Pacquiao (left) says he isn't getting fooled by Marquez

Manny Pacquiao has sent a clear warning to Juan Manuel Marquez ahead of their third fight this Saturday in Las Vegas. The Filipino legend has said he believes Marquez’s friendly, laid-back attitude in the build-up to the fight is all part of a master plan designed to coax him into a false sense of security, but Pacquiao is having none of it and has vowed to KO his Mexican rival.

“Marquez is the smartest guy I have fought recently,” Pacquiao said. “He is a genius. You know why? It is because he is trying to use my personality. He knows I am a nice person, so he thinks that if he is very nice and respectful to me before the fight then I will go easy on him and will not knock him out.

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'Smokin' Joe at his home in 2009

Legendary heavyweight ‘Smokin’ Joe Frazier has passed away at the age of 67. The former champion was battling liver cancer it emerged only a few days ago, and this latest terrible news comes as a shock to everyone. Manager Leslie Wolff said the champ passed away Monday night in Philadelphia, and had been battling the disease since late September when he was first diagnosed.

Leading the tributes was former arch-rival Muhammad Ali, who released a statement saying “The world has lost a great champion. My sympathy goes out to his family and loved ones.”

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Angulo (left) couldn't avoid Kirkland's relentless punching

Everything was against James Kirkland (30-1, 27KO’s) stepping into the ring in Cancun, Mexico to face Alfredo Angulo (20-2, 17KO’s) but the Austin, Texas man pulled off a great performance last night, getting up off the canvas to stop his man in six furiously exciting rounds.

It’s true redemption for Kirkland following his shocking first round loss to Nobuhiro Ishida earlier this year and a clear statement that he isn’t quite finished yet at the top level.

“The difference for this fight was we trained hard,” said Kirkland afterwards. “Me and (trainer) Ann Wolfe stayed up working night and day because we know Alfredo Angulo is a true champion”

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Bute (right) lands a hook from his southpaw stance

It was billed as possibly Canadian-based Romanian IBF super-middleweight champion Lucian Bute’s (30-0, 24KO’s) toughest fight to date, but he was in total control against Glen Johnson (51-16-2, 35KO’s) tonight at the Pepsi Coliseum in Quebec City, shutting out the 42-year-old Miami veteran for a lopsided unanimous decision victory. Quite whether it was the showcase Bute, 31, would have wanted for US fans watching on Showtime is debatable, but there was no doubt about the winner as Johnson simply failed to get to the elusive champion round after round.

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Burns (left) keeps Katsidis at bay with his jab

Scotland’s Ricky Burns (33-2, 9KO’s) is the new WBO interim lightweight champion after defeating Michael Katsidis (28-5, 23KO’s) over twelve rounds tonight at the Wembley Arena in London. Burns now becomes a two-weight World champion and with it picked up possibly the biggest victory of his career to date.

Considered an outsider to win, Burns showed good boxing skill and kept Katsidis at bay with a raking jab and hard shots to the body. He had to go through some sticky patches and take several crushing punches, and down the final stretch Katsidis came on strong as Burns’ energy waned, but ultimately it was an impressive performance from the Coatbridge fighter and fully deserved the unanimous decision on the judges scorecards.

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Burns (left) and Katsidis

Australia’s Michael ‘The Great’ Katsidis (28-4, 23KO’s) has never done things the easy way, and once again travels half way around the World to fight, this time to face Scotland’s Ricky Burns (32-2, 9KO’s) at the Wembley Arena in London on Saturday night in a bout to decide the WBO interim lightweight championship.

Katsidis has already challenged for the title twice in his last three fights, and despite losing in both finds himself once again with an opportunity to take home the title he has already held twice before. The problem with Katsidis is that when he comes up against the very best he usually comes out on the losing side, often gallantly.

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Bute (left) and Johnson will put aside their friendship for twelve rounds on Saturday

Undefeated Canadian IBF super-middleweight champion Lucian Bute (29-0, 24KO’s) has been a World champion for four years now with eight successive title defences under his belt, but the Quebec fighter has yet to truly make his name on the international stage, despite his obvious talents.

On Saturday night at the Pepsi Coliseum in Quebec City Bute will face arguably the biggest name opponent of his career to date, defending his title against former light-heavyweight champion Glen Johnson (51-15-2, 35KO’s). Ironically the pair have sparred regularly for the past two years and have become good friends, but as Johnson points out, sparring and fighting are not the same thing.

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Hernan 'Tyson' Marquez

Mexico’s hard-hitting Hernan Marquez (32-2, 25KO’s)  is still the WBA flyweight champ after defeating Panama’s Luis Concepcion (23-3, 18KO’s) in their rematch last night in the champion’s hometown of Sonora, Mexico.

Their first fight, an eleventh round TKO win for Marquez, saw both men hit the deck before Marquez finally prevailed, but this time there was no doubt as he dropped Concepcion three times on his way to an emphatic first round knockout win.

Concepcion was full of enthusiasm as the opening bell rang and danced around the ring popping out jabs and hooks but Marquez bided his time and chose his punches. The very first blow he landed was a solid straight left from his southpaw stance that caught Concepcion square.

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Mayweather has some difficult times ahead outside the ring

Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather (42-0, 26KO’s) is to face a charge of harassment in a Las Vegas courtroom over allegations that the multiple weight World champion threatened two security guards in front of his Vegas mansion last October. If found guilty of the charge Mayweather could face up to a one year prison sentence.

Homeowner association security guards Aaron Ryan and Miguel Burgos accuse the 5-foot-8 welterweight of threatening them after they ticketed several of Mayweather’s vehicles parked near his house in violation of association rules, according to a Las Vegas police report.

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Kell Brook is finally set to make his US debut

Undefeated English welterweight Kell Brook (25-0, 17KO’s) looks well on his way to stardom and it’s little surprise that he is finally set to make his American debut on the Carl Froch-Andre Ward undercard in Atlantic City, New Jersey on December 17.

The opponent has yet to be announced but it is expected to be against a decent name fighter over ten rounds. This will be a big opportunity for the Ingle trained Brook to showcase his considerable skill and the Sheffield fighter is excited at the prospect.

“It’s the best Christmas present I could have,” said Brook. “I’ve been dreaming of fighting on a massive show in America and I plan to put on a great performance. The pressure will be on to dazzle the American fans and that’s exactly what I plan to do.”

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Alfredo "El Perro" Angulo

Big-hitting, exciting junior-middleweight contender’s Alfredo Angulo (20-1, 17KO’s)  and James Kirkland (29-1, 26KO’s) will face each other in a WBC title eliminator in Cancun, Mexico on November 5 it has been announced. Both fighters are hungry and fans could be in for an explosive match-up between two true warriors of our sport.

This will be Angulo’s first fight for new promoters Golden Boy and will feature on HBO’s Boxing After Dark series in the US. Both fighters have suffered damaging defeats and long layoffs and a lot will be at stake for both men’s careers.

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Marco Huck celebrates an eighth successful defense

Germany’s WBO cruiserweight champion Marco Huck (34-1, 25KO’s) made easy work of Rogelio Omar Rossi (17-3-1, 11KO’s) at the Ludwigsburg Arena in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, knocking the Argentinian challenger down three times on his way to a sixth round stoppage victory. The defense, his eighth, wasn’t the toughest of his career but the finish was emphatic.

Rossi hasn’t done anything of note on the World scene and didn’t look the best challenger Huck has faced but started well and was full of enthusiasm. Huck isn’t a quick starter and was just measuring his man with a high guard and solid jab, but soon realised he could outclass Rossi and started to land with almost contemptuous ease.

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Donaire (left) was in control throughout

WBC/WBO bantamweight champion ‘The Filipino Flash’ Nonito Donaire (27-1, 18KO’s) had to settle for a points victory over Argentinian WBO super-flyweight champion Omar Narvaez (35-1-2, 19KO’s) at Madison Square Garden Theater in New York, and although a clear winner Donaire will be disappointed with the nature of his victory.

The blame however has to go to Narvaez, who remained far too defensive for the entire fight and had the look of a survivor about him from very early on in the bout, not something you usually associate with an undefeated champion.

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Hopkins may not look like the winner but he's still champ

Bernard Hopkins is once again the WBC light-heavyweight champion after the WBC went back on their word and ruled his fight with Chad Dawson a technical draw. The Mexican-based commission overruled the referee’s decision, claiming referee Pat Russell made the wrong call awarding the fight to Dawson on a TKO after Hopkins suffered a second round shoulder injury rendering him unable to continue..

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Hopkins has said he will be World champion again before he retires and strongly disputes his loss

Bernard Hopkins has insisted that his controversial loss to Chad Dawson at the Staples Center in L.A on Saturday night will not be the last fight of his career and that he will once again be World champion.

The 46-year-old told reporters that not only did he intend to fight again but wants both the WBC and Ring Magazine to continue to recognize him as champion, and a formal complaint will be lodged to the California Athletic State Commission by Golden Boy disputing the result of the bout, although the Commission themselves have already publicly backed the decision and look unlikely to alter it. As they are the only ones with the power to do so it looks unlikely that Hopkins will get his wish.

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