By Sean Ocampo: Pound for Pound King Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 KO) successfully defended his WBO Welterweight Championship with a dominant twelve round decision victory over former IBF Welterweight Champion Joshua “Grandmaster” Clottey (35-4-0, 20 KO) of Accra, Ghana in front of a massive crowd of 50,994 at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The scores were 120-108, 119-109, and 119-109 all in favor of Pacquiao.

Pacquiao’s work rate proved too much for Clottey for twelve rounds. Pacquiao landed 246 of 1,231 punches compared to Clottey’s 108 of 399, according to CompuBox.

Pacquiao took advantage of Clottey’s defensive style by ripping the Ghanaian with hard shots to the body. His sustained attack and blazing hand speed against Clottey was his key to this victory.

Clottey was on the defensive for twelve rounds by just keeping his guard high. His best round of the fight was the 6th round wherein caught Pacquiao with good counters to head and body. However, he never really got it going after that and was backed up by Pacquiao all throughout the rest of the fight.

The win over Clottey could probably set-up a match with the winner of the May 1st bout between undefeated boxing star Floyd Mayweather, Jr and WBA Welterweight Champion “Sugar” Shane Mosley later this year.

Source; www.eastsideboxing.com

Speaking today, as quoted by The Times, Khan gave away Golden Boy’s plans for him over the coming 18 months or so.

“They have laid out a plan that over the next 18 months I will be fighting the likes of Manny Pacquiao or [Floyd] Mayweather – big, big names,” Khans told The Times. “If they are seeing me with those guys, they must see something in me. Time will tell if they are right.”

Oscar De La Hoya said how he feels Khan is capable of going to the stratosphere and that he will be the next great to come out of England.

“We strongly feel Amir Khan can be the next great fighter to come out of England,” De La Hoya said. “He has a tough challenge in front of him [with Malignaggi], but we want to prove to the world he can become what we think he can become – a great champion.”

It would have been impossible to even think of putting Khan’s name next to that of Pacquiao back when the Bolton man was being wrecked inside a minute by Breidis Prescott, yet Khan showed heart and desire in coming back with wins over Marco Antonio Barrera, Andreas Kotelnik and, last time out, and in devastating fashion, Dmitriy Salita. And now it does appear as though the Olympic silver medallist could be on the verge of some genuine super-fights.

Of course, 18 months is a long time in boxing and a lot could happen. For example, the two superstars Amir mentioned the possibility of him facing, in Pac-Man and “Money,” may well be retired by then. Or, as is perhaps more of a possibility, Khan could lose. Certainly, Malignaggi, as he made clear when the two came face-to-face at a London press conference to hype the fight, is not taking this fight for just the payday.

“I am a much better fighter today than when I fought Ricky Hatton,” Malignaggi said. “I have been inconsistent a lot, but there have been shining moments where I have looked tremendously good. I feel I am getting back to that point now.”

Khan himself, when speaking on his upcoming fight, said he expects the fight to be “electric” and that due to his and Paulie’s style, combined with the heart and reluctance to quit both men have, the bout could even be the fight of the year.

But will Khan win and then look to become a superstar himself, or will “the Magic Man’s” recent return to form continue on May 15th?

Source; www.eastsideboxing.com

According to Lionheart-Boxing.dk and another site called ekstrabladet.dk, the Welshman has apparently contacted Kessler’s manager Simon Lundt to offer help or advice to ensure that Kessler is successful in beating Froch.

Kessler wasn’t rejective of the idea of Joe’s help, should he be of any assistance to his preparations to beat the Nottingham man for his WBC title.

Source; www.livefight.com

Suffering a badly cut eye during the opening round, Smith worked harder throughout the rounds in a rough, scrappy affair. Expert cutsman Mick Williamson earned his money, constantly cleaning Smith’s face which at times was a mask of blood from the eye and also a cut forehead which later emerged.

But Smith was to be undetered by the sight of his own blood and marched forward, piling the pressure on Dodson. The challenger rallied in the 12th round following a rousing cheer from his corner to “get out there and knock him out” but Smith maintained his lead and the fight was won on scorecards.

The judges awarded the fight to Smith by scores of 116-111, 115-112 and 117-112.

Smith is now expected to face Brian Magee for a shot at the European title in the summer.

“I think I showed a different side to myself there tonight, I think i sent out a message to those that think I dont train seriously and just DJ or race my pigeons.”

Cutsman Mick Williamson was also hailed for his sterling work in the fight.

“I think we have to thank the referee, he could have stopped the fight but allowed me to work on the cuts. ”

Source; www.livefight.com

Magee, who knocked out Mads Larsen in Denmark to capture the vacant strap would look to defend his belt in the Echo arena in Liverpool in the summer at a date to be agreed.

“I’ve been talking with Brian Magee’s father and he’s quite interested.” Said Warren.

“I know Paul doesn’t like speaking about fights until he’s dealt with the one in front of him and I’m not too sure about Tony’s feelings on that issue but it’s a big carrot for both of the guys. The fact of the matter is that it’s a big fight that when one of these guys comes through we’d like to put on back here in Liverpool.”

Source; www.livefight.com

WBO

This will be the first world title opportunity for Chambers and his third time fighting on German soil. He sustained his only loss as a pro by decision in Berlin to Alexander Povetkin in his first visit back in January, 2008, and stopped another mammoth-sized Ukrainian – undefeated 6-7 Alexander Dimitrenko – in his most recent outing in Hamburg last July 4th.

Goossentutor.com now takes you “Inside the Mind” of Chambers leading into the final days prior to the biggest fight of his career with “Six Questions” for the American hopeful:

GOOSSENTUTOR.COM: How are you feeling both physically and mentally going into the biggest fight of your career against Wladimir Klitschko?

CHAMBERS: “I feel great, both physically and mentally! I’m in the best shape of my career. We’ve done a lot of things in camp to prepare both physically and mentally. We’ve been away from the everyday situations of being at home that we have been able to focus on the task at hand. We came up here to the Poconos to get that focus, work hard and do whatever is necessary to win this title fight.”

GOOSSENTUTOR.COM: Your Goossen Tutor stablemates – Tony Thompson and Chris Arreola – both lost to a Klitschko brother in world title fights. Were you able to take anything away from watching their fights and why do you feel that you can do what they could not – which is to win?

CHAMBERS: “I have a different set of skills than both of them, although I did see there were certain things that they did in their fights. One thing in particular was that they didn’t get their jabs in enough. Although Tony pressured Wladimir a great deal, even on one leg, he was able to make it very difficult at times for Wladimir to dominate the fight. And Chris also was using his jab and at times effectively. But he stood in front of Vitali too much. They really didn’t take advantage of their opportunities. With me, on the other hand, I use different angles, different movement and work my jab and stay behind my jab and will not allow Vladimir to keep his distance all day and pound away.”

GOOSSENTUTOR.COM: Do you feel more at ease going to Germany fighting for a third time?

CHAMBERS: “I am more used to it. My first time let me know that you can’t be short-training, just thinking all day about the fight and not enjoying the experience and have fun with it. This is supposed to be a life experience and you’re supposed to enjoy it. And if you just sit tight in your room and not enjoy the people and the experience of what you’re trying to be – a star in boxing – then it really isn’t going to work out for you. With the fight with Dimitrenko and now this fight, I’m just going to enjoy myself and experience going over there.”

GOOSSENTUTOR.COM: Like Wladimir Klitschko, your last opponent – Alexander Dimitrenko – entered the ring with a 6-inch height and reach advantage. You were very effective in out-boxing him. Can you fight Wladimir the same way or does his style cause you to make adjustments?

CHAMBERS: “I think you can in certain ways fight Wladimir the same way because they both fight from a distance. But you can’t just stand in front of Wladimir because with his long reach he’ll keep you at bay. I have to jab and move and do different things before I just come in and try and engage in the offense.”

GOOSSENTUTOR.COM: “Whom have you been sparring with to prepare for Klitschko?

CHAMBERS: “I had one guy who’s very tall and a good boxer and mover in Marcellus Brown. I also had Sean McClain, who is a guy who was busy and threw a lot of punches and we normally put him in around the middle to late rounds. And then we had Malik Scott come in. He’s a fast, tall boxer who would move and give me different angles and different looks and made me work to get in the last shot.”

GOOSSENTUTOR.COM: What can boxing fans expect from “Fast Eddie” Chambers on Saturday night, March 20th?

CHAMBERS: “A lot of speed; a lot of ability and movement and an overall work rate that it takes to be the heavyweight champion of the world on the night of March 20th.”

Source; www.eastsideboxing.com

Very kindly taking the time to speak on this fight – a fight that has surprised the majority of fight fans also – as well as a number of other interesting subjects, Tom gave the following answers to my questions yesterday evening (UK time).

James Slater: It’s always great to speak with you, Tom. First of all, I guess you’ve heard about how Vitali Klitschko will be facing Albert Sosnowski now, on May 29th? A fight with either Klitschko is something your guy Fres Oquendo very much wants of course!

Tom Tsatas: How are you, James? Yeah, well, I’m down in Miami right now, but I heard about it. I think Sosnowski is rated a little higher by the WBC than Fres and to be fair to Vitali I think this is a voluntary defence on his part. I don’t think Vitali wants to take any hard fights, any chances, while he waits for that big fight with David Haye. That was a horrible fight last time out, against Kevin Johnson, and I think, for what it’s worth, that Vitali wants easy fights as he waits for that big one with Haye.

J.S: Fres told me he wants to very much get in the Klitschko mix. But now Sosnowski gets his surprise chance. Are you angry right now?

T.T: Yeah, Fres has worked his way back and I think he’d have a great chance against Vitali. He’s younger than him by two years, he has a longer reach and he has a great chin. Fres is a far more worthy contender than is Albert Sosnoswki, that’s a definite. I honestly feel, Fres, if he fought Vitali – and his shot will come, it’s just a matter of time – would have a great chance of wearing him down in the later rounds, and cutting him, busting him up. That’s how I see the fight going. People call me crazy, whatever, but I feel he has a great chance of wearing Vitali down late. There’s no way Vitali stops Fres, that I guarantee.

J.S: Fres fought and won back on Feb. 20th of course; when he stopped Demetrice King in the 10th-round. How did you rate his performance?

T.T: It was pretty much a no contest. Fres dominated Demetrice King, a tough guy, and made him quit after the 10th-round. Fres never got touched hardly in the fight. Okay, people may say, ‘who is Demetrice King?’ But he had only been stopped once before, he was game and he kept coming forward, and Fres was real busy in the fight; in every round. That’s what Fres is doing now, he’s taking fights where he has nothing to gain, he’s taking tough fights and he’s keeping busy and keeping in shape for the day when that call [for a big fight or a title fight] comes. Fres scored a knockdown earlier in the fight, when he landed a overhand right, but King kept coming. And that’s how Fres beats guys; he wears them down, he gets them swollen up and he chops them down.

J.S: Have you spoken to Fres since the Sosnowski fight was announced? Is he hopping mad at how he didn’t get the fight?

T.T: The thing is, Fres is used to bad things kind of going against him – what with the decisions that have gone against him and the problems he has had with promoters in his time. He takes stuff like that with a grain of salt. I get more upset about things than he does. But the thing is, the guys Vitali has been in with, they have not tested him – Sam Peter and Kevin Johnson didn’t test him at all. Fres would test him, no doubt. But as I say, he’ll get his shot in time, it will happen. So now he will keep busy, he’s not going to lose to anyone, and he’s still young enough at 36 to wait his turn. Maybe Haye will give him a shot; we’ll have to wait and see what happens with [Haye Vs.] Ruiz and with the Klitschkos [fighting or not fighting Haye.] Fres has gone a lot of rounds with Haye and there is a lot of respect there on both sides.

J.S: Who are some of the names you’d like to get for Fres this year?

T.T: We were offered a fight with Alexander Povetkin for March 13th; we were offered that. But going to Germany when it’s only ten-rounds… You see, Fres likes 12-round fights. We’re looking at the winner of the Sam Peter-Nagy Aguilera fight and the winner of the Johnathon Banks-Travis Walker fight. What we’d like to do, is see who the best American heavyweight is. Fres has those two belts [the NABA and the USBA] and let’s see who can become the best U.S heavyweight; the best possible challenger from the U.S. Fres would stop Banks or Walker, he’d catch up with Aguilera, probably late in the fight, and Peter, well, we don’t know what he has left. Fres would probably make Peter quit the way Klitschko did.

J.S: Those would be good T.V fights for Fres; I’d certainly watch them. Who wins, Banks or Walker?

T.T: I think Banks stops Walker, even though he’s a pumped up cruiserweight who has moved up in weight. And if Fres does face Banks, he stops him in around six or seven rounds. And yeah, that would be an exciting fight – which is what the fans want. We’d also love a return with James Toney. If that fight could be made, that would make a good T.V fight. That’s what these guys need, for the money to be right and for the fight to be an eliminator, where the winner gets a Haye or a Klitschko.

J.S: Talking about James Toney. What do you think to his signing a fight deal with UFC’s Dana White?

T.T: I don’t know yet what Dana White’s intentions are with Toney. If he puts him in with a tough guy straight away, Toney could get broken down. We’ll see what his intentions are with the first guy he puts Toney in with. If he goes in with a stand up fighter, as tough as Toney is, he won’t lose. But if he gets taken down by a fighter he will be in trouble.

J.S: I don’t know if Toney will box as well as do UFC. I’m not sure he can juggle both sports, so I don’t know if Fres will get that rematch. I’d like to see Toney back boxing myself.

T.T: I don’t know if he has the freedom to box, if someone offers him a fight. I guess we’d have to see the contract he’s signed. But an in shape James Toney, say 217, against Fres, that would be a great fight.

J.S: Can I ask you about your next show as promoter? What is planned for you next, Tom?

T.T: We have a card planned for either May 28th or 29th. Montell Griffin is planned to be the headliner – he wants to win his fiftieth fight. So, that’s a kind of blast from the past, but Griffin wants that fiftieth win, and he was, after all, the first guy to beat Roy Jones Junior and he also beat Toney twice. We’re looking now for a good opponent for him to fight, to make a good fight for the fans. We also plan to have some of the guys from my last show on the card as well – some exciting fighters. I’m really pleased with how my first show went back in February. The fans all enjoyed the show. If the May card goes ahead on the Friday, we hope to make it an ESPN card on T.V, otherwise, well just go for the Saturday.

J.S: Well, I wish you all the best with the card, Tom. It’s always a pleasure to speak with you. Thanks for the interesting info.

T.T: Thank you, James. Call me any time.

Source; www.eastsideboxing.com

West Ham

Promoter Frank Warren is currently in negotiation with the venue, with the ExCeL Arena also under consideration.

“It would be a dream come true to fight at Upton Park,” said unbeaten Mitchell at a press conference to officially announce the fight today.

“The east end loves a nice little punch up and I’ll give them one when I fight Katsidis.

“He’s a great fighter but I’m confident I’ll knock him out. He better bring a good cutsman because I’m planning on busting him up real bad.

“It will be a proper tear up on the night, then we’ll have a good old knees up afterwards.”
Warren added: “This fight is going to be a lot bigger than people think.

“It will capture the imagination of the east end and we’ll get a massive crowd.

“Kevin’s a real east end boy and I know the people from down that way will come out and support him.”

Katsidis, who is hoping to get good support from London’s Greek and Australian communities, said he was looking forward to returning to London.

“I’ve got happy memories of fighting Graham Earl at Wembley,” said Katsidis.

“People booed me when I came into the right but our fight was so exciting they were cheering when I left.

“There’s so many Aussies in London that there could be more of us there than the Brits on the night.”

Mitchell and Katsidis also swapped insults after champion accused challenger of “running like a cat” against Breidis Prescott.

“I won’t run from you, I promise that,” said Mitchell. “We’ll see who runs on the night. I’ll land one on your chin and I’ll knock you out.”

Katsidis replied: “Your promoter says you’ve got a secret weapon – is it your mouth? If you couldn’t knock out Prescott how are you going to knock out me?

“You can keep on talking but I promise there I’ll be there on the night.”

Source; www.eastsideboxing.com

How is your training going?

I am just having my last sparring session today. No matter what comes on the night, from my end there is not going to be any excuses, I am not going to say my hand was bad or my camp was bad – everything has gone well. I am in great physical shape, mentally I feel great. This is the biggest opportunity of my professional career so I want to clasp this with both hands. I am intending to go out there and have one hell of a fight.

What guys have you been sparring with?

I have an array of different sparring partners. I have been up to Scotland sparring with Ricky Burns – who is preparing for a World Title fight and Jason Cook and Matthew Edmonds. I have Lee Haskins coming over today – so I have had an array of different sparring partners. The fact of the matter is that Martin Lindsay is a great fighter, so I can’t just go in with a game plan that I feel that he is going to come in with. I need to prepare to adapt to all different styles – hence the reason I haven’t just gone with one type of style (in training).

How would you describe your boxing style?

I am an adaptive fighter. I am a good box-fighter – I can box in the inside and outside. I can go toe-to-toe. I try to be exciting. At this level you have to be adaptive, as every fighter at this level is going to be good, so you have to be adaptive to try and nullify the work that your opponent is going to do. I am an intelligent guy and I try to take that into the ring as well – to use my boxing ability to set up the punches that I want to work inside. I am not a one-punch knock-out artist, but I can box a little bit and I have got a lot of grit and determination. Come March 19th – it’s going to be a great fight.

Jamie, you had a break from boxing from 2005-2008, but since you have came back you have had seven straight wins including a good win over Akaash Bhatia. What has been the main difference between Jamie Arthur pre-2005 and post-2008 – when you returned to the ring?

Totally different. Before I had the break I was just relying on boxing as a full-time wage – wasn’t fighting as regular as I like and I was gaining debt. I was not enjoying the sport. For the last 8 months of my last career (pre-2005) I should have just retired earlier. But I hung in there I had a lot of expectations – people expecting me to do this because I had won the Commonwealth Games Gold Medal. People were patting me on the back saying you were good, you are doing this and doing that. But behind the scenes people don’t see all the financial hardship that comes along when following your dreams as a boxer. At that time I had no money in the bank to pay my bills so always worried about where the next pound was coming from rather than winning my next fight. Now, I’ve taken time out to assess my situation, I’m now fighting to fulfil my legacy rather than make money. All my cards are on the table. I’ve worked hard and I have left nothing to chance so the rest is down to God’s will on fight night.”

“I had two losses against Haider Ali (TKO 3) and Harry Ramogoadi (TKO 5) – so at that time that wasn’t the Jamie Arthur that you seen boxing at the Commonwealth Games or of my resurrected career. I am better than that. Now, since I have come back, I am enjoying my boxing again, I am enjoying the sport and working extremely hard.”

“I am not relying on boxing as a full-time wage. This is something that I am doing because I enjoy doing. I always felt that went I came back that I would be able to fight for and win a British Title. So I have talked the talk – now I need to walk the walk on March 19th.”

Arthur also confirmed that if he didn’t win against Lindsay that he would retire:

“If I lose I will retire straight away – I will have achieved everything that I have set out to achieve – so I will go on to another chapter of my life. But, at the end of the day there is two ways this is going to go. I am either going to become the British Champion or I am going to become a fan of the British Champion – in Martin Lindsay. So on March 19th – this is the whole reason whey I have came back out of my retirement – to fight for the British Title and as I said I have done everything I possibly can in order for me to be in the best shape of my life. I have sacrificed everything, I have going through the hardship, mentally and physically, I am in the right place. So, I am ready to put on a great performance.”

So, have you got many supporters coming to fight?

I have personally sold about 70 tickets. But we have got people coming from all over the UK. This is one of the highly anticipated fights of the year so far. So there is going to be fans coming from London, Liverpool, Manchester and Scotland, so they are the guys that are just coming down without buying the tickets off me. It is going to be a great night.

Arthur is a 4/1 outsider with the bookmakers and is clearly respectful towards Martin Lindsay’s boxing talents. However, in the culmination of his boxing revival, Arthur will be aiming to leverage all of his experience, skill and prolonged training to realise his ultimate boxing ambition – to be crowned a British Title Champion. Standing in that path is Belfast’s unbeaten Martin Lindsay. It should be a good fight.

Source; www.eastsideboxing.com

“To be honest, I think the biggest name recently round here was my dad Tommy and he only had a couple of professional fights.”

Outside of football, Oldham’s biggest export has been 1980s comedy double act Cannon and Ball – but Heffron says his career will be no laughing matter.

“I want a British title minimum within the next three years,” said Heffron.

“I’m only young and I’ve got a lot to learn, but I’ll be ready after 15 fights.

“Things have been going great in the gym with my trainer Anthony Farnell, and I’ve been learning so much from the likes of Tony Bellew and Frankie Gavin.

“There’s a can-do attitude in the gym, and every day you are being pushed and pushed.

“Next up I’ve got a guy who has had more than 150 professional fights so I can’t afford to make any mistakes, but I’m sure I’ll learn a few things I’m sure.”

**********************

‘The Pride of Merseyside’ is headlined by Paul Smith’s first defence of his British Super-Middleweight title against former champion Tony Dodson. Chief support is Kell Brook’s challenge for the WBO Intercontinental title and Eliminator for the WBO World Welterweight title against Krzystof Bienias, and Tony Bellew’s challenge for the Vacant Commonwealth Light-Heavyweight title against unbeaten Atoli Moore. An action packed undercard includes former WBO World Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Maccarinelli, plus the best in young British talent: Stephen and Liam Smith, Ronnie Heffron, Thomas Costello, Tobias Webb, Joe Selkirk and the pro-debut of John Thain.

Source; www.eastsideboxing.com