In an expected move, the WBA have ordered an immediate rematch

In an unsurprising move, the World Boxing Association has ordered an immediate rematch between Lamont Peterson and Amir Khan after Khan’s team made a protest over certain irregularities on the night.

Khan lost his WBA and IBF titles to Peterson in controversial fashion last December in Washington, and today the WBA have confirmed they must fight again within 180 days, citing the fight to be “riddled with controversy as a result of a plethora of anomalies.”

“In its resolution mandating the rematch, the WBA went out of its way to note that, under normal circumstances, it would not disturb the discretionary function of a referee,” the organization said in a statement. “However, in this case, because of the multiple irregularities, it was necessary for it to order the rematch.”

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Martinez (left) and Macklin at yesterday's press conference to announce their fight

Following his close, controversial split-decision loss to WBA middleweight champion Felix Sturm in Germany, England’s Matthew Macklin (28-3, 19KO’s) now has his focus on another World title shot, this time against Argentinian WBC holder Sergio Martinez (48-2-2, 27KO’s). The fighters came face-to-face for the first time at a good-natured press conference yesterday to announce the bout, which will take place at Madison Square Garden, New York on March 17.

“Coming face-to-face with Martinez, he comes across as a nice, humble, friendly kind of guy and you can’t read too much into it.”

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Klitschko and Chisora pose with the legendary three-wheeler van

WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko was in London today to promote his February 18 title fight in Munich with Britain’s Derreck Chisora and the theme couldn’t have been more English, as the pair posed for photographs with the famous three-wheeled Robin Reliant van from legendary British sitcom Only Fools And Horses.

‘Del Boy’ Chisora, a self-confessed superfan of the show, showed all the pluck of his cheeky cocky namesake in predicting a big win but Vitali was also in confident mood, stating he felt in the shape of his life, sending a clear warning to Chisora that despite the comedy set he was being taken very seriously indeed.

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Amir Khan is now questioning the presence of a 'mysterious' man at ringside

The latest accusations from Amir Khan’s camp about a strange man at ringside who may have had some influence on the scoring of the fight highlight the lengths some people will go to to continue deluding themselves that they were not beaten by a better man. Anyone that watched Khan’s fight with Lamont Peterson that night knows, regardless of scorecard anomalies or points deductions, who deserved to win. And it wasn’t Khan.

To complain so loudly and forcefully for so long following the loss does nothing to improve it, and conversely, will eventually backfire. All of us watching this unfold are becoming more and more shocked by the desperation and delusion that accompanies it. Are we really to believe that an ‘unidentified’ man in a suit at ringside was the reason Khan lost to Lamont Peterson? Or was it more to do with a certain Washington fighter who showed Khan how to fight like a man?

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Dirrell looked as if he'd never been away with an easy win over Cunningham

Although neither had fought for around two years Andre Dirrell and Jermain Taylor looked at very different stages of their comebacks last night at the Marongo Casino in Cabazon, California, despite both men scoring relatively comfortable victories.

Super-middleweight Dirrell (20-1, 14KO’s), with perhaps the tougher test on paper, took no time at all stopping fellow Michigan fighter Darryl Cunningham (24-3, 10KO’s), dropping the 37 year-old twice en route to a second round TKO.

Looking sharp and lean, Dirrell couldn’t miss with his southpaw left and peppered Cunningham throughout. With absolutely nothing coming back from Cunningham it was all a bit easy for Dirrell, who looked as if he’d never been away.

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This Friday night sees two fighters coming back from long breaks as former Super Six contenders Jermain Taylor and Andre Dirrell co-headline a card at the Morongo Casino Resort & Spa in Cabazon, California to be aired live on Showtime. Taylor, not having fought for more than two years, wins the prize for longest inactivity but Dirrell himself hasn’t stepped between the ropes for 21 months so both will be hoping for a smooth transition back into the sport. Luckily for them opponents Jessie Nicklow and Darryl Cunningham appear hand-picked for the occasion.

Dirrell (19-1, 13KO’s) has the tougher test of the two, and that’s to be expected. Although a head injury has kept him out of the ring after suffering a concussion when taking an illegal blow in his winning fight with Arthur Abraham in March 2010, big things are still expected of the Flint, Michigan fighter.

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Ward (right) controlled Froch from range and in close

After all the trash talk and hype, everybody expected a close, tough fight between Andre Ward (25-0, 13KO’s) and Carl Froch (28-2, 20KO’s) in the final of Showtime’s Super Six super-middleweight tournament at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, but it didn’t turn out like that, as Ward romped home on the scorecards with an easy win.

Nottingham, England’s Froch simply couldn’t cope with the speed of the undefeated Californian and failed round after round to land his punches and impose himself. With the victory Ward becomes the unified WBA/WBC champion as well as winner of the inaugural Super Six trophy.

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Despite the festive atmosphere around them seasonal good will has been lost on WBA super-middleweight champion Andre Ward and WBC holder Carl Froch ahead of their clash in the final of Showtime’s Super Six on Saturday night in Atlantic City. Both fighters seem prepared and ready to prove themselves, although Froch believes the pressure is getting to Ward as the fight draws nearer.

“It’s dawning on him now,” said Froch. “As it is with me, but I can deal with the pressure. It’s dawning on him that he’s in the biggest and toughest fight of his life against somebody who’s brutally honest and brutal when I get in the ring. When I get through them ropes I’m going to be trying to knock him unconscious. That’s just how it is. I’m going to try to hit him very hard, very often.”

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Hopkins will feel a sense of redemption with the commission's decision

The Californian Athletic State Commission have ruled that Bernard Hopkins’ controversial TKO loss to Chad Dawson on October 15 in L.A will be changed to a no-decision.

Hopkins injured his shoulder when Dawson lifted and threw him to the canvas in the second round of their WBC light-heavyweight title fight at the Staples Center rendering him unable to continue. Referee Pat Russell went on to award the fight to Dawson but shortly afterwards the WBC announced that despite the loss Hopkins would retain his title, and now the C.S.A.C have officially erased the loss from his record.

The fact that the fight ended on a foul meant that, as four rounds had not been completed meaning it couldn’t go to the scorecards, should have been ruled a no-contest in the first place. Hopkins, who was understandably upset about the call, was delighted at the commission’s ruling.

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Lamont Peterson (30-1-1, 15KO’s) is the new WBA/IBF light-welterweight champion after defeating former holder Amir Khan on a split decision over twelve frantic rounds at the Convention Center in Washington, D.C. The talking point will undoubtably be the two points that referee Joseph Cooper deducted from Khan for pushing but Peterson still fought the fight of his life and deserves credit.

After the fight Khan was furious with the treatment he received from the referee, saying he was fighting two men but in truth it was Peterson who deserved to win. Showing superhuman strength and determination, Peterson got right in Khan’s face and didn’t give him a second to think, winging in hooks and uppercuts that caught Khan flush all night long.

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Khan (left) isn't worried about conceding hometown advantage to Peterson

When Lamont Peterson (29-1-1, 15KO’s) steps into the ring on Saturday night at the Convention Center in Washington, D.C to challenge England’s WBA/IBF light-welterweight champion Amir Khan (26-1, 18KO’s) he will do so in front of his own fans in his own city, but will hometown advantage be enough for him to do the unexpected and defeat Khan? The short answer is no, not likely.

Bernard Hopkins has this week been speaking about the benefit of boxing at home, and it is true that having an entire crowd in the corner during a fight can uplift a fighter when he needs it most, but the truth is, the crowd can only do so much. They can’t step into the ring and trade blows with Khan, they can’t lift Peterson up off the canvas when he needs to beat the count, but one thing they can, and often do, is influence the scoring judges at ringside.

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A new date has now been set for Klitschko's World title showdown with Mormeck

Following his withdrawal from this Saturday’s fight against Frenchman Jean-Marc Mormeck for an operation to remove kidney stones, WBA/WBO/IBF heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko has confirmed a new date for the fight has been set, on March 3 at the ESPIRIT Arena in Düsseldorf, Germany. Although it seems a long postponement Mormeck will be pleased that he will still get his shot at the title.

Klitschko was admitted to hospital in Germany last Friday with severe abdominal pain, and was found to be suffering from kidney stones. Following a simple operation the next day to remove them, Klitschko returned home and the fight looked set to go ahead but the champ found himself back in hospital soon after, once again in extreme pain. It was at this point that the fight with Mormeck was abandoned.

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Klitschko had no real choice but to pull out of his bout with Mormeck

Following his stay in hospital for an operation on a kidney stone, Wladimir Klitschko has been forced to pull out of his WBA/WBO/IBF heavyweight title fight with Jean-Marc Mormeck this Saturday in Düsseldorf.

Initially Klitschko’s team said the fight would still go ahead but Klitschko was said to be in ‘extreme pain’ following the operation and sensibly called the fight off.

Klitschko was admitted to hospital on Friday, and the 35 year-old Ukrainian then had an operation to remove a kidney stone Saturday, but was re-admitted on Sunday with abdominal pain.

Scheduled to appear on a German TV show, brother Vitali had to make apologies for his absent brother, saying he was too ill to attend and had returned to hospital.

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Sturm fires a jab between Murray's continually high-held guard

He may consider himself unlucky not to get the win, but Germany’s Felix Sturm (36-2-2, 15KO’s) is still the WBA middleweight champion after drawing with English challenger Martin Murray (23-0-1, 10KO’s) over twelve hard-fought rounds at the SAP Arena in Mannheim, Germany. Although the undefeated Murray deserves all the credit in the World for stepping up so many levels and doing so well, it did seem as if the champion deserved more from the judges than he got.

At no point during the fight was Sturm truly dominant, and Murray, although inexperienced, kept calm and boxed maturely. Looking by far the bigger man, Sturm soon began bringing his right hand in to play behind his jab and out-muscled Murray at times, but Murray never dropped his hands and took a lot of shots on his gloves and arms. Although Sturm was busier he got a little frustrated at times and Murray took advantage.

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Is Miguel Cotto already having doubts about the Margarito rematch?

When Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito clash at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night for their rematch everybody anticipates two never-say-die warriors declaring war, digging in to the darkest corners of their soul to find a way, any way, to win. However, Miguel Cotto is showing a slightly different side to his personality.

“We have personal lives. We have families. We have people who love us and who depend upon us,” Cotto said. “It’s ridiculous to say you’d die in the ring. My health is the most important thing in my life. I have kids and they depend upon me. The reason I’m doing this is my kids. It’s stupid to say you would be willing to die.”

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