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HBO to air Pacquiao-Bradley II, Algieri-Provodnikov

Fighters Network
08
Nov
Manny Pacquiao (R) in his rematch with Tim Bradley on April 12, 2014, in Las Vegas. Photo by Chris Farina - Top Rank.

Manny Pacquiao (R) in his rematch with Tim Bradley on April 12, 2014, in Las Vegas. Photo by Chris Farina – Top Rank.

 

The most recent victories of Manny Pacquiao and Chris Algieri will be shown back-to-back on HBO in advance of Pacquiao’s Nov. 22 defense of his WBO welterweight belt against Algieri, the network announced on Friday.

On Nov. 14 at 11 p.m. ET/PT, and again on Nov. 15 at 8:15 a.m. ET/PT, HBO 2 will replay Pacquiao’s unanimous decision over Tim Bradley in their rematch in April, as well as Algieri’s split-decision victory that dethroned Ruslan Provodnikov as WBO junior welterweight beltholder in June.

In victory Pacquiao (56-5-2, 38 KOs) regained the WBO belt he lost by disputed split-decision in June 2012, and Algieri (20-0, 8 KOs) rose from two first-round knockdowns and survived a right eye that was nearly closed shut to defeat Provodnikov.



 

AMIR MANSOUR 232, FRED KASSI 233

Heavyweights Amir Mansour (20-1, 15 KOs) and Fred Kassi (18-2, 10 KOs) weighed 232 and 233 in advance of tonight’s fight at the Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem, Pa., as part of NBC Sports Network’s “Fight Night” program.

In his last fight, Mansour, 42, lost a brutally contested unanimous 10-round decision to former RING cruiserweight champion Steve Cunningham, whom Mansour outweighed, 222.5-to-206. Mansour dropped the 38-year-old Cunningham in the fifth only to be later out-hustled and floored in the 10th.

Kassi, 35, will be ending a 15-month ring absence, having stopped Shannon Caudle in the third round of his last fight in August 2013.

Below are the weights for the other fights on the card:

Dmitry Mikhaylenko 152.5, Ronald Cruz 153

Vasily Lepikhin 175, Jackson Junior 175

Anthony Caramanno 123, Omar Carroll 123.5

Nick Valliere 158, David Navarro 158.5

 

Marco Antonio Periban (L) fighting during a unanimous-decision loss to J'Leon Love in May 2014. Photo by Ed Mulholland - Getty Images.

Marco Antonio Periban (L) fighting during a unanimous-decision loss to J’Leon Love in May 2014. Photo by Ed Mulholland – Getty Images.

 

MARCO ANTONIO PERIBAN SAYS HE’S FOUGHT BETTER COMPETITION THAN HAS JAMES DEGALE

Former title challenger Marco Antonio Periban (20-2-1, 13 KOs) believes that he has faced better competition than has THE RING’s No. 5-rated super middleweight James DeGale (19-1, 13 KOs), the man he will fight in Liverpool, England, on Nov. 22.

DeGale-Periban is slated for the undercard of a cruiserweight rematch between former light heavyweight titleholder Nathan Cleverly (28-1, 14 KOs) and Tony Bellew (22-2, 14 KOs).

A 2008 Olympic gold medalist from Great Britain, DeGale has won nine straight fights, five of them by knockout, since losing a majority decision to George Groves in May 2011. In his last fight, DeGale, 28, stopped previously undefeated Brandon Gonzales in four rounds, but has largely faced carefully chosen opponents.

Periban, 30, is coming off a fight in which he scored a knockdown against J’Leon Love but ultimately lost a unanimous decision in May. That fight followed a draw with Badou Jack in September 2013 and a majority decision loss to Sakio Bika for the vacant WBC belt in June 2013.

“Bika was a more difficult challenge than anyone DeGale has ever faced,” said Periban. “To have a fighter like him in front of you who is so strong and so resilient is hard. Bika is also considered one of the best punchers in the division at this moment. I did a good job after a good training camp and it made me realize that I’m at the level of the division’s strong fighters.

“This division is the hardest one at the moment — a lot of experts believe that. That’s an added motivation knowing that I’m up there fighting the best. That speaks well of me, it shows that I’m doing a good job and I just need to work harder to win a world title. I should have knocked Love out in the fifth round, but then, the referee made a big mistake. He pushed me when I was going for Love, and I almost went out of the ring.”

Other fights on the card are those featuring RING No. 3-rated junior featherweight Scott Quigg against Hidenori Otake of Japan, RING No. 9-rated bantamweight Jamie McDonnell opposite Walberto Ramos and heavyweight Anthony Joshua, a 2012 Olympic gold medalist, fighting Michael Sprott.

Promoted by Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Sport, the stacked card also matches Groves, THE RING’s No. 4-rated 168-pounder, opposite left-hander Denis Douglin, and super middleweight Callum Smith against former title challenger Nikola Sjekloca.

Note: Periban quotes are from a Matchroom Sport press release.

 

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