Heavyweight Division

[Steven]

I am kind of shocked. I mean, I'm not really, but I am. The WBA are having a shocking run.

[diehard]

Briggs vs. Oquendo Is Officially Canceled
The Backyard Brawl: Briggs vs. Oquendo battle for the World Boxing Association (WBA) Heavyweight Championship on June 3 at Hard Rock Live at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, FL has been officially canceled.

The fight has not been rescheduled at this time. Ticket refunds are available at point of purchase.

[diehard]

Cherchi: Takam could fight with Pulev in China
By Ognian Georgiev

Italian boxing promoter and manager Christian Cherchi is trying to bring his protege IBF#3 Carlos Takam (34-3-1, 26 KOs) to a heavyweight title fight. The Cameroon-born puncher is looking to clash with IBF #2 Kubrat Pulev (25-1, 13 KOs) if Anthony Joshua’s IBF belt is stripped.

Mr. Cherchi, What are the chances of a Carlos Takam vs. Kubrat Pulev fight to happen?

We’ve got our hopes. We are in contact with IBF on the situation. The most important thing is the status of Anthony Joshua. He won the title in April 2016 in a voluntary defense of the champion Charles Martin. Joshua defended the title three times, in June against Dominic Breazeale, in December against Eric Molina and now in April 2017 against Wladimir Klitschko. Now he is heading for his fourth title defense against Klitschko in November. All those defenses were voluntary.

Eddie Hearn asked for an exception to fight the mandatory Kubrat Pulev in February 2018. That means that Joshua is still fighting for his title without making obligatory defenses for about two years. That never happened before with the IBF. We understand that Klitschko-Joshua was a very big event, great for boxing, but now they want to do the rematch without fulfilling their mandatory obligations. If there is such a rematch, the title must be given to the winner of the IBF #2 Pulev – IBF #3 Takam fight. I will take a flight to the USA for the IBF convention (to see how the situation will be resolved).

Are you in contact with Kubrat Pulev’s people to join forces against Eddie Hearn’s request?

Our demand should be supported by Pulev’s people as well. I was contacted once by Chris Meyer (Sauerland’s general manager). All the time I’m in contact with IBF. At the convention, we’ll sit down all together to see how to resolve the situation. There is a chance to see an interim title fight between Pulev and Takam. In the event the Joshua-Klitschko’s winner won’t fight the interim champion, then the interim champion will become world champion. You have to obey the rules.

How do you see timewise a possible interim fight between Takam and Pulev? When could this bout happen?

My estimation is that the fight must take place by the end of the year. There will be negotiations. We may do it after October?

What is your opinion about Kubrat Pulev as a heavyweight contender?

“Cobra” Pulev is a good fighter. He is a little bit down after Klitschko’s fight, but he’s still a decent fighter. It will be a good match. The chances will be 50/50. Carlos has very good chances to win the title. He can beat everybody. He lost to Parker, but it was a close decision. Takam is dangerous against everybody and could beat everybody.

Is Takam ready to come to Bulgaria to fight Pulev?

I hope that Pulev is ready to come to France. The situation with Takam is now changed. We had our last fight in Macao, China. We were co-promoters of the event. The Chinese promoters liked Takam very much. Maybe they’ll be interested in staging a fight with Pulev. Carlos now will fight on June 17 in the casino of Saint-Vincent. Boxing will be there for the first time after 26 years and the main event will be between European middleweight champion Emanuele Blandamura (26-2) and former Italian middleweight king Alessandro Goddi (30-1-1). We’re close to signing a contract with Takam’s opponent and his name will be announced soon.
———-
Ognian Georgiev is a Bulgarian sports journalist and author of the book “The White Prisoner: Galabin Boevski’s Secret Story”. You may find more about him on his blog: http://ogigeorgiev.wordpress.com/

[diehard]

Povetkin opponent named
Former heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin will return July 1 against Ukrainian Andrey Rudenko at the “Russia” (Luzhniki)
Concert Hall in Moscow. The 33-year-old Rudenko is rated WBO #9, WBC #13 and IBF #13 and has a record of 31-2, with 19 KOs. Povetkin-Rudenko will headline a big boxing show promoted by “World of boxing.”

May 24th, 2017

[mippy]

I can see why everyone uses PEDs in boxing, there's really no penalty for being a PED user

Most other sports would have banned Povetkin for life.

[diehard]

Lucas “Big Daddy” Browne Returns June 2
By Ray Wheatley — World of Boxing

Former WBA heavyweight champion Lucas “Big Daddy” Browne (24-0, 21 KOs) will return to ring action on June 2nd against American journeyman Mathew Greer (16-20, 13 KOs) at Club Punchbowl, Sydney, NSW, Australia. Browne talked to Paul Nasari on radio 2BACR 100.9FM.

“I’m extremely happy to be getting back in the ring. It has been over a year now without fighting.” Browne said. “I have been training six days week. I will be fighting June 2nd at Club Punchbowl in Sydney. It’s been a long time since I boxed in Sydney. I’m going to put on a good show in front of the home crowd.”

Browne also talked about his win over Ruslan Chagaev in Russia to capture the WBA title but then being stripped for failing the drug test.

“I had to score a knockout to win the fight in Russia against Ruslan Chaegev. I talked to the referee (Stanley Christodoulou) at the airport the next day and he told me the judges had me eight rounds down so I’m glad I scored the knockout. I am frustrated of what has happened to me and will now take it out on my opponent Mathew Greer on June 2nd. I am looking for a knockout win. Greer is a journeyman who has won 16 fights and lost 20 fights. He has been in the ring against James Toney and Shannon Briggs but he is not going to win because I’m going to knock him out.”

“It’s a great fight for me after being inactive for over a year. I believe I’m the best puncher in the heavyweight division. Jeff Fenech has held the pads for both me and Mike Tyson. The power I can generate is much more, but in saying that, I’m not comparing myself to Mike Tyson who is much more explosive.”

[Infern0]

Lucas browne is a Muppet

[diehard]

Lucas Browne Eyes Joseph Parker After Comeback KO Win

Lucas ‘Big Daddy’ Browne’s bid to rebuild his boxing career began in the humble surrounds of an outer-suburban social club as he clings to dreams of again becoming world heavyweight champion.
Browne, 38, became the first Australian to claim a share of a heavyweight world title when he stopped Ruslan Chagaev to win the WBA regular belt in front of a hostile crowd in Chechnya last year.
More than 14 months — and two positive drug tests — later, he finally stepped back into the ring and the circumstances and occasion couldn’t be further from that history-making night.

Browne improved his record to 25-0 with a dominant 2nd round TKO win over Matthew Greer — an American journeyman with an unflattering 14-21 win-loss record — at Club Punchbowl in Sydney’s south-west.
There was on the line but Browne, who maintains he’s not a “drug cheat”, said before the fight he had to start somewhere.
“I’ve got no rankings whatsoever ... so technically I’ve got to start from scratch,” Browne told iFL TV.
“People are wondering why I’m fighting Matthew Greer, who’s 16 wins 20 losses but it’s a warm-up fight against a journeyman for the purpose of getting back into the ring. That’s the whole purpose. There’s no point going in against a world class challenger just yet. That’ll be next, or very soon.”

Browne was stripped of the world title and suspended for six months after later testing positive to the banned substance clenbuterol. He claimed he was set up and the WBA later ruled it was unlikely he had intentionally taken the substance.
Browne was then due to fight Shannon Briggs for the same vacant WBA "regular" heavyweight title late last year before those plans were ruined by another positive test, this time for ostarine.

The boxer put that down to an innocent, albeit stupid, mistake but resents that he’s still seen as a drug cheat by some.
“I get called a cheat almost every day,” Browne said. “... From my point of view, I got well and truly done over (the first time). Whether you believe that or not, it doesn’t really matter to me. The second time was my f*** up, yes, but it was a pre-workout (supplement) from the shop. I’m not a drug cheat. I’m not taking any drugs and I never was.”
Browne is hoping to quickly work his way up to bigger fights, with history-making New Zealand WBO world champion Joseph Parker high on his hit list.
Browne would also be eager to step in to fight Fres Oquendo — who was meant to fight Briggs this weekend for the vacant title before Briggs tested positive for dramatically increased levels of testosterone — though Browne is still currently banned from fighting for a WBA world title.
“A fight with Joseph Parker for the WBO title would be a great start, title contention wise, and I think it’d be a great fight with the ANZAC (rivarly), there’d be a lot of interest.” Browne said.

[Msreef]

Funny how things turn out. Not long ago Parker wanted to fight Browne, and Browne told him to 'piss off and fight someone'.
Now Browne is back to square one, and pretty desperate to fight JP. Hah

[African Monkey]

(06-04-2017, 10:17 PM)Msreef Wrote: Funny how things turn out. Not long ago Parker wanted to fight Browne, and Browne told him to 'piss off and fight someone'.
Now Browne is back to square one, and pretty desperate to fight JP. Hah

Just like how Browne told Whyte to piss off before failing his second drugs test thinking he was gonna get his little WBA regular belt shot again, then asking Eddie Hearn to make it happen a few months later.