Oleg Maskaev Vs. Sam Peter - WBC heavyweight clash

At last some decent heavy weight boxing on the cards:

Oleg Maskaev will make the second defence of his WBC heavyweight title against Samuel Peter at Madison Square Garden on October 6.

The Russian-American is on a 12-fight winning streak that includes the victory over Hasim Rahman last August that saw him claim his title.

However Maskaev (34-5, 26 KOs), who turned pro back in 1993, is now putting the belt on the line against the man known as the 'Nigerian Nightmare'.

Peter is 28-1 with 22 KOs and his co-promoter Don Kong has long claimed he could be the next Mike Tyson.

On the undercard, Ireland's Kevin McBride will fight Andrew Golota in a heavyweight bout, while Jose Antonio Rivera will meet Daniel Santos to decide the mandatory challenger for Joachim Alcine's WBA super-welterweight title.

Boxing News - Fight of the Year: Hatton Vs Mayweather Contracts Signed

Ricky Hatton's father has reportedly confirmed that contracts have been signed for Hatton's December 8 super-fight against Floyd Mayweather.

Hatton will receive a career-best purse for the contest, which is expected to be officially announced by Oscar De La Hoya's promoters Golden Boy Promotions very soon.

Ray Hatton said: "The contract provided what we wanted and we are officially signed up. Now we are just waiting for the date and venue to be made official.

"Our lawyers have instructed us that the Mayweather camp have also signed at their end. We are delighted with the deal. Ricky's purse is higher than anything he has previous earned."

The MGM Grand in Las Vegas is favourite to host the contest. Hatton could expect a travelling support in excess of the 10,000 who saw him beat Jose Luis Castillo in the city in June.

Mayweather came out of a short-lived retirement to take the fight, and has already begun the hype.

So let's wait and see the official big announcement. The hype for this fight will surely be massive; on par with the Oscar De La Hoya Vs. Mayweather hype.

I'm glad that Mayweather's retirement was short lived. Maybe Hatton will put him back into retirement.

Boxing news: Floyd Mayweather Vs. Ricky Hatton Agreed?

Big fight news from the world of boxing: Floyd Mayweather Vs. Ricky Hatton has reportedly been verbally agreed.
Ricky Hatton's trainer, Billy Graham, announced a verbal agreement between representatives of Hatton and Mayweather for a December super-fight in Las Vegas. Hatton's father Ray reportedly also confirmed this weekend that he had reached a "verbal agreement" with Mayweather's camp shortly after returning from a trip to Las Vegas to watch Bernard Hopkins' victory over Winky Wright. Ricky Hatton will try to become the first man to defeat Floyd Mayweather and establish himself as the number one pound-for-pound boxer in the world.

Contracts are expected to be signed in the coming days for a fight which is set to earn Hatton around £8million, and Mayweather much more. It is expected to take place on December 8 in Las Vegas.

Floyd Mayweather announced his retirement after his win over Oscar De La Hoya in May, but appears to have been tempted back into the ring following comments by Hatton.

Hatton's representatives will sign a one-fight deal with De La Hoya's 'Golden Boy' organisation to promote the fight.

This should be a reat fight. Let's hope all these reports are accurate.

Boxing: Joe Calzaghe Promo

In light of the upcoming Calzaghe Vs Kessler fight, here's a DVD promo in honor of Joe Calzaghe.

Boxing News: "I want Calzaghe" - Hopkins

More Boxing News
Bernard Hopkins has set his sights on a showdown with WBO super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe after defeating Winky Wright in Las Vegas.
42-year-old Hopkins retained his IBO light heavyweight title by a unanimous decision at the Mandalay Bay and then threw out a challenge to 168 pounds champion Calzaghe, who meets Mikkel Kessler in Wales on November 3 to unify the division.

Hopkins (48-4-1, 32 KOs) has won his last two fights at this weight after inflicting a first defeat since December 1999 on Wright and winning a decision against Antonio Tarver in June 2006.

Judges Dave Moretti and Glenn Trowbridge scored the fight, 117-111, while judge Glenn Hamada had it 116-112 for the winner.

A headbutt by Hopkins in the third round left a significant cut over the left eye of Wright, whose wound began to bleed at a significant rate. And afterwards Wright accused his opponent of dirty tactics.

The referee briefly stopped the match and warned Hopkins as Wright was treated by the ringside doctor. Hopkins, however, insisted the incident was an accident.

Hopkins was to earn three million US dollars for this fight.

So what next? Will he move back down a weight? I don't think Calzage will move up. This should be interesting. It's good to see Hopkins still has some fight in him and is going after quality opposition.

Boxing: Fight News - Winky Wright Vs Bernard Hopkins

Winky Wright Vs Bernard Hopkins meet in Las Vegas on Saturday night. The Mandalay Bay hosts a fight between the finest boxing technicians of their generation.

Winky won the WBO light-middleweight title in 1996 and began his rise to world prominence, which culminated in victories over Shane Mosley in 2004 and Felix Trinidad in 2005.

Hopkins, seven years Wright's senior, boasted a record-breaking stint as middleweight world champion before being controversially beaten by rising star Jermain Taylor.

However, he recovered in style last year to beat former light-heavyweight world champion (and Rocky Balboa movie star) Antonio Tarver despite a jump of two weight divisions.

Wright, for so long a 154lb fighter, is making an even bigger jump to take on Hopkins at a 170lb catch-weight. This fight is the latest in a growing, welcome trend whereby top fighters shun 'alphabet' titles and opt to make meaningful fights against top opponents.

Winky is the favorite here, but this should be a great battle with the bigger man Hopkins eager to prove his legacy.

Record Breaking Super Fight?

Will Joe Calzaghe's unification super fight against Mikkel Kessler set a new world attendance record for an indoor boxing event?

The Millennium Stadium, in Calzaghe's home country of Wales in the UK, will host the showdown on November 3 with 70,000 tickets available, of which 17,500 have already been sold even though the fight was only confirmed last Wednesday.

Muhammad Ali's rematch against Leon Spinks holds the record with 63,500 descending on the Louisiana Superdome in 1978 to watch 'The Greatest' win the world heavyweight title for a third time.

Promoter Warren said: "Getting Joe and Mikkel together is very expensive.

"Kessler's people wanted the fight in Copenhagen but ultimately money swung it to be held over here. It's always about the money! "The record for an indoor gate in the sport is 63,500 and I think we'll have more than that at the Millennium Stadium on November 3. If that happens it will be the world's biggest indoor boxing event."

Kessler is arguably Calzaghe's greatest challenge to date with the 28-year-old WBC and WBA super-middleweight champion unbeaten in 39 fights.

But Warren believes the Dane will bring the best out of Calzaghe, whose WBO belt and unblemished record will also be on the line in Cardiff.

It's great that this fight has finally been nailed down. The worrying rumours of a novelty 'super fight' with Bernard Hopkins or Roy Jones eventually died down, and Frank Warren has managed to make the fight every boxing fan wants to see.

Unbeaten Dane Kessler may not boast the box-office draw of a Hopkins or Jones in America. But the live gate receipts and interest generated by such a commendable unification clash will produce the kudos and Kroner Calzaghe craves.

Wladimir Klitschko beat Lamon Brewster by technical knockout for the IBF heavyweight title.

Brewster did not return for the seventh round after Klitschko dominated the first half of the fight courtesy of a strong left jab which he followed up with strong rights to the head.

WBA champion Ruslan Chagaev and WBO belt-holder Sultan Ibragimov battle out a unification match in October, and Klitschko has already challenged the winner.

Ibragimov looked OK against Shannon Briggs. But this division needs another Tyson, I've said it before.

Wladimir Klitschko is now 31 and near his peak. When the subject of facing 45 year old Evander Holyfield came up, Klitschko said that he would consider facing the former four-time heavyweight champion, but would rather take on the winner of the October unification between WBA champ Rusland Chagaev and WBO titleholder Sultan Ibragimov.

Hasim Rahman is said to be the frontrunner to fight Klitschko next, but Holyfield, who holds a win over Rahman, would make a lot more financial sense and could make for a more entertaining fight.

Calzage Vs Kessler: It's On!

Frank Warren claims he has overcome "all the major obstacles" to getting Joe Calzaghe in the ring for a superfight with Mikkel Kessler at the Millennium Stadium in November.

Great news - Calzaghe has held the WBO title for 10 years while Kessler is the undefeated WBC and WBA champion.

I'm looking forward to this fight.

HITMAN HATTON KOs CASTILLO

Ricky Hatton delivered a performance of vicious efficiency to hammer Jose Luis Castillo to fourth-round defeat in Las Vegas and secure his place in the pantheon of his generation's pay-per-view superstars.

Hatton swung a crushing body shot into the ribs of former lightweight champion Castillo, who crumpled to one knee on the canvas where he was counted out by referee Joe Cortez.

It was the emphatic victory Hatton needed to underline his status as the world's best 140lbs fighter and open the door to a possible future fight against Floyd Mayweather.

Mayweather had twice struggled to outpoint Castillo but it was a different story for the Manchester 'Hitman', who had looked intent on securing a headline-grabbing win from the opening bell.

Hatton had been desperate to deliver such a thrilling performance after admitting he struggled in his two previous Stateside fights against Luis Collazo and Juan Urango.

In contrast to that pair of slippery southpaws, Castillo brought both the winning record and the attacking force which Hatton required to enable him to shine.

Castillo's awesome first fight against Diego Corrales two years ago was hailed as one of the most ferocious of all time and he came out with his own pay-per-view potential boosted despite defeat.

And despite also failing to impress when he narrowly outpointed Herman Ngoudjo in January, there seemed little chance of a significantly better Castillo not turning up in this fight.

Castillo had had plenty at stake. He entered the fight under a financial cloud after being hit with a big fine for failing to make the weight for a projected third fight against Corrales.

And his own promoter Bob Arum had preceded the contest by warning that this fight could realistically represent Castillo's last chance at forcing his way back to the top.

Hatton's win caused uproar amongst his thousands of travelling fans who had roared him into the Thomas & Mack Center ring with Wayne Rooney and Marco Antonio Barrera in hot pursuit.

Within seconds of the opening bell it became apparent there would be few backward steps as both men roared from their respective corners and clinched in the centre of the ring.

Castillo briefly touched down during the opening exchanges but referee Cortez ruled a slip and the frantic action resumed with Hatton digging two right uppercuts to Castillo's chin.

Finding better range with his punches, Hatton had chiselled an early advantage and a clean left hand in the final seconds of the round cemented his lead.

Hatton had described his intended tactic as "educated pressure", and it was certainly paying off as he continued to beat Castillo to the punch and land the significant blows in round two.

Castillo landed his first heavy shots of note early in the third and cranked up the pace towards the end of the round with a left which seemed to stun Hatton and sparked a furious exchange before the bell.

It was living up to every column inch of its pre-fight billing but Castillo's increasing reliance on his left hooks to the body got him into trouble with Cortez for hitting low.

When the action resumed Hatton swung his own left hook to the body which caused a delayed reaction in Castillo, who grimaced and sunk slowly to the canvas where Cortez's count reached 10.

As he left the ring Castillo admitted: "He got me good, it was the perfect shot. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't get up."

Hatton felt he had come into the fight better prepared than he had for any previous encounter.

He told Setanta Sports 1: "I trained for 12 rounds of pain tonight. I told everybody that I've never had a training camp like it before and I think it showed.

"I think I tried a bit too hard and Billy (Graham, trainer) told me to slow it down and take it easy.

"I went into that ring tonight a very frustrated man. I've been up against two world champions in two weight divisions (in previous fights). Sometimes I have tried too hard to put on a show and that has got me in trouble in the past."

Hatton added: "I expected Castillo to do those low blows to be honest, he has always thrown a lot of low blows. He does it all the way through the fight and I wanted the referee to cut it out."

Boxing News: KLITSCHKO CAMP EYE McCLINE

Some heavyweight boxing news: Vitali Klitschko's camp are trying to arrange a bout with former title challenger Jameel McCline for his ring comeback in September.

Man, this division needs another Mike Tyson, otherwise it'll just decline into nothing.

Vitali Klitschko - the former heavyweight world champion (35-2), who has not fought since making his only title defence against Danny Williams in December 2004, announced in January that he was coming out of retirement.

Vitali and Wladimir should just beat each other up for a few rounds.

Calzaghe Vs. Kessler - Another Boxing Superfight?

Boxing Promoter Frank Warren says Joe Calzaghe will go to Denmark and fight Mikkel Kessler in a blockbusting world super-middleweight showdown.

Earlier this week, Warren agreed to an offer made by Kessler's promoter, Mogens Palle, but has so far heard nothing back from the Dane.

"It's not a done deal until it's signed but we've accepted," Warren told BBC Five Live. "It's now up to Palle to send a contract."

Long-term WBO super-middleweight king Calzaghe had been linked to a fight with his WBC/WBA counterpart following victory over Peter Manfredo Jr in April.

Both fighters - neither of whom have tasted defeat before - were keen to secure home advantage, but Calzaghe is so confident of victory, he is prepared to sacrifice a partisan crowd.

"Joe doesn't mind fighting in Denmark," said Warren. "He feels he will beat Kessler anywhere and I believe that's the case as well.

"It's a great fight. It's the two best super middleweights in the world. It's probably one of the most competitive fights at the moment in boxing.

"I just hope that Palle backs up his offer. We sent him an e-mail on Tuesday along with a fax confirming what the terms were and we've not heard from him since.

"I'm hoping it's not all nonsense. He's been talking a lot about fighting Joe with Kessler and we've called his bluff. I don't believe he ever thought that Joe would go to Denmark."

Fight of the Century - Oscar De La Hoya Vs Floyd Mayweather

From a wagering perspective, the Oscar De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather fight could emerge as the richest boxing event in Las Vegas' modern era.

Betting on the bout is expected to amount to several million dollars at the host MGM-Mirage properties alone, approaching or exceeding the handle generated by the second Mike Tyson-Evander Holyfield heavyweight fight in 1997, said Robert Walker, director of race and sports book operations for MGM-Mirage.

"People see this as the biggest boxing match in a long time, and no one's sure when another one is going to happen, so people are betting accordingly," Walker said. "It's like the Super Bowl, where people bet more than they do on a regular weekly basis because they know it's the last game of the season."

Mayweather, who puts his unbeaten record and unofficial title of the sport's best pound-for-pound fighter on the line Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, is a minus-180 favorite (risk $1.80 to win $1) against De La Hoya. (Odds are subject to change.)

In the round proposition, bettors are required to risk $2.50 to $3 to win $1 that the fight will last 11 1/2 or all 12 rounds, depending on the odds at each sports book.

The price on Mayweather to win represents a drop from the opening line of about minus-220, indicating most of the money has been wagered on underdog De La Hoya.

At MGM-Mirage properties, Walker said , he has accepted plenty of wagers on De La Hoya in the $5,000 to $10,000 range. Walker has also been fielding inquiries on six-figure bets, though no gambler has risked that much yet. Several six-figure bets are expected to come in by the weekend, Walker said.

The tickets on De La Hoya could outnumber those on Mayweather by 3-to-1, Walker said, although most of the larger wagers will be on Mayweather - a typical pattern for a fight based in Las Vegas, where the betting public traditionally supports the underdog at the sports book windows.

"De La Hoya is by far the most popular fighter out there," Walker said. "Mayweather might be the favorite, and De La Hoya might be the underdog, but Oscar is the draw."

Joe Calzaghe defends his WBO super-middleweight title for the 20th time

Welshman Joe Calzaghe taught 'Contender' star Peter Manfredo a violent lesson in the reality of world championship boxing with an emphatic third-round stoppage victory at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.

Calzaghe successfully defended his WBO super-middleweight title for the 20th time, an accomplishment which saw him equal the records of fellow greats Larry Holmes and Bernard Hopkins.

In front of a record indoor crowd of around 35,000, Calzaghe blazed out for the third round and rained a seemingly endless supply of hooks down upon hapless Manfredo.

Watching closely as the 26-year-old challenger gamely attempted to stay on his feet, referee Terry O'Connor had finally seen enough at one minute 30 seconds of the round and waved the contest off.

While such a quick win had always been expected for Calzaghe, of equal importance was its manner which cannot fail to have impressed his influential paymasters on both sides of the Atlantic.

In truth, having starred in the first series of the popular US reality TV boxing show, Manfredo had come to Cardiff with a broadcast appeal far outweighing his pure boxing credentials.

Successive knockout wins over Scott Pemberton and Joe Spina just about earned him his shot but few if any outside his camp gave the Providence native a realistic shot.

At least Manfredo went out on his feet, but the manner of Calzaghe's win underlined that the 35-year-old belongs in a different league to almost all the current crop of 12-stone contenders.

One exception is unbeaten WBA champion Mikkel Kessler, the Dane who has also been promoted by Home Box Office and would certainly pose a sterner test in a possible super-fight to come.

Despite Manfredo's questionable qualities, this was a clever fight for Calzaghe, designed to impress an American audience granted a rare free-to-air glimpse of the Welshman via the Home Box Office network.

And the challenger played his part too in the opening round, scoring with a clean right hook and largely keeping the champion at bay with his strength whenever he came into range.

Calzaghe dug home a couple of hurtful right hooks to the body at the start of the second and continued to flick jabs through Manfredo's guard as he began to take control of the fight.

The champion seized upon his advantage early in the third, cracking home a magnificent right to tee up a sustained period of punishment which had Manfredo desperately seeking to maintain his guard.

Scenting another dramatic quick win, Calzaghe blazed away with both hands, and the intervention of O'Connor was not unduly protested by the Manfredo corner.

Calzaghe told ITV: "It's amazing (to be in Cardiff) for my 20th defence in this amazing arena.

"I paid my dues for a long time and this is what dreams are made of - and there's more to come yet."

Calzaghe admitted that the stoppage may have come a little early but was certain he would have knocked his opponent out given the chance.

"I think you could make a case that it was stopped slightly prematurely but if it hadn't have been then I'd have stopped him by the fourth.

"The referee saved him from more punishment. Up close he was going (down) and in the next 20 or 30 seconds I'd have floored him.

"It looked like the ropes were keeping him up.

"I'm always supremely confident of my abilities but even at 35, you're still learning."

Manfredo was unhappy at the referee's decision to stop the fight when he did. He told ITV: "I was hanging in there, trying to get my rhythm going, and the fight was stopped too soon. There was no warning or anything.

The Giant Falls to a new WBA world heavyweight boxing champion

Ruslan Chagaev is the new WBA world heavyweight boxing champion after winning a split points decision against previously unbeaten title holder and real-life giant Nikolai Valuev.

The Uzbek fighter was too tough for his seven foot Russian opponent in Stuttgart on Saturday night, who toiled despite his considerable height and weight advantage.

One judge called the fight a draw but Chagaev got the verdict of the other two officials by a 115-113 and 117-111 margin.