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Former junior welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi returns to the ring on Saturday at the MGM Grand in Foxwoods, Connecticut. Malignaggi faces Chris Fernandez on the undercard to Carl Froch-Jermain Taylor. He returns from a the worst fight of his career, an eleven round stoppage at the hands of Ricky Hatton last November. Malignaggi looks to get his career back on track.
Last Saturday night, Top Rank's Bob Arum said that he was very interested in matching two of his fighters, WBO junior flyweight champion Ivan Calderon, and IBF champion Brian Viloria, in a unification bout. Viloria recently upset longtime champion Ulises "Archie" Solis with an eleven round knockout to capture the title.
In what may or may not become a major topic over the next few days, undefeated junior middleweight contender James Kirkland was arrested on Sunday during a traffic stop in Austin, Texas, and booked by the Travis County Sherriff's Department when a weapon was found in the vehicle. Boxing reporter Dan Rafael wrote that Kirkland was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.
Things got ugly at a London press conference on Monday, announcing the June 20 showdown [to the British press] between WBO/IBF heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko and challenger David Haye, set for Schalke's Veltins-Arena in Germany. Haye once again wore his t-shirt with the severed heads of Wladimir and older brother Vitali Klitschko. The two fighters continued to threw verbal insults and trade harsh words.
Former champion Sergio Mora is coming off the first loss of his career. Last year he pulled off an upset by dropping down to win the WBC 154-pound title from Vernon Forrest. Months later he was dominated in the rematch. He finds himself back in a familiar position, as the big underdog. One June 27 at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, Mora moves back up to middleweight to challenge Kelly Pavlik for the WBC/WBO middleweight titles.
The negotiations for Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Juan Manuel Marquez are still ongoing, and the issue of weight, not money, continues to be the biggest issue. The date of July 18 is reserved on HBO pay-per-view, and I'm sure a Las Vegas venue is already locked in. Mayweather wants the fight to be closer to 147 and Marquez, who is currently the WBA/WBO champion at 135-pounds, wants the fight closer to 140.
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum has played down the chance of a rematch with reigning IBF/WBC/WBA super flyweight champion Vic Darchinyan saying “if Nonito had never fought Darchinyan, we’d be happy to do that fight. But he fought him and he beat him - and 99 times out of 100, if not more, he will beat him again.”
Last week, WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto picked Joe Santiago to be his new head trainer. Santiago replaces Miguel's uncle, Evangelista Cotto. The working relationship between Cotto and his uncle was destroyed two weeks ago when the two of them were involved in a physical confrontation after an argument over Miguel's training plan for the June 13 showdown with Joshua Clottey at New York's Madison Square Garden.
WBO super bantamweight champion Juan Manuel Lopez (24-0, 22KOs) is planning to do a lot of damage when he meets veteran Gerry Penalosa (54-6-2, 36KOs), the WBO's bantamweight champ, on April 25 at the Ruben Rodriguez Coliseum in Bayamon, Puerto Rico.
At the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines, IBF flyweight champion Nonito Donaire (21-1, 14KOs) stopped previously undefeated Raul Martinez (24-1, 14KOs) in four rounds to retain his title.