Boxing promoter Barry Hughes has appeared in court charged with attempted murder.

Hughes, 30, of Kilmacolm, Renfrewshire, was arrested on Thursday by Strathclyde Police officers investigating an alleged attack on a 22-year-old man in a Glasgow nightclub on December 6. He appeared in private at Glasgow Sheriff Court with Paul Fitzpatrick, 30, and Jamie Bryce, 26, who are both from the city.

A Crown Office spokeswoman said all three were charged with attempted murder. Fitzpatrick was also charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice. The spokeswoman added that they made no plea and were remanded in custody.

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Hightlights: Boxing promoter remanded

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What the Haye-ll?
Given all the negotiating that’s been going on of late, one thing seems certain right now when it comes to British heavyweight prospect, David “The Hayemaker” Haye – he’s bound to end up in a boxing ring somewhere soon with a guy named Klitschko standing across from him.

Which Klitschko, though? There’s the rub. For a while, most of December in fact, it appeared that it was going to be the WBC heavyweight champ, Klitschko the Elder, Vitali, a.k.a. Dr. Ironfist. The word was that Vitali/Haye was signed on the dotted line for June of ’09 at Wembley Stadium in London, and that word wasn’t coming from shadowy unsubstantiated sources, but directly from the mouth of David Haye’s trainer.

Of course, in the wonderful world of smoke and mirrors that is boxing, no fight is truly a done deal until the two principals are safely ensconced in their corners and the bell rings for round one.

The latest news is that Herr Ironfist does have a certain date for his next fight, but it’s not in June, and it’s not against David Haye. None other than that paragon of integrity, WBC president Jose Sulaiman, announced yesterday that Vitali Klitschko will fight a WBC mandatory title defense against Juan Carlos Gomez in March.

Does this mean that Vitali will NOT be fighting Haye in June? Yes, it likely means exactly that. But don’t worry, because as we all know there’s another Klitschko, the recognized heavyweight champ at the moment, Wladimir Klitschko (a.k.a. Dr. Steelhammer). This is the Klitschko that Haye has professed to wanting to fight all along (Vitali was going to be merely a 6’7”, 250-pound fraternal appetizer) and now the rumor is that talks are under way to make it happen, Haye vs. Wlad, for late spring of this year.

But wait a minute, you’re saying. I thought talks were under way for Wlad to fight Chris Arreola in the late spring of this year? In fact, I thought Chris Arreola’s trainer said that fight was a done deal.

There’s a lesson to be learned here, people. Stop listening to anybody’s trainer when they purport to know anything about anything other than how much their fighter weighed that day.

(By the way, to get the WBC mandatory with Vitali, Juan Carlos Gomez had to fight two eliminator bouts, and one of them was in 2007 against Oliver McCall. Yes, that Oliver McCall. I just thought I’d point that out, lest you were feeling good about the world this morning.)

Don Quixote Marquez
Yesterday, at a presser to promote his Febuary 28th bout with Juan Diaz, Juan Manuel Marquez gave off the distinct impression that he believes a convincing win over Diaz will bring him a step closer to a third fight with Manny Pacquiao.

The man is tilting at Filipino windmills. The Pacquiao/Hatton fight for May 2nd is close to being finished, and one imagines that if he beats Hatton, the next scalp Mighty Manny will look to add to his belt is that of Mr. Floyd Freaky Naughty Money Makes-It-Rainweather.

A Pacquiao/Mayweather match-up is every fight fan’s dream right now, a double-secret-probation level mega-bout guaranteed to bring in boocoo bucks too many for both of the principals in a pay-per-view extravaganza. In other words, you can guarantee that until Pac gets that stupid money date with Ole Stupid Money himself, he will most certainly NOT be fighting Juan Manuel Marquez, the one guy out there with whom he is so evenly matched that they’ve fought 24 rounds to date and the difference between them amounted to a single point on a single judge’s scorecard.

Unfortunately for JMM, that point went in Pacquiao’s favor, and now Marquez is left to chase the Filipino superstar around the globe trying to get a trilogy fight, a likelihood that moved into eye-of-the-needle territory after Manny’s shocker over Oscar De La Hoya. Recently, Pac’s trainer, Freddie Roach, has been telling people that Manny has now decided that he can beat Tony Margarito at 147. And you know what that says to me, besides the fact that Pacquiao might be crazy? It says that the man is pretty much prepared to fight anyone but Marquez. Who knows, maybe Pacquiao will end up fighting a Klitschko before David Haye does.

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Highlights: Boxing Notes

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Now, nine years later, Diaz and Juan Manuel Marquez will be reintroduced for more than a simple handshake and exchange of pleasantries.

Marquez, regarded as the No. 3 best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, will put his Ring Magazine world lightweight title on the line in Diaz’s Houston backyard when the pair headlines a card billed as “Supremacy” on Feb. 28 at Toyota Center.

The co-main event will have Houstonian Rocky Juarez taking on unbeaten Chris John for the World Boxing Association featherweight world championship.

“With the support (of Houston), Rocky and I are not going to take anything for granted,” said Diaz, the former three-time world lightweight titleholder. “We’re gonna train our butts off. We’re gonna fight night like we’ve never fought before. We’re gonna go in there and train, sweat, bleed if we have to in the gym. We’re going to do whatever it takes to win those fights.”

Quest to be the best

For Diaz (34-1, 17 KOs), it will be his second time in the ring since suffering the only loss of his pro career last March 8 to Nate Campbell. He took a 12-round split decision over Michael Katsidis on Sept. 6 at Toyota Center.

“Well, 2008 was a year that didn’t start out too well for me, but I feel like I finished up strong, and I’m ready to get going in 2009 and become a world champion once again,” said Diaz, 25.

Marquez (49-4-1, 36 KOs) has been a dominant figure in the ring for 15 years, winning world titles in three weight divisions.

“Everybody knows Juan Diaz is a great fighter and a great champion, a great boxer,” Marquez, 35, said. “But on February 28, I will put my Mexican heart and my Mexican blood in the ring.”

Marquez already has defeated Juarez in a featherweight title fight Nov. 3, 2007. After an accidental head butt in the first round, Marquez bloodied Juarez badly and dominated to win a unanimous 12-round decision.

“Marquez is a veteran fighter, and he likes to use that head,” Diaz said. “Rocky and I are both young guys, and sometimes a tactic like that can throw you off your game. I think that’s what happened to Rocky in that fight, and I’m going to learn from that.

“What you get in Marquez is a great fighter, a guy who has been a great champion. But he’s a slow starter, and my plan is to make him fight right from the start and fight every round. I want to not give him a chance to fight his fight.”

Time running out

Juarez, 28, might be getting his last shot at a world championship when he steps in against John (42-0-1, 22 KOs), a native of Indonesia who since winning his crown in 2003 has made 10 title defenses, including a controversial decision over Marquez, and will be making his first appearance in the United States.

Juarez (28-4, 20 KOs), a silver medalist at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, won the first 23 fights of his pro career before losing to Marco Antonio Barrera (twice), Humberto Soto and Marquez. This will be his fourth crack at a world title.

“I’m optimistic, and I’m still young and think that I have plenty of time left in my boxing career, so I don’t like to think of this as a crossroads fight,” Juarez said. “I’m counting on winning this one.”

Juarez is coming off an 11th-round TKO of former world champion Jorge Rodrigo Barrios on Sept. 6 and knows that he again is stepping up in class against John.

“I was supposed to fight Steven Luevano, but he didn’t want to come to Houston,” Juarez said. “When that didn’t happen, I was offered the chance against John, and I took it.

“This is the biggest paycheck of his career, it’s his first time fighting in America, and I feel good about getting him in my hometown. I think fighting in Houston will be the difference in me finally getting that world championship.”

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Boxing Sports Highlights: Diaz to get shot at Marquez

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Silva threw a combo and was floored by the ensuing Jackson left hook to the jaw. As Montreal referee Yves Lavigne moved in to grab Jackson to stop the punishment, Jackson threw two more punches at the prone Silva for good measure before it ended three minutes 21 seconds into the bout.

“Rampage is back, baby. I ain’t going nowhere,” said Jackson.

The two mixed martial arts fighters don’t like each other and engaged in a shoving match at Friday’s weigh-in.

Silva beat Jackson twice on the Pride circuit in Japan in 2003 and 2004, brutally stopping Jackson both times with a barrage of knees. Judging from their receptions, most of the crowd wanted Silva to make it three in a row.

But Jackson had vengeance on his mind, improving his record to 29-7 with the victory. Silva dropped to 32-9-1 with one no contest.

Jackson made US$325,000, including a $100,000 win bonus, while Silva collected $200,000, according to the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

Saturday night marked the first fight for Jackson since he lost his title to Griffin at UFC 86 in July. Jackson had a meltdown days after and has charges pending over a subsequent highway chase with police. The UFC blamed the episode on delirium, brought about by a prolonged fast. Jackson isn’t talking about it.

The fight was on the undercard of the light-heavyweight title bout between champion Forrest Griffin and Rashad Evans. The “UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008″ card also featured a heavyweight matchup of interim title-holder Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Frank Mir.

Griffin’s purse was US$100,000 with a $150,000 win bonus while Evans’ was $65,000 with a matching win bonus, according to the Nevada commission.

Nogueira’s purse was $250,000 with a $150,000 win bonus, compared to $45,000 and $45,000 for Mir.

Those figures do not tell the whole financial story since the UFC does not disclose other bonuses and payments that may be in a fighter’s contract. The organization’s marquee fighters also may earn a slice of the lucrative pay-per-view take.

Earlier, French heavyweight Cheick Kongo showed a mean streak in stopping UFC newcomer Mostapha Al Turk of the first round.

Kongo (23-4-1) took a knee in the groin early on and didn’t like it. Later in the round, he returned the favour – doubling over Al Turk (6-4).

Al Turk’s fate was sealed when he appeared to get poked in the eye. He pawed at his face and Kongo nailed him several times, sending the big Brit to the canvas. Kongo carved the former pharmaceutical rep open with repeated elbows and punches until referee Steve Mazzagatti finally moved in.

Japanese middleweight Yushin (Thunder) Okami won a dull decision over Dean (The Boogeyman) Lister, taking all three rounds.

Okami had been considered the No. 1 contender in the 185-pound division and was headed for a title shot at champion Anderson Silva until breaking his hand. He last fought in March at UFC 82 when he knocked out Evan Tanner.

Okami (24-4) didn’t advance his championship cause with this performance, a dreary 15 minutes that did little for Lister’s career prospects either.

Dutch heavyweight Antoni Hardonk stopped UFC newcomer Mike (The Juggernaut) Wessel, a late injury replacement, at 2:05 of the second round. The 260-pound Wessel, whose gut belied his former job as an assistant strength and conditioning coach at the University of Arkansas, was big, game and came out strong but could not handle Hardonk’s more complete game.

Light-heavyweight Matt (The Hammer) Hamill (7-2) started off sluggishly but won by TKO at 2:19 of the second round when Reese (Riptide) Andy ran out of steam and was pummelled at the fence.

Former IFL welterweight (Bad) Brad Blackburn (14-9-1 with one no contest) won a decision over Japanese veteran Ryo (Piranha) Chonan to improve to 2-0 in the UFC. The 29-28 verdict seemed appropriate but was greeted with boos from the crowd.

UFC debutant Pat Barry showed off his kickboxing background by chopping down heavyweight Dan (The Viking) Evensen in the first round of the opening bout of the night. Barry (4-0) won when a kick buckled Evensen’s leg and the former Norwegian international hammer thrower called it quits after 2:36.

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Rampage Jackson knocks out Wanderlei Silva with left hook at UFC 92

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Adamek knocks down Cunningham for cruiserweight title

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