Boxing Insider Notebook: Pacquiao, Klitschko, Ali, Fury, Golovkin, and more…

By: William Holmes

The following is the Boxing Insider notebook for the week of September 29th to October 6th, covering the comings and goings in the sport of boxing that you might have missed.

Pacquiao to Run for the Philippine Senate

Manny Pacquiao has announced that he plans to make a run in the Philippine Senate in May of 2016. He is quoted as stating, “Yes, I’m going to run for (a) Senate post this coming 2016 election. But as to which party, that’s still to be determined.”

Pacquiao has indicated that President Benigno Aquino’s ruling Liberal Party has been courting him but that his also closed to the leaders of rival parties.

More info on his announced run can be found at http://news.asiaone.com/news/sports/boxing-pacquiao-run-philippine-senate

Klitschko vs. Fury Rescheduled for November 28th

IBF/IBO and “The Ring Magazine” World Heavyweight Champion and WBA/WBO Superchampion Wladimir Klitschko will defend his titles against Tyson Fury on November 28 at ESPRIT arena in Düsseldorf.

Tickets keep their validity.

Originally scheduled for October 24, the fight had been postponed due to an injury suffered by Wladimir Klitschko. However, after a comprehensive medical examination, the champion has been given the green light today for the fight to proceed at the end of November.

“My injury will heal quickly enough for me to enter the ring on November 28,” said Klitschko. “I will promptly continue my training camp preparations and, of course, I am very happy to still be fighting this year, especially for my fans who have already bought their tickets.”

Muhammad Ali Honored in Kentucky Hometown

Famous celebrities such as Larry Holmes, George Foreman, and Shaquille O’Neal were present for a ceremony to honor Ali on the 40th anniversary of his third fight with Joe Frazier in the Philippines.

No pictures were permitted during the ceremony, but Ali’s victory and other notable moments were highlighted on a backdrop featuring several magazine covers at different points of his three decade career.

More info can be found at http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/courier/sports/boxing-muhammad-ali-honored-in-his-kentucky-hometown/article_575f5d72-105b-5cf2-97ae-2baa6aae99cc.html?mode=story

Prichard Colon vs. Terrel Williams to Replace Dirrell vs. Caparello

Prichard Colon (16-0) will face undefeated Terrel Williams (14-0) on Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on NBC on Saturday, October 17th from the EagleBank Arena at George Mason University in Fairfax Virginia. This ten round welterweight bout will replace the previously announced fight between Andre Dirrell and Blake Caparello after Dirrell had to withdraw for medical reasons.

The October 17th event is headlined by former world champion Lamont Peterson (33-3-1) taking on 2008 Olympic Gold medalist from the Dominican Republic Felix Diaz Jr. (17-0) with televised coverage beginning at 4 p.m. ET.

Other participants on the card include Anthony Peterson (35-1), Jimmy Lange (38-6-2), and Lenox Allen (19-0-1).

HBO Sports to Replay Golovkin vs. Monroe and Lemieux vs. Roado

A middleweight title unification bout between Gennady Golovkin and David Lemieux is set for Saturday, October 17th live on HBO Pay Per View. In a lead up for the bout, HBO Sports will present a replay of two hard hitting encounters of these two boxers.

On Friday, October 19th at 12:00 a.m. (ET/PT) and Saturday, October 10 at 9:00 a.m. (ET/PT), HBO2 will replay Golovkin vs. Monroe from 2015 and Lemieux vs. Roado 2014 back to back. Golovkin extended his knockout streak to 20 in a row with a sixth round stoppage of Monroe and Lemieux defeated Rosado by 10th round TKO.

Both fights will also be available on HBO On Demand.

Showtime Sports to Present Seven Live Boxing Telecasts to Close Out 2015

Showtime Sports will present seven live boxing telecasts in a span of just eight weeks to close out 2015, including three presentations of Showtime Championship Boxing, a Showtime Boxing International telecast, and three installments of ShoBox: The New Generation.

The major fights include an October 24th Showtime Boxing International telecast between Kell Brook and Diego Chaves, a November 14th Showtime Championship Boxing telecast between Gary Russell Jr. and Oscar Escandon, a November 28th Showtime Championship Boxing telecast between James DeGale and Lucian Bute, and a December 5th Showtime Championship Boxing telecast between Daniel Jacobs and Peter Quillin.

Additionally, Showtime will show three installments of ShoBox: The New Generation on October 23d, November 6th, and December 11th.

Official Draw for the 2015 AIBA World Championships Announced

The official draw for the 2015 AIBA World Boxing Championships took place at the Ezdan Hotel in Doha. The competition will take place over the course of ten days.

Opening proceedings with the 49kg class, the first round highlight for Tuesday afternoon sees India’s Commonwealth Games silver medalist Laishram Devendro Singh take on Britain’s young hope Harvey Horn. As with all the weight classes, the four top seeds join the action in the last 16, with Uzbekistan’s ASBC Asian Champion and second seed Hasanboy Dusmatov looking to have the best run to the final.

In the 56kg class, Ireland’s WSB number one boxer and EUBC European Championship winner Michael Conlan has a golden opportunity to bring home his country’s first ever AIBA World Championship gold medal. The pick of the first preliminary round sees Thailand’s defending ASBC Asian champion Chatchai Butdee face the Ukrainian AIBA World Championship bronze medalist Mykola Butsenko.

In a 60kg class loaded with big bouts, Cuba’s two-time AIBA World Champion Lazaro Alvarez has a good chance of reaching the semi finals, while the first round highlight sees Russia’s WSB star Adlan Abdurashidov face Kazakhstan’s ASBC Asian Championship silver medalist and WSB Team Champion, Zakir Safiullin.

The ever-strong Cuban team brings no fewer than five top seeds to Doha; Yosbany Veitia, Lazaro Alvarez (60kg), Yasnier Toledo (64kg), Arlen Lopez (75kg) and Erislandy Savon (91kg). Two years ago in Almaty, however, it was Kazakhstan who topped the team rankings, and in Doha they have four top-ranking boxers competing. AIBA Boxer of the Year for the last two years Daniyar Yeleussinov is a strong contender for gold in the 69kg category, and he is joined by fellow top seeds Kayrat Yeralyev (56kg), Adilbek Niyazymbetov (81kg) and Ivan Dychko (+91kg).

Uzbekistan’s talented young Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games winner Bektemir Melikuziev is undefeated since joining the elite 75kg class in January. The 19-year-old middleweight star’s Doha campaign begins with an intriguing match against Georgian veteran Zaal Kvachatadze.

In the welterweight category, Lithuania’s EUBC European Champion Eimantas Stanionis faces Ireland’s London 2012 Olympian Adam Nolan in the preliminary round. “Nothing has changed after the draw, and as a new European Champion I have got great expectations in Doha. You can’t change the draw so I will do my best to win in the ring against everybody. I know my Irish opponent well enough, but I am also well prepared,” said Lithuania’s Stanionis following the official draw.

Kovalev to Return Very Early in 2016, Moscow Debut Postponed

WBO, WBA and IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (28-0-1, 25 KOs) was scheduled to fight for the first time as a champion in Russia, his home country, in late November but the fight has been postponed due to scheduling conflicts. Kovalev will return to the ring very early in 2016. The date, opponent and location will be revealed shortly.

According to Sergey’s promoter, Main Events’ CEO Kathy Duva, “The two fights would simply have been too close together. As we worked on Sergey’s schedule for next year, it became clear that the best course would be to schedule his first bout in 2016 as early in the year as possible. While Sergey is disappointed that the bout in Moscow must be postponed, he understands that the change in schedule is necessary at this time and he will return to Russia to fight in front of his fans there as soon as possible.”