2008 - Month by Month review Jan to June
Posted: 01 Jan 2009, 14:45
2008 - Month by Month review Jan to June
By Andrew Wake: 2007 was the year that boxing fought back against MMA and fans were treated to a series of great fighters featuring the world’s best competitors. Thankfully 2008 followed on from its predecessor in brilliant fashion as again superfights featuring the likes of Oscar De La Hoya, Miguel Cotto, Manny Pacquaio, Roy Jones, Antonio Margarito and Joe Calzaghe were made.
In case you’ve missed the past 12 months fistic action or you are just suffering from amnesia, here is a brief summery of what went down.
January: Amir Khan opts out of the January 8 purse bid for him to face British lightweight champion Jon Thaxton. Khan’s promoter allegedly later makes Thaxton an offer of £100,000 but the Norwich man rejects it as he believes that the sum is far less than his promoter Mick Hennessy would have paid him if purse bids had have been pursed. It is then announced that Khan will face the light punching Dane Martin Kristjansen for the WBO Intercontinental crown in February.
It is confirmed that the eagerly anticipated cruiserweight clash between WBC and WBA supremo David Haye and WBO champ Enzo Maccarinelli– which was announced in late December 2007 - will take place at London’s 20,000 capacity O2 Arena on March 8.
Flashy New Yorker Paulie Malignaggi puts on a less than convincing display in defeating Montreal-based Cameroonian Herman Ngoudjo by unanimous decision in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Malignaggi, making the first defence of his IBF junior-welterweight crown, picks up margins of 116 -113, 117 – 111 and 115 – 113 but his performance is flat and the judges cards are questionable.
German super-middleweight Jurgen Brehmer is acquitted on charges of slapping a man and is still likely to earn a shot at the WBO 168Ibs title at some point in the year.
Rising super-middleweight star Allan “Sweetness” Green wins a 10-round decision over former world title challenger Rubin Williams in Tulsa.
After the previous months altercation at the Hatton – Mayweather weigh in, Joe Calzaghe and Bernard Hopkins agree to fight on April 19 at a venue somewhere in the US.
Martin Kristjansen pulls out of his February 2 engagement with Britain’s undefeated Amir Khan and former IBF super-featherweight champion Gairy St Clair is drafted in as a replacement.
Colombian slugger Edison Miranda scores an early contender for knockout of the year when a stunning overhand right in the third round sends former Contender contestant David Banks crashing through the ropes.
Talk of an all Florida clash between Antonio Tarver and Jeff Lacy is ended after “Left Hook” decides he does not want the fight and wishes to continue campaigning at 168Ibs.
Contender series one winner Sergio Mora continued to face sub-standard opposition when he scored a sixth round stoppage victory over Mexican Rito Ruvalcaba in Cabazon, California. Ruvalcaba hadn’t fought in three and a half years and had previously been halted in one by Jose Luis Zertuche.
Oscar De La Hoya says that 2008 will be his final year as a fighter and he we will have three fights before hanging his gloves up, starting with a May date against Steve Forbes before a mega rematch with Floyd Mayweather Jnr. in September and a farewell bout in December.
Light-heavyweight great Roy Jones cruises to a 12 round decision over Felix Trinidad at Madision Square Garden in New York, flooring the blown up Puero Rican twice in the process. It was the first time Trinidad had fought since losing to Ronald “Winky” Wright in 2005 at middleweight, although it could be argued that his peak years were at seen at welterweight.
Former kickboxer Matt Skelton fails in his bid to rip the WBA heavyweight title from German-based champ Ruslan Chageav. Skelton makes a solid start but cannot sustain his attack and drops a unanimous decision.
Canada’s Steve Molitor retains his IBF super-bantamweight bauble with a unanimous verdict over Mexico’s Ricardo Castillo.
Ralph Dupas, who held the world junior-middleweight title in 1963 and had previously challenged for the crown at lightweight and welterweight, passes away aged 73.
A welterweight double-header is announced for April 12 in Atlantic City. Miguel Cotto will defend his WBA crown against Alfonso Gomez and Kermit Cintron will put his IBF strap on this line in a rematch with Antonio Margarito.
2004 Olympic gold medallist Alexander Povetkin outpoints undefeated American heavyweight “Fast” Eddie Chambers in an IBF eliminator in Berlin, Germany.
February: Former undisputed light-heavyweight champ Antonio Tarver proclaims himself to be the greatest fighter in the world and that he is “as pretty as a girl” at the London press conference to announce his April 12 clash with IBF champion Clinton Woods.
Jon Thaxton releases a press statement asking for British Boxing Board of Control General Secretary Simon Block to resign after the purse bids debacle that scupered Thaxton’s proposed bout with Amir Khan.
The IBF super-flyweight eliminator between Australian-based Armenian Vic Darchinyan and Filipino Z Gorres ends in a disappointing draw. When a first round slip by Gorres was ruled a knockdown, the lively crowd that packed into the Waterfront Hotel in Cebu pelted the ring with bottles and coins. A genuine knockdown was scored in the fourth when Gorres caught Darchinyan with a left hook but by the end of the fight it was considered that the Aussie had done enough to get the nod.
Amir Khan puts on a polished display in his 12 round domination of Gairy St Clair. All three judges saw the bout 120 – 108. On the same bill three brothers all made their professional debuts. Eldest brother Michael Walsh scored a third round stoppage win over Delroy Spencer while younger siblings Liam and Ryan scored first round KOs over Daniel Thorpe and Riaz Durgahed respectively.
Carlos Quintanta pulls off a major upset when snatches the WBO welterweight title from Paul “The Punisher” Williams with a unanimous decision victory in Temecula, California. On the undercard rising heavyweight Chris Arreola bombs out Cliff Couser in the first round and Andre Berto disposes of Michel Trabant in six.
The on going Khan vs. Thaxton saga comes to an end when Thaxton secures an April date with European lightweight champ Yuri Romanov.
Kelly Pavlik proves that his September 2007 victory over Jermain Taylor was no fluke by again beating the Little Rock, Arkansas native, this time unanimously on points.
In another 12 round heavyweight bore fest the “Russian Giant” Nikolay Valuev moved to 48 – 1 with a decision over former WBO ruler Sergei Liakhovich.
Former lightweight contender Juan Lazcano is named as Ricky Hatton’s opponent for the Hitman’s May comeback fight in his home city of Manchester.
allegedly’s Sports Network win the purse bids for the WBO super-featherweight clash between Dominican champion Joan Guzman and Scotland’s Alex Arthur and schedule the bout for April 26 in Edinburgh.
Former IBF and WBA super-middleweight champion Sven Ottke says that he will return to the ring to take on former light-heavyweight ruler Dariusz Michalczewski in May. It is reported that Ottke needs the money after a messy divorce.
Demetrius Hopkins turns down the opportunity to face WBC junior-welterweight champion Junior Witter. Promoters Golden Boy promotions and Hennessy Sports had planned for the fight to happen in California in late March.
In the first heavyweight unification since Lewis vs. Holyfield, Wladimir Klitschko and Sultan Ibragimov fill Madison Square Garden with boos. Klitschko adds the WBO title to his IBF and IBO crowns in what SecondsOut’s Jerry Glick calls “a one sided defensive yawner”.
On the undercard of the Klitschko-Ibragimov snoozer, Ireland’s John Duddy struggled to get to grips with unheralded Canadian Walid Smichet, barely scraping a questionable majority decision. It seems now that the Derry man can kiss goodbye to any hopes he had of securing a summer showdown with middleweight king Kelly Pavlik.
Robert Guerrero retains his IBF featherweight title with an eighth round stoppage of Jason Litzau.
Australia’s Anthony Mundine keeps hold of his poor man’s version of the WBA super-middleweight title (Joe Calzaghe being the legitimate holder of the belt) by defeating taxi driver Nader Hamdan unanimously with judges scores of 120 – 108, 119 – 109 and 117 – 111.
Lucian Bute makes the first defence of his IBF super-middleweight crown with a tenth round stoppage of faded American veteran William Joppy.
March: The rubber match between Israel Vazquez and Rafeal Marquez does not disappoint as the Mexican super-bantamweight heroes go at each other like men possessed in SecondsOut’s Fight of The Year. Vazquez walks away with a razor thin split decision that would have been a draw if it wasn’t for the fact that Marquez was deducted a point in the tenth stanza for low blows.
Denis Inkin pulls out of his March 29 WBC super-middleweight final eliminator against Carl Froch. After promoter Mick Hennessy fails to find another opponent for the March date the show is moved back until May 10.
Linear 140Ibs champion Ricky Hatton inks a three-fight contract with Golden Boy Promotions.
The WBC junior-welterweight eliminator between unbeaten American Timothy Bradley and former lightweight great Jose Luis Castillo is scrapped after the Mexican, like he did twice against the late Diego Corrales, fails to make the scheduled weight limit.
David Haye adds the WBO cruiserweight title to his WBC and WBC straps with a crushing second round knockout of Welshman’ Enzo Maccarinelli in front of 20,000 people at the O2 Arena in London, England. Maccarinelli’s promoter allegedly had previously said that he would quit his involvement in boxing if his man lost to Haye but it was clear as early as early as the post fight press conference that Mr Warren’s comment was not to be taken seriously.
The “Nigerian Nightmare” Samuel Peter ripped the WBC heavyweight title from Oleg Maskaev with a sixth round stoppage in Cancun, Mexico. Also on the bill, 36-year-old Nate Campbell handed Juan Diaz his first professional loss via split decision and took home the WBA, IBF and WBO lightweight crowns.
Rendall Munroe, a dustbin man from Leicester, England, overturned the odds by brilliantly out boxing undefeated Spanish slugger Kiko Martinez to take the European super-bantamweight title.
Top Rank confirm that Kelly Pavlik’s next contest will see him take on WBO mandatory challenger Gary Lockett at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City on June 7,
Former WBO cruiserweight king Johnny Nelson says that he would come out of retirement for a fight with David Haye.
Manny Pacquiao eeks past Juan Manuel Marquez by split decision in a rematch of their 2004 draw. The “Pac Man” floors Marquez in the third round but the Mexican lands with more regularity than most manage against the Filipino and many fans leave the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas feeling the wrong man got the decision.
Reigning WBA light-heavyweight champion Danny Green announces he is retiring with immediate effect as he did not wish to endanger his health by prolonging his time in the sport. He said: “I have made a decision of an intelligent man and a man who has a lot to offer after boxing. I am looking 25 years down the track to when I have grandchildren.”
Joel Casamayor proves that there is still life in the old dog with a stoppage of Michael Katsidis in the tenth. The fight was a thriller with Katsidis on the canvas three times in all but at one point the Aussie banger appeared to have found the shots to close the show when a flurry sent Casamayor crashing through the ropes.
Former WBC and WBA super-middleweight champ Mikkel Kessler pulls out of his May 24 encounter with Edison Miranda that Showtime were due to televise.
Gavin Rees tenure as WBA light-welter champion comes to an end in Cardiff when he is stopped by Ukrainian Andreas Kotelnik in the 12th round.
Over 74,000 turn out to see pound for pound number one Floyd Mayweather beat the 7ft tall Big Show at WWE’s wrestlemania.
Art Aragon, a brilliant lightweight and welterweight who boxed 126 contest between 1944 and 1960, dies from a stroke aged 80.
Verno Phillips captured the IBF light-middleweight title from Cory Spinks with a debatable split decision victory. SecondsOut’s Michael Norby wrote that Spinks only had himself to blame for the loss as he threw away a commanding lead by engaging Phillips when he didn’t need to.
IBF middleweight champion Arthur Abraham knocked out Elvin Ayala in the 12th round at the Sparkassen-Arena in Kiel, Germany.
April: 20-year-old cruiserweight prospect Scott Brookes tragically dies in hospital due to serious head injuries sustained when he was run down by a taxi.
Jon Thaxton’s hopes of becoming European lightweight champ are dashed when a hideous cut above the Norwich man’s right eye in his bout with Yuri Romanov forces co-trainer Dominic Ingle to call a halt to the contest.
Amir Khan stays on course for a potential world title shot with a seventh round stoppage of Denmark’s Martin Kristjansen.
It is confirmed that WBC junior-welterweight champion Junior Witter will face mandatory challenger Timothy Bradley on the same bill as Carl Froch’s WBC super-middleweight eliminator against Denis Inkin in Nottingham on May 10.
Felix Sturm retains his WBA middleweight bauble by outclassing the over matched Australian Jamie Pittman before stopping him the seventh.
Former WBC super featherweight and IBF lightweight champion Jesus Chavez makes a winning return to the ring with a 10 round decision over Daniel Jimenez.
Ivan Calderon retains his WBO light-flyweight title with a lopsided 12 round decision over Nelson Dieppa. The scores all read 120 points to 108.
Canada’s Steve Molitor successfully retains his IBF super-bantamweight strap with a unanimous decision over Fernando Belran Jnr. in Rama, Ontario, Canada.
Antonio Tarver recaptures one quarter of the world light-heavyweight crown by dominating a lacklustre Clinton Woods over 12 one-sided rounds in Tampa, Florida. Also on the bill, Chad Dawson is rocked several times by the “Road Warrior” Glen Johnson but holds onto his WBC strap by disputable unanimous decision.
Puerto Rican star Miguel Cotto exposes the limitations of Alfonso Gomez by punishing the Contender series one contestant before stopping him in the fifth round in Atlantic City. The co-featured bout sees former WBO welterweight snatch the IBF 147Ibs title from Kermit Cintron with a sixth round KO. Margarito had previously beaten Cintron in 2005.
Belfast heavyweight Martin Rogan, a taxi driver by day, scoops the £25,000 prize money when he wins the inaugural Prizefighter competition at York Hall, Bethnal Green, London.
The WBO super-featherweight clash between Joan Guzman and Alex Arthur is postponed after the Dominican champion has problems obtaining a visa to fight in the UK.
Bernard Hopkins loses to a white boy when he drops a split decision to Wales’ Joe Calzaghe at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas. Hopkins floors the undefeated Welshman in the first but cannot keep up with his high work rate and is forced to relinquish his Ring magazine light-heavyweight title.
Ryan Rhodes knocks out Gary Woolcombe to recapture the British light-middleweight title he had held 11 and half years earlier.
Former WBC light-heavyweight champion continues to prove his worth as a cruiserweight when he forces former world champion O’Neill Bell to quit at the end of the seventh round.
Zsolt Erdei and Sergiy Dzinziruk retain their WBO titles in Dresden, Germany with points wins over DeAndrey Abron and Lukas Konecny.
Juan Urango puts forward another potential KO of the year contender when he removes Carlos Vilches from his senses with a thunderous right hook in the fourth round.
David Haye provides one of the YouTube moments of the year by chasing world heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko up an escalator at the Seni Sports awards in London and pressuring him for a fight. Klitschko later says he believes the Englishman to be crazy.
May: Undefeated super-middle Denis Inkin yet again pulls out of his clash with Carl Froch. The Nottingham man is automatically made the WBC’s mandatory challenger to champion Joe Calzaghe. Although a bout between the two Brits is still unlikely as Calzaghe is now campaigning as a light-heavyweight.
20-year-old prospect Vernon Paris is stabbed after an argument with a couple in his hometown of Detroit.
Oscar De La Hoya dominates the much smaller former IBF super-featherweight champion Steve Forbes in front of 27,000 fans at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California. The fight is the first of three the “Golden Boy” hopes to compete before retiring from the ring at the end of the year.
Firat Arslan is crowned the WBA cruiserweight champion by defeating American Darnell “Ding a Ling Man” Wilson over 12 rounds in Stuttgart, Germany.
Zab Judah needs 50 stitches after taking a tumble in the shower and smashing his arm through a glass pane and his May 31 fight with “Sugar” Shane Mosley is cancelled. It is later alleged that Judah’s injury was actually caused by him losing his temper in the gym and throwing a set of weighing scales through a window.
American Timothy Bradley floors WBC junior-welterweight champion Junior Witter in the sixth round in Nottingham before taking the Englishman’s crown back across the Atlantic with a split-decision victory. In reality the decision should have gone unanimously to Bradley and if Italian judge Franco Ciminale believes his 115 – 112 score for Witter is correct them someone should get him a white stick and guide dog.
Colin Lynes loses his European junior-welterweight title in Italy to Gianluca Branco in questionable fashion. Lynes appears to control the bout with his jab but after 12 rounds it is the Italian former world title challenger that gets his hand raised.
Bob Arum confirms that the mouth watering welterweight battle between Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito will happen at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on July 26.
Mexico’s Cristian Mijares unifies the WBC and WBA super-flyweight titles with a split decision over tough Venezuelan Alexander Munoz.
Former two-time world heavyweight champion Chris Byrd’s decision to fight at light-heavyweight backfires when he is outboxed and stopped in nine rounds by Shaun George.
David Haye says that he would rather retire than be promoted by allegedly before teaming up with Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions and launching his own company Hayemaker Boxing.
Ricky Hatton has some shaky moments but thoroughly deserves his wide points win over Juan Lazcano in front of 57,000 fans at the City of Manchester Stadium. An hilarious moment happens on the undercard when the highlight of Paulie Malignaggi’s drab points win over Lovemore Ndou is the “Magic Man” having his ridiculous hair extensions cut out by his corner during the bout.
There’s controversy on SecondsOut’s live broadcast of Danny Williams’ heavyweight bout with Konstantin Airich in Spain when promoter Ahmer Oner saves his man by ringing the bell to end the sixth round after only 1 minute and 21 seconds of action. Williams eventually won when Airich’s corner threw the towel in the seventh.
German-based Ukrainian Wladimir Sidorenko loses his WBA bantamweight title to Panama’s Anselmo Moreno by unanimous decision.
Super-middleweight Anthony Mundine scores a relatively pointless third victory over fellow Aussie Sam Solimon in Melbourne by unanimous decision and announces that he is likely to move down to middleweight.
June: Pound for Pound number one “Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather announces he is to retire from the sport at just 31 years of age but the general feeling is that the Grand Rapids native will return when a big money off is put on the table.
World middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik makes short work of WBO mandatory challenger Gary Lockett at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, flooring the Welshman twice in the second and once in the third before the bout is stopped.
Puerto Rico’s Juan Manuel Lopez wins the WBO super-bantamweight title when he wipes out champion Daniel Ponce De Leon in the first round of then clash on the Pavlik – Lockett undercard.
Reports circulate that former heavyweight world champion Evander Holyfield is facing bankruptcy and creditors are ready to foreclose on his 235 acre estate in Atlanta, Georgia.
Contender series one winner Sergio Mora becomes the first star from the popular television programme to win a world title when he grabs the WBC light-middleweight trinket by defeating veteran champion Vernon Forrest by majority decision in Uncasville, Connecticut. In the co-feature, Paul Williams recaptures the WBO welter title and earns revenge over Carlos Quintana by halting the Puerto Rican at 2.15 of the first.
Joe Calzaghe splits from long time promoter allegedly, claiming that the Sports Network boss still owes him money from his April fight with Bernard Hopkins.
Hermann Ngoudjo overpowers former WBA 140Ibs champ Souleymane MBaye to take a unanimous verdict in their IBF eliminator in Montreal, Canada.
Paul Appleby becomes the British featherweight champion at just 20 years of age by outpointing fellow Scotsman John Simpson in Glasgow.
Edgar Sosa makes a sixth successful defence of his WBC light-flyweight belt when he stops Japanese challenger Takashi Kunishige in the eighth round.
Big punching WBA super-featherweight champion Edwin Valero makes it 24 knockouts from 24 contests when he flattens Takehiro Shimada in Tokyo. Hozumi Hasagawa keeps hold of his WBC bantamweight title when stops Cristian Faccio in second round on the same bill.
Lightweight prospect Amir Khan is dropped in the second round before eventually stopping the brave former super-featherweight Michael Gomez in the fifth.
IBF middleweight champion Arthur Abraham tells Showtime’s Jim Gray that he wants to fight Kelly Pavlik after icing Edison Miranda in the fourth round of their rematch in Hollywood, Florida.
“Viking Warrior” Mikkel Kessler recaptures the WBA super-middleweight title with a final round stoppage of Dmitri Sartison in Denmark.
Andre Berto wins his first ever world crown when he picks up the vacant WBC welteweight title with a seven round demolition of Mexico’s Miguel Angel Rodriquez. On the same Memphis bill, Chris Arreola wins the battle of undefeated heavyweight prospects when he hammers Chazz Witherspoon in three rounds.
Former world bantamweight champion Wayne McCullough quits after six rounds in his comeback fight against Juan Ruiz and tells the crowd that it is likely to be the last time they will see him as a fighter.
44-year-old Jeff Fenech wins a 10 round majority decision over 49-year-old Azumah Nelson in Melbourne, Australia. The former greats deny that the reason for their third meeting (they’d fought in 1991 and 1992) is financial.
Former flyweight Manny Pacquiao proves himself to be one of the game’s greatest ever fighters when he wins the WBC lightweight crown with stellar performance against David Diaz, knocking out the Mexican-American champion the ninth round.
Check out SecondsOut.com tomorrow for months July to December.
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By Andrew Wake: 2007 was the year that boxing fought back against MMA and fans were treated to a series of great fighters featuring the world’s best competitors. Thankfully 2008 followed on from its predecessor in brilliant fashion as again superfights featuring the likes of Oscar De La Hoya, Miguel Cotto, Manny Pacquaio, Roy Jones, Antonio Margarito and Joe Calzaghe were made.
In case you’ve missed the past 12 months fistic action or you are just suffering from amnesia, here is a brief summery of what went down.
January: Amir Khan opts out of the January 8 purse bid for him to face British lightweight champion Jon Thaxton. Khan’s promoter allegedly later makes Thaxton an offer of £100,000 but the Norwich man rejects it as he believes that the sum is far less than his promoter Mick Hennessy would have paid him if purse bids had have been pursed. It is then announced that Khan will face the light punching Dane Martin Kristjansen for the WBO Intercontinental crown in February.
It is confirmed that the eagerly anticipated cruiserweight clash between WBC and WBA supremo David Haye and WBO champ Enzo Maccarinelli– which was announced in late December 2007 - will take place at London’s 20,000 capacity O2 Arena on March 8.
Flashy New Yorker Paulie Malignaggi puts on a less than convincing display in defeating Montreal-based Cameroonian Herman Ngoudjo by unanimous decision in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Malignaggi, making the first defence of his IBF junior-welterweight crown, picks up margins of 116 -113, 117 – 111 and 115 – 113 but his performance is flat and the judges cards are questionable.
German super-middleweight Jurgen Brehmer is acquitted on charges of slapping a man and is still likely to earn a shot at the WBO 168Ibs title at some point in the year.
Rising super-middleweight star Allan “Sweetness” Green wins a 10-round decision over former world title challenger Rubin Williams in Tulsa.
After the previous months altercation at the Hatton – Mayweather weigh in, Joe Calzaghe and Bernard Hopkins agree to fight on April 19 at a venue somewhere in the US.
Martin Kristjansen pulls out of his February 2 engagement with Britain’s undefeated Amir Khan and former IBF super-featherweight champion Gairy St Clair is drafted in as a replacement.
Colombian slugger Edison Miranda scores an early contender for knockout of the year when a stunning overhand right in the third round sends former Contender contestant David Banks crashing through the ropes.
Talk of an all Florida clash between Antonio Tarver and Jeff Lacy is ended after “Left Hook” decides he does not want the fight and wishes to continue campaigning at 168Ibs.
Contender series one winner Sergio Mora continued to face sub-standard opposition when he scored a sixth round stoppage victory over Mexican Rito Ruvalcaba in Cabazon, California. Ruvalcaba hadn’t fought in three and a half years and had previously been halted in one by Jose Luis Zertuche.
Oscar De La Hoya says that 2008 will be his final year as a fighter and he we will have three fights before hanging his gloves up, starting with a May date against Steve Forbes before a mega rematch with Floyd Mayweather Jnr. in September and a farewell bout in December.
Light-heavyweight great Roy Jones cruises to a 12 round decision over Felix Trinidad at Madision Square Garden in New York, flooring the blown up Puero Rican twice in the process. It was the first time Trinidad had fought since losing to Ronald “Winky” Wright in 2005 at middleweight, although it could be argued that his peak years were at seen at welterweight.
Former kickboxer Matt Skelton fails in his bid to rip the WBA heavyweight title from German-based champ Ruslan Chageav. Skelton makes a solid start but cannot sustain his attack and drops a unanimous decision.
Canada’s Steve Molitor retains his IBF super-bantamweight bauble with a unanimous verdict over Mexico’s Ricardo Castillo.
Ralph Dupas, who held the world junior-middleweight title in 1963 and had previously challenged for the crown at lightweight and welterweight, passes away aged 73.
A welterweight double-header is announced for April 12 in Atlantic City. Miguel Cotto will defend his WBA crown against Alfonso Gomez and Kermit Cintron will put his IBF strap on this line in a rematch with Antonio Margarito.
2004 Olympic gold medallist Alexander Povetkin outpoints undefeated American heavyweight “Fast” Eddie Chambers in an IBF eliminator in Berlin, Germany.
February: Former undisputed light-heavyweight champ Antonio Tarver proclaims himself to be the greatest fighter in the world and that he is “as pretty as a girl” at the London press conference to announce his April 12 clash with IBF champion Clinton Woods.
Jon Thaxton releases a press statement asking for British Boxing Board of Control General Secretary Simon Block to resign after the purse bids debacle that scupered Thaxton’s proposed bout with Amir Khan.
The IBF super-flyweight eliminator between Australian-based Armenian Vic Darchinyan and Filipino Z Gorres ends in a disappointing draw. When a first round slip by Gorres was ruled a knockdown, the lively crowd that packed into the Waterfront Hotel in Cebu pelted the ring with bottles and coins. A genuine knockdown was scored in the fourth when Gorres caught Darchinyan with a left hook but by the end of the fight it was considered that the Aussie had done enough to get the nod.
Amir Khan puts on a polished display in his 12 round domination of Gairy St Clair. All three judges saw the bout 120 – 108. On the same bill three brothers all made their professional debuts. Eldest brother Michael Walsh scored a third round stoppage win over Delroy Spencer while younger siblings Liam and Ryan scored first round KOs over Daniel Thorpe and Riaz Durgahed respectively.
Carlos Quintanta pulls off a major upset when snatches the WBO welterweight title from Paul “The Punisher” Williams with a unanimous decision victory in Temecula, California. On the undercard rising heavyweight Chris Arreola bombs out Cliff Couser in the first round and Andre Berto disposes of Michel Trabant in six.
The on going Khan vs. Thaxton saga comes to an end when Thaxton secures an April date with European lightweight champ Yuri Romanov.
Kelly Pavlik proves that his September 2007 victory over Jermain Taylor was no fluke by again beating the Little Rock, Arkansas native, this time unanimously on points.
In another 12 round heavyweight bore fest the “Russian Giant” Nikolay Valuev moved to 48 – 1 with a decision over former WBO ruler Sergei Liakhovich.
Former lightweight contender Juan Lazcano is named as Ricky Hatton’s opponent for the Hitman’s May comeback fight in his home city of Manchester.
allegedly’s Sports Network win the purse bids for the WBO super-featherweight clash between Dominican champion Joan Guzman and Scotland’s Alex Arthur and schedule the bout for April 26 in Edinburgh.
Former IBF and WBA super-middleweight champion Sven Ottke says that he will return to the ring to take on former light-heavyweight ruler Dariusz Michalczewski in May. It is reported that Ottke needs the money after a messy divorce.
Demetrius Hopkins turns down the opportunity to face WBC junior-welterweight champion Junior Witter. Promoters Golden Boy promotions and Hennessy Sports had planned for the fight to happen in California in late March.
In the first heavyweight unification since Lewis vs. Holyfield, Wladimir Klitschko and Sultan Ibragimov fill Madison Square Garden with boos. Klitschko adds the WBO title to his IBF and IBO crowns in what SecondsOut’s Jerry Glick calls “a one sided defensive yawner”.
On the undercard of the Klitschko-Ibragimov snoozer, Ireland’s John Duddy struggled to get to grips with unheralded Canadian Walid Smichet, barely scraping a questionable majority decision. It seems now that the Derry man can kiss goodbye to any hopes he had of securing a summer showdown with middleweight king Kelly Pavlik.
Robert Guerrero retains his IBF featherweight title with an eighth round stoppage of Jason Litzau.
Australia’s Anthony Mundine keeps hold of his poor man’s version of the WBA super-middleweight title (Joe Calzaghe being the legitimate holder of the belt) by defeating taxi driver Nader Hamdan unanimously with judges scores of 120 – 108, 119 – 109 and 117 – 111.
Lucian Bute makes the first defence of his IBF super-middleweight crown with a tenth round stoppage of faded American veteran William Joppy.
March: The rubber match between Israel Vazquez and Rafeal Marquez does not disappoint as the Mexican super-bantamweight heroes go at each other like men possessed in SecondsOut’s Fight of The Year. Vazquez walks away with a razor thin split decision that would have been a draw if it wasn’t for the fact that Marquez was deducted a point in the tenth stanza for low blows.
Denis Inkin pulls out of his March 29 WBC super-middleweight final eliminator against Carl Froch. After promoter Mick Hennessy fails to find another opponent for the March date the show is moved back until May 10.
Linear 140Ibs champion Ricky Hatton inks a three-fight contract with Golden Boy Promotions.
The WBC junior-welterweight eliminator between unbeaten American Timothy Bradley and former lightweight great Jose Luis Castillo is scrapped after the Mexican, like he did twice against the late Diego Corrales, fails to make the scheduled weight limit.
David Haye adds the WBO cruiserweight title to his WBC and WBC straps with a crushing second round knockout of Welshman’ Enzo Maccarinelli in front of 20,000 people at the O2 Arena in London, England. Maccarinelli’s promoter allegedly had previously said that he would quit his involvement in boxing if his man lost to Haye but it was clear as early as early as the post fight press conference that Mr Warren’s comment was not to be taken seriously.
The “Nigerian Nightmare” Samuel Peter ripped the WBC heavyweight title from Oleg Maskaev with a sixth round stoppage in Cancun, Mexico. Also on the bill, 36-year-old Nate Campbell handed Juan Diaz his first professional loss via split decision and took home the WBA, IBF and WBO lightweight crowns.
Rendall Munroe, a dustbin man from Leicester, England, overturned the odds by brilliantly out boxing undefeated Spanish slugger Kiko Martinez to take the European super-bantamweight title.
Top Rank confirm that Kelly Pavlik’s next contest will see him take on WBO mandatory challenger Gary Lockett at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City on June 7,
Former WBO cruiserweight king Johnny Nelson says that he would come out of retirement for a fight with David Haye.
Manny Pacquiao eeks past Juan Manuel Marquez by split decision in a rematch of their 2004 draw. The “Pac Man” floors Marquez in the third round but the Mexican lands with more regularity than most manage against the Filipino and many fans leave the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas feeling the wrong man got the decision.
Reigning WBA light-heavyweight champion Danny Green announces he is retiring with immediate effect as he did not wish to endanger his health by prolonging his time in the sport. He said: “I have made a decision of an intelligent man and a man who has a lot to offer after boxing. I am looking 25 years down the track to when I have grandchildren.”
Joel Casamayor proves that there is still life in the old dog with a stoppage of Michael Katsidis in the tenth. The fight was a thriller with Katsidis on the canvas three times in all but at one point the Aussie banger appeared to have found the shots to close the show when a flurry sent Casamayor crashing through the ropes.
Former WBC and WBA super-middleweight champ Mikkel Kessler pulls out of his May 24 encounter with Edison Miranda that Showtime were due to televise.
Gavin Rees tenure as WBA light-welter champion comes to an end in Cardiff when he is stopped by Ukrainian Andreas Kotelnik in the 12th round.
Over 74,000 turn out to see pound for pound number one Floyd Mayweather beat the 7ft tall Big Show at WWE’s wrestlemania.
Art Aragon, a brilliant lightweight and welterweight who boxed 126 contest between 1944 and 1960, dies from a stroke aged 80.
Verno Phillips captured the IBF light-middleweight title from Cory Spinks with a debatable split decision victory. SecondsOut’s Michael Norby wrote that Spinks only had himself to blame for the loss as he threw away a commanding lead by engaging Phillips when he didn’t need to.
IBF middleweight champion Arthur Abraham knocked out Elvin Ayala in the 12th round at the Sparkassen-Arena in Kiel, Germany.
April: 20-year-old cruiserweight prospect Scott Brookes tragically dies in hospital due to serious head injuries sustained when he was run down by a taxi.
Jon Thaxton’s hopes of becoming European lightweight champ are dashed when a hideous cut above the Norwich man’s right eye in his bout with Yuri Romanov forces co-trainer Dominic Ingle to call a halt to the contest.
Amir Khan stays on course for a potential world title shot with a seventh round stoppage of Denmark’s Martin Kristjansen.
It is confirmed that WBC junior-welterweight champion Junior Witter will face mandatory challenger Timothy Bradley on the same bill as Carl Froch’s WBC super-middleweight eliminator against Denis Inkin in Nottingham on May 10.
Felix Sturm retains his WBA middleweight bauble by outclassing the over matched Australian Jamie Pittman before stopping him the seventh.
Former WBC super featherweight and IBF lightweight champion Jesus Chavez makes a winning return to the ring with a 10 round decision over Daniel Jimenez.
Ivan Calderon retains his WBO light-flyweight title with a lopsided 12 round decision over Nelson Dieppa. The scores all read 120 points to 108.
Canada’s Steve Molitor successfully retains his IBF super-bantamweight strap with a unanimous decision over Fernando Belran Jnr. in Rama, Ontario, Canada.
Antonio Tarver recaptures one quarter of the world light-heavyweight crown by dominating a lacklustre Clinton Woods over 12 one-sided rounds in Tampa, Florida. Also on the bill, Chad Dawson is rocked several times by the “Road Warrior” Glen Johnson but holds onto his WBC strap by disputable unanimous decision.
Puerto Rican star Miguel Cotto exposes the limitations of Alfonso Gomez by punishing the Contender series one contestant before stopping him in the fifth round in Atlantic City. The co-featured bout sees former WBO welterweight snatch the IBF 147Ibs title from Kermit Cintron with a sixth round KO. Margarito had previously beaten Cintron in 2005.
Belfast heavyweight Martin Rogan, a taxi driver by day, scoops the £25,000 prize money when he wins the inaugural Prizefighter competition at York Hall, Bethnal Green, London.
The WBO super-featherweight clash between Joan Guzman and Alex Arthur is postponed after the Dominican champion has problems obtaining a visa to fight in the UK.
Bernard Hopkins loses to a white boy when he drops a split decision to Wales’ Joe Calzaghe at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas. Hopkins floors the undefeated Welshman in the first but cannot keep up with his high work rate and is forced to relinquish his Ring magazine light-heavyweight title.
Ryan Rhodes knocks out Gary Woolcombe to recapture the British light-middleweight title he had held 11 and half years earlier.
Former WBC light-heavyweight champion continues to prove his worth as a cruiserweight when he forces former world champion O’Neill Bell to quit at the end of the seventh round.
Zsolt Erdei and Sergiy Dzinziruk retain their WBO titles in Dresden, Germany with points wins over DeAndrey Abron and Lukas Konecny.
Juan Urango puts forward another potential KO of the year contender when he removes Carlos Vilches from his senses with a thunderous right hook in the fourth round.
David Haye provides one of the YouTube moments of the year by chasing world heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko up an escalator at the Seni Sports awards in London and pressuring him for a fight. Klitschko later says he believes the Englishman to be crazy.
May: Undefeated super-middle Denis Inkin yet again pulls out of his clash with Carl Froch. The Nottingham man is automatically made the WBC’s mandatory challenger to champion Joe Calzaghe. Although a bout between the two Brits is still unlikely as Calzaghe is now campaigning as a light-heavyweight.
20-year-old prospect Vernon Paris is stabbed after an argument with a couple in his hometown of Detroit.
Oscar De La Hoya dominates the much smaller former IBF super-featherweight champion Steve Forbes in front of 27,000 fans at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California. The fight is the first of three the “Golden Boy” hopes to compete before retiring from the ring at the end of the year.
Firat Arslan is crowned the WBA cruiserweight champion by defeating American Darnell “Ding a Ling Man” Wilson over 12 rounds in Stuttgart, Germany.
Zab Judah needs 50 stitches after taking a tumble in the shower and smashing his arm through a glass pane and his May 31 fight with “Sugar” Shane Mosley is cancelled. It is later alleged that Judah’s injury was actually caused by him losing his temper in the gym and throwing a set of weighing scales through a window.
American Timothy Bradley floors WBC junior-welterweight champion Junior Witter in the sixth round in Nottingham before taking the Englishman’s crown back across the Atlantic with a split-decision victory. In reality the decision should have gone unanimously to Bradley and if Italian judge Franco Ciminale believes his 115 – 112 score for Witter is correct them someone should get him a white stick and guide dog.
Colin Lynes loses his European junior-welterweight title in Italy to Gianluca Branco in questionable fashion. Lynes appears to control the bout with his jab but after 12 rounds it is the Italian former world title challenger that gets his hand raised.
Bob Arum confirms that the mouth watering welterweight battle between Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito will happen at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on July 26.
Mexico’s Cristian Mijares unifies the WBC and WBA super-flyweight titles with a split decision over tough Venezuelan Alexander Munoz.
Former two-time world heavyweight champion Chris Byrd’s decision to fight at light-heavyweight backfires when he is outboxed and stopped in nine rounds by Shaun George.
David Haye says that he would rather retire than be promoted by allegedly before teaming up with Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions and launching his own company Hayemaker Boxing.
Ricky Hatton has some shaky moments but thoroughly deserves his wide points win over Juan Lazcano in front of 57,000 fans at the City of Manchester Stadium. An hilarious moment happens on the undercard when the highlight of Paulie Malignaggi’s drab points win over Lovemore Ndou is the “Magic Man” having his ridiculous hair extensions cut out by his corner during the bout.
There’s controversy on SecondsOut’s live broadcast of Danny Williams’ heavyweight bout with Konstantin Airich in Spain when promoter Ahmer Oner saves his man by ringing the bell to end the sixth round after only 1 minute and 21 seconds of action. Williams eventually won when Airich’s corner threw the towel in the seventh.
German-based Ukrainian Wladimir Sidorenko loses his WBA bantamweight title to Panama’s Anselmo Moreno by unanimous decision.
Super-middleweight Anthony Mundine scores a relatively pointless third victory over fellow Aussie Sam Solimon in Melbourne by unanimous decision and announces that he is likely to move down to middleweight.
June: Pound for Pound number one “Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather announces he is to retire from the sport at just 31 years of age but the general feeling is that the Grand Rapids native will return when a big money off is put on the table.
World middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik makes short work of WBO mandatory challenger Gary Lockett at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, flooring the Welshman twice in the second and once in the third before the bout is stopped.
Puerto Rico’s Juan Manuel Lopez wins the WBO super-bantamweight title when he wipes out champion Daniel Ponce De Leon in the first round of then clash on the Pavlik – Lockett undercard.
Reports circulate that former heavyweight world champion Evander Holyfield is facing bankruptcy and creditors are ready to foreclose on his 235 acre estate in Atlanta, Georgia.
Contender series one winner Sergio Mora becomes the first star from the popular television programme to win a world title when he grabs the WBC light-middleweight trinket by defeating veteran champion Vernon Forrest by majority decision in Uncasville, Connecticut. In the co-feature, Paul Williams recaptures the WBO welter title and earns revenge over Carlos Quintana by halting the Puerto Rican at 2.15 of the first.
Joe Calzaghe splits from long time promoter allegedly, claiming that the Sports Network boss still owes him money from his April fight with Bernard Hopkins.
Hermann Ngoudjo overpowers former WBA 140Ibs champ Souleymane MBaye to take a unanimous verdict in their IBF eliminator in Montreal, Canada.
Paul Appleby becomes the British featherweight champion at just 20 years of age by outpointing fellow Scotsman John Simpson in Glasgow.
Edgar Sosa makes a sixth successful defence of his WBC light-flyweight belt when he stops Japanese challenger Takashi Kunishige in the eighth round.
Big punching WBA super-featherweight champion Edwin Valero makes it 24 knockouts from 24 contests when he flattens Takehiro Shimada in Tokyo. Hozumi Hasagawa keeps hold of his WBC bantamweight title when stops Cristian Faccio in second round on the same bill.
Lightweight prospect Amir Khan is dropped in the second round before eventually stopping the brave former super-featherweight Michael Gomez in the fifth.
IBF middleweight champion Arthur Abraham tells Showtime’s Jim Gray that he wants to fight Kelly Pavlik after icing Edison Miranda in the fourth round of their rematch in Hollywood, Florida.
“Viking Warrior” Mikkel Kessler recaptures the WBA super-middleweight title with a final round stoppage of Dmitri Sartison in Denmark.
Andre Berto wins his first ever world crown when he picks up the vacant WBC welteweight title with a seven round demolition of Mexico’s Miguel Angel Rodriquez. On the same Memphis bill, Chris Arreola wins the battle of undefeated heavyweight prospects when he hammers Chazz Witherspoon in three rounds.
Former world bantamweight champion Wayne McCullough quits after six rounds in his comeback fight against Juan Ruiz and tells the crowd that it is likely to be the last time they will see him as a fighter.
44-year-old Jeff Fenech wins a 10 round majority decision over 49-year-old Azumah Nelson in Melbourne, Australia. The former greats deny that the reason for their third meeting (they’d fought in 1991 and 1992) is financial.
Former flyweight Manny Pacquiao proves himself to be one of the game’s greatest ever fighters when he wins the WBC lightweight crown with stellar performance against David Diaz, knocking out the Mexican-American champion the ninth round.
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