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October’s Prizefighter Heavyweights III tournament is red hot. The ticket demand is so high that a venue change was necessary. The event was due to take place at York Hall in Bethnal Green, London, but sold out all 1,100 in two days after going on sale. The eight-man, one-night tournament has been moved to London’s ExCel, which holds up to 5,000.
Roy Jones Jr. has fired back at Oscar De La Hoya over some recent comments. Certainly not the first time the two fighters have taken shots at each other in the press. Last week De La Hoya made a suggestion for Jones to hang up the gloves before seriously getting hurt. De La Hoya said Jones was still fighting because of his ego.
The Arturo Gatti saga continues. On July 11, Gatti was found dead by his wife Amanda Rodrigues at their rented condo in the resort town of Porto de Galinhas, Brazil. Authorities believed it was Rodrigues who strangled the fighter to death with a purse strap after he passed out from a night of drinking. Gatti was on vacation with his wife and their young son..
When the subject of Manny Pacquiao being the best pound for pound best in the world is brought up, Floyd Mayweather Jr. sounds off and unloads on the two best wins on Pacquiao’s record, against Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton. Mayweather feels that he beat Hatton and De La Hoya better and beat them at their true best.
Roy Jones Jr. has been taking aim at quite a few people as of late. After firing some shots at Oscar De La Hoya, Jones continued the hit parade by unloading on his career rival Bernard Hopkins. Negotiations have taken place a few times but the two fighters have never been able to get past the dispute of who gets the bigger split of the money for a rematch. Both of them are looking to get 60% of the pot. Jones won a twelve round decision over Hopkins in 2003 to capture the vacant IBF middleweight title.
Former heavyweight champion Sam Peter (31-3, 24KOs) returns to the ring on the September 12 Latin Fury card at El Palenque de la Feria in Nayarit, Mexico. Peter faces Ronald Bellamy (14-9, 9KOs). The fight is Peter's second under his new promotional deal with Top Rank. In his last fight with Marcus McGee on the July 25 Latin Fury card, also in Mexico, Peter came in at 243-pounds, his best weight since losing to Wladimir Klitscghko in 2005.
Welterweight prospect Omar Chavez (17-0, 13KOs), son of the legendary Julio Cesar Chavez, is returning to the ring on the huge card in Mexico on September 15. The fight will be the first for Chavez since his tragic July bout with Marco Nazareth. It was a back and forth war for several rounds before the fight was stopped in the fourth. Nazareth fainted afterwards and died in the hospital four days later.
The main objective for WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto is to stop the quick movement of Manny Pacquiao by cutting off the ring. Cotto wants to prevent Pacquiao from jumping in and out with quick combinations during their November 14 bout. Cotto plans to keep the fight as close as possible and not allow Pacquiao to create distance. In his training camp, Cotto is working in a 20 foot and a 24 foot ring, using both to cut the distance. Cotto has been sparring with Frankie Santos.
As previously reported by BoxingScene.com, WBO cruiserweight champion Marco Huck (26-1, 20 KOs) will defend his title against WBO interim-champion Ola Afolabi (14-1, 6 KOs) in his next ring outing. There appears to be a tentative date of December 5th in Germany.
The next generation will debut on September 15 in Mexico. On the same cards as other Mexican fighters like Edgar Sosa and Saul Alvarez, the son of Mexican great Carlos Zarate will make his debut in the pro ranks. Carlos Zarate Jr. will make his pro debut as a lightweight and face an unknown opponent in a four round bout. Zarate, 21, won several big amateur tournaments.