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Golovkin vs Geale in Madison Square Garden, Live on HBO

Published

10 years ago

June 4, 2014

It’s on. A fight that has been in the formative stage for a long spell is a go. Triple G will taken on the toughest foe of his pro career, quite likely, in Aussie Daniel Geale. Here is the release which went out on Tuesday late afternoon.

YORK CITY (June 3, 2014) Boxing’s fastest rising star, Middleweight World Champion, GENNADY “GGG” GOLOVKIN will battle two-time world champion DANIEL “The Real Deal” GEALE in his triumphant return to ‘The Mecca of Boxing”, Madison Square GardenSATURDAY, JULY 26 and televised Live onHBO World Championship Boxing^® beginning at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT., it was announced today by K2 Promotions and GGG Promotions in association with Gary Shaw Productions and Grange Old School Boxing.

Headlining the sensational “G4” boxing extravaganza, Golovkin will defend his World Boxing Association (‘WBA’) and International Boxing Organization (‘IBO’) titles against Geale in the scheduled 12-round main event. Golovkin was recently elevated to “Super Champion” status by the World Boxing Association.

“Since his HBO debut less than two years ago, Gennady has become the hottest international star in boxing and we’re thrilled to promote his return to Madison Square Garden, the premier venue for boxing,” said Tom Loeffler, Managing Director of K2 Promotions. “This will be Gennady’s first fight in the main arena at Madison Square Garden, where only a select few could headline today.”

“Daniel Geale is a throwback fighter who has never backed down from a tough challenge and his mindset is no different going into the Golovkin fight,” said Gary Shaw. “GGG” is considered the top dog in the middleweight division by those in the business, but I believe Geale is the best. We will see how Golovkin fares against someone on his level. I have confidence Geale will come out on top.”

“I’m happy to be fighting at Madison Square Garden once again. Fighting in front of the great fans in New York City for the third time is an honor for me and I will train hard to defend my titles in style by giving the fans an exciting show,” said Golovkin. “Daniel Geale has a lot of world championship experience, is a big international name and I look forward to this challenge.”

“I’m pleased to be making my way back to HBO against Gennady Golovkin, a fighter who everyone thinks is invincible,” said Geale. “A victory will get me back to where I want to be. The people of Australia believe in me and that’s what drives me, my countrymen. I want to show them they have a great champion. On July 26th the world will see me back on top.”

“Gennady Golovkin became a breakout phenomenon in 2013, a year both he and Daniel Geale gave fans exhilarating performances on HBO,” said Peter Nelson, Vice President of Programming, HBO Sports. “Golovkin-Geale looks to exceed the high expectation these fighters have set for their fans. This match almost happened before, including what became the night Golovkin made his HBO debut in 2012, while a half a world away Geale won the middleweight title that Golovkin now possesses. There is an intriguing storyline to the fight, to which both fighters seek to write a emphatic ending in the ring at Madison Square Garden on July 26.”

Said Bill Treacy of Grange Old School Boxing, Geale’s co-promoter, “Of all the potential fights this is the one he wants the most. I firmly believe Daniel is the most talented middleweight in the world. The opportunity to return stateside in the main event on a HBO show at Madison Square Garden for two world titles is the ultimate motivation for him to put it beyond doubt.”

With the highest knockout ratio (89%) among all active champions, in addition to his extraordinary growth in viewership on HBO, Golovkin, 29-0-0 (26KO’s), has become a must-see attraction in the international sporting world.

In 2013, Golovkin scored four knockouts, three of which were telecast on HBO to outstanding viewership earning him plaudits for both Fighter of the Year and Knockout of the Year among many media members.

Previously holder of the (‘IBF’) International Boxing Federation Middleweight and WBA “Super” Middleweight Title, Geale brings a distinguished record of 30-2-0 (16KO’s) into the world title challenge with Golovkin. Geale is currently ranked #3 by the World Boxing Association.

Advance tickets priced at $500, $300, $200, $100, $50 and $25 can be purchased starting at 10:00 a.m. ET on Thursday, June 5 at the Madison Square Garden Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster charge by phone (866-858-0008) and online at www.ticketmaster.com and www.thegarden.com

For fight updates on GOLOVKIN VS. GEALE via Social Media, follow HBO Boxing on Twitter at @HBOBoxing and Facebook at /HBOBoxing, in addition to on Twitter at Gennady Golovkin/@GGGBoxing , Daniel Geale/@RealDealGeale , Tom Loeffler – K2 Promotions/ @TomLoeffler1 and Gary Shaw Productions/@GaryShawBoxing. Use the hashtag #GolovkinGeale to join the conversation on Twitter.

Loeffler said a heavyweight co feature, between his guy Mike Perez and Shaw fighter Bryant Jennings will be offered.

I also spoke to Shaw. I wondered if his kid is rightly seen as a heavy underdog…or if GGG is overhyped. “Good question,” Shaw said. “No question GGG is real and has hard hands. However, Geale has a style that could give him trouble…and Geale is not afraid of Golovkin. It could be seen as a coin flip fight…although Geale will be seen as a huge underdog.”

“This is a good fight for GGG, finally somebody that will allow him to show some of the untapped potential,” said Golovkin trainer Abel Sanchez. “gealenwill stop Geale in the last third of the fight.”

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Michael Woods

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2015 Fight of the Year – Francisco Vargas vs Takashi Miura

Published

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

Published

9 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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2015 Knock Out of the Year – Saul Alvarez KO’s James Kirkland

Published

9 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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