Wlad Klitschko vs. Tony Thompson: Heavyweight Championship of the World

The weigh-in is official.  Heavyweight champion Wald Klitschko came in at 241 lbs. and Tony "The Tiger" Thomspon tipped the scale at 247 lbs.

Although very boring and very robotic, Wlad has still looked dominate in his recent fights. However, some think Thompson may be able to give him some trouble with his boxing ability and the fact that he is only giving up one inch in height.  

We see it as a another fairly easy win for the champ from the Ukraine. Emanuel Steward has Klitschko using his specimen of a body better than ever before and he should not have to worry about his questionable chin as Thompson does not show any one-punch KO power.  Either way this fight is a no win situation for Klitschko. If he wins, then he beat another "bum" in the heavyweight division and if he loses, he loses to that same "bum".  As far as the significance of the fight - not much.

The bout will take place today in Hamburg, Germany  and will be aired live on HBO at 4:30 pm EST. 

Undercard:

Jonathon Banks (19-0, 14 Ko's) vs. Vincenzo Rossitto (36-5, 22 Ko's) 

Jonathon Banks is the undefeated Kronk prospect who currently holds the NABO cruiserweight title.  Emanuel Steward has informed us that he will be a force to reckon with in the fairly open cruiserweight division, especially with the recent departure of former undisputed champ David Haye. 

Look for Banks to take care of business in this bout against an opponent who has only one notable fight in his career in which he was KO'd in two rounds by the aforementioned Haye.

The Contender Back on the Air

ESPN has reported that The Contender television series has found a new home for the third time in the past four years.  After a year stint with NBC and two years with ESPN,  the live sports network, Versus, has claimed the rights to the boxing reality series that has produced a somewhat steady following.  

The show will air on Versus this coming December with 11 one-hour episodes culminating with a two-hour episode for the final championship bout.  

This season is apparently heading in a new and much heavier direction.  The 16 man tournament will be filled with cruiser-weight contenders from the 200 lbs. division.  The names discussed as possible contenders are much more prominent than that of any past years. The interested parties range from prospects B.J. Flores and O'niel Bell, to veterans like Darnell "Ding-a-Ling Man" Wilson, to the current undefeated NABO cruiser-weight champ and Kronk product, Jonathon Banks.  

There is a twist this year.  The American cruiser-weights will be facing off against a team from overseas and it looks like all of the gang will be back for the ride. Sugar Ray Leonard is expected to rejoin in his role as supervisor and host. Buddy McGirt will be training the American team and they are hoping to secure the Ring "Trainer of the Year", Enzo Calzaghe, to train the international team.  Now that would make for some good television as Clazaghe runs his mouth with the best of em' (from what we can make out; see here)

The previous Contender fighters, although not consistently the best talent in the biz,  have made the most of the face time they received from the series. (See Contenders on the Main Stage article).  These cruiser-weights will hope to do the same and shed some light on a division that most poeple out side of boxing don't even know exists.

For your listening pleasure the theme song for The Contender (probably the best part about the show) that was created by one the greatest film and t.v. composers of all time Hans Zimmer... Even if the show sucks this year, the music still gets you a little exicted, no?

Also included the theme song from Quentin Tarantino's, True Romance, by Hans Zimmer.

Kelly Pavlik vs. Paul Williams: Almost Inked?

As we reported earlier this week, Paul Williams (34-1, 25 Ko's) is one of the many prospects that the middleweight champ of the world has considered for his next defense.

According to Steve Kim from Max Boxing, the Williams fight is much closer to happening than we originally thought.  Names get tossed around so much as speculation it is hard to take anything at face value, but this one looks close to being sealed. Apparently Bob Arum and Dan Goossen have been in talks and are trying their best to get it done. 

Williams is probably the best of the bunch named as possible opponents for the The Ghost.  He is lengthy (6'1"), much quicker than Kelly, and is a proven champion in the welterweight division.  With his frame, it won't be a problem moving to middleweight. There is a possibility that Williams may give Kelly some trouble, but Williams somewhat resembles a skinnier Jermain Taylor in terms of style and he wasn't able to get it done in two fights with The Ghost.

If it goes through we should be in for another exciting fight from Kelly Pavlik as early as September 27th.

See Paul Williams last fight

Paul Williams vs Carlos Quintana 2

The ESPY's: Fighter of the Year

Team Pavlik just informed us that voting for the ESPY's "Best Fighter" category is rapidly coming to a close.  July 12th is the final date the that any of you sports fans out there will be able to log on to ESPYS.tv and cast your ballot. 

The "Best Fighter" category looks like it will defintely come down to a few votes.  The nominees are, as you may have guessed, (1) Kelly "The Ghost" Pavlik, who in a career defining year, defeated middleweight champ Jermain Taylor twice and successfully defended his title against Gary Lockett.  (2) Floyd Mayweather Jr., who took down previously undefeated Ricky Hatton for the WBC welterweight title. (3) Joe Calzaghe, who became the undisputed super-middleweight champ after beating previously undefeated Mikel Kessler and also taking a close decision over Bernard Hopkins to become the Ring light heavyweight champ of the world. (4) Holly Holm, who claimed the IFBA welterweight title (no idea really about who she is, just stole that from the website). (5) George St. Pierre, who defeated Matt Sera for the UFC welterweight championship.

In reality, there are only three on here that should even get a vote, and hopefully you know who they are (hint: 1, 2, or 3). Go place a vote and while your at it check out all of the other categories.  

The ESPY's are hosted by hillbilly-turned pop singer, turned actor, turned the guy who can score any chick he wants, Justin Timberlake, and will air on July 20th, at 9 pm ET.

Justin Timberlake, ESPY Awards Promotion

Vitali Klitschko vs. Sam Peter: Klitschko Bros

The second half of the Klitschko duo and former WBO/WBC heavyweight champ, Vitali (35-2, 34 Ko's), will be squaring up with the current WBC champ Samuel Peter.  The bout is not yet finalized, but the date has been set for October 4th, at the O2 World Arena in Berlin. 

Vitali, who many considered the better of the two brothers, has not fought professionally in 4 years after being forced into retirement when he sustained repeated injuries during training camps leading to his championship defenses.  

In the meantime, Wlad has a title defense this weekend against Tony Thompson (fight preview to come).  If he can get through the bout with a victory and no major injuries, there has been talk of having a Klitschko-bro co-feature on the aforementioned date. 

Alexander Povetkin (15-0, 11 Ko's) is the mandatory challenger to Wlad's title and has been campaigning as of recently to get his shot.  He may be asking for more than he handle. After being exposed in the first few rounds of his last fight with Eddie Chambers, he showed us that he probably isn't ready to step in there and beat the #1 heavyweight in the world.

Countdown to Cotto vs. Margarito: Antonio Margarito Profile

Antonio Margarito

(36-5, 26 Ko's)

Born: March 18th, 1978

Age: 30

Hometown: Tijuana, Mexico

Alias: The Tijuana Tornado

Division: Welterweight (147 lbs.)

Current Ranking: #4 by Ring

Stance: Orthodox

Height: 5'11"

Reach: 73"

Titles:

- IBF Welterweight Title

- Former WBO Welterweight Title

Notable Victories:

Kermit Cintron, Joshua Clottey, Golden Johnson, Sebastian Lujan, Hercules Kyvelos, Antonio Diaz

Artwork by Adam Morris

Goossen Excited About his "Newest" Heavyweight Prospect

Congratulations - The LA Daily News finally realized that they have a top prospect in the sport of boxing sitting right under their noses. Took em' long enough.  

Although the headline would lead you to believe that this "new" talent, Chris Arreola, just appeared out of nowhere, he has been on the radar for the past year and we are sure Dan Goossen has been pretty excited about him for quite sometime now.  

It would appear that one very good performance in a televised event can get some of the average periodical outlets interested. Have to say that it is great to see an exciting fighter like Arreola get some deserved press out side of the avid boxing realm, especially because he is one of our favorites. 

See Article:

Valley boxing promoter Goossen excited about his newest heavyweight prospect 

- LA Daily News

Countdown to Cotto vs. Margarito: Miguel Angel Cotto Profile

Miguel Angel Cotto 

(32-0, 26 Ko's)

Born: October, 29th 1980

Age: 27

Hometown: Caguas, Puerto Rico

Division: Welterweight (147 lbs.)

Current Ranking: unanimous #1

Stance: Orthodox

Height: 5'7"

Reach: 67"

Titles:  

- WBA Welterweight Title

- WBO Junior Welterweight Title

Notable Victories:

Shane Mosley, Zab Judah, Carlos Quintana, Paulie Malignaggi, Ricardo Torres, Gianluca Branco, Oktay Urkal

Artwork by Adam Morris

Pic of the Week: Marciano vs. LaStarza

A classic shot from the 1953 Ring Magazine Fight of the Year that ended with an 11th round KO, when Rocky Marciano knocked Roland LaStarza clean through the ropes to retain the world heavyweight championship. 

The Brockton Blockbuster's first love was baseball, too bad for LaStarza that Rocky's tryout to play catcher for the Chicago Cubs fell through when he couldn't make an accurate throw down to second (which last time we checked was one of the first requirements for the position). 

Lucky for us, he picked up a different kind of mitt and turned pro at the ripe age of 24 to become the only heavyweight champion to never taste defeat in his career.

Boxing After Dark: Kendall Holt vs. Ricardo Torres

Ricardo Torres and Kendall Holt met last night in a rematch for the WBO light welterweight title. The first bout ended in a controversial stoppage victory for Ricardo Torres.  This one ended in a KO. See the fight in its entirety below, all 61 seconds of it. Could be more action in this one round then Wlad Klitschko's last three fights.

Thank god we don't have to listen to Setanta's commentators on a regular basis (only video available).

Looked like an unintentional head-butt may have helped Holt set up the big right hand that gave Torres only his second professional defeat (first loss was to Cotto), but no mention was made of it until quite sometime after the final bell. Looks like a rubber match should be in order that will no doubt be as exciting as the first two.