Ruslan Provodnikov - A beast has been unleashed!

By Jack Price @PriceyJ97

A boxing beast may have been born earlier this year on March 16th when Ruslan Provodnikov entered the ring with WBO welterweight world champion Timothy Bradley and dished out the performance of his career. Or maybe the beast had been alive and ready for years just waiting for the opportunity to feed. 

Will Garcia step up?

By Andrew Gavan @AndrewGavan

The champ, Danny 'Swift' Garcia.

Zab Judah steps into the ring on Saturday the 27th of April at the Barclays Center in New York possibly for a final time. He will be attempting to reclaim the glory days which saw him win 5 world titles at 2 different weights and become undisputed welterweight champion.

Is Zab's time finally up?

His opponent is considered by many to be the top in the division although I disagree, he is the current WBC,WBA  and Ring light welterweight Champion with an undefeated record of 25-0 (16 Kos)  to his name which on paper shows he has power an Zab should be worried. This is a tough Ask for Judah in my opinion who surely will enter as underdog against a younger stronger opponent who is very comfortable and naturally big at the weight. A win propels Judah back into the mix and potential super fights with Peterson also a Kahn and Matthyse rematches.

Garcia however is on the way up and professes to many he is destined for stardom and the P4P No.1 spot and maintains nothing will stop him reaching his goals. Many critics including myself on the other hand are unsure how good this kid is, is he protected? 

What next for 'Mile High' Mike?

By Jack Price @PriceyJ97.

'Mile High' Mike Alvarado avenged the only loss of his career last night with a career-best performance that earned him a unanimous decision victory over the highly-rated former world champion Brandon 'Bam Bam' Rios. It was an emphatic and impressive victory that could have risen Alvarado's stock massively. The 32-year old is now the interim WBO light-welterweight champion and finds himself in a great position right in the middle of the most competitive weight division in boxing right now.

So seeing as the victory is still fresh in our minds, let's weigh up the options for the Denver-native. Could he become one of the sport's unexpected superstars?

Well I don't see why not. Just look at guys at 140lb right now who could all be potential opponents for Alvardo in the near future:

Fighter Of The Week: Mike Alvarado

This week we have chosen Mike Alvarado as our 

fighters of the week...

The tough 32-year old avenged the only loss of his career by putting on a career-best performance beating the highly-rated Brandon Rios by unanimous decision. Alvarado was stopped in the 7th round in their first meeting and looked to be hurt again in the 2nd round of this one. But he proved his physical and mental strength by coming back strong and out-boxing Rios. For the majority of the fight Alvarado was even beating Rios at his own game, out-working the former world champ on the inside. 

Alvarado is now the interim WBO light-welterweight champion and finds himself in a great position right in the middle of the most competitive weight division in boxing today. There's so many big fights out there for the Denver-native right now so expect to see him in action again soon. Could we see him turn into one of the sport's unexpected superstars?

Darren Hamilton legendary post-fight interview! (With freestyle rap)

@IFILMLONDON

British light-welterweight champion Darren Hamilton chats to iFilm London after his punch-perfect performance against Steve Williams. The-34 year old reflects on the fight and sends out a warning to his competition with a freestyle rap at the end.

Click here for more boxing videos from fighters, trainers and promoters around the world.

No Hat Man Needed - Peterson Wins In 8!

By Bobby Hunter @thefightscore.

fightscorecollector.blogspot.co.uk

Peterson celebrates comeback victory.

Fighting for the first time in fourteen months Lamont Peterson returned to defend his IBF Light Welterweight title in front of a home crowd as he beat up former champion Kendall Holt in eight rounds. Peterson's fans at the Armory Washington DC gave him a terrific reception welcoming home their fallen star after accusations of cheating with testosterone pellets against Amir Khan threatened to end his career. Holt was also coming off a long lay-off. The New Jersey mans last fight was eleven months ago as he blasted out Tim Coleman in two rounds. It was no surprise in the first round that both guys looked rusty. Hardly a blow was landed as they traded the odd jab and body shot.
The second round started better for Holt. The former WBO champion was getting his shots off quicker. Peterson began to stalk his challenger but all he did was walk into jabs followed by quick combinations to the body. Round three was also a close one as Peterson went back to boxing instead of going after Holt. Holt though land the better punches of the round as two very quick count right snapped the champions head back. On my card it was enough to win Holt the round.

In the fourth round Holt again started the better. He was picking off the champion who again followed Holt around the ring looking to land his bombs. Holt was being made to work as Peterson pressured him around the ring. That pressure paid off late in the round as a powerful jab, straight right floored Holt for the eight count. Luckily for Holt the bell saved him as Peterson went for the kill.

What could be the real dawning of the 140lb division?

By Jack Sumner @ Jack_Sumner_

http://southpawjacks.wordpress.com/

A couple of years ago, many boxing fans and analysts were proclaiming the light welterweight division as the best in the sport. The quartet of Amir Khan, Timothy Bradley, Devon Alexander and Marcos Maidana headed the pack at 140lbs with mouth-watering unification bouts on offer and the possibility of thrilling match ups between any of the protagonists. However, not everything is always as it seems. 

Khan and Maidana did thrill in their December 2010 clash that scooped fight of the year honours and after surviving a late onslaught, Khan emerged victorious to set up a clash with the winner of Bradley-Alexander a month later. The fight between the unbeaten young Americans was billed as the ‘Perfect Match Up’ with some comparing the magnitude of the event to Hagler-Hearns, but it was an anticlimax and ultimately an ugly spectacle, with Bradley winning via tenth-round technical decision after Alexander claimed lack of vision following a clash of heads. 

Bradley remained undefeated however and on course for a huge summer date with Khan to unify WBO, WBC and WBA titles. But as often is the case in this sport, the fight didn’t materialise. Bradley was stripped of his WBC strap for refusing to fight Khan and eventually moved up to welterweight to defeat Manny Pacquiao, a result that remarkably halted progress in his career due to its controversial and widely contested scoring. Khan meanwhile would go on to lose back-to-back fights against Lamont Peterson and Danny Garcia, whilst Alexander and Maidana would eventually have an uninspiring clash at welterweight over ten rounds.

The hype at that time failed to deliver. Early in 2013, the buzz around the light welterweight division has now returned.

Can Prescott talk his way back to the top?

By Jack Price @PriceyJ97.

priceysboxingthoughts.blogspot.co.uk

Columbian light-welterweight Breidis Prescott (26-4, 20 KO's) has taken it upon himself this week to call out two of the biggest names in the 140lb division in an attempt to squeeze himself back into the world title picture.

Prescott is best known for exposing the chin of British star Amir Khan back in 2008, knocking the 2004 Olympian out in the first round. However, since then the 29-year old has struggled to keep the momentum going, losing to Khan victim Paul McCloskey and Mike Alvarado. His last two fights have been wins and they were decent performances. But unfortunately for the Miami-based power-puncher, it hasn't pushed him anywhere near to a world title shot. Realising this he has gone out there and got some attention from the media by calling out two of the top names at light-welter, starting on Sunday with Lucas Matthysse.

Iron-fisted Argentinian Matthysse proved once again why he is one of the most avoided fighters in the world on Saturday (January 26th) when he blasted out his over-matched opponent Mike Dallas Jr in less than a round. With Garcia Vs Judah being pushed back to April, the chances of Garcia-Matthysse taking place this year have become very unlikely. So the WBC interim champion now has a gap to fill over the next few months and Prescott wants to be the man to fill that gap.

Post-Fight Interview With Lucas Matthysse

www.maxboxing.com

Devastating Argentinian puncher Lucas Matthysse talks to Max Boxing immediately after his first round knock out victory over Mik Dallas Jr. The 30-year old talks about rival Danny Garcia and his faithful Argentine fans. 

Lamont Peterson remains IBF champ!

The International Boxing Federation (IBF) have announced that Lamont Peterson will remain as their light-welterweight champion. 

Peterson failed a drug test during the build-up to his highly anticipated rematch with Amir Khan on May 19th of this year. He was also believed to have had an unusually high level of testosterone in his body when he won the IBF world title in his first fight with Khan. Usually if a boxer fails a drug test he is stripped of his title almost straight away but in this case it was different. Peterson and his team claimed that the hormone was used for medical reasons, but nobody really believed him. However, it has recently been confirmed by a independent physician that Peterson was using the drug for medical reasons and not to enhance his performance. 

There will still be a lot of people who brand Peterson as a drug cheat but it does help his reputation a little now that it has been revealed that he was not attempting to cheat in any way at all. 

Now that the American is the definite champ and ready to compete in the sport again, he has been told by the IBF that he must make a mandatory defence of his title against Zab Judah. Negotiations for the fight have already started and a date will be agreed soon.

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.

Adrien Broner says Juan Manuel Marquez is "easy money"

@THABOXINGVOICE

Highly-rated WBC lightweight world champion Adrien Broner talks to ThaBoxingVoice and discusses a potential future clash with legendary Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez. 

Danny Connor talks upcoming Prizefighter, future fights & gym move!

@IFILMLONDON

Adil Anwar Post-Fight Interview

@IFILMLONDON

Adil Anwar, mandatory challenger for the light-welterweight British title discusses his fight with Sheehan and the domestic light-welterweight scene. 

Danny Garcia: If Broner wants this belt then we have a fight!

@THABOXINGVOICE