Boxing: The Week in Review

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Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea
Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea
Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea

Every week, there are numerous topics that even hardcore fans, not to mention casual fans, cannot keep up with. Every week, I’ll be here to help you catch up with the sport of boxing, going over the previous weekend’s results, as well as some of the hot breaking news topics that fans are talking about. This week was filled with rumors and some fights that were finally officially announced, so let’s get right into the boxing week in review.

Last Week’s Results

The spotlight of boxing was centered upon the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY as Danny Garcia stopped Paulie Malignaggi in the ninth round. Malignaggi announced after the fight that this would probably be his final fight.

On that same card in Brooklyn, Danny Jacobs defeated Sergio Mora when Mora fractured his ankle in the second round following a knockdown. Both fighters went down in an exciting round one and then in round two, Jacobs caught Mora and their legs tangled up. Mora went to the ground awkwardly and could not continue. After the fight, Danny Jacobs said a rematch was not necessary, and he looks forward to a fight with Peter Quillin by the end of the year.

Juan Carlos Payano won a split decision against Rau’Shee Warren in Winter Park, Florida on PBC’s first card on Bounce TV. It was a close fight most of the way though, but a two-point deduction by referee Frank Santore Jr. in the ninth round of Warren was the difference on the cards. Without the deduction, the fight would have been ruled a majority draw.

Mayweather-Berto Finally Official

It was finally announced Tuesday on his Instagram page that Floyd Mayweather will officially be facing Andre Berto on September 12th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. It also has been confirmed since that Orlando Salido will face Rocky Martinez in a rematch from their exciting April bout that has been praised as one of the fights of the year thus far. One other confirmed fight on the card will be Badou Jack vs. George Groves. The fight will take place on ShowTime PPV at a rumored price of $64.95 and $74.95 HD.

GGG-Lemieux Undercard still unsettled

Even though the fight with Gennady Golovkin vs. David Lemieux is official and has been announced, the undercard still has its uncertainties. The opponent for the main undercard fight against Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez is still unknown and with Bryant Jennings turning down Luis Ortiz, he is also still looking for an opponent.

It appears like Chocolatito’s opponent is now down to Brian Viloria and Giovani Segura. Both opponents would make for a suitable challenge for the rising pound-for-pound star. As for Ortiz, the rumor is that Bermane Stiverne is the leading contender to fill his opponent’s shoes. Stiverne last fought in January in a loss to Deontay Wilder.

Tickets for the event, which will take place on October 17th at Madison Square Garden, in NYC, are expected to be on sale within the next 7-10 days. It will be carried by HBO PPV and has a rumored price of $49.95 for the event.

Canelo-Cotto….Still Waiting

Now that Floyd Mayweather has announced his fight, the boxing community now waits for the announcement of Saul “Canelo” Alvarez vs. Miguel Cotto. By all accounts, everything, including date and site (November 21st at Mandalay Bay) are set. The last piece of business according to Oscar De La Hoya, is a rematch clause, which De La Hoya says he is waiting on Miguel Cotto’s advisor, Gaby Peñagarícano. However, it shouldn’t hold up the fight.

“If that’s the problem, we’ll take out the clause,” De La Hoya said.

Although the actual fight has not been announced, rumors are already swirling as to who will be on the undercard, with the biggest names being Andrew Ward, James Kirkland, and Jayson Velez. More details and possibly an official announcement should come within the next two weeks.

Is the Siberian Rocky Switching Sides?

Ruslan Provodnikov, one of the most exciting fighters in the sport, has had most of his fights on HBO, four of the last five to be exact. However, he is negotiating with Showtime for a three-fight deal. This would open up numerous fights at the welterweight division for him.

Is Pacquiao-Khan lined up?

You can take this for what it’s worth, but the WBC announced today that a fight between Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan would be a final eliminator for the WBC welterweight belt that is currently held by Floyd Mayweather. The fight between Pacquiao and Khan would likely take place in the spring since Pacquiao is still currently recovering from surgery on his right shoulder.

PBC Roundtable

During the fight between Danny Garcia and Paulie Malignaggi, PBC fighters, including Shawn Porter, Keith Thurman, Deontay Wilder, and all sat down and answered questions from the media. Porter specifically mentioned Danny Garcia while Thurman had some interesting comments about Amir Khan. It is two fights that can be made pretty easily and that we may see in our near future.

Future Fights:

Timothy Bradley vs. Brandon Rios – This fight continues to be worked on and it looks like it is very close to being done, possibly for November 7th in California, likely to take place at The Forum. Bradley is coming off his masterful fight against Jessie Vargas in June while Rios is coming off stopping Mike Alvarado in the third round in January.

Nonito Donaire vs. Scott Quigg – While everyone still wishes for a fight between Carl Frampton and Scott Quigg, it looks like Donaire vs. Quigg is more likely to get done. It’s a good matchup between two of the top 5 fighters in the 122 pound division. The fight would probably take place on November 21st in Manchester, England.

Jamie McDonnell vs. Tomoki Kameda (Part II) – This is a rematch of one of the more exciting fights earlier this year in May. McDonnell got the win by one point on all three judge’s cards, but it wasn’t without controversy as most onlookers had Kameda slightly ahead.

The fight is scheduled to take place 9/6 as the undercard to Anthony Dirrell and Marco Antonio Rubio, the same card that “Kid Chocolate” Peter Quillin was originally scheduled to be on, but his fight, which had an unknown opponent, has been switched to another date.