Fielding of dreams

Shaun Brown
25/06/2015 10:00am

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQ6EefaZXSM

Liverpool's unbeaten Rocky Fielding is on the cusp of a title shot at 168lbs and on a collision course with crosstown rival Callum Smith, but first he must defeat seasoned contender Bryan Vera at the Echo Arena on Friday night. "You get what you see with Vera, he’s just there coming at you and throwing all kinds of shots," Fielding told Boxing Monthly. "As the years have gone by, he’s been in some big fights and took some big shots in them. It could be a good, interesting fight and it will probably bring the best out of me. It’s a fight I’ve looked for, I’ve got the butterflies. Everything’s going well, the weight’s good and I’m fully focused on Vera. It’s going to see where I’m at. Get a good performance in, a good stoppage that’ll be even better."

Johnson finds momentum

Shaun Brown
24/06/2015 11:00am

It’s taken longer than expected but Callum Johnson’s professional boxing career is finally heading in the right direction after a stop-start four-and-a-half years. The talented light-heavyweight is a man with momentum and will engage in his seventh fight in just 13 months when he faces Bulgarian Tzvetozar Iliev at the Echo Arena, Liverpool, on Friday. 

Referee Pat Russell talks Bradley-Vargas, great fights

Michael Montero & Tiffany Lam
23/06/2015 8:00pm

Michael Montero caught up with Hall of Fame referee Pat Russell at a boxing charity event in San Diego to talk about the upcoming fight between Timothy Bradley and Jessie Vargas - which he is officiating - his charity work with the youth and some of the favourite bouts he's refereed in his career.

 

Buglioni: The best is yet to come

Shaun Brown
22/06/2015 10:42am

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmeDL60DGg4

Frank Buglioni defeating Fedor Chudinov for the WBA super-middleweight title might not register as high on boxing's list of seismic shocks as Douglas, Turpin and Rahman, but many have written off the Londoner before a punch has been thrown. Buglioni isn’t listening to them, but he understands their reasoning. “What the public and the boxing world think doesn’t make a difference to me,” Buglioni, 26, told Boxing Monthly. “I think a lot of people look back at my only defeat against Sergey Khomitsky and they probably think Chudinov’s a better fighter than Khomitsky. They think it will be similar but since that year has passed I’ve doubled in my ability, no-one’s seen the best of me yet."

Yves Ulysse Jr: The next Canadian sensation

Shawn Smith
20/06/2015 11:30am

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hn1lEzPsOwg

The most intelligent boxers are the ones who can avoid damage. To the average person it seems like an obvious statement, but it’s a rule that boxers often forget. To hit and not to be hit, that’s the name of the game. That’s where the artistic aspect of the sport is on full display. Yves Ulysse Jr is arguably the best prospect out of Montreal right now, not because his record is flawless (it is), but because of the style he brings into the ring. He follows in the stylings of Sugar Ray Leonard's footwork and speed, and is nearly as untouchable in the ring as Floyd Mayweather. “Defence wins you championships; I'm defensive, but also entertaining,” Ulysse told Boxing Monthly. “People fight for glory, for winning, different things for each person. I fight for winning first, but by being entertaining is how people will remember me.”

The other Brit fighting away this weekend

Scott Hammerton
19/06/2015 8:01pm

Before Paul Smith takes on the returning Andre Ward in Oakland on Saturday night, Carshalton’s Tony Owen ventures to Ballerup, Copenhagen, to face unbeaten Anthony Yigit on the Sauerland Promotion ‘Nordic Fight Night’ bill. Fresh from a fourth round stoppage over Gyula Vajda at the Camden Centre in April, the 28-year-old southpaw looks to make it back-to-back victories since his defeat to Ricky Boylan back in December 2013. Recharged with over a year out of the ring, Owen is relishing his first ‘away day’ having boxed all 19 of his professional bouts in London and around the South of England. “This is a massive opportunity to get back in the mix on both a domestic and now international level,” said Owen. “Anthony is a talent, but I feel I’ve got the tools to cause him problems.”

The great outdoors

Graham Houston
19/06/2015 11:29am

The local-rivalry lightweight fight between Luke Campbell and Tommy Coyle at Hull’s KC Lightstream Stadium on 1 August is the latest in a long line of British open-air shows. Once, outdoor shows were commonplace as promoters took a chance on the vagaries of the British weather - and holding a fight outdoors in Britain is always going to be a gamble. For instance, when Jack Solomons promoted the lightweight championship fight between formidable champion Ike Williams, from New Jersey, and Ronnie James, of Wales, at Cardiff’s Ninian Park in September 1946, rain fell so heavily that it seemed the show would have to be postponed.

TKO Radio meets Ed Robinson & Kevin McIntyre

TKO Radio
17/06/2015 12:03pm

Ed Robinson from the Sky Sports boxing team joins TKO Radio to preview the Andre Ward-Paul Smith fight, discuss the talking points in the super-middleweight division and also Anthony Joshua’s rapid rise to No.2 in the WBC heavyweight rankings. Is Joshua ready for a title shot now or is it all happening too quickly? Kevin McIntyre won the British welterweight title and retired with a 30-9 record, but rather than sit still and talk himself into a comeback - like many boxers do and normally for the wrong reasons - he decided to become a professional referee. Kevin talks us through the process of becoming the man in the middle. 

Kevin Satchell: Street-fighting man

Danny Winterbottom
15/06/2015 10:40pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2V9Jy6G8A9w

As an undersized youth fighting off unwanted attention from the trouble makers who lurked around every shadowy corner of the housing estate he grew up on, Kevin ‘Iceman’ Satchell could only dream of becoming a multi belt title-holder in the sweet science. One story that Satchell tells brings in to stark reality the dangers of the streets. “I’ve had knives pulled on me,” he told BM. “I wouldn’t mention no names, but I was having trouble with this kid once who had stolen bikes from my brothers. I came around the corner on my bike and I saw him and went to have it with him. He bottled it at first then it was almost as if he suddenly remembered he had a knife and he pulled it out."

What next for Walters?

John A. MacDonald
14/06/2015 8:50pm

Saturday night presented Nicholas Walters, 26-0 (21 KOs), with his moment in the spotlight. The 29-year-old Jamaican rose to prominence last year with stoppage victories over Vic Darchinyan and Nonito Donaire, the latter earning him the WBA 'Super' world featherweight title. Whilst those performances were impressive, they posed more questions than answers.