Bradley-Marquez - One legend ends his path as another starts to pave his way!

By Jack Price @PriceyJ97 - @BoxingOpinions1

Timothy Bradley was fighting with something to prove on Saturday night. The 30-year old wanted to show the boxing world that he belongs at the very top with the very best fighters. Despite being a 2-weight world champion and holding wins over some of the best fighters in the sport, the hard-working American never got the recognition he feels he deserves from the fans. To gain that respect and recognition he had to beat Mexican legend Juan Manuel Marquez.

Bradley-Marquez - Final Thoughts

PriceysBoxinThoughts

A look into the future: Garcia-Khan 2

Jack Price (@PriceyJ97) takes a look into the future and predicts what will take place if Amir Khan and Danny Garcia meet again.

Its December 2013, just two months after the proposed welterweight world title between British star Amir Khan and IBF champ Devon Alexander fell apart due to money problems in the negotiations, and Khan is now busy promoting his next fight with former unified light-welterweight champion and now 147lb contender Danny 'Swift' Garcia.

Adrien Broner Vs Paulie Malignaggi - Post-Fight Report

http://www.youtube.com/user/PriceysBoxinThoughts

Floyd Mayweather Vs Robert Guerrero - Post-Fight Report

Timothy Bradley Vs Ruslan Provodnikov - Post-Fight Report

@PriceyJ97

Words can't even sum up the enthralling scenes that took place last night, but I tried my best! Two overlooked warriors laid it all on the line for the fans and will now finally get the credit and the big fights they deserve. Fight of the year!

Thurman & Malignaggi Get Heated At Post-Fight Press Conference!

http://www.youtube.com/user/holmesdx?feature=watch

Mayweather-Guerrero First Face-To-Face

Floyd Mayweather and Robert Guerrero meet face-to-face for the first time in the build-up to their highly-anticipated welterweight showdown on May 4th!

Hatton falls short in South Africa

By Jack Price @PriceyJ97.

On March 2^nd British welterweight Matthew Hatton (43-, 17 KO’s) travelled to Johannesburg, South Africa to take on IBO world champion Chris Van Heerden in what could be his third and final attempt at winning a world title.

Unfortunately for the tough 31-year old his challenge was not successful. The talented youngster that stood opposite him was just a little too fit, smart and tough for Hatton’s rough tactics. Early on Hatton attempted to work on the inside and wear Van Heerden down, but surprisingly the South African met him head on and started to push him back. Hatton seemed a little flustered by this and allowed Van Heerden to gain momentum in the fight.

Referee Howard John Foster had his work cut out in what was a frustrating clash-of-styles fight for both men. They were both looking to march forward and get to their opponent but most of the work was being smothered and there wasn’t much landing clean. Both fighters suffered cuts above the right eye early on, Van Heerden’s slightly worse, and as the fight progressed it became scrappier and scrappier, with the ref repeatedly having to split them.

Selcuk Aydin Vs Jesus Soto Karass - Post-Fight Report

By Jack Sumner @Jack_Sumner_

Mexican warrior Jesus Soto-Karass climbed back up the ladder of the welterweight division on Saturday, with an upset victory over tough Turk Selcuk Aydin at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

Karass (27-8-3, 17 KOs) delivered perhaps the highlight performance of his career to claim a majority decision verdict with scores of 97-93 (twice) and one judge scoring the bout a rather dubious 95-95. The scorecards did not reflect his dominance however, as he bullied Aydin constantly for the full ten rounds, out-jabbing his opponent and landing hurtful and effective body punches that discouraged the former world-title challenger.

The impressive win keeps Soto-Karass relevant and in line for more significant fights this year. Coming into the bout, the veteran was 2-5 with one no contest in his last eight appearances including stoppage defeats to Gabriel Rosado and Marcos Maidana, and was viewed of something of a gatekeeper having lost on each occasion he had faced top-level opposition.

Interview with Denton Vassell

The British welterweight scene is bulging with talent right now and 28-year old Commonwealth welterweight champion Denton Vassell is right in the middle of it. After a long inactive spell Vassell blasted back onto the scene with a victory over Ronnie Heffron and looks set for a big 2013.

You impressed a lot of people with your dominant victory over British prospect Ronnie Heffron back in November.. Was it easier than you expected?

No fight's easy you just gotta stay focused, but I knew he wouldn't of beaten me ( without sounding disrespectful ) he's a good tough fighter. I had a game plan and I stuck to it.

The British welterweight division is thriving right now.. Who do you believe are your most serious competitors?

Everyone because I don't underestimate anyone. We all have to two arms,two hands, two legs and one head. Just get in the ring and see what happens.

Interview with Mark Thompson!

British welterweight/light-middleweight Mark Thompson (25-3, 15 KO's) recently competed in the welterweight Prizefighter tournament on January 19th. The Heywood-man was eliminated in the semi-final but looked to have only been able to use one hand. At the age of 31 he still believes that there is plenty more to come from in his career. 

You seemed to injure your right hand in the semi-final of Prizefighter on January 19th.. Could you explain the situation to us?

Was in the first fight against Rob Hunt when I injured my hand, but I hadn't put in all the work I did just to have the one fight, and to let all my fans down.

Are you planning to return to the ring anytime soon?

As soon as I can use my hand again, I will be back in the ring.

You've fought for international titles, but never British or Commonwealth.. Are these titles that you believe you can win at welterweight or light-middleweight?

Yes I believe I could win them at any, but I think I would be more comfortable at light-middleweight.

Khan to face Molina in December!

Khan sent to the canvas by Danny Garcia in their July fight.

British light-welterweight Amir Khan will face 'up and coming' Mexican-American Carlos Molina in December of this year.

Khan has suffered two consecutive defeats, his last being a devastating knockout loss to unified world champion Danny Garcia, and is looking to get his controversial career back on track. Molina hasn't stopped any of his opponents in the last three years which could mean that Khan's team have been very careful in picking this opponent. If Khan gets knocked out again, his career could potentially be over.

However, Molina, 26, is an undefeated fighter (17-0-1, 7KO's) and despite his slow burning career Khan, 25, believes he is a dangerous opponent for him.

"Molina is a good fighter who is yet to taste defeat, so I know that he will be very dangerous," said Khan. "He's a tricky fighter who possesses a lot of natural speed. I always want to face hungry young fighters and in Molina I'm up against a guy who has ambitions of world title success."

The Bolton-born man has also confirmed that he will now be trained by Virgil Hunter after his split with long-time trainer Freddie Roach earlier this month.

"I'm really pleased that Virgil Hunter is to become my new trainer," Khan added.

"Everyone in boxing knows about his skills and the success that he has enjoyed over the last few years. I'm looking forward to the start of my training camp and working on some new things with him."

"With Virgil in my corner, I know that I can get back to the very top of the light-welterweight decision."

Whilst picking Molina is a very wise and sensible decision for Team Khan, I would have thought that they would have chosen a slightly more well-known fighter. Seeing as this fight is going to take place in America and not back in Bolton where Khan has insisted he wants to fight for so long, it is going to be very hard to sell this fight. It'll attract a relatively big number of fans just because its Khan but nowhere near the scale of his fights with Peterson and Garcia. It's a fight that Khan will most likely win but will it prepare him for the big hitters that he will inevitably face on his way back up to the top?

 

By Jack Price @PriceyJ97.

Kell Brook rejects fight with Timothy Bradley... Hoping for Ricky Hatton!

Brook after beating Ricky Hatton's younger brother Matthew.

British welterweight No.1 Kell Brook has revealed that he was very close to taking a bout with WBO welterweight champion and pound-for-pound contender Timothy Bradley but turned it down in order to finish his quest in becoming the mandatory challenger for the IBF title.

'The Special One' takes on Hector Saldivia on October 20th at the Motorpoint Arena in Sheffield. The winner of this bout will earn the right to challenge for the IBF world title in the near future.

Brook and his promoter Eddie Hearn believe the mandatory route is the right way to go for the 25-year old and could potentially lead to super showdown with Ricky Hatton sometime next year.

"The Bradley fight was put in front of me but I believe the mandatory position in the IBF is the right move," said Brook. "Eddie (Hearn) has worked hard to get me into the position and providing I beat Saldivia, I'll be fighting for a world title at the start of 2013."

"I would love that to be in Sheffield too and I know Eddie would do his best to get it here as it would be an amazing event. I will also be watching Ricky Hatton's comeback with great interest as a fight against him next year would be an absolute blockbuster for British boxing."

"When I fought his brother Matthew you could see that the Hatton name still means a lot in boxing and we would fill a big stadium fighting for a world title."

Hearn also explained why they made the decision to turn down the fight.

"Top Rank contacted me in August and made us an offer for the Bradley fight. It was a nice ego boost for Kell to be offered a fight of such magnitude but we begun this journey with a goal of becoming a mandatory challenger and now we are just one win away."

For me, this is important for two reasons. Firstly, it looks clear that Brook is not one of those fighters that just wants to rush into big fights that could potentially back-track his career and he and Eddie Hearn are being very careful when it comes to planning his career and picking fights. It also proves that some of the top welterweight fighters are taking Ricky Hatton's comeback very seriously. The fact that Kell Brook is planning a potential "super" fight with him next year shows us that most of his fighters are expecting him to become serious competition for them.

 

By Jack Price @PriceyJ97.

Bailey continues with trash talk...

Bailey with his IBF title.

Now that the location has been sorted for their fight on September 8th, Randall Bailey has just one thing in his mind... Beating Devon Alexander.

The fight has been confirmed for well over a month but it took a very long time to find a venue for the fight. But finally, it has been announced that Las Vegas will be the location for the fight.

During the build-up to the fight there has been a huge amount of trash-talk between the two-men. There's been rows on Twitter, bad-mouthing in interviews and neither man has held back with what they're saying. With fight night fast approaching, Bailey has continued with this trend. 

"Devon Alexander is definitely going to get his ass whooped," said Bailey during an interview on ATV Radio. "They're talking all that sh*t. I don't know if they magic. They gonna have to know magic if they want to find a way to beat me." 

The 37-year old is usually pretty reserved when it comes to talking about his opponents, but this time something has changed. He has cussed Alexander on numerous occasions and doesn't look like he will stop into they're actually in the ring. Maybe he feels that it will help promote the fight or maybe just give him an advantage over his opponent. However, he claims that he is tired of talking and just wants to fight now. 

"Trust me, I got tired arguing with him online," Bailey claimed. They just talking, they don't mean half the shit they say. I'm really looking forward to f*cking him up." 

Alexander hasn't replied to these comments yet, but don't be surprised if he comes back with something smart soon.

'The Ghost' returns!

Californian fan favourite Robert Guerrero returned to the ring last night (July 28th) for the first time ever at welterweight. He was actually moving up two-weight divisions going into the fight leading many people to believe that this could potentially be a risk that is not worth taking. The 29-year old may have been out of the ring for over a year and may have been moving up to a weight limit that was around 14lb heavier than what he was used to fighting at but he was jumping straight into the deep end and facing a very tough boxer. That's right... He wasn't taking the easy option. He had Selcuk Aydin in front of him. A hard-punching, strong and natural welterweight.

The first thing that most people noticed when the fight started was how big Guerrero looked. He was bigger than Guerrero and didn't look like a man that had moved up two weight divisions.

Guerrero started very well and dominated the first few rounds. But it was easy to see that if Aydin landed his right hand at any point, the momentum of the fight would change... And that's exactly what happened. Guerrero started to allow Aydin to get into range and the Turk started to power forward and land some solid shots. Around the mid-way stage of the fight, Guerrero looked very tired and Aydin looked stronger than ever. But, just a few rounds later, the momentum switched once again and Guerrero went back to his boxing; working well off of the jab and keeping Aydin at range. The same pattern followed up until the last round. Both fighters finished very energetically in what was probably the best round of the fight. Guerrero was announced as the winner on all three judges scorecards (117-111, 116-112, 116-112).

After the fight, Guerrero was very upbeat and happy with his performance. He also took the opportunity to call-out the pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather. 

Shawn Porter.

"You want this belt? Come and get it!" were the words that came from the Californian's mouth. Now don't get me wrong, this was a very good performance from Guerrero but he is nowhere near ready for Mayweather. However, it is a fight that realistically looks like it could happen. There's nobody else for Mayweather to fight and Guerrero is a southpaw, so if a fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao does happen, this would be a good warm-up fight for Mayweather.

On the undercard, Shawn Porter defeated Alfonso Gomez in one of the most exciting fights of the year. Porter was very impressive and looked like he had improved massively from his last fight in April. The undefeated American took advantage of Gomez's weaknesses and took the opportunity to prove the world that he is a fighter that is destined for big things. His record now reads 20-0, 14 KO's.

De La Hoya discusses Bradley's future...

WBO champ Timothy 'Dessert Storm' Bradley.

Golden Boy promoter Oscar De La Hoya realises that WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley has what it takes to become a very big star of the future, and the 39-year old has revealed that there are a lot of potential opponents for him in the Golden Boy stable.

Golden Boy promoter Oscar De La  Hoya.

There's a lot of great fighters in the welterweight division and there's no doubt that 'Dessert Storm' will want to fight every single one of them. De La Hoya has a chequered past with Bradley's promoter Bob Arum but he hopes that this won't affect the chances of any big fights happening.

"There's a lot of options out there, a lot of great fights," said De La Hoya. "The only thing Bob Arum and Top Rank has to do is pick up the phone and call... We have all the fighters, we have all the opponents, we have all the big fights that people want to see. Pick up the phone. I'm sure Bradley wants to fight all of them."

The fighters that De La Hoya is talking about, are the likes of Amir Khan, Paulie Malignaggi and Devon Alexander. Seeing Bradley in the ring with any one of these would be a very interesting match-up for the fans and the fighters.

The 28-year old could continue to fight Top Rank promoted fighters but he would run out of options pretty fast. The only other big name welterweights in Bob Arum's stable are Manny Pacquiao, who Bradley has already fought and beat in a very controversial fight, and Juan Manuel Marquez who his almost reaching 40 and will likely not have many big fights left in him..

Randall Bailey calls out Floyd Mayweather!

The current IBF welterweight world champion Randall Bailey, who is now 37-years old, is making the most of his time at the top. And he is starting by calling out the pound-for-pound king Floyd 'Money' Mayweather.

Bailey primarily called out Mayweather but he also claimed that he would fight any deserving world title contender at 147lb (welterweight). But, only if the price is right.

"I've been avoided forever," Bailey said, "but now I'm coming off a world title fight win that ended with a punch people are going to be talking about for a long time. If I had a choice, I'd fight Mayweather next. I like the way Floyd's fighting. He's not running around so much to try to win on points. He's giving guys an opportunity to hit him and that's my type of fight."


"I told him (Jones) that I was going to knock him out. In my mind, that was the only way I'd win the fight. I watched a few of his fights that were close, like the (Jesus Soto) Karrass fight, and I was concerned about winning a decision. I knew when I grazed him in the first round that he'd take off like a thief in the night. The kid ran from me a lot and I caught a lot of his punches with my gloves. I waited for him to sit down for a second. I didn't have that much on my punch (straight right) in the 10th round (Jones was decked for the first time as an amateur or pro) because my leg was twisted. In the 11th, he was laying in under his jab so I couldn't hit him with my overhand right. I decided to back up and as we got closer, he kept his chin down to keep away from my overhand right. It was just natural for me to come with my uppercut like I did. That was my best punch ever. It had so much on it that it looked like my fist was in his face. I hit his nose and it felt like meat coming out."


"That punch was similar to the punches he knocked out (Jackson Osei) Bonsu and (Frankie) Figueroa with," Bailey's manager Si Stern noted, "but this was the best punch I've ever seen Randall land. I'm so proud of Randall. He's at the top of his game and a three-time world champion. His one punch produced the 'Knockout of the Year', if not the 'Knockout of the Decade'. We have the world title belt and won't fight on the cheap. We already have a half-million dollar offer to fight overseas, so why would we take a cheap fight? Once Mayweather gets out of jail, he won't find a better opponent to fight than Randall Bailey, who is one of the most dangerous fighters in the world. Mayweather-Bailey has the potential to be a classic fight."


"We'll listen to any offers - Malignaggi, Alexander, Berto, Ortiz, even Pacquiao or Bradley - if the price is right. Randall has been avoided like the plague; they've been scared to death because of his one-punch power. We'll only have one or two opportunities for a big fight before his mandatory is due. It would be crazy for him to fight now for short money."


It's unlikely that Bailey will even enter negotiations with Mayweather, but if it does get that far, I'm sure that Mayweather would offer the 37-year old way more less than what Bailey would ask for. To be totally honest with you, I don't think that any of the top fighters at the weight would give Bailey the chance that he actually does deserve. He's just not popular enough to participate in a PPV fight and he isn't on the same level as the likes of Pacquiao, Mayweather, Bradley, Ortiz or Berto.


The most likely big pay-days for him would be with either Paulie Malignaggi or Devon Alexander. In my opinion, both of these guys still need to prove themselves and a victory against one of the hardest punchers in the sport would be very good for their careers and reputation.

The Prediction League has returned! Enter Here!

Amir Khan planning to make welterweight debut in the UK!

Former IBF and WBA light-welterweight world champ Amir Khan.

Former light-welterweight world champion Amir Khan has revealed that his fight with Danny Garcia on July 14th in Las Vegas will be his last bout at light-welterweight. He is planning to move up to welterweight and one day challenge Floyd Mayweather, and he is planning to make his debut at the weight happen in the UK.

The 25-year old has been talking about moving up for a very long time but it never really seemed like he would.
He now believes that it is the right time and he wants his next fight after Garcia to be held in his home town (Bolton) at the Reebok Stadium. Khan's last few fights have been in Vegas and he believes that British fans deserve the chance to come and watch him live.

"I will definitely have another fight this year, in November or December," Khan told Manchester Evening News. "I will move up a weight but I am not looking at anyone yet. I'd like that fight over here. I'd like to bring a Top 10 American over here for the UK fans because I've not fought here for a couple of fights."

"I'd love to fight in Bolton again, It's about getting the timing right and making sure it fits properly. The only place to fight now would be the football stadium."

It will be great for the fans and Khan himself if he does have a big fight in the UK later this year. We have had a few big fights in Britain so far but nobody who is as well-known across the globe as Amir 'King' Khan and if he can bring a "Top 10 American" over here with him it would be great for British boxing.

Andre Berto vows to become world champ again this year!

www.hustleboss.com

Welterweight contender and former world champion Andre Berto claims to be returning to the ring soon and vows to become world champion once again in the near future.