It was not a fix, there is no conspiracy and there is unlikely to be a sequel any time soon to Carl Froch’s stoppage of George Groves in round nine on Saturday night in Manchester. The referee, Howard Foster, jumped in, nearly tumbled over and grabbed Groves at 1min 33sec of the ninth after he had been caught and trapped on the ropes in a fight he appeared to be winning by a long, long way. However, when the redundant calculations of the judges were revealed, two out of the three had Groves in front by just one slender point; the third agreed with me and had it by five points. The difference in the schools is far more disturbing than the hysteria surrounding Foster’s intervention, which was perhaps a few seconds too soon, just bringing forward the inevitable at that moment.
Groves complained bitterly and the capacity crowd of just fewer than 20,000 booed for 10 minutes in disgust at the intervention. The same fans had jeered and booed Groves as he made his way through a tunnel of hate to the ring 30 minutes earlier and it was a shift of allegiance that in 40 years inside the boxing business I have never witnessed; there was, make no mistake, genuine outrage inside the arena and the ugly confrontations in the ring when it was over, between the ridiculously swollen rival entourages, only added to the sense of utter chaos at the end of a memorable night.
The fight was simply one of the finest seen in a British ring and easily matched for ferocity, quality and thrills any of the fights involving Chris Eubank, Nigel Benn, Michael Watson and Steve Collins two decades ago; the quartet took part in nine fights against each other that have inspired a generation of nostalgic fanatics for so long: this fight belongs in that company.
Froch was sent heavily to the canvas late in the opening round from a right hand and, regaining his feet, just survived until the bell. Froch fought on instinct round after round, taking sharp rights that shook and clearly hurt him, and trying but missing with many of his desperate punches. It was brutal to watch and the sour build-up of unpleasant boasts that they had each exchanged only added to the pleasure of being just 10 feet away from the fighters.
“For a few rounds it looked like Carl Froch’s career was over,” admitted Eddie Hearn, Froch’s promoter. “He took a hiding in there at times and I just had no idea at one point how he was going to turn it round.”
Froch admitted to forgetting he had been knocked down and that is not a surprise considering the punishment he took. It was Froch’s 11th consecutive world title fight and his IBF and WBA baubles glittered like cheap trophies for such deep sacrifice.
The sixth round was sensational, with the pair locked close and throwing punches in a relentless, swaying rhythm of power, their knees separated by inches as Groves connected with punch after punch. It was breathtaking stuff, damaging stuff and Foster was poised with his eyes on Froch at one point. It was one of several moments when Froch was a punch or two away from being rescued from his desire; it was an act that looked closer on Saturday night than at any point in his boxing life. He could, I think, still opt for retirement and it would not be a shock.
“I’m a victim of my false reputation for being chinny,” Groves said, “and of Carl’s reputation for being a warrior. I was fine at the end.” It needs to be remembered that a referee has to make decisions in a flash, using his experience, and Foster’s lunge to save Groves was influenced by a lifetime in boxing and nothing sinister.
It was still a heartbreaking end to a heroic fight from Groves and it was also the type of salvation for Froch that only true champions are capable of finding at the end of brutal, life-changing encounters. It was not a fix; it was just three men in the ring getting lost in a conflict that was so raw that a rematch could be a fight too far for either boxer.
Boxing: Carl Froch last man standing in a battle of brutal brilliance - Others - More Sports - The Independent
American boxing fans, settling in to watch the Manny Pacquiao fight this past Saturday night, probably weren’t too excited to see, leading the broadcast, a flyweight named Zou Shiming. Zou is a boxer whose assets include two Olympic gold medals and a team of promoters intent on transforming him into China’s first professional-boxing star; in pursuit of this goal, they placed him on Pacquiao’s undercard. In his two previous professional fights, Zou had looked rather tentative, which made his backers look rather cynical, as if they were selling a mediocre fighter to fans who didn’t know enough to reject him. But, on Saturday night, Zou was cruelly proficient, battering and bloodying an obscure Mexican fighter named Juan Tozcano. The fight was held in Macau, on Sunday morning (so that Americans could watch live, on pay-per-view, on Saturday night), and Zou seemed to enjoy his punches almost as much as the crowd did; he looked a bit like the hometown hero that he is supposed to be.
But HBO’s announcers were having a hard time celebrating, because they were distracted by the queasy way Tozcano staggered backward when Zou connected, and by the swelling cut beneath Tozcano’s right eye. In round five, as Jim Lampley mused about boxers who design their own trunks, Max Kellerman asked, “Does anybody care about Tozcano at all—in the corner, anyone?” This was a six-round fight, and by the end, Lampley, too, was growing concerned, and he couldn’t help but mention an episode from boxing’s recent history. He said, “Some fans will wonder if we are more sensitized to the discussion of whether the fight should be stopped because we’re now in the third week of the vigil surrounding Magomed Abdusalamov, the heavyweight who was stricken after his fight with Mike Perez in the small room at Madison Square Garden a few weeks ago. And to them I’d say, ‘Why shouldn’t we be?’”
Abdusalamov’s fight, on November 2nd, was broadcast on HBO, and though fans in the arena saw a spirited battle, viewers watching from home could see that Abdusalamov, between rounds, was increasingly dazed. After the fight, Abdusalamov took a cab to Roosevelt Hospital, where doctors discovered that his brain was bleeding and swelling; he has been in a medically induced coma ever since, although doctors briefly tried to bring him out on Thursday. This weekend’s fights took place in Abdusalamov’s shadow—if the announcers found themselves newly “sensitized,” they surely weren’t the only ones. Zou won the unanimous decision he deserved; more importantly, there were no immediate reports of serious injuries to Tozcano, who seems to have survived a beating that was tough but not, by boxing standards, exceptionally so.
Not long afterward, a rough Russian featherweight named Evgeny Gradovich dismantled a stubborn Australian named Billy Dib. By the eighth round, the veteran boxer Roy Jones, Jr., the third member of the broadcast team, was asking for this fight, too, to be stopped, and between rounds, Dib’s trainer, Billy Hussein, was just as worried. “Bill, you know I care about you and I love you,” he said. “One more punch, mate, it’s ************************in’ over—I’m telling you now.” In the ninth round, Hussein made good on his promise, scrambling into the ring to rescue Dib and end the fight. Gradovich must now be considered one of the best featherweights in the world, but Lampley’s verdict also conveyed the mixed feelings many fans have when they watch boxers demonstrate astonishing courage. “A gutty show by Billy Dib,” he said. “Too gutty.”
HBO’s broadcast also included an odd heavyweight fight between Andy Ruiz, Jr., an emerging prospect, and Tor Hamer, a fighter from New York who was considered a rising star only a few years ago. After starting slowly, Ruiz began to land hard punches in the third round; in the corner, Hamer told his trainer that a fourth round would be unnecessary. When Kellerman suggested that Hamer might have been thinking about Abdusalamov when he declined to fight on, Jones sounded offended. He said, “Come on, Max—come on! This is fighting. That has no business being on your mind.” Hamer had given up mid-fight, once before, last December, and by declining to endure more punishment on Saturday night, he became a boxing pariah. Dan Rafael from ESPN, criticized Hamer’s “miserable, non-effort quit job,” adding, “He shouldn’t get paid.” And the verdict from Hamer’s promoter, Lou DiBella, was even more unsparing: he called Hamer’s performance an “embarrassment,” and added, “By the way, Tor, you are released. WTF😡” This is the fate that awaits a boxer who is judged to be not gutty enough.
Fans are scarcely more forgiving when they judge a referee to have stopped a fight prematurely. For some boxing fans, especially (but not only) in the U.K., the weekend’s most anticipated event was a super-middleweight match between two British stars, Carl Froch and George Groves, which was held in Manchester, and available in America on an obscure cable network called AWE. Froch-Groves was a great fight—or rather, a great fight with an asterisk. Groves, the underdog, knocked Froch down in the first round, and, in many of the heavy exchanges that followed, seemed faster and stronger. Then, in the ninth round, Froch destabilized Groves with a series of rights, and just as viewers were about to find out whether Groves would withstand or fold, the referee moved in to hug Groves, signalling that the fight was over and Froch was the winner, by technical knockout. The former boxer Glenn McRory, serving as a studio analyst, called the referee’s intervention “despicable, absolutely rubbish.” The crowd, which had previously been cheering for Froch, turned on him: they booed as the referee raised Froch’s hand, and cheered as Groves raised his own hands. Groves had been leading on the scorecards, and he thought he had been robbed. Many fans thought they had been robbed, too—robbed of a definitive ending. In the aftermath, Froch defended
Philippines authorities demanded Wednesday that boxing great Manny Pacquiao pay a $50 million tax bill or risk having assets seized, but the national hero vowed to take the fight to court.
The battle between one of the best boxers in history and the taxman has shocked his army of fans in the Philippines, emerging just days after a comeback win in the ring was hailed as a moment of hope amid the aftermath of a deadly typhoon.
Pacquiao disclosed Tuesday the Bureau of Internal Revenue wanted 2.2 billion pesos ($50.2 million) for alleged unpaid taxes in 2008 and 2009, when he was at the peak of his career and one of the world's highest-earning athletes.
Pacquiao, 34, insisted he had paid his taxes in the United States, and so did not need to do so in the Philippines because the two countries have an agreement allowing their citizens to avoid double taxation.
But tax commissioner Kim Henares, who has spearheaded a high-profile campaign against tax evasion in the Philippines, stood firm on Wednesday, saying Pacquiao had failed for two years to provide documents proving his US payments.
"2.2 billion (pesos) is what Pacquiao owes now because of surcharges and interest," Henares said on ABS-CBN television. Henares said the tax bill may be cut if Pacquiao did provide certified documents proving he paid the US Internal Revenue Service.
"What we want is evidence that he (Pacquiao) actually paid the tax."
But she said that even if he had paid the 30 percent tax rate in the United States, there would still be extra charges due in the Philippines because it had a higher rate of 32 percent.
The tax office has frozen his bank accounts in the Philippines, which Pacquiao said had left him financially paralysed.
Henares said the tax office could eventually take the money owed by stripping him of his assets. She said the tax office had already placed a "lien" on a Pacquiao property, worth millions of dollars, in one of Manila's most exclusive gated communities.
A lien is a form of security which allows the tax office to take back money it is owed, via lease payments or sale of the property.
Pacquiao to fight taxman
Pacquiao went on a publicity blitz on Tuesday night, appearing on all the major domestic television networks, to insist on his innocence and brand the tax office's actions "harassment".
"I am not a criminal or a thief. I am not hiding anything. I will face my problems as they come," Pacquiao said. Pacquiao's American promoter Bob Arum also released a statement saying his Top Rank firm had paid the 30 percent taxes directly to the US Internal Revenue Service, and certified paperwork to show proof would be available "very soon".
But Pacquiao's Manila lawyer told AFP on Wednesday that he would not give the tax office those documents, preferring instead to fight the issue in court.
"This is no longer within the jurisdiction of the BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue)," lawyer Tranquil Salvador said.
"The tax case is now with the court of tax appeals. We do not have to submit anything to the BIR." A court hearing has been set for December 5.
Pacquiao, a former street kid who did not finish high school, has used his sporting career to launch a successful political career -- he is a second-term congressman with publicly declared ambitions of eventually becoming president.
Pacquiao, a member of the main opposition alliance to President Benigno Aquino, hinted the case against him may be political, calling for those involved to "forget about playing politics".
At his peak Pacquiao was regarded as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, becoming the only man to win world titles in eight weight divisions.
He lost two fights last year, leading some to predict his career was finished.
But a convincing win over American Brandon Rios in Macau on Sunday reignited his career, sparking talk once again of a long-awaited bout against Floyd Mayweather.
SIX weeks ago he was on drunken benders and had never even stepped into a boxing ring.
So Blake Ferguson's unspectacular boxing debut on the Anthony Mundine-Shane Mosley card came as no surprise.
Outside a flurry of punches towards the end of round one, the rugby league bad boy was clearly outpointed by another rookie, Goulburn excavator Luke Kelly.
Ferguson looked reluctant to throw punches, spending the majority of the fight on the back foot against a willing opponent.
Still he had no complaints in the dressing room afterwards.
"It was an awesome experience," Ferguson said, spitting out blood from a mouth cut.
"Think of where I've come from in a couple of months. It's disappointing to lose but boxing has changed my life. I want to get back into ring with that guy.
"I'll get him in a rematch. No more parties. I'm in good shape now. I'm just looking ahead."
Kelly won the fight in a unanimous decision, winning all but the first round.
"All credit to Blake, he was a lot tougher than I thought he'd be," Kelly said.
Despite all his recent dramas, the majority of the crowd was cheering for Ferguson.
The fight over, Ferguson will now weigh up his rugby league opportunities. The Rabbitohs, Sharks and Warriors are all keen but he has a court case next in two weeks and the NRL integrity unit to deal with.
"The main thing is I now have direction in my life," he said, "I'm glad I had a crack at it."
Ferguson was thrown out of the NSW Blues Origin squad following a drinking session with another former Raiders star, Josh Dugan, who was at Allphones Arena on Wednesday along with several other league stars, especially from Cronulla, one of his rumoured suitors.
Ferguson started quietly and took the odd blow in the opening minute, but connected with a series of punches in the final 30 seconds to probably steal it.
Turner was again the aggressor for most of the second round, with Ferguson not throwing many punches.
Turner shaded the third and definitely took the final round, landing several right hands on a fatiguing Ferguson, who showed he had a decent chin.
``It was an awesome experience, I really enjoyed it,'' Ferguson said.
``I want to get back in the ring with him.''
Ferguson, who weighed in at just over 100kg had Tony Mundine and another former league star turned boxer Solomon Haumono in his corner.
``All credit to Blake, it was a lot tougher than I thought it would be,'' Turner said.
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Just hours after beating controversial NRL star Blake Ferguson in their professional boxing debuts on Wednesday night - a rematch is on the cards.
The undercard bout for the Anthony Mundine-Shane Mosley fight, Turner claimed victory courtesy of a four-round unanimous points decision.
Just minutes after the fight Ferguson issued the challenge for a re-match stating, "I want to get back in the ring with him."
While Mundine's manager Khoder Nasser has already discussed the idea with Turner's trainers Ashleigh Sky Devlin and her father Terry.
While a date is far from being set, Turner says he is ready.
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"Bring it on," he told foxsports-com.au.
Terry added; "They think they were a bit hard done by so they (Nasser) said definitely there will be a rematch in the making somewhere down the line."
While a host of NRL talent including former Raider Joel Thompson have called Turner out, they will give Ferguson the right of reply before taking on any other league stars.
Having been written off as a "nothing" Turner said he is most proud about proving he is much more than "someone they dragged off the street".
"Reading in the paper - everyone writing me off - I thrive on that - I wanted to prove I'm not a nothing," Turner said.
"You saw in the first round I stood there with my hands by my side and Blake hit me with at least four big hits and he didn't drop me… on paper I was meant to be the bloke that Blake Ferguson was going to smash, that's what everyone thought. That's the biggest achievement knowing in myself that didn't happen."
Turner originally had only a week-and-a-half preparation until the fight was postponed when Mosely's left the country after contractual payment was not honoured.
With the fight re-scheduled, the Turner camp says Ferguson's trainers feared Turner would have too much training under his belt and was at risk of being replaced until Turner publicly called out the New South Wales Origin star.
A Bulldogs fan, Turner said he had previously faced off against Ferguson in a school football trial and described the win as "pretty surreal at the moment."
"It hasn't sunk in - I don't think it will for a while. I'm still on cloud nine."
Turner is now planning to have some time off and recommence training after Christmas.
Great boxers have common trademarks. Most distinct among them is their ability to make a fellow “great” boxer look like amateurish. Who would ever conceive that Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios would end up to be teddy bears for Floydie and Pac to toy around?
Manny Pacquiao’s easy win versus the hard-hitting pressure fighter last weekend was awesome. The same “old” Pacman is not only back, he is back smarter and stronger. He did not knockout Rios not because he could not. After round ten, I knew he would not. Not that Pacman didn’t have the power to execute a knockout to a durable boxer, he just had the “courage” to refuse doing it to an apparently losing, hurting and helpless opponent. Though, blood-thirsty, nape-sucking fans craved for more and they meant savagery, forgetting that boxing is a sport, not barbarism.
Excessive, unnecessary violence in the ring is perhaps the darkest side of boxing and Mixed Martial Art which pictures the ugly part of man. Boxing or MMA is a game of competition, not carnage – not a deadly “Hunger Games” gig. Pacman stated immediately after he won, “God gave me strength.” And it was so – certainly not for him to murder a boxer.
Be aware that Russian heavyweight Magomed Abdusalamov’s condition worsens, having been put in a medically-induced coma after his fight with Mike Perez of Cuba on November 2 of this month in Madison Square Garden. Despite having won the bout, Perez could not rejoice fully for one main reason: “Mago is in my thoughts and prayers and I hope he recovers quickly. He fought like a true warrior, I’m happy to be victorious but my main concern is for his health.”
Recall that the young skinny boxer Pacquiao was moved to tears and inspired to turn pro in boxing by the death of his close friend Eugene Barutag, also a native of General Santos City, on December 12, 1995. Barutag collapsed in his corner in the final round allegedly due to the referee’s “oversight” to stop the fight in round four.
The Pacquiao-Rios was a Pacquiao-Margarito spectacle over again in the manner by which Pacman caused swelling and cuts in the face of Rios and wherein compassion was the factor why it turned out be “just” another lopsided unanimous conquest for the Filipino icon. Pacquiao asked then referee Lawrence Cole to stop the fight because how can he inflict further punishment on an opponent with both eyes almost completely closed and already with a broken orbital bone? “I did not want to damage Margarito permanently,” Pacquiao defended in an interview.
Nobody could have put it better than Pacman himself and he said it right after the Rios mauling: “Knockout comes when it comes. Boxing is not about killing each other.” Alas, and who can say it worse than a known Pacquiao ally who got exasperated over Pacman’s dissent to KO Rios. He blurted out: “Boxing is boxing. You are not supposed to hold punches under whatever circumstance. Go for the kill.”
Juan Marquez has comments to belittle Pacquiao’s evolution win over Rios because he finds relevance in boxing only in Pacquiao. Look how Marquez succumbed recently and easily lost his speed and power carrying on a war with a “lesser” opponent in a “No PED” welterweight showdown versus Timothy Bradley. Marquez sorely needs Pacquiao in as much as Pacquiao sorely needs to leave politics like he’s running away from a burning inferno, before it’s too late.
True enough, Pacquiao intentionally “missed” to knockout “Bam Bam,” proof that he made real his word to pray for him. Rios, for his part, failed miserably in fulfilling his vow to retire Pacquiao and “shut everyone up.”
Pacquiao’s prayer of supplication was heard.
However, his on-going and long-running battle with the Bureau of Internal Revenue doesn’t seem like Pacquiao prayed about it because had he done so, the “drama” could have not blown out of proportion. It was actually more of a failure by his lawyer or lawyers than anyone else, it appears. This is the trouble with many attorneys-at-law: They are experts at aggravating the situation and they’re more interested in prolonging the case for fat fees rather than solving the problem of their clients.
Double taxation is not just unlawful, but immoral and unconscionable. Nonetheless, the BIR people do not intend to do that to Pacquiao based on their pronouncements. It was just the IRS documents from the US that the bureau has been asking Pacquiao (for two years) to submit. So what’s the fuss about?
At any rate, compromise is the call of the day for Pacquiao and the BIR, not media war. For after all, no government agency anywhere in the world can afford to be “unbending” and cruel regardless of “statutes” and “precepts” because justice “here and There” stands by what is fair and upright.
Laws, with the assistance of thinking minds and feeling hearts, are put in place and implemented to serve the citizenry, not a corrupt system. Sadly, a “law,” created by sinful imperfect people, can sometimes be animalistic. Back then, in my four years of Gospel and social ministry inside the CIW (Correctional Institute for Women), I discovered that several inmates in that prison camp languish more as result of implemented “laws” and corruption than crimes actually committed. Ruthless.
I believe in reason to be sovereign and supreme in tackling human disputes. Can anything be possibly and humanly above it? War and atrocity thrive only in the absence of reason and the soul to grasp the other side’s sentiment.
The lady BIR Commissioner put it so aptly:
“Simple lang.”
Read more at Pacman, Taxman and Barbarity in Boxing
Saturday’s boxing from Quebec City followed the script to the letter, with the letters being HBO. Fans got to see two knockdowns from the two favorites, raising the expectations for a major light heavyweight contest in 2014 betweent the night’s two winners.
Adonis Stevenson (23-1, 20 KOs) is continued his rise in the light heavyweight division, scoring a TKO in the fourth round against Tony Bellew (20-2-1, 12 KOs) of Great Britain. Referee Mike Griffin stopped the fight before Stevenson could do any more damage to Bellew at 1:50 of the round.
Bellew started off strong. It seemed he would be successful forcing Stevenson to box him, and landed successfully in the first few rounds. But Stevenson’s output and power surged starting in the third round, and by the fourth round he was firing on all cylinders.
Stevenson put Bellew down on the canvas with his lethal left hook.
Bellew got up the first time, only to see an instant replay of the same punch seconds later. Bellew was on his feet, but stunned and unable to defend himself. Referee Griffin rushed in to stop the fight, but not before Stevenson did a bit more damage.
CompuBox stats tell the story: Stevenson landed 81 punches total to Bellew’s 36, a 33 percent to 22 percent connect percentage. Stevenson landed an impressive 58 of 107 power shots, for a 54 percent connect rate. Bellew landed 30 of 104 punches, at a 29 percent connect rate.
Referencing Bellew’s trash talk before the bout, Stevenson said to HBO’s Max Kellerman, “He’s said I’m a dwarf. The dwarf knocked him out.”
Stevenson said after round 3, trainer Sugar Hill told him to explode and to move him where he wanted Bellew to be. “After that, I move in. I went to see him … I cut the ring, I take my time, I give it a good shot.”
It’s been a great year for Stevenson. “I fight four times, and I knock everybody out in one year. Now I need a vacation!” he laughed.
In the first televised bout, Sergey Kovalev (23-0-1, 21 KO), added to his reputation as a knockout artist with a second round stoppage of Ukrainian Ismayl Sillakh (21-2, 17 KOs). Kovalev, whose nickname is “Krusher,” made it look easy with a thunderous right hand within 20 seconds of the bell. Sillakh got up after the first knockdown, but the second one put him down for good. Sillakh didn’t even seem to know where he was.
Kovalev told HBO’s Max Kellerman after the fight, “This is the result of my hard work in the gym, it’s automatic … I just get in the ring with all my memory, that I work very hard, my family, and everybody supports me, you know. I’ve got everything in my knockouts.”
Kellerman asked Kovalev who he’d like to fight next, and after going through the usual “I’ll fight whoever my promoters offer to me” polite answer, Kovalev admitted he wants to fight Adonis Stevenson.
When Stevenson was asked about his next opponent, he named Carl Froch and Bernard Hopkins as the fighters his hometown fans want to see. As for Kovalev? “I don’t have a problem if HBO puts up the money.”
Stevenson and Kovalev both have a lot of options. Both of these fighters are legitimate Fighter of the Year candidates. There may be one more round of fights before we see these two in the ring together. HBO, put your pennies together and make it happen.
Read more: Boxing results: Stevenson, Kovalev turn Quebec City into KO City Saturday | Washington Times Communities
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Light middleweight Steve O’Meara, 29, who had a shot at the Commonwealth ******title and sparred with world champs Carl Froch and Floyd Mayweather, was ******arrested in a dawn raid in ******London.
He was nicked after Scotland Yard officers allegedly found a staggering 25kilos of ****** cocaine thought to have been brought to the UK from Spain by a drugs gang.
O’Meara – who has the same trainer as ******Olympic gold medallist James DeGale and has won 14 of his 17 pro bouts – was quizzed by police before being charged with ******conspiracy to import and supply class A drugs.
The former footballer and model from London was living in ******Marbella before his arrest.
“Steve O” jetted to Spain after his last win in April.
He was still heavily fancied for a title shot after beating Chas ******Symonds on the undercard of ******Nathan Cleverly’s world title fight at Wembley Arena.
Hammersmith-born O’Meara is promoted by Frank Warren.
A source in Spain said: ******“Being a boxer Steve O was obviously a tough kid.
“He knew a lot of people in Marbella having trained most days at the MGM.
“Now he’s been arrested and charged over an alleged conspiracy so we’ll just have to see what happens.”
O’Meara is being held on remand at Wandsworth prison. Sources there say he has had a torrid time and is on suicide watch amid claims “he can’t take no more”.
The insider said: “He is struggling to cope as he has never done jail before.”
O’Meara turned to ******boxing after breaking his leg playing football for ******Uxbridge United.
He rose to stardom after turning pro in 2007.
Even in June this year he had his sights on a European belt and a shot at a world ******title fight with Mayweather.
He said: “I’d love to share a ring with him again and I’d get paid all those millions. So yeah I’d probably say Floyd is the dream fight.”
A Scotland Yard spokesman said: ”Steven O’Meara, 29, of Marbella, Spain, has been charged with conspiracy to import class A drugs and conspiracy to supply class A drugs.
“He has been remanded in custody to appear at Southwark Crown Court on 16 January 2014.”
Unlike some rugby league players who make cameo appearances in the boxing ring, the new Manly recruit is the real deal who became the undefeated Australian amateur heavyweight champion.
Andrews had a successful stint as a boxer in 2010 when he had a break footy after two years with the Broncos under 20s.
"It was my goal when I had a year off to clear my head about rugby league because I just didn't think I was good enough," Andrews said.
"It was probably the best thing for me."
Andrews had previously only done some boxing to keep fit but quickly discovered that the gloves were a perfect fit.
And the skills he honed in boxing have seen return to rugby league a more confident and better equipped player to achieve his football dreams.
The mental and physical demands of the sport transformed the former apprentice boilermaker
"I've struggled a bit through my career discipline wise on the field - that was one of my biggest challenges- and boxing has helped a lot," Andrews said.
In 2011 Andrews returned to rugby league because he didn't want to be left with the lingering question "what if".
"I regained a bit of hope in myself and a bit of belief in myself and the boxing put a lot of things into perspective for me," he admitted.
"At 23 I am just starting to find my way."
He has spent the past two seasons with the Mackay Cutters and was 2012 player of the year in their Queensland Cup premiership winning side.
Now settled into the northern beaches Andrews focus is totally on working towards making a knockout NRL debut with the Sea Eagles.
Manly recruitment manager Dave Warwick got the tip about Andrews and expects him to really develop next season.
"Tyson is a powerful lad and technically he is very good," Warwick said.
"I just like the way he plays, he is a strong defender and hits the line hard.''
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Grand Rapids, United States – Unbeaten US fighter Floyd Mayweather hinted that the identity of his next foe, speculated to be Britain's Amir Khan, could be revealed this week.
In a report Tuesday on the MLive Media Group website from Mayweather's home state of Michigan, Mayweather was quoted as saying last week that this week could be a big one.
Asked about his fight future on November 27, Mayweather said, “Next week. I'm looking forward to next week. But as for me right now I'm not thinking about boxing.”
Mayweather, 45-0 with 26 knockouts, is expected to fight on May 3 of next year in his first bout since taking the World Boxing Council and World Boxing Association light middleweight titles in a 12-round majority decision over Saul “Canelo” Alvarez on September 14.
Khan became the top speculative candidate after he failed to sign a deal that appeared set to face American Devon Alexander this Saturday, the talk being that he did not want to risk a chance for a big-money fight with Mayweather by taking on Alexander first.
While both camps denied that was the case, the move meant Khan has fought only once this year, the fewest bouts of any year in his career. His last bout was a unanimous decision victory in April over Mexico's Julio Diaz.
Asked about facing Filipino icon Manny Pacquiao, the fighter that boxing fans have wanted Mayweather to fight for several years, the 36-year-old champion only replied: “Who?”
Mayweather set to name next opponent - Boxing | IOL.co.za
Urbane liberals are joining black-booted skinheads to protest on the streets of Kiev, but if the Orange Revolution of nine years ago is to be repeated, they need a leader to unite them.
Enter Vitali Klitschko, a towering world boxing champion with a doctorate in sports science, who is looking increasingly like the opposition's most powerful contender.
Protesters and commentators saw Klitschko emerging on Tuesday as a leader-in-waiting, as the opposition digs in to unseat President Viktor Yanukovich after he ditched a trade pact with the European Union to revive economic ties with former Soviet master Moscow.
"I'd stand behind Klitschko," said Grigory Parkhomenko, a 54-year-old retired factory worker at Kiev's 'opposition-occupied' city hall. "He's earned his fortune with his hands, so he doesn't need to steal from the people."
Klitschko, the 6-foot 7-inch tall World Boxing Council heavyweight champion known as "Dr Ironfist" because of his erudition, is sharing the stage with a bespectacled lawyer who frets about his poor public image and a surgeon who leads a combustible far-right nationalist group in an unlikely "troika" mounting a street challenge to Yanukovich's leadership.
The outpouring of anger at Yanukovich's rejection last month of a landmark accord to deepen ties with the European Union echoes public anger at his fraudulent election victory in 2004, when mass protests overturned the result and, with it, Ukraine's post-Soviet order.
The leader then was Yulia Tymoshenko, whose electric personality and fiery speeches kept tens of thousands out in the streets through the bitterly cold winter of 2004-5.
With Tymoshenko in jail, the disparate opposition alliance faces a challenge in maintaining momentum, and unity.
For successive weekends, calls by Klitschko, former economy minister Arseny Yatsenyuk and Oleh Tyahnybok, the leader of the nationalist Svoboda (Freedom) party, have brought out tens of thousands on to the streets over Yanukovich's policy U-turn away from the West back towards Russia.
Tymoshenko's supporters would naturally gravitate to her successor as party leader, Yatsenyuk, but may find common cause and ideology with Klitschko too. They are unlikely to see much hope in the hard-line nationalists.
Klitschko benefits from a perception he is uncorrupted, not a product of the discredited Ukrainian political system but a national hero who lived abroad and made a fortune winning titles with his pile-driving punch.
In sport, he and younger brother Vladimir have towered over boxing for years. Despite being 42, he still holds one of the four world heavyweight crowns, while Vladimir holds the other three. Vitaly last defended his crown last year, defeating a German challenger in a fight stopped after four rounds.
Despite an awkward public style, Klitschko exudes a quiet strength that plays well in Ukraine. He is emerging increasingly as the field commander of the protests and could be a common candidate to take on Yanukovich. 'Street leader'
That might not sit well though with Yatsenyuk, 39, the most tested politician of the three, who took over leading Tymoshenko's party in parliament and has led pressure for her release for months.
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"Yatsenyuk is getting very nervous about the competition from Klitschko. He feels he is tugging the blanket to himself," said independent analyst Volodymyr Fesenko.
"But the authority of Klitschko is growing. He has emerged as a street leader. He led the crowd and people followed him. It is the emergence of charisma - it is not everybody the crowds will follow," he said.
Yatsenyuk and Klitschko's liberal agendas starkly differ from the Ukrainian nationalism of Tyahnybok's Svoboda, with its heavy anti-Russian overtones. Svoboda is seen by many Ukrainians as anti-semitic and homphobic, which Tyahnybok denies.
People on Kiev's Independence Square last Sunday reacted with unease when Svoboda supporters hoisted their standard - blue bearing a yellow three-fingered hand - onto the peak of the festive New Year tree alongside the national flag.
Equally, the nationalists, many of them students from the Ukrainian-speaking west and raised on a diet of Ukrainian patriotism and anti-Soviet feeling, have little regard for, say, Yatsenyuk, a man who struggles with his personal image of an aloof intellectual.
Asked a year ago by the Kyiv Post newspaper why he felt he had that image, he replied dryly: "Because I'm bald and wear glasses."
The reality is, though, that both Yatsenyuk and Klitschko rely heavily on support from the shock troops that Svoboda's superior organization can put onto the squares of the country.
"There is hidden tension. There are contradictions and these contradictions are growing stronger ... there are sharp and tough arguments going on inside the 'troika', said Fesenko.
United by goal
"When a dog protects a house, it has to be mean," said Sergei Ishcenko, a 53-year-old nationalist protester. "That's what we nationalists are. We are the ones who are protecting our own land and our own people," he said.
The protesters, for now, play down their differences.
"The nationalists can seem quite radical, or they may regard us as too moderate, but what is important is that we are all fighting for one Ukraine right now and we are fighting to free it from the current powers," said Marina Ivanyuk, 18, a student of foreign relations at Kiev State University. "After that we can sort out our differences."
The Yanukovich camp appear to have sensed that Klitschko is the main threat and have moved to try to neutralize him, challenging his right to run for the presidency because of the years he has spent living in Germany away from Ukraine.
"Any serious split in their ranks will be a defeat for what is going on in the streets," said Fesenko, the analyst. "The issue of their unity is an issue of survival for the opposition."
Former Southend and Oxford United defender Leo Roget will fight his first professional boxing match on Saturday at the age of 36.
Roget will follow fellow ex-footballers Curtis Woodhouse and Leon McKenzie into boxing when he competes at York Hall.
"People thought I was crazy when I retired [in 2006]. Now they think I'm even more crazy," he told BBC Sport.
"The age I'm at, people are saying 'you can't do it and look at the risks'. But I've got one life and I want to do it."
Roget, who has won three unlicensed bouts, will fight Lincoln's Mitch Mitchell this weekend - a man whose record stands at 15 losses from 18 matches - at a catch weight between light heavy and cruiser.
A centre-half during his playing days, Roget voluntarily retired from professional football aged 28 after suffering relegation to the Conference Premier with Oxford.
He later returned for short spells with Essex sides Harlow and Braintree and also played alongside Woodhouse at Rushden & Diamonds between 2008 and 2009.
"I retired at 28 simply because I didn't love the game anymore," he said.
"I lived in Spain for a year and got fat and out of condition and was an absolute disgrace.
"After that I got into personal training and then I got into the boxing.
"Since I stopped playing football I never found anything to replace it.
"There were times I found it very hard to deal with. The boxing is at least as much as an adrenaline rush and fulfilling as when I was playing.
"I'm going to go as far as I can go. I've had realistic conversations with the people around me. It's very serious. It's not a joke or a gimmick."
Roget's friend McKenzie, the former Crystal Palace, Peterborough and Norwich striker, is also fighting on the London card and is looking to make it three wins from three since his professional debut in June this year.
"The question is going to come up - will we ever fight each other?" said Roget.
"I'd do it for charity. I don't think I'd do a serious fight against him. But you never know."
BBC Sport - Leo Roget: Ex-footballer turns to professional boxing
Perth boxing fans witnessed the end of an era on Friday night as long-reigning world champion Chris John suffered his first professional loss after 52 fights.
The Indonesian "Dragon" didn't come out for the seventh round at the Metro City nightclub after being given the runaround by inspired South African Simpiwe Vetyeka, who dedicated his stunning win to the late Nelson Mandela.
And the upsets didn't stop there, with local prospect Matty Garlett's hopes of a world title shot next year in tatters following his fifth-round TKO loss to Filipino Ryan Sermona.
Garlett, making the first defence of the WBC International super-featherweight belt, looked in little bother as he racked up the first four rounds.
But a momentary lapse in concentration was all Sermona needed, and he smashed home a left hook which sent Garlett down and out in the fifth.
The two results were a nightmare for the Dragon Fire Promotions team, too, with their jewel in the crown John and would-be star Garlett taking devastating losses.
But it's featherweight star John's loss to Vetyeka that will have boxing fans talking today.
The WBA Super champion, with a record of 48 wins and three draws, won the first round but after that was never settled as Vetyeka, who holds the IBO crown, used his mobility and lightning jab to keep him off balance.
Twice in the second round John fell to the floor, and all too often he missed with his shots. He struggled to find his range while the clever South African, not averse to the odd infringement, refused to stand and trade.
Vetyeka kept him working, working and working some more. Then with John clearly tiring, Vetyeka struck, landing a right in the sixth which put the champion on the canvas.
John beat the count and was aided by the bell as Vetyeka closed in. But trainer Craig Christian had seen enough and decided the Indonesian was not going to continue.
"This is for Nelson Mandela, I was inspired by him after hearing he had died," Vetyeka said.
"It is a very sad day for my country, I hope this win can bring a smile to their faces."
Earlier Garlett was on course to take a step nearer a possible meeting with Japan's WBC world champion Takashi Miura when he bagged the first four rounds.
But southpaw Sermona turned his world upside down in the fifth round with a terrific left hook that sent the Northam 28-year-old over.
Garlett tried to get up but was barely able to move, and the referee ended the count at six and called off the fight with 35 seconds of the round to go.
The finish was as sudden as it was surprising, because before Sermona's brutal intervention Garlett had been boxing well.
He was landing his right upper cut and while the Asian ace was happy to get involved, Garlett usually had the final word.
There had been a warning for Garlett when he was caught off balance by a left in the opening round, but other than that he covered up well.
He won the second with some slick combinations, and the third went a similar way.
Sermona came forward again in the fourth and the pair swapped left hooks before Garlett ended that exchange with a straight right.
But just as Garlett, who won the belt by outpointing WBC No3 Sipho Taliwe, was closing out the fifth, Sermona noticed an opening and didn't need a second invitation.
It was that loss to Garlett in May which forced South African Taliwe to shift up to lightweight and last night he was involved in an foul-laden war with IBO champion Daud 'Cino' Yordan.
Yordan, a former victim of both Chris John and Vetyeka, was roared on by a large Indonesian contingent as he returned to the scene of his points win over Daniel Brizuela in July.
But Taliwe was unconcerned and he took the fight to the champion.
At times Taliwe wasn't afraid to bend the rules - or Yordan's arm - and referee Phil Austin deducted him two points - one for holding and one for successive low blows.
In the end Yordan's faster start proved the difference and the Indonesian claimed a split decision win 113-114, 116-111, 117-110.
Earlier, there was something of a passing of the baton with Queensland's London Olympian Jeff Horn, in only his seventh pro fight, outpointing two-time world title challenger Naoufel Ben Rabeh, who went into the six-rounder with a 37-3 record.
Rabeh, a third Dragon Fire fighter to go down on the night, was the more powerful early on but once "the Hornet" had found his feet in the third, he showed his class to go home with the $8000 winner-takes-all pot - 59-55, 58-57, 58-56.
WA light-heavy Glen Austin, in only his third fight, was raw but powerful as he battered brave Travis Barton before finishing it with a fourth round KO in which Barton was out cold before his head thumped the canvas.
Thankfully he was soon up and given the all-clear.
Night of boxing shocks as John, Garlett are beaten - The West Australian
Cape Town - four-time world boxing champion Baby Jake Matlala, who died on Saturday, aged 51, was arguably the only man who could make the late Nelson Mandela feel small.
Madiba would joke that he hated being at any event with Matlala, because the littlest big man in boxing would usually get a larger cheer than he would.
Matlala was perhaps the most popular sportsman in South African history. At 1.47m tall, he captured the heart of the nation with a boxing career that substituted heart, a never-say-die attitude, an extraordinary work rate and an ability to withstand punishment for his lack of height.
He was the shortest world champion.
Matlala said his strategy was “to work the (opponent’s) body until the head came down”, before changing tack to the head. His high level of fitness allowed him to keep up a constant barrage of punches throughout the fight, serving him well through a 22-year long professional career.
Matlala was born in Meadowlands in 1962, and followed his father, a keen boxer, to the gym at the age of 10. He turned professional in 1979, and just four fights later was the South African junior flyweight champion.
His first world title came after he beat Pat Clinton for the WBO flyweight championship. In 1997, he pulled off a shock win over Michael Carbajal, who had won the junior flyweight silver medal at the Seoul Olympics, in Las Vegas, taking the IBA flyweight title. It was a career-defining fight for Matlala as he kept up a barrage of punches on the Mexican for nine rounds, until the referee decided Carbajal had had enough, and stopped the fight. He gave up the IBA title to take on fellow South African Hawk Makepula for the vacant WBO junior flyweight crown, but lost, albeit on a points decision many thought was controversial.
There was further, much more serious controversy in Matlala’s life.
A story emerged that he had allegedly raped gospel singer Julia Mnyamezeli in 1998, which he denied. Mnyamezeli and her husband faced a charge of extortion after they asked for R2-million to settle the issue.
In October 2010, it was reported that Matlala was in financial trouble. Pastor Alan McCauley of the Rhema Church, where Matlala was a member, said the boxer had been ill with double pneumonia, and had no medical aid to pay his substantial medical bills.
A box-and-dine tournament – the Night of the Little Big Men – was organised at Emperors Palace in Kempton Park to raise money for Matlala. His world title belts were auctioned off on the night. Including donations, close to R500 000 was raised on the night.
His record was 52 victories, two draws and 12 losses, and he won the WBO and IBA junior flyweight, WBO and WBU flyweight titles. Madiba and Will Smith were in attendance at Matlala’s last fight in 2002, when he stopped Juan Herrera in seven rounds to defend his WBU junior flyweight crown.
According to Eyewitness News, Matlala died at the Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital on Saturday. He is survived by his wife and two children.
Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula said that he learnt with shock of the untimely death of the legendary boxer, and was lost for words as he expressed his grief outside Mandela’s Houghton home.
Mbalula recalled the day when Baby Jake, who he said used the code of boxing to unite the country, gave his championship belt to Madiba in 2002.
ANC spokesman Jackson Mthembu said in a statement the party had learnt of his death with deep shock and sadness.
“His passing today is a further painful blow to the hearts of South Africans already shattered by the sad news of the death of… Mandela,” he said, adding that Matlala had, “with his tiny frame and lethal blows”, achieved iconic status among South Africans.
He also hailed Matlala for working closely with government and NGOs to support initiatives to uplift the poor.
The littlest big man in boxing - Boxing | IOL.co.za
THAT former president Nelson Mandela was a fighter is not news: he spent his life battling evil in the cause of good. But that he was a boxer is a myth.
A boxer, that is, in the sense of an athlete stepping through the ropes to lay leather on an opponent in the cause of amateur honour or professional reward.
Mandela never threw a punch in anything more than the scripted anger of a sparring session. He did, however, train as a boxer at the Donaldson Orlando Community Centre — now the Soweto YMCA — alongside more notable pugilists.
Their nicknames and those of the venues they fought at, usually in and around Johannesburg, capture the colour and the circumstances of the time.
Eric "Black Material" Ntsele and Freddie "Tomahawk" Ngidi could be seen in action at places such as the Bantu Men’s Social Centre and Uncle Tom’s Hall, where David "Slumber" Gogotya, Elijah "Maestro" Mokone, Enoch "Schoolboy" Nhlapo, Levi "Golden Boy" Madi, Sexton "Wonderboy" Mabena and Jaos "Kangaroo" Maoto might also feature on the bill.
Perhaps the best of them was Jerry Moloi, who lost his first seven bids for what were called the "South Africa — Transvaal (nonwhite)" versions of the featherweight and lightweight titles before, on March 25 1961, he stopped German Mauser Mhlambi in the 10th round to claim the lightweight crown. Moloi defended his title twice before losing to Philip Sibeko in 1963.
Moloi is central to the myth of Mandela the boxer: he was the other fighter in Bob Gosani’s famous photographs of the future president sparring on a rooftop.
The black-and-white pictures are a superb study in the gritty, noir reality of being black in apartheid South Africa. Their rich character gleams through the grey, but they do not try to hide the harshness of their surroundings.
Mandela’s bare left hand is slung low. His bandaged right is cocked and guarding his chin. He is coiled in readiness. His eyes are hooded and focused. Both he and Moloi wear shorts over heavy, long-sleeved training gear. Their boots are of dark leather and tightly laced.
By then, Mandela was no stranger to the sweet science. It was among the interests he took with him to Fort Hare University in Alice in 1936. Others were long-distance running, weightlifting in the gym, Bible study, and ballroom dancing.
When he moved to Johannesburg in 1943 to study towards a law degree at Wits, boxing crowded out his other hobbies.
"I was never an outstanding boxer," Mandela wrote in his autobiography Long Walk to Freedom. "I was in the heavyweight division, and I had neither enough power to compensate for my lack of speed nor enough speed to make up for my lack of power.
"I did not enjoy the violence of boxing so much as the science of it. I was intrigued by how one moved one’s body to protect oneself, how one used a strategy both to attack and retreat, how one paced oneself over a match.
"I never did any real fighting after I entered politics. My main interest was in training; I found the rigorous exercise to be an excellent outlet for tension and stress. After a strenuous workout, I felt both mentally and physically lighter. It was a way of losing myself in something that was not the struggle.
"After an evening’s workout I would wake up the next morning feeling strong and refreshed, ready to take up the fight again."
But there were more to his interest in the sport than physical and mental sharpness: "Boxing is egalitarian. In the ring, rank, age, colour, and wealth are irrelevant." After his release from prison his involvement with boxing was that of the fan, albeit a superfan.
Vuyani Bungu requested and was granted a meeting with Mandela two days before his fight with Kennedy McKinney in 1994.
At stake was McKinney’s super-bantamweight world title, and the South African was a clear underdog against an opponent who had won gold at the Seoul Olympics and was undefeated in 28 professional fights.
"That meeting went 90% of the way to Vuyani winning that fight," promoter Rodney Berman said of Bungu’s unanimous points victory, which Ring Magazine declared "Upset of the Year".
For all his popular sainthood, Mandela was not above pulling strings behind the scenes.
On the morning of the fight between Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson in Memphis in 2002, he called Berman and asked for four tickets. "I didn’t tell him the truth — that there was no way I could get them; they were all sold out," said Berman. He resorted to buying the tickets from a scalper for the equivalent of R35,000, and Mandela attended the fight.
Mandela also used boxing to not take himself too seriously. On his arrival at a Baby Jake Matlala fight, he spotted people waiting to receive him. "You might know me. My name is Mandela — Nelson Mandela," he said.
He did not add that he was the only undefeated world champion never to have entered the ring.
Mandela put politics ahead of boxing | Other Sport | BDlive
Boxing champ Andre Ward is picking a fight with his own promoter -- claiming the guy illegally TRAPPED him into staying with the company for the rest of his career ... and Andre wants out.
TMZ Sports has obtained legal docs filed in L.A. County Superior Court ... in which the reigning WBA super middleweight champ claims Goossen Tutor Promotions broke the law by signing him to a series of contracts that lock him up until 2016.
Ward says he signed the initial deal back in 2004, and because CA labor laws prevent companies from signing people for more than 7 years at a time, he should be able to leave Goossen for greener pastures. He wants a judge to void the contract ASAP.
In fact, Ward is turning to Oscar De La Hoya for support (at least, in his legal docs) claiming ODLH filed a similar lawsuit against Top Rank Boxing back in 2001 ... AND WON ... so he should get the same result.
We reached out to Goossen for comment -- so far, nothing.
Read more: Andre Ward -- I'm Suing My Boxing Promoter ... YOU DON'T OWN ME!! | TMZ-com
The former heavyweight world champion and convicted rapist Mike Tyson has been banned from entering the UK, forcing the last-minute cancellation of a promotional tour.
The boxer was due to arrive this week for London appearances including a book signing for his new autobiography Undisputed Truth, and a question-and-answer session set to take place in a boxing ring.
Yet under new UK immigration rules, anyone with a previous conviction resulting in a jail sentence of more than four years is barred from entering the country.
Tyson, 47, served three years of a six-year term in the 1990s after he was convicted of raping a teenage beauty queen.
The controversial former boxing star also has convictions for assault, cocaine possession and driving under the influence.
While at the peak of his powers he famously bit opponent Evander Holyfield's ear, went bankrupt, lost his four-year-old daughter in a tragic domestic accident, and was jailed.
Tyson’s publishers had been promoting the tour as recently as Friday, when his official Twitter account posted the challenge: “So, UK fans, who is brave enough to get in the ring and ask me a question?”
A spokesman for HarperCollins said: “There was a change in the UK immigration law in December 2012 of which we were unaware. For this reason Mike had to change location to Paris to salvage his press obligations for the UK.”
The boxer also has a number of dates booked in Britain for next year which could now be jeopardy. He had been set to bring his one-man Broadway show, directed by Spike Lee, for eight nights across the country in March.
Tyson had been the subject of a Change.org petition calling for him to be banned from entering the UK ahead of the theatre tour in light of his rape conviction.
Yet some Twitter users said they disagreed with the Home Office policy in the boxer's case. The British broadcaster and CNN talk show host Piers Morgan wrote: “Can't believe @MikeTyson has been barred from entering Britain. He's a changed man, with a powerful message. Ridiculous decision.”
A Home Office spokeswoman said: “We would not comment on the details of an individual case.
“We reserve the right to refuse entry to the UK to anyone who is convicted of serious criminal offences.
“In December 2012 we toughened up the rules on entering the UK, replacing the previous discretionary approach with a clearer, stronger framework including mandatory refusals based on the length of, and time since, sentence.”
Boxing champion Mike Tyson banned from entering UK - Home News - UK - The Independent
Sam Soliman booked a shot at world middleweight title glory by dispatching fellow Australian boxer Les Sherrington in ruthless fashion in Melbourne on Wednesday night.
After a nine-month ban from the sport, Soliman confirmed his status as the No.1 contender for the IBF middleweight belt held by German Felix Sturm with a technical knock-out of Sherrington in round nine at Flemington's Melbourne Pavilion.
The 40-year-old Soliman was a warm favourite leading into the fight and started in more aggressive fashion by landing a number of jabs and dictating the pace of the bout.
Soliman (43-11, 17 KOs) landed far more blows and goaded Sherrington by rarely raising his gloves to defend.
With quicker feet and fists, Soliman first drew blood in round two and continued to land heavier blows with a broader range of attacks.
Despite giving away over 7cm in height and 5cm in reach to Sherrington, Soliman continued to be the aggressor through the middle rounds.
In the biggest fight of his career, Sherrington (33-7, 19 KOs) was not without his moments but too often found air with his punches.
In the eighth round, Soliman had Sherrington on the ground before he rebounded to catch Soliman off balance and return the favour.
But a round later, as Soliman predicted, a succession of jabs and hooks had Sherrington's trainer throwing in the towel.
It was Soliman's first bout since a controversial no-contest result in a high-profile fight with Sturm in February in Dusseldorf.
While Soliman was judged the unanimous points winner, a drug test allegedly returned traces of a banned stimulant.
Soliman's B-sample returned clean, leading the IBF to confirm his place as the No.1 contender for the middleweight belt, which Sturm has since claimed.
Soliman earns the fight as under boxing rules, Sturm must defend his belt to the No.1 contender within nine months.
In the interim, the title has passed between Australia's Daniel Geale to England's Darren Barker and back to Felix Sturm again.
Soliman, who claimed the interim Pan Asian Boxing Association middleweight title for the win, said he would "put a hole" in Sturm whether their bout was held in Germany or Australia.
"But why should I go there when I beat him up there, he should come down and try to do the same back to me here," he said.
"True fighters do that but paper champions don't.
"He'll always be remembered as that until he steps up."
Soliman praised Sherrington, who he called the only fighter brave enough to fight him.
"The man went eight rounds with that massive cut and kept fighting... good on you mate," he said.
"My trainer wanted me in round eight to finish it but I predicted round nine so I stuck to my word."
Sherrington said he was simply beaten by a better fighter.
"I just didn't have an answer to Sam's awkwardness... he's the best in the world," he said.
Read more: Boxing: Sam Soliman earns shot at title
It was a prize possession that had been lost for decades until it turned up at an auction and now sits as the centrepiece of an exhibition in Londonderry.
The Lonsdale trophy, won by boxing legend Jimmy 'Spider' Kelly, is on show along with the trophy won by his son Billy in a special exhibition in the Guildhall in Derry.
Both men won the British Empire featherweight title, Jimmy in 1938 and Billy 16 years later.
"It's lovely to see two trophies where they belong," said SDLP councillor John Boyle, who saw one of the trophies on an auction website.
"It was pure chance that I spotted the cup up for auction. We worked together and now it sits in a beautiful glass case.
"It had been out of Derry and not with the family for around 60 years, so I brought it up at the Derry City Council development committee when I saw it.
"The officers drove a very hard bargain and didn't end up paying £5,000 for it."
Family achievements
The nickname 'Spider' came about after Jimmy Kelly punched his opponent so many times he thought he had eight arms.
Billy Kelly, who was also nicknamed Spider, died at the age of 78 in 2010.
He made history in October 1954 when he emulated his father Jimmy by winning the British Empire featherweight title at Belfast's King's Hall.
The Derry man won the British title three months later before losing a European title bout against France's Ray Famechon on points in Dublin.
Kelly went on to lose title bouts against Nigeria's Hogan 'Kid' Bassey and Charlie Hill.
"You see a picture here at the exhibition of my father with his belt," said Billy junior.
"When my father was boxing there were nine world titles. On offer now there are 175 world titles. I think the sport is being devalued.
"I think the Kelly family achievements could be marked better in the city. It's beginning to be recognised now by Derry City Council."
A monument will be unveiled later this month in Fahan Street in Derry, where the Kelly family grew up.
Adrien Broner has vowed to "take over boxing" ahead of his title defence against Marcos Maidana this Sunday as he looks to live up to his reputation as the next Floyd Mayweather Jr.
The WBA welterweight world champion defends his belt against Argentine Maidana in Texas in what is the toughest test of his ability to date, and currently holds an unbeaten record from his 27 professional fights.
Maidana has lost three of his 37 professional encounters - one of which came at the hands of Amir Khan in 2010.
Despite his growing reputation Broner has had his fair share of critics in recent years and the 24-year-old is convinced he will not get the credit he deserves if he defeats Maidana regardless of how he does it.
"I am going to take over boxing after Floyd Mayweather," said Broner.
"We've just got to get this stepping stone out of the way. Maidana is a good fighter but he's not on my level.
Broner also told the Daily Mail: "All I'm going to say to the fans and reporters is just watch the fight. I don't care if you like me or dislike me. Just please watch the fight - you'll see something special.
"I'm a self-motivator, so I'm always motivated, but it comes with the territory of being an African-American that's on top, and like I always say, they're never going to give me my full respect.
"They're never going to do it no matter if I go in there and knock Maidana out in the first round; they're going to find some way to criticise me. I just do me.
"I just get my victories and keep moving on with my career, because at the end of the day, some of you reporters never threw a punch and none of these writers never threw a punch, so I really can't read, or think, or take, what some of you guys say to heart because it means nothing to me sometimes."
The American admits he will be looking to emulate Mayweather's ability to be a multi-dimensional craftsmen who is able to adapt to any style.
"Like I always say, I always say this, I don't fight anybody the same," he added.
"Maidana has to show me - he has to make me respect his power and his boxing skills. You never know. When I make my adjustments inside the ring December 14, then I'll do what I have to do to get my victory, but until then, we just staying sharp."
Read more at Boxing: Adrien Broner vows to "take over boxing" | Boxing News | ESPN.co.uk
Groves complained bitterly and the capacity crowd of just fewer than 20,000 booed for 10 minutes in disgust at the intervention. The same fans had jeered and booed Groves as he made his way through a tunnel of hate to the ring 30 minutes earlier and it was a shift of allegiance that in 40 years inside the boxing business I have never witnessed; there was, make no mistake, genuine outrage inside the arena and the ugly confrontations in the ring when it was over, between the ridiculously swollen rival entourages, only added to the sense of utter chaos at the end of a memorable night.
The fight was simply one of the finest seen in a British ring and easily matched for ferocity, quality and thrills any of the fights involving Chris Eubank, Nigel Benn, Michael Watson and Steve Collins two decades ago; the quartet took part in nine fights against each other that have inspired a generation of nostalgic fanatics for so long: this fight belongs in that company.
Froch was sent heavily to the canvas late in the opening round from a right hand and, regaining his feet, just survived until the bell. Froch fought on instinct round after round, taking sharp rights that shook and clearly hurt him, and trying but missing with many of his desperate punches. It was brutal to watch and the sour build-up of unpleasant boasts that they had each exchanged only added to the pleasure of being just 10 feet away from the fighters.
“For a few rounds it looked like Carl Froch’s career was over,” admitted Eddie Hearn, Froch’s promoter. “He took a hiding in there at times and I just had no idea at one point how he was going to turn it round.”
Froch admitted to forgetting he had been knocked down and that is not a surprise considering the punishment he took. It was Froch’s 11th consecutive world title fight and his IBF and WBA baubles glittered like cheap trophies for such deep sacrifice.
The sixth round was sensational, with the pair locked close and throwing punches in a relentless, swaying rhythm of power, their knees separated by inches as Groves connected with punch after punch. It was breathtaking stuff, damaging stuff and Foster was poised with his eyes on Froch at one point. It was one of several moments when Froch was a punch or two away from being rescued from his desire; it was an act that looked closer on Saturday night than at any point in his boxing life. He could, I think, still opt for retirement and it would not be a shock.
“I’m a victim of my false reputation for being chinny,” Groves said, “and of Carl’s reputation for being a warrior. I was fine at the end.” It needs to be remembered that a referee has to make decisions in a flash, using his experience, and Foster’s lunge to save Groves was influenced by a lifetime in boxing and nothing sinister.
It was still a heartbreaking end to a heroic fight from Groves and it was also the type of salvation for Froch that only true champions are capable of finding at the end of brutal, life-changing encounters. It was not a fix; it was just three men in the ring getting lost in a conflict that was so raw that a rematch could be a fight too far for either boxer.
Boxing: Carl Froch last man standing in a battle of brutal brilliance - Others - More Sports - The Independent