After being bypassed a couple of times already, Amir Khan is stepping up his chase of Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Closing the year with a big fight

According to Golden Boy Promotions President Oscar De La Hoya, Khan’s next opponent will be Robert “Ghost” Guerrero. Although no formal announcement for the bout has been made, a tentative date of December 6th has been set. De La Hoya also hinted that the fight will be held at the Barclays Center in New York, saying that the “fans at the Barclays Center are amazing” and that he believes that they “can close the year with a big fight” at the Barclays Center.

Barclays Center was also the targeted venue of Saul “Canelo” Alvarez’s December 6 fight but Alvarez pulled out of that event citing an injury.

Step up in opposition

Fighting Robert Guerrero is a step up in opposition for Khan who earlier considered fighting Devon Alexander or Josesito in a stay busy fight while waiting for Mayweather’s word on his May 2015 opponent. Khan is hoping that Mayweather will finally choose him after getting bypassed in favor of Argentine Marcos Maidana twice this year.

Khan believes that fighting and beating Guerrero soundly in front of the American audience will pressure Mayweather into finally agreeing to fight him after more than a year of calling out the world’s number one Pound for Pound fighter. Mayweather fought and beat Guerrero via unanimous decision last year.

Guerrero rebounded from the Mayweather loss by defeating Japanese contender Yoshihiro Kamegai by unanimous decision last June. On the other hand, Khan is coming off an impressive 12 round win over former WBA Welterweight champion Luis Collazo last May. Prior to that, Khan lost two straight bouts to Lamont Peterson and Danny Garcia then came up with lackluster wins over Carlos Molina and Julio Diaz.

Money has last say

But even if Khan disposes of Guerrero in spectacular fashion, the final say on Mayweather’s last two bouts is still Mayweather himself. Last week, the 36-year old Mayweather told fighthype.com that Khan “still got Danny Garcia problems just as Pacquaio has Marquez problems.” Floyd Jr. was obviously referring to Khan’s 4th round TKO loss to light welterweight kingpin Danny Garcia in 2012.

But a rematch between Khan and Garcia is unlikely as Garcia is reportedly eyeing a unification with IBF light welterweight champion Lamont Peterson next. ESPN also reported last week that Viktor Postol, Garcia’s mandatory challenger for his WBC light welterweight belt, has agreed to step aside for a bonus so that Garcia can take a fight (presumably Peterson) before him.

Mayweather added that “a lot of crazy thoughts “go through his mind every day. Boxing’s moneyman also said that he couldn’t “care less what Amir Khan says” and that he will fight as he “pleases.” However, that line of thinking could potentially change if Khan impresses with a big win over a big name like Guerrero.

Rory MacDonald didn’t have to beg for a title shot, but he did after beating Tarec Saffiedine. Less than a week later, the UFC is giving it to him with a bonus.

Pretty Impossible to Deny Him

UFC President Dana White announced that MacDonald will face the winner of the Johny Hendricks-Robbie Lawler bout. That bout is scheduled as the replacement main event of UFC 181 on December 6 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

According to White, it was “pretty impossible to deny” Rory MacDonald the next shot at the welterweight belt after three impressive wins in 2014. MacDonald decisioned Demain Maia and Tyron Woodley earlier this year before knocking out former Strikeforce Welterweight champion Tarec Saffiedine last Week at the UFC Fight Night event at Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

The bonus for Rory is that his title bout will be held in his home country of Canada.

The protege

Rory MacDonald entered the UFC scene as the protege of former UFC welterweight king and fellow Canadian Georges St. Pierre and he continues to fight under St. Pierre’s Tristar Gym in Montreal, Canada. When St. Pierre was still champion, MacDonald said that he wouldn’t fight for the title against the man he called his mentor.

St. Pierre has left the UFC indefinitely after defeating Hendricks via controversial split decision last November 2013. With the title vacant, Hendricks fought Lawler at UFC 171 last March 15. Hendricks decisioned Lawler but Robbie got his rematch after quickly recovering with back to back wins over Jake Ellenberger and Matt Brown.

On the other hand, MacDonald could have gotten his title shot much earlier but he lost a close split decision to Robbie Lawler at UFC 167. That win would later give Lawler the title bout against Hendricks while MacDonald had to go back to the drawing board.But all of that is in the past now, as these three fighters’ paths will soon cross with one title to fight for. Well actually, St. Pierre could be a fourth man in that mix.

Instant Title Shot

A couple of weeks ago, Dana White had guaranteed that St. Pierre would get an immediate title shot if and when he decides to make his UFC comeback. But according to MacDonald, St. Pierre won’t be fighting for the title if he becomes world champion. MacDonald says that he believes that St. Pierre will return to the Octagon but added that GSP will “respect his position” if he had the belt around his waist. He referred to the unwritten agreement they had in the past that they would never fight each other. MacDonald said that position has not changed until now.

Of course, St. Pierre has not committed to a return,especially since he wants strict drug testing on his next fights. MacDonald too has a title bout to win before he even thinks about GSP in the future. But with these exciting storylines, the UFC Welterweight division is primed to be the promotion’s leading weight class in 2015.

Taking a page out of the Bernard Hopkins’ immortality book, 41-year old Cornelius “K9” Bundrage banked on two knockdowns to score a unanimous decision victory over Carlos Molina to reclaim the IBF Super Middleweight title on Saturday night at the Grand Oasis resort in Cancun, Mexico.

A Fast start

K9 came charging off the gates by wobbling Molina very early in the first round and dropping him later in the round with a solid right hand to the chin. Molina recovered but Bundrage scored another knockdown in Round 2 when he cornered the champion near the ropes. Although Molina calmed the storm in the next two rounds, Bundrage took control of the bout with harder and cleaner punches to come up with a 117-106,116-109 and 115-110 unanimous decision victory and become the oldest person to win a boxing world title at 154 pounds.

Long layoff

Molina was coming off a long 13 month layoff after winning the title from Ishe Smith during the Floyd Mayweather Jr. versus Canelo Alvarez bout last year. Molina was originally scheduled to make his first title defense last March 8 against Jermal Challo but that fight was stalled when Molina was arrested in Las Vegas a few days before the fight on an outstanding warrant for “failing to register as a sex offender” in a Wisconsin case year ago. While being incarcerated, police also discovered that Molina entered the United States illegally and was subsequently deported to Mexico. With a mandatory defense to make and unable to fight in the US, Molina’s promoter Leo Margules arranged a bout with Cornelius Bundrage in Mexico.

Headed Opposite Directions

Bundrage was a former semi-finalist on the 2nd season on television’s reality boxing show The Contender. He won the IBF 154 title by knocking out Cory Spinks in 2010 and made two successful title defenses before losing to Ishe Smith last year. Smith in turn, lost the belt to Molina during his first defense.

But K9 fought his way back to title contention by outpointing the undefeated Joey Hernandez in a title eliminator bout last January. The win moved Bundrage to the mandatory challenger position against Molina. Beating Molina on Saturday made Bundrage a two time world champion while Carlos Molina’s career looked headed the opposite direction.

With his legal troubles in the US, the 31 year old Molina will be out of the big fights. He will have to settle fighting against fringe opponents in Mexico. Without a world title belt to dangle, big name opponents would take a pass on a dangerous opponent with a notorious reputation. So unless Molina settles his legal woes in the US, his career could be in serious limbo.

With the NBA regular season weeks away, the injury bug is starting to hit everywhere, and the Dallas Mavericks are not an exception.

Missing Felton

Newly acquired point guard Raymond Felton suffered a high sprain in his right ankle during the Dallas Mavericks’ preseason game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Felton landed on the foot of Thunder swingman Anthony Morrow on a drive to the basket. He did not return to the game and left the American Airlines Center on crutches and wearing a protective boot.

Mavericks Coach Rick Carlisle told reporters that the injury will cause Felton to miss “an extended period of time”. He said that the team will give an update on the injury within 10 days. Ankle sprains usually heal within six to eight weeks depending upon its severity.

The injury will delay further Felton’s regular season debut with the Mavs as he is also due to serve a four game suspension at the start of the season due to a guilty plea on a federal gun charge last season.  The 30-year old University of North Carolina product was acquired from the New York Knicks in the off-season in the same deal that brought back Tyson Chandler to the Mavericks. Felton is expected to play key minutes at point guard, backing up another newly acquired veteran playmaker in Jameer Nelson.

Ellis out, too

Felton’s injury comes after starting shooting guard Monta Ellis suffered a sprained left knee during last Thursday’s practice. Although Ellis is expected to miss the next two pre-season games, the injury is not considered serious. Coach Rick Carlisle said that the diagnostic tests did not reveal any structural damage to the knee. However, Carlisle added that Ellis will undergo treatment and rehab. An update on Ellis’ injury will be made early this week.

Before Ellis got hurt, star player Dirk Nowitzki also suffered a contusion on his right hip also in practice. Dirk missed the first two preseason games but is expected to play in the next game as he has been participating in the team shoot-around since last Friday.

Got to be healthy

Although the injuries to the Mavericks’ three key players are not really serious, the team has got to get healthy soon to start jelling together. It can be recalled that the Mavericks made one of the more major upgrades in the offseason by getting back Tyson Chandler from the Knicks and added Felton in the deal. They also signed Chandler Parsons, Jameer Nelson, Richard Jefferson and Al Farouq Aminu to help them in what is considered as their last title run in the Dirk Nowitzki era.

Former light middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez has pulled out of a December 6 bout against Joshua Clottey.

Out for six weeks

According to a statement issued by Golden Boy Promotions on Monday night, Saul Alvarez will be sidelined for about six weeks due to a persistent left ankle injury. Because of that, the Mexican superstar will be forced to pull out of his proposed December 6 bout against former IBF welterweight champion Joshua Clottey.

Although not formal announcement was ever made for that bout, it was supposed to be Canelo’s first fight after making the move to HBO last month. Instead, HBO and Golden boy “are reviewing their options for the December 6 date.”

Persistent ankle injury

Golden Boy Promotions President Oscar De La Hoya said that the left ankle has been bothering Canelo since early this year. De La Hoya added that Canelo first felt the injury during his fight against Alfredo Angulo last March. It re appeared once again two weeks before his July 12 bout against Erislandy Lara and although he felt a lot of discomfort, Alvarez fought through the pain and went on to beat Lara by split decision.

But as Canelo started to train for his December fight a couple of weeks ago, he felt that the injury was aggravating. He tried to shrug it off once again but then last week, Alvarez said his left knee got so swollen after doing his usual six mile run that he had to stop training. After having it checked by the doctor, Alvarez was advised to rest and undergo physical therapy for six weeks in order to strengthen the ankle.

Counter move?

Although Alvarez has a legitimate injury, it is nothing serious as tests have revealed that nothing down there is torn or broken. It is seen by some fight experts as a counter move on the part of Canelo’s camp after Miguel Cotto decided to take the rest of the year off.

The December fight was seen a stay-busy fight for Canelo who is being lined up for a mega buck Cinco de Mayo weekend showdown against Cotto on May 2, 2015. But since Cotto is taking the rest of the year off, it would also be ideal if Canelo should do the same and not risk any major injury or much worse, a loss that would put the Cinco de Mayo mega fight in peril.

The game wasn’t close and it wasn’t against a “real” NBA team, but it was worth the wait.

A First look

The world got its first look at the new Cleveland Cavaliers team when the LeBron-led squad squared off against current Euroleague champions Maccabi Tel Aviv at the Cavs Quicken Home Loans Arena on Sunday night.

Tristan Thompson led the Cavaliers with a double-double by scoring 14 points and grabbing 13 rebounds in 19 minutes of action. LeBron James scored 12 points and dished out 4 assists in the first half before sitting out the entire second half and watching his teammates complete the 107-80 win.

Emotional Win

As expected, the much deeper Cavaliers wore down the visiting team. Maccabi was just down by six points at the end of the first quarter but the lead ballooned to 15 at the half. The Eastern Conference favorites then exploded with a 28-16 third quarter that sealed the victory.

The win was emotional for first time NBA coach David Blatt who admitted to being nervous before the game because “he was playing against his friends”. Blatt is an Israeli-American player who left Maccabi Tel Aviv after the team won its sixth Euroleague title to pursue an NBA coaching career with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Other than that, Blatt must have been happy with what he saw.

Making adjustments

Although the team showed the defensive issues that detractors had warned, Maccabi was a legitimate opponent and not just a pushover. They showcased the offensive flow that Blatt has been preaching since the very first day he arrived at Cleveland. Ball movement led to easy baskets by Sylvan Landesburg and Alex Tyus. The Cavaliers made the defensive adjustment in the third quarter and started to pull away.

Rebounding was the key for the Cavaliers as they won the battle of the boards 64-36. Kevin Love only took six shots and scored eight points, but he managed to grab 11 rebounds. Anderson Varejao came off the bench yet he collared 15 rebounds and provided his usual energy. After the game James said that his team “shouldn’t lose a rebounding game this season.”

With Love, a former NBA rebounding champion and the wily Varejao, rebounding could be their meal ticket on a defense that is definitely a work in progress.

No shortage of points

Offensively, there was no shortage of scoring. The self proclaimed best backcourt in the NBA led the offensive charge with 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup Kyrie Irving scoring 16 points and Dion Waiters adding 15 markers. It can be recalled that Waiters proclaimed last week that he and Kyrie were the best backcourt duo in the NBA. That remains to be seen although the Cavs could make a claim for the best scoring team in the NBA with the talent they have.

The Cavaliers looked very smooth on offense with good ball movement and by making extra passes. But like any newly formed team, the danger of over-passing was visible.In one play, Kevin Love made an extra pass to an open LeBron James who was on the wing. James passed on the open three, drove to the basket and kicked out to Waiters who missed the shot.
Coach Blatt acknowledged that unselfishness is going to be a “good problem” early on for the Cavs.

Scary good

Aside from that minor concern, the rest of us saw glimpses of how scary the team could be in offense. With Irving running the show, the Cavs running game was fluid. With the abundance of shooters around him, he lanes have never been wide open for LeBron James to create. With a lot of weapons in town, Kevin Love didn’t have to take many shots to be effective. And yes, with a loaded line-up, James was able to watch the game in the second half and rest a sore back.

There’s no question that with the abundance of talent in the team, The Cavaliers are going to have a lot of offensive luxuries that could cover up for their supposed deficiencies in defense. And although there are a lot of growing pains to be expected from this title favorite, they are as real as advertised.

The battle of Mexico turned out to be the battered of Mexico.

One-sided

In one of the bigger fights held in Mexico, featherweight champion Jhonny Gonzalez dominated countryman and former four division titleist Jorge Arce before knocking him out in the 11th round of their WBC featherweight title bout in Arce’s hometown of Los Mochis, Mexico on Saturday night.

Defending for the second time the title he won from Abner Mares in August 2013, Gonzalez had Arce at his disposal throughout the fight. He was taller, rangier and was definitely much stronger than the 35-year old Arce who looked like he was all washed up.

Three knockdowns

Gonzalez landed hard left hooks at will and cut the bridge of Arce’s nose in the second round. Things got worse for “Travieso” in round three as Gonzalez opened a bad cut on Arce’s left eye. With both cuts affecting Arce, Gonzalez scored his first knockdown in round three although Arce was quick to beat the count.

In the fifth, Arce stunned Gonzalez with a powerful left hook and had the champion backing up to the delight of the hometown crowd. But as Arce got some confidence going, Gonzalez shut him down with another knockdown with 15 seconds left in round five. That did not stop Arce from asking for a brawl in the next rounds, to which the champion obliged. Midway in the ninth round, Gonzalez dropped Arce for a third time with another powerful left hook.

Size and Strength Advantage

Gonzalez had predicted before the bout that he would dominate with his size and reach advantage. He was correct, although he did not mention the obvious difference in punching power.

Arce had nothing to show against Gonzalez, and the champion won every single round and virtually all the punch exchanges. It was a much better performance for Gonzalez who in his first title defense earlier this year, struggled to a 10 round technical decision win over the unknown Clive Atwell of Guyana.

Time to hang ‘em up

Arce had won world titles in the Super Bantamweight, Bantamweight, Super Flyweight and Flyweight divisions. But he never fought at featherweight, much more a world champion like his countryman Gonzalez. Arce’s last big fight was a third round TKO loss to Nonito Donaire in 2012 which was fought at the Super Bantamweight class. He retired for 11 months following that loss and won a comeback fight against the unheralded Jose Carmona last November 2013.

He said the opportunity to win a title in a fifth weight class motivated him to make a comeback. But his loss to Gonzalez should be enough to make him hang up his gloves permanently. The wear and tear of a long hard fought boxing career has certainly taken its toll on Arce’s body, not to mention that he has lost his power and speed in his continued climb at the higher weight limits. Arce certainly has nothing to prove, as along with Julio Cesar Chavez Sr., Juan Manuel Marquez and Erik Morales, he is one of the best boxing champions Mexico has ever produced.

The outspoken Rory MacDonald needed a big win to solidify his stake for a title shot in the UFC’s welterweight division. He made a statement on Saturday night by stopping #9 ranked Tarec Saffiedine at the main event of UFC Fight Night 54 at the Halifax Metro Centre in Nova Scotia, Canada.

First main event appearance

Headlining a UFC event for the first time in his career, #2 ranked welterweight contender Rory MacDonald did not disappoint the hometown fans who filled up the arena to cheer him on. He put on a calculated display of skill, poise and power to become the first fighter to stop Tarec Saffiedine in 19 bouts.

After the win, the usually laid back MacDonald finally called out the promotion to give him his title shot: “I want the winner of the next fight. Please, give it to me.” he said during the post fight interview.

He did not have to beg. The emphatic win should put him on the line to face the winner between UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks and #1 contender Robbie Lawler. The two combatants are set to headline UFC 181 on December 6 in a rematch of their UFC 171 title bout last March.

Actually, MacDonald had the chance to fight for the vacant welterweight title but he lost to Lawler at UFC 167 in a bout that gave Lawler the shot against Hendricks at UFC 171. But this time, the title shot is pretty much secured for the fighter who was once dubbed as the “future of the welterweight division” by his mentor, Georges St. Pierre.

Refused to be caught in the moment

Saffiedine, the last Strikeforce welterweight champion, started the bout with bad intentions. He tried to steal the show from MacDonald by landing hard leg kicks to slow down the Canadian. He also tried to confuse MacDonald by repeatedly changing stances throughout the contest.

But the 25-year old phenom didn’t get baffled. Even with the crowd chanting his name, he refused to be caught in the moment. He started out with his usual fighting style, taking his opponent to middle of the octagon and peppering him with his laser like jabs. Within three minutes of the fight, he took Saffiedine down already, although he didn’t do significant damage on top.

Cool and calculated approach

His calculated approach only gave him a slight advantage in total significant strikes landed at 47-42, but he came up with the big blows when needed.

Saffiedine piled up the kicks on MacDonald, but when he got too aggressive in the third round his defenses opened up. MacDonald caught Saffiedine with an overhand right that seemed to graze Saffiedine. But MacDonald followed it up with a crushing left hook that dropped his Belgian opponent. Sensing the finish MacDonald followed the helpless Saffiedine to the ground and pounded him with a couple of hammer fists before Herb Dean stopped the bout at the 1:28 mark of round three.

Ready for the title shot

After losing to Lawler in 2013. MacDonald looked like he was ready for a title shot after his back to back wins over Demian Maia and Tyron Woodley. But he refused to ask for a title shot and instead took on a tough opponent in Saffiedine because he knew Lawler would get the next crack at Hendricks. But with the emphatic win over Saffiedine on Saturday night, Rory MacDonald left no doubt that he deserves to fight the winner of Hendricks-Lawler.

The rumor about Mikhail Prokhorov selling the Brooklyn Nets is gaining momentum once again.

At the right price?

After admitting in the previous months that he was gauging the value of the Nets, sources are now saying that Mikhail Prokhorov “has expressed to at least one interested party that he is willing to give up majority control of the Nets for the right price.”

That right price, according to one of the sources, is said to be composed of $1.2B for the Nets franchise and $1.1B for the Barclays Center. However, the same source said that with the amount involved, it’s likely that a “group on investors” is involved.

Combination of assets

Confirmed reports say that the Nets ownership recently met with the Guggenheim Sports and Entertainment Assets. ESPN also reported that Prokhorov, CEO Brett Yormark and minority owner Bruce Ratner met with Guggenheim President Todd Boehly in Russia earlier this week.  Guggenheim Sports purchased the controlling interest of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2013 for a record amount of $2.15B.

The reports also say that the discussions for a “combination of assets is ongoing” and there is no deadline for the “conclusion of the discussions.” Under this scenario, the combined assets of the “new entity “could be as high as $8B.  Prokhorov would still “retain control of the Nets” while Ratner will “maintain control of the Barclays Center.”

Dodgers not included

The scope of the “combination of assets” remains unclear and could only apply to the Brooklyn Nets. Guggenheim CEO and Los Angeles Dodgers Chairman Mark Walter made it clear that the Dodgers would not be involved in any talks with the Nets’ ownership. He said that as the controlling owner of the Dodgers, he has “no intention of selling the team or moving them into a new ownership group.”

However, Walter admitted that the Nets are “a terrific franchise” and he would be happy to read their financials and proposal.

Is Prokhorov serious?

Despite Prokhorov’s proclamation last June that they “will continue in 2015 what they have already started”, there have been doubts on how much more he is willing to spend to win the NBA title. Aside from the fact that Paul Pierce and head coach Jason Kidd are gone, the team lost $144M in basketball related business last season-$131M more than the next losing team. The Nets broke the NBA record by paying out $90M in luxury tax alone.

Prokhorov bought the Nets in 2010 and established a “five year plan” to bring an NBA title to New York. He even said that he would “punish himself by taking a bride” if he fails on his promise to give the Nets a title. Coincidentally, that five year plan expires next year and maybe Comrade Prokhorov should start looking for a bride to be, if he still doesn’t have one yet.

With a title shot on the line, Former WBO middleweight champion Hassan N’Dam used every inch of the ring to defeat the hard hitting Curtis Stevens via unanimous decision during the IBF Middleweight title eliminator on Wednesday night at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica California.

Keeping his distance

Right from the opening bell, the 30-year old Cameroonian born N’Dam (31-1 with 18 knockouts) knew what he had to do to win. He effectively played matador against the bull strong Stevens (27-4 with 20 knockouts) and kept his distance all night long. N’Dam controlled the bout with his boxing as he worked behind a consistent jab and circled away from Stevens’ vaunted left hook to avoid the heavy bombs.

Sealing the deal

The fight, which lacked the action that Stevens wanted, had its best moment in the 8th round when N’Dam decked Stevens with a short right hand that landed on Stevens’ temple. The knockdown sealed the deal for N’Dam who won by unanimous decision with the scores of 116-111, 116-111 and 119-108. The victory gives him the first crack at the winner of the October 8 bout between Sam Soliman and Jermain Taylor.

Frustrating Stevens

N’Dam’s game plan visibly frustrated Stevens who was never able to explode during the fight. Stevens stalked N’Dam through twelve rounds, looking for a big shot that never came. He did not utilize his jab and failed to work N’Dam’s body.

While Stevens appeared to hurt N’Dam a couple of times during the bout, but he was visibly frustrated by the constant movement of his opponent. He even went all out in the final round in an attempt to duplicate his dramatic last round KO win against Tureano Johnson last April. Again, he appeared to hurt N’Dam but it proved to be too late for the Brooklyn native as the final bell then sounded.

In the end, it was N’Dam’s ring generalship that frustrated Stevens who dropped his first bout since losing to Gennady Golovkin last November. On the other hand, N’Dam has won three consecutive bouts since losing the WBO middleweight title to Peter Quillin in October 2012. N’Dam was floored six times during that bout and he went on to lose via unanimous decision after giving up too many points with those knockdowns.