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Olusegun Wants Danny Garcia After He Beats Matthysse

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showtime-boxingNEW YORK (Sept. 4, 2012) – World Boxing Council (WBC) Super Lightweight No. 1 contender Olusegun Ajose is finished waiting quietly for his shot at a world title.

The 32-year-old undefeated Nigerian, who has called out some of the top names in the 140-pound division, will finally get his chance when he faces WBC No. 2 contender Lucas Matthysse for the vacant WBC Interim Super Lightweight Championship on Saturday, Sept. 8, live on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING on SHOWTIME® at 9 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast) from Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

Ajose (30-0, 14 KO's), who has fought the majority of his professional bouts in the United Kingdom, made his United States debut last September on ShoBox: The New Generation with a 12-round unanimous decision over Ali Chebah in a WBC title eliminator.

An active soldier in the Nigerian Army, Ajose is looking to become the next ShoBox alum to graduate from the series and win a world title.

“I'm coming to America to win a world title,” Ajose said. “After the fight, I'm going back to join the army and live and train in the barracks. That's the way it is. I'm a soldier. You don't become a soldier if you're not tough.”

Before he returns to life in the Army, the 11-year professional boxing veteran is looking to make a statement in the U.S. against Matthysse (31-2, 29 KO's), one of the most feared knockout artists in boxing today.

Ajose answered six questions as he wrapped up preparation for his first shot at a coveted world championship.

What do you know about Lucas Matthysse?

“I know he's one of the toughest in the division. He's quite tough. He lost twice, but I think he was robbed both times. I know he comes to fight, but I only saw two of his fights – against Devon Alexander and Zab Judah. I didn't see his fight against Humberto Soto. There are more fights of me on YouTube than there are of him, so he probably knows more about me, but when we fight we'll learn a lot about each other.”

Will your style cause a problem for him?

“He's never fought me before. Regardless of how many lefties he's fought, it doesn't matter. Every opponent is different. I can't say I have an advantage because I'm left handed. He's got his weak side and his strengths, and so do I. I've got more speed, more skills, more experience and that's what's going to make me successful against him.

“My advantage is my skills, my experience in the ring – not that he's had more fights here (in the U.S.) than I have. That doesn't matter. He may have fought more times here, but he's never faced anyone like me.”

Matthyse lost split decisions to former champs Devon Alexander and Zab Judah and could easily be undefeated. Is this your toughest fight to date?

“I think he's the toughest opponent on paper, but I can't say that he's the toughest guy until after the fight. He definitely is on paper, but I don't know how that will translate in reality. Other than me, he's probably the toughest in the division. I'm the only one better than him. He's better than Danny Garcia, Zab Judah. Apart from me, he's the best.

“The big difference between us – it's common knowledge I've been deprived of this fight for so long. I've been ready to fight for a championship for four years. Now that I have this opportunity I'm not going to let it go. I better win this fight. I'm going to give everything I have to win this fight.”

You've never been knocked down but he has 29 KO's in his 31 wins. How will you handle his power?

“Just because he can punch other boxers doesn't mean he can fight me. He has never fought me. When he punched Zab did he knock him out? No. Did he knock out Alexander? No. I'm at their level. Knock me out? That's not going to happen. It's going to be me knocking him out, not the other way around.

“Ali Cheba had an 80 percent knockout ratio and when he hit me it didn't hurt me. I proved my chin. I knocked him down twice but he didn't hurt me. I felt some of his power but nothing I couldn't handle.”

Do you feel you need to knock him out?

“Obviously, every boxer wants the knockout to avoid the decision; however I'm not going to be looking for it. If it comes, great. I just want to win and I'm going to do my best to win. I'm going to fight in a way that will make it difficult for anyone to rob me. It's going to be clear decision. I am prepared to go all the way and make it obvious that I won.”

Who do you want to face next in the 140-pound division if you beat Matthysse?

“Danny Garcia. That's who I want to fight, 100 percent. After I beat him I want Danny. He's been saying he's better than me; okay, come out and fight if you think you're a superstar. Show me you're good., because right now I have a bigger fish to fry, and that's Lucas. Lucas is way better than Danny. Right now I'm thinking about Lucas. After I beat him we'll think about Danny.”

Ajose vs. Matthysse, a 12-round fight for the vacant WBC Interim Super Lightweight World Championship taking place Saturday, September 8 at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas, is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with DiBella Entertainment, Gary Shaw Productions and Arano Box Promotions and sponsored by Corona and AT&T. The SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast will air live at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast). Preliminary fights will air live on SHOWTIME EXTREME® beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).

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2015 Fight of the Year – Francisco Vargas vs Takashi Miura

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

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

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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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