Roy Jones Jr. Accepts Calzaghe's Challenge

The BBC has reported that former number one pound-for-pound, multi-division champion, Roy Jones Jr., has accepted the challenge from the Welsh light heavyweight champ, Joe Calzaghe.

"Me and Joe are going to fight this fall and right now it's looking like September 20th," said Jones.

Despite the negativity surrounding this fight due to Calzaghe side stepping a chance to fight Kelly Pavlik, it should still be a decent match up. Both fighters are skilled and fast, needless to say quite a few punches will be thrown (even if some of them are open handed slaps from Calzaghe).  And we think Jones has a pretty good chance of ruining Calzaghe's final bow, which he again stated this fight will be.

"What a perfect way to finish, fighting one of the greats of this generation in what I expect to be my final fight before retirement," said the Welsh champ. "Not many fighters know to bow out at the right time, too many go on and on (wait, you mean like the one you picked to fight?) - it'll be the fight of my life."

So apparently all you Pavlikers out there will have to wait and see who his next victim will be. Maybe in the meantime Calzaghe will come to his senses and decide to step in the ring one more time after Jones, and partake in what really would be the fight of his life.

Filippino Flash Signed to Top Rank

The Filipino Flash, Nonito Donaire, is bringing his two flyweight belts to Bob Arum's team at Top Rank.

Donaire (and James Kirkland) recently severed ties with the crossover Elite XC/boxing promoter Gary Shaw, after he felt that his career was being mishandled.   

"[Shaw] was behind on fights for both fighters and they were not staying busy," said Dunkin, Donaire's manager. "One is a world champion and one is very hot prospect and they need to fight... They both wanted to fight an they were both unhappy."

We know that Shaw has his hands full with mma stars Kimbo and Gina Carano (see photo gallery; trust me it's good), but he really blew this one. Nonito Donaire will be a name that everyone knows in the near future.  He is skilled, charismatic, and is above all else very exciting to watch in the ring.  

Donaire is coming off three straight KO victories, including a stunning  5th round upset knockout over the previously undefeated and super flyweight champ, Vic Darchinyan (see below).  It seems he will follow the same path as his Filipino counterpart, Manny Pacquiao, moving up through weight divisions and competing with the best. 

The 25 yr. old champ's next fight is scheduled for July 26th, on the under-card of the Margarito-Cotto superfight. If you haven't seen him yet, there is your chance - you won't be disappointed. 

Chagaev Cancels Bout For the Second Time

ESPN has reported that Ruslan Chagaev, one of the Russian heavyweight champs, by way of Uskebistan, has cancelled his July 5th rematch with the Beast from the East, Nikolay Valuev,  by way of  St. Petersburg (by way of nuclear chemical spill).  

While sparring during the final week of training before their second match-up, Chagaev twisted his foot and severely tore his achilles tendon.

"He made a step back towards the left and I immediately heard something," said Michael Timm, Chagaev's trainer. "From that moment I knew something was wrong."

This is the second major set back that has ailed Chagaev in the recent months resulting in the rescheduling of the bout. The previous reason cited for changing the date was a case of the ole' hepatitis and an upper respiratory infection (see in one of our favorite previous articles: Chagaev Cancels Bout).  

If he hadn't won the first fight, one would assume that he is trying to avoid getting in the ring with the 7 foot, 323 pound monster that is Valuev.  In the first meeting, Chagaev managed to move around enough to land clean punches and avoid being smothered by the massive body in front of him on his way to a decision victory.  A victory that handed Nikolay Valuev his first loss as a professional boxer.

The Beast from the East's always boisterous promoter, Don King, was very upset with the second cancellation.  "How many times is this dude going to pull out of a fight... He really doesn't want to fight the giant again. Valuev has trained for this fight twice. I want to see if the WBA will allow him to fight for the interim title immediately."

Although it makes our skin cringe to the bone, we have to agree with the King. Valuev could have possibly trained and fought two fights in the amount of time he has spent on this single one. And if or when these two get back in the ring, we believe that the outcome will be in Valuev's favor the second time around. 

By the way, you don't have to worry about resetting your Tivo or DVR because the fight was never going to be broadcasted in the first place.  Two slow-plodding Russians fighting for one the alphabet belts in the heavyweight divison - so very surprising that no one wanted to watch this exciting event.

Old Man Calzaghe Reaffirms: No Pavlik Fight

Enzo Calazaghe told Setanta Sports that his son Joe will absolutely not meet Kelly Pavlik inside the ring.  We said in the past that we somewhat respected Joe's decision, but yesterday's rant by his father has got us second guessing ourselves.  See below.

From what could be deciphered from his Euro-Britalian jive, he basically said, that Kelly The Ghost Pavlik was not a top class fighter and doesn't even deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence as his son.

"I don't feel he [Pavlik] deserves a shot yet at the big-time.  On the back of one performance against a subdued, light fighter (his own pupil, Gary Lockett)... There is a vast, vast difference between Gary and Joe Calzaghe. Gary would be the first to say. It's chalk and cheese (whatever the hell that means)."

Wake up from your lucent dream buddy, Kelly Pavlik is as big as your going to get.

Enzo, we all know Gary Lockett is no Joe Calzaghe, but your son is not the untouchable deity that you are trying to make him out to be.  And the fighter that you trained (and just tossed under the short bus) got dominated more soundly than we have seen in some time by the man that you claim is not even a well known fighter.  If Kelly Pavlik, the undefeated top middleweight in the world, doesn't deserve a shot a Joe Calzaghe, then we don't know what fighter on the this green earth does.  

It is clear that Joe Calzaghe wanted to end his career with an aesthetically pleasing win on paper over Roy Jones, who is rapidly approaching his expiration date in the sport.  Instead, all of this will do the exact opposite. He will be remembered for ducking the best possible fight for his own career advancement, because it is not how the symphony begins, but the finale that you remember the most. 

For Joe Calzaghe to cement his legacy, he must fight Kelly Pavlik or admit that he doesn't want to step in the ring with the young gun from Youngstown out of fear of defeat.

Kelly will bide his time and continue to put pressure on the Calzaghe camp to take the fight. If it doesn't happen, it won't be a problem for The Ghost.  He is currently 26 yrs. old and has plenty of other options, the same cannot be said for his counterpart .

Joe C. will continue to press for his anti-climactic Roy Jones Jr. finale and in the meantime will be walking on water and turning water into wine - right Enzo?

ESPN Wednesday Night Fights at the PlayBoy Mansion

As Holly and Kendra sat ringside next to with out a doubt the coolest 82 yr. old man to ever walk the face of the earth, David Torres, the previously undefeated prospect, proved to the star-studded crowd that he was not ready to make the jump to the next class of boxing in the lightweight division.

While the technicolor neon bunny-head lamps illuminated the backdrop, the fight opened with a fairly even first round. However, it didn't take long for the scales to tip in the favor of Torres' opponent, the former IBF lightweight champion, Juilo Diaz. 

Julio Diaz (on left in pic) is coming off a devastating TKO loss to then #1 lightweight champ, Juan Diaz. Many feared that he would not come back as the same fighter after being dominated by the Baby Bull. Wednesday night was his chance to prove them wrong and he succeeded.

Diaz implemented his superior height and footwork to demonstrate to all of his doubters that he was not affected by his prior loss. The ringside doctor put a stop to the action in the 5th round after Torres' face began to look like he just went through a three-hour makeup session on the set of Planet of the Apes.

This victory will spring Diaz right back to where he left off in the mix of top lightweights.

Abraham Kicks Miranda While He's Down

Although no video evidence exists as of yet, the cowardly actions that took place after Staurday night's fight between Arthur Abraham and Edison Miranda have been reported by many eye-witness accounts and numerous boxing outlets, including ESPN.

Arthur Abraham's younger brother, Alexander (also a pro boxer; see left- the head in Arthur's crotch), made his way through the ring after the final bell and unloaded a kick directed at Edison Miranda while we was still being tended to by the ringside physicians.  

Like school on Sundays - no class.

What f-ing boxer throws a kick? The second reason we can assume he has nothing upstairs -Not only do you try to assault a man who had just endured a professional boxing match and a grueling knock out, but you threw a kick in the process.  You spend your entire life molding your fists into killing machines, yet you run over to some guy and wing your foot like a girl. 

At the end of the first match up between the two, Alexander could be seen hysterically balling his eyes out as he hugged his brother.  After witnessing the severe beating that Arthur endured, his emotions were obviously running high, high enough to think that he had the right to act like an idiot at the rematch.  

Abraham was arrested for obstruction and resisting arrest.  He has since posted bond and is no longer in the country.  

We hope the actions taken are not only from a legal standpoint. The sanctioning bodies should review the case and ban Alexander from his brother's matches as well as delivering a stiff penalty for his immature actions.

Kelly Pavlik to fight Sergio Mora?

Since Joe Calzaghe has made it pretty clear that he wants none of The Ghost, the undisputed middleweight champion of the world will not be so quick to jump up to the super middleweight division. 

It now seems that Pavlik's camp has their eyes set on a title defense against the feather-handed season one Contender Champion and new WBC junior middleweight champion Sergio Mora. So yes Max Kellerman, The Ghost will stay at middleweight and "clean-up" the division as you so vigorously suggested after his last victory.

Mora is coming off a 12 round decision upset over the veteran Vernon Forrest this past month. Although he now holds the belt at junior middleweight, his natural fighting weight is at 160 lbs, and he has said that he would be willing to vacate his belt as soon as he gets a shot at the middleweight title.  

With his recent victory comes two mandatory fights, a rematch owed to Forrest that was stipulated in the original contract and a defense against the WBC mandatory challenger. However, if he vacates the belt (which he has already said he will do), neither of the matches would have to occur and he will have no problem negotiating for the fight with Pavlik to take place in September or October.

Bob Arum, Kelly Pavlik's trainer said that he "called both HBO and Showtime to advise them of the situation and that it looks like we'll be going to a Mora fight."  Which means we apparently won't have to wait long to see The Pride of Youngstown back in the ring after his devastating display against Gary Lockett.

The unifying title match for Pavlik that everyone and there mother has been talking about since this past weekend when Arthur Abraham KO'd top contender Edison Miranda, will have to wait until 2009. Abraham will have his hands full with a mandatory title defense in the coming months.  

Both Abraham and Pavlik have confirmed that they want the fight to happen, so there is no reason that it shouldn't, barring a loss from either fighter. 

Clazaghe Splits From Warren: Scared of Pavlik?

Earlier this morning the BBC reported that current super middleweight and light heavyweight champion of the world, Joe Calzaghe, has terminated his professional relationship with the number one British boxing promoter, Frank Warren.

"I am now a free agent with no contract and intend to be self-managed from now on" said the southpaw from Wales.

It looks like the rumors of his finale against Roy Jones jr. have been reaffirmed. "I am not in negotiations with Kelly Pavlik, despite reports to the contrary. My intention is to fight Roy Jones Jr., a four-weight world champion fighter... That would be a special event for me against a legend of the sport."

It seems as though Joe is trying to force us (and himself) into believing that Roy Jones Jr. is still the fighter he once was.  Many will question his decision to fight another aging superstar way past his prime, instead of stepping in the ring with the best fighter in his weight range, Kelly Pavlik.  

Pavlik's camp has made it clear that they are ready and willing to touch em' up with Joe C.  

"How many more excuses is this guy going to make?," said Jack Loew, Pavlik's lifetime trainer. "If Joe Calzaghe fought Kelly, he'd be in trouble."  And when asked why he thought Calzaghe made it obvious that he doesn't want to fight Pavlik he responded, "This is what happened: his dad (Enzo Calzaghe) went back (after the Lockett fight) and said, don't fight this killer, he is gonna knock you out" 

Gotta love the confidence he has in his fighter.  Although, we would have to agree with him and all of this is beginning to make Joe Calzaghe look like he does as well.

Weekend Fight Recap

Abraham vs Miranda

The second fight began similar to its predecessor.  Miranda seemed to be in control of the first three rounds by dominating the action with a very high work-rate.  However, most of his punches were ineffective due to Abraham's turtle-like defense.

In the fourth, Abraham came out of his shell for a brief moment and unloaded a powerful straight right that met Miranda's jaw, knocking him to the canvas.  Sensing that his opponent was hurt, Abraham unleashed a fury of looping punches and finally connected again, almost taking Miranda's head off. 

After downing Miranda for a third time, Abraham was able to raise his hands in victory when the referee awarded him the TKO decision.

After one more title defense that was already scheduled before this fight, look for Abraham to step into the ring for a unifying title shot against Kelly Pavlik.

AndreBerto vs. Miguel Rodriguez

Andre Berto showed us once again why he is considered one of the top young talents in the welterweight division.  Even with his somewhat undersized frame, he delivered fast, punishing blows in combinations to the head and body of his opponent.  

After knocking Rodriguez down for the second time in the 7th with a blistering uppercut, the referee put a stop to the action.  

Berto won what would have been the #1 eliminator, but with the recent retirement of Floyd jr., he found himself wearing the WBC welterweight championship belt.

Berto rose to championship status without fighting any of the major players in the welterweight division.  Look for him to show that he belongs with names like Paul Williams, Miguel Cotto, Antonio Margarito, Floyd Mayweather, Zab Judah, and Shane Mosley.

Chris Arreola vs. Chazz Witherspoon

The tough Mexican heavyweight, Chris Arreola, came through with another outstanding showing.  In the third round he pounded Witherspoon with his awkward right cross until it seemed he would not be able to go on.  

In what was a very strange display, the fight ended in a DQ when Witherspoon's corner jumped into the ring at the end of the round while their fighter was still trying to make the count from a knockdown.  

Arreola's record now displays a win by DQ, in a fight that should have been or would have been another KO for The Nightmare. Look for Arreola to continue his climb through the ranks and eventually challenge to become the first Mexican Heavyweight champion.

Amir Kahn vs. Michael Gomez

The 21 yr. old fast-handed phenom from across the Atlantic showed the toughness of a true champion on Saturday night.  

After being knocked down in the second, Kahn, rose from the canvas to score a TKO victory in the fifth to defend his British lightweight Commonwealth title (see highlights). Kahn displayed the poise in this fight that proves he is a serious contender for the top of the division.

His next step is to cross the ocean to test his skills against the top fighters at lightweight.  As he has stated previously, look for Kahn to eventually challenge Nate Campbell or the winner of the Pacquiao-Diaz fight for the lightweight championship.

Mikkel Kessler vs. Dimitri Sartison

Kessler opted out of fighting the tougher opponent (Miranda), to take a shot at the vacant WBA super middleweight belt. 

Sartison was overmatched in this bout and Kessler dominated the fight until it was called to a halt in the 12th round (highlights). Kessler regained a super middleweight belt after relinquishing his title to Joe Calzaghe last year.

Kessler is still one of the best in the division, despite falling of the charts for a moment after his only loss, to Joe C.

Andre Ward vs. Jerson Ravelo

The olympic gold medalist continues to impress.  Ward dominated the fight, winning every single round on his way to an monstrous 8th round TKO win.

Ward has developed nicely from an amateur to a pro and will soon hold world championships in both.

Weekend Fight Preview 2: Andre Ward, Eddie Chambers, Edison Miranda, Aurthur Abraham

Showtime - Friday Night

Andre Ward (15-0, 10 Ko's) vs Jerson Ravelo (18-2, 12 Ko's)

Ward, the former olympic gold medalist and the other super prospect from Goossen Tutor Promotions that will be featured this weekend, is looking to continue his ascension up the ranks.

His opponent, Jerson Ravelo, is a good fighter, but his only real competition was when he stepped in the ring with then undefeated Allen Green, finding himself on the losing end of a lopsided decision.

At 22 years old, Ward can slowly develop his boxing skills and record at the professional level.  He has already proven to be a great champion in the amateur ranks and should eventually do the same in the super middleweight division.

Under-card: Eddie Chambers (30-1, 16 Ko's) vs. Raphael Butler (31-4, 24 Ko's) 

Eddie Chambers will be looking to avenge his recent loss to Alexander Povetkin in what would have propelled him to receive a shot at the IBF heavyweight title.  

After showing that he had the ability and speed to land clean punches on Povetkin in the first three rounds, he began to falter in the middle of the fight.  He stopped throwing any punches and was engulfed by Povetkin's relentless pressure, resulting in a wide unanimous decision loss. 

Raphael Butler stands in front of him and his journey back to the top contender spot in the lackluster heavyweight division.

Showtime - Saturday Night

Edison Pantera Miranda (30-2, 26 Ko's) vs King Arthur Abraham (26-0, 21 Ko's) II

Their first match up was a grueling battle that ended in a controversial decision.  After watching the fight it is apparent that Abraham's jaw was broken before the "intentional" head butt from Miranda, that many believed caused the ailment. 

Miranda, fore the most part, seemed to dominate the fight and would have won the bout if it wasn't handled so horribly by the referee (and if he wasn't in Abraham's backyard). Forget the fact that he let the doctor work on Abraham during his 5 minute timeout, and the fact that he couldn't make anything that resembled a quality decision in the ring.  He deducted two points for a very weak head butt (should have been 1) and deducted 3 more points for very questionable low blows.

Before any of the controversy started, Abraham was losing rounds due to his low work rate.  He really showed us nothing except that he is one tough mother f-er, finishing the last 7 rounds with a highly visible severly broken jaw.

Miranda claims the fight would have been his if not for the deducted points (we agree) and Abraham claims that the only reason he didn't win more convincingly was due to the fact that his jaw was fractured in two places.  It wasn't very hard to get these two back in the ring together to settle the dispute. 

If Abraham can get through Miranda (not and easy task by any means), it seems he will be a possible future opponent for The Ghost, Kelly Pavlik.

Catch the first match on Showtime tonight @ 10:00 pm (EST) on SHO 2 and directly before the rematch at 6:00 pm (EST).

Weekend Fight Preview 1: Andre Berto and Cristobal Arreola

Once again Showtime and HBO have decided to hold two compelling boxing events on the same evening. And once again, it would be tough to pick one or the other.

HBO - Saturday Night

Andre Berto (21-0, 18 Ko's) vs. Miguel Rodriguez (29-2, 23 Ko's) 

Although facing mid-level talent up to this point in his young career, Andre Berto has defeated every opponent in an overwhelmingly convincing fashion.  He is built with an even combination of great speed and power, and we think he is the best young prospect in the talented welterweight division.

His opponent, Miguel Rodriguez, is a slight step up in class from Berto's previous foes and has never been stopped within the time limit.  However these factors should not play a part in another dominating victory for Andre Berto.

Berto's camp is content with having him slowly develop and build his unblemished record (which is a smart decision considering the talent at the top of the division). He is only 24 years old and will be challenging for the world title soon enough.

Chris Arreola (24-0, 21 Ko's) vs. Chazz Witherspoon (23-0, 15 Ko's)

Ever since our meeting with Cristobal Arreola's promotor, we have heard nothing but good things about this heavyweight prospect out of Los Angeles, CA.  Heard. We were under the impression that his last two fights were supposed to be televised, but somehow fell through due to unforeseen circumstances.  It will be great to finally see him in action.

From the clips on the Goossen Tutor Promotions website and YouTube, this ugly mug, standing at 6'4" and 250 lbs, looks like one bad mother (his trunks are even sponsored by a bail bonds company; see left).  

Chazz Witherspoon will be Arreola's first major test inside the ring.  If the pressure of fighting on the main stage doesn't get to The Nightmare, then he should be able to take care of business on his way to possibly becoming the first Mexican heavy weight champion of the world (and finally an American one at that).

Showtime fight preview to come...

Calzaghe vs. Jones: Pavlik Not Gonna Happen

The BBC reported that Joe Calzaghe's promoter, Frank Warren,  is currently working out a deal with former pound-for-pound #1 fighter, Roy Jones Jr. The fight, that Calzaghe claims will be his last, should take place sometime this fall. 

"Fighting the greatest fighter of the 1990's would be the perfect way to finish off my career... This is a case of famous last words, but I think that'll probably be it for me, so my message to my fans is enjoy it now because after this, it'll be the end." 

Calzaghe has also ruled out the possiblilty of a meeting between himself and the undisputed middleweight champion, Kelly Pavlik.  Pavlik is coming off a dominating 3rd round TKO victory over Calzaghe's training partner Gary Lockett. 

Joe admitted "that Pavlik is a good fighter and looked very impressive against Gary, but I'm in a different league" (money where the mouth is Joe).  " Kelly is just establishing himself and is not as big a star as Roy Jones, he's a legend."

So, it seems that Calzaghe will end his career with a victory over another over-the-hill fighter whose name will look great on his undefeated resume.  We do respect his decision to retire at age 37, having accomplished a great deal in his long career.  But, it's too bad that he is opting out of what could have been the fight of the decade.