Golden Taylor shines in 85 seconds

Ciaran Shanks
17/10/2015 9:55pm

Scottish boxing's golden boy Josh Taylor ensured his home debut was a quick one after destroying Adam Mate in just 85 seconds on Friday (October 16). Edinburgh’s Meadowbank Sports Centre was fit to burst with rambunctious fans from across Scotland and Northern Ireland for the Cyclone Promotions card. And they certainly got their money’s worth after watching the hometown hero deliver a crushing knockout as well as soaking up a domestic fight of the year candidate. Commonwealth Games gold medalist Taylor, 24, received a rapturous ovation as he demolished his Hungarian opponent to make it two wins out of two as a professional – much to the delight of manager Barry McGuigan and gym-mate Carl Frampton.

Johnson aiming for titles and redemption

Shaun Brown
17/10/2015 11:08am

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSp1hMGxICU

Tureano Johnson has many reasons to be positive. The 31-year-old middleweight recently signed a promotional deal with Golden Boy Promotions, formed a new training team and tonight at Madison Square Garden fights in an IBF world title eliminator against Ireland’s Eamonn O’Kane. A win against his O’Kane (14-1-1, 5 KOs) will push Johnson forward to a possible encounter against the winner of the night’s main event between Gennady Golovkin and David Lemieux. However, mention the name Curtis Stevens, the man responsible for causing Johnson’s first and only professional loss, and you get the impression that he would give all that back if he was given an opportunity for redemption. “It’s a necessary revenge that I need to take,” Johnson (18-1, 13 KOs) told Boxing Monthly. “That is something that is dormant in my soul, not just in my heart. I feel as though there is much to be clarified in that fight.”

Jamie Conlan: Off the floor and into Irish hearts

John Evans
16/10/2015 11:40am

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5jl2Vmc478

Jamie Conlan managed to survive being driven from the gym to his living quarters by Peter McDonagh during our recent telephone conversation, but it was the way that the 28-year-old super-flyweight got off the floor twice to survive his fight of the year candidate with Mexico’s Junior Granados that has cemented his place in the hearts of Irish boxing fans. “After the fight, I’d have people stopping cars in the street when I was just walking into town,” Conlan told Boxing Monthly. “It was a bit of a shock. Every boxer in Belfast gets recognised and held in high esteem but after the fight it was a different type of recognition."

Fonfara aims to pole axe Cleverly

Shaun Brown
15/10/2015 5:34pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7zuGdT-rJQ

Andrzej Fonfara understands why some people in boxing view this Friday’s bout against Nathan Cleverly as a 50-50 affair. Fonfara (27-3, 16 KOs) says that on paper, yes, it looks like an even match-up with the Welshman but he aims to prove that he and the former WBO world light-heavyweight champion are poles apart this Friday night at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois. What began with a borderline sinister laugh to the 50-50 suggestion was quickly followed by: “You know, I think I win this fight and I’m sure I win this fight. I’m a stronger boxer than Cleverly but for sure he will be over here to show me he’s better and he’s a dangerous guy. He’s just lost two fights. He’s got good defence and he’s fast. Some people, some experts, think I win the fight. It looks like 50-50 fight but I will prove to myself and show him that I win this fight,” Fonfara told Boxing Monthly.

Golovkin-Lemieux preview & prediction

Michael Montero & Tiffany Lam
14/10/2015 8:29pm

Michael Montero breaks down the 'Big Drama Show' between Gennady 'GGG' Golovkin and David Lemieux and the 'Little Drama Show' between Roman 'Chocolatito' Gonzalez and Brian 'Hawaiian Punch' Viloria. The middleweight title fight and flyweight title fight headline a stellar HBO Boxing PPV card on 17 October live from Madison Square Garden in New York City. Heavyweight Luis Ortiz and middleweight Tureano Johnson are also in action on the undercard.

Prograis on the radar

Anthony George
14/10/2015 7:48am

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwMOL0ZcpMA

Regis Prograis is a rarity in boxing these days. He gets the job done inside the distance. With the recent, distinguished dominance of Floyd Mayweather Jr and Andre Ward, the art of the stoppage is, in some quarters, no longer perceived as the roots of boxing. But with 15 fights and 12 stoppages, rising 140lbs star Prograis is swiftly gaining recognition as a pugilist worth watching. His high-octane victory over Amos Cowart [WUD8] on ShoBox was a perfect example. “It was a good fight for television and I was able to show my skills,” Prograis told Boxing Monthly. “But he hit me with some shots that I should have avoided, but I learned a lot from that fight."

Selby and America gel nicely

Shaun Brown
13/10/2015 5:33pm

It has been a more than successful year for British fighters in America. Jamie McDonnell, Carl Frampton, Amir Khan and James DeGale have memorably covered a small portion of the Star Spangled Banner with a little bit of Union Jack in 2015. Lee Selby, the IBF world featherweight champion, makes his stateside debut when he defends his newly acquired strap for the first time against Fernando Montiel on Wednesday, live on Sky Sports in the UK and ESPN in the US. The 28-year-old was in a super confident mood when Boxing Monthly spoke to him last week. “It’s really exciting and I’m just looking forward to it. Hopefully, I can put on a show for the fans and they’ll enjoy my style and they’ll support me,” said Selby.

 

Artist Thompson feels at home

Shaun Brown
10/10/2015 7:52am

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdXVdx4rnJw

John Thompson will have his own group of British supporters on Saturday night in Manchester. The New Jersey man takes on Liverpool’s Liam Smith (20-0-1, 10 KOs) for the vacant WBO 154lbs title after the sanctioning body stripped champion Demetrius Andrade for failing to defend the belt. Thompson, 26, is the underdog and an unknown quantity yet there will be some voices who will be cheering the American on inside the Manchester Arena come fight night. “I have family in Scotland in Edinburgh and they’re coming to the fight,” Thompson (17-1, 6 KOs) revealed to Boxing Monthly.

The crown fits DeGale

Mark Butcher
09/10/2015 4:43pm

The crown fits James DeGale nicely. There is something of an aura about the IBF super-middleweight king these days. A world title earned on the road against elite opposition has a tendency of transforming a fighter. On a heady May afternoon in Boston, DeGale floored gifted Andre Dirrell twice en route to a title that appeared a world away two years ago when he was headlining leisure centre shows in boxing’s backwaters. A promotional switch to Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom organization and crucial alliance with boxing’s kingmaker Al Haymon altered everything and now DeGale sits atop the throne with old rival George Groves looking up and British 168lbs stalwart Carl Froch happily retired. “A couple of years ago I went through a bad stage, a dark stage,” DeGale told Boxing Monthly at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium on Thursday. “But I’ve got a good team, a good family and obviously I’m talented, I’m skilled, I’m strong-minded and I came back."

In conversation with undefeated heavyweight Gerald Washington

Michael Montero & Tiffany Lam
09/10/2015 4:40pm

Undefeated American heavyweight Gerald 'El Gallo Negro' Washington (16-0, 11 KOs) and his trainer John Pullman talk about their upcoming bout with Amir Mansour on Tuesday on Fox Sports 1, thoughts about the PBC, the heavyweight division, Deontay Wilder, Wladimir Klitschko and more!