Heavyweight Schedule for 2018

[Weltschmerz]

Albert Sosnowski stopped Andras Csomor in round 2,

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Deontay Wilder is set to have the first half of his training camp at Skyy Boxing in Northport, where he normally trains, with the other half somewhere in Europe ... “We may potentially spend part of the camp closer to Russia,” Wilder co-manager Jay Deas said. “We’re going to definitely do the camp here like we’ve always done, but we may not do the entire camp here. We’re working out possibilities for that now. “I don’t want to say just yet, but we’re looking at some places in Europe. Nothing specific, but we’re looking for some places in Europe as a possibility to knock some of that jet lag off and finish up camp. “We would do half the camp here and then we’re looking the possibility of doing the rest of the camp somewhere closer to Russia. Or we may just wait and do the whole camp here and then go to Russia two to three weeks ahead of time. Those are really are choices. “We’re basically nine hours time difference away, so we don’t want jet lag to be a factor. We need to be somewhere in Russia or close to Russia that we can train and get used to the time difference so he can go into the ring at 100 percent.”

Showtime, which has televised three of Wilder’s four world title fights, put the fight on its upcoming schedule with a “pending confirmation” notation. The U.S. television rights for the fight have not yet been solidified. “We continue to pursue this event aggressively and, presuming we can reach a deal, we expect to deliver this pivotal matchup live to Showtime subscribers, no matter where and when it takes place,” said Chris DeBlasio, vice president of sports communications for Showtime.

Wilder has fought in Russia before, as an amateur. “He’s also fought in China. He fought in Argentina. As a professional, he fought in England, Mexico, Puerto Rico and all over the United States. So we don’t really see it as being any kind of an issue,” Deas said. “It’s more a logistical thing than anything because we’ll be taking several people over and you have to have travel visas and that kind of stuff.”

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The man behind Charles Martin's mission to shatter Briton Anthony Joshua's world title dream is Scouser Paul Cain, who was once Sylvester Stallone's chef. The American's rapid rise to fame and fortune from obscurity has taken many by surprise, but not Los Angeles-based Cain, Martin's camp manager who has been with him from the start when he was part of a programme funded by U.S. TV executive Michael King to produce world boxing champions. King died aged 67 last May and never got to see his dream become reality when Martin lifted the IBF world title after a third round TKO win over Ukrainian Vyacheslav Glazkov, who had injured a knee, in New York two months ago.

"I went over to America in 1984 for a holiday and didn't leave," said Cain, who also runs two British bars in LA. "I was a chef at the time, got a job as a chef with Sylvester Stallone and I was with him for 12 years. I became his right-hand guy. "Through all the contacts I made by working with Sly, I met a gentleman by the name of Michael King who owned King World. I became his chef about 20 years ago and we became very close friends.

"Then Michael started up a boxing programme called All-American Heavyweights. Michael asked me to do all the food for the boxers, when I was doing the food he just kept asking me 'do you want to do this, do you want to run this department?' and within a year I was the general manager."

One of those on King's boxing programme, which was later named King Sports, was Carson-based southpaw Martin, who took up boxing 10 years ago.
"I was doing different things in construction at the time," Martin told reporters during a trip to London to promote the fight with Joshua. "I was in Phoenix Arizona working double shifts. I was working hard and I know the value of hard work. These are working man's hands.

"When I was doing the construction in the hot summer sun, I was out there with the hammer and nails building and it is very, very hot. I was thinking, 'this can't be it, I want to be somebody'.

"I had a lot of talent but just didn't know how to utilise it. I wasn't good at football or basketball. I didn't want to be that 6 foot, 5 inch guy stacking groceries in the market. I didn't want to be that guy that they say 'hey can you get that up there for me'. "My first son's mom's brothers introduced me to boxing. I knew I was a leftie [southpaw] and how to throw shots. Then I got into the boxing school in California. That was a chance at life to make something. It really opened me up and I was very inspired."

After making his professional debut in 2012, Martin steadily built an unbeaten record before suddenly finding himself challenging for a version of the world title. After Manchester's Tyson Fury produced a shock points win over Ukrainian Wladimir Klitschko, the Briton was immediately stripped of the IBF belt for agreeing an instant rematch instead of making a first defence against the IBF mandatory challenger: the winner of Glazkov versus Martin in January.

After King's death, Cain retained a role within unbeaten 29-year-old Martin's career and has played a vital role in getting Martin ready for Joshua. "Michael's dream has really come to fruition," said Cain. "Everyone said he was mad, everyone said it wouldn't work. We went through 800 football and basketball players, and 6 foot, 5 inch athletic guys.

"It was around $12 million to $16m (Ł8.3m-Ł11m)we spent. His thought track was to put USA boxing back to the forefront. He was a wealthy guy and he loved boxing. "Charles, when he arrived, had not had an amateur fight. I then played a part in doing the deal for Charles to go with Mike Borao, but it was Leon Margules who did the deal. "King Sports is still open but I'm not part of it and Charles Martin asked me to stay with him. I was not calling the shots but I ran a lot, I organised the sparring, organised the flights, got the medicals, got the tapes ready to watch. "Charles asked me to stay with him and we carried on as if we were still at King Sports and as if Michael is still alive. I am now his camp manager.

"Under the direction of Mike Borao, Leon Margules, the trainers Henry Tillman and Jamal Abdulah, we all sit down and talk about sparring partners, where we are going to stay, whose gym we will use and I implement a plan." Martin will be handsomely rewarded for fighting outside of America for the first time and conceding home advantage to his British challenger: he will reportedly earn a guarantee of nearly Ł3.5m ($5m), which could nearly double if the fight does well on pay-per-view sales in the UK.

Martin can also be assured of a hostile reception against Joshua, who is arguably Britain's biggest boxing star, but Cain is confident the champion will be unfazed by the occasion. "People think the flamboyance of it all at the O2 will affect Charles, but that won't bother him whatsoever," he said. "He is completely the real deal. Charles will get tested and Joshua will get tested but I think Charles will be the one that is there at the end of the fight."

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David Haye used to eagerly visit boxing forums to find reviews of and reactions to his most recent fight, even engaging with the punters. While Haye still peruses the online message boards to this day, he no longer contributes. He says;

I love the banter. I used to write as myself when I was younger, up to my 10th-11th fight. I used to try to justify my performances, like I needed their approval. I’d be like, ‘I went out and beat this guy really well; what do you think?’ ‘Nah, the guy was crap.’ ‘But he hadn’t lost before.’ ‘Yeah but he’d never fought anybody.’ People always used to say, ‘You’ll never gonna be cruiserweight champion because if you can’t beat Carl Thompson, how you gonna beat Jean-Marc Mormeck?’ Then I beat Mormeck: ‘Oh he was over the hill, you wouldn’t beat Enzo Maccarinelli, he’s young etc’, beat him, ‘You’re never gonna be heavyweight champion, you won’t beat Nikolai Valuev, he’s too big and you’re only a pumped-up cruiserweight,’ beat Valuev and then ‘Valuev was too slow.’ Then ‘You’re not gonna beat Klitschko’, lost on points, ‘Ah, I always knew you was s***’ ... I love my haters as much as my supporters. I need them arguing with each other because if everyone loved David they’d get bored of that and have nothing to say in the pub. I talk to fighters who, like me when I was younger, they take it really personal when reviews don’t go their way. It doesn’t matter, just be happy you’re in the ****zine. I don’t complain but I’d probably complain if they weren’t writing about me.

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_smith #LETSGOCHAMP #LETSGOCHAMP #LETSGOCHAMP

En video slĺet op af Shannon Briggs (@cannon_briggs) den 19. Mar 2016 kl. 3:51 PDT

[BostonGuy]

Fury has awoken a sleeping giant

I keep pushing forward and can't wait to get back in the ring with Fury

— Klitschko (@Klitschko)

I keep pushing forward and can't wait to get back in the ring with Fury

— Klitschko (@Klitschko)

[Weltschmerz]

Fury has awoken a sleeping giant

I keep pushing forward and can't wait to get back in the ring with Fury

— Klitschko (@Klitschko)

I keep pushing forward and can't wait to get back in the ring with Fury

— Klitschko (@Klitschko)

hopefully Vlad is as motivated as he portrays himself to be at the moment. Looks like he's in Austria working out from those twitter feeds.

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In 2010, Shannon Briggs lost a 12 round decision to then WBC champion Vitali Klitschko. Following the defeat, Briggs sank into a deep depression and let himself go physically while taking a hiatus from the sport. He stopped training and ballooned up to almost 400 pounds. The beating he took in the hands of Vitali was just as damaging psychologically as it was physically. Briggs disappeared from the limelight after the horrific defeat and didn’t fight a single time in 2011, 2012 or 2013. Luckily, “The Cannon” eventually conquered his depression and rededicated himself to not just boxing, but — more importantly — also to health and fitness. “I was up to 400 pounds. I was nearly 400 pounds, and I was suffering from a lot of depression because I felt like I still had something left,” Briggs told BoxNation. “I decided to get myself in shape. I lost 160 pounds and started training really hard.”

Briggs returned to the ring in 2014 and has since amassed eight straight victories, with seven of them coming by way of stoppage. He continues to troll some of the top names in the heavyweight division in an impressive effort to land a big fight, and his latest jaw-dropping stunt is moving to the UK to try to convince David Haye, Tyson Fury or Anthony Joshua to get in the ring with him.

Even if Shannon Briggs can’t score the massive payday he so covets by getting a fight with a popular British heavyweight, he’s still a great ambassador for the sport and a positive role model despite his outlandish antics. It’s also inspiring to see someone confront their internal issues head on and ultimately overcome them. That makes Briggs a champion, belt or no belt. Let’s go champ!