Skelton to face Chagaev for WBA heavyweight title

London, England (Sports Network) - Ruslan Chagaev will defend his WBA heavyweight title on January 19 by facing Matt Skelton in Dusseldorf, Germany.
Skelton's promoter, Frank Warren, made the announcement Thursday.
The 40-year-old Skelton, a native of Bedford, Bedfordshire in the UK, is 21-1 with 18 knockouts and has won his last three fights. He beat Michael Sprott in July in a majority decision for the British heavyweight title.
Chagaev, who is 23-0-1 with 17 KOs, won the title with a 12-round majority decision over Nikolay Valuev on April 14.
Chagaev was ruled out of a fight with WBO champion Sultan Ibragimov for October 13 due to hepatitis. Evander Holyfield replaced Chagaev and lost a 12- round unanimous decision.

McCline-Peter fight on despite reported steroid scandal

New York, NY (Sports Network) - The heavyweight title fight between Samuel Peter and Jameel McCline scheduled for Saturday at Madison Square Garden will go on despite a report that McCline received illegal drugs over the last two years.
According to the New York Daily News, McCline (38-7-3, 23 KOs) received more than $12,000 worth of steroids, human growth hormone and related drugs from the Boca Raton, Florida-based Infinity Longevity, a clinic associated with the Signature Pharmacy scandal.
Citing an unnamed source, the newspaper alleged that McCline received testosterone, Stanozolol and Nandrolone, along with human growth hormone and Tamoxifen between March 2005 and December 2006.
"It seems clear that professional athletes from different disciplines are being investigated as it relates to steroids," New York State Athletic Commission chairman Ron Scott Stevens said in a statement. "That being said, the NYSAC will continue to vigorously enforce our steroid policy, that is, we will continue our policy which mandates that we test pre and post-fight boxers for anabolic steroids, performance-enhancing drugs and any illegal substances. The NYSAC will cooperate with law enforcement agencies on this matter."
McCline and Peter (28-1, 22 KOs) are scheduled to meet for the WBC interim heavyweight title.

Boxing's Huge Fall Season

Hatboro, PA (Sports Network) - The NFL season just kicked off and the baseball season is ending with some very interesting pennant races. So sports fans have their pick of what they want to watch on the tube. But perhaps the most intriguing sport this fall will be boxing, as it is lining up the best fall fight season in recent memory. There are plenty of exciting bouts, including Manny Pacquiao vs. Marco Antonio Barrera II on Oct. 6th, and Ricky Hatton vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr on Dec. 8th, but two others in particular are most worthy of your attention:

Saturday September 29th, Live on HBO

Middleweight Championship Bout: Undefeated World Champion Jermain Taylor (27-0) vs. Undefeated Number 1 Contender Kelly Pavlik (31-0)

This action-packed affair, is a potential fight of the year candidate. These former amateur rivals have a lot to prove. Taylor has to show that his recent lackluster performances can be attributed to a lack of a marquee opponent, while Pavlik will be out to show that he is a supreme Middleweight knockout artist.

I really believe Pavlik will knock out Taylor, as Jermain has gotten complacent. Whether you attribute it to money or a lack of focus, no one can deny that Taylor is not fighting up to his potential. His last fight against Cory Spinks was one of the worst boxing bouts in the last five years. Pavlik, on the other hand, has looked spectacular, and his win over Edison Miranda was fantastic.

Saturday November 12th Live on HBO PPV

Sugar Shane Mosley (44-4) vs. Miguel Cotto (30-0) for the WBA Welterweight Championship of the World

Rarely do we get a fight where you are going to be guaranteed action, but this is one such event. Make no mistake, if you have the opportunity to scrounge up 50 bucks for this fight, do it. Or if you are on a budget, get your buddies to go 10 dollars a piece. This fight will be worth it.

The bout has it all. A legend who is a little bit past his best - Mosley - and a young superstar looking to ascend to the top of his profession - Cotto. A Mosley victory will put him among the top-5 fighters of the last 20 years. A Cotto victory will propel him into the Puerto Rican legend status that Felix Trinidad once owned. The fight will take place in New York's hallowed Madison Square Garden, home of some of the greatest fights in history. This one might take its place as one of those classics.

You want a pick? Well it's tough, a pick 'em fight in my opinion. I am leaning towards Cotto's youth, but the 36-year-old Mosley is not to be slept on. He is a special fighter and may be able to put together another great performance.

Watch this fight!

NOT GOOD FOR THE GHOST

You have to feel bad for IBF Featherweight Champion Robert 'The Ghost' Guerrero (20-1-1). First, respected hard-hitting Rocky Juarez backed out what would have been a title defense for Guerrero, instead jumping at an opportunity to engage top-10, pound-for-pound fighter, Juan Manual Marquez. Guerrero acquired a different opponent on the same card, Martin Honorio (23-3-1), only to find out the September 15th date was cancelled due to a Marquez injury.

But the best things come to those who wait, and the Ghost will get his opportunity to fight Honorio on Showtime on November 3rd. A prime time date, and he hopes it will be a prime time performance.

"I was a little bit disappointed, but this is boxing and you just have to be ready. I am excited to defend my title," explained Guerrero.

The Ghost is training with his father for this fight and is hoping to join the ranks of some other successful father-son teams, namely Shane Mosley and Jack Mosley. Ironically, he has had an opportunity to work out with the Mosley's.

"There is nothing better to accomplish something huge with your father. It is also a great opportunity to be working out with a great fighter like Shane Mosley," said Guerra.

Guerrero's opponent, Martin Honorio, is not a marquee name, but Guerrero will not be looking past him. "He ain't a pushover. And he will come to fight. You can't look past anybody, because anything can happen."

ESPINO EMERGING

Some might remember Middleweight contender Miguel Espino (16-2-1) from his experience during the first season of 'The Contender.' But since his close loss to Peter Manfredo on that show, he has won seven fights in a row. And he will be fighting Friday, September 21st against journeymen Arturo Ortega (12-5-1), and will be trying to make his way up the Middleweight ladder.

"I am like a mechanic, I like hands-on training," said Espino.

If he keeps on winning, there will be more opportunities out there for him. He is a tall rangy middleweight who can box, and has a chance to do some damage in the near future.

John keeps featherweight crown

Gifu, Japan (Sports Network) - Chris John upended Japan's Zaiki Takemoto by technical knockout Sunday to keep his WBA featherweight crown.
The Indonesian star dominated the fight and sent Takemoto to the canvas twice. Bruised and battered, Takemoto couldn't answer the bell for the 10th round.
It was the eighth straight successful title defense for the undefeated John (40-0-1, 21 knockouts).
Takemoto dropped to 21-7-1, with 12 KOs, with the loss.

Mayweather/Hatton bout set for Dec. 8

Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - "Pretty Boy" Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Ricky "The Hitman" Hatton are set to clash in a welterweight bout this December in a matchup of two undefeated stars of the sport.
The fight, announced on Wednesday, is slated for December 8, at a location to be determined. The trash talking began immediately.
"I am the best fighter in boxing today and I'm prepared for any challenge my team puts in front of me," said Mayweather. "And with Ricky Hatton it's already personal. He has talked and disrespected me so much in the past months that I can't wait to get him in the ring and show him he is not even on my level. He's definitely getting knocked out."
At a combined 81-0, this is the biggest matchup of two undefeated welterweights since Oscar De La Hoya took on Felix Trinidad in 1999.
The 30-year-old Mayweather will come out of his brief retirement to take on Hatton, the 28-year-old Englishman who has established himself as one of the best fighters in the world. Mayweather's last fight was his highly publicized, and slightly controversial, 12-round unanimous decision over Oscar De La Hoya on May 5 that ran his record to 38-0, with 24 knockouts.
Hatton is coming off a fourth-round knockout of Jose Luis Castillo on June 23, a dominating performance that ran his record to 43-0, with 31 knockouts. About 10,000 of his British countrymen traveled to Las Vegas on June to support Hatton, and an even bigger crowd should be expected for the biggest fight of his career.
"It is a dream of every boxer to fight the best boxers in the world," said Hatton. "I respect Floyd Mayweather immensely for his boxing ability and it will be an honor to share the same ring with him. He is rightly regarded as the best pound for pound boxer in the world. However, I am confident and determined that I will be the first boxer to beat him in the ring and I am looking forward to this fight."

Ho-Hum heavyweight

Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Forget the "recognized" world championship.
It's small potatoes by comparison.
Lurking just below the grimy surface of the heavyweight division these days, there's a seamy underworld of overblown prospects, fringe contenders and over-the-hill impact-makers still plugging away for one last chance.
Evander Holyfield and Henry Akinwande kept their battle for kingpin status in the latter grouping alive on Saturday night, each scoring one-sided 10-round decisions against hand-selected opponents with little chance of upsetting the 40-plus apple carts.
Holyfield, 44, swept scorecards against journeyman Lou Savarese on a PPV show from El Paso, while Akinwande - a 6-foot-7 Brit making his home in Tallahassee, Fla. - performed a similar, albeit less-publicized number on Ukrainian pug Andriy Oleinyk.
The 41-year-old stylist earned the milestone 50th win of his career against the 12-8-1 Oleinyk in Moscow, going 10-for-10 in the eyes of all three judges in his first outing since dropping the IBF's intercontinental crown to Leg Platov last November.
That title was the most recent in a series of second-tier jewelry for the Londoner, who's also held the British Commonwealth, EBU, WBO, WBC/Fecarbox, WBC international and WBN intercontinental crowns while going 50-3-1 since his debut in 1989.
Still, he'd hock the trinkets for another crack at full-fledged WBC laurels and a chance to right the wrongs of a five-round clinch fest against Lennox Lewis - which ended in the passive challenger's disqualification in July 1997.
Only two men have beaten Akinwande since the Lewis debacle - Platov and, ironically enough, Oliver McCall (KO 10 in November 2001) - whose own go-round with Lewis had ended via teary fifth-round surrender just five months earlier.
McCall, for his part, has lost just once in 26 outings since his breakdown and actually moved closer to an improbable return to credibility with a 12-round decision over Sinan Samil San in a WBC eliminator on June 16 in Ankara, Turkey.
Meanwhile, coming up on the outside of the 200-plus pound scrap heap is hulking slugger Francois Botha, who'll end a nearly five-year ring exile tonight with a scheduled 12-rounder against one Bob Mirovic at the Carousel Casino in Temba, South Africa.
The outing - for the WBF's vacant interim title - is the first for Botha since he ended a 51-bout run with an eight-round TKO loss to Wladimir Klitschko in March 2002 and a 10-round stalemate against Clifford Etienne four months later.
The now 38-year-old Botha, like McCall and Akinwande, was also stopped in a grab for Lewis's top-spot status, falling in two non-descript rounds in a WBC/WBO/IBF championship fight in London in July 2000.