Latest Boxing News – Holyfield, Valuev, Foreman, Holt & More

By Boxing News - 12/15/2008 - Comments

Evander Holyfield believes he got what it takes to beat Nikolai Valuev and become the oldest heavyweight champion of all time. The living legend will try to deprive the Russian Giant of his WBA title when he comes face-to-face with him in Zurich on Saturday night. “I am in great shape,” Holyfield said during today´s media work-out at the Swissotel. “There have been many great fighters in the history of boxing but nobody managed to win the heavyweight title at the age of 46. I will try to accomplish that.”

Holyfield would not lift the curtain on his tactics for Saturday, though. “Valuev might have same advantages, but there are also some things that will be working in my favour,” he stated. “I will show on Saturday what I mean by that.”

Unlike Holyfield, who took his time to warm up, hit the pads and do shadow boxing, Valuev did not spent much time in the ring today. After some light stretching and shadow boxing, he was done, hinting that he prefers to do most of his training work in the evening hours. Apart from the physical preparation, Alexander Zimin also puts a lot of emphasis on the mental fitness. “I go walking, read books and watch a few Russian movies,” Valuev stated. “I will try to relax and get my mind set on Saturday.”

The Russian Giant is full of respect for his famous opponent. “He is very experienced,” Valuev lauded. “I will not underestimate him and I am fully aware that I need to perform very well to beat him. But as you can see I am highly concentrated. I believe I have done everything I need to do in order to leave the ring victorious on Saturday night.”

Junior middleweight James Moore unbowed after loss to NABF champion Yuri Foreman

Although junior middleweight James Moore, a native of County Wicklow, Ireland, who fights out of Queens, New York, lost a one-sided decision to NABF champion Yuri Foreman in Atlantic City on December 13, he is undeterred in his quest to move up the boxing ladder.

Moore, 16-2 (10 KOS), never stopped trying to catch up to the fleet-footed and quick-fisted Foreman, who saw his record to improve to 27-0 (8 KOS). The 10 round bout was televised on ShoBox: The New Generation.

“My goal was to chop him down, but I just couldn’t do it,” said Moore, who suffered an injured ear and a cut on his left eyelid that required 7 stitches. “The ear affected my balance, but that is not what cost me the fight. My trainer, Lennox Blackmoore, had given me a good game plan, but I didn’t stick to it because it was so frustrating trying to catch up to him. Yuri is a very good fighter, and I tip my hat to him.”

Making things even more daunting for Moore was a huge blood blister on his right big toe, which he says burst around the seventh round. When he took his white sock off after the fight, you could ring the blood out of the sock.

“That was painful, but it also had little to do with the outcome,” said the refreshingly candid Moore. “He fought his fight, and I didn’t fight mine. He was the better man tonight.”

Moore will recuperate over the holidays, and then map out his boxing future. Although he lost this bout, he was very thankful for the support he received from the several busloads of fans that came from New York to cheer him on.

“Having all of those fans in attendance helped me a great deal,” said Moore. “They gave me a lot of encouragement. I fought hard, and never stopped trying to win. It was great to have their support, even though I would have liked the outcome to be different.”

Holt Retains Title, Foreman Wins Easily

Kendall Holt successfully retained his World Boxing Organization (WBO) Jr. Welterweight world title against previously undefeated Demetrius Hopkins Saturday night by split decision on a special edition of ShoBox: The New Generation. Scores were 116-112, 117-111 for Holt and 115-113 for Hopkins.

In the jr. middleweight co-feature, Yuri Foreman’s speed and footwork proved too much for his opponent. Foreman nearly shut out James Moore in the 10-round bout. Scores were 100-90, 99-90, 99-91.

Saturday’s fight card was presented by Bob Arum’s Top Rank Inc. from Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.

Holt of Paterson, N.J. improved his record to 25-2 (13 KOs) while Hopkins of Philadelphia, Pa. falls to 28-1-1 (11 KOs).

Hopkins, who was initially scheduled to fight on the undercard against Germaine Sanders, stepped into the main event after Holt’s original opponent, Ricardo Torres, withdrew from the fight due to illness.

“Champions aren’t born. They’re made by overcoming adversity,” said Holt after the fight. “And I’ve faced adversity since I was a child. This past week wasn’t anything new for me.”

World Boxing Council (WBC) 140-pound champion Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley sat ringside Saturday and got an up close and personal look at his next opponent. Bradley and Holt will meet in a world title unification fight early next year on SHOWTIME.

“Kendall Holt was aggressive tonight,” said Bradley. “That was something to see. He looked very impressive. We are two young, great champions and this will be good for boxing.”

Bradley, of Palm Springs, Calif., is enjoying a meteoric rise to the top of the 140-pound division. Bradley defeated Junior Witter in England on May 10, 2008 to capture the title. He went on to successfully defend it just four months later against Edner Cherry on Sept. 13 on SHOWTIME.

“Timothy Bradley is a good fighter,” said Holt on Saturday night. “He throws a lot of punches and a lot of combinations. He’s going to make me be very aware in there.”

Foreman of Brooklyn, NY by way of Gomel, Belarus remained undefeated Saturday night and improved his record to 27-0 while Moore of Queens via Arklow, County Wickow, Ireland faced the second loss of his career with a record now of 16-2.

SHOWTIME will replay Saturday’s telecast on Wednesday, Dec. 17, at 11 p.m. ET/PT on SHO 2.

Nick Charles called the action from ringside with boxing historian Farhood serving as expert analyst and Al Bernstein serving as ringside reporter. The executive producer of ShoBox is Gordon Hall with Richard Gaughan producing and Rick Phillips directing.