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Super middleweight contender Edison Miranda (32-3, 28KOs) plans to crush the career of undefeated Olympian Andre Ward (18-0, 12KOs) when they clash on May 16 in Oakland, California. The fight is by far the biggest of Ward's career. Ward won a gold medal in the 2004 Olympic games. Showtime will televise the fight live.
Prior to Ricky Hatton's fight with Manny Pacquiao on May 2, the Manchester star's ex-promoter, Frank Warren, had warned him about taking the fight. Warren felt that Pacquiao was on another level and couldn't see Hatton winning under any circumstance. Warren had a nasty split with Hatton a few years ago. He feels Hatton is past his prime and needs to walk away before it's too late.
There appears to be two date shifts in Mexico. Promoter Ignacio Huizar announced that the rematch between former champion Cristian Mijares and unbeaten WBA interim-bantamweight champion Nehomar Cermeno will be pushed back to late July or early August. Cermeno upset Mijares by way of split decision back in March.
After two dominating decision wins over Antonio Tarver, IBF light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson is hoping for two fighters in particular to accept his challenge. Dawson made his HBO debut by outpointing Tarver on Saturday night in Las Vegas. The fight was the first of a two-fight deal with the network. He hopes the second will come against Bernard Hopkins or the recently retired Joe Calzaghe.
WBA/WBO lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez is already training hard at the Romanza Gym in Mexico City, taking his first steps in camp to prepare for the biggest fight of his career. Marquez moves up to 143-pounds to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr on July 18 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Former welterweight champion Carlos Quintana (26-2, 20KOs) is prepared to make a strong point on June 5 when he takes on veteran Danny Perez (34-5, 17KOs) in Chicago. The fight will be televised on ESPN's Friday Night Fights and Quintana's second at junior middleweight. He hopes to get a good enough ranking to land a title shot before the end of the year. A lot of fights came his way in the last few months but none of them came about.
At the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, IBF light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson (28-0, 17KOs) won a unanimous twelve round decision over Antonio Tarver (27-6, 19KOs) to retain his title. The scores were 116-112, 117-111 and 117-111 for Dawson. He breaks Tarver's streak of winning return bouts. Prior to the fight, Tarver had never lost a rematch.
Oscar De La Hoya believes that WBO/WBA lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez is catching Floyd Mayweather Jr. at the right time. De La Hoya promotes Marquez under his Golden Boy Promotions banner. The fight takes place on July 18 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Former super bantamweight champion Israel Vazquez, 31, has recently taken his medical exams to renew his boxing license California State Athletic Commission, hoping to reappear in September or October. Vazquez has been recovering from surgery to correct a detached retina in his right eye.
A fight very few were looking forward to, Kelly Pavlik vs. Sergio Mora, is off. Pavlik, the WBC/WBO middleweight champion, is suffering from a staph infection on one of his hands and withdrew from the bout that was scheduled for June 27 at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. The fight was going to headline an independent Top Rank pay-per-view.