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Latest Boxing News in Brief – Thursday 13^th January for: “Dr. Steel Hammer” Klitschko, Bob Arum and Don King, David Haye, Duddy vs. Lee, Felix Sturm, Jhonny Gonzalez, Manny Pacquiao vs. Shane Mosley, Matthew Hatton, Ronald Hearns, Saul Alvarez, South African Boxing, Steve Herelius, Takefumi Sakata, Yoan Pablo Hernandez

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• Legendary rival promoters Bob Arum and Don King are set for their first co-promotion in five years. Next week, Arum and King will be officially announcing a pay-per-view extravaganza headlined by WBA super welterweight champion Miguel Cotto defending his world title against two-division world champion Ricardo Mayorga on March 12 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. It will be produced and distributed live on SHOWTIME PPV. Joining Cotto and Mayorga at the news conference will be former WBA super welterweight champion Yuri Foreman and his opponent Pawel Wolak, plus female legend Christy Martin who will be featured on the pay-per-view broadcast going for her landmark 50th professional victory.

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• WBA Middleweight Champion Felix Sturm (34-2-1, 14 KOs) and his challenger Ronald Hearns (26-1, 20 KOs) met face-to-face for the first time at the kick-off press conference for their February 19th world title clash at the Porsche-Arena in Stuttgart, Germany. Both fighters expressed their confidence at the presser. - “Everybody knows that Marvin Hagler is my boxing idol,” Sturm said. “The fight between Hagler and Ronald’s father Thomas was a brutal war and one of the greatest fights in the history of boxing. But Hagler destroyed Hearns – and now I will do the same to his son.”

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• Former -WBA flyweight champ Takefumi Sakata has announced that he is hanging up his gloves for good today (Thursday) in Tokyo, Japan. Having failed to win back his WBA 112-pound belt from compatriot Daiki Kameda this past September, Sakata, 30, was deeply considering whether to go on fighting. The busy-punching fighter managed to win the WBA belt in his fourth attempt, having lost twice to Lorenzo Parra both by a majority decision here and to Roberto Vasquez by a split verdict in Paris. The persistent Japanese finally gained the world belt by stopping his grudge rival Parra in Tokyo in 2007. Since then, he successfully defended it four times against Vasquez (W12), Denkaosen Kaowichit (D12), Shingo Yamaguchi (W12) and Hiroyuki Hisataka (W12). But it was his previous challenger Denkaosen of Thailand that annihilated and dethroned Sakata with a single lethal shot on the very last day of 2008.

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• “Dr. Steel Hammer” Klitschko - today launched a stinging tirade against Haye and his manager Adam Booth; saying he “does not trust these guys any more.” Wladimir went further, calling Haye “a piece of s**t, and “a liar who is playing the media. - Wladimir has today said he is more than happy to face Haye on July 2nd. In Klitschko’s mind, the fight is not yet “dead,” because he feels Haye’s constant talk of retiring in October of this year is nothing but another “lie.” - Wladimir says fighting Derek Chisora on April 30th and then Haye, nine weeks later on July 2nd, would be no problem for him. - “I don’t take David Haye as a super-special fight,” Klitschko told Sky Sports. “I don’t need half a year to prepare for this fight. I’m always in shape anyway. Me fighting Chisora first is good promotion for the fight with Haye because this guy is also British and very loud. He [Haye] could give [Ruslan] Chagaev step-aside money and then I’m going to be there with nobody to fight.

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• The 26-year-old Cruiserweight Yoan Pablo Hernandez (23-1, 12 KOs): WBA World Rankings leader in the Cruiserweight division will challenge Steve Herelius (21-1-1, 12 Kos, France) in Mülheim/Duesseldorf on February 12. Hernandez successfully obtained the right to a mandatory challenge from the World Boxing Governing Body WBA after a KO victory over Ali Ismailov in Berlin in December. The opportunity to fight Herelius soon emerged,” explained Sauerland Event CEO Chris Meyer. “We immediately tried to realise this opportunity and we managed to bring this fight to Germany.” - Alexander Frenkel will also be on the monster Sauerland Event card. The European Champion in the Cruiserweight division, who won the European crown in September with a stunning KO victory in the seventh round against the ex-World Champion Enzo Maccarinelli in Birmingham last September, will defend his title for the first time. – Also on the undercard, Super Middleweight King Arthur Abraham will fight a ten-round contest.

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• EBU welterweight champion Matthew Hatton (41-4-2, 16 KO’s) has decided to risk all and go after unbeaten knockout artist Saul Alvarez (35-0-1, 26 KO’s) next instead of going after easier targets like WBA welterweight champion Vyacheslav Senchenko or Junior Witter. The contracts for the Alvarez fight will reportedly be signed in the new few days. The bout will be taking place on March 5th.

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• The fight contracts for the Manny Pacquiao vs. Shane Mosley bout have reportedly been finally signed and the bout is set to ahead for May 7th at the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Pacquiao, 32, is guaranteed a minimum of $15 million for the fight and the 39-year-old Mosley could end up making as much as $7 million or more if it brings in more than 1 million pay per view buys.

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• Jhonny Gonzalez — Former World Boxing Organization (WBO) bantamweight champion Jhonny Gonzalez (47-7, 41 KO’s) is looking to challenge WBC featherweight champion Hozumi Hasegawa (29-3, 12 KO”s) next. According to fightnews, a purse auction will take place this Friday for the two fighters at the WBC headquarters in Mexico City. The bout could take place in Mexico, but it’s still up in there air right now in terms of where they want to put this fight.

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• First South African Boxing Tournament 2011 — At a luncheon held at the Wanderers Club near Johannesburg on Thursday Rodney Berman of Golden Gloves Promotions announced the final bill for the first tournament of the South African boxing year which will be held at Emperors Palace, Kempton Park on January 27. The tournament is a tribute to Baby Jake Matlala and also to help him pay off his huge medical bills after being struck down with illness. - Hekkie Budler (17-0, 5 KOs) will be making the second defence of his IBO junior flyweight belt against IBO strawweight champion Gideon Buthelezi (10-2, 4 KOs). Florante Simba will be hoping to make it 9-0 when he faces Sting Gonorenda Chomunorwa 6-8; 4. - Stephen Castle 5-1-2; 2 meets Elvis Moyo 0-3-1 in a scheduled six-rounder.

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• Duddy vs. Lee — Trainer Emanuel Steward says that the winner of the March 12th bout between his fighter middleweight contender Andy Lee (24-1, 18 KO’s) and fringe middleweight contender John Duddy (29-2, 18 KO’s) will be facing World Boxing Council (WBC) middleweight champion Sergio Martinez next, according to the latest news. Lee, 26, was supposed have been selected to fight Martinez this time around, but HBO didn’t like the idea of a fight between Lee and Martinez.

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Latest Boxing News in Brief – Sunday 9^th January, for: Amir Khan, Billy “The Kid” Dib, Daiki Kameda, Darren Barker, Iannuzzi vs Kayode,Juan Carlos Reveco, Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Erik Morales?, Lorenzo Villanueva, Matt Macklin, Matthew Hatton, Miguel Tellez, Omar Narvaez, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, Timothy Bradley vs. Devon Alexander, Tomasz Adamek, Victor Zaleta, Wale “Lucky Boy” Omotoso,Wladimir Klitschko

• Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Erik Morales? — Several sources are reporting the possibility for a fight between the three-time world champions Juan Manuel Marquez and Erik Morales, both of Mexico. Marquez, the current WBO and WBA unified lightweight champion is considering the fight, although there were some issues that previously Morales had highlighted about fighting Marquez when both were at Top Rank. However Morales points out that boxing is not only a sport but a business and the fight now makes sense. Morales also reminds Marquez that he defeated Manny Pacquiao. Same sources are indicating April 9 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas as the TV date for the clash.

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• Amir Khan has been booked in at the MEN Arena on April 16th and is almost certainly going to fight Lamont Peterson for Khans WBA 140lb title. The fight is a tune up for a contest with the winner of the Timothy Bradley vs. Devon Alexander fight at the end of the month. A big fight in the fall will provide an undisputed champion at 140 lbs.

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• Tomasz Adamek Agrees To Fight Wladimir Klitschko - By James Slater - The world heavyweight title picture might not (and I stress might not) be as bleak as it looks right now. Okay, the heavyweight unification we all wanted to see between Wladimir Klitschko and David Haye is now “dead” according to Haye’s manager, but we may see another excellent match-up involving “Dr. Steel Hammer” later this year. And I’m not talking about Wladimir’s fight with Derek Chisora! — In a big news story that has appeared Fight news.com, the word is Tomasz Adamek, the former light-heavy and cruiserweight ruler, has “agreed” to challenge the Ring magazine, IBF, WBO and IBO boss in his native Poland sometime in September. Tomasz Adamek (43-1, 28 KO’s) has revealed on his website that he plans on signing a contract to fight IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (55-3, 49 KO’s by next week for a fight that will be taking place in September.

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• IBF #12 welterweight Wale “Lucky Boy” Omotoso (18-0, 16 KOs) will return to ring action on March 18 against Philip “Sweet Pea” Kotey (21-6-2, 15 KOs) over twelve rounds at the Knox Basketball Stadium, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Nigerian-born, Australian-based Omotoso is trained and managed by Murray Thomson, who said “Omotoso holds a good win inside the distance over Emanuel Augustus who had given Floyd Mayweather a tough fight. In his most recent fight in November.

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• According to sources - European welterweight champion Matthew Hatton has accepted a fight with hot Mexican prospect Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, possibly on March 5 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Hatton was the second option after handlers of WBA welterweight champion Vyacheslav Senchenko allegedly rejected a $550,000 offer. HBO have reserved that date for a ‘Boxing After Dark’ show and there is also a chance of a bout between Michael Katsidis and Robert Guerrero.

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• WBA Junior Flyweight Interim World Champion Juan Carlos Reveco (25-1, 15 KOs) will face Nicaragua’s Miguel Tellez (19-13-1, 6 KOs) in a non-title 10-round flyweight bout on January 21 at Polideportivo Vicente Polimeni in Mendoza, Argentina. And junior welterweight contender Lucas Matthysse faces former World Champion DeMarcus Corley in the 10-round main event.

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• IBF#5 and WBA#12 ranked featherweight Billy “The Kid” Dib (30-1, 18 KO’s) from Sydney, Australia returns to the ring on March 12th with a clash against WBO#5 ranked Lorenzo Villanueva (18- 0, 17KO’s) from the Philippines who is unbeaten in eighteen fights with seventeen wins inside the distance. The fight will be held in Perth, Western Australia and will be for the WBO Oriental Featherweight title, held by Villaneuva.

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• Unbeaten WBO super flyweight champion Omar Narvaez (32-0-2, 19 KOs) will now defend his crown against Mexican prospect Victor Zaleta (17-1, 9 KOs) on February 12 at Monte Hermoso, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Zaleta is the replacement for compatriot Jesus Ruiz who had to pull out after the flu derailed his training. Narvez is making the first defense of the super flyweight title and competing in his 19th world title fight.

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• Matt Macklin could defend his European middleweight title against Darren Barker early this year. By Frank Warren - The fight has been put out to purse bids by the European Boxing Union. - Macklin and Barker were supposed to fight in Birmingham in September, only for then European champ Barker to pull out injured. - He has not fought since, while Mackin picked up the vacant title at the LG Arena, before making a successful defence in Liverpool just before Christmas. - Having secured the fight before through purse bids, promoter Frank Warren could be tempted to make a substantial bid again. - But Macklin may ditch the European belt if Warren can deliver him a world title opportunity.

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• Iannuzzi vs Kayode — Rising cruiserweight prospect Nicholas “The Showstopper” Iannuzzi (16-1, 9 KOs) faces his toughest test to date when he steps up to face the highly regarded Lateef Kayode on Friday February 4th on SHOBOX.

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• Daiki Kameda officially renounces belt — After his lackluster performance despite his split decision over #14 ranked Silvio Olteanu of Romania on December 26, Daiki Kameda officially renounced his WBA flyweight belt because of his difficulty to make the weight any longer. The ex-champ explained, “I felt like my legs were paralyzed after the eighth round on due to my too severe reduction of weight.

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Latest Boxing News – Saturday 8^th January for: Bernard Hopkins, Gary Mason, Jean Pascal, Jose Pedraza, Kaizer Mabuza, Leti, Miguel Acosta vs Brandon Rios, Miguel Vazquez, Rocky Moutain Rumble, Rodriguez vs Santos, Wladimir Klitschko doesn’t trust David Haye, Zab Judah

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• Pedraza going pro: By Rey Colon – The Sport Press - Universal Promotions, Gary Shaw Promotions and DiBella Entertainment will announce the signing of Purto Rican lightweight super talent Jose Pedraza to a promotional contract next Tuesday at the San Juan Hotel and Casino, in Isla Verde, Puerto Rico. Pedraza, a 2008 Olympian and one of the most decorated and sought-after amateurs ever, is said to have agreed to a signing bonus second only to Miguel Cotto for a fighter from the island. At the press conference, promoters Javier Bustillo, Gary Shaw and Lou DiBella will share details of their plans for the boxer’s career, and will reveal his first fight for 2011.

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• Miguel Acosta vs Brandon Rios — Tickets go on sale tomorrow – Saturday, January 8, noon – for the Miguel Acosta vs Brandon Rios world lightweight title fight Feb 26 at the Palms Casino Resort. Notre Dame champion Mike Lee of Chicago will also box on the Top Rank championship card. Lee, a three-time champion at Notre Dame, is trained by Ronnie Shields in Houston. Acosta, from Caracas, is the WBA lightweight champion. He has won 19 fights in a row and has been unbeaten the last seven years. He has defeated three undefeated fighters in his last eight bouts. Rios, from Oxnard, Ca., last year scored his biggest win, defeating Anthony Peterson at the Palms. He is managed by Cameron Dunkin and trained by Robert Garcia in Oxnard, Ca. Acosta vs. Rios will be televised live on Showtime Championship Boxing. The fight card will be held in the Pearl Concert Theatre. Tickets are $200, $100, $50 and available at the Pearl Box Office at the Palms. Call 702-944-3200, visit any Ticketmaster location, or call 1-800-745-3000, or go www.ticketmaster.com

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• JudahContracts Sent To Mabuza — Kathy Duva, CEO Main Events, confirmed, “Contracts have been emailed to Kaizer Mabuza’s promoter, Branco Milenkovic. The contract specifies the Judah - Mabuza International Boxing Federation (IBF) Jr. Welterweight title fight will be held March 5th.” — According to the rules of the IBF purse bid that Main events won last week, Mabuza has two weeks from day of the purse bid to sign the contract. Duva expects the executed contracts back by next Thursday. It has been confirmed the fight will be the inaugural event for the Amerihealth Pavilion at Prudential Center, Newark, NJ. — Kaizer Mabuza of Johannesburg, South Africa has a record of 23-6-3, 14 KO’s, Zab Judah, Brooklyn, NY, 40-6, 27 KO’s.

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• Rodriguez vs Santos - “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting” in Greeley, Colorado as TKO Boxing Promotions in association with Ghost Town Promotions present the ROCKY MOUNTAIN RUMBLE at the Island Grove Park Exhibit Hall this Saturday night, January 8th. - Headlining this Saturday’s action packed seven bout card is Greeley fan favorite and former amateur standout Robert Rodriguez. Competing as a featherweight, Rodriguez has built his record to 5-0-0 (1KO) while impressing fans all over the country. Fighting for the first time in his hometown, Rodriguez squares off against fellow Greeley native and pro debuting Rubin Santos in a scheduled four round bout. - Sensational welterweight prospect Leti makes his North American debut at the ROCKY MOUTAIN RUMBLE. An outstanding amateur in New Zealand and Samoa where he won numerous national titles, the 23 year old Leti has been based in Las Vegas for the past five months under the tutelage of renowned trainer Kenny Adams.

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• Gary Mason RIP - In sad news, it has been reported that Gary Mason, the popular former British heavyweight champion, has been killed in a cycling accident. According to reports, the 48-year-old who quit the ring in 1994 was hit by a van and died instantly yesterday morning. The driver of the van, who has not been named, was arrested on suspicion of causing death by careless driving.

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• The WBC has granted 45-year-old Bernard Hopkins an immediate rematch against WBC light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal, who Hopkins fought to a 12 round draw against on December 18^th, with the winner of the bout facing Chad Dawson immediately. This decision puts Jean Pascal in a tough position as he already has a contractual obligation to face Chad Dawson next. Pascal’s plans also seem to differ from those of the WBC as on ESPN’s Fright Night Fights, Hopkins said “After I beat Pascal, I’d like to go ahead and get Bute and wipe out all the Canadian fighters.” So it seems that Hopkins wants to pass up Dawson.

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• Wladimir Klitschko doesn’t trust David Haye — In an article at the nypost.com, Wladimir Klitschko explains why he took the tune-up bout against Chisora instead of taking on Haye, saying he hadn’t fought since September and besides that, he didn’t trust that Haye would make the July 2nd bout. Wladimir didn’t want to lose even more time without fighting. However Wladimir is still hoping to fight Haye in 2011, because he wants his WBA strap, which would give the Klitschko brothers all the major titles if he or his brother Vitali are able to take the title from Haye. - Wladimir said “We’re looking to get the WBA belt that David Haye holds, so I’m hoping we’ll make that fight this year to get all the titles under one name. Klitschko.”

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• According to BoxingScene.com, Miguel Vazquez (27-3, 12KOs) will likely defend his IBF lightweight title against unbeaten mandatory Lenny Zappavigna (25-0, 17KOs) on the March 12 pay-per-view undercard to Miguel Cotto-Ricardo Mayorga, which takes place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Zappavigna destroyed Ji Hoon Kim in the first round of their IBF eliminator last October.

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Latest Boxing News and updates for: Sakio Bika, Dereck Chisora, Wladimir Klitschko, Luke ‘Winky’ Wilton, Tyson Fury, Pascal vs Hopkins, Holyfield vs Williams, Edgar Sosa vs Pongsaklek Wonjongkam, Nathan Cleverly, Celestino ‘Pelenchín’ Caballero, Victor Ortiz vs Lamont Peterson, Maidana about Khan, Manny Pacquiao, Ricardo Mayorga, Martinez - Cotto, Devon Alexander

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• Bika calls out Wood — Former 2007 super middleweight “Contender” champion Sakio Bika (28-5-2, 18 KOs) has challenged the 2010 super middleweight “Australian Contender” champion Garth Wood (10-1-1, 5 KOs), who is fresh from a fifth round KO victory of WBA#2 Anthony Mundine on Wednesday at the Acer Arena in Sydney. Bika’s trainer Dave Birchell said, “Great win by Garth Wood over Mundine. Sakio Bika would welcome a bout with Wood. Contender Champ vs Contender Champ has got to be worth doing now? Garth vs Sakio, would be good while it lasts.”

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• Unbeaten British heavyweight Dereck Chisora (14-0, 9 KO’s) refuses to just go away quietly after IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (55-3, 49 KO’s) pulled out of his fight this Saturday night at the SAP Arena, in Mannheim, Germany. Speaking to the BBC Sport Five, Chisora said “He offered the fight and he has to fight me. We want that fight.” – “I’m very confident. I’m in the papers now, I’m in the limelight and everybody wants to see what I’ve got in the ring. People are going to be tuning in to watch me now. Him (Wladimir Klitschko) and David Haye, that’s going to have to wait for a bit because he has to go past me now. We’re not in it for the money. We were fighting for no good money, we were fighting for pride and to prove we’re the best in the game, so we’re not stepping aside. Either way he’s going to have to fight me or his brother or David Haye now because I’m knocking on the big doors, now I want the big fights.”

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• A big casualty of IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko’s cancellation of his December 11th bout with Derek Chisora was that the entire undercard was canceled along with that fight. There were a lot of interesting fights that now won’t be taking place this weekend

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• Belfast flyweight, Luke ‘Winky’ Wilton, who has signed a three-year deal with Frank Maloney Promotions, faces former foe, Uzzy Ahmed on the under card of Lindsay-Simpson on the 15th December 2010 in the Kings Hall, Belfast. — Wilton is keen to avenge a narrow 39-40 points loss to Ahmed in only his fourth professional fight back in 2008: “I cant wait – I will settle the score this time. He is in for a shock next Wednesday night.

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• Tyson Fury added to Pascal vs Hopkins Card — Irish/British heavyweight prospect Tyson Fury will make his highly anticipated North American debut on Saturday, December 18th against New York City based Puerto Rican giant Israel “King Kong” Garcia in an eight round bout.The Fury/Garcia special attraction is featured on the undercard to the Light Heavyweight World Title bout between Canada’s Jean Pascal and boxing legend Bernard Hopkins at the sold out Pepsi Coliseum in Quebec City and will be broadcast LIVE on PRIMETIME - Sports PPV Channel 480 on Sky. The stacked card of boxing action begins at 12:00 AM GMT and is available for £9.95.

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• Holyfield vs Williams back on — The off again/on again clash between former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield and Sherman “Tank” Williams is on again. This time it’s scheduled for January 22 at the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. Contracts have yet to be finalized. — The 48-year-old Holyfield is also scheduled to face former Danish contender “Super-Brian” Nielsen on March 5 in Copenhagen.

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• Edgar Sosa vs Pongsaklek Wonjongkam? — Mexican media ‘ESTO’ has reported that it former WBC Light flyweight champion Edgar Sosa (41-6, 24 KOs) of Mexico will meet WBC Flyweight champion Pongsaklek Wonjongkam (77-3-1, 41 KOs) of Thailand February 28th. Pongsaklek is scheduled to make non-mandatory defense December 30th in Thailand against an opponent to be announced. No site has been determined as of yet for the Sosa-Wonjongkam bout.

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• New opponent for Cleverly — Unbeaten light heavyweight Nathan Cleverly (20-0, 10 KOs) was scheduled to fight against Alejandro Lakatus for the interim WBO world title at the Liverpool Echo Arena, however there is now a change in plans. Cleverly will instead face EU beltholder Nadjib Mohammedi (23-1, 12 KOs) after Lakatos pulled out with pneumonia.

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• Celestino ‘Pelenchín’ Caballero have made a decision to make the featherweight division their home. The boxer and his attorney Rogelio Espino are going to target a fight with Jonathan Barros of Argentina. Barros won the vacant WBA “regular” featherweight title last weekend with a controversial seven round stoppage of Irving Berry. Barros is one of three WBA champions at the weight. Chris John and Yuriokris Gamboa are both “WBA super champions” at 126-pounds. — “We know that the other champions, like Juan Manuel Lopez and Yuriorkis Gamboa, do not have the same interest to fight the best, and we believe that this title is the most accessible,” said Espino.

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• Victor Ortiz vs Lamont Peterson — On Saturday night, #1 ranked WBA/WBO light welterweight contender Victor Ortiz (28-2-1, 22 KO’s) will be facing his best opponent since he was stopped in the 6th round last year by Marcos Maidana in June 2009. Ortiz, a big southpaw puncher with power similar to Maidana, has won his last four fights since his loss and has looked good. However, his opposition hasn’t put much pressure on him the way that Maidana did, and this has left Ortiz to dominate with his power and speed. On Saturday, Ortiz will be facing the highly skilled Lamont Peterson (28-1, 14 KO’s) at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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• Maidana about Khan “He will go down” — In an article at thesun.co.uk, Maidana said “If I hit Khan, he’s going to go down. If the punch is in the right place, he will go down and he won’t get up. I can knock him out with one right hand. I’m going to fight the way I know, which is going forward to knock him out. I know Amir Khan does not have the punch to stop me. Khan has a lot of speed so I have to out a lot of pressure on him, corner him and then unload my punches. I will try and knock him out form the first bell, that’sn what I do best. I have to go for the knockout because I don’t trust judges.

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• Guzman-Davis, Mitchell-Sykes and Gomez fight on Khan vs. Maidana undercard on Saturday — Four of the top super lightweights in the world will put their skills and wills to the test Saturday, Dec. 11 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, but before the televised fights begin, an elite eight who will put their combined 94-0 record on the line in stellar undercard action.

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• Manny Pacquiao’s next opponent 39-year-old Shane Mosley — In an article at the La Times Blog – latimesblogs.latimes.com said “They think I’m the easier fight. That’s fine with me. I was supposed to be done before [Antonio] Margarito too. I didn’t look good against [Floyd] Mayweather or [Sergio] Mora, but Mora was running from me, and Mayweather’s the best defensive fighter in the world. Pacquiao’s a fighter like me. He comes forward. I promise you, I’ll hit him on the chin. His defense is not that good.

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• Nicaraguan boxing veteran Ricardo Mayorga, 28-7-1, 22 KO’s is coming out of retirement to face Michael Walker, 19-2-5, 12 KO’s on December 17th, in Miami, Florida.

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• Martinez - Cotto — The negotiations for a fight between World Boxing Council (WBC) middleweight champion Sergio Martinez and WBA junior middleweight Miguel Cotto are still alive, according to examiner.com. However, if the fight does get made, it won’t be until fall next year after Cotto has already fought someone like Antonio Margarito.

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• On Wednesday, Devon Alexander “The Great and Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley spoke at a media luncheon in New York City. Tensions were climbing on the second day of a promotional tour that began at the Silverdome in Pontiac, MI on Tuesday. THE SUPER FIGHT, Alexander vs. Bradley will take place on Saturday, January 29, 2024 at the Silverdome in Pontiac, MI.

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Those lucky enough to score tickets for Steve Goodwin’s ‘Judgement Day’ event at York Hall on Saturday night were treated to a thrilling night of pugilistic artistry at a level rarely seen these days.

At the end of the five hour, 13 fight marathon, those present, and just those present, as it was an off-TV show, witnessed one of the greatest fights held on British soil this year. Without doubt if this was an on-TV show Yassine El Maachi - Jimmy Colas would be nominated for ‘Fight of the Year’ honours.

Yassine El Maachi put on a masterful display that see him totally outbox Jimmy Colas to retain his International Light Middleweight crown. To describe Yassine’s performance as exceptional would be an understatement, awe inspiring may be a better statement but still wouldn’t get across just how slick, classy and totally dominating his performance over the former EBU-EU, and current WBC Latino Light Middleweight champion was.

From the first bell El Maachi teased and frustrated Colas with his unorthodox attacks. Time after time El Maachi would trip the light fantastic before letting rip with a flurry of punches, leaving Colas lashing out at his shadow. Close to the end of the round the crowd erupted as Colas went crashing to the canvas, albeit from a push, El Maachi sauntered over and stood, hands raised above his head, over the prone Haitian and taunted him to the crowds delight.

Round two was more of the same El Maachi dancing around and picking off the hapless Colas at will. The third began with El Maachi pawing with his jab before delivering a series of wicked uppercuts that rocked Colas to the core. Towards the end of the round El Maachi stepped up the showboating as the crowd chanted Yassine, Yassine, Yassine.

Rounds four and five were very much more of the same; fluid movement followed by wickedly fast uppercuts and combinations before sashaying away before Colas could even respond. El Maachi was deducted a point by the referee, Jeff Hines, in the final quarter of round five for head butting. The crowd showed their disapproval of the referee‘s decision as it was just a clearly unintentional by-product of his unorthodox movement during a forceful attack.

Rounds six and seven the action continued in the same vein although at a slightly slower pace, which allowed Colas a modicum of close range success. El Maachi stepped the pace up again in round eight which culminated in a scintillatingly fast and vicious right-left combination that rocked Colas.

El Maachi shifted to high gear for the final rounds, in doing so he put on one helluva show and picking off Colas with exquisite uppercuts, right crosses and blisteringly fast combinations. A knockout finish looked to be on the cards but in the end Colas showed his durability by surviving the constant onslaught, and a rather amusing tangle that saw the pair tumble to the canvas in the final seconds of the round.

Referee Jeff Hinds scored the bout 98-92 to the reigning champ Yassine El Maachi.
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The main support for El Maachi-Colas featured the resurgent former English Super Featherweight, and current International Masters Lightweight Champion Ryan ‘Mr Attitude’ Barrett against Croatian Almin Kovacevic.

Barrett controlled the fight from the opening bell using his super slick jab. Round two saw Barrett mix it up a bit, letting rip with some crisp left hooks that clearly hurt the advancing Kovacevic. More success followed in the third as Barrett again let rip with a vicious hook to the body. Kovacevic was clearly struggling and grabbed Barrett to prevent any chance of a follow-up. Each time Barrett came forward the Croatian would grab hold of Barrett to stifle any attack. Late in the round Kovacevic received a warning for the constant holding.

Kovacevic was again warned in the fourth for holding each time Barrett tried to work up close. The fifth round saw Kovacevic being deducted a point for his constant holding, moments later Barrett pinned him to the ropes with constant left-right barrage of shots, Kovacevic blatantly throwing an elbow into Barrett’s cheek, Barrett responding with a massive left that sent the Croatian crashing to the deck. After taking the eight count Kovacevic then received a second point deduction for the elbow from referee Jeff Hines. Barrett went in for the finish but again Kovacevic grabbed hold, Jeff Hines again separating them, but on the restart Kovacevic thwarted Barrett’s attack by grabbing hold, albeit for the last time as Jeff Hines called a halt to the proceedings by disqualifying Kovacevic for continued holding.

Another disqualification preceded the Barrett-Kovacevic bout. This time John ‘The Gorilla’ Ryder was declared victor after Sabie Montieth was disqualified for illegal use of the head by referee Robert Williams after just 30 seconds of the first round!

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The major shock of the night came when Canning Town’s hugely popular Super Featherweight debutant Richard Hines was stopped in the third round by Norfolk’s Scott Moises. I say shock as the skillful Hines had easily controlled the first two rounds, and was in charge in the third until Moises let rip with a cracking left-right that sent him crashing to the deck. Hines beat the count but it was clear that his fight was over as his legs wobbled badly as he stood. Referee Robert Williams instantly called the fight off and declared Moises winner by knockout.

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Tyler Goodjohn gave a masterful display against the experienced Jason Nesbitt to earn a well deserved 40-36 points decision. Goodjohn controlled the first couple of rounds utilising his jab along with stinging body shots. Nesbitt came back in the early part of the third but Goodjohn had no intention of conceding any ground to the more experienced Brummy and took back control with some exceptional boxing to dominate to the rest of the bout.
Prior to Goodjohn-Nesbitt was a lightweight contest featuring the debut of Ultrachem TKO Gym’s ‘Pretty’ Ricky Boylan against Sid Razak of Birmingham. Boylan, a former

London ABA finalist, controlled the fight from start with lightning quick combinations that pushed back the normally forward coming Razak.

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It was hard to think that Boylan was debuting, as his performance was exceptionally slick and mature in it’s approach. Round after round Razak was having to cover up as Boylan peppered him with solid combinations to the head and body. In the final round ‘Pretty Ricky’ changed tactics and boxed on the back foot but still Razak was unable to get any semblance of control due to Boylan’s impressive movement and powerful combinations. Surprisingly the referee deemed the fight as a 59-56 points win for ‘Pretty’ Ricky and not the clear shut out it was.

Woodford Green’s Light Middleweight Michael Norgrove secured his fourth career victory over the experienced Matt Scriven from Nottingham. I have to say that whilst I do agree with the referee that Norgrove won, I can’t agree with the shutout 60-56 score.

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The first couple of rounds were close but as Scriven not only worked harder but also landed the more meaningful shots he should have at least have had one of the accredited to him. Round three was where the turning point of the bout came. Norgrove actually started to fight rather than pose, but still most of his jabs were air-jabs rather than having any serious intent.

Scriven was forced to mount his attacks coming in low under the jabs, which eventually lead to him receiving a warning from the referee for leading with the head in the fourth. The final rounds see Norgrove well in control as he pressured his more experienced opponent before letting rip with a series of crisp combinations. Referee scored the bout 60-56

Stevenage’s Daniel Herdman made a welcome return to the ring, following a two year sabbatical after breaking his hand, against the seriously tough Ryan Clark.

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What a cracking fight, neither gave or expected any quarter, both attacked in similar style often finishing off with vicious left-right combinations to the body or head. Herdman, being the much more busier in his attacks, took the first couple of rounds. Clark stepped it up in the third, which would prove to be a very close round, as both had equal success with their heavy handed attacks.

Herdman not only took control of the final round but also came close to securing a stoppage finish mid way through, after following in with a vicious double hand attack after forcing Clarke back onto the ropes. Herdman kept up the pressure until the final bell and was declared victor by a 39-37 points margin.

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Welterweight Phil ‘The Phil Gill Experience’ Gill found himself with a much heavier opponent following Jason Carr stepping in to replace Swansea’s Craig Dyer at the last minute. Mind you that didn’t dampen the spirits of the feisty Mr Gill, he seemed to relish hunting down his larger opponent before letting rip with an array of combinations and heavy right hands. Gill had worn Carr down so much that by the final round all Carr could do was dip and sway against the ropes in an effort to avoid the barrage of punches the Terrier like Gill was throwing. Surprisingly the referee deemed the bout a 39-37 victory for Phil Gill and not a shut out as I see it.

Ultrachem TKO’s Eighteen year old Super Middleweight Brett O’Callaghan made his professional debut against the vastly experienced Billy Smith following Gary Cooper pulling out at the last minute.

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The youngster showed maturity beyond his tender years by controlling his much older opponent with fast hands and solid jabs. As the fight moved into to the second half Smith tried to bully the younger O’Callaghan back onto the ropes without success as the savvy youth used smart footwork and his solid jabs to keep Smith at bay.

O’Callaghan baptism of fire ended with a nice 39-37 points victory justifiably in his favour.

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The assembled crowd at York Hall were on their feet and in full voice the moment they see the stetson wearing John Wayne Hibbert appear and didn’t abate throughout their heroes six round encounter with William Warburton.

Hibbert ensured that by putting on one of his trademark attacking displays. About the only time the decibel levels dropped was after Hibbert received a cut above the left eye in third round. Hibbert seemed unfazed by the cut as he kept on pressuring Warburton to secure a tidy 59-55 points victory.

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The second fight of the night was a rematch for Ultrachem TKO’s exceptional 19 year old Super Featherweight ‘Saint’ George Jupp and Latvian Pavels Senkovs. Back in September Jupp gave Senkovs a boxing master class to secure a clear points victory. Senkovs had revenge on his mind and went straight on the attack, Jupp again used his brain and stayed out of a slugging match responding with solid jabs and accurate left-rights to keep the Latvian at bay. Jupp used his perfect jabs to control and frustrate Senkovs who clearly wanted to avenge his previous loss. Alas Senkovs hopes ended half way through the final round when the referee Jeff Hines stopped the fight due to a rather nasty cut over his left eye.

The opening fight of Judgement Day was Light Middleweight contest between Bobby Gladman and Danny Donchev. Gladman showed some serious class to keep the lively Dontchev under control, after a close first round Gladman found his range and totally dominated the middle two rounds. Donchev came on hard again in the final round and although enjoyed some success Gladman landed the more meaningful shots to secure a tidy 39-37 points victory.

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