http://www.yardbarker.com/boxing/players/larry_donald/74914 Recent articles about Larry Donald en-us Team USA Boxing has finally run aground (in the men's division anyway) after narrowly avoiding that catastrophe in the Beijing Games, winning zero medals for the first time in Olympic history. In 2008, American boxing was just barely spared that rock-bottom humiliation when heavyweight Deontay Wilder won a bronze medal. Wilder has since grown into a 6'7" 26 year old, weighing about 220 and wielding an 84-inch reach. With a sound amateur pedigree and such physical gifts, Wilder looks like a formidable prospect. It has now been four years since Beijing, however, and since turning pro in August 2008 he has yet to even reach the fringe contender level. As Wilder continues to feast on tomato cans and journeymen, the question "when will Wilder step up?" becomes more and more valid. Developing a World Champion Credit: Jim Everett / Saddo Boxing Even gold medal-winning Olympians do not emerge from the Summer Games as fully-formed world champions. They m... Mon, 13 Aug 2012 12:56:13 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/boxing/article_external/is_deontay_wilder_a_rising_star_or_simply_stagnating/11445217 http://network.yardbarker.com/boxing/article_external/is_deontay_wilder_a_rising_star_or_simply_stagnating/11445217 Is Deontay Wilder a rising star, or simply stagnating? http://www.yardbarker.com/boxing/articles/is_deontay_wilder_a_rising_star_or_simply_stagnating/11445217 http://www.yardbarker.com/media/f/8/f84cc17d5aac85757a7072234a27f6bdc8ff4492/mini/Olympics_Day_14_51a6.jpg In terms of world championship belts, only two fighters have any logical claim on challenging heavyweight top dog Wladimir Klitschko: his big brother Vitali, the WBC champ; and Alexander Povetkin, the WBA "regular" (read "fake") beltholder. Since Vitali and Wladimir have long and loudly proclaimed they will never fight each other, that makes Povetkin the sole, rightful challenger to Wladimir's place as boxing's biggest, baddest man. Yet is the Russian Vityaz ready to duke it out with Dr. Steelhammer? Check out the latest installment of our Klitschko Readiness Rating series, where we examine the top contenders in the heavyweight division and grade them and their chances against the brothers Klitschko. Povetkin and Klitschko: We Were Almost Here Before Credit: Andreas Sauer Povetkin was first set to challenge Wladimir in 2009, after a solid winning streak that culminated in his winning an IBF title eliminator. At that time, Povetkin was a rising prospect... Tue, 24 Jul 2012 09:12:58 -0400 http://network.yardbarker.com/boxing/article_external/klitschko_readiness_rating_does_alexander_povetkin_have_a_chance_against_wladimir_klitschko/11285503 http://network.yardbarker.com/boxing/article_external/klitschko_readiness_rating_does_alexander_povetkin_have_a_chance_against_wladimir_klitschko/11285503 Klitschko readiness rating: Does Alexander Povetkin have a chance against Wladimir Klitschko? http://www.yardbarker.com/boxing/articles/klitschko_readiness_rating_does_alexander_povetkin_have_a_chance_against_wladimir_klitschko/11285503 http://www.yardbarker.com/media/6/f/6fb35eb19796d3b5aaf69c9f418666bcc2291984/mini/GettyImageProxy.ashx_requestUrl_http_3a_2f_2fcache.gettyimages.com_2fxc_2f52807165.jpg_3fv_3d1_26c_3dEWSAsset_26k_3d2_26d_3d404E195ABDEC2A9EF170FF79D94C2D8A.jpg February 24 sees the return of heavyweight action in Germany, and while the belt at stake is the fake WBA strap, the match-up is an interesting one nonetheless. It sees crusierweight top dog Marco Huck move up to the ranks of the big men and challenge Alexander Povetkin, who seems to have slyly positioned himself for a run at the real crown once the Klitschko brothers depart the scene. Credit: Winfried Mausolf Marco Huck (34-1, 25 KOs) 6'1 1/2" tall, estimated 210 lbs, 27 years old Serbian living in Germany WBO Cruiserweight Champion, former European Cruiserweight Champion Kapitan is a well-established figure in the cruiserweight ranks, by virtue of his two-year, eight-defense reign there. That reign saw wins over three solid contenders, including two on the current crusierweight Top Ten. His sole loss was a 12th Round stoppage at the hands of Steve Cunningham, in what was Huck's first world title challenge. That fight was a real slugfest that saw Huc... Wed, 25 Jan 2012 13:48:50 -0500 http://network.yardbarker.com/boxing/article_external/alexander_povetkin_vs_marco_huck_preview_prediction/9581219 http://network.yardbarker.com/boxing/article_external/alexander_povetkin_vs_marco_huck_preview_prediction/9581219 Alexander Povetkin vs. Marco Huck Preview & Prediction http://www.yardbarker.com/boxing/articles/alexander_povetkin_vs_marco_huck_preview_prediction/9581219 http://www.yardbarker.com/media/a/d/ad5a54d40c606eb0dc2d21f89f037a502f1b4413/mini/Sauerland_Boxing_Gala_e0e4.jpg Credit: Sport Express Fans of "The Russian Giant," Nikolai Valuev, who have been wondering when the big guy will return to the ring can stop wondering. The answer is at least five years, and possibly never, as Valuev has been elected to and sworn in as a deputy in the Russian Duma (the lower house of the national legislature). The Russian heavyweight has been inactive since 2009. Valuev ran for office under the United Russia party, the leading political party in Russia whose standard bearer is de facto Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Valuev was quoted by RIA-Novosti as saying "While I’m in parliament I should forget about appearing in the ring. It’s impossible to combine such a responsible job and serious preparations for the bouts." It seems serving in the Duma is Valuev's golden parachute from his boxing career. Valuev is 38 years old. Valuev won notoriety mostly because of his enormous size: he stands 7'2" tall, weighs in routinely above 315 lbs... Mon, 02 Jan 2012 05:55:29 -0500 http://network.yardbarker.com/boxing/article_external/valuev_retires_opts_for_politics/9075475 http://network.yardbarker.com/boxing/article_external/valuev_retires_opts_for_politics/9075475 Valuev Retires, Opts for Politics http://www.yardbarker.com/boxing/articles/valuev_retires_opts_for_politics/9075475 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png GSP is out again? It'll be 18 months before he steps back into the octagon. What is this boxing? Another fight added to UFC 143, Fabricio Werdum will take on everyone's favorite fat fighter Roy "Big Country" Nelson. They needed a big fight now that GSP isn't on the card. Wonder how the rest of it will fill up. Belfort and Silva have been announced as TUF Brazil coaches. I'm picking Silva in the rematch 14 years in the making. I still can't believe there was an event called UFC 17.5. Junie Browning, known for being a crazy son of a ***** on TUF, is now the subject of a city-wide manhunt in Thailand. Browning allegedly was seen beating up a woman in a bar in ******, Thailand. He even updated his status on Facebook just in case the police needed a guilty plea "Some (expletive) named Sie Menzies and about 10 of his friends started a fight with me. I guess just to test a 'UFC fighter guy' at this ****** little bar in Karon Thailand. Had a beer bottle and g Wed, 14 Dec 2011 22:25:54 -0500 http://network.yardbarker.com/all_sports/article_external/things_i_think_i_think_121411/8742142 http://network.yardbarker.com/all_sports/article_external/things_i_think_i_think_121411/8742142 Things I Think I Think 12/14/11 http://www.yardbarker.com/all_sports/articles/things_i_think_i_think_121411/8742142 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png Live world championship boxing returns to EPIX (follow @EPIXsports on Twitter for the latest updates on EPIX boxing) when newly-minted undefeated World Boxing Association (WBA) heavyweight champion ALEXANDER POVETKIN makes his first world title defense, against CEDRIC “The Boz” BOSWELL, Saturday, December 3. Presented by Sauerland Event, the live broadcast will emanate from Hartwall Areena in Helsinki, Finland. The WBA heavyweight championship will be televised live in the U.S. exclusively on EPIX, the multiplatform premium entertainment service.  EpixHD.com will stream the fight live as part of a free two-week trial offer.  The live broadcast and the live stream on EPIX and EpixHD.com, respectively, will begin with the main event at the new time of 3:30 p.m. ET / 12:30 p.m. PT. Following the Povetkin-Boswell heavyweight title fight, the broadcast and live stream will continue with undefeated World Boxing Organization (WBO) and WBA Intercontinental heavyweight cha... Wed, 30 Nov 2011 09:21:08 -0500 http://network.yardbarker.com/boxing/article_external/povetkin_boswell_to_be_broadcast_at_330_eastern_on_epix/8414080 http://network.yardbarker.com/boxing/article_external/povetkin_boswell_to_be_broadcast_at_330_eastern_on_epix/8414080 Povetkin-Boswell to be Broadcast at 3:30 Eastern on Epix http://www.yardbarker.com/boxing/articles/povetkin_boswell_to_be_broadcast_at_330_eastern_on_epix/8414080 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png Live world championship boxing returns to EPIX when newly-minted undefeated World Boxing Association (WBA) heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin makes his first world title defense, against Cedric “The Boz” Boswell, Saturday, December 3. Presented by Sauerland Event, the live broadcast will emanate from Hartwall Areena in Helsinki, Finland. Credit: Team Sauerland The WBA heavyweight championship will be televised live in the U.S. exclusively on EPIX, the multiplatform premium entertainment service.  EpixHD.com will stream the fight live as part of a free two-week trial offer.  The live broadcast and the live stream on EPIX and EpixHD.com, respectively, will begin with the main event at 4:30 p.m. ET / 1:30 p.m. PT. Following the Povetkin-Boswell heavyweight title fight, the broadcast and live stream will continue with undefeated World Boxing Organization (WBO) and WBA Intercontinental heavyweight champion Robert “The Nordic Nightmare” Helenius taking on Dereck Ch... Mon, 21 Nov 2011 12:01:50 -0500 http://network.yardbarker.com/boxing/article_external/epix_to_televise_povetkin_boswell_helenius_chisora_live_on_dec_3rd/8237950 http://network.yardbarker.com/boxing/article_external/epix_to_televise_povetkin_boswell_helenius_chisora_live_on_dec_3rd/8237950 Epix to Televise Povetkin-Boswell & Helenius-Chisora Live on Dec 3rd http://www.yardbarker.com/boxing/articles/epix_to_televise_povetkin_boswell_helenius_chisora_live_on_dec_3rd/8237950 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png