The Truth from the #1Pound4Pound

Man Down, Man Down

2008-12-08T00:00:00.003-06:00

Any idea when this happened??? If you guessed one year to the day you are correct. Can you guess who made it happen? If you guessed Floyd Mayweather Jr. then you are correct. Can you guess what really got Ricky Hatton dazed before he fell? If you said the ring post you are correct again. If you thought the KO was comical then please watch the video below to get your laugh on.

Rumble In The Jungle: Ali-Foreman 34th Anniversary

2008-10-30T00:00:00.004-05:00

Today is the 34 year anniversary of the George Foreman-Muhammad Ali Heavyweight Championship fight better known as the Rumble in the Jungle. It took place on October 30, 1974 in Zaire, Africa. This is considered to be one of the best fights of all time. It was not just a boxing match but a world event. Rumble in the Jungle represents a time when boxing was huge and transcended all issues. It was not about just a fight but it was truly an event. Mayweather-De La Hoya is the closest we have come to having an event in boxing in recent years, but you had to pay $54.95 to see it. Rumble in the Jungle was on regular television and I guarantee more people saw this one fight than probably any other fight. Still to this day this fight is frequently watched on ESPN Classic. Also it was the feature of the documentary movie When We Were Kings. In honor of this major event I have below the 8th round of this historic fight between two legends in Muhammad Ali and George Foreman.

Mosley-Mayorga Are Ready To Fight

2008-08-08T12:07:00.003-05:00

Sugar Shane Mosley and Ricardo Mayorga face off at a press conference to promote their upcoming September 27 fight on HBO. The fight will take place at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California. This fight looks to be pretty interesting and thank goodness it is no longer going to be on PPV.

Clottey Wins IBF Title Via Technical Decision

2008-08-03T10:12:00.003-05:00

Joshua Clottey defeated Zab Judah by a unanimous technical decision. The fight went somewhat like most expected. Judah started off quick and Clottey was consistently applying more and more pressure as the fight went on. Judah had blood coming from his mouth, nose, and later a huge cut from over his right eye. He was beginning to look like Miguel Cotto. However, Roberty Byrd said the cut over the right eye of Judah was caused by a headbutt. Byrd is a fair referee, so I am not mad at him for making the mistake. But the cut, which was a nasty one, was caused by a short powerful left uppercut by Clottey. Zab Judah, known to be far from reality, said it was a headbutt too. Then when he watched the replay and it clearly showed it was an uppercut that caused the cut, he had nothing to say for a few seconds. Then tried to say it was a headbutt again like we all had not seen the punch cause the cut. There were no headbutts in this fight. It is true, Clottey had been DQd due to headbutts in a fight against Carlos Baldomir, but last night was not that fight. Judah tried to win the fight instead of just survive, but Clottey was never hurt by Judah. Judah was hurt by Clottey on many occassions. Judah was banged up and bloody, but to let him tell you he was doing great. I feel if Clottey would have made it rougher on Judah, the fight would have been over by the 9th. So now there is this controversy according to the Judah camp. Yoel Judah, Zab's father and trainer, said Zab could have fought on. The ring doctor said Zab said he couldn't see, failed the sight test when he was asked how many fingers do I have up, and then said he couldn't continue. Funny how the stories vary from the fighter to the doctor. I am mad that the fight was stopped due to the fact of a cut caused by a non-existent headbutt and because Zab can't count. For those of you who may remember, when Zab fought Baldomir and was stunned. The doctor went to his corner and told Zab to put his right hand next to his left ear, and he failed that test too. For those of you who may think I am lying see if you can find that video. I personally have it on dvd, but do not have the proper equipment to load it up for you. I will check youtube. Anyway, Judah lost but not the way I had hoped. He showed he still has some great skills but they do not work on a guy like Clottey. Clottey rarely got hit clean because his guard is up high. Clottey puts on lots of pressure and hits extremely hard. Clottey won the fight no matter what Zab Judah lovers try to say. There was no headbutt, it was a clear punch that caused that cut. Judah will fight again because he did enough to do so, but his days are coming to an end. Clottey, hopefully he can get a meaningful fight soon. He called out Berto but did not shy away from any fighter.

Clottey-Judah Weigh In

2008-08-02T16:30:00.001-05:00

Joshua Clottey: 147lbs

Zab Judah: 143lbs

Vacant IBF Welterweight Title

Mora-Forrest II On Casamayor-Marquez Undercard

2008-07-30T18:12:00.005-05:00

For those of you who have been so excited about seeing a Sergio Mora-Vernon Forrest rematch, your wish has come true. For those of you who have been saying the Joel Casamayor-Juan Manuel Marquez fight needs more on the undercard in order for me to buy the PPV, well this could be it. Vernon Forrest strongly enforced his immediate rematch clause against Sergio Mora to the point that it is happening. Now their rematch is going to be on the undercard of the Casamayor-Marquez HBO PPV telecast on September 13. I still do not think this PPV should happen, but the Mora-Forrest rematch may bring in a few more viewers. Mora defeated Forrest by MD in June and Forrest has been pissed ever since. Hopefully for Forrest's sake he can win, but I am not sure I really see much difference in the fight.

Clottey Promises To Destoy Judah

2008-07-30T17:57:00.002-05:00

Joshua Clottey has promised to destroy Zab Judah in their fight this weekend, and I am personally holding him to that. For those of you who do not know, I do not like Zab Judah. I try to be unbiased in my views when it comes to the fights which I did in the Clottey-Judah preview. However I do not like Judah. So when Clottey says he will destroy Judah, I take that serious. I like Clottey anyway, I think he is a very strong fighter. I know he is going to give his all in the ring every time. I was rooting for him to beat Antonio Margarito, unfortunately he hurt both his hands and could not finish the job. If Clottey destroys Judah, he will pick up the IBF Welterweight title and possibly get a rematch with Margarito. Margarito will be ringside for the Clottey-Judah fight with his eyes set on the winner for his next fight. If Clottey wins, it could set up a very nice rematch between two Welterweight titlists who happen to be very good pressure fighters. So Clottey, I fully expect you to seek and destroy Zab Judah this weekend. You said it and I hope you do it so you can be a man of your word.

Mosley-Mayorga With Berto-Forbes As The Undercard

2008-07-30T17:48:00.004-05:00

The Sugar Shane Mosley-Ricardo Mayorga fight is going to be live on HBO September 27 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The fight was moved from October 11. On the undercard will be Andre Berto making his first defense of his WBC Welterweight title against Steve Forbes. Forbes was last seen in May fighting Oscar De La Hoya. Although Forbes lost by UD, he busted De La Hoya a lot more than most expected. Berto tends to beat his opponents down, but not so sure he can do that against Forbes. Forbes has never been knocked down. Berto is only 5'8 1/2 which is better for Forbes who stands 5'7 1/2 but has fought a lot recently with taller guys. The Berto-Forbes fight will open up the telecast and then the Mosley-Mayorga fight will be the main event.

David Haye Is In Heavyweight Shape

2008-07-30T17:42:00.003-05:00

David Haye has bulked up to 232lbs in his training to be Heavyweight Champion. Haye says he has just started seriously training, but is at a lean 232 lbs with only 12% body fat. Haye is supposed to re-introduce himself to the heavyweight division in November against an opponent to be named at the O2 Arena in London.

Trainer Billy Graham Retires!!!

2008-07-29T10:17:00.003-05:00

Boxing Trainer Billy Graham is retiring. Graham is most known for training Light Welterweight Champion Ricky Hatton. After Hatton lost to Floyd Mayweather Jr. last year, it was rumored Graham was going to be fired. He was not fired then as he trained Hatton for his fight this past May. However speculation continued to arise that Graham was almost gone. Then Hatton's brother, Matthew, went to another trainer. When that happened, speculation grew bigger that Ricky and Graham would not be together anymore. So they had a meeting and Graham said he is retiring from boxing. Ricky Hatton is supposed to be using Graham's assistant Lee Beard to train him for his November 22 fight against Paulie Malignaggi. However word is going around that the next permanent trainer may be no other than Floyd Mayweather Sr. This could be very interesting.

Jermain Taylor-Jeff Lacy Is On!!!

2008-07-29T09:40:00.006-05:00

We all knew the Jeff Lacy retirement was out of anger. We also knew it would not last. So when I heard that the Jermain Taylor-Jeff Lacy fight was on for November 15 on HBO, I was not surprised. This is a big fight for both guys. Taylor, coming off of back-to back losses to Kelly Pavlik, needs this win to get back on the good path. Lacy, who has looked horrible in every fight he has been in since March 3, 2006, needs a meaningful win to advance his dying career. Alas these two former Olympic teammates will meet in the ring in a crossroads fight. Although Taylor has lost two fights in a row, including one by KO, most think he is in way better shape than Lacy. So more than likely Taylor will be the favorite in this fight. Lacy who fought last Wednesday almost got KOd in route to a MD over Epifanio Mendoza. That fight was supposed to be good looking tune-up for Lacy that almost cost him the Taylor. Taylor has not fought or been seen from since his February rematch loss to Kelly Pavlik. Rumors have stated Taylor looked to be pretty heavy, as high as 220's. This fight should be very interesting.

Rahman-Toney Changed To No Decision

2008-07-28T15:37:00.003-05:00

The Hasim Rahman-James Toney fight that was originally a 3rd round TKO victory for Toney has been changed to a No Decision. The fight was stopped due to an accidental headbutt that left Rahman bloody and with impaired vision. Somehow it was ruled a TKO victory for Toney when it should have been a No Decision from the start. It is sad it had to come to an appeal to be made correct, however it was made correct. Not sure what is next for these guys, maybe a third fight to settle the score once and for all. They have fought to a draw and now a no decision.

Golden Boy Pisses Lacy Off Into Retirement

2008-07-27T10:31:00.002-05:00

Like most believed, Jeff Lacy was pissed off into retirement. Jeff Lacy was only offered $550,000 to fight Jermain Taylor November 15. This was an amount far less that what Lacy was expecting. I thought Lacy was going to get closer to a million dollars myself. Apparently Golden Boy accepted the monetary terms Wednesday afternoon without the consent of Lacy. Lacy stated he felt Jermain Taylor needed him more than he needed Taylor. Personally I do not think that is true. Yes Taylor has lost two in a row, but he has not lost as much in the ring as Lacy has appeared to. Taylor has other options, this is Lacy's only chance for a big money fight at this time. No one is calling out Lacy, no sanctioning bodies are saying they want Lacy in any title eliminators. I agree that $550,000 is a little low for a fight with Taylor, but Taylor does not need Lacy at all. I agree if Golden Boy accepted a deal without Lacy being involved that was wrong. I hope this can be worked out, I hate to see Lacy retire on a sour note. Yes I do think Lacy is done as an elite, but I never want to see someone leave the sport because of something like this. I am sure more is to come about this.

How Will Cotto Bounce Back???

2008-07-27T10:22:00.002-05:00

Unfortunately Miguel Cotto came up short last night against Antonio Margarito. If Cotto fought like he did last night, he would have beaten 98% of all fighters. However he was in the ring with Margarito who happened to be in the 2% he could not beat. Cotto has nothing to be ashamed about as he fought a great fight. But with all fighters who take their first loss especially by KO you wonder how will they bounce back. Cotto is a warrior and that is without doubt. He has been hurt, down, cut, bruised, bloodied and looked out on his feet only to come back and win. Last night was the first time he did not win in his professional career. Most believe Cotto will take the rest of the year off to let his body rest after such a brutal fight. But will Cotto bounce back? Personally I think Cotto can bounce back and be a champion again. Will he fight Margarito again? Will he fight Zab Judah or Shane Mosley again to get back in the mix? Will this tough loss play tricks on his confidence? These are the questions many are wondering in regards to Miguel Cotto at this point. A loss in a big fight can hurt anyone, but how you bounce back is what is important. I think Cotto will bounce back and become champion again, but the question is does Miguel Cotto believe that too.

What's Next For Antonio Margarito???

2008-07-27T10:04:00.002-05:00

After a classic fight and win for Antonio Margarito, what's next??? Disneyland maybe, but as far as his career. Margarito's defeat over Cotto was by far the biggest victory of his career. Most will not argue that Margarito is now the man to beat at Welterweight. So what is next??? Lets be honest right now, no matter how many times he says Oscar De La Hoya that fight ain't happening. Oscar wants a winnable fight not a brutal ass whooping. Margarito would destroy De La Hoya with all of that pressure. A rematch with Paul Williams is a very attractive fight. Williams holds the WBO title he won from Margarito last July and is currently available for a fight. Margarito had a very sour taste in his mouth about the loss to Williams. The fight could be a title unification fight with Williams who has the WBO title and Margarito who holds the WBA title. Truth be told, Margarito was getting the best of Williams at the end of the fight. Margarito just started too late and could not catch up. If Margarito puts the pressure on Williams from the beginning, maybe he could KO Williams. Margarito could fight the winner of the Zab Judah-Joshua Clottey IBF Welterweight title fight. If Clottey wins, which I predict he will, it would be a rematch of their close 2006 fight. Two hard punching pressure fighters could make for a wonderful fight as well as a title unification fight. I suspect a rematch with Cotto may happen down the line, but not right away. It was a brutal fight and I imagine Cotto will take the rest of the year off. Margarito could also go back up to 154 and fight against WBA Super Welterweight titleholder Daniel Santos. Margarito fought Santos twice, once at welterweight for the WBO Welterweight title and the second time at super welterweight for the WBO Super Welterweight title. The first fight was a NC inside of 1 round and the second fight was a loss to Margarito. The fight was stopped due to an accidental headbutt and Margarito lost on the scorecards. Santos just won the WBA Super Welterweight title July 5 and probably would welcome a fight against Margarito. Since Margarito is the WBA Welterweight Champion and Santos is the WBA Super Welterweight Champion, it would not be hard to get that fight approved to happen. With this huge win over Cotto, Margarito is officially the man to beat in the welterweight division. If anyone wants to claim to be the best, they will have to go through Antonio Margarito. He is not the biggest money draw out there, but he is the man to beat. It should be interesting to see who fights him next.

Judah-Clottey Preview

2008-07-27T09:41:00.002-05:00

Saturday, August 2, Zab Judah and Joshua Clottey meet to fight for the vacant IBF Welterweight Title. This fight could be just like the Cotto-Margarito fight from last night. You have a skilled fighter like Zab Judah going up against a pressure fighter like Joshua Clottey. Honestly I expect it to be similiar to the Cotto-Margarito fight with Clottey breaking down Judah. Judah as well all know loses focus in a fight quickly. I highly doubt he will all of a sudden be able to focus through a whole fight. However if Judah can jab and land hard shots he has a chance to win a decision over Clottey. I do not think he will be able to hurt or knockout Clottey. Clottey is a very rock hard guy who can absorb hard punches as well as dish them. Judah will have to keep up a high rate of movement to keep Clottey from hurting him. If and when Judah slows down, Clottey will beat him to the head and body. After some of the last few big fights Judah has been in, I am not so sure he can take as much punishment. The fight between Cotto and Judah saw Judah get broken down. Judah took a lot of punishment to the body and head from Cotto. In a fight with Clottey, I think Judah will take more of the same. A loss for Judah at this stage of his career will put him more or less in the journeyman status. This is a must win for him that I am not sure he can win. For Clottey, this is second shot at the title. The first shot was against Antonio Margarito in December 2006. Clottey was winning the first half of the fight until he injured both of his hands. The lack of punches allowed Margarito to take over and win the decision. However Judah is not as tough as Margarito. Judah has been knocked down and knocked out. Clottey knows that and I expect him to put full pressure on Judah. Clottey will need to keep the pressure on Judah until he can't take it. Punish Judah on the inside and close the gap on him. Do not give Judah any space to throw his punches. I really see Clottey winning a decision if not stopping Judah. I think it can be similar to the Cotto-Margarito fight where Margarito wore down Cotto. I think Clottey can wear down Judah and I think he will. Could this be the end of the road for Judah???

Margarito Wins The War In 11!!!!

2008-07-26T23:37:00.003-05:00

In what was a great fight full of action, Antonio Margarito stopped Miguel Cotto in the 11th to claim the WBA Welterweight Title. The fight started off real well for Cotto as he landed the harder cleaner shots and kept moving. Cotto was moving from side to side and ducking many of Margarito's punches. The problem was, Cotto never hurt Margarito enough to make him stop coming forward. Cotto landed with some good straight lefts and uppercuts, and blocked many of Margarito's punches. However as you watched you questioned if Cotto could keep that pace up for 12 full rounds. Margarito is used to coming forward for 12 full rounds, but Cotto was not used to moving and boxing 12 full rounds. Around the 7th you could tell Cotto was starting to slow down. He still was landing hard punches, but his movement was not the same. Margarito was landing at a more consistent rate too. Cotto did not use enough of his hard body shots to slow Margarito down. Cotto mainly kept going for the head. At the end of the 10th, Margarito stunned and hurt Cotto badly. Cotto was already bleeding from his mouth, nose, and cut over his left eye. Evangelista Cotto told Miguel he needed to win the last two rounds. However you could tell that Cotto was a beaten fighter and may not last much longer. So in the 11th Margarito came out and jumped on Cotto. He hit Cotto with a left uppercut that caused Cotto to retreat. Cotto's hands dropped and Margarito chased him. He hit Cotto a few more times and Cotto took a knee. When Cotto dropped to his knee, Margarito hit him again. As Cotto stood up, he was bloody all over his face and looked done. His legs were gone and the fight in him was gone. Moments later as Margarito came at Cotto, he fell to a knee on the otherside of the ring without a punch landing. As Kenny Bayless started to count again, Evangelista Cotto got on the apron with the towel. The fight was officially stopped at 2:05 of the 11th round. After the fight, Cotto congratulated Margarito and went straight to his locker room without an interview. Margarito welcomed a fight between him and Oscar De La Hoya saying it would be a great fight for Mexicans. Cotto more than likely will not fight again this year. Although he outlanded Margarito, Cotto took a brutal beating. Between the movement in the ring and the hard shots he took from the harder hitting Margarito, Cotto was brutally beaten. His face was swollen and bloody. This fight was a war and well worth the wait. Hopefully all who watched enjoyed.

Jeff Lacy Is Retiring???

2008-07-26T11:59:00.003-05:00

Former IBF Super Middleweight Champion Jeff Lacy has said he is retiring. Lacy last fought and won a very close MD on ESPN2's Wednesday Night Fights this past Wednesday. Lacy was scheduled to then fight Jermain Taylor on November 15 on HBO. Then abruptly said he was retiring. Lacy told the Tampa Tribune, "There will be no fight between me and Jermain, I'm just retiring," he said. "I'm done. This business is dirty. That's all I have to say. This is a very dirty business. I would advise anyone who has kids not to ever let them fight in this business." Now I have stated I thought Lacy was really done as an elite fighter. I have not kept my feelings a secret. Personally I see him going down the path of Riddick Bowe soon if he keeps fighting. I mean lackluster performances and possible unpredictable actions in the future. I am not sure what happened after his fight on Wednesday, but the announcement of retirement seems like a hasty one. It seems like a hasty decision possibly made out of anger. Winky Wright, a fighter and close friend of Lacy's, believes Lacy is upset over something and just said he was retiring. Winky does not believe Lacy is really done with boxing. Well if Jeff Lacy is serious about his retirement, I wish him the best of luck.

La Battla: The Battle Weigh In

2008-07-25T18:40:00.001-05:00

Miguel Cotto: 147lbs

Antonio Margarito: 147lbs

(WBA Welterweight Championship)

La Batalla: The Battle Is Upon Us Cotto-Margarito!!!!

2008-07-24T20:56:00.002-05:00

The battle is upon us fight fans, Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito. This is on paper the best fight of the year. This is a fight fan's fight. Two Mexican Warriors who come to fight in every fight. These two guys do not take a fight off or show any signs of giving less than their all. Blood, sweat, tears, cuts, nothing stops these two guys from fighting. So here we are approximately 49 hours from the walk in of these two fighters into the ring at the MGM Grand. Who is going to win? Well the slight majority says Miguel Cotto, but no one is counting out Antonio Margarito. Margarito has been avoided a lot in his career and Cotto has avoided no one. That statement right there makes this fight great already. Cotto has defeated Shane Mosley, TKOd Zab Judah and Carlos Quintana. Margarito has brutally KOd Kermit Cintron, not once but twice. I know but who is going to win. Not an easy answer. Last time we saw Cotto, he was moving on his toes and boxing. So now we know Cotto has officially mixed his style up and can box and throw power shots toe to toe. As a welterweight, he has not been as vulnerable as he was at junior welterweight. His defense has improved and he takes punches better. The key for Cotto in this fight is to of course work the body. The brutal body shots Cotto throws can slow anyone down. He needs to stay on his toes and not just go to a power shot war with Margarito. They will engage in hard exchanges, but Cotto should mix it up. Keep moving the head and not allowing Margarito to have a steady target. Cotto does not want to allow Margarito to bull him into the ropes. Margarito loves to get fighters in the ropes and go to work. Cotto needs to know where the ropes are, and avoid it by all costs. Cotto also can effectively switch to southpaw without being confused. This is a great tactic to land some great power shots on Margarito who has a slight weakness to southpaws. This weakness was exposed a little in Margarito's fight against Paul Williams. As for Margarito, he needs to use his reach advantage and jab. Keep Cotto on the outside of his jab. Margarito lands his best power shots when he has room to throw them, so he does not need to let Cotto smother him. Margarito maybe stronger than Cotto, so he should use that strength. Push Cotto into the ropes to wear him down. He needs to make Cotto use his legs and then wear them down by making it rough. When on the inside, work the body of Cotto. Cotto has shown tendencies to get winded throughout a fight, so help him out with those body shots. As I stated earlier, these guys will exchange power shots. Margarito could possibly have the harder punch, making an exchange his advantage. However anyone can be exposed by a power shot they did not see coming. Margarito wants to keep his hands up and make it rough on Cotto. Damn, I am getting goosebumps with anticipation and excitement over this fight. I do not in anyway think these fighters will let the real fans down. They come to fight, they have both trained extremely hard and they both realized the true importance of this fight. The winner of this fight will undoubtedly be considered the #1 welterweight in the world. Also this fight will be for Cotto's WBA Welterweight Title. Cotto is 32-0 and he does not plan on losing his 0. Margarito wants to win to get that glory his heart and career has so long desired. Lets see who gets what the want. Tune in this Saturday July 26 to HBOPPV to catch what possibly could be the fight of the year. You absolutely do not want to miss this fight.

Jeff Lacy Is No Longer An Elite!!!!

2008-07-24T20:18:00.000-05:00

Not too long ago I posted about Jeff Lacy and the effects of a good beatdown. Last night on ESPN2 Wednesday Night Fights, I saw it again. Jeff Lacy is no longer an elite fighter. The beatdown Lacy took against Joe Calzaghe damaged his career more than he will ever admit. Lacy won a MD over Epifanio Mendoza but looked bad doing it. This fight was supposed to be a true tune-up for Lacy as he tries to get a fight with Jermain Taylor later this year. Mendoza is not an elite fighter by any means. I saw many flaws in his style last night. Lacy has always had flaws such as a wide punch and lack of defense. Well Lacy has not improved on either flaw yet. Mendoza hurt Lacy several times throughout the fight. In my opinion, in round 8 Lacy was almost out. Mendoza had hurt Lacy causing Lacy to stumble. As Lacy stumbled, he tackled Mendoza. After those few seconds on the ground, he got back up. Lacy appeared to be a beaten man. When the decision was read, Lacy was booed. Lacy promised a impressive showing, but he didn't. Yes it was a very good fight, but not the one you expect from a guy who swears he has not lost anything. And what was up with one side of his face shaved and the other side not??? Lacy looked in tremendous shape, his body is always that of a bodybuilder. However in boxing, your chisled chest does not win you the fight. Yes Lacy got the win, but those who know boxing know Lacy is no longer an elite fighter. I am starting to worry about the amount of blows he is taking because I feel he is shot. Lacy was shot in March 2006 and he is in critical condition. I don't think he will ever fully recover. He will be able to function but he will never be the same.

Hot Damn!!! Roy Jones Jr. Has A Plan

2008-07-23T08:05:00.004-05:00

When the fight between Roy Jones Jr. and Joe Calzaghe was first announced, I kept wondering if they would fight for both the Super Middleweight Title and Light Heavyweight Title since Calzaghe has both. However I never heard any mention of it. Well now since the fight is being postponed to probably November 8, a dual title fight may happen. Joe Calzaghe expressed concerns about making 168 by September, but he can make it by November. Roy Jones Jr. who last fought in January, weighed in at 169 at that time. If the fight happens November 8, it would be 20 years and 1 day (November 7, 1988) from the date Sugar Ray Leonard beat Donny Lalonde for both the WBC Super Middleweight and WBC Light Heavyweight Title. So history can be made if Roy Jones Jr. and Joe Calzaghe can get the WBA, WBC, and WBO to sanction the fight. Since Calzaghe only holds the Ring Magazine Title at Light Heavyweight that will be no problem. Calzaghe also holds the Ring Magazine Title for the Super Middleweight division, so this can be done. All the lights are shining it appears for Roy Jones Jr. to prove his ultimate greatness again. As a huge Roy Jones Jr. fan, I expect to see him pull off history again by winning two lineal division titles in one fight. When Roy Jones Jr. is focused and chasing history, watch out. Roy Jones Jr. is back!!!!!

Damn, Damn, Damn!!! Jones Jr.-Calzaghe Is Postponed

2008-07-22T18:40:00.003-05:00

The super fight between Roy Jones Jr. and Joe Calzaghe has been postponed due to Calzaghe injuring his wrists in training. The fight is going to be postponed until November. Rumor has it the fight maybe postponed due to the lawsuit Calzaghe's former promoter Frank Warren has pending against Calzaghe. Whatever it is, the fight is postponed and I am highly upset. Besides this weeks Cotto-Margarito fight, there was not a fight I looked forward to more. Roy Jones Jr. is going to tear that ass up whenever they fight.

Crackhead Quote

2008-07-20T11:59:00.003-05:00

Eric Gomez, longtime friend of Oscar De La Hoya as well as the Vice President and matchmaker for Golden Boy Promotions made a crackhead statement. I never like to accuse people of being on drugs so I won't. However the quote below seems like a crackhead quote. I found this quote in an article by Mark Vester of Boxingscene. I am sure Mark has to be very professional, so I will say it for him. Eric Gomez made possibly the crackhead quote of the year.

"Manny is tricky," Gomez said. "Oscar's no longer young and a fight with Pacquiao will be a very dangerous fight for Oscar. Cotto will be an easier fight for Oscar than Manny because Cotto is one-dimensional."

No More Fantasy, Pacquiao-De La Hoya Is Almost Reality!!!!

2008-07-18T18:08:00.005-05:00

It was brought up some months ago about what if Manny Pacquiao and Oscar De La Hoya fought. Pacquiao is the most exciting fighter in boxing and now the #1Pound4Pound fighter. De La Hoya is the most popular fighter in the world. It seemed like such a fantasy because De La Hoya had last fought at 154lbs against Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao was fighting at 130lbs. Then Pacquiao moved up to 135 and convincingly beat down David Diaz. Pacquiao weighed like 145 the night of the fight. De La Hoya last fought Steve Forbes at 150 and swears he can get down to 147. Hmm, not as big of weight difference as most had thought. Now that Oscar De La Hoya has named December 6 as the date of his last fight and is having difficulty finding an opponent, Pacquiao's name is coming up. Pacquiao, despite being so exciting, had horrible PPV numbers for his fight against Diaz in June. All of the possible opponents for Pacquiao are good fighters, but lack enough popularity to generate lots of revenue. De La Hoya had been saying he wanted to fight Miguel Cotto, but most suspected he was just running his mouth. Cotto is a beast and probably would damage De La Hoya. Felix Trinidad keeps acting like he can't fight below 165lbs because he is too lazy to train and lose the weight. Plus Trinidad is no longer a good fighter and De La Hoya would beat him. Pacquiao is highly popular, the #1pound4pound fighter, and is a lot smaller than De La Hoya. Pacquiao brings the whole Phillipines with him every time he fights and many more people who truly love him. De La Hoya, need I say more, he always generates lots of money against whomever he fights. However it is a fight that puts Oscar in a no-win situation. If De La Hoya KOs Pacquiao, he was supposed to because he is the bigger fighter. If he only gets a decision against Pacquiao, then that is a disappointment. If De La Hoya loses to Pacquiao especially by KO, his legacy in the eyes of many will be tarnished. Yes De La Hoya is without a doubt a first ballot Hall of Famer, but he will be remembered for losing to a small guy. Many will question even more his debatable decisions that he won by narrow margins and could have gone to the other fighter. If Pacquiao loses, he can say he just fought too high in weight. He will still be a hero in the Phillipines and it won't really hurt anything except his personal pride. However if Pacquiao wins, he will bascially own the world. Pacquiao would have started his career at 106lbs and went all the way up to 147lbs to beat the most popular fighter of our generation. His legend would expand beyond all worlds. Lets be honest, this fight is going to happen. It can be said it is just a rumor, but this fight is going to happen. Too much talk has began on this fight and it is not being let go of. Freddie Roach believes his fighter Pacquiao can KO De La Hoya. Manny Pacquiao wants this fight and De La Hoya loves the atmosphere this fight will bring. It will be a huge event and generate a lot of money.

Did Rahman Quit???

2008-07-17T20:46:00.004-05:00

I am not a Hasim Rahman fan. Personally I think Rahman could have continued to fight. I have seen worse cuts. Speaking from personal experience of someone who has had extremely blurry vision, he did not appear to have blurry vision. Yes I know I do not have his eyes, but someone with blurry vision like he made it seem wants to sit down and be still. Rahman was not trying to be still at all. Toney was the one who was still and quiet. Now it was a clear accidental headbutt. However the issue is how Rahman's words perceived. Rahman stated multiple times he could not see. The doctor did not say the cut was so bad the fight could not go on. Rahman said I can't see. Apparently that was received as a retirement. If Rahman would have never said he could not see, the fight would not have been stopped. I still think the fight should have been a no decision or no contest even though I know Rahman could have continued. Rahman kept saying the blood was streaming in his eye, but he never came out after the cut. When a cut starts, blood comes out. When the cut is treated in the corner, the cutman should be able to stop the blood. Rahman said he would not fight Toney with one eye unless he has to. Well he opted not to by saying repeatedly he could not see. However judge for yourself what you think.

Prayers For Oscar Diaz!!!!

2008-07-17T20:30:00.002-05:00

Please pray for Oscar Diaz who is in critical condition after his fight with Delvin Rodriquez last night. Diaz collapsed in his corner after the 10th round of his fight. He was taken to the hospital where it was discovered he had bleeding and swelling of the brain. Diaz had emergency surgery and is in critical condition. So please pray for the Diaz and his family.

Kelly Pavlik-Bernard Hopkins October 18???

2008-07-17T20:19:00.003-05:00

Word is that Kelly Pavlik will fight Bernard Hopkins on October 18 on HBOPPV in a nontitle fight at a catchweight of 170lbs. This fight actually makes me laugh because Bob Arum has been saying Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr. need to retire and let the young guys have the sport. Now Arum has struck a deal for Pavlik to fight Hopkins. I will say it was by far not Arum's first choice for Pavlik. Fights with Sergio Mora, Allan Green, Paul Williams, Marco Antonio Rubio and Joe Calzaghe all fell apart for various reasons and not in that order. This fight will be between the guy who beat Jermain Taylor twice in a row to win the Middleweight Title (Pavlik) and the guy who lost to Jermain Taylor twice in the row losing his Middleweight Title (Hopkins). This fight is not official but it is going to happen according to Bob Arum. Top Rank and Golden Boy will split the revenue 50/50 and the fight will be at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. Since this fight is going to be on PPV, HBO is supposedly moving the Shane Mosley-Ricardo Mayorga fight scheduled for October 11 to September 27 on regular HBO. Now if we can get HBO to take the Joel Casamayor-Juan Manuel Marquez fight off of PPV, we may have a better fall.

Toney-Rahman Last Chance: Controversy???

2008-07-16T23:07:00.003-05:00

James Toney won an extremely controversial 3rd round TKO over Hasim Rahman. An accidental headbutt caused a huge cut over the left eye of Rahman. The ring doctor asked Rahman about it and Rahman stated he could not see out of his eye. The ring doctor stopped the fight. Then the decision came out as a TKO for Toney. The unified rules clearly state if a fight is stopped due to an accidental headbutt before the end of 4 completed rounds the fight is declared a no decision. Rahman never said he quit. The ring doctor may have concluded based on Rahman saying he could not see as Rahman saying he could not continue. So that could be considered Rahman retiring on his stool. However it was clearly an accidental headbutt and the fight should have been a no decision. James Toney was starting to pick up the pace at the time of the stoppage. Toney was disappointed because he wanted to win in beautiful fashion. Of course he will take the win how it comes. Rahman of course is pissed off because he feels he got cheated. I can't disagree. Rahman feels because the fight was in California and promoted by Goossen Tutors,which is Toney's promoter, that he was cheated. Rahman's camp has stated on site that they are going to file a protest with the California State Athletic Commission and the NABO. The ring doctor got interviewed and said he stated that what Rahman said, which is he could not see. Then the CSAC made the decision to count the fight as a TKO. The fight in the ring is over, but the real fight has just begun.

Boxing Rumors (Maybe Hidden Truths) 7/16/08

2008-07-16T19:56:00.002-05:00

1. Contrary to what was believed, Joe Calzaghe is NOT vacating his WBO Super Middleweight Title. The WBO Title is the one Joe has had since longest. It was his first title and he is not vacating it. Calzaghe plans to fight at Super Middleweight again after his fight with Roy Jones Jr. The next fight Calzaghe has at Super Middleweight will be his 22nd defense of his WBO title. The purse bid for July 22 between #1 WBO ranked Karoly Balzsay and #2 ranked Jean Pascal will be for the interim WBO Super Middleweight Title.

2. Do not miss George Foreman's new reality show Family Foreman on TVLand at 10pm EST. The six 30 minute episodes will the behind the scenes life of George Foreman, from being a husband, father, Minister, businessman etc.

3. Manny Pacquiao has decided to vacate his WBC Super Featherweight Title and keep his WBC Lightweight Title. Pacquiao had until July 28 to make his decision, but did not wait till the last minute.

4. The Miguel Cotto-Antonio Margarito tickets are not selling as well as hoped. There are plenty of tickets left for those who may want to attempt to go to the fight. I wish I could. Go to ticketmaster.com to find out what is still available.

5. Other Joe Calzaghe news. Calzaghe said he may fight Kelly Pavlik after his fight with Roy Jones Jr. Calzaghe said he needs fights that motivate him and a fight with Pavlik motivates him.

Casamayor-Marquez Presser

2008-07-16T19:49:00.002-05:00

Joel Casamayor and Juan Manuel Marquez pose for a picture with Oscar De La Hoya at a press conference to promote their September 13 Lightweight fight. The fight, titled "The Challenge" will air live on HBOPPV, but many including myself expect it to do horrible numbers. First of all it is not a big enough fight for PPV and the very next weekend, September 20, Roy Jones Jr and Joe Calzaghe will fight. Not to mention with gas as expensive as it is, nobody wants to pay $50 back to back weekends. However, this is an interesting fight because Marquez is moving up to Lightweight and challenging the Lineal Lightweight Champion in Casamayor. Casamayor is coming off his best performance in years, a KO of Michael Katsidis. Myself and many are hoping something happens to take this fight off of PPV and on to regular HBO. Lets keep our fingers crossed.

James Toney-Hasim Rahman: Last Chance Weigh In

2008-07-15T20:46:00.002-05:00

Hasim Rahman: 244lbs

James Toney: 226lbs

NABO Heavyweight Title

This fight will be shown live on FSN Best Damn Fight Night, Wednesday July 16 at 11pm EST.

Boxing Rumors (Maybe Hidden Truths) 7/14/08

2008-07-14T18:12:00.004-05:00

1. Ricky Hatton may split from his long time trainer Billy Graham. Hatton's brother Matthew has already split and moved to another gym. Ricky has not commented on who will train him for his fight against Paulie Malignaggi. Whispers of the split have been on going since Hatton's loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in December. Somebody has to take the blame, why not the trainer.

2. The WBC has declared the Humberto Soto-Francisco Lorenzo fight a no contest and ordered a rematch. The rematch is to take place after Lorenzo's medical suspension is over. The suspension will not be over until December 26, 2008. Lorenzo is being fined $2000 for his unsportsmanlike behavior to influence the referee and get the win. The money will be donated to a children's hospital in the Dominican Republic, the home of Lorenzo. In the meantime, Soto can fight for the title as long as it is before the end of October, two months before Lorenzo's suspension is over.

3. Manny Pacquiao has until July 28 to decide which belt he is going to keep, the WBC Super Featherweight title or Lightweight title. If Pacquiao decides to keep the Super Featherweight title he must fight Humberto Soto with the winner fighting Francisco Lorenzo.

4. Marco Antonio Barrera and Golden Boy Promotions have agreed to amicable split with Barrera getting his release from Golden Boy and agreeing to give up his position as a partner in Golden Boy.

5. Zahir Raheem, who got KTFO by Ali Funeka in South Africa last week, is filing a protest over the fight. Raheem claims the KO punch came after the bell. Raheem who had already been down four times said he heard the bell and took his eye off of Funeka when he got KOd. Raheem claims he thought the referee may have been afraid to penalize or disqualify Funeka because of the hostile environment. The fight was mandated by the IBF as a Lightweight eliminator. Raheem is looking for the result to be changed to a no decision and a rematch ordered within 60 days. Good luck.

6. Yoel Judah will return to Las Vegas to work the corner of his son Zab on August 2nd. Zab takes on Joshua Clottey for the vacant IBF Welterweight belt. Yoel had his license revoked after his participation in the brawl his son started in a fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. on April 8, 2006.

7. Word has it that Kenny Bayless will be the referee for the Miguel Cotto-Antonio Margarito fight on July 26. Dave Moretti, Jerry Roth, and Glen Hamada will be the three judges for the fight.

Kendall Gill: A Real Boxing Lover

2008-07-13T20:35:00.004-05:00

This past Friday, former NBA All-Star Kendall Gill was the guest on ESPN2's Friday Night Fights. Gill has had 3 career fights as a Cruiserweight and is 3-0. I have to admit I was very impressed with his knowledge of boxing. So many times I see other athletes or celebrities who claim to know boxing but sound like they do not. Gill appeared to be a real student of the game which I truly respect. When asked if he would box again, he stated he would probably just stick to training and sparring. He said he realizes at 40 he is not young enough for boxing but loves the sport. His analysis of the fights that were on air that night was great. He stated his top 5 fighters which consisted of Sugar Ray Leonard, Evander Holyfield, Roy Jones Jr., Sugar Ray Robinson, and Muhammad Ali. Gill stated that his collection of fights go back to the real old days. I was simply impressed by Kendall Gill's knowledge and love for the sport of boxing. As someone who truly loves boxing, I love to see others who love it too. Too many people are part-time lovers of boxing which is not what we need. Gill also agrees with me that Roy Jones Jr is going to beat Joe Calzaghe. Brian Kenny, who in my opinion talks too damn much, disagreed. This is also the same guy who thinks Joe Cortez affected Ricky Hatton when he lost to Floyd Mayweather Jr. Forget the many punches Hatton took in the fight. However I just wanted to give a shot out to Kendall Gill. I respected him as a basketball player and now I have even more respect for him as a fellow boxing lover. Hope to see you doing some more boxing analysis on television.

Klitschko Stops Thompson In 11

2008-07-12T17:29:00.004-05:00

Wladimir Klitschko took care of business as he KOd out Tony Thompson in the 11th round. Thompson, a 6'5 southpaw, was very akward for Klitschko. However Thompson never seemed to press hard enough to make anything happen in the fight. He caught Klitschko with a few good clean punches, but never pressed further. For a good portion of the fight, Klitschko looked like he was confused or nervous with Thompson. I believe the southpaw stance really bothers Klitschko. Thompson hit the body decently in the middle rounds, but nothing too effective. Klitschko's right hands started to take its toll on Thompson and slow him down. Thompson appeared like he was trying to possibly set a trap for Klitschko, but it never happened. Klitschko just kept getting stronger through the fight and started to push Thompson around. It appeared Klitschko said enough was enough and took control of the fight. Then finally in the 11th, Klitschko landed a hard right to the chin of Thompson. Thompson went down hard and did not beat the count. This fight was a lot better than the Klitschko-Ibragimov fight in February. Thompson came to fight, but after awhile fell into his sparring partner role. However he was still more aggressive than Ibragimov. Next for Klitschko is his IBF mandatory against Alexander Povetkin probably in the fall.

James Toney-Hasim Rahman: Last Chance!!!!

2008-07-11T18:00:00.005-05:00

This is not the picture for the upcoming fight, but I cannot seem to find it. However Hasim Rahman and James Toney are going to fight again on July 16 in a fight titled Last Chance. The title is so right because both of these guys need a win for anyone to consider them in the heavyweight division mix. The last time these two fought, March 2006, it was a disappointing draw. Toney came in out of shape and fought just off of pure skill. Rahman acted nervous and did not put enough pressure on Toney to make him exert his energy. I was not sure who I was pissed off at more, Toney or Rahman. I was pissed off at Toney because if he had tried to get into decent shape he would have won. He was already making Rahman look bad just off of natural ability. I was pissed at Rahman because like usual he is lazy. It was obvious Toney was out of shape, and Rahman did not pressure Toney enough. If Rahman would have pressured Toney he could have won the fight. So Last Chance is right for both of these guys. Rahman is 35 and Toney will be 40 in August. Both fighters claim to be in great shape and all the good stuff you say leading up to a fight. If both fighters are in shape and come to fight who will win? Toney is by far the more skilled fighter. He has been doing it for years and even in his horrible shape he managed to almost beat Rahman who was in shape. Rahman has the power advantage, but tends to be outboxed and get tired. Rahman has been knocked out more, which I feel takes a toll on a fighter despite what the fighter believes. Toney is a throwback fighter, he loves to just flat out fight. The only thing I worry about with Toney is if age will catch up to him. He has all the natural ability you could want a fighter to have, but will the up and down in weight along with age hurt him? Rahman has not impressed me that much in his last few fights against journeyman. He has come in well above a comfortable weight and looked sluggish. In order for Rahman to be effective and win, he is going to have to come out aggressive. Establish his jab early and make Toney work. He does not need to let Toney lay on the ropes and counterpunch, that is how Rahman almost lost the fight last time. Toney is the master of laying on the ropes and letting the other fight exert energy and miss his punches. Rahman should try to work the body of Toney especially on the inside. Rahman needs to throw straight punches and not the wide ones he tends to throw. Do not use too much energy as Toney has a great chin. A KO would be nice, but let it come to you don't force it. In order for Toney to win, he has to be himself. Toney needs to be the slick quick counterpunching fighter he has always been. He needs to continue to move in akward ways to make Rahman exert lots of energy and miss. Rahman gets tired a lot in fights, so Toney needs to work that body. Rahman is the bigger man, but Toney still has a good jab he can use. Toney needs to use that jab to distract Rahman and then follow up with some nice body work. Toney does not have the power he used to have in the lower weight classes, but enough sting to keep Rahman away. However Rahman has been KOd at least 3 times to my knowledge, so Toney could possibly do it late in the fight. The only way Toney will get Rahman down is by wearing him down throughout the fight. This fight has a lot at stake here. It is not just a fight, it is for their careers. The winner should be able to move on to another good payday and the loser may need to retire. Will it be the puncher over the skilled fighter? Will it be experience over the not as experienced? Will it be age? Will it be ring knowledge? Will it be controversial? With James Toney and Hasim Rahman, you never know. So tune in Wednesday July 16 on FSN's Best Damn Fight Night telecast at 10pm EST live from the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, California. This fight will not be one you want to miss!!!

Chad Dawson-Antonio Tarver Face Off October 11

2008-07-11T17:49:00.003-05:00

Chad Dawson has officially relinquished his WBC Light Heavyweight Title and is moving forward with fighting Antonio Tarver on October 11. The WBC is a little upset because they twice gave Dawson exceptions to fight other fighters with the promise of fighting Adrian Diaconu. The WBC feels Dawson was more influenced by television networks(Showtime) than by following the rules of the WBC. So the fight between Dawson and Tarver will be for Tarver's IBF and IBO Light Heavyweight Titles. The location of the fight is uncertain but looks to be at either the Mohegan Sun or Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut.

Boxing Rumors (Maybe Hidden Truths) 7/11/08

2008-07-11T07:32:00.005-05:00

1. Rumor has it that a deal has been reached for Kelly Pavlik-Paul Williams for September 27 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. The fight would be aired on HBO World Championship Boxing.

2. Rumor also has it that Antonio Tarver and Chad Dawson will finally fight on October 11 in Connecticut at either the Mohegan Sun or Foxwoods casino. Chad Dawson will be stripped of his WBC Light Heavyweight Belt because he will not be facing his mandatory Adrian Diaconu. A Dawson-Tarver fight will get Dawson more money than a fight with Diaconu.

3. It appears the Samuel Peter-Vitali Klitschko fight will take place October 4 in Berlin Germany at the new O2 World Arena there. Showtime will televise the fight.

4. Marco Antonio Barrera wants to fight again but not under Golden Boy Promotions. Barrera, who has a minority stake in Golden Boy, wants to fight as a free agent. Golden Boy claims Barrera owes them one more fight and of course Barrera says differently. They are supposed to meet and discuss the situation.

5. It appears Manny Pacquiao will be fighting Humberto Soto on November 15. Bob Arum said he did not want to get delayed waiting on the Nevada State Athletic Commission to give clearance to Edwin Valero. Arum said if Valero is cleared, he will put him on the undercard of the Pacquiao fight and if they both win then they can fight each other next year.

Klitschko-Thompson Weigh-In

2008-07-11T07:28:00.001-05:00

Wladimir Klitschko: 241lbs

Tony Thompson: 247.5lbs

IBF/IBO/WBO Heavyweight Championship Fight

Live on HBO Saturday at 4:30pm EST and replay at 10pm EST

Klitschko-Thompson Preview

2008-07-10T18:37:00.002-05:00

This Saturday live on HBO at 4:30pm EST and replayed at 10pm EST, IBF/WBO Heavyweight Champion Wladimir Klitschko will defend his belts against WBO mandatory challenger Tony Thompson. Klitschko is coming off a very boring decision win over Sultan Ibragimov in which he took the WBO belt. Thompson has not fought since 2nd round TKO over Cliff Couser in September. Thompson has not lost a fight in 8 years and presents a challenge to Klitschko whether anyone wants to believe it or not. Thompson is a 6'5 southpaw with decent power. Klitschko may have to fight Thompson, unlike he had to do against Ibragimov in February. Klitschko and Thompson are very close in height and weight, the only question becomes he who executes better. Rumors of past sparring between Klitschko and Thompson vary between the fighters. Thompson has said he was beating Klitschko, but of course Klitschko remembers a different story. Whatever happened then, will not matter come Saturday. Now in order for Klitschko to win, he needs to establish his extremely powerful jab. He will need to keep moving because Thompson is a southpaw and will be coming at him. So Klitschko will need to jab and follow up with hard right hands. However he does not need to stand still and admire his work. Aim for the body with some of his punches, to slow the 36 year old Thompson down. Klitschko needs to keep the right distance between himself and Thompson. So he may have to work on the inside a little with Thompson, which is where good body shots can be effective. Klitschko needs to keep his hands up and not get hit on his weak chin. For Thompson to win, he needs to keep moving. Establish your jab from the beginning. Do not be still or allow yourself to be cornered by Klitschko. The fact that Thompson is very close in height to Klitschko can make it better for him to land his punches. He will be punching straight instead of up. Thompson needs to land some good body shots to help lower Klitschko's guard so he can tag his weak chin. Thompson needs to keep his distance, but work well when they are on the inside. Thompson may want to make Klitschko fight instead of box. Klitschko boxes nice, but can get a little unnerved with a fight. When he is fighting, he sometimes forget to keep his guard and can get caught. Thompson may want to explore this to possibly get a KO. As I stated this fight can be interesting because Thompson is not a small heavyweight like Ibragimov. Thompson has fought over in Germany before and is not nervous. He is confident he can win and has not lost in 8 years. We could have a good fight Saturday, check it out.

Boxing Rumors (Maybe Hidden Truths) 7/10/08

2008-07-10T18:18:00.002-05:00

1. Joe Cortez, who is in hot water about his last officiating job June 28, will be the ref for the Wladimir Klitschko-Tony Thompson fight this weekend.

2. The Contender is going to be televised on Versus beginning in December. This season the show will be focused on the Cruiserweight division. This season it will have American Cruiserweights against International Cruiserweights. Buddy McGirt is going to train the Americans and possibly Enzo Calzaghe will be training the International fighters. A few names in the mix to be on the show include former undisputed Cruiserweight Champ O'Neil Bell, BJ Flores, Darnell Wilson, Matt Godfrey, and Johnathon Banks.

3. It appears the Ricky Hatton-Paulie Malignaggi fight will be November 22 on HBO in Las Vegas.

4. Joe Calzaghe may be stripped of his WBO Super Middleweight Title soon since he is going to fight Roy Jones Jr. at Light Heavyweight. If that is the case, Jermain Taylor and Jeff Lacy may fight for the vacant belt this fall. Lacy, who has a fight July 23 against Epifanio Mendoza, has to win and be injury free in order to fight Taylor. There is a purse bid on July 25 for a fight between Jermain Taylor and Carl Froch for the vacant WBC Super Middleweight Title. However HBO is not offering very much money for that fight. They are offering a lot more money for a Taylor-Lacy fight. Time will tell who Taylor fights and for what title.

5. The Nate Campbell-Joan Guzman fight is almost complete. The fight will air on Showtime September 13 and may take place in Jacksonville Florida. On the undercard, WBC Junior Welterweight Champion Timothy Bradley may make his first defense against either Juan Urango or Randall Bailey.

6. Hot Junior Middleweight prospect James Kirkland, who recently split with Gary Shaw Productions, seems to be headed towards a deal with Golden Boy Promotions. If that happens, Deandre Latimore who upset Sechew Powell is more than ready to take Kirkland on. Latimore has called on anybody and everybody since he scored an upset TKO over former #1 IBF Junior Middleweight Contender Sechew Powell.

It's Official: Roy Jones Jr-Joe Calzaghe Will Fight

2008-07-08T20:31:00.005-05:00

Ladies and Gentleman the fight is on. Roy Jones Jr. is going to fight Joe Calzaghe September 20, 2008 live on HBO from Madison Square Garden. I am totally pumped up. I am a huge Roy Jones Jr. fan and I never stopped believing in him even through his downfall, 2004-2005. So I am telling everyone right now, I am going for Roy Jones Jr. to win in beautiful fashion. When it is time for the preview, I will be honest about both fighters and their chances. However, Roy Jones Jr is who I am rooting for and he will win the fight. I can hear the disagreements coming down the path, so bring them on. Anyway you put it, Roy Jones Jr. will be victorious on September 20, 2008 and prove why he is one of the best fighters we have personally seen lace up some gloves. He will be placed back on Pound 4 Pound lists as well. He is getting back what he had. To let you know how positive I am that Roy is going to win, today is my father's birthday and the fight is made official. September 20, is my mother's birthday and that is when the fight is going to happen. Two great days to my existence, so Roy is going to win. Unless he by some crazy chance loses, you cannot convince me Roy Jones Jr. will lose.

Boxing Rumors (Maybe Hidden Truths) 7/8/08

2008-07-08T20:13:00.004-05:00

1. It appears that the Roy Jones Jr.-Joe Calzaghe fight will take place at Madison Square Garden on September 20. Calzaghe wanted the fight in Wales, but HBO insisted the fight take place in the US.

2. Kelly Pavlik has been nominated for an ESPY award from ESPN.

3. The Manny Pacquiao-David Diaz fight has reportedly done horrible in PPVs. It is rumored to have done less than 200,000 PPVs. Ouch. That is really sad because it was the best Pacquiao ever fought. However it leads many to believe that the future PPV cards such as Joel Casamayor-Juan Manuel Marquez on September 13 and the Shane Mosley-Ricardo Mayorga fight on October 11 will both do horrible.

4. Word has it the IBF has ordered an eliminator for the Junior Middleweight mandatory between former IBF Champ Cory Spinks and Joel Julio. If this comes out to be true, Spinks-Julio will take place this fall and they will not get a chance to fight for the title until early 2009. Currently Verno Phillips holds the IBF title after defeating Cory Spinks in March.

5. Golden Boy Promotions has formed an alliance with USA Boxing under which they will collaborate on numerous marketing, media, broadcast and consulting efforts. This is special to Oscar De La Hoya is a 1992 Olympic Gold Medalist and has always expressed his love for Olympic boxing.

6. Hot prospect Devon Alexander has been named the #1 contender at Junior Welterweight by the WBC. Alexander is ready to fight new WBC Champion Timothy Bradley as soon as possible.

Boxing Rumors (Maybe Hidden Truths) 7/7/08

2008-07-07T20:01:00.002-05:00

1. Demetrius Hopkins has officially signed with Top Rank. Hopkins will soon be in action under Top Rank.

2. Paulie Malignaggi got his cast removed off of his hand. Now he says he is ready to rock and roll for his fight in November against Ricky Hatton.

3. Rocky Juarez will face Jorge Barrios on the undercard of the Juan Diaz-Michael Katsidis fight on September 6 live on HBO from the Toyota Center in Houston, TX. Both fights will air as part of the Boxing After Dark telecast.

4. Despite the rumors, John Duddy is not scheduled to face IBF Junior Middleweight Champion Verno Phillips. Yes it is an option but nothing is close to being official for that fight, if it takes place at all.

5. Floyd Mayweather Jr. has been in the news a couple times recently. He has lashed out and called out HBO for racism. Then in a documentary he is filming, he had some extremely harsh words for Oscar De La Hoya.

6. Zahir Raheem was knocked out cold in South Africa against Ali Funeka. It is considered a big upset and may be the end of Raheem's career, at least as top contender.

7. Lightweight contender Amir Khan has agreed to a contract extension with Frank Warren. Khan is also looking at getting an experienced American trainer, possibly Freddie Roach. However since Roach trains Pacquiao who is also a Lightweight and Roach's best fighter, I am not sure how that will work.

One Year Since Nonito Donaire Smashed On The Scene

2008-07-07T00:00:00.003-05:00

Today is the one year anniversary of Nonito Donaire's KO of Vic Darchinyan. It was a sensational KO. I was watching it live on Showtime and it was great. Immediately I became a fan of Donaire's at the post fight interview. I found him to be a very gracious and respectful fighter. Since then he has continued to carry the same dignity that I love in great fighters. He is one of my favorite all around fighters without any doubt. I know I have posted the video of him knocking out Darchinyan before, but I have to do it again. Also good luck to Donaire as he has just signed with Top Rank and will be making his debut for Top Rank on July 26. He will be on the undercard of the Miguel Cotto-Antonio Margarito fight fighting Jose Navarro. I can't wait to see Donaire back in the ring.

Holt KTFO Torres To Win WBO Junior Welterweight Title!!!

2008-07-06T11:29:00.004-05:00

Whew!!! Wow!!! Exciting!!! Non Stop Action!!! Knockout of the year!!! Round of the year!!! All these words describe what happened in the Kendall Holt-Ricardo Torres rematch. They did not come to box, they came to fight. And fight they did. Ricardo Torres came right at Kendall Holt as soon as the bell rang. Eventually landing a hard right hand to drop Holt. Holt got back up quickly and Torres attacked him again. Torres landed a couple more shots and had Holt down again. Holt got up so quick that when Jay Nady was going towards Torres to get him in the neutral corner, Torres hit Holt again. Nady never saw Torres land the other left hook on Holt as he stood back up. So two knockdowns in less than a minute and it appears Holt would probably get KOd. Wrong!!! As Torres stalked Holt, Holt connected with a left hook to the body and accidentally headbutted Torres under his chin. The headbutt did some damage to Torres because as he backed up he dropped his hands. Torres was drove into the ropes and then Holt connected with a devastating right hand. Torres went down into the ropes and was not moving. Once Jay Nady saw Torres was not moving he waved it off and called for doctor's aid. At first I thought Torres was dead because he was not moving at all. When they laid him down his eyes were not moving either. That was a scary few moments there. I was wrong, because I thought Holt would get KOd. He still has a weak chin as he displayed getting knocked down twice. However he had the punch to end the fight. I knew he could hurt Torres as he showed in their first fight. However I did not see the KO coming last night, especially after Holt had been down twice. To see Holt KO Torres was a huge surprise, yet very exciting. That 61 seconds of action is most definitely the round of the year and perhaps the KO of the year. They should probably fight a third time. For those of you who did not see the accidental headbutt, it is hard to see unless you watch it on a replay. It happened so fast it was easy to miss. Anyway it goes, Holt got the job done.

Ricardo Torres-Kendall Holt Weigh In

2008-07-05T09:30:00.002-05:00

Kendall Holt: 139lbs

Ricardo Torres: 139lbs

WBO Junior Welterweight Title

The fight is live on Showtime July 5, 2008 at 10pm CST

The Effects Of A Good Beatdown

2008-07-05T00:00:00.000-05:00

March 4, 2006 undefeated IBF Super Middleweight Champion Jeff Lacy went to the U.K. to fight undefeated WBO Super Middleweight Champion Joe Calzaghe. For many in the United States we had heard of Calzaghe but had not seen much of him. Many of us, including myself, thought he was another hyped overseas fighter that would get exposed. Calzaghe would never leave his country to fight in the United States and always seem to have an injury when it was time to fight. Lacy, was a strong power punching fighter from the US that seemed destined to expose Calzaghe. Lacy was not the best boxer, but many felt his classic left hook would land at some point and end the hype of Joe Calzaghe. Damn, were we all wrong? Lacy went over to England trying to land his wide shots and he got exposed instead. Calzaghe hit Lacy with every punch in his arsenal. Not too often you see a beatdown like that without a knockout. Lacy was down in the 12th but got up. At the end of twelve rounds, actually before, Lacy look like a beaten fighter who was spent. I was very shocked at what had just taken place. Now here we are more than two years after this fight and I read where Lacy says he eventually wants a rematch with Calzaghe. When I read that, I immediately thought of the effects of the beatdown. Although I have never seen the actual punch stat numbers, I have read that Calzaghe landed over 1000 punches against Lacy. I did not say threw over a 1000 punches, but landed over 1000. Now I will say that Calzaghe is not the biggest power puncher, but he does hit hard enough that after a 1000 times you would be hurt. Lacy has not been the same since that fight by any means. Lacy came back 9 months later to win a controversial MD over Vitali Tsypko. In that fight Lacy suffered a shoulder injury which required surgery. He did not fight for a little over a year when he fought Peter Manfredo Jr December 8, 2007. Lacy won a very boring UD over Manfredo. Lacy did not have the punch he used to have or the aggressiveness. All the things that many thought would be good enough to beat Calzaghe, Lacy has lost that too. It appears he still has yet to learn how to box. He still throws those wide shots that leave him very open. If Lacy fights anyone with decent boxing skills they will expose him again. My concern really is after the beatdown he took from Joe Calzaghe, he thinks a rematch is a good idea. Since the beatdown, Lacy has fought twice and won two lackluster decisions. He is due to fight on July 23 against Epifanio Mendoza. For Lacy this is a do or die fight, no questions ask. Sure he only has one loss, but the effects of that beatdown have been horrible for him. It was not like losing a split decision or even getting KOd early. Lacy endured 12 long hard rounds of punishment. The punishment he received took a toll on his body that night in England and he will never get that piece of himself back. He can change trainers, promoters, gloves or whatever he thinks is the issue, but he will never get back the fight he lost in the ring against Calzaghe. There are rumors of a Jeff Lacy-Jermain Taylor fight. Oh how attractive that fight would have been a little over 2 years ago, but today it is not valuable. Taylor, who has lost two in a row, is still in better shape as a fighter than Lacy. Yes Taylor was KOd, but he did not take the total beating Lacy did. Lacy is a shell of himself. He swears he is not and he believes that. However those who know the sport know more than likely Lacy is spent and will never be the same. As beautiful as this sport is, it is also brutal. Losses occur in every fight whether it is scored a draw or not. In each fight, you just never know the true effects of a beatdown until it has passed by. For Jeff Lacy I think the effects of the beatdown he received from Joe Calzaghe may have been detrimental to his career. He has not comeback from it well and it appears he never will. Although Lacy will continue to fight, the effects of the beatdown may have ended his career with only Lacy being the last to know.

Ricardo Torres-Kendall Holt: No Excuses The Rematch

2008-07-04T00:36:00.002-05:00

This Saturday live on Showtime as a Special Edition of ShoBox, Ricardo Torres takes on Kendall Holt in a rematch of their controversial fight from last year. The fight is for the WBO Junior Welterweight Title currently held by Torres. Their first fight was controversial due to lack of control by the referee and a wild crowd in Torres's country of Colombia. Holt claims he was hit in the head with a beer can among other things. Now put all that stuff in the past. This Saturday, the rematch will be televised on Showtime(American Television) at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas (United States). I doubt very seriously if the fight gets out of control in anyway as Jay Nady is the referee. So what do we have here but the two fighters. Ricardo Torres, who is a very dangerous puncher with 28KOs in his 32 wins. Then you have Kendall Holt who is a slick boxer with some power. Holt at this point has a lot of anger and emotion in his body. He may deny it, but it appears to be written all over him. He feels he was cheated in the first fight and wants to KO Torres to prove it. If Holt comes out trying for KO, I have a feeling he will be KOd. Torres is too powerful for Holt in my view. Torres appears to be in good shape too. Holt, has never really impressed me. He also seems to have a weak chin to me and both of his losses have been by stoppage. Sure his first fight with Torres was controversial, but him getting knocked down was not controversial. Torres has improved since his KO loss to Miguel Cotto back in 2005. In that fight, Torres took the fight on short notice and almost had Cotto out in the fight. Holt appears to be in shape for the fight but I think he needs to box. He does not need to exchange with Torres. Get in and get out, try to wear Torres down in the body. Maybe in the later rounds he can possibly get Torres out. However a KO should not be a first priority for Holt. Torres has the power to stop Holt without a doubt. In order for him to win, he probably needs to get in close and let his hands go. Do not let Holt keep him on the outside. Holt does drop his hands, and Torres needs to take advantage of that by landing his hard right hand. They have both knocked each other down in the first fight so it could happen again. However I think Torres has the better shot at knocking Holt down and possibly out. Honestly for some reason I see Torres stopping Holt again, probably with a punch he does not see coming. For Holt I would like to see him win so he can get the belt he desires, but I just don't see it happening that way. I see Holt giving in to his emotions and trying to trade with a puncher. I guess Saturday night we will see if I am wrong.

American Son by Oscar De La Hoya

2008-07-04T00:05:00.002-05:00

I just got finished reading American Son by Oscar De La Hoya. I received the book on Monday and got into for real today. It was a very good book. The book dips into Oscar's life as a child and how he was raised, his close connection with his mother, amateur days, and his up and down lifestyle. It is not as dramatic as I thought when I received the book but still a good story. Oscar touches on how there was not a lot of communication in his household as he grew up. You always hear him talk about his mother, but the funny thing is they never said I love you. He speaks of his kids out of wedlock and how at first it did not settle him down like he had anticipated. The bad decisions he made as far as management early in his career is valuable information I think all up and coming boxers should learn from. Oscar speaks on how he did not realize at first how he was being misguided with his money. He thought what he was getting was fair and did not question much else. However he learned how a fighter needs to be in control of his money and business. I too found that information to be very valuable. He does not give direct advice but the lessons he learned and the way he speaks of it is good advice enough. Oscar speaks on how till this day how he feels his mother is watching over him still. He gives a very touching account of one incident in particular. I wished he had touched on it a little more, but you still got the idea. How he met his wife and how she treated him at first is actually very funny to anyone who has had to chase a woman. With all the money and popularity he had, it was funny to read the struggles he had to get Millie. I found his views on the trainers he has had over the years was good. Most people speculate on why there are changes in a fighters corners without ever really getting the true facts. I got a better view of Richard Schaefer in the book too. When you read it, you find out how much respect, admiration, and credit he gives to Schaefer. Honestly, it is well deserved based on what Schaefer did for Oscar in a personal and business standpoint. All in all I found this book to be pretty good. Personally I think he could have waited until he had fought his last fight to finish writing the book. However it is out and still a very good book to read especially if you are a fan of Oscar De La Hoya. It is not a hard book to read at all. If you followed his career, some of the things you are familiar with and learn a little bit more about. I sat and pretty much read the whole book in one day. So get yourself a copy and get a closer look at the man known as the Golden Boy.

Boxing Rumors (Maybe Hidden Truths) 7/3/08

2008-07-03T23:53:00.003-05:00

1. Bob Arum has officially withdrew his offer to Sergio Mora to face Kelly Pavlik. Arum offered Mora $1.2 million and Mora's promoter Jeff Wald countered with $1.5 million. The reason for the higher counter offer is because out of that offer, Mora would have to pay Vernon Forrest step aside money. Forrest had an immediate rematch clause in his contract against Mora. Now Arum is trying to strike a deal with WBO Welterweight Champion Paul Williams to move up to Middleweight to fight Kelly Pavlik. If the fight happens it will occur on September 27 on HBO at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.

2. Ruslan Chagaev will not be stripped of his WBA Heavyweight Title. He has been named Champion in recess giving him until June 26, 2009 to defend the title. Chagaev will be defending the WBA Title at that time against the winner of Nikolai Valuev-John Ruiz II. Valuev and Ruiz promoters are in negotiations for the fight. FYI Chagaev had successful surgery to repair his torn Achilles tendon.

3. For those of you who actually cared, the Kosta Tsyzu-Jackie Chan exhibition fight has been cancelled. Since Chan is an Olympic ambassador for the Beijing Olympics, the officials did not think the exhibition was a good idea.

4. Allan Green has inked an advisory deal with Greg Leon. Leon is going to work with Tony Holden, Green's promoter, to help Green land some bigger fights. Hopefully this will lead to Green getting a title shot real soon.

Boxing Rumors (Maybe Hidden Truths) 7/1/08

2008-07-01T19:21:00.003-05:00

1. Bob Arum is saying a Manny Pacquiao-Edwin Valero fight is a go. He is just waiting to see if Nevada will grant Valero a boxing license. Right now Valero is only licensed in Texas. He was put on medical suspension back in 2001 because a head injury from a motorcycle accident.

2. The Humberto Soto-Francisco Lorenzo fight is considered to be a No-Contest by the WBC. They are not allowing Lorenzo who was being dominated and beaten to claim the interim WBC Super Featherweight Title on a controversial DQ. The result may not be changed by fight fax or Nevada State Athletic Commission.

3. Wayne McCullough says he is not retired. It was said after he did not answer the bell in his last fight on June 20 that he was retiring. He said he sometimes says whats on his mind and that gets him in trouble. McCullough says he is in the gym getting ready for another fight soon.

4. Lamon Brewster, who has been MIA since his TKO lost to Wladimir Klitschko last July, is returning August 30. Brewster will be headlining a card at the Cincinatti Gardens in Ohio. The card will be promoted by Brewster's own promotional company and co-promoted by local businessman Andrew Williams.

5. WBC/WBO Middleweight Champion Kelly Pavlik is being physically threatened by a former sponsor. The sponsor whose name has not been released is supposedly going to prison soon and stated he will get Pavlik before he goes to prison. Pavlik has filed a police report citing concerns for his daughter and fiance.

Worst Fight Ever!!!! Hasim Rahman-Mario Cawley

2008-07-01T00:00:00.001-05:00

I was bored and started looking up different fighters on youtube. Somehow I ended up finding this video of Hasim Rahman vs Mario Cawley. This is the worst fight I have ever seen. Cawley did not come to fight at all. He went down as a knockdown on a punch he landed. Yes he hit Rahman and ducked at the counter and went down. This fight was horrible yet entertaining. The ignorance of Cawley is simply dazzling. Take a look and see what you think. I will tell you this fight is like a car accident you keep staring at. Personally my mouth dropped while watching it. I could not believe what I was seeing. I am happy to say that Mario Cawley has not fought again since 2004. Take a look at his record with the link here, http://www.boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=7835&cat=boxer, you will notice he started his career 21-0. He fought trash cans, then as soon as he started fighting real people he went 1-13 in his last 14 fights. He was stopped 11 out of those 13 losses. Just watch the fight and see what you think. It is very comical.

Happy Birthday Mike Tyson

2008-06-30T00:00:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday Mike Tyson. Today is Mike Tyson's 42nd birthday. Mike is still the youngest Heavyweight Champion ever. One of the most recognizable fighters of all time. Through all the ups and downs, he was still one of the baddest men to ever put on a pair of gloves. So Happy Birthday to you Mike, many more, and may God bless you.

Pacquiao's Lethal Combinations KO Diaz

2008-06-29T14:18:00.008-05:00

I am still pretty pumped from the performance Manny Pacquiao put on last night. To have watched him grow from the one handed fighter that beat Barrera to the fighter I saw last night is just unbelievable. For a long time all he was able to do was use his left hand and occassionally a right hand would go out. Then last night it was like everything he ever worked on came together. His combinations were beautiful, his balance was great, his speed was on point, his punches were accurate. He looked like a totally better fighter than the one who barely beat Juan Manuel Marquez in March. Many people will say Diaz was not that good of a fighter. Whatever! Diaz was a good fighter, but however you cut it Manny Pacquiao is a great fighter. His legacy was certainly cemented last night. Pacquiao came out and dominated the fight from the opening bell. He did not get hit much and executed his game plan to perfection. I have never seen him fight better than I did last night. If he wanted to retire (I hope he doesn't yet) then he is a first ballot Hall of Famer without a doubt. He has won belts in 4 different divisions and although in his first fight against Barrera there was not belt, he was the Champion at 126. Therefore he has been Champion in five different divisions. Pacquiao looked like a complete fighter last night. I give Pacquiao a lot of credit as well as Freddie Roach. Pacquiao is Roach's prized possession. He believed in Pacquiao when not many people knew who he was. Roach may not have gotten James Toney, Mike Tyson, or Oscar De La Hoya to get on point like he wanted, but he has gotten Manny Pacquiao to do it. They are both comfortable with each other and you can see it. If you want to talk about molding a one dimensional fighter into a complete fighter then you start with Freddie Roach working with Manny Pacquiao. What Pacquiao did last night was simply a wonderful piece of boxing. When Floyd Mayweather Jr. would fight, I expected him to be masterful. I had seen him develop so I knew he had the skills. However Pacquiao looked like he would be good but not have the great piece in his collection. Well he has the great piece in his collection now and we all saw it last night in his masterful performance. Manny Pacquiao is now the #1 Pound 4 Pound fighter in the world and thus far he is the fighter of the year for 2008. I am about to go watch the fight again.

Tye Fields Was Always A Phony

2008-06-29T13:59:00.004-05:00

Bob Arum has been promoting Tye Fields for awhile now but would never let him fight a real fighter. Arum would put Fields on as the main events on some of the cards they had on the Versus network. When you watched him you knew immediately he was never going to be a good fighter. He fought guys who were losers and/or way out of shape. Fields had been KOd before so you knew it could happen again. Standing at 6'8, Fields used to use his height for basketball. However he started boxing at 24. He always looked akward and no good everytime I saw him. So last night Monte Barrett, who was supposed to be Fields coming out party for a real fight, KOd him in 57 seconds. Yes 57 seconds. Barrett is not the best heavyweight but definitely a step up for Fields. Barrett caught Fields with a counter right that stunned him then he hit him with another fight, clocked him with a left and crushed him down with a right. Fields had a hard time getting up and Kenny Bayless stopped the fight. Oh how I am glad Bob Arum has so many great fighters because if he was depending on Tye Fields he would be standing at the Grand Canyon about to jump. Tye Fields is a bum when it comes to boxing and I was so glad he got exposed last night. Arum had been saying dumb shit like Fields could be a real star. Arum is a good promoter because a few people bought into that. I guess when you lie, if you can do it with a straight face people may believe you.

Boxing Rumors (Maybe Hidden Truths) 6/29/08

2008-06-29T13:50:00.000-05:00

1. John Duddy, who defeated Charles Howe last night, is planning on moving down to Junior Middleweight(154lbs). Duddy has campaigned at Middleweight but now is trying to go down to Junior Middleweight and challenge IBF Junior Middleweight Champion Verno Phillips. If this sounds familiar it is, because Sergio Mora moved down to Junior Middleweight to fight Vernon Forrest for the WBC Junior Middleweight title. Mora was successful, but will Duddy be? Who knows?

2. Monte Barrett, who just exposed Tye Fields for the phony he is, may possibly be fighting David Haye October 18 at the O2 Arena in London. Haye said he wanted to fight a good Heavyweight this fall and Barrett would be a good test for him.

3. The WBC will not recognize Humberto Soto's DQ loss from last night. Soto was DQd for hitting Francisco Lorenzo while he was down. The WBC did not want Lorenzo winning the interim and possibly WBC Junior Lightweight title by DQ. Soto was dominating Lorenzo the whole fight and had Lorenzo extremely bloody. It was obvious who the winner was, but controversy got in the way. The WBC is going to view the fight as a draw and order an immediate rematch.

Pacquiao Destroys Diaz In 9!!!! Proves He Is #1Pound4Pound

2008-06-28T23:17:00.004-05:00

After watching Manny Pacquiao destroy David Diaz, I am so sorry I declared Joe Calzaghe #1Pound4Pound . Nothing against Calzaghe but Manny Pacquiao is the best fighter in the world that is active. From the first moment of the fight Pacquiao beat up on David Diaz. It was no contest. Diaz was the bigger man, but he was not the faster or better skilled fighter. Pacquiao put together wonderful combinations. His balance was great tonight and he simply just destroyed Diaz. It was no contest. I have to admit I thought Diaz was going to make it a very tough fight for Pacquiao. It just did not go that way. Diaz was cut over his right eye, had a cut behind his ear and a cut on his nose. His left eye had a huge bruise and swelling over it at the end of the fight. Pacquiao looked like he just went for a jog. Pacquiao was beating Diaz to the punch and hitting him with consistent rights and lefts thoughout the fight. It started becoming a blood bath from Diaz's face by the 5th round and the fight could have really been stopped anytime between the 6 until it was stopped. Diaz was taking far too much punishment with very little in return. Finally in the 9th round Pacquiao landed a hard quick left to the chin of Diaz. Diaz fell face first like he had absolutely nothing left in his body. The ref, Vic Drakulich stopped the fight without a count. Diaz had long been a beaten fighter. The fight could have been stopped well before the 9th round because Diaz was just getting beaten. Much respect to David Diaz for his courage to continue to fight and never say die. He is a nice guy, but the better fighter clearly was/is Manny Pacquiao. For Pacquiao, the sky is the limit and maybe beyond that for him. He looked absolutely wonderful as a Lightweight. He picked up the WBC Lightweight Belt with ease. He clearly can handle being at 135 which means he will probably attempt to go to 140 to fight Ricky Hatton in the future. You never know. Whatever he does in the boxing ring, best believe everyone will watch. He is the best fighter in boxing and a legend. Only one who can beat him at this moment is himself.

Boxing Rumors (Maybe Hidden Truths) 6/27/08

2008-06-27T18:21:00.002-05:00

1. Just as I suspected, John Ruiz and his lawyers are pressing for a rematch between him and Nikolai Valuev. Yesterday it came out that Ruslan Chagaev tore his Achilles Tendon and had to pull out of his July rematch with Valuev. Ruiz wants Chagaev stripped of the WBA Heavyweight Title so he and Valuev can fight for it. I doubt if that happens, I can see Ruiz and Valuev fighting for an interim title. Then when Chagaev returns he has to fight the winner of the Ruiz-Valuev interim fight. No matter who wins, it will be a rematch for Chagaev as he defeated Ruiz in an eliminator and then Valuev to win the title.

2. It is official, Joel Casamayor will fight Juan Manuel Marquez on September 13 at the MGM in Las Vegas on HBO PPV. If Roy Jones Jr-Joe Calzaghe comes off September 20 on HBO PPV, don't be surprised if either the Casamayor-Marquez fight is taken off of PPV or if it does horrible. No one wants to buy two PPVs on back to back weekends.

3. Also made official today is the Sugar Shane Mosley-Ricardo Mayorga fight for October 11. The fight will be taking place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles at the Junior Middleweight limit of 154lbs on HBO PPV. The purse is going to be split 55-45 with Mosley getting the bigger portion. This fight seems pointless but could turn out to be a surprise.

4. Since it appears Joe Calzaghe will be fighting Roy Jones Jr. this fall, the WBC is going to strip him of the WBC Super Middleweight title he holds. The vacant title will be fought for between Jermain Taylor and Carl Froch possibly in November on HBO. I doubt this fight will be on HBO PPV but you never know. HBO seems to be a little selfish with the funds to put good fights on regular HBO instead of PPV. I guess they are still mad that they spent all that money on Oscar De La Hoya-Steve Forbes in hopes of promoting Mayweather Jr.-De La Hoya only to have Mayweather retire without a rematch. Oops, did I say that?

Lethal Combination Weigh-In

2008-06-27T16:49:00.003-05:00

Manny Pacquiao: 134.5lbs
David Diaz: 135lbs
WBC Lightweight Championship
David Diaz was clearly the bigger man at the weigh-in. However, they both are in great shape. This fight appears to be a war in the making. Should be real interesting to see who wins.

Check out Fernando Vargas in the background looking like he weighs as much as Diaz and Pacquiao put together. Vargas is a friend of Diaz's as well as one of his biggest fans for this fight.

Cotto Close To Making Weight

2008-06-27T16:00:00.000-05:00

Miguel Cotto weighed in yesterday at 157 for his 30 day prefight weigh-in. He has 30 days to get to 147 which should not be too hard. Training must be going well for the WBA Welterweight Champion. Miguel Cotto-Antonio Margarito fight July 26 on HBOPPV

Mike Tyson-Michael Spinks: June 27, 1988

2008-06-27T00:00:00.002-05:00

Today is the 20 year Anniversary of the Mike Tyson vs Michael Spinks Heavyweight Championship unification fight. Tyson, who was on top of the world, showed Spinks no respect as he tore him down in 90 seconds. Spinks, who was 31-0, finished his career at 31-1. What that means people is after he was KOd by Tyson he never fought again. Spinks was no tune-up chump or anything, he was an actual real 2 division champion. This goes to show you how lethal Mike Tyson was back in the day. Spinks had never been down, and within a moment he was KOd for good. Damn I miss the good ol days when we had a Heavyweight Champion that actually KOd his opponents. I miss the day when Tyson was really the Baddest Man On The Planet. As I look at the Heavyweight picture, that is what we are missing. When this fight happened, there was no doubt who the Champion was. There was no 4 different titlists. It was Mike Tyson and then the rest were somewhere behind. Well for those who yearn for the days of a real badass champion like I do, please enjoy the video. We may not have one like this for a long time.

Boxing Rumors (Maybe Hidden Truths) 6/26/08

2008-06-26T23:05:00.002-05:00

1. According to an interview on Boxingtalk.com, Roy Jones Jr. says the fight with him and Joe Calzaghe is a done deal. The announcement is coming real soon. They are trying to figure out if they are going to fight September 20 or November 15. Septemeber 20 appears to be the date that the fight is going to happen. Also Jones broke ties with Don King in order to get this deal completed. He went on to say he would be willing to fight Samuel Peter after he beats Joe Calzaghe.

2. It is official, Nonito Donaire, has signed with Top Rank. Donaire will be fighting Jose Navarro on the undercard of the Miguel Cotto-Antonio Margarito fight. With this move, Donaire has set himself to get a chance to fight in big money fights against Fernando Montiel and Jorce Arce, both of whom are also signed with Top Rank.

3. Once again it is OFF!!!! The already rescheduled WBA Heavyweight Championship fight between Ruslan Chagaev and Nikolai Valuev is off again after Chagaev completely tore his Achilles Tendon in his left ankle. The injury happened when Chagaev was sparring. Since this fight has been delayed again, look for the WBA to hold an interim title fight for Valuev and an opponent to be named, possibly John Ruiz.

Letter To Manny Pacquiao and David Diaz From Nate Campbell

2008-06-26T23:02:00.002-05:00

To David and Manny, Good luck to both of you this Saturday. I know alot of folks are predicting Manny to win this with ease, but I also know it ain't gonna happen that easily. But that's neither here nor there. I'm writing this letter because I want the winner of your fight to really consider the history that could be made by fighting the winner of my September 13th fight with Joan Guzman, which of course I am confident will be me :-) Anyways, the winner of your fight in meeting the winner of my fight has the chance to do something that has only been done once in the history of boxing. A complete unification of the IBF,WBO, WBC, and WBA world titles. The only other person in history to accomplish that feat was Bernard Hopkins. Roy never did it. Oscar never did it. Floyd never did it. Nobody except Bernard ever did it.

And that's not to say we would be better than those guys, or anything like that, but we do have the opportunity to do something that they never did. So lets truly make the effort, for the sake of history, to make a fight between us a reality, before mandatories, or other economic realities prevent the titles from staying together. We all know there is plenty of money to go around, and let's face it, all of us are financially ok already anyways, so for once, let's NOT make it about the money, and lets do whats right for boxing. We have a chance to make a complete unification happen. Lets not let money, or our promoters, or anything else get in the way of that.

As much as I love Don and Terry, I have no problem telling both of them that after the Guzman fight, they don't need to bother sending me any bout agreements that don't have either David or Manny's name on it (whoever wins). And both of you could tell Bob the same thing. Don't forget that these guys are supposed to work for US, not the other way around. And specifically to David, I know a fight with Manny would mean alot more $$ than a fight with you would, but if you win on Saturday, everything I have said here still stands.

This chance to make history and unify all four world titles is bigger than you and me. Alot bigger. And even though it might not be for a ton of money, we still would need to fight, and not let this opportunity get away. It's about history. It's about being the second man in the history of boxing to do this. And so to whichever of you guys wins on Saturday, don't forget what this sport has given you, and understand that sometimes something needs to be given back. Relax a while, enjoy your victory, spend time with your family, and then tell Bob that the only fight you are interested in is the Campbell-Guzman winner. We can always make money, but it's not too often that we get the chance to make history.

Nate CampbellIBF / WBO / WBA Lightweight Champion

Lethal Combination: Pacquiao-Diaz Preview

2008-06-26T22:28:00.003-05:00

This Saturday is the WBC Lightweight fight between David Diaz and Manny Pacquiao. Despite how all this has played out in the media, David Diaz is the WBC Champion and Manny Pacquiao is the challenger. Yes Pacquiao is the star of the two and Diaz is the underdog. I have read many articles that portray this fight as an easy night for Pacquiao. Well I am not so sure about that. Do I think Pacquiao will win yes, but I would not be totally surprised if he lost. Pacquiao is moving up in weight from 130 to 135. Diaz has been at 135 for awhile. Diaz has fought the bigger guys thoughout his career. Naturally Diaz is the bigger and stronger guy in the ring. Pacquiao is the quicker of the two and probably will tag Diaz quite a bit. Not one to hide or avoid punches, Diaz will be in front of Pacquiao all night long. However, who has the power advantage is the question. Freddie Roach, Pacquiao's trainer, says Pacquiao has more power at the higher weight, but will it be enough to stop the bigger Diaz? Will Diaz have the harder punches, possibly enough to stop Pacquiao? Lets be honest, Pacquiao gets hit quite a bit himself which is one of the reasons we love to watch him fight. He frequently is off balance and appears to be on the verge of being knocked down only to knock the other fighter down. This fight has a lot of underlining drama. You keep hearing about all the possible fights Pacquiao will have once he wins. Fights such as a third fight with Juan Manuel Marquez, another move up in weight to 140 to fight Ricky Hatton, and then possibly Joel Casamayor, Juan Diaz, or Nate Campbell. With the topic of future fights all in the media, David Diaz is passed over. Diaz is no punk by any means. He only has one loss and that was 3 years ago. Diaz has never been the star and that could be his motivation. When Juan Diaz and Julio Diaz each had titles at the same time as David, David was referred to as the other Diaz because no one was familiar with him. However now he is the only Diaz with a title. Now with a career high payday in front of him and the biggest name in boxing today, David Diaz is ready to shine. I feel this fight will be a slug em out war. I think it will go the distance with Pacquiao probably edging Diaz out with a decision. However, I can see Diaz, who is said to be slow, stunning Pacquiao a few times. If Diaz has learned any defensive tactics, he could give Pacquiao some problems. It is widely believed Pacquiao will be using Diaz as a punching bag. Nothing would throw Pacquiao's plan away like a few extra head movements or hands that don't drop. Diaz will need to cut the ring off on Pacquiao. Get Pacquiao in the corner and throw his weight on him. Diaz is the bigger man naturally, so he needs to use his strength to his advantage. Pacquiao is going to use his speed because that is probably his biggest advantage. Diaz is not very quick, so he will get hit frequently. Despite the oddsmakers, this fight is closer to a toss-up than the blowout it is being perceived to be. I am a huge Pacquiao fan, but for some reason the underdog, Diaz, seems to be weighing on my mind. I would not call Diaz winning an upset since he is the WBC Champion. However it would shock many. If Pacquiao wins, it will be another feather in his hat. Not exactly sure how this fight will go, so I will be watching this Saturday at 7:30pm CST on HBOPPV to find out how the fight goes down. Hope you catch it too.

Boxing Rumors (Maybe Hidden Truths) 6/25/08

2008-06-25T17:17:00.002-05:00

1. Joe Calzaghe vs Roy Jones Jr. could end up being September 20 in Las Vegas on HBO PPV. The date was offered to Calzaghe after the Mayweather-De La Hoya II fight was cancelled. Calzaghe dumped his promoter Frank Warren and said he wanted to fight Roy Jones Jr. It appears it could become a reality. The only bad thing is if this fight does happen, it could mean back to back HBO PPVs with Casamayor-Marquez being on PPV September 13. Casamayor-Marquez needs to not be on PPV anyway.

2. Despite what had been reported, Chris John will not be fighting Rocky Juarez on the undercard of Joel Casamayor-Juan Manuel Marquez. John's camp said Juarez took too long to respond and his camp agreed for him to fight in another fight.

3. Bob Arum is working hard to get a Kelly Pavlik-Sergio Mora fight for this fall. If the fight happens it will take place either September 27 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City or October 18 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. Mora will more than likely move back to 160 and vacate the WBC Junior Middleweight title he just won. However this fight is still contigent on Vernon Forrest not enforcing his immediate rematch against Mora.

Boxing Rumors (Maybe Hidden Truths) 6/24/08

2008-06-24T07:56:00.002-05:00

1. Joe Calzaghe has broken ties with Frank Warren and is going to manage and promote himself. He is targeting a fight with Roy Jones Jr despite reports of him possibly fighting Kelly Pavlik. It has been reported Warren still owes Calzaghe money from his fight with Bernard Hopkins and is trying to use that money as leverage to re-sign Calzaghe.

2. In other Frank Warren news, he is very close to re-signing Amir Khan.

3. Cory Spinks maybe fighting Deandre Latimore in a IBF Junior Middleweight eliminator. Spinks is from St. Louis and Latimore is originally from St. Louis. Latimore recently TKOd soon to be former IBF #1 Junior Middleweight Sechew Powell. It is expected Latimore will get ranked #2 by the IBF in the new rankings. Cory Spinks who lost the IBF Junior Middleweight belt to Verno Phillips in March, is currently ranked #3.

4. Vic Drakulich will be the third man in the ring for the Manny Pacquiao-David Diaz fight. The judges will be CJ Ross, Gary Merrit, and Paul Smith.

5. The Juan Diaz-Michael Katsidis fight is a done deal for September 6 at the Toyota Center in Houston, TX. HBO will televise.

Kelly Pavlik-Arthur Abraham, NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-06-23T22:26:00.005-05:00

Boxings fans, we know what we want. We want Kelly Pavlik and Arthur Abraham to fight NOW!!!!. Do not fight anyone else first, no tune-ups, no mandatories, nothing. They need to fight now. Pavlik has shown he is a star now and Abraham came to the US and showed he wants to be a star over here too. It would be the battle of the two best Middleweights in the World. It would be the battle of the two men that made Edison Miranda shut up while falling on his ass. It would be the battle of two great power punchers. It would be the battle of two undefeated fighters in their primes. It would be this and it could be that, but it should be happening NOW!!!! It would be the biggest Middleweight unification bout in years if not ever and a great fight period. Both men have displayed lots of power and some drama in their fights. Enough drama to earn the respect of most. Pavlik earned a lot of respect after being damn near TKOd against Jermain Taylor and then coming back to KO Taylor. Abraham earned a lot of respect after having his jaw severely broken in his first fight against Motor Mouth Miranda and never going down while winning the fight. The drama is there. The belts are there with Pavlik holding the WBC and WBO belts and Abraham holding the IBF belt. The demand for the fight is there. Kelly Pavlik has no obligations to fight anyone right now. Abraham is supposed to fight his mandatory against Raul Marquez, but that can wait. What we need in the boxing world is Pavlik-Abraham. We do not need to pass go or collect $200. We need to have this fight NOW!!!! Abraham does not need to fight anyone else and Pavlik does not need to fight anyone else either. After watching Abraham destroy Motor Mouth Miranda this weekend and Pavlik walking through Lock Knee Gary Lockett a few weeks ago, it became certain what we need. And what we need is Pavlik-Abraham.

Let The Trash Fight And The Winner Take The Cash!!!!

2008-06-23T21:35:00.004-05:00

Ricardo Mayorga and Edison Miranda have a lot in common when it comes to trash talking. They both run their mouths saying some of the most ridiculous things then get their asses beat. The difference is Mayorga has been a World Champion and Miranda has not. Mayorga did TKO Vernon Forrest and then beat Forrest again by MD. He also beat an overweight, out of shape, shot fighter in Fernando Vargas. So even though he has spoken a lot of trash, he has backed it up a few times. Now Edison Miranda is a different story. He has not been a World Champion but he talks lots of trash. The two times he has spoken the most trash, that ass has been on the canvas 5 times (two against Kelly Pavlik and three against Arthur Abraham). People, do not misunderstand me, trash talking makes for interesting scenarios in fights. The issue is fools like Mayorga and Miranda who go too far with it and then end up getting KOd. Mayorga talked lots of trash against Felix Trinidad and was KOd in 8. He talked lots of trash against Oscar De La Hoya and was KOd in 6. He talked some serious trash to Cory Spinks including he wanted to put Spinks with his mother who is deceased. Spinks did not have the power to KO Mayorga, but he did defeat him on points. Mayorga is just still living off his victory over Vernon Forrest, which was no easy feat. However every real big meaningful fight since, he has gotten KOd. The Vargas fight was not big, no one truly cared except Vargas fans. Yes I watched it but it was not a good display of boxing. It was like watching Jerry Springer now instead of 10 years ago when the fighting was real good. Now Miranda for two different fights has talked trash about fighters he was not even facing then got his ass kicked by the guy he was fighting. When he was fighting Kelly Pavlik, he kept talking about all he was going to do to Jermain Taylor. Then when Pavlik KOd him, he got quiet. This past weekend he was fighting a rematch with Arthur Abraham, a guy he couldn't even knockdown with a severely broken jaw in their first fight. Abraham was bleeding nonstop from his mouth in their first fight and Miranda still never got him on the canvas. Abraham never took a knee or anything. Yes there was some bullshit in the fight, but still Abraham withstood it all. So now in the rematch, Miranda started saying after he KOd Abraham he was going to jump out the ring and fight Pavlik. Boy did Miranda look like a total dumbass when first Pavlik did not even show up and second Miranda got KOd. So my suggestion is that Ricardo Mayorga and Edison Miranda fight each other on some network boxing show, Versus, ESPN, HBO, or Showtime. It really does not matter as long it is not PPV. The fight will draw a lot of attention because trash talk does that. I figure they could fight at a catchweight of 164, since Mayorga did it against Vargas and Miranda just fought at 165. Let these two fools talk as much shit as they possibly can. They should plan the fight for like 6 months out so it can really brew up. They can talk about each others mothers, killing each other, making each other prison bitches whatever. I know that seems a little explicit but it is not beyond the scope of either fighter's mouth. Imagine a 24/7 of these two fools, ratings could be great. It would be nothing but a profanity laced promotion. Since they both say they are going to KO each other, I suggest they fight until there is a KO. 15 rounds should be set for the fight. If in 15 rounds there is no KO they have to fight until there is. Not only that, only the winner gets paid not the loser. Since they talk all this trash, they need to back it up to get paid. So they should put what they feel they will do in a contract and the guy who does what he says in the contract wins the fight and gets paid. The other fighter will get just enough money to cover the basics of training and making it to the fight. The title of the fight should be Finally Walking The Talk!!!! Don King is the promoter of Ricardo Mayorga, so you know this fight could happen and be huge. Only In America!!!!

Boxing Rumors (Maybe Hidden Truths) 6/23/08

2008-06-23T17:17:00.002-05:00

1. Robert Guerrero has vacated his IBF Featherweight Title. Guerrero, 25, is moving up to the Super Featherweight/Junior Lightweight division of 130lbs. After struggling to make the 126lb limit in his last two fights, Guerrero thought this was the right move for himself. Guerrero is looking to fight all of the big names such as Juan Manuel Marquez and Manny Pacquiao. Good luck to Robert Guerrero in his move in weight.

2. Nate Campbell vs Joan Guzman may take place September 13 on Showtime. It would go head to head with the Joel Casamayor-Juan Manuel Marquez fight on HBO PPV. Nothing has been signed but many things point to the Campbell-Guzman fight taking place on that date.

3. It appears Nonito Donaire, who just broke ties with Gary Shaw, will end up with Top Rank. Although nothing is official, it appears Donaire will end up either fighting on the undercard of the Miguel Cotto-Antonio Margarito fight July 26 or the Joshua Clottey-Zab Judah fight August 2. Both cards are Top Rank cards which also lead to the point that Donaire may soon sign with Top Rank.

4. Zahir Raheem will be facing Ali Funeka in an IBF Lightweight eliminator on July 5 in East London.

5. Lou DiBella has stated he is going to protest the result of the Chris Arreola-Chazz Witherspoon fight. Witherspoon was DQd when he corner approached the apron Saturday night. Although most (including myself) believe Witherspoon was going to lose anyway, he still had the right to continue to fight and not be DQd on a referee's mistake.

Berto Is The New WBC Welterweight Champion; Arreola Wins By DQ

2008-06-21T22:43:00.003-05:00

Andre Berto came to be Champion tonight and he fought like one. Berto fought a very well controlled and disciplined fight against a very game Miki Rodriguez. Rodriguez took some very hard punches from Berto and continued to throw back, however Berto was always in control. Compubox numbers showed Berto landing 52% of his total punches which is great. Berto moved his had a lot more and blocked more punches than usual. So he is developing into a better fighter in each fight. Berto finally got his point across to Rodriguez in the seventh round when he connected with an overhand right and followed up with a right uppercut that knocked Rodriguez on his behind. I was extremely surprised Rodriguez got up from that uppercut because it was that hard. After Rodriguez got up, Berto patiently attacked him again. Landing a good combination that put Rodriguez down again. Berto jumped on Rodriguez again forcing the ref to stop the fight at 2:13 of the 7th round making Andre Berto the new WBC Welterweight Champion.

As I had said in my preview, Chazz Witherspoon just does not seem to be aggressive enough to be a great fighter. Witherspoon is not a brawler by any means and I always thought his chin was suspect. Well tonight he went in with Chris Arreola who is a hard aggressive brawler. As long as Witherspoon was jabbing and moving, he was doing okay. However it was those times he slowed down that Arreola was hurting Witherspoon. In round one, Witherspoon was moving and Arreola was not landing. But when Witherspoon slowed down a little, Arreola attacked and caught Witherspoon flush multiple times. Witherspoon appeared slightly dazed and on unsteady feet but did not go down. In round two, Witherspoon moved more and jabbed and probably won the round. In round 3, Witherspoon got into a brawl with a brawler and did not win. Arreola put Witherspoon down early in the round. Witherspoon got up and tried to box and keep moving, but got into another exchange and caught a right to put him down at the bell. As he rose to his feet, his legs were unsteady. Since the bell had rang, Witherspoon's corner got on the ring apron to help their fighter. However the ref did not hear the bell the first time and made them rind the bell again. The ref, who was confused, went and spoke to someone and then stopped the fight. He ruled it a DQ win for Arreola because Witherspoon's corner was on the apron before the end of the round. Witherspoon and his corner were in disbelief because it was a delay before the fight was stopped. With the loss, Witherspoon needs to go back and figure out if he wants to continue. He does not have the aggression in my view he needs. He is a great young man with high intelligence, but boxing may not be his ultimate niche. Arreola may get a fight with David Tua later this year in a fight that could be a barnburner. If not, he will be in demand because of his brawling style.

Abraham KOs Miranda; Marquez Defeats Lorenzo.

2008-06-21T22:28:00.003-05:00

Edison Miranda loves to talk trash, but his problem is backing it up. Before the fight Miranda said after he KOd Arthur Abraham he was going to leap out the ring and fight Kelly Pavlik. Well that did not happen for two reasons, one Pavlik did not come to the fight and two Miranda needed help to his own feet first. Miranda who seems to fight more out of emotion than discipline threw lots and lots of punches at Arthur Abraham. The funny thing about it is Abraham held his hand very high and blocked most of those punches with his arm. I kept thinking, wow Miranda is wasting a lot of energy punching someone who is not even open to get hit. Finally in the third round, Abraham started throwing some punches here and there and stunned Miranda twice in the third round. In the fourth round, Miranda kept throwing punches but Abraham was ready to engage a little more. Abraham connected with a straight right hand right on the chin and then a left hook on top of Miranda's head for a knockdown. Miranda looked stunned and uneasy. Abraham came right at Miranda throwing a right and a left hook that missed but then connected with a hard left hook that floored Miranda for the second time. When Miranda got up, Abraham went right back at him and floored him for the third time with another left hook. The referee stopped the fight on the third knockdown. Arthur Abraham remained undefeated and gave a great fight in his first fight in America. A fight between Pavlik and Abraham would be great. It would be the two best Middleweights in the world as well as the two fighters who shut Edison Miranda up on his ass. Miranda made no excuses after the fights just stating he does not know what went wrong. He felt 100%. He also stated that Abraham was a great champion. Edison Miranda is turning out to be the new Ricardo Mayorga. He talks a lot of trash then gets beat down against the top competition. Where he goes from here is unknown.

Raul Marquez at 36 showed he still has the warriors heart as he defeated previously unbeaten Giovanni Lorenzo. Lorenzo started strong but was outworked by the veteran Marquez. Lorenzo got frustrated with Marquez and began using dirty tactics. Many times in clinches, Lorenzo would rub his head against Marquez but it was not seen by the ref. However in round 10, after Marquez had a cut opened up, the ref caught Lorenzo purposely headbutting Marquez and took a point away. The blood affected Marquez somewhat, but he never stopped coming forward. Lorenzo tried to box from the outside, but Marquez did very well on the inside. He landed some nice body shots as well as some decent head blows. With the win, Marquez now becomes the IBF Middleweight mandatory for Arthur Abraham. Marquez proved that with his experience he is still a force in the sport. Lorenzo, will have to go back to the drawing board. He is a little dirty fighter when things don't go his way and we all saw it.

Boxing Rumors (Maybe Hidden Truths) 6/21/08

2008-06-21T18:35:00.003-05:00

1. Kelly Pavlik will not be at the Edison Miranda-Arthur Abraham fight as was announced a few days ago. Miranda said he was going to KO Abraham and then try to fight Pavlik outside the ring. Pavlik, who KOd Miranda last year, had another engagement come up in his hometown.

2. James Kirkland and Nonito Donaire have both dumped promoter Gary Shaw due to inactivity in their careers. Of course both fighters broke ties with Shaw seperately, but they both did it for the same reasons. Cameron Dunkin, who manages both fighters, has said Top Rank is interested in signing both fighters. Shaw of course claims it is not his fault for some of the mishaps in getting each of the two fighters fights. However it goes, both Kirkland and Donaire are dumping Shaw to continue their careers in different directions.

3. Floyd Mayweather Jr. is having a 3 day retirement party in his hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan on July 4, 5, & 6. The party will have a variety of entertaining events such as musical concert and a 70's Throwback Skating party.

4. Sechew Powell, who lost last Wednesday by TKO to Deandre Latimore, has tested positive for marijuana. Powell has been placed on suspension for 60 days. Powell is further damaging his career with his bad choices of lack of training and now using marijuana. It may be a long road back for him because his promoter, Warriors Boxing is extremely upset.

5. Erik Morales is planning to make a comeback by August 2009. Morales plans to begin training in August of this year and condition himself properly to fight again in August 2009. Morales wants to get the WBC Lightweight Title which would be his fourth World Title in his fourth weight class. Currently Morales is on a 4 fight losing streak losing to Zahir Raheem, Manny Pacquiao (twice) and David Diaz.

Berto-Rodriguez; Witherspoon-Arreola

2008-06-21T18:11:00.005-05:00

Miki Rodriguez weighed in at 145lbs and Andre Berto weighed in at 146lbs. These two fighters face off for the vacant WBC Welterweight Title vacated by Floyd Mayweather Jr. Berto many have seen rise through the rankings quite nicely. He is expected to win this fight. Rodriguez, not many have seen fight but word is he has great punching power just lacking speed. In fights like this when I know very little about a fighter, I tend to root for the one I know about (Berto) but keep my eye on the one I don't know about (Rodriguez). Over the past few fights I have seen Berto get stronger and move his head more. He is not a complete fighter yet, but he is working hard at getting there. If Berto wins tonight he will claim the WBC Title and earn his right to face bigger name opponents. He will no longer be considered a contender or prospect, but a champion. We will see if he passes the test tonight on HBO at 10pm EST.
Chazz Witherspoon weighed in at 220 and Chris Arreola weighed in at 239. Both of these gentleman are undefeated at 23-0 but someones 0 has got to go. Arreola is a strong powerhouse who loves the KO as seen in his 21KOs. Witherspoon is a fighter who is really trying to develop the craft of boxing. In the past he has came across to me as lacking something in the ring. I am not sure if it is just his personality of being laid back that does not work in my opinion. However Witherspoon is a big guy with a decent jab that gets attention. The question is will Witherspoon be able to hold off the very aggressive Arreola? Arreola is not laid back in his boxing form and loves to come forward and slug it out. Witherspoon takes his time in the ring. Who will impose their fight style on whom? This fight has a chance to be very exciting and possibly end in a KO. Tonight we will find out who gets the KO.

Abraham-Miranda II

2008-06-21T17:58:00.003-05:00

Yesterday Arthur Abraham weighed 166lbs and Edison Miranda weighed 165. The rematch is today people. It is going to be fireworks as was their first fight. I have watched the highly controversial Abraham-Miranda I fight and there is so much you see. You see that referee Randy Neumann needed a coach because he was way off in this fight. You see that Arthur Abraham is one of the toughest fighters you will ever see. You see that Edison Miranda has some heat in his fists. However that fight was about 2 years ago and the rematch is today. Abraham has remained undefeated and has shown some real power in his wins. Miranda has lost again, by KO to Kelly Pavlik, but has bounced back against journeyman opponents at Super Middleweight. The rematch tonight is at a catchweight of 166. Will this benefit Miranda who has claimed he has struggled to make the 160 weight limit in the past? Abraham looks to be in great shape but will the weight gain affect him? Because of the controversy of the first fight many questions remain tonight. The trash talking has never stopped since before the first fight. That has truly helped the buildup to this rematch. However when in the ring, trash talk does not matter. Who is the better fighter? Can Miranda throw straighter punches instead of those wide punches he threw in the first fight? Will Abraham guard his jaw more to avoid it getting broken again? Will Abraham perform well in the United States? Will Miranda bring it like he talks it? Oh this fight has so many questions that only the fighters can answer this evening. No excuses, because we have heard all the talking. Personally I think Arthur Abraham may be able to pull out the victory. His punches seems to be straighter and very powerful. However I cannot deny the shocking power Edison Miranda has. Really I just can't wait to see these guys fight. Don't miss it on Showtime tonight at 9pm EST.

Sergio Mora Gives Respect To Oscar De La Hoya

2008-06-21T17:53:00.003-05:00

In a very classy manner, Sergio Mora went to the book signing Oscar De La Hoya was having to promote his new book American Son. Mora, WBC Super Welterweight Champion, grew up in East Los Angeles like Oscar De La Hoya did. De La Hoya was the fighter Mora looked up to growing up and in his career as a boxer. "As a Mexican American growing up in East L.A. Oscar was a personal inspiration for me," said Mora. "He proved that if you worked hard enough, no matter how large the obstacle, you could achieve your dream. That was in the back of my mind as I was training for my victory in "The Contender" as it was when I was training for my world title victory over Vernon Forrest. I had to tell that to Oscar in-person. And what better way to pay tribute than by getting a personally autographed copy of his life story?" It is always a great thing to see boxers showing each other respect outside of the ring.

Boxing Rumors (Maybe Hidden Truths) 6/16/08

2008-06-16T10:11:00.003-05:00

1. Vernon Forrest said Sergio Mora was not going to fight Shane Mosley next and he meant it. So now Mosley's camp is in talks with Don King about a fight with Ricardo Mayorga. Mayorga's name is come up a lot more than he has as of recently. He has been mentioned for a fight with Pavlik and Mosley. However the fight with Mosley seems to be the one most likely to happen in possibly October or November.

2. Talks have already began for Oscar De La Hoya and Miguel Cotto. Of course the talks will become serious after Cotto-Margarito assuming Cotto wins. If Cotto loses, the fight with De La Hoya will probably not happen.

3. Also Golden Boy is trying to get a possible Bernard Hopkins-Kelly Pavlik fight going. Not sure why because Hopkins does not need to fight a young guy like Pavlik at this stage of his career. Plus Bob Arum has stated guys like Hopkins, Roy Jones Jr, and Felix Trinidad need to go ahead and retire for good. So not sure if a Hopkins-Pavlik fight will really happen, but you just never know in boxing.

4. Mikkel Kessler said if Joe Calzaghe does not want to fight Kelly Pavlik, he will. Kessler, who has a fight for the vacant WBA Super Middleweight Belt this weekend, says he would like to fight Pavlik for his first defense of the title this fall. Kessler is assuming he wins the the belt this weekend.

5. Bob Arum has said that Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy has contacted him about possibly having Manny Pacquiao fight Ricky Hatton in November. Pacquiao has stated repeatedly the past few weeks he wanted to fight Hatton. Pacquiao however has a fight against David Diaz for the WBC Lightweight Title on June 28. If he wins and looks good then he would want to possibly move up to 140 to fight Ricky Hatton. Hatton has a November fight scheduled with Paulie Malignaggi. Arum said step aside money would be offered to Malignaggi if the fight happens between Hatton-Pacquiao. However I am not so sure that Malignaggi will go for that. It is my understanding that the Hatton-Malignaggi fight is already signed and just waiting on finalized date and location. This could be very interesting.

Boxing Rumors (Maybe Hidden Truths) 6/14/08

2008-06-14T16:32:00.002-05:00

1. One of my favorite fighters, Nonito Donaire, is now a free agent. Donaire's manager, Cameron Dunkin, negotiated and got a release for Donaire from Gary Shaw. Donaire had been upset about his inactivity and was not happy about being offered at best an undercard fight on Vic Darchinyan's next fight. The reason why he was not happy is because he beat Darchinyan last July, so he should not have to be under him. Donaire, respectful as always, said he is willing to move up to 118 to get a big fight. I wish Nonito Donaire the best of luck.

2. Kelly Pavlik-Ricardo Mayorga??? It is possible. Since Joe Calzaghe said at this time he did not want to fight Pavlik, Pavlik's calendar is open. At first it was supposed to be Marco Antonio Rubio but now Mayorga's name is being mentioned. Mayorga is still a big name and draws a nice audience, unlike Rubio who most have never heard of. Nothing has been confirmed, but Don King is trying to push Bob Arum to get going on making Pavlik-Mayorga this fall.

3. Ricky Hatton says he would be willing to fight Oscar De La Hoya in summer 2009. Hatton was offered the fight with De La Hoya after Floyd Mayweather Jr. retired. However Hatton declined saying there was not enough time for preparation. De La Hoya has now pushed his next and final fight of his career until December 6. If De La Hoya stays true to this being his last fight, then Hatton and many others will not get the chance to fight him.

4. Hasim Rahman says he will knock out and destroy James Toney in their fight next month. I have my doubts because Rahman had trouble with Zuri Lawrence, a guy who has no knockouts in his career. Yes I am serious Zuri Lawrence has no knockouts in his career. Rahman also could not destroy Taurus Sykes who is one of the poster children for lazy heavyweights. Granted Toney has not come into fights in the best shape, but he still was better than both of those guys.

Boxing Rumors (Maybe Hidden Truths) 6/13/08

2008-06-13T07:54:00.003-05:00

1. Talks are going on between Jeff Wald and Golden Boy to possibly stage a fight between Sergio Mora and Sugar Shane Mosley on October 11 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. This should be very interesting because Vernon Forrest has exercised his immediate rematch clause. So this one could get ugly because Forrest says he refuses to take any step aside money or anything else. Forrest says the Mosley-Mora fight won't happen. Then Lou DiBella is on the radar ready to sue because his fighter Sergio Martinez is the mandatory for the WBC Junior Middleweight Title Mora holds. The WBC wants negotiations between Mora and Martinez to take place asap. DiBella says he will move towards getting Mora stripped of the title if Mora does not fight Martinez next. This could get very ugly.

2. James Toney has vowed to be in shape when he faces Hasim Rahman July 16. Rahman says he is going to be the first to KO Toney and then retire him. This fight has lost a lot of luster since both have been losing and Toney has been suspended. However for those who watch the fight, it may be pretty good.

3. Tentatively here are the fights Golden Boy has lined up for th fall. Juan Diaz-Michael Katsidis on September 6 in Houston at the Toyota Center on HBO with possibly Rocky Juarez challenging WBA Junior Lightweight Champion Edwin Valero. Joel Casamayor-Juan Manuel Marquez in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand September 13 on HBOPPV. Hatton-Malignaggi will take place either on November 15 in Las Vegas or New York or November 22 in Las Vegas. Either way the fight will be on HBO. David Haye vs TBA in London November 29.

4. Big props to Showtime. In the buildup to the Arthur Abraham-Edison Miranda II fight, Showtime has acquired the rights to their first fight. The first fight has never been seen on US television. We always heard about all the controversy and maybe saw bits and pieces on youtube. Well no more, because on June 16, at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Showtime 2, again on Thursday, June 19, at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Showtime 2 and on Saturday, June 21, at 6 p.m. ET/PT on Showtime. Showtime announcers, Al Bernstein and Steve Albert revoiced the fight.

5. Samuel Peter will not fight a tune-up before his fight against Vitali Klitschko. Peter, who is visiting family in Nigeria, will begin training July 1. The date, location, and network for the fight should be finalized by the end of June according to Dino Duva.

6. Joe Calzaghe says it would not be of his best interests to fight Kelly Pavlik. He said he prefers the fight with Roy Jones Jr instead.

7. It appears Jeff Lacy will be fighting Epifanio Mendoza on the July 23 version of ESPN2's Wednesday Night Fights. Mendoza was last seen being stopped by WBC Light Heavyweight Champion Chad Dawson last fall. If Lacy wins, there is a strong possibility he will face Jermain Taylor later this year.

The Oscar De La Hoya Lottery!!!!

2008-06-13T07:50:00.000-05:00

All boxers get your tickets ready, because the Oscar De La Hoya Lottery is up and running once again. In regards to news yesterday of Floyd Mayweather Jr retiring, there is now two chances to fight Oscar instead of just one. We have a date open in September and then one in December. Now many are wondering, who is in the lottery. Glad you ask. Lets take a look at the qualified fighters. As you know Oscar loves the big show so he is looking for great competition with ticket selling power. Update: Oscar De La Hoya is now only fighting one more time with the date being December 6 on HBO PPV. This will be Oscar De La Hoya's career finale and expect it to be huge. The opponent is still unknown, but is most likely going to be the winner of the Cotto-Margarito fight from July 26. If Cotto wins, you can pretty much be certain he will be the one to fight De La Hoya. Now fighters anything can happen in boxing, so wait till the fight happens before totally dismissing the chance. Remember Floyd just up and retired and changed everything, so anything can happen.

The most qualified fighter is Miguel Cotto. He is an undefeated two division champion and the current WBA Welterweight Champion. He is considered by many to be the best Welterweight in the world. However he has a July 26 fight with Antonio Margarito. If Cotto wins, he could be considered for the September Lottery fight but more likely the December Lottery fight.

Antonio Margarito is the next qualified fighter in the lottery. However as stated, he is busy with a July 26 fight against Miguel Cotto. If he wins, he could stretch to fight in September but probably be best for the December lottery fight. Margarito is a strong Welterweight and is considered to be right under Cotto as the best Welterweight in the world. Margarito's weakness is ticket selling power. Yeah that could hurt his chances.

Vernon Forrest is another qualified fighter that could be ready to fight in September depending on the results of his fight this evening against Sergio Mora. Forrest is the WBC Super Welterweight Champion and he could be available for either the September or December lottery fight. More than likely De La Hoya would want to meet him at a catchweight. However Forrest's weakness is his ticket selling power. That could hurt him too. No Longer in the Lottery after losing his WBC Super Welterweight Title on June 7, 2008 to Sergio Mora.

Winky Wright is probably the most available fighter we have right now. He has no current fight scheduled and has been asking to fight De La Hoya for a long time. He is a former Junior Middleweight Champion and Middleweight Championship Challenger. He is still regarded as one of the best Pound 4 Pound fighters in the world. Winky's weaknesses in the draft is weight because De La Hoya may consider Winky, who has not fought under 160 since 2005, too big. Winky's last fight was at 170 against Bernard Hopkins in July 2007. Winky does not have strong ticket selling power. Winky also has an akward fighting style which makes most fighters avoid fighting him.

Felix Trinidad is still a possible candidate in the lottery. The two fighters have history, after the controversial Majority Decision win Trinidad has over De La Hoya from 1999. The rematch has been something De La Hoya has wanted ever since that day but has never been able to land. Trinidad has no fight scheduled but wants to fight. The interest in the fight is still there. The only issue comes down to weight. De La Hoya does not really want to fight above 154lbs and Trinidad does not want to come under a catchweight of 165lbs. However money talks very loud and Trinidad could be a possible pick for most likely the December Lottery fight if any however both September and December are available. I say December is more likely because of the difference in weight, both would need the extra time to reach whatever weight is agreed upon if a fight is to take place.

Long Shots in the Lottery Fight:

Zab Judah: August fight scheduled already, if he wins he could be possible for December.

Joshua Clottey: Fight against Judah scheduled, but no name recognition

Ricky Hatton: Very small fighter who sucks above 140 and is promoted by Golden Boy Apparently Hatton was offered the September date and has declined due to need of preparation and the fact he remembers what a good ass whooping feels like from a bigger man. Refer to his fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. Since Oscar is bigger than Floyd, Ricky declined.
Manny Pacquiao: Small fighter at 135lbs in June, but has the potential to create a huge mega fight.

When it comes to availabilty, Winky Wright is the man. If it comes to marketability, Miguel Cotto is the winner for one of the lottery fights. However there are two lottery fights on the line, September and December. Who will it be? Will it be your favorite fighter? Will it be you if you are one of the fighters listed? It is said that sometime this coming week we will see who wins the September Lottery fight. Stay Tuned to find out the results, and good luck to all the fighters.

*****************************UPDATE*************************

Now that Vernon Forrest lost tonight, he is no longer a candidate for the Oscar De La Hoya Lottery.

Paul Williams, who won very impressively tonight against Carlos Quintana to reclaim his belt, is now a candidate for the Oscar De La Hoya Lottery. Williams is a tall southpaw and the WBO Welterweight Champion. He presents a huge challenge for Oscar but could possibly considered for either the September or December Lottery Fight. His weakness at this point is ticket selling power.
Sergio Mora, who upset Vernon Forrest to claim the WBC Super Welterweight Title De La Hoya used to have, is now a candidate for the Oscar De La Hoya Lottery Fight for either September or December. Mora has great boxing skills and is from and still resides in East Los Angeles. Since both De La Hoya and Mora are both from East Los Angeles, you get the hometown vibe. Mora has great name and fan recognition from being the winner of the first season of The Contender.

As stated, Vernon Forrest is no longer a candidate for the Oscar De La Hoya Lottery after losing his title this evening. One of the must requirements for all fighters to be involved in the lottery is you must keep winning. By losing Vernon Forrest forfeited his ticket. Good luck to the new candidates in their bid to win one of two Lottery fights with Oscar De La Hoya.

Ricky Hatton was apparently offered to step in and fight in the September date but has declined. Ricky's father Ray said it would not be enough time for Ricky to prepare. He says Ricky is focused on his November fight with Paulie Malignaggi.

Boxing Rumors (Maybe Hidden Truths) 6/12/08

2008-06-12T08:33:00.006-05:00

1. Ex-stripper Milana Dravnel has dropped her $25 million lawsuit against Oscar De La Hoya. Experts finally concluded that the images of Oscar in drag and stipper clothes were doctored.

2. In other Oscar De La Hoya news, Oscar has stated he is fighting only one more time. Since Floyd Mayweather Jr. retired, it left De La Hoya searching for a new opponent for his September fight. Since it is believed De La Hoya wants to fight the winner of the Cotto-Margarito taken place on July 26, De La Hoya is going to push his fight back to probably November.

3. Vernon Forrest said he is going to fight a rematch with Sergio Mora in September. Mora who upset Forrest this past Saturday, was looking to try and land a fight with Oscar De La Hoya. Forrest was kind of enough to point out to Mora that they have to fight a rematch first. In the fight contract, it states (very loosely translated by me) that if Forrest loses and exercises his right to an immediate rematch, Mora cannot fight anyone else first. So whether Mora has the title or not, he has to fight Vernon Forrest next. Forrest says the reason for his horrible performance was due to weight drain. He says he was having difficulty making the 154lb weight.

4. Andy Lee, coming off his KO loss to Brian Vera, is going to fight Willie Gibbs in Limerick Ireland on July 19. Gibbs says Lee's handlers are making a mistake because he is going to give Lee his second loss in a row.

5. Freddie Roach, the trainer of Manny Pacquiao and former one time trainer of Oscar De La Hoya, says he believes Pacquiao could beat De La Hoya if they fought. Pacquiao who is going to fight at 135lbs on June 28 says he could make the Welterweight limit of 147lbs to fight De La Hoya. Pacquiao walked into the ring in his last fight at 146lbs. Many believe that although Pacquiao is fast, he will not have the power to hurt De La Hoya. It is also speculated that De La Hoya has enough power to possibly seriously hurt Pacquiao. Interesting to see if this fight happens. Money talks.

6. The WBC has ranked David Haye #5 in their Heavyweight divisional rankings. Haye has relinquished all his Cruiserweight titles in order to pursue Heavyweight glory.

7. It is official that the June 21 fight between Andre Berto and Miki Rodriguez will be for the newly vacant WBC Welterweight title. The title was just vacated by newly retired Welterweight Champion Floyd Mayweather Jr.

8. It appears that Joel Casamayor-Juan Manuel Marquez will be fighting on HBOPPV September 13.

9. Alexander Povetkin is going to fight Taurus Sykes in a tuneup fight on July 19 in Russia. Povetkin is the IBF mandatory for Wladimir Klitschko.

Pacquiao and Diaz Are Relaxed

2008-06-12T08:31:00.003-05:00

It appears both Manny Pacquiao and David Diaz are relaxed and just ready for their June 28 fight.

Manny Pacquiao Is The New Pound4Pound King

2008-06-11T09:35:00.003-05:00

Ring Magazine has elevated Filipino sensation Manny Pacquiao as boxings number one pound for pound fighter. Ring Magazine has officially received Floyd Mayweather Jr's letter stating he is relinquishing the Ring Magazine Welterweight Title. By doing so makes his retirement official and he is now removed from the number one spot as pound for pound best and Welterweight Champion. Congratulations to Pacquiao. Also Ring Magazine honored the request of Top Rank to wait until after the Pacquiao-Diaz fight to see if Pacquiao wants to relinquish his Super Featherweight Title.

Clarity or Confusion??? Possible Lightweight Fights

2008-06-10T22:11:00.005-05:00

The Lightweight Division needs some clarity, but we may get some more confusion instead. Sources are saying that Joel Casamayor will fight Juan Manuel Marquez October 11 on PPV. If Marquez wins and Manny Pacquiao wins later this month against David Diaz (WBC Lightweight Champion), the chances of Pacquiao-Marquez III increases in a positive way. If this fight should occur, Casamayor will give up his interim WBO Lightweight Title. Joan Guzman who is moving up to Lightweight will most likely receive the number one ranking from the WBO and then fight as a mandatory challenger against Nate Campbell probably August 9. Juan Diaz is supposed to fight either Michael Katsidis or Jesus Chavez on September 13. More than likely Diaz will fight Katsidis. If the Diaz-Katsidis fight happens then Jesus Chavez will probably face Carlos Hernandez who just signed with Golden Boy. The Hernandez-Chavez fight, which would be a rematch with Chavez having won the first fight by SD in 2005, would end up on the PPV undercard of Casamayor-Marquez October 11. The Staples Center is said to be the frontrunner for the PPV fight, but don't be surprised if it happens in Las Vegas. Keep in mind all of the above fighters belong to Golden Boy except Nate Campbell and Joan Guzman. Casamayor (pictured above with the Ring Magazine Belt) is the Ring Magazine/Lineal Lightweight Champion, but is refusing to fight the man who hold 3 of the major Lightweight Titles (WBA/WBO/IBF) in Nate Campbell. If Campbell wins his fight therefore retaining all three belts and Casamayor wins then we still have two guys claiming to be the real champ of the division. Now if Marquez beats Casamayor, Marquez will be looked upon as the Lineal Lightweight Champion. This will further confuse the division. If Marquez and Pacquiao both win and then fight, it would be for the Lineal Lightweight Championship. What this means is once again Nate Campbell, assuming he wins his fight, will still be left out in the cold and considered the number one fighter instead of Lightweight Champion. Now I know Nate Campbell feels he is the true Lightweight Champion despite who has the Ring Magazine belt. Now once again, keep in mind all of this is happening inside of Golden Boy Promotions meaning no matter what, they will keep the Lineal Lightweight Champion. So you tell me, are these fight scenarios going to provide clarity or confusion in the Lightweight division. I will say it loud and clear, it will provide CONFUSION!!!!

Gerald McClellan: Not Forgotten

2008-06-10T12:47:00.004-05:00

So often we watch boxing and just get so excited. We see guys come and go through the sport and never think about what happens to them afterwards. Most times if a guy gets KOd he gets up a few seconds later and all is well. Then there are those rare occassions when we see a fighter get hurt and get taken out on a stretcher. It does not happen often, but it does happen. Well it happen to Gerald McClellan on February 25, 1995 in a fight against Nigel Benn. McClellan was taken to the hospital to have a emergency surgery to have a blood clot removed from his brain. After staying in a coma for several days, Gerald regained consciousness. It was at that time Gerald was found to have extensive brain damage. He lost his eyesight, the ability to walk, and about 80% of his hearing. Now Gerald is taken care of by his sister Linda and they rely on donations to help pay for his expenses. The insurance money as well as Gerald's fight earnings have long been spent to cover his medical expenses. According to his website, http://www.geraldmcclellan.com/trust.html it takes about $70,000+ a year to take care of Gerald. As a huge boxing fan and a blogger I feel it is my duty to post his site as a link on my page. We as boxing fans need to do what we can to assist those who were former fighters and have been injured permanently. Whether it is financially or just keeping them in our prayers we need to do our part. So I have placed Gerald McClellan's website on the right side of my site and I hope everyone can take a look and hopefully help in some way. I am going to do my part as well. Thank you.

Knockout Rewind!!!

2008-06-10T11:31:00.002-05:00

Calvin Brock KOs Zuri Lawrence

Boxing Rumors (Maybe Hidden Truths) 6/10/08

2008-06-10T09:25:00.004-05:00

1. The James Toney-Hasim Rahman fight scheduled for July 16 will be televised live on FoxSportsNet's Best Damn Sports Show Period. The fight is billed Last Chance as both fighters need to win in order continue their careers against top level competition.

2. Floyd Mayweather Sr. does not believe his son Floyd Mayweather Jr. will stay retired. He believes his son will probably retire 3 or 4 more times. He also stated that no one takes his son serious because he tells lies. Mayweather Sr. believes it is inevitable that Miguel Cotto and Oscar De La Hoya fight.

3. If you have not read my post about the Oscar De La Hoya Lottery, then you probably missed that Ricky Hatton has turned down an offer to fight De La Hoya. Essentially Hatton's father, Ray, said it was bad timing because Ricky had just fought two weeks ago and needed more time to prepare.

4. HBO has sent it crews to the Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito camps to begin filming the Countdown to their July 26 fight. At first HBO was going to be dumb enough not to film a Countdown their fight. Not sure what was on their mind since Cotto-Margaritio could very well be the best fight of the year. Oh well it does not matter since they seemed to have gotten their senses back.

5. New WBO Super Bantamweight Champion Juan Manuel Lopez says he wants to fight Israel Vasquez. Vasquez is the WBC Super Bantamweight Champion and king of the division after winning 2 out of 3 fights with Rafael Marquez. Where this fight appears to be excitement in the making, Vasquez may still fight Marquez a fourth time since he can make more money.

Remember When Floyd Mayweather Jr. Was Ducking Ricky Hatton???

2008-06-09T21:21:00.005-05:00

You know I keep listening to all these so-called boxing analysts discuss why Floyd Mayweather Jr. decided to retire. I hear that he was ducking Miguel Cotto. The funny thing is, no one is mentioning the night of June 25, 2005. For those of you who may have forgotten that day, I will bring you up to speed. June 25, 2005 was the day Floyd Mayweather Jr. headlined his first PPV card against Arturo Gatti. What many fail to mention about that night is both Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto sat ringside of that fight. As we all know Mayweather totally embarrassed Gatti in six rounds. At the end of that fight neither Cotto nor Hatton had anything to say about fighting Mayweather. The funny thing was, they both came over there to size Mayweather up to fight him later that year. However neither one wanted a piece of him. So a couple years later they say he is scared of Ricky Hatton. Hatton finally gets Mayweather in the ring and we will see below what happened to him. Now critics are saying he is afraid of Miguel Cotto. Please!!!! I am a huge Cotto fan. I think he is one of the best fighters in the world today. However, I believe Floyd Mayweather Jr. would pick him apart. Sorry to all of those people who want to say Mayweather is ducking Cotto, but that is what you said about Hatton. But if you want to see who was really ducking who, pull out the HBO PPV recording of Mayweather-Gatti. Look at the two other Junior Welterweight Champions, Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto. See their expressions as Mayweather dismantled Gatti in Gatti's backyard. Then listen carefully as you hear them call Mayweather out. I am still listening and I hear nothing. So how about you critics do that and consider thanking Floyd Mayweather Jr. for not destroying yet another one of the stars of boxing like he did Ricky Hatton. Because if he comes back and destroys Cotto, I do not want to hear the excuses. You know the excuses of the other fighter being old, less experienced, too many ring wars, etc. So what I want you critics to do is watch the video below of one of the fighters you said Mayweather was ducking at 140 and tell me what you see. Then think of what could happen to Miguel Cotto if Mayweather decides to answer the knock at the door to fight him. You know what they say, be careful of what you ask for because an ass whooping could be what you get. Isn't that right Ricky? Oh I forgot it was Joe Cortez's fault why you got hit all those times and the ring post moved in the way. Oops did I spoil the outcome of the video???

Top Ten Pound4Pound Fighters

2008-06-09T15:32:00.003-05:00

Well since Floyd Mayweather Jr. retired on Friday as well as some recent fights, I had to do some reorganizing on the Pound4Pound list. Since most believe Mayweather will return, I am giving him the Pound4Pound Champion Emeritus ranking. Although I am not a huge Joe Calzaghe fan, he is the best fighter out there now based on boxing ability and skill. Yes I believe his punches come off more as slaps, but he gets the job done. Kelly Pavlik moved up in my ranking because of his performance this past weekend. Yes it was not against top competition, but I saw some improvements in defense that made me see him as a better fighter. Miguel Cotto moved up because of the same thing in his last performance. Depending on how he does against Antonio Margarito and how Manny Pacquiao does against David Diaz we could have another switch. Paul Williams entered into my list after his great performance this past weekend. Ricky Hatton is no longer in the top ten after his lackluster performance. Winky Wright is down to number 10 due to his inactivity. If anyone has any issues with my list, make a comment but other than that this is how it is.

Pound4Pound Champion Emeritus: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

1. Joe Calzaghe
2. Manny Pacquiao
3. Miguel Cotto
4. Kelly Pavlik
5. Bernard Hopkins
6. Israel Vasquez
7. Juan Manuel Marquez
8. Rafael Marquez
9. Paul Williams
10. Winky Wright

Boxing Rumors (Maybe Hidden Truths) 6/9/08

2008-06-09T12:37:00.004-05:00

1. Vernon Forrest wants to exercise his immediate rematch clause against the new WBC Super Welterweight Champion, Sergio Mora. Mora took the title just two days ago from Forrest in a fight that saw Forrest look old. Vernon Forrest spit a lot of negative venom towards Mora and The Contender promoter, Jeff Wald. Then Forrest lost the fight in a clear cut fashion. Should be interesting to see what happens because when Mora won he immediately inherited a mandatory fight against Sergio Martinez. Not to mention, Mora does not really want to fight at 154 because the division is not really that good at this time.

2. Carlos Quintana, who was KOd in the first round of his rematch against Paul Williams, wants another fight. Quintana said he is a warrior and would like another chance. He says he will return whether it is against Williams or not, but wants the third fight with Williams. Honestly speaking, he is dreaming if he thinks that fight will happen. Williams was a favorite in both fights and destroyed Quintana in the rematch. There is no demand to see that fight again.

3. Congratulations to Kermit Cintron and his wife who had their first son Clemente a few days ago. Clemente came out healthy and happy at 7 pounds 12 ounces.

Congratulations Larry Holmes

2008-06-09T10:49:00.002-05:00

Congratulations to "The Easton Assasin" Larry Holmes on being inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame yesterday. Larry, in my view, never got his just due respect because of the timing of his career. They said he was just a fake copy of Muhammad Ali. Well Holmes was no copy and he proved it by amassing a record of 69(44)-6, a Heavyweight Champion reign of 7 years, 20 defenses of his title, and 48 straight wins. Holmes was no copy by no means because he had his own style. He was known for his accurate fast left jab and hard right hand. Holmes is definitely one of the best Heavyweights ever and he is finally in the Hall of Fame.

Boxing Rumors (Maybe Hidden Truths) 6/8/08

2008-06-08T05:34:00.002-05:00

1. Joe Calzaghe-Kelly Pavlik October 18??? Bob Arum is working hard to get his fighter Kelly Pavlik a showdown with Joe Calzaghe with a target date of October 18. If the fight can't be made, he wants Pavlik to fight in September and in December. More than likely Pavlik will face Marco Antonio Rubio as he was penciled in to fight before he was considered to fight Calzaghe.

2. Lou Dibella says they are beyond the talking stages for a Jermain Taylor-Jeff Lacy fight. Dibella said if they can finalize a deal, then November is the target date for the fight. Rumors have been circulating that Jermain Taylor has gotten to over 200lbs, so he may want to start training now to avoid weight issues in the near future.

3. It could be just a little over a week until the final decision comes from the Calzaghe camp as to what is going to happen with the Super Middleweight Title. The WBC expects to hear if Calzaghe is going to vacate his title or not. I guess a lot depends on if he fights Kelly Pavlik or Roy Jones Jr. If he fights Pavlik he may fight at 168, but if he fights Jones he probably will vacate and stay at 175. Time will tell.

4. Sergio Mora will probably have to fight his mandatory Sergio Martinez in his next fight. Martinez is the WBC Super Welterweight mandatory. Mora, who upset Vernon Forrest last night, will have to accept the mandatory in order to keep his title.

Pavlik Walks Through Lockett In 3

2008-06-07T22:58:00.004-05:00

Kelly Pavlik showed why he is the Middleweight Champion of the world as he just walked right through Gary Lockett at ease. Lockett came to fight, but was no match for the taller, stronger Pavlik. There was no true knockout punch from Pavlik, he just shot right through the defense of Lockett. By doing so, he proved how strong of a puncher he truly is. As I watched Pavlik, I noticed improvements in his defense. Pavlik keeps his hands up more and was catching punches and throwing punches all in once stance. If Pavlik is now improving on his defense, he is really going to be a force to be reckoned with in the boxing world. Lockett who did not have a lot of movement away from Pavlik, kept his hands up most of the fight. However Pavlik kept shooting straight hands right at Lockett. Although his hands appeared to be blocking the punches, Pavlik hit with so much force that they still hurt Lockett. Twice in the second round, Lockett took a knee to escape the punishment he was enduring from Pavlik. There was no one punch that was doing the job, but an accumlation of all of Pavlik's hard punches. Finally in the third round, Lockett who was getting beaten up took another knee. At this point his corner had seen enough and threw in the towel. The time of the stoppage was 1:40 of the third round.

Lopez Steamrolled Through Ponce De Leon

2008-06-07T22:57:00.003-05:00

Juan Manuel Lopez kept his undefeated record and took Daniel Ponce De Leon's WBO Junior Featherweight Title. Ponce De Leon looked very strong coming into the fight and started well. However one hard left hook and an even harder right hook on the inside from Lopez floored Ponce De Leon. It was very obvious Ponce De Leon's legs were not his friends as he got back to his feet. When the action continued, Lopez was all over Ponce De Leon until he floored him again. This time when Ponce De Leon got up, his legs were totally gone. He stumbled backwards and referee Michael Ortega stopped the fight at 2:25 of the first round. For Lopez, this win has propelled him into a star in the smaller weights. Now he wants to fight the bigger name fighters in the 122lb weight class such as Rafael Marquez and the WBC Champion Israel Vasquez.

The Contender Is Now The Champion!!!

2008-06-07T22:34:00.004-05:00

Sergio Mora had done nothing at all to deserve a shot at a World Title, but that did not stop him from taking full advantage of the opportunity. I have to admit I thought Vernon Forrest would handle his business and wipe Mora away. Oh how wrong was I and most of the boxing world. Sergio Mora came to fight and Vernon Forrest appeared to have not done the same. Forrest appeared to be winded and admitted to be in his corner in between rounds. At times his mouth was open during the fight and he just was not there. I'm not sure if he underestimated Mora, did not train properly, or is done at 37. Whatever the issue was, you cannot ignore the fact that Sergio Mora came to win and won the WBC Super Welterweight Title. Mora used his slick style and jab to frustrate Forrest. Forrest was not consistent with his left jab and frequently overshot his best punch, his hard right hand. Mora used his quickness, feints, and dips to avoid getting hit therefore causing Forrest to overshoot his right hand. When inside, Mora would deliver some nice body shots to Forrest who appeared to be tired. Forrest was not able to work well on the inside as most of his punches seemed to be smothered. The real change in momentum seem to come in the sixth round, where Mora landed a nice hard right on Forrest. Then in the ninth round, Mora blasted Forrest with several shots to the head while Forrest was on the ropes. The shots seemed to have stunned Forrest, who had some blood coming out of his mouth and nose. In the end, Mora won by MD with the scores of 114-114 115-113 116-112 for Mora. Forrest who had been somewhat disrespectful to Mora leading up to the fight, congratulated the new champ with respect. Mora, who is from East Los Angeles, may have taken Forrest's ticket for the Oscar De La Hoya Lottery Fight for either September or December. Sergio Mora as stated is also from the same area is De La Hoya, and has plenty of name recognition from being the winner of the first season of The Contender. With the win, Mora may be in the lead for upset of the year.

Short, Sweet, Straight To The Point Revenge!!!

2008-06-07T22:28:00.003-05:00

Paul Williams said his loss to Carlos Quintana was an off night, and he proved it by knocking Quintana out in the first round. Right away Williams used his long arms and kept Quintana away. Williams stunned Quintana with a couple hard punches and began a flurry until Quintana was down. Once Quintana was up he tried to shake it off, but Williams was all over him again in a controlled fashion. He got Quintana in a corner and began a flurry and landed hard punch after hard punch capped off by a hard left hook. As the ref stepped in, Quintana fell forward pulling Williams and the ref down. The fight was stopped at 2:15 of the first round. With the victory, Williams reclaimed his WBO Welterweight Title and possibly put his name in the Oscar De La Hoya Lottery for either September or December.

Questions After Floyd Mayweather Jr. Retires

2008-06-07T15:42:00.003-05:00

It was yesterday that Welterweight Champion, Pound 4 Pound King, and 5 Division Champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. announced his retirement. Like always when an athlete retires, there are many questions. The question that pops up the most after Mayweather retires is will he fight again? Who is the best Pound 4 Pound now? Who will be the best Welterweight in the world? Will the Andre Berto-Miki Rodriguez fight be for the vacant WBC Welterweight Belt now? Who does Oscar fight now that Mayweather has retired? Why did he suddenly retire? What does his father, Floyd Mayweather Sr. think? His uncle and trainer Roger Mayweather? What will Mayweather do after boxing? How much will it take for him to return to the ring? These and more questions have arosed quite a bit since the announcement of Floyd Mayweather Jr. Now I am going to give my view of these questions. I personally do not see Floyd Mayweather Jr. coming back to fight. Most disagree, but I feel he is finished boxing. In terms of accomplishments, he did everything he wanted to do and he is done. I feel like he finally looked at his desire and said it is no longer there. Instead of continuing to do what others want, I am going to do what I want and retire. I have no issue with him retiring. A true great athlete always leaves you wanting to see him one last time. We all wanted Mayweather to fight Miguel Cotto. However if he beat Cotto, there would be another challenge that people would say he was avoiding. That is how boxers end up staying around too long, trying to beat everyone when there is no such thing. Now the best Pound 4 Pound fighter in the world is either Manny Pacquiao or Joe Calzaghe. The debate on this could be a whole new post in itself. I say it is Joe Calzaghe with Manny being the most exciting fighter. However if Miguel Cotto beats Antonio Margarito in a nice fashion, you need to consider him as the replacement to Mayweather as both the best fighter and Welterweight in the world. There is a 99% chance that Andre Berto-Miki Rodriguez will fight for the vacant WBC Welterweight Title. I mean they were already fighting for the interim title, so now that it is vacant there is no reason to have an interim title. For September, Oscar has a very thin list of choices to fight. Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito have a July fight, Zab Judah has an August fight, and those are about the biggest names he could fight now. Uh Oh, Winky Wright is still out there. Oh Winky, could your dream wish finally come true??? I hope so, but something tells me Oscar still won't do it. I believe Floyd Mayweather Sr. respects that his son has retired. I am sure he knew it was not far away. Mayweather Sr. may say his son did not want to lose to De La Hoya because he was now training him. However I think he knew his son's desire was almost gone and money was not going to keep him there too much longer. Through all of their disagreements, he still knew the heart of his son in boxing. I am sure Roger Mayweather is a little surprised because of the rematch coming, but I am sure he respects his nephew's wishes to retire. Floyd Mayweather Jr. has plenty of things he can do after boxing. One will be to finally get a rap album completed and in stores from his record label Philty Rich Records. He always talks about having it, but no cd has ever come out. Of course he has his promotional company, Mayweather Promotions, where he can help develop boxing talent. Mayweather is also doing concert promotions and many other things. For Floyd Mayweather Jr. he has done what many say they will do but still don't. He left the sport of boxing with his record, image, health, and money all intact. If he fights again, he will be welcomed, but if he doesn't he has what he needs to enjoy the rest of his life. I wish him the best of luck in all his future endeavors and God Bless him as I will pray for him.

Pavlik-Lockett; Ponce De Leon-Lopez Weigh In

2008-06-06T19:25:00.006-05:00

Kelly Pavlik: 159lbs

Gary Lockett: 159.5lbs

(WBC/WBO Middleweight Title)

Daniel Ponce De Leon: 121lbs

Juan Manuel Lopez: 121lbs

(WBO Super Bantamweight Title)

Forrest-Mora; Quintana-Williams Weigh-In

2008-06-06T19:15:00.005-05:00

Vernon Forrest: 153.75lbs

Sergio Mora: 154lbs

(WBC Super Welterweight Title)

Carlos Quintana: 146lbs

Paul Williams: 145.75lbs

(WBO Welterweight Title)

Thomas Hearns Owes The IRS

2008-06-06T18:34:00.003-05:00

Another boxer is having money issues. Former Boxing Champion Thomas The Hitman Hearns and his wife Renee owes the IRS nearly $268,000 in federal taxes stemming from 2004-2006. According to Hearns' lawyer, Michael J. Smith, Hearns disputes the debt and is working with the IRS to resolve the situation. Hopefully he can get this issue resolved soon.