Heavyweight contenders Samuel “The Nigerian Nightmare� Peter and James “Lights Out� Toney get it on a second time this Saturday from the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, Fla. (Showtime).
Former light heavyweight contender Yvon Durelle, 77, who retired from boxing in 1963 with a 90-24-2, 51 KOs record, suffered a stroke earlier this week and is listed in serious condition at a hospital in Moncton, Canada, where he was transferred on Christmas Day.
James Brown, aka the Godfather of Soul, a longtime friend of Don King who performed at the Ali-Foreman “Rumble in the Jungle” in Zaire, passed away on Monday, Christmas Day, at the Emory Crawford Long Hospital in Atlanta. He was 73.
Uncrowned middleweight king Edison “Pantera� Miranda (27-1, 24 KOs) isn’t the strong, silent type. He’s definitely strong—his sensational first round KO over Willie Gibbs on HBO’s BAD clarified that—but judging from the statements he has made since that stunning win, silence isn’t his strong suit.
It looks like Joe Calzaghe’s planned stateside debut next summer will not be against middleweight king Jermain Taylor, who’s been itching to come up in weight, but not for the reason you might think.
According to today’s Sun, Madonna, the Queen of Pop, aka the Material Girl, plans on directing her first feature film, called “Blade To The Heart,� which explores the fatal Emile Griffith-Benny Paret fight at Madison Square Garden in 1962.
As an upshot to Kevin Iole’s LVRJ piece on the Klitschko-Maskaev negotiations and the progress or lack thereof, I contacted Maskaev’s manager, Fred Kesch, to get an update as to where things stand.
For those lost souls who thought a heavyweight unification bout was not only a welcome prospect but an inevitable one, it may be time to think again.
After unbeaten super middleweight sensation Joe Calzaghe dispatches Peter Manfredo Jr. on April 7 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, his stock will have climbed even further, making his post-Manfredo opponent of even greater interest than it is now.
Former WBO heavyweight champion “Relentless� Lamon Brewster, who won the title from Wladimir Klitschko in April 2004 and defended three times before losing his crown and suffering a detached retina in his fight against Sergei Liakhovich in April, has been given the all-clear to fight and is eager to return to action at the earliest possible date.
