Author: Paul Magno

Here are the most eye-catching stories from this weekend’s boxing news and ring action: – According to ESPN’s Mike Coppinger, Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia have signed their contracts for the highly-anticipated April 15 clash and are now just awaiting the final network green light. Reportedly, the official fight announcement could happen very soon. Davis recently pleaded guilty to four charges related to a hit-and-run incident in 2020 and will be sentenced on May 5. This legal move removed one more possible hurdle from the effort to make Davis-Garcia. With everything seemingly out of the way, including a disagreement over…

Thursday, at the Baltimore Circuit Court, Gervonta “Tank” Davis waved his right to a trial and pleaded guilty to four counts pertaining to a hit-and-run incident in November 2020, which left four people injured. The three-division world champ pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident involving bodily injury, failing to notify of property damage, driving with a revoked license, and running a red light. As reported by the Baltimore Sun, Davis admitted to crashing his Lamborghini into a Toyota sedan around 2 a.m. on Nov. 5, 2020 in Baltimore and then leaving the scene of the accident. According…

The WBO has just ordered a Josh Taylor vs. Teofimo Lopez bout for Taylor’s WBO junior welterweight title and they’ve given the two sides until February 24 to reach a deal before a purse bid is ordered. You could call this one a sweet and sour bout. “Sweet” because it IS a sweet matchup. These are two high-end fighters with high-end skills who’ve hit rough patches in their careers and desperately need a high-profile victory right about now. Both are also fiercely, almost obnoxiously, proud fighters who insist on victory. “Sour” because both can be accused of stepping around more…

Bill Haney, father and trainer of 4-belt unified lightweight world champ Devin Haney, recently had a lot to say about former 4-belt middleweight champ, former light heavyweight titlist, and Hall of Famer, Bernard Hopkins. Responding to some negative comments Hopkins made about his son (and this current generation of fighter in general), the elder Haney let loose on the legendary fighter in an interview with FightHype.com. “Bernard Hopkins has lost touch with reality and what’s real and what is his job to do,” Haney said. “It’s just really sad that Bernard Hopkins will have not good things to say about…

Is it a bad thing when outside-the-ring gossip-like media reports overshadow some good stuff inside the ring? Well, anyway, here are the most eye-catching boxing stories this weekend: – The Gervonta Davis-Ryan Garcia “will they, won’t they fight” drama added a new chapter. This time, the hangup over the rematch clause is reported to be settled. Last week, Golden Boy Promotions founder and figurehead Oscar De La Hoya told ESPN that talks for the April 15 bout between his guy, Ryan Garcia, and PBC’s Gervonta Davis had stalled over the specifics of the contractual rematch clause. Apparently, the clause had…

Despite speculation to the contrary, Anthony Joshua insists that he’s not done as an elite-level heavyweight. As a matter of fact, the two-time heavyweight champ says that he’s geared up for another run at the top and, with new trainer Derrick James at his side, he insists that he’s more serious than ever. The first test of the big Brit’s new resolve will come against American Jermaine Franklin at the O2 Arena in London on 1 April. Speaking at the kickoff press conference in London this past Thursday, Joshua had a thing or two to say about this next chapter…

Hall of Famer and former two-division world champ Bernard Hopkins is picking Caleb Plant to beat David Benavidez when the two fighters meet on March 25 in Las Vegas. Despite the general public seeming to lean towards the mega-aggressive, power-punching Benavidez, Hopkins sees something in Plant that might lead him to victory. “I like Plant. Not only do I like his spirit and how he comes to fight, but I also think he has the style and the opportunity right now; he has the most mental,” Bernard Hopkins told Fight Hub TV. “He [Plant] might not have the most talent…

Floyd Mayweather, while promoting his upcoming exhibition bout, says that he’s looking to give back to the sport that made him so unbelievably wealthy. His cause célèbre? Fighting the preponderance of world titles. The 5-division, 15-time world champ says that there are too many world champs who just haven’t earned their stripes. “…You’ve got Lomachenko, a guy that — even though he had, what, 400 amateur fights — he’s a professional anyway, but he shouldn’t be allowed to fight for a world title in his third, fourth fight,” Mayweather said. “What I did in my career was when I turned…

If fans weren’t fired up about the March 25 super middleweight battle between Caleb Plant and David Benavidez, Thursday’s kickoff press conference showed that they should be. The high-tension presser kicked off fairly diplomatically, despite some outside-the-venue static involving the respective teams and a long history of antagonism between the two fighters. “We’ve got a big fight on our hands,” Plant began as the first of the fighters to speak at the podium. “But that’s good, that’s what boxing needs, is big fights, and I want to be someone to deliver that to the boxing world. I’m sure he does…

It would be safe to say that the current lightweight division, as a whole, has underperformed so far. Not too long ago, there was talk of the “New Four Kings” of boxing. Emerging young talents Devin Haney, Gervonta Davis, Teofimo Lopez, and Ryan Garcia were compared to the 80’s “Four Kings”– Sugar Ray Leonard, Tommy Hearns, Roberto Duran, and Marvin Hagler. These 20-something boxing stars were considered the future of the sport, with established elite-level pro Vasiliy Lomachenko also in the mix. Fans eagerly awaited the upcoming tussles. With these five fighters, the sport could have mix-and-match mega-fights for years…