14 Aug 06Maskaev wins WBC heavyweight title
Oleg Maskaev stopped Hasim Rahman in the 12th round Saturday night to give fighters from the former Soviet Union all four World Heavyweight titles.
Maskaev, a former Russian Army officer who immigrated to the U.S. in 1995 had won all of his previous 10 fights to earn a mandatory title shot against the man he defeated in 1999.
A crashing right hook by Maskev sent Rahman through the ropes on that occasion.
All three judges had the fight going down to the wire with Maskaev leading 106-103 on judge Jerry Roth's scorecard entering the 12th, Anek Hongtongkam favored the American Rahman 106-103 while Glenn Trowbridge had Maskaev ahead 105-104.
Rahman needed to win the 12th round to retain his belt.
Maskaev said, "I believed up to the last minute I could win this fight,"
"I got used to him as the fight wore on. I knew with three rounds left, I had to win them all to win the fight." More...
18 Jul 06Mosley beats Vargas again
Shane Mosley defeated Fernando Vargas in their light middleweight rematch at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Saturday.
Referee Kenny Bayless had to stop the fight in the sixth round after Mosley knocked Vargas to the canvas with a left hook.
Vargas recovered to take a standing eight count but Mosley was quickly in to unload on the hapless Vargas forcing the referee to step in and stop the fight.
Mosley had defeated Vargas in their earlier fight in February with Vargas suffering a badly swollen left eye.
Mosley said of his knockdown punch, "It was a combination that me and my father were working on in training camp. I set it up with the jab, step back and then hit him with the left hook."
Vargas said he felt in control of the fight before Vargas struck a telling blow, "I can't take anything away from his performance. I was trying to put my punches together. I thought I was doing good and he caught me with a good shot. That's boxing," he said. More...
24 May 05Cotto declares Kostya the winner
24 May 2005
Puerto Rican boxer Miguel Cotto has no doubt Australia champion Kostya Tszyu will knock out Ricky Hatton when they meet on June 4 to contest the IBF and WBC light-welterweight world titles.
Cotto the WBO champion said, "It is a one-sided fight. Tszyu should win easily before the seventh round. He's too strong and has too much experience. Tszyu has also fought a higher calibre of opposition."
The 35 year old Russian born Australian Tszyu said, "Ricky has fought some great fighters but he will find that I am another level above them," he said.
"It is a great challenge for Ricky and he has got guts to step up and take the challenge. I have fought some great champions and I respect all my opponents." More...
23 May 05Australian Briggs loses title fight
22 May 2005
Australian boxer Paul Briggs lost a majority points decision to Tomasz Adamek of Poland in their World Boxing Council light heavyweight title fight in Chicago today.Both boxers received standing ovations at the end of the 12-round fight.
Judge John McCarthy had Adamek winning 115-113, while John Keane scored it 114-114. Nobuaki Uratani scored it 117-113 for Adamek.
An accidental head clash in the second round left Briggs with blood pouring out of a cut above his left eyebrow and Adamek holding the right side of his face.
Briggs quickly went on the attack and by the third round Adamek's eye was swollen shut courtesy of some thunderous rights.
Adamek, who improved to 29-0 with 20 knockouts said, ``This is the best fight I've had. Briggs was a strong and hard fighter that was never going to give up. I know I made my country and family proud.''
Briggs was philosophical afterwards, ``Of course, I thought I won. But that's the way it goes. It was a fair decision.'' More...
05 May 05Green dumps Fenech
4 May 2005
Australian super-middleweight boxer Danny Green has dumped three time world champion Jeff Fenech to sign with Bangkok-based Cuban Ismael Salas, who has coached five world champions and guided his boxers to victory in 45 world title bouts.
Green said, "I want to stress that I still regard Jeff as a great friend and I will never forget the help he gave me. Leaving him was the hardest decision of my life but it was a decision that had to be made and I am very excited about continuing my career with Ismael.”
Green added, “I flew to Bangkok to discuss the move with Ismael last week and I trained with him for two days there. He is a former WBA trainer of the year and I believe he will be great for me. He will stay with me at my home in Sydney for eight to 10 weeks before my fights." More...
12 Apr 05Tyson to return to the ring
12 April 2005
Former heavyweight champion Iron Mike Tyson is set to announce a return to the ring with a fight against Kevin McBride on June 11 at Washington's MCI Center. The 38-year-old Tyson is 50-5 with two no contests and 44 knockouts.
Tyson’s last comeback fight was against Danny Williams in Louisville on July 30 when he was stopped in the fourth round after tearing cartilage in his left knee.
Tyson who became the youngest heavyweight champion ever when he knocked out Trevor Berbick at the age of 20 in 1986 has entered the ring just four times in the last four years. More...
13 Mar 05Green comes up short
13 March 2005
Australian boxer Danny Green lost a majority points decision to defending champion Marcus Bayer in a 12-round WBC super middleweight title fight in Germany overnight. The rematch of their title bout of 16 months ago didn’t have any similarities from their first fight. Green dominated the first fight knocking down the German champion twice in their five rounds before being disqualified for headbutting.
This time around the wily German kept away from Green’s right hand and built up a fight winning points margin over the challenger. In a frantic 12th and final round, Green came out swinging after being urged by manager Jeff Fenech to throw caution to the wind. Green responded dropping Bayer to the canvas only 10 seconds into the final round. The German southpaw was then good enough to stay out of harms way until the bell as Green tried valiantly for the knockout blow.
Green paid tribute to the champion in a ringside interview after the fight saying, “I'm obviously disappointed, I didn't do enough to win the fight. Congratulations to Markus Beyer, he fought a very, very good fight, he come back very strong. Before the fight I had respect for him, I've got even more respect for him now. Markus was the better fighter on the night, it is as simple as that," More...
20 Feb 05Hopkins wins 20th straight title defence
20 Feb 2005
Bernard Hopkins defeated British challenger Howard Eastman in a unanimous points decision after the judges scorecards read 119-110, 117-111, 116-112 in favor of the American. The 40 year old Hopkins who scored his 20th straight title defense said, "No other middleweight has accomplished that and it's an honour to make history at the age of 40."
The undisputed middleweight champion took home all four belts, the WBC, WBA, WBO and IBF as his prize. Hopkins paid tribute to Eastman saying, "He takes a hell of a shot and was able to give me some good shots but I gave them back. I give him a B-minus. The fans wanted to see a war and I gave it to them in parts but I don't fight that way, I just turn it up when I have to."
Eastman was far from happy with the tactics employed by the champion saying, "He didn't fight like a true champion - he has got to give me a rematch. He ran from me the whole time. He was the champion in his backyard and I dictated the pace. I am very disappointed. He never hurt me, I felt I was hitting him and he didn't land a lot." More...
30 Jan 05Gatti knocks out Leija in fifth
30 Jan 2005
Arturo Gatti retained his WBC super lightweight title Saturday with a fifth-round knockout of challenger “Jessie” James Leija at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. Gatti (39-6, 30 KOs) fought a controlled fight over the opening four rounds before unleashing an attack in the fifth.
The 38-year-old Leija fell to 47-7-2. He hit the canvass after a straight right to the head early in the fifth round. While he survived a nine count by referee Earl Brown the end was swift as Gatti put Leija away with a crashing left. Gatti will now try to organize a big money fight with undefeated two-time champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. More...