All the king’s fall eventually. Whether it’s age, interest, or a well-placed bomb, no one stays around the top forever. Some of them can come back after a fall. Most do not. This weekend, the most popular action fighter of his time makes a return to the ring after almost a year away. Last time he was seen, it was face first and drilled into the floor. Are we at the brink of a new chapter or an epilogue? These are the picks of the week.
Well, we almost had a title fight. We still have one of the best fighters in the world doing his thing this weekend. It’s something. Let’s call this a series of unfortunate events. In a boxing year where just about everything has gone right, this weekend represents a hiccup. We have missed weight and a late replacement in two key televised slots. We also have Daniel Ponce De Leon on tap for the interested (Fox Deportes, 10 PM EST/7 PM PST). It just misses the cut. These are the picks of the week.
ESPN3 will present exclusive live coverage in the U.S. of the 12-round Super Middleweight bout between 2008 Olympic gold medalist James DeGale (16-1, 11 KOs) of London, and the United States’ Dyah Davis (22-3-1, 10 KOs), son of 1976 Olympic gold medalist and former professional fighter Howard Davis, Jr., on Saturday, Nov. 16, at 5 p.m. ET. The fight will take place at Glow, Bluewater in England. Following this fight, DeGale is slated to fight Mexico’s Miguel Antonio Peribán for the right to fight Julio César Chávez, Jr. in a title eliminator.
In life there is always speculation on anything that is new and cutting edge. Questions will emerge such as is it real and will it happen? While the natural reaction from most is to doubt and almost to wish for failure, that is magnified ten fold in the sweet science of boxing. Go back a few years and the question was asked, will Oscar De La Hoya's promotional company be successful? The answer is obviously yes but it was a legitimate question at the time.
City A.M., www.cityam.com, and The Sunday Times have reported that Nation Media, the parent company of BoxNation, is set to be a listed on the London Stock Exchange's Alternative Investment Market (AIM) — also known as the Junior Stock Market and an option for new, growing businesses that have never traded — in a move that could raise £5,000,000 for the U.K.'s only dedicated boxing channel. Nation Media is run by Richard Brooke, who has experience of floating companies — he was the finance director at BSkyB when they made the move — and, according to yesterday's The Sunday Times, the company could be valued at £20,000,000 when it is listed.
With ESPN2 dark until the winter, and ShoBox not going with as many dates this fall, Saturday night is almost entirely the market for weekend boxing right now. Last week, fans got a Fight of the Year contender in Giovani Segura-Tyson Marquez and two solid scraps on HBO. This week could be as intriguing, if without a clear “whoa” fight like the Flyweights delivered. It’s making for some solid Saturdays. Three shows will go live this week, testing DVRs and attention spans with two shows standing out as quality outings ahead. These are the picks of the week.
As previously reported by BoxingScene.com, a new reality boxing show has received the go ahead by a major cable network to begin filming early next year. The casting will take place in the boxing capital of the world, Las Vegas, Nevada from January 4th through 6th. As previously stated, the round robin style tournament will be in the sport's hottest weight divisions, super lightweight, junior welterweight and welterweight. BoxingScene.com recently sat down with the executive producer who has agreed to do an exclusive full length interview with us next week that will provide us with the details of the show. BoxingScene.com was also presented a signed, executed contract to prove the show has been picked up by a major cable network. As we previously reported, Floyd Mayweather Sr. is on board to be a celebrity trainer. BoxingScene.com can now also confirm that Yoel Judah, father of former two-division champion Zab Judah, has agreed to be a trainer on the show. The final world-class trainer will be revealed in the next few weeks.
Anthony Yigit´s next fight will be against Andrei Sudas at the Nordic Fight Night in Albertslund. The highly-rated 22-year-old (5-0-1, 1 KO) can´t wait to bounce back from the first minor disappointment of his career. In Kolding, only one judge had him ahead against Tony Pace, with the other two scoring the bout a draw. “I thought I had done enough to win the fight,” Yigit said. “But I will of course respect the decision and learn from my mistakes. I know what I am capable of doing inside the ring and plan to set the record straight as soon as possible. I´ll jump back on the horse and carry on.” Said promoter Nisse Sauerland: “Anthony is a huge talent, a Swedish Olympian with incredible skills. The draw will not harm his career at all. He will get the chance to make up for it straight away. He knows what he has to do differently next time out. Can he dig it? Yes he can!
By Thomas Hauser - For three decades, Marc Payton has been one of the cornerstones of HBO Sports. Payton directed his first boxing telecast for HBO on January 17, 1981 (Marvin Hagler vs. Fulgencio Obelmajias). Since then, he has personified the best of what viewers expect from the network. Seth Abraham (the original architect of HBO’s boxing program) states, “There are certain directors whose names are associated with greatness in a particular sport. Chet Forte with football; Frank Chirkanian with golf; Harry Coyle with baseball. That’s how I think of Marc Payton and boxing. Marc has set the standard that people who direct boxing aspire to.” Payton plans to retire at the end of this year. This is a good time to explore the legacy that he’ll leave behind. Marc Payton was born in Kansas City on January 19, 1948. His father was an engineer for Phillips Petroleum. By the time Marc was twelve, the family had moved ten times. Then they settled in Borger, an oil town in the Texas panhandle. Payton graduated from Borger High School as class salutatorian in 1966 and enrolled at the University of Texas. On August 1, 1966, his second day at college, he walked out of the building after an orientation session and heard a boom.
It didn’t like it could miss and it didn’t. This week looks like it could and probably will. That’s okay. Every week can’t have a great fight. Can we at least hope for a good one? If so, it might come from the undercard on the biggest show of the week. It didn’t come from Australia, the Shane Mosley-Anthony Mundine fight dying before the opening bell already this week. And, high drama or low, we get another in what has to be (right?) one of the final appearances of a genuine living legend. These are the picks of the week.