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Joshua Clottey is not worried about the deadly reputation of Manny Pacquiao. He plans to pull off the upset of the century when he faces Pacquiao on March 13 at Cowboys Stadium in Texas. He sees a win over Pacquiao as something that will finally put his name on the map. Clottey wants to send shockwaves throughout the boxing world.
Ricky Hatton says WBA junior welterweight champion Amir Khan will not be his comeback opponent in the summer. Khan signed a deal with Golden Boy Promotions and is now under the same banner as Hatton. The move by Khan has led to speculation that a fight between the two British stars is very close to a reality. No so says Ricky to Radio Five Live's Sportsweek programme.
A big doubleheader is being planned for the month of April in Tokyo, Japan. Akihiko Honda of Teiken Boxing is planning to put together a card featuring two title defenses by WBC bantamweight champion Hozumi Hasegawa (28-2, 12KOs) and the WBC super bantamweight champion Toshiaki Nishioka (35-4-3, 22KOs).
Former champion Ricky Hatton is tired of people talking about his weight and health. He appreciates the concern but he doesn't see any issues with his recent announcement to return to the ring for one final run before retirement. Hatton doesn't deny that he let himself go with the weight. He says a few extra weeks of training will shed it off.
At the Auditorio Centenario in Gomez Palacio, Durango, Mexico, middleweight contender Marco Antonio Rubio (45-5-1, 39 KOs) stopped Rigoberto Alvarez (23-2, 17 KOs) in nine rounds. Twice during the contest, Rubio had Alvarez ready to go but he was unable to finish him off and Alvarez woud start to fire back with both hands blazing. The end came in the nine when Rubio had him in trouble and battered him against the ropes. Rubio retains the WBC Latin title and continues his treak since last year's knockout loss to middleweight king Kelly Pavlik.
BoxingScene.com was told that Vic Darchinyan's defense of the WBC/WBA super flyweight titles on March 13 against Raul Martinez is off. The fight was scheduled to be televised on Showtime as the co-feature to the Arthur Abraham vs. Andre Dirrell super middleweight clash.
For the first time in history, the three major sanctioning organizations, the WBC, WBA and IBF, held a meeting in Cancun, Mexico and reached an agreement to unite, cooperate and work together. In attendence included WBC president Jose Sulaiman, WBC executive secretary Mauricio Sulaiman, IBF president Marian Muhammad and WBA executive vice president Gilberto Jesus Mendoza.
According to a report in England, WBA junior welterweight champion Amir Khan has made a final decision to leave promoter Frank Warren and plans to jump-start his career in America. The Daily Star reports that Khan is planning to hook up with Golden Boy Promotions, who worked in the past with other UK fighters like Joe Calzaghe and currently work with Ricky Hatton. If everything goes as planned, Khan could make his U.S. debut against Paulie Malignaggi on May 1 in Madison Square Garden. The date may not be likely since Golden Boy has the MGM Grand reserved for the same date for the return of Juan Manuel Marquez.
According to the New Zealand Herald, heavyweight Shane Cameron (23-2, 20KOs) is making his return on March 17 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia - fighting for the first time since being drillied by David Tua. The proposed opponent is former rugby league bad boy John Hopoate (12-4, 11KOs).
Unbeaten prospect and rising Mexican star Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (30-0-1, 22KOs) will make his ring return on March 6 in Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, Mexico. He was due to return on February 27 but it seems the date has been pushed up by a week. Golden Boy Promotions is still trying to sign Alvarez to a contract.