By Jim Slattengren: Undefeated junior middleweight prospect Vanes Martirosyan (19-0, 13 KOs) destroyed an over-matched Michi Munoz (20-2, 13 KOs) on Thursday night, stopping him in the 3rd round of a scheduled 10-round bout at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Munoz was knocked down three times in the bout, once in the first and twice in the third. After fighting in an abnormally conservative manner in the first two rounds of the fight, Martirosyan, 21, a fighter with extraordinary right hand power, finally unleashed a series of hard right hands in the 3rd, dropping Munoz twice to the canvas, and prompting for referee Kenny Bayless to stop the fight at 2:20 of the 3rd round.

Martirosyan, a former 2004 Olympic welterweight for the United States, considered perhaps the hardest punchers (with right hand) of the junior middleweight prospects, came out slowly against Munoz, 26, in the first round of the fight. The slow start appeared to be design, fo Martirosyan’s new trainer, Ronnie Shields, has been trying to get him to work slower, focusing more on defense due Martirosyan’s tendency to tire out in fights, as well as having defensive involving him dropping his left hand when throwing his right. Read more…

By Chris Thomas: According to Tv2 Sporten, WBA/WBC super middleweight Mikkel Kessler (39-1, 29 KOs) is reportedly ready to begin training once again after his operation on his right hand following his November 3rd, 2007 12-round unanimous decision loss to WBO super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe at the Millennium Stadium, in Cardiff, Wales. “It’s going really well with it (the hand). The swelling has gone. Now I just need to test it very soon, and that’ll be quite interesting” Mikkel Kessler tells TV2 sporten.

The big question now is, of course, who Kessler, 28, will be fighting next. Kessler, ranked #3 in the WBC, #4 in both the WBA & WBO, will likely want a fairly tough opponent given his tendency to want to fight only the best opponents in the super middleweight division. Immediately, names like Edison Miranda, Jean Pascal, Allan Green, Alejandro Berrio, and Denis Inkin immediately come to mind as prospective opponents for Kessler. However, it’s highly questionable that any of them, aside from Berrio, who seems almost fearless, would want to step in the ring with Kessler. Read more…

In somewhat of a shocker, tickets for the heavyweight unification match between International Boxing Federation heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (49-3, 44 KOs) and World Boxing Organization heavyweight champion Sultan Ibragimov (21-0, 17 KOs), slated for February 23rd, at New York’s Madison Square Garden, is reportedly almost sold out, according to the latest boxing news. Up until recently, the fight had hardly generated a peep of interest, aside from the few fans of Klitschko and Ibragimov. However, for the average fan, this fight, up until now, has not been an appealing fight. Read more…

By “Big” Nate Anderson: In today’s press conference in London, super middleweight Joe Calzaghe (44-0, 32 KOs) and light heavyweight Bernard Hopkins (48-4-1, 32 KOs) continued to go at each other verbally in preparation for their April 19th bout at the Thomas & Mack Center, in Las Vegas, Nevada. If anyone was to be considered the victor in the press conference, I’d say that Calzaghe, 35, appeared to come out on top, as he said:

“I know what is going to happen. I am going to win the fight. I’m undefeated for 17 years and he’s going to realize April 19 that he’s never been in the ring with someone like myself with my hand speed and my work rate. He’s been a champion for years and I’ve got a tremendous amount of respect.”

For that, Calzaghe appears to be hitting it right on the head about Hopkins never having been in the ring with a fighter like him, nor one with Calzaghe’s work rate. Read more…

By Dan Ambrose: Undefeated World Boxing Organization welterweight champion Paul Williams (33-0, 24 KOs) will be looking to set himself apart from the other welterweight champions when he goes up against Carlos Quintana (24-1, 19 KOs) on Saturday night at the Pechanga Resort & Casino, in Temecula, California. Williams, 26, is hoping to look impressive in the bout, considering that Quintana, 31, was destroyed in five brutal rounds by World Boxing Association champion Miguel Cotto in December 2006. Read more…

By John Dower: Former heavyweight contender, and sometimes movie actor, 39 year-old Tommy Morrison (47-3-1, 41 KOs) will be returning back to the ring on Saturday night against Matt Weisharr (3-0-2, 1 KO), fighting on the undercard of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. vs Jose Celaya junior middleweight bout at the Domo De La Feria, Leon, in Guanajuato, Mexico. Morrison previously tested positive for the HIV virus over a decade ago, and subsequently stepped away from the ring from late 1996 until 2007, when Morrison came back on February 22nd to defeat John Castle by 2nd round TKO.

Morrison, as most would expect for someone coming off such a lengthy layoff, looked poor, his handspeed slower, and gasping for breath even in the 1st round. Morrison has tested negative for the HIV virus in recent tests, which begs the question, why didn’t Morrison get more tests done years ago so that he would have been able to continue his career at an earlier stage? To be sure, Morrison wouldn’t be the first person that had false positives show up in an HIV test, but it’s unfortunate that he had to lose all the years because of what appears to have been a faulty test result. Read more…

By Dan Ambrose: Undefeated junior middleweight prospect Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (34-0-1, 27 KOs) will be putting his unbeaten record on the line when he goes up against veteran Jose Celaya (31-3, 16 KOs) on Saturday night at the Domo De La Feria, Leon, in Guanajuato, Mexico. Celaya, 26, a good fighter with excellent amateur credentials - unlike Chavez Jr., whom has none - appears to be the latest of the sacrificial lambs brought in for the slaughter for the 21 year-old Chavez to look good against in the process of beating.

To be sure, this is a gimme fight for Chavez, for Celaya, a fighter with good handspeed and counter punching ability, has a major flaw in his armor - a weak chin. That’s the only weakness that the young Chavez will need, because if anything that he has going for him, which I personally consider not too much, he can certainly punch with decent power. Up to this point, Celaya has fought mostly 3rd tier fighters, few of which most people would consider good fighters. However, in the two occasions that Celaya has stepped it up against a 2nd tier fighter - James Webb and Eduarto Sanchez - he was knocked out. Read more…

By Chris Thomas: In the latest boxing news, former WBC/WBA light heavyweight champion Antonio Tarver (26-4, 19 KOs) wants a fight with the undefeated super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe, who is currently getting prepared for his next bout against light heavweight Bernard Hopkins. Tarver, at 39 years-old, would figure to be in the last stages of his career. However, given the fact that the light heavyweight division is perhaps the weakest in all of boxing, he finds himself as still one of the best fighters in the division. Read more…

By Jim Slattengren: In recent interviews, International Boxing Federation heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (49-3, 44 KOs) has seemed confident about his chances for victory over undefeated World Boxing Organization heavyweight champion Sultan Ibragimov (21-0, 17 KOs) in their February 23rd bout at Madison Square Garden. There’s nothing wrong with being confident on oneself, but when it moves beyond that into an area of a fighter appearing smug, which I seem to have noticed in Klitschko, than it’s a problem. Read more…

By Manuel Perez: It may be a little too early to start discussing things like championships for unbeaten unior middleweight prospect Alfredo Angulo (12-0, 9 KOs), but I’m going to anyway, because I think Angulo has the boxing skills and power to be a champion in the division. Already, Angulo has knocked out nine of his twelve opponents, most of which he stopped well before the 6th round. Of course, the opposition is nothing to speak about, but the manner in which Angulo has beaten them has been especially impressive.

Angulo, still only 25, was formerly a member of the Mexican 2004 Olympic squad. This is perhaps why he isn’t mentioned as much as former American Olympic boxers from the same year. To go with his Olympic credentials, Angulo is a four-time amateur Mexican national champion, which says a lot about his ability, because Mexico has some of the best fighters in the world, amateur or professional. Angulo, though still very young in terms of years, is much more a polished fighter due to his impressive amateur background and Olympic status. Read more…

By Eric Schmidt: In the latest boxing news, undefeated middleweight contender Andy Lee (15-0, 12 KOs) will be reportedly fighting former boxing star from The Contender Brian Vera (15-1, 9 KOs) on March 21st, a fight that will be shown live on ESPN’s Fright Night Fights. This is great news for the unbeaten Lee, for many of his fights have been non-televised, giving his fans little option to seeing his fighter other than watching grainy video of him on Youtube.com.

Vera, 26, is a definite step up for Lee, although perhaps not as big as I would have liked. Vera, a super middleweight, was stopped in the 2nd round by Jaidon Codrington in September 2007. There’s no shame in that, because Codrington is a big puncher, but it does suggest that Vera’s chin isn’t perhaps the best considering the early round in which the knockout took place. Read more…

By Manuel Perez: Undefeated lightweight prospect Mickey Bey (10-0, 6 KOs) won an unimpressive 8-round unanimous decision over Roberto Acevedo (5-4-3, 1 KOs) on Friday night at the Grand Casino, in Hinckley, Minnesota. The final judges’ scores were 80-72, 79-73 and 77-76, all for Bey. I personally scored the fight 77-76. Bey, 24, a former member of the American 2004 Olympic boxing team, had a tremendous difficulties trying to land his punches against Acevedo, 21. It wasn’t as if Bey wasn’t trying, though, but more of a case of Acevedo having too many defensive skills for Bey to land his shots effectively. The fight started off looking as if it would be a blowout for Bey, when he landed a big left hook in the first round that briefly staggered Acevedo. Read more…

By Chris Thomas: British light heavyweight champion Tony Oakey (25-2-1, 7 KOs) successfully defend his BBBofC British light heavyweight title on Friday night, stopping an old nemesis Peter Haymer (17-5-1, 5 KOs) in the 9th round of a scheduled 12-round championship bout at the York Hall, Bethnal Green, in London. Oakey, making his second defense of his light heavyweight title, which just happens to have been held by Haymer himself two year years ago, stunned him with a big right hand in the 9th round and then put him away with a left hook. Referee Mickey Vann stopped the bout at 2:10 of the 9th round.

Haymer, 6′1″, used his height reach advantage to landed effectively over the shorter, rounder 5′8″ champion Oakey in the first round. Haymer landed a number of excellent uppercuts and jabs in the round, effectively out-working Oakey, and beating him to the punch. This was the second time the two had fought, as Haymer had previously beaten Oakey by a 10-round unanimous decision in June 2005. Read more…

By Dan Ambrose: Unbeaten featherweight contender Derry Matthews (20-0, 11 KOs) made easy work of his opponent Nikoloz Berkatsashvili (14-3, 5 KOs), stopping him in the 1st round of a scheduled eight-round bout on Saturday night at the ExCel Arena, Dockland, in London, England. Matthews, 24, dropped Berkatsashvili twice in the first round with left hooks to the midsection. After the second knockdown, the referee counted Berkatsashvili because he was in too much pain and counted make to his feet in time. For Matthews, who’s ranked #4 in the World Boxing Organization and #10 in the International Boxing Federation featherweight divisions, he was simply far too good for the limited Berkatsashvili to handle.

In the opening moments of the 1st round, Matthews immediately pounced on Berkatsashvili, 22, hitting him with wide hooks with both hands, and flailing on him without much return coming back. Read more…

By John Dower: Featherweight contender Monty Meza Clay (27-1, 18 KOs) stopped former International Boxing Federation feather weight champion Eric Aiken (16-7-1, 12 KOs) in the 7th round on Friday night at the Expo Mart, in Monroeville, Pennsylvania. Clay, 26, looking a lot like former great Aaron Pryor, used a non-stop punching attack to methodically break down the former champion Aiken, ultimately stopping him in the 7th round as Aiken was taking tremendous punishment on the ropes. The referee Ernie Sharif stopped the bout at 0:39 of the 7th round. At the time of the stoppage, Aiken had been hit with over 20 consecutive head shots while trapped on the ropes without throwing anything back in return.

Clay, who at 5′1″, was giving up seven inches in height to the 5′8″ Aiken, but it mattered little, for Aiken failed to use his height to his advantage in any of the rounds. Read more…

Showing that he still has a little left in his career, two-time title challenger Monte Barrett (33-6, 19 KOs) easily stopped an over-matched Damon Reed (43-13, 30 knockouts) in the 2nd round of a scheduled 10-round bout last night at the 944 Super Village at Stetson Canal, in Scottsdale, Arizona. Barrett, 36, knocked Reed down in the 1st round, and then another time in the 2nd, leading to the referee stopping the bout at 2:47 of the 2nd round. Barrett, who is no longer ranked in the top 15 having lost three out of his last five bouts, landed effectively with his right hand in the first round, snapping Reed’s head and driving him back. Read more…

By Dan Ambrose: former two-time World Boxing Association light middleweight champion Julio Cesar Vasquez (68-12, 43 KOs) was stopped in the 1st round last night by Ruben Eduardo Acosta (18-3-5, 5 KOs) in an unsuccessful attempt at capturing the South American super middleweight title at the Polideportivo Islas Malvinas, Mar del Plata, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Vasquez, now 41, was dropped late in the 1st round by a left hook to the midsection. Vasquez rolled around on the canvas in obvious pain, unable to get up. Read more…

By Chris Thomas: Hard-hitting International Boxing Organization bantamweight champion Silence Mabuza (21-2, 17 KOs) turned back young 19 year-old challenger Eden Sonsona (14-3, 3 KOs), stopping him in the 8th round on Saturday night to successfully defend his title at the Emperors Palace Casino, in Kempton Park, Gauteng, South Africa. Mabuza, 30, had problems with the speedy Sonsona’s fast shots in the early going, finding it hard to match him punch for punch. However, as the rounds progressed, Mabuza found it easier to land how power shots more often. In the 5th round, Mabuza dropped Sonsona with a big right hand to the body. Read more…

By Chris Thomas: In an especially impressive performance, light welterweight Henry Bruseles (21-3-1, 15 KOs) stopped Robert Frankel in the 4th round of a scheduled 10-round bout at the Coliseo Rafael G Amalbert, in Juncos, Puerto Rico, on Friday night. Brusele, dominated throughout, and eventually cut Frankel over both his left eye (from a headbutt) and then finally his right eye, leading to the referee Roberto Ramirez stopping the bout at 2:28 of the 4th round. Read more…

By Eric Schmidt: Former International Boxing Federation light middleweight champion Luis Ramon Campas (91-11, 73 KOs) was stopped in the 7th round on Friday night against Amin Asikainen (24-1, 16 KOs) at the Toolo Sports Hall, in Helsinki, Finland. Campas, 36, who normally fights at light middleweight, looked much smaller against middleweight Asikainen, 32, who happens to be the best boxer in Finland.

Campas had problems with Asikainen’s superior reach and size for most of the fight, as he was unable to get within punching distance without having to eat several shots while on the way in. Once in close, Asikainen would often tie him up to prevent him from punching. A minute into the 7th round, Asikainen tagged Campas with a big right hand while he was trying to come inside, hurting him badly and causing him to back up. Asikainen followed after him, and hit him with repeated right hands, driving Campas to the ropes, where Asikainen finished him off with three more fight hands before the referee Erkki Merone could call a halt to the bout at 0:56 of the 7th round. Read more…