Maccarinelli keen to join Ultimate Fighting Championship

On December 11, 2008 by

The President of UFC UK, Marshall Zelaznik, has revealed that top boxing star Enzo Maccarinelli is keen to turn his back on boxing and join the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

The UFC is the most famous brand promoting mixed martial arts. It sees competitors using moves from disciplines including kickboxing, wrestling and boxing, whilst fighting in a cage designed in the shape of an octagon.

There have been numerous reports doing the rounds in the boxing world recently that Maccarinelli, who is twenty-eight years of age, believes that he could easily knock out Michael Bisping, a true legend in the UFC.

Zelaznik revealed that Maccarinelli’s representatives contacted the officials of the UFC in order to discuss the potential for the boxer to make a move. However, the president continued to state that "the UFC is not the place for a novice mixed martial arts fighter”.

Furthermore, the boxer has previously been rather patronising towards the sport. Last week he stated that he would “never rule out putting a pair of the little mitts on and going in the cage”.

However, whilst he admitted that boxing remains his number one priority, he did express a personal interest in UFC and mixed martial arts in general, and rumours have been increasing in intensity ever since.

Opinion is split as to whether Maccarinelli would succeed in the sport. Zelaznik believes that he does not possess enough all-round talent and experience to be successful, and brushed off speculation that the boxer would be able to knock out Michael Bisping. However, the boxer has trained in kickboxing and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, so it would be unwise to rule him out completely.

Hall of Fame will welcome Lewis

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It was announced yesterday that Lennox Lewis will be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame next year. He will be the star attraction on a list of inductees which also includes Orlando Canizales, the bantamweight champion from America, and Brian Mitchell, the super-featherweight champion from South Africa.

The list also includes individuals who are being honoured posthumously, such as William Jones and Billy Smith. The boxers who are being inducted have been voted on to the list by members belonging to the Boxing Writers’ Association, as well as several individuals belonging to a panel of knowledgeable boxing historians from across the world.

Whilst the names on the list make for interesting reading, the inclusion of Lewis as the top inductee is making the headlines in the world of boxing. The legendary boxer retired five years ago with an impressive record of forty-one wins and just two losses.

Thirty-two of his victories came by knockout and his career record also contains one draw. He was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame, which officially aims to promote awareness of the country’s numerous sporting achievements, earlier this year.

The boxer, who is now forty-three years of age, was happy to hear the news and revealed that being included in the Hall of Fame is an “accomplishment that seals” his impressive legacy. In Lewis’ opinion, it is a permanent recognition of his success in the sport and people will be able to learn about his achievements for many years to come.

Khan bounces back to top form

On December 9, 2008 by

After the bitter disappointment of his first professional defeat, Amir Khan has made a successful comeback to top form with a crushing defeat of Oisin Fagan. His victory came in front of an enthusiastic crowd at the ExCeL Arena last Saturday and the young boxer’s supporters were ecstatic with his impressive and dominant performance.

The opening round of the fight saw Khan knock down Fagan, who is thirty-four years of age, on two occasions and this pattern was repeated throughout the duration of the fight.

So extreme was Khan’s domination that the match had to be stopped shortly after the start of the second round by the referee, Mickey Vann, with Fagan needing oxygen treatment following numerous fine strikes from the hands of the lightweight from Bolton.

Khan’s victory over Fagan not only handed him a much-needed confidence boost, but it also handed him the vacant WBA international lightweight championship. The win saw Khan return to thoroughly familiar territory.

The crushing defeat at the hands of Breidis Prescott a couple of months ago was devastating but, ever since then, the British boxer has been working with Freddie Roach in America. The intense training provided by Roach has obviously paid off and Khan was a different prospect in the ring in London.

The confidence was oozing from Khan after the end of the fight. The boxer explained how he now knows how good he is and is determined never to make the “same mistakes” which let him down so badly against Prescott.

De La Hoya done – or is he…?

On December 8, 2008 by

The Goldenboy is done and all hail the Pac-man. After being blown away by the universally recognised p4p champ in the early hours of Sunday morning UK time, you have to think that it is time for Oscar De La Hoya to call it a day.

TalkBoxing.co.uk asks though – just how good was he and what next?

First things first – De La Hoya is one of the true greats. He has made more money than any other fighter in the history of the game. From when he won gold at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 – you knew this kid had a bright future ahead of him.

His first big fight was against Julio Cesar Chavez whom he beat with an 4th round TKO to take the WBC Light Welterweight Title. He had a re-match with the ageing Chavez a couple of years later and stopped him again. A tight Split Decision win over Ike Quartey was next before he tasted defeat for the first time.

He went down to Felix Trinidad in a Majority Decision in one of the most hyped fights of the decade. As we all know in boxing if a hyped fight is close and comes down to the judges’ scorecards then controversy will surely follow. De La Hoya seemed to be coasting to victory before running and hiding the final four rounds which clearly brought Trinidad back into the frame.

De Le Hoya seemed sure of victory but it wasn’t to be as Trinidad was heralded as the new Welterweight Champion of the World. To this day it was De La Hoya’s biggest fight and I know he fought Mayweather Jnr. but this was his big one. It haunts him to this day but things would get worse for the Goldenboy.

Another defeat followed soon after as ‘Sugar’ Shane Mosley took a Split Decision against De La Hoya. Two defeats in relatively quick succession is never good but he was back next time out stopping Arturo Gatti in the 5th. A win against Fernando Vargas again showed that De Le Hoya was in good nick and so a re-match with Mosley came up.

Again the judges’ scorecards were tight but they all gave the fight seven rounds to five (115-113) in favour of Sugar Shane. Recently Mosley has admitted that he used EPO before the fights with Oscar De La Hoya but how much that helped him I don’t know – I’m certainly no drugs expert. That was only seven fights ago and since then he’s gone win, loss, win, loss, win, loss.

The losses came at the hands of Bernard Hopkins, Floyd Mayweather Jnr. and the Pac-man. So he doesn’t have a bad loss on his record but he does have six of them. Four of his losses were close and he was only stopped the once (by Hopkins) and he of course declined to answer the bell for the 9th round over the weekend.

It is time for De La Hoya to concentrate full-time on his career as a promoter unless…

There is only one fight out there that fight fans want to see. Nine years in the making since that controversial night at the Mandalay Bay. If Felix Trinidad wanted to have that re-match then fans would still flock to see that fight. Both fighters would be well past their prime but when it comes to boxing, a bit of nostalgia goes a long way.

Froch beats Pascal wants Calzaghe

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So Carl Froch once more is calling out Joe Calzaghe to try and tempt the Welshman into a fight. Froch (24-0) won in impressive fashion over Jean Pascal (21-1) on Saturday night in front of his home fans at the Trent FM arena and yet again all he wanted to talk about was Calzaghe.

After the fight, the Nottingham based fighter who took the WBC Super-Middleweight belt by winning the fight spoke with ITV at Ringside:

"I’ve got the title he vacated and if he wants it back he can come and get it."

"But realistically I know he wouldn’t drop down to super-middleweight and I don’t really want to go up to light-heavyweight so I’d compromise and meet him at a catch weight of around 172lb.

"It’s the fight all of Britain wants, they’ve seen what I can do and they’ve seen what an exciting boxer I am."

Well I’ll tell you this Carl – until Saturday only the most hardened boxing fan had ever seen you fight. Even after Saturday many people hadn’t due to the fact there was a huge Sky Box Office bill on at the same time which included the Oscar De La Hoya v Manny Pacquiao fight.

It isn’t a fight that all of Britain wants, it is a fight you and your promoter want. You are right that Calzaghe is unlikely to drop to 168 and he is currently fighting the big stars in superfights. Do you think HBO are interested in you Carl Froch? I doubt it somehow.

You don’t go from a Jean Pascal straight to the #2 p4p guy in Calzaghe. The chances of the Welshman and the Englishman meeting are slim to none as the timing is just off. Calzaghe is probably going to retire and if he doesn’t then he’ll fight someone that can only improve his legacy and no offence Carl, you aren’t that man.

So if you face a Jeff Lacy or Mikkel Kessler next you should be stoked as they’ll be good tests. Your chin withstood a barrage of shots on Saturday night and for that you must be applauded but the fact that Pascal detonated so many shots plush on your chin must be a concern to you and your training staff..

Calzaghe would take Froch to school but what does Froch have to lose in constantly calling out Calzaghe for the fight? Not a great deal because if Joe calls his bluff then it’ll be the biggest fight of Froch’s career and even if he loses, losing to a stonewall great and Hall of Famer is nothing to be downbeat about.

A good night for Froch no doubt but if he thinks he’s going to needle Joe into accepting a fight then he has another think coming.

DeGale turns pro

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James DeGale, who is only 22 years of age, has signed a professional boxing contract after a successful year in the sport. He won gold in the middleweight class at the Beijing Olympics earlier this year but has spoken of his excitement at leaving the amateur world of boxing far behind him.

DeGale believes that the Amateur Boxing Association of England has “broken promises” on numerous occasions and let him, and other boxers in England, down.

The young boxer is angry that the association still owes him a “very, very big bonus” for winning gold in Beijing, and he has spoken of his shock at the threats by the ABA that they may not pay because he has decided to turn professional.

However, alongside this anger was obvious excitement at the fact that turning professional with Frank Warren, who is also responsible for promoting fellow Olympic stars, Billy Joe Saunders and Frankie Gavin, will guarantee an income of nearly two million pounds over just two years.

The financial stability brought by DeGale’s decision to turn professional has provided some consolation for the fact that the young boxer will not be able to compete in the London Olympics in 2012.

This was a major ambition of DeGale’s but the prospect of securing the financial future of his family proved too much of an attraction in the end. One individual who was certainly excited about the boxer’s decision was Frank Warren who believes that DeGale will undoubtedly become world champion in the near future.

Caborn blasts boxers

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The president of the Amateur Boxing Association of England has responded to recent criticism from boxers including Olympic hero, James DeGale. These individuals have claimed that the ABA has betrayed British boxers and failed to give them the support they deserve.

However, Richard Caborn has revealed that James DeGale and Tony Jeffries, two boxers who have recently decided to turn professional, have bitten “the hand that fed them”.

DeGale and Jeffries both believe that the ABA owes them money, with the former thinking that he is owed money as a result of his Olympic success, and the latter stating that he may consider taking legal action if bonuses apparently owed to him are not paid.

In response to these claims, Caborn sarcastically claimed that he was “sorry that both James and Tony have chosen to attack the body that has invested over £100,000 a year each to bring them” to their current positions as boxing stars.

He also spoke of his bitterness at the apparent motivations lying behind the recent decisions to turn professional. Whilst the ABA had been hopeful of keeping the young boxers as amateurs during the run-up to the London Olympics, the lure of big money coming from promoters including Frank Warren, has rendered this impossible.

Caborn ended his scathing attack by revealing his belief that professional boxing should provide money to the grass-roots level of the sport. This kind of situation exists in football, with the Premier League helping out financially, and the president believes it should be replicated in boxing.