On Saturday, June 4th, former World Champ, Gavin Rees will fight with unbeaten Cavan man Andy Murray for the vacant European Lightweight title in Cardiff. The fight will be broadcast live by Sky Sports.
With the pair recording 28 knockouts between them in almost 60 contests, the fight promises to be an explosive affair. Murray hasn’t tasted defeat in any of his 24 bouts to date while Rees has only lost once in 35 outings that blemish against Andriy Kotelnik at the same venue in 2008.
Murray is determined to extend that perfect record to 25-0 with a European title win over local favorite Rees as he boasts the longest unbeaten run in Irish boxing. He is expecting to have plenty support of his own in Cardiff as he says, he has no problems fighting away from home in Rees’ backyard.
However, Rees is determined to inflict the first defeat on Murray’s unblemished slate and capture the European title in front of his home fans. Since winning the British Lightweight title last November, Rees has been out of action due to a persistent nose injury but according to the Newport native, that is behind him now. While Rees won his World title one division up at light welterweight he feels happier being back at lightweight. In online sportsbook odds, Gavin Rees is 2/5 favorite whereas Andy Murray is 5/2.
On Saturday, May 7 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV, the world’s greatest fighter Manny Pacquiao will step into the ring against Shane Mosley. At 3:45 p.m. PST, fight card is scheduled to begin. Via Showtime PPV, the fight will be televised.
Pacquiao will defend his WBO Welterweight title. In order to document the career of the World’s most famous and arguably most accomplished combat athlete SB Nation MMA will be covering this event.
Online sportsbook currently lists Pacquiao as a -800 favorite, with Mosley pegged at +550.
For Pacquiao Shane Mosley is an interesting challenge because he is a Hall of Fame calibre champion with speed, power, intelligence and experience. A year ago, though Mosley looked dismal in his last big fight against Floyd Mayweather, you can’t quite count him out because if he can somehow find a way to regain the form he showed against Antonio Margarito in 2009, he could topple any man.
Right now Pacquiao is going to be very hard to beat. For the right reasons he is razor sharp and still motivated and inspired to fight. For Pacquiao it’s not about money and business decisions, he truly has an eagerness and fearlessness to fight the best and test himself against any man, to entertain and please sports fans all over the world with his phenomenal abilities as a fighter. He really doesn’t care about risks or money or manufacturing his image, Manny Pacquiao has the spirit of a champion and warrior. That is a sign of huge self confidence, something archrival Floyd Mayweather is undeniably intimidated by.
In a North vs. South showdown this summer, unbeaten Mancunian John Murray looks set to defend his EBU title against Dagenham man Kevin Mitchell. As their respective careers are taking a somewhat different trajectory, the pair will do battle, most likely in London.
Frank Warren praised both men for taking the fight on and says he is now working on a definitive date and venue, who promotes both fighters. In online sportsbook betting odds for this fight has not yet available.
Alongside his brother Joe, fellow lightweight and British champion Anthony Crolla, the Smith brothers Paul and Stephen and WBA contender Matthew Macklin, Murray currently trains out of Joe Gallagher’s gym in Denton. In British boxing, Murray boasts the longest unbeaten run as he is yet to suffer a defeat in 31 fights, and his latest win was a points triumph over Karim El Ouazghari in March.
It has been nearly a year since at the home of his beloved West Ham, Upton Park, Mitchell was beaten by Michael Katsidis. He was fighting for the opportunity to challenge Juan Manuel Marquez for the WBO strap that night. But a devastating three round performance from the Aussie put paid to any dreams Mitchell had of facing the man from Mexico City.
Mitchell has yet to return to the ring, and was scheduled to face Murray last month before withdrawing from the bout because of boxing politics.
On May 14, Showtime Championship Boxing’s Super Six World Boxing Classic officially commences the semi-finals round at the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA, where Oakland, California’s WBA Super Middleweight Champion Andre “S.O.G” Ward lock horns to shield his title against European superstar and former middleweight titleholder Arthur Abraham.
In addition to the 12 round main event, in a ten round co-featured bout, hard-hitting heavyweight Chris Arreola of Los Angeles takes on Dominican born journeyman Nagy Aguilera. Arreola will hunt for his third successive win.
While upping the record to 23-0 with 13 knockouts last November, tournament favorite Andre Ward remained triumphant when he left the Oracle Arena with a very lopsided unanimous decision victory over the resilient Sakio Bika. In his forthcoming bout with Abraham, he now looks to carry that impetus.
The boxer said that he is anticipating for a big fight and looking forward to May 14. He said he is feeling okay and has just begun training again. He was a little sick but made it clear that his health should be fine. He will be expecting a lot from this battle against Ward, as the tune up fight did not give me as much he craved. He added that he gets the excellent feeling to be back in the ring.
In 11 months, Abraham will be Ward’s first Super Six bout. Of his past three fights, he lost two. Currently he is 32-2. In the 11th round, he was pursuing badly and he was disqualified for punching Dirrell. He had slipped and he was sitting on the canvas. In a battle for the unoccupied WBC title, Abraham then lost a unanimous decision to Froch.
As the day for the bout gets closer, the boxing betting lines is attracting a lot of attention. The best betting odds for Andre Ward is 1/7, while for Arthur Abraham is 5.
Fights are being made for the summer card, although UFC 132 has not even been announced yet. The first bout being former WEC title hopeful Shane Roller taking on lightweight title contender Melvin Guillard.
This past January at “UFC Fight Night 23: UFC Fights for the Troops 2″, Guillard had an impressive second-round TKO of division standout Evan Dunham and he made a claim for a title shot.
Guillard said the time is now to step into the spotlight, after refocusing his life and career to rack up four consecutive victories. Roller is next on his list. With back-to-back wins, the Team Takedown original also has revamped his career that includes highlight-reel knockout of Thiago Tavares at UFC, earlier this month. Previously, with a first-round submission win in the lighter-weighted promotion’s final show, WEC 53, Roller sent former WEC champ Jamie Varner packing from Zuffa LLC employment.
For Roller, this is his second fight in the UFC. In his Octagon debut at UFC on Versus 3 in Louisville, Ky, he knocked out Thiago Tavares. Roller is a former NCAA All-American wrestler from Oklahoma State. In the UFC, Roller will get a lot closer to a title shot, if he can get past Guillard.
At UFC 132, the lightweights will face off and it is yet to be formally announced by the promotion. Chances are that the event will take place at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas on July 2.
Currently the sports betting odds for this event are not available.
UFC heavyweight winner Brock Lesnar will lock horns against Junior Dos Santos (12-1 MMA, 6-0 UFC) under UFC 131. The bout will take place on June 11 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. As per various UFC sports betting odds, Santos seems to be the favorite to win. The best odds for Santos is -160 and for Lesnar it is +130
For the first time since August, Dos Santos will fight. In August, he had secured a triumph over Roy Nelson. For the UFC Heavyweight Championship in this spring, he was at first scheduled to meet Cain Velasquez, but an injury to Velasquez resulted in further delay. Dos Santos chose to take a training slot opposed to Lesnar and decided to meet Velasquez later in the year. Dos Santos posted a 6-0 record in the UFC and maintained a top-contender status. Dos Santos’ recent triumphs have come against Gilbert Yvel, Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, Roy Nelson and Gabriel Gonzaga.
Velasquez took the title from Lesnar in October with a first round TKO. Lesnar seeks to get back to a rematch with him. Although it was Lesnar’s most demoralizing loss, it was only his second career defeat. Lesnar lost his belt to current champion Velasquez and therefore he is eyeing to earn a shot at fighting for his lost belt and get back on track following his second career thrashing. At UFC 91, the former professional wrestling megastar took home the heavyweight strap after defeating Randy Couture. He secured it on two occasions, which includes the fight at UFC 100 against Frank Mir.
The Philippines renews its rivalry with Mexico for the World Boxing Council (WBC) and World Boxing Organization (WBO) bantamweight titles. The bout will take place this weekend between Nonito “The Filipino Flash” and the Mexican champion Fernando Montiel.
Donaire said that Montiel is like a friend to him but, on this Saturday, when they meet each other in the ring, no friendship will be involved. In the 12-round match, Montiel will be risking his World Boxing Organization (WBO) and World Boxing Council (WBC) title belts. The match will be held at Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas.
Donaire was the one responsible for putting a blot on the brash Armenian, Darchinyan’s career. In the International Boxing Federation (IBF) flyweight belt in 2007, Donaire had knocked him out.
In the final press conference for their fight, Montiel pointed out that in the Filipino’s 10-year pro career, beating Darchinyan was the only significant win. He added that the Filipino is used to be a part of easy fights. He said that he wants to see how Donaire will respond, when he faces a hard fight. A tough fight could be expected between the two this weekend.
The Mexican champion has won 44-2 ring record, out of which 34 were knockouts. He has had some astounding wins over former Japan’s WBC champion Hozumi Hasegawa and Filipino Ciso Morales. In the former bout, he was a heavy underdog. Against the Japanese, he scored a fourth round technical knockout. It was an impressive victory, which brought an end to Hasegawa’s five-year reign as the bantamweight king.
Donaire will enter the bout as a 2-1 favorite, however the odds are not something Montiel is concerned about. Donaire is a native of General Santos City. Currently he resides in the Bay Area of San Leandro, California. On his belt, he carries 1 loss and 25 wins, out of which 17 were knockouts. He had a knockout victory over Vic Darchinyan and won IBF/IBO flyweight title. He has also defeated former WBA bantamweight champion Wladimir Sidorenko. Donaire had a nine-year winning streak.
The bout will definitely interest many since it involves two very capable fighters. Although Donaire is the game’s favorite, there is no doubt that he will have a tough time in the ring fighting against Montiel.
On Saturday, commonwealth champion and the super bantamweight fighter Jamie Arthur will fight with Jason Booth for the first time in a battle for the British title. Tickets for the show priced £30 and £55 are available from 0871 226 1508.
From various sports betting sites the odds for Jason Booth is 1/6 and Jamie Arthur is 4/1.
It is a miracle that Booth is still alive; let alone fighting having been troubled by drink and drugs in the past. Having lost on points to International Boxing Federation (IBF) champion Steve Molitor last year, he is now launching himself at one final world title assault. Booth accepted the double title showdown against Arthur (18-4) at just three weeks’ notice as he has never dodged a challenge.
When the call came from manager Jimmy Gill, the slick Nottingham boxer had just returned from a Christmas and New Year break in Florida with his family. Booth, 33, must beat Arthur to keep his big time career alive as he has won numerous titles at four weights from flyweight to super bantamweight.
Cwmbran’s Arthur is now in a position he never expected to reach in July 2005 as that’s when he quit boxing, who won a gold medal for Wales at the 2002 Commonwealth Games. Even though since returning he has won nine of his 11 fights and captured the Commonwealth 8st 10lb crown in October beating Kris Hughes, he took almost three years out.
Arthur thinks the best way to beat three times British champion Booth lies in the element of surprise. Arthur’s usual style is to get in hard and fast punches early. On Saturday, he will go on a completely different tangent. Arthur said, “The good thing about this fight is that Booth always fights the same way in every fight”.
By announcing his retirement from the competitive sport, Ireland’s John Duddy has shocked the boxing world. John Duddy has a career record of 29 wins and two defeats. At the Foxwoods Resort and Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut, Duddy, 31, was due to fight Andy Lee in the US on 12 March on an HBO undercard. However, he has decided to pass on the $100,000 purse and a potential world title shot.
On Tuesday, the Derry Destroyer released a statement confirming that he had retired after ‘a great deal of soul-searching’ and stated that his decision is final stating, ‘I give you my word; I will not come back’. Duddy’s decision, once again, leaves Andy Lee without a fight after the Limerick boxer’s last scheduled bout was cancelled when the Wladimir Klitschko world title fight with Dereck Chisora was postponed. The statement released by Duddy read: ‘After a great deal of soul-searching, I have decided to retire from boxing.’
After his defeat by Julio Cesar Chavez Jnr in June, the fight in Connecticut offered Duddy an unexpected route back to world title contention. The winner would have been in line for a world title bout against WBC champion Sergio Martinez. Duddy suffered two defeats in his 31-fight career. “In many ways, continuing to fight would be the easy course of action,” said the New York based Duddy.
Former European champion and fellow Derry man Charlie Nash believes Duddy is right to quit boxing. Nash said, “He turned profession in 2003 and went to America when it would have been easier for him to stay at home. John wanted to do it the hard way; he’s had seven great years”.
UFC star Chael Sonnen now been suspended by the UFC after his guilty plea to money laundering. He was already serving a suspension for a positive drug test.
While Sonnen tries to get his personal life in order, UFC President Dana White announced that Sonnen’s contract has been “frozen”. White also said that he wants to see Sonnen back in the Octagon and he still supports him. He added that in the last few months, Sonnen has gone through a lot and it is important for him to currently focus on his personal life.
It is the correct move for the UFC, although this move comes as a surprise. Sonnen is a convicted felon, as of Monday’s plea deal. When American athletes are convicted of felonies, mainstream American sports leagues simply cannot stand by and do nothing. UFC needs to discipline its fighters when their actions reflect badly on MMA, if it wants to be a mainstream American sports league. For this move, the UFC should be commended.
Last January, the one-time light heavyweight champion, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson plead guilty to going on a reckless driving spree in southern California. He coached on “The Ultimate Fighter” and starred in a remake of “The A-Team”, later in 2009.
Josh Neer, after his second DUI arrest, he fought on Ultimate Fight Night 17 just over a month, but he was not cut from the UFC until he had two losses in a row. In October 2010, Chris Leben, who fought last weekend at UFC 125 was arrested for a DUI and a probation violation in April 2008.