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British boxing seems to be going from strength to
strength, and a a time when there seems to be a worrying lack
of young American talent on the horizon, is this the time for
British boxing to fill the void? You only need to look at some
of the upcoming fights to realize just how high profile
British boxing has become.
Arguably top of the bill is the mouth-watering bout between
Ricky "the Hitman" Hatton and the current pound for pound
fighter on the planet Manny Pacquaio. Two very exciting
fighters who give their all and mean big box office money for
everyone involved. In what could be one of the fights of the
ages, with the winner potentially fighting Floyd Mayweather,
this is sure to have the crowd on the edge of it's seat from
the very first bell. This contest will take place on the 1st
of May 2009.
Next in line is the potential bout between former undisputed
Cruiserweight champion turned Heavyweight David Haye, and
Current IBF and WBO Heavyweight King Wladimir Klitschko. This
was due to be penciled in for the 20th of June, but hasn't
been confirmed yet due to contract and venue complications.
David Haye has lit up the Heavyweight scene after beating
veteran Monte Barrett in a very one sided contest earlier on
in the year. With devastating punch power, Haye is sure to win
over the American viewers who haven't had the pleasure of
watching him yet, and could well end the Klitschko brothers
domination of the Heavyweight division.
With the retirement of Welsh legend Joe Calzaghe, a new face
has cropped up on the Super Middleweight scene. An undefeated
fighter from Nottingham England by the name of Carl Froch. The
man who calls himself "The Cobra" has thrust himself into the
boxing limelight by winning the WBC Super Middleweight title -
a title famously defended by Calzaghe for so many years - by
beating Jean Pascal in a fight for the vacated belt. In a bid
to get recognition both in Britain and America, his next move
was to call out former Middleweight stalwart, and current No1
WBC Super Middleweight contender Jermain Taylor. Taylor agreed
to the fight and will be looking to continue the resurrection
of a career which once saw him defeat household boxing names
such as Bernard Hopkins on two occasions and Ronald "Winky"
Wright. "Bad Intentions" will be looking to erase the
memories of his loss to Kelly Pavlik and build on his most
recent victory over Jeff "left hook" Lacy. This fight will be
happening on the 25th April 2009 at the MGM Grand Theatre and
promises to be a great contest.
With all of the above fights as well as the rejuvenation of
Lightweight prospect Amir Kahn - Fresh off of a victory
against Mexican legend Marco Antonio Barrerra - and now under
the experienced wing of Freddie Roach, not to mention the
Olympic Gold medalist James Degale and other British Olympic
boxers turned pro, Frankie Gavin and Billie Joe Saunders,
British boxing is in a position to headline for many years to
come.
Mark Urban
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3-27-2009 |
