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There are two fights in his path, but if Edwin Valero defeats Hector Velazquez in Venezuela on Saturday, and then beats mandatory Antonio DeMarco on February 6 in Mexico - he thinks that he might land a spot on the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs Manny Pacquiao undercard on March 13.
At Halle Carpentier in Paris, France, former cruiserweight king Jean Marc Mormeck (34-4, 22KOs), now a heavyweight, won an eight round decision over Vinny Maddalone (33-5, 23KOs).
WBA heavyweight champion David Haye has spoken out and backed the words of his manager, Adam Booth, by denying that any agreement exists for a fight with WBC champ Vitali Klitschko. Klitschko had said there was a preliminary agreement but Haye doesn't know where he got that information. Haye plans to batter mandatory challenger John Ruiz in 2010. Then he wants to sit down and discuss a Vitali fight.
Danny Green and Vic Darchinyan are back in Australia. The two close friends arrived together at Sydney airport and discussed plans for a possible doubleheader in 2010. If both fighters have their way, they would like to stage the biggest card in the history of Australia. In the main event, Green would defend his IBO cruiserweight title against Bernard Hopkins. The co-feature would be Darchinyan, the WBC/WBA super flyweight champion, defend his title in a rematch with interim-champion Nonito Donaire.
Former WBO bantamweight champion Jhonny Gonzalez (42-7, 36 KOs) scored a fourth round TKO over Marlo “Rata” Aguilar (21-9-1, 16 KOs) in a featherweight bout on Wednesday night at the Auditorio Plaza Condesa in Mexico City. Referee Guadalupe Garcia broke off Gonzalez’ vicious assault at 2:52.
Former two-division champion Miguel Cotto is six months away from his ring return. It was a big year of ups and downs for Cotto. He made a record amount of money [for his career] in 2009. Cotto beat Michael Jennings in February for the WBO title, retained it in June with a close decision over Joshua Clottey and then got stopped by Manny Pacquiao in November. Prior to the fight with Clottey, he was involved in a brawl with ex-trainer/uncle Evangelista Cotto. His uncle has since filed a lawsuit seeking millions of dollars. Not the only trouble in Cotto's life, as now a former female employee has filed a sexual harrasment suit naming Cotto and several of his family members.
According to the Belfast Telegraph, talks are ongoing for a possible all-Irish clash between John Duddy and Neil Sinclair. There are several issues that have to be worked out. Duddy returns to the ring in January and wants to come back in March or April. Sinclair is a junior middleweight. Duddy’s manager Craig Hamilton says the fight would have to take place at middleweight or a catch-weight close to it. Sinclair's promoter Frank Warren will not get in the way of the fight.
Undefeated junior middleweight/middleweight contender Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. for using furosemide prior to his decision win over Troy Rowland on the Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto undercard on November 14. Furosemide is a diuretic that causes the rate of urination to increase. After coming up positive in the post-tests, he is facing a suspension and fine from the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
Adam Booth, manager and trainer of WBA heavyweight champion David Haye, says there is no agreement in place to fight WBC champion Vitali Klitschko. During some a recent interview with a Russian media outlet, Klitschko claimed to have reached an agreement to fight Haye in 2010. Not only is there no agreement, Booth claims there have been no discussions for such a fight.
Trainer Freddie Roach doesn't see Floyd Mayweather Jr. in the same light as Ricky Hatton, Oscar De La Hoya or Miguel Cotto. He was very confident of Pacquiao's success against those fighters. Roach is still very confident that Pacquiao can beat Mayweather on March 13 - but he says Mayweather is a much tougher opponent than any of the last three, and it won't be a simple task to knock him out.