For boxing’s faithful who have showed naive glimpses of excitement ahead of the possible May 2, super clash between Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao, a potential deal could still be a long way off.
It is being well document that Pacman and his team have agreed to the terms of the fight, as well as the Mayweather camp, but one signature remains illusive. As of Sunday evening, Mayweather Jr has yet to sign to the contract that would see a potential boxing PPV record breaking clash later this year.
Rumours are circulating that the negotiations between SHOwtime and HBO are the reasons behind Mayweather’s stalling, as both brands look to combine forces for only the second time in their history, with the first being the 2002 boxing mega-bout between Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis.
Deontay Wilder became the first American heavyweight champion since Shannon Briggs in 2006 (WBO), after he defeated Bermane Stiverne to win the WBC heavyweight title by unanimous decision (118-109, 119-108, 120-107). If there was a decision more asserting than unanimous, it would have been handed to Wilder, who controlled the fight against a foolish Stiverne.
The were two keys to Wilder’s win and how the fight panned out. The first being the jab and range of the challenger, he used it with pin point effect, and kept Stiverne at arms-length, which evidently showed as the champion was unable to get his big shots through, relegated to working the body.
Stiverne looked very rigid, keeping a high guard opposed to the relaxed, preferred approach he naturally uses. The Mayweather Gym fighter was unable to cut the ring off against a tiring Wilder, who wobbled Stiverne, forcing him to fall to the floor, taking Wilder with him. Not scored a knock down.
Wilder managed to shake Stiverne a few times, but for most it was a patient performance. Many expected both men to swing for the fences, but a slow, undynamic Stiverne and a careful Wilder made for a pretty dull display. Although a smart fought win, Wilder showed very little to refute the claims that he still has a lot to do before he can challenge the likes of Wladimir Klitschko and Tyson Fury in future bouts.
Also on the SHOwtime under card, Amir Iman defeated Fidel Maldonado Jr in a fight of the night in Las Vegas to win the vacant WBC Continental Americas light-welterweight championship. At first it was Maldonado putting together some decent combinations, with Iman negated to the big one punch, successfully dropping Maldonado at the end of round two.
In a turn of events, Maldonado dropped Iman at the start of round three, putting him on the canvas for the first time in his career. However this would seemingly infuriate Iman, who would knock down Maldonado a further three times on his way to a fifth round TKO.
A fight against Adrien Broner, 26, would be an interesting bout for both Iman and Broner. It is clear that Iman has shown the promise of a future elite level boxer, and with Broner struggling to regain steam since his loss to Marcos Maidana, this could be a perfect match-up for both men.
Prior to Saturday’s big event, ESPN hosted it’s usual boxing Friday Night Fights, which saw Willie Monroe Jr defeat Bryan Vera by unanimous decision (99-90, 98-91 and 97-92). The 2014 Boxcino middleweight tournament winner fought well to outpoint Vera over 10 rounds, landing his left shot with ease as the fight progressed, despite a good start from Vera. A knockdown in round five pretty much cemented the win for Monroe.
