Fans vote Rosado as close winner in Rosado-Love!

The first big fight on the undercard of Mayweather-Guerrero last night was a highly-anticipated middleweight bout between former world title challenger Gabriel Rosado (21-7, 13 KO's) and Mayweather Promotions prospect J'Leon Love (16-0, 8 KO's). The fight was as exciting and as close as we expected if not more, but unfortunately ended with a little controversy after J'Leon Love was announced as the winner via split decision. The crowd booed the decision as they felt that Rosado, after landing some big shots and putting Love on the canvas, did enough to win the fight.


As this still seemed to be a big talking point this morning, I asked our Twitter followers (@BoxingOpinions1) who they had winning the fight. Here are the results from the people that have got back to me so far:

Quigg Vs Munroe - Do not forget about this fight!

Scott Quigg Vs Rendall Munroe II takes place on the undercard of the Ricky Hatton comeback fight this Saturday. Now I won't actually be surprised if you're reading this and you didn't even know this fight is happening, and that's not your fault. Literally nobody is talking about this fight. I remember the first time it was announced, it was one of the most highly-anticipated British fights of the year, but now this doesn't seem to be the case.  

Unfortunately the first time around the fight only lasted 3 rounds due to a cut caused by an accidental clash of heads. But it's been rescheduled and its happening again. Now there's an obvious reason why its not receiving as much attention this time around, and that's because its just chief support for a very, very big event for British boxing (the return of Ricky Hatton). But that's no reason to just ignore what, in my opinion, will be the fight of the night on November 24th. 

Now obviously everyone is naturally going to be more excited about the Hatton-Senchenko fight, as I am too. But don't turn up late to the arena or tune in late to Primetime. If you've only planned to watch the main event then change your plans! 

This a real 50/50 fight and not many people can pick a clear winner. I went with Munroe the first time and although Quigg was starting to take control of the fight in the 3rd, I'm gonna have to stick with "2 Tone" again. I just think his experience will give him the edge over a young, up and coming, talented Scott Quigg. I also think he has that little extra bit inside him that will enable him to dig deep if it does get tough in the late rounds.  

Quigg is very, very fit. It has actually been scientifically proven that he's got a better fitness level than most marathon runners. But Munroe can take him to a place he has never been before and it will be interesting to see how Quigg handles this. Fitness is a huge factor in this sport but I believe heart is even more important. Let's see if he's got it. 

There's no doubt that this is the toughest test of Quigg's career so far. Like most prospects, we know he's got talent but is he up there with the elite level fighters? Is he something special? Munroe has shared the ring with world class fighters such as Toshiaki Nishioka, who has been a serious pound-for-pound contender for a very long time. However, he hasn't faced anyone as tough and as fresh as Quigg recently so it will also be interesting to see how he handles this fight.

You still really have to class these two as the two best super-bantamweights in Britain. Carl Frampton has shown a lot of potential. The potential to be better than most at this weight division in the world today, but these two have done just a little more at the moment and probably just deserve to be ranked a little bit higher. In an ideal world the winner of this fight would face Frampton next but that's highly unlikely.. But, its boxing, we're boxing fans, and we can hope!

Super-bantamweight, like many other divisions in Britain, is starting to really heat up and that can only mean one thing; more excitement in the sport of boxing!

By Jack Price @PriceyJ97 - Check out my blog!

Mayweather Sr doesn't want Floyd Jr fighting Martinez...

    Floyd 'Money' Mayweather.                           Sergio 'Maravilla' Martinez.      

For many fight fans out there today, the biggest fight that can happen right now is WBC middleweight champ Sergio 'Maravilla' Martinez against the pound-for-pound king Floyd 'Money' Mayweather.

Martinez has been considered as a pound-for-pound contender for a very long time but his recent win over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr cemented his place as one of the greatest fighters of this era and proved just how good he really is. Mayweather is widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters of all time and without doubt the No.1 fighter in the world today.

Despite all of this, Mayweather's former trainer and father Floyd Mayweather Sr does not want the fight to happen.

"Personally, when people talk about Martinez fighting him (Floyd)... I'm not saying my son can't whup him, because I've seen my son box big cruiserweights before in the gym, but when you got to put smaller gloves and stuff, you know, I don't think its a good idea," said Mayweather Sr.

"He's still fighting outside his weight class by fighting at 47 (welterweight), because really, Floyd can make 140. So really, to be honest, he shouldn't fight anybody much bigger than that. He doesn't need to fight Jr middleweights."

"I don't think he should be just fighting guys, just because... It's not safe. He's done enough already. There ain't nothing he got to prove."

Don't worry boxing fans! There is still chance of this fight happening... If it was Roger Mayweather that had said this then I would say that it was very likely that we would never see this fight. But that's because Floyd Jr listens to him. I know 'Money' May will always love his father and respect him but he doesn't actually care much for what he has to say. So therefore, there is still hope that we may one day see the fight that everybody desperately wants to happen. The chances may be slim, but we still have hope!

 

By Jack Price @PriceyJ97.

Hatton and father involved in bust-up!

Ricky and Ray.

Former two-weight world champion Ricky Hatton's father, Ray Hatton, has been arrested on suspicion of assaulting his son on Thursday, the day before 'The Hitman' announced his return to the ring.

Ray Hatton, 61, was given a police caution after it was confirmed that he assaulted Ricky outside of the families' health and fitness gym in Hyde, Greater Manchester. According to reports in the Independent newspaper, the pair traded punches following a heated argument.

A policeman spokesman gave a little info on the situation: "Shortly before 11:45 BST on Thursday, police received reports that there had been a fight involving two men outside a health and fitness club on Market Street."

"A 33-year old man was assaulted by a 61-year old man, who was arrested on suspicion of common assault and subsequently given a police caution."

On Friday, the day after the incident, Hatton revealed that he would be making comeback into the sport of the boxing and will fight at the Manchester Arena on November 24th.

 

By Jack Price @PriceyJ97.

Team Martinez: Fight Only Happens If Ward Moves Down...

"Middleweight King" Sergio Martinez.

Super-middleweight ruler Andre Ward.

Recently, there have been a lot of people calling for a fight between the world No.1 middleweight Sergio Martinez and the WBC super-middleweight world champion, who are considered as the two bets fighters on the planet other than Floyd Mayweather. However, it has now been revealed that the fight will only happen one way... And that's if Andre Ward moves down to 160lb.

Sergio Martinez's adviser, Sampson Lewkowicz, has revealed that his fighter will never fight at super-middleweight, and the only way a fight with Ward can happen is if Ward decides to drop down in weight.

"If Andre Ward moves down to 160 pounds, the fight will happen," said Lewkowicz. "Sergio Martinez would never turn down any challenge in the middleweight division.  However, Sergio will never move up to 168 pounds or fight Ward at a catch-weight. We are ready to fight anyone in the middleweight division or at 154 pounds, or Floyd Mayweather Jr or Manny Pacquiao at 152."

"Martinez is a blown-up 154 pounder, who chooses to fight in the middleweight division. He made weight for this fight last week. He will never fight at super-middleweight."

At the moment, I'm not sure whether to be happy or disappointed. The chances of a fight between Ward and Martinez have decreased slightly but at least they're actually talking about the fight. The fact that one of Martinez's team has talked about Ward publicly does show that they see him as an option.

However, there is one thing you still need to remember. Martinez faces Julio Cesar Chavez Jr on Saturday and he must get through him face. If Chavez wins on Saturday everything changes. It would then be likely that we would see Chavez move up to super-middleweight to fight Ward. Let's just hope Martinez hasn't made a big mistake and looked past Chavez.

 

By Jack Price (@PriceyJ97)

Abraham becomes two-weight world champ!



Abraham (centre) with the WBO super-middlweight title. 



'Amazing!' That is the only word I can use to sum up this fight. Maybe the intensity and the excitement of the event was just increased because it had been so long since any of us boxing fans had seen a world class televised fight. But anyway, you're not here to hear me ramble on about how excited I am that the boxing season has started again. You're here to read about what actually happened in the highly anticipated super-middleweight fight between Arthur Abraham and Robert Stieglitz.

I think the reason that this fight was as good as it was, is because both men wanted it so bad. It was a crossroads fight and both of them had something to prove. I think it's fair to say that going into this fight we were thinking that if Abraham didn't win then his career as a world-class fighter was over. On the other hand, we all also knew that Stieglitz was desperate to be victorious because he had to prove that he belonged with the top-level fighters at super-middleweight.

It was clear from the beginning that Abraham was not fighting with the same game-plan that he usually does. For anyone who has seen the German-based Armenian fight before, you will know that he usually just lasts through the first half of the fight without really throwing any punches and then from around the 6th or 7th round onwards he tries to wear his opponent down until they give up. But this time things were different. The 32-year old came out strong and fast and clearly won the first round. This was a sign that he knew that this was potentially his last chance at proving he was a force to be reckoned with at super-middleweight. Howeveer, Stieglitz was not just going to lay down and let Abraham walk away with the opportunity. The German-based Russian came back strong and threw more punches in the next few rounds than Abraham probably did in the whole fight. He even hurt the usually iron-jawed Abraham on occasions. When it got to the eighth round, I had it scored even and there were just no clues as to who was going to win. Abraham had just won the last round but he was looking very tired, whereas Stieglitz had blood pouring from his right eye and a bruise above his left but was still looking fresh when he threw his punches. The next four rounds were once again very close, except for the last round which Stieglitz clearly won.

At the end of the fight I had it scored 115-114 to Abraham but I could have easily had it the other way round. The judges scorecards were 116-112, 116-112 & 115-113, all in favour of Abraham. There was no arguments about the winner, I just think the scorecards were slightly wide.

One thing I did notice on Twitter after the fight is how many people were now fans of Stieglitz even though he lost th fight. A lot of people had not really seen much of him before and even though he lost, he still showed a lot of heart and courage and also proved that he can compete with some top-class fighters at the weight.

Abraham is now in the best position he has been in since moving up to super-middleweight. He is now a two-weight world champion and back up there with the top-level fighters. Whilst I don't think there's much chance of him beating the likes of Andre Ward and Carl Froch, there's still a lot big fights out there for him.

Khan believes him against Hatton would be bigger than Haye-Chisora!

Khan (left) with Hatton (right) during the build-up to his fight with Paul McCloskey.

Former light-welterweight world champ Amir Khan has his sights set on a rematch with Danny Garcia, who scored a surprise knock-out victory over him last Saturday (July 14th), but he has not ruled the chances of a fight with Ricky Hatton in the future. The 25-year old actually claims that it would be bigger than the heavyweight grudge match between David Haye and Dereck Chisora.

There have been many rumours circulating that Hatton is planning a surprise return to the ring for the first time since 2009. These rumours have not been confirmed, but a lot of evidence such as the Mancunian spending a lot of time in the gym and losing a lot of weight, have made the rumours seem a lot more likely. At first, Paulie Malignaggi was the only fighter who was mentioned for a fight with Hatton but now Khan has been brought into the picture.

"I don't think Ricky will want to fight us," said Khan. "I try to avoid the Ricky fight but you never know. It'd be a huge British fight and I don't think we've had a British fight like that. It would be bigger than the Dereck and David fight but who knows? For the moment I'm more focused on the Garcia fight because what burns me is that you know you made a mistake and you know what mistake you make."

Bradley shocks the world!

Timothy Bradley with the WBO welterweight title.

Timothy 'Dessert Storm' Bradley has shocked the world and become the new WBO welterweight champion of the world. He done this by beating the man that many believe is the greatest pound-for-pound fighter in the world today, Manny Pacquiao.

There was controversy right from the off. When the fight was scheduled to start, Bradley was bin his changing room, gloved up and ready to go. However, Pacquiao was nowhere to be found. After a quick search, he was found "stretching his calves" on a treadmill with trainer Freddie Roach. Many people believed that there could have been foul play involved but Pacquiao and Roach claim that he genuinely had to relieve some tension from his legs.

So... The ring walk began 15 minutes late and then we finally got to see the fight that we had all been waiting for. The question on everybody's mind was 'Can Bradley walk the walk as well as talk the talk?'

The first round was close and it looked as though both fighters were momentarily stunned at some points. However, from that round till around the seventh, Pacquiao dominated and Bradley looked very tired. But somehow, the man who prides himself on his 'fight to the death' boxing style brought himself back into the fight and clearly won some of the later rounds.

Seeing as the fight had gone to the scorecards, everybody fought that even if it was close, Pacquiao would be given the decision as he is the bigger star and worth a lot more money. How wrong were we?
Bradley was given the result by a split decision with two judges giving it to him by two rounds. We were witnessing the dethroning of the "P4P King" Manny Pacquiao.

A lot of people were shocked the result as they believed that Pacquiao did enough to win the fight. Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach was really shocked at the decision.

"I thought we won the fight," said Roach. "I thought that was one of the best fights he fought since Cotto. I thought we clearly, clearly won the fight. I think [the judges] had their eyes closed... I didn't see that many close rounds. I like knockouts and when he gave the eleventh round away, I said, "Manny go out there and finish this guy.".. I had it 10 rounds to 2."

Now, it wasn't as wide as the always animated Freddie Roach made out but the fight could have easily been awarded to Manny Pacquiao. But, you cannot take anything away from Mr Timothy Bradley. He fought the right fight and dominated the action towards the end.

Bradley's manager Cameron Dunkin believed that his man deserved to win the fight and he apparently scored it 115-113 to Bradley.

It is very likely now that we will see a rematch between these two men. It was announced before the fight, that if Bradley won then there will be an immediate rematch in November, and both men are more than willing to do it all again. Bradley said that he is fine with the rematch and he will come back even stronger for the next fight. Pacquiao claims that he feels that he "100% won the fight" and he has happy to have a rematch.

Could this be the end of Manny Pacquiao? In the post-fight interview, he looked calm and content. Maybe he is happy with what he has done in his career? Maybe he doesn't feel that he doesn't need to prove himself anymore?

The boxing world has been turned on it's head after this fight. Mayweather-Pacquiao is no longer the most valuable fight out there. Manny Pacquiao can no longer be acclaimed as the 'P4P King.' Timothy Bradley is one of the most valuable fighters in the world from this point on and Mayweather's career has received a boost as many people will now go from seeing Pacquiao as the best fighter in the world and see 'Money' as the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world.

George Groves ready to step up and fight Froch!



Groves with Commonwealth title.



British and Commonwealth super-middleweight champion has already expressed his interest in a domestic world title clash between himself and new IBF world champion Carl Froch.

'St George' has just about beaten every half decent fighter at domestic level, including James DeGale and Paul Smith Jr, and he now feels that is time for him to step onto the world stage. Earlier in the year, he was set to fight the WBO champion Robert Stieglitz but had to withdraw from the bout due to injury. This is why he feels he deserves another shot at a world title.

"I'd love to fight him [Froch]" Groves told Alan Brazil of talkSPORT. "I'm on the verge of world title level."

"I had a chance to fight for the WBO title but it fell through. I'm trying to squeeze my way into the world title arena and obviously a fight against Carl would be absolutely huge."

The undefeated 24-year old was ringside for Froch's fight against Lucian Bute so he was clearly able to see how easy Froch made his win look against the previously undefeated IBF champ who was attempting to make the 10th defence of his title.

"As a fighter you have to think you can beat anyone. Carl's performance was great but you have to look at every fighter and think you can beat them."

Groves is currently pencilled in for a rematch against Kenny Anderson, who he stopped in just six rounds back in 2010, but he believes that after this fight he will be doing anything he can to get a world title shot.

Audley Harrison Vs Ali Adams (Full Fight)

Here is footage of the full fight between Audley Harrison and Ali Adams.

The bout was not shown on TV so Goodwin promotions recorded the fight and uploaded it to Youtube. Enjoy!

Alvarez Vs Williams being discussed for September 15th...

Former pound-for-pound contender Paul Williams.

A few weeks ago I wrote an article saying that James Kirkland was likely to be Saul Alvarez's opponent on September 15th but now it seems that former welterweight and light-middleweight world champion Paul Williams is the new hot favourite to step in the ring with 'Canelo' when he headlines his first PPV.

To prove that this is not just talk and Williams is actually being seriously considered, here is a statement from Golden Boy CEO Robert Schaefer: "I met with Al Haymon [William's advisor] yesterday, and we met with Canelo on Monday, so I'm trying to put that together. That would be a big fight for September 15th."

"We'll see, I'm going to be continuing to work on this today, and my hope is that within the next few days or by early next week that we can have the fight done and ready to announce."

WBC light-middleweight champ Saul Alvarez.

William's promoter Dan Goossen has also confirmed that there has been talks between the camps and he also called it "a great fight for the sport."

Williams (41-2, 27KO's) used to be a pound-for-pound contender and easily one of the best in the division. Now, he is a little past his best but like Kirkland, he will still provide a very good test for the 21-year old Mexican who is trying to prove that he is one of the best in the world. Williams is a very tall guy at the weight (6"2) and his style could cause big problems for Alvarez, who will be facing the toughest opponent of his career on September 15th if this fight happens.

So, at the moment it looks like we are going to see a great fight on September 15th, whether it is Williams or Kirkland. Both will be Alvarez's toughest opponent to date and both (more Kirkland) are still hungry for success. If I had to pick one out of the two, it would be very tough but I think I would just edge towards Kirkland because of his exciting 'bombs away' style that could test Canelo's chin as well as his talent.

Ward Vs Dawson looking even more likely...

Andre Ward                                 Chad Dawson

According to reports, pound-for-pound contender Andre Ward has contacted the WBC and asked them to reinstate him as the full world champion instead of the "champion in recess." The reason for this is that he is looking to take part in a 'super-fight' with light-heavyweight world champion Chad Dawson.

This means that the fight is almost a definite for September 8th and it also means that it will be Dawson who moves down in weight as the fight will be for the WBC super-middleweight title. Dawson's trainer John Scully has said that he is not very happy about Dawson dropping to super-middleweight as he hasn't fought at that weight since 2006. But, 'Bad' Chad is obviously ignoring this advice as he has said on numerous occasions that he is willing to drop from 175lb to 168lb.

The WBC had ordered a vacant title fight between interim champ Nikola Sjekloca and super-middleweight contender Anthony Dirrell, but Dirrell has been involved in a motorcycle accident that has put him out of action for around six months. According to promoter Yvon Michel, the WBC is waiting to see how long Dirrell will be out for before they make a move.

No matter what happens with the titles, Ward Vs Dawson is almost a definite fight for September and it is looking very likely that it will happen at super-middleweight. With the WBC world title on the line, it would be a lot more interesting. But, either way, it is a good and interesting fight.

Andre Ward Vs Chad Dawson likely for September 8th...

Andre Ward                                               Chad Dawson

There have been reports that the promoters of super-middleweight No.1 Andre Ward and light-heavyweight champion Chad Dawson are discussing a fight for September 8th, with Los Angeles and Atlantic City being possible hosts.

Both fighters are coming off great performances, with Ward dominating Carl Froch and Dawson out-pointing 46-year old ring legend Bernard Hopkins. The fight will be relatively easy to negotiate as both men want it to happen and they have both said that they do not mind moving up or down in weight.

Dawson called Ward out in an interview just after his fantastic performance against Hopkins. A week later he also said that he is willing to move down to 168lb (super-middleweight) so that Ward doesn't have any excuses if he loses.

Ward has been talking about moving up to light-heavyweight for a very long time as he has basically run out of challenges at his current weight, except for maybe Lucian Bute, but most people believe that even he is not good enough to beat pound-for-pound contender Ward.

It will not be the most exciting of fights as both men are crafty tacticians who rarely get dragged into toe-to-toe brawls and go all-out to hurt their opponent. However, it will still be a great fight as it's between two fighters that are pound-for-pound contenders in their prime. It will also give us an inkling as to whether Andre Ward has what it takes to compete at light-heavyweight.

Cleverly Vs Hopkins could still happen...

Bernard Hopkins                                       Nathan Cleverly

According to Golden Boy CEO Robert Schaefer, a fight between WBO light-heavyweight champion Nathan Cleverly and former world champion Bernard Hopkins could still happen. Schaefer believes that the 47-year old can still compete with the top fighters in the division.

"It's going to be totally up to him. I could see him, for example, challenging for the WBO world title against Nathan Cleverly... I think Bernard turned in a great performance (against Chad Dawson). He certainly still is one of the top light-heavyweights,no question about it - And I think he can give everybody a tough night."

Cleverly and his promoter Frank Warren have been talking about this fight for a very long time but Hopkins hasn't really had time to consider it as he has been focusing on his fight with Dawson. Now that the rematch with 'Bad' Chad is out of the way, he may start to consider a fight with the Welshman. However, there is one problem that could prevent this fight from happening... Cleverly and Warren want the fight to be in Wales (Cleverly's home country). I'm almost certain that Hopkins will not want to travel to Wales and risk dodgy scoring so the fight will most likely not happen there. If the fight does happen it will most likely take place somewhere in America or maybe London.

Most people believe that we will see Hopkins in the ring at least one more time. Whether it will be a farewell fight or a top level clash, I'm not sure. The most reasonable opponent is Cleverly as there really is no other top level opponents in the light-heavyweight division that the 'Executioner' hasn't fought.

If we find out any more news or updates about this possible fight, we will let you know straight away.

Derry Matthews becomes the new British champion!

New British champion Derry Matthews.

'Dirty' Derry Matthews has caused one of the biggest upsets in British boxing this year by stopping Anthony Crolla in the 6th round. He is now the British lightweight champion and has a record of 30 wins and 6 losses. Matthews was a big underdog going into the fight and nobody really expected him to beat the up and coming prospect Anthony 'Million Dollar' Crolla but they were proved wrong.

Crolla started very well and everything was going his way until Matthews delivered a devastating uppercut that sent Crolla crashing to the canvas. This was the first time that Crolla had ever been down in his amateur and pro career which shows that Matthews has a tremendous amount of power in his punches.

Crolla rose to his feet and came back well to win the fourth round but then a cut appeared above his left eye. He was taken to the doctor twice but was told that he was okay to continue. The 5th round was very good for Matthews who was applying non-stop pressure and flurries of punches. Not all of them were connecting but they were wearing Crolla down.

In the 6th round Matthews sent Crolla stumbling across the ring and with less than ten seconds left of the round the referee stopped the fight and Derry Matthews became the new British lightweight champion. There were a few people that complained about the stoppage as they thought Crolla would have easily been able to continue, but Crolla looked very unstable and I think the referee made the right decision.

So... Where does Crolla go from here?

There were rumours that after this fight he would start looking for a fight at European or World level but now he will most likely have to try and get a rematch with Matthews.

Matthews will now most likely face the winner of Ricky Burns Vs Kevin Mitchell if it happens in June. But, right now he deserves to enjoy life as the British champion.