By Andy Hayes: In one week on the 31st of March, the Heavyweight division gets another chance to prove to the public why it remains the pinnacle of sporting greatness, and more specifically, the peak of the fight game. The 26-year-old New Zealander Joseph Parker puts his 24 fight win streak on the line when he looks to overcome what most people believe improbable. Anthony Joshua however remains quietly confident that this will lead him on to another opponent with his unbeaten record intact.
By Andy Hayes: In just under a month’s time, Britain’s much talked about Middleweight prospect Chris Eubank Jr will step back in the ring against the current British Middleweight Champion Nick Blackwell. This will be Blackwell’s third defence of the crown, and a win would make sure he secures this coveted prize when he leaves the ring.
The question many people are asking however is, why has Eubank Jr taken a step backwards to go after the British belt, when his recent success had him closer to a world title belt.
By Andy Hayes: The long awaited super bantamweight showdown between Carl Frampton and Scott Quigg is just hours away, and although this fight may not be the hottest ticket around the rest of Europe or across the pond, rest assured this is Britain’s biggest grudge match since Carl Froch v George Groves. This matchup has been a good few years in the making, and finally we will get to see all the answers to all questions haunting these men since they both reached championship heights.
Interestingly both men have divided opinion straight down the middle, leaving fans batting back and fourth with who they believe will come out on top. ‘Quigg is the better all round Boxer’, ‘yes but Frampton has the knock out power’. These are the type of things you have undoubtedly had to listen to since this fight was first announced. I believe both statements carry truth and could eventually decide the outcome of this unification bout. Scott Quigg the local man proved in his last outing that he has everything it takes to turn up the heat when necessary , forcing the referee to step in and stop further damage to veteran Kiko Martinez.
By Andy Hayes: I’m reading so many articles, gossip columns, tweets and so on about Kazakhstan’s 34-0 punching machine Gennady Golovkin and what he would do in a super fight with Floyd Mayweather. ‘He would walk through him’, ‘destroy him’, ‘Golovkin would knockout Floyd’ these are just a few of the type of things you can expect to hear when this subject is hot topic of conversation.
To make one thing clear, the 49-0 one time P4P champ, has already clarified his intentions by stating that he would not be able to step up to Golovkin’s weight. However, Golovkin has confirmed he would step down should the fight ever happen. So in true Boxing fashion, we can only right now make the best of a hypothetical situation. With that being said, that’s not to say that the ‘money’ man won’t some day grace the ring one last time for a showdown with Golovkin, and if he does I am more than confident Floyd would win….comfortably.
By Hayesa: I initially want to make one thing clear, I’m a British fight fan, always have been always will be. Unless for some unknown reason the BBBC decide to erase the professional sport from UK soil, no disrespect to the Cubans here. The reason I want to make this clear, is articles like this usually result in a turf war like tirade of comments instead of a gentleman’s discussion over the hot topic raised.
What hotter right now than the recent announcement of Amir Khan’s decision to step up in weight and fight 46-1 Mexican Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez on May 7 on HBO pay-per-view from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. A decision that has many fans scratching their pugilist brains trying to understand why Khan would take what many feel to be an impossible fight. Well let’s ask ourselves a few questions that currently stand in the way of fans getting behind the young man from Bolton England.
Does Khan deserve the fight against Canelo? In short, yes. Of course he deserves the fight, previous matchups against the likes of Paulie Maglinaggi, Marcos Maidana, Lamont Peterson, Danny Garcia, Devon Alexander and Chris Algieri, means the 31-3 fighter has got himself into a unique position where he can not be overlooked.
By Hayesa: I’m shocked. The words uttered on most people’s lips when last week the news broke that Britain’s Anthony Joshua (15-0, 15 KOs) would take a leap of faith into the unknown, taking a shot at America’s IBF heavyweight champion Charles Martin (23-0-1, 21 KOs) on April 9 at the O2 Arena in London, England.
This reaction was expected, and I think both fighters understand why fans have become slightly unnerved by the announcement. Let’s make one thing clear; this was not a knee jerk reaction from either fighter. Both have unbeaten records that they aim to protect. Martin, 29, has only had the privilege of calling himself the IBF champion for 1 month now, and Joshua has had no major experience at top level competition.
It begs the question, why now? Well, for both fighters it seems pretty simple. Joshua wants a world title (that’s why you continue to fight right?), and Martin presumably had quite the handsome financial offer from Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Sport promotions.
By Hayesa: Okay, so I want to set the record straight regarding the recent Amir Khan and Floyd Mayweather saga. I acknowledge from many fans their shock to Mayweather having the audacity to turn down a fight with Khan and then have him added to his upcoming fight card with Marcos Maidana.
Khan who seemed to have won one of many online polls to have a match lined up with Mayweather had to take the back seat after Mayweather confirmed he was after Maidana instead. This left a very bitter taste in many fight fans mouths, notably UK fight fans. However, these are the same fans that have criticized Mayweather for taking easier fights and taking an easy route to see out his career. I can’t understand peoples frustration with Mayweathers choice of fight here.
By Hayesa: On Monday we got the announcement that we all knew was imminent, as soon as Tyson Fury and Mick Hennessy joined forces with Frank Warren and Boxnation, it was a sure thing we would see him step in the ring with Dereck Chisora. July 26th will see both men step in the ring at Manchester’s Echo arena, with both men already wanting to pick up where they left off the last time they fought.
By Hayesa: At last we have the conformation that we have all been waiting for, Tyson Fury (21-0, 15 KO’s) has signed the contract that David Haye (26-2, 24 KO’s) himself signed yesterday. It means that both men will go toe to toe on September 28th in Manchester. Its a highly anticipated Heavyweight fight that many fight fans have been waiting for, especially the British Boxing fans.
Haye was involved in the last big British showdown with Derrek Chisora and will look to replicate his performance he gave on that night. Tyson Fury has thrown his fair share of comments towards David Haye over the last few weeks, but it was Haye that seemed to have the final words yesterday when he signed the contract. But Fury has agreed and the fight is on.
By Hayesa: A great performance tonight from Tony Thompson (38-3, 26 KO’s) left British heavyweight David Price (15-2, 13 KO’s) with nothing left in the tank and handing over another win to the American after getting stopped in the 5th round at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, UK.
It should have been redemption for Price but it turned into a repeat of 134 days ago when Thompson proved to much for the man from Liverpool. Price opened up the first round using the jab which seemed to be the game plan right from the opening bell.
The second round seemed much of the same until Price landed a huge right hand that put Thompson to the floor late in the round. Thompson then got the fight and started brawling with Price. From that point on, Price brawled with Thompson.