By Steven Ocallaghan: On the undercard of the Kell Brook v Hector Saldivia show we have an interesting British Super middleweight title showdown between the tough Scot, Kenny Anderson and the very experienced Robin Reid.
Reid who made his ring debut back in February 1993, went on to claim his first world title with a 7th round stoppage of the hard Italian Vincenzo Nardiello in Italy way back in 96.
By Scott Gilfoid: #2 WBO, #3 WBA, #3 WBC, Martin Murray (24-0-1, 10 KO’s) will be fighting for the interim WBA World middleweight title on November 24th against an opponent still be to determined at the M.E.N Arena, in Manchester, England. This is the same card that Ricky Hatton will be making his comeback on, and that’s going to be bizarre to see him fighting. I hope they don’t pick someone too good for Ricky. Hate to see him get knocked cold again.
As far as Murray getting the chance to fight for the interim WBA 160 lb title goes, I think that’s so wrong. Murray, 29, needs to actually beat someone and he’s not done that. All his victories are against obscure guys that I’ve never heard of. Yeah, Murray got a 12 round draw in his fight with WBA Super World middleweight champion Felix Sturm last December, but I had Sturm winning that fight and no way did I see that as being a draw. Sturm must be really slipping for him to have struggled against the likes of Murray. A younger Sturm would have likely done a number on Murray, but he’s gotten kind of old lately.
By Jim Dower: #9 WBA, #14 WBC welterweight contender Jessie Vargas (20-0, 9 KO’s) stayed unbeaten with a 10 round unanimous decision on a special Thurday edition of Friday Night Fights on ESPN against Aron Martinez (18-2-1, 4 KO’s) Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. The final judges’ scores were 98-92, 99-91 and 96-94, all for the 23-year-old Vargas.
By Dallan O’ Donnell: WBA/WBC super middleweight champion Andre Ward (26-0, 14 KO’s) may have beaten (31-2, 17 KO’s) Chad Dawson by stoppage last night, and he may have beaten Carl Froch in the states already, but if Froch and Ward were to face off in Nottingham there is only one winner; Carl Froch.
Ward is good, very good but he is a comfort zone fighter. By that I mean he would be so uncomfortable outside this zone. So uncomfortable he probably wouldn’t even travel to England. What kind of champion doesn’t travel to prove himself? Maybe he has had a talk with Lucian Bute.
By Marcus Stewart: British light heavyweight Tony Bellew (18-1, 12 KO’s) is flying the flag proudly for British boxing after stopping Edison Miranda in the 9th round. This win has catapulted Bellew officially onto the world scene and he has proven to many doubters that he’s a force to be reckoned with.
By Ian Aldous: Bryant Jennings (14-0) continues his journey towards to the top of the heavyweight division when he faces Chris Koval (25-9) on September 8th at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The fight will be a co-main event on an afternoon card featuring former world cruiserweight champions, Tomasz Adamek and Steve Cunningham in heavyweight action. This past week Bryant took the time to talk with me ahead of fight night.
You’ve already fought on a Tomasz Adamek undercard. What’s it like fighting in a big sold-out arena with a great atmosphere? It’s something that not too many fighters experience in modern-day boxing.
BJ “Well, you get to showcase in front of a live audience. The intensity level is kind of higher and you get a little excited but at the same time it may bring some nervousness or some calmness, you need a balanced level and you just try to feel comfortable.”
By Reynaldo Sanchez: Isiah Thomas 9-0-0 (5 KO’s) returned after spending nearly two years out of action. The 23-year cruiserweight made his last fight # 8 October 6, 2010 at BB King Club in New York, and achieved a victory by unanimous decision in 6 rounds fight against Anthony Petrantonio. After that fight, the fighter disappeared from the boxing scene for a period of 21 months.
By Eric Thomas: The IBF super middleweight eliminator bout between #2 IBF Adonis Stevenson (18-1, 15 KO’s) and the hard hitting Don George (23-2-1, 20 KO’s) has been rescheduled on October 12th at the Bell Centre, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Stevenson, 34, and George were supposed to have foght on August 17th, but Stevenson injured his left hand while sparring to get ready for the fight resulting in the fight being postponed.
By Steven Ocallaghan: Scott Harrison “The Real McCoy” is back in the ring on September 22nd in Glasgow fighting on the same bill as the Ricky Burns v Kevin Mitchell world title fight. Harrison after nearly a 7 year layoff due to well documented personal problems is back for his 2nd comeback fight against a TBA fighter.
By David Coleman: With the dust recently settling on an excellent London 2012 for the Irish boxing squad, many people will begin to wonder if any of our Olympians can make it in the pro game.