Boxing: The Week in Review

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Floyd MayweatherEvery 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 catchup 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 biggest promoted fight last week was Antonio Tarver vs. Steve Cunningham from the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. The fight was very underwhelming with Cunningham throwing more but not hurting Tarver and Tarver throwing slow punches. Almost deservingly, the fight ended in a split draw.

The fight that ended up stealing the show that same night in Newark was the fight between Marco Huck and Krzysztof Glowacki. Huck was the favorite, but behind a heavy Polish crowd, Glowacki shocked the boxing world by knocking Huck down twice with the second one winning the fight in the 11th round to win Huck’s WBO cruiserweight belt.

Other boxing news from last week included Lucian Bute declaring he is back after stopping Andrea Di Luisa in the fourth round at the Bell Centre in Quebec, Canada and Roy Jones Jr, still fighting at age 46, knocked out Eric Watkins with a left hook in the sixth round at Foxwoods in Connecticut.

Cotto-Canelo Tour

Now that the fight between Miguel Cotto and Canelo Alvarez is official, they announced that they will be doing a 4 city promotional tour that will land them in LA on Monday, Mexico City on Tuesday, NY on Wednesday, and Caguas, PR on Thursday. Tickets for the highly anticipated bout are also expected to go on sale next week.

Golovkin-Lemieux Expand the Garden

The original plan for the HBO PPV to take place on 10/17 was to open the Garden to approximately 13k, but with the early demand, the decision was made that the entire Garden will be open, which can hold slightly over 20k. Thus far, the greatly promoted event has sold about 17k in less than 10 days.

Ellerbe Says Floyd is Done After #HighStakes

Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe said that this would be Floyd Mayweather’s last fight. Ellerbe said, “That’s a fact. This is Floyd’s last fight. I’m not trying to sell it that way. This is going to be his last fight.” Mayweather has retired in the past and also admits to contradicting himself at times. Only time will tell if he is willing to walk away tied as the only person to get 49 wins without a loss or draw.

Porter Wants it All

Shawn Porter is not resting on his laurels. After defeating Adrien Broner in June, Broner has been at numerous PBC events and has made it clear he wants another big fight. Kenny Porter, Shawn’s dad, has made it very clear that his son wants Danny Garcia, saying money, location, or even a belt doesn’t matter. They have also made it known that if Keith Thurman is available, they’d gladly take that fight. Porter has even mentioned Canelo Alvarez. It’s clear the Porters are willing to take on all comers.

Bradley moving on from Rios

With the fight between Timothy Bradley and Brandon Rios appearing to be dead, Bradley has a few options on his table. He can fight his mandatory, Sadam Ali, or he can take what could be one of the fights of the year in Kell Brook. Promoter of Brook, Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Sport, said that if Amir Khan doesn’t want to do the UK mega-fight against Brook, then they would pursue Bradley. Brook and Bradley are considered by many as the second-best 147 lb. fighters in the sport behind Mayweather and Pacquiao.

Other Notable Topics

Hank Lundy was at the Tarver-Cunningham event on Friday and spoke with Tha Boxing Voice. He called out Terence Crawford and Ruslan Provodnikov on camera.

The fight between Andy Lee and BJ Saunders was moved from 9/19 to 10/10. Despite rumors that it was moved because of low ticket sales, event Promoter Lou DiBella said it was postponed because Lee had a virus throughout camp.

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr has a fractured left hand from his fight against Marcos Reyes in July. After surgery, Dr. Steven S. Shin advised Chavez to not throw a punch with that hand for the next three months, so he is likely out until 2016.

Antonio Margarito is attempting a comeback t the junior-middleweight division. He would also like a title shot, but admits he isn’t in shape for it yet and would like at least two tune-up fights.

Future Fights:

Jhonny Gonzalez vs. Jonathan Oquendo – This fight was added to the Floyd Mayweather – Andre Berto undercard on September 12th. Gonzalez is a former WBC featherweight champion while Oquendo currently holds a record of 25-4 and is the interim WBO Latino featherweight Champion.

Deontay Wilder vs. Johann Duhaupas – After weeks of waiting, the opponent for Wilder was finally named, and it will take place at Legacy Arena in Birmingham on September 26th on NBC. This will be Wilder’s last fight before having to face his mandatory opponent, who is Alexander Povetkin.

Andrzej Fonfara vs. Nathan Cleverly – This fight will take place on 10/16 and will be in front of what should be a raucous, Polish-heavy, crowd in the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois.

Peter Quillin vs. Danny Jacobs – Even though Peter Quillin still has a fight set for 9/12 against Michael Zerafa, he already has a fight lined up for the end of the year against Danny Jacobs on 12/5 from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. This should be a pretty interesting bout for the middleweight division by the time we get to the end of the boxing year.