– It seemed like this fight would never happen, but Joe Calzaghe and Mikkel Kessler will unify their super middleweight titles on November 3rd in Cardiff, Wales. Calzaghe was linked to fights with Bernard Hopkins and Jermain Taylor but those fights wouldn’t happen for at least three months. Kessler is a tough opponent and it appeared that Calzaghe was going to duck him. Thankfully, that didn’t happen and this unification bout will happen.
– Middleweight champion Jermain Taylor will fight Kelly Pavlik on September 29th. In all likelihood, this will be his last fight at 160 lbs as the undefeated champion wants to move up to super middleweight. Taylor says he can’t make the weight anymore. The move creates a lot of new options in terms of opponents for Taylor. If Calzaghe-Hopkins happens, Taylor could end up with Mikkel Kessler. At least I hope so.
– Vitali Klitschko will return to the ring on September 22nd and Showtime will televise the event. The fight with Jameel McCline was previous unscheduled for American television.
– Don King is stating that Felix Trinidad will be coming out of retirement. Trinidad hopes to fight by the beginning of 2008. Trinidad’s first choice for a return fight is Roy Jones Jr. That’s actually not a bad matchup and would probably do good business. Jones should jump all over this. He’s been fighting gatekeepers recently and Tito would be a good opponent to rejuvenate his career.
– Boxing Confidential is reporting that a third season of The Contender is in the works. The first season was on NBC and featured Peter Manfredo, Alfonso Gomez, and winner Sergio Mora. The second season aired on ESPN and featured Cornelius “K-9” Bundrage, Stephen Forbes, and winner Grady Brewer. ESPN has the rights to air the third season but HBO may be where the season ends up. The third season will feature heavyweights and could begin airing as soon as September.
– In the aftermath of their losses on the Winky Wright/Bernard Hopkins undercard, the careers of both Oscar Larios and Czar Amonsot may be over. Both men suffered minor brain bleeds after their fights and while neither will be life-threatening, no commission will license a boxer that has suffered a brain bleed. I’m sure it’s a tough thing for each fighter to go through, especially the younger Amonsot, but the first rule of boxing is to protect yourself at all times.
– Ricky Hatton seemed more concerned with Floyd Mayweather Jr than his opponent when he defeated Jose Luis Castillo in June. A fight between the two seemed eminent until Oscar De La Hoya, who is apparently trying to beat Floyd at anything he can, stated that he would like to fight Hatton. Hatton really can’t go wrong here but it will be interesting to see which way he goes with his decision.
