Vasquez-Marquez III Weigh In

WBC super banatamweight champion Israel Vazquez weigheded 122 lbs. Former champion Rafael Marquez weighed 121.5 lbs.

Boxing Rumors (Maybe Hidden Truths)

1. Hot Middleweight Prospect Andy Lee has signed a promotional deal with Top Rank. This will definitely help his chances at landing a fight with Middleweight Champion Kelly Pavlik. Lee is trained and managed by Hall of Fame trainer Emmanuel Steward.
2. It appears that Winky Wright-Kelly Pavlik will not happen at least on June 7. However it appears that in June Winky Wright will fight Felix Sturm. Sturm who has a fight coming up in April is interested in coming to the United States again to fight. Last time Sturm came to the United States was in 2004 when he lost a very controversial fight to Oscar De La Hoya.
3. Still no details as of yet as to why Allan Green pulled out of his fight on FNF tonight.
4. The Mosley-Judah fight taking place on May 31st will be fought at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
5. There is talk that besides Danny Williams, James Toney has other viable options for his return. James who hates to fly (this is funny) does not want to fight in England or anywhere else he has to fly to. One of the other names that have come up for James Toney is Hasim Rahman. If you recall these two fought to a DRAW in 2006 when Rahman was then the WBC Heavyweight Champion.

Cory Spinks-Verno Phillips March 27

Cory Spinks is going to fight Verno Phillips on March 27, 2008. The fight is going to take place in St. Louis Missouri at the Scottrade Center, the hometown of Cory Spinks. Spinks will be defending his IBF Junior Middleweight title against Phillips who is the mandatory challenger for the title. This will be Spinks third World title fight in St. Louis, the first being when he lost his Undisputed Welterweight Title to Zab Judah and the second when he won his current IBF Junior Middleweight title from Roman Karmazin. This fight should be a good one but possibly an empty one citing that the fight is on an unusual fight day of a Thursday night.

Also fighting as the co-feature is rising junior welterweight contender Devon Alexander taking on Miguel Callist. Alexander, who is also from St. Louis and trained by Spinks's trainer Kevin Cunningham, will be fighting in a regional title unification bout. Regional titles are not a huge deal but it is the beginning step in moving up to world title contention. This should be a great homecoming night for both Spinks and Alexander.

Boxing Rumors (Maybe Hidden Truths)

1. I thought the talk of Tyson-Holyfield III were dead, boy was I wrong. I posted about this awhile back and the talks have heated up again. Holyfield said if the money is right he will do it. So be on the lookout just in case. To answer your question in advance yes I will still purchase and watch the fight. Go to the original post I talk about it there.
2. Could Junior Witter finally get his fight with Ricky Hatton. Yesterday Hatton's father accused Witter of pricing himself out of a fight. Witter came back and said he will fight for little to nothing because him fighting Ricky is personal and not about money. It has also come up that Ricky's fight for May 24 is not official and Witter's fight for March 22 has been cancelled. Let's see who is playing who.
3. James Toney is back people and talking more sh*t. Nothing is official but it is reported he will be fighting Danny Williams in England in May or June. Toney swears he is in shape now and will be fighting around 217-219 range. I'll believe it when I see it.
4. Kelly Pavlik wants to fight Winky Wright and Winky Wright want to fight Kelly Pavlik but Bob Arum does not want the fight. Bob has made lots of statements against the fight. Not sure what his issue is but none of his comments seem feasible.
5. Oscar De La Hoya-Steve Forbes is now official for May 3, 2008. Oscar will be trained by Floyd Mayweather Sr. and Steve Forbes who used to be trained by Floyd Sr. will be trained by Roger Mayweather. Forbes who has worked with all the Mayweathers has no beef with Floyd Sr and vice versa. So if there is any drama in the fight expect from Floyd Sr. and Roger.
6. Israel Vasquez (who is my pick for the fight) is the favorite to beat Rafael Marquez on Saturday. People do not miss this fight on Showtime Saturday March 1.
7. For you Allan Green fans, he WILL NOT be fighting Antwun Echols on February 29, 2008 as part of ESPN 2's Friday Night Fights. Rumor has it there is a beef going on with Green and his promoter Tony Holden and he is not going to fight. More drama I mean details when I find out.
8. Chris Byrd who said he was going to leave the heavyweight division and fight as a cruiserweight has had a change of heart. Byrd says he is walking around now at 180 pounds and wants to fight as a light heavyweight instead which is 175 pounds. The light heavyweight division has Roy Jones Jr., Bernard Hopkins, Antonio Tarver, Glen Johnson, Chad Dawson and Clinton Woods to just name a few. This could be very interesting if Byrd does indeed fight at light heavyweight.

Samuel Peter Looking Good

Samuel Peter, WBC Interim Heavyweight Champion, is looking in great shape in l0 days before his long awaited fight against Oleg Maskaev. Peter promises to punish and KO Maskaev when they meet on March 8 in Cancun Mexico. This fight will be for the WBC Heavyweight Title. Samuel Peter earned his shot more times than he should have and will finally get his chance to get the actual belt. On September 2, 2006, Peter defeated James Toney by SD in a WBC Heavyweight eliminator. It was a disputed decision as many including myself felt James Toney won. The disputes were heard loud and clear by the WBC who decided to mandate another eliminator on January 6, 2007 between Peter and Toney. In this fight Peter looked great in earning a well deserved UD over Toney. So after winning two title eliminators a fighter definitely gets his shot at the championship right? In boxing you never get what you see at least not at first. Vitali Klitschko who retired in 2005 and became the WBC Champion Emeritus decided he wanted to come out of retirement and fight for the title against Oleg Maskaev. Because of his Emeritus status that meant he would skip over Peter and go straight to Maskaev. Well Peter and his camp were not having that and I don't blame them. Klitschko who in my opinion faked injuries to avoid defending the title was dead wrong. So after months of legal issues it was decided that Peter would fight Maskaev on October 6, 2007. So this fight is about to happen then Maskaev cries back injury and can't fight. Then Vitali Klitschko who decided to take a tune-up before he fought the winner of Peter-Maskaev cries injury and pulls out of his fight. Tired of all the drama, the WBC names Samuel Peter the Interim Heavyweight Champion and he defends it against Jameel McCline who was in shape because Klitschko pulled out of their fight. Peter defeats McCline but not in an easy fashion as Peter was knocked down 3 times in the fight. Those were the only knockdowns Peter had in his career. In that fight a lot of people saw plenty of weaknesses in Peter's game and question if he would be able to be Maskaev. Well March 8 is almost here, the drama is almost over and the fist must do the talking. Peter looks like he has trimmed down some more and tightened his muscles. I expect this fight to be very exciting, way more exciting than that trash that was on this past Saturday (Wladimir Klitschko-Sultan Ibragimov). Samuel Peter has something to prove because of how long he had to wait to get his title chance as well as to prove that his last fight against McCline was just a bad night. Samuel Peter has something to prove to boxing fans everywhere and so far he is looking good.

Scary Knockout

Derrick Jefferson vs Maurice Harris November 6, 1999. Devastating KO.

Boxing Rumors (Maybe Hidden Truths)

1. It is said there could be a rematch between Sakio Bika and Jaidon Codrington. They initally fought in the Contender Finale and Bika won in a hard fought fight of the year candidate fight stopping Codrington in the 8th round. Bika won $750,000 as the grand prize of the Contender Season 3 series. It is said this rematch could possibly be on the undercard of the Mosley-Judah fight on May 31 if Golden Boy and the Contender can work out a deal.
2. Also a possibility on the undercard of the Mosley-Judah fight could be Jorge Barrios taking on Rocky Juarez. This fight could be a major fight because Barrios lost his WBO Superweight title to Joan Guzman in 2006 and has had only one fight since. He is coming off having surgery for retinal tears which forced him to pull out of his fight with Juan Manuel Marquez. Rocky Juarez took his spot and lost to Marquez in a very one-sided fight. For Juarez this fight is extemely important because he desperately needs a good win to get back in the title picture. He is 0-3 in title fights and you only get so many chances.
3. Zab Judah has been reinstated by the Nevada Boxing Commission and stearnly warned that if he has anymore issues with behavior he will probably not be licensed in the state of Nevada again. For those of you that don't know, Judah has a hot head and does stupid things when he does not get his way. Strike one was when he was KOd by Kosta Tsyzu he threw a fit at referee Jay Nady and put his glove to him like was going to attack him and then threw a stool across the ring. He was suspended and fined and life moves on. Then strike 2 came when Judah was losing to Floyd Mayweather Jr. and then intentionally hits Floyd well below the belt and then hits him behind the head. A riot breaks out and this fool is seen throwing punches in the riot. He was fined and suspended for a year. So could he be embarking on strike 3 soon? My guess is yes.
4. Oscar De La Hoya who is continuing to expand his portfolio out side of boxing is looking to purchase a 50% stake in the Houston Dynamo which is a MLS Soccer Team. Oscar will be purchasing this through his Golden Boy Promotions banner. Another great business move by the Golden Boy.
5. It appears newly unified Heavyweight Champion Wladimir Klitschko will be fighting hiw WBO mandatory challenger Tony Thompson soon. Thompson who earned his mandatory title shot quite some time ago is ready to cash in on what he is owed and I don't blame him. I just hope he is ready though.

Everyone Wants To Beat The Champion

Ever since Kelly Pavlik beat Jermain Taylor for the Middleweight title his name has come up more and more. First it came up by Jermain Taylor who wanted to exercise his immediate rematch clause. Pavlik obligated and they fought February 16, 2008 in a close fight that Pavlik won by UD. That fight was fought at a catchweight meaning win, lose or draw Pavlik was still going to be the Middleweight champion. However Pavlik won and his stock went up even more. Now the $$$$$ Gates are wide open. It appeared that John Duddy would be the Kelly Pavlik sweepstakes winner for June 7. However a poor performance and a horrible cut flushed his winning lottery ticket down the toilet. Now it is on for Kelly. Who will be the winner of the Kelly Pavlik June 7, 2008 lottery? Felix Trinidad wants to fight him but he cannot make 160 anymore and Kelly wants to defend his Middleweight title. Vernon Forrest had been calling out Pavlik's name but he has a fight date May 10 against Sergio Mora, so he is out of the drawing. Now Winky Wright who has not fought since his July fight with Bernard Hopkins is coming from under his rock. Winky who is known to price himself out of fights has said he wants the fight. It will be a great attraction but as stated what is the price Winky will accept. He is not the champion in this fight, Pavlik is and Pavlik is going to want and deserve the lion's share of the money. Now today Giovanni Lorenzo was just made the #1 mandatory contender by the WBC and he is saying he wants Pavlik in June. Lorenzo is also undefeated and ready to fight Pavlik. What is a champion to do? First it was hard for him to get fights, now that Pavlik has the belts everyone is calling his name. You still have Arthur Abraham who is the IBF Middleweight Champion and Felix Strum who is the WBA Middleweight Champion still out there. Kelly Pavlik you are the champion and you should know from your experience as a contender, Everyone Wants To Beat The Champion. Good Luck

Someone Is Going To Get Hurt, But It Will Be Great

Saturday March 1 live on Showtime, it is the rubbermatch between WBC Super Bantamweight Champion Israel Vasquez and for WBC Super Bantamweight Champion Rafael Marquez. Hot Damn!!!!! Their first two fights took place last year and were both great action, no die fights and let me tell you the third one will be no different. These are two fighters that when I hear their names mentioned I think of blood, guts, never say die fighters. The first fight took place on March 3, 2007 and it was great from the start. Both guys were hurt and both weathered the storm. The fight ended when Israel Vasquez told his trainer Freddie Roach that his nose was broken and he could not breathe. So he did not answer the bell in the 7th round and Marquez won by TKO and became the WBC Champion. A few dumba$$es said that Vasquez quit and he was not a true champion. Let me help you out, cut the b.s. Vasquez is a never say die fighter so I truly believed him when he said he could not continue. Never in my mind did I think he was being a quitter. So 5 months later, August 4, 2007, they did it again. This time Vasquez was ready, nose healed and all. The fight once again was a never say die blood and guts type of fight. Both guys were rocked but this time Vasquez seemed to be the stronger fighter. Vasquez got Marquez hurt and forced the ref to stop the fight. Some may argue it was a little premature but it is based on your personal opinion. So Vasquez reclaimed his WBC Super Bantamweight title but you know what they had to do it again. It is 1-1 and there has to be a tiebreaker which leads us to March 1, 2008. I am picking Vasquez like I did for the first two fights. You could say I am 1-1 too. I just believe Vasquez is the stronger more natural at the weight fighter than Marquez. However you can not count out Marquez because he won the first fight and he is still a tough Mexican warrior. If you missed any part of the first two fights or just want a refresher, check out this site on Showtime that is exclusive for the Vasquez-Marquez trilogy. It is going to be another great one, I guarantee. Don't Miss It!!!!http://www.sho.com/site/sports/VazquezVSMarquezIII.do

Mayweather To Wrestle On WWE Wrestlemania March 30

If you have not heard Floyd Mayweather Jr. will be wrestling March 30 as part of Wrestlemania on WWE PPV card. He is getting paid $20 million to be apart of Wrestlemania. I still don't like the idea of him doing it but my goodness he is making the money. He wants to be addressed as Money Mayweather well if he is pulling down 8 figures for one wrestling event then Money Mayweather it is. Check out the video below to see Money Mayweather be himself at a press conference.

Sugar Shane Mosley vs Zab Judah

************************Breaking News**********************
Mosley-Judah has been pushed back to May 31, 2008 instead of May 17.

As some of you may have heard, Sugar Shane Mosley is supposed to fight Zab "Supa Dupa Dumb" Judah on May 17, 2008 on HBOPPV. Well you can tell by the first sentence as well as previous posts who I am rooting for. If not I will tell you as plain as day, I DON'T LIKE ZAB JUDAH!!!! This fight is very interesting because Shane Mosley is coming off a very close loss to Miguel Cotto in November and Zab was TKOd by Cotto in June 2007. Zab has since gotten back in the win column beating some journeyman, now he thinks he is the best again. I look at this fight as more or less a crossroads fight. If Shane wins and looks good doing it he can possibly get a rematch with Miguel Cotto, maybe get Floyd Mayweather Jr pending his fight with Oscar, maybe a fight with Cintron or Margarito depending on who wins their fight, as well as a third fight with Vernon Forrest if Shane's wife allows it. If Zab wins he could be in line for some of those fights as well especially the rematch with Cotto that he desires so much. Zab keeps saying he wants a rematch with Mayweather too but I don't really see that fight coming in to play. Zab has shaken up his camp though by supposedly hiring and working with Floyd Mayweather Sr. I will admit I do not know how this is going to work since Floyd Sr. is working exclusively with Oscar De La Hoya. I guess time will tell how that relationship will work because Floyd Sr. will not drop Oscar for Supa Dupa Dumb Judah. As this fight gets closer to the date I will be talking a lot more about it but keep your eyes open because the official announcement should be coming real soon.

Boxing Rumors (Maybe Hidden Truths)

1.Ricky Hatton is supposed to fight Juan Lazcano on May 24 from Manchester England with HBO televising.
2. Also in Ricky Hatton news, he has applied for his license to be a promoter. He wants to be England's Oscar De La Hoya.
3. Jeff Lacy is fighting on the May 17 Mosley-Judah PPV undercard against an opponent TBA.
4. James Toney may go over to London England this summer to face Heavyweight Danny Williams who's claim to fame was beating Mike Tyson back in 2004.
5. John Duddy who looked horrible this past weekend will NOT be fighting Kelly Pavlik June 7 at MSG as originally planned. Duddy received a horrible cut about his left eye that will take stitches and quite a bit of time to heal. Kelly Pavlik now may end up fighting the likes of Felix Sturm or possibly Arthur Abraham in a unification fight instead.
6. Huge news here. Mike Tyson has signed Oscar winner Jamie Foxx to play in the movie based on the life of Mike Tyson. Supposedly Tyson is going to be working with Foxx to help him get what he needs in order to put on another great performance. Foxx is great in these biographical roles such as Ray Charles, Stanley Tookie Williams, and Muhammad Ali's trainer. Tyson is a producer on the film. If this is all true then I expect a great performance from Jamie Foxx.
7. Winky Wright has stated he wants the fight with Kelly Pavlik in June. Let's just see if Winky prices himself out of the fight or not!!!

Unified Heavyweight Champion

Last night Wladimir Klitschko became the first unified Heavyweight Champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999. Klitschko won a UD over Sultan Ibragimov adding his WBO belt to his IBF belt. The fight which was not as intense as I thought it was going to be pretty much was consistent all night long. The much bigger, longer Klitschko used his left jab very well to offset anything the southpaw Ibragimov could use. Most of the night Klitschko would use his left jab to slap down Ibragimov's right jab. It was more of an intimidating factor than anything. As I watched I just knew Klitschko would eventually start following his left jab up with some hard right hands to get the KO, but it never happened. I am not sure as to why Klitschko did not press for the KO because he had control over the whole fight. However at the end of the night it was obvious who the winner was no matter how uneventful the fight was. For Ibragimov it may be a hard road back because Klitschko, who he could not really touch in the fight, has 2 of the 4 major Heavyweight belts. His demand as a southpaw is nonexistent so it maybe hard for him to get back in the title picture. For Klitschko, he does have 2 of the 4 belts and he is calling out to the other champions to unify again to become undisputed. Samuel Peter is going to fight Oleg Maskaev on March 8 for the WBC title and Ruslan Chagaev has a mandatory coming up against Nicolay Valuev for the WBA title. The latter would be a rematch between the two from when Chagaev upset Valuev by MD in April 2007. So Klitschko may have to wait a little while before he can try to unify again but it appears the time will definitely come.

Joe Louis America's Hero...Betrayed

Not sure if everyone watched the Joe Louis special that was on HBO yet, but if you haven't please do. I watched and I have to admit it was pretty sad how he was treated. He was a hero in boxing especially when he beat Max Schmeling but when he went to the service they really did not treat him right. He donated his purses to the service which was not tax-deductible. What that means is even though he never kept the money at all he was taxed on it as if he consumed it personally. He was also taxed for the money he spent to have the troops come to his fights. These are things we consider today as donating to charity meaning we receive deductions on our taxes. For those two reasons that is how Joe Louis amassed such a high tax bill which only got higher as years went on. As you know once a fighter falls from his peak, his skills diminsh as well as the money he can demand for fights. The documentary was a great one and I tip my hat off to HBO for getting the highly untold, unknown story of the great Joe Louis. If you have not seen this documentary please check your listings on HBO to watch it. It is well worth it.

Sugar Ray Leonard or Floyd Mayweather Jr.

They both talk a lot of trash, were/are both flashy, cocky, pretty(in the male sense of the word) but one thing you can't deny they were/are DAMN GOOD!!! I had this discussion about these guys in my first post on this blog titled Hate Him or Love Him But You Can't Deny Him http://thetruthfrom1pound4pound.blogspot.com/2007/12/hate-him-or-love-him-but-you-cant-deny.html. Take a look at that post then watch the video and let me know what you think.

Great News!!!!!!!

Some great news I read today, IBF Featherweight Champion Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero reported in an interview that his wife is now cancer free. Some of you may have heard his wife was diagnosed with cancer the week leading up to his fight against Martin Honorio on November 3, 2007. That fight was on the undercard of Juan Manuel Marquez vs Rocky Juarez. Guerrero said his wife told him to be strong and go out and fight anyway and he did looking sensational as he TKOd Honorio in the first round. I saw the fight on Showtime and I admit he had a fire in his eyes that no one could describe and he handled his business quick to get back to his wife. So it brings me great pleasure to report that Guerrero's wife is now cancer free and will be at his fight next Friday against Jason Litzau. You can catch that fight on Showtime as a Special Edition ShoBox on Friday February 29, 2008. I wish Guerrero and his wife both many blessings.

What If...Mike Tyson?

So often in life we look at things and say what if. This is going to be the first segment of What If on this blog. I will take a fighter that we loved and thought had potential but something happened along the way that stopped them from reaching their peak of greatness. The first segment of What If features Mike Tyson. Mike Tyson is the youngest Heavyweight Champion ever and one of the biggest disappointments ever. So often boxing and non-boxing fans talk about Mike Tyson and what could have been. The talent was there and we all saw it but many things happened down his path of life that caused him to not reach his full potential. A lot of it was his fault and a lot of it was not. So today I ask, What If Mike Tyson...?

What if Mike Tyson never met and married Robin Givens(MISTAKE)? What if Mike Tyson was never convicted of rape(FYI I think he was innocent anyway)? What if Mike Tyson never went to jail? What if Mike Tyson had Cus D'Amato a little longer in his life? What if Mike Tyson had more business sense? What if Mike Tyson had real friends instead of an entourage? What if Mike Tyson would have never met and signed with Don King? What if Mike Tyson did not have those demons inside of his head? What if Mike Tyson never lost February 11, 1990 in Toyko? What if Mike Tyson would have never messed with drugs? What if Mike Tyson truly knew who he was? What if Mike Tyson had truly felt love as a child? What if Mike Tyson would have had a loving family? What if Mike Tyson saved his money better? What would you do if you were Mike Tyson? What if Mike Tyson had...? What if Mike Tyson did...? What if Mike Tyson would have...? What if? What if? What if? I guess at the end of the day no matter what we say or do the question always come back to what if. Yeah but what if he had done it the perfect way, wouldn't it have been great? Sure but only that will exist in the land of What If!

Well to help us all live better in What If land here is a small video of what was. There is no denying he was great, but still he fell shy of his ultimate greatness. But damn... What If?

I Hope This Happens Again To Zab

Anytime I get a chance to say or show something in a negative way about Zab Judah I am going to do it. I think he is one of the most disrespectful jerks walking around. I cannot stand his attitude at all. I hope he gets KOd like this by Shane Mosley or anyone else he fights. It could be the bum on the street because I saw the video when you attacked that guy when you were shooting dice on the corner and because of that I show you no love. No love will ever come from me to Zab Judah until he changes his attitude. NO LOVE!!!!

Joe Louis America's Hero...Betrayed

This Saturday, February 23, 2008 HBO is showing a very special documentary on Heavyweight Legend Joe Louis. It is about 75 minutes long and I suggest everyone whether you are a boxing fan or not tune in and watch this special. It shows an unknown truth to Joe Louis that many did not know. Here is the link to the site where you can get a preview of this special. http://www.hbo.com/events/joelouis/?ntrack_para1=feat_main_text Please take the time to watch and/or record this special.

I Think I Can Beat Mike Tyson

Who remembers this video???

Boxing Rumors (Maybe Hidden Truths)

1.Jermain Taylor may fight Roy Jones Jr. in June
2.Ricardo Mayorga may fight Miguel Cotto later this year
3.Kelly Pavlik may fight Felix Trinidad later this year if Pavlik goes up to 168 to fight him
4.Marco Antonio Barrera wants to come out of retirement and possibly face Israel Vasquez this year. Depending on if Vasquez wins next weekend in his fight against Rafael Marquez. If the fight happens Vasquez would move up from 122 to 130
5.Erik Morales wants to fight again in 2009
6.Vernon Forrest more than likely will fight Sergio Latin Fake Mora May 10

Hopkins-Calzaghe

Bernard Hopkins vs Joe Calzaghe is approaching. They ended their press tour and the training begins. All the smart a$$ comments are over for a few weeks as both fighters go to their camps and begin training. Bernard Hopkins is using Freddie Roach for the 2nd fight in a row and Joe Calzaghe is sticking with his if it ain't broke don't fix combination of his dad. The tension is high and the fight is made. Just count down the days until we see a great fight live on HBO April 19. (NOT PPV)

Heavyweight Unification Bout (Try To Get Excited)

On Saturday night live from Madison Square Garden the first Heavyweight Title Unification bout since 1999 is going to take place. IBF Heavyweight Champion Wladmir Klitschko will take on WBO Heavyweight Champion Sultan Ibragimov. Klitschko is the favorite to win because he is considered to be the best heavyweight in the world however I am not counting Ibragimov out. Honestly the heavyweight division is boring and has been for quite some time. I am hoping this fight brings not only clarity to the division but also some excitement. I have only seen Ibragimov fight twice and he is decent but not overly impressive to me. Klitschko has done very well with Emmanuel Steward but has had a shady chin in the past. Plus in boxing anything can happen. I hope this fight turns out to be a good one so tune in Saturday to HBO to watch fight live.

Too Much Publicity Can Be Bad (If You Ask Me)

As you may have heard, Floyd Mayweather Jr. was on WWE and got into a fight with Big Show who is 7 feet tall. Below you will see the video of it. I am not a fan of WWE wrestling. I think it is fake and pointless. I will admit it is big business but I do not like Floyd being involved with it. Supposedly Floyd is supposed to take part in a real WWE match towards the end of March. I know this stuff is supposed to be fake but you can get hurt regardless. I doubt if he will endanger himself too much but it is still dumb to me. I think it is a waste of time and I think he can get better publicity elsewhere. Why not get on a sitcom as himself and promote himself that way? That is my opinion but watch the videos below and let me know what you think of it all.

Knockout Rewind

Pavlik Post Fight Comments

Taylor Post Fight Comments

So Close Yet So Far

Jermain Taylor lost a close UD to Kelly Pavlik Saturday night. In a fight where both guys looked strong and sharp, Pavlik pulled out the decision. Taylor looked a lot beter in this fight in my opinion. He did not have the nervous energy he did in the first fight, he kept his left hand up a lot better and in the process blocked a lot of right hands from Pavlik. However my issue with Taylor is his stamina. I did not feel like he was fighting the full 3 minutes of each round. He would have his moments but he would lay back for a good portion of each round. By the time the 11th round came you could see fatigue had set in on him and Kelly Pavlik caught Taylor with a good body shot as Taylor went to the ropes for the first time in the fight. I saw some improvements in Taylor that I had been wanting to see but I think he needed to try those improvements on one fighter before he got back in the ring with Pavlik. Pavlik fought a good fight himself though. He was more protective of his chin than the first fight and he kept his jab working very well. Although he did not always land with his jabs, the activity of the jab kept Taylor on the outside for most of the fight. Overall this was a real good competitive fight but in my view it became obvious who the winner was down the stretch. Pavlik who had never been passed the 9th round had enough in the tank to finish strong in the championship rounds of 10,11, and 12. I had the fight 115-113 for Pavlik while the official scores were 117-111, 115-113, 116-112. For Pavlik this win will lead to bigger fights. He is still the Middleweight Champion and his name is being mentioned in many camps for a possible fight. For Taylor he was so close yet he is so far away. He was disappointed he did not win and in his voice he sounded like a fighter who may want to quit. I don't think he should retire but I think he is going to have to get some solid wins under his belt again in order to get back to a championship fight. I truly hope he will take some time off, enjoy his new daughter and think about what he wants in his future. At 29 it is hard imagining Taylor retiring but in life there comes a point when we all say to ourselves enough is enough and I'm done. Only time will tell if that is what Taylor will say.

Pavlik-Taylor II Weigh-In

These two fighters looked great as they both weighed in at 164lbs for their fight. It appears to be a great one so don't miss it. If you missed the weigh in watch it below.

Punished and Exposed!!!!

The former self proclaimed most feared fighter was punished and exposed on Saturday night. Paul the Punisher Williams got totally exposed Saturday night for all the flaws he had been showing all along. I saw him getting exposed soon but I did not think Saturday was going to be the day. I gave Quintana a better chance than most but figured Williams would still win. Oh how wrong I was. Williams who in my opinion backhands or slaps his punches could not stop Quintana with his arsenal. Williams who is 6'2 often keeps his hands down and lowers his body which leaves him wide open for clean shots all night long. I will state he does have a great chin because when he fought Margarito he was getting caught with a lot of clean punches and never looked hurt and in this fight with Quintana he did not look hurt. Before the fight Williams stated that since he was fighting a Southpaw it would be like looking in the mirror. Well I am not sure if he saw all the punches coming his way in the mirror otherwise he may have done something about it. Quintana came in with a plan and executed beautifully. Quintana did not allow Williams to keep him on the outside with his reach and jab and Quintana moved quite a bit. So what does this show about Paul Williams for future opponents? Easy, it shows that if you move a lot and don't act scared of his reach and jab you can get inside on him and land clean shots. We learned that his defense is very weak to both right and left hands no matter the size difference. From the cuts on both eyes we learned that he is a cutter and a bleeder so if the region above his eyes are punched enough they will open up once again. Because of his ability to cut, it means in the future he can be TKOd due to cuts which is not good. However I will give Williams some credit, he did not make up excuses like many fighters will due after a fight. He admitted it was not his night and he lost the fight. So respect in that aspect, however in order for him to continue to be successful he is going to have to go back to the drawing board and work on his defense. Williams will also need to learn how to not throw backhand punches and to sit down on his punches to get more power out of his punches. He may even may want to go up to the Junior Middleweight (154lb) division because after making weight on Friday at 146.5 he came into the ring at 164. He swears it is not hard for him to make the 147 weight limit but if your body jumps up almost 18 pounds over night, that is not good on your body down the line. It is not impossible for Williams to make the necessary changes and bounce back again, but for now he has been Punished and Exposed.

Pavlik-Taylor II Preview

Saturday February 16, 2008 The Epic Battle Continues, Jermain Taylor fights Kelly Pavlik at a catchweight of 166 pounds in a rematch of their fight from September 29,2007. As we all know Taylor lost by KO to Pavlik in their first meeting and has opted to take an immediate rematch to get his revenge. I want Taylor to win as you already know from previous posts but I can't go to sleep on Pavlik because duh he did KO Taylor in their first fight. However I have heard Pavlik and his camp say they can KO Jermain again but a few words of advice to them don't sleep on Jermain. He almost had Pavlik out in the 2nd round. Sure he did not get him out but he was so close you can't possibly dismiss Taylor. Through all the boxing talk I have heard a lot of people have fallen asleep on Taylor as if he is a nobody, that could be their mistake.

What to look for in this fight is adjustments. As stated this fight will be fought at 166 which should benefit both fighters. However who makes the most adjustments in a positive way will more than likely win the fight. In my opinion Taylor needs to make the most adjustments. Taylor needs to find his jab and use it properly. Taylor has a beautiful jab and it is a hard jab. If he could use that jab and land a good 10-15 a round that will be great for him. Keep his left hand up a little higher. If you recall the right hand for Pavlik landed pretty consistent and also was the punch that hurt and finished Taylor. So Taylor needs to keep his hands up when he is not punching as his defense. He needs better head movement as well. Whether he dips or moves his head from side to side those movements can help him avoid the amount of punches he took last time. He cannot afford to be still and stand in front of Pavlik like last time. Finally Taylor's stamina and punch selection need to be improved. In the first fight when Jermain thought he had Pavlik almost out, he did not throw the proper punches such as bodyshots and uppercuts. Therefore he wasted quite a few punches to the head and when he did not land he tired himself out. A lot of times in a fight when you punch yourself out it is hard to recover which Taylor never did. I feel if Jermain Taylor worked on what I mentioned above he has a great shot of getting redemption in this fight.

For Pavlik I believe he has the mental advantage at the moment because he did KO Taylor. However a mental advantage is only as good as the person who has it and who uses it. It appears that Pavlik kept the same regimen in his camp as he did for the last camp. Pavlik has to continue to use his jab and keep his hands out. The reason he got caught in the first fight is because he dropped his hands and stuck his head out. Not sure if that was a lack of focus for a moment or a move to taunt Taylor. Whatever it was it almost cost him the biggest fight of his life. So he needs to stay focus and not worry about taunting. Obviously Pavlik has serious KO power because he has 29KOs in 32 fights. In order for him to beat Taylor he has to use his jab consistently and follow up with the hard right hands like he did in the first fight. Head movement for Pavlik will help him as well because at times Pavlik fights straight up which can get you caught. I think if Pavlik makes these slight improvements he may have another KO victory.

At this point the fight in my mind is a toss-up. Obviously you can't forget about the 2nd round knockdown that Taylor delivered on Pavlik. You know if Taylor would have made better punch choices the fight could have ended. However the end result was Taylor KOd in the 7th round. Despite what a lot of the public is saying this is still an even fight and either guy could get KOd which makes this fight so exciting. I can't wait and I hope you can't either. Enjoy.

Punished!!!!!

Paul Williams lost by UD to Carlos Quintana Saturday night. It was Williams' first defense of his WBO Welterweight title. It is not as big of upset to me as it was to many boxing observers. As I had stated before in one of my other posts, Paul Williams keeps his hands low and gets hit easily. Last night was no different. Quintana went to work on Williams and was landing clean shots to the head of Williams quite easily. If Quintana had more pop in his punches the fight could have possibly ended early. Williams was cut over both eyes and had some swelling on his both sides of his face. All the talk of Williams being the most feared and avoid welterweight were silenced last night. I always thought Paul Williams was overrated and last night he was exposed by Carlos Quintana. Williams still can bounce back but he will have to go back to the drawing board and learn how to use his reach better, keep his hands in better position to block punches, and work the body better. As far as Quintana his future looks great. Big money fights can lie ahead of him if promotions are done properly. It was a long road for him to become a world champion and he earned it.

Andre Berto fought a great fight against Michel Trabant. Berto come out at the bell establishing his jab and power shots and never let Trabant into the fight. He put his punches together very well in this fight and landed some hard uppercuts as well. You could see Berto trying to improve on his defense but he still has work to do. With his offense being so strong it may take awhile for someone to either really hurt him due to his lack of defense or hell his defense may actually get strong. However last night Berto did what he was supposed to and landed the harder shots and Trabant did not answer the bell for the 7th round. A great win for Berto who now looks to move up in the welterweight world.

Redemption Or The Agony Of Defeat???

We are about 9 days from the rematch between Jermain Taylor and Kelly Pavlik. I am so excited about this fight. I really hope Jermain Taylor can bounce back from his only professional loss which was in his last fight to Pavlik. I cannot lie I think Pavlik will beat Taylor again but I hope not. This fight unlike the first fight is being fought at a catchweight of 166 which probably will benefit both fighters. However it may benefit Pavlik a little more since he is taller. You know I keep watching clips of the first fight and I look at some of the training videos and photos of the fighters and I just get so hype. What I worry about most from Jermain is not just the fundamentals he failed at in the first fight such as his hands being low, being outjabbed, his stamina being poor; I worry about his mental disadvantage. Boxing is such a mental game and if your mind is not right before you walk in the ring then you may as well stay out of the ring. Taylor was brutally KOd by Pavlik and he has not fought since that day. The last image Taylor has of himself in the ring is slumping over and that is not a great image. How will Taylor bounce back? Will he use that KO as motivation to get even more focused on the task at hand or will he allow that last image to stay in his mind and intimidate him? I keep hearing quotes from Jermain about how it is about pride and all this which sounds great. It lets me know he knows the right things to say, but we all know actions speak far louder than words. When the bell rings on February 16, 2008 what type of fighter will come out of the corner? Will this fighter be able to put the past behind him and focus on winning the fight he is in? Will this fighter already be mentally defeated before the bell rings? Coming off a KO loss is hard and when the fighter you are fighting next is the same fighter that KOd you it can be intimidating. The words have been spoken now it is almost time for the action to begin. Will the heart of a champion emerge and get redemption or will the agony of defeat reign again??? I guess only time will tell.

Paul Williams-Carlos Quintana

Alright fight friends we have a great welterweight double header this weekend on HBO. Paul Williams, WBO Welterweight Champion, will take on Carlos Quintana. This is Williams's first defense of his WBO belt after beating Antonio Margarito for the belt in July. Williams 33(24)-0, who is considered to be a freak of nature, stands at 6'1 weighing in at 147 with an 82" reach not to mention he is a southpaw. Williams throws lots of punches but not all of his punches are meaningful punches and in my opinion just create activity instead of true effectiveness. I see many holes in his fight style but many mistakes he gets away with because of his height and reach. Mistakes such as admiring his punches and keeping his hands low, if he was around 5'9 he would pay for those mistakes more often. I do worry about his stamina because he faded in his fight against Margarito so it could be a problem later against better opposition. Quintana 24(19)-1(1) is a tough boxer who has only lost to Miguel Cotto in his first title fight for the vacant WBA Welterweight Championship. Quintana is also a southpaw but is only 5'9-5'10 with a 72" reach and clearly is the underdog based on physical advantages. As Cotto proved, Quintana can be broken down with decent bodywork if Williams takes advantage of it. Quintana has a decent punch but I do worry about the reach disadvantage he faces if that will stop him from getting in close with Williams. I guess Saturday we will see.

Andre Berto 20(17)-0 has a fight against what is believe to be his toughest competition yet in Michel Trabant 43(19)-2-1. I have to admit I have never heard of or seen Trabant in action but I hear he is a tough fighter. Berto is a tough fighter as well with a huge punch but has a lack in his defense game. He tends to leave his hands down and get caught a lot. If he does not correct that issue in his game he will get hit more and more as his opposition improves and may end up getting KOd. However I have to admit I don't see that happening in this fight. Not to downplay Trabant but I think HBO played it somewhat safe for Berto to improve his opposition but make him the winner. With only 19KOs in 43 wins it is safe to say Trabant is not a KO artist.

Don't Call It A Comeback