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WBO super bantamweight champion Juan Manuel Lopez (25-0, 23KOs) is expecting a tough fight from challenger Olivier Lontchi (18-0-2, 8KOs). They meet on June 27 at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City as the headline bout of the Latin Fury 9 pay-per-view from Top Rank. Many view the fight as a blowout for Lopez. The champion doesn't agree.
WBO/IBF heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko has his hands full, facing Ruslan Chagaev on Saturday night in Germany and then making a mandatory defense against Alexander Povetkin. Older brother Vitali Klitschko, the WBC champion, is free at the moment and looking over his options. No decision has been rendered in his arbitration with the WBC, who are trying to force him to defend against Oleg Maskaev.
Many experts are curious if undisputed super flyweight champion Vic Darchinyan (32-1, 26KOs) has met his match when he moves up to bantamweight to challenge IBF title holder Joseph Agbeko (26-1, 22KOs). The fight takes place on July 11 in Florida.
WBA welterweight champion Shane Mosley is not walking away from a big payday without a serious fight. In a recent interview by Julius Stecker of Philboxing.com , Mosley unloaded on Top Rank's head honcho, Bob Arum, and threw a lot of water on the potential Manny Pacquiao vs. Miguel Cotto bout for November 14 in Las Vegas.
At the present, Top Rank's Bob Arum is trying to put the finishing touches on a deal to match Manny Pacquiao and WBO welterweight Miguel Cotto. Their mega-showdown will take place on November 14 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Amir Khan's trainer, Freddie Roach, has unleashed on WBA junior welterweight champ Andreas Kotelnik, accusing him of faking a tooth infection that caused the fight with Khan to get postponed to July 18 at the MEN Arena in Manchester. Promoter Frank Warren hopes the withdrawal will work to their advantage by getting Khan's fight on HBO.
WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto views the probable bout with Manny Pacquiao as the biggest fight of his career. Top Rank is trying to match the fighters on November 14 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Top Rank's Bob Arum held a phone conference with Cotto on Wednesday, and the two sides were able to agree on a lot of the terms. Arum will speak to Pacquiao in the coming days and hopes to reach a deal between the two fighters by the weekend.
According to Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer, 44-year-old Bernard Hopkins might return in January for one final “birthday fight.” Hopkins told Schaefer that he was interested in one final fight in January, when the fighter turns 45. Hopkins has been inactive since last October’s win over Kelly Pavlik.
Promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank hopes to have signed contracts from Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto by the end of the week. Arum is trying to match his two fighters for November 14 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Even before Cotto won a decision over Joshua Clottey last Saturday, Arum met with Cotto to discuss a Pacquiao encounter.
The scrapped WBO bantamweight bout between Eric Morel and Fernando Montiel is likely heading to September, according to Ivan Rivera, president of Puerto Rico Best Boxing. The fight was scheduled for the June 27 pay-per-view undercard to Juan Manuel Lopez-Oliver Lontchi, but a hand injury suffered during training by Montiel has postponed the date.