FEBUARY 2015 01

JIM McDONNELL

Sharif Bogere

JO JO DAN

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EDITORS N O T E S

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MaIN EvENT NEwS

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J I M M C D O N N E L LI N T E R v I E w

R E C I P EF O Rv I O L E N C E

08M I T C H E L LR I S I N G

JO JO DaNINTERvIEw

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Greetings fight fans and welcome to Box-ing Mad Magazine’s first issue of 2015, as we head into fight week for Martin Murray’s colossal assignment against middleweight kingpin Gennady Golovkin. Read our build-up on (page 16) as we look ahead to Mar-tin’s big night in Monte Carlo. Meanwhile, we also look ahead to Carl Frampton’s fight with Chris Avalos on February 28th and the potential for the super bantamweight cham-pion to become a crossover star (page 30).

There are interviews with Kell Brook’s chal-lenger Jo Jo Dan (page 22) and Jim McDon-nell, ahead of what’s potentially a big year for his charge James DeGale (page 18). Light-weight contender Sharif Bogere also speaks exclusively to BMM as he aims to roar back into world title contention (page 24). And we cover the sequence of events that has made a minefield of the super middleweight divi-sion, with a number of British stars involved (page 32).

All this and much more, as well as news and views from around the boxing world. Enjoy reading!

Jack Sumner

Editor

EDITORSNOTES

Jack Sumner

EDITOR JACK SUMNER

PAGE DESIGNS CAL HARRISP4P @RAYDOCBOX

WRITERS

JACK SUMNER

JACK DYSON

JPHN WHARTON

ANSON WAINWRIGHT

ADAM CANAVAN

SAM C COULTER

JACK SUMNER

Our pound-for-pound rankings are tabulated from our writers' individual lists and are updated every issue. Inactivity for twelve months or more automatically omits a fighter from the list.

Floyd Mayweather – Welterweight, USA. 47-0 (26 KO). WBC/The Ring welterweight champion, WBC/WBA (Super)/The Ring light middleweight champion.

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

#7

#8

#9

#10

Manny Pacquiao – Welterweight, Philippines. 57-5-2 (38 KO). WBO welterweight champion.

Roman Gonzalez – Light flyweight, Nicaragua. 41-0 (35 KO). WBC/The Ring flyweight champion.

Wladimir Klitschko – Heavyweight, Ukraine. 63-3 (53 KO). WBA (Super)/IBF/WBO/The Ring heavyweight champion.

#POUND POUND

Sergey Kovalev – Light heavyweight, Russia. 26-0-1 (23 KO). WBA/WBO/IBF light heayweight champion.

Juan Manuel Marquez – Welterweight, Mexico. 56-7-1 (40 KO).

Gennady Golovkin – Middleweight, Kazahkstan. 31-0 (28 KO). WBA middleweight champion.

Timothy Bradley – Welterweight, USA. 31-1-1 (12 KO).

Carl Froch – Super middleweight, UK. 33-2- (24 KO)

Guillermo Rigondeaux – Super bantamweight, Cuba. 15-0 (10 KO). WBA/WBO super bantamweight champion.

page design & layout by “Twitter” @raydocbox

magazine

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Four time former super middleweight champion Mikkel Kessler (46-3, 35 knockouts) announced at the end of

January that he would be retiring from boxing.

He last stepped into the ring in May 2013, when he lost an entertaining battle with Carl Froch. He initially said last May that he intended to continue his career.

However, when he was unableto secure a big fight he decid-ed to walk away from the sport.

“I have thought long and hard over my options, which have been made available,” Kessler said in a state-ment. “But none of these options areenough to get me motivat-ed. My promoter has done great creating these, but unfortunately the opportunities in the division are currently limited. I said at the time when I said I would fight on, that I would need the right fights to motivate me. This is not a question of money, in fact theseoffers have been for great purses, but it is a matter of motivation. After all “If you aren’t going all the way, why go at all?”

“I need big events to make me train to get me to the

Kessler Retiresstandard that I have been used to presenting my fans with. I said I would like nothing more than to avenge my loss against Andre Ward and also have a decider against Carl Froch. These are fights that motivate me but for one reason or another they do not want to fight me. I am always in training, it is part of my life, but I consider myself in a state of retirement.”

The always classy Kessler also paid homage to his legion of fans.

“Finally, I would like to thank all my fans for supporting me through out my career. It has been a pleasure stepping in the ring, home as well as abroad.”

Kessler enjoyed a solid five year amateur career, winning regional and National titles as a junior. He left the unpaid ranks in early 1998 with a record of 44-3.

He quickly made his pro debut, appearing exclusively in his Denmark, until he was given the opportunity to fight in Las Vegas on the undercard of Paulie Ayala vs. Johnny Bredahl in 2000.

The Great Dane r e t u r n e d

to his homeland where he continued to rack up the victories, until in the fall of 2004 he

met Manny Siacca, stopping the Puerto Ri-can to win WBA 168-pound title.

To his credit "The Viking Warrior" travelled several thousand miles and scored an out-standing points decision over local favour-ite Anthony Mundine in Australia in the summer of 2005. The win was made all the more impressive when Kessler said he was suffering a back problem in the lead up to the fight and sparred less than 20 rounds.

After a 10th round stoppage of Eric Lucas, Kessler unified his WBA strap with WBC champion Markus Beyer, blitzing the German in just three rounds.

Another impressive win followed against hardnosed Librado Andrade before Kessler took to the road where he met Joe Calzaghe in unification. Cheered on by 50,000 of his compatriots Calzaghe handed Kessler his first loss in the pros. The two fought on even terms over the first half of the bout, un-til the Welshman was able to make an adjustment and claim the point’s victory.

Unperturbed Kessler returned to win the vacant WBA title after Calzaghe had vacated to move up to light heavyweight. In the fall of 2009, Kessler packed his bags and headed to Oakland, Calif. where in the opening round of Showtime's "Super Six" he lost an 11th round technical decision.

Kessler showed he was far from finished

scoring arguably the best win of his career, handing Carl Froch his first loss, sneering the WBC belt,winning a close but just con-test. An eye injury forced Kessler to remove himself from the "Super Six".

Kessler sat on the sidelines for 14-months before he was able to re-turn, three wins followed, in the later he won his third WBA title stop-ping Brian Magee in three rounds.

That set up a much anticipated rematch with Froch at the O2 Arena in London. The two again emptied their tanks, this time Froch won levelled the series with a point’s decision.

BoxingMadMagazine would like to congratulate Mikkel on his outstanding career and the wonderful memories he gave the boxing world and hope he is able to enjoy the fruits of his labour.

m a i n e v e n t n e W S

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MITCHELLRISING

SAM C COULTER

K evin Mitchell is a man who has fought off the daemons of his past and looks to be ready to fulfil his potential and

become a world champion.

Mitchell has endured a rollercoaster like career with huge ups and downs over the years. It is fair to say that he hasn’t always dedicated himself to his profession as he should have done and it has cost him dearly over the years.

Back in 2010 Mitchell entered the ring at his beloved Upton Park as an undefeated fighter against the rugged Michael Katsidis. Mitchell wasn’t his normal self in the ring and was to suffer the first loss of his career in devastating fashion with a third round stoppage.

Following the loss it became clear that Mitchell’s out of ring issues had affected him in the fight and they were only to get worse. Mitchell claims to have spent £100,000 on alcohol in an eight month period,

faced serious drug charges and his relationship with his partner fell apart.

Mitchell had left himself financially ruined by his issues and was forced to move back in with his mum.There is also a sad story where Mitchell realised how bad things had got upon leaving a nightclub and handed over near on £1,000 to a tramp so that he didn’t spend it on alcohol.

The Dagenham man appeared to get himself back on track and faced off with fellow Brit John Murray in a hugely entertaining fight. It was a brutal contest between the pair in which both men showed huge determination.

Mitchell was to come away the victor with an eighth round stoppage win and redemption appeared complete.

Sadly Mitchell slipped back into his old ways of drinking and partying before his shot at a world title against Ricky Burns. Mitchell was to suffer the

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x SAM C COULTERMITCHELL RISINGsecond loss of his career and the second stoppage loss of his career.

Since this defeat Mitchell has once again turned his life around with the help of his old trainer Tony Sims and with promoter Eddie Hearn.

Mitchell has dedicated himself to his craft and realised what he needs to do if he is fulfil his undoubted potential. He is a slick boxer with good power in either hand and has always looked like a man with the skill to reach the top.

Mitchell will now get another shot at world title following what was an absolute master-class performance against the Mexican Daniel Estrada.

Mitchell systematically broke his opponent down and made him look way out of his depth. Estrada fought for the WBC world title in his last fight but he

was simply outclassed by Mitchell at the 02 Arena.

Mitchell’s head movement and timing frustrated the Mexican who was never able to get into the contest. Mitchell landed thudding shots throughout the contest with little reply and was putting a beating on Estrada.

Referee Ian John-Lewis rightly stepped in and ended the fight in the eighth round with Estrada’s face looking a mess and all energy seemingly gone from his body.

‘The Hammer’ has earned the right to fight for the WBC title held by Jorge Linares and following such an impressive performance he will be highly confident that he will win a world title this year.

Mitchell has sent out a huge message to all the lightweights in the world and he finally looks to be in the right place to achieve his dreams.

With a performance like this it would be hard to bet against him beating Linares who many feel is one of the weaker champions in the division.

It is great to see Mitchell back on track and thriving under the

opportunities Matchroom have created for him.

He seems to have well and truly put the

troubles of the past behind him and appears ready for his shot.

This has been a long, hard battle for Kevin Mitchell but this year could make it all worth it.

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R e c i p e f o R v i o l e n c e

very boxing fan loves a slugfest, and even the purest or purists will get dragged into the thrill of watching an all out war by the time the fight comes around.

Of course, it always helps when the two competitors also possess a good skill level too and that’s ex-actly what the potential match-

up between Lucas Matthysse and Ruslan Provodnikov would bring; a guaranteed all action fight between two top-level fighters.

The fight is reportedly planned for March 28th and it is certainly one of the best fights that can be made in boxing today. Matthysse is one of the hardest hitters in the sport, with 34 stoppages in his 36 wins (a KO% of 85 in-cluding his defeats). Provodnikov is also a

e big hitter, despite a more modest 63% KO ra-tio, and he’s proven it by having Tim Brad-ley all over the place from the first round of their ‘Fight of the Year’ in 2013, even though he ended up losing a narrow decision.He brutally ground down and stopped Mike Alvarado to win the WBO light welterweight championship.

Both fighters have impressive records. As mentioned above, Matthysse has 36 wins on his record against only 3 defeats and he has a long list of notable opponents in his win column. Demarcus Corley, Humberto Soto, Ajose Olusegun, Mike Dallas Jr, Lamont Peterson, John Molina Jr and Roberto Ortiz have all fallen victim to the Argentine. Unsurprisingly, he won all of those fights by stoppage.

Despite that long list of impressive wins, Matthysse has never been a world champi-on, even though he beat Peterson the title was not on the line due to the catchweight of 141 lbs. Matthysse dropped a hard-fought decision in his only world title challenge against Danny Garcia, which is no big shame, and his other two losses are contentious to say the least; one to Zab Judah, which was fairly close but most people (including me) thought Mat-thysse should’ve got the nod, and the other to Devon Alexander which wasn’t so close. Matthysse got robbed.

Provodnikov’s record stands at 24(17)-3 and has far fewer big wins on it than Matthysse’s, but he shares a common opponent in Demarcus Corley (he took Provodnikov the distance) and he also has a big win over Mike Alvarado. However, somewhat like Matthysse, Provodnikov’s most notable performances are found in his loss column and all three were extremely tight decisions at the hands of Mau-ricio Herrera, Tim Bradley and Chris Algieri.

At the moment, if this fight is to take place, it doesn’t look like there would be a world title on the line, yet the fight doesn’t feel any less impor-tant, it’s a fight that supersedes titles and there’s a reason for that. It’s guaranteed to be Fight of the Year material, there’s no possible outcome to this fight that won’t leave the fans talking about what they just saw all year and the two fighters with a part of themselves left in the ring.

It’s easy to explain why this fight will be so bru-tal stylistically. Both fighters have power, both have good engines, both have good chins, nei-ther takes a backwards step and neither of them are fleet footed enough to avoid the other. As far as stylistic advantages go, Matthysse has a lot; he is the better straight puncher, he has a better defence (an advantage almost everyone,

including me and you likely holds over Provod-nikov), he is probably the better body puncher and he is the better combination puncher in my opinion. Provodnikov does,however, cut the ring off better (a trait which probably won’t be needed in this fight) and in that regard has better footwork, he throws more unortho-dox looping shots and he is also argua-bly better in exchanges. A fight is so much more than just advantages and disadvan-tages though and there’s one reason whyProvodnikov can overcome the stylistic advantage in this fight. He simply doesn’t care about being hit.

If none of that has convinced you of how great the fight will be then there’s two words that might change your mind. StubHub Center. The very same StubHub Center that hosted Provodnikov vs Bradley and Matthysse vs Molina, two of the very best fights in recent memory.

With all this said, I understand I’m probably preaching to the choir. It’s painfully obvious to everyone that this will be a violent, brutal, chaot-ic 36 minutes of in-ring mayhem and I just hope this fight goes ahead.

I can’t wait!

ADAM cAnAvAn

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GOLOVKIN VS MURRAY

GGGVSMURRAYSAM C COUTERformidable fighting machine who has the face of a choir boy.

Golovkin destroyed the rugged Marco Antonio Rubio in his last outing October of last year at the StubHub Center in Carson, California. Triple G knocked out Rubio in only the second

e n n a d y G o l o v k i n is perhaps the most feared and

avoided boxer in the sport today but the man to face him next has no fear of entering

the ring with him.

Golovkin aged 32 has blown away all in his path so far as a professional claiming a unbeaten record of 31 wins with 28 wins by way of knock out. He was a highly suc-cessful amateur fighter having won numerous competitions and claimed a silver medal at the Athens Olympics

in 2004.

The Kazakh possesses frightening punch power which combined with his boxing skill creates a

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“It’s a tough fight,

I’m under no

illusions. Golovkin

is a punching

power machine,

but I have the tools

to beat him. “

GOLOVKIN VS MURRAY

round with a looping shot which didn’t appear to be full of power.

The shot was o b v i o u s l y deceiving as it left Rubio on the canvas unable to continue which highlights the danger that this man presents for other fighters.

The man next tasked with taking on Golovkin in Britain’s Martin Murray who also aged 32 holds a record of 29

wins, 1 loss and 1 draw.

Murray is one of the unluckiest boxers out there as he is a relatively unknown boxer outside of the hardcore fans. He is a world class middleweight who has been in with some the best out there are more than held his own.

In fact, in the opinion of most boxing experts Murray should already be a world champion. Murray has had two previous shots at a world title.

Firstly against Felix Sturm in 2011 when he came away with a draw. Opinion was split on the fight with arguments for either fighter in place so perhaps a draw was fair.

Murray’s second shot at a title in 2013 against Sergio Martinez was the fight that should have crowned him as a world champion. Murray travelled to Argentina for his fight and knocked down Martinez in the 8th round.

Respected boxing

experts felt that Murray had won the fight but the judges were to score the fight in favour of the home fighter Martinez.

Murray is a physically big middleweight who is very strong. He might not be the biggest puncher around but he is technically a very solid fighter who has experience of fighting the best out there and is used to proving the doubters wrong.

Murray has been in Johannesburg, South Africa training for the fight over the last couple of weeks and pictures have sur-faced of Golovkin’s face taped on a p u n c h b a g . T h e high altitude training should benefit Murray hugely when he comes back down to a normal altitude level and he should be in fantastic shape come fight night.

The action will take place on the 21st of February in Monte Carlo where both men have boxed before and Murray will be hoping that it’ third time lucky for him.

Golovkin is the big fa-vourite coming into the fight and many over the other side of the Atlantic are

looking past Mur-ray. They are talking about Golovkin fight-ing the likes of Miguel Cotto and Saul Alvarez.

Golovkin himself will have to make sure that he has mind on the task in hand as Murray is a very good, very determined box-er who will punish him if he isn’t concen-trating on their fight.

Murray when speak-ing about the fight has said, “It’s a tough fight, I’m under no illusions. Golovkin is a punching power machine, but I have the tools to beat him. I expect it will be tough and I’ll need to go through pain, but I’m prepared for that, whatever it takes.”

“It’s about getting to the 21st and having no regrets. I’m doing everything to be in the best possible condi-tion. I’m gonna do it. A lot of things brought me to this world title. I’m doing it for myself, for my family. When I signed with Gold-en Gloves, this was the end deal, a mas-sive fight. I’m coming off some good wins and I feel I’m ready.”

“Golovkin has two hands like me, but he’s not unbeatable. I’m certainly not go-ing to get into the ring fearing him. Never.”

This is an extremely interesting match-up and if Golovkin blasts Murray out of there then he is the real deal.

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Jim McDonnell

INTERVIEWJIM MCDONNELL

“he’s ready

to become

a world champion”

Jim McDonnell has been in

boxing so long now,he’s seen

almost everything. One of the mostunderrated British fightersof his, or any, generation, he was unlucky to be born in an era of supe r - fea the rwe igh t s that saw champions and challengers of the calibre of Azumah Nelson, Brian Mitchell, Barry McGuigan, John-John Molina, Rocky Lockridge and Tony Lopez.

In a twelve month spell from November 1988 to

November 1989, he fought four times. Three of those opponents were Mitchell, McGuigan and Nelson. If the likeable Londoner had been around ten years lat-er, he would undoubted-ly have become a world champion at some point.

Now 54 years old, the Cam-den Town man is training world super-middleweight contender James De-Gale, who will be fighting for his first world title in April. His likely opponent will be Andre Dirrell, and McDonnell feels the title shot is coming at just the right time for his charge.

‘He’s in a good position at the moment, mentally. James is one of the most confident people I’ve ever met. The timing is perfect and he’s ready to become a world champion. I told him the other week that he’d be at his best from 29 years of age onwards, as he started to get his man strength and physical maturity. Over the next three or four years, we’ll see James dominate the super-middleweight division.’

2014 was the year James DeGale matured. He started the year with a victory over Georgian fighter Gevorg Khatchikian, in what would turn out to be his last fight under the Hennessey promotions banner. He signed for Matchroom and Eddie Hearn, and his first outing under his new promoter was on the undercard of Froch v Groves II at Wembley Stadium. DeGale took his opportunity with both hands, as he stopped the previously undefeated Brandon Gonzales inside four rounds. In November, DeGale stole the show on another

Matchroom promoted rematch, as he stopped the usually durable Marco Antonio Periban in three rounds on the Tony Bellew-Nathan Cleverly rematch card in Liverpool. Prior to 2014, many boxing experts felt DeGale’s career had gone stale and he’d possibly missed his chance, but McDonnell is quick to explain there were issues in the background that affected his fighter.

‘James is a buzz fighter and he needs to be in the limelight. Put him on the big stage like he was at Wembley in front of 80,000 people and he’ll perform.

‘For the first time in a while, James is also fighting injury free. He’s had surgery on his Gilmore’s Groin [a difficult injury to diagnose, due to multiple symp-toms, and one which can often be diagnosed as other injuries, such as groin tears and hernias] and he had help from Gary Lewin [England foot-ball team physio]. Since then, James has been different class. He’s been quicker on the track, he’s been pressing more and he’s been sharper in sparring. For the first time, James is 100% ready.’

“we’ll see James dominate

the super-middleweight

division.’BY JOHN WHARTON

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JLast week Eddie Hearn announced that DeGale would be fighting for the IBF title Carl Froch recently vacated. A lot of atten-tion this week has been focused on Froch vacating his title, McDonnell is prag-matic in his view and believes Froch was doing what was best for his own career.

‘Carl has done exactly the same thing he slated Joe Calzaghe for. James want-ed to fight Froch. He wanted that fight more than any other, as Carl Froch is tailor made for James De Gale. We were watching videos of him last year and he told me that he knows he’d absolutely batter him. Froch has struggled with southpaws and there’s more than a few experts out there who believe Andre Dirrell beat him a few years back. The way Carl carries his left hand on his hip is the wrong thing do with southpaws. You just cannot do that.

‘In not fighting James, I think Carl has made the best decision he could to help prolong his career. It’s not the best for us, but it will help with his legacy. There is no

way in a million years Froch beats DeGale and I think he knows it. The main problem with it is that he could have vacated the title earlier and allowed James to fight for the title on the Liverpool show in November.’

A couple of names have been bandied about as possible opponents. The most likely name is Andre Dirrell, who, until August last year, had fought only once in three years. Since then, the Michigan native has won three in a row, stopping two, including an impressive victory over former Callum Smith victim, Vladine Biosse.

‘According to Matchroom, the opponent will be Andre Dirrell but nobody wants to face James and I’m not sure Dirrell does. So, if he pulls out, the next name would be the Mexican Gilberto Ramirez. If he says no, it could be Groves again.’

The possibility of a Groves rematch is one that will whet the appetite of Brit-ish fight fans, and it’s a fight that could entice the public to the national stadium at Wembley. The lure of another headline at Wembley plus a world title shot may not be enough to persuade Groves to sign on the dotted line for the fight, however.

‘Matchroom offered £2.5m to be split evenly for the fight to be made but Groves told Eddie [Hearn] that he wanted 75%, because he thinks he’s the bigger draw. Instead, he’s going to face the other Dirrell brother [Anthony] for something around $425,000.

‘George has been in a couple of tough fights with Froch and since then he’s not looked very good. His wins over the French lad [Christophe Rebrasse] and against Dennis Douglin, who’s a light-middle-weight, weren’t great. Maybe they were

the fights he needed to blow away the cob-webs but, even though he won, he had his nose smashed in by a much smaller man.

‘It would be interesting to know what’s going on with George at the moment. If he’d been in with anyone of the calibre of James’ last two opponents, he’d have been beaten.’

If DeGale wins the title in April, he will become the first British Olympic gold medallist to win a professional world title. McDonnell believes it is nevitable that his fighter will make history but, more importantly, it will be a reward for the loyalty the fighter has shown since turning pro with him in 2008.

‘James has shown loyalty to me when other fighters may not have done the same. After the Groves defeat, there were people talking and saying he needs a new trainer. When an undefeated fighter loses, it’s never his fault, it’s not the matchmaker’s fault and it’s never the promoter’s fault. The man who gets the blame is the trainer. James was asked about it and he was furious. He said ‘it wasn’t Jimmy’s fault I made the fight too close’. He was really outspoken and, as a trainer, it made me proud to see him react like that.’

Should DeGale take the belt on April 25th, it will be the culmination of seven years hard work, dedication and loyalty between the two. A relationship that has been tested at times and one that has seen both men retain the same level of trust and faith in one another. As the interview winds down, McDonnell tells me of some-thing that happened during the press conference to announce that DeGale was turning professional.

‘A boxing writer, who I won’t name’, chuckles McDonnell, ‘told me that as long as he had a hole in his backside, James will never be a world champion. I told him that I’d put a significant amount of money on James to become a world champion at odds of 66/1 and the writer just laughed. After the Brandon Gonzales fight, the same guy came up to me and admitted he was wrong!’

On April 25th, if James DeGale takes the title and makes history as the first Olympic gold medallist from Britain to win a world title, Jim McDonnell’s smile will be as wide as the Thames Estuary and the money from that bet will be the icing on the cake.

JO JO DAN

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JO JO DANBY JOHN WHARTON

INTERVIEW

1 989 saw the Communist regimes in Europe begin to falter and in the Romanian city of Timisoara, dictator Nicolai Ceausescu ordered his troops to open fire

on anti-government protestors. The demonstrations spread to Bucharest and would eventually become known as the Romanian Revolution, the only vi-olent removal of a Communist govern-ment during the 1989 revolutions across Communist Europe.

On December 22nd, the dictator and his wife Elena fled the capital in a helicopter. They were eventuallycaptured and, after a hastily convened military tribunal, found guilty ofgenocide and sabotage of the economy. On Christmas day 1989, both were executed by firing squad.

Jo Jo Dan was an eight year old child during this tumultuous period of national history. Born in 1981 in Giurgiu, just across the River Danube from Bulgaria, Dan’s family moved toBucharest when he was just a small child.

Romania is not a nation known for producing boxers and if Dan should

dethrone Britain’s Kell Brook on March 28th, he will become the fifth world champion from the Eastern European country, joining Michael Loewe (Mihai Leu), Leonard Dorin, Adrian Diaconu and Lucian Bute. Romania remains a troubled country and if the Quebec based fighter can win the IBF belt , it will be a great achievement for the nation.

‘If I became world champion, I would become only the fifth world champion from Romania. It would make me so proud to join that list. I have had to move to Canada to further my boxing career but I am a proud Romanian and I would love to win the title for my country.’

Standing in Dan’s way is Kell Brook. The Sheffield man won the title last August, as he dethroned Shaun Porter in Carson, Ca. Brook was then seriously injured in an attack in Magaluf last September. TheRomanian challenger was very impressed with the manner in which Brook defeated the previously undefeated American.

‘He looked very good. His team came

up with a brilliant plan for the fight and, despite some people thinking it was close, I thought that he definitely won the fight.’

The bout on March 28th will be in the champion’s hometown of Sheffield, at the Motorpoint Arena, but the challenger is adamant the partisan hometown support will not affect him in any way. The only blemishes on his pro record are two close and controversial defeats to Turkey’s Selcuk Aydin, but, whilst other fighters may still be lamenting on their defeats, the Romanian is philosophical about the losses.

‘I believe the defeats to Aydin have made me a better fighter. I know I won those fights but the judges took it away from me. They were tough experiences and I was very upset by those defeats, but they’ve made me a better fighter and the crowd in Turkey will prepare me for the crowd in Sheffield.’

It was just under twelve years ago when Dan left Romania for Canada, to start a professional boxing career. He settled in Quebec and believes that the relocation has made him a better fighter and forced him to evolve as a person. And if he needed any further motivation to dethrone the

champion, then Dan and his wife have that coming along in April.

‘My wife and I are expecting our third child in April. We have two little boys already and this time it will be a girl. I am determined that when she is born, I will be world champion.’

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THE LION UN-CAGED Former world title challenger Sharif Bogere is targeting a breakout year and talks to BMMs Jack Sumner about the hardships that make him the fighter he is today . .

N ature’s greatest predators have often been used to symbolise exceptional courage and fortitude in sports. The ‘Eye of the Tiger’ and the ‘Heart of a Lion’ for example being notable appraisals you might hear

thrown around a boxing ring. But one fighter personifies the big cat of the African plains more than any other. ‘The Lion’ himself, Sharif Bogere.

Donning a lion’s head on his way to the ring with the animal’s coat draped around his shoulders, Bogere is transported in a cage by four bodybuilders wearing only leopard-print loincloths. But the eccentricity of the ring walk is symbolic not only of the fighter’s light-heart-ed nature and flair for showmanship, but the harsh lessons that shaped his humble and hard-working character.

“Bro, I always tell people to be thankful for what they have in life. I grew up in a place where I couldn’t even find a cup of clean water after working out. No punching gloves, no wraps, not even a bag to hit or a ring to box in,” the charismatic 26-year-old lightweight recollects. “The streets were tough growing up.”

Those streets where Bogere made his start in life were in Kampala, Uganda, but these days the one-time world title challenger resides in the resplendent desert of Las Vegas, Nevada. His childhood in the capital city of his poverty-stricken home nation could not have been more of an antithesis. Fighting was a necessity, for a street child at the age of just seven trying to survive amongst his elders.

There would be older boys who would make the younger kids fight. It was through this practice that Bogere first began to make a name for himself.

By all accounts, no matter which kid Bogere was matched with he would be the one having his hand raised and pretty soon his natural ability led him to a local gym. His mother disapproved, setting Sharif copious amounts of work at home to restrict the time he could spend boxing. It became a secret passion, but the secret didn’t last for long.

“I used to do everything real quick and then when she wasn’t there I’d

go and run and work out. Then she saw me on the news! She was like ‘are you still boxing?’ But she could see I loved it and so she became softer.”

Bogere’s passion for the sport drove him to an e x c e p t i o n a l amateur career, where he

became captain of the Ugandan national team

and a five-time African champion. Going on to compile a

record of 68-4 in the unpaid ranks, he left the Uganda team after the 2007

World Amateur Boxing Championships in Chica-go, to set his sights on a career as a professional.

Signing with Golden Boy Promotions, Bogere’s career really began to gain momentum and after racking up victories across the United States, Bogere faced his first real test in underrated stalwart Raymundo Beltran. It was a gut check for the African, who survived being staggered and cut to best the tough Mexican over ten thrilling rounds and win the WBO NABO lightweight crown.

Following twenty-three consecutive victories

and finishing fifteen victims inside the distance, the exciting boxer-puncher received his first world title shot, against the awkward Cuban Richar Abril in March 2013. After a scrappy affair, which featured numerous accidentalhead clashes and ultimately proved to be a lacklustre spectacle, the closely contested battle was won by Abril, with the titleholder edging close cards from all three judges.

“He was given a gift,” says Bogere. “You know in life there are ups and downs and as for that loss, I take it as a learning experience, even though he didn’t do nothing to win. I’d love to fight him (again) someday. I hope he never gets scared, ‘cause he knows he never won that fight and he’s never been in that ring with someone like me.”

To compound suffering his first professional defeat, Bogere was sidelined for the rest of 2013 with a tear of his left Achilles tendon, an ailment that had hampered his preparation for the Abril fight. The bout had originally been scheduled for the previous November, but Sharif was forced to pull out at two weeks notice after the tendon was found to be ruptured following final sparring sessions. Not wanting to lose his title opportunity, Bogere gave his body little time to recover before resuming training for the rearranged clash.

It was a painful lesson to be learnt and one that led to thirteen months of inactivity, but gave the contender added motivation to return with a vengeance. Born

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x THE LION UN-CAGEDfrom the blood-red soil of Africa, Bogere pos-sessed the tenacity to get back in the title hunt.

“As far as the injury, it made me hungrier. Im-agine staying out of commission for thirteen plus months. But I never lost hope, I always stayed pos-itive and prayed for better health. I never stopped believing, I stayed active in the physical therapy, which helped to strengthen my Achilles. I would like to thank God The Most High who has blessed me with good health through 2014 up to date.”

Bogere returned to action in April last year. The lion was unleashed from its cage.

A domineering sixth-round stoppage of Ar-turo Urena at Los Angeles Stub Hub Center was followed by early knockouts of Miguel Zamu-dio and Fernando Garcia to cap off an impres-sive 2014. The Garcia win came a month after Bogere’s twenty-sixth birthday in October and now entering his physical prime as we move into 2015, the fighter expects to take the lightweight division by storm over the next twelve months.

“2014 was good and I’m thankful for everything I did and the victories. This year me and my team are working on a lot of different things to make me one of the best fighters in the world. There is more of Sharif Bogere to come. Keep your eyes open!”

“I would like to thank God the Most High, he gave me a chance to reach this age. I’m now ex-perienced in boxing at twenty-six and I believe real soon the world gonna witness the new me.”

The lightweight division is rife with talent but with titleholders Omar Figueroa and Terence Craw-ford expected to vacate and move up a chain of progression will provide opportunities, particu-larly with the WBO who rank Bogere highest and whose title lies in Crawford’s possession. At the time of writing, Bogere doesn’t currently have a fight scheduled but is expecting something to come to fruition soon. When asked who he’d like to fight next, he provides a pretty bold answer.

“The question is “is there any champ/belt hold-er who would like to fight the lion?! I’ve called all these guys out. They better stay on the no-tice. The lion is coming for you! ROOARR!!!”

“As for now, my promoter has told me to stay

ready, that my time is coming soon. From those words, they pump me up and I will be ready to take any of these guys. Right now I’m ready to take it to the next level and looking forward to winning a world tittle, in shaa Allah (god willing).”

In Bogere’s corner sits veteran trainer Kenny Ad-ams, who helped coach the American team for the remarkably successful 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and was head coach for the 1988 Seoul games. Adams has trained numerous world champions in the pro ranks, including Rene Jacquot, Freddie Norwood and the late Diego Corrales. He may well have another one on his hands with Bogere.

“Ken is one of the best trainers in the business of boxing, he’s a former USA Olympic coach in days of Mike Tyson, Roy Jones, Meldrick Tay-lor, he’s a former USA army trainer. Kenny has been in the game for a long time. He knows how to teach a fighter the better way. And he has taught me a lot of different things in boxing.”

While Adams’ has been nurturing techni-

cal improvements in Bogere, the unorthodox, somewhat erratic nature of the African’s fight-ing style has not been lost. His unpredicta-bility, coupled with his athleticism, is a night-mare proposition for his opponents to face.

“I don’t only fight to please my own desires but I fight to please the fans and the people who watch. I wanna be able to throw a punch that’s gonna make people say ‘Ooooo Mama Mia!!’ Throwing punches that’s gonna make them move out their seats and start shadow boxing!”

And that penchant for pleasing the fans certainly lends itself to the ring walk?

“Yes sir, this ring walk is way different from any others you know. We want to bring excitement to the game. But this lion represents my Afri-can heritage and the warriors across the world.”

The story behind the notorious lion ensem-ble is that the skin was taken from a male that had killed several people in Africa before be-

ing captured and put down. Bogere’s manag-er Ralph Heredia saw the opportunity for his fighter’s unique ring entrance attire and with Sharif’s admiration for the entertainment fac-tor provided by idols like Hector Camacho and Prince Naseem Hamed, a new ring walk was born. It made Bogere a hit back home and his success has elevated him to star status.

Though his fame has not yet transcended to fans in other parts of the world, Bogere po-tentially stands on the brink of a big year and providing he can secure the right fights, not only has the talent to win a world crown, but the charisma to become a fan favourite.

As a parting shot, Bogere had a message for BMM:

“Thanks to Boxing Mad Magazine and the readers. Stay updated about the lion. You can follow me on Twitter @sharifbogere . . . Instagram @bogeresha-rif . . . Facebook page Sharif “the lion” Bogere.”

“Stay blessed all.”

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VALENTINE’S DAY SHOCKERROSE STOPPED IN

F or Brian Rose, this year’s Valentine’s Day was marked with a very special date, as on February 14th, the Lancashire light middleweight was given the opportunity to bounce-back into world

title contention. Like an enamoured belle promised a candlelit dinner ahead of a night of silken passion, Rose was hankering to get out at Blackpool’s Winter Gardens, top of a Prizefighter bill in front of a home crowd against well-known American Carson Jones.

But just like in many homes that evening, when the bell finally rang for the action to commence the main event turned out to be short-lived and unsatisfactory. Rose was shockingly stopped at the end of the first round when referee Ian John Lewis halted proceedings with Jones unloading a flurry of punches, a call that was immediately met with derision and disgust from a consensus of the watching fans and media.

An overhand right staggered Rose and Jones unleashed a series of hooks and uppercuts to follow up, but although the former world title challenger was evidently hurt he took the majority of the punches on arms and gloves and was not beyond a position where he could conceivably continue. In fact, earlier in the round Jones had been equally shaken when a right hook from Rose wobbled the visiting fighter’s legs. It was a horribly premature stoppage given the circumstances.

It’s not the first time Ian John Lewis has received criticism for stopping a fight too soon, with the first meeting between Enzo Maccarinelli and Ovill McKenzie in 2012 a primary example. After the fight, an understandablydisheartened Rose displayed anger towards the official and questioned his

position within the sport.

Ian john Lewis needs to ref a non contact sport. Yes I was buzzed with a shot but so was he a minute before. joke. Never give me a chance.

He apologised to me 3 times after the decision!!! Why apologise to me if he thinks it’s the right decision ???Brian Rose (@Brian_Lion_Rose) via Twitter, February 14, 2015

Rose was stopped for the second time in three fights, following last year’s world title defeat to WBO champion Demetrius Andrade, in which he was blown away in seven rounds at the Barclays Center in New York. He

returned in October to score a quick-fire win over Ignacio Lucero Fraga in the first round and the bout with Jones was intended to be a stepping stone to a fruitful 2015, but now the 30-year-old – who celebrated his birthday the following day – faces a major rebuilding process.

However, despite the controversial nature of the stoppage and the fanbase Rose enjoys in the UK, promoter Eddie Hearn may be able to orchestrate a rematch with Jones and the opportunity for Rose to right the perceived wrong. Jones has fought several times on British soil already and doesn’t possess a wealth of options for fights in the States, so would likely welcome a return if a lucrative offer can be made.

"He apologised to me 3 times after the

decisionWhy apologise to me if he thinks it’s the

right decision"

JACK SUMNER

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Carl Frampton

Is Stardom Really Beckoning?

A lot has been made of the IBF super bantamweight champi-on Carl Frampton’s (19-0-0, 13 KO) move to ITV, but a question needs to be asked: Will this really help him achieve stardom outside of his native Ireland?

Many observers treat it as an inevitability, suggesting that the millions of viewers that the Northern Irishman’s mandatory defence on 28th February against Chris Avalos (25-2-0, 19 KO) is bound to get will instantly result in promi-nence. As the last six or so years have shown though appearances on terrestrial television do not always turn out like this; a fact that has rung true for the likes of Kid Galahad and Tyson Fury. Also, the deal could well conspire to harm Frampton’s chances at having a huge domestic grudge match with WBA World titleholder Scott Quigg (30-0-2, 22 KO). Therefore, the combination of these factors should, for the time being, restrain the claims that ‘The Jackal’ is bound to become a household name.

Even so, there are few better platforms around for Frampton to be showcased on than ITV. In terms of viewership, boxing’s leading channels – Sky Sports and Boxnation – cannot compete with the terrestrial network. Through the 2013/2014 season, boxing events on Sky received an average of just over 100,000 views, whilst the burgeoning fight-orientated Boxnation has somewhere in the region of 150,000-200,000 subscribers. In comparison, Frampton’s first defence of his IBF title is expected to be seen by around five million people. Thus, going by these crude statistics ITV appears to be the best and most likely outlet to turn the Northern Irishman into a British celebrity.

But there are a couple of reasons to quieten

such feverish claims.

As has been demonstrated by Mick Hennessy’s venture to Channel Five, large viewing figures alone may not aid Frampton’s rise to prominence. The promoter has put together shows on the channel for four years, on the whole centring them on Tyson Fury, James Degale and Kid Galahad. However, the huge platform that terrestrial television brought with it failed to ignite their careers. Fury has definitely benefited the most from the exposure, but he still struggles to be a large ticket seller – before Dereck Chisora pulled out of the initial date for their rematch in July, the Boxnation-presented show struggled at the box office. And, according to rumour, the heavyweight’s stay-busy fight against Christian Hammer later this month is also struggling to entice punters. Similarly, James Degale grew so disillusioned with repeatedly fighting in sports centres and shopping malls on Channel Five that he joined promoter Eddie Hearn’s stable of fighters on Sky Sports, a move that has allowed his career to finally regain some traction. Kid Galahad has fought on Channel 5 since 2012 and has also failed to headline an event in an arena of note; instead he has had to tolerate fighting for various trinkets at Sheffield’s Ponds Forge Arena – which holds a measly 2,000 spectators – on his last three outings. OnChannel Five even the worst-performing cards have received a televisual audience of over six hundred thousand people; however the stop start careers of Fury, Degale and Kid Galahad have highlighted the fact that large viewing figures alone may not help Frampton on his quest to become a recognisable name.

Moreover, the deal with ITV could impede the growth of his profile as it may prevent the Northern Irishmen from entering into the

biggest fight out there for him – against Scott Quigg. This is a fairly basic and very obvious point but it has to be made: for a fighter’s profile to grow he needs to take the biggest fights available to him. Thus a unification fight with the division’s WBA World titleholder would give the Northern Irishman’s career an unrivalled amount of impetus. However, if Frampton’s deal with ITV is, as expected, extended after February 28th the likelihood of the pair squaring up against each other will diminish – because Quigg is currently promoted by Eddie Hearn, who has shown a real reluctance to air fighters anywhere other than on Sky Sports. This is added to the long-standing fact that the chances of a unification fight with any of the other super bantamweight champions are slim; as the WBC

belt holder Leo Santa Cruz has seemingly shown a refusal to take a challenging fight, whilst the brilliant WBA Super Champion Guillermo Rigondeaux remains one of the most avoided fighters in the sport. Consequently, the ITV deal could prove to be counter-productive as it could well block Frampton’s only available avenue to unifying the division, which in turn would hinder the growth of his ‘brand’.

It is therefore clear that whilst many are already christening the ITV deal as the start of Frampton’s rise to prominence, there is enough reason to remain sceptical. Thus the question in this article’s title should be given considerably more thought than it has been lately, as there are several factors which could conspire to hurt Frampton’s efforts to becoming a crossover star.

Jack Dyson

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x Jack Sumner

It seems like no one is getting quite what they want at 168lbs, as politics once again triumphs in boxing. . .

Ever since a career-defining right hand sealed a record-breaking victory over George Groves at Wembley Stadium last May, Carl Froch has been singing the same song. He wants to fight one more fight, in Las Vegas, and then he’ll retire. If his night under the bright desert lights doesn’t materialise, then he’ll happily hang up the gloves without fighting again.

That much was apparent in the immediate aftermath of his eighth-round knockout win and not much has changed since; nine months on, the thirty-sixth bout of the Cobra’s career has still not been scheduled. It was lookingpromising; arduous negotiations with the camp of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr `eventually progressed to terms being agreed for a March 28th fight, only for injury to then take Froch out of commission.

In the wake of Froch’s revelation that he has suffered an elbow injury to force

ALL ABOARD THE SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHT MERRY GO ROUND

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xhim out of camp came the news that the 37-year-old will be vacating his IBF super-middleweight title. That decision paves the way for James DeGale – Froch’s mandatory since a fourth-round knockout of Brandon Gonzales on the undercard of the Groves rematch – to fight for the vacant strap this spring.

DeGale has been calling Froch out for the best part of a year and has always maintained that stylistically he has the Nottingham man’s number. Some will see Froch’s lack of interest in a DeGale bout as avoidance, but the motivational angle is one that carries weight. Carl’s last two fights were domestic blockbusters; a third with another British upstart would therefore likely be perceived as something of an anticlimax.

Add to the mix that he’s never fought in the ordained fight capital of the world and the fact that he likely has, at most, two fights left before he calls it a career, and you can understand why the prospect doesn’t exactly flip his pancake.

There’s no need to feel sorry for DeGale however. After all, the next time the Harlesden southpaw steps through the ropes a vacant world title will be on the line. And if he’s looking for a dance partner, then look no further than the aforementioned Groves. Ever since the Saint handed DeGale his solitary defeat, a rematch has been on the cards.

The chance to win a world title and avenge your only loss? DeGale must have thought that Christmas had come exceptionally early in 2015. But it wasn’t such an attractive proposition for Groves, who has rejected the bout in favour of waiting on his mandatory shot at the WBC crown.

Groves bounced back from his defeats to Froch with a win over Christopher Rebrasse to lift the European title in September, a victory that also made him the number one contender for WBC titleholder Anthony Dirrell. But the unbeaten American seems in no hurry to defend his title against the 26-year-old from Hammersmith and earlier this month the Mexican-based sanctioning body whose title he holds backed his request to delay a meeting.

The WBC have awarded Dirrell a four-month voluntary extension, in which he is free to make a defence of his own selection and thus delaying any potential fight with Groves until late summer at the earliest. It was at this point that the offer to fight DeGale for the IBF strap was back on the table for Groves, but it was swept aside. Part of the refusal to make a lucrative rematch with DeGale and have the opportunity to win a world title earlier than if he waited for Dirrell, is Groves’s unwillingness to do so on his enemy’s terms, particularly now that DeGale is aligned with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Sport.

What it could ultimately mean though, is that Groves might have to watch his bitterest rival win a world title while he sits on the sidelines.

Instead, DeGale’s opponent for his first world

title tilt is expected to be Andre Dirrell, brother of Anthony and former Froch foe. The Michigan switch-hitter lost a controversial decision to Froch in Nottingham in 2009, as part of the Super Six tournament that crowned the currently inactive Andre Ward as the undisputed 168lb king. But the older Dirrell brother presents a much less appealing challenge for DeGale. Both men are natural left-handers that treat the canvas like a chessboard and the fact that the American garners little mainstream interest as well as the likelihood that the fight would be a cagey affair, lessens the stage on which DeGale’s opportunity to make history will come.

And make history DeGale might, as the first Brit-ish Olympic gold medallist to win a world crown, but Dirrell brings Olympic pedigree

of his own as a medallist at the 2004 Athens games. The 31-year-old is arguably a much higher risk for a slightly lesser reward. It’s a very difficult fight for DeGale and one that could seriously hurt his chances of ever gaining his revenge over Groves should he not emerge victorious.

At least Andre Dirrell is happy then right? Well no, not exactly. His ‘number one target’ is to get Froch back in the ring, something that in the midst of all recent developments now looks highly unlikely. After earning a lofty ranking with the IBF through recent wins over Nick Brinson and Derek Edwards, the man he set his sights on dethroning has removed his crown.

Who’d be a super middleweight?

Jack Sumner

FEB 2015036

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