Boxing Breakfast: Alice Ward Passes, Updates on Guillermo Jones and Cornelius Bundrage

Alice Ward: 1931-2011

Alice Ward, the mother and manager of Micky Ward and Dicky Eklund, passed away on Wednesday at the age of 79 due to complications from cardiac arrest. Alice Ward was portrayed by Melissa Leo in the 2010 film The Fighter, with Leo winning the Best Supporting Actress for her performance. Bad Left Hook sends our condolences and best wishes to Micky, Dicky and all of Alice's loved ones.

Fight Chatter

Guillermo Jones' June 25 fight with Ryan Coyne is on for good, as the WBA canceled a scheduled purse bid for a fight between Jones (37-3-2, 29 KO) and mandatory challenger Yoan Pablo Hernandez (24-1, 13 KO). Jones-Hernandez is without question the bigger and better fight, but Hernandez is being guaranteed a shot at the winner. Coyne (16-0, 9 KO) is a St. Louis native with a super soft and fluffy record who is, frankly, likely to be blown out of the water by Jones.

Cornelius Bundrage, who just turned 38 and holds a trinket at 154 pounds, keeps reminding everyone that he does not have a fight scheduled, but it's looking like he might get one soon. Speaking to BoxingScene.com's Ryan Burton, Bundrage (30-4, 18 KO) denied that he has a fight set for the same June 25 show mentioned a paragraph ago against Sechew Powell (26-2, 15 KO). He says he might be an opponent for Paul Williams or Sergiy Dzinziruk. But the real scoop is that apparently nothing is happening yet. Bundrage hasn't fought since beating the last gasps of contender tair out of Cory Spinks last August.

Prizefighter Rules Changed

The British Boxing Board of Control passed a rule change effective with the May 7 edition of Prizefighter, which will allow losing fighters to replace the opponent who beat them, should the earlier victor not be able to compete in the next round. In the past, alternates have been on hand to take the spot of fighters who won a fight but could not continue in the next round. The rule will also depend on the potential replacement (the previous loser) also being able to pass a quick medical check.

After the jump: Prospect Feature on Tyler Asselstine, Link Parade! and the Song of the day

Early Morning Prospect Feature: Tyler Asselstine

Photo by Durell Wambolt/The Boxing Examiner

Tyler Asselstine (5-0, 4 KO) is a 24-year-old southpaw featherweight out of Ottawa. At 5'9" with a 68" reach, Asselstine is being hyped pretty nicely by Hennessy Sports Canada. Here's what their Jason Toufexis, the company's Director of Boxing Operations, had to say via press release:

"Tyler doesn't just dominate with one aspect of the sport. He's dominant on so many boxing fronts that it's almost dizzying," said Jason Toufexis, Director of Boxing operations for Hennessy Sports Canada, the company that won out a star-studded bidding war to procure Asselstine's promotional rights.

"If a guy starts his careers by blowing fighters away, you generally wonder what he could do against a guy who has a fighting chance. With Tyler, you see him and you know he's suited to dominate any type of fighter he faces."

But according to Toufexis, it's not just Asselstine's in-ring qualities that set him apart from other amateur standouts vying for professional success.

"Here's a kid who could have signed with any prominent promoter in North America, he was that sought after. But Tyler is so grounded and such a solid individual, he decided to base himself here at home, instead of uprooting everything and relocating to Vegas or Los Angeles."

"Tyler's the real deal in every aspect, and a true superstar in waiting."

A quick search on YouTube yielded no fight footage, but Asselstine is back on June 24 in Mississagua, Ontario, with an opponent to be named. Also fighting that night will be lightweight Logan Cotton McGuinness (14-0, 7 KO), who faces Uriel Barrera (19-5, 10 KO), and welterweight Victor Puiu (19-1-2, 9 KO), who outpointed Junior Witter in his last fight. Think about that, and then remember that the dink Premier Sports interviewer asked Junior if he'd like to fight Amir Khan when Khan fought on April 16.

Link Parade!

• Check out Tomoki Kameda's sweet abs!
• Here's another Kelly Pavlik comeback article.

Song of the Day

My Morning Jacket's killer rendition of "One Big Holiday" at Bonnaroo 2004.