With only two weeks to go before the showdown between unbeaten WBC/WBO middleweight champion Jermain Taylor (27-0, 17 KOs) and his challenger Kelly Pavlik (31-0, 28 KOs), many of the fight predictions on various websites have been pointing the direction of the 25-year old Pavlik winning the fight against Taylor, mostly because of Pavlik’s high percentage of knockout wins. In his thirty-one bouts thus far, Pavlik has annihilated almost all of his opponents, even the good ones - Fulgencio Zuniga, Bronko McKart, Jose Luis Zertuche and Edison Miranda - have been easily dispatched almost as quick as the lesser opponents.

Indeed, of the four quality opponents (the rest, unfortunately, have been low B-level fighters) that Pavlik has faced in his career, none of made it beyond the 9th round. In contrast, the 29-year old Taylor often struggled against his top five opponents - William Joppy, Bernard Hopkins, Winky Wright, Kassim Ouma and Cory Spinks - winning four of them and fighting to a draw against Wright. Read more

When boxing promoter Don King could not come to acceptable terms to deliver the services of his heavyweight contender DaVarryl “Touch of Sleep” Williamson to fight unretiring WBC “champion emeritus” Vitali Klitschko, he unknowingly set in motion the circumstances for another fight.

Klitschko later announced he was going to face Jameel McCline on Sept. 22 in Munich, Germany, but cancelled the match due to an apparent back surgery on Sept. 9, just five days before McCline was scheduled to leave for Germany, marking the fifth consecutive match in a row where Klitschko has been unable to participate. Read more

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HBO Sports is presenting a thirty-minute special analyzing the upcoming middleweight title fight between reigning champion Jermain Taylor and fast-charging challenger Kelly Pavlik. The highly anticipated 160-pound bout is set for Saturday, September 29th at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City and will be carried live on HBO in one of the network’s signature broadcasts of the year. The fight is an intriguing match-up between the division’s most acclaimed competitors.

The special “COUNTDOWN TO TAYLOR-PAVLIK,” which will feature fighter profiles, expert analysis and forecasts for the showdown in Atlantic City, will premiere on Saturday, September 22 at 11:00PM (ET/PT). Jermain Taylor (27-0-1, 17KO’s) of Little Rock, Arkansas, is one of the sport’s most accomplished stars. Two years ago he upset reigning middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins to take his place atop the 160-pound division. Kelly Pavlik (31-0, 28KO’s) of Youngstown, Ohio, is a fast -rising power puncher who is hoping to replace Taylor as the division’s top act. Read more

“This fight is going to be extremely exciting, the buzz is worldwide and I am very excited that Golden Boy can bring another great event to boxing fans,” said Oscar de la Hoya, president of Golden Boy Promotions. “This is one of the biggest nights in boxing history, showcasing a welterweight match-up between two undefeated fighters … a fantastic way to end a record-breaking year.”

Leonard Ellerbe of Mayweather Promotions said, “Mayweather Promotions is delighted to be a part of this tremendous event. December 8 will be our first major promotion and its magnitude only is a testament to our commitment to bring great boxing match-ups to fans around the world.” Read more

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Light welterweight Kendall Holt has filed an official protest to the WBO asking for a rematch with WBO light welterweight champion Ricardo Torrez (32-1, 28 KOs), who defeated Holt by 11th round TKO earlier this month on September 1st at the Salon Jumbo del Country Club, in Barranquilla, Atlantico, Colombia. Ostensibly, Holt feels that the ring was unsafe in the 11th round of the fight, immediately after Torres knocked Holt down with a scorching left hook, at which point the fans began to throw beer and water into the ring, making the canvas slick and traction difficult.

Though Holt was never seen to have slipped during the round, they still feel that the ring was made unsafe and therefore the bout should be ruled as a “no contest,” meaning that the fight wouldn’t count on Holt’s record, and they would have to fight one more. Also, Holt states further that he was hit in the eye in the sixth round by a can, and it made it difficult to see. This occurred immediately after Holt had knocked Torres down and had him badly hurt in the round. Based on reports, the WBO will make a decision within 10 days, letting them know at that time whether they will grant Holt’s request. Read more

WBA light flyweight champion Edgar Sosa (29-5, 15 KOs) stopped his over-matched challenger Lorenzo Trejo (30-16, 17 KOs) in the 9th round on Sunday night at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Trejo, 30, moving up from the minumweight class to challenge Sosa for the title, was no match for him in overall speed or talent and was out-boxed every step of the way by the taller, quicker and more talented Sosa. In the 9th round, Trejo both eyes badly swollen, was hurt by a brutal left hook to his midsection. Sosa then followed up with flurry that led to the referee stepping in and putting a stop to the bout at 2:02 of the round.

Strange as it may seem, Trejo is considered one of the top fighters in the minumweight division. However, against the light flyweight champion Sosa, Trejo was no match from the very start. Sosa peppered him with fast jabs in the first few rounds of the fight, keeping him on the outside where he was mostly harmless as a fly. Trejo, a fighter that likes to fight on the inside, kept trying to get in close so that he could land his hooks to the body and head, but Sosa stayed on the move, constantly pumping out his jab, and frustrating Trejo. Read more

Former light flyweight and flyweight boxing champion Jorge Arce (47-4-1, 36 KOs) , fighting for the first time at bantamweight, looked positively dreadful as he rallied to defeat unheralded Tomas Rojas (26-11 18 KOs) in a sixth round TKO on Sunday night at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Arce, who is coming off a title losing bout to Cristian Mijares on April 14, 2007, fought like he still hadn’t recovered from that bout, as he was utterly dominated by Rojas for five of the six rounds of the fight until he launched a left hook to the body in the sixth round that knocked Rojas down. Arce ended things shortly after Rojas dragged himself off the canvas by greeting him with a nice flurry of punches.

However, the KO didn’t erase the image of how poorly Arce fought against Rojas, because he truly looked as if he didn’t belong in the same ring with the B-level bantamweight fighter. Granted, it’s one thing to say that Arce was making his first appearance as a bantamweight, and perhaps should be given a break; However, it’s not a good indication of how things will be for him in the near future if he can’t beat someone at the level. Read more

WBO Inter-Continental cruiserweight boxing champion Alexander Alexeev (12-0, 11 KOs) stopped Darrin Humphrey (24-6, 11 KOs) in the 4th round on Saturday night at the Stadthalle, Rostock, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Humphrey, 33, an American, was dropped three times by the powerful Russian born Alexeev, who made it seem like target practice as he pelted him with sharp hooks to the head and body before the bout was ultimately stopped in the 3rd round after Humphrey’s corner threw in the white towel o signal surrender.

Alexeev, a highly skilled former amateur star from Russia - now living in Germany - was simply a class or two above Humphrey, something that was plainly obvious seconds into the bout as Alexeev skillfully bombed Humprey with hooks and uppercuts while calmly ducking all return fire coming his way. It was like watching a skilled musician playing alongside a novice, as Alexeev was a far superior fighter in every possible way. As such, Humphrey spent most of the first round eating punch after punch from Alexeev, who looked to be having an enjoyable time at the American’s expense. By the end of the round, Humphrey’s face looked as if a car had ran over it, as it was beet red and beginning to bruise up. Read more

Featherweight Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. (8-0, 7 KOs) - the son of former super bantamweight/featherweight champion Wilfredo Vazquez - TKO’d Benjamin Orozco (3-3, 2 KOs) in the third round on Friday night at the Kissimmee Civic Center, in Kissimmee, Florida. After a fairly even first round in which both fighters did substantial damage to each other with head and body shots, Vazquez hurt Orozco with a left hook late in the 2nd round. Orozco, 22, though was able to make it out of the round without going down - barely. However, in the 3rd round, Vazquez quickly moved forward and blasted Orozco out of there with a flurry of right hooks. Orozco remained standing, however, but was out on his feet when the referee stepped in and stopped it at 0:46 of the 3rd round.

In the first round, Vazquez showed an excellent left hook early on, landing it hard and getting Orozco’s attention with it. Read more

WBF heavyweight champion Albert Sosnowski (41-1, 25 KOs) destroyed Argentinian challenger Manuel Alberto Pucheta (18-2, 12 KOs) in the 2nd round on Friday night at the Ice Rink, Kirkcaldy, in Scotland. Pucheta, 36, was knocked down three times in the process before the referee Terry O’Connor put a stop to the massacre at 2:03 of the 2nd round. Sosnowski, 28, nicknamed “The Dragon,” slowly stalked Pucheta in the first round, hitting him with right hooks and jabs, though mostly just stalking him.

Pucheta, for his part, looked badly out of shape, perhaps at least 30 lbs overweight. His conditioning or lack thereof, proved to be a problem for him, as he was already gasping for breath by the end of the first round and having difficulties keeping his hands up. He did, however, throw more punches than Sosnowski in the first round, though most of them were wild hammakers which badly missed Sosnowski. Towards the end of the round, Sosnowski landed a left-right combination and then another left hook that crashed into Pucheta’s face, sending him falling backwards to the ring ropes, where he then slid down to the canvas. Read more

WBO Inter-Continental super middleweight champion Jurgen Brahmer (30-1, 24 KOs) destroyed challenger Mario Veit (49-4, 23 KOs) tonight, stopping him in four rounds tonight at the Stadthalle, Rostock, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Brahmer, 28, totally dominated the bout, knocking Veit down twice and in the process, gaining revenge for an earlier majority decision loss last year. Fighting behind a strong jab, the southpaw brahmer stunned Veit, 33, in the first round after connecting with a double jab. Veit was able to weather the storm, but from there it was all down hill for the lanky Veit, who had major problems with Brahmer’s excellent jab.

In the first round, both fighters exchanged jabs, fighting cautiously and throwing few combinations. Brahmer spent most of the time stalking Veit, and trying to get in punching range for the taller fighter. The round was pretty much even until the near the end, when Brahmer connected with a double right jab, the second punching hurting Veit and knocking him backwards a couple of steps. Read more

According to the latest in boxing news gossip, heavyweight contenders Jameel McCline (38-7-3, 23 KOs) will go up against DaVarryl “Touch of Sleep” Williamson on October 6th, 2007, at Madison Square Garden, in New York City, New York. Both fighters are nearly 40, however, given the sorry shape of the heavyweight division, both are still near the top in terms of talent.

McCline, 27, was previously scheduled to fight Vitali Klitschko next in the Ukrainians’ comeback bout after two years away from boxing, but unfortunately, Vitali injured his back, requiring spinal surgery which will prevent him from taking on McCline. Never the less, Williamson, 39, may turn out to be a much more interesting fight for boxing fans, simply because of his all action style of fighting. Read more

With IBF heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko taking time off to heal his left hand, 2004 Olympic Gold medallist Alexander Povektin prepares to take on former WBO/IBF heavyweight champion Chris Byrd in the IBF box-off eliminator tournament, which also has Eddie Chambers facing Calvin Brock, with the eventual winner of the tournament earning the right to be Wladimir’s mandatory challenger next year. Povetkin, 28, appears to be the likely fighter that emerges as the challenger for Wladimir after the dust settles out.

Although, the 37-year old Byrd may have something to say about that if he has anything left in him. Povetkin, however, has perhaps the best offensive skills of the bunch along with sound defensive skills and endurance. Since turning professional in 2005, Povetkin has sliced through his opposition, beating tough fighters such as Friday Ahunanya, Ed Mahone, David Bostice and Larry Donald along the way. However, before meeting up with Wladimir, Povetkin will have to knock over the winner of Chambers and Brock. Read more

On October 6th, Andrew Golota (39-6-1, 32) returns to action against one-time Mike Tyson conqueror Keven McBride (34-5-1, 29 KOs) at Madison’s Square Garden, in New York. Golota, 39, is making his 2nd bout since starting his boxing comeback against Jeremy Bates in June 2007, following a two-year absence away from the ring. Golota looked considerably slower in his last bout than he did in his prime 10 years ago.

In fact, he seemed only a shadow of his former self. However, Bates (21-14, 9 KOs), didn’t have nearly enough skills to expose Golota and perhaps send him packing. Not much will change in that respect, however, against the 6′6″ Kevin McBride, who has size and little else going for him. In his last bout, McBride bit off a little more than he can chew against the hard-punching Mike Molla, who took him out in the 2nd round on October 7, 2006. Read more

As WBO super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe (43-0, 32 KOs) and WBC/WBA super middleweight title holder Mikkel Kessler (39-0, 29 KOs) prepare for their November 3rd showdown at the Millennium Stadium, in Cardiff, Wales, a lot of talk has been made about Calzaghe’s future plans after the bout. Specifically, Calzaghe, 35, has made frequent references about his desire to move either take on the winner of WBO/WBC middleweight champion Jermain Taylor and challenger Kelly Pavlik.

Calzaghe has also mentioned on a number of occasions that he’d also like to fight Bernard Hopkins, considered to be one of the best (read: fighter most likely to bring in a big payday for Calzaghe) in the light heavyweight division. Hopkins, however, would be Calzaghe’s second choice, if his plans for a bout with either Pavlik or Taylor don’t pan out like he plans for it to. Read more

Former WBA/WBC/IBF welterweight and IBF light welterweight champion Zab Judah (35-5, 25 KOs) won a more difficult than expected 10-round unanimous decision over veteran Edwin Vazquez (22-11-2, 8 KOs) at the Hard Rock Casino, in Biloxi, Mississippi, on Friday night. Judah, 29, was cruising along in the first three rounds of the bout, peppering the slower and less-skilled 35-year old Vazquez with jabs, uppercuts and combinations. However, was cut over the left eye in the fourth round from a head-butt, which had a substantial effect on Judah’s offensive output, making him much more economical with his punches until late in the bout when Judah suddenly began firing on all cylinders again.

Though he was not in Judah’s class in terms of skills, Vazquez, who was fighting for only the eighth time in seven years, he did a remarkably good job at pressuring and landing punches on against Judah, especially up until round six when he was fighting at his best. However, Vazquez couldn’t stay competitive with Judah after the fight passed the sixth round, at which time Judah turned it up a notch with his offense, badly outclassing Vazquez for the remaining four rounds of the fight. Read more

2004 Olympian and amateur standout, bantamweight boxing prospect Abner Mares (14-0, 9 KOs) defeated tough Mexican veteran Ididro Garcia (24-4-2, 8 KOs) in the seventh round on Friday night at the Desert Diamond Casino, in Tucson, Arizona, when Garcia, 31, failed to come out for the 8th due an eye injury he had sustained during the fight. In the early rounds, Mares and Garcia took turns landing power shots with Mares coming out slightly ahead. However, as the fight progressed, Mares pulled away from Garcia, largely due to the power in his right hand which began to swell Garcia’s right by the 5th round.

Mares, 21, ranked #14 in the WBA, picked up the vacant NABF bantamweight title along the way in defeating Garcia. Considered to be a can’t miss future star, Mares was put in with a very tough fighter despite this being only his 14th professional bout in his career. It harkens back to the old days, when young fighters where frequently placed up against tough veterans in an effort to teach them skills faster and to toughen them up. Frequently, this backfire, causing the young fighter to be ruined, a reason that it’s rarely done now a days. However, it’s interesting that Mares’ management feel comfortable placing him in against Garcia, a former WBO flyweight champion in 2000. Read more

In a bout marred by constant fouling, up and coming heavyweight talent Adam “Swamp Donkey” Richards (19-1, 13 KOs) won by fourth round disqualification over Rafael Pedro (20-7-1, 14 KOs) on Friday night at the Hard Rock Casino, in Biloxi, Mississippi. Richards, 26, was far and away the better fighter of the two, as he showed in the first round, landing punishing hooks to the head and body. However, despite a good start, the bout soon after descended into an ugly affair in which both fighters threw rabbit punches and held & hit, addition to several accident head butts that occurred in the bout.

At the start of the fourth round, Pedro, a 6′7 247 lbs muscular fighter originally from Cuba, marched across the ring and angrily landed a punch to the back of Richard’s head. As the referee attempted to intervene, Pedro tried one more time to land another rabbit punch. The referee halted the bout at this time and disqualified Pedro. It was later learned that Pedro had been previously disqualified on two other occasions for fouls in earlier bouts. Read more

Former WBC heavyweight boxing champion of the world Vitali Klitschko (35-2, 34 KOs) was reportedly injured yesterday while training for his bout with Jameel McCline on September 22, requiring that Vitali undergo spinal surgery at a clinic in Austria to relieve pressure on a pinched nerve in his back. This is the third back surgery for Vitali, 36, who previously had back surgery while training for Larry Donald in 2002, and then re-injuring his back in 2005 while training for title defense against challenger Hasim Rahmanm, causing Vitali to need back surgery for a second time.

In addition to this, Vitali injured his leg twice while training for bout with Rahman, making it necessary for him to have major surgery to repair a torn meniscus, a bone bruise, plus an undiagnosed MCL tear. The combination of back and knee injuries prompted Vitali to retire from boxing on November 9, 2005, having never been defeated as a world heavyweight boxing champion. During his bout with Chris Byrd, in April 1, 2000, Vitali, then the WBO heavyweight champion, suddenly quit after the 9th round, saying that his shoulder had been injured. At the time of the stoppage, Vitali was ahead on all three judges’ scorecards 89-82, and 88-83 and 88-83. Read more

Heavyweight knockout artist David Tua (49-3-1, 42 KOs) destroyed a badly over matched Cerrone Fox (8-6, 8 KOs) in the 2nd round and in the process knocking him down three times on Friday night at the Soaring Eagle Casino, Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. Fox, 28, a fighter with a poor record, must have felt like he’d won the lottery by getting a shot at Tua. However, by the end of the fight he probably felt otherwise as he badly hurt in the first round by a big right hand from Tua. However, after hurting him, Tua backed off as if were toying with Fox in order to prolong his suffering for a while longer. Fox was able to get off some shots when Tua backed off, but he looked wild and dreadfully unskilled as a fighter, not so much different than the skill of a typical MMA fighter.

In the 2nd round, Tua was through play nice guy, as he opened up with cannon-like hooks to the body and head, using both hands. However, it was Tua’s left that did most of the damage, sending Fox down to the canvas three times in the round. After the 3rd knockdown, the referee stopped the bout due to Fox being badly shaken from the hook and unable to clear his head enough to continue further in the fight. Read more