Boxing Insider Notebook: Mayweather, Pacquiao, Alvarez, Kirkland, Crawford, and more…

By: William Holmes

The following is the Boxing Insider notebook for the week of February 24th to March 3rd, covering the comings and goings in the sport of boxing that you might have missed.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao One and Only Press Conference Set

Floyd “Money” Mayweather and Manny “Pac-Man” Pacquiao will appear together for one exclusive press event in Los Angeles in anticipation of their pay-per-view bout scheduled for May 2nd.

This press conference will be held on Wednesday, March 11th at 11:00 a.m. PT at a location to be announced shortly. This event will not be open to the public.

Manny Pacquiao Singing his Own Entrance Song for the Fight

Manny Pacquiao has recorded a song title “Lalaban ako para sa Pilipino” or “I will fight for the Philippines” and will use it as his entrance music for his upcoming May 2nd fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Pacquiao collaborated with Lito Camo on this song. More information can be found at http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/02/manny-pacquiao-is-singing-his-own-entrance-song-for-the-mayweather-fight

Alvarez vs. Kirkland Set for May 9th

Canelo Alvarez and James Kirkland will clash in a 12 round super welterweight bout at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas on Saturday, May 9th, 2015. This fight will be broadcast live on HBO World Championship Boxing.

“I’m very happy that my upcoming fight with James Kirkland will air on HBO; it will be exciting, explosive and should not be missed,” said Canelo Alvarez. “Kirkland is a dangerous fighter who is coming prepared for a tough night and this fight, without a doubt, will be one to remember. I promise my fans I will be victorious and invite everyone to come out and join us at Minute Maid Park on May 9. They will not be disappointed.”

“This is the fight I’ve been waiting for,” said James Kirkland. “Canelo is the opponent I get asked about more than any other fighter. I’m ready to show my skills to the world and shut down the people who doubt me. Come fight night you will see a great fight between two warriors and I know at the end of the night my hand will be raised in victory.”

Crawford and Dulorme to Meet for World Title

WBO Lightweight Champion and the 2014 BWAA Fighter of the year Terence Crawford (25-0) will meet Thomas Dulorme (22-1) in a junior welterweight title bout. They will hold a press conference on March 5th on the arena floor of the College Park Center located on the campus of the University of Texas Arlington.

Todd duBoef, president of Top Rank, and Gary Shaw, president of Gary Shaw Promotions, will join their fighters at the press conference to announce the upcoming fight. They will meet for the WBO Junior Welterweight world title on Saturday, April 18th. This championship fight will be televised live as part of a split site doubleheader on HBO Boxing After Dark.

Erislandy Lara Responds to Demetrius Andrade

WBA Champion, Erislandy Lara, responded to the WBO Champion Demetrius Andrade’s claims that he’s not interested in a unification fight with him.

“I’ll fight him anytime! My resume speaks for itself. I’m willing to fight Cotto or GGG next…you think I’m worried about this little spoiled brat? Look at my resume of great fighters I’ve fought, Williams, Molina, Vanes, Trout, Canelo, Angulo and now Smith. In 24 fights, who has he fought?”

“I’m the best in the division. If I put my name to a contract I show up and fight, unlike him when he pulled out of the biggest fight of his career against Charlo. Not to mention, he turned down a fight with me on ESPN-2 years ago when I was willing to whoop to put a beating on him for $15.000. And don’t forget, I already whooped that ass for free in the amateurs!!! His nickname serves him right…He’s Poo Poo!”

Jhonny Gonzalez to Put Title on the Line Against Gary Russell Jr.

Super Featherweight world champion Jhonny Gonzalez (57-8) will put his featherweight world title on the ling against Gary Russell Jr. (25-1) in the main event of Showtime Championship Boxing on March 28th at the Pearl and Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.

The co-feature will be between Jermell Charlo (25-0) and Vanes Martirosyan (35-1) in a super welterweight bout.

“I’m very excited to be coming back to the United States. Every time I have fought on American soil, it has been career-changing for me,” said Gonzalez. “In 2012, [Daniel] Ponce De Leon stopped me in Las Vegas and made me reconsider my whole strategy.

I came back to the U.S. in 2013 and I stopped an undefeated champion, Abner Mares. Now I’m back and once again I’m facing a tough opponent. Russell is not an easy test, but I’m confident I’m going to surprise everybody once more. Nobody thought I had a chance in 2013 and I stripped Mares of his title. Food for thought.”

“I’m blessed to be back on this stage, fighting once again for a world title,” said Russell Jr. “I came up short at my first opportunity for the title and that has me more motivated than ever to get the job done on March 28. I will finally hold up my very own belt.”

Tickets are available online at ticketmaster.com.

Stevenson vs. Bika to Take Place on April 4th on CBS

Adonis Stevenson (25-1) and Sakio Bika (32-6-3) will box each other on Saturday, April 4th from the Pepsi Coliseum in Quebec City. This will be the debut of Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on CBS at 3:00 p.m. ET.

“I am excited to be the headliner for first PBC event on CBS,” Stevenson said. “I know Bika will stop at nothing, so the fight will be spectacular and extremely offensive-minded. I predict that Bika will lose by knockout for the first time in his career.”

“After all these years fighting at 168 pounds, it was becoming increasingly difficult to make weight and that was a major factor in my defeats,” Bika said. “I see no problem making the jump to light heavyweight to face Stevenson and I do not feel I’ll be at a disadvantage because the champion made this transition successfully himself less than two years ago against Chad Dawson. I promise you that I will be the new champion on April 4.”

Tickets will be available online at www.billetech.com.

Felix Sturm Looking to Make History

Felix Sturm, a four time world middleweight champion, wants to make history by becoming the first German boxer to become a world champion for a fifth time.

He will give it a shot in the super middleweight division and his first bout will be against Fedor Chudinov who has won all twelve of his fights including ten wins by knockout.

Sturm stated, “I promised to make only big fights from now on. Chudinov is seen as a highly talented and skilled boxer with a lot of punching power. But I will take this belt to Germany.”

This bout will take place at Frankfurter Festhalle in Frankhurt/Main. Additional information will be released soon.

Irish Pro/Am Boxing Event to be Held at Madison Square Garden

On Saturday, March 14th the first ever Pro/Am boxing event will be held in Madison Square Garden. The FDNY Bravest Boxing Team will take on the Garda Siochana Boxing Club of the Irish National Police Force in the 2015 Transatlantic Championship. These two teams are currently 1-1 against eachother.

Funds raised from the event will go towards Building Homes for Heroes. This organization builds mortgage free handicap accessible homes for our veterans returning home from the war on terror with severe injuries. The Bravest boxing team has donated over $100,000 to veteran related charities.

After the amateur portion of the program Gary “Spike” O’Sullivan (19-1) will debut at MSG. He is promoted by Ken Casey, the lead singer of The Dropkick Murphy’s. Will Rosinsky and Patrick Hyland are also scheduled to appear.