Boxing archive

The countdown is almost over and the much awaited IBF big boxing bash in Ghana featuring Richard Commey against Bilal Mohammed is fast approaching with barely 72 hours to fight night labeled ‘moment of truth.’

The two Ghanaian boxers who have been training very hard for this rumble meet for the IBF Continental Africa Lightweight Crown this Friday, March 8 in Accra amid the expected presence of IBF Africa President, Onesmo Ngowi.

The big question on many Ghanaians and most West Africans minds is who will be the King of the Lightweight division in African?! This one billion dollar question will be answered on night in the Ghanaian capital just two days after the country’s independence day.

The momentum has already been set in motion by Michael Amoo-Bediako Sr who will promote this bout involving two of Ghana's best boxing sons, undefeated Commey (14-0, 14 KOs) and Bilal(24-5, 20 KOs) billed for the Will Power Boxing Gym, City Engineers, James Town in Accra on Friday night.

Hitherto scheduled to be an undercard of Fresh King Entertainment's promotion of former world champion, Joseph King Kong Agbeko’s IBO Bantamweight title fight against Luis Melendez of Colombia which has been postponed to March 22, the Commey-Bilal showdown has to be re-organised by Amoo-Bediako's UK based Streetwise Management.

Amoo-Bediako anticipates a successful event which will set in motion many more events of its kind. Living in London in the UK and operating a network of sporting events including health clinics and fitness gyms across Europe, Bediako has something up his sleeves to help in the revival of the Ghanaian boxing fraternity.

His plan is to showcase the greatness of African boxing using Ghanaian boxers to begin with amid amusing his peers in Europe with this skillful enterprise. Amoo-Bediako has invested a lot of money by moving Richard Commey to Europe to sharpen his boxing skills and he has no doubt that the moment of truth has come for the boxer to win a first title. .... on Friday.



Moment of truth for Commey and Bilal | Boxing News 2013-03-06

The responsibility for the confusion over Sonny Bill Williams' boxing victory over Francois Botha has been laid at the feet of his manager and fight promoter Khoder Nasser.

Former All Black Williams won the WBA heavyweight fight in Brisbane last month on a points decision after 10 rounds, despite it being advertised as a 12-rounder.

An investigation by New Zealand's TAB, which refunded bets on the pick-the-round-of-victory element of the fight, has found that it was sanctioned by the WBA, but that the Australian National Boxing Federation has concerns over Nasser's failure to alert media outlets of the length of the fight.

A letter from Jim Young, the secretary of the Queensland branch of the Australian National Boxing Federation, to the TAB, which has been seen by APNZ, confirmed the fight was sanctioned by the WBA and that Williams is the WBA International heavyweight champion.

But the letter continues: "The WBA confirms that the promoter Mr Khoder Nasser has done nothing wrong regarding WBA regulations, however, he has let himself down by not advising media outlets, particularly the betting agencies, that it was a 10-round contest as the promoter handles all publicity for this promotion."

Similar "please explain" letters from the TAB to Nasser and the WBA headquarters in Panama have gone unanswered.

TAB spokesman John Mitchell said it was important his organisation undertook an investigation into the fight.

"The TAB, on behalf of its customers, and I guess the sporting public in general, we felt they deserved an answer," he said. Botha's camp claimed they were told of the change to 10 rounds during the fight. However, Botha's promoter Thinus Strydom said he knew beforehand but didn't want to bother his fighter with the detail.

When asked after the weigh in, a day before the fight, whether Botha could go the distance, Williams said: "He could go 12 rounds pretty easily."

Mitchell added: "We were all caught out by what was a very odd change."


Boxing: Nasser blamed for confusion over fight - Sport - NZ Herald News

HBO's new mini-documentary focusing on boxing's out-of-the-ring personalities, Cornered, started earlier in the week. The first instalment focused on Mr "let's get ready to rumble" himself, the ring announcer Michael Buffer. The Buff (as I will now call him) seems like an interesting guy. His chiselled jawline and John Boehner-esque complexion certainly belie the amount of time he's been involved in the fight game.

But it got us to thinking about boxing's other, equally colourful personalities. Specifically, the ones we want to see HBO give the high-def, slightly shaky, mini doco treatment:

Naazim Richardson – trainer

I'm not even sure if brother Naazim counts as an out of the ring personality given the amount of time he spends between the ropes training and advising fighters – I just want to see him talk for 10 minutes. Richardson might not be the wisest man in boxing, but he's the smoothest talking. The man who has given us gems like "Knock the grease off this dude then swim without getting wet", simply needs more air time.

Rafael García – cutman

Floyd Mayweather's 83-year-old cutman is an interesting dude. Don't you want to know why he has all those pins on his cabby hat? I do. Also I love the fact that he's worked for Floyd for more than 10 years and still calls him "Floy Maguaider".

Frank Maloney – promoter

You can't question the heart of the British promoter Maloney, who has twice fainted and once had a heart attack after seeing his boxers in strife. Can you imagine Oscar de la Hoya or Bob Arum having a heart attack after seeing one of their boxers get knocked out? I'm not even sure they have hearts. Despite being an anti-immigration, anti-EU politician, Maloney mainly lives for his dogs (at least judging by his Twitter feed).

Nacho Beristáin – trainer

How many 73-year-olds can pull off that look? Nacho is the man. Not only has he trained a who's who of Mexican bad-assery, he's a bad-ass in his own right. He drives a Shelby Mustang, smokes Cuban cigars and has an old school Mexican 'tache. Who has been the highlight of every single 24/7 series featuring Nacho? Nacho! When Freddie Roach wanted a picture with him after Manny Pacquiao/Juan Manuel Márquez II, Beristain is reported to have walked away before dismissing Roach in Spanish, saying: "What do you want to do, blow me?" Also says "Floy Maguaider".

Nicole Duva - promoter

As close as boxing comes to a Kennedy, Nicole Duva seems pretty fascinating. A scion of the Duva family who run Main Events, her life is pretty awesome. Based on nothing but social media, she goes to lots of fights, sasses people and gets boozy. What's not to like?



Five boxing people we want to see on HBO's Cornered | Guardian Sport Network | Sport | guardian.co.uk

Andrew Selby insisted he’s no show-boater after proving himself again to be one of the GB Lionhearts stars.

Selby maintained his unbeaten record in the World Series of Boxing at a raucous and sold-out York Hall in Bethnal Green last weekend.

The Barry boxer showboated his way to a classy points win over Ivan Ilntyskyy as he claimed the first point of a memorable night in which the GB Lionhearts were edged 3-2 by Ukraine Otamans in their WSB group stage clash.

But Selby insisted afterwards: “It’s not about showing disrespect.

“It’s about showing the crowd how good I am.”

Olympic silver medallist Fred Evans suffered a horrible beating at the hands of Ukrainian Dmytro Mytrofanov, who used his extra strength to inflict tremendous punishment before the bout was stopped in round three.

This left Selby as the only unbeaten Welsh boxer in the competition as he contributed, alongside Evans, Joe Cordina and Sean McGoldrick to an impressive record of 13 victories in 16 bouts. Evans, Cordina and McGoldrick only lost one fight each.

The Lionhearts’ defeat did not harm Great Britain’s hopes of further progression in the competition. They had already booked their place in the quarter-finals, where they will now face Mexico City Guerreros over two legs later this month.

Read more: Wales Online www-walesonline-co-uk/sports/boxing-news/2013/03/09/boxing-andrew-selby-rejects-showboating-accusations-91466-32952644/#ixzz2N2Q8EiXL

That's a great article

That's a really a bad boy.

Francis Decland, a hot favourite to be voted the next President of Ghana Boxing Authority (GBA) is pledging to restore the fistic sport back to its glory days when Ghana could always boast of world champions.

Mr. Decland, a boxer in the 1970s turned astute promoter and manager is one of four candidates vying for the top post in Ghana boxing at the upcoming historic Congress this Thursday March 14 to elect leaders and an executive committee for the GBA. And Mr. Decland is promising immediate initiatives aimed at reviving boxing right from the very first day he takes office if he gets the nod.

“Ghana, we are Mecca of boxing in Africa. We have produced many world champions, Azumah Nelson, Ike Quartey, Alfred ‘Cobra’ Kotey, Nana Yaw Konadu, a lot of them. But it’s sad that for the past four or five years, we’ve not had a permanent world champion,” Mr. Decland told Sports in Ghana | …delivering the best of Ghana sports news in an exclusive interview.

He continued: “We’ll collaborate with the media to take boxing far outside Ghana and bring our boxers into the international limelight. I’m promising that we’ll get straight to work, make sure we are in good standing with all the world bodies and by the end of this year or early next year, we’ll produce a world champion. I promise to return Ghana boxing back to its glory days.”

He added: “I will also meet all the stakeholders once or twice in a month to assess theirproblems and see how e can solve them. We shall also bring back the Mortein Boxing League, repackage it to attract and make the boxers busy and in line for world ratings.”

Furthermore, Mr. Decland also the immediate Chairman of Promotions at the GBA is pledging to supervise an open administration which will respect the views and opinions of all stakeholders within the Ghanaian boxing fraternity.

“I will also operate an all-inclusive administration and listen to everybody. I will not just be a leader, I will be a servant so I can serve my people to bring the progress we all need in Ghana boxing,” affirmed the man famous for Obric Sala Promotions.

Besides, Francis Decland is also promising to assist in the provision of boxing equipment and facilities at affordable cost whilst also improving on the technical expertise and capacity of boxing trainers and officials, all in the bid to make Ghanaian boxing truly professional.

“Boxing techniques are changing all of the time so we’ll bring in experts from abroad once in a while to train our coaches, referees and judges. At my own cost, I will make sure our trainers and ring officials often go on refresher courses abroad so they can be abreast with modern trends and developments in the game,” Mr. Decland disclosed.

He added: “We lack training equipment due to financial constraints. We’ll make sure we import sporting equipment from US, UK and South Africa and open a shop which will not operate for profit to sell at low prices to the boxers.”

The man who nurtured among them, Bukom Banku (Braimah Kamoko), Joshua Okine, Joseph Kwadwo (Opanka), Ishmael Tetteh, Ayi Bruce, Kpakpo Allotey, just to mention a few, also has in mind to fulfil the one dream every boxing enthusiast in this country yearns for, a dedicated arena for the sport.

“I’m also concerned that we don’t have a boxing arena and it’s one of the first things I will make sure we build. As a businessman of international repute, constructing a boxing arena would not be a problem. We’ll work hard to get land and funds to start work without delay,” Francis Decland.


Decland to restore Ghana boxing?s glory days | Boxing News 2013-03-12

Dereck Chisora has regained his British boxing licence 12 months after it was stripped following a brawl with David Haye at a news conference.
The British Boxing Board of Control withdrew Chisora's licence in April 2012 after he tangled with Haye at a news conference in Munich after he lost to WBC champion Vitali Klitschko.

Chisora, a former British and Commonwealth champion, used a Luxembourg licence when he and Haye fought each other in London in July. Haye knocked him out in the fifth round.

Promoter Frank Warren says Chisora was reissued with a licence ahead of his April 20 comeback fight. His opponent has not been named.

"I'm glad that this whole episode is finally behind me," Chisora said.



Chisora regains boxing licence | Fox Sports

Teenagers are not usually seen out of bed before the sun, but for some Redfern youth, rising at dawn has kept them from a life of crime. However, their reason for getting up so early is under threat from a lack of funding.

The Clean Slate Without Prejudice program runs boxercise classes and a mentoring program in collaboration with the police for about 45 young people, 20 of them indigenous. Since it was introduced in 2009, the number of robberies committed by local Redfern youth has declined by 80 per cent.

Launched with a federal government grant of $300,000, Local Hero Shane Phillips has been helping pilot the program through his Tribal Warrior Association. The funding helps pay the mentors who ensure the youth go to school or work after their exercise.

Due to expire last December the grant has been extended, but is now coming to an end.

Mr Phillips told Adam Spencer on 702 Breakfast that it costs $150,000 to $200,000 a year to keep one youth in a juvenile justice.

"We've case studied 12 kids and in three years, we have saved the government $8.7 million" Mr Phillips said.

"For a fraction of that money, you can keep a lot of kids out and they can change the rest of their families."

The NSW Department of the Attorney General and Justice has been approached for funding, but no funding for this program is currently available.

A spokesperson from the department said the department funds other crime prevention programs and hopes the federal government will be able to continue to fund Clean Slate.


Boxing program fighting for funding - ABC Sydney - Australian Broadcasting Corporation

The Uganda national boxing team —the Bombers, missed out on various international engagements last year, including the prestigious London Olympic Games as a result of administrative wrangles.

In 2010, the Bombers had missed out on the Commonwealth Games in India for the same raesons.

As it is, Uganda might still fail to send a team to the Commonwealth Games in Glascow next year as the world governing body AIBA has cancelled elections that would have ushered in a new executive.

The directive indefinitely puts off the Uganda amateur boxing elections originally slated for January and with it a chance to not only re-organise boxing in the country but prepare teams for major competitions.

Uganda Olympic Committee (UOC) vice president (technical) Denis Galabuzi who confirmed the development yesterday said the elections can only go ahead with AIBA’s blessing.

He could not give any time frame for the elections.

“After we had done everything, somebody again wrote and confused AIBA. Otherwise everything had already been ironed out. Even the constitution has been approved,” lamented Galabuzi (pictured left), who heads the normalization exercise, yesterday.

AIBA had asked UOC to take charge of the electoral process to ensure normality returns last year.

This follows almost four years of persistent administrative wrangles that have crippled the sport.

Two factions have been claiming legitimacy to run the federation with Godfrey Nyakana leading one while Ntenge Sengendo fronts the other group.

Ugandan boxing has produced great fighters and immeasurable success over the years.

Ayub Kalule became the first Ugandan to win a world title in the professional ranks when he beat Japan’s Masashi Kudo in 1979 to take the WBA light middleweight crown.

Boza Edwards and John “The Beast” Mugabi later also won world titles by punching their way to World Boxing Council belts.

Kassim “The Dream” Ouma (IBF)and Jackson “Action” Asiku (IBO) are Uganda’s most recent world champions.


Is it another dead year? Boxing back to limbo

The 31-count federal indictment leveled against Keely Thompson Jr. and his wife, Bianca, in November is the kind of thing that gets the blood boiling. If the grand jury’s charges are true, the Thompsons are wolves masquerading as shepherds and some of our city officials are about as dumb as sheep.

The Thompsons have pleaded not guilty, and on Friday U.S. District Court judge Emmet G. Sullivan set a trial date of Oct. 2.



As The Post and Washington City Paper have reported, the Thompsons created Keely’s District Boxing and Youth Center (KDBYC) in 2003 to help “at-risk” youth, from ages 8 to 18, in Columbia Heights. Keely Thompson had fought as a professional boxer several years earlier.

Some might say that the ability to punch someone’s lights out might not rank high among the skills needed to help kids navigate their way to responsible adulthood.

Sure, the streets can be tough. But learning how to read, write and do arithmetic and how to respect others and yourself rank, at least to me, higher than mastering an uppercut.

The D.C. government, however, apparently thought juvenile fisticuffs were a swell idea. From 2004 to 2009, according to the indictment, the District gave the boxing center more than $1.4 millionthrough grants from city agencies, the council and nonprofit entities.

One entity, the DC Children and Youth Investment Trust Corp., gave the Thompsons $471,405 over four years. To what end?

The indictment charged that the Thompsons deposited grant funds into the company’s checking account and then proceeded to do the following (draw near, D.C. taxpayers, to see your hard-earned money at work):

Bianca Thompson, according to the indictment, issued a $2,200 check from the boxing center’s business checking account in August 2007to pay for Keely Thompson’s “personal legal fees relating to an assault charge filed against” him in the District.

In November 2007 she allegedly used $662.23 in center funds to pay leasing costs on a 2005 BMW 525i, and in February 2008 she “caused $1,087.58 in KDBYC funds to be used to pay for a vehicle lease on a 2008 Lincoln Navigator.”

In July 2008, the indictment charged, Bianca Thompson issued a bonus check to her husband for $18,500 that he used in part to “purchase furniture for their family residence in Maryland.”

In August 2008, the indictment said, Bianca Thompson used $196.10 in company funds to pay for the children’s inflatable toy known as a Moonbounce “for a personal event” at the family residence. That same month, she used $1,466 in boxing center funds to pay for a water slide and Ferris wheel for a personal event at the family residence, it said.

The indictment charged that on or near Oct. 7, 2008, Keely Thompson withdrew “$5,225 in KDBYC funds from an ATM on board a Norwegian Cruise Lines cruise ship, to gamble.” Two days later, he withdrew the same amount on board “to gamble,” it said.

That month, the indictment said, he withdrew $4,159.99 in center funds from an ATM in Bally’s casino in Atlantic City and then withdrew $5,159.99 the same day “to gamble.” “On or about October 20, 2008,” the indictment said, Keely Thompson transferred $11,000 from the business checking account to his personal checking account. The following day, the indictment said, he “withdrew $9,315 from an ATM in Bally’s casino in Atlantic City” from his personal checking account “to gamble.”

The grand jury cited several other instances of Keely Thompson withdrawing thousands of dollars of center funds to gamble at Bally’s in 2008 and 2009. The indictment also charged that the Thompsons used about $135,000 in center funds “to pay for an April 4, 2009, event at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C., which purported to be a KDBYC fundraiser, but instead was primarily a social gathering” for the Thompsons’ friends and associates. It raised about $23,000 for the boxing center, the indictment said.

The feds, of course, will have to lay out their case in court, and the Thompsons should be presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Keely Thompson could not be reached for comment this week. Bianca Thompson referred me to their attorney, Jason Kalafat. He has not returned my call. But the questions don’t stop with the Thompsons. If there’s any truth to the indictment’s allegations, city officials have some explaining to do: How could so much go out the door unchecked? How could the Thompsons’ behavior go unnoticed? The indictment said that as a result of the Thompsons’ failure to spend enough on equipment and supplies, “the boxing ring floor lacked proper support and the ring ropes were loose; the floor surrounding the boxing ring was exposed concrete; and the youth attending the program were often provided torn or worn out boxing gloves, headgear and equipment.”

This week I sought a meeting with the Children and Youth Investment Trust to explore the circumstances surrounding the $470,000 it gave the Thompsons. The trust’s communications manager canceled the meeting at the last minute, citing legal proceedings against the Thompsons and saying pertinent files were not immediately available.

This is the same city-funded agency through which former council member Harry Thomas Jr. funneled grants intended for D.C. youth into his own pockets — a scheme for which he is serving time in a federal penitentiary.

Is there anyone in the D.C. government really wants to know what happened?



Colbert King: Boxing center money may have gone to luxuries for owners - The Washington Post

Unbeaten champion Tim Bradley captured a unanimous but narrow decision Saturday over Russia's Ruslan Provodnikov to keep his welterweight title despite being knocked down in the fight's final seconds.

In his first defense of the World Boxing Organization crown that he took from Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao in a shock split decision last June, Bradley won by judges' scores of 115-112, 114-113 and 114-113.

"I think I've got a concussion," Bradley said. "I know I do. No doubt. This guy is a power puncher. He's a warrior. He'll beat any 147-pounder out there.

"One of them punches in one of those rounds (concussed me). I'm dizzy right now. At some point, that warrior instinct kicks in, the determination, the will to win, and that's what I counted on."

Bradley took punishment in the first and second rounds, going to the canvas in each. But in both cases, referee Pat Russell ruled that Bradley had slipped and so no knockdown points were awarded to the Russian challenger.

Had even one of those been ruled a knockdown, Provodnikov would have earned a draw. Instead, American Bradley improved to 30-0 while Provodnikov fell to 22-2 but impressed by nearly taking the title with a late knockout. Provodnikov connected with a left hook that sent the champion staggering backwards with 55 seconds remaining in the fight and landed a hard right to stun Bradley again 30 seconds before the finish.

Another left hook sent Bradley into the ropes and he stumbled forward then fell to his right knee with 10 seconds remaining. Russell counted but Bradley rose well before the referee reached 10, was pronounced ready to fight and then came the final bell.

"It's up to the judges but I think I did everything in there to prove myself," said Provodnikov, who fought the last four rounds with a bloody gash opened over his left eye.

"I did not feel his punches at all. I went after him the whole 12 rounds."

Provodnikov, who won his first 17 fights before suffering his first career loss in 2011 to Mauricio Herrera, moved up from the junior welterweight ranks for his world title chance and showed determination from the start.

Bradley shook off the slow start and began dictating the tempo by the fourth round, but Provodnikov answered in the sixth with a stunning left hook to the body followed by a hard right and a flurry that had the champion on the ropes.

Bouncing back, Bradley landed more punches than the Russian over each of the next three rounds, opening a bloody gash over Provodnikov's left eye in the ninth, but by the 11th they were both weary but exchanging power punches again.

"I wanted to jump on him," Bradley said. "I didn't want him to get in control. I wanted to work at my pace."





Boxing: Unbeaten Bradley keeps title with narrow escape

Jean Lafitte — Hang around Jean Lafitte Mayor Tim Kerner long enough, and the conversation is guaranteed to include two topics: Flood protection and boxing.

The issue of securing levees and other flood protection is almost always Kerner’s primary concern, but it doesn’t take much to get him ruminating about the sweet science. The son of a former welterweight who was also the town’s mayor, Kerner tends to talk about politics using boxing metaphors. So it’s no surprise that his latest project in Jean Lafitte is a boxing gym he hopes will keep the area’s youth off the streets and its residents from getting too flabby around the middle.

“I think it will be good for kids, and it will be good for the community,” Kerner said.

Kerner held a grand opening for the gym, which is in the town’s former fisheries museum, last week, and it will be open for memberships Monday. It features several heavy bags and other apparatus, along with a ring in another room for sparring. There will be showers and a dojo for classes in martial arts and self-defense, he said.

Local boxer Chuck Mince will train fighters at the gym four days a week, but it will be open to the public every day, Kerner said. Memberships are available to anyone interested, not just Jean Lafitte residents.

The gym is the latest example of Kerner repurposing the old fisheries museum, which is obsolete after the town opened a newer facility in its new multi-purpose center near City Hall. Previously, Kerner used the building as a dorm for volunteers who would regularly descend on the Lafitte, Barataria and Crown Point areas after floods to help with rebuilding. In fact, Kerner initially planned to open the boxing gym this summer, but those plans were dashed when Hurricane Isaac flooded the facility and forced the town to start over.

“I always wanted to do it, I needed the room to do it,” Kerner said.

The set-up mirrors one Kerner has in his own home, where he is constantly inviting people over to work out. The mayor trained as a boxer in his youth at a gym in Crown Point and said he and his brother often practiced their pugilistic skills on each other and anyone else who bothered them.

However, his vision for the town’s facility is a little different. In recent months, Kerner has lamented the influx of narcotics in the small fishing community and even pushed for changes in how the town selected its police chief so that he could appoint someone to the position he felt would be more aggressive. The town recently received funding from the Jefferson Parish Council to install crime cameras in some troubled areas, a first for the close-knit community.

Kerner noted that boxing not only provides young people with an outlet, the rigors of training combined with the drug testing for competition make it harder to dabble in narcotics. Boxing teaches discipline, he said, and that discipline can be useful for both the young and old.

“We don’t want everybody fighting people on the street and all that. We want them to be disciplined. We want to teach them discipline whether you’re 15 or 50,” Kerner said. “If you participate in competition, you have to be drug tested and be clean.”

The new gym, 580 Jean Lafitte Blvd., will be open from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., and monthly memberships will cost $50, with discounts for senior citizens and students. Kerner said a schedule must still be determined for the kickboxing and other martial arts classes, and there will programs for all age groups.

The town also installed special flooring that can be cleaned easily in case the building floods again. Kerner said the gym also will be available for use by the town’s firefighters and police officers, and he expects to expand offerings at the facility depending on participation.



Jean Lafitte mayor brings boxing gym to town | News | The Advocate — Baton Rouge, LA

The International Amateur Boxing Association has confirmed that headguards will be removed from men's amateur boxing but not for women.

Headguards were first introduced into competition in 1984 but will be removed again for October's World Amateur Boxing Championships in Kazakhstan. The decision was based on two separate studies which put forward evidence that the removal will decrease concussions.

Women and male boxers below senior level will continue to wear headguards.

AIBA's medical commission studied more than 2,000 bouts and independent research in a recent article, which studied 30,000 contests over 59 years, in the British Journal of Sports Medicine both supported the removal.

The International Olympic Committee has yet to officially confirm that headguards will be removed for the 2016 Rio Olympics but their medical commission were part of the discussion process with AIBA.

"It is AIBA's duty to bring the sport of boxing to the pinnacle of the Olympic movement and I am convinced that these changes will critically contribute to the development of our beloved sport," said AIBA president Dr Ching-Kuo Wu.

Some elite male amateur boxers have competed already without headguards in the World Series of Boxing which is a semi-professional franchise-based branch of AIBA in which Great Britain are represented by British Lionhearts. WSB began in 2010 and includes team and individual competitions, with the latter offering Olympic places for successful participants.

AIBA is also set to launch its own professional boxing body (AP😎 later in 2013 which will allow, like WSB, amateur boxers to earn purses for competing while maintaining their Olympic eligibility which was previously prohibited.

All three forms of the sport will also be judged on the 10-point must system as the computer-based points-scoring system, which has been in place since the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, is to be abandoned.

May's European Amateur Boxing Championships in Belarus are expected to be the final major men's international competition to use headguards with the official date of 1 June 2013 for their removal.


BBC Sport - Amateur boxing: headguards removed for men but not women

BOXING fans are holding their breath over the possible choice of South Yorkshire for a world title fight.

Doncaster’s Jamie McDonnell will be disputing the IBF bantamweight crown against Mexican KO king Julio Ceja in the Summer.

Initially, it was suggested that the fight would be in either Mexico or New York City.

But promoter Dennis Hobson is staging a media conference on Friday in Doncaster, sparking speculation that the event will be at the Keepmoat Stadium in May.

South Yorkshire has a history of hosting thrilling world-title events. And McDonnell’s chances could be boosted if he competes on home soil.

Meanwhile, the war of words between IBF welterweight champion Devon Alexander and Sheffield challenger Kell Brook shows no sign of abating. Brook takes on the American in Atlantic City on May 18 and Alexander believes he has little to worry about.

Referring to the odds of victory, he said: “How can you go for Kell when 95 per cent of people in boxing don’t even know who he is? I have looked at enough Brook fights to see what I need to and I’m not missing anything as he is a basic fighter. I haven’t seen one fight that I was impressed with because he hasn’t fought anyone of a high calibre.

“I haven’t heard anyone from the US going for Kell, but if they are, they are just people who don’t like me,” he told World Boxing News.

Quizzed about a potential unification fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr later this year, he replied: “Big things are coming after I brutalise Kell in May.”



Boxing: World title fight location puzzle - Boxing - The Star

Dereck Chisora says that boxing is "dead" and personalities like his will get the sport greater attention.

Earlier in March, the 29-year-old was given a British Boxing Board of Control licence, a year after he had it removed following a brawl with David Haye.

But the heavyweight maintains he has no concerns about negative perceptions of him in the sport. "Boxing is dead and you need people like me to bring it back up," Chisora told 5 live Boxing.

"Someone has to take the bad role and as long as people are tuning in and watching the sport that I love, I don't mind."

Chisora was banned by the World Boxing Council after the fracas with Haye but his subsequent fight against his fellow Briton, which Chisora lost in the fifth round, was sanctioned by the Luxembourg Boxing Federation.

The Londonder, who has undertaken anger management classes, is set to fight Ondrej Pala on 20 April and is targeting a fight with David Price later this year.

He added: "I don't mind going to Liverpool in the summer time for a big fight against David Price. I did take [anger classes] but I've kind of stopped now. We'll see one day if it's worked."



BBC Sport - Dereck Chisora claims 'boxing is dead' and needs characters

Mikaela Mayer has been in Las Vegas in preparation for an upcoming amateur boxing tournament. On Wednesday, she spoke with ProBoxingInsider-com about a variety of topics, including her plans to contend for a place in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.

The troubles in women’s professional boxing have been well documented over the past several years. While women’s MMA has seen an explosion in popularity, their boxing counterparts have struggled to be noticed by anybody.

It is in the amateur ranks that, perhaps, the best hope for women lay. Marlen Esparza, Claressa Shields, and Mikaela Mayer have managed to capture the attention of not only the small pocket of women’s boxing fans, but also more casual fans as well. Because of the inclusion of the sport in the last Olympics, the ladies competing in the amateur ranks have found themselves with endorsement opportunities and media coverage not afforded to female boxers in years. Mayer has certainly made the most of the opportunity even though she didn’t even qualify for the Olympic team. Her Dr. Pepper commercial, which tells her story of being a fighter, in addition to a model, was incredibly popular.

ProBoxingInsider-com spent a few moments with Mikaela Mayer at the Mayweather Boxing Club in Las Vegas where she was in town getting in some sparring as she prepares for an upcoming tournament. The club has allowed her to get in some work with talented fighters such as Jessica Rakoczy and Maricela Cornejo. Ultimately, she hopes to put the disappointment of London behind her, and qualify for the 2016 Olympics to be held in Rio.

Mayer discusses coming up short in her Olympic bid, how she plans to improve going forward, and whether or not she has plans to go pro at some point in the future. Additionally, she discusses the revival of women’s boxing and the impact the Dr. Pepper commercial has had on her career.


Mikaela Mayer focused on Rio for 2016 - Henderson Boxing | Examiner-com

Olympic boxers will fight without head guards in a pro-style scoring system starting this year after several significant rule changes by the sport's international governing body.

The International Boxing Association (AIBA) unveiled several rule amendments this week, but the two biggest changes will move the Olympic sport much closer to the professional version. The rejection of headgear and the introduction of 10-point scoring could make the sport once known as amateur boxing more appealing to young boxers seeking professional careers.

Male boxers at the world championships in October and the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016 won't wear the protective head guards adopted before the 1984 Los Angeles Games. Although the move might seem counterintuitive in preventing brain injuries, the chairman of AIBA's medical commission, Charles Butler, cites numerous medical studies that suggest fighting without head guards will decrease concussions.

"There's no evidence protective gear shows a reduction in incidence of concussion," Butler said. "In 1982, when the American Medical Association moved to ban boxing, everybody panicked and put headgear on the boxers, but nobody ever looked to see what the headgear did."

AIBA's executive committee unanimously voted to add head guards to amateur competition in April 1984, and they stayed in place through eight straight Olympics.

But the headgear has long been criticized for diffusing the impact of a blow and allowing fighters to continue sustaining more head shots for a longer stretch of time. The gear also offers no protection to the chin, where many knockout blows land in boxing, while the bulky sides of the device impede fighters' peripheral vision, preventing them from seeing every head blow.

The head guard ban will only affect male boxers at the top levels of AIBA competition, meaning women's boxers and younger fighters will still wear the gear.

The amateur sport also is moving to a pro-style, 10-point scoring system, discarding the latest version of the much-criticized computer punch-count systems implemented after the Seoul Olympics in 1988. Each fight will be scored by five ringside judges with the traditional 10-9 or 10-8 rounds familiar to fans of professional boxing.

The sport moved to a punch-counting system after the infamously bizarre results in Seoul, including Roy Jones Jr.'s inexplicable loss. But the computer system has been highly subjective and arcane, often turning the sport into a sparring session that emphasizes punch volume over technique and ring generalship. North American boxers have been particularly critical of the computerized scoring, with many top U.S. and Mexican prospects declining even to participate in amateur boxing.

The traditional scoring system also should indirectly improve fighters' safety, according to Butler. Since body shots and combinations notoriously scored few points in the computerized punch-count system, fighters have long placed a premium on a high volume of head shots, since an opponent's neck snapping back is the surest way to make sure a punch is seen and counted.

"Boxing isn't bean counting," Butler said. "The thing that makes (the computer system) dangerous is if you're a boxer, you know you're not going to get a point for a body shot, so what are you going to do except punch the head? There were no points given for combinations. You might get one point. If a kid was a counterpuncher, you'd lose."

AIBA has been moving its sport to a professional model for the past several years under the direction of president Wu Ching-Kuo, even opening two professional boxing ventures: the team-based World Series of Boxing and the individual APB Boxing, slated to debut this fall. AIBA even dropped the word "amateur" from its name and competitions to emphasize its desire to control boxing at every level.

"It is AIBA's duty to bring the sport of boxing to the pinnacle of the Olympic Movement, and I am convinced that these changes will critically contribute to the development of our beloved sport," Wu said. "Decisions have not been made lightly, and we will now put a lot of efforts in educating our national member federations, our officials, boxers and coaches, as well as boxing fans around the world."


Olympic boxing drops head guards, changes scoring system - ESPN

JOSH Kelly has taken a major step towards ABA Championship glory.

The gifted Wearsider reached the last four of the prestigious tournament with one of his finest domestic results on Sunday.

Kelly, recently turned 19, outpointed Midlands champion Sam Bowen at S************************horpe in an U63.5 kilo quarter-final cracker in S************************horpe.

Bowen threw everything except the kitchen sink at the young England boxer, who showed his extra quality to win on all five judges’ scorecards – 21-12, 19-13, 17-14, 27-12 and 20-19.

“I’m buzzing,” the stylish Houghton ABC star told the Echo. “That was a massive scalp for me.

“People who had looked at this fight have been saying that it was going to be between me and him to win it (the title).

“He’s five years older than me, he’s strong, and had not gone the full three rounds in his three bouts so far.

“I think he knew I am a boxer and he tried to knock me out of my rhythm. But I was determined to keep my head and not to mix it.

“I followed instructions and that was to stick to my clean and clever boxing.”

Kelly, from Barnes in Sunderland, has every right to be “buzzing” after have the guile and nerve to beat the fighter from Earl Shilton ABC.

It would perhaps be a little over simplistic to describe this as aggressor v artist or brawler v boxer but there were two distict styles in the Redbourn Club ring.

Bowen had “Bullet” written on his shorts but “bludgeon” may have been a better word. The Leicestershire lad was left-hand-happy in the first round, targeting the body and the head but Kelly moved brilliantly, making his opponent miss several times.

Kelly landed several superb lefts plus a left-right combination when Bowen lunged in.

Bowen did land one left on the head of the teenager but it was so long after the bell that his cornerman was getting into the ring.

It seemed Bowen had escaped censure but it was not the case as the referee and deducted points at the start of the middle session.

Another warning soon followed for mis-use of the head and Kelly looked well on his way to victory.

He was given a standing eight count when his right glove touched the canvas though he appeared to have been pushed down rather than punched.

He retained his composure with straight left and right shots to maintain his lead.

Bowen was forward, again, in the last and did land a couple of strong lefts to the body but Kelly connected with a few lefts of his own and ended a worthy winner.

Next up are the semi-finals at Everton Park Sports Centre on Sunday, April 7, and after this win, nothing should hold any fears for the Sunderland ace.



Sunderland boxer through to semis - Boxing - Sunderland Echo

Manny Pacquiao has spent 18 years as a professional fighter and tallied 61 bouts. At the age of 34 and with a myriad of interests outside the ring, speculation has been swirling whether or not Pacquiao would continue fighting after his devastating knockout by the right fist of Juan Manuel Marquez in December. Pacquiao put retirement talk to bed this week in an interview with the Manila Standard Today, one of the largest newspapers in the Philippines. He told the paper that he would return to the sport in September. Left unanswered are the two biggest questions: who will be his opponent and where will the fight take place? “Everybody knows I’ll fight anyone. I am not scared of anybody. And that is the reason why boxing fans like me so much. I never avoid anyone. I don’t choose easy fights. I will fight anybody, anytime, anywhere,” Pacquiao told the paper.

The most obvious match-up is a fifth bout with Marquez. There was some fan fatigue with the fourth fight, but it still generated 1.15 million pay-per-view buys (100,000 less than their third fight) and $70 million from TV, plus another $11 million at the gate. It was Pacquiao’s sixth 1 million PPV fight, which ties Mike Tyson for the most in boxing history. If Pacquiao and Marquez cannot agree on terms for another fight, Pacquiao most likely will turn to Timothy Bradley, who won a controversial decision against Pacquiao in June, 2012 that most ringside observers felt Pacquiao won handily. Bradley defeated Ruslan Provodnikov this month to run his record to 30-0.

Pairing fighters is always a challenge with the egos involved in the sport and it became trickier last week when HBO announced it would no longer buy fights from Golden Boy Promotions, which is boxing’s largest promoter. Like Pacquiao, Bradley and Marquez are both in the Top Rank stable of fighters, which makes both match-ups doable.

The venue question remains unanswered, as well. Pacquiao’s last dozen fights include 10 in Las Vegas and a pair at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Tex. But Arum has been pushing for Pacquiao’s next fight to take place in gambling mecca Macau. Arum argues that the lower income taxes for Pacquiao would offset a potentially smaller purse. For now, Pacquiao says he is busy with the political campaign of his wife Jinkee, who is running for vice governor of Sarangani. He is also involved in the campaign of his brother, Rogelio, who is running for office. Manny is running for reelection unopposed for the lone Congressional seat of Sarangani Province. Election day is May 13 in the Philippines. It promises to be a big day in the Pacquiao household.



Manny Pacquiao Says He Will Return To Boxing In September - Forbes