AND STILL NO.1... FLOYD 'MONEY' MAYWEATHER!

By Jack Price @PriceyJ97 - @BoxingOpinions1

He's done it again! Floyd Mayweather defeats another young 'hungry' challenger that people said 'had a chance' and looks punch-perfect whilst doing it. Were we really expecting anything different?

The One - Weigh-In Results

By Jack Price @PriceyJ97 - @BoxingOpinions1

Its official! Mayweather-Canelo is going down tonight and so are the other three big fights on the bill as all the fighters have made weight. Time to get excited!

What next for Mayweather?

By Adam Canavan @Adam_Canavan

Right now Floyd Mayweather Jr. is in the hotbed of boxing talent in the 140-154lb weight range. So, after a dominant display against welterweight contender Robert 'The Ghost' Guerrero (117-111 on all three of the Judge's scorecards), the world is well and truly his oyster.

So who who will Boxing's P4P king face next? Well firstly there are a few that can be ruled out straight away: Sergio Martinez is not a option after the injuries he sustained after a tough fight with British Middleweight Martin Murray will keep him out of the ring for the rest of the year, Tim Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez will be fighting each other in the same month as Mayweather's next fight, possibly even the same day, and Manny Pacquiao is otherwise occupied with Brandon Rios in November, which means the biggest possible fight of this generation, once again, can not and will not happen. But now lets look at the possible opponents for Floyd.

Saul Alvarez Vs Austin Trout - Fight Preview

By Jack Price @PriceyJ97.

Just a week after boxing fans were treated to the super-bantamweight mega-fight between Nonito Donaire and Guillermo Rigondeaux, we will now get another highly-anticipated unification bout this weekend. This time it’s in the light-middleweight division with WBC world champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez taking on WBA titlist Austin ‘No Doubt’ Trout. Will the underdog prevail in this one just as Rigondeaux did last week?

Alvarez (41-0, 30 KO’s) is just 22-years of age but has already become one of the sport’s most popular stars, partly because of his unique pale-skinned, ginger-haired look for a Mexican but mainly because he is seen by his country and the rest of the world as “the next big thing”. ‘Canelo’ picked up the WBC title back in 2011 at just 21-years old with a 6^th round TKO victory over Alfonso Gomez and has made three successful defences since, against Kermit Cintron, Shane Mosley and Josesito Lopez, dominating in all three. The undefeated youngster has looked unstoppable against almost everyone he has faced in his career so far but he will be taking a big step up when he aims to unify titles this Saturday.

Canelo refuses to fight on May 4th if Floyd doesn't sign agreement!

By Jack Price @PriceyJ97.

Mexican light-middleweight superstar Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez (41-0, 30 KO's) has announced that he will refuse to fight on theMay 4th undercard at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas if Floyd Mayweather doesn't sign an agreement that guarantees a fight between them in September. The 21-year old looked set to defend his WBC title against Austin Trout in a super-fight that would be chief support for Mayweather's fight with Guerrero.

Team Canelo have given Mayweather a deadline of Thursday to sign the agreement for September. If not Canelo will fight on April 20th in Mexico or May 11th in the US, with the opponent most likely not being Trout.

"We are going to arrive to Los Angeles this Thursday," Canelo told Notifight.com. "If on that day Floyd does not sign our agreement for September we are not going to fight on the evening of May 4th, and then we will determine if we'll fight on April 20th or the week that follows the May 4th date."

Floyd Mayweather Vs The Rest Of The World

By Jack Price @PriceyJ97. 

So it has been announced: Floyd 'Money' Mayweather will take on Robert 'The Ghost' Guerrero on May 4th! Here is how I think Floyd's fight with Guerrero and four other potential future match-ups could pan out. Enjoy!

Floyd Mayweather Vs Robert Guerrero - Welterweight

Guerrero and Mayweather stare deep into each other's eyes as the referee gives his final instructions in the center of the ring at the MGM Grand. Mayweather, for the first time in his career, seems to have had his feathers ruffled by his quiet but extremely confident opponent. The 35-year old is used to having the fans in the crowd be mostly supportive of his opponent, but he has never experienced anything like this before. Guerrero fans have come in the masses to support their fighter, who is finally getting the opportunity he has been asking for, for so long.

Jeff Mayweather discusses Robert Guerrero and Floyd retiring after Canelo

@fighthubtv

Jeff Mayweather, uncle of pound-for-pound king Floyd 'Money' Mayweather, believes his nephew can knock out Robert Guerrero on May 4th. He also believes that Floyd should look to retire after his potential showdown with Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez in September of this year. 

Virgil Hunter would accept Angulo-Canelo!

@thaboxingvoice

Alfredo Angulo's trainer Virgil Hunter discusses a potential showdown between his fighter and WBC light-middleweight champion Saul Alvarez. 

Sergio Martinez expects Canelo to duck and fight Cotto...

WBC middleweight champion Sergio Martinez is looking for a new challenge for the Spring of next year but believes that he may not be able to get some of the fights he wants.

'Maravilla' is coming off of a dominating performance over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr and is hoping to face Mexico's other 'Golden Child', Saul Alvarez, in April or May of next year. The 37-year old has even stated that he would be willing to move down to 154lb to make the fight happen. However, he believes that this fight probably won't be happening anytime soon.

"Canelo has better and safer offers. After what happened to (Chavez) Junior, logic would tell me that he'll fight Cotto (because) there is less risk and more money," said Martinez.

Martinez has said that he will rematch Chavez Jr in the fall of next year but is really hoping for a "super-fight" with one of boxing's biggest stars before the rematch. And to be honest with you, he deserves one. The guy has done everything asked of him, fought everyone who's been offered to him and looked a class above all of them in the ring. He only wants one thing and that's a chance to prove he is the best pound-for-pound fighter out there today but unfortunately it looks like he isn't going to get that chance. In fact it looks like a rematch with the likes of Matthew Macklin is the most likely fight out there for him at the moment.

By Jack Price @PriceyJ97.

Fight Night Of The Year!

You've read the title and I'm sure you'll agree. Last night (September 15th) was the biggest and best night of the year for boxing fans all around the world! I don't normally sum up the whole night in one article because usually there is a difference in class and entertainment between the fights, but not this time. Every fight that took place provided us with excitement and entertainment to the highest level.

I'm gonna start off with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr Vs Sergio Martinez. Now, it's not often you can get scorecards as wide as 117-110, 118-109 & 118-109 and say that a fight was jam packed with action and excitement. Well with this one you can. Martinez dominated most of the fight, almost all of the fight, but the final round will go down as one of the best in boxing history. Chavez knew he had to get the knockout so for the final time in the fight, he stepped up the pace and bulldozed towards Martinez. He landed a couple of shots and then BOOM! Martinez hit the floor. At this point I was jumping out of my seat as a I just couldn't believe what was happening. It actually seemed as though Chavez Jr was going to come back and finish this fight in the 12th.
But, just as it seemed the surprises and shocks were over... Martinez came back even stronger and Chavez looked like the guy who had just been knocked down. He was swinging everywhere and Martinez was landing some solid shots. The bell rang and both men walked away knowing they had give it their all. They matched each other for heart but Martinez was purely just the more talented guy.

Where Martinez goes next will link in with something at the end of this article so I'll leave that to then. But I know exactly where I want Chavez to go next. I want him to fight Carl Froch. He obviously needs to move up in weight. He's only 26 so he's still got his whole career ahead of him. Why not start off fresh at a new weight? I'm sure the fans would love to see this fight as both of these guys bring excitement and heart to the ring.

Damn! Don't even get me started on the undercard. I'll get the first two out of the way because I just want to talk about Miguel Beltran Jr Vs Rocky Martinez.

Guillermo Rigondeaux dominated against Roberto Maroquin but did show a few flaws and looked slightly less unbeatable than he usually does. And then Matthew Macklin announced himself back onto the world middleweight scene by stopping Joachim Alcine in the first round.

Now, onto the "fight of the year", well in my opinion it is, and I'm sure a lot of you will agree with me. I'm surprised the fans still had energy to watch Chavez Vs Martinez after witnessing this fight. It was 12 rounds of non-stop action from Beltran and Martinez. The judges scorecards were 116-111 Beltran (horrendous judging) & 114-113, 114-113 to Rocky Martinez, meaning Martinez won the fight by split decision and claimed the WBA title. If you get time, try and watch this fight on YouTube as it truly was the most action-packed fight of the year.

Right, onto the Golden Boy show. Now I have to say it; this show was not as good as the Top Rank show (I think we always knew it wasn't going to be) but it did still provide a lot entertainment. Especially the fight between Marcos Maidana and Jesus Soto Karass. This was another all-out war and it seemed like both guys just forgot about the rules. The referee, Kenny Bayliss was forced to deduct points from both fighters. After slowing down and losing a couple of rounds, Maidana eventually managed to pin Karass to the ropes and stop him in the 8th round. It wasn't a top draw performance from Maidana but he got the job done.

The main event on this show went exactly as expected. Many, including myself, were hoping that Josesito Lopez could cause an upset once again and steal the title from Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez. But unfortunately this wasn't the case and Alavarez dominated Lopez for four rounds and then stopped him in the 5th.

Now this is where Martinez comes back into the equation. I would love to see 'Maravilla' fight Floyd Mayweather but to be honest with you, I just can't see this happening. So the second best option for Martinez is Canelo. Ward is out of the picture because Martinez will not move up to super-middleweight so this is the next best fight for us fight fans. The chances of it happening are about 50% but we can still hope. Both fighters' confidence will be sky high after last night so they'll both feel like they can take on anyone right now.

Well that's it, last night summed in as short article as possible (I could have gone on talk about it for pages and pages). It truly was one of the best nights in boxing's long and eventful history.

 

By Jack Price @PriceyJ97.

Canelo getting paid almost 10 times more than Lopez...

Lopez (left) & Alvarez (right) face-to-face at public press conference.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission have announced that WBC world light-middleweight champion Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez will receive $2,000,000 for his fight on September 15th. His opponent Josesito Lopez will receive only $212,500 when the two meet at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Now, I'm not saying that it's unfair that Alvarez is receiving more than Lopez, as he is obviously the much bigger star, but considering Marcos Maidana is just an undercard fighter and he is receiving $250,000, I think Lopez deserves a little more than what he is getting.

As this show will be going head-to-head with the fantastic show put on by Top Rank (Julio Cesat Chavez Jr Vs Sergio Martinez), Golden Boy have jam-packed the show with a top class undercard that has cost them a lot in purse bids.

Below is what the undercard fighters will be receiving:

Jhonny Gonzalez ($40,000) Vs Daniel Ponce De Leon ($100,000).

Marcos Maidana ($250,000) Vs Jesus Soto Karrass ($80,000)

Leo Santa Cruz ($85,000) Vs Eric Morel ($35,000).

 

By Jack Price (@PriceyJ97)

Alvarez-Lopez 7-Day Weigh-in Results.



This Saturday (September 15th) Josesito Lopez takes on Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez for the WBC light-middleweight championship of the world. Lopez will be moving up in weight for the second fight in a row but it seems like he will have no problem making the weight.

Both men had to weigh-in on Saturday (September 8th) for the 7-day weigh-in. The fighters had to make sure that they were within five percent of the 154lb light-middleweight limit. This means they had to weigh 162lb or less. We were all thinking that 'Canelo' would be the only one that may have had trouble making the weight as he is the naturally bigger man and a big light-middleweight. However, Lopez actually weighed in slightly heavier than 'Canelo'. The official weights were: Alvarez - 159.8lb & Lopez - 160lb.

So to sum it all up, there should be no problems with the weight for either fighter and I don't actually think there will be any size advantage in this fight. If you look at Lopez, he is probably a natural welterweight or light-middleweight. He has been fighting at light-welterweight for most of his career but showed in the Ortiz fight that he can handle stepping up in weight. One thing we know with this fight is that weight and size will not be an issue.

 

By Jack Price (@PriceyJ97)

Josesito Lopez sticking to a strict diet for Canelo fight...

Lopez at the weigh-in for his career boosting fight with Victor Ortiz.

WBC silver welterweight champion Josesito Lopez will be moving up in weight for the second time in two fights for his fight with Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez on September 15th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. To ensure that he puts on the weight in the correct way, he is sticking to a very strict diet.

As he is physically the smaller man, he has to gain a lot of weight whilst keeping his speed, accuracy, strength and fitness. Now obviously, putting the weight on whilst training hard everyday is a tough task, but Lopez believes that he is going about it the right way.

"I've had a camp of nearly nine weeks. A segment of its first portion consisted of a high protein diet, eating six times a day, every three hours, to maintain my weight, strength and speed," explained Lopez.

"Its a bit difficult to keep the weight whilst your training twice a day, six days a week, but I've retained it while remaining fast strong and healthy. I ate chicken every day, fish, roasted meat... And of course rice and beans."

After disposing of Spinks, Bundrage wants Canelo...

IBF champ Cornelius Bundrage.

39-year old IBF light-middleweight champion Cornelius Bundrage showed on Saturday night that even at his age, he can still compete at the top level of the sport. 'K9' put on one of his career-best performances against Cory Spinks, knocking him down four times and then stopping him in the seventh.

Whilst Spinks (39-6, 11 KO's) is not a top fighter at light-middleweight, and he certainly is no Saul Alvarez or Miguel Cotto, he is still a decent fighter that would be a tough challenge for most  people at 154lb. So the fact that Bundrage disposed of him relatively easy, shows that 'K9' is still a force to be feared in the division.

Erislandy Lara.

And he wants to prove this even further by fighting the 21-year old Mexican superstar Saul Alvarez.

Bundrage called out the WBC world champ in the post-fight interview.

"The black 'Rocky' versus Canelo. Let's get it on... We want Canelo! We want Canelo," Bundrage exclaimed. "I think that would be a good fight. I ain't going nowhere. You see how I fight. I fight. I don't even really think about doing no jabbing. No, I fight. He a fighter. I'm a fighter. Let's fight."

Also on the card, was another potential opponent for Alvarez on September 15th, Erislandy Lara. The Cuban 29-year old scored a wide unanimous decision over Freddy Hernandez and also looked pretty good whilst doing it.

At the moment, it looks as though these two men are the only two people that would be allowed by the WBC and put up a good fight against Alvarez. Personally, I'd rather see 'Canelo' fight Lara but either of them would be an interesting fight. Not the best, but still interesting.

Who will 'Canelo' fight?

Quick discussion about the few options that are left for WBC light-middleweight champ Saul Alvarez to face on September 15th.

By Jack Price

WBC reject Alvarez Vs Trout!

WBC champ Saul Alvarez.

This time yesterday, it was looking very likely that WBC light-middleweight world champion Saul Alvarez would be facing the WBA champ Austin Trout in a unification bout on September 15th. But now, it has been revealed that the World Boxing Council (WBC) will allow the fight to happen. 

A representative of the WBC commented on the situation: "We do not accept unification, because if we agree, we would be losing authority. We are not going to take away the exclusivity because we own the WBC brand."

Many people are very disappointed and annoyed at the WBC's decision to not sanction the bout. Although Trout was not the most ideal opponent that people wanted to see 'Canelo' face, there were still a lot of people who were looking forward to this fight.

It is still unclear as to who Alvarez will actually face on September 15th. At the moment it seems that just about every fight they have lined up for him, gets cancelled for some reason. The main names being discussed at the moment are James Kirkland (if he recovers from his injury), Carlos Molina and Acelino Freitas.

Trout could be next in line for 'Canelo'...

Austin Trout.

Over the last few months, Golden Boy have been desperately trying to find an opponent for their young star Saul Alvarez for September 15t. So far, they have managed to find three men that would have all made a great fight for the fans and Alvarez himself, but unfortunately, all three of these have fell through.

WBC champ Saul Alvarez.

'Canelo' was originally set to face young up and coming light-middleweight James Kirkland but Kirkland pulled out due to injury. Then an even better opponent was brought in. The former pound-for-pound contender Paul Williams. But unfortunately, Williams was in a tragic motorcycle accident that could potentially leave him paralysed from the waist down. So, at this point everyone was thinking that we would just have to see Alvarez fight a "nobody" on September 15th. However, two weeks ago, things got even better for fight fans. It was announced that Saul Alvarez would be fighting welterweight superstar Victor Ortiz. This was set to be the toughest test of the 21-year old's career and all Ortiz had to do was get a win against a half decent fighter named Josesito Lopez on June 23rd. But once again, another problem occurred. Ortiz lost the fight and had his jaw broken, meaning that there was no chance of him fighting Alvarez on September 15th.


Many people believe that all of this is happening because the "boxing gods" want to see 'Canelo' face Cuban light-middleweight prospect Erislandy Lara. However, it still seems as though this fight is not going to happen.


The main opponent that is being discussed right now is WBA 'regular' light-middleweight champ Austin Trout (25-0, 14 KO's). If it does happen, the bout will be televised live on Showtime and go head-to-head with the highly anticipated grudge match between Julio Cesar Chavez Jr and Sergio Martinez. If this does happen, then I'm sure that the majority of the fans will be watching Chavez Vs Martinez on HBO which means Golden Boy and Alvarez will potentially lose a lot of money. 


To be honest with you, this is a decent fight, but I don't think it will interest as many people as Alvarez Vs Kirkland, Williams or Ortiz would have done. Trout is a good fighter but just doesn't have the popularity to make this a headline fight on a PPV. Golden Boy would have to do a hell of a lot of hyping up to get people excited about this. The only thing that could get people a little more interested is that Trout has a win over Canelo's brother Rigoberto. This is something that Golden Boy will no doubt mention on plenty of occasions.

Maidana calls out Saul Alvarez!

Maidana after his victory over Victor Ortiz.

Now that Victor Ortiz has suffered an upset loss to Josesito Lopez, Saul Alvarez needs yet another opponent for September 15th, and Argentinian former world champ Marcos Maidana is more than willing to step up and take the challenge.

Maidana left Ortiz battered and bruised.

He was actually at the Staples Centre on Saturday night when Lopez defeated Ortiz. He revealed that it brought back memories from when he defeated Ortiz in a similar fashion. But, he doesn't want to live on the past, he wants to look to the future.

"It was a great card. Great wins from Lucas Mattyhsse and Josesito Lopez. Now it's my turn and I want it to be against [Saul] Canelo Alvarez. That's the opponent I want," told Maidana.

If the fight was arranged, there would be just one small problem. Maidana would have to move up two weight divisions and fight a guy that is a very big light-middleweight. 'El Chino' has fought most of his career at light-welterweight (and sometimes even lighter) so it would be tough for him to put on the weight and still stay in shape.

"All I say is they are looking for a fight for Canelo and I want Canelo. I told that to Oscar De La Hoya in person last night. I know some might say that he's too big for me and I say I like the challenge because Canelo likes to fight and so do I. Styles make fights and it would be a war. A war that I can win."

The 28-year old is coming off of a points loss to American welterweight Devon Alexander and he feels that he needs to prove to himself and the world that he's still got what it takes to compete at the top level.

"I feel like I need vindication from the loss against Devon Alexander. And vindication can only be achieved by getting great victories against great opponents. Regardless of the weight, I know I can knock Canelo out. I like the toughest challenges," explained Maidana.

In all honesty, I can't see this fight happening. Maidana would just be too small and I don't think that Alvarez would feel that he had proved anything from getting a victory against Maidana. The Argentinian is a very good fighter but would just not be strong enough or powerful enough at light-middleweight. I'm not sure that Golden Boy would want this fight to happen either. They are also looking to prove that their young star is one of the best in the world, and you won't do that with this fight.

Lopez stops Ortiz... Breaks him down!

Lopez lands a devastating blow on Ortiz. 

It has happened once again. Victor Ortiz has cost himself another loss in a fight that should have been an easy win. In case you haven't heard... 'Vicious' Victor Ortiz quit on his stool in his fight last night (June 23rd) with Josesito Lopez, complaining of a broken jaw.

Right from the off, it was a closer and more exciting fight than many people expected it to be. A lot of boxing fans, including myself thought it would be an easy fight for Ortiz and just sort of a 'ticking-over' bout in preparation for his scheduled superfight with WBC light-middleweight champ Saul Alvarez.

Ortiz complaining of broken jaw.

Lopez won the first round and although he was moving up in weight, he looked slightly stronger than Ortiz. But then the momentum switched. Ortiz dominated the next few rounds and in the fifth Lopez went down from an illegal blow to the back of the head and took a very long time to recover. It looked as though the 29-year old was finished. He came back strong for the last minute of the round but none of his punches seemed to be hurting Ortiz. The next round had less action but Ortiz still clearly won the round. But then things changed again. Lopez got himself back into the fight and started to push Ortiz back. It started to look like the Ortiz who gave up against Maidana back in 2009. And then, once again, Victor Ortiz proved his doubters right. He pulled out at the end of the 9th round, complaining of a broken jaw.

To be honest with you, I'm not convinced that this is true. It might have been broken but until it's proved, I'm not going to believe it. He didn't look in any pain at all in the 9th round. He looked as if he was ready to give up but he did not show any signs of serious pain. I think that his will was broken yet again.

I do actually like Ortiz, but I do think that this is the end of his career as a top level fighter. He's shown us on numerous occasions that he just doesn't have the mental strength that you need at the highest level of the sport. Because of this fight, he's not only lost value but he's also tarnished his reputation and lost a lot of popularity with the fans.

Let's look at the positive side of this fight. A new star has emerged. And his name is Josesito Lopez! The guy has beaten one of the top stars in the sport and looked fantastic whilst doing it. He managed to come back from almost being knocked out and stop a much higher level of opponent late on in the fight. The 29-year old has an exciting fighting style that a lot of people will want to see again, so you can expect to see him in action a lot more times in the future.

Another person that has been affected by this is Saul Alvarez. I think it's safe to say that Ortiz Vs Alvarez will not be taking place on September 15th. Ortiz is now the third failed opponent in a row for Alvarez so it now looks as though he will be facing Erislandy Lara in September.

Sergio Martinez threatens 'Canelo'!

Pound-for-pound contender Sergio Martinez is set to face Julio Cesar Chavez Jr for the WBC middleweight title of the world on September 15th. This is a very good fight that has been made and usually it would attract a hell of a lot of views. However, there is another top class pay-per-view fight on exactly the same day. 'Canelo' (Saul Alvarez) Vs Victor Ortiz.

Martinez (49-2-2, 28 KO's) was quick to realise this and issued a direct warning to Alvarez as he does not want anything ruining his first fight on a PPV.

21-year old Saul Alvarez.

"I am very happy for my first chance [headlining a PPV]. The competition, sometime it's good but if [Canelo] continues in that position.. After I finish with Chavez, I will go down to 154 and do the same thing to Canelo, and get back the other belt that belongs to me to," said Martinez.

The Martinez-Chavez fight is promoted by Top Rank and Lou DiBella and will be shown live on HBO, whereas the Alvarez-Ortiz fight is promoted solely by Golden Boy and will be shown live on Showtime. This is the first time in around five years that two big fights promoted by these will go head-to-head on exactly the same day. The last time was in June 2006, when Bernard Hopkins moved up to light-heavy to face Antonio Tarver (promoted by Golden Boy). On the same day was Miguel Cotto Vs Paulie Malignaggi (promoted by Top Rank.

Martinez also had a little bit to say about his opponent, Chavez Jr: "After I finish with Chavez, he will never make it to 168. He will retire very young."

I'm sure that one of the promotional companies will see sense and move their fight back or forward a week or two. These are two big fights that everyone wants to see, so the fact that we can only see one is pretty annoying for most fans. According to reports, Top Rank had the September 15th date pencilled in first so at the moment it looks it may be Golden Boy that have to change their date.