Boxing News & Notes For August 4

Boxing hasn’t seen this much attention since Apollo Creed came out of retirement to fight Ivan Drago.  Once again there is a lot going on in the squared circle of the sweet science, lets jump right into it and see what has everyone worked up in a sweat this week.

 

Former heavyweight world champion Wladimir Klitschko announced his immediate retirement from boxing on Thursday.  He was on an unbeaten streak for years that seemed like it would never end until Tyson Fury finally knocked him off that perch in late 2015.

Klitschko, who retired with a 64-5 record, lost his titles to Tyson Fury in 2015 and failed to regain the WBA and IBF belts this past April, when Anthony Joshua beat him by an 11th-round technical knockout.

”As an amateur and a professional boxer, I have achieved everything I dreamed of, and now I want to start my second career after sports,” Klitschko said in a statement released by his management.

Klitschko turned pro in 1996 after he won the Olympic gold in Atlanta.  He won his first world title in 2000, beating Chris Byrd for the WBO belt.

He dropped the belt in 2003 with a loss to Corrie Sanders in 2003, and then another one to Lamon Brewster in 2004.  From there, he was done losing for a very long time as Klitschko then went unbeaten for the next 11 years, racking up titles and wins along the way!

He ended his career by fighting in a record setting 29 world title matches.  He traveled the globe during that run fighting and winning on three continents and spilling blood in four countries.  He truly was a “World Champion”.

He finished with a 25-4 mark in heavyweight title fights and 53 knockouts.  He used his gigantic size to his obvious advantage.  He stood 6 feet, 6 inches with an 81-inch reach.  There is no doubt in my mind, or anyone that had the pleasure of watching him fight, Klitschko will go down as one of the greats!

While Klitschko looks to wind down his boxing legacy, Conor McGregor is fully committed to get his underway August 26^th against Floyd Mayweather.  He may do it in front of a hollowed-out crowd on August 26^th, as it is not the sellout that once seemed like a sure thing.

Perhaps it is because of the arrogance both fighters have shown thus far, or perhaps it is because of the astronomical cost of tickets to the event.  The cheapest tickets on Ticketmaster are currently going for a sticker price of $3,500 each.

Ticket prices start at $3,500 – plus another $300 or so for buyer fees – and climb to $10,000 near the ring. There are ”platinum” seats that go for as much as $14,995.  The resale market is every bit as pricey. At Seatgeek.com the get-in price is around $2,000 – for one of the few seats that originally sold at $500 – and the median listing price is about $7,000.

If you are one who has saved up their pennies and will be lucky enough to go, you will need a place to stay won’t you?  There are still plenty of rooms available online in the $300 to $400 range, including several hotels operated by MGM Grand, which owns the T-Mobile arena.

Mikey Garcia (37-0, 30 KOs), is fresh off a dominant victory over Adrien Broner, the judges saw it 117-111, 116-112 and 116-112 on Saturday Night from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.  He has more less now cleared out the division, and has any number of options moving forward.

“Anybody that wants to come join us on Showtime, give us a call. We are ready for anybody,” Garcia said. “Maybe I’ll go down to 135, stay at 140 or go up to 147.”

Hassan N’Dam will face Ryota Murata in a WBA middleweight title rematch after the Frenchman’s controversial victory.  The fight is scheduled for October 22 in Tokyo, roughly five months after N’Dam took the vacant world title despite being knocked down by Murata and suffering heavy punishment for much of their May 20 bout in the Japanese capital in a win that made little sense to few, and no sense to many.

Murata, 31, has a record of 12 wins, nine of them by knockouts, against one loss. N’Dam, 33, has won 36 bouts, 21 of them by knockouts, against two losses.  Murata will be out for blood in the rematch and set to prove their first contest was a fluke.

That’s it for now fight fans!  Remember, no blood, no foul!