Strength and conditioning trainer Justin Fortune said that reigning World Boxing Association welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao has trained patiently in his first week of sparring session with Australian George Kambosos Jr.
NEW YORK CITY (Dec. 6, 2018) – WBA lightweight world champion Vasiliy Lomachenko and WBO lightweight world champion Jose Pedraza exchanged pleasantries on a brisk New York afternoon two days before their title unification tilt, Saturday evening at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden (ESPN, 9 p.m. ET).
In the co-feature, Isaac "Royal Storm" Dogboe will make the second defense of his WBO junior featherweight world title against Emanuel "Vaquero" Navarrete. Dogboe snatched the title from Jessie Magdaleno back in April and defended it Aug. 25 with a first-round knockout over Hidenori Otake.
Lomachenko vs. Pedraza LIVE on Saturday at Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden and broadcast on ESPN at 9 p.m. ET
Undercard broadcast begins at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN+
(Dec. 5, 2018) — Top Rank is proud to announce that Lee Samuels, the company’s chief publicist for nearly four decades, will be inducted as part of the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) Class of 2019 in Canastota, N.Y.
Samuels is only the second publicist to receive this honor following his mentor and former Top Rank public relations chief, Irving Rudd, who was inducted as part of the Class of 1999. Samuels is the fifth member of the Top Rank family to receive boxing’s highest honor, joining Rudd, Founder and CEO Bob Arum (1999), longtime matchmaker Bruce Trampler (2010), and the late matchmaker Teddy Brenner (1993).
Andre Ward says he doesn’t think a rematch will ever happen between Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury after last Saturday’s fight between the two giant heavyweights in Los Angeles, California. Ward believes that that WBC heavyweight champion Deontay (40-0-1, 39 KOs) won’t want to fight Fury (27-0-1, 19 KOs) again due to the problems he gave him in the fight.
Tyson Fury says he did something Anthony Joshua didn’t want to do in facing the “fiercest puncher in boxing history” in Deontay Wilder last Saturday night. Fury took the fight that Joshua and his promoter Eddie Hearn didn’t want to take against the unbeaten Wilder (40-0-1, 39 KO).
Tyson Fury’s trainer Ben Davison was furious at the judge that scored the fight for WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder by a 115-111 score last Saturday night, which resulted in the fight being scored as a split draw. Davison points out that Floyd Mayweather Jr., Paulie Malignaggi and Gennady Golovkin all had Fury beating Wilder by a decision.
IBF/WBA junior middleweight champion Jarrett Hurd )23-0, 16 KOs) took his time tonight in defeating #11 IBF Jason Welborn (24-7, 7 KOs) by a 4th round knockout at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Looking huge after rehydrating from 152 lbs overnight to 172 lbs, Hurd dropped Welborn with a hard body shot in the 4th. Although Welborn made it back to his feet to beat the count, referee Lou Moret halted it anyway.
In a controversial move, Deontay Wilder weighed in at just 212.5 pounds on Friday for his weigh-in against Tyson Fury. This is the second lowest weight of Wilder’s decade long pro career behind his debut weight of 207 lbs against Ethan Cox in 2008. Wilder looked painfully thin for a heavyweight at the weigh-in. Fury (27-0, 19 KOs) weighed in at 256 lbs, and he’ll be enjoying a 44 lb weight advantage. Fury might get a chance to use his size against Wilder if he can get in close on Saturday night and mug him in their fight on Showtime PPV at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
Former WBA/WBO super bantamweight champion Guillermo Rigondeaux (17-1, 11 KOs) will be back inside the ring in December or January against an opponent still to be determined, according to RingTV. The 38-year-old Rigondeaux, who is now signed with Al Haymon of Premier Boxing Champions, could have the 2-time Olympic gold medalist back in action on December 22 or January 13. If Rigondeaux fights on December 22, he would wind up on the undercard of Jermall Charlo vs. Willie Monroe Jr. at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
(Nov. 27, 2018) — The latest edition of Breakfast and Boxing on ESPN+ will be streamed live from Down Under this Friday, as former welterweight world champion Jeff “The Hornet” Horn and former two-time super middleweight world champion Anthony “The Man” Mundine will settle a long-simmering Australian grudge match in a 12-rounder from Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia. The ESPN+ stream will begin at 3:30 a.m. ET, with Horn and Mundine expected to enter the ring at approximately 6:30 a.m. ET.
Heavyweight contender Joe Joyce and his manager Sam Jones are planning on making a new offer to unbeaten contender Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller for a fight in 2019, according to IFL TV.
New York—Filipino veteran Manny Pacquiao revealed Monday he has spoken with Floyd Mayweather about a possible sequel to their 2015 superfight, but said no decision would be taken on a rematch until the New Year.
Speaking in New York to confirm details of his January 19 fight against Adrien Broner, Pacquiao said he had discussed a rematch with Mayweather during a recent trip to Japan.
