By: William Holmes
The following is the Boxing Insider notebook for the week of August 4th to August 11th, covering the comings and goings in the sport of boxing that you might have missed.
Mosley vs. Mayorga II Set for the Forum
The rematch between Shane Mosley and Ricardo Mayorga is set for PPV on Saturday, August 29th at the Forum in Los Angeles, California. They had a press conference brawl in which Mayorga puffed smoke from a cigarette into the face of Mosley and Mosley responded by smacking the cigarette out of his mouth.
Their bout is scheduled to be twelve rounds and tickets for the fight will be available online at www.ticketmaster.com
Pacquiao States He Wants Mayweather Again
Manny Pacquiao was able to speak to Joe Koizumi of fightnews.com and stated that he would like to fight Mayweather.
When asked about his future plans he stated, “I’d like to concentrate my efforts on working as a politician this year, and want to fight Mayweather in a rematch. I’ll be ready for that mentally and physically next year. I’ll show a better performance against him than in the first encounter.”
Female Boxing Champs Share their Opinions on Ronda Rousey’s Boxing
Ronda Rousey is known for her grappling and submission ability, but her recent knockout win has left many in the combat sports world analyzing her striking ability.
Some female boxing champions evaluate Rousey’s striking ability.
“I think she’s just brand new at boxing,” WBA champ Layla McCarter, told the Guardian. “She’s very good at what she does, but she needs to stay in her lane because boxing takes a lot of experience to reach the top level. She better just stay in her lane because she’s going to get hurt.”
Amanda Serrano stated,”Her movement is very bad, how she walks into punches and she would get caught,” she said. “The girls that she’s fighting, they’ve got limited boxing skills.”
“Definitely Rousey’s trainer does not have any knowledge about the sport of boxing,” Serrano told a separate outlet in Round by Round Boxing, “Her opponents cannot box and it’s easy to look great… As a boxing point of view, she looked like a rookie amateur fighter, throwing very wide punches with no coordination.”
Errol Spence to Appear on Stevenson vs. Karpency Card
2012 U.S. Olympian Errol “The Truth” Spence” will take on South African welterweight Chris Van Heerden in a ten round co-feature on a PBC card on Spike TV on Friday, September 11th. This card will be headlined by a light heavyweight title fight between Adonis Stevenson and Tommy Karpency.
“We are very happy to have Spence versus Van Heerden as the televised co-feature on our September 11th event in Toronto,” GYM president Yvon Michel said. “They are two of the most talented welterweights in the world. This match-up has all of the makings of an exciting, explosive, fan-friendly fight. We’re thrilled that boxing fans in the U.S. and Canada will be able to watch this fight, as well as ‘Superman’ Stevenson against Karpency, on national television.”
Mayweather Comments on Rousey to ESPN
Floyd Mayweather Jr. stated the following when asked about Ronda Rousey to ESPN.
“A while back I didn’t know who Rounda Rousey was, so I’m pretty sure she got upset. I want to say congratulations to Ronda Rousey and the UFC,” Mayweather said. “You guys have done a tremendous job and I’ve won probably six or seven ESPYS for Fighter of the Year. And I truly believe she deserves it. Congratulations to Ronda Rousey. I’ve yet to see any MMA fighter, or other boxer, make over $300 million in 36 minutes,” Mayweather said. “When she can do that, then call me.”
Barrera Challenges Pascal
Sullivan Barrera (16-0) will be returning to Big Bear, California soon to continue his training under the guidance of Abel Sanchez with the hopes of returning to the ring quickly.
He last appeared on the same card as Jean Pascal and stated the following after watching him fight.
“”I called Pascal out after he got a gift against my boy Yuniesky. He knows he lost that fight. I don’t know why this guy continues to duck me. Is he scared of all Cubans now? Pascal I’m waiting for you papa. Glove up,” said Barrera.
The former Cuban standout is willing to face any top 10 contender but has his sites clearly focused on Pascal.
“Is Pascal going to be a coward and just wait for a Kovalev rematch? No one thought you beat Yuniesky. Fight me to prove you deserve a Kovalev rematch. He already knocked you out so it’s not like that fight is in high demand. You can earn the rematch by winning a real fight. I already said I would go to Canada so man up,” Barrera stated.
Quillin to Face Zerafa, Bundrage to Face Charlo
Peter Quillin (31-0-1) will be featured in a 12 round middleweight bout against Michael Zerafa (17-1) and super welterweight world champion Cornelius Bundrage (34-5) will defend his title against Jermall Charlo (21-0) on a NBC televised edition of Premier Boxing Champions on Saturday, September 12th live from the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut. The televised card is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. ET.
“I’m ready and excited to return to the ring on NBC on September 12,” said Quillin. “I’m already deep into training camp and preparing to be in the best shape of my career. I know my opponent is dangerous and he’s coming to make a name for himself. I’m at the top of my game and I plan to stay there.”
“I’m excited for this fight. This sport is all about fighting the best and giving the fans what they want to see,” said Zerafa. “This is a great opportunity and I’m looking forward to coming over there and putting on a show.”
“It’s a blessing to be the junior middleweight world champion,” said Bundrage. “I want to thank my entire team for making this fight happen. I’m looking forward to my debut on PBC and successfully defending my second world title. Detroit is where the title is at, it’s not going anywhere. I will be ready to give my supporters all around the world a great performance, in victory.”
For Charlo this is a long-awaited title shot. He and his brother, Jermell, are both top prospects in the 154-pound division.
“This is my time, I’ve never been more ready for a fight,” said Charlo. “I’ve dreamed about a fight like this for a long time and it’s here in front of me. I will be spectacular and I will finish Cornelius Bundrage.”
Gonzalez vs. Viloria Added to Golovkin vs. Lemieux PPV Card
Undefeated WBC Flyweight World Champion Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez (43-0) will defend his title against former two-division world champion Brian “The Hawaiian Punch” Vilora (36-4) as the co-feature of the World Middleweight Title unification bout between Gennady “GGG” Golovkin and David Lemieux set for Saturday, October 17th at Madison Square Garden. The PPV will be produced and distributed by HBO Pay Per View.
“I want to thank God, my Teiken family, especially Mr. Honda and my team for helping me fight again in the United States and now on HBO Pay-Per-View platform,” said Gonzalez. “I know Brian VIloria is a great champion and it will be a hard fight, but I am ready for the challenge. I have faith that God will give me the strength to keep training and be able to give all my fans my best fight ever.”
Viloria stated, “I’ve fought and won on the world’s biggest stages against the best of the best. I’ve prepared my whole life to win at every level of competition from World Amateur titles to the Olympic Games to professional world titles. And this fight, against Roman Gonzalez, is likely to be my biggest challenge yet. But, it’s Roman’s biggest challenge too. This is the realization of my dreams and I will make the most of it on fight night.”
James Toney Loses to 40 Year Old Journeyman
The calls for James Toney have been growing louder and he was unable to deflect those criticisms with a lackluster performance this weekend against a forty year old journeyman with a record of 10-3-1.
Toney lost in Missouri to Charles Ellis with scores of 99-91, 98-92, and 97-93 in a bout that wasn’t even close on the scorecards.
Amir Khan Enters MMA Business
Amir Khan has stepped into the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) business as a new owner and promoter of world championship MMA sports franchise Super Fight League.
Khan and the ownership and management team will be looking to expanding the former India based Super Fight League’s footprint in the United States, beginning with a television distribution agreement to be announced soon.
“I am extremely excited about this new venture and chapter in my career that will allow me to utilize my experience and relationships in the fight world to further the mission of, what I believe, is a company that has tremendous growth potential in the MMA and sports entertainment space,” said Khan, who will also continue his career in boxing where he has won his last five bouts, and holds an outstanding career record of 31-3, with 19 of his victories having come by way of (T)KO.
“Under the management of our new team of veterans from both the MMA and media industries,” continued Khan, “Super Fight League will unveil a new platform as well as an unprecedented new format for MMA competition in 2016 and, in doing so, will provide a potentially career-changing opportunity to hundreds of professional athletes in this great sport.”