By: William Holmes
The following is the Boxing Insider notebook for the week of October 1st to October 7th, covering the comings and goings in the sport of boxing that you might have missed.
Canelo Alvarez Bout Cancelled
Many in the boxing world declared the “Cold War” to be over when it was recently announced that Canelo Alvarez would be taking his services to HBO from Showtime and that Golden Boy Promotions was agreeable to making fights with rival Top Rank Promotions. Canelo was scheduled to fight Joshua Clottey on December 6th in his HBO debut.
However, Canelo has been dealing with a persistent ankle injury and had to withdraw from his December 6th bout. He currently plans to fight on HBO sometime in early 2015.
Steve Cunningham Thanks Boxing Community for Kennedy Cunningham Fundraiser
Two-time Cruiserweight world champion and current top-10 heavyweight contender Steve “USS” Cunningham and his family have thanked the boxing community for the contributions to the Kennedy Cunningham Fundraiser on www.heartbyfaith.com.
Kennedy Cunningham is the 9 year-old daughter of Steve & Livvy Cunningham, and is awaiting a life-saving heart transplant surgery.
The fundraiser was set up this summer with the proceeds going to out of pocket expenses for the Cunningham’s, which included finding a new home close to the hospital for the potential surgery in Pittsburgh.
The goal of $25,000 was reached within two months and most of the donations came from members of the boxing community.
“We are humbled and grateful for what everyone has done to pitch in,” said Steve Cunningham. “These donations came from all over the world from promoters, managers, television people, fighters and everyone else.”
Said Livvy Cunningham, “We are truly touched by the outpouring of help from everybody. Because of the contributions from everybody, we are as comfortable as we can be in this situation and we found a place minutes away from the hospital. It truly shows that when people get together, they can make a huge difference in people’s lives.”
Timothy Bradley Set to Return December 13th
Timothy Bradley (31-1) is set to return to the ring for the first time since his loss to Manny Pacquiao on December 14th at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, Nevada. Bradley is set to face the Argentinian contender Diego Chaves (23-2) in a bout to be televised on HBO.
Both Bradley and Chaves are coming off of losses, so they both need a victory if they want to stay in title contention. Chaves is coming off of a DQ loss to Brandon Rios on August 2nd.
Thompson-Solis II Canceled
Heavyweight contenders Tony Thompson (39-5) and Odlanier Solis (20-2) were scheduled to have a rematch on October 18th in Dusseldorf, Germany. However, that match has been postponed. Solis suffered a sprained ankle while training for the fight in Miami, Florida.
The fight has been rescheduled for November 22nd. Their first match occurred on March 22nd in Turkey, a fight which saw Thompson win by split decision.
Flores’ Career Finds New Hope under Guidance of Haymon
BJ Flores (30-1-1), a Las Vegas based cruiserweight contender, works as a color commentator for NBC televised boxing in addition to his career as a highly-rated cruiserweight contender.
Flores will face Kevin Engel (20-10) on Wednesday at the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi on the undercard of the IBF Middleweight Championship bout between Sam Soliman (44-11) and Jermaine Taylor (32-4-1)
Flores has stated that while promotional problems have stalled his boxing career, he hopes to get back on track now that he is signed with power-manager Al Haymon.
“2015 is going to be a big year for me,” says an excited Flores.
“This will be the year where it all takes off. I signed with Al in late spring and I’ve already fought May 10, June 26, and now October 8. I’m in a perfect position now and I’m ecstatic to have so much opportunity in front of me now, thanks to Al. I can’t wait to show the world how well I can fight.”
Jhonny Gonzalez Defeats Jorge Arce
Jhonny Gonzalez (57-8) defended the featherweight title he won from Abner Mares against future Mexican Hall of Famer Jorge Arce (64-8-2) at Los Mochis, Mexico on Saturday. Arce was giving up a significant size advantage to Gonzalez and wasn’t ever in the match. Arce was knocked down three times in the bout and had a cut on his nose and over his left eye. The mismatch was called off at 2:43 of the eleventh round.
Felix Verdejo Stops Sergio Villanueva
Super prospect Felix Verdejo (15-0) continued his ascent up the lightweight ladder in his match against veteran Sergio Villanueva (26-5-2) on Saturday night in Orlando, Florida. Verdejo has been stopping opponents with regularity and Villanueva was no different. Verdejo landed a vicious right hand in the third round and Villanueva fell through the ropes and nearly out of the ring. He was able to get back to his feet but was clearly still hurt badly.
The referee stopped the bout at 1:57 of the third round.
