Aleksandr Usyk did what most fans expected him to do in defeating Murat Gassiev on Saturday night in a lopsided 12 round unanimous decision in a master class performance in the World Boxing Super Series final in Moscow, Russia.
Senator Manny Pacquiao dispelled rumors about his health and assured his fans, friends and family that he is perfectly well following recent reports that claimed otherwise.
A week before his historic knockout win over WBA champion Lucas Matthysse in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Pacquiao admitted to have undergone a routine medical and physical checkup, a requirement for all boxers before they step inside the ring.
In what seems like a waste of time, WBA super featherweight champion Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis (20-0, 19 KOs) plans on sparring Golden Boy Promotions prospect Ryan Garcia (15-0, 13 KOs) in order to iron out their differences due to the trash talking he’s been doing on Twitter over the last few months.
WBA Super World bantamweight champion Ryan Burnett (19-0, 9 KOs) has picked former four division world champion Nonito Donaire (38-5, 24 KOs) for his quarter-finals match in the World Boxing Super Series (WBSS) tournament in September or October.
In an interesting move, Burnett and Donaire ate dinner together after the selection process by Ryan. That was an unusual move by the 26-year-old Burnett. If it helps him win the fight, then perhaps it was worth it. Burnett needs to start thinking of a good plan for him to take away Donaire’s offensive fire power, because right now the fight does not look like a good style match-up for him. Donaire is smart, experienced, fast and powerful.
In what appeared to be totally scripted, Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller and Anthony Joshua were involved in a heated exchange of trash talking during Tuesday’s news conference with former WBA heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin looking on in New York.
Miller (21-0-1, 18 KOs) is expected to sign with Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn, who needs content to supply to subscribers for his DAZN streaming service. Hearn says he wants to match Joshua against WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder on April 13, provided Joshua gets past Povetkin, but the fight looks like it won’t be happening.
Aleksandr Usyk and Murat Gassiev entertained a big crowd at Tuesday’s public workout in Moscow.
Usyk, however, did surprisingly not do any of the usual skipping, shadow boxing or pad work, but instead waved and bowed in front of the hundreds of fans at the Oceania Shopping Mall.
Eddie Hearn says he’s interested in inking Manny Pacquiao to add him to his DAZN streaming service if he’s a free agent now. Hearn isn’t quite certain or not whether the 39-year-old Pacquiao is no longer with his long time promoters at Top Rank. Hearn is in a race against time to sign enough top name fighters to make his deal with DAZN work financially by year 2.
Trainer Nacho Beristain thinks it’s a bad idea for Manny Pacquiao to fight Terence Crawford or Vasyl Lomachenko at this point in his career, according to ESPN Deportes. Beristain says the 39-year-old Pacquiao should think carefully before he makes the decision to fight either of those guys.
Pacquiao looked like his old self last Saturday night in defeating Lucas Matthysse to win the WBA World welterweight title in Malaysia, but he wasn’t facing Crawford or Lomachenko in those fights.
By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
JUST a win away from returning to the finals of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup, defending champions San Miguel Beermen go for the clincher when they collide with the Alaska Aces in Game Three of their best-of-five semifinal series today at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
