By Norm Frauenheim

LAS VEGAS – Two tenths of a pound aren’t much, but they were enough to make a weigh-in last an hour longer than it should have Friday.

Brandon Rios stepped on the scale once, stripped off his shorts behind a strategically placed sheet and stepped on the scale again. Once, twice, shorts on, shorts off and he was still two-tenths heavier than the 147-pound mandatory for his welterweight bout Saturday night against Timothy Bradley at Thomas & Mack Center.

For the next 60 minutes, Rios found a bathroom, stood around a hallway outside of a ballroom at The Wynn and then headed back to the scale. Once, twice, shorts on, shorts off and this time the two tenths were gone, presumably flushed from the proceedings.

Actually, Rios said he could have saved everybody a lot of time had he been allowed an extra minute or two. In so many words and more than a few expletives, he said he was trying to get rid of the two-tenths when he was called off the stool and onto the scale.

“There was no drama,’’ Rios said. “I’m ready.’’

Rios’ face looked a little drawn after the weigh-in, which included Vasyl Lomachenko (4-1, 2 KOs) and Romulo Koasicha (25-4, 15 KOs) both at 125.6 pounds for a WBO featherweight title fight. He’s no stranger to off and on the scale controversies. As a lightweight, he missed weight twice. The move up to welter was supposed to make things easier.

But Rios has never been about easy.

On himself or anybody else.

With his career at a crossroads, Rios (33-2-1, 24 KOs) is expected to make things difficult for the favored Bradley (32-1-1, 12 KOs) in an HBO-televised bout (9:30 p.m. ET/PT) that was officially sanctioned as a World Boxing Organization title fight.

His tireless pressure figures to test Bradley, who was at a business-like 146 pounds. For Bradley, the bout is his first with trainer Teddy Atlas. Bradley had spent his entire pro career with Joel Diaz. They knew each other instinctively, almost like father and son. What happens when Rios lands his first big punch? How will Bradley respond to adversity when he sees a different face, Atlas instead of Diaz, in his corner?

That looms as the bout’s key question. If Bradley has the right answer, Rios will wind up flushing a lot more than just two-tenths.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, Former Lightweight beltholders Omar Figueroa and Antonio DeMarco will meet on December 12 in San Antonio and be televised on NBC.

“I’m excited to once again be fighting in my home state of Texas, in front of my fans who know what to expect from me,” said Figueroa, 25, who is from Weslaco. “I’m going to fight smart, it’s going to be exciting and I will slowly break down DeMarco and give the fans and myself a win.

“I can box straightforward and also trade fire with fire. As we say in Spanish, ‘Si, se puede.’ Yes, we can. I am ready to get in the ring, risk it all and be the man who wins. Don’t miss it.”

“This will be a very tough fight and will most likely be a war because of our fighting styles,” DeMarco said. “I will do everything I can to give a great show and a great fight. My objective is to win.”

Also announced for the card were a pair of 10-round heavyweight fights: 2012 U.S. Olympian Dominic Breazeale (16-0, 14 KOs) taking on Charles Martin (22-0-1, 20 KOs) and former two-time world title challenger Chris Arreola (36-4-1, 31 KOs) facing Travis Kauffman (30-1, 22 KOs).

“Charles Martin has nowhere near the experience I have. It’s like night and day,” said Breazeale, 30, of Alhambra, California. “I do everything better than him and am in much better condition. I’m looking to end 2015 with a bang and get ready to kick off my 2016 campaign in style. I want to move toward challenging for a world title.”

Said Martin, 29, of Carson, California: “I know Dominic very well and have a lot of respect for him, so I know it’s going to be a tough fight. This fight is about two of the best young heavyweights in the world fighting each other. I won’t let anything stand in my way of becoming heavyweight champion.”

“I’ve known Kauffman for a long time, and very well, but once the bell rings, it’s time to go to work,” Arreola said. “I’m a beast when I’m in great shape, and that’s what I will be for this fight. I haven’t fought in San Antonio, but I look forward to fighting in front of the loyal Mexican-American boxing fans.”

“This is a fight that I’ve been wanting,” Kauffman said. “I know how tough Chris is and how great his desire to win is. This is my toughest test to date, but it is my time to shine. I believe that I will be a world champion and to do that I have to win this fight.”

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, former 4-division world champion Nonito Donaire as re-upped his deal with Top and will most likely be fighting Cesar Juarez on December 11 in Puerto Rico.

“Nonito came to the office to meet with me and sign the contract. And he said, ‘No more fooling around, no more being a celebrity. I’m a fighter, and I’m going to work hard and stay in the gym, and you will see the best Nonito Donaire you’ve ever seen,'” Top Rank chairman Bob Arum told ESPN.com. “I think Donaire is really serious now. He’s a great fighter, and I don’t count him out against anybody.”

“I feel good about the deal. I’ve had some setbacks, but I’ve put myself in good position with this deal,” Donaire said. “We want to fight the best fighters Top Rank has to offer, and it says in the contract that Top Rank will try to make fights for me with the best available opponents, like Lomachenko and a rematch with Walters.

“Those fights are there for me, and I am happy about that and happy knowing I will get the opportunity for big fights. We’re happy about the deal and the possibility of fighting the best fighters that Top Rank can make available to me.”

Donaire said the fight with Juarez was “icing on the contract. I can start my rise back up. That’s the opportunity Top Rank presented to me, and it’s a good one. He’s a really rugged guy.

“That’s all we know about him. We’ve heard a lot of talk that he’s a tough guy and that he sparred with [lightweight titleholder Jorge] Linares. He can wear you down. He has the Mexican style and will try to take whatever I can dish out to him. We are not looking past him. We’re getting some tapes of him.”

“I would love to fight Lomachenko,” Donaire said. “Lomachenko is a really good fighter and a really good test for me to see where I’m at. There’s talk they want to come down [to junior featherweight], but if not, we’ll go back up to featherweight.

“I took things for granted before. I’m taking things for granted anymore, and I am thankful for every little thing in my life.”

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, a report that Amir Khan signed a contract to fight Manny Pacquiao is false as per Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum.

Arum, however, called the report “total bulls—.”

“I haven’t sent a contract to him. We haven’t sent anything to him,” Arum told ESPN.com on Tuesday. “Don’t you think I’m the promoter of the fight and I would know if I sent a contract? It’s total bulls—. It’s not true. This is f—ing ridiculous. There is no deal. There is no contract. There has been no decision whatsoever.”

“Top Rank has sent a contract to neither of them,” Arum said. “Top Rank will send a contract to one of them when Manny makes his decision on who he wants to fight. Right now, what we are doing is trying to decide between Crawford and Khan for April 9. But [the reported agreement with Khan] is such bulls—. I don’t know what Khan said he signed. Don’t I have the right to draw up a contract with either guy? I don’t know who Manny wants to fight.”

While Arum was on the phone with ESPN.com at the Top Rank building in Las Vegas, he received a call on his cell phone from Cameron Dunkin, Crawford’s manager, who had gotten wind of the Daily Mail report. Arum began shouting at Dunkin, “It’s not true! It’s total bulls—! Tell Crawford it’s not true!”

Featherweight title holder Gary Russell Jr. suffered a cut in training that will prevent him from making a title defense of November 14 against Oscar Escandon on Showtime, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com

“The network was informed earlier [Monday] that Gary sustained a cut in training and is unable to fight,” Showtime spokesman Chris DeBlasio told ESPN.com. “Of course we are sorry to hear this and we are evaluating our options for the Nov. 14 show. We expect to have an announcement in the next couple of days.”

Jermell Charlo remained undefeated by stopping former world champion Joachim Alcine in round six of their scheduled 10-round Jr. Middleweight bout in Houston, Texas.

In round six, Charlo dropped Alcine with a left. Moments later, Charlo landed a right that wobbled Alcine. Charlo landed several more shots and the fight was stopped at 1:21 of round six.

Charlo, 155 3/4 lbs of Houston is now 27-0 with 12 knockouts. Alcine, 152 3/4 lbs of Haiti is 35-8-2.

Tony Harrison won a 10-round unanimous decision over Cecil McCalla in a Jr. Middleweight bout.

Harrison controlled the action with the exception of round nine when despite having a cut around the left eye, McCalla rocked Harrison with several hard right hands.

Harrison, 156 lbs of Detroit, MI won by scores of 100-90 and 98-92 twice and is now 22-1. McCalla, 155 1/2 lbs of Baltimore, MD is 20-3.

Christopher Di2az remained perfect with a 2nd round stoppage over Karl Garcia in a scheduled 8-round Featherweight bout.

Diaz dropped Garcia with a left hook in round two. He ended things just seconds later when he landed a right to the jaw that froze Garcia and a follow up right dropped him to the canvas and the fight was stopped at 26 seconds of round two.

Diaz is 13-0 with 8 knockouts. Garcia is 9-6-1.

Jean Rivera won a 6-round unanimous decision over Jivany Fuentes in a Super Featherweight bout.

Rivera, 121 1/2 lbs of Bayamon, PR won by scores of 60-54 and 59-55 twice and is now 4-0. Fuentes, 122 lbs of Corozal, PR is 6-7.

Jose Zepeda and former Lightweight champion fought to a no-contest after one-round of their scheduled 10-round Lightweight bout at Auditorio Municipal Fausto Gutiérrez Moreno in Tijuana, Mexico.

The two banged heads and Zepeda was sliced open under his left eye and the fight was stopped.

It was the second straight disappointing outing for Zepeda as in his previous fight he had to bow out of his WBO Lightweight title fight with Terry Flanagan when he popped his left shoulder.

Zepeda, 142 lbs of Long Beach, CA is 23-1. Alfaro, 142 lbs of Nagorote, NIC. is 28-9-1,

Carlos Diaz scored a 2nd round stoppage over Marcos Cardenas in round two of a scheduled 10-round Lightweight bout.

Diaz dropped Cardenas in round two with a straight right. Diaz was all over Cardenas and landed a heaby barrage of punches and the bout was stopped at 2:09 of round two.

Diaz, 135 1/2 lbs of Guadalajara, MX is 18-0 with 10 knockouts. Cardenas, 135 1/2 lbs of Guaymas, MX is 16-6-1.

Gregorio Ronquillo won a 6-round split decision over previously undefeated Luis Rosales in a Super Bantamweight bout.

Ronquillo of Tijuana, MX won by scores of 59-55 twice while Rosales took a card 58-56.

Ronquillo is 3-1-2. Rosales of Tijuana, MX is 2-1.

In a battle of undefeated Lightweight, Samuel Garibaldi scored a 1st round stoppage over Uriel Perez in a scheduled 6-round bout.

Garibaldi landed a left hook that sent Perez to the canvas. Perez got back up but had his back turned to the referee and the bout was stopped at 1:12.

Garibaldi, 136 1/2 lbs of Tijuana, MX is now 7-0-1 with 4 knockouts. Perez, 136 1/2 lbs of Quaretano, MX is 6-1.

Ismael Camacho scored a 4th round stoppage over Jose Caravantes in a scheduled 6-round Super Bantamweight bout.

Camacho is 6-1-1. Caravantes is 0-11-1.

Ganigan Lopez scored a dubious 4th round stoppage over Juan Luis Lopez in a scheduled 4-round Flyweight bout at Auditorio Blackberry in Mexico City, Mexico.

Ganigan landed a hard uppercut and the bout was stopped at 1:36 of round 4.

Ganigan Lopez, 110 lbs of Ameca, MX is now 26-6 with 17 knockouts. Juan Luis Lopez, 109 lbs is now 13-3.

Martin Casillas and Jesus Galicia battled to a no-contest in round three of their scheduled 8-round Super Bantamweight bout.

Galicia was cut over the right eye from an inadvertent clash of heads.

Casillas is 15-6. Galicia is 13-8.

Guillermo Said Flores stopped previously undefeated Daniel Garcia in round five of their scheduled 6-round Flyweight bout.

The fight was stopped after Garcia could not continue when he was cut over his right eye.

Flores, 112 lbs is 5-2-1 with 1 knockout. Garcia, 112 lbs is 6-1-1.

2 fights have been added to the December 19 HBO card at the Turning Stone Resort Casino and will be shown on HBO Latino prior to the Boxing After Dark Card that will feature Luis Ortiz taking on Bryant Jennings and Nicholas Walters battling Jason Sosa according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

Gabriel Rosado will take on former Welterweight champion Joshua Clottey while Yunieski Gonzalez will take on Vyacheslav Shabranskyy in a Light Heavyweight bout.

“We worked hard to put this card together and we’re very happy with it,” Oscar De La Hoya told ESPN.com. “Four really good fights on one card. It will be a great night to end the year with a bang.”

“Clottey is going up a little bit in weight and Rosado is going down a little bit in weight,” De La Hoya said. “Besides it being a good fight, I think the winner will put himself back in line for an even bigger fight with any of the top junior middleweights or middleweights.”

“Gonzalez and Pascal was a great fight and we saw what Gonzalez could do, so we know we’re throwing Shabranskyy into the fire. But the winner will be knocking on the door to fight the best light heavyweights,” De La Hoya said. “We promote Shabranskyy and, of course, I’m rooting for my guy, but this is a 50-50 fight.”

“It was pleasant to work with Joe and we’re looking forward to doing lots more business with him in the future,” De La Hoya said.

“I like the fights for my guys and I like the card that it’s on,” he said. “It’s a high-profile card and I have high hopes for Yunieski Gonzalez coming off the last fight because I thought he beat Pascal. A lot of people thought he beat Pascal.

“For Joshua, it will be a little higher weight than usual but I think it’s the kind of card and kind of higher-profile fight that can put him in position to be where he has been — in world title contention.”

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, Jr. Middleweight Prichard Colon is still in a coma stemming from his bout that took place on October 17 in Fairfax, Virginia but he is showing small signs of improvement.

“Prichard is breathing without machines!! The Glory of God!! I just need you to wake up,” Colon’s family posted on the fighter’s Facebook page.

“He no longer needs a ventilator, and the doctors have removed the pressure monitors on the brain, which is a very good sign,” promoter Lou DiBella, who put on the card on behalf of the PBC, told ESPN.com on Monday. “Physically, according to the family, Prichard looks 1,000 percent better than he did, and he’s showing signs of moving his extremities. But he’s not out of the coma. He’s not awake. But that said, the family is far more optimistic and hopeful than it was. The doctors feel like Prichard’s recovery is as good as can be expected at this point.”

“From the family’s standpoint, they are very, very grateful for the outpouring of support, love and prayers and positive thoughts people have been sending them,” DiBella said. “It’s made a big difference to the family. They are people of faith, and they believe all of it is helping Prichard.”

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, Manny Pacquiao will retire after his fight in April to pursue a seat in the Philippines senate.

“I’m telling you what he told me last week at dinner in New York,” said Bob Arum. “We talked very seriously and he said, ‘Bob, hopefully, by the middle of May I will have been elected senator in the Philippines and at that point I cannot engage in boxing because I need to focus on the senate and I have to be in attendance.’

“Manny told me this fight on April 9 will be his last fight.”

“There are hundreds of congressmen but if he wins the senate seat he has to be there to do the work. They do the real work in the senate in the Philippines, not just make a lot of b——t speeches like they do in the congress,” Arum said. “It’s a real job and if Manny is serious about wanting to be president, these six years in the senate would be like an audition and for him to show his people that he really is a serious politician.”

“Manny told me this would be his last fight and I’m not sad about it because he’s going on to a political career which will require a lot of mental acuity, so you don’t want him to stay in boxing too long,” Arum said. “If he stays in boxing a little too long his mental faculties might be somewhat impaired.”

Pacquiao’s opponent is not set, although there are some names on a short list, including junior welterweight titlist Terence Crawford (26-0, 18 KOs). Arum is promoting his defense against Montreal’s Dierry Jean on Saturday night in Crawford’s hometown of Omaha, Nebraska, and Arum said a strong performance from Crawford would give him the inside track on the fight with Pacquiao.

Arum said that England’s Amir Khan (31-3, 19 KOs), a top welterweight contender and former unified junior welterweight titleholder, is also in the mix.

Arum named Juan Manuel Marquez and Timothy Bradley Jr. as two other candidates.

“My deal with Manny is that after I have my conversations with all the likely contenders I go to Manny and (adviser) Michael (Koncz) and lay everything out and let them pick who Manny wants to fight,” Arum said. “I gather information, I explain to them the details of each deal and if they ask my opinion I give them my opinion.”

Arum said he also has had people in the Middle East — Dubai and Qatar — contact him about hosting a Pacquiao fight. But that has happened regularly for years and nothing has come of it.

“There’s always been a lot of talk but all it’s been is talk, so my feeling is we would do it in Las Vegas,” Arum said.

Terence Crawford made his case for a fight with Manny Pacquiao as he defended the WBO Super Lightweight title with a 10th round stoppage over Dierry Jean at the Centurylink Arena in Omaha, Nebraska

Just before the end of round one, Crawford landed a straight left and right hook that sent Jean to the canvas.  Crawford continued to beat up Jean over the course of the bout.  Crawford dominated the bout from the southpaw stance as he only occasionaly ate right hands.  In round nine, Crawford dropped Jean again with a couple of chopping shots to the top of the head.

Crawford came out in round ten and hurt Jean several times before landing a hard combination that sent Jean into the bottom ropes and referee Tony Weeks stopped the fight.

Crawford of Omaha, Nebraska is 27-0 with 19 knockouts.  Jean of Montreal, QUE is 29-2.

Andy Ruiz Jr. battered Raphael Zumbano Love over eight rounds to win a unanimous decision in a Heavyweight bout.

Ruiz, 248 3/4 lbs of Imperial Valley, CA won by scores of 80-72 two cards and 80-70 on the 3rd card and is now 26-0.  Zumbano Love, 247 3/4 lbs of Sao Paulo, BRA is now 37-12-1.

Mikael Zewski scored a 5th round stoppage over Ayi Bruce in a scheduled 10-round Jr. Middleweight bout.

In round five, Zewski landed a big uppercut that was followed by a left and right to the head that sent Bruce to the canvas.  Bruce tried to get up but was counted out at 1:41 of round five.

Zewski, 149 1/2 lbs of Trois-Riverst, QUE is 27-1 with 21 knockouts.  Bruce, 149 1/2 lbs of Accra, GHA is 15-12.

Former world featherweight champion Evgeny Gradovich won a 8-round split decision over Aldomir Silva in a Jr. Lightweight bout.

Gradovich, 127 3/4 lbs of Oxnard, CA won two cards by 79-71 and 78-74 scores while Silva took a card 77-75.

Gradovich is 20-1-1.  Silva, 127 lbs of Sao Paulo, BRA is 19-9.

Julian Rodriguez remained undefeated with a 4-round unanimous decision over Alvaro Ortiz in a Welterweight bout.

Rodriguez, 143 1/4 lbs of Hasbrook Heights, NJ won by scores of 40-36 on two cards and 39-37 and is now 11-0. Ortiz, 140 lbs of Ciudad, MX is 7-5-1.

Alex Saucedo remained undefeated by scoring 2 knockdowns en route to a 6-round unanimous decision over Angel Martnez in a Welterweight bout.

In round five, Saucedo dropped Martinez from a chopping right hand. In round six, Saucedo dropped Martinez with an accumulation of punches on the ropes.

Saucedo, 142 1/4 lbs of Oklahoma City, OK won by scores of 60-52 twice and 60-54 and is now 19-0. Martinez, 141 1/2 lbs of Empalma, MX is 12-8-1.

Alfredo Martinez registered three knockdowns en route to a 4-round unanimous decision over Darin Hampton in a Welterweight fight.

In round two, Martinez dropped Hampton with a series of body shots. Martinez continued to batter Hampton by scoring another knockdown just seconds later. In round four, Martinez scored another knockdown from a left to the body.

Martinez, 142 lbs of Scotts Bluff, NE won by scores of 40-33 on two cards and 40-34 and is now 5-0. Hampton, 141 1/2 lbs of Kansas City, MO. is 1-2.

Zsolt Daranyi scored a 2nd round stoppage over Sean Rawley Wilson in a scheduled 4-round Jr. Middleweight bout

Daranyi dropped Wilson with a right hand at the end of the opening frame. In round two, Daraanyi landed about 25 unanswered blows with most being body shots until the bout was stopped at 1:55 of round two.

Daranyi, 153 lbs of Toronto, CAN is 5-0 with 5 knockouts. Wilson, 153 3/4 lbs of Lavista, NE is 5-16-1.

By Norm Frauenheim–

PHOENIX, Ariz. – For Rob Brant, there was only relief. For Louis Rose, there was only frustration. For both, there were only cheers from a Celebrity Theatre crowd entertained by the middleweights throughout a close battle in a ShoBox-televised bout Friday night.

In the end, Brant’s experience appeared to just enough for a majority decision over Rose, whose corner men stormed out of the ring in anger at the 96-94, 95-95, 96-94 scores.

“He’s tough to beat and I knew he would be,’’ said Brant (18-0, 11 KOs), a Saint Paul, Minn., fighter and 2010 national Golden Gloves champion who relied on his educated jab for a narrow victory. “It seemed like every time I hurt him, he came back storming back.’’

In the end, one question was inevitable:

What about a rematch?

“It’s not up to me,’’ Brant said. “I’ll leave that up to my management.’’

Initially, Rose (13-3-1, 5 KOs) didn’t want to talk. He said he was too disappointed.

But when asked about a rematch, he didn’t hesitate.

“Oh, yeah, absolutely,’’ he shouted in his crowded dressing room.

For Brant’s management, however, there’s risk in another bout with Rose, whose life on the Los Angeles streets included eight months when he slept in old car.

Rose, who has no amateur experience, only figures to get better.

His quick feet and athleticism made him an elusive target in the early rounds against Brant repeated missed with right hands. Over the last five rounds, Brant began to catch Rose with head-rocking lefts. Yet, Rose was always able to quickly recover with combinations of his own.

On the televised undercard, Brooklyn heavyweight Jarrell Miller (15-0-1, 13 KOs) lived up to the first half of his Big Baby nickname. He was way too big for Ahror Muralimov (14-2, 11 KOs) of Taskkent. The 280-pound Miller walked down Muralimov, stopping him out with an overhand right in the third round.

The Rest

Light-heavyweight Samuel Clarkson (17-3, 11 KOs) of Cedar Hills, Tex., scored a second-round stoppage of Lavarn Harvell (15-2, 8 KOs) of Atlanatic City, N.J.

Phoenix super-featherweight Keenan Carbajal (8-2, 5 KOs), wearing the white trunks with red lettering once worn by Hall of Famer Michael Carbajal, used his leverage, scoring a couple big knockdowns for a third-round KO of Angel Monrreal 5-7, 3 KOs) of Mexico.

Las Vegas welterweight Jeremy Nichols (1-0, 1 KO) was credited with three knockdowns in the first round for some quick work in his debut — a stoppage of Jeremiah Davis (0-1), a Phoenix fighter whose stumbled more often than he threw punches.

Tough super-bantamweight Jose Silveria (16-18, 7 KOs) of Mexico threw harder shots and landed them often enough for a majority decision over Emilio Garcia (9-2, 2 KOs) of Phoenix .

Due to the lingering effects of hand surgery, Felix Verdejo will not fight as scheduled on October 31 in Kissimmee, Florida.

“I’m very sad about all this,” said Verdejo, a 2012 Olympian. “I wanted to give back all the love the fans in Kissimmee have given me with a good fight, but they deserve the best of me, and in order to give my best inside the ring, I need to be 100 percent ready.”

“We understand Felix’s frustration and disappointment not being able to go through with this fight,” Top Rank vice president Carl Moretti said. “Unfortunately, the hand has just not recovered enough to fight as originally planned. Felix will continue his rehab and we will reschedule his next fight as soon as possible.

“He’s got to continue the rehab he’s been doing, and in another week, we’ll make assessment on when he will go.”

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, Last Saturday night’s Pay Per view between Gennady Golovkin and David Lemieux generated 150,000 buys.

“It will do just over 150,000 buys, which was the number we originally based things on when we talked to [Lemieux promoter] Golden Boy about making the fight to determine how much Lemieux would need and what Gennady would need,” said K2”s Tom Loeffler said.

“I thought it would have a good chance to break 200,000, but with all the college football games and no way to predict the Mets would be playing the Cubs — a high-end playoff series — it was tough,” he said. “A lot of people were watching baseball in those big markets, but overall, we were happy with the event. When you can sell every single ticket to Madison Square Garden and generate a gate of over $2 million, you’re happy.”

HBO Sports senior vice president Mark Taffet, who runs HBO PPV, said the event was a strong first-time pay-per-view effort for Golovkin, regarded by many as a future face of boxing in the wake of Floyd Mayweather’s retirement last month.

“Golovkin-Lemieux met or exceeded every benchmark of success which was set going into the event,” Taffet told ESPN.com. “The PPV buys solidly met expectations even amidst the Mets-Cubs national telecast registering the highest-ever TBS baseball playoff viewership, including the PPV-critical markets of New York and Chicago. This, combined with the palpable excitement of the sold-out crowd in Madison Square Garden and the in-ring performances by Gennady Golovkin and [co-feature winner Roman] ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez, encourage us that the next great era of boxing has begun and will continue with the highly-anticipated [Miguel] Cotto-Canelo [Alvarez)] megafight on Nov. 21.”

“But we’ve always taken risks to get Gennady where he’s at,” Loeffler. “And so we thought it was the right step at this point. It was worth it. We generated a lot of money with the pay-per-view, delay rights from HBO, the closed circuit and the international revenue.

“A lot of people focus on the American market, but he had one of the highest rated international shows in the U.K. on BoxNation, on SAT.1 in Germany and the biggest channel in Russia. He was also on Polsat, the biggest channel in Poland, for the first time. And on top of that, the Garden told us we broke the merchandise record for any boxing event there: over $122,000.”

“He is the type of fighter who can fight on HBO and still have a significant budget or have a big fight on pay-per-view,” Loeffler said. “I thought we gave the fans a lot of value with considering the ticket prices and the price of the pay-per-view. It was their first time on pay-per-view, and even though we thought it might break 200,000, we certainly don’t look at it as a negative. The fight still generated more than the license fee would have been from HBO, and the international sales were very strong, as were our sponsorships.”

Fresh off his 3rd round stoppage over Matias Vidondo, Luis Ortiz will jump right back in the ring on December 19 when he takes on Bryant Jennings at the Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York and televised on HBO Boxing After Dark.

Top Rank has the opening fight on the telecast (10:15 p.m. ET/PT) and made a 10-round junior lightweight bout between former featherweight titlist Nicholas “Axe Man” Walters, who is moving up in weight, and big puncher Jason Sosa.

“With a mix of speed, power and amateur pedigree that is second-to-none, Luis Ortiz has quickly established himself as a force in the heavyweight division,” said Ortiz promoter Oscar De La Hoya. “Luis is so hungry to continue his rise in the division that he has agreed to fight an enormously talented opponent in Bryant Jennings just two months after Luis’ destruction of Matias Vidondo.”

Said Jennings promoter Gary Shaw, “It’s my pleasure to bring another great heavyweight showdown to the boxing fans, with Bryant Jennings taking on an undefeated fighter like Luis Ortiz. The fans know that I have always, and will continue, to put on real, competitive fights.”

PHOENIX – Las Vegas featherweight Jessie Magdaleno was looking forward to his first 10-rounder.

Still is.
Magdaleno didn’t need nine of the scheduled rounds. He didn’t even need all of the first round’s three minutes.

Magdaleno (22-0, 16 KOs) looked a lot like a prospect in the express lane toward a major title Saturday night in a first-round knockout of Filipino Vergel Nebran (14-10-1, 9 KOs) in a UniMas-televised bout on a Top Rank/Iron Boy Promotions card at Celebrity Theatre.

The beginning to a swift end started about two minutes after opening bell when Magdaleno delivered a lightning strike of combos that sent Nehran falling along the rope and onto the canvas.

At 2:22, Nebran was down again. This time, he didn’t get up from a Magdaleno body shot, a left, that knocked the air and will out of him.

Off The Card

Phoenix Hall of Famer Michael Carbajal had a chance to watch HBO’s pay-per-view telecast of pound-for-pound king and fellow flyweight Roman Gonzalez’ ninthj-round TKO of Brian Viloria after all.

Carbajal, who 22 years ago was the first fighter from the flyweight divisions to be ranked among the top five in The Ring’s pound-for-pound ratings, was scheduled to work the corner for a debut of Johnny Tijerina, a featherweight from his Ninth Street Gym.

But the four-rounder was cancelled. Turns out, Tijerina’s opponent, Pedro Romero, was too young for an Arizona license. He’s 17. For an Arizona license, you have to be at least 18.

Romero had one pro fight, a loss in Texas, where he was licensed. In Texas, the minimum age is 17, according to Matthew Valenzuela, executive director of the Arizona State Boxing & MMA Commission.

Best of the undercard: Phoenix light-heavyweight Trevor McCumby (21-0, 16 KOs) is still unbeaten, but he wouldn’t be without a timely display of toughness. West Virginian Dustin Echard (11-2, 8 KOs), who knocked him down in the round wiht powerful right hand. McCumby answered the threat with a furious succession of body to head combos for hard earned victory by unanimous decision.

The Rest: Chinese light-heavyweight Que Peng (5-1, 4 KOs) might have traveled far, but he was as comfortable in a Phoenix ring as he would been in a Beijing one, throwing an overhand right that scored first-round KO of Mexican Lauro Alcanter (9-5, 1 KOs).

Francsico De Vaca (13-0, 4 KOs), a Phoenix super-bantamweight trained by ex-Oscar De Hoya cornerman Robert Alcazar, survived a whirlwind four rounds for a unanimous decision over Ricardo Proano (11-3, 9 KOs) of Mexico.

Phoenix super-lightweight Luis Olivares (9-0, 6 KOs) overwhelmed Mexican Brandon Aguinaga (6-4, 4 KOs), landing a succession of punches at head spinning rate for a second-round TKO.

Phoenix lightweight Victor Castro (15-0, 7 KOs) remained unbeaten, yet appeared vulnerable in escaping with six-round majority decision over Mexican lefthander Victor Capaceta (4-9-3, 2 KOs), who stormed out of the ring in anger after the scores were announced.

The card opened with DQ. Oswaldo Ortega (1-2, 1 KOs) threw one cheap shot after another until referee Wes Melton said no more, disqualifying him in the fourth round of a heavyweight bout with fellow-Mexican Bernardo Marquez (3-1-1, 1 KO).

Donnie Nietes retained his WBO Light Flyweight title with a 12-round unanimous decision over Jose Alejo at the StubHub Center in Carson, California.

Alejo was cut under his right eye in round and around his left eye in round four. Nietes suffered a cut around his left eye in round six.

Nietes, 107.8 lbs of Bacolo, PHL won by scores of 120-108 and 119-109 twice and is now 37-1-4. Alejo, 107.4 lbs of Guadalupe, MX is 21-4.

Albert Pagara scored a6th round stoppage over former world title challenger William Gonzalez in a scheduled 12-round Super Bantamweight bout.

Pagara dropped Gonzalez with a right in round six and the fight was stopped at 2:52 of round six.

Pagara, 121.8 lbs of Cebu City, PHL is 25-0 with 18 knockouts. Gonzlez, 120.6 lbs of Managua, NC is 27-6.

Jessie Magdaleno remained perfect by scoring a 1st round stoppage over Vergel Nebran in a scheduled 10 round Featherweight fight at the Celebrity Theater in Phoenix, Arizona.

Magdaleno dropped Nebran in round one with a left to the body. Seconds later a second left to the body crumpled Nebran to the canvas for the 10 count at 2:22 of round one

Magdaleno, 127 1/2 lbs of Las Vegas is 22-0 with 16 knockouts. Nebran, 123 1/2 lbs of Paranque, PHL is 14-10-1.

Francisco De Vaca won a 6-round unanimous decision over Francisco Proano in a Super Bantamweight bout.

De Vaca, 121 3/4 lbs of Phoenix, AZ won by scores of 59-55 twice and 58-56 and is now 13-0. Proano, 121 3/4 lbs of Chihuahua, MX is 11-3.

Gennady Golovkin continued to make his case as boxing’s number one fighter and attraction as he scored an 8th round one-sided beatdown of David Lemieux to retain his WBA and WBC Interim and win the IBF Middleweight title at a sold-out Madison Square Garden

Golovkin dominated the action and did as he wanted as he set the tone with a piston like jab in round one.  In round five, he sent Lemiux to the canvas from a short right hand.  Golovkin continues the assault with thunderous punches that started to bloody the face of the Canadian.  Finally in round 8, Golovkin landed a big flurry of punches that forced referee Steve Willis to mercifully stop the bout at 1:32 of round eight.

Said Golovkin, “I feel great, it was a great fight”

“I felt his power, but I was strong tonight
and my punches hurt him.”

“He is a great champion and I’m glad to beat him.”

“I want all the belts, now I have two. The winner of Cotto/Canelo
for sure.”

“I’m not sure who will win that fight, but I want to fight the winner next.”

“I’m staying at 160 until I have all the belts.”

Said Lemieux, “I feel like the referee called the fight too early. I am fine. When he stopped it I wasn’t event on the mat, I can keep going.

“I have a lot of respect for Golovkin as a fighter. We prepared well for this fight but I feel like I waited too long to take some shots tonight and that really hurt me.”

“I want another chance at Golovkin and I will take advantage of it.

said referee Steve Willis, “I had to do something”

“David is very competitive fighter and as long as he was able to throw punches he was going to keep on trying but his chances of winning were decreasing as the fight went on”

“Against a guy(golovkin) like that he was going to get really hurt and I’m here to protect the fighters health and that’s my top priority ”

“I couldn’t let him continue to receive punishment ”

“I gave him every chance I could and i still hesitated too much. It was over.”

Said Lemieux manager Camile Estephan, Camille:
“It was too early to stop the fight. That punch that Golovkin threw didnt even bring David to the mat. David fought valiantly, he showed a lot of heart and skills. But Golovkin’s defense was great, I think that his defense is underestimated.

Said Bernard Hopkins, “Today was a great night of boxing. David did a great job and put on a great performance. But today Golovkin was better and proved that he deserves to be the unified middleweight champion.

Roman Gonzalez remained perfect with a 9th round stoppage to retain the WBC Flyweight title over Brian Viloria.

In round three, Gonzalez sent Viloria to the deck with a perfect counter right.

Gonzalez dominated the fight as Viloria did well to the body bit Gonzalez’s furious punching battered the face of Gonzalez.  In round nine, Gonzalez landed a right to the head that backed Viloria up to the ropes and then landed a hard flurry of punches until the bout was stopped at 2:53 of round nine.

Gonzalez, 111.4 lbs of Managua, NIC is 44-0 with 38 knockouts.  Viloria, 111.4 lbs of Waipahu, Hi is now 36-5.

Said Viloria, “Roman is a tremendous fighter. I have nothing but respect for him. I had prepared for a different Roman and he surprised me with his defense and his speed. I do feel like the fight was stopped prematurely, I feel good and can keep going. If I had an opportunity to take him on again I would. I feel like I learned a lot today and would use that for the next time around.”

Heavyweight Luis Ortiz annihilated Matias Ariel Vidondo in round three of their scheduled 12-round WBA Interim Heavyweight title bout.

Ortiz dropped Vidondo in round two from a left and ended things in round three when he landed a crushing left that made Vidondo land face first at 17 seconds of round three.

Ortiz, 237.8 lbs of Miami, FL is 23-0 with 20 knockouts.  Vidondo, 261 lbs of Rosario, ARG is now 20-2-1.

Said Ortiz, “I deserve this win and deserve to fight the best. Vidondo did hit hard but he wasn’t good enough to face me. Everyone can see that I dominated the fight. I want to fight the best and I want Golden Boy Promotions to keep its promise and get me the best. I am ready for Klitschko, I know he is running from me. I am going to come after him. I am just ready to become the heavyweight champion of the world.

Taureano Johnson won a 12-round unanimous decision over Eamonn O’Kane on a Middleweight elimination bout.

It looked like it was going to be an early night as Johnson dropped O’Kane twice in round one.  First from a double right hook and again from a sweeping right hook.

Johnson was able to grind out the tough rounds in close and win by scores of 119-107, 118-108 and 117-109.

Johnson, 159.4 lbs of Nassau, BAH is 19-1.  O’Kane, 160 lbs og Belfast. IRE is 17-2-1.

Said Johnson, “This is my first time going 12-round and man does it feel good. It was a tough fight, no matter how many times O’kane went down he kept coming at me. I have respect for him as a fighter. Winning this title eliminator really makes everything for me come full circle and legitimizes me as a true threat in the middleweight division. You know this was a great fight that everyone enjoyed a true brawl, very Mexican Style. This is the beginning for me, the sky is the limit.”

Ruslan Madiyev won a 4-round unanimous decision over Sean Gee in a Welterweight bout.

Madiyev scored a knockdown in round two from a right hand.

Madiyev, 139.6 lbs of Karagabda, KAZ won by scores of 40-35 twice and 39-36 and is now 6-1. Gee, 142.6 lbs of Chicago, IL is now 2-3.

Said Madiyev, “I’m very happy with my performance, it was an honor to
fight on such a big card here at Madison Square Garden.”

“He was a little awkward but I was able to figure him and
win the fight.”‘

“Thanks very much to Gennady for having me on his card. I look
forward to fighting again as soon as possible.”

Lamont Roach Jr. won a 6-round unanimous decision over Jose Bustos in a Lightweight bout.

Scores were 59-55 on all cards for Roach, 131.4 lbs of Washington, DC who is now 9-0. Bustos, 130.4 lbs of Ciudad, MX is now 7-6-3.

Said Roach, “Bustos came to fight. He was not backing down throughout the fight but I did not feel threatened by him. I feel like I dominated the fight and was giving him my all. I wanted to end the fight impressively via knock out but he has a strong jaw. This is my last six-rounder and will move up to eight rounds in my next fight, very excited to go there.”

Maurice Hooker won a split decision over Ghislain Maduma in a 10-round Jr. Welterweight bout.

Hooker dropped Maduma in round three with a left hook. Maduma came to back in round six to rock Hooker several times on the ropes before Hooker spit out his mouthpiece.

Hooker, 139.4 lbs of Dallas, TX won by scores of 95-94, 95-93 and Maduma took a card 95-93.

Hooker is now 19-0-2. Maduma, 139.2 lbs of Montreal is 17-2.

Said Hooker, “I think the fight went a good pace and Maduma was a good fighter. He came prepared to fight. I knew I had him from the first round when I hit him with my left. By the fourth round, I grew confident that I was in the lead once I dropped him. But I grew too confident I think and that is when he caught me by surprise in the sixth round. I wasn’t as focused as I should have been so I made sure to listen to my corner and keep him at a distance with my jab for the remaining rounds. I feel that I am ready for a bigger fight and feel confident I can make a statement at 140 pounds. I would love a shot at Broner or any Golden Boy Promotions fighter at 140 pounds, like Antonio Orozco, I can take him.”

Lamont Peterson won a 12-round majority decision over 2008 Olympic Gold medal winner Felix Diaz at the Eaglebank Arena in Fairfax, Virginia.

Peterson, 144 lbs of Washington, DC won by scores of 117-111, 116-112 and 114-114 and is now 34-3-1. Diaz, 144.2 lbs of Santo Domingo, DR is 17-1.

In a battle of undefeated Welterweights, Terrell Williams scored a dubious stoppage over Prichard Colon

In round five, Colon was deducted two points for a low blow. In round seven, Williams was deducted a point for hitting Colon in the back of the head. In round nine, Williams landed a huge flurry that was punctuated by a left hook that sent Colon to the canvas. Seconds later, Colon was dropped by a right hand. After the ninth round, Colon’s corner started taking their fighter’s gloves off. The corner believed it was the final frame but referee Joe Cooper stopped the fight.

Williams of Los Angeles, CA is now 15-0 with 13 knockouts. Colon, 148.8 lbs of Orocovis, PR is now 16-1.

Colon was later taken to a local hospital after throwing up and passing out in his locker room.

David Carmona won a 10-round split decision over Ricardo Rodriguez in a Super Flyweight rematch at the Auditorio Blackberry in Mexico City

Carmona dropped Rodriguez in round six.

Carmona is 20-2-5. Rodriguez is 12-3.

Hugo Guameros won a 6-round unanimous decision over Victor Franco in a Super Flyweight bout.

Guameros is 8-1-1. Franco is 2-3.

Andrzej Fonfara won a terrific 12-round unanimous decision over Nathan Cleverly in a Light Heavyweight bout at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois.

Cleverly landed the quicker combinations early  Fonfara came back and landed thudding shots inside that caused Cleverly to become a bloody mess from his nose in round 7.  The two traded on the inside and for the better part of the fight they no stood no further then a few inches from one another.

Fonfara landed a staggering 474 of 1413 punches while Cleverly landed 462 of 1111.

Fonfara of Chicago won by scores of 116-112 twice and 115-113 and is now 28-3.  Cleverly of Wales is now 29-3.

Kohei Kono retained the WBA Super Flyweight title with a 12-round unanimous decsision over former three-time champion Koki Kameda in a historic battle of Japanese fighters.

Kono seemed hurt in round two, but he was able to land a perfect right that sent Kameda to the canvas. In round three, Kameda was deducted a point for low blows. Moments later, Kameda was deducted another point for a low blow.

In round seven, Kameda was cut over the right eye.  In round nine, Kono was deducted a point for holding Kameda’s head down.

Kono won by scores of 116-108, 115-109 and 113-111 and is now 31-8-1.  Kameda is 31-2.

Seanie Monaghan remaned undefeated as he scored a 10-round unanimous decision over Donovan George in a Light Heavyweight bout at the Aviator Sports Complex in Brooklyn, New York

In round two, Monaghan suffered a cut over his right eye from an accidental headbutt. George hurt his right hand in round three.

Monaghan, 174 1/2 lbs of Long Branch, NY won by scores of 100-90 twice and 99-91 and is now 26-0. George, 175 lbs of Chicago, IL is now 25-5-2.

Brad Solomon won a 10-round unanimous decision over Ray Serrano in a Welterweight bout.

Solomon, 147.4 lbs of Louisiana won by scores of 100-90, 98-92 and 97-93 and is now 26-0. Serrano, 148 lbs of Philadelphia is 21-3.

Gennady Golovkin 159.4 – David Lemieux 159.8
(WBA/WBC Interim/IBF Middleweight title
Roman Gonzalez 111.4 – Brian Viloria 111.4
(WBC Flyweight title)
Luis Ortiz 237.8 – Matias Ariel Vidondo 261
(WBA Interim Heavyweight Title)
Eamonn O’Kane 160 – Taureano Johnson 159.4
(IBF Middleweight Eliminator)

GLENDALE, Ariz. – Two fighters, two different directions..

Welterweight Devon Alexander’s career crashed and Welsh featherweight Lee Selby continued to emerge Wednesday night in ESPN-televised bout on a Premier Boxing Champions card at Gila River Arena.

Alexander’s hopes at resurrecting his career after a loss last December to Amir Khan took a beating in losing a unanimous decision to Aron Martinez in 10-round bout as punishing as it was forgettable.

Meanwhile, Selby got the victory he needed in his American debut in scoring a unanimous decision over experienced Fernando Montiel in the first defense of his IBF title.

After it was all over, only one thing was certain. Selby’s career as an elite fighter is just beginning, despite a performance that he said fell short of expectations. Meanwhile, Alexander’s elite days are over and probably have been for a while. As a welterweight, Alexander The Great is ancient history.

For Selby, the victory over Montiel was the beginning of campaign to heighten his profile among American fans.

“But I didn’t perform the way I had hoped to,’’ Selby (22-1, 8 KOs) said after scoring a 119-109, 118-110, 116-
112 victory over Montiel ((54-5-2, 39 KOs). “Montiel as a very tough guy.’’

A Selby hope was for a performance that would have made him a worthy possibility for Loe Santa Cruz, the best featherweight on Al Haymon’s deep roster.

“If I had boxed the way I did a few months ago, I could beat Santa Cruz,”” said Selby, who won the title in May with a technical decision over Evgeny Gradovich in London. “But the way I boxed here, I couldn’t beat him.’’

Selby, who suffered a cut near his right eye, said he hopes his next bout is in the UK.
“Then back here in the U.S.,’’ he said.

Meanwhile, Alexander’s immediate future appears t be some more of the same soud-searching he did in immediate wake of his loss to Khan.

“Consecutive losses are tough,’’ said Alexander, who displayed little of old quickness and overall athleticism in a 96-94, 97-93, 96-94 loss to the heavy-handed Martinez (20-4-1, 4 KOs). “But I still believe in my skills.’’
On The Undercard

The Best: Phoenix super-bantamweight Alexis Santiago (20-3-1, 8 KOs), the only fighter from Arizona on the card, overcame a few rocky moments in the early rounds, hurt Mexican Gustavo Molina (10-9, 4 KOs) in the seventh and survived a furious eighth for unanimous decision on the scorecards.

The Rest: In an ESPN3-televised bout, Robert Garcia-trained Ivan Redkach (19-1, 15 KOs), a lightweight prospect from the Ukraine, proved to be too much for Mexican Erick Martinez (11-3-1, 5 KOs) who was on his knees from a powerful left with 10 seconds remaining in the third and finished in a TKO loss at 2:59 of the round.

Buffalo cruiserweight Lionel Thompson (16-3, 10 KOs) scored a knockdown in the second round with a body shot that knocked the will out of Kentucky’s Thomas Hanshaw, who calls himself Hillbilly and called it a night before the bell sounded for the third.

Colorado flyweight Damien Vasquez (8-0, 3 KOs) remained unbeaten and hard to hit in scoring a unanimous decision over Francisco Lapizco (7-2, 2 KOs) of Mexico.

About three hours after high noon, Kevin Newman (4-0-1, 1 KOs) of Harbor City, Calif., opened the show with a unanimous decision over Jay Williams (3-8) of West Monroe, La., in super-middleweight matinee.

By Norm Frauenheim-

GLENDALE, Ariz. – Devon Alexander promises speed, quickness and some new found power.

Mostly, he promises to have fun.

It’s the fun, he says, that has gone missing in the latter stages of a career that includes world titles at 140 and 147 pounds.

“I’m going to be loose, quick and with just enough power, and I’ll be that guy who boxes because he loves it,’’ said Alexander (26-3, 14 KOs), who was at 146.9 pounds Tuesday for an ESPN-televised welterweight bout against Aron Martinez on a Premier Boxing Champions card (6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET) at Gila River Arena.

Martinez weighed 147.1 pounds. In a bout for the IBF’s featherweight title, champion Lee Selby was 125.8 pounds and Fernando Montiel 125.6.

Alexander said he has re-discovered that love for his craft during some difficult soul-searching in the 10 months since his last bout, a spirit-crushing loss to Amir Khan.

The Martinez bout, Alexander says, represents the first step in his fight to get back into the elite mix.

“I don’t want to be remembered as a guy who should have been better,’’ Alexander said. “I believe in my skills. When they’re right, nobody can beat me.’’

But a confident Martinez (19-4-1, 4 KOs) believes he can force Alexander into another sober re-evaluation of his career. Martinez, a Mexican living and training in Los Angeles, foresees an upset of Alexander. He says he will accomplish what was denied him against Robert Guerrero. Martinez lost a debatable split decision to Guerrero in June.

“Everybody I talk to tells me I beat Robert Guerrero,’’ Martinez said. “I knocked him down. I’ve got power that people underestimate.’’

But Alexander says Martinez doesn’t have enough to beat him.

“His Plan A won’t work,’’ Alexander said. “He’ll go to Plan B and then Plan C. They won’t work either.’’

Heavyweight’s Amir Mansour and Gerald Washington battle to a 10-round split draw at the Little Creek Resort in Shelton, Washington.

Mansour began to bleed from his left ear in round three. Washington used his size to take the early rounds. Mansour came on strong and pressed the action over the last half of the fight.

Scores were 97-93 for Washington, 96-94 for Mansour and 95-95.

Washington, 246 lbs of San Jose, CA is 16-0-1. Mansour, 221 lbs of Salem, NJ is 22-1-1.

2012 U.S. Olympian, Michael Hunter scored a stoppage after round four of his scheduled 10-round Cruiserweight bout with Jason Douglas.

In round two, Hunter landed a counter right that was followed by another right that sent Douglas to the canvas. In round three, Hunter was cut around the left eye. Shortly after that, Hunter landed a right hand that sent Douglas to the canvas for a second time. Hunter dropped Douglas again t=in the opening seconds of round four from a right hand. Hunter scored knockdown number four later in the round from a combination on the ropes.

In between round’s four and five, the bout was stopped in the corner.

Hunter, 199 lbs of Las Vegas, NV us 10-0 with 7 knockouts. Douglas, 199 lbs of Kitchner, ONT. CAN is 11-6.

Ahmed Elbiali won a 8-round unanimous decision over Mariano Hilarion in a Light Heavyweight bout.

Hilario was deducted a point for holding in round six.

Elbiali, 177 lbs of Cairo. Egypt won by scores of 80-71 twice and 78-73 and is now 13-0. Hiliario, 173 lbs of the Dominican Republic us 12-4.

The twice postponed WBO Middleweight title bout between champion Andy Lee and Billy Joe Saunders has been rescheduled for December 19th in Manchester, England.

“It’s been frustrating as both Andy and Billy have wanted the fight, and the fans and (British broadcaster) BoxNation viewers’ want to see it,” said promoter Frank Warren. “But I’m delighted that it’s set for Saturday, Dec. 19 at the Manchester Arena and we’re closing a great year for the sport with a fight that has the makings of a thriller.”

“The delay in the fight between me and Saunders has just made me more determined, if that is possible,” Lee said. “Once I have beaten him on Dec. 19 I can move on in my career and unify the titles. My fans have been very patient and I’ll give them what they have been waiting for as a Christmas present, beating Saunders and remaining world champion.

“I’m a proud man, and I’m prepared to fight tooth and nail to keep my title. Saunders is in for the fight of his life.”

“Like Lee, I just want to get in the ring and fight. We’ve talked and talked for months, now we just want to fight,” said Saunders, who represented Great Britain in the 2008 Olympics. “I want my chance. It’s been a long time coming, but it’s here now and nobody is going to stop me.

“This isn’t going to be a merry Christmas for him — more like the nightmare before Christmas. We’re both fighting men and one of us isn’t going to be standing at the end, and that won’t be me.