Daniel Geale targets America!

Daniel Geale arrives back in Sydney after fight with Felix Sturm.

Unified middleweight world champion Daniel Geale has revealed that his next target is to fight in America and really announce himself to the worldwide community of boxing fans.
The Aussie is already a relatively well-known and popular fighter but he is probably not even heard of by most casual boxing fans. So a big fight in America would be a perfect way to boost his popularity.

Geale is just coming off of a fantastic victory over former world champion Felix Sturm but the 'Real Deal' claims that he wants to carry on fighting tough opponents in big fights. To start this process, he would like to take on the winner of the middleweight super-showdown between Sergio Martinez and Julio Cesat Chavez Jr, two of the best fighters in the world.

"I think if you go over and conquer the US as well that's the next target," said Geale.

"With the help of my promoter Gary Shaw, we're going to get over there and shake those guys up too... Its been great to do it in Germany, but I think now we've got to do it in other countries as well. I'd love to be able to bring some huge name fighters out to Australia as well. I'd love to be able to put on a massive home town fight in Sydney."

"We've got to keep taking the next step and that is obviously going to mean more money, but it definitely means harder and bigger fights."

Geale does also have a mandatory defence for each title he owns. One against fellow Australian Sam Soliman and the other with quickly rising superstar Gennady Golovkin.

Geale shocks Germany!

Geale becomes unified middleweight champ.

Daniel Geale has done the unexpected and beaten Felix Sturm in his hometown to become the WBA "super" and IBF middleweight champion of the world. Not only is Geale now the first fighter to beat Sturm in Germany, he is also the only fighter to win two world titles against German fighters in Germany. He did the exact same thing as tonight against Sebastian Sylvester back in May of last year.

It was an impressive and solid performance from Geale throughout the whole fight and a slightly below par performance from Felix Sturm. Maybe it was the non-stop pressure that Geale was piling on him but there was just something about Sturm that wasn't right tonight. Maybe it was age catching up with him.

The first few rounds were close and could have easily been given to either fighter. From around the third round onwards Geale started to increase the intensity of his work rate and pile the pressure on Sturm. This was very effective and won the Australian most of the middle rounds. However, in the third quarter of the fight Sturm managed to pull himself back into the bout and win a couple of the rounds. When it came to the 11th, Geale was just slightly ahead and it was all in the last two rounds. It now depended on which fighter wanted it more. Both men stepped it up a gear but Geale was still producing more punches. The Aussie just won the 11th and performed fantastically in the 12th to leave most believing that he had won the fight.

Nobody was quite sure what to expect when the judges scorecards came in. We were all remembering the decisions that Sturm was gifted against the likes of Martin Murray and Matthew Macklin and we thought this was going to be the same. But it wasn't! Geale was announced the winner by a split decision. The judges scorecards were 116-112 to Sturm and then 116-112, 116-112 to Geale.
At this moment, the German crowd fell silent in disbelief. Their man had not been given the decision and he was not world champion for the first time in ten or so years.

The future for Sturm and Geale awaits to be seen, but one thing I am very sure of is that we can expect to see Daniel Geale in some very big fights in the near future!

Darren Barker eyeing big names for his September return!

"Dazzling" Darren Barker.

British middleweight Darren Barker is set to return to the ring in September and he is in need of an opponent.

One of the names mentioned is highly-rated middleweight prospect Grzegorz Proksa. But this can only happen if he wins his European title back in a rematch with fellow British middleweight Kerry Hope on July 7th.

"There was never any chance of me not fighting again," said Barker. You've got to find the balance when looking at my next opponent, but I'm content to carry on where I left off and obviously get back to winning ways before pushing back to the top level. It would be nice to fight Grzegorz Proksa. I wouldn't mind fighting either [Hope or Proksa], but I've got a lot of faith in Eddie Hearn and my team, so we'll wait and see what happens."

Barker against Proksa would be a great comeback fight for Barker and would provide a tough test for the former world title contender. However, there is a much bigger name that Barker is targeting. And that person is WBA world champion Felix Sturm. The German struggled against Matthew Macklin and Martin Murray and Barker reminded him that there is one other top British super-middleweight that he needs to face.

"We've had no offers from him yet," claimed Barker. "But I'd go straight out to Germany for Sturm - no problem."

This would be a much better fight for Barker but personally, I think he should have a few less difficult fights to warm himself up again and then move onto a world title fight.

There is a growing rivalry between Darren Barker, Martin Murray and Matthew Macklin who all believe that they are the best middleweight in Britain. But it looks a long way away until any of them actually meet in the ring. Macklin has repeatedly trash-talked and bad-mouthed his fellow countrymen and Barker is not happy about this.

"It did surprise me a bit to be honest. Myself and Martin deserve more respect because we've proved that we're top level fighters, so to be called a "stepping stone" was quite an insult and is something that will come back to haunt him."

Team Golovkin ready to pursue fight with Sturm...

Golovkin and his new team at K2.

Gennady Golovkin and his team claim that they have been trying to force WBA middleweight champion Felix Sturm into a fight for the last two years and now they're are going to push even harder to get the fight after Golovkin just put on yet another dominant performance against Makoto Fuchigami who he stopped in just three rounds. Golovkin and his new promoters K2 are working to get the WBA to finally push Sturm into a mandatory defence.

"At this point, Sturm is running out of options. Sturm, at this time, holds the record for being a champion the longest without having a mandatory defence. Two years ago, Gennady was the interim champion and Sturm was the WBA champion. Sturm then got elevated to super champion. For the last two years, Gennady has been trying to fight him," said Tom Loeffler of K2.

WBA middleweight champ Felix Sturm.

Golovkin (23-0, 23 KO's) has recently taken the middleweight division by storm and many people believe that he is already good enough to challenge pound-for-pound contender Sergio Martinez. But, he doesn't want to rush in too fast so a fight with the likes of Sturm or another world champ is a lot more sensible at this moment in time. 

The big question is, whether Sturm would be willing to take such a dangerous fight. A few of his recent fights with the likes of Matthew Macklin and Martin Murray have seen him come very close to losing his title and Golovkin is a level above them already. At the age of 33 he is still in great condition and stronger than ever after his dominant performance against Sebastian Zbik, but in 23 fights Golovkin has not lost a round and has never looked in trouble.

This is a potential fight of the year and if it does happen I guarantee that every boxing fan will want to see it. My prediction for the fight is that it would be very close but Golovkin would have too much power and skill for the older opponent and end up winning by a late KO.

Golovkin too good yet again...

Future pound-for-pound contender Gennady Golovkin.

WBA and IBO middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin is climbing up the middleweight rankings very fast and many people are now even asking for a fight between him and current super-middleweight king Sergio Martinez. Tonight, once again, the 30-year old beat yet another opponent with ease. It took him less than three rounds to finish off Makoto Fuchigami. The referee stopped the fight in the third round as it was clear that the Japanese champion had nothing left.

This was Golovkin's fourth defence of his titles and his 23rd win in a row. He has also proved once again that he does not only have superior boxing skills but also devastating punch power as this was his 20th KO in just 23 fights (one of the highest KO percentages in the world today).

For a long time now, there has been no middleweight around that would even be considered to be on the same level as pound-for-pound contender Sergio Martinez but the Kazakh prospect is causing a very big stir in the division already. There is no doubt that he is just as good, if not better than the likes of Felix Sturm, Matthew Macklin and Martin Murray but he needs to fight one of these top contenders just to get rid of any doubts in everyone's minds.

All we can do for now is wonder and hope that one day Golovkin and Martinez end up in the same ring preparing for war, but it has to happen soon as Martinez is already 37 and Golovkin is not the youngest of fighters either. Let's try and get this fight to happen whilst both fighters are still in their prime.

Macklin bites back!

Matthew Macklin

Former European middleweight challenger Matthew Macklin has reacted angrily to the comments about him that were made by fellow British middleweight Martin Murray.

Murray called Macklin out yesterday and also insulted the former world title challenger and claimed that Macklin did not have the stomach to get in the ring with him. This is what Macklin had to say in return: "Firstly, I've always had the stomach to get in the ring with anyone as my record shows... I mean, taking a fight with Martin 'Non-punching Murray is hardly a scary proposition for me."

"If he wants to tell his management to contact mine with an offer in writing then let's do it. I am more than willing to get the fight on!"

Macklin is just coming off a fantastic performance against pound-for-pound contender Sergio Martinez. 'Mack the knife' fought well throughout the whole fight but was then knocked down by Martinez in the 11th round which resulted in his corner pulling him out.

Murray is also coming off a very creditable performance. He held world middleweight champion Felix Sturm to a draw last December in a very close fight.

A fight between these two is looking very likely to happen as fans all around the world have started talking about it already. Seeing that Murray has been denied a Visa for the United States, the fight would most likely  have to take place in the UK.

Martin Murray wants Matthew Macklin!

Murray gave Sturm all he could handle.

British middleweight Martin Murray has instructed his team to organise a match-up with fellow Brit Matthew Macklin as soon as possible. 

The former-middleweight world title challenger is looking to prove that he still has what it takes and he has also said that he wants to shut Macklin up for some recent comments made on Twitter.

Matthew Macklin.

"Martin does not like Macklin whatsoever," said a member of Murray's team. "He has instructed us to make the fight at whatever cost. Martin wants to prove he is the best middleweight in the UK. Martin doesn't think Macklin has the stomach to get in the ring with him... This is no disrespect to Darren Barker who is also a great fighter like Macklin. Darren is recovering from an operation and won't be ready for almost six months, but good luck to Darren on his recovery."

Murray still believes he deserves another shot at the world title after he pushed current world champion Felix Sturm to a draw last December in a fight where a win could have easily been given to Murray. 

The St. Helens fighter (24-0-1) is apparently going all out to try and annoy Macklin, 29, and draw him into a domestic grudge match later this year. The winner of the fight would be likely to get a world title shot.

"I'm going to finish Macklin and give the British fans the fight to see to prove I'm the best middleweight in the UK," explained Murray.

"Matthew has lots to say on Twitter and so on, so he should sign on to meet me in the ring or keep quiet."

Macklin recently lost to P4P No.3 Sergio Martinez in what was a close fight until Macklin was pulled out by his corner in the 11th round.

Both of these superb fighters deserve another world title shot. But, who deserves it more?.. Only one wy to find out... FIGHT!!!

Martin Murray withdraws from Chavez Jr fight!

British, Commonwealth and Intercontinental champion Martin Murray has had to withdraw from his fight with WBC world middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr due to the fact that he will not be able to get a visa in time.

The reason for this is that Murray spent time in prison when he was younger but since then has turned his life around. This means that because of his past there was a delay with the approval of the visa.

The fight was scheduled for June 16th and was to be held in Texas. Murray is very annoyed with the situation. ''I'd signed the contract and everything was agreed so to be told I cannot box Chavez Jr because of my past is gut-wrenching''said Murray. ''As a human being I couldn't have done any more to turn my life around in the last seven years.''

Murray in fight with Felix Sturm.

Murray has said that he will still try and get himself a visa so he can box in the United States in the future but for now he will concentrate on defending his titles and maybe add another Lonsdale belt this summer.
He proved that he is able to fight at world level when he drew with WBA super champion Felix Sturm last december.

Murray is very grateful to his promoter Ricky Hatton for everything he has done. ''I would like to thank my team, Hatton Promotions for all their efforts and I have every faith in them.''

Hatton also commented on the situation saying: ''This is a sledgehammer for Martin and his team but everyone at Hatton Promotions will work to get him another world title fight.''