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WBA junior welterweight champion Amir Khan has no interest for an all-British clash with Ricky Hatton. He says the fight can happen at a later time. He would rather focus on making an impact in the United States. Khan wants the big fights with champions Devon Alexander and Timothy Bradley on U.S. soil.
A lot has been written on the title mishap that hangs like a bad cloud above the November 14 bout between Manny Pacquiao and WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto. The fight takes place at an agreed catch-weight 145-pounds and because of this weight, Cotto has not been willing to stake his welterweight crown. He says Pacquaio will have to fight him at the full welterweight limit of 147 to have the title at stake. The WBO president Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel is pushing to have the WBO title on the line. Who could blame him? There is a $150,000 sanctioning fee at stake on both sides. Top Rank's Bob Arum promotes both fighters and is willing to pay both of their sanctioning fees.
Juan Manuel Marquez is still having a tough time finding sparring partners in Mexico who can emulate the style of his September 19 opponent, Floyd Mayweather Jr. Marquez is sparring often with Alejandro Barrera and Tony Fernandez. He says the two fighters come the closest to copying Mayweather's style.
The pressure of Celestino Caballero, and the boxing public, has finally broken through to Juan Manuel Lopez. For months, Caballero has been attacking Juanma in the press and the Puerto Rican fighter has not responded but recently he spoke with the press and said that he was setting aside a date of January 23, 2010 for a unification with Caballero. Juanma will risk his WBO title and Caballero will put up his WBA/IBF belts. If the fight doesn't happen, Juanma is looking at a move to featherweight to challenge the winner of Steven Luevano's upcoming WBO title defense against Bernabe Concepcion.
Promoter Frank Warren is talking up some potential opponents for Amir Khan, the WBA junior welterweight champion. Warren watched last week's 140-pound doubleheader and liked what he saw. Warren is crafty and if you read between the lines, he seems to be making some early hype for a potential unification clash between Khan and WBO champion Timothy Bradley. He says Bradley is the man to beat at the weight.
WBO welterweight champ Miguel Cotto spoke on the record for the first time about his violent split with uncle/former trainer Evangelista Cotto. Miguel says the split was a long time coming and there were always problems in the camp. On April 8, the team finally exploded at their gym in Puerto Rico after a dispute over the training camp location [for the Joshua Clottey fight] would lead to Miguel firing his uncle and then it was violence as a brawl erupted between the two of them.
Hall-of-fame trainer Emanuel Steward is hoping to hook up with WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto and help the Puerto Rican star beat Manny Pacquiao on November 14 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. There were rumors that Cotto would hire Steward to work his corner. To date, nobody has contacted Steward from Cotto's camp.
WBO bantamweight champion Fernando Montiel is aiming, like Erik Morales, to become the first Mexican fighter to win four major titles in four weight divisions. Montiel is training in the gym and plans to defend his title against mandatory Eric Morel in the fall. Montiel says that winning a fourth world title would mean a jump to super bantamweight in the not so distance future.
Edgar Sosa's defense of the WBC junior flyweight title has been pushed back from September 12 to September 15. Sosa faces off against Puerto Rican fighter Omar "Pastor" Soto (14-3-1, 6KOs) at the Palenque de Gallos in Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, Mexico. Sosa is making the tenth defense of the title, and the third defense of 2009. He stays very active but most of his opponents have little to no chance of beating him. He is way too good for them. This could be the final fight for Sosa at junior flyweight before he moves up a few pounds to flyweight.
Orlando Pinero, the manager of WBO super bantamweight champion Juan Manuel Lopez, has lashed out at WBA/IBF champ Celestino Caballero. Pinero is tired of Caballero negotiating through the media. Pinero is reacting to Caballero's recent comments, where the two-title holder vowed to come to Puerto Rico to "break Juanma's mouth." Pinero told Caballero to contact Juanma's promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank, if he really wants the fight.