105 stories on BoxingScene are published under the Gregory Stangrit byline.
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Last month, Andrei Ryabinsky, promoter for Olympic gold medal winner and former WBA champion Alexander Povetkin (30-1, 22KOs), submitted the winning purse bid to secure the promotional rights for the mandatory fight against WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (36-0, 35KOs).
Yesterday before a packed crowd in Oberhausen, Germany - 37-year-old German Felix Sturm captured the WBA super middleweight championship by winning a twelve round majority decision over previously unbeaten 28-year-old Russian beltholder Fedor Chudinov.
Egis Klimas, manager for WBO/WBA/IBF light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev, is not ruling out the possibility of an upset on March 26th, when unbeaten contender Sullivan Barrera (17-0, 12KOs) of Cuba will face former super middleweight king Andre Ward (28-0, 15KOs) at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California.
Russian welterweight contender Dmitry Mikhaylenko (21-0, 9KO) will hold his next fight on April 29 in Sochi (Russia). The boxer just fought on January 30th in Montreal (Canada) as part of the Sergey Kovalev-Jean Pascal II undercard.
As reported yesterday, well known international promoter Vladimir Hryunov was hospitalized after he was attacked by unknown individuals late night Thursday/early Friday morning.
Veteran trainer Nacho Beristain fears for the career of WBC middleweight champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (46-1-1, 32KOs) - if the Mexican superstar intends to move forward with a mandatory fight against WBA/IBO/IBF champion Gennady "GGG" Golovkin (34-0, 31KOs).
Former four division world champion Roy Jones Jr. (62-9, 45KOs) spoke to reporters in Russia and gave no indication of retiring from the ring, but also made no mention of when he would fight again. Jones, 46-years-old, was brutally knocked out in four rounds on Saturday night by former WBO cruiserweight champion Enzo Maccarinelli of the UK.
WBC cruiserweight champion Grigory Drozd (40-1, 28KO) will make the second defense of his world title on April 8 in Moscow (Russia), according to his promoter Andrei Ryabinsky of World of Boxing. The opponent will be mandatory challenger Ilunga Makabu (19-1, 18KO), who won every single fight since losing in his pro debut in 2008.
During the recent open training session in Moscow, Russia, former five division world champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. (49-0, 26KOs) wore a t-shirt which displayed the number "48." Local reporters asked Mayweather to explain why he decided to wear that shirt, since he retired undefeated at 49-0 in September. Mayweather says his 48th victory, which came on May 2nd against Manny Pacquiao, was the most important victory of his professional career.
Over the last few days, former five division world champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. had a great time in Russia. During the stay, he set aside some time to answer questions about his career and the sport with local reporters. He was asked for his opinion on the recent victory by Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, who won a twelve round decision over Miguel Cotto to capture the WBC middleweight championship - and how he felt about a potential fight between Canelo and his mandatory challenger, WBA/IBO/IBF champion Gennady "GGG" Golovkin.