Former WBO Heavyweight champion Shannon Briggs reportedly interrupted the South Florida camp of current Heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko.

Demanding a Title Fight

Briggs barged into Klitschko’s camp before the latter could start his morning sparring session last Tuesday.  The 42 year old Briggs appeared to be ready to fight with his hands already taped. He trash-talked Klitschko and demanded a title fight from champion who had yet to put his gloves on. Briggs then got into Klitschko’s face before former heavyweight boxing champion Michael Moorer stepped into the ring to separate both men. Moorer is an assistant coach in the Klitschko camp.

Not the First Time

The incident wasn’t the first time that Briggs has interrupted Wladimir Klitschko and challenged him to a fight. Last April, Briggs stormed into a press conference for Wladimir’s fight against Alex Lepai and demanded a title shot. A couple of weeks before that, he also showed up the Kltishcko camp, dared Wladimir to a fight and then threw a shoe at the champion.

Loose Cannon

Briggs is the last American heavyweight boxing champion on record, having held the WBO version of the belt in 2006. But he lost it in the following year to Sultan Ibragimov during his first title defense. Briggs last challenged for the heavyweight title against Wladimir’s brother, Vitali in 2010 but he lost via unanimous decision. Since then, Briggs has been 4-0 with 3 KO’s. His last bout was a victory against Brazilian Raphael Zumbano Love which earned him the fringe NABA Heavyweight belt.

Briggs’ biggest victory came in 1997 when he defeated George Foreman for the lineal heavyweight title. He is known as the Cannon in the heavyweight ranks because of his punching power. Briggs owns the record for most first round knockouts in boxing’s heavyweight division with 33 KO’s. But his antics in the recent years have made him into a loose cannon desperately wanting a title shot.

Needs Better Opposition

But Briggs is just ranked #14 by the WBA as his last four opponents have been virtual unknowns. To get a shot at Klitschko, Briggs must step up his level of opposition in his next fights because although Wladimir has the right  to use an optional title shot, it is unlikely that he’ll use it to fight Briggs, especially after how Briggs has insulted him in the past year.

Klitschko is due to fight the IBF’s mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev on September 6 at the O2 Arena in Hamburg, Germany. Briggs might just show up there once again but if he’s really serious about getting one final crack at the heavyweight title, Shannon Briggs has got to start fighting better opposition before father time knocks him out.

WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev made short work of unheralded challenger Blaker Caparello by knocking him out of the 2nd round in their title bout on Saturday at the Revel Hotel Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey USA.

The Krusher at Work

Kovalev (25-0-1 with 23 KOs) was the far superior and stronger fighter. He knocked down Caparello( 19-1-1 with 6 KOs) three times in the second round. Caparello went down on a body shot and although he got up before the count of eight, he never fully recovered. Moments later, Kovalev nailed him with a right straight which caused the challenger’s knee to touch the canvass.

Finally, the 27 year old Australian  got up and tried to survive the onslaught, but Kovalev finished him off with a barrage of punches that sent him to the canvass for the third and final time. Referee Sparkle Lee finally ended the bout at the 1:47 mark of round 2. The win was Kovelev’s ninth consecutive by knockout and his third defense of his WBO belt.

After the bout, promoter Kathy Duva said that the win was why Kovalev “got the name Krusher”, in reference to his ward’s dismantling of Caparello.

Thinking About the Pressure

The bout though had a tense moment in Round 1 when Caparello nailed Kovalev with a left hand to the forehead while he was stepping on the champion’s lead foot. Kovalev suffered a flash knockdown which he proved to be the only moment for Caparello in the bout as Kovalev later asserted his power and crushed his challenger.

Kathy Duva later said that her “life flashed before her eyes when Kovalev got knocked down. But she said that it was a “loss of focus” and Kovalev was “thinking about the pressure.”

That pressure is Kovalev’s next fight against IBF and WBA light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins. Duva had announced on Friday that they had already sealed a “conditional contract” to fight Hopkins in November. The contract was signed just 30 hours after their discussions started on Thursday. The “condition” in the contract was Kovalev’s win on Saturday against Caparello which was still contingent when the deal was signed.

But Kovalev dismissed that thought and said that he was never thinking ahead about Hopkins nor was he feeling the pressure. He said that it wasn’t really a knockdown because he was off-balanced. He added that he was never worried because he knew he had to power to topple Caparello anytime.

All About Hopkins

But it was obvious that the night was about Kovalev vs. Hopkins right from the very start. Caparello was a fringe challenger who was Kovalev’s bridge to a shot at defeating a legend in Hopkins. HBO had the 49 year old freak of nature at ringside and even joined Kovalev in the post-fight interview.

Kovalev said that fighting Hopkins is “a dream” because he never thought Bernard would fight him. On the other hand, Hopkins said that “he sees a champion in Kovalev and a champion who wants to unify the light heavyweight division titles.

Three of those belts will be unified in November when Hopkins and Kovalev collide, and we’ll see if the freak show continues or if the new breed has officially arrived.

As promised, Terence Crawford will fight again in Omaha.

Making a Mecca

It had been 42 years since Nebraska saw a boxing world title fight being fought in its own backyard. On that day, May 25th, 1972, world heavyweight boxing champion Joe Frazier knocked out Omaha’s Ron Stander in the fifth round of their title bout.

Then came June 28th, 2014 when Omaha’s pride, WBO lightweight champion Terence Crawford defended his belt against 2004 Olympic Gold medalist and former two time world champion Yuriorkis Gamboa of Cuba. It was worth the wait for a victory.

Crawford turned in a star making performance that attracted 10,943 screaming fans inside the Century Link Center in Omaha. Crawford’s sensational performance prompted Top Rank President Bob Arum to promise another fight at Omaha, after Crawford transformed his hometown into a mecca of boxing.

Next Fight

This time, the wait won’t be so long.

Arum told ESPN on Tuesday that Crawford ( 24-0 with 17 knockouts) will be making his next title defense at the same CenturyLink Arena in Omaha, Nebraska on November 29th. Crawford will be defending his title against former WBC NABF lightweight champion Raymundo Beltran ( 29-6-1 with 17 knockouts)  of Mexico.

Beltran is more popularly known as Filipino ring legend Manny Pacquiao’s resident sparmate. But he has proven to be a tough cookie himself. Beltran defeated former WBC #1 contender Henry Lundy to win the WBC NABF lightweight title in 2012.

In September 2013, Beltran traveled to Glasgow to challenge then WBO lightweight champion Ricky Burns. Beltran broke Burns’ jaw and even knocked him down in Round 8. But instead of earning the decision victory, the judges gifted Burns with a split draw. It was seen as one of the worst boxing decisions in 2013.

Linked to Burns

Beltran was supposed to be given an outright rematch, but incidentally, the WBO later gave the next immediate title shot to Terrence Crawford who traveled to Glasgow and dethrone Burns in a one sided unanimous decision victory. Crawford then went on to knock out the previously unbeaten Yuriorkis Gamboa last June to retain the belt in his first title defense.

The link to Burns has led Beltran back to the title shot as he now tried to win the belt that was supposed to be already his in 2013. But the path this time is very much harder, as he will be facing an undefeated champion in his hometown.

Crawford is no ordinary champion right now, he is being considered as boxing’s next biggest star and attraction. However, Beltran is not new to fighting big named fighters. In fact, he has been training and sparring with one of boxing’s all-time greats for a long time now.

Before Gennady Golovkin took care of business in the ring, took care of his financial business.

Contract Extension

Last Friday, Gennady Golovkin and HBO signed a multi-fight contract extension that would call for at least a minimum of four more fights. The deal gives HBO the continued exclusive rights to broadcast Golovkin’s bouts thru HBO and HBO PPV. According to Tom Loeffler of K2 Promotions, the new deal also includes provisions for overseas fights and Pay-per-view fights. Loeffler added that the deal could involve more than four fights.

Saturday’s bout against Geale was supposed to be the last bout of their old contract. But after they signed the new one last Friday, it became the first fight of the extended contract as the old one was immediately terminated.

HBO refused to make comments on Golovkin’s deal, saying that “it won’t make statements on multi-fight deals.” HBO made that same stand when they recently signed Sergei Kovalev and Manny Pacquiao to similar deals.

Rising Star

Golovkin made his first appearance with HBO in September 2012. Since then, the Kazakh star has compiled a 7-0 record with all wins coming by way of knockout. He has seen his stock steadily rise from a virtual unknown punching machine into the new Mike Tyson of this era. Since then, Golovkin has become one of HBO’s biggest stars and one worth securing.

Golovkin proved HBO correct by coming into Madison Square Garden last Saturday and dominating former middleweight champion Daniel Geale for three rounds before knocking him out with a single devastating punch. Golovkin looked every bit HBO’s star last Saturday as he continues his meteoric rise to boxing superstardom.

Figures are Down

But according to Nielsen Media Research, the viewership for Golovkin’s last fight slightly dropped. Although it was the eight most viewed fight of the year, the main event only averaged 984,000 viewers as compared to its peak of 1,084,000 during Saturday.

The figures were a significant drop from Golovkin’s November 2013 bout with Curtis Stevens which averaged 1.41M viewers. Those figures were the highest in Golovkin’s stint with HBO. But just as when everyone was saying that he is boxing’s next big star, Nielsen says the decrease in numbers could prove otherwise.

But HBO dismissed that and pointed out to the timing of the fight. HBO executives say that the schedule landed in the dead end of summer where the viewership has been historically low. They also pointed that while Geale was a ring worthy opponent, his Australian background did little help to promote the bout.

A Dillema

Golovkin’s knockouts have been sensational for the fans and the sport of boxing. But it can’t be denied that the brevity of his bouts can lead to decrease in viewership. The TV audience grows as the fight goes deeper and into the later rounds, but if Golovkin continues to mow down the opposition as quickly as he did last Saturday, there is no opportunity to grow that audience. It’s a dilemma that comes along with such unique and special talent.

According to Anthony Pettis, he is fighting Gilbert Melendez at UFC 181.

Showtime Billing

Anthony Pettis (17-2 with 9 knockouts and 5 submissions) lived up to his “show time “billing by announcing his own return to the octagon on the TV show MMA hour. Pettis confirmed that he will be making the first defense of his UFC Lightweight title against the UFC’s #2 ranked lightweight on December 6th.

Although there has been no official announcement from the UFC, the Pettis-Melendez bout will be the co-featured main event of UFC 181 which will be headlined by the UFC middleweight championship between Chris Weidman and Vitor Belfort.

Pettis and Melendez will serve as opposing coaches in the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter. As with previous TUF seasons, the coaches of TUF 20 will square off against each other in the finale.

Delayed Return

Pettis has not fought since UFC 164 when he wrested the UFC lightweight championship from erstwhile champion Benson Henderson in his hometown of Milwaukee. But Pettis suffered a knee injury during the fight and an MRI later showed that Pettis suffered a grade II PCL sprain and LCL sprain to his left knee.

Pettis re-injured the knee in late 2013 and underwent surgery. He was targeted for an August return, but then the UFC preempted that by announcing last February that Pettis would be coaching opposite Gilbert Melendez in TUF 20, hence delaying further his octagon return.

Re-Signing El Nino

Former two time Strikeforce Lightweight champion Gilbert “El nino” Melendez (22-3 with 11 KOs and 1 submission) nearly went to the opposite side of the fence. The 32 year old Sta. Ana, California native received a tempting contract offer from the promotion Bellator early this year which stalled the early negotiations for a bout with Anthony Pettis. But the UFC matched the deal and offered him a coaching stint at TUF 20 which had the accompanying title shot at the finale. Melendez re-signed with the UFC last February and booked a date with the injured Pettis.

Last year, Melendez challenged Benson Henderson for the UFC lightweight title at UFC on Fox: Henderson vs Melendez, but he lost via a close split decision. Melendez fought again at UFC 166 last October 2013 and won a spectacular brawl against TUF 1 winner Diego Sanchez that became 2013’s Fight of the Year.

Getting Criticism

Pettis said that he has been getting criticism from the media and his fellow fighters for spending too much time off the octagon since winning the world title. But he says that his injuries were serious and the TUF gig was “something he did not choose” Showtime says that these words “get under his skin” and he can’t wait to get back in the Octagon and “show that he is the best lightweight in the world.”

Fighting a high caliber opponent like Gilbert Melendez should do that for him.

Anthony “Rumble” Johnson needed just 44 seconds to dispose of Antonio Rogerio ” Little Nog” Noguiera in the co-featured bout of UFC on Fox 12 on Saturday night at San Jose, California.

Scary Reminder

Johnson’s sub one minute demolition of Little Nog was a scary reminder of how dominating he can be in his newfound weight class. Noguiera is one of the sport’s best boxers, but the younger Johnson had the faster fists and heavier hands as he immediately stunned Noguiera during their first exchange.

Johnson then sent Little Nog backing up to the cage and landed at least two more powerful uppercuts that knocked the Brazilian veteran out cold.Johnson said that he was looking for an early finish because his opponents was “a Noguiera, and they never give up.”  Johnson improved his record to 18-4 with 12 KOs. It was the ninth first round stoppage of his career.

Noguiera was coming off a series of injuries that have sidelined him since his last victory over Rashad Evans at UFC 156 in February 2013. The #7 ranked Noguiera was on a two fight winning streak coming into the match. The loss dropped his record to 21-6 with 6 knockouts and 6 submissions.

Cut by the UFC

The win was the second consecutive for Johnson in his UFC return, and his eight straight overall since losing to Vitor Belfort at UFC 142 in 2012. During the weigh in for the match against Belfort, Johnson was 12 pounds over the middleweight division weight limit of 185 pounds.

The UFC took away 20% of his purse as penalty and allowed the bout to continue provided that he would not weigh more than 205 pounds on fight night. The weight difference did not matter as Belfort used his superior jiu jitsu to submit Rumble via rear naked choke in the very first round. Following the fight, Johnson was cut by the UFC for being “unprofessional”.

Fighting in the Wrong Division

The win improved Johnson’s record in the light heavyweight division to 6-0. He had been fighting as a welterweight and middleweight for most of his career. In 2010, Johnson admitted to having problems in making weight for his bouts because his walking around with a weight of 225 pounds. Johnson nearly lost his career by fighting in the wrong division, now he’s making up for lost time.

Ready for Rumble

Anthony “Rumble” Johnson has looked every bit a title contender in his UFC return. His dominance of Phil Davis and destruction of Little Nog has proven that he truly belongs to the light heavyweight division. If this #5 ranked contender continues this destructive path, he could be on his way to the top of this stacked division. Hopefully, everyone there is ready for Rumble.

Former WBA light middleweight champion Austin Trout (26-2 with 14 KOs)  will face Australian Daniel Dawson (40-3-1 with 26 KOs)  in a 12 round bout that will headline ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights finale on August 22nd.

Tough 2013

Trout had a breakout year in 2012 which was culminated by his 12 round mastery over Puerto Rican star Miguel Cotto. But then Trout had a tough 2013 as he suffered back to back losses. First, Trout lost his title via unanimous decision to Canelo Alvarez in April 2013 and then he was punished by Erislandy Lara for 12 rounds in  December 2013.

Trout recalls how hard he took the loss to Alvarez. It was the first defeat of his career and he had lost the WBA light middleweight belt which he had previously defended four straight times.  The bout was close but Trout suffered a 7th round knockdown which he said was crucial in the fight.

Against Lara, Trout admitted he never got his rhythm. He credits Lara for taking him off his game. He said that he wanted to engage but Lara dictated the tempo of the fight with his slick boxing. Trout added that he underwent a CT scan after the bout because of the beating he took from Lara.

But Trout’s put these losses behind him now, and he is looking forward to facing Dawson in his quest to reclaim glory. He said he that was already motivated to make a comeback, but watching his previous tormentors Canelo and Lara fight a couple of weeks ago made him more determined than ever.

Title Eiminator

According to Promoter Dan Goosen, the Trout-Dawson bout will be a title eliminator. But Trout says that “he won’t put too much worry”  if it’s not a title eliminator. What is important to the 28 year old southpaw is that he will be able to show the national television audience that he is “still a top fighter.”

Trout also said that he is very comfortable with fighting at 154 pounds and isn’t discounting the possibility of getting his rematches against Alvarez and Lara. But he says that he is willing to move to middleweight should an opportunity for a big money fight comes his way.

Incredible Opportunity

On the other hand, Dawson called the fight “an incredible opportunity” for him and his team. He says that he knows what’s in store for him against a top caliber boxer like Austin Trout. But he believes that he will be “ready and focused on winning on his game plan.”

The 36 year old Dawson challenged Sergey Dzinziruk for the world title in 2010. However, he lost via 10th round knockout. The bout against Trout will be his first bout in eleven months.

After all the trash talk that went on, the fight is off.

Injured in Final Sparring Session

British Heavyweight contender Dereck Chisora fractured his left hand on Friday while sparring with Alexander Ustinov, according to promoter Frank Warren. The injury forces Chisora to withdraw from his highly anticipated rematch and title eliminator bout against bitter rival Tyson Fury on Saturday at Manchester, England.

Warren also said that the fight card will go on as scheduled, with the co-featured bout between Billy Joe Saudners and Emanuel Blandamora for the European middleweight title being moved to the main event. He added that the Chisora-Fury bout will be rescheduled at a date and place that has yet to be determined.

Very Disappointed

Dereck Chisora ( 20-4, 13 knockouts) said that he was “very disappointed about pulling out from the fight”, but said that it was “upon the advice of his specialist” that he is making such a move. He adds that once he is given the go signal to punch and train, he will immediately work out the new date of the fight. In a statement, Chisora also apologized to the fans who will suerly miss the fight on Saturday. Chisora also stated that he was in “fantastic shape” and was having a “great training camp.” He said he was looking forward to get his revenge on Fury, and regrets that “it will have to wait”.

Fury had no immediate comment on the postponement of the fight.

Highly Anticipated Rematch

The rematch between Britain’s top heavyweight boxers was highly anticipated after their hyped 2011 bout where Fury dealt Chisora his first career loss en route to annexing the British and Commonwealth Heavyweight Boxing titles.

Chisora was then beaten by Heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko in 2012 and also lost to countryman David Haye later that year. But he has since won five consecutive bouts, including the February bout against Kevin Johnson where this rematch was sealed after both he and Fury won on the same fight card.

On the other hand, Fury was coming off a ten month layoff after his scheduled bout against David Haye was postponed twice and later cancelled after Haye suffered a career threatening shoulder injury in training. Now, on his second consecutive big fight in a row, the undefeated Tyson Fury ( 22-0, 16 knockouts) gets another postponement.

Tyson’s Fury

Meanwhile, the British Boxing Board of Control has formally started a misconduct hearing over Tyson Fury’s foul mouthed rants against Dereck Chisora in a recent promotional event at a London Theater. Fury remained defiant, saying that he “said what he had to say” and that “he can’t take it back even if he didn’t want to”.  He also said that he doesn’t have to be a “good role model” to be a great boxer. However, he is set to appeal his case when the Board conducts it  first hearing on August 13th.

It seems that Fury has another fight at hand while he awaits Chisora’s return, and it won’t be inside the ring.

Ian McCall imposed his will on Brad Pickett for three full rounds to score a decisive unanimous decision victory over the former Cage Rage British Featherweight champion at the undercard of UFC Fight Night 46 in Dublin Ireland.

Next Challenger?

Coming in to the fight, McCall was ranked #3 in the flyweight division while the London born Pickett was ranked #9. The fight between McCall and Pickett had not been finalized when the title bout of Cariaso was made. This caused Brad Pickett to question the UFC’s wisdom to grant the untested #8 ranked flyweight Chris Cariaso a shot at Demetrious Johnson’s UFC Flyweight title at UFC 177.  But after the bout, it was Ian McCall who made a clear case to be the next challenger for the UFC Flyweight belt.

Movement was Key

McCall’s game plan was to stay away from Pickett’s bombs. He used movement to circle around his flat-footed opponent and level him with left hands and body kicks. A minute into the match, both fighters slugged it out in the center of the octagon before they tied up in the fence. Both men continued to box at the fence but it was clear that McCall landed the more telling blows. As the round ended, Pickett managed to land a solid punch that squared McCall.

In the second round, McCall secured several takedown attempts on his opponent although he wasn’t really able to do much damage at the top position. He continued to move around Pickett’s and avoided being hit by heavy punches. It was McCall’s elusiveness and laser sharp striking that gave him the advantage in the second round.

Sensing defeat, Pickett came out swinging in the final round, hoping to land a home run punch. But again, McCall was the one who landed a couple of significant body kicks. And although Pickett was able to cut off the cage late in the third round,  McCall was way ahead in points and cruised his way to victory. The judges scored the bout 30-27,30-27 and 29-28 for McCall who improved his record to 13-4-1 with 4 KOs and 3 submissions.

Going Back to Featherweight

After the bout, a clearly disappointed Pickett said that the loss left him no choice but go back to the featherweight division. Pickett had moved down to flyweight to get a shot at Demetrious Johnson whom he once beat when the two of them fought at the WEC 48 event in 2010. His record dropped to 24-9 with 7 KOs and 10 submissions.

McCall on the other hand, said that the win should give him a third fight with Demetrious Johnson. It can be recalled that McCall and Johnson fought in the semi-finals of the UFC Flyweight tournament in 2012. They fought to a majority draw in the first fight but then Johnson scored a unanimous decision victory in their rematch. Mighty Mouse went on to beat Joseph Benavidez for the UFC flyweight belt.