The Boxing Truth®

In a follow-up to a previous story we have been following here on The Boxing Truth ®, it has been announced per Ring Magazine that WBA World Middleweight champion Erislandy Lara will now defend his title against Johan Gonzalez .  As previously reported here on the website , Lara was to face unbeaten unified WBO/IBF World Middleweight champion Janibek Alimkhanuly in a unification bout, but Alimkhanuly ha been pulled from the fight due to testing positive for a banned substance. As of this writing, it remains unclear as to Alimkhanuly’s status with regard to both the WBO and IBF as each respective organization’s current World Middleweight champion.  Lara, (31-3-3, with 19 Knockouts) will now defend his title against Gonzalez, (36-4, with 34 Knockouts) who is stepping in in a little less than four days notice to challenge Lara, and who is not currently rated in the top ten in the World Boxing Association’s Middleweight ratings. Lara vs. Gonzalez will take place on the under...

The 160lb. Middleweight division has been one that has gradually moved on from an era largely dominated by former two-time Middleweight world champion Gennady Golovkin and towards a period of ongoing transition. A transition that to date has no finish date as no fighter has yet emerged as the division’s next central figure. One fighter that has been making a strong case for himself, however, is current unified WBO/IBF Middleweight world champion Janibek Alimkhanuly. Alimkhanuly, a native of Zhilandy, Kazakhstan, is in many ways viewed as Golovkin’s unofficial successor. Not only are both Golovkin and Alimkhanuly, Kazakhstan natives, but like Golovkin, Alimkhanuly established himself off of an ability to score quick and often devastating knockouts. Unbeaten in fifteen professional fights, Alimkhanuly has scored knockouts in ten of those bouts registering a current career knockout percentage of nearly 67%. While not quite at the same degree as what this observer often called “A Path Of D...

Initially, undefeated Undisputed Women's Middleweight champion Claressa Shields was to defend her title on June 3rd against Hannah Gabriels in a rematch of their bout in 2018, which was won by Shields, but one where Gabriels scored a knockdown of the woman regarded by many as the best pound for pound fighter in Women's Boxing. The planned rematch however, would not come to fruition as Gabriels would test positive for a banned substance resulting in her being removed from the bout on a week's notice. In stepped the number one contender of three of the four sanctioning organizations which comprises Shields' undisputed crown, Maricela Cornejo who took the opportunity to fight the champion in Shields' home state of Michigan meeting her at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. For all intents and purposes, this was a homecoming for Shields, who is from nearby Flint, MI. While a fighter having to adapt to a change of opponent on short notice is not new in combat sports, ci...

The story going into the WBO Middleweight world championship fight between undefeated champion Zhanibek Alimkhanuly and WBO number four Middleweight contender Steven Butler on May 13th in Stockton,CA was not so much about the fight itself, nor was it about the world championship that was on the line, it was more about whether either fighter would be able to make a statement. A statement for a fighter in a division that by all accounts appears to be heading towards a period of transition as potentially being the division's next focal point or star attraction. While there was little more about this fight beyond an undefeated world champion in the early stages of his reign defending his title against a top contender, the search for the next star of the Middleweight division as longtime division cornerstone and future Hall of Famer Gennady Golovkin appears to be heading toward retirement, is something that will likely hang over any fight involving fighters at or near the top of the div...

The 160lb. Middleweight division in addition to being one of the most competitive throughout the history of Boxing is also a division that has been defined by fighters that have through their success in the weight class, have gone on to be stars in the sport with many ultimately being regarded as legends when their careers are over. In recent times the fighter most identified with the Middleweight division has been two-time Middleweight world champion Gennady Golovkin, who's first reign as champion saw him tie the record set by Hall of Famer Bernard Hopkins for most consecutive successful title defenses of twenty. Throughout Golovkin's reign, which this observer chronicled as "A Path Of Destruction" due to Golovkin also compiling a streak of knockouts in addition to making a run for the record held by Hopkins, I also routinely discussed the parallels between him and another legendary Middleweight world champion, the late great Marvelous Marvin Hagler in that much like...