REAL COMBAT MEDIA WEEKLY BOXING REPORT
By Jason Gonzalez,Real Combat Media Arizona Boxing Correspondent
Welcome back to another edition of the Real Combat Media Boxing Weekly Report “Boxing Blaze Edition” where we cover all the top news stories in boxing each week!
Monday ( January 23, 2017 )
Last week Manny Pacquiao said he was willing to fight against Conor McGregor in the boxing ring. “If McGregor will fight me in boxing, why not?” said Pacquiao. “But not in MMA. MMA is much different than boxing.” If a fight between Floyd Mayweather and McGregor can be negotiated why not a fight between Pacquiao and McGregor? Well it’s not that simple because it looks like UFC President Dana White doesn’t like Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum. After Pacquiao said he was willing to fight McGregor, Arum said that he would get in touch with the UFC to talk about a possible fight between the two. Dana White was not too fond about the idea. “Listen, I love Manny Pacquiao,” White told Yahoo Sports Kevin Iole. “But I don’t love Bob Arum.
White went on to say “You can tell Arum to save his money and not make any calls over here because we aren’t doing business with him.”
Tuesday ( January 24, 2017)
WBC Heavyweight Champion Deontay Wilder was scheduled to fight Andrzej Wawrzyk (33-1, 19 KOs) on February 25, 2017 at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama but that will no longer be happening. Wawrzyk tested positive for a performance enhancing drug this week and therefore will no longer be fighting Wilder. This wasn’t the first time this happened to Wilder. In 2016 Wilder was scheduled to fight against Alexander Povetkin but he also tested positive for performance enhancing drugs. This is the second time a fight has been canceled for Wilder due to his opponent testing positive for performance enhancing drugs.
WBC Champion Deontay Wilder is now set to fight against Gerald “El Gallo Negro” Washington (18-0-1, 12 KOs) on February 25, from Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama. It’s looking like Wilder might have a tougher fight with Washington than he would have with Wawrzyk. The fight will be on Premier Boxing Champions on FOX at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.
Wednesday (January 25, 2017)
TMZ reported that on Tuesday night Oscar De La Hoya was arrested for driving under the influence. De La Hoya was in Pasadena, California driving a Land Rover at 2 AM when he got pulled over for speeding. Supposedly De La Hoya had been seen at a couple bars in the valley and even took a photo with a fan at one of the bars. De La Hoya has suffered from substance abuse in the past and he has even gone as far as to go to rehab.
Thursday (January 26, 2017)
Golden Boy vs Al Haymon Lawsuit
In August of 2015 Golden Boy Promotions filed a lawsuit against Al Haymon for $300 million. Golden Boy Promotions alleged that Haymon continuously violated the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act which says someone cannot be a promoter and a manager in boxing. On Thursday a judge threw out the case because the case did not have enough merit and it would have been a long, costly trial for both sides.
Golden Boy spokesman Stefan Friedman issued the following statement: “We are obviously disappointed with the judge’s ruling. However our top priority at Golden Boy is putting on the best fights for the fans and promoting the best shows in the business — we will continue to focus our energies on working with anyone and everyone to make the best fights happen.”
Friday ( January 27, 2016)
Wladimir Klitschko and Anthony Joshua are set to fight on April 29, 2017 at Wembley Stadium in London. The mayor of London has now approved a 90,000 seating capacity for the fight. Before the fight was to be in front of 80,000 fans but the promoters were able to fit in an additional 10,000 seats after approval. The fighter will be competing for the WBA and IBF title on that night. With so many people watching one can only hope that it’s nothing less than spectacular.
Saturday (January, 28, 2017)
Santa Cruz vs Frampton (SHOWTIME)
Leo Santa Cruz became the new WBA Champion at 135 lbs by beating Carl Frampton by majority decision. The rematch between the two was the same as the first fight in terms of the fight being close and actions packed. Santa Cruz came into the fight smart, he kept his distance and was trying to use his jab to keep Frampton at bay. Frampton on the other hand was the faster fighter and it looked like he was able to out box Santa Cruz when they kept their distance. There were several times in the fight when they to would go toe to toe and neither would back down. Later on in the fight Frampton stopped boxing and started brawling with Santa Cruz which heavily favored Santa Cruz.
Frampton’s ability to make Santa Cruz miss and his foot movement were key to winning the fight but as the fight were on Frampton decided to stand and trade instead. The fight was scored a tie by one judge but the decision was overruled by the other two judges who both scored the fight 115-113. It looks like the two boxers want one more fight to settle the score. Should they fight right away or should they consider fight other opponents before they fight once more?
In the co-main event Mikey Garcia became the WBC Champion at 135 lbs by knocking out Dejan Zlaticanin in the third round of the fight making Garcia a three time world champion. Garcia came into the fight very cautious using his jab and keeping his distance. It was clear from the get go that Garcia was the smarter fighter. In the second round Garcia’s power started to show and it was evident that it was going to be a problem for Zlaticanin. In the third round Garcia caught Zlaticanin with a combo that started with an uppercut. After the combo Zlaticanin turned towards the ropes and when he turned back around Garcia caught him a straight right that Zlaticanin did not see coming. That was the punch that put Zlaticanin to sleep and he didn’t get up for several minutes. For a second it looked like Garcia might have killed Zlaticanin; his body laid lifeless on the canvas and Garcia looked extremely worried. Zlaticanin was given oxygen and after a couple of minutes he finally got up. So who is next for Garcia? Garcia talked about fight against the other champions at 135 lbs. Personally I would love to see Garcia fight against Vasyl Lomachenko who said he was willing to go up 135 lbs to fight. What do you think?
Sunday (January 29, 2017)
Francisco Vargas got stopped in the eleventh round of a twelfth round championship fight with Miguel Berchelt. Vargas was cut on the bridge of his nose in the third round and then cut over both of his eyes in the fourth round. The cut over Vargas’ left eye was caused by a head butt and as the fight wore on it only affected his vision and his performance. It became evident in the later rounds that Vargas need something big to win the fight. In the eleventh round the referee stopped the fight giving making Berchelt the new WBC Champion at 130 lbs. Vargas might have had more luck in a rematch with Orlando Salido after their draw but he decided to fight against Berchelt. Who would you like to see Berchelt fight next?
Monday (January 30, 2016)
Last Saturday the UFC had an event in Denver, Colorado and simultaneously Conor McGregor had a live pay-per-view interview going on in Manchester, England in front of 5,000 people. Before the event McGregor posted on instagram a picture of him that read:
“I’m so made! Heading to do a Q and A in front of 5000 fans! You read that right. That’s more than UFC attendance tonight. And it’s on PPV at http://www.notoriouslive.co F#ck the UFC. F#ck Floyd. F#ck boxing. F#ck the WWE. F#ck Hollywood. And f#ck you too pay me.”
Throughout the night McGregor talked about Floyd Mayweather and repeatedly expressed how much he wanted the fight.
“Me and Floyd have got to get together and talk and figure it out the same way him and Manny (Pacquiao) figured it out,” McGregor said. “Once we come to a number, once we come to a set number that I’m happy with, that he’s happy with and then we go to the customers. Then we go to the promoters, the buyers and then we get it done. That’s next.
“I’m going to fly out there, fix it, I’m going to get my Las Vegas boxing (license) and then we’ll see where the (expletive) Floyd’s at!” McGregor shouted.
“That fight is more than being explored. That fight has been in the works for a while now. Look, there’s a lot of steps to get through to get the fight done but it’s the fight to make. It’s the fight that people want. It’s the fight I want. It’s the fight I know I’m confident going in there.”
“I believe so with the Ali Act, I believe I can, especially now that there’s offers on the table. But I think it’s smoother if we’re all involved,” McGregor said. “I think we’re all about good business. I’ve done great business with the UFC, with Dana (White), with everyone. I think it’s smoother if everyone just gets together, we get it involved, but again everyone’s got to know their place. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
“I’ll go to Vegas, I’ll handle the commission or we’ll figure that situation out and then we’ll come to a dotted line and then we’ll go, but this is happening.”
Mayweather Responds
That same day Mayweather appeared on Showtime for an interview during the Leo Santa Cruz vs Carl Frampton card. Mayweather also express interest in the fight. During the interview Mayweather said “Like I said before, he’s a tough competitor. He has proved throughout the years in the UFC that he can fight standing up. We’ll have to see what the future holds.”
“I truly believe the fans want this fight,” Mayweather said. “The fans have been asking for this fight. It’s all about entertainment. He’s very entertaining. He’s very outspoken like myself, so let’s give the fans what they want to see.”
Dana White Responds
Dana White, McGregor’s promoter, on the other hand is not too happy about this negotiations. White has said that if McGregor takes this fight without the UFC that there will be a falling out between the two.
During an Interview with MMAjunkie White said “I’ve always shown Conor nothing but respect, and if he wants to go down that road with us, let me tell you, it will be an epic fall.”
Please stay tuned every week for news and updates. If you have any questions that you want answered in the weekly report please email me at [email protected] or follow me on Twitter @boxingblaze or on Facebook at Jason Gonzalez.
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