Ievgen Khytrov-Louis Rose set for 11/21

 By: Almir Teslic


"The Ukrainian Lion," Ievgen Khytrov will be making his highly anticipated return to the ring on November 21st against Louis Rose in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The middleweight bout is scheduled for eight rounds.


The former Ukrainian amateur star has remained active since making his pro debut less then a year ago. The November bout will mark the sixth ring appearance for Khytrov in 2014 and his handlers remain focused on keeping him as active as possible while gradually increasing his quality of opposition. Khytrov made a devastating national television impression in August, in which he knocked out veteran Willie Fortune in the first round. Fortune was best known for going the distance with top Middleweight Taureano Johnson in early 2013.


Louis Rose (11-1-1) is a 25 year old prospect fighting out of Lynwood, California. Rose is currently riding a three fight-2014 win streak with his most recent blemish being a draw against Paul Mendez in 2013.

Dejan Zlaticanin hungry for title shot, returns 10/25

By: Almir Teslic


WBC #6 and WBO #9 ranked fighter Dejan Zlaticanin is set to return on October 25th in a ten round bout which will take place in his home country of Montenegro. The Montenegrin is coming off a decision victory over Ricky Burns in Scotland and now has his eyes set on a WBC title shot after his October fight.

Zlaticanin's manager has been in talks with the WBC about a potential title shot next year and although it is just speculation at this point, the WBC International titlist is eager to prove to the world that he is a championship-level boxer:

"Wins over Petr Petrov and Ricky Burns prove that I can beat the best and I'm a world class fighter. The priority is WBC and I will work on that to get chance as soon as possible, then I can fight for other titles."

"I hope that I will 2014 finish with a record of 20-0 and after that I hope that there will be serious talk about a fight for world championship belt. I come from a country where boxing is not popular, much harder then boxers in USA. I hope I will soon fight in USA and prove how much I'm worth."


"Dinamit" Dejan knocked Ricky Burns down with a tight and short left hook in the first twenty seconds of their June fight. Zlaticanin went on to outwork Burns over twelve rounds and win a split decision in Glasgow. Zlaticanin also defeated Spanish based Russian Petr Petrov in April of last year.

Petrov made a big splash to American audiences this year with his fabulous performance in ESPN's Boxcino Lightweight tournament. Victories over prospects Fedor Papazov, Chris Ruud and the battle-tested Fernando Carcamo ultimately led to Petrov emerging as the Boxcino Lightweight tournament winner.

Zlaticanin possesses a very aggressive and fan-friendly style and will look to make a similar impact on American TV in the coming year.

Roman Gonzalez: Post fight interview

By: Almir Teslic



Last weekend kicked off with a fantastic Flyweight showdown between Roman "Chocolatito" Gonzalez and Akira Yaegashi. The two top Flyweights went toe to toe in a grueling nine round bout. Roman Gonzalez came out victorious with his ninth round stoppage of the extremely tough former WBC champion.

With his victory in Japan, Gonzalez became a three division champion and only the second Nicaraguan fighter to accomplish the feat. Following in the legendary footsteps of Alexis Arguello, it's easy to forget "Chocolatito" is only 27 years young.

Fresh off his championship belt winning performance, Roman Gonzalez and his manager Carlos Blandon sat down with me and spoke about future plans, his November return date and more:


Was your preparation for Yaegashi and your first Flyweight title fight any different then in previous fights?

RG: Yes, my preparation was different in the aspect that I added to my team a strength coach, a nutritionist, and a doctor. They have helped me better my skills, strength, and health in order to obtain more stamina and endurance at the moment of my fight. I knew it was going to be a war and that Akira has been training for at least five months for this fight, so my manager prepared my team well in order to improve my chance of winning.


You are now a three-division champion and one of the most accomplished fighters in the sport as far as resumes and beating top fighters go.

I know it's very early, and you've barely had time to soak this win in or be with your family, but what would you like to be next for Roman Gonzalez?

RG: Well, first of all I want God to know that I am grateful for this win, I want to give him the glory, and in the near future we would like to make a couple defenses of the WBC belt. My manager just signed a fight for November 22 in Japan although the opponent has not been set but the fight has. Next year I would really like to fight Gallo Estrada and win over his two belts, but I believe we both deserve a good purse for that fight.


Is a potential unification bout against the winner of Estrada-Segura your next goal moving forward? Is there anybody in particular you would like to fight next?

RG: Yes, I have set that goal; unify all 4 belts of the Flyweight division. Gallo Estrada!

  
The lowest weight divisions are non-existent on American television and premium cable networks, yet divisions such as Flyweight host some of the most exciting and action-packed fights the sport has to offer, and the top boxers constantly fight each other.

Do you believe your ruthless, exciting style and fantastic track record of opponents could open the door for future HBO/Showtime television dates for the smaller divisions?

RG: I sure do, all it takes is an exciting fight like the Gallo fight and we will have opened the doors for good for the minimum weights, or so we hope so at least.


I'm not sure how much you follow the rest of the boxing world, but within the past week, former WBO Middleweight champion Peter Quillin vacated his WBO belt and rejected a career high ($1.4 million) payday after choosing not to fight his mandatory opponent Matvey Korobov.

As a fighter who's had to earn everything the hard and old school way: fighting all over the world, taking on multiple top fighters and doing it all without having the same stage somebody like Quillin has had, does it disappoint you to see situations like that take place? 

RG: I have mixed feelings about this because to me it is alot of money, as I said before we would like a good purse for the Gallo fight, but I put myself in his shoes and maybe he believes he deserves more, so I might understand the fact that he wants to value himself more, but nonetheless I see it as a lot of money to be declined.


Who are some of your favorite fellow boxers to watch when you're not training and have time to relax, if any?

RG: I like Randy Caballero, Luis Cuba Arias, Mayweather, GGG, Shinsuke Yamanaka, Manny Pacquiao, and Ryu Murata.



Roman Gonzalez's manager, Carlos Blandon: 


Carlos, have you had any contact with HBO/Showtime or any American TV networks about possibly showcasing Roman Gonzalez on their network?

CB: Not personally, but our Promoter has had contact from HBO for the Gallo fight, and they offered 150k for both fighter which we took as offensive and declined immediately.


Do you think that is a possibility now, down the line and would you even be interested in that if the opportunity presented itself? It is mind boggling that a deep division such as Flyweight gets no airtime on major American television.

CB: I believe the day will come soon. People want the Gallo fight and they both have the will to fight each other, so if you mix their intentions to fight and the pressure of the people we will soon find a deal that makes both parties happy, I am sure about it.


Do you have any thoughts on the Peter Quillin WBO Middleweight belt situation? I imagine it must be frustrating witnessing something like that when you have a pound for pound star who would fight anyone, anywhere for much less money.

CB: Yes, I feel it was controversial to see somebody decline that amount of money, but at the same time I believe only each bóxer and their manager really know what they are worth.


I know it's early and difficult to predict anything in the sport of boxing, but can you give some final thoughts on what's next for Romans career in the near future and down the line?

CB: I believe we will get to unify all 4 titles of the Flyweight division.

I would like to thank both of you very much for taking time out of your busy schedules to sit down and answer these questions.

Thank you very much for taking your time to interview us.

Top Rank prospects staying active

 By: Almir Teslic

Tomorrow night, former Olympic Gold Medalist Egor Mekhontsev returns to the ring against veteran Samuel Miller in Texas.

Mekhontsev is a blistering hot prospect with a deep amateur pedigree, beating fellow prospects such as Marcus Browne, Oleksandr Gvozdyk and fellow amateur star Adilbek Niyazymbetov, among many others.

He possesses a a plethora of weapons at his disposal as he has a lightning rod of a jab, good footwork and speed to go along with his dangerous two-handed power. Moving at the same pace many other former amateur stars-gone-Top Rank, he's facing a game opponent who has been in there with some of toughest fighters in the sport. The last few years have not been kind to Samuel Miller, but he's best known for giving Marco Antonio Rubio a competitive fight back in 2010. Rubio is set to fight WBA Middleweight king Gennady Golovkin in October and remains a top ten Middleweight. Miller isn't expected to leave the ring victorious, but he continues a satisfying trend of recent prospects and former amateur stars gradually stepping up their competition from an early stage. Mekhontsev is trained by Freddy Roach at his famous Wild Card Gym and his skilled boxing base combined with his seek-and-destroy instilled by Roach already makes him a dangerous fighter for anybody.

With only four fights to his professional record, Mekhontsev is moving at a pace faster then many other prospects we've seen come up through the years. With such a deep amateur pedigree and with so much experience in the amateurs, for the 29 year old Mekhontsev, anything less then this gradual step up of opposition could possibly only do him harm. I recently interviewed manager Vadim Kornilov and he's made it clear his guys will only get better and gain proper experience if the opposition gets increased as it will be tomorrow night in Texas.

Fellow stable-mates; Egidijus Kavaliauskas and Oleksandr Gvozdyk also make their return this month on the same under card in Phoenix, September 20th. While not quite the same depth of amateur pedigree as Mekhontsev, Kavaliauskas is being pushed at a similar pace of activity. The relentless fighter is coming off a win against an undefeated opponent and is already set to return a month in a half later. The Lithuanian prospect has stayed as active as his stablemates and his September return marks his fourth fight of the year. Kavaliauskas is trained by the famous Robert Garcia at his boxing academy and his relentless style is perfectly suited for the world renowned trainer. At 5'9 in the Welterweight division, Kavaliauskas has all the physical tools to make a big splash in the division a couple of years down the line. Egidijus's power, size and strength was in full display in his last fight and we should continue to see it with his world class training.

On the same card, Oleksandr Gvozdyk returns for only his third professional bout and third in five months, since making his debut. A Light Heavyweight with a similar frame and strong base as Mekhontsev, Gvozdyk is another red-hot prospect who cannot be missed when he is in the ring. Standing at 6'2, he possesses a strong jab and works behind it to throw his devastating right hand that could create problems for any 175lber in the future. Smooth and light on his feet, Gvozdyk is coming off a good performance where his boxing skills were on full display against Michael Gbenga. Gbenga is a battle-tested, tough Ghanian fighter who's been in the ring with many of the top prospects and former prospects in the sport. Gvozdyk is also trained by Robert Garcia and it'll be interesting to see him get plenty of rounds in over the coming months and years.


Felix Verdejo's ring return has also been announced within the past couple of days by Boxingscene.com. The super skilled Puerto Rican star will make his return in Orlando, Florida against young and tough Mexican Sergio Villanueva on October 4th. Verdejo's activity has been consistent with his stablemates and the young prospect has already had 14 professional fights in just under two years. Verdejo is one of the brightest prospects in the sport and the youngest out of all the Top Rank prospects set to fight in the next month. At just 21 years old, the activity is fantastic for his experience but there should be no rush for world-class opponents any time soon. Verdejo's shared the ring with one of the best amateur boxers ever, Vasyl Lomachenko. Their 2012 Olympic Quarterfinals bout was a competitive one in which Verdejo gave a glimpse of what is to come from the young man many Puerto Rican fight fans are calling "the next big thing," from the island. Verdejo possesses a near complete package that starts with his phenomenal speed, both in his hands and feet. His quick hands, footwork, combined with his accuracy, timing and strong sense of distance and underrated power for a 21 year old prospect is something the whole boxing world can be excited about.




The lack of rising talent is non-existent in professional boxing and there is a bundle of prospects to keep our eyes on, from many different promoters. From Top Ranks stable, the rise continues tomorrow night and in the coming month we will see four of our potential sports future stars in action.

Could Deontay Wilder miss out on his Heavyweight WBC title shot because of Al Haymon?

 By: Henry Martin

Yesterday Afternoon, WBO middleweight champion Peter Quillin chose to vacate his title instead of defending it against mandatory challenger Matvey Korobov. While the reason is unknown, Quillin stated that he and his team would be looking for bigger and better things beyond the mandatory defense against Korobov.

I would like to thank the WBO for allowing me to grace the ring and live out my dream of... http://t.co/KOCz3JCBoz pic.twitter.com/NoYQ2X80TN
— Peter Quillin (@KIDCHOCOLATE) September 4, 2014

 Now, while there is no clear reason as to why this happened, it is speculated that Quillin vacated his title at the behest of his adviser Al Haymon. While Quillin may have wanted to fight his mandatory challenger, everything changed when Jay Z's promotional company, Roc Nation, won the purse bid. Al Haymon and Jay Z have a shaky history together that stems from Al Haymon conspiring with Beyonce Knowles's father to defraud her.

If Al Haymon did indeed let his personal problems with Jay Z get in the way of looking out for his client's best interests, then that may not bode well for his other clients who may be up for purse bids in the future and are open for Roc Nation to bid on. Two such fighters who have purse bids coming up on September 12th are Deontay Wilder and Danny Garcia.

While Danny Garcia could stand to lose his belt, it isn't as big of a blow to him as it would be to Deontay Wilder. Danny Garcia is the recognized champion of the 140 pound division and he plans on moving up in weight soon. If he were to lose his WBC belt, he still has his WBA super belt to fall back on, should he decide to stay in the 140 pound division.

Wilder on the other hand has never won a title and he is the mandatory challenger for Bermane Stiverne's WBC belt. If the fight goes to purse bids and Roc Nation does indeed win again, it could place Stiverne in the same situation as Quillin and eventually cause Wilder to pull out of his mandatory fight.

That would be a shame if that did happen as Haymon shouldn't let his ego get in the way of doing what's best for his client. Like the purse bid for Quillin vs Korobov, we'll see how things unfold in the coming weeks.

Akira Yaegashi-Roman Gonzalez: Fight Preview

 By: Almir Teslic

On Friday, September 5^th, boxing fans worldwide get a major treat as former two-division champion Roman Gonzalez fights for his first Flyweight title against WBC Flyweight king Akira Yaegashi. This is the first of two fascinating matches featuring two top Flyweights this weekend, the other being Juan Francisco Estrada and Giovani Segura on Saturday in Mexico. The Flyweight division is among the strongest in boxing and the pairing of four top Flyweight’s battling it out in one weekend is sure to produce one of the best boxing weekends of the year.

The champion Yaegashi comes into this fight just a year in a half removed from his fantastic victory over Toshiyuki Igarashi and has since scored victories over Edgar Sosa and Odilon Zaleta. Yaegashi has quick feet and his movement will be a key for him to retain his title in this fight against the relentless challenger. Yaegashi will look to capitalize on his superior movement and hand speed by disrupting Gonzalez’s rhythm, and making him uncomfortable. An important aspect of this bout is that Yaegashi possesses the strongest combination of size and skill that Gonzalez has faced thus far.

Yaegashi’s speed and movement was too much for the veteran Edgar Sosa and most recently, Odilon Zaleta. But against a young and vicious puncher like Gonzalez, it’ll be important for the champion to stay disciplined and remain intelligent about his work. Engaging in a firefight against Gonzalez would not suit Yaegashi and his tendency to lunge forward and reach for some punches could be very costly against the Nicaraguan. Yaegashi will have to utilize his jab early and often and take full advantage of his foot and hand speed. Keeping his hands up at all times while he moves around the ring will be a necessity as the slightest opening could be all Gonzalez needs to unload his wide variety of punches and potentially hurt the champion. Yaegashi’s counterpunching ability will have to be as sharp as it's ever been to be successful tomorrow night.

Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez comes into this fight with a phenomenal record of 39-0; the undefeated Nicaraguan has knocked out 33 of his 39 opponents. Gonzalez is a ferocious puncher with a relentless style and an absolute bull of a fighter for a man his size. Gonzalez is coming off back-to-back knockout performances, although against much lesser fighters. Gonzalez is looking to win a title in his third division and a victory for the Nicaraguan superstar would further cement his pound for pound status. The 27 year old already has a fantastic resume and a potential victory over Yaegashi puts him at the very top of the division.

With two-handed power, brutal combinations and the ability to puzzle opponents by coming in at various angles, he has a similar skillset to champions Gennady Golovkin and Sergey Kovalev. His come forward; aggressive style is backed up by good boxing skills and tremendous technicality. His fight against Estrada is a great example of how he possesses the ability to mix it up and utilize a wide variety of punches. His quick and smooth transition of body to head punches will be some of the toughest Yaegashi has ever had to deal with. It will be important for Gonzalez to apply smart pressure and to avoid the potential devastating counter-punches that Yaegashi will be looking to land. His head movement while coming forward and the angles he creates could be the difference between a new WBC Flyweight champion, and a boxing clinic by the current champ.

A fantastic weekend of boxing kicks off with an absolute barn burner of a fight tomorrow in Japan. The top of the Flyweight division will certainly be shaken up within the coming days and it starts tomorrow night in Tokyo.

 

Quillin vacates WBO title: Quick notes

 By: Almir Teslic

Peter "Kid Chocolate" Quillin officially vacated his WBO Middleweight title after choosing not to go through with his mandatory title fight against Matvey Korobov. Two weeks ago, Roc Nation won the purse bid to promote the potential mandatory fight and Quillin was set to make a career high pay day of $1.4 million. After releasing a statement on his official twitter account thanking the WBO, Roc Nation President and Chief of Branding & strategy released this statement to Boxingscene.com:



"Roc Nation Sports wishes Peter Quillin good luck. I'm sure he has a bigger pay day to have given up his title and 1.4 million. We will move on to the next fight to promote"

- Michael R. Yormack.




Quick notes:

• The big question that remains is who will fight Korobov for the vacant WBO title? Billy Joe Saunders and Andy Lee are the two next in line in the WBO rankings for the Middleweight division
• What's next for Quillin? An interesting fight for Quillin would be WBA "regular" champion, Danny Jacobs. 
• The roadblock with Quillin potentially fighting Jacobs for the "regular WBA title is that Dmitry Chudinov is the WBA Middleweight "interim" Champion and it was reported last month that Vladimir Hryunov was interested in matching Jacobs-Chudnov. Although those negotiations appear to have stalled. 
• If the WBA mandates that Jacobs defends his regular WBA title against the interim champion, Chudinov, it may leave Quillin without a chance to fight Danny Jacobs, for the time being.
• One potential option for Quillin would be to take a stay-busy fight and wait for Sam Soliman-Jermain Taylor to play out and possibly attempt to challenge the winner of that fight for their IBF title

Billy Joe Saunders is an undefeated young prospect who is coming off a knockout victory against Emanuele Blandamura in late July. He expressed interest instantly after the news of Quillin vacating his title and it seems he would be the one who gets the first call.

Andy Lee has also already expressed interest in fighting Korobov for the vacant title, after a recent posting on twitter. Lee was mentioned as a possible opponent for WBA Superchampion Gennady Golovkin in April earlier this year, but the untimely and unfortunate death of Golovkin's father caused the scheduled April date to be cancelled. Lee fought former WBC Middleweight Champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in a competitive fight back in June of 2012 and has plenty of experience being in against top fighters.

It will be interesting to see how this all plays out and within the next few days and coming weeks, we should have a clearer picture of whats next for the vacant WBO Middleweight title.

Is Al Haymon attempting to block Peter Quillin from defending his WBO Middleweight Title?

By: Henry Martin


According to ESPN's Dan Rafael, Peter Quillin has still not signed his end of the deal for his mandatory defense against Matvey Korobov. Originally the contracts from both fighters were due on August 28th, but Quillin requested an extension, which was granted by the WBO, to take care of personal matters. With the due date fast approaching (Wednesday September 3rd) another extension was requested and granted. According to the WBO president, the second extension would only be a day and Quillin would risk losing his title if he didn't send in a signed contract by 4 P.M Thursday afternoon.

Peter @KIDCHOCOLATE Quillin must sign agreement to face Korobov by 4PM Thurs. or stands to be stripped of belt. @GoldenBoyBoxing @RocNation
— Paco Valcárcel, Esq. (@PacoValcarcel) September 3, 2014

Needles to say, neither Top Rank or Roc Nation were in favor of Quillin and his team prolonging the fight with the fight date steadily approaching and no promotional work being done.

Both @trboxing & @RocNation have objected to Quillin request to WBO for an extension to sign for the Korobov fight. No decision yet. #boxing
— Dan Rafael (@danrafaelespn) September 2, 2014

The proposed date for the mandatory defense was set to be November 1st. Coincidentally, it happened to be on the same date as a Showtime quadruple header that has been in the works for some time now. This is problematic because although Quillin doesn't have an exclusive contract with Showtime, he's an Al Haymon fighter. Al Haymon fighters almost exclusively fought on Showtime with the occasional Fox Sports 1 and ESPN dates. Edwin Rodriguez was the last Haymon fighter to have fought on HBO since the bitter breakup between the network and the adviser.

With a Showtime date already set for November 1st and with Roc Nation looking more and more likely they won't move the date, it looks as if Quillin's WBO reign may possibly be coming to an end. If Showtime can't and HBO won't, where does that leave us? ESPN is a possibility, but with the beginning of the College Football season, that seems like a long shot as well.

Over the past few hours, rumors have now sprung up that Quillin may be fighting WBA regular champion, Danny Jacobs, for his title instead. The WBA "regular" title.

Source says we might see a Peter Quillin-Danny Jacobs fight, rather than that Quillin/Korobov scrap
— Michael Woods (@Woodsy1069) September 3, 2014

Jacobs and his team were in discussions with Chudinov to possibly fight sometime in the fall, but if Quillin were to be stripped, then there is a good possibility that this overdue fight could happen. A potential Quillin vs Jacobs fight was targeted for February of this year, but instead both men went their separate ways. The only thing standing in the way of this possible fight is the possibility of the WBA ordering a fight between Chudinov, the interim champion, and Jacobs, the regular champion.

All eyes are on Quillin and Al Haymon to see what actions they take later on today. Do they sign the contract, going through with Roc Nation's first promotional show? Or does Quillin go past his deadline and stand to be stripped of his title? Whatever happens next, expect boxing fans to be critical of his choices, whether it be refusing to sign the dotted lines or taking two extensions to sign for the fight.

If Quillin does decide not to sign on for the fight, hopefully Al Haymon is looking out for his best interests as this is a career payday he may not see again. If he signs? Well, we have a great Middleweight championship fight in the works between Peter Quillin and former amateur star Matvey Korobov.

Emmanuel Taylor ready to seize the moment

 By: Almir Teslic


This Saturday in Cincinnati, Ohio, Adrien "The Problem" Broner returns back in action after his ten round decision victory over Carlos Molina in May. Broner suffered the first major setback of his professional career against Marcos Maidana in December of last year, where he ultimately lost his WBA Welterweight title. Now fighting in the 140lb division, Broner's options are endless as he looks to get back on top and potentially become a four division champion.


Standing in his way is Emmanuel Taylor, a boxer many fans are familiar with after back-to-back national television performances on ESPN Friday Night Fight's against Chris Algieri and Karim Mayfield. Taylor will look to capitalize on his recent momentum and spoil the homecoming of Adrien Broner and possibly launch himself into the title picture in the Light Welterweight division.

Taylor's manager, Dave Price shared a few words about the upcoming opportunity for his fighter and briefly spoke about the future of rising Super Middleweight prospect, Jesse Hart.


 

First and foremost, your fighter Emmanuel Taylor is fighting on the biggest stage of his career this Saturday night against former three-division champion Adrien Broner. Did you have any reservations about matching such a young fighter in his opponents backyard or was this simply an opportunity you/he could not pass up? 

When the offer was originally presented the risk didn't match the rewards but after further negotiations we reached an amount that we felt was more in line with the risk.

Emmanuel Taylor showed tremendous heart in his last fight on ESPN Friday Night Fights against Karim Mayfield in July, do you think jumping straight back into the ring less then two months after a ten round fight could actually benefit Emmanuel in a way? He was in against a tough opponent, but I imagine he’s going to be in great shape come Saturday night.

Emanuel is in great shape since he fought in July but i really don't think that the last fight was a tough fight. There were a lot of circumstances that made the fight closer than it should have been.  Emanuel was at the hospital all night with the birth of his first born child and i think he was really concerned about pushing on the pedal and not having any gas in the tank. Conditions being normal i believe he would have stopped Mayfield in 8.

Taylor fought current WBO Welterweight Champion Chris Algieri back in February and gave him a competitive fight. How important do you feel that fight was for Emmanuel’s growth as a fighter, considering the fact that he’s only 23 years old and had the biggest win of his career during his next fight?

 Algieri showed Emanuel where he could have been had he beat Algieri. Even in the loss this showed Manny that he, was one or two wins away from being in the big leagues.

Taylor is a huge underdog going into his fight against Adrien Broner this weekend, and in recent months we've seen anything can happen in boxing. Not to overlook the task he has ahead of him on Saturday night, but with a potential victory over Broner, any particular guys you would like to see Taylor fight next?

 A win over Broner would be huge and would mean a rematch with Broner but guys on the horizon? Anyone at 140lbs.  Danny Garcia is probably going to move up to 147 so Matthysse will have to do.

 

Speaking of Chris Algieri, as I’m sure you already know, he is scheduled to defend his title against Manny Pacquiao on November 22^nd, in Macao, China. What are your thoughts on that fight? Do you have a prediction of the outcome of that fight, by any chance? 

 

Well i think Chris has a chance against Pacquiao. He has fought a harder puncher in Provodnikov but of course Pacquiao is an all around better and busier fighter. But i think it's possible for Chris to come out victorious.

 

One of your rising prospects, Jesse Hart has fought twice this year and is scheduled to return again next month in Atlantic City, can you tell me a little bit about the future plans for your young prospect? Will we see him in a big fight as early as 2015?

 Jesse Hart is ready to take steps to become a world champion right now. He is with Top Rank and Bob Arum said by the end of 2015 he, would make him a world champion. I know what Jesse does to fighters in the gym and what he has done to fighters that appear to be ducks because he gets them out early but these are he same guys who beat other undefeated prospects and take supposed contenders the distance. I think 2015 he moves from contender to champion. D and D Management and Top Rank have invested a lot of time and money in Jesse so there is no reason to rush him but he is so advanced we can't hold him back.

Thank you for your time Dave.

Hopkins-Kovalev: Quick notes

Bernard Hopkins and Sergey Kovalev officially went face-to-face today for the first time since finalizing their unification bout for November 8th.  Some quick notes and thoughts for the upcoming super-fight:

·        Kovalev has started his training camp just a few days after his August 2^nd fight with Blake Caparrello, according to manager Egis Klimas.

·       The quick work of Caparello could pay huge dividends for Kovalev as he has thrown over one-hundred punches per round many times throughout his destruction of the division since the start of 2013. The one big question mark left about Kovalev is how his stamina will carry over into the later rounds, if necessary.

·        Kovalev has never had to make it past the 8^th round and with his high volume and variety of punches per round, it will be interesting to see how he trains for this bout and if John David Jackson is mentally preparing him to go the distance (or surpass the 8^th round)

·        Hopkins is riding a three fight win streak and in his last two fights against Karo Murat and Beibut Shumenov, he has shown a willingness to press the action and fight with a very fan-friendly style. It will be interesting to see what type of approach he takes against a such a devastating puncher like Kovalev

·        Hopkins knocked down Shumenov in the 11^th round of their unification bout in April. Shumenov has only been down one other time in his career against Vyacheslav Uzelkov. Hopkins "sneaky power” continues to be on full display and both boxers chins will be tested early and often.

·       The combination of possible styles and tactics for this fight are endless and fascinating. Will Hopkins look to spoil Kovalev’s first attempt at a unification bout with rough tactics? Or will the crafty veteran take him on the same way he took on Murat and Shumenov? Will Kovalev continue to throw one hundred punches per round or will he pace himself to potentially go into the later rounds? Could the criminally underrated boxing skills of Kovalev be the equalizer to Hopkins career long experience and success of negating the power of big punchers?

In two months time, the answers to these questions are likely to be answered. As for now, boxing fans can unite and praise the brilliant matchmaking of Golden Boy Promotions, Main Events, Egis Klimas, Bernard Hopkins, Sergey Kovalev and anybody else involved in finalizing this fantastic unification bout.

Ievgen Khytrov's September date cancelled- November ShoBox apperance confirmed

By: Almir Teslic

Ievgen Khytrov was scheduled to return September 26th, in Dallas, but the September return for the former amateur star has officially been cancelled. The young boxer is currently in his homeland of Ukraine and will not return to The United States until early September and the lack of a full and proper training camp has ultimately eliminated a September bout.



Ievgen Khytrov's next televised appearance has been confirmed, however, and Khytrov will be fighting on ShoBox against a fellow prospect to be announced shortly. The first ShoBox appearance of Khytrov's young career is being set for November 7th or November 21st.


The date, venue and official opponent of Ievgen Khytrov's November bout will be announced within the coming week.

Ievgen Khytrov: Return Date Announced

 By: Almir Teslic

According to my sources, Ievgen Khytrov, the fierce hitting former World Amateur Boxing Championships Gold Medalist, known as “The Ukrainian Lion” is set to return September 26th in Dallas, with an opponent to be announced shortly.

The young Ukrainian isn’t taking any breaks as another fight is in the process of being finalized on November 7^th or November 21^st against a fellow prospect. The November fight could have major implications for both prospects as it is being reported that the fight could possibly be shown live on ShoBox. Fox Sports One is another possibility and it would mark Ievgen Khytrov’s second straight appearance on the network.

Ievgen Khytrov is coming off a devastating knockout performance against Willie Fortune, a boxer whose only professional loss prior to August 8^th was against highly regarded Middleweight Tureano Johnson. The quality of opposition for Khytrov has been outstanding thus far for a boxer with only five professional fights. He seems to be on the fast track and a large part of that is due to his promoter- Iron Mike Productions, who’ve made it clear they want their fighters to be challenged, early and often.

Over the years ShoBox has been a wonderful platform for rising young prospects to showcase and develop their skills. The experience gained on the network by young fighters has proven many times to successfully transfer over to higher-profile fights on bigger stages. Fox Sports One has been putting on tremendous cards themselves in recent times, most recently the August 8^th card put on by Iron Mike Productions. The August card left fans craving more and the great Mike Tyson himself has made it clear he is ready to continuously put on fantastic cards and matchmaking equivalent to what we saw earlier this month.

I will be able to officially announce the opponent, venue and network of Ievgen Khytrov’s possible fight in November within the following week. Stay tuned.

Rodney Berman of Golden Glove Promotions: Interview

By Henry Martin:

Rodney Berman of Golden Gloves Promotions has steadily been working his way onto the global boxing scene in recent times. He has successfully secured fights all across the globe, expanded the industry to Monaco, and has most recently signed former world title challenger Martin Murray to a lucrative contract. Berman is now looking to breakthrough into the UK market by luring even more boxers from one of the boxing worlds hottest markets to collaborate with him and ultimately stage shows there in the near future.

On October 25th, Berman will be hosting another big card in Monaco which will feature a minimumweight title fight, a vacant bantamweight title and a possible precursor to a another title fight between two undefeated light heavyweight prospects. There is a lot at stake in Monaco on October 26th and the man behind it all sat down with me for a short interview about his upcoming card, and the future of some of his fighters.

Do you have any comments on the rumors of Miguel Cotto vacating his WBC title to move down in weight? Murray is the current WBC Silver champion and number one contender for the WBC title, it seems he is next in line if Cotto were to vacate his title.

My personal take is that Cotto will eventually move down because the only meaningful fight for him at the weight is against Golovkin, who I’m sure he doesn’t want to meet. If Cotto were to vacate, I’m certain Martin Murray will be the mandatory.

What are your thoughts on the proposed “unification” between WBA Middleweight Super champion Gennady Golovkin and interim belt holder Marco Antonio Rubio?

First: this brings Martin Murray one step closer to fighting for the WBC title. Rubio is going to go the same way as Golovkin’s previous opponents; he won’t put up meaningful opposition.

With that said, if Golovkin gets past Rubio, what would be your thoughts of a potential Monaco showdown early next year? Murray has built a solid fan base there since signing with Golden Gloves and a proposed match-up between the two has been a topic of discussion since Murray’s 2013 fight with Sergio Martinez. It seems to be a fight many fans would love to see at 160.

Watch this space! Get ready for a major extravaganza in Monaco next February.

WBA Minimumweight champion Hekkie Budler is fighting on your October 26th card in Monaco. What are the plans for his future as far as possible unification bouts with the other title holders? The unification between Takayama and Rodriguez Jr. captured the attention of boxing fans around the world. What are the chances he unifies with Rodriguez Jr. or the winner of Novao/Menayothin next year?

All our attempts to entice the other champions have seen them running scared. But Golden Gloves will continue to make non-refusable offers. Menayothin turned us down, as did Novoa and Takayama. I can’t say I blame them given Hekkie’s form, but I hope this situation doesn’t result in Hekkie being deprived of being a unified champion. For now he’s fighting recent champion Xiong Zhao Zhong on the Monte Carlo card. Needless to say, we had to offer an enormous purse.

Ryno Liebenberg earned his biggest win against Denis Grachev earlier this month in a gutsy performance that put his heart on full display. With his next fight being against fellow prospect Eleider Alvarez, a stable mate of Adonis Stevenson, do you think a win would set him up with a future bout against 175lb lineal champ Adonis Stevenson?

Ryno versus Alvarez will be one of the fights of the year. In my discussions with Yvon Michel, we’ve agreed the winner will go on to fight Stevenson.

Is the fight between Thomas Oosthuizen and Denis Grachev more than simply just a fight to shake off the rust after a year of inactivity? Grachev just fought Ryno and undoubtedly, comparisons will rise up between the two men against this common opponent.

It’s far more than merely shaking off the rust. Grachev is a very credible fighter and Tommy fighting him will provide a yardstick on whether Tommy still has it. There’s no comparison – Tommy and Ryno have totally different styles. Also, Ryno has surpassed Tommy in the public reckoning and in the rankings. Tommy has to win back trust and confidence.

Due to Thomas Oosthuizen’s inactivity, he left a void that could possibly be filled by Ryno as the best Light Heavyweight from South Africa. Is there any possibility these two will get together in the ring in the near future? This could be a huge domestic fight if it were to happen.

It might happen and would be a real South African super-fight if it did. I would never discount it, but for now the focus is on getting Ryno a world title shot and checking whether Tommy still has the drive to make it. It’s up to him.

This might be a delicate issue, but I’ll take a shot in the dark and ask anyway. What is the ongoing situation with IIunga Makabu? This has been a hot topic among the boxing community for quite some time now.

I’m used to boxers jumping ship; it’s an occupational hazard. Makabu did us a great disservice. If his actions weren’t so pathetic they would be laughable. Time will show that he made a grave error. Golden Gloves is finished and done with him.

Finally, it sounds like your trip to the UK was very successful, congratulations on that! It sounds like Martin Murray will play a vital part when you start promoting shows in the UK next year. I don’t suppose you could tease us and maybe hint at who could possibly be on-board for next year?

A number of leading UK fighters have come knocking, but it would be unfair to name them because some are still coming out of current contracts. Martin Murray will play a huge part in our UK business. I have great confidence in him as a human being. He will be a tremendous ambassador  for our UK operation.

Egis Klimas interview: 08/21/14

With the calender rapidly approaching November, manager Egis Klimas is going to find himself to be a very busy man. WBO champion Sergey Kovalev will attempt to unify titles with IBF/WBA champion Bernard Hopkins in Atlantic City, a fight that is arguably the biggest of both Klimas and Kovalev's careers. A potential win for Sergey Kovalev against a legend of the sport like Bernard Hopkins and sky could be the limit for both Sergey and Egis.

I caught up with Egis Klimas for a short interview with some questions about the short-term future of some of his other, younger fighters.

One of your most well known fighters, WBO champion Sergey Kovalev will be returning on HBO in November against the legendary Bernard Hopkins, in a fight many fans are calling frontrunner for fight of the year. Sergey seems to be one of those dedicated boxers who stay in the gym year-round. After just having fought less then three weeks ago on HBO, how soon do you expect Sergey to start his training camp for his big fight? 

EK: He is already training, he just took a couple of days off after his fight on August 2nd, he did not tire much in only two rounds so he did not need a long break to recover. 

Not to look too far ahead and certainly not to overlook Bernard Hopkins, but with a potential victory for Sergey in November, would you be interested in re-pursuing a unification fight with Adonis Stevenson with the goal of Sergey becoming the undisputed 175lb champion?

EK: If Sergey wins and at that time Stevenson will be holding the WBC title, yes, sure we will look for unification fight. 

WBO Featherweight champion and two time Olympic gold medalist Vasyl Lomachenko is coming off a fantastic performance against another Olympian, Gary Russell Jr. There have been slight rumors that Lomachenko could return on the Manny Pacquiao-Chris Algieri pay-per-view under card in Macau against #1 WBO contender Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo. How soon could we expect an official announcement on Lomachenko’s next opponent and date? 

EK: It is still in work Vasily's next fight, I think by the mid of next week Top Rank will be able to make an announcement.

 

You have previously expressed interest in a Featherweight tourney, which could possibly involve two of your 126lb champions. Has there been any progression on discussions for this possible tournament, or is it all just speculation at this point?

  
 EK: Yes, I liked an idea after Top Rank shared with me about this tournament, I think it would be interesting for fans and should be good for sport of boxing.

IBF Featherweight champion Evgeny Gradovich has won over a large number of fans since making his American television debut on ESPN2 in March of last year, with his fan friendly, all-action style. With only 19 professional fights, he has already taken on three mandatory challengers since winning his belt. Are there any opponents you in particular that you would like to see him fight next?

EK: In the Featherweight division sky is the limit, there is so many good fighters, existing champions and upcoming guys who will make good fights. Evgeny's next bout is also in the works and we should have some clearance from our promoter soon.


A common theme for many of your fighters has been the pace in which they’ve stepped up and the difficulty of opposition in such a short amount of time. Two of your rising prospects and former Olympians- Egidijus Kavaliauskas and Oleksandr Gvozdyk have made their professional debuts within the past year. Are there any plans for either of these former amateur stars to make their major television debuts, particularly on ESPN Friday Night Fights, later this year or next year?

EK: These two mentioned fighters by you are real deals. Both are signed with Top Rank Promotions and I believe both will make a lot of noise in boxing. On the other hand you can't make big plans or predictions in boxing, you never know what can happen during the bout or during training, so we are going from bout to bout. Egidijus and Oleksandr train together at Robert Garcia's Boxing Academy and their next fights will be on the same card in Phoenix, Arizona on September 20th.


Vyacheslav Glazkov is another one of your fighters who has challenged tough opposition before hitting his 20^th professional fight. He is next in line for an IBF mandatory title shot against Heavyweight king Wladimir Klitschko, if he defeats the only man ahead of “Czar” next month: Kubrat Pulev. Will this be something you plan to pursue for Vyacheslav soon or would you like to get him some more experience under his belt before challenging for a title shot?

EK: Well, "Czar" injured his hand in bout with Derric Rossy and as of now he is in healing status, how long it will take it is hard to say but he is seeing specialists and working with a therapist. As far as experience, he has plenty, 300 amateur fights and five plus years in his professional career with almost 20 bouts.


Egis, I would like to again thank you for your time and I would like to add that the tough matchmaking for many of your fighters has been very enjoyable to watch by boxing fans across the world over the past couple of years!


EK: Thank you! Also would like to mention two very good prospects I just added to my management list. Both came with very good wins- Vasily "The Professor" Lephikin who won by 5th round TKO against Australian Robert Berridge August 9th in Bethlehem, PA. On August 2nd in Atlantic City, Dmitriy "Mechanik" Mikhailenko scored an 8 round unanimous decision vs. Sechew Powell. Boxing world will hear very soon about these two boxers. Also Main Events is looking into signing Vasily Lephikin.

Vadim Kornilov interview: 08/19/14

With a growing stable of boxers that include Olympic champions, former professional champions and championship contenders, Vadim Kornilov has established himself as one of the top managers in the sport of boxing. Boxers such as Ruslan Provodnikov and Viktor Postol have made stateside appearances on HBO within the past year and made a lasting impression to fight fans all around the world. 

Vadim took time out of his busy schedule to sit down with me and discuss the future of some of his boxers. Here's what he had to say:

Vadim, one of your more well known boxers- Viktor Postol, burst onto the scene in May and made a lasting impression to American viewers with his knockout of Selcuk Aydin on HBO. He was a regular at Freddy Roaches Wild Card gym in preparation for his big bout with Aydin, is the plan for him to continue training at Wild Card for the time being?

 VK: Definitely, he will be preparing for his next fight at Wild Card with the same training team once the fight is scheduled.  

After his fight with Selcuk Aydin, Postol stated he was ready for anybody in the stacked lightweight division, most notably, he said he was ready to take on Danny Garcia and challenge for the 140lb throne. Viktor is the WBC mandatory to champion Danny Garcia, has there been any word or whispers by the WBC as to when exactly they will mandate a purse bid for a potential Garcia-Postol matchup?

VK: The WBC has announced publicly on August 12^th that the mandatory is announced and that Danny Garcia has to defend his title against Viktor Postol. On September 12^th the purse bid has been scheduled. Elite Boxing Promotions of Ukraine together with Top Rank are in contact with Golden Boy Promotions about the fight.  

There have been rumors for quite some time about champion Danny Garcia moving up to the welterweight division, based on the WBC rankings, Viktor Postol and tough Argentinean Lucas Matthysse would be next in line to fight for the vacant title. If that opportunity came about, would that be something you would pursue for Viktor?

VK: Definitely, we are as interested in matching Viktor Postol up with Lucas Matthysse as we are in matching him up with Danny Garcia.  We like both fights. 

Ruslan Provodnikov made big splashes within the last year with his terrific performances on HBO and instantly became a fan favorite and developed a cult-like following in the boxing community. His brutal honesty and heart in the ring has captured the imagination of boxing fans worldwide. Will “The Siberian Rocky” be reappearing on HBO this fall?

VK: Yes, definitely. That is the plan. HBO is working out a date for Ruslan together with our promoters Banner Promotions and GT Promotions.  We cannot have Ruslan be out of the ring for too long like the previous 10 months lay off before the Algieri fight, so we have to make sure our fighter is being taken care of.  

Blistering hot prospect and 2012 Olympic gold medalist Egor Mekhonstev is another fighter with a very bright future. Since starting his career in December of last year he has had four fights and is already scheduled back in the ring next month in Texas. Do you prefer your fighters who have deep amateur pedigrees, like Egor, to gradually increase the level of opposition each time they fight or do you prefer to wait after a certain number of fights and just focus on activity first and then start to step them up?

VK: No, I definitely want to gradually increase their experience level fight after fight, and you will see that on September 6^th Egor will already be fighting an 8 rounder with a much better opponent than before.  We had some problems with opponents in the previous fight which was already planned to be a much better opponent that it was. 

You also manage 2012 Olympian Taras Shelestyuk, another fighter who has stayed active since turning pro in 2013. He has fought on ESPN since making his pro debut last year. Will we be seeing him again in the near future?

 VK: Taras will be back in the ring on September 26^th on a Thompson Boxing card in California in an 8 rounder with a good opponent. After that Taras’s promoter Banner Promotions has plans to put him into bigger fights and grow him on ESPN. 

Sukhrab Shidaev is one of your lesser-known prospects but hardcore fight fans remember him from the World Series of Boxing in 2011. After already signing a handful of former amateur stars, do you continue to actively recruit fighters who are fighting at the amateur and semi-pro level, or do you prefer to focus on recruiting boxers who have made the jump to prizefighting and compete at the pro level?

VK: I am definitely interested in all boxers including progressed professionals as well as amateurs.  If the boxers are hard workers and are willing to train in Los Angeles that is enough reason for me to consider to work together with them and grow their career. 

Thank you