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[Not the full news]
Despite talk that Jermain Taylor will move up to super middleweight after his Dec. 9 defense against Kassim Ouma, don't count on it. Taylor promoter Lou DiBella is close to a deal with handlers of first-season "Contender" winner Sergio Mora to match them in a middleweight championship fight on HBO PPV with a target date of April 14. The sides, who have been talking about a potential fight for months, would like to have the deal done in time for Mora to attend the Taylor-Ouma fight in Taylor's hometown of Little Rock, Ark. If Taylor wins, they would like to announce the fight in the ring after the fight. If Taylor, who defeated Mora in an amateur bout, takes care of him again in April, he would look forward to the super middleweight division and an inevitable showdown with unified champ Joe Calzaghe.
While Taylor tries to move closer to a fight with Calzaghe (42-0, 31 KOs), the unified super middleweight champ from Wales will try to do his part by making his historic 20th title defense March 3 (HBO) in Cardiff against Peter Manfredo Jr. (26-3, 12 KOs), the runner-up in the first season of "The Contender" reality series. The camps reached an agreement this week and the contracts were signed Friday, a source directly involved in the deal told ESPN.com. Official announcement is expected the week after Thanksgiving. In addition to Calzaghe-Manfredo, the telecast probably will include the HBO debut of lightweight mega prospect Amir Khan, the 2004 British Olympic silver medalist. A Calzaghe victory could pave the way for him to come to the United States for a showdown with Taylor later in 2007.
After Wladimir Klitschko knocked out Calvin Brock in the seventh round last week to retain his heavyweight championship, he said he only wanted a unification bout in his next fight. Klitschko could get his wish. There have been preliminary talks between the Klitschko camp and Dennis Rappaport, who promotes titlist Oleg Maskaev. If Maskaev is successful defending his belt Dec. 10 against Peter Okhello in Moscow, the target date for a possible Klitschko-Maskaev bout is April 28 on HBO. Organizers would like to go back to New York's Madison Square Garden, where Klitschko drew a raucous crowd of 14,260 to fight Brock. A fight with Maskaev probably would be even bigger because of the unification aspect and the fact that Maskaev has been based in New York since moving to the United States.
Welterweight titlist Antonio Margarito suffered a sprained right ankle in training this week, but it is not expected to delay his Dec. 2 (Showtime) defense against Joshua Clottey, according to Top Rank's Todd duBoef. Margarito was sparring when he twisted the ankle. DuBoef said Margarito had X-rays, which showed no fractures or ligament damage. "He's just got a little swelling and needs to take a couple of days off," duBoef said. "Sergio Diaz [Margarito's manager] said he will be fine."
Kelly Pavlik (29-0, 26 KOs), the hard-hitting middleweight/super middleweight contender, is slated to make his HBO debut on the Jan. 27 edition of "Boxing After Dark" at the Pond in Anaheim, Calif. His opponent could be Raymond Joval (35-4, 16 KOs), best known to HBO viewers for giving Fernando Vargas a solid fight in 2005 before losing a decision. Pavlik is coming off a sensational fourth-round knockout of Lenord Pierre on Nov. 2. Joval knocked out Shannan Taylor in the 10th round in Australia in November 2005, but hasn't fought since, in part because of a neck injury that kept him idle for several months. Exciting junior bantamweight contender Jorge Arce will headline the card. There was discussion about matching Arce with 2000 U.S. Olympian Jose Navarro, who is coming off an exciting Nov. 10 decision victory against Gabriel Elizondo. However, Navarro continued to have problems with cuts in the fight. Promoter DiBella told ESPN.com that Navarro underwent surgery Thursday to remove scar tissue from the troublesome spot above his eye and that although Navarro wants to fight Arce, he will be out until April while he heals.
Ricky Hatton, who vacated his welterweight belt to return to the junior welterweight division Jan. 20 to challenge Juan Urango for his old belt, won't be fighting at Philips Arena in Atlanta as originally scheduled. The reason: After making a substantial six-figure payment to secure the fight, the backers didn't come through with a second payment when it was due. Promoter Artie Pelullo began speaking to different venues, finally making a deal with the Foxwoods resort in Connecticut this week. Pelullo has a strong relationship with the resort, having put on numerous events there, including Acelino "Popo" Freitas' lightweight title win against Zahir Raheem in April. There was a possibility the Hatton fight would wind up in Atlantic City or the Paris Las Vegas before the Foxwoods deal was struck.
Exciting featherweight prospect Jason Litzau (20-0, 18 KOs) -- who makes his HBO debut on the Dec. 16 "Boxing After Dark" card in Miami headlined by middleweights Edison Miranda (26-1, 23 KOs) and Willie Gibbs (20-1, 16 KOs) -- has an opponent. Litzau, 23, who has knocked out his past four opponents, will face Jose Hernandez (21-3, 13 KOs) in a 10-rounder. Hernandez, 30, has won 15 of his last 16 bouts, the only loss in the stretch coming May 20, when he lost an eight-round decision to Antonio Escalante in an all-action brawl that deserves honorable mention in the race for fight of the year.
Featherweight titlist Juan Manuel Marquez (45-3-1, 34 KOs) was supposed to fight Jimrex Jaca on Oct. 21 in El Paso, Texas, in the main event of an HBO PPV card. However, when Jaca encountered problems securing his visa from the Philippines and was unable to come to the United States, the fight was canceled. However, it was resurrected and will take place in Hidalgo, Texas, Nov. 25 on Golden Boy's HBO "Boxing After Dark" card (10:15 p.m. ET/PT). No worries about Jaca (27-2-1, 12 KOs) getting into the U.S. this time -- he has been here since early November, visa in hand. Also on the card: Junior welterweight contender Demetrius Hopkins (24-0-1, 10 KOs), nephew of Bernard Hopkins, faces Rogelio Castaneda (23-10-3, 8 KOs). However, HBO won't show that fight. Instead, viewers probably will see only brief highlights.
Junior lightweight titlist Joan Guzman's first defense, which had been slated for Dec. 16, has been switched to Dec. 18. The fight, against an opponent to be named, will take place in his native Dominican Republic. Guzman (26-0, 17 KOs), who outpointed Jorge Barrios on Sept. 16 to win the vacant belt, is thrilled to be fighting at home, where the Dominican government is backing the card. "This is a real dream come true for me," Guzman said. "To have the complete backing of our great president [Leonel Fernandez] and Sports Minister Felipe Payano and other government officials is one thing that is wonderful. But this allows me to give a Christmas gift to everyone in my beloved country. It's me, the poor kid from the Guachapita barrio, the kid who used milk cartons for boxing gloves, giving a little something back to kids who are coming up now."
http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/columns/story?columnist=rafael_dan&id=2665759
Despite talk that Jermain Taylor will move up to super middleweight after his Dec. 9 defense against Kassim Ouma, don't count on it. Taylor promoter Lou DiBella is close to a deal with handlers of first-season "Contender" winner Sergio Mora to match them in a middleweight championship fight on HBO PPV with a target date of April 14. The sides, who have been talking about a potential fight for months, would like to have the deal done in time for Mora to attend the Taylor-Ouma fight in Taylor's hometown of Little Rock, Ark. If Taylor wins, they would like to announce the fight in the ring after the fight. If Taylor, who defeated Mora in an amateur bout, takes care of him again in April, he would look forward to the super middleweight division and an inevitable showdown with unified champ Joe Calzaghe.
While Taylor tries to move closer to a fight with Calzaghe (42-0, 31 KOs), the unified super middleweight champ from Wales will try to do his part by making his historic 20th title defense March 3 (HBO) in Cardiff against Peter Manfredo Jr. (26-3, 12 KOs), the runner-up in the first season of "The Contender" reality series. The camps reached an agreement this week and the contracts were signed Friday, a source directly involved in the deal told ESPN.com. Official announcement is expected the week after Thanksgiving. In addition to Calzaghe-Manfredo, the telecast probably will include the HBO debut of lightweight mega prospect Amir Khan, the 2004 British Olympic silver medalist. A Calzaghe victory could pave the way for him to come to the United States for a showdown with Taylor later in 2007.
After Wladimir Klitschko knocked out Calvin Brock in the seventh round last week to retain his heavyweight championship, he said he only wanted a unification bout in his next fight. Klitschko could get his wish. There have been preliminary talks between the Klitschko camp and Dennis Rappaport, who promotes titlist Oleg Maskaev. If Maskaev is successful defending his belt Dec. 10 against Peter Okhello in Moscow, the target date for a possible Klitschko-Maskaev bout is April 28 on HBO. Organizers would like to go back to New York's Madison Square Garden, where Klitschko drew a raucous crowd of 14,260 to fight Brock. A fight with Maskaev probably would be even bigger because of the unification aspect and the fact that Maskaev has been based in New York since moving to the United States.
Welterweight titlist Antonio Margarito suffered a sprained right ankle in training this week, but it is not expected to delay his Dec. 2 (Showtime) defense against Joshua Clottey, according to Top Rank's Todd duBoef. Margarito was sparring when he twisted the ankle. DuBoef said Margarito had X-rays, which showed no fractures or ligament damage. "He's just got a little swelling and needs to take a couple of days off," duBoef said. "Sergio Diaz [Margarito's manager] said he will be fine."
Kelly Pavlik (29-0, 26 KOs), the hard-hitting middleweight/super middleweight contender, is slated to make his HBO debut on the Jan. 27 edition of "Boxing After Dark" at the Pond in Anaheim, Calif. His opponent could be Raymond Joval (35-4, 16 KOs), best known to HBO viewers for giving Fernando Vargas a solid fight in 2005 before losing a decision. Pavlik is coming off a sensational fourth-round knockout of Lenord Pierre on Nov. 2. Joval knocked out Shannan Taylor in the 10th round in Australia in November 2005, but hasn't fought since, in part because of a neck injury that kept him idle for several months. Exciting junior bantamweight contender Jorge Arce will headline the card. There was discussion about matching Arce with 2000 U.S. Olympian Jose Navarro, who is coming off an exciting Nov. 10 decision victory against Gabriel Elizondo. However, Navarro continued to have problems with cuts in the fight. Promoter DiBella told ESPN.com that Navarro underwent surgery Thursday to remove scar tissue from the troublesome spot above his eye and that although Navarro wants to fight Arce, he will be out until April while he heals.
Ricky Hatton, who vacated his welterweight belt to return to the junior welterweight division Jan. 20 to challenge Juan Urango for his old belt, won't be fighting at Philips Arena in Atlanta as originally scheduled. The reason: After making a substantial six-figure payment to secure the fight, the backers didn't come through with a second payment when it was due. Promoter Artie Pelullo began speaking to different venues, finally making a deal with the Foxwoods resort in Connecticut this week. Pelullo has a strong relationship with the resort, having put on numerous events there, including Acelino "Popo" Freitas' lightweight title win against Zahir Raheem in April. There was a possibility the Hatton fight would wind up in Atlantic City or the Paris Las Vegas before the Foxwoods deal was struck.
Exciting featherweight prospect Jason Litzau (20-0, 18 KOs) -- who makes his HBO debut on the Dec. 16 "Boxing After Dark" card in Miami headlined by middleweights Edison Miranda (26-1, 23 KOs) and Willie Gibbs (20-1, 16 KOs) -- has an opponent. Litzau, 23, who has knocked out his past four opponents, will face Jose Hernandez (21-3, 13 KOs) in a 10-rounder. Hernandez, 30, has won 15 of his last 16 bouts, the only loss in the stretch coming May 20, when he lost an eight-round decision to Antonio Escalante in an all-action brawl that deserves honorable mention in the race for fight of the year.
Featherweight titlist Juan Manuel Marquez (45-3-1, 34 KOs) was supposed to fight Jimrex Jaca on Oct. 21 in El Paso, Texas, in the main event of an HBO PPV card. However, when Jaca encountered problems securing his visa from the Philippines and was unable to come to the United States, the fight was canceled. However, it was resurrected and will take place in Hidalgo, Texas, Nov. 25 on Golden Boy's HBO "Boxing After Dark" card (10:15 p.m. ET/PT). No worries about Jaca (27-2-1, 12 KOs) getting into the U.S. this time -- he has been here since early November, visa in hand. Also on the card: Junior welterweight contender Demetrius Hopkins (24-0-1, 10 KOs), nephew of Bernard Hopkins, faces Rogelio Castaneda (23-10-3, 8 KOs). However, HBO won't show that fight. Instead, viewers probably will see only brief highlights.
Junior lightweight titlist Joan Guzman's first defense, which had been slated for Dec. 16, has been switched to Dec. 18. The fight, against an opponent to be named, will take place in his native Dominican Republic. Guzman (26-0, 17 KOs), who outpointed Jorge Barrios on Sept. 16 to win the vacant belt, is thrilled to be fighting at home, where the Dominican government is backing the card. "This is a real dream come true for me," Guzman said. "To have the complete backing of our great president [Leonel Fernandez] and Sports Minister Felipe Payano and other government officials is one thing that is wonderful. But this allows me to give a Christmas gift to everyone in my beloved country. It's me, the poor kid from the Guachapita barrio, the kid who used milk cartons for boxing gloves, giving a little something back to kids who are coming up now."
http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/columns/story?columnist=rafael_dan&id=2665759
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