Boxing Insider Notebook: Golovkin, Barrera, Pascal, Andrade, Howard Davis Jr., and more..

By: William Holmes

The following is the Boxing Insider notebook for the week of July 21st to July 28th, covering the comings and goings in the sport of boxing that you might have missed.

Golovkins vs. Lemieux Set for October 17th

After weeks of speculation, it has been announced that a middleweight title fight between Gennady Golovkin and David Lemieux is a done deal. The fight will take place on HBO PPV on October 17th at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

This will be Golovkin’s first PPV fight and it should be a slugfest. Golovkin has a record of 33-0 with 30 knockouts while Lemieux has a record of 34-2 with 31 knockouts.

Sullivan Barrera Calls Out Pascal

Sullivan Barrera improved his record to 16-0 when he stopped Hakim Zoulikha in the 8th round of their fight at the Mandalay Events Center. On the same card, former champion won a hard fought, and very controversial, decision over Yunieksy Gonzalez of Cuba.

Barrera plans to return to Big Bear and resume training with Abel Sanchez, but he stated the following after watching the Pascal vs. Gonzalez bout.

“I wanted to fight Pascal and after he beat my countryman I want to fight him even more. I proved once again with my fight against Zoulikha that I will stand and trade and put on a show for the fans. I want Pascal next,” said Barrera.

The 33-year-old Barrera suffered a nasty head butt that required stitches but should be ready to return to the ring before the end of the year. He said that he wants Pascal next and is willing to travel to make the fight happen.

“I have no problem going to Canada. November, December, whenever Pascal is ready to fight I am here to prove I an the best light heavyweight and get the victory for Cuba and all of the Latinos.

“Pascal ducked me once so let’s see if he takes my challenge this time. Let’s do it in Montreal on HBO. I’m not worried about the judges. I am knocking him out,” Barrera stated.

Victor Ortiz Arrested

TMZ Sports is reporting that Victor Ortiz was arrested for felony assault with a deadly weapon for kicking a man while he was on the ground at a Kenny Chesney Concert. Ortiz’s brother was also arrested and the authorities are alleging the deadly weapon was Victor Ortiz’s foot.

More info can be found at http://www.tmz.com/2015/07/27/boxer-victor-ortiz-arrested-assault-at-kenny-chesney-concert/

Stevenson vs. Karpency Possible for September

Adonis Stevenson’s official twitter account announced that he will be facing Tommy Karpency in Toronto on September 11th. Stevenson is ranked number 9 by the WBC and has a record of 25-4. His only notable victory was against Chad Dawson and he has four losses on his record. Karpency’s camp has yet to confirm the fight is official.

Howard Davis Jr. Starts Foundation to Fight Cancer

Howard Davis Jr., an Olympic Gold Medalist during the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, Canda, has been fighting the biggest fight of his life against stage-4 lung cancer. He was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer on the week of his 59th birthday.

However, Howard Davis Jr. has recently established the Howard Davis Jr. Foundation (www.howarddavisjrfoundation.org) to be a source of educating, financing, and encouraging others to get in to the ring and clobber cancer.

“I never smoked, I never drank,” says Howard Davis Jr. “I’ve gotten into the ring with a lot of tough fighters and I’m facing this the same way!”

Davis has turned to conventional cancer treatment combined with alternative therapies for advanced stage cancers, consisting of maximum-tolerated dose chemotherapy, nutritional and other therapeutic interventions to keep up hemoglobin levels.

Many of these treatments aren’t covered by insurance and Davis found that he wasn’t fighting this battle alone. Now, the Howard Davis Jr. Foundation will help those, who’ve found themselves in a financial hardship as they seek a more natural way to fight cancer.

A series of events are taking place including the inaugural fundraising VIP Fight against Cancer dinner and Auction with a Howard Davis Jr. meet and greet, at the Tower Club in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday, August 15th as well as a comedy fundraiser near his hometown in Westbury, NY on August 19th.

“I’ve been getting calls, emails and letters of support since I released my news and it’s just amazing how many people are affected daily by decisions to be made, where to go and what to do. Let’s knock-out cancer together!” – Howard Davis Jr.

Bill Richmond to be Honored

Bill Richmond, the first ever black boxer of significance, is to have his life and career honored in London next month. A plaque and portrait unveiling ceremony and “Richmond Unchained” book launch will occur on Wednesday, August 25th from 2pm-3pm at the Tom Cribb Pub at 36 Panton Street, London.

Bill Richmond, who lives from 1763 to 1829, will have a permanent memorial dedicated to him in recognition of his position in history as the first black sportsman to achieve international fame and significance.

Born into slavery in America, Richmond travelled to England in the 1770s thanks to the kindly intervention of Earl Hugh Percy, a British soldier renowned for his humanitarianism, who ensured that Richmond received an education and was apprenticed to a cabinetmaker. It is therefore fitting that Hugh Percy’s direct descendant, Earl George Percy, has agreed to unveil this memorial to one of sporting history’s leading pioneers.

Although he only became a professional boxer in his forties, Richmond assembled an impressive record of 17 wins from 19 contests, while he was also a highly sought after trainer and gymnastic instructor. Richmond was one of the most recognisable celebrities in Georgian Britain, mixing with the likes of William Hazlitt and Lord Byron. A measure of the high regard in which he was held was the fact that he was present at the coronation celebrations of King George IV in 1821.

LA Fight Club Fighters Host Free Boxing Clinic

Fighters featured on the Aug. 6 edition of LA FIGHT CLUB hosted a free youth boxing clinic at the City of Angeles Boxing Gym in downtown Los Angeles, working with the All Peoples Community Center Summer Day Camp. Main event fighter and undefeated featherweight standout Abraham “Chamaco” Lopez (18-0-1, 13 KOs), and new Golden Boy Promotions fighters set to make their professional debut Hector “El Finito” Tanajara, Jonathan Navarro, and Joshua Franco led children ages 7 to 13 in various boxing techniques, with a focus on building confidence and encouraging fitness among the youth. Joet Gonzalez (11-0, 4 KOs) who is featured on the undercard of Johan Perez vs. Dmitry Mikhaylenkoon August 8 from Fantasy Springs Resort Casino was also in attendance to lead the youth in boxing techniques.

These boxers plus Roy Tapia will be featured live on FOX Deportes Thursday, August 6 at 10:00 p.m. ET / 7:00 p.m. PT.

Lewkowicz Signs Ceferino Rodriguez

Sampson Lewkowicz of Sampson Boxing has announced the signing of welterweight Ceferino Rodriguez (19-1) to a co-promotional agreement along with Sergio Martinez’s Maravilla Box Promotions.

Rodriguez, who hails from Las Palmas, Islas Canarias, Spain, will be trained by Madrid based trainer, Gabriel Sarmiento. Rodriguez has already won the Spanish Welterweight, the European Union Welterweight, and the WBC Latino Welterweight Championships.

“Ceferino Rodriguez has the talent to become another great champion from Spain and I am happy he chose to let Sergio Martinez and I help guide his career,” said Sampson Lewkowicz. “He will be training with one of the best in the sport in Gabriel Sarmiento, so everything is now in place for his career to explode.”

Rodriguez hasn’t ventured out of his homeland to fight often, a fact Lewkowicz says is about to change.

“He is at the international level as a fighter and I will be looking to make moves with him on the world stage,” said Lewkowicz of Rodriguez. “Sergio and I believe he has what it takes to become a champion.”