Monday, March 31, 2008

Tony Thompson Interview

Tony "The Tiger" Thompson was recently interviewed on Doghouseboxing.com about his possible bout with Wladimir Klitschko. He basically said that the fight is most likely in the works but it's just a rumor that it is an actuality at this point in time. Here's what he had to say:

Benny Henderson Jr.: It has been reported that you are next in line for the IBF/WBO heavyweight title holder Wladimir Klitschko, sometime in July over in Germany, is there any truth to that?

Tony Thompson: It is a rumor until they give it to me man, I couldn’t really tell you until they get it to me, it is a rumor.

BH: So nothing has been signed?

TT: I heard it was in play but nothing yet. You know boxing as well as I do, so that is all I can tell you.

BH: You don’t have a problem with going back to Germany?

TT: No, I went to Germany and kicked Krasniqi’s ass, I’ll go over there and kick Klitschko’s ass too.

BH: What will you do differently in the fight against Klitschko than his last eight opponents?

TT: I am going to fight his ass, I am not going to stand back and be all petrified. I am going in there street fighting, it is going to be a good fight. One of us is going to go, I am not going to set back and let him pummel me, and I am going to make it a fight to be heavyweight champion of the world.

BH: Well, since it is not a done deal yet, what would you like to say to persuade them to make the fight?

TT: I think it is going to make a great heavyweight fight, Klitschko is a good fighter but you will not see the best of Klitschko until you see the best of his opponents. You will see the best of Tony Thompson, so you better see the best of Klitschko.

There is a correction I want to make on the article source. It is true Thompson has been waiting since last summer on the backburner for a shot at the title, but it wasn't for a shot with Wladimir Klitschko. It was for a shot with Sultan Ibragimov's WBO belt, which Wladimir recently acquired making him the WBO champion and Tony Thompson the mandatory challenger for him and not Sultan Ibragimov. Otherwise, a great interview and can be found by going here.

Wladimir Klitschko On David Haye Full Audio

This is the full audio of the interview with Wladimir Klitschko with his views on David Haye's recent desires to take over the heavyweight division and to face Wladimir. This includes commentary by 2 boxing analysts over the subject before Wladimir is interviewed.

Shannon Briggs Wants To Fight Klitschko, Peter, and Others

Shannon Briggs, who hasn't fought in 9 months since his loss to Sultan Ibragimov, is now calling out the heavyweight division. He's interested in fights with Wladimir Klitschko, Chagaev (he called him 'the guy who beat Valuev', Valuev, and even Sam Peter. BoxingScene's website had an interview with him recently:

BoxingScene.com: What have you been up to since your last fight?

Shannon Briggs: "I've just been working, I own a few businesses. I've just been sitting back watching a lot of boxing and watching the heavyweight picture unfold into what it is. I feel quite disrespected watching Klitschko fight Ibragimov and Peter versus Maskaev."

Feels Disrespected after watching Klitschko/Ibragimov and Peter/Maskaev?


Ok, That might have not been Wlad's best fight, but it was still a lot more exciting that Shannon's attempt against Sultan 9 months prior. What could be disrespecting to him about Sam Peter winning the WBC title? Maybe he felt that it was a fight he could have won too, and he was mad Sam Peter got a shot and not him. After all, losing a title fight and fighting nobody since should entitle you to another title fight.


BoxingScene: The last I'd heard of you was that you were interested in fighting Wladimir Klitschko. Why hasn't that fight materialized?

Briggs: "I had the title and went to the Klitschko-Brock fight and he didn't want to fight me. I was supposed to be in the Brock fight. Shelly Finkel wound up getting sued by Cedric Kushner because that fight didn't materialize. Meanwhile, Finkel was telling everybody that he had us signed to fight Klitschko. Kushner wound up winning the lawsuit for that. I went and challenged him, he didn't want to fight me.

"They keep him away from punchers. Ray Austin? C'mon, he was my sparring partner. Aside from Chris Byrd, who was past his prime and fought him in Germany, where a lot of shady sh*t goes down, who has he fought? Lamon Brewster, who hadn't fought in two years. The last fight he was in he got the breaks beat off him by Sergei Lyakhovich. In his last fight he looked like a little girl slapping at Sultan. In the fight I heard Max Kellerman say he has a great jab like Lennox Lewis. What great jab, you mean jab and pull back because you're scared? How about when he was flopping on the floor against Sam Peter? I'm just stating the facts."

Chris Byrd was past his prime and fought him in Germany


Geez, does this guy watch boxing at all. He fought Byrd TWICE. The second time might be questionable whether he was past his prime or not, but he still was champion and defeated top rated fighters in the division. But, the 1st time they fought was in 2000. Byrd was champion and 30 years of age. Thats what most people would agree would be a athletes prime not past his prime! What a manipulation of facts.Ya, it was really shady how Klitschko won the fight in Germany with Byrd. He won by TKO! No judges were involved with that fight whatsoever. Does he realize that Sultan made him look silly when they fought, and the 'scared' Wladimir beat the guy who beat him?


BoxingScene: You've claimed that you weren't 100% when you fought Sultan Ibragimov. What was wrong and why did you compete in a compromised state?

Briggs: "I fought Ibragimov with pneumonia. They threatened to sue me if they didn't get their fight. Their doctors said I had pneumonia and there was no way I could fight. I got the medical records to prove it. The WBO was talking about stripping me. They wanted to strip me, sue me. I didn't have any support. Nobody said they'd give me, what the hell did they give Vitali 'Quitschko', The Super Venus champion or some sh*t, some sh*t I never heard of. They made up a new name for him to come back to fight for the title after pulling out of 4-5 different fights. I can't even say the sh*t. It's some Greek sh*t. There's a lot of bullsh*t and 'poli-tricks.' All I'm saying is give me a fair shake. It's like how George Bush did with the election a few years ago, rigging the votes.

"They knew I wasn't training. They were training with Jeff Mayweather, who was training me the fight before. He jumped ship, he's a traitor. I went to their doctors because they thought I was faking the illness. My doctor said it would 2-4 months before I could start training. Their doctor said it could be anywhere from 6 months to a year before I start training again. They come back 20 days later and said if I didn't fight I would be stripped, sued, and maybe banned from boxing for pulling out. It was either fight or feed my family. If I didn't fight the guy, I would've been stripped and not make a buck. How am I going to feed my two kids? I cracked his ass in the first round and he ran for the next 12 rounds. I wasn't in the shape to chase him."

More like he strategically made you look really bad for 12 rounds. I wonder if pneumonia caused him to come in as a out of season bodybuilder for the fight as well? Vitali 'Quitschko'? Any doubts after he had to pull out with a injury in the Byrd fight were erased after he fought Lennox Lewis to the point where you could see one of the worst cuts in a title match on Vitali Klitschko's face.


BoxingScene: Have you been at least staying in the gym and training while waiting for a fight?

Briggs: "Yes, but you know it doesn't matter because I can't get a fight. John Ruiz has won and lost the title for years. He just fought a fight against McCline, which will get him a title shot for sure. Andrew Golata just fought Mike Mollo and there's talks of him getting another title shot. I lost to Ibragimov in a 12 round decision and I can't get a title shot. It's politics. I want to fight Sam Peter, or Sam Cheater. These guys don't want to fight Shannon Briggs."


Excuse me, did he just say he thinks he should be more entitled to a title shot that someone who's at least won a fight in the last year? Give me a break.


BoxingScene: In your words, why would the fans be interested in seeing you in another big fight?

Briggs: "Because if it's about the fans, I'm exciting. I'm the last American Heavyweight champion. I'm the only guy who can get the job done right now. Can John Ruiz beat Klitschko? No, because he's too small and doesn't hit hard enough. We had Chambers go up against Povetkin, we saw how that went down. I won 13 in a row before my loss, that doesn't entitle me to a title shot?"


Briggs: "Because if it's about the fans, I'm exciting.


Based off his last fight. John Ruiz would seem more exciting. Can John Ruiz beat Klitschko? No. Can Shannon Briggs beat Klitschko? Even bigger NO.


BoxingScene: Aside from the fighters you've already mentioned, who else are you interested in fighting?

Briggs: "The guy who beat Valuev, what's his name? I'm willing to fight Valuev! I'm willing to fight anybody. I've been in this game since 1992. All of the guys I was in the game with, Jeremy Williams, David Tua, they came and went. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere. I'm not crying, I'm not bitching. I make a great living doing what I'm doing. I have a beautiful family, a beautiful home. All I'm saying is that when I look at Sam Peter-Maskaev fight, it looked like a 55 year old and a 60 year old fighting, it makes me disgusted. I know I can beat both of these guys at the same time and they're still making money. How is it that Maskaev won a title, he fought one bum, then fought 15 months later. They never stripped him, they gave Peter another belt. This sh*t is like a f**king jigsaw puzzle. The American public is sitting back and letting that sh*t happen."

Briggs: "The guy who beat Valuev, what's his name?


He's been sitting back and watching boxing for the last few months but doesn't know the name of a title holder? Ya, it sounds like he's been watching really closely.


BoxingScene: Why have you not been active since the Ibragimov fight?

Briggs: "I've been inactive because the fights aren't there, really. I'm willing to go to Germany to fight any of these guys. I want to go to Nigeria to fight Sam Pedialite. The fights haven't been offered because they don't want to fight me."

In my opinion, Shannon should work to get back in the mix. He can't just lose a title match and expect another belt holder to fight him willingly. Why would they? He's not ranked, so it wouldn't fill their mandatory fights with their sanctioning bodies, and he's no longer a champion. Plus it's been 9 months since he fought and lost his title to Sultan Ibragimov who in turn lost his title to Wladimir Klitschko. How much marketablity does he think he has? Did he watch his last fight? How many people does he think would want to watch that again? If Sam Peter and Maskaev seemed like 50 year olds fighting then Shannon looked like he was 80 when he fought Sultan 9 months ago.

I don't believe the pneumonia excuse. He said he was 100% healthy at the time, so I guess he's good at lying. He also looked extremely muscled up, like a bodybuilding and not a boxer. Pneumonia doesn't cause that or you'd see a lot of professional bodybuilders coughing.

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Emanuel Steward Bio

Emanuel Steward has found success with training/managing boxers at every level of the game. He has trained a large variety of fighters including former heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis, showboating featherweight Prince Naseem Hamed, and currently trains WBO/IBO/IBF heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko. In fact, Steward has trained over two dozen champions in his lifetime. Other big names include Sugar Ray Leonard, Tommy "Hit Man" Hearns, Julio Cesar Chavez, Oscar De La Hoya, Evander Holyfield, Leon Spinks, Eddie Mustafa Muhammad and Aaron Pryor.

Emanuel Steward was born in West Virginia in 1944, and started boxing as a result of getting a pair of gloves as a gift. His father set up a lot of his early informal matches, but when his parents split he went with his mother to Detroit.

At 18 (1963) years of age he won the National Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions as a bantamweight, and as an amateur, he ran up a excellent record of 94-3. He soon was anxious to become a professional, but things fell through as far as finding honest management and ended up working at the Detroit Edison Company. But, due to his nature of wanting to be in the fight game, he took a job as a trainer in 1971 as head coach of the boxing program at the Kronk Recreation Center in Detroit. The very same year the Kronk team won the Detroit Golden Gloves team title. This is the time Emaneul Steward 1st started being recognized as a top notch trainer of boxing. The following year he left the gym to become a full time manager/trainer.

In 1977, he formed ESCOT (Emanuel Steward's Champions of Tomorrow) Boxing Enterprises, Inc., and entered professional boxing with a new 18 year old fighter named Tommy Hearns. Under his guidance Tommy went on to win world titles in 5 weight classes, and this is where Emanuel Steward became known as the premier trainer in boxing.

In 1984, he developed six gold medal winners for the U.S. Olympic Team, including Pernell Whitaker, Mark Breland, Terrell Biggs, Frank Tate, Jerry Page, and Steve McCrory.

At this stage of his career he has had his hand in many different areas of boxing. Although he entered the world stage at this point, he still came back and still comes back to the Kronk gym to train and work with new fighters. He even developed his own boxing glove and improved on equipment which many boxers use. He's also a favorite commentator on HBO's World Championship Boxing and HBO Pay-Per-View coverage.

Steward's reputation continues to grow and he is now on the same stage as other famous trainers such as Angelo Dundee, Ray Arcel, Gil Clancy and Eddie Futch. He has also been named 'Trainer of the Year' and/or 'Manager of the Year' several times by the Boxing Writers Association of America, and with fighters such as Wladimir Klitschko under his belt, I'm sure his reputation in the future will continue to prosper.

Boxers Emanuel Steward Trained

Boxers Which Emanuel Steward Trained Exclusively And/Or Helped Shape As A Fighter


* Thomas Hearns
* Milton McCrory
* Gerald McClellan
* Michael Moorer
* Tony Tucker
* Jimmy Paul
* Lennox Lewis
* Wladimir Klitschko
* Duane Thomas
* Hilmer Kenty
* Leeonzer Barber
* Jesse Benavides
* Gaby Canizales

Boxers Emanuel Steward Trained Briefly


* Vitali Klitschko
* Julio Cesar Chavez
* Evander Holyfield (for 2nd Bowe fight)
* Oliver McCall (for 1st Lewis fight)
* Oscar De La Hoya
* Naseem Hamed
* Mike McCallum
* Leon Spinks
* Mark Breland
* David Braxton
* Lindell Holmes
* Vivian Harris
* Graciano Rocchigiani
* Miguel Angel Gonzalez
* Jeff Fenech
* Aaron Pryor
* Henry Akinwande
* Dennis Andries
* Eddie Mustafa Muhammad
* Jermain Taylor
* Welcome Ncita

Friday, March 28, 2008

Sam Peter Career Boxing Record

Samuel Peter Fight Record


2008
10-11 -- Vitali Klitschko, Location Berlin, Germany For WBC Heavyweight Title, L TKO 8
03-08 -- Oleg Maskaev, Cancun, Mexico, TKO 6
(Won WBC Heavyeweight Title)

2007
01-06 -- James Toney, Hollywood, FL, W 12
10-06 -- Jameel McCline, New York, NY, W 12
(Retained WBC Interim Heavyeweight Title)

2006
04-28 -- Julius Long, Uncasville, CT, KO 1
09-02 -- James Toney, Los Angeles, CA, W 12

2005
01-22 -- Yanqui Diaz, Miami, FL, TKO 5
04-29 -- Gilbert Martinez, Las Vegas, NV, TKO 3
07-02 -- Taurus Sykes, Reno, NV, KO 2
09-24 -- Wladimir Klitschko, Atlantic City, NJ, L 12
12-15 -- Robert Hawkins, Hollywood, FL, W 10

2004
01-22 -- Chris Isaac, Phoenix, AZ, TKO 7
03-06 -- Jose Arimatea Da Silva, Mashantucket, CT, TKO 2
05-17 -- Charles Shufford, Las Vegas, NV, W 10
08-05 -- Jovo Pudar, Hollywood, FL, W 10
12-04 -- Jeremy Williams, Las Vegas, NV, KO 2

2003
03-07 -- Dale Crowe, Reno, NV, TKO 4
06-21 -- Lyle McDowell, Los Angeles, CA, TKO 4
08-30 -- Daniel Frank, Tunica, MS, KO 2
09-27 -- Jason Farley, Buffalo, NY, TKO 2

2002
03-03 -- Marion Wilson, Scranton, PA, W 4
03-22 -- Julius Joiner, Phoenix, AZ, TKO 1
05-24 -- Terry Porter, Tulsa, OK, KO 2
06-07 -- Francis Royal, Scottsdale, AZ, TKO 2
07-27 -- Cornelius Ellis, Las Vegas, NV, TKO 2

2001
02-06 -- Gueorgui Christov, Almaty, Kazakhstan, KO 1
05-10 -- James Lester, Phoenix, AZ, TKO 3
05-25 -- George Chamberlain, Arica, Chile, TKO 1
07-28 -- Shannon Head, Fort Meyers, FL, TKO 1
08-25 -- Frederick Gatica, Laughlin, NV, TKO 1
09-28 -- Giles Knox, Las Vegas, NV, TKO 1
11-10 -- Curtis Taylor, Bushkill, PA, KO 1

30 Wins, 2(1 KO) Losses, 23 Knockouts

Samuel Peter - Date of Birth: Sept. 6, 1980

Sam Peter Stats

Samuel Peter


WBC Heavyweight Champion & Mandatory For Vitali Klitschko
won 30 (KO 23) + lost 1 (KO 0) + drawn 0 = 31

Global ID: 32364
US ID: NV060574
Birth date: 1980-09-06
Age: 27
Manager/agent: Don King
Division: heavyweight
Rating: 2 / 1127
Nationality: Nigeria
Alias: The Nigerian Nightmare
Residence: Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Birth place: Akwaibom, Nigeria
Birth name: Samuel Okon Peter
Stance: orthodox
Height: 6′ 0½″
Reach: 77“
Biceps: 17"
Forearm: 14"
Fist: 13"
Wrist: 7.5"
Neck: 19"
Chest: 45"
Thigh: 27"
Calf: 17"

*will be updated over time

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Career Boxing Record Tony Thompson

Tony Thompson Fight Record



2008
07-12 -- Wladimir Klitschko, Location most likely somewhere in Germany
WBO/IBF/IBO Heavyweight Title Fight** L KO 11
2007
09-27 -- Cliff Couser, Lemoore, California, W TKO 2
07-14 -- Luan Krasniqi, Altona, Hamburg, Germany, W TKO 5
02-16 -- Timor Ibragimov, Beverly Hills, California, W UD 10

2006
06-28 -- Dominick Guinn, , San Jose, California, W UD 12
03-18 -- Maurice Wheeler, Atlantic City, New Jersey, W TKO 4
01-26 -- Brandon Cabell, Glen Burnie, Maryland, W TKO 4

2005
09-30 -- Willie Perryman, Brooks, California, W KO 5

2004
09-11 -- Vaughn Bean, Las Vegas, NV, W Tech Dec 5
04-10 -- Lamon Brewster, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, W UD 10
06-19 -- Agustin Corpus, Reno, Nevada, W TKO 2
03-27 -- Yanqui Diaz, Stateline, Nevada, W UD 8
03-06 -- Joe Lenhart, Verona, New York, W TKO 1

2003
12-09 -- Onebo Maxime, Pikesville, Maryland, W TKO 2
08-22 -- Gilbert Martinez, Las Vegas, Nevada, W TKO 6
03-07 -- James Gaines, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, W TKO 8

2002
10-20 -- Zuri Lawrence, Tacoma, Washington, W TKO 7
08-31 -- Ron Guerrero, Bridgehampton, New York, W UD 5
07-20 -- Frankie Hines, Leesburg, Virginia, W TKO 1
02-02 -- Marion Wilson, New Carrollton, Maryland, W UD 6

2001
11-11 -- Lincoln Luke, Elizabeth, Indiana, W TKO 2
07-08 -- Jeremiah Johnson, Las Vegas, Nevada, W KO 1
06-21 -- Scott Jones, Glen Burnie, Maryland, W UD 6
05-20 -- Chester Hughes, Elizabeth, Indiana, W TKO 1
03-17 -- James Johnson, Philadelphia, Mississippi, W DQ 3
01-27 -- Lee Alhassan, Atlantic City, New Jersey, W TKO 1

2000

10-19 -- Derek Amos, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, W TKO 5
09-21 -- Dana Dunston, Glen Burnie, Maryland, W KO 3
08-26 -- Erick Kea, Upper Marlboro, Maryland, W TKO 1
07-07 -- Eric Kirkland, Hyannis, Massachusetts, L UD 4
06-22 -- Maurice Gray, Glen Burnie, Maryland, W UD 6
05-11 -- Scott Jones, Glen Burnie, Maryland, W UD 4
03-01 -- Robert Anderson, Woodlawn, Maryland, W UD 4
01-27 -- Eric Kirkland, Hyannis, Massachusetts, L UD 4
07-07 -- DeSean Harper, Glen Burnie, Maryland, W MD 4

won 31 (KO 19) + lost 1 (KO 0) + drawn 0 = 32

Tony Thompson- Date of Birth: October 18. 1971

Tony Thompson Stats

Tony Thompson: WBO Mandatory for Wladimir Klitschko


won 31 (KO 19) + lost 1 (KO 0) + drawn 0 = 32


Global ID: 21633
US ID: MD056914
Birth date: 1971-10-18
Age: 36
Manager/Agent:
Division: Heavyweight
Rating: 5 / 1126
Nationality: United States
Alias: The Tiger
Residence: Washington, DC, United States
Birth place: Silver Spring, MD, USA
Birth name: Anthony Tyrone Thompson
Stance: southpaw
Weight: 246 lbs (last fight)
Height: 6′ 5″
Reach: 81½“

*will be updated over time

Wladimir Klitschko Says He'd Fight David Haye

Listen To His Interview Here

In a recent interview Wladimir stated that he's heard about David Haye's recent comments and welcomes the possiblity of fighting Haye in the future if he shows promise in the heavyweight division.

Wladimir Klitschko Quotes About David Haye


Asked whether he would fight Haye, Klitschko told BBC Radio 5 Live: "He's an exciting fighter so why not?"

"I hadn't heard about David Haye at all until last month," said Klitschko. "But I've checked his record and he is a good fighter with a good record.

"If he wants to bring excitement then I wish him best of luck. He better get himself in the gym and get ready to fight.

"He is young and is trying to put attention on himself and that may work for him because he has to be very loud, but not only with his words but with his actions. I wish him the best of luck with that."

This next part sounds as though Wladimir might have been a little sarcastic....

"Until the fight with David Haye I have to stay active as I am nervous and I have to get myself in shape," he said.

He also confirmed again his fight with Tony Thompson this summer...

"So I am going to fight in July against Thompson - he is the WBO's number one mandatory contender so I have chosen him."

Recent David Haye comments about Wladimir include:


"I'm 100% certain that I'll achieve more things at heavyweight than I have done at cruiserweight," Haye said earlier this month.

"I'm not looking at boxing into my 31st year, so I've got two and a half years to get the job done. If the titles get unified, hopefully I'll just have to fight one guy."
"I'd fight [IBF and WBO heavyweight champion] Wladimir Klitschko in my next fight if I could after his pitiful fight against Sultan Ibragimov.

"That was embarrassing and he wouldn't look forward to fighting someone with my kind of style - powerful, explosive and able to take him out with any shot."

What Do I Think


I'd like to see David Haye get by a bigger "journeyman" heavyweight 1st before he even considers the likes of Wladimir Klitschko. I think its just a publicity stunt in hopes that IF he does win a couple heavyweight bouts it might set up a big payday for him with Wladimir. But, thats a IF.

Article Source

Wladimir Klitschko Will Face Tony Thompson Next

In his recent visit to Puerto Rico, Wladimir Klitschko (50-3, 44 KOs) stated that this summer in July (no specific date as of yet) he will face WBO #1 mandatory Tony "The Tiger" Thompson (31-1, 19KO's)**. He said this when WBO president Francisco "Paco" Valcarcel decorated his Champ, afterwards told to Klitschko in relation to PICTURE exclusively HIS next plans: "I will defend my first WBO title in July against USA Fighter Tony Thompson."

His reason for choosing Tony over IBF mandatory Alexander Povetkin is becasue Tony Thompson has been waiting over a year as the # 1 rated heavyweight for the WBO organization. It should be noted that Wladimir just recently acquired the WBO strap by defeating Sultan Ibragimov.

Since Wladimir also holds the IBF heavyweight strap, whoever wins this fight (I'm betting Klitschko), will have a IBF mandatory with Alexander Povetkin (15-0, 11 KOs) by the end of the year.

Good luck to Wlad on his upcoming training & fight.

**tentative date not official as of yet

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Wladimir Klitschko Receives WBO Super Champion Belt

On the night of Tuesday March 26th, which is Wladimir's birthday, Wladimir was treated to the WBO Super Champion Belt, which makes him one of a select few who have received this award in the history of the WBO organization. He received the belt from the children of the Sister Isolina Ferre Center in Puerto Rico that offers educational programs for the disenfranchised, and also participate of the WBO Kids Drug Free Program. The kids were in awe and very friendly towards the WBO & IBF heavyweight champion and even presented him with a huge birthday cake decorated with the WBO heavyweight belt. Klitschko went on to say that "This is the best birthday present and party ever that I have had. This is my first trip to Puerto Rico. I am from the Ukraine. I feel like I am in the Ukraine. These are all my people here."

Guests Present During The Special Evening


World Boxing Organization President Francisco Valcarcel, Esq.
WBO Heavyweight Champion Wladimir Klitschko
Klitschko Management Group Manager Bernd Boente
WBO Past President/Former Lt. Heavy Champ Jose "Chegui" Torres
WBO Administrative Advisor Manuel Marrero Hueca
WBO Public Relations Director Mario Rivera Martino
WBO Events Coordinator Jacqueline Torrent
WBO Audiovisual Specialist Norma Nieves
Sor Isolina Center Executive Director Sister Mildred Vazquez, Msbt
Sor Isolina Center Ceo Dr. Jose L. Diaz Cotto
Sor Isolina Center Historian, Sister Rosita M. Bauza, Msbt
WBO Officials Jose H. Rivera, Roberto Ramirez, Cesar Ramos
WBO Welterweight Champion Carlos "El Indio" Quintana
WBO Latin 122 Lbs Champion Juan Manuel "Juanma" Lopez
WBO Latin 115 Lbs Champion Juan Mercedes
Three-Time Cruiserweight Champion Carlos Leon
Caribe Cabofe 126 Lbs Champion Mario Santiago
Manager And Trainer Juan De Leon
Former Boxer And Manager Pancha Aneiro
Universal Promotions Javier Bustillo

Looks like Wladimir had a great time there, and from the sound of it he may visit this country again and/or use the boxing facilities in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where he met Oscar De La Hoya training for his next fight with Iván Calderón, for his future training.

Sultan Ibragimov Wants To Be Champion Again

In a article I read recently Sultan Ibragimov, former WBO heavyweight champion, tells his desires to be champion again after realizing his mistake and getting his 1st loss to Wladimir Klitschko(WBO & IBF Heavyweight Champion).

His manager Boris Grinberg goes on to say that he didn't change his tactics and fought the same pace the whole fight. This is the mistake Sultan is talking about. Grinberg goes on to say, "We understand now, our price go very low down. But it doesn't matter to us. Everybody in boxing still understands Sultan is a very dangerous fighter. We have to come back with a couple of knockout wins. Sultan has to be different (than with Klitschko), not box, he has to fight. I'm not impressed with Klitschko. He not show anything, show very bad boxing. Klitschko too fast. He running all the time, he don't want to fight. Sultan lost his pace, he has to attack more often, go to the left, go to the right. He not do that."

OK, Wladimir was "running" all the time? He must have watched another fight than I did.

Wladimir has bad boxing skills? Funny

Basically, this is a marketing ploy to attempt to give Sultan some value after his loss. I don't think it makes Sultan look better though if Grinberg says Wlad has no boxing skill and wasn't even trying to fight Sultan (he was running remember) but yet Sultan found no reason to be aggressive and fight him(instead of boxing him). You'd think that would be a good time to change your "tactics".

The truth is Wladimir didn't run the whole fight. He was always standing in front of Sultan, and Sultan was the one who was constantly moving and retreating. Sultan was being defensive the whole night, so Wlad just stuck with his jab. Wouldn't most fighters knowing they were losing on points start being aggressive to the fighter who's jabbed him all night? I think Wlad figured Sultan would change his "tactics" when he realized he was losing on points but Sultan never did. This wasn't Wladimir's fault. Good strategic win for Wladimir, and I wouldn't count against his next fight ending a little sooner than this one.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Wladimir Klitschko To Accept Laureus Sport for Good Foundation Donation

On Wednesday April 16th, 2008, at the Hammerstein Ballroom, Wladimir Klitschko will appear at the Box-NYC, New York City’s premier social boxing event, and will accept a check from BOX NYC for The Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, which is the official charity of the event.

What is the The Laureus Sport for Good Foundation?


The Laureus Sport for Good Foundation's mission is simple but crucial: to use sport as a tool for social change. Laureus targets the social and economic problems that plague communities across the U.S. and works with community members and local organizations- as well as some of the world's greatest athletes - to develop innovative sports programs to solve these problems.

Activities for the evening will be a combination of boxing, dining, Texas Hold-em Poker Tournament, and model and celebrity appearances.

Source

WBO Champions Wladimir Klitschko, Iván Calderón & Oscar De La Hoya Meet

On March 25th, 2008, three WBO Super Champions Wladimir Klitschko, Oscar De La Hoya, and Iván Calderón met today in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Wladimir met up with the other champions in a municipal gym located in Caimito in the southern part of San Juan where Oscar is training for his upcoming fight with Steve Forbes scheduled for May 3, 2008. The fighters met and talked informally about different boxing techniques and everyone seemed to be in a friendly mood. Wladimir also seemed to like his experience at the gym and has suggested possibly using the gym for training for future fights.

He's been in San Juan since last Sunday and has been attending activities including receiving the WBO Super Championship Belt, getting a birthday bash, and playing golf with WBO President, Francisco “Paco” Valcárcel and Puerto Rican golf legend Chi Chi Rodríguez, owner of the El Legado Golf Resort golf course. Wladimir will be leaving Wednesday morning, and possibly much too soon since he seems to be having a great time.

For more information see this article.

Happy Birthday To Wladimir Klitschko!

Wladimir Klitschko Turns 32



Happy B-day to Wladimir, and good luck to him in the following year. Wladimir has a couple of mandatory challenges coming up this year. One mandatory is from the IBF belt he's had for quite some time against challenger Alexander Povetkin, and the other is for the WBO belt, which he just got by beating Sultan Ibragimov, against challenger Tony Thompson. In my opinion neither of these guys should pose any problems to Wlad. Again happy birthday to Wlad, and if you're a fan take a minute and wish him Happy B-day.

Monday, March 24, 2008

Jason Estrada Has Mountain To Climb

U.S. Olympian Jason Estrada is set to face Lance ‘Mount’ Whitaker on April 4th 2008. The 2004 U.S. Olympian Jason “Big Six” Estrada (11-1, 2 KOs) is coming of a recent 10 round decision win over heavyweight title contender Charles Shufford. Lance Whitaker(32-4-1, 27) is 6'8" and has beaten top prospects such as Al "Ice" Cole, and former WBC champion Oleg Maskaev in his past. 3 out of 4 of Whitaker's losses have came to top heavyweights Luan Krasniqi, Jameel Mccline, and former WBO heavyweight champion Sultan Ibragimov.

This should be a good test for Estrada. If he can beat Whitaker on April 4th, he'll be in the mix with other ranked fighters in the division. But, I personally don't feel he has the KO power to make it with the bigger boys in the division like Wladimir Klitschko, Sam Peter, Nicolai Valuev, and Ruslan Chagaev.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Wladimir Klitschko Highlight Videos

Highlight Video 1


Shows ups and downs of Wladimir's career with more of the ups of course!



Highlight Video 2


This one shows more of Wladimir's more recent fights.

Andy Lee Loses To Brian Vera

Ordinarily I wouldn't discuss a middleweight bout on this site since it doesn't apply to the Klitschko brothers. But, this fight does have to do with the Klitschko's, and that's because Andy Lee's trainer is Emanuel Steward which is the trainer of Wladimir Klitschko.

Steward and Lee are friends, and Steward had predicted before this fight that Lee would be the future of the middleweight division. I'm not sure how he feels about Lee now, but I'm sure he wasn't expecting a loss to former Contender series boxer Brian Vera.

Lee did knock down Vera early, but Vera weathered the storm to win via 7Th round TKO stoppage. Vera also seemed to be the stronger of the two. The stoppage seemed to be fairly premature, even though Vera was having a big round, but there were no complaints by Steward after the fight.

So, who knows. Maybe Steward will just chalk this off as a bad night, since it was Lee's 1st defeat. Maybe he will try teaching some new tactics with Lee in the future. Maybe this in turn will effect how he trains Wladimir Klitschko in the future. What do you think?

Brian Vera (16-1, 10 KOs)
And Lee (15-1, 12 KOs)

Friday, March 21, 2008

Klitschko's Face Grandmaster Judit Polgar In Chess

The face of the next opponent for Wladimir & Vitali Klitschko will be heavyweight chess grandmaster Judit Polgar. She is a child chess prodigy who has played Gary Kasparov, whom many believe is the best chess player of all time.

The Klitschko's will play against her in a tournament at the end of March in Paching, Austria.

Source

Vitali Klitschko Announces Participation In Kiev Mayor Election

It was announced today (March 21st, 2008) that former WBC & WBO Heavyweight champion and current leader of his own bloc in the Municipal Council of Ukraine’s capital Kiev, will participate in the elections for Kiev's mayor. Vitali believes his chances of winning are "not bad", and considering 1 in 3 citizens of Kiev support his candidancy he may have a good point.

How will this effect Vitali's boxing plans?



I have found no information indicating whether he will continue his boxing career or put it on hold. But, I will be updating information on here as I stumble across it.

For more information you can check out this article.

WBO Heavyweight Rankings

WBO Sanctioning Body Rankings for Heavyweight Boxing March 2008


Current Champions


IBF : Wladimir Klitschko Ukraine
WBO : Wladimir Klitschko Ukraine
WBA : Ruslan Chagaev Uzbekistan
WBC : Sam Peter Nigeria

WBO Rankings


CHAMPION Wladimir Klitschko Ukraine

1 Tony Thompson USA
2 Alexandr Dimitrenko Ukraine
3 Vladimir Virchis Ukraine
4 Alexander Povetkin Russian Federation
5 Sultan Ibragimov Russian Federation
6 Oleg Maskaev Russian Federation
7 Kali Meehan Australia
8 JD Chapman USA
9 Hasim Rahman USA
10 Derrick Rossy Puerto Rico
11 John Ruiz USA
12 Chris Arreola USA
13 Fres Oquendo USA
14 Friday Ahunanya Nigeria
15 Luan Krasniqi Germany

*Will be updated monthly
**WBC & WBA rankings will be added as soon as they update for March 2008

Thursday, March 20, 2008

IBF Heavyweight Rankings

IBF Sanctioning Body Rankings for Heavyweight Boxing March 2008


Current Champions


IBF : Wladimir Klitschko Ukraine
WBO : Wladimir Klitschko Ukraine
WBA : Ruslan Chagaev Uzbekistan
WBC : Sam Peter Nigeria


IBF Rankings


CHAMPION : Wladimir Klitschko Ukraine

1 Alexander Povetkin Russian Federation
2 NOT RATED
3 Vladimir Virchis Ukraine
4 Hasim Rahman United States
5 Alexander Dimitrenko Ukraine
6 Sultan Ibragimov United States
7 Eddie Chambers United States
8 Calvin Brock United States
9 Tony Thompson United States
10 Juan Carlos Gomez Cuba
11 Chris Arreola United States
12 Andrew Golota United States
13 Shannon Briggs United States
14 Oleg Platov Ukraine
15 Carl Drumond Costa Rica

*Will be updated monthly
**WBC & WBA rankings will be added as soon as they update for March 2008

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Vitali Klitschko Filmography

Here's a list of films and shows Vitali has made appearances on from the 90's until today.

Self:


* 2000s
* 1990s

1. "Herz für Kinder, Ein" .... Himself / ... (3 episodes, 1998-2007)
- Ein Herz für Kinder 2007 (2007) TV episode .... Himself - Fundraiser
- 25 Jahre 'Ein Herz für Kinder' (2003) TV episode .... Himself
- Ein Herz für Kinder 1998 (1998) TV episode .... Himself
2. "Wetten, dass..?" .... Himself (4 episodes, 1999-2007)
- Wetten, dass..? aus Basel (2007) TV episode (as Vitali & Wladimir Klitschko) .... Himself
- Wetten, dass..? aus Disneyland Paris (2002) TV episode .... Himself
- Wetten, dass..? aus Dresden (2001) TV episode .... Himself
- Wetten, dass..? aus Dornbirn (1999) TV episode .... Himself
3. "Prominent!" .... Himself (1 episode, 2007)
- Episode dated 27 May 2007 (2007) TV episode .... Himself
4. "Beckmann" .... Himself (1 episode, 2006)
- Episode dated 2 October 2006 (2006) TV episode .... Himself
5. "Waldis WM-Club" .... Himself (1 episode, 2006)
- Episode #1.3 (2006) TV episode .... Himself
6. "Johannes B. Kerner Show, Die" .... Himself (3 episodes, 2003-2006)
... aka JBK (Germany: promotional abbreviation)
- Episode dated 27 April 2006 (2006) TV episode .... Himself
- Episode dated 23 November 2005 (2005) TV episode .... Himself
- Episode dated 10 December 2003 (2003) TV episode (as Dr. Vitali Klitschko) .... Himself
7. "Entourage" .... Himself (1 episode, 2004)
- Talk Show (2004) TV episode (uncredited) .... Himself
8. "Berlin Mitte" .... Himself (1 episode, 2004)
... aka Maybrit Illner (Germany: new title)
- Europa startet durch - Bleibt Deutschland auf der Strecke? (2004) TV episode .... Himself
9. "60 Minutes II" .... Himself (1 episode, 2004)
... aka 60 Minutes (USA: new title)
... aka 60 Minutes Wednesday (USA: new title)
- Episode dated 21 April 2004 (2004) TV episode .... Himself
10. "ZDF Sportstudio" .... Himself (1 episode, 2003)
... aka Aktuelle Sportstudio, Das (West Germany)
- Episode dated 20 December 2003 (2003) TV episode .... Himself
11. "Menschen" .... Himself (1 episode, 2003)
- Menschen 2003 (2003) TV episode .... Himself
12. "III nach neun" .... Himself (2 episodes, 2002-2003)
... aka 3nach9 (West Germany: new title)
- Episode dated 8 August 2003 (2003) TV episode .... Himself
- Episode dated 27 September 2002 (2002) TV episode .... Himself
13. "Sabine Christiansen" (1 episode, 2001)
- Ausländer rein! Sterben wir Deutschen sonst aus?? (2001) TV episode
14. "Stars in der Manege" .... Performer (1 episode, 2000)
- Stars in der Manege 2000 (2000) TV episode .... Performer
15. "Millionär gesucht! - Die SKL Show" .... Himself (1 episode, 2000)
- Episode #1.12 (2000) TV episode .... Himself

16. "Karl Dall-Show, Die" .... Himself (1 episode, 1999)
- Episode #2.6 (1999) TV episode .... Himself
17. Modern Talking 1998/1999 (1999) (V) .... Himself

TV Commercials


1. KINDER Milchschnitte (2003)

*will be updated over time

Wladimir Klitschko Filmography

Here's a list of films and shows Wladimir has made appearances on from the 90's until today.

Actor:


* In Production
* 2000s

1. Zwei Ritter geben Vollgas (2009) (pre-production)

2. Keinohrhasen (2007) .... Husband
... aka Rabbit Without Ears (Europe: English title)
3. Ocean's Eleven (2001) .... Boxing Opponent
... aka 11 (USA: promotional abbreviation)
... aka O11 (USA: informal short title)

Self:


* 2000s
* 1990s

1. "Beckmann" .... Himself (1 episode, 2008)
- Episode dated 3 March 2008 (2008) TV episode .... Himself
2. "Rome Is Burning" .... Himself / ... (3 episodes, 2006-2008)
... aka Jim Rome Is Burning (USA: second season title)
- Episode dated 22 February 2008 (2008) TV episode .... Himself - Correspondent
- Episode dated 2 January 2008 (2008) TV episode .... Himself
- Episode dated 19 May 2006 (2006) TV episode .... Himself
3. "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" .... Himself (1 episode, 2008)
... aka Late Night with Conan O'Brien (Australia)
- Episode dated 21 February 2008 (2008) TV episode .... Himself
4. "NDR Talk Show" .... Himself (1 episode, 2007)
... aka NDR Talk Show Classics (West Germany: repeat compilations title)
- Episode dated 14 December 2007 (2007) TV episode .... Himself
5. "Nachtlinie" .... Himself (1 episode, 2007)
- Episode #1.2 (2007) TV episode .... Himself
6. "Wetten, dass..?" .... Himself (4 episodes, 1999-2007)
- Wetten, dass..? aus Basel (2007) TV episode (as Vitali & Wladimir Klitschko) .... Himself
- Wetten, dass..? aus Disneyland Paris (2002) TV episode .... Himself
- Wetten, dass..? aus Dresden (2001) TV episode .... Himself
- Wetten, dass..? aus Dornbirn (1999) TV episode .... Himself
7. "Prominent!" .... Himself (1 episode, 2007)
- Episode dated 27 May 2007 (2007) TV episode .... Himself
8. "Stars in der Manege" .... Himself - Performer / ... (2 episodes, 2000-2006)
- Stars in der Manege 2006 (2006) TV episode .... Himself - Performer
- Stars in der Manege 2000 (2000) TV episode .... Performer
9. "Waldis WM-Club" .... Himself (1 episode, 2006)
- Episode #1.3 (2006) TV episode .... Himself
10. "Johannes B. Kerner Show, Die" .... Himself (4 episodes, 2003-2006)
... aka JBK (Germany: promotional abbreviation)
- Episode dated 27 April 2006 (2006) TV episode .... Himself
- Episode dated 23 November 2005 (2005) TV episode .... Himself
- Episode dated 12 September 2003 (2003) TV episode (as Dr. Wladimir Klitschko) .... Himself
- Episode dated 11 March 2003 (2003) TV episode (as Dr. Wladimir Klitschko) .... Himself
11. "Herz für Kinder, Ein" .... Himself / ... (3 episodes, 1998-2005)
- Ein Herz für Kinder 2005 (2005) TV episode .... Himself - Fundraiser
- 25 Jahre 'Ein Herz für Kinder' (2003) TV episode .... Himself
- Ein Herz für Kinder 1998 (1998) TV episode .... Himself
12. The Eurovision Song Contest (2005) (TV) (as Volodymyr Klytschko) .... Himself
13. The Eurovision Song Contest Semi Final (2005) (TV) (as Volodymyr Klytschko) .... Host
14. "Dittsche - Das wirklich wahre Leben" .... Himself (1 episode, 2005)
... aka Dittsche (Germany: short title)
- Episode #3.1 (2005) TV episode .... Himself
15. "Berlin Mitte" .... Himself (1 episode, 2004)
... aka Maybrit Illner (Germany: new title)
- Europa startet durch - Bleibt Deutschland auf der Strecke? (2004) TV episode .... Himself
16. "60 Minutes II" .... Himself (1 episode, 2004)
... aka 60 Minutes (USA: new title)
... aka 60 Minutes Wednesday (USA: new title)
- Episode dated 21 April 2004 (2004) TV episode .... Himself
17. "ZDF Sportstudio" .... Himself (2 episodes, 2003)
... aka Aktuelle Sportstudio, Das (West Germany)
- Episode dated 20 December 2003 (2003) TV episode .... Himself
- Episode dated 23 August 2003 (2003) TV episode .... Himself
18. "Unsere Besten" .... Himself (1 episode, 2003)
- Wer ist der größte Deutsche? (2003) TV episode .... Himself
19. "III nach neun" .... Himself (2 episodes, 2002-2003)
... aka 3nach9 (West Germany: new title)
- Episode dated 8 August 2003 (2003) TV episode .... Himself
- Episode dated 27 September 2002 (2002) TV episode .... Himself
20. "Millionär gesucht! - Die SKL Show" .... Himself (1 episode, 2000)
- Episode #1.12 (2000) TV episode .... Himself

21. "Karl Dall-Show, Die" .... Himself (1 episode, 1999)
- Episode #2.6 (1999) TV episode .... Himself
22. Modern Talking 1998/1999 (1999) (V) .... Himself

TV Commercials


1. KINDER Milchschnitte (2003)

*will be updated over time

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Charity Boxing Event In London With Former Champions

On March 27Th, 2008, in a event hosted by The Pavilion in Bath*, Prize Fighter Promotions will present a charity gala evening with 3 Heavyweight boxing legends including ex-world heavyweight champion Tony Tucker, Former British Heavyweight Champion Joe Egan and Tony London. Two of the guests Joe Egan & Tony Tucker have been in the ring with Mike Tyson.

The 1st guest, Joe Egan, was a 7 time Irish heavyweight champion and a sparring partner for Mike Tyson whom Tyson labeled "the toughest white man on the planet".

The 2ND guest, Tony Tucker, went 12 hard fought rounds with Mike Tyson and shook Tyson at the time with a powerful right in the 1st round.

The final guest will be Brian London, has been in the ring with Muhammad Ali, Joe Bugner, & Sir Henry Cooper.

For more information and ticket prices you can go here.

Bath Pavilion Information


North Parade Road
Bath and North East Somerset, BA2 4, United Kingdom
+44 1225 486 902
+44 1225 330 304

*correction made from anonymous(thanks!) comment that was verified

Monday, March 17, 2008

Wladimir & Vitali Klitschko Training Videos

Hers are some videos showing Wladimir Klitschko training over his career. More will be added in the future.

Wladimir & Vitali Training Together




Wladimir Press Training For Lamon Brewster Rematch




Wladimir Training With Kids In The Ring 4/7/07




Wladimir Training 4/7/07




Wladimir & Vitali Working Out




Wladimir Klitschko & Sultan Ibragimov Press Workout




Vitali Klitschko Workout




Vitali Training For The Maskaev Fight



*fight didn't happen between Vitali & Maskaev

Valuev vs Chagaev Rematch Set May 31st

It's been reported today (Monday March 17th) that Universum Box-Promotions won the WBA purse bid in Panama, and the right to promote the highly anticipated fight between Nicolai Valuev and Ruslan Chagaev on May 31st 2008 in a venue in Germany. This will be for the WBA heavyweight championship, which is 1 of 4 main belts in the heavyweight division. The WBC belt is held by newly crowned Samuel Peter, and the IBF & WBO belts are held by recognized #1 heavyweight Wladimir Klitschko.

In Valuev's last outing (February 16, 2008) he defeated former WBO heavyweight champion Sergei Liakhovich by unanimous 12 round decision, and in Chagaev's last outing he defeated UK's Matt Skelton by unanimous 12 round decision.

This should be a good fight. I think Valuev has improved, and his only loss to Chagaev has motivated him to push harder than ever. I believe that this will be a very close fight this time around, and it's hard to say who I think will win this one. If I had to pick, I'd say Valuev will get his title back. If I picked who I want to win I'd chooose Valuev because a fight between Valuev and Wladimir Klitschko would be a lot more interesting to me and most boxing fans than a fight with Chagaev.

Source

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Wladimir Klitschko's Greatest Hits

This is an older video that shows Wladimir Klitschko's biggest knockdowns and knockouts throughout his career, but a must see for anyone. It shows how he overcame setbacks in his career to be the # 1 heavyweight in the division today.

Holyfield Wants Fight With Wladimir Klitschko

It's been recently reported (March 15th, 2008) that Evander Holyfield has 1 big fight that he wants more than any other, and that's with currently IBO, IBF, and WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitshcko. He thinks that it would add a big name to his resume(sorry no special characters you can resume reading now).

What?



OK. I respect Holyfield. The guys one of the top heavyweights ever, but come on. Holyfield lost to Sultan Ibragimov in a easy decision victory for Sultan, and Sultan lost an easy decision victory to Klitschko. What makes Holyfield think he even has a chance to compete with Wladimir is beyond me, but there's no way Wladimir would or should fight him anyway. He's got 2 mandatory fights to take care of against fighters who have defeated sound opponents to make their claim at challenging Wladimir unlike Evander Holyfield, and that's against IBF mandatory Alexander Poevetkin, and WBO mandatory Tony Thompson.

At Holyfield's age, I honestly don't see him getting to the point of legitimately fighting for another heavyweight world title (you never know with sanctioning bodies and Don King who might creep in). I realize other fighters like George Foreman have made successful comebacks at a advanced age and succeeded, but can't we accept that not everybody has that ability? I believe Foreman was special in the fact he hadn't fought for so long before returning to the ring making him at least able to fight and not deteriorated due to too many hard fought battles, and the fact his style and body makeup allowed him to fight without needing a lot of assets attributed to youth. He could take a punch ( no need for reflexes to dodge), he could punch hard (so even if he wasn't as fast, or his reflexes caused him to miss, he had that 1 punch KO power), and he had had good endurance for his age or any age upon his return.

A fighter like Holyfield needs to work in combinations and doesn't have 1 punch KO power. His reflexes aren't what they used to be which means he can get hit ( he does have a good chin) , but can't hit the target as good as he used to. Unlike the case with Foreman, if he does land a good punch or 2, that doesn't mean the end of the night for his opponent.

In my opinion, if Holyfield does want to make 1 more big payday, there has has been talks of a rematch with Tyson. Now this is a little too late to be happening in my opinion, but I can see it happening since it would make a good payday for Tyson and Holyfield both of which could probably use it.

Good luck to Holyfield though on whatever he decides to do next, and his new autobiography.

For more information you can go here.

Boxing VS MMA

There has been a lot of talk about MMA fighters and boxers. Some boxers recently have talked about converting over to MMA, like Floyd Mayweather jr. for example, and some MMA fighters like Anderson Silva have talked about coming over to boxing (he is reported to be wanting a fight with Roy Jones Jr.).

What are my thoughts on MMA vs Boxing



In my opinion, MMA and boxing are 2 completely different sports. When you're talking about the pinnacle of each sport, I don't believe a top MMA fighter is going to compete with a top boxer, and I don't think a top boxer would compete with a top MMA fighter.

Why do I think this?



I think a good way to explain this would be to use an analogy.

A MMA fighter is like a decathlete and a boxer is like a sprinter or long distance runner. To be a good at MMA or a decathlon requires you to be good at many things including boxing skill for the MMA artist or sprinting/running for the decathlete.

Just because a decathlete has exceptional running ability, like sprinting for example, does not mean that he is going to be able to compete against a professional Olympic sprinter any day of the week. Same thing for a MMA fighter who may be a better striker or has better punching ability than other MMA fighters having a chance at beating a professional boxer.

The same thing goes for a boxer trying to convert to MMA. If a Olympic sprinter were to try to compete in a decathlon, he is not going to win against a professional decathlete.

But, that's just my opinion. What do you think?

Saturday, March 15, 2008

ESPN Magazine's Wladimir Klitschko Outtakes

This was a video I article link with a video that I thought I'd share that shows some outtakes of Wladimir for ESPN's Magazines 10Th Anniversary. He's pretty funny at the Ivan Drago impersonation. I wonder if the person who asked him the question thought he was being serious at 1st? :D

ESPN Magazine's Wladimir Klitschko Outtakes

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Wladimir Klitschko Doing Magic

These are older videos, but they are pretty cool. They show a little bit of what Wladimir likes to do in his spare time.


Wladimir's Money Trick





Wladimir's Money Trick on Interview






Wladimir In A Magic Show



Wednesday, March 12, 2008

WBC orders Sam Peter to fight Vitali Klitschko

Why is Vitali facing Peter instead of Wladimir?



The reason is Vitali Klitschko had as much right to face Oleg Maskaev as Sam Peter did. He was given championship emeritus status by the WBC, which meant he could return to boxing and be automatic mandatory challenger to the belt. He announced his return, however Sam Peter had already fought 2 hard fights with James Toney to be declared mandatory challenger for the WBC belt himself. To make a long story short, Vitali stepped aside and this allowed Peter to fight Oleg with the promise of the winner of Maskaev and Peter fighting him.

So this is what the situation is now. Peter won last Saturday the 8th and became the new WBC champion and thus the WBC President Jose Sulaiman now has made Vitali the mandatory challenger for Peter's belt. The fight should take place by this fall.

How does Peter feel about this?


Peter has expressed his desire to fight a rematch with Vitali's younger brother Wladimir whom is his only loss, but says he is content with fighting Vitali as well.

How do I feel about this?



Well I do think a rematch with Wladimir would be quite exciting, but things aren't as simple as that. Don King is the promoter of Sam Peter and he as expressed in the past how he would do what it takes to not give the Klitschko's a chance at any of "his" titles.

With Vitali, he has to accept it since the WBC has ordered the fight to take place. But with Wladimir he has room to move. So its either Vitali or Sam Peter fighting anybody that King feels would be good for him to fight, and I believe Vitali Klitschko would be a much better match-up to anything like that for sure.

Vitali Klitshcko is an exciting fighter himself. If you haven't seen any of his past fights I got some of them on here under "videos" so check them out. I believe with Vitali's desire to get back into boxing we will see a great fight although seeing a rematch with Wladimir does sound nice as well.

How do I feel the result of the fight will be?



With injuries aside, I see this fight ending up pretty much the same as when Vitali fought Danny Williams. Danny had a tough beard, hard hands, but wasn't as technically sound as Vitali. Exact same situation with Peter vs Vitali. My prediction is TKO by round 7 for Vitali.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

David Haye Calls Out The Heavyweight Division & Wladimir Kitschko Videos

This is David Haye ringside right after his win over Enzo Maccarinelli:





This is a 2 part interview of David Haye also after his win over Enzo Maccarinelli:



David Haye Interview Part 1





David Haye Interview Part 2



Monday, March 10, 2008

How Will Vitali Klitschko vs. Sam Peter Play Out?

Assuming negotiations go well, we could see a match-up soon between former WBC & WBO heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko & newly crowned WBC champion Vitali Klitschko. Vitali Klitschko and Sam Peter both had a right to face the former champion Oleg Maskaev, but Vitali stepped aside for the winner. What do I mean by this?

Vitali was awarded by the WBC the championship emeritus status, which means that upon his return from retirement he would be declared mandatory challenger for the belt. However, Sam Peter fought 2 fights with James Toney (would have been 1 but the 1st fight was too close) to be declared mandatory challenger for the WBC belt himself. This was while Vitali was still retired. So, both technically had good merit for believing they were the ones to be allowed to fight next for the WBC title. But, as I said Vitali stepped aside and Sam Peter fought Oleg Maskaev himself.

The original fight was scheduled late last year, but due to injuries Oleg had to back out of that fight and Jameel Mccline ended up being the replacement to fight Sam Peter that night. McCline did a good job against Sam Peter in the early going knocking down Sam Peter 3 times, but Peter came back and won that fight on decision and fought last Saturday (3/8/08) against Oleg Maskaev and won via 6th round TKO.

Vitali is reported to be in great shape. A lot of people believe Sam Peter has improved including Wladimir Klitschko's trainer Emanuel Steward. I, however, believe he is less dangerous. With Peter's attempt to be more of a "boxer" he has lost that all out aggressiveness he had through his earlier fights and would therefore be less likely to land big, looping, blows, that have more knockout potential due to being more reserved. If you watch the last fight with Oleg, 2 times during the fight when he had Oleg in trouble he did very little boxing and more all out slugging. The last of his slugging ended with the fight being stopped in round 6. Due to his great size and stature I believe this slugging makes a good style for him better than him trying to become more of a boxer. At least I feel that way as long as he stays more reserved when he boxes. If he were to do the same thing but unleash power punches in a traditional way like Wladimir & Vitali does then later on I will change my opinion about that.

So, how do I feel the fight will play out if Vitali Klitschko and Peter Peter fought?


I think the fight would go very, very similar to what happened in the fight between Vitali and Danny Williams. I feel Vitali will keep his distance from Peter. Peter will start off doing his new boxing thing and Vitali will rack up the points through mostly jabs and crosses and these will also take their toll.

In the later rounds, Sam Peter will become frustrated and begin to revert back to his tactics we seen earlier on his career. He might even land a few looping punches to the back of Vitali's head. But, by this time Sam Peter will have had eaten a lot of punches and sooner or later Vitali will either knockdown Sam and the fight will be waived off, or there will be a knockout. What do you think would happen?

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Sam Peter Says He's Ready For Either Klitschko

After his 6th round TKO victory over Oleg Maskaev last Saturday (3/8/08), Sam Peter said when interviewed that he's ready for either Klitschko. He suggests he would be willing to take on his only loss, which was to current WBO, IBO, & IBF Heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko.

But, due to the championship emeritus status the WBC granted Vitali Klitschko upon his return, he is next in line to face the Nigerian Nightmare Sam Peter.

Emanuel Steward had this to say about Sam Peter:

"I thought Sam Peter looked sensational tonight," Steward said. "Sam Peter looked like what we want for the heavyweight division.

"It was a highly disciplined fight. Even though he lost (before) to Wladimir, it makes this one big fight that the public wants to see.

"Sam placed his punches tonight. I could see so much more maturity from the first time they fought, when he was still inexperienced. He just kept walking in and getting hit and getting hit.

"Now he slips punches and does things a lot better. He's learned now to be a good professional fighter."

Saturday, March 8, 2008

Sam Peter KO's Oleg Maskaev For WBC Belt!

Sam Peter was winning the fight by 2 rounds up to the point where he caught Oleg Maskaev with a flurry of punches in round 6 and the referee waved off the fight. There were alot of good exchanges in the fight, with both fighters landing good, hard blows. Samuel did hit a few punches behind the head, which he is notorious for doing, yet no points were taken. Oleg was visibly frustrated by this. Regardless, the TKO stoppage was a result of crisp, legal blows, and we now have a new WBC champion Samuel Peter.

Now with Peter the WBC champion, Vitali is scheduled next to face him. But, much of the public wants to see Wladimir face Peter again and have a true heavyweight champion of the division. When asked after the fight whether he'd fight Wladimir next, he gave no clear reply, although Don King was vocal in Sam Peter knocking out Wlad if they met again. We'll have to see what happens in the coming weeks on who will be Sam Peter's next opponent....

David Haye KO's Enzo Maccarinelli in 2

David Haye (21-1, 20 KOs) KO'd Enzo Maccarinelli (28-2, 21 KOs) in two rounds on Saturday night at the O2 Arena in London.

The 1st round was fairly even, but by the 2nd round Haye cought up with Maccarinelli and landed several punches in a row until Enzo fell at got up while wobbling around. The fight was then waved off.

Haye's next move is to move up to heavyweight where he plans to make an impact in the division. He has already called out Klitschko. But, it will be interesting to see who he plans to fight 1st in that division.

Showtime Wants David Tua To Step It Up

The Showtime network has recently expressed interest in backing up the 35 year old Samoan Heavyweight boxer David Tua if he steps up his level of opposition. They are interested in him because he is a heavy hitter not afraid to bang and had some great wars in his career like his duel with Ike Ibeabuchi and Hasim Rachman. David Tua's biggest fight was against Lennox Lewis where he lost a 12 round unanimous decision. He hasn't fought since September 2007, where he defeated Cerrone Fox via 2nd round tko, but there's a possibility Showtime might set up a fight between him and undefeated US contender Chris Arreola. They already tried for a May date recently, but Tua said that was a little too early to be ready. But, that may mean that the two may fight sometime by the end of the year.

I like Tua and I think if he did step it up, he could make some interesting match ups in the future including with the Klitschko brothers.

You can view more about this topic here.

...and for Tua's boxing record you can go here.

Vitali Klitschko Up-To-Date Stats

Vitali Klitschko
WBC heavyweight boxing champion

won 42 (KO 39) + lost 2 (KO 2) + drawn 0 = 44

Birth Date: 1971-07-19
Age: 39
Division: Heavyweight
Global ID: 7033
US ID: CA046088
Rating: 2/1095(worldwide) 2/25(Ukraine)
Height: 6' 7 1/2"
Nationality: Ukraine
Alias: Ironfist / Dr
Birth Place: Belovodsk, Kyrgyzstan
Residence: Los Angeles, California, United States
Birth Name: Vitali Wladimirovich Klitschko
Home Town: Kiev, Ukraine
Trainer: Fritz Zdunek
Manager: K2 Promotions *basically himself & his brother
Stance: Orthodox
Weight(average): 245 lbs (112 kg)
Reach: 80" (203.2 cm)
Chest (norm): 46 1/2" (118.11 cm)
Chest (exp): 48" (121.92 cm)
Biceps: 17 1/2 (44.45 cm)
Forearm: 17 (43.18 cm)
Waist: 35 1/2" (90.17 cm)
Fist: 11" (27.94 cm)
Wrist: 7 1/2" (19.05 cm)
Thigh: 23 1/4" (59.055 cm)
Calf: 17" (43.18 cm)
Neck: 18 1/4" (46.355cm)
Waist: 34" (86.36 cm)








**some stats such as biceps, chest, are older but everything will be kept up-to-date when I come upon the proper info

Wladimir Klitschko Up-To-Date Stats

Wladimir Klitschko
IBF/WBO/IBO/RING Heavyweight Boxing Champ

won 55 (KO 49) + lost 3 (KO 3) + drawn 0 = 58

Birth Date: 1976-03-25
Age: 35
Division: Heavyweight
Rating: 1/1136
Global ID: 7035
US ID: NV046089
Height: 6' 6" (198 cm) *6'6.75" also reported
Nationality: Ukraine
Alias: Steelhammer / Dr
Birth Place: Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan
Home Town: Kiev, Ukraine
Trainer: Fritz Sdunek and Emanuel Steward
Manager: K2 Promotions *basically himself
Stance: Orthodox
Weight: 238 lbs (107.954984 kg)
Reach: 79" (200 cm)
Chest (norm): 47" (120 cm)
Chest (exp): 48" (124 cm)
Biceps: 18" (46 cm)
Forearm: 17 1/4 (44 cm)
Fist: 12 1/2 (31 cm)
Wrist: 7 1/2 (19 cm)
Thigh: 22" (59 cm)
Calf: 17" (43 cm)
Neck: 18" (45 cm)
Waist: 34" (86 cm)




**some stats such as biceps, chest, are older but everything will be kept up-to-date when I come upon the proper info




Friday, March 7, 2008

David Haye vs. Enzo Maccarinelli Cruiserweight Championship

I'm mentioning this upcoming fight since David Haye could play a role in the heavyweight division in the future. If he wins this fight, he says he would move up to the heavyweight division. He has recently called out Wladimir stating that he could beat him and called him a bum. I think this was just a publicity stunt.

Anyway, this Saturday night, March the 8th, at 9pm EST, Haye (WBC & WBA champ) and Maccarinelli (WBO champ) face off live on Showtime boxing for the Cruiserwight divisions' unification (minus the IBF belt). The fight will take place at the 02 Arena in London, England, and will start at 2pm their time. This should be a great fight.

It also happens to be the same night HBO is showing their WBC heavyweight title fight between Oleg Maskaev and Samuel Peter at 9:30 pm EST.

I'll probably be flipping my channels on this one!

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Vitali Klitschko could become Kiev (Kyiv) Mayor

According to recent news if Vitali were to run for mayor of Kiev (Kyiv), Ukraine he would get lots of support. I'm not sure how he'll react to this since currently he and his brother Wladimir have an opportunity to follow through with their boxing dream of being the 1st brothers to hold all titles between themselves. Wladimir already has 2 of the main belts (WBO & IBF), and Vitali is suppposed to face the winner of the Sam Peter vs. Oleg Maskaev bout coming up this Saturday (March 8th, 2008) for the WBC belt, which would only leave 1 belt remaining if he won (WBA). The full story can be found here.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

An Old / New Video On Klitschko Ibragimov Fight

This is a video that just popped up on YouTube which discusses the Klitschko / Ibragimov fight---- shows some opinions of Russians before the fight, and more...

Cruiserweight David Haye Calls Wladimir a "Bum"!!!

I recently read that WBA and WBC cruiserweight champion called Wladimir Klitschko a "bum" when he told reporters that he "Can’t Wait To Go Up And Knock That Bum [Wladimir Klitschko] Out". He said this after expressing interest in moving up to the heavyweight division after he gets by his next opponent: WBO cruiserweight champion Enzo Maccarinell. I should say IF he gets by Enzo, since Enzo is a pretty good fighter himself and not someone David Haye should take lightly.

I believe this is just a promotional attempt by Haye in hopes he will eventually get a shot at the title. If nothing else he knows he'd get a big pay day against Klitschko even if he loses. So why not stir up the pot and hope for the best.

Theres an article on EastSideBoxing.com where you can read more about this.

New Video: Interview of Joe Mesi

*In this video Joe Mesi talks about his current state and his desire to go for the heavyweight crown. He calls out Klitschko (who else?), and there's also talk of the Klitschko / Ibragimov fight with an interview of Teddy Atlas....




I think the Mesi that fought Jirov might have a good chance of at least getting in on Klitschko, but in my opinion he'd still lose back then, and he's not as good of a fighter now imo.

Maskaev vs. Peter This Saturday March 8th

Oleg Maskaev and Sam Peter collide in Cancun, Mexico this Saturday March the 8th for the WBC Heavyweight Title. Sam Peter has been waiting awhile for his chance to fight Oleg and should be very hungry. Lets just hope he wasn't too hungry coming into this fight and has kept his weight at a optimum level for fighting.

Two Saturday's ago there was the 1st unification of titles between WBO belt holder Sultan Ibragimov and IBF/IBO belt holder Wladimir Klitschko since 1999 when Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield dueled. Although this is a start only half (The IBO isn't considered 1 of the 4 main belts) of the belts were unified. So, this Saturday's fight and winner is important in the outcome of where further unification may lead.

I believe Oleg Maskaev's age (39) versus Sam Peter's youth (26) will play an important role in the outcome of this fight. Oleg has been knocked out by big guys with big punches in his past (Kirk Johnson, David Tua, Lance Whitaker), but then again he has defeated the big puncher Hasim Rachman twice. But again due to the age factor and Sam Peters desire and long time wait for a chance at a championship, I see Sam Peter winning this fight by way of knockout by no more than the mid rounds.

The fight this Saturday will be shown for free for HBO viewers and will be shown live from Cancun, Mexico @ 9:30 Eastern Standard Time.

Saturday, March 1, 2008

IBF Heavyweight Mandatory For Wladimir Klitschko

This is pretty much old news by now, but for those who aren't up to date, I figured this would be a nice addition to this blog.

The IBF organization held a mini tournament to see who was the next mandatory for Wladimir Klitschko. In the 1st round Chris Byrd lost by TKO to Alexander Povetkin & Eddie Chambers won a decision over Calvin Brock. In the final, Povetkin won a unanimous decision over Chambers and is now the IBF mandatory. Since Tony Thompson has been waiting awhile for his title shot for the WBO organization, the WBO fight should be happening 1st. But, sometime this summer we should also see these Povetkin & Klitschko clash.

Povetkin has a solid amateur background. He started off with a successful kickboxing amateur career then switched to boxing. He ended up with a boxing record of 125-7, with all losses avenged. No easy task. He also won the Gold for Russia in the 2004 Athens Olympics in the Super Heavyweight division.

As a professional Povetkin is undefeated at 15 wins with 11 of those by way of KO. He's 28 years old, 6'2" tall, and weighed around 227 lbs in his last fight.

I watched him fight on video a few times and he does have a good offensive arsenal, but not a very good defense. He does seem to have a good chin, although I don't believe anyone with Wladimir's power has tested it. He's an orthodox boxer, and although he won the Super Heavyweight amateur gold, he just doesn't look that big. At 227 lbs, his highest weight yet as a professional, he looked like he could lose about 15 to 20 pounds if he wanted to have the same physical appearance that Wladimir does. I say this physical difference is going to make the difference in the fight with Wladimir with the victor being Wladimir by TKO stoppage. I say TKO, because Povetkin will want to win, rarely loses, and will fight on past the point most fighters would have stayed down.

Good luck to Wladimir on this mandatory and his WBO one.

For more about Povetkin's Bio
you can go to wikepedia.....

Other Klitschko News....

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