HOLLYWOOD, Calif. -- A relatively slow summer season for boxing is coming to an end for Golden Boy Promotions.

Golden Boy could have five big cards before the end of the year if everything falls into place, CEO Richard Schaefer said at a media workout for Mosley on Wednesday.

The busy run starts with the Shane Mosley-Sergio Mora card on Sept 18 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, a card that also includes Victor Ortiz-Vivian Harris and Antonio Escalante-Daniel Ponce de Leon. Schaefer is working on a card for Nov. 6 featuring the return of James Kirkland and Robert Guerrero.

Juan Manuel Marquez and Michael Katsides have agreed to fight on Nov. 27 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Schaefer said. He is working on a deal to have Amir Khan fight Marcos Maidana on Dec. 11 either in Las Vegas or Detroit.

And, to cap the year, Schaefer said he’s getting the paperwork finished for a fight between RING light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal and Bernard Hopkins on Dec. 18 in Quebec City, Canada.

That doesn’t include the “Fight Night Club” cards on the last Thursday of each month in Los Angeles.

“I look at our calendar for the remainder of the year and I cannot remember having had a busier time with significant fights,” he said.

And Schaefer believes each card has its selling point.

Mosley is in a must-win situation after his one-sided loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Mora, coming off a strong victory over Calvin Green, has “everything to gain,” Schaefer said.

Saul Alvarez, the red-headed junior middleweight prospect from Mexico, is facing his first recognizable opponent on the Mosley-Mora card, former welterweight titleholder Carlos Baldomir. Schaefer, whose company has big plans for Alvarez, said he’s concerned.

“I’m a little bit worried,” he said. “Baldomir is a big, strong guy who is experienced. Alvarez had trouble with (Jose) Cotto, who was, what, a lightweight moving up? I think Baldomir hits harder and has a better chin than (Miguel) Cotto’s brother.

“I wonder whether it’s too much, too soon.”

The storyline for the Kirkland card is obvious: The former junior middleweight contender will fight for the first time since March of last year after a stint in prison, where the convicted felon was sent after he was caught buying a gun.

Golden Boy would like Kirkland (25-0, 22 knockouts) to fight for a title after a few fights.

“We’re going to see where he’s at,” Schaefer said. “We’ll give him a tune-up fight. The plan would then be to have him back in the ring before the end of the year. Hopefully he’ll be better and badder than ever.”

Schaefer believes Marquez-Katsides could be a fight of the year candidate. Khan-Maidana would be a fascinating matchup, a superb boxer with a questionable chin facing a huge puncher.

And Pascal-Hopkins would pit a young bull coming off an upset of Chad Dawson against a fighter who will be 46 in January. Hopkins is coming off a one-sided decision over Roy Jones Jr. in a horrible fight.

Schaefer has become close friends with Hopkins but said he has confidence in the old man.

“I was concerned before Bernard fought Kelly Pavlik,” said Schaefer, referring to Hopkins’ victory in 2008. “He told me to sit in my chair and enjoy the fight. I pretty much do that every time he fights now. I stopped worrying about him.

“This guy knows what he’s doing in the ring.”

I'LL KEEP MY SOAPBOX

Doug,
In a week where the biggest boxing news is the licensing in Texas of disgraced cheater Antonio Margarito, the only mention in your mailbag is a dig at the “scathing soapbox columns of American boxing writers”? Are you going to tell me that all of your emails were about the James Toney sideshow and nobody wrote to you about Margarito? I find that hard to believe. For a writer who has bemoaned the lack of criticism from the boxing press towards Bob Arum, this is the perfect opportunity to rip the Top Old Crank a third hole to spew feces to accompany his mouth and his backside.

Maybe many boxing writers are apoplectic at the Margarito debacle because every overarching ill in the sport is on full display: the lack of central authority and real unified rules for all commissions; the damaging power that greedy scumbag promoters like Arum wield with complete disregard for the health of the sport; the state commissions’ utter inability to properly regulate the sport; the lack of character, integrity, or basic humanity in boxing’s power brokers (in this case, Arum and Greenburg); the fact that the sports’ active shining beacon of character and integrity, Congressman Manny Pacquiao, is a willful participant now sullied by this mess; and how so many in the sport are perfectly willing to attack and personally slight (as in “soapbox” digs rather than reasoned arguments) those critical of this disgraceful fight.

If you want to be all excited about Pacquiao’s second one-sided whitewashing in Texas this year, I can’t stop you. Get off how you get off. But just because you’d rather bury your head in the sand and pretend that this is great for the sport and Margarito deserves the opportunity (I’m pretty sure Vanes Martirosyan could also beat Robert Garcia, is he next for Manny? You like that matchup?) doesn’t mean that everybody needs to respond in kind. Maybe you think Dan Rafael, Kevin Iole, and others are just yelling from a soapbox; I think they are doing their jobs exceedingly well and demonstrating that they have the courage to stand by their convictions, even if it might create tensions with Top Rank for them that could possibly hinder their future work. I’ll take that over willful ignorance in defense of the worst kind of cheat boxing can produce any day.

Sincerely. -- Scott Kraus

Scott, at the time you sent this email (Friday at 9:12 a.m. PT), it was the only one I had received about Margarito being licensed in Texas. I hadn’t received any email with “Margarito” in the subject line before I put last week’s Friday mailbag to bed (around 2:30 a.m. on Friday).

So far, I’ve only received four “outraged“ emails (including yours) about the licensing issue, and maybe two or three others that mention Margarito and the Nov. 13 fight among other subjects. Most of the emails I received over the weekend were about the Calderon-Segura fight, complaints about RingTV.com having James Toney’s MMA loss as the lead feature on Sunday, and pro and con arguments about having MMA on a boxing site.

I don’t think this is because most fans don’t care that Margarito is licensed and in a huge fight. I think it has to do with the fact that the fight is two and half months away. I believe that most RingTV.com readers realize that there will be plenty of time to slam, support or debate the ethics of Pacquiao-Margarito as the fight date gets closer, but for now they would rather talk about the excellent junior flyweight bout they saw (or lament that they missed it) and the good, solid matchups that are coming up on Sept. 11, Sept. 18 and Oct. 2.

Regarding the “opportunity” to criticize Arum and Margarito, I’m not the kind of writer who seeks out reasons to rip anyone in the sport. The only reason I’ve ever “bemoaned” the fact that many notable boxing writers fail to criticize Arum is because many of those same writers scrutinize every move Golden Boy Promotions makes. I’m not against criticism where it’s due, I just think the media should hold everyone to the same standard.

And so far, I haven’t read much criticism directed towards Arum. Everything seems focused on Margarito, with a little bit of scorn tossed Pacquiao’s and HBO’s way.

If you’re a regular reader of my mailbags you probably already know that I don’t feel that strongly about Margarito‘s decision to continue fighting and to seek a license in the U.S. I know I’m in the minority among boxing writers/media, and maybe I’m wrong for doing this, but I’m giving Margarito the benefit of the doubt.

There's a reasonable doubt in my mind as to whether Margarito knew what Javier Capetillo was doing to his wraps the night of the Shane Mosley fight. If I don't know for a fact that Margarito knew that his wraps were being loaded, I'm not going to wish for -- or push for -- his being banned from the sport for life.

This is not to say that I that I believe Margarito deserves the shot at Pacquiao, the substantial payday he will receive or that I’m excited about the fight. I don’t think Margarito deserves to fight for a vacant 154-pound title or be in a mega-event, and I’m not pissing my pants in anticipation of Pacquiao-Margarito. However, I'm not vehemently against the bout taking place and I do plan to travel to Texas to cover the fight.

As for the “conviction and courage” of the boxing writers who are outraged/disgusted by this fight taking place and have stated so in recent scathing columns, I ask you -- and I'll ask them as well -- are their convictions strong enough to boycott Pacquiao-Margarito?

Because if all they are going to do is write that Margarito is the scum of the earth from now until the fight, and then show up and cover the event on Nov. 13, I think they’re doing more than just “yelling from a soapbox;” I think they’re helping Arum PROMOTE the damned fight!

Controversy sells, Scott.

Every major sports writer and his brother basically wrote that Mike Tyson was “the living embodiment of all that is evil in the universe” from the time that he bit Evander Holyfield’s ear (June of 1997) through to the melee he started at the kick-off presser for the Lennox Lewis fight (January of 2002) but all those soapbox columns did was help fuel interest for the eventual Lewis-Tyson showdown.

It didn’t matter that Tyson was denied a license in Nevada, New Jersey and New York prior to the Lewis fight, which took place in Memphis, Tenn., in June of 2002, that pay-per-view show did a then-record 1.9 million buys and generated over $100 million in PPV revenue.

And just about every major boxing writer who slammed Tyson (whose violent and unsporting behavior in and out of the ring deserved criticism) and derided the fight as a farce (which it was, Tyson had no shot against Lewis) -- with the exception of historian Bert Sugar -- made the trek to Memphis and had a grand old time hanging out and eating BBQ before and after covering the event for their various publications.

Hypocrisy? Yeah, juuust a little bit. And think the same thing will happen with the Nov. 13 event.

I would argue that if you (a fan or boxing writer) are truly outraged by Margarito's re-licensing and participation in this high-profile bout, you should not only boycott the event, you should try to write or speak about it as little as possible. Just state that you’re against the fight taking place and refuse to support it. The louder and more damning the criticism is about an individual and/or event, the more interest and anticipation is often created.

HANDS OF PLASTER

What up big Doug?
Hands of Plaster being rubberstamped for a license in Texas is a perfect example of the laughingstock our sport has become. Seriously. Tony has brought more shame on our sport than anyone since Jeffrey Resto, and he is being rewarded with a career-making fight. Are you f____ing kidding me?

My friends used to kid me that boxing was no different than professional wrestling... it's not a joke any longer. I can’t think of a fight that can be made that would do more damage to our sport’s already flagging credibility. It's a slap in the face to boxing fans everywhere. It's a big "F___ You Finger" from Boob Arum himself. The Tijuana Twist can wrap his hands in cement if he wants, the idiots in the Texas commission won’t notice. They'll be too busy feeding at the buffet trough and giggling at Richard Cole’s nickname. Someone should strap a couple of cinder blocks on Margarito’s hands and tell him that Boob Arum stole his Shakira Mix Tape. Let’s see how Arum likes being pummeled by a moron bearing bricks.

Anyone who buys this fight is underwriting manslaughter. And, they are giving tacit approval to Pac’s avoiding real challenges against deserving fighters. Fighters, by the way, who weren't caught cheating. Every sissified, sugar-tittied, half a grill cheese between the legs having, Zima drinking, white-girl f____ing, loser that supports this fight is driving another nail into boxing’s coffin. It's clear that the ultra-rich power brokers that control this sport couldn't give a pant load about the long-term health of the sport, and are just lining their pockets, before moving on to exploit another third-world commodity.

Do you really think Boob cares if boxing goes to s__t in the next 10 years? He's gonna stroke out soon, and spend the remaining years of his life convalescing in heaven’s waiting room (Miami, Fla.). He'll be mute, immobile, and unable to wipe his own ass. Fortunately, he'll have a litany of broke, and broken, ex-fighters who'll gladly wipe his ass for $8.00 bucks an hour and the occasional slobbering smile from their adopted father figure. A national boxing commission is never going to happen, because rich white men don't give a s__t about little people. State commissions aren't going to safeguard the sport as long as it brings big money into their coffers. The only people who can properly police this sport is the fans.

I just went to Toprank.com, and sent them an email underlining my feelings about this embarrassment. When Top Rank opens their email tomorrow they'll have an email from me, an email from Pedro Fernandez advising them that the FBI is about to break down their front door to end "Operation Matchbox," an email from James Toney asking for directions to Jack in the Box, and an advertisement for Viagra sold direct from the Bahamas. Which one do you think Boob will read first? -- Kirk

My guess is that Arum will not read any of them. He’s got more pressing matters to attend to, mainly his son who is missing somewhere in the wilderness outside of Seattle and a major boxing promotion on Nov. 13.

I respect your outrage at Margarito’s license reinstatement and disgust for the Pacquiao fight being made (I know that you will not spend your hard-earned money on the Nov. 13 PPV). I also understand your disappointment in the current state of the sport and your sadness at the continuing downward slide of boxing’s reputation and respectability.

I think you’ve voiced what a lot of fans are feeling, but sometimes I wish you weren’t so over the top with the manner in which you express yourself. Your views are valid (well, not all of them, but most of them) but when fans go totally off (as you just did) I can’t blame “the powers that be” for not taking them seriously and it’s hard for more casual/mellower followers of boxing to pick up on what they are complaining about.

Having said that, I enjoy reading your emails, Kirk. They make me laugh, blush and cringe at the same time. When are you going to start a weekly column?

Let me know when you’re in the L.A. area. We’re overdue a lot of hard drinks and a few a cigars.

SLIDE ON BY, PACQUIAO-MARGARITO

Dear Dougie,
Hey ho, so Texas has granted Margarito the right to fight, and once again proves to the world that the heart of this wonderful sport can be so ultimately corrupted by the power and money-hungry big boys.

No surprises there!

What does surprise me, though, is how fight fans allow this to happen.

How many people out there are sickened by how Margarito has ended up in this position, and frustrated by egocentric promoters who so blatantly dictate the fights we will and will not see for their own (NOT us or their fighters’) interests. And yet, time after time, despite the obvious negative feelings towards this out there, fans still buy in to it, literally, by purchasing tickets and those all-important PPVs.

Some would argue that it’s just the state of the game, and, in the case of the (clearly wrong) Pacquiao/Margarito fight, why not just pay up and enjoy what in all likelihood will be an entertaining and well-deserved beating of the latter.

It’s also understandable how some will simply get sucked in by the promotion side of it all and see it as their duty as a ‘boxing fan’ to buy what’s out there. It’s current, it’s what’s happening, and they want to be part of it.

Fair enough; but maybe a better way of being a boxing fan and supporting the game itself, in the state it should be in, is to let a fight like this simply slide on by without taking any of its cash with you. It’s really easy to do.

I’ll read the reports afterwards and probably hear some excellent descriptions of how Margarito got taken apart in an exciting tear-up, and I’ll be able to imagine that and smile. A highlights or full fight clip will probably appear on YouTube at some point in the future and I’ll enjoy that too.

Is that a cheap/hypocritical line to take? Perhaps, but the satisfaction will come from not having just lined the pockets of the side of that industry that I can’t stomach.

It’s a simple statement, and if enough fans do it what better way would there be of telling Bob Arum et al to ‘Go f*** themselves’, and maybe, just maybe, making them think again.

Keep up the great writing and analysis. -- Rob

Thanks Rob. I think you have the right idea for fans who are frustrated with Margarito, Arum, and everyone else affiliated with the Pacquiao fight.

However, I’d like to hear from you as the fight gets closer. I’d like to hear from other fans who plan on skipping Pacquiao-Margarito in the coming weeks. I want to know what you think of the media coverage of the fight and I’d like to hear if you have second thoughts on not ordering the PPV show.

I don’t want to come off as skeptical or jaded, but I’ve hear from so-called “fed-up” hardcore fans all the time who tell me they aren’t going to order this PPV or that PPV because it’s a “farce” or whatever. I received tons of such emails before Lewis-Holyfield II, Lewis-Tyson, De La Hoya-Mosley II, De La Hoya-Hopkins, De La Hoya-Mayorga, Mayweather-Hatton, De La Hoya-Pacquiao and Pacquiao-Clottey. Those PPV events did between 800,000 and 1.9 million buys. Somebody bought them. Maybe those events all had some degree of crossover appeal or tapped into specific markets outside of hardcore fans. Or maybe some of those hardcore heads that ranted and raved about how they are sick of lining promoters’ pockets with money for fights they didn’t ask for broke down on fight night and gave up their dough.

I think it’s case of a little bit of both and I can’t help but wonder if that’s going to happen with Pacquiao-Margarito. Let me go over the checklist (that Arum’s already gone over a thousand times in his head):

We’ve got the national followings of both fighters (the Filipino and Mexican faithful), HBO doing its 24/7 thing, Jerry Jones adding his influence and marketing muscle to the promotion, and the Margarito controversy and every sports columnist screaming bloody murder about it enhancing the hype. Check, check, check and check. Yeah, I’m afraid this promotion is going to do quite well.

My guess is that Cowboys Stadium will host 80,000 and the PPV will do between 1 million and 1.5 million buys. Maybe I’m wrong, Rob. Maybe you and like-minded fans can prove me (and Arum and HBO) wrong. We‘ll see.


Doug Fischer can be contacted at dougiefischer@yahoo.com

The anticipated featherweight showdown between undefeated 126-pound titleholder Juan Manuel Lopez and former 122-pound champ Rafael Marquez has been rescheduled for November 6.

The featherweight title bout, which will be bradcast live on Showtime (9 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast), will take place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

The bout was originally set for September 18 but had to be rescheduled after Marquez injured his right thumb two weeks ago.

"Fortunately, my thumb injury did not prevent me from continuing my conditioning, including running daily,” said Marquez (39-5, 35 KOs) . "I am extremely grateful that my fight with Juan Manuel Lopez was rescheduled so quickly. On November 6, 'JuanMa' and I have a date with destiny. I can't wait."

Neither can Lopez (29-0, 26 KOs).

“I’m looking forward to showing my skills against a great champion like Rafael Marquez, one of the all-time greats and a future Hall of Famer," Lopez said. “It will be the biggest fight of my career.”

FIGHTS THIS PAST WEEKEND

I can't believe I just wasted an evening waiting for the James Toney-Randy Couture fight. While the outcome was inevitable, I still got that sinking feeling in my gut the second the fight went to the mat. I have to hand it to Couture though. He took it all in stride, and showed class in the post fight interview.

After that debacle, I found an online stream of the Marcos Maidana-DeMarcus Corley, which was already in the seventh round at that point. It seemed like a decent scrap, although it looked to me like Maidana was wearing “Chop Chop” down with his relentless aggression. Still, Corley was landing clean shots to the head late in the fight. It appeared that the Spanish TV crew had it scored even, although I admit that I was distracted, and the stream was pretty choppy.

I hear that Giovani Segura put a good beating on Ivan Calderon too.

Your thoughts? -- Gopal Rao

Thanks for writing, Gopal. I’ll give you my thoughts in the order that you gave me yours:

It was sad seeing Toney wiped out in the manner in which Couture bested him on Saturday night, but I’m not going to say that I wasted my time watching it. I had awaited the matchup with keen anticipation for weeks (ever since I visited Toney in camp) and I was excited about watching it with friends of mine who follow both boxing and MMA closely.

Everybody in the room was a James Toney fan or had been at some point. I was the only person in the room, however, who thought Toney could beat Couture. I was wrong and it was a disappointing fight in terms of its competitive and entertainment value. But I still give the Fatman credit for lasting as long as he did in a choke hold (he’s a tough S.O.B.) and for taking on a card-carrying MMA badass like Couture in his MMA debut. Toney rolled the dice and he crapped out (crap being the operative word because that’s what he looked like). But Couture was classy in victory (as he always is) and Toney was gracious in defeat (as he seldom is). I think it’s safe to say that Randy humbled the future boxing hall of famer.

As for the UFC 118 pay-per-view broadcast, I actually enjoyed the prelim fight between Nate Diaz and Marcus Davis.

I didn’t get into the other fights (including the main event, which featured one of the few MMA fighters I’m familiar with, BJ Penn), but it was a new experience watching an MMA event on the big screen at my friend’s place. The big screen (which is really a projected image on the wall) is usually reserved for boxing, while MMA is watched on computer screens in another room. On this Saturday the boxing (Calderon-Segura and Lundy-Lother) was on the computers.

My friend has satellite TV, and one of the networks he gets is the Argentinean channel that broadcasts most of the big fights that take place in South America, so we did the same thing you did by tuning into Maidana-Corley immediately after the Couture-Toney fight ended.

From what I saw, Maidana was in a tough fight with the faded veteran. He scored a knockdown, was the aggressor and he was obviously the harder puncher, so I’m guessing that was the difference in the fight. I haven’t seen the bout in its entirety so I can’t say if “Chop Chop” was robbed, but I’m comfortable in stating that Saturday’s version of Maidana would not beat Tim Bradley, Amir Khan, Devon Alexander or Victor Ortiz in a rematch.

You heard right about Segura-Calderon and if you didn’t see that 108-pound showdown you missed a damn good fight. The “old man” was eventually overwhelmed but he didn’t go down without a fight.

MORE SEGURA

Hell of a fight. Too bad Calderon doesn't have more power, because he could've done some real damage and made it even more interesting, but at the end, Segura was too strong and too young. At least Calderon tried has hard as he could and man what about the 4th and especially 6th round.

How fun would it be if Segura was on the Pacman undercard? I am aware that it’s hard for little guys to become stars, but I told everybody I knew to watch this fight (which oddly enough wasn't on PPV here) and trust me, everybody wants to see him again, so Bob give him more exposure.

Giovanni Segura, he's raw, wild, all over the place and man is he fun.

Regarding James Toney and boxers going into MMA here are my thoughts ........................................................................................ hope it’s clear enough (and I’m not an MMA hater).

As always Doug, have a good week. -- Simon, Montréal

If Calderon had power Saturday’s junior flyweight championship would have been a Fight of the Year candidate because Segura would have hit the deck at least once and would have been repeatedly rocked. Of course, if Calderon had power he probably wouldn’t have bothered to develop into the ultra-slick ring general he is. As much as I (and most fans) love a banger, boxing needs its sweet scientists like Calderon to add a little art and civility that balances the sport out.

I don’t mind a pure boxer as long as he shows some balls every now and then, and that’s what Calderon did in rounds four and six. The fourth round reminded fans that he can be an action fighter when he wants and the sixth showed everyone that he has the heart of a champion. That was an impressive comeback round after he took a hardcore beating in the fifth.

Don’t hold your breath for Arum to wake up and recognize Segura. He could have made for 108-pound unification series years ago involving the likes of Calderon, Segura, Viloria, Solis, Sosa and Nino but he never lifted a finger. Segura is THE RING/WBA/WBO champ today because Calderon’s Puerto Rico-based management/promoters PR Best Promotions made Saturday’s fight. Fans should give Peter and Ivan Rivera their due props for making a risky fight with one of their champions (and a reliable revenue-generator on the island).

Hopefully, Fernando Beltran, who pretty much runs “Top Rank-Mexico“, will seek out all-Mexican showdowns between Segura and Solis or Sosa or Nino. My guess is that TV Azteca would garner great ratings with those fights. My two wish-list fights for Segura is a RING championship clash with flyweight champ Pongsaklek Wongjongkam and a junior bantamweight battle with Hugo Cazares.

I echo your thoughts on boxers in MMA, and I’m not an MMA hater, either.

FAREWELL IRON BOY

Doug,
Age and youth caught up and beat Calderon Saturday night!!! 35 in a lower weight class? He lasted long enough as a champ! Kudos to him and his dedication! He was the purest boxer Puerto Rico has ever had. That being said, Segura is a monster!!! What a puncher that kid is!!! He will be a champ for a while!

One more thing... all those MMA fanatics calling MMA superior to boxing are idiots! They are two entirely different sports. What if Couture would put on some gloves??? It would have been as bad of a beating or worse the other way around!!! How about a double battle??? Two fights! One MMA fight, and after that a 10 rounder? Haven't written to you since you were at HOB and I was stationed in Germany! Now I am back in the states, going to Iraq in November! Keep up the good work! -- SSG Moran

I remember your emails “Sarge.” Good to hear from you after all these years (10, if you’re counting).

Anyone beating his chest over Couture’s victory over James Toney is begging to be ignored. I haven’t received a single email from anyone claiming that MMA is superior to boxing based on Toney’s UFC debut. I’m sure if I visited enough message boards I could find thousands of goof-ball opinions, which is precisely why I stay away from such internet forums. I watched Couture-Toney with a number of MMA fans but they all happen to be educated dudes who also follow boxing so I didn’t hear any “MMA beats boxing” nonsense after the fight.

Anyway, onto a competitive fight, Calderon-Segura. That fight exceeded my expectations in terms of excitement.

You are absolutely right to give Calderon his props for beating on top of two weight classes (105- and 108-pound divisions) for as long as he was; 35 years of age for a sub-flyweight is like 45 for the heavier weight classes. And Segura is indeed a monster. I think he’ll be a champ for a long time but not necessarily at 108 pounds. He might jump to flyweight or even junior bantamweight in his next bout because he’s been struggling to make junior flyweight for some time now.

FNC

Mr. Fischer,
I hope all is well. Today, my daughter (our first) is five weeks old, and has been sleeping enough to give me a chance to email you.

Several points:

1. Congratulations to Segura. Not only did he win The Ring Title, he will forever be known as the first guy to defeat a “Iron Boy” -- a legend in his own right. I was a little disappointed when I read that Capetillo is training Segura.

2. I have to comment on Fight Night Club. The fights and commentary were good, but the production is a little off. When I was watching the fights on Saturday, my wife asked me how old were the fights -- from the dark and dull picture the fights looked old. Also I really wish I could watch them live on TV (I know it’s live on the RingTV.com). Last year there was an energy to FNC that seems to be missing this year, partly due to it not airing live. Lastly, I not a sartorialist, but it would definitely help your cause if you wore a tailored jacket.

3. I am boycotting the upcoming fight in Dallas, and I will look to group with other hardcore fans to do the same online.

Best. -- Jaime, South City

Thanks for writing, Jaime. I know how sleep deprived you must be. I’ll answer your comments in the order they were presented:

1) The thing to keep in mind about Segura is that he really honors being regarded the champ. Being another belt holder was not enough for him. He also appreciates facing and beating a Puerto Rican legend in Calderon, who happens to be one of the main fighters he watched as a fan when he first began boxing. Regarding Javier Capetillo’s involvement in his career, it is what it is. The Mexican media, community and the Mota family (Richard and Arturo -- Segura’s managers) are willing to give Capetillo a second chance that most American fans and media are not. Eric Raskin’s column this week delves into this issue (and I happen to one of his sources for the story). Check it out.

2) Here’s something you have to remember whenever you watch a Fight Night Club broadcast: it’s a club show with a club show budget. It’s not just called Fight Night Club just because it takes place in Club Nokia. Golden Boy Promotions has brought in enough sponsors (DeWalt, McDonald’s, etc.) to underwrite the live internet broadcast (it’s also webcast live on ustream.com) so that fans don‘t have to shell out any money to watch, but they don’t receive a substantial license fee from Fox Sports (if anything). However, that’s not the key purpose of the show. The No. 1 mission of the series is to build local fanbases for Southern California talent as the young boxers are developed as pros. The No. 2 goal is to establish a popular monthly club series in the greater L.A. area (and GBP is accomplishing this part of their mission because the shows are well attended and appreciated by local fans). Unfortunately, the production value of the telecast comes in a distant third. The show is run on a skeleton production staff, which is limited as far as lighting, sound, etc., because of the very cramped setting. There simply isn’t the money, time or space to provide the kind of lighting, extra cameras and crew members that produce the boxing shows you watch on HBO, ESPN2, and Showtime. Sorry to be long-winded. Regarding my jacket, if I had my way, I wouldn’t wear one at all. (Hey, it’s supposed to be a night club environment, right?) The problem with the jacket (and shirt) I wore last Thursday is that the color was too light for TV. I think it looked pretty nice live and in person, but I’m, of course, biased.

3) Boycotting Pacquiao-Margarito is certainly your right as a fan if you feel Margarito doesn’t deserve a shot at one the sport’s biggest stars or the money that comes with it (or if you feel he should be out of the sport completely). Saving your money and encouraging other likeminded fans to do the same is the best way you can express your displeasure to Margarito, Arum, Jones, Pacquiao, HBO, the WBC and whoever else is involved in the promotion.

WHEN FIGHTERS PLATEAU

Hello Dougie,
This is my second time writing and I wanted to discuss the recent fights with Chad Dawson and Ivan Calderon. Both are obviously very skilled boxers and both had stiff challenges in Pascal and Segura. Now before these fights, Dawson and Calderon were on 2 year stinkers. Dawson was stuck fighting Johnson and Tarver, while Calderon was stuck with Mayol and Iribe. During that time, it's almost like Dawson and Calderon plateaued and sunk to that level of competition. Then when it came time to fight a younger man, they were both blitzed.

My question is, what causes a fighter to drop off like that? I don't think it's an 'up' factor because Calderon/Segura had the PR/MEX rivalry and Dawson was stoked for Canada. What is it about those 2 year stinkers that sort of brought Dawson and Calderon down? (Not taking anything away from Pascal and Segura, of course.) -- BazookaJab

I agree that Dawson’s performance against Pascal may have suffered because of his four consecutive bouts against Tarver and Johnson -- older veterans who lacked the Haitian-Canadian’s athletic ability -- but also think his relative inactivity (only fighting twice for two years straight had something to do with his lackadaisical approach.

As for Calderon, I just think he got old and Segura did his part to hasten that “aging process” on Saturday.

TONEY OVER CALDERON?

Hey Dougie,
I was a little disappointed to see the results of the Toney fight get top billing on the RingTV homepage when over the same weekend the impossible finally happened, Ivan Calderon got stopped. I know Toney's side-show had more buzz, but a fighter with as much class inside the ring as Calderon shouldn't be overshadowed by a beached James Toney. The smaller man was much bigger news, at least in terms of significance to boxing history, than the fat man's fall.

Also, the score isn't “MMA 1 boxing 0”… check Anderson Silva's boxing record out. The Sugar Ray Robinson of MMA came over to boxing when he was still young and near his physical peak, and got stopped in 2 by a South American journeyman half his size. I think that puts boxing well out in front, no matter how many over the hill Ray Mercers and James Toneys roll their way into a choke hold. -- Todd

Both co-editor Michael Rosenthal and I would have preferred Calderon-Segura to have what we call the “mantle” area of the homepage Saturday night and all day Sunday but we didn’t have any photos from the fight to post with my story on the bout. The photo service we subscribe to -- Fightwireimages.com, which does a great job with the fight cards they cover -- didn’t cover the Calderon-Segura bout, which wasn’t put on by Segura’s promoter, Top Rank, so that meant we couldn’t count on the always excellent shots of veteran photographer Chris Farina (Top Rank’s staff photo man). Getty Images didn’t even cover the fight, so we couldn’t buy anything from that top-notch agency.

I’ll take full responsibility for getting caught with our pants down on Saturday night. I assumed that somebody was going to be there who would send Michael or I at least one or two shots of the fight after it was done. As I am with many things, I was wrong. Had I known (or thought to check) ahead of time that Fightwire and Getty did not plan to send anyone to the fight I would have contacted somebody with PR Best Boxing to arrange for the promoter of the bout to send Michael and/or I some post-fight pics.

Having said that, we didn’t think that it was out of line to have Couture-Toney in the mantle space. James Toney has been one of the sport’s most accomplished and better-known participants for close to 20 years. His crossover to MMA (on a major PPV card of the UFC, the world’s biggest MMA promotional company) was a big story. The piece I did on Toney in camp was one of the most read stories ever on RingTV.com that wasn’t about Manny Pacquiao. And you better believe Fightwire and Getty Images were at UFC 118.

Regarding the “MMA 1 boxing 0” headline, hey, it fit, and it played on the silly ass debate that some fans of both sports just can’t seem to let go. Don’t take it literally or personally.

WHY?

Doug,
Great fight with Calderon-Segura, you summed it up pretty good in your post fight, although I thought that Calderon was basically finished after he traded with Segura in the 4th and 5th rounds (body shots all day long took away those legs).

I guess its not your decision, but why is some sad no-hoper UFC fight that lasted 3 minutes the main feature on Ringtv.com? Man, this says more about boxing than anything else. Toney didn't have a prayer. Peace. -- Steve

I thought Toney had more than a prayer. Maybe he never did or maybe he did and Couture didn’t give him a chance, regardless, this was a clash of two future hall of famers in their respective sports that garnered a significant amount of attention from both MMA and boxing fans.

I had just as much anticipation for Toney’s MMA try as I did the Calderon-Segura fight and I don’t think I was the only boxing fan who was looking forward to watching both fights.

In fact, I’m fairly certain that more self-defined hardcore boxing fans watched UFC 118 (because of Toney’s involvement) than Calderon-Segura, which isn’t to say that Couture-Toney deserved top billing over the junior flyweight championship, it just turned out that way because of our photo snafu.

MMA ON A BOXING SITE

hey doug,
i have nothing against mma. im not one of the old school bitter boxing fans who thinks boxing isnt what it used to be and thinks its falling apart. boxing isnt going anywhere. there are great fights, there are controversial fights, there are boring fights and fighters. i try to think positively and focus on what we have in front of us.

however, this morning im a little disgruntled because last night there was a legitimate championship fight between the top two fighters in a division that pitted the classic boxer vs puncher. it was an entertaining match. it was a significant fight. no it wasn't pacquiao mayweather but it was the biggest fight of the weekend. a fight worth discussing. yet when i log onto ringtv.com. theres coverage of an mma fight. i understand that james toney's involvement peaks our interest, but its still an mma fight, not boxing. so why is it the top story on a boxing site. i came here hoping thered be coverage on this weekends boxing action, instead i see mma.

for those who are bitter boxing fans that hate mma on principle, not actual disinterest in the sport, this is another nail on the coffin. mma is not a fad. its great for what it is. i respect it. i respect the athletes. respect the way dana white runs ufc. but at this point im not a fan. i watch the nfl. i like football. but i dont watch rugby just because its similar. i dont log onto nfl.com to read about rugby, even if brett favre decided to step in there for a day. -- robert ortiz

OK, OK, folks, we get it. No more MMA coverage on RingTV.com.

For the record, I wrote one pre-fight story on James Toney preparing for his MMA debut. That was ONE Gym Notes column one month ago. We linked to a Yahoo! Sports column for the Couture-Toney result because we felt that the boxer involved in the MMA was a friggin’ legend. SORRY. It wasn’t meant to be the lead story Saturday night and it certainly wasn’t meant to be a slap in the face of boxing or true-blue fans of the sport.

It’s not like we gave up on boxing for the weekend. I wrote a post-fight story on Calderon-Segura. I didn’t write s__t about Couture-Toney even though I watched the fight.

Guys, please, don’t fret. Don’t get disgruntled, bitter, or bummed out. (And to those boxing fans who are clinically depressed -- and I have a feeling that more than a few of you are -- go out and get some damn medication!) It won’t happen again. The novelty of a high-profile boxing legend vs. MMA legend is gone.

HE DID IT TO HIMSELF

Couture mauled Toney like a pit bull on a f___ing poodle!

In case you didn’t see it yet, here is the link. Just what I expected, Toney to get fucked up. Came in fat, out of shape, unprepared, got choked out. The dude squandered his career, now he has to turn to this to make a living. The dude could have been the legitimate champion and made millions at heavyweight, but he did it to himself! -- JB

I saw it. Toney was fat (so what else is new?) but I don’t believe that he was out of shape or unprepared. If he was, he wouldn’t have lasted 30 seconds.


TOP FIVE CHINS

Dougie,
Just a quick one. Top 5 chins you have witnessed.

(PS. God bless Ivan Calderon. Legend!) -- Choppa B, Sydney Australia

Calderon has my respect.

Top five chins I’ve witnessed (I‘m assuming you mean the top 5 fighter’s who could take a shot that I‘ve covered):

James Toney, Bernard Hopkins, Evander Holyfield, Juan Manuel Marquez, and Shane Mosley.

MARCOS MAIDANA

Dear Doug,
I'm surprised (from what I've read) how much he struggled with Corley, who hasn't looked good in years. Do you think he was looking past Corley to a potential Khan fight? Take care. -- Patrick

I don’t think Maidana was looking past Corley. I just think he had trouble with Corley’s footwork and the veteran (who has a lot of top-notch experience to draw upon) was in shape and motivated for this fight.

TOP 5 FUN

Hey Doug,
I'm thoroughly enjoying the A-Z list and finding it extremely hard to decide who deserves to be ranked number 1. I can only imagine how hard you guys must be finding it to agree!

On the subject of top 5's I was curious as to your opinion on the following:

1) Your Top 5 most fun to watch in the sport today?: Pacquiao is fun but his fights carry an air of inevitability that takes away from the excitement for me (it's not his fault, he's just too good!), Carl Froch's career has been a joy to follow (The Dirrell fight aside...) and, as much as he frustrates me, Chris Arreola's great fun in and out of the ring (I think he could be so much better). You've also got to love someone who takes as many punches as Librado Andrade.

And,

2) Your Top 5 all time best knockouts: I can't decide on mine but Walcott-Charles 3 and Marciano-Walcott 1surely ranks Jersey Joe as the man who won and lost his title in the most spectacular fashion. One I almost feel bad watching is Ray Mercer against Tommy Morrison, that one is brutal as is the more recent Paquiao-Hatton KO. Rocky Marciano's against Rex Layne is another, and poor old Zab Judah doing the funky chicken against Kostya Tzyu will always have a special place in my heart!

You'll probably be inundated with these lists, as always it will be good to hear your thoughts. -- Ewan, Scotland

Thanks for the kind words on the A-Z feature. All props belongs to Rosenthal. It was his idea and he’s the guy who’s doing all the research and writing. I’m enjoying it as much as you are.

My top five favorite fighters to watch (in particular order) has to include newly crowned junior flyweight champ Giovani Segura, Alfredo Angulo, Miguel Cotto, and the Marquez brothers. (Honorable mention: Paul Williams, Vic Darchinyan, Sergio Martinez, Yonnhy Perez and Abner Mares.)

My all-time favorite five knockouts: Ray Robinson over Gene Fullmer, Joe Louis over Billy Conn (first fight), Archie Moore over Yvonne Durrell (first fight), Marvin Hagler over Thomas Hearns, and Michael Carbajal over Humberto Gonzalez (I still get goose bumps when I watch the end of this fight on tape of DVD).

(The five all-time knockouts I’ve seen live: Diego Corrales over Jose Luis Castillo, Antonio Tarver over Roy Jones Jr., Manny Pacquiao over Ricky Hatton, Samuel Peter over Jeremy Williams, and Calvin Brock over Zuri Lawrence.)


Doug Fischer can be contacted at dougiefischer@yahoo.com

BIGGEST WINNER
Giovani Segura: Segura has become a remarkable story. The Mexican-born resident of Los Angeles didn’t start boxing until he was 20, which is ancient by normal standards. He isn’t a particularly good boxer, which is understandable given his relative lack of experience. Still, he beat one of the best technicians of his generation -– Ivan Calderon -– Saturday night in that fighter’s backyard, Puerto Rico. Amazing. Calderon, 35, outboxed Segura for four rounds but ultimately fell victim to Segura’s strengths, his punching power and relentless pressure. Segura simply broke his man down with a vicious body attack to win by an eighth-round knockout. And a new star was born.

BIGGEST LOSER
Ivan Calderon: We probably should’ve seen this coming. Calderon struggled in three recent fights with both cuts and his opponents, going 2-0-1 against Hugo Cazares and Rodel Mayol (twice) and then going down once in his one-sided decision over Jesus Iribe in his last fight. And he’s 35, an age when most little fighters are at least beginning to decline. He certainly has nothing to be ashamed of. He showed great courage by rallying in the sixth and seven rounds but ultimately was no physical match for Segura. The loss won’t have a significant impact on Calderon’s legacy. He has a good chance of entering the International Boxing Hall of Fame one day.

BIGGEST WINNER II
Antonio Margarito: Margarito won the Texas lottery on Thursday. He was banished from boxing because of loaded gloves –- one of the worst sins in boxing -– and, less than two years later, is going to make a seven-figure payday when he fights Manny Pacquiao on Nov. 13 at Cowboys Stadium. I don’t have a huge problem with Margarito fighting, at least in theory. A lifetime ban would be excessive in my opinion so he must be allowed to fight at some point. The thing that bothers me most is the windfall. He’ll more than make up for any lost wages during the 15 months he was away from boxing, meaning he really will have suffered no longterm financial hardship. In effect, Margarito’s punishment was missing one fight if we consider his two-fights-per-year pattern. Somehow it seems like he got away with it.

BEST-POSSIBLE PROTEST
Pacquiao-Margarito: Countless fans have said countless times over the years that they’d boycott fights to take a stand on one issue or another but never seem to do so in large numbers. It might be different this time. Comments at the end of blog items and on message boards indicate many fans are livid that Margarito was awarded a boxing license in Texas in spite of his significant transgression. And I believe some will not buy the fight on pay-per-view for that reason. I support them if that’s how they feel. There is no better way to send a message to the powers that be than hitting them where it hurts most –- in the wallet.

MOST DISGUSTING
Some boxing fans: The majority of boxing fans who leave comments at the end of boxing stories impress me every day with their knowledge of the sport and ability to express their opinions. I wish a small minority would shrivel up and blow away. I was reading comments about a column written by Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports that was critical of everyone connected to the Pacquiao-Margarito fight, including Pacquiao. Some of the comments were vile. One Pacquiao fan called Iole a racist and referred to him as a “white pig.” The fact is Iole is a decent person and fine journalist who was merely expressing his opinion. Are these people nuts?

MOST FAIR
Couture-Toney rematch: Randy Couture handled his victory over James Toney on Saturday with grace, congratulating the boxer for giving it a try. Now it’s Couture’s turn to give it a try. If the MMA legend has a sense of fair play and the guts, he’ll now face Toney in the former three-time world champion’s domain –- the boxing ring. Couture has had considerable training in stand-up fighting, much more than Toney received in grappling. And, because of the publicity Saturday’s farce generated, a boxing match would do big numbers. It makes business sense. OK, I know it wouldn’t be fair. Toney had his chance to win as long as he was standing up. Couture would stand no chance at all. Still, it’s a wonderful thought.

MOST EMBARRASSING
Toney’s defeat: Toney trained for months leading up to his MMA debut, working on both conditioning (more or less) and basic technique in grappling, only to survive a mere 3 minutes, 19 seconds before he submitted to Couture. Toney should’ve realized the obvious before making a chump out of himself: Boxers will rarely do well in MMA against a competent grappler. A boxer’s only chance is to catch a foolish opponent coming in, as Ray Mercer once did against Tim Sylvia. If he doesn’t, if he ends up on the ground, he’ll be helpless because it takes years to become proficient on the mat. Toney should serve as example for other boxers: Don’t get any ideas.

BEST MATCHUP
Maidana vs. Khan: Marcos Maidana’s victory over DeMarcus Corley on Saturday might set up a fight against Amir Khan, a matchup of THE RING’s Nos. 4 and 2 junior welterweights. The fight would be fascinating. I believe that Khan, whose boxing skills and athletic gifts dwarf those of Maidana, would win by a one-sided decision if not a late knockout. However, Maidana’s undeniable power and the lingering questions about Khan’s chin add an element of intrigue that would be gripping. And a victory would be a huge boon to both fighters. Maidana would regain a major title, which of course is his goal, while Khan would prove that he can handle a true power puncher. Let’s hope it happens soon.

WORSE MATCHUP?
Pascal vs. Hopkins: The gut feeling here is that a possible fight between Jean Pascal and Bernard Hopkins in December would be ill advised for the old man, who will be 46 in January and didn’t look particularly good when he fought Roy Jones Jr. in April. One would think that Pascal is too young (27) and athletic for Hopkins at this stage of the game. That said, I’m not so sure. Pascal’s skills might be just rough enough for someone as clever as Hopkins to pull a surprise. Plus, I don’t think his performance against Jones proves much because Jones didn’t want to fight. Would I pick Hopkins? No way. Would he have a chance? Yes.

BEST QUOTE
Bob Arum, Margarito’s promoter, to ESPN.com: "For me, it was like a terrible nightmare, this whole thing, and now the sun is shining. I really believe that it will be a very competitive fight. One guy is much bigger and stronger [Margarito] and the other guy [Pacquiao] is quicker and hits with both hands. It will be a fascinating fight to watch."


Michael Rosenthal can be reached at RingTVeditor@yahoo.com