Friday, July 30, 2010

Klitschko Peter Tickets

Tickets are available for the IBF, WBO, IBO, and Ring heavyweight championship fight between current champ Wladimir Klitschko (54-3, 48 KOs)  and new IBF mandatory Samuel Peter (34-3, 27 KOs) who last fought Wladimir in 2005 in a epic fight.  So this rematch should be a good measuring stick on how both fighters have improved.   But, still, don't expect this to be the same Sam Peter that showed up to fight Vitali.  He has lost alot of weight and will be sure to come in to top condition come fight night. The fight is taking place on September 11th in Frankfurt, Germany.

There are tickets still available for only €45,00. So get yours while they are available.

Get low priced tickets here. (German link).

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Klitschko Peter 2 Is Official!

Its official.  Wladimir Klitschko (54-3, 48 KOs)  will defend his belts and will count as a IBF mandatory when he rematches Samuel Peter (34-3, 27 KOs) this coming September 11th in Frankfurt, Germany.  Peter signed the contract at the Top Rank headquarters today in Las Vegas and will leave this weekend to attend a press conference in Germany next week.

Wladimir Klitschko Quotes

"Peter was one of the toughest fights of my career, he is an extremely hard puncher and has improved a lot in his last fights. I know what to expect on September 11 and I will be well prepared..”

Sam Peter Quotes

"I had to wait a long time for the rematch. Now I will finish what I missed five years ago. This time I am going straight in and take him out. It’s not going to last real long.”

Bob Arum Quotes

"Peter came close last time. This time he has the experience that if he gets Klitschko in trouble again, he can finish him," Arum said. "If Peter happened to upset Klitschko that would really start a lot of talk in the heavyweight division."

Ivaylo Gotzev Quotes

*Peter's manager

"We're going [Thursday] morning to sign. We're good to go. My prediction has always been the same if we got a rematch. This time we're going to finish the job and not leave it to the judges' scorecard. We are going into the lion's den to take him out."

Bernd Boente Quotes

*Klitschko's manager

"This is a very interesting fight especially with the history of the first one in 2005. By the way, we have already sold 15,000 tickets in the Commerzbank Arena in Frankfurt without an opponent."


Let's hope this opponent actually shows up for the press conference!

Steward Discusses Povetkin Backing Out Of Klitschko Fight

Hall of fame trainer and trainer of current WBO,IBF,IBO, and Ring heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko, Emanuel Steward had a few words on the pullout of Alexander Povetkin and a replacement fight with the next highest IBF available opponent Samuel Peter.


On Wladimir Klitschko’s recent switch in opponent from Alexander Povetkin to Sam Peter:


“Well I was kind of prepared for that. I have never believed that Povetkin was going to fight Wladimir, just not as bad as David Haye. So we were prepared and I told Wladimir to be prepared about two weeks ago that he might have to fight Sam Peter and also that they should contact him to see if he was available, because I had a feeling that this was going to happen.”




On whether he blames Teddy Atlas for Povetkin pulling out of the fight:

“Well he’s been consistent. From day one Teddy has never said that he thought his fighter was ready. If you read between the lines in all of the interviews that he did, he was always consistently just speaking in general like how you have to train a guy this way, you have to be prepared, people have to find themselves. He never did speak with any strong conviction that he felt that his fighter was ready. He feels that he needs more time. He was put in that position because the fighter was already in the mandatory position when he became involved with him. If he hadn’t been, he probably would have never pushed for him to be in that position. So he did what he thought was best and I respect it and I respect the fact that the IBF is going along with that. After two years he has shown no real desire to step up and take advantage of his position. They have decided to move on.

So everything is sorting itself out so to say, and you can’t make a guy fight that doesn’t want to fight and it’s very difficult to promote a fight when you have one guy who’s prepared and another guy who really seems sort of reluctant to participate and promote it and everything else. We have to move on to Sam Peter and I think it’s going to be an interesting fight because Sam didn’t look that great in some of his fights after the first fight with Wladimir. But his last fight, which I think was in Texas when I was down there doing the HBO broadcast, everyone said he looked fantastic just due to the fact his weight is down. Maybe with a different trainer, I think he’s working now in Big Bear and having a whole different attitude about everything. Just the fact that his weight is down you know he’s taking it more seriously. That’s one of the complaints always was his conditioning. And he is a puncher so nevertheless, we’re not going to be relaxed. The first fight had enough drama to last me a lifetime with Wladimir down three times and then in the twelfth round Sam Peter was out on his feet. So we’re not going to take the fight lightly because he is a puncher. We figure Peter to be a much more dangerous puncher than Povetkin.”

On what he believes will be the major difference in the rematch between Wladimir Klitschko and Sam Peter:

“That was the breakthrough fight for Wladimir Klitschko. That was the fight after he had been stopped twice and he had a fight with DaVarryl Williamson where he looked not that impressive. He went down in that fight even though he won a technical decision because of a cut. His brother had like given up hope on him and most of the people in his camp, and it was just he and I for the most part. That was apparent for the Sam Peter fight. It was a fight where, for the first time, he actually barred his brother from coming to a training camp. They had been training together all of their careers. It was because of the lack of confidence and the negative vibes that everyone had going into that fight.

He could have chosen an easier fight, but he ask who was the best fighter out there that could give him credibility back after being stopped by Brewster and barely getting by with DaVarryl Williamson and having been stopped by Sanders. I said “Well the most dangerous guy is Sam Peter”. So that’s what he wanted. That was the make or break fight that he said would put his career back on track or he could have picked a safe bout. So going down two times in the fight early, which they weren’t really clean knockdowns, but I looked at the expression on his face and it was like psychologically he wasn’t hurt but he was just totally confused and disappointed in himself. When he came back at the end of the round he was surprised by how cool I was, because I saw he wasn’t hurt. So I spoke to him very carefully and told him he was boxing at a distance where he could get caught with those clubbing punches and that he needed to be all the way back or if he got in too close to just tie him up and never allow him at that halfway distance where he could get clubbed. He said, “Okay” and if you watch the fight, before the bell rang for the next round after he had been down twice, he was the one in the center of the ring waiting on Sam Peter.

That was psychologically a tough fight for him. The last knockdown, I think was the tenth round, which we both consider was a true knockdown but he came back and had Sam out on his feet in the twelfth round so that was like the turning point in his entire boxing career in that fight. Since then I think he’s progressed tremendously and gone to another level to become one of the probably most respected and maybe on his way to becoming one of the top fighters in heavyweight history. Meanwhile Sam has been going back and forth and probably aside from his last fight hasn’t been that impressive. So it’s going to be interesting to see what happens because we still don’t know what the psychological affect will be on Wladimir. Whether this time he wants to go out and prove that he’s the best heavyweight, and this is a good chance for him to fight a guy who just recently fought the other heavyweight that everybody considers maybe the best which is a guy named Vitali Klitschko.

This will be a very good comparison point for the public to judge between the two heavyweight champions and the two brothers. For that reason, I think Wladimir is going to try and put on a very impressive performance and I don’t know if Sam’s going to be able to hold him off if Wladimir comes in with that attitude. Wladimir is one of the most devastating one-punch boxers in heavyweight history. He’s not the type of guy who wears you down. He can turn out the lights with one single punch. Sam Peter said he’s going to pick up where he left off, that’s what Wladimir told me—where he left off the last fight by knocking him down. I said, “Well Wladimir, you have to pick up where the fight actually finished up in the twelfth round where you almost had him out with the left hook”. It will be I think an explosive fight because of the emotions with Wladimir trying to prove something and Sam realizing this is his big shot right now. It’s going to be an interesting fight between punchers for a change.”

His thoughts on Sam Peter’s comments from earlier in the show when Peter had words for Wladimir stating, “Be ready because it’s going to be a short night”:

“I think it will but I think he’ll be on the short end of it, but that really means that he has tremendous confidence in himself now and I think that’s good.”

Monday, July 26, 2010

Klitschko Povetkin OFF

Looks like the September 11th IBF heavyweight mandatory fight between current IBF, IBO, WBO, and Ring champion Wladimir Klitschko and Alexander Povetkin is officially off. The IBF has confirmed this and Povetkin will be removed from the IBF top ten and has stated that Wladimir will now face the top available opponent on September 11 in Frankfurt, which is expected to be Sam Peter. They are in negotiations as we speak. Stay tuned for more information.


Bernd Bonte Quotes


* Klitschko's manager

“We’ve started negotiations with Top Rank for Sam Peter as the next available opponent for the mandatory."

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Klitschko Povetkin Presser

Today was the presser for the heavyweight championship fight between current WBO,IBF,IBO, and Ring heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko and the IBF #1 mandatory Alexander Povetkin for their fight September 11th in Frankfort, Germany.  Only 1 problem... Povetkin didn't show!

Klitschko Povetkin Presser Video 1



Klitschko Povetkin Presser Video 2




Wladimir Klitschko Quotes

I am very disappointed that Povetkin did not show up today. For two weeks, we have tried to force him to come. He could have shown that he is ready to fight me. It’s the first time in my entire career that my opponent did not come to the press conference."

“I didn’t chose Povetkin. He’s my mandatory IBF challenger. No matter who will be my opponent on September 11, I will knock him out.”

Bernd Bönte Quotes

** Klitschko's manager

“Maybe, Povetkin just wants the $2 million from the purse bid but doesn’t think about fighting Wladimir.”


If you are looking for some pics go here.

HBO Won't Show Klitschko vs Povetkin?

For those of you who looked forward to the Ring, IBF, WBO, IBO heavyweight championship fight between current champion Wladimir Klitschko and 1996 Superheavyweight Olympic champion vs the #1 IBF mandatory and 2004 Superheavyweight Olympic champ Alexander Povetkin, well you may still be able to watch it somewhere(most likely online),  but not on HBO!

Who knows what HBO is thinking.  They supported the Klitschko's in the past and were going to show the Povetkin fight back in December 2008.  So why not now in September 2010 less than 2 years later?
According to the Klitschko team, mainly Bernd Boente and adviser Shelly Finkel, they made a deal with the Senior Vice President of HBO Sports Kery Davis and then things were later cut by the President of HBO Ross Greenburg who stated he has no interest in buying this fight, and even stated that he is not interested in fights unless the Klitschko's face David Haye or Tomasz Adamek. Obviously the Klitschko camp is furious. Here are some quotes from those in the Klitschko camp.

Bernd Boente Quotes

"We are really frustrated. Shelly is furious. Wladimir, too. We were counting on it. This cost us a quarter of a million dollars. If they had told us this at the beginning, we would have had the fight on Showtime. Now we have neither. Not only is HBO screwing us, they are screwing American boxing fans. I am not only surprised, I am shocked."

So whats going on here is HBO allegedly promised the 11th, while Showtime needed the 18th, but they went with HBO and got the venue but now can't do the 18th so this is costing them $250,000 since it won't air on Showtime.

"What HBO did to us is absolutely disgusting. Kery promised me and also Shelly on the telephone that he will do the fight. We had agreed. The worst thing is that Kery said, 'We can do the fight on the 11th but not on the 18th.' Showtime could do it on the 18th but not on the 11th. We made a deal with HBO for the 11th and we said to the German soccer league before they planned their schedule to please make sure that on the 11th there is no home game for Frankfurt because we have an American TV station on board. They said OK. And then HBO screwed us and now we lose $250,000."

"If we knew HBO wouldn't do the fight, we would have asked for [the stadium on] Sept. 18 and Showtime would have shown the fight. Now we lose all that money completely, and it's HBO's fault.

"[Davis] should have talked to his boss first before you promise something. You can't promise me and Shelly and then not do it. Showtime played it very straight with us about their situation. HBO did not. I'll tell you one thing: If either brother ever fights David Haye, I will make sure and the brothers will make sure that HBO doesn't cover the fight and that it will go to Showtime.

"HBO's lie cost us $250,000. It's not like Wladimir is fighting a bum. Povetkin is undefeated, he's an Olympic champion and everyone ranks him very highly. A lot of people want to see the fight.

"Wladimir is totally pissed and really disappointed. He thought a promise is a promise, and if you promise someone, you have to stand by your promise. We have been on HBO for 23 fights [between the brothers], but I guess that doesn't mean anything. Maybe Ross has something against Germany or Ukrainians. I don't know what it is. You'd think maybe he would call Wladimir and Vitali and say he's sorry."

"Whether Wladimir or Vitali fight Haye eventually, we will make sure the fight is not on HBO. HBO will not cover anymore Klitschko fights. On the Haye fight, Wladimir said to me that HBO thinks that they will have it 100 percent because they always overpay if they want something. But for him it is not about the money, it's about fair play."

When asked if he will take Showtime even if HBO offers a lot Boente said, "Yes, absolutely."

Also, if they can't get it on a network like ESPN he said, "If it's not ESPN, we'll do it pay-per-view."


Ray Stallone who is a HBO spokesman had a few words in regards to Boente's assertion:

"HBO's goal, as always, is to televise the biggest fights in the sport. We recognize that both Wladimir and Vitali are among the sport's most accomplished performers. With a combined total of 23 appearances on HBO, it's reasonable to say that the relationship has been productive for all parties. Going forward, our position is clear: If a heavyweight title fight between Wladimir or Vitali and David Haye can be made, regardless of the site, we will be first in line to make an offer to televise it in the U.S. In addition, if any other opponent emerges that we think will get the U.S. market excited about a prospective title fight, we will surely be in line to try and buy the fight for the U.S. market."

"HBO wants the heavyweight division to thrive, and when Wladimir or Vitali fight in the U.S. or take on any opponent that we think will register in this country, we are prepared to discuss those fights."

Vitali Klitschko Headlining WBC Night Of Champions

At the Cardiff International Arena on the dates of the 29th-31st in July 2010, the WBC (World Boxing Council) will hold a Night of Champions which is a 3-day international boxing festival. Vitali Klitschko and Roberto Duran will headline the event and many other ring legends will be in attendance.

Events that will take place will be the opening of the movie “Risen: The Howard Winstone Story”, which is a bio-pic of Merthyr boxing legend, Howard Winstone who was a sporting great who overcame all odds to win a World Boxing title despite losing the fingers on one hand in an accident.

Another event that will take place will be a official pre-Olympic tournament between British Olympic hopefuls in Team GB and some of the finest boxers from around the world in a “Rest of the World Team”.

The final event will be a Night of Champions gala awards dinner which will honor some of the sport’s greatest champions, as well as those that have made boxing great.

Throughout the event there will also be various activities each night including live music from top Welsh and international bands and meet and greet sessions with the champions.


McEvoy Quotes

** Deputy Leader of Cardiff Council, who are supporting the Festival

“It is our pleasure to house so many boxing legends in Cardiff at the Night of Champions Festival. It’s great to be able to get so many of the biggest names of the sport together, both old and new, in our great city.

“We are honoured to bring people like Vitali Klitschko, Shannon Briggs and Roberto Duran into Cardiff, and look forward to the people of Cardiff turning out to give them the warm Welsh welcome that they deserve.”


Here are a list of confirmed champions who will be in attendance:


Alan Minter WBA/WBC Middleweight Champion
Ann Saccurato WBC Women's Lightweight Champion
Azumah Nelson WBC Featherweight Champion
WBC Super Featherweight Champion
Bradley Price
Carl Froch WBC Super Middleweight Champion
Colin Jones ABA Welterweight Champion
Earnie Shavers
Enzo Maccinerelli WBO Cruiserweight Champion
Erik Morales WBC/WBO Super Bantamweight Champion
WBC Featherweight Champion
WBC/IBF Super Featherweight Champion
George Louis Chuvalo
Glenn Catley WBO Super Middleweight Champion
Iran Barkley WBC Middleweight Champion
IBF Super Middleweight Champion
WBA Light Heavyweight Champion
James 'Bonecrusher' Smith WBA Heavyweight Champion
Jane Couch MBE Womens' IBF Welterweight Champion
John 'The Beast' Mugabi WBC Light Middleweight Champion
John Conteh WBC Light Heavyweight Champion
John H. Stracey WBC Welterweight Champion
Juan La Porte WBC Featherweight Champion
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr
Junior Jones WBA Bantamweight Champion
WBO Super Bantamweight Champion
Junior Witter WBC Super Lightweight Champion
Ken Buchanan WBA Lightweight Champion
Leon Spinks WBC/WBA Heavyweight Champion
Manuel Medina WBC/WBO/IBF Featherweight Champion
Mia St. John IFBA World Lightweight Champion
Nigel Benn WBC/WBO Middleweight Champion
Paul Hodkinson WBC Featherweight Champion
Richie Woodhall WBC Super Middleweight Champion
Roberto Duran WBC/WBA Lightweight Champion
WBC Welterweight Champion
WBA Light Middleweight Champion
WBC Middleweight Champion
Robin Reid WBC Super Middleweight Champion
Rocky Mattioli WBC Light Middleweight Champion
Sergio Gabriel Martiez WBC Super Welterweight Champion
WBC/WBO Middleweight Champion
Shannon Briggs WBO Heavyweight Champion
Steve Collins WBO Middleweight Champion
WBO Super Middleweight Champion
Steve Robinson WBO Featherweight Champion
Tim Witherspoon WBC/WBA Heavyweight Champion
WBA Heavyweight Champion
Vitali Klitchtko WBC Heavyweight Champion
Vito Antuofermo WBC/WBA Middleweight Champion

Monday, July 19, 2010

Tyson Says Haye Should Avoid The Klitschko's

In a recent interview the former baddest man on the planet "Iron" Mike Tyson gave his opinion on a possible matchup of David Haye vs one of the Klitschko brothers, and has stated that Haye needs to establish himself at heavyweight by fighting alot of the up-and-coming Russian boxing prospects and guys that Klitschko's have beaten like Chris Arreola and Ruslan Chagaev before thinking about jumping in the ring with either brother.   Here is the video where Tyson gives his opinion.


Valuev Responds To Vitali Klitschko's Video Message

Recently current WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko made it clear via a video statement about how much he wants to face Valuev but how he feels Valuev does not want to face him.  This Valuev's response.  Here is a loose interpretation of what Valuev said:

''Vitaliy you tell me will there be a fight between us? If not then i have plenty of things to do. Don't make me go back and forth with your desicion making. I dont need this"


then the reporter says "Nikolay is ready for the fight and wants it to happen already."
 
Here is the actual video statement of Nicolai responding to Vitali:
 
 


Vitali Klitschko Calls Out Valuev

Vitali Klitschko has made one last attempt in the last couple weeks to get a bout with the former WBA heavyweight champ Nicolai Valuev.  Since talks have not gone as planned Vitali has made a video to discuss this situation.  In broken translated English this is essentially what he is saying in the video statement he made:

"In the ring you can see who is who immediately.  Therefore, Valuev is probably afraid of a fight with me.Our fight awaiting  millions. They are tired of watching when a adult man behaves as a child.Nikolay stop being afraid. Being a slave of fear is the worst slavery.  Remember this, or find another kind of sport.  I have done everything to make this bout happen, but Valuev's team responds with new terms. I doesn't see a way to continue the negotiations.  It's nonsense-a champion to coax a contender."  -- Again this is not a exact translation but as close as I can get until a Klitschko fan gives me a better translation of what Vitali said.

Here is the actual video of the video statement made by Vitali.


Thursday, July 15, 2010

Klitschko vs Povetkin September 11th

It's now official that the WBO,IBF,IBO, and Ring heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (54-3, 48 KOs) will defend his titles against the IBF #1 mandatory contender Alexander Povetkin (19-0, 14 KOs) on September 11th at the Commerzbank-Arena in Frankfurt, Germany, which will have a capacity of 54,000. The Commerzbank-Arena is the home of German soccer team Eintracht Frankfurt.

Klitschko Quotes

"Alexander Povetkin is a very strong opponent. We are both Olympic Champions, which stands for itself. It will be a very tough fight, but I have no doubt that I will keep my titles. In the beginning of my career, I fought in Frankfurt twice and won. Now, I am looking forward to fighting in this fantastic stadium in front of a great audience..”

Povetkin Quotes

I had to wait pretty long for this chance and will now get Klitschko’s belts. Right now, I am training in the US with ten sparring partners, among them former world champions. This is the biggest fight of my career and I will be better prepared than ever before. Now it is my time, I am the future of the heavyweight division.”

Bernd Bönte Quotes

** Managing Director of Klitschko Management Group (KMG)

"The Commerzbank-Arena in Frankfurt is a gigantic stadium and I am very glad that we will have this top fight in this venue. Together with the management of the arena and our TV partner RTL we will arrange an unforgettable fight night.”


On paper this is a intriguing matchup with 2 former Olympic superheavyweight champions (Wladimir 1996 and Povetkin 2004), with Povetkin having no losses and Wladimir being a dominant champion. But, in all reality Povetkin isn't really a superheavyweight like Wladimir is. Wladimir is the bigger man. A much bigger man who is in much better phsyical shape than Povetkin ever has been. He knows how to keep his distance and can hit an opponent with either hand with superior force. Alexander Povetkin unless something changes drastically with defense is going to be a sitting duck to the overhand right of Wladimir's. I don't see this fight going past 5....

Vitali Klitschko May Face Briggs

Since negotiations between WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko and former WBA heavyweight champion Nicolai Valuev appear to not be going too well, there is consideration for a possible matchup with former WBO heavyweight champion Shannon Briggs to face Vitali. Briggs is ranked #8 in the WBO rankings currently. Stay tuned for more information...

Other Klitschko News....

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