Fight fans, the boxing year is almost coming to a close but there is still some fights on the docket and news coming down the pipeline so with that said, here is the latest edition of your weekly news post, Around the Ring:
- Fury in Hot Water – Just like his namesake, Mike Tyson, newly crowned undisputed heavyweight champion Tyson Fury is getting in trouble in his home country of England. In the weeks leading up to his historic win against Wladimir Klitschko, Fury made some anti-gay remarks to the Daily Mail, a major London newspaper. Now the English government is investigating him for a hate crime. This on the heels of him being fined by the Boxing Board for another anti-gay remark towards a couple of boxers. He was fined a considerable amount of money. Also, the BBC, the British Broadcasting Company, is in the works of removing him from the nominees for Athlete of the Year.
- More Fury News – This week it was also revealed that Fury was stripped of his IBF heavyweight title by the organization. According to the IBF, Fury knew if he won the title he would have to defend against the IBF’s #1 mandatory Vyacheslav Glaskov but Fury’s contract with Klitschko calls for a rematch clause. Since he can’t defend, he is in violation of the IBF’s rules and the stripped him. Now Glaskov is mandated to face #4 ranked Charles Martin for the title vacant title.
- Pacquiao Decides – Top Rank announced Manny Pacquiao will announce his next opponent this Friday night as part of their TruTV telecast which features Jose Nonito Donaire and Felix Verdejo. All systems point towards Timothy Bradley. If so, it will mark the third time these men face each other inside the ring putting an end to their trilogy. Bradley controversially won their first match up while Pacquiao won the second time. This would be the rubber match. Many expected for Pacquiao to choose Terrence Crawford but the undefeated former champ might be too much of a risk for the Filipino in this which he announced as his last fight.
- WBC Trying New Things – In this weekend’s female WBC flyweight title between Jessica Chavez and Simona Galassi in Mexico City, the organization will try out noise-reducing headphones for the judges working the championship bout. Mauricio Sulaiman, president of the WBC, is hoping for better objectivity and more concentration as the officials ignore the sounds of the crowd and the corners of each fighter. Maybe they should check their vision before concentrating on their ears.
- Martin Withdraws – As mentioned before, undefeated heavyweight Charles Martin is ranked #4 by the IBF and has been ordered to face #1 Vyacheslav Glaskov. Martin was scheduled to face fellow undefeated big man Dominic Breazeale this Saturday in San Antonio, Texas, on PBC on NBC. With the IBF releasing their mandate, Martin announced he will be withdrawing from his fight with Breazeale. No word if Breazeale will still be part of the card.
