adamek: “There’s already something different in the air. I can feel it. This is my best training camp ever and I’m really hungry for boxing. I know that this fight will be very personal for Cunningham. And being on NBC, with millions watching – it will be something special.”
Steve Cunningham Workout Quotes
STEVE CUNNINGHAM: “Camp has been great. I feel strong. I’ve been working with solid heavyweights like Chazz Witherspoon. I wanted this rematch for a long time, especially right after the first fight, but it didn’t happen. My career went on, his career went on, and now our paths cross again. I’m excited. I’m looking at this like it’s the first time we’re fighting. I’m not looking for revenge. That’s not in me. I’m just looking to win this fight and win it spectacularly. I’m just ready to fight. The time for talking is done.”
BROTHER NAAZIM RICHARDSON, Steve’s Trainer: “I’m feeling great. I’m feeling really confident, and very comfortable. Steve is sharp. Usually going into each fight, there’s something that I’m a little uneasy with. But I really don’t have that going into this fight. I think we’re in a good place.”
Ayala and Stevens to Meet in January 19th Co-Feature
Main Events has announced that middleweights Elvin Ayala (26-5-1)and Curtis “Showtime” Stevens (22-3) will meet in a 10 round co-feature bout on the next nationally televised edition of Fight Night on NBC Sports Network on January 19th, 2013. It will precede the main event between Sergey Kovalev (19-1) and Gabriel Campillo (21-4-1) in the light heavyweight division. The fight will be held at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, CT.
World Title Tripleheader January 19th at MSG
Top Rank Promotions has announced three world title fights at Madison Square Garden on January 19th. Orlando Salido will defend his WBO featherweight title against Mikey Garcia, Gennady “GGG” Golovkin will defend his WBA/IBO Middleweight title against Gabriel Rosado, and WBO junior lightweight champion Roman Martinez will take on Juan Carlos Burgos. These bouts will be televised live on HBO Boxing After Dark on Saturday, January 19th, at 9:45 PM.
David Price vs. Tony Thompson Announced
David Price (15-0) will box world class American Tony Thompson (36-3) at Liverpool’s Echo Arena on Saturday February 23rd in an international heavyweight contest. Two of Thompson’s defeats came against Wladimir Klitschko in world title challenges. Tickets information can be found at www.frankmaloney.com
Katie Taylor Announces February 24th Comeback
Olympic and AIBA World Champion Katie Taylor has announced details of her upcoming bout at the Bord Gais Energy Theatre. She will meet a soon to be announced opponent at the Dublin venue on February 24th.
Taylor stated the following, “Olympics really opened people’s eyes to the sport and the standard at the games was so high and it’s only going to get harder to defend my titles. The major boxing nations are investing hugely in the sport and some of my rivals like Sofya Ochigava in Russia, the Chinese girl Cheng Dong and Natasha Jonas from the UK now face serious competition in their own countries so the standards keep rising as the sport’s profile is increasing.
“I’m still only 26 and I feel I have things to prove and things to achieve in the sport. I’m constantly learning in the gym and looking to improve. I’ve always set myself goals and I want to retain that Olympic title in Rio in 2016 and retain my European and World titles as well so I’m hungrier than ever to keep improving.”
Rios vs. Ramos Announced for January 11th ShoBox
Ronny Rios (19-0)and former world champion Rico Ramos (21-1) are set to square off on January 11th in Indio, California from the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino for the main event of ShoBox: The New Genereation season opener. Daquan Arnett will battle Brandon Quarles on the co-feature bout. The televised card will begin at 11:15 p.m. ET and tickets can be purchased at www.fantasyspringsresort.com
