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The new WBO super featherweight champion, Roman "Rocky" Martinez, wants to make the first defense of his title in Bayamon, Puerto Rico on May 23. Ivan Rivera, president of Puerto Rico Best Boxing, said that it's possible for Martinez to defend the title in Puerto Rico on the May date.
WBO super bantamweight champion Juan Manuel Lopez is not banking on a quick knockout when he defends his title against WBO bantamweight champ Gerry Penalosa on April 25 in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. HBO will televise. While he is ready to go the distance, he believes that Penalosa will fold in six rounds.
Junior middleweight prospect Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. is on a mission to have a huge year in 2009. He faces Luciano Cuello on Saturday night in Tijuana, Mexico.
WBC junior middleweight champion Vernon Forrest (41-3, 29KOs) has set up his tuneup bout. The fight will take place on the on the undercard to Carl Froch vs. Jermain Taylor on April 25 at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut. The opponent will be Jason LeHoullier (21-1-1, 8KOs), who some may remember from last August's decision loss to Harry Joe Yorgey on ESPN.
The reputation of Antonio Margarito, a former three time welterweight champion, has taken yet another hit. Margarito's career has been under fire since his hand wraps were confiscated about thirty minutes prior to the bout with Shane Mosley on January 24. Mosley's trainer Naazim Richardson felt Margarito's wraps in the dressing room, and then indicated to an inspector for the California State Athletic Commission that Margarito's wraps were hard. After Margarito was asked to remove his wraps to have them inspected, two hard inserts were found. He was asked to re-wrap his hands and would later get knocked out by Mosley.
Place Paul Williams on the list of names that Shane Mosley has no interest in fighting. Mosley seems to be sticking to his guns. He only has three names on his list - and the three potential targets are Ricky Hatton, Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto. He would probably fight Floyd Mayweather Jr - if Floyd decides to make an official return to the ring. Last week, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer revealed that Mosley had absolutely no interest in fighting WBC champion Andre Berto. Mosley himself has gone on the record and told The Ring Online that a Williams fight is not appealing to him. Mosley does not believe their two styles will match up well.
Former cruiserweight champion David Haye says the upcoming fight with Wladimir Klitschko will be very easy for him. Haye challenges Klitschko for his WBC/WBO heavyweight titles on the tentative date of June 20 in Germany. Haye told boxing personality Steve Bunce that his fight with Klitschko will probably be finalized next week. He is waiting on the contract.
In the last 24-hours, Italian boxing legend Nino Benvenuti has conducted several interviews that were filled with high respect for the career of Giovanni Parisi, who was tragically killed on Wednesday as he was driving from a shopping run and his BMW collided head on with a van on a highway outside the town of Voghera. Parisi was killed instantly. Police official Alessandro Casanova said the accident was under investigation.
If Manny Pacquiao defeats Ricky Hatton on May 2 in Las Vegas, Top Rank's Bob Arum is not exactly running to match him with Floyd Mayweather Jr, who may return to the ring in the next few months.
Three more fights and junior welterweight Ricky Hatton is done with the sport of boxing. The first of the three fights is coming up on May 2 against the current pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao. If everything goes well against Pacquiao, Hatton wants to fight Juan Manuel Marquez, who plans a move to 140-pounds in he near future. Marquez is considered by most as the second-best fighter in the world. There won't be issues with making the fight since Hatton and Marquez are both promoted by Golden Boy Promotions.