Boxing

Before pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Saul "Canelo" Alvarez meet to unify their junior middleweight world titles, they will hit the road for an 11-city, two-country media and fan tour to promote the year's biggest fight.

David Price is looking for revenge and redemption on July 6, when he rematches Tony Thompson in Liverpool, and says that in their first bout in February, he probably underestimated the veteran, which he won't do again. "It was something that I didn't expect to happen and it was a major shock to everyone involved, I think. But the thing I've changed for this, more than anything, is my mental approach to the fight, rather than physical. "I don't think the physical preparations for the last fight were a problem, it was more to do with being a little bit complacent in the build-up to the fight and underestimating Tony Thompson, which was just a result of my own successes I was having in the ring. These things happen and it has probably made me a better fighter for it." Price (15-1, 13 KO) had been on a roll, and was seen by many as a likely fast-tracked heavyweight star. Against Thompson (37-3, 25 KO), he was again supposed to power his way through the opposition, but that didn't wind up happening. Price was stopped in the second round, shocking many around the boxing world. The 41-year-old Thompson could easily find himself with another world title fight if he beats Price again. He's gone 0-2 in a pair of previous chances, stopped twice by Wladimir Klitschko. There's surely no interest in Wladimir-Thompson III, but Vitali Klitschko or Alexander Povetkin could come up, and even if it's not a world title shot in the cards for the aging American, it could be a major fight again in the UK against someone like David Haye or Tyson Fury. A win buys Thompson another big payday at worst. For Price, a rematch victory would sort of erase the first loss, whether that's fair or not, and put him back on course toward his own world title shot, likely sooner than later. Now that he's tasted defeat, there's no "0" to protect, and all involved have to know he's talented, powerful, and also very vulnerable. Getting him to the big stage quickly might be beneficial, especially considering he's going to turn 30 the day of the fight.

Nathan Cleverly will make his return to the ring on August 17 at Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, Wales, defending his WBO light heavyweight title, and promoter Frank Warren says that Sergey Kovalev is a potential opponent. "Everything is done my side with HBO, it's now down to Kathy Duva and Main Events if they are serious and want Kovalev to fight Cleverly. The date, venue and tickets are all confirmed, so the ball is now in their court and if they are confident in their man's ability. This is the fight that will make Cleverly's name against the big-punching Russian, but I see Cleverly's great chin and fantastic work-rate taking him to victory. It reminds me a lot of Joe Calzaghe's fight against Jeff Lacy when Lacy was the next big thing in America and was knocking everybody out until he met Calzaghe. We'll find out later today if he wants the fight." Cleverly (26-0, 12 KO) is excited about the potential for the Kovalev fight: "It's fantastic to come back to Cardiff in front of my home fans and defend my title. The atmosphere was electric last time against Karpency and I gave the fans a great show, but it will be even better against Kovalev if he agrees to fight me. I want Kovalev because he's very dangerous, he can bang and the Americans are excited by him. I want challenges in my career and Kovalev will give me that, I'd be excited to go in against a huge puncher and test my chin and heart. But we'll see if he fancies his chances or not." Kovalev (21-0-1, 19 KO) was recently named mandatory challenger to Bernard Hopkins' IBF light heavyweight title, so this might not be the fight for him. But it's good press to say they want the fight and all that, and it makes them look good if Kovalev and Main Events opt not to fight in Cardiff against Cleverly. I'm not saying that this would be a bad fight for Kovalev -- it's not like he fights to win decisions or anything, so home field shouldn't matter, and Cleverly can actually bring in fans there, which Kovalev cannot without an A-side opponent. So it's a good fight, but they seem to be putting a short deadline on the idea here, too. We'll see. If it's not Kovalev, don't be surprised to see Doudou Ngumbu or Vyacheslav Uzelkov get the call.

Vince Cleverly interview Vince Cleverly talks about his son, Nathan's, potential opponents and how he himself continues to develop as a coach. From: secondsout Views: 2 0 ratings Time: 05:33 More in Sports

Spencer Fearon interview Boxing historian and pundit Spencer Fearon breaks down Nathan Cleverly and the light heavyweight division of past and present. From: secondsout Views: 2 0 ratings Time: 07:23 More in Sports

The WBO has ordered that Vanes Martirosyan and Demetrius Andrade are to fight for their now-vacant junior middleweight title, which hit the market earlier today after Zaurbek Baysangurov pulled out of his July 6 fight with mandatory challenger Andrade due to a back injury. Martirosyan says he's up for the fight: "I'm very happy that the WBO is giving me the shot. I can't wait, it's been a long time coming and I'm ready. I just can't wait. It's going to be a great fight. We are both Olympians and undefeated. It's going to be a big fight for all the fans. I want to say thank you to WBO for the opportunity. I'm ready for the fight and I'm 100% fit. I'm happy to be with [manager] Cameron [Dunkin] and Top Rank because they are the best," Vanes told BoxingScene.com. It's a pretty good fight, as both Martirosyan (33-0-1, 21 KO) and Andrade (19-0, 13 KO) are right on the cusp of being serious players at 154, and a world title belt would give them some leverage. It's also a doable fight -- or should be, anyway -- given that Martirosyan is with Top Rank, while Andrade is promoted by Joe DeGuardia's Star Boxing and Artie Pellulo's Banner Promotions. Martirosyan fought this past weekend, blasting through journeyman Ryan Davis in just two rounds. Andrade last fought in January, routing Freddy Hernandez. Who do you favor if the fight goes down?

If you happened to miss it, James Kirkland was again arrested and jailed in Texas, and now more details about the alleged attack are out. Kirkland's girlfriend claims that he choked her twice, prompting her to call police for fear of further violence, leading to his arrest. Apparently [Frances Diane] Campbell became angry with Kirkland for checking out another woman [the mother of his child] at the night club. ... During the car ride [home], they once started arguing and Campbell tells police that Kirkland allegedly grabbed her by the neck. Campbell, who was driving, pulled over in the parking lot of a local CVS Pharmacy and the alleged physical confrontation continued. She told police that Kirkland once again grabbed her by the neck. In order to calm him down, Campbell says she was forced to apologize. Once the second argument finished and they went home, Campbell ran upstairs in fear of further violence and called the police. Upon arriving to her house, the police were told by Campbell that Kirkland caused pain and discomfort, but he did not strangle her hard enough to cut off the path of air. Police found a 5-6 inch scratch to the front of her neck and finger nail/finger prints on the back, left and right side of her neck. If the charges stick, Kirkland's boxing career would probably be functionally over. He's a repeat offender and has done two notable stints in jail already, and at 29, he's not old, but he's not getting younger. His career has already been on hold as he's been trying to sue his way out of promotional and managerial contracts with Golden Boy Promotions and other parties, as well as parting with trainer Ann Wolfe, who is often credited for stabilizing his life and career.

Nathan Cleverly Press Conference June 18 2013 Nathan Cleverly Press Conference from the Landmark Hotel in London. Promoter Frank Warren had hoped to announce Sergey Kovalev as Cleverlys opponent for a sh... From: secondsout Views: 0 0 ratings Time: 20:11 More in Sports

Junior middleweight Demetrius Andrade, a 2008 U.S. Olympian and former world amateur champion from Providence, R.I., is headed to Ukraine for his first world title shot this summer.

Frank Warren interview "Nathan Cleverly beats them all" Frank Warren talks about the frustrations of trying to get Nathan Cleverly a fight, trying to secure Hopkins and why Quigg v Frampton isn't happening any tim... From: secondsout Views: 1 0 ratings Time: 03:47 More in Sports