Knockout Nation

There has been word that talks are underway for a rematch between Hasim Rahman and James Toney sometime this summer. Toney and Rahman first clashed back in March of 2006 for Rahman’s WBC heavyweight title in a bout that was declared a draw. In their next fights, Toney then went on to lose a controversial decision to Samuel Peter and Rahman was beat by Oleg Maskaev for his title. Toney’s last fight was a little over a year ago against Danny Bachelder. Although Toney won, test results showed that he has illegal substances in his system and he was suspended by the athletic commission. After his loss to Maskaev, Rahman went on to rack up a few low key victories, but has not received the attention from fans as he once did. A rematch between the two would find the winner in a position to possibly get one more crack at the big names in the heavyweight food chain. However, for the loser, the loss may official seal the deal on their career. KO Nation will keep you updated on the status of this rematch.

At the recent Cannes Film Festival in France, boxing legend Mike Tyson received an standing ovation at the screening of “Tyson”. The film was directed by Tyson’s friend, James Toback and takes a deep look into the life of Mike Tyson. Consisting of interviews, video clips, and fight footage, the film covers Mike’s early years in Brooklyn, New York through his dominate rise in the heavyweight division. In the film, Mike is very candid and opens up about many of the mistakes and bad decisions he has made throughout his life. From his rise to stardom, to the death Cus D’mato, to his rape conviction, to the famous “ear biting “ incident, no details are spared. The film is receiving excellent reviews and even Tyson was shocked to see the type of love the film is getting. “I had no idea this thing was ever going to make it to this grand scale here,” Tyson said. “I feel totally overwhelmed. I’ve lived a wild and strange life. I’ve used drugs, I’ve had physical altercations with dangerous people, people were angry. I’ve slept with guys’ wives, they wanted to kill me. I’m just happy to be here. It’s just a miracle. I feel good about being here with you”. Whether you love him or hate him, this is a film all boxing fans should see when it is released.

In what could be a possible “Fight of the Year” candidate, WBA welterweight champion Miguel Cotto is set to face and defend his title against Antonio Margarito on July 26th. The fight will take place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas Nevada and is expected to draw a huge crowd. The buzz is very high for this one as both of these men are no nonsense warriors that truly come to fight. After dispatching of their recent opponents, Alphonso Gomez and Kermit Cintron, on the same HBO broadcast, Bob Arum immediately began making plans for a summer bout between these two. In speaking at the kick off press conference tour, Miguel stated, It’s going to be an exciting and really tough fight for both of us. I think the guy who comes to it in the best shape and who trusts in himself better will win, and this guy is Miguel Cotto. I’m going to take advantage of the mistakes he’s going to make during the fight. I’m going to do all the things I have to do to win this fight. I’m going for it round for round, and if I hit him pretty good, then I’m going for him. I’m one hundred percent confident in myself. Margarito has gone on record to state that he will indeed stop Miguel Cotto. “I have wanted this fight against Cotto for so long. I am going to make that ring a pressure cooker for him. I will be in one gear for our fight – forward. I will wear him down, break him down and knock him out. July 26 can’t come fast enough for me” stated Margarito. The winner of this fight should undoubtedly be the next opponent to get a crack at Ring Welterweight Champion, Floyd Mayweather.

It appears that welterweight contender, Joshua Clottey will finally get his shot at the IBF welterweight title this summer. The IBF belt was just won by Antonio Margirito with his recent stoppage of Kermit Cintron. Clottey has been the number one contender for the title since December of 07 when he won an IBF eliminator. As a condition of making his fight with Cotto, Margarito had to vacate his IBF title which now leaves it available to the winner of the match between the highest ranked contenders. It has been rumored that Clottey could be fighting Zab Judah. Judah, who we all know was preparing to face Shane Mosley this month, is in need of a high profile fight after the Mosley fight was completely called off. A tentative date of August 2nd has been set for the IBF title fight although nothing has been set in stone that Judah will actually be Clottey’s opponent. I for one sure wouldn’t mind seeing that fight as both men are hungry and on a mission to capture welterweight gold. Stay tuned.

With his recent loss against Shaun George, it appears that the career of Chris Byrd is now over. In a statement this week from Byrd’s wife, it appears that Byrd’s spirits are high but he is being encouraged by all of his loved ones to call it quits. On the flipside, Shaun George now seems to be right in the mix to get one of the big names at Light Heavyweight. George has come on record this week saying that he would be highly interested in a fight with Glenn Johnson, who is coming off a close decision loss to Chad Dawson. One thing is for sure, Shaun George seized the opportunity that was before him, capitalized on it and now has the attention of everyone in the division. Congrats to Shaun for his career best performance.

WBC lightweight champion David Diaz is completely focused on proving the naysayers wrong when he faces Manny Pacquiao on June 28th. Both fighters have began training for their PPV matchup taking place at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas Nevada. The defending lightweight champion states “Every fighter, no matter who he is, should want to fight the very best, and that’s what I’ll be doing against Pacquiao…I’m not going to lose. I don’t even think of it. I will win and bring the green belt back to my hometown, Chicago.” Pacquiao, not taking Diaz lightly states, “It’s a tough fight because of his style (left-handed) and because he has a will to win. Those are things I have to overcome in this fight. The one good thing is that Diaz likes to fight toe-to-toe, which is what I like too.” After concerns of many delays, Team Pacquiao is happy that Manny is now finally in the US training for this match under the watchful eye of Freddie Roach. If successful in this fight, many have been stirring up talk that Manny should look to have a unification match against Nate Campbell. Not likely, but one could only hope.

-Brown, KnockOut Nation