Adam Trupish to return February 25 in Edmonton

NABA 154-pound champion Adam ‘A Bomb’ Trupish (10-0, 7 KOs)  is likely to make a quick ring return coming off his first round destruction of fellow Albertan Janks Trotter. Trupish, ranked No. 14 by the WBA, will headline a February 25 card in his adopted hometown of Edmonton, Alberta.

Pascal vs. Sillakh light heavy eliminator?

Former light heavyweight kingpin Jean Pascal is getting ready to make his return to the ring in the coming months, his first fight since his May 2011 decision loss to Bernard Hopkins. Pascal’s promoter Yvon Michel is reportedly in talks with undefeated Ismayl Sillakh’s team regarding putting together a  title eliminator fight in May for the next shot at the Hopkins vs. Dawson II winner.

Bute to return April 14, possibly against Froch or Dirrell

IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute (30-0, 24 KOs) will likely return to the ring on April 14. Interbox, Bute’s promoter, has been in talks with Carl Froch’s team about setting up a home-and-home series against ‘The Cobra’, but Showtime would apparently prefer an American opponent, possibly Andre Dirrell instead.

Heavyweight Seth Mitchell to return on Hopkins-Dawson II telecast

Golden Boy Promotions is in talks with HBO to add undefeated American heavyweight Seth Mitchell (24-0, 18 KOs) to their April 28 broadcast that will be headlined by the rematch between Bernard Hopkins and Chad Dawson. Mitchell is coming off an impressive December demolition of Timur Ibragimov, which also acted as his HBO debut.

Gary Russell Jr. returns on Berto-Ortiz II telecast

Highly rated featherweight prospect Gary Russell Jr. will return to the airwaves on February 11, rounding out a Showtime triple-header that is headlined by Berto-Ortiz II. Russell (19-0, 11 KOs) will face Dat Nguyen (17-2, 7 KOs) in a ten round bout to open the telecast.

HBO to televise rematch of their controversial October 2011 encounter

Photo: Big Joe Miranda

Several sources are reporting that light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins will face Chad Dawson in a rematch of their controversial October 2011 bout. The first fight was initially declared as a TKO victory for Dawson after Hopkins was unable to continue due to a separated shoulder, but was later overturned to a “No Contest” by the California State Athletic Commission.

The news of the rematch comes as a bit of a surprise, as the first fight (an HBO PPV) was a financial flop and there didn’t seem to be any network interest in doing it again. HBO has reportedly agreed to televise the rematch, although for a much smaller licensing fee than they paid for the first fight.

Dawson must be ecstatic over the news, as he will get a second chance to face Hopkins in a fight that he has been pursuing for years and he has made it very clear that he felt cheated out of a victory by the result of the first fight.

Courtesy of Showtime, check out this VIDEO of ring legend Johnny Tapia interviewing Andre Berto about his upcoming rematch with Victor Ortiz.

Courtesy of Showtime, check out this VIDEO of ring legend Johnny Tapia interviewing Victor Ortiz in the lead up to his Feb 11 rematch with Andre Berto.

ALA Promotions and ABS-CBN Sports’ Pinoy Pride Series Starts 2012 with Milan ‘El Metodico’ Melindo

The highly-successful boxing mega-series presented by ALA Promotions and ABS-CBN Sports ended 2011 with Rey ‘Boom Boom’ Bautista’s slam-bang performance that got fight fans at the Hoops Dome on the edge of their seats the whole six (out of twelve) rounds of boxing for the IBF International Featherweight Championship.

Throughout the fight, Bautista showed that his boxing skill has improved, and his skillful victory against Miguel Angel Mendoza, a fighter considered as an unstoppable knockout artist from Mexico, now catapulted him even closer to the World Championship.

On January 28, 2012, ALA Promotions and ABS-CBN Sports’ Pinoy Pride series will be featuring another fighter also inches away from the World Championship title: Milan ‘El Metodico’ Melindo, the reigning WBO Intercontinental Flyweight Champion also highly recognized by the four major boxing organizations, as he is rated #6 by the WBC, #10 by the WBA, #12 by the IBF, and #3 by the WBO.

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Take a seat with Victor Ortiz and Andre Berto as the two fighters break down last year’s thrilling bout and weigh-in on this year’s rematch. Tune in to SHOWTIME Saturday, February 11th for Ortiz vs Berto II.

Guillermo Rigondeaux KO 6 Rico Ramos

Photo: Tom Casino / Showtime

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Joel Diaz Jr. TKO 7 Guy Robb

Photo: Tom Casino / Showtime

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Meet rising Canadian lightweight Ibrahim ‘Firearm’ Kamal (6-0, 5 KOs) in this interview by Ivan Montiel. Born in Toronto’s East York neighborhood, but raised in Tripoli, Libya, Kamal is a veteran of 135 amateur fights and is quickly garnering attention as one of Canada’s most exciting young prospects. Catch him in action next on Feb. 11 vs. Tommi Schmidt at the Hershey Centre, Mississauga, Ontario.

Rising unbeaten phenom Guillermo Rigondeaux returns to action this weekend in Las Vegas where he will take on undefeated Rico Ramos on Showtime, TONIGHT at 11 PM ET!

Photo courtesy of Showtime

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Photo credit: Chris Farina – Top Rank

WBO featherweight champion ORLANDO ‘Siri’ SALIDO (37-11-2, 25 KOs), from Ciudad Obregon, Sonora, México, and former WBO featherweight champion JUAN MANUEL “Juanma” LOPEZ (31-1, 28 KOs), from Caguas, Puerto Rico are set to clash in an eagerly anticipated rematch Saturday, March 10 at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan, P.R. on SHOWTIME Championship Boxing®. The two combatants are pictured above yesterday at their San Juan. Puerto Rico Press conference to announce the fight.

Many of Canada’s best boxers will be in action February 18, highlighted by the return of world super middleweight contender Adonis ‘Superman’ Stevenson, on the stacked “Fast & Furious Boxing Series” event, presented by Mise-O-Jeux and Videotron, at Bell Centre in Montreal.

Monstrous Canadian power puncher Stevenson (16-1, 13 KOs), fighting out of Longueuil, Quebec, is more powerful than a locomotive. He is coming off of a sensational ninth-round technical knockout victory over Aaron Pryor Jr. last month for the North American Boxing Association (“NABA”), North American Boxing Organization (“NABO”) and International Boxing Federation (“IBF”) Inter-Continental super middleweight titles.

A great puncher and entertaining fighter, Stevenson is rated No. 8 by the World Boxing Association (“WBA”), as well as No. 15 by the World Boxing Council “WBC”) and IBF. Adonis will defend his IBF Inter-Continental belt against former NABF champion Jesus “El Martillo” Gonzales (27-1, 14 KOs) in the 12-round main event.

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As birthday wishes pour in from around the world for ‘The Greatest of All Time’ Muhammad Ali, FightFan.com wants to send it’s regards to the living legend as he turns 70 today. Many happy returns champ! In honour of Ali’s birthday, check out this 1964 clip of the champ singing a duet with the legendary Sam Cooke!

Old-time boxing returns Saturday night, February 11 to the Hershey Centre in Mississauga, Ontario as unbeaten welterweight Samuel Vargas and dangerous Manolis Plaitis headline a competitive, entertaining card presented by United Promotions in association with Hennessy Sports.

The Feb. 11 show kicks-off the third season of boxing at Hershey Centre for United Promotions, which is comprised of three Ontario boxing promoters – Don MacDonald, Adam Harris (Hennessy Sports) and Tyler Buxton (Buxton Promotions).

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Golden Boy Promotions announced last week that top rated light welterweights Devon Alexander and Marcos Maidana will clash Feb. 25 in a battle at St. Louis’s Scottrade Center. Upstart Adrien Broner will make the first defense of his title against undefeated No. 1 contender Eloy Perez. HBO will televise.

On Saturday, February 25, four of boxing’s most compelling athletes will begin 2012 in pivotal HBO Boxing After Dark televised battles from the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri. In the main event, the pride of St. Louis, Devon Alexander “The Great,” squares off against Argentinean knockout artist Marcos “El Chino” Maidana as the two junior welterweight stars move up to face off in a 10-round welterweight showdown. The co-featured fight will see Adrien “The Problem” Broner make his first title defense when he puts his WBO Junior Lightweight World Title on the line against unbeaten number one rated WBO contender Eloy “Prince” Perez.

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In a major card for western Canada, NABA light middleweight champion Adam ‘Abomb’ Trupish and WBC Youth Intercontinental light welterweight champion Steve ‘The Dragon’ Claggett made statements with stoppage wins over tough and rugged Canadian opponents.

Photos: Joe Bruiser

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