Articles

Attention NY-Area Fight Fans…MSG Featuring Tons of Fights

Published

12 years ago

June 29, 2012

New York, NY (June 29, 2012) – Starting in July and running throughout the summer, MSG Networks will entertain fight fans with a full slate of recent and classic boxing programming featuring some of the top names in the sport, including Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Oscar De La Hoya, Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko, and “Sugar” Shane Mosley. Sunday Night Fights on MSG and Monday Night Fights on MSG+, part of MSG Networks’ Summer Block Party, start every week at 8:00 p.m.

On Sunday nights in July, MSG presents “EPIX Fights” for some of the most exciting recent heavyweight championship bouts, including Vitali Klitschko vs. Dereck Chisora for the WBC world heavyweight title and Wladimir Klitschko vs. Jean-Marc Mormeck for the WBA/IBF/WBO world heavyweight championship.

Monday nights on MSG+ are all about Oscar De La Hoya, the former ten-time champ, as the network showcases the “Golden Boy” against some of his toughest opponents, including “Sugar” Shane Mosley and Julio Cesar Chavez. The “Fight Sports Boxing” events showcase the full breadth of the acclaimed fighter’s career, including victories over 17 world champions.

Beginning Sunday, July 29, MSG Network will present “MEGA Fights!” featuring some of the best Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. bouts, including Pacquiao’s 2007 WBC International Super Featherweight bout versus Marco Antonio Barrera and Mayweather Jr.’s 2007 battle with Ricky Hatton. Additional “Mega Fights!” bouts on the schedule include: Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez (2008), Pacquiao vs. Oscar De La Hoya (2008), Mayweather Jr. vs. Mosley (2010) and Mosley vs. Antonio Margarito (2009).

Below is a full schedule for MSG Networks’ upcoming boxing programming:

MSG SUNDAY NIGHT FIGHTS

SUNDAY, JULY 1

8:00pm EPIX Boxing ‘12: Vitali Klitschko vs. Dereck Chisora, February 18, 2012– Set in Munich, Germany, Britain’s Chisora challenged the reigning champion Klitschko for the WBC world heavyweight title. After a volatile weigh-in, fans watched as Chisora entered the ring as the underdog against the Ukrainian fighter in his 12^th title defense in three reigns as world champion.

SUNDAY, JULY 8

8:00pm EPIX Boxing ‘12: Alexander Povetkin vs. Marco Huck, February 25, 2012– WBO Cruiserweight Champion, Huck made his heavyweight division debut in front of his hometown crowd in Germany going round for round against WBA heavyweight champion Povetkin in what proved to be an exciting and aggressive fight.

SUNDAY, JULY 22

8:00pm EPIX Boxing ‘12: Wladimir Klitschko vs. Jean-Marc Mormeck, March 3, 2012– The youngest of the Klitschko brothers, Wladimir puts his WBO/WBA/IBF and RING heavyweight championship titles on the line against Jean-Marc Mormeck in Germany.

SUNDAY, JULY 29

8:00pm Fight Sports Boxing on MSG: MEGA Fights! WBC International Super Featherweight Marco Antonio Barrera vs. Manny Pacquiao, October 6, 2007– Entering the ring as the “2006 Fighter of the Year,” boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao faced three-division world champion Marco Antonio Barrera in a Vegas rumble.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 5

8:00pmFight Sports Boxing on MSG: MEGA Fights! Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Ricky Hatton, December 8, 2007– Mayweather (38-0) puts his WBC Welterweight Championship on the line against Britain’s Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton (43-0) and hands him his first career loss with a tenth round TKO.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 12

8:00pm Fight Sports Boxing on MSG: MEGA Fights! Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez, March 15, 2008– In the second fight of their exciting trilogy, Pacquiao and Marquez returned to the ring to settle the controversial draw of their first bout. With the decision coming down to the judges’ scorecards, Pacquiao notched a split decision.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 19

8:00pm Fight Sports Boxing on MSG: MEGA Fights! Welterweight super fight Manny Pacquiao vs. Oscar De La Hoya, December 6, 2008- Reigning as the World Boxing Council's lightweight king at the time of the fight, Manny Pacquiao defeats Oscar De La Hoya in his first welterweight bought.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 26

8:00pm Fight Sports Boxing on MSG: MEGA Fights! Manny Pacquiao vs. Ricky Hatton. May 2, 2009- In what was promoted as “The Battle of East and West,” Pacquiao dropped Ricky Hatton twice in the first round, and quickly finished the IBO and Ring Magazine junior welterweight champ off in the last moment of the second round.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2

8:00pm Fight Sports Boxing on MSG: MEGA Fights! Floyd Mayweather, Jr. vs. Juan Manuel Marquez, September 19, 2009- Returning from a nearly two-year retirement, Mayweather Jr. faced lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez in a non-title welterweight match-up. Dominating each round, Mayweather took the unanimous decision.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 9

8:00pm Fight Sports Boxing on MSG: MEGA Fights! Floyd Mayweather, Jr. vs. Shane Mosley, May 1, 2010- In a “show and prove” response to his critics, Mayweather secured a lopsided unanimous decision after going 12 rounds with Shane Mosley in their WBA welterweight match.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16

8:00pm Fight Sports Boxing on MSG: MEGA Fights! Bernard Hopkins vs. Roy Jones, Jr., April 3, 2010- The reunion 17 years after their first, Hopkins and Jones Jr. go toe to toe, exchanging bitter blows with Hopkins winning the 12-round fight by unanimous decision.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 23

8:00pm Fight Sports Boxing on MSG: MEGA Fights! WBO Lightweight & WBA Super World Lightweight Title Fight- Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Juan Diaz, February 28, 2009- Voted “Fight of the Year” by The Boxing Writers Association of America, Marquez and Diaz went to war in the WBA and WBO Lightweight World Title fight. Marquez proved victorious, stopping Diaz in the ninth round.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 30

8:00pm Fight Sports Boxing on MSG: MEGA Fights! WBA Super World Welterweight Title- Shane Mosley vs. Antonio Margarito, January 24, 2009- Mosley scores his most impressive victory of his late career when he knocked out Margarito in the ninth round to claim the WBA welterweight title.

MSG+ MONDAY NIGHT FIGHTS

MONDAY, JULY 2

8:00pm Fight Sports Boxing on MSG+ In: Oscar De La Hoya vs. Julio Cesar Chavez Sr., September 18, 1998– After their 1996 bout where De La Hoya pummeled the legendary Chavez for four rounds before being stopped by a ringside doctor, the two reunited in a memorable rematch resulting in Chavez quitting on his stool before the start of the ninth round.

9:00pm Fight Sports Boxing on MSG+ In 60: Oscar De La Hoya vs. Ricardo Mayorga, May 6, 2006- Over a year and a half after the only knockout loss of his career, De La Hoya redeemed himself with a sixth-round TKO of Ricardo Mayorga in Las Vegas. The victory gave De La Hoya his 10th world title (in six weight classes).

MONDAY, JULY 9

8:00pm Fight Sports Boxing on MSG+ In 60: Oscar De La Hoya vs. Shane Mosley, June 17, 2000– “Sugar” Shane Mosley made nine successful defenses of the IBF lightweight title before moving up two divisions to face Oscar De La Hoya for the WBC welterweight championship in Los Angeles’ Staples Center. After 12 back-and-forth rounds, Mosley took the split-decision victory.

9:00pm Fight Sports Boxing on MSG+: Greatest Classics: Special Edition: Medalist: De La Hoya vs. Grable- Just five fights into his boxing career, Oscar De La Hoya took on Mike Grable in a bout that extended his undefeated record to 6-0 knocking down Grable twice, on his way to a unanimous eight-round decision.

MONDAY, JULY 16

8:00pm Fight Sports Boxing on MSG+ In 60: Oscar De La Hoya vs. Manny Pacquiao, December 6, 2008– Reigning as the World Boxing Council's lightweight king at the time of the fight, Manny Pacquiao defeats Oscar De La Hoya in his first welterweight bought.

9:00pm Fight Sports Boxing on MSG+: Greatest Classics: Special Edition: Medalist: Fighters TBA

MONDAY, JULY 23

8:00pm Fight Sports Boxing on MSG+ In 60: Oscar De La Hoya vs. Julio Cesar Chavez Sr., September 18, 1998- After their 1996 bout where De La Hoya pummeled the legendary Chavez for four rounds before being stopped by a ringside doctor, the two reunited in a memorable rematch resulting in Chavez quitting on his stool before the start of the ninth round.

9:00pm Fight Sports Boxing on MSG+: Greatest Classics: Special Edition: Medalist: Fighters TBA

MONDAY, JULY 30

8:00pm Fight Sports Boxing on MSG+: Fighters TBA

9:00pm Fight Sports Boxing on MSG+: Fighters TBA

Throughout the summer, visit www.msg.com/summer for the latest programming information as well as photos, video, trivia, polls and more. Also, fans can get the latest Summer Block Party information by liking MSG on Facebook (/MSGNetworks) and following MSG on Twitter (@MSGNetworks).

As the exclusive local television home of the New York Knicks, New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, Buffalo Sabres, New York Liberty and New York Red Bulls, MSG Networks telecasts over 400 live professional games each year. MSG Networks also telecasts 150 live college basketball games and 50 live college football games from top national conferences (SEC, Big 12, Big East, Conference USA), as well as horse racing, boxing and award-winning original programming. MSG Networks recently earned 16 New York Emmy Awards, including 14 for MSG – tops in the New York region for the third year in a row – and two for MSG+. Over the past five years, MSG Networks has totaled 77 New York Emmy Awards, including 69 for MSG – also the most of any New York station or network in that time – and eight for MSG+.

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The Sweet Science

Articles

2015 Fight of the Year – Francisco Vargas vs Takashi Miura

Published

8 years ago

January 4, 2016

The Sweet Science

The WBC World Super Featherweight title bout between Francisco Vargas and Takashi Miura came on one of the biggest boxing stages of 2015, as the bout served as the HBO pay-per-view’s co-main event on November 21st, in support of Miguel Cotto vs Saul Alvarez.

Miura entered the fight with a (29-2-2) record and he was making the fifth defense of his world title, while Vargas entered the fight with an undefeated mark of (22-0-1) in what was his first world title fight. Both men had a reputation for all-out fighting, with Miura especially earning high praise for his title defense in Mexico where he defeated Sergio Thompson in a fiercely contested battle.

The fight started out hotly contested, and the intensity never let up. Vargas seemed to win the first two rounds, but by the fourth round, Miura seemed to pull ahead, scoring a knock-down and fighting with a lot of confidence. After brawling the first four rounds, Miura appeared to settle into a more technical approach. Rounds 5 and 6 saw the pendulum swing back towards Vargas, as he withstood Miura’s rush to open the fifth round and the sixth round saw both men exchanging hard punches.

The big swinging continued, and though Vargas likely edged Miura in rounds 5 and 6, Vargas’ face was cut in at least two spots and Miura started to assert himself again in rounds 7 and 8. Miura was beginning to grow in confidence while it appeared that Vargas was beginning to slow down, and Miura appeared to hurt Vargas at the end of the 8th round.

Vargas turned the tide again at the start of the ninth round, scoring a knock down with an uppercut and a straight right hand that took Miura’s legs and sent him to the canvas. Purely on instinct, Miura got back up and continued to fight, but Vargas was landing frequently and with force. Referee Tony Weeks stepped in to stop the fight at the halfway point of round 9 as Miura was sustaining a barrage of punches.

Miura still had a minute and a half to survive if he was going to get out of the round, and it was clear that he was not going to stop fighting.

A back and forth battle of wills between two world championship level fighters, Takashi Miura versus “El Bandido” Vargas wins the 2015 Fight of the Year.

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Articles

Jan 9 in Germany – Feigenbutz and De Carolis To Settle Score

Published

8 years ago

January 4, 2016

The Sweet Science

This coming Saturday, January 9th, the stage is set at the Baden Arena in Offenburg, Germany for a re-match between Vincent Feigenbutz and Giovanni De Carolis. The highly anticipated re-match is set to air on SAT.1 in Germany, and Feigenbutz will once again be defending his GBU and interim WBA World titles at Super Middleweight.

The first meeting between the two was less than three months ago, on October 17th and that meeting saw Feigenbutz controversially edge De Carolis on the judge’s cards by scores of (115-113, 114-113 and 115-113). De Carolis scored a flash knock down in the opening round, and he appeared to outbox Feigenbutz in the early going, but the 20 year old German champion came on in the later rounds.

The first bout is described as one of the most crowd-pleasing bouts of the year in Germany, and De Carolis and many observers felt that the Italian had done enough to win.

De Carolis told German language website RAN.DE that he was more prepared for the re-match, and that due to the arrogance Feigenbutz displayed in the aftermath of the first fight, he was confident that he had won over some of the audience. Though De Carolis fell short of predicting victory, he promised a re-vamped strategy tailored to what he has learned about Feigenbutz, whom he termed immature and inexperienced.

The stage is set for Feigenbutz vs De Carolis 2, this Saturday January 9th in Offenburg, Germany. If you can get to the live event do it, if not you have SAT.1 in Germany airing the fights, and The Boxing Channel right back here for full results.

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Articles

2015 Knock Out of the Year – Saul Alvarez KO’s James Kirkland

Published

8 years ago

December 29, 2015

The Sweet Science

On May 9th of 2015, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez delivered a resonant knock-out of James Kirkland on HBO that wins the 2015 KO of the Year.

The knock-out itself came in the third round, after slightly more than two minutes of action. The end came when Alvarez delivered a single, big right hand that caught Kirkland on the jaw and left him flat on his back after spinning to the canvas.Alvarez was clearly the big star heading into the fight. The fight was telecast by HBO for free just one week after the controversial and disappointing Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao fight, and Alvarez was under pressure to deliver the type of finish that people were going to talk about. Kirkland was happy to oblige Alvarez, taking it right to Alvarez from the start. Kirkland’s aggression saw him appear to land blows that troubled the young Mexican in the early going. Alvarez played good defense, and he floored Kirkland in the first round, displaying his power and his technique in knocking down an aggressive opponent.

However, Kirkland kept coming at Alvarez and the fight entered the third round with both men working hard and the feeling that the fight would not go the distance. Kirkland continued to move forward, keeping “Canelo” against the ropes and scoring points with a barrage of punches while looking for an opening.

At around the two minute mark, Alvarez landed an uppercut that sent Kirkland to the canvas again. Kirkland got up, but it was clear that he did not have his legs under him. Kirkland was going to try to survive the round, but Alvarez had an opportunity to close out the fight. The question was would he take it?

Alvarez closed in on Kirkland, putting his opponent’s back to the ropes. Kirkland was hurt, but he was still dangerous, pawing with punches and loading up for one big shot.

But it was the big shot “Canelo” threw that ended the night. Kirkland never saw it coming, as he was loading up with a huge right hand of his own. The right Alvarez threw cracked Kirkland in the jaw, and his eyes went blank. His big right hand whizzed harmlessly over the head of a ducking Alvarez, providing the momentum for the spin that left Kirkland prone on the canvas.

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez went on to defeat Miguel Cotto in his second fight of 2015 and he is clearly one of boxing’s biggest stars heading into 2016. On May 9th Alvarez added another reel to his highlight film when he knocked out James Kirkland with the 2015 “Knock Out of the Year”.

Photo by naoki fukuda

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