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Former super middleweight titlist Jeff Lacy (21-1, 17 KOs) will face Ukraine's Vitali Tsypko (17-1, 10 KOs) in a 10-round rematch Dec. 2 (HBO), Lacy manager Shelly Finkel told ESPN.com. The bout, which will be in Lacy's hometown of Tampa, will serve as the co-feature on the card headlined by the Winky Wright-Ike Quartey middleweight fight. It will be Lacy's first fight since Joe Calzaghe punished him for 12 rounds in their March unification bout. Lacy and Tsypko fought to a two-round no contest in a June 2004 title elimination fight. The bout was stopped because Tsypko was cut by an accidental head butt and unable to continue. HBO approved three opponents off of a list turned in by the Lacy camp -- Allan Green and Alejandro Berrio were the others -- and the Lacy camp selected Tsypko. If Lacy wins, Finkel said they might have interest in a showdown with Green, who was slated to fight Lacy on an Oct. 7 Showtime card before Lacy decided not to take the bout. Another option for Lacy, Finkel said, is to rekindle talks for a fight at light heavyweight with former champ Antonio Tarver.
Former two-time heavyweight champ Michael Moorer, who turns 39 next month, is coming out of retirement for the second time. Moorer, who hasn't fought since December 2004, is scheduled to fight a 10-rounder against an opponent to be named Dec. 9 in Hollywood, Fla., Warriors Boxing promoter Leon Margules told ESPN.com. "He is going to fight," Margules said. "He wants to get a couple of wins, get back in the rankings and challenge for a world title. He's been training in our gym twice a day for a month. He's getting in shape." After being knocked out by Evander Holyfield in a 1997 unification rematch, Moorer (47-4-1, 37 KOs) retired for three years. He returned in 2000 and went 8-2-1 during his comeback, including a ninth-round TKO of former cruiserweight champ Vassiliy Jirov in his last fight. During his most recent retirement, Moorer tried his hand at training fighters and vowed not to return, even announcing that he was done for good during a studio segment on ESPN2's "Friday Night Fights."
Maybe welterweight champ Carlos Baldomir's head it getting too big in the wake of his two upset victories this year against Zab Judah and Arturo Gatti. Baldomir, who faces Floyd Mayweather Jr., on Nov. 4 (HBO PPV) at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, did something fighters rarely do -- he blew off Tuesday's long-scheduled national teleconference with more than 30 boxing reporters to discuss the fight. That's not a good strategy for a fighter with a stake in the promotion -- the more the PPV sells, the more Baldomir earns. His no-show left promoter Dan Goossen fuming. You'd be fuming, too, if you were on the hook for more than $10 million in expenses.
Former welterweight titlist Luis Collazo's Nov. 4 opponent has been named. He will face Artur "Scar" Atadzhanov (10-3, 7 KOs) of Ukraine, according to Don King Productions. The bout, which will be on the untelevised portion of the Showtime card headlined by heavyweight titlist Sergei Liakhovich making his first defense against Shannon Briggs, will be the first for Collazo (26-2, 12 KOs) since he lost his belt on a close decision to Ricky Hatton in May. Also, former junior middleweight titlist Alejandro "Terra" Garcia, who was supposed to be on the card in his first bout since losing his belt in May to Jose Antonio Rivera, has withdrawn from the card.
Welterweight contender Paul "The Punisher" Williams, 25, has a new opponent for his showcase fight on the Nov. 4 Carlos Baldomir-Floyd Mayweather Jr. HBO PPV undercard. Williams (31-0, 23 KOs) will now face 34-year-old trial horse Mauro Lucero (42-11-1, 28 KOs), who has been stopped in eight of his 11 defeats. Few expect the scheduled 10-rounder to go more than a few rounds, and if that is the case viewers will see the eight-rounder between unbeaten heavyweights Chris Arreola and Damian Wills on tape from earlier in the evening. Williams was originally scheduled to face equally soft Jacy Kuhn, but Kuhn is suspended because he signed a contract to face Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in September and didn't show up for the bout.
THIS ISN'T ALL OF THE BOXING NOTEBOOK FROM ESPN. THE WHOLE THING IS AT THEIR SITE.
Former two-time heavyweight champ Michael Moorer, who turns 39 next month, is coming out of retirement for the second time. Moorer, who hasn't fought since December 2004, is scheduled to fight a 10-rounder against an opponent to be named Dec. 9 in Hollywood, Fla., Warriors Boxing promoter Leon Margules told ESPN.com. "He is going to fight," Margules said. "He wants to get a couple of wins, get back in the rankings and challenge for a world title. He's been training in our gym twice a day for a month. He's getting in shape." After being knocked out by Evander Holyfield in a 1997 unification rematch, Moorer (47-4-1, 37 KOs) retired for three years. He returned in 2000 and went 8-2-1 during his comeback, including a ninth-round TKO of former cruiserweight champ Vassiliy Jirov in his last fight. During his most recent retirement, Moorer tried his hand at training fighters and vowed not to return, even announcing that he was done for good during a studio segment on ESPN2's "Friday Night Fights."
Maybe welterweight champ Carlos Baldomir's head it getting too big in the wake of his two upset victories this year against Zab Judah and Arturo Gatti. Baldomir, who faces Floyd Mayweather Jr., on Nov. 4 (HBO PPV) at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, did something fighters rarely do -- he blew off Tuesday's long-scheduled national teleconference with more than 30 boxing reporters to discuss the fight. That's not a good strategy for a fighter with a stake in the promotion -- the more the PPV sells, the more Baldomir earns. His no-show left promoter Dan Goossen fuming. You'd be fuming, too, if you were on the hook for more than $10 million in expenses.
Former welterweight titlist Luis Collazo's Nov. 4 opponent has been named. He will face Artur "Scar" Atadzhanov (10-3, 7 KOs) of Ukraine, according to Don King Productions. The bout, which will be on the untelevised portion of the Showtime card headlined by heavyweight titlist Sergei Liakhovich making his first defense against Shannon Briggs, will be the first for Collazo (26-2, 12 KOs) since he lost his belt on a close decision to Ricky Hatton in May. Also, former junior middleweight titlist Alejandro "Terra" Garcia, who was supposed to be on the card in his first bout since losing his belt in May to Jose Antonio Rivera, has withdrawn from the card.
Welterweight contender Paul "The Punisher" Williams, 25, has a new opponent for his showcase fight on the Nov. 4 Carlos Baldomir-Floyd Mayweather Jr. HBO PPV undercard. Williams (31-0, 23 KOs) will now face 34-year-old trial horse Mauro Lucero (42-11-1, 28 KOs), who has been stopped in eight of his 11 defeats. Few expect the scheduled 10-rounder to go more than a few rounds, and if that is the case viewers will see the eight-rounder between unbeaten heavyweights Chris Arreola and Damian Wills on tape from earlier in the evening. Williams was originally scheduled to face equally soft Jacy Kuhn, but Kuhn is suspended because he signed a contract to face Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in September and didn't show up for the bout.
THIS ISN'T ALL OF THE BOXING NOTEBOOK FROM ESPN. THE WHOLE THING IS AT THEIR SITE.
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