An agreement between Top Rank and Goossen Tutor has finally been reached allowing the WBO Welterweight Championship fight between Antonio Margarito (34-4, 24 KO’s) and Paul Williams (32-0, 24 KO’s) to take place as scheduled. The fight is rumored to take place in June at a Southern California venue to be determined in the upcoming week. Top Rank is looking to set up an October unification fight between the winner of this WBO Championship fight and the winner of the Miguel Cotto-Zab Judah June WBA Championship fight.

More news as we hear it!

LOS ANGELES, CA, MARCH 30 - Former Olympic Gold Medalist and Heavyweight Champion Ray Mercer sat down with touchgloves.com for an exclusive interview regarding his upcoming fight with Kimbo Slice. Mercer talks about Kimbo's weaknesses and his future as a fighter.

Mercer has previously faced Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, Larry Holmes, Wladamir Klithscho and most recently current Heavyweight Champion Shannon Briggs. Mercer also has two separate Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) bouts under his belt.

The fight takes place on June 23rd at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City and the New Jersey Athletic Control Board Rules for MMA will apply.

PORTER RANCH, CA, MARCH 30 - 16-year-old Robert Herrera has a dream to compete in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. A native of Porter Ranch, CA, Herrera is 6'1" and weighs 190 pounds. Last summer, Herrera won the junior golden gloves district at Lincoln Park in the super heavyweight division (201+ pounds).

Tickets will go on sale for the May 19th. Jermain Taylor vs. Cory Spinks Middleweight Championship bout in Memphis, TN on Wednesday, April 4th. Taylor (26-0-1, 17 KO's) will be defending his WBC Middleweight title for the fourth time. Taylor became champ after beating Bernard Hopkins July 16th 2005. Spinks (36-3, 11 KO's) was a late replacement after Sergio Mora dropped out of the fight. Spink will be moving up in weight for the first time in his career. Tickets are priced at $550, $450, $125, $95, $45 and can be purchased at ticketmaster.com.

Carlos "Tata" Baldomir returns to the ring May 19th on the Jermain Taylor/ Cory Spinks undercard against Vernon Forrest in what adds to an already exciting fight card. Baldomir (43-10-6, 13KO's) returns to the ring after losing the WBC and IBA welterweight titles to Floyd Mayweather Jr. last November.

On Monday, the two largest MMA companies announced a buyout as the Ultimate Fighting Championship purchased Pride Fighting Championship. UFC and Pride announced the merger, saying that for the time being they will act as two separate entities although they will be operating under one corporate umbrella. The proposed plan is for one, maybe two major “supercards” per year. The super cards would combine combatants from both promotions to create fights previously only seen as impossible. Dana White, president of UFC called this announcement “a dream come true for fans,” when speaking on a conference call discussing his historical announcement. This merger of MMA heavyweights may ultimately doom boxing as the dominant fighting sport. Is MMA just a fad? Is comparing boxing to ultimate fighting like comparing apples and oranges?

touchgloves.com is happy to report that Victor Burgos has made great progress in recovering from brain injuries he suffered a few weeks ago. Burgos was sent to Los Angeles County Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, CA after a tough fight with Vic Darchinyan. Burgos was placed in a medically induced coma to reduce swelling in the brain, but has recently awaken, and is now making great strides toward a full recovery. Doctors said that Burgos has been moved out of intensive care and placed in a regular hospital room.

More good news as we hear it!

LOS ANGELES, CA, MARCH 28 - touchgloves.com had a chance to catch up with Justin Fortune, who will be stepping in for Freddie Roach to train Manny Pacquiao for his upcoming April 14th bout against Jorge Solis. With Roach in Puerto Rico training Oscar de la Hoya, it is unclear whether he will make it to San Antonio to work Pacquiao's corner.

Colombian bomber Joel Julio (29-1) returns to the ring on March 30 when he battles Thomas Davis (11-3-2) in a 10 round bout on ESPN2’s “Friday Night Fights”. Julio has won his last two bouts and is ranked #4 by the WBA and IBF, and #7 by the WBC.

LOS ANGELES, CA, MARCH 26 - A relative unknown in the professional boxing world, Kimbo Slice is anything but unknown to mixed martial arts (MMA) fans. Slice has been propelled to rock-star status, with a series of raw footage video clips that show him in bare-knuckle brawls and sometimes taking on two opponents, back-to-back. With a knockout style reminiscent of a young Mike Tyson and an intensity parallel to many world champion fighters, Slice has attracted fans from all over the world who crave to watch him in action.

Photo by: Gary Shaw Productions
LOS ANGELES, CA, MARCH 26 - This week's Rising Star is Light Heavyweight "Bad" Chad Dawson of New Haven, Connecticut. Dawson earned the 2000 United States National Under-19 championship fighting at 165lbs and is the former WBC Youth Champion. Dawson was a high school athlete playing Varsity Basketball and Quarterback. His natural athletic abilities allowed him to excel in sports throughout his life. With an amateur record is 67-13, Dawson went pro in 2001. Currently, with an undefeated professional record of 23-0, 15KO's, Dawson began as a middleweight before moving up in weight.

Boxing is back on network TV. The fight may not be the most exciting card in years. It may not even be the best possible contest for boxing to return to network television. However, it is a big deal that boxing will be shown on network TV. Antonio Tarver (24-4, 18 KOs) is set to take on Elvir Muriqi (34-3, 21 KOs) on April 22nd from Atlantic City on ABC Sports, now known as ESPN on ABC. Tarver now has some mainstream fame with his recent appearance in "Rocky Balboa" where he played Mason "the Line" Dixon who was Rocky's latest opponent. Tarver hasn't fought since he lost last June to Bernard Hopkins. ABC hasn't had a bout on their network since June of 2000 when Jose Luis Castillo upset Stevie Johnston to capture the WBC Lightweight title. This could be a great idea, a marriage between ABC and boxing that could be a great benefit to promoting boxing or could be a dreadful bout that does nothing but hurt the sport.

WBC Light Heavyweight Champion Chad Dawson told touchgloves.com that he expects to be back in the ring sometime in early June. No location or opponent have been announced yet, but former champion Glen Johnson or the winner of the Rico Hoye/Adrian Diaconu eliminator bout have been rumored. Dawson (23-0, 15KO'S) won the title after defeating Tomasz Admek last February.

If you are planning on watching the HBO Boxing After Dark match, do not click more. If you want to know what happened, go on.

Predictions for this weekends bouts.

Super Middleweight Champion Mikkel Kessler makes his American television debut tonight when he defends his WBC/WBA titles against undefeated challenger Librado Andrade live from Copenhagen, Denmark. “HBO: Boxing After Dark” will be televising the main event, which includes a replay of last weeks Barrera-Marquez explosive championship fight.

HBO's hit late-night boxing series showcases an emerging super middleweight star when HBO Boxing After Dark: Mikkel Kessler vs. Librado Andrade is seen Saturday, March 24 at 9:45 PM ET/PT from Parken Stadium in Copenhagen, Denmark, exclusively on HBO. The HBO Sports team will be ringside for the event, which will be available in HDTV, as well as closed-captioned for the hearing impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino.

HBO2 playdates: March 25 (7:45 AM, 4:45 PM) and 27 (11:45 PM). Times are ET/PT.

In his HBO debut before a home crowd, super middleweight titleholder Mikkel Kessler wants to make a major impression on American audiences.

HOLLYWOOD, FL, March 23 – Back in the United States after a disappointing weekend in France, former undisputed world cruiserweight champion O’Neil Bell has plenty to say about the circumstances surrounding his 12 round decision loss to Jean-Marc Mormeck in their highly anticipated rematch.

“I had a lot of respect for Mormeck before that fight and I considered him a warrior,” said Bell. “But after he ran from me for the last four rounds because he knew he was ahead on the scorecards, I have nothing good to say about the man.

LOS ANGELES, CA, MARCH 23 - Yes its true. Former Heavyweight Champion Ray Mercer (34-6-1, 25KOs) will face street fighter Kimbo Slice in a mixed martial arts (MMA) cage match on June 23rd at Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall. Mercer, age 45, won a gold medal at the 1988 Olympic games in Seoul Korea. He has fought living legends, Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, Larry Holmes, Wladamir Klithscho and most recently current Heavyweight Champion Shannon Briggs.

Slice, an unknown in the professional fight world has generated his own fan base via the internet. His fight clips on sites like YouTube, Break.com and MySpace show Slice sometimes facing two opponents in a row.

- Former Heavyweight Champion Chris Byrd returns to the Ring on April 18th against American Heavyweight Paul Marinaccio. Byrd (39-3-1, 20KO's), coming off his 7th round Knockout loss to Wladimir Klitschko, will be headlining the card from The Bahamas.

LOS ANGELES, CA, MARCH 22 - Top Rank promotions held a press conference for their Pay-Per-View extravaganza yesterday at the Palm Restaurant in Los Angeles. Entitled "Blaze of Glory," the card features Philipino Superstar Manny Pacquiao (43-3-2, 33KOs), Mexican sensation Jorge Arce (46-3-1, 35KOs), Hawaiian rising star Brian Viloria (19-1-1, 12KOs) and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr (30-0-1, 23KOs). The event will be hosted at the Alamodome in San Antonio, TX on April 14th.

Pacquiao will be without his lead trainer Freddie Roach who has been substituted with Wildcard Boxing trainer Justin Fortune . Roach is currently training Oscar de la Hoya for his upcoming meeting with Floyd Mayweather Jr. When asked how training has been with Roach out, Fortune told touchgloves.com that "training has been the way its always been with Manny. Nothing has changed." Pacquiao will face Jorge "Coloradito" Solis (32-0-2, 23KOs) who is undefeated with an impressive record.

PITTSBURGH, March 20, 2007 – Former heavyweight boxing champion Roy Jones, Jr. will headline a team of celebrity All-Stars slated to face the Steelers Basketball Team in a special exhibition game as part of a unique hoops doubleheader at Mellon Arena on Friday, March 23 at 7:00 PM.

HOLLYWOOD, FL, March 21 – Boxing has always been a tough business. It’s even tougher when those who claim to be ‘champions’ continue to run from real challenges in search of easy paydays that keep deserving contenders from getting their opportunity to shine. People’s middleweight champion Edison Miranda is not shy about discussing this topic.

From the big screen to the small screen, former Light Heavyweight Champion Antonio Tarver is set to make a return back to the ring. Tarver is set to fight Elvir Muriqi Sunday April 22nd in a fight that will be shown live on ABC. Tarver is coming off a June 2006 lopsided loss to Bernard Hopkins and a split decision victory over Sylvester Stallone in "Rocky Balboa".

More news as we hear it!

HOLLYWOOD, FL, March 20 – Fresh off his seventh consecutive victory, four of which have come in world title fights, WBA Super Bantamweight Champion, Celestino Caballero is hunting for some bigger game at 122 pounds as he looks to unify the World Title.

“I’ve beaten champions, contenders, and prospects – whoever was put in front of me,” said Caballero (26-2, 18 KOs). “Now I want to unify this title to prove who the best super bantamweight in the world is.”

Los Angeles Boxing fans, Max Fitness Academy cordially invites you to attend Amateur Boxing Night on March 31, 2007 from 6pm-9pm.

Two days after their epic fight, Marco Antonio Barrera and Juan Manuel Marquez are just about set to go at it again. Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer is already speaking of a rematch between the two great Mexican Warriors on September 16th date, Mexico's Independence Day. Las Vegas has been mentioned as the site for the rematch. Barrera has yet to agree on terms, but Marquez is already agreed to give the Baby Faced Assassin a rematch.

Photo by: Teddy Blackburn/DiBella Entertainment

LOS ANGELES, CA, March 19 - In our first segment of "Rising Star," we are proud to feature welterweight Andre Berto (17-0, 15KO's). Currently undefeated, Berto, who is only 23 years old, has produced knockouts in all but two of his professional bouts. With lightning speed and power, Berto is one of the most exciting fighters we've seen in a long time. Having participated in the 2004 Olympic games, Berto is a two-time National Golden Gloves Champion, a three-time US amateur champion, a two-time national PAL champion and won a bronze medal at the 2003 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Bangkok, Thailand. Berto made his pro debut on April 12th, 2004.

I watched the highly anticipated Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Marco Antonio Barrera boxing match that escalated into a brawl. I was entertained and thoroughly enjoyed the bout. I saw the controversy at the end of the 7 th round, where a fighter was essentially deducted a point for knocking down his opponent. Both fighters seemed equal in skill, speed, agility and punching power. I awaited the decision, expecting a draw, a split decision or at least a real close one or two point decision to go in either direction.