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Dougie's MASSIVE Monday mailbag

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 23:12:50 PST

FAR FROM FLAWLESSHi Dougie,It's funny - you mentioned bad luck for Valero in your column - I was thinking the same thing in the second round. Just when he was falling into his rhythm, that elbow could have really turned things around for him. On the other hand, you can't exactly say it's all bad luck. Splitting up with a disciplined trainer, drinking and driving, and getting a humongous Hugo Chavez tat smack in the middle of your chest are not exactly examples of model decision making - even among the pro boxing demographic. Although I can't argue with his taste in women. I guess what I am trying to say is that he does control his own luck to a degree. If there is one thing he could focus on to improve, what do you think it is? And do you think it will actually happen? I just wonder what his potential truly is, and how much is Edwin himself responsible for not reaching it. And what happened to his power? DeMarco is clearly a badass despite the loss - but is it possible Valero didn't leave some of it at the lower weight? -- B (NYC)I think Valero's power was there, but he was facing a very motivated challenger (who I believe was willing to die in pursuit of his lifelong goal), who has a world-class chin, good hand placement (to block certain punches) and was just tall enough to prevent Valero from following up his overhand left with a right-hook finisher. This is just a theory but I think if DeMarco were three inches shorter, Valero could have zeroed in on his chin (instead of the right side of his head) with a straight left followed by a right hook on the jaw, which would have at least produced a knockdown in not a KO. But that's all speculation. What I learned from Saturday's fight is that DeMarco has even more character and toughness than I thought he did (and I considered the young man to be a stud going into the fight), and Valero has the ability to create distance and switch to volume punching when his opponent has crazy durability and a strong will to win. My hat is off to both fighters.Regarding Valero's bad luck, you are absolutely right. Outside of the ring, he is his own worst enemy. His stubborn and impetuous nature often bites him in the ass. If there is one thing I think he can focus on to improve it's his attitude in the gym. Few fighters train harder and more intense than Valero, but he wants to dictate to his trainer what they should do and that's not the way it's supposed to be. Manny Pacquiao improved as a fighter because he humbled himself in the gym and allowed Freddie Roach to teach him. Valero needs to bring in a seasoned, proven veteran coach and allow that trainer to teach him.If he does that, I think he has pound-for-pound potential. If he continues to act his own trainer, I think his talent and balls will take him to the top of the lightweight division, but not far beyond.I LOVE VALEROI love your son. He showed guts and skill. He looked great. I would pay to watch him. I think his defensive flaws will be his undoing as he fights better guys like Tim Bradley.Strengths: - Power - Combination Punching - Hand Speed - Foot Speed - GutsWeakness:- Keeps Head High - Love how he was rolling Demarco's left hand - Needs to Commit to the Jab- Needs to Work Body More-- Big SwaI agree that he needs to tuck his chin and work the body more. I honestly believe that if he was training with Ken Adams we wouldn't see that head in the air as much when he throws punches, and we would see more hard shots to the midsection when he's in with fighters with solid whiskers.However, I thought he was working his jab quite well against DeMarco. It's not easy to have a consistent jab against a taller, rangier opponent who's got a nice jab of his own. According to CompuBox statistics, Valero (the shorter man by four inches) out-jabbed DeMarco, landing 87 to the Mexican's 47.I agree that his defensive flaws will ultimately cost him but I think it says something about Valero that most fans and boxing writers agree that it will take an elite fighter (which I believe Bradley is) to exploit them.BIG BOXING WEEKENDHey Doug,Just a few quick things:1. Glen Johnson once again refuses to let his age or a recent loss push him out of boxing. His stoppage of Yusaf Mack was quite impressive and he set himself up for another big fight. Good for him.2. It may be too early to say definitively how Tomasz Adamek will fare as a heavyweight. All I know is, I'll be watching.3. And speaking of fighters we'll be watching, I have one question. To all those who say boxing is dead; to those who say boxing is boring; to those who say MMA is so much better than boxing... Can you REALLY tell me that you don't wanna see Edwin Valero every time he steps in the ring?Thanks. -- Jesse, New JerseyThank you for writing in. I'll respond to your comments/questions in order:1. I expected the "old man" to beat Mack (even though I was pulling for the young gun) because the Philly native just doesn't seem able to deal with hard pressure and we all know that's Johnson's forte. However, the three knockdowns and mid-rounds stoppage was indeed impressive. I think Johnson vs. Tavoris Cloud could be fight of the year candidate. We'll see. 2. I can't comment too much about Adamek's performance against Estrada because I haven't seen the fight yet. I watched the Showtime broadcast at a friend's place (Dave Schwartz's Rent-A-Wreck in Santa Monica, where two of my favorite peers -- Steve Kim and Gabe Montoya of Maxboxing -- were among other good folks). Dave had the Adamek fight on a computer in another room but it was on the exact same time Valero-DeMarco was underway and I wasn't about to get up and miss a moment of "my son" in a tough fight to see a heavyweight contest. I'm going to get Adamek-Estrada on DVD tonight or Monday, so I'll be able to comment on it by the time Friday's mailbag rolls out. Anyway, I think Adamek's pending clash with Chris Arreola will tell us all we need to know about the Pole's potential in the heavyweight division.3. Those who say boxing is dead aren't paying attention to the TV schedule and are certainly unaware of the large crowd that paid to see Valero-DeMarco in Mexico (as well as the fight's ratings on Televisa, the country's largest network) and the legion of loyal Polish fans who will pay to see Adamek fight ANYBODY at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Those who say boxing is boring have been watching too many Floyd Mayweather fights and have probably never seen a Valero or Adamek fight. Most MMA fans were too busy watching Randy Couture submit Mark Coleman in the main event of UFC 109 to give a rat's ass about Edwin Valero. Hey, it's their loss.VALERO VS. SOTOOne word about Valero's win over DeMarco: Wow. Now I would love to see Valero vs. Humberto Soto. -- Simon, MontrealMe too.If Valero can't get his visa to enter the U.S. in a timely fashion I think that showdown is a natural to be made in Mexico. Hopefully, Showtime would be willing to return to Mexico to televise it live as they did Valero-DeMarco so the 'V-nom' vs. 'Zorrito' won't have to be a Latin Fury PPV headliner.Anyway, I think Valero-Soto would definitely have more two-way action than Valero-DeMarco did.V'S POWER VS. D'S CHINHey Doug,I have always wanted to see a live Valero fight due to your writing about him. I must say he was very impressive. I know you see a lot of flaws but I saw a fighter who controlled DeMarco with his jab making him go to the ropes. He was able to step out of range when DeMarco tried to counter. Now, DeMarco must have Margarito-like chin or Valero doesn't hit as hard as I thought, but I'll let you answer that one. I was worried DeMarco would end up collapsing after the fight the way he looked going back to the corner. He looked like he had the flu beaten into him (he looked sick, man). I hope Valero gets licensed in Las Vegas and elsewhere there are some great fights to look forward to. -- RioOh man, Valero in Vegas. It can't get any better than that. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that his visa and license issues can be resolved ASAP so that can become a reality before the year is out.Regarding Valero's power, I think DeMarco has an awesome chin and it was backed by an iron will. DeMarco was willing to die on Saturday night, which had be worried about his health as early as the sixth round. After the eighth round I was really scared for the young man, especially when he was rocking back and forth on his stool as if he were suffering from severe nausea and having trouble keeping his head up. For the record, I think Valero's power is just as good at lightweight as it was a junior lightweight, and I see WAY MORE talent and skill than I see flaws in his game.YOUR SONI thought he kicked DeMarco's ass but I am concerned with the number of punches he takes; do you think he can beat Pac-man?Keep up the good work. -- Omar/SacramentoValero really didn't take that many clean shots (at least not compared to how many DeMarco was force fed), but I think it's VERY premature to assess his chances versus the Pac-monster. The lightweight beltholder has had a single fight at 140 pounds, let alone welterweight where his dream match would have to take place. Right now that fight is still a dream.And I think I agree with pretty much everyone else on the planet that, as good as he looked vs. DeMarco, the version of Valero that fought Saturday night would not beat Pacquiao. However, I must state that I believe that Valero rises to the level of his competition. For example, I think the version of Valero that beat Hector Velazquez in December would have lost to DeMarco, but that's not the version that showed up on Saturday, is it?I think Valero grew from the DeMarco fight and the more quality fighters he faces, the better he will become. I'll put it another way, if Arum wants to make a Pacquiao-Valero showdown and ensure that his cash cow wins, he'll make that fight sooner rather than later. If Arum waits until 2011 or 2012 to make that fight, I think there's a very good chance that Valero will have grown and evolved into the kind of fighter than not only beats Pacquiao but KHTFO.YOU CALLED ITHey Dougie, Just finished watching Valero bludgeon DeMarco, it's amazing how uncanny you are in breaking down the fights. Your pre-fight outcome was exactly what happened, with cut and all........ you're the man. I attached a drawing I did when I met you at Cotto's media day back in November. It was good to finally meet you in person. Keep up the great work! -- TylerThanks Tyler. You are the Edwin Valero of boxing artists! LOL.And by the way, I'm not the man, Valero is the man (at lightweight, anyway).The fight went the way I thought (and detailed in the "outcome" area of the Head to Head analysis) in terms of Valero suffering a cut, DeMarco hanging tough, and Valero scoring a late-rounds stoppage, but I thought it would be a more competitive fight. Valero exceeded my expectations because I actually envisioned that he would lose more than a few of the early rounds and eat more shots on his way in, but I only scored the second round for DeMarco and I thought he defended well against the taller sharp-shooter.WOLVALERO-INE & THE ROAD WARRIORDear Mr. Fischer,What a weekend of solid fights! The Glenn Johnson match on ESPN was a thriller. The man is clearly starting to age, but also showed the moxie of a man who still wants to be champion. Johnson's in the caliber of guys like B-hop, Sugar Shane and JMM who prove a champ can overcome any obstacle, even that dreaded "age" problem. On Valero, I swear that guy's adamantium skeleton was showing through that forehead cut. Is Valero Venezuela's boxing Wolverine? His recovery after that nasty gash hinted at a mutant healing factor. He may not have the claws, but he is a short guy with a killer instinct and a berserker rage! He also gets credit for taking multiple nasty cuts and still making his opponent to quit on the stool. So do we call him Valeroverine, Wolvalero or Wolvalerine? Cheers. -- Enrique Fern ndez Roberts, Washington, DC I like "Wolvalero" best. It's funny that you bring up the ole mutant healing factor. Remember when Valero reportedly got into some kind of knife fight in a bar or club in Venezuela in the final days of August of 2007? The Venezuelan press reported on Aug. 30 that Valero had been slashed across his forehead and had been "disfigured." Anyway, I'm in Las Vegas before the Joel Casamayor-Juan Manuel Marquez fight (a day or two before Sept. 13) and who do I spot walking around the MGM Grand? Valero! I asked him to lift his bangs so I can see the damage, he did, and there was nothing there. I asked him if the reports were false or if he just healed fast and all he did was wink.By the way, I haven't given Valero's new trainer much in the way of props but Mario Morales did something with Valero's cut that I've never seen before. He basically pasted some of Edwin's bangs into the gash with a glob of Vasoline and think that helped stem the flow of blood as the fight wore on. As for the little cut just above his right eyelid, I think Valero's healing factor took care of that. I agree that we can include Johnson's name among the other elite "older" boxers who don't fight their age, such as Hopkins, Mosley and Marquez.SHOW AND PROVEDougie,Good weekend of fights. Thanks God we needed this.On to your son.... In the 1st three/four rounds I thought Edwin Valero looked like a solid brawler. Nothing Special. DeMarco looked very relaxed & focused. But I still didn't think much of "Tony" regardless what all the internet "scribes" were saying about his style/technique/height. I mean he just graduated from Shobox recently. I thought Valero was too seasoned and well-traveled to lose. Then something happened during the fight... not sure what it was but I'm guessing Valero noticed that DeMarco could take his punch and decided to beat him with volume. Now this Edwin "Dougie" Valero is a Force. Great footwork, different angles, head movement and an sneaky body attack eventually broke DeMarco down and out. Props to Antonio DeMarco for taking the fight and having a good showing but the tempo was too great for the young buck. I just think it was to soon for him. As soon as I saw Soto holding the belts before the fight I told myself "that's the man Valero should be fighting tonight." Hopefully that comes to fruition.Guillermo Rigondeaux is a breast. Look out 122 lbers.WBC open scoring sucks. Keep that BS away from us. -- Frankie from the BronxI agree. Abregu-Gutierrez would have been a barnburner for 10 rounds had the scorecards not been announced after the eighth round.I also concur with your thoughts on Rigondeaux. He's wasting his time (and his trainer Freddie Roach's -- I can't believe he flew all the way to Miami for a fight that lasted less than half a minute) -- fighting inferior opponents like he faced on Friday. I'd like to see him take on one of the 122-pound titleholders within his next three or four fights. If he could get a shot at the winner of Marvin Sonsona-Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. (Feb. 27 for the vacant WBO belt), I think Rigondeaux could go for a belt in his very next fight.I think DeMarco is better than you think he is. Valero just didn't allow the kid to get started. However, he was tough, sharp and game enough to force Valero to show more than power. He only does that when he has to. He did against Mosquera beginning in the middle rounds of that dog fight. He didn't rush in vs. Antonio Pitalua (at least not until he dropped the hard-punching Colombian). And Valero took his time with DeMarco, even though he still averaged more than 93.2 punches a round, according to CompuBox. I think Valero was significantly less than dynamic early in the fight because he needed the first four rounds to figure out DeMarco's style. He began to impose his timing and athleticism on the Mexican in the fifth, and I thought he outclassed and outmaneuvered DeMarco in rounds six and seven before he really started to put a beating on the poor courageous kid in rounds eight and nine. IS VALERO BOXING'S KIMBO?Pretty nice weekend featuring some decent scraps.I'll admit I thought Glen Johnson had lost more than a step or two and thought Mack would outpoint him. Johnson proved once again that he is a resilient bad-ass, while Mack proved once again that he's a front runner and once he gets hurt things go downhill from there.On to DeMarco-Valero:Valero won just about every round and dished out a pretty consistent beating. This was all the more impressive when one takes into account the nasty cut he had to overcome.That being said, I have to admit I walked away somewhat less than overwhelmed.I'm having a hard time believing this is the same guy that yourself and others are picking to one day beat Manny Pacquiao.Valero's got good hand speed and has a great motor, but so many of his punches are pushed or arm punches.Where was all of this devastating power I have been hearing about all this time? He laid it on DeMarco pretty heavily, but I don't think he even came remotely close to seriously hurting him.I think he's natural ability will carry him as far as it can, but eventually he's going to run up against a true world class opponent and be exposed.If he decides to venture up to 140lbs, which I'm hearing he will, I just think a disciplined world class opponent chops him into pieces. Especially, after witnessing the urban legend of his power. He may end up being boxing's version of Kimbo Slice. -- TomI don't think it's fair to compare him to Slice, Tom. Valero was a decorated amateur boxer (a four-time, four-division Venezuelan champ who almost made the 2000 Olympic team) who has gone on to win two major titles in two weight classes as a pro. There's no urban myth to his power. It's very real. Valero wouldn't have pancaked tough guys like Roque Cassiani and Eduardo Morales in one round on his way up, and he wouldn't have convinced Vicente Mosquera's corner to step in and save the titleholder from his own toughness or blasted Antonio Pitalua to the canvas with a single hook.Here's my questions for you (and Valero's other doubters):If Valero didn't, in your words, come "remotely close to seriously hurting" DeMarco, then why did the challenger's corner stop the fight?You say he's going to eventually "run up against a true world class opponent and be exposed" (which made me laugh because isn't this pretty much true of all fighters?), well can you tell me WHO is going to do the "exposing?" (Man, what is it with hardcore fans and that word?)If your answer is Manny Pacquiao, you're probably right, but is losing to the pound-for-pound best, and someone who is a first-ballot hall of famer and arguably an all-time great, the same thing as being "exposed"?Just wondering. And if you think there are standouts at 135 and 140 pounds who can "expose" "my son," I'd like to know, so we can stay in touch in the event that Valero winds up fighting one of them. PROUD PAPAMan, the whole time I'm watching the Valero-DeMarco fight all I can think about is you. You are the only guy who has really been pushing Valero. I have never seen him fight before, so this was my first look to see what all the hype or criticism was about.This guy is a young pit bull. I like his balls fighting through the elbow and three cuts. He gave DeMarco a beating. Now lets see him on TV more and against some good fighters so we can see what he has. -- JBAmen to that. If I were running the show at Showtime I would quickly get into the Edwin Valero business. There is a damn good fight that can be made in Mexico (vs. Humberto Soto) while his visa and licensing issues get worked out, and if he can get licensed in California or Nevada by the end of the year, I think a showdown with Tim Bradley would be must-see TV.Bradley seems to be left out of HBO's plans to showcase the 140-pound division (which mostly involves Golden Boy Promotions fighters, apart from Devon Alexander and Juan Urango), so what's he gonna do? Who's he gonna fight that will really excite the fans? I know Ricardo Torres is out there (somewhere) and Kendal Holt is coming back from his bid, but I think Valero is the man for Desert Storm. (I wouldn't mind seeing Valero-Torres or Valero-Holt, either.)By the way, I don't think I'm going to be the only guy pushing Valero any more.TOO GOOD FOR HIS OWN GOOD?Dougie,Watching Valero vs. Demarco I couldn't help but think about the excitement of what could be and on the other hand disappointment on what might be. I thought he looked good, not as good as Showtime announcers thought, but good. I thought he actually handled adversity quite well with that nasty cut, even better than Pacquaio has when he's been cut, but his overall skill needs to improve. I think if he was in with an elite guy like Paquaio it would be a fun while it lasted, but he'd probably get KO'd. This victory was a good one, but the future will tell how good considering Demarco is definitely not an elite guy. The sky is the limit for Valero, but he needs to get a great trainer and listen. I'd love to see what Freddy Roach would be able to do with him or even Beristain or Mayweather Sr. (even though I can't stand him). I'm definitely interested to see what you have to say, but my feeling is that Valero can be great and the only thing that can stop that is him. He needs to get a trainer he respects and start respecting his sport a little more. Judging by tonight he has what it takes to improve and be great, but if he stays on his current path then my bet is that he will be stopped eventually. -- Michael, NYCEventually, most fighters lose, and (God forbid!), many of them are even stopped (Gasp! No!). Believe it or not, folks, it's happened most of the fighters enshrined in the boxing hall of fame. (Seriously, go check it out if you think I'm joshin' ya.) It's not the end of the world or a fighter's legacy.That said, I agree that Valero is a incredible raw (well, semi-raw) talent in need of a seasoned trainer to smooth out the rough edges, so to speak. The trainers you mentioned wouldn't work, though. Roach would be great, but he's got an, um, ahem, conflict of interest. Beristain's "my-way-or-the-highway" philosophy would only clash with Valero's bossman mentality in the gym. I doubt that union would last more than a week. Plus, the Beristain template is too patient and counter-punching focused for Valero's aggressive style, IMO. Mayweather Sr. would only suck the power out of Valero the way he did with Francisco Bojado and Oscar De La Hoya. That would make me cry.I think his former trainers Joe Hernandez and Ken Adams are still the men to train the V-nom. Coach Adams is almost as stubborn as Beristain, but he also knows how to get along with and get the best out of wild/wayward fighters like Valero (see Kennedy McKinney, Vince Philips, or Diego Corrales for examples). I think Joe Goossen or Rudy Perez would be excellent choices, as well. Goossen is great with personalities like Valero and he's an expert at bringing power and poise out of southpaws. Perez is very good at refining aggressive fighters and bringing out their "inner boxer". I'd add young guns like Robert Garcia, Joel Diaz and Henry Martinez, but I know Edwin, and I know he won't listen to anyone under 50.Doug Fischer can be reached at dougiefischer@yahoo.com

Valero stops DeMarco, looks to bigger and better challenges

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 02:26:32 PST

Edwin Valero (left) sustained a gruesome gash on his forehead after an accidental elbow from Antonio DeMarco (right) in the second round of their lightweight title bout in Monterrey, Mexico on Saturday. However, neither the blood nor DeMarco's tremendous heart could keep the Venezuelan KO artist from landing left hands and eventually stopping the game Mexican challenger. Photo / Tom Casino/ShowtimeIt's easy to spot Edwin Valero's flaws while watching the Venezuelan buzzsaw wildly blast through journeymen on Youtube.com.It's easy for most hardcore fans to envision a scenario in which a disciplined veteran fighter, perhaps a stick-and-move or counter-punching specialist, outboxes the power-punching southpaw. You don't have to channel the spirit of Eddie Futch to come up with a solid gameplan to exploit the lightweight beltholder's technical shortcomings.But actually getting into the ring and beating Valero is anything but easy. Just ask Antonio DeMarco, who was beaten into submission after nine game rounds against Valero in Monterrey, Mexico on Saturday.DeMarco is a well-schooled young lightweight contender with textbook technique. The 5-foot-10 Mexican southpaw possesses an educated jab, good footwork, accurate combination punching, and an unyielding self-belief that was bolstered by three impressive stoppage victories over more seasoned fighters last year.The 24-year-old Tijuana resident also proved to have a world-class chin and the heart of a champion on Saturday, taking Valero's best shots round after round and retaliating in kind whenever he could.DeMarco even appeared to have luck on his side when he inadvertently elbowed Valero in the face midway through the second round, opening a horrible-looking inch-long gash above the titleholder's right eye. DeMarco landed a left cross that dislodged Valero's mouthpiece before the end of the round, punctuating the KO artist's bad luck.Between rounds, Mario Morales, Valero's trainer and cutman, told Steve Farhood of Showtime, which televised the fight live in the U.S., that he could not keep the gruesome cut from bleeding.But neither the flow of blood nor DeMarco's considerable physical tools and impressive intangibles were enough to contain Valero, who seemed to improve his game and display more talent with each passing round.Valero (27-0, 27 knockouts) worked a hard jab that set up his overhand left, which he landed with frightening regularity. He employed underrated footwork to maneuver in and around DeMarco, while avoiding most of the Mexican's straight lefts, and sporadically attacked the taller man's thin midsection.DeMarco (23-2-1, 17 KOs) was as tough and game as prize fighters get but by the middle rounds of the bout he was absorbing a beating. The eighth round was particularly punishing as Valero was able to score with both of his heavy hands. DeMarco appeared dangerously woozy while on his stool before the ninth round and his trainer Romulo Quirarte asked him if he could continue.DeMarco bravely nodded yes and lasted one more round before Quirarte wisely advised referee Laurence Cole to end the contest. Valero led by unanimous scores of 89-81 at the time of the stoppage."Romulo is not just my trainer, he's family, and he saw the punishment that I was taking," DeMarco said after the fight. "I'm a Mexican fighter, I never wanted to quit but my trainer saw that Edwin was just a better fighter."Valero is a better fighter than most would acknowledge prior to Saturday's boutThe 28-year-old bomber, who had never been featured on a non-pay-per-view broadcast in the U.S., won some new admirers among American fans with his performance, which the fighter rates as his best so far.However, Valero still has his share of skeptics because while he was better than advertised, he was far from perfect. And that's part of what makes him so much fun to watch. There's a tension to all of his fights because he looks so formidable and yet vulnerable at the same time. His hands are down, his chin is up and his mouth is usually wide open as he lunges forward with his powerful left hand. However, Valero is not that easy to hit on a regular basis as DeMarco found out. He can shoulder roll and step away from punches. He's got nice lateral movement and hand-eye coordination. And Saturday's fight proved once and for all that the man who has scored 19 first-round knockouts is not a front-runner. Valero didn't rush himself against DeMarco, and as he did in his 130-pound title-winning effort against Vicente Mosquera back in 2006, he finished stronger than his gutsy opponent did in a tough fight. So what's next for Valero?Prior to facing DeMarco he said that his "dream fight" is a shot a welterweight titleholder Manny Pacquiao, the pound-for-pound king who used to fight much like Valero does now. "That's the fight that all true fans want to see," Valero said. "It would be explosive with lots of blood."It probably would be. Don't put it past Top Rank boss Bob Arum, who promotes both fighters, to begin setting the stage for an eventual Pacquiao-Valero showdown. If any promoter can build that potentially explosive matchup into a major event it's the veteran hall of famer. However, Arum will tell anyone that an integral part of making Pacquiao into a viable opponent for Oscar De La Hoya, the fight that vaulted him into the heavier weight classes and international celebrity, was getting the Filipino icon a lightweight title.Arum believed that Pacquiao would have been too hard of a sell had he been a junior lightweight jumping all the way up to welterweight, where De La Hoya agreed to meet him. If Valero, a former junior lightweight who has only fought three times at lightweight, truly wants to challenge Pacquiao he's going to have to step up in weight to the 140-pound division. If he can win a junior welterweight title he'll be a three-division beltholder, which may lend some to consider him to be an elite fighter depending on who he fights. Thus, Valero would become a legitimate opponent for Pacquiao.There is no shortage of talented young fighters in the 140-pound division, and the best is undefeated Southern Californian Timothy Bradley, who has the same promoter as DeMarco, Gary Shaw. Representatives from Top Rank have already reportedly reached out to Shaw about a potential Bradley-Valero fight. Shaw says he has to check with Bradley's manager (Cameron Dunkin) and co-promoter (Thompson Boxing Promotions) but is interested in the proposition. The thought of a 140-pound showdown between THE RING's No. 1-rated junior welterweight with the magazine's No. 1-ranked lightweight is almost as good as the Pacquiao-Valero matchup, but all negotiations for the Venezuelan's future fights must first wait for his current visa and licensing problems to be resolved. Valero was denied a visa into the U.S. last year for a 2008 D.U.I charge, and his medical suspension in the U.S. (except for the state of Texas) due to a failed MRI exam in New York in 2002 has been well documented. Valero and Arum are confident that both roadblocks can be worked out this year, perhaps before the summer. Whenever and whomever Valero fights again one thing is for certain. Fans will be watching. "The entire world is seeing a fighter ascending now," Valero said of himself after beating DeMarco. "They're going to be happy about the way he fights."

Rios overwhelms Teron in 4

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 01:40:31 PST

Brandon Rios just never gave Jorge Luis Teron a chance to get started.Rios jumped on the 6-footer from New York from the opening bell and never stopped throwing hard, accurate punches until the referee stopped the fight 1:13 into the fourth round of a scheduled 12-round lightweight bout Saturday in McAllen, Texas.Teron (23-2-1, 15 KOs) fended off the slugger from Oxnard, Calif., reasonably well in the first round but began to take serious, damaging punishment to the head and body in the second and could never regroup. Rios (24-0-1, 18 KOs) continued to land monstrous shots in third and then the fourth - breaking Teron down - before the slaughter was ended.Teron was a step up in competition for Rios, meaning this was a test for the young prospect. He certainly passed it."It's my best performance," Rios said. "I trained hard for this fight. I'm ready for the next level. Whoever is at 135, I'm ready for everybody."

Hernandez KOs Corley on ShoBox

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 22:00:52 PST

DeMarcus Corley was knocked senseless by Freddy Hernandez on Saturday in Santa Ynez, Calif. Photo / Miriam Preissel-FightWireImages.comWelterweight fringe contender Freddy Hernandez knocked out DeMarcus Corley in the fifth round of their Showtime-televised 10 rounder from Santa Ynez, Calif., on Friday night, saving the most impressive ring effort of his nine-year career for the biggest name he's faced so far.While it must be noted that Corley (36-13-1, 21 knockouts) is a faded 35-year-old veteran who took the fight on one week's notice, the former 140-pound titleholder entered the ShoBox main event winning five of his last seven bouts (and the losses were close decisions to prospects).More importantly, Corley came to win and his aggressive tactics brought the best out of the taller (by three inches), younger (by five years) and heavier (by five pounds, but perhaps 10 pounds by fight night) fighter.The main knock on Hernandez (28-1-1, 19 KOs), of Mexico City, Mexico, is that he doesn't always fight with a sense of urgency and his bouts can be downright boring when he's in with a boxer who doesn't press the action. Corley constantly took the fight to Hernandez, landing right hooks and straight lefts to the body. Hernandez retaliated with accurate right hands to the head and hard left hooks to the 15-year vet's body. Hernandez's body attack resulted in a few accidental head clashes, one of which opened a cut on the outside of his right eye, as he leaned in to land his left hook to Corley's right side. But the two-way action made for an entertaining fight, one that abruptly ended in the fifth round when Hernandez caught Corley with a short right hand as the former beltholder loaded up with a punch of his own. Corley's body froze on impact before he fell flat on his back with his arms splayed to his sides, where referee Pat Russell waved the bout off.The three official judges had the bout even, 38-38, after four rounds.With the victory, Hernandez extends his unbeaten streak to 11-0 (with one no contest) since his only loss (a split decision to Golden Johnson five years ago), but more importantly he begins to create a buzz about his career.In the opening bout of the ShoBox broadcast, junior welterweight prospect Francisco Contreras (13-0, 12 KOs) made quick work of Juan Castaneda Jr., a former KO victim of lightweight contender Antonio DeMarco, blasting the naturally smaller pressure fighter out 98 seconds into the opening round of their scheduled eight rounder. Contreras, a 25-year-old former amateur star from the Dominican Republic, stuck and moved for one minute of the first round, keeping Castaneda (16-3-1, 12 KOs) on the end of a hard jab before he measured the shorter man with a powerful combination that was landed while the lanky Dominican was backing to the ropes and punctuated by accurate left hooks.Castaneda injured his left knee on his way down to the canvas, which explains why he didn't try to get up after being dropped and counted out by referee Jerry Cantu.

Johnson stops Mack in sixth

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 20:27:17 PST

Glen Johnson (left) took five rounds to get to Yusaf Mack but hurt him once he did. Photo / Javiel Centeno-FightWireImages.comThose waiting for Glen Johnson to get old will have to wait a little longer.Johnson, at 41 one of the true marvels in the sport, hardly looked his age when he knocked out Yusaf Mack at 2:21 of the sixth round Friday night in Miami. He looked like a guy who could give Tavoris Cloud trouble, which means the old man could wear a major belt six years after he lost his only other title.The amazing thing about Johnson isn't so much that he remains an elite fighter into his 40s. It's that he remains an elite fighter even though he's a pressure fighter, which requires great energy.Johnson (50-13-2, 34 knockouts) took it to Mack (28-3-2, 17 KOs) from the beginning and Mack, a well-regarded young fighter on the rise, gave it right back in what was a competitive fight for five-plus rounds. One had to wonder whether Johnson, coming off a one-sided loss to Chad Dawson, would grow old before our eyes at some point.And then, BOOM! A right hand put Mack down and Johnson was in full control. Mack went down twice more, the third time to one knee, before the referee ended it. Clearly, Johnson was anything but old. Fifty wins and 17 years into his career, he can still knock out elite opponents.Afterward, during an interview with Teddy Atlas immediately after the fight, THE RING's No. 3-rated light heavyweight was typically humble."You're right, I'm getting a lit bit old," said Johnson, referring to a gentle suggestion by Atlas that Johnson might pace himself during fights. "I'm getting smarter about my work instead of just going in there to do my work. I feel good. I'm enjoying it."I'm so thankful to God, to the fans who keep supporting me. I work hard at my craft; I put a lot into it. And it's paying off. I'm holding up pretty good. I'll try to take this as far as I can."How far can he take it?Johnson is now the mandatory challenger to Tavoris Cloud, who reportedly plans to fight on March 26 against an undetermined opponent. That means he wouldn't face Johnson until this summer.Whenever it happens, assuming it does, Johnson will have his hands full.Cloud (20-0, 18 KOs) has looked positively scary, most recently in his dominating unanimous-decision victory over Clinton Woods to win his first title. He's a firece puncher who never stops coming, which would present a challenge for anyone.The style might be well suited to Johnson's, though. Johnson had trouble with the athletic Dawson in part because he couldn't catch him, with age possibly playing a role. He won't have to catch Cloud.If Johnson can withstand Cloud's pressure and big shots, which is a big if, he could become one of the few fighters to win a major title in his 40s."Tavoris Cloud is a tough fighter, an all-action guy, the type of guy I like to fight," he said. "They come in, no nonsense. They try to go about their business. That works well with me. I try to do the same thing. It'll be an explosive fight, a fan-favorite fight."I look forward to fighting him because he's a good fighter."We all look forward to watching Johnson for the same reason even after all these years.In other fights, hot Cuban prospect Guillermo Rigondeaux (5-0, 4 KOs) stopped Adolfo Landeros (20-13-1, 9 KOs) of Mexico with a single body bunch 28 seconds into their scheduled eight-round junior featherweight bout.And Ed Paredes (24-3-1, 15 KOs) of Hollywood, Fla., knocked out Joey Hernandez (15-1-1, 8 KOs) of Miami with a big left at 1:53 of the second round of a scheduled 10-round welterwight fight.The two fought to a 10-round draw in August.Michael Rosenthal can be reached at RingTVeditor@yahoo.com

Dougie's FAT Friday Mailbag

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 02:11:56 PST

VALERO-DEMARCODear Doug,One more day un until Edwin Valero vs. Antonio Demarco, I cant wait. This fight will be an instant classic. On paper it sort of reminds me of Wilfredo Gomez vs. Salvador Sanchez: A bona fide KO artist vs. a slick and savvy boxer/puncher. Obviously I'm familiar with your adoration and admiration for Valero, it goes a long way because believe me, I also luv the rugged lil bastard for the vicious predator he is in the ring.Having said that I strongly believe Demarco will come away on top this weekend. Sorry dude I know you feel the opposite. Just think every fist meets a chin he cannot break. If DeMarco's chin can take Edwin's punches or avoid them altogether, my prediction will come to fruition.Expect a fight with many momentum changes, knockdowns, very few clinches, brutal toe to toe action and maybe a spectacular ending. Imagine a win vs. Valero followed up by a unification against Puerto Rico's Roman "Rocky" Martinez. Then hello, we got a brand new Mexican idol and boxing will have another PPV attraction.Now I'll steal a Sex Pistols album title and change it up a bit: "Nevermind Antonio Margarito, here's Antonio Demarco." Oh and I strongly agree with Michael Rosenthal that you are absolutely the best young up and comer analyst, aka boxing commentator. Have a great day. -- Jorge, San DiegoThanks for the very kind words, Jorge. They have earned you top-billing in this week's Friday mailbag. Well, kind words and the fact that you are talking about this weekend's biggest fight, in my opinion, and not looking ahead all the way to May for the Mosley-Mayweather showdown.I disagree with your prediction of Saturday's lightweight title bout (big surprise) but I give you credit for having the balls to say it days before the fight. I see a lot of anonymous message board mutants spewing their usual crap about Valero and how he's going to get his ass handed to him (the same doo-doo those monkeys threw around before Valero fought Vicente Mosquera and Antonio Pitalua), I've read many of my boxing writer peers hint that an upset might be possible but ultimately hold back from pulling the trigger on an upset pick, and I've received a few emails from rational fans who are basically riding the fence. Kudos to you and everyone else who believes in DeMarco and is saying so up front. (Because you know if Valero loses I'll get 800 emails from jerk-offs telling me that they predicted it.)Hey, for the record, I share your enthusiasm for DeMarco. The kid can fight. He can box with sweet technique. He's earned his shot at Valero with three consecutive impressive showings (vs. Kid Diamond, Anges Adjaho and Jose Alfaro). You and I both know that he's going to bring it because he's a proud Mexican warrior (from Los Mochis, no less, the home of many of the country's most talented boxers), but I think his youth, enthusiasm and willingness to exchange with Valero will be to his detriment.You say we can expect a fight with "very few clinches" and "brutal toe to toe action," well, I don't think that kind of fight favors anyone who fights Valero, and that includes DeMarco.You wrote that "if DeMarco's chin can take Edwin's punches or avoid them altogether" your prediction will come to true. Yeah, but that's a BIG-ASS "IF." And although the Tijuana resident is a very good technician, he's not a slick, defensive-minded boxer. He likes to mix it up. DeMarco is also a slow starter who has trouble with athletic fighters in the early going (see his recent outings with Kid Diamond and Adjaho for examples). That's bad news against a fast-starting heavy hitter like "my son."I envision a mid-to-late rounds stoppage victory for Valero, and I hope DeMarco doesn't take too brutal of a beating, because I know there's no quit in him. Whatever happens, I think the young man has a bright future.RING MAG WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP?Whatup Dougie?! How's it goin' man?I guess dreams do come true! Floyd signed. Although I think its true Floyd really didn't want the fight and that he was "pushed into it". But its all good. We have the top WWs fighting each other. Say Pac wins and fights the winner of Floyd/Shane later this year, is it going to be for the Ring Mag/Lineal WW Championship? And since its official, what's your take on Floyd/Shane? Shane looked brilliant against Margarito, but that's because Cheato didn't have his pink plasters on and pretty much came to Shane with open arms just to get KTFO. Also, Cotto outboxed Shane and Floyd is a superior boxer to Cotto. I want to see Sugar beat the living s__t out of Floyd but I don't know if its only wishful thinking? One things for sure though, Sugar will make it into a fight. Screw that boring back peddling s__t.Btw, "your son" is fighting on Saturday. Sure he has bombs on both hands. But is it fair to say he's been fighting "nobodies"? Pitalua isn't really elite. It would be really fun to see him against a great boxer like JMM. Or even Paulie Malignaggi who has a pretty good chin. Can't wait for Saturday though. DeMarco is very much capable to outbox Valero if Valero chooses to go swimming (punching freestyle). But DeMarco better keep the distance or its lights out. How do you see this fight going?(P.S. you gonna be in Dallas for Pac/Clottey? I hope to bump into you there. Cheers!) -- Joks, Bay Area, CAI'll be in Arlington, Texas for Pacquiao-Clottey. Good luck finding me among the 1,500 or so media members who will make up press row but please don't be a stranger if you do see me.Is it fair to say Valero has fought nobodies? I think so. But just because a fighter is a "nobody" it doesn't mean he can't fight. Say what you want about Pitalua (no he isn't "elite" but neither is Valero or DeMarco), the Mexico-based Colombian cold-cocked Jose Reyes with a single punch last year... the same Reyes who almost beat DeMarco in 10-rounder in 2008. Pitalua was good enough that more than a few insiders picked him to beat Valero, as a few are picking DeMarco. If Valero smashes DeMarco as easily as he did Pitalua I think fans and my peers have to at least begin to lift some of the skepticism about him. I'd love to see Valero fight Marquez or Malignaggi, too. I think he will have to beat a fighter of their caliber in order to earn the public's respect.My official take on Mosley-Mayweather is that it's a very competitive pick-'em-type fight. I favor Mosley on the very simple assumption that he can outwork Mayweather and earn the majority of close rounds even if Floyd outboxes the veteran in those stanzas. We see it all the time in boxing, a defensive boxer lands more clean blows but the judges go with the more aggressive fighter who was coming forward and grunting with every shot. I think Mayweather is going to have to pick up his activity to beat Mosley but doing that might play into the heavier, busier hands of Sugar Shane. By the way, Mosley looked "brilliant" against Margarito because he put on a brilliant performance and he's the better fighter -- period. Don't make excuses for Margarito. Don't take away from the achievement of Mosley, who was a 3-to-1 underdog. Margarito not having his hands illegally wrapped didn't suddenly take away his vaunted chin. (And will fight fans PLEASE stop playing Freud and trying to theorize that Margarito was mentally shot because of getting busted, which somehow effected his ability to take a punch. Get real! I don't care if you step into the ring with horseshoes taped to the inside AND outside of your gloves, if you have a weak chin, knowing that you have an offensive advantage is not going to magically give you the ability to take a punch.) Margarito was known for having a good chin for good reason, and Mosley crushed it by having the balls to lay into the Mexican mauler round after round. The bad news for Mayweather is that Mosley obviously retains his power late in a fight as evidenced by his ninth-round stoppage of Margarito and his 12th-round KO of Ricardo Mayorga.Yes, Cotto outboxed Mosley (you left out the adverb "narrowly" in that sentence). Yes, Mayweather is a better boxer than Cotto, but Mayweather is not a busier or stronger boxer than the Puerto Rican (especially the undefeated pre-Margarito version of the Caguas Crusher that Mosley faced in November of 2007). Food for thought.If Pacquiao, THE RING's No. 1-rated welterweight, beats Clottey, and fights the winner of Mosley-Mayweather (the RING's Nos. 2 and 3 welterweights) you better believe that the magazine's 147-pound title will be on the line.UNDEFEATED, RING CHAMPS, & VALERODougie, Finding your email in the old blogs was a chore, but I ended up finding it. I have a million comments, questions, and observations but I'll stick to a few for now.1) Mayweather claims to be the greatest of all time because he's undefeated. Although that argument is illogical already, there is another flaw. Even by his logic (or lack there-of) Floyd doesn't even have the best undefeated record of all time! Joe Calzaghe was 46-0 and Rocky Marciano was 49-0. Haha, I wonder what he would say to Brian Kenny after that?2) Three Ring Champions (JM Marquez, Pacman, & Adamek) have said publicly they no longer intend to campaign in the weight classes they are the real champions of. Does The Ring wait to vacate these titles until they contact you guys, or will The Ring ever call them and ask if they can open up that slot?3) I'm excited for Valero's defense against DeMarco on Saturday. I'm predicting a late TKO win for Valero, but from viewing some of his old sparring sessions on YouTube and knowing he is always changing trainers, it seems like he regressed a bit as of late. You are the most reliable source on him on the web, so what do you think?4) Hatton said he wanted a P4P or alphabet champ for his comeback fight, so why not Tim Bradley? Ricky would lose at this stage of his career but Tim is the best in his old stomping grounds, doesn't have a fight lined up, and lacks the KO power to really hurt Hatton long term. What do you think?I'll try to email more so these thoughts don't build up. Thanks for the great work. -- HomerThanks for writing, Homer, and sorry my email link hasn't been at the bottom of more of my stories lately. I'll get back to adding it to everything I write, especially the mailbags. I'll answer your questions in order:1. Mayweather needs to realize that the only undefeated record that has been mythologized is Marciano's, and that's because he was a popular blue-collar underachiever who campaigned at heavyweight when that weight class really was the sport's glamour division, knocked off a legend (Joe Louis) and then showed respect and humility afterward, got up from the canvas to beat the champ (Jersey Joe Walcott), and then made six defenses (which included two great blood-and-guts battles with Ezzard Charles) of what was truly "the biggest prize in sports" at the time (remember, the NFL and NBA had yet to evolve into the megaliths they are today in the American/world sports scene). The Rock retired while still on top of the boxing world and then he died tragically and prematurely. That's a big part of Marciano's mystique. If Sugar Ray Leonard had beaten Roberto Duran in their first fight and then beat Thomas Hearns and Marvin Hagler (without the three-year break) and retired undefeated, I don't think he or his record would be revered like Marciano's. If Roy Jones had never lost to Montell Griffin and retired undefeated after beating John Ruiz, I still think most boxing historians would consider Ray Robinson, Willie Pep or Henry Armstrong as the G.O.A.T. If Joe Calzaghe racked up 60 consecutive victories without a loss or a draw and then retired, I think most fans wouldn't give a rat's ass. And I don't think most fans give a damn about Mayweather's precious 40-0. A record is meaningless without significant ring battles. I believe Mayweather would be a better fighter and more liked had he lost the first Jose Luis Castillo bout and then took on the best 135 pounders and 140 pounders that were around between 2002 and 2005. Even if he lost one or two close bouts to someone like Kostya Tszyu, Steve Johnston or Joel Casamayor, I think he'd be more respected today.2. THE RING waits until the fighters or their representatives contact the magazine and inform Nigel Collins that they are vacating the championship. The magazine takes a wait-and-see stance with public announcements because fighters (and their managers/promoters/advisers) often tell the media that they are going to do something and then reserve the right to change their mind, particularly when it comes to campaigning in different weight classes. Adamek will stay at heavyweight if he beats Jason Estrada tomorrow, then gets a fight with Chris Arreola, wins that one and earns a big showdown with a Klitschko or David Haye. But if he loses to Estrada or Arreola, you and I both know he's going to go back down to cruiserweight. Same deal with Marquez at 140 pounds. If he gets spanked by Amir Khan, he's not going to stay at junior welterweight. He's going back to 135 pounds, where he's the rightful king until a lightweight knocks him off the throne.3. I think Valero has regressed from the form he exhibited last April but I don't think DeMarco can capitalize on it to the extent that he beats "my son." Everyone knows about Valero's power, but his will and heart are just as strong as his punches. It's been a very difficult road for him to get where he is now and he's not going to roll over for anyone. I like DeMarco a lot but like respected trainer Ken Adams, I don't think he has the athletic talent or physical strength to beat the V-nom. But it should be a good fight. I'm really looking forward to it.4. I'd love to see Hatton fight Bradley. I'd love to see any 140-pound fighter of note take on the Desert Storm, but I don't think it will happen this year. I think Bradley is too good and not well-enough known for the big shots to risk their necks fighting him. If Hatton challenged Bradley in his last pro fight he would earn a new level of respect from me.PACQUIAO-VALEROHi Dougie,Just wanted to get your thoughts on what you think the chances are Pacquiao-Valero will ever happen? I know it's been one of those dream matches for a while now but it has started to gain a little bit more traction lately. Valero said he wanted to fight Manny in a conference call about the Demarco fight and I just read an interview with Freddie Roach that said they could fight but it would have to be at 147. Valero's power would obviously carry but how do you think his body would react to that big of a jump in weight? It didn't hurt Manny. Who do you think would win? Thanks. -- David Green (Warner Robins, Georgia)It's way too early to start debating about who would win that fascinating matchup but I don't put it past Bob Arum to eventually make a Pacquiao-Valero showdown just to spite Mayweather and Golden Boy Promotions. If Arum was a kindergartner his report card would read: "Doesn't play well with others." LOL. If Pacquiao beats Clottey, fans will clamor for him to face the winner of Mosley-Mayweather but Arum might tell everyone to "F__k themselves" and stage Pacquiao-Margarito and then follow that bout up with Pacquiao-Valero. If it happens it won't occur this year. Arum has to get Valero's visa and license issues resolved and Valero has to not only keep winning, but he has to beat the kind of fighters that will make him a worthy challenger to the PacMan. That means Valero has to go to 140 pounds and knock off some badasses there, such one or two of the current beltholders.I have no idea how Valero's body would react to going up in weight, or if he can carry his power to welterweight. My hunch is that he can do it but we'll have to wait and see.MOSLEY-MAYWEATHER PREDICTIONHey Dougie I'm a long time fan of yours, I love your work.Just curious with your prediction for the Mosley-Mayweather fight... Didn't you notice Mosley struggle with a guy like Mayorga? I understand there are certain factors that play in such as Mosley's weight and his expectations of Mayorga that night but I think that Mayweather's boxing ability supercedes those factors even if not present.I know Brother Nazim is doing a good job with Mosley but if a brawler like Mayorga can out-box Mosley for a good nine/ten rounds I just see Mayweather shutting Mosley out.I'm a long time Mosley fan so I'm hoping he'll pull it off, but I just have a hard time seeing that happen. Thanks for your time, Dougie. -- MartI think a lot of fans and members of the media are overrating Mayweather. I hope you guys admit it after Mayweather loses on May 1.Yes, I noticed that Mosley struggled with Mayorga. I also noticed that he almost killed Mayorga in the final round of that fight.I always felt that Mosley was just above average when fighting at 154 pounds and nowhere near as formidable as he is at welterweight. I don't think he's looked good in any of his junior middleweight bouts, including his wins over De La Hoya and Vargas. The difference between Mosley at 154 pounds and at welterweight is his output. His punch volume is way higher at 147 pounds and I think it's his activity that will carry his fight with Mayweather, who unlike Mayorga, lacks the size, strength and power to keep the old vet off of him. I agree that Mayweather can and probably will outbox Mosley in most of the rounds but I think the undefeated boxer will be backed up and out-hustled in many of those rounds, and as a result, he will lose most of the close rounds. The same factor that enabled De La Hoya, who I thought Mayweather outboxed in every round of their junior middleweight fight, to convince two of the judges (and more than a few ringside members of the press, like Floyd's No. 1 media fan Kevin Iole, who scored the bout a draw) that the fight was a 7-5 toss up will enable Mosley to beat Money.Put simply: I don't think Mayweather can hurt or discourage Mosley, who goes to the body a lot more effectively than De La Hoya did whenever he had Floyd up against the ropes, and I believe the 38-year-old vet's aggression and higher punch output will be rewarded more than the better boxer's technique, defensive prowess and accuracy. AT LAST!Hey Dougie, how you keeping?I'm so excited that Mosley-Mayweather has been finalised, it's a fight that should have happened long ago and I'm surprised that Floyd, who I figured must be a eunuch given his apparent lack of cajones, is displaying genuine ambition in fighting a truly live opponent. It's been my gut feeling that Mosley WILL beat Mayweather for two or three years now, and I've tried to justify that by looking at it logically, and I've come up with some good reasons against it: 1) Mosley's lost 5 times, against guys who are not as good as Floyd. He's lost 5 times against guys who are not as good as him for that matter, he's prone to inconsistency and puts in the odd workmanlike performance. 2) He's 38 years old, coming off a year of competitive inactivity. 3) As sensational as he looked against Margacheato, I feel that the Mexican may have been finally softened up against Cotto. Despite winning so brutally he took a lot of punishment early on and guys who fight like he does are not exactly prone to longevity in the fight game, it catches up with you. I noted that you said he had been poor in sparring, and that his mental state may have been poor due to the handwrap controversy, so there is a little doubt in my mind that he may not have been the force of old. That said, I firmly believe Shane beats Floyd and shuts the little butt-plug up. Hell, we may even have a moment like the end of the Tyson-Lewis fight when Tyson came over to Lewis and was utterly dignified in defeat, earning the respect of many. Can you see that, everybody learning to love Floyd a little? I think he's a great fighter and he'll earn my utmost respect if he beats Mosley but I'd love to see him be magnanimous in defeat, that way I could actually like him. All the best Doug, here's hoping that this one doesn't fall through. -- Ewan, ScotlandFloyd Mayweather Jr. be "magnanimous in defeat"? I suppose anything is possible in this crazy sport.Good points against Mosley beating Mayweather, but I have to disagree with No. 1, which states that the three fighters that Mosley lost to were "not as good" as Money. From a pound-for-pound perspective, Mayweather is better than those three but I think the late Vernon Forrest was a more formidable welterweight than Floyd, Winky Wright was a HELL of a lot better as a junior middleweight, and Cotto was/is more accomplished at 147 pounds. I gotta be honest with you, I don't see Mayweather beating Forrest at welterweight or Wright at 154 pounds. I think he could have beat Cotto at welterweight, but the 30-0 version that Mosley fought could have given Money the same fight at 147 pounds that JL Castillo gave him at 135.Anyway, those are just mythical matchups. Who knows what would have really happened. We've got a real showdown scheduled for May 1 and I can't wait to see what happens.CREDIT WHERE IT'S DUE?I think Mayweather-Mosley is a good fight but I want to know what the excuses will be when Floyd beats Shane. Will it be a 16 month layoff? A 38 year old body? Will Shane get "old over night?" Because while I think it's a tough as nails fight where either guy can win (I just expect Floyd to outbox him), I don't think people will finally give Floyd credit for beating a LEGIT welterweight and FUTURE HOFer. Especially you're former right hand man, Steve Kim. -- MichaelI can't speak for others but he'll have my respect if he beats Mosley, who is ranked No. 2 at welterweight and No. 3 at P4P right now.WHO YOU GOT?Hey Dougie fresh how's it going? Were you at the joint on Friday? Was wondering if you saw my boy Eloy Perez beat David Rodela? How did he look? I remember talking with you at the Joel Julio-James Kirkland fight in San Jose and you were saying how much you liked him and we were saying how much of a badass he could be if he could punch. I still like his upside as he is still young and I think is being brought along at just the right pace.Brinkley sure surprised me on FNF!!! I know Showtime is a one dimensional fighter bought damn!!! He flat out got dominated.I am really looking forward to this weekend. Your son and Demarco should be a heck of a scrap. I see it being close for a few give and take rounds but then I see Valero taking over with his speed and work rate. What is your take on this fight?What do you think about this week's FNF? I like Yusaf Mack to beat Glenn Johnson. I think these guys are going in different directions and now that Mack does not have to drain himself to make weight he is much more effective. Nice weekend of fights coming up and the Super Bowl. Who you got Dougie? I'm taking the Colts to win big!! -- Alex in The Bay AreaI have a lot of family from (and some still living in) New Orleans, so I gotta go with the Saints. I favor Johnson to outwork Mack (who doesn't handle hard pressure well) to a decision or a late stoppage, even though I'll probably be rooting for the young gun. No disrespect to the Road Warrior but I want some new blood in the light heavyweight division.I agree with your call on Valero-DeMarco.Brinkley did not surprise me at all last Friday. The only thing that surprised me was that he didn't stop Stevens late.I was indeed at the Joint last Friday and I saw the heated 10 rounder between Perez and Rodela. David took the early rounds with his aggression but Eloy gradually worked his way into the fight with his slip-and-counter ability and by the late rounds he was heaping punishment on the always game Oxnard product. Perez was my pick as the best 130-pound prospect of 2009 and I think he'll develop into a contender this year. He doesn't need a KO punch. Doug Fischer can be reached at dougiefischer@yahoo.com

Weekend Preview: Four exciting fighters in separate cards

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 22:08:10 PST

FRIDAYGLEN JOHNSON vs. YUSAF MACKRounds / weight class: 12 rounds / light heavyweights.Location: Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.Television: ESPN2, 7 p.m. PT / 10 p.m. ETThe backdrop: Johnson (49-13-2, 33 KOs) is in a light heavyweight title eliminator even though he lost a unanimous decision against Chad Dawson, one of the titleholders, in his last fight. The winner would be in line for a shot at Tavoris Cloud, another alphabet titleholder. This probably will be the last opportunity for Johnson, 41, to regain a 175-pound belt. He won a title in 2004, the year he was THE RING magazine Fighter of the Year. Mack (28-2-2, 17 KOs) is 5-0 since becoming a light heavyweight, including an impressive decision over Chris Henry of February of last year. The New Yorker has never fought for a major title.Also fighting: Joey Hernandez vs. Ed Paredes, 10 rounds, welterweights; Guillermo Rigondeaux vs. Adolpho Landeros, 8 rounds, junior featherweights.Rating the card: B. This is an excellent main event. Johnson is a big name and an action fighter and Mack doesn't shy away from a fight.FREDDY HERNANDEZ VS. DEMARCUS "CHOP CHOP" CORLEYRounds / weight class: 10 rounds / welterweightLocation: Santa Ynez, Calif.Television: Showtime (ShoBox), 11 p.m. PT/ETThe backdrop: Corley, the former junior welterweight titleholder, appeared to be finished in 2008 when he lost his sixth consecutive fight and ninth of 12. However, the 35-year-old from Washington, D.C., 5-2 since against second-tier opponents, including two KO victories in Kazahkstan. This fight will help determine whether Corley (36-12-1, 21 KOs) can still be taken seriously. Hernandez (27-1, 18 KOs) suffered his only loss in 2005 but the fringe contender from Mexico City has beaten no one of note. Hernandez has fought only in the U.S. since 2003.Also fighting: Franscisco Contreras vs. Juan Castaneda Jr., 8 rounds, junior welterweights; Lateef Kayode vs. David Whittom, 8 rounds, heavyweights.Rating the card: C. The fact Corley has a recognizable name and is trying to remain relevant is mildly interesting.SATURDAYEDWIN VALERO vs. ANTONIO DEMARCORounds / weight class: 12 rounds / lightweightsLocation: Monterrey, MexicoTelevision: Showtime (Championship Boxing), 9 p.m. PT/ETThe backdrop: Valero (26-0, 26 KOs) is fighting on non-pay-per-view television in the U.S. for the first time. The huge puncher from Venezuela, holder of one of the alphabet belts, has been unable to realize his apparent potential in part because of brain injury suffered in a motorcycle accident that prevented him from receiving a license in the U.S. Then he couldn't get a U.S. visa after he was arrested for DUI. He hopes a victory on Saturday will finally lead to high-profile fights. However, DeMarco (23-1-1, 17 KOs) is no pushover. The tall southpaw from Tijuana, Mexico, is well-schooled and has consistently improved. He has beaten fringe contenders Almazbek Raiymkulov and Anges Adjaho, and former beltholder Jose Alfaro in his last three fights.Also fighting: Carlos Abregu vs. Richard Gutierrez, 10 rounds, welterweights.Rating the card: B+. Any fight with a puncher like Valero is intriguing. The fact DeMarco can fight is a bonus. TOMASZ ADAMEK VS. JASON ESTRADARounds / weight class: 12 rounds / heavyweightLocation: Prudential Center, Newark, N.J.Television: GoFightLive.tv (pay per view, $9.99), 5 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. ETThe backdrop: Adamek (39-1, 27 KOs) has developed a substantial following in the New Jersey area but is angling for bigger things. Specifically, he is in negotiations to fight Chris Arreola if he beats Estrada with the ultimate goal of facing one of the Klitschko brothers. The former light heavyweight and cruiserweight titleholder stopped Andrew Golota in Poland in his first fight since becoming a full-fledged heavyweight. Estrada (16-2, 4 KOs) is a 2004 U.S. Olympian who has solid skills but the light puncher from Providence, R.I., has not had a break-through performance as a pro. He lost a one-sided decision to Alexander Povetkin in April in Povetkin's home base of Germany.Also fighting: Peter Quillin vs. Fernando Zuniga, 10 rounds, super middleweights.Rating the card: C+. It's fun to watch Adamek fight anyone but it's difficult to get excited about Estrada.BRANDON RIOS VS. JORGE TERONRounds / weight class: 10 rounds / lightweightsLocation: McAllen, TexasTelevision: Fox Sports Net and Fox Sports en Espanol (check listings)The backdrop: This is a step up in competition for both young fighters. Rios, an entertaining brawler based in Oxnard, Calif., has remained unbeaten (27-0-1, 17 KOs) as a professional and has knocked out five consecutive opponents since a majority draw against journeyman Manuel Perez in 2008. He was a 2004 U.S. Olympic alternate. Teron (23-1-1, 15 KOs) also was a good amateur fighter. The 6-footer from Bronx, N.Y., avenged his only loss when he outpointed Aldo Valtierra in his last fight.Also fighting: Tomas Villa vs. Juan Ruiz, 10 rounds, featherweights.Rating the card: B-. Those who haven't seen Rios fight will be pleased with is action style. Teron is talented and particularly intriguing because of his height.

Adamek: First Estrada, then big things

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 19:39:33 PST

The fans in the New Jersey-New York area have a secret they're keeping from the rest of the world: Tomasz Adamek.Well, OK, the former light heavyweight titleholder and current RING cruiserweight champion -- now a heavyweight -- has had some exposure over his 11-year career. He has been seen on television in the U.S. and beyond enough times to build a recognizable name.If you've wanted to follow him the past year, though, you would've had to visit the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., or Lodz, Poland.Adamek's fifth-round KO of fellow Pole Andrew Golota in October was an enormous event in their country but was not on television in the U.S. And his fight against Jason Estrada on Saturday in Newark will be his third there in 13 months but you'll have to watch it on gofightlive.tv if you live elsewhere.Alas, Newark might have to share Adamek with the rest of us soon. His promoter, Kathy Duva of Main Events, and the handlers of Chris Arreola are in negotiations for a fight in April and HBO has expressed interest.And if he can get past Arreola, a lucrative matchup against one of the Klitschko brothers would be a realistic possibility."Tomasz seriously intends to beat the Klitschkos," Duva said. "... The plan has been to have several heavyweight fights, get comfortable in the division and then move on to a big fight. We want to make sure he's ready to win it when it happens. And he seems to be on track."Duva expects a crowd of as many as 10,000 people -- many of them of Polish descent -- Saturday night at the Prudential Center, which she said would translate into a healthy $500,000-plus gate.That's an impressive figure against a relatively obscure opponent like Estrada, a 2004 U.S. Olympian still fighting to establish himself as a pro. It's doubtful that any of the three heavyweight titleholders -- the Klitschko brothers and David Haye -- could draw a crowd that big in the U.S. against a journeyman.Who else could?"After Pacquiao, Cotto and maybe Mayweather, name somebody. Maybe Kelly Pavlik," Duva said.Still, it might be a while before Adamek fights in Newark again. Duva would love to have Adamek fight Arreola to a sell-out crowd there but expects the fight to happen in Arreola's native Los Angeles area.And that's fine. This is what Adamek has been working toward the past year -- big-name opponents on big-time television.Duva said she and Dan Goossen, Arreola's promoter, have a "general agreement" for the fight."I feel it's going to happen," she said. "I'm not worried it won't. Dan wants to see if Adamek wins (on Saturday). That's important, of course."Adamek (39-1, 27 knockouts) offers Estrada (16-2, 4 KOs) the obligatory respect but is supremely confident, as he has always been.He has lost only once in his career -- to the very talented Chad Dawson in a light heavyweight bout in 2007 -- and seems to have maintained his power as he has moved up in weight. He has stopped six of eight opponents since becoming a cruiserweight and then a heavyweight against Golota.The 6-foot-1 Adamek will never be a big heavyweight in the mold of a Klitschko or even Arreola, who is 6-4 and fights at 250-260 pounds, but seems to be comfortable in his new weight class."I'm always asked if I feel worthy to be in the heavyweight division and my answer always is -- just watch me fight and you'll know the answer," he said. "I don't expect anybody to respect me because I was champion in two other weight classes. Just enjoy what you see when I'm in the ring. I did not lose any strength as compared to being a light heavyweight or cruiserweight. Contrary. Fighting at my natural weight helped me be a better boxer. I expect to weigh around 222 pounds for the fight. That's natural weight and power, zero loss of energy."... You can prove yourself in only one way -- by winning. And this is exactly what I intend to do on Saturday. Don't blink, don't miss a second. I will win."If he does, expect to see a lot more of him.Michael Rosenthal can be reached at RingTVeditor@yahoo.com

Hall of Fame Friday: Johnny Dundee

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:08:02 PST

JOHNNY DUNDEEBirthdate: Nov. 22, 1893Date Of Death: April 22, 1965Birthplace: Sciacca, SicilyNickname: The Scotch WopWeight Classes: Featherweight, junior lightweight, lightweightProfessional Record: 90-31-19 (22 knockouts) with 194 no-decisions, 1 no-contestTitles Held: Junior lightweight (Nov. 18, 1921-May 30, 1923; Dec. 17, 1923-June 20, 1923), featherweight (July 26, 1923-Aug. 10, 1924)Best Performances: Eugene Criqui (W 15), Johnny Kilbane (D 20), Mexican Joe Rivers (W 20), Charlie White (W 15), Eddie "Cannonball" Martin (W 10), Jimmy Goodrich (W 10), Rocky Kansas (D 12), Joe Welling (W 12), George Chaney (W 10, W DQ 5), Joe Tiplitz (W 10, W 12)Year of IBHOF Induction: 1991Background: Born Giuseppe Carrora in Italy, immigrated to the United States with his family while still an infant ... Raised in New York City's "Hell's Kitchen" neighborhood, where his family ran a fish market ... Turned pro on Aug. 10, 1910 and went on to become one of the most prolific boxers of all-time, fighting an amazing 47 times in 1911 alone ... A tricky, unorthodox boxer with dazzling footwork and a great chin, especially adept at launching punches while bouncing off the ropes ... Fought much of his career during the no-decision era, when it was illegal to render a decision in many jurisdictions ... Engaged legendary lightweight champion Benny Leonard in eight no-decision bouts, gaining the "newspaper" decision in two of them and a draw in a third ... Boxed a 20-round draw with featherweight champion Johnny Kilbane in 1913, his first attempt to win a title ... Won junior lightweight title in November 1921 when George "KO" Chaney was disqualified in the fifth round ... Became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1919 ... When New York State passed the Walker Law in 1920, which legalized boxing and allowed for decision verdicts, Dundee fought the first main event under the new regulations. He lost a 15-round decision to Joe Welling on Sept. 17 at Madison Square Garden ... Lost junior lightweight title to Jack Bernstein in May '23, but less than two months later won the world featherweight championship with a 15-round decision over Eugene Criqui in front of approximately 40,000 fans at the Polo Grounds ... Regained junior lightweight title from Bernstein in December '23 in what is considered one of the worse decisions in boxing history. The New York Times gave Dundee only three of the 15 rounds, with two even and 10 for loser Bernstein ... Gave up featherweight title in August '24 because he could no longer make the weight ... Lost junior lightweight title to Steve "Kid" Sullivan in June '24 ... Although past his peak, Dundee fought on until December 1932 ... Lost most of his ring earnings investing in a stable of racehorses.

RING Theory: Audio show

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 23:06:45 PST

RING Theory, a regular feature at RingTV.com, is an audio boxing talk show featuring columnists Eric Raskin and Bill Dettloff. They review recent events, look forward to coming fights and discuss the quirky side of the sport. The show appears twice a month.

Mosley-Mayweather is finally on for May 1

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:34:18 PST

It took awhile for both fighters to sign on the dotted line but the biggest fight that can be made without Manny Pacquiao was finally consummated on Wednesday when Floyd Mayweather Jr. signed to fight welterweight titleholder Shane Mosley on May 1 in Las Vegas.Mosley signed the contract for the megamatch on Friday.Mosley, who is ranked No. 3 in THE RING's pound-for-pound ratings, pursued a bout with both Mayweather and Pacquiao all last year to no avail. Pacquiao and Mayweather, Nos. 1 and 2 in THE RING's pound-for-pound ratings, appeared to be headed for what many thought would be the richest showdown in boxing history on March 13.However, Mayweather's demand for Olympic-style random drug testing and Pacquiao's refusal to comply scuttled the super fight. Pacquiao subsequently signed to face welterweight contender Joshua Clottey on the March 13 date.That opened the door for Mosley to fight Mayweather if the 38-year-old veteran won his bout with Andre Berto, which was scheduled for Jan. 30. However, Berto, a welterweight beltholder of Haitian descent, pulled out of the fight following the earthquake that hit the Caribbean island on Jan. 12 and killed hundreds of thousands of Haitians, including relatives of the undefeated young fighter.The cancellation of Mosley-Berto opened the door for Mosley-Mayweather to be made immediately, and after about two weeks of negotiations -- spearheaded by Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy Promotions, which represents both Mosley and Mayweather -- the second best fight that can be made in 2010 was completed."This one is definitely for the fans as I wasn't going to waste anyone's time with a meaningless tune-up bout and asked to fight Shane immediately," Mayweather (40-0, 25 KOs) stated in a press release sent out by Golden Boy Promotions on Wednesday. "I have said ever since I came back to the sport that I only wanted to fight the best. I think Shane is one of the best, but come May 1, he still won't be great enough to beat me."Mosley, who hasn't fought since demolishing Antonio Margarito in nine rounds last January, says he's eager to finally get back in the ring, especially against Mayweather."I have always wanted to fight Floyd and now it is finally coming true," Mosley (46-5, 39 KOs) was quoted as saying in Wednesday's press release. "I am already in great shape and ready to show everyone on May 1 that I am stronger, faster and better than he is. I will have no problem beating him."In addition to the fight being one of the most competitive and talked-about contests in each of the fighters' careers, Mayweather and Mosley have agreed to the Olympic-style drug testing that Pacquiao refused."Floyd has been trying to make this fight for the last 10 years, so he is extremely excited about the opportunity to face Shane," Leonard Ellerbe, CEO of Mayweather Promotions, stated in the press release. "He is also happy to set the precedent for random blood testing in order to ensure fair and safe contests for all fighters." The fight and a three-bout undercard will be produced and distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View, and the event is expected to be a blockbuster."Mayweather-Mosley is a showdown of superstars that fans have been talking about for years", said Mark Taffet of HBO Pay-Per-View. "It has all the elements of a pay-per-view mega-fight."

Johnson has one more opportunity

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 17:56:55 PST

Glen Johnson is coming off a one-sided loss to Chad Dawson yet is one victory away from a shot at a major light heavyweight title. Yes, things finally seem to be going Johnson's way.The 41-year-old former beltholder said he seriously considered retirement after the unanimous-decision loss to Dawson in November in Dawson's home state of Connecticut. Ultimately, though, he and those closest to him decided the loss was more about Dawson than Johnson and he decided to remain active.Now, having kept his spot in the rankings, he faces Yusaf Mack in a title eliminator on ESPN2's Friday Night Fights from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., with the winner to face another titleholder, Tavoris Cloud."Things like this don't happen to me," said Johnson, referring to the opportunity he has Friday even though he's coming off a loss. "I'm in a pretty good spot with this fight. I'm extremely happy. I see Roy Jones and Bernard Hopkins ... they'll lose and come back with another big fight. That doesn't happen to me much."If that's the case, if my reputation is starting to pay off, I'm thankful. I believe I'm deserving. I've been pushed back a lot of times. It's nice to catch a break."Johnson's struggles have been well documented. The Jamaican-born resident of Miami has had many big fights but usually on his opponent's turf; hence his nickname, "Road Warrior."And he's ended up on the wrong end of many controversial decisions. Some observers believe at least several of his 13 losses -- he's 49-13-2, with 33 knockouts -- should've gone the other way. He also has had considerable success, peaking in 2004, when he beat Clinton Woods, Jones and Antonio Tarver in succession and was THE RING Fighter of the Year.Johnson's most-recent fight, though, was neither controversial nor a success. He said he was frustrated by what he called Dawson's "running" tactics but acknowledged his opponent's exceptional athletic ability and doesn't dispute the scoring.Afterward, he asked himself whether 17 hard years as a professional fighter was enough."When you're in your 40s and something doesn't go right, the first thing you think is that you don't have what it takes any more," he said. "When you're younger, you can say, 'I have things to work on.' When you're older, it's different. Immediately after the fight, I thought about retiring but after talking to everybody -- managers, trainers, promoters, friends, family -- they basically talked me out of it."They said I just fought an athletic guy who avoided a fight. He has the ability to do that and he did. So I went back to the gym and started training again. I feel great. Now, I'm looking forward to bringing some excitement to the people again."Mack's style might be better suited for Johnson. The New Yorker, who has won five in a row since he was stopped by Librado Andrade, is a good boxer but is more aggressive than Dawson. That means Johnson probably won't have to chase him.If Johnson wins, a date with Cloud for one of the four major 175-pound titles would be his reward. And if he wins that fight -- a big if against one of the biggest punchers in the business -- he'll pursue the winner of Jones and Hopkins."The winner of Hopkins and Jones might want to come after Glen Johnson for a rematch if Glen is holding the belt," said Henry Foster, Johnson's long-time manager. "... It would be a fitting conclusion to what I think has been a great career for a really tough guy."And if Johnson loses to Mack? He said there would be no discussion."Yes, I see this as my last chance," he said. "There's no need to keep pushing an envelope that's closed. If I can't beat Mack, that tells me I can't beat the guys I have to beat. If I can't beat the elite guys, what's the use?"... I don't think it would difficult for me (to retire). I can't say for sure until I do it but I don't think so. I've had a good career."Which isn't quite over.

Ratings Update

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 22:18:50 PST

The sport is coming off of a very busy weekend but there was no movement in THE RING's divisional rankings.That's because the only RING-ranked fighter who was in action -- Roman Gonzalez (the magazine's No. 1-rated strawweight) -- easily crushed an unworthy challenger in defense of his 105-pound belt.However, this upcoming weekend features RING-rated fighters in against worthy opposition -- including fellow contenders -- so there's bound to be some changes in next week's Ratings Update.On Friday, THE RING's No. 3-rated light heavyweight, Glen Johnson (49-13-2, 33 KOs), takes on No. 7-rated 175 pounder Yusaf Mack (27-2-2, 16 KOs) in the main event of an ESPN2-televised card from Fort Lauderdale, Fla.On Saturday, No. 1-rated lightweight Edwin Valero (26-0, 26 KOs) will defend his 135-pound belt against mandatory challenger and No. 9-rated Antonio DeMarco (23-1-1, 17 KOs) in the main event of a Showtime-televised event from Monterrey, Mexico.Also on Saturday, THE RING cruiserweight champion Tomasz Adamek (39-1, 27 KOs) takes on 2004 U.S. Olympian Jason Estrada (16-2, 4 KOs) in a scheduled 12-round heavyweight bout that headlines a card in Newark, N.J.On Sunday, THE RING's No. 3-rated flyweight Denkaosen Kaowichit (48-1-1, 20 KOs) defends his 112-pound belt against the magazine's No. 8-rated junior bantamweight Daiki Kameda (15-2, 10 KOs), an immediate rematch of Kaowichit's close majority decision over the Japanese bad boy, which takes place in Kobe, Japan.

Same old story for fighters and fans

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 20:45:28 PST

A bloody Roy Jones Jr. left no doubt in a one-sided loss to Joe Calzaghe in 2008 that he has little left. However, he has fought three times since -- including a first-round knockout loss to Danny Green in his last fight -- and has a date with Bernard Hopkins in April. Photo / Ed Mulholland-FightWireImages.comWhen is a boxer really, truly retired? When he's 6 feet underground. And even then, you tend to have your doubts.Erik Morales had been out of the sport for about 2 years, halfway to eligibility for the International Boxing Hall of Fame, when the news broke on Jan. 24 that he'll be returning to the ring in March. The natural reaction to this news from most fight fans was a slumping of the shoulders, followed by a heavy sigh. Another one who doesn't know when enough is enough, we all thought. Then we saw the photos of Morales making his announcement at the press conference, not looking appreciably thinner than Roberto Duran does nowadays, and the reaction turned from sadness to all-out horror.Morales is just the latest in a never-ending line of once-great fighters soldiering on against all logic. And at 33, he's one of the younger ones. Evander Holyfield is 47 and has been in the headlines the past few weeks while his proposed fight with Frans Botha tries to find a home. Roy Jones got wiped out in 122 seconds in December by fringe contender Danny Green, but at 41 he's fighting on. He faces Bernard Hopkins in April. Going beyond the scope of future Hall of Famers, Riddick Bowe is a badly damaged 42 and still talking about another comeback, 36-year-old Lamon Brewster took a beating from relative novice Robert Helenius in Germany last weekend and, two weekends ago, four-time title challenger John Brown, 41, ran his record in his last 12 bouts to 1-9-2 with an eight-round points loss.Ready to slit your wrists yet?If not, you're a rare fight fan. For most of us, no matter how many times we see the same sad scene play out, no matter how many of our heroes put us through this, we never get used to it and we never grow immune to it.You've already read a million articles exploring the reasons fighters don't listen when retirement beckons. They fight on because they need the money, because they hunger for the spotlight, because they just don't know who to be if they aren't going to be professional boxers - or for some combination of those reasons.What hasn't been explored in article after article is why fans still let these predictable processions affect them. Everyone from Joe Louis to Muhammad Ali has disintegrated in front of our eyes and kept coming back from more; we've grown to expect that. So why can't we grow to accept it?"It's a visceral reaction. I know I still get saddened when I see old, used-up fighters in the ring," said veteran Philadelphia Daily News boxing writer and former Boxing Writers Association of America President Bernard Fernandez. "Here's a parallel: You look at Elizabeth Taylor in Giant, and you say to yourself, 'There has never been a more beautiful woman to walk the face of the earth.' At some point, that physical beauty fades, and many years later you go into a movie and she's playing an old lady. And damn if it doesn't make me sad. To see a pushing-80-year-old Elizabeth Taylor, fat and old, yeah, that saddens me."And she's not getting beaten up."Watching someone's decline play out before our eyes, whether we're talking about the decline of their beauty, the decline of their physical skills or the decline of their mental faculties, is depressing on numerous levels. Part of it is the way it reminds us of our own mortality and the fact that Father Time will win out against us eventually. It's perfectly normal to transfer the sadness from another person's fall onto oneself.It's also perfectly normal to care about the well-being of others, even people we don't know personally. So not only do we feel depressed watching Holyfield struggle to do the things that once came so easily to him, but we also grow depressed watching him potentially do long-term damage to his health.It's instinctive to react in that manner. But for those who don't merely observe the boxing industry but are actually a part of the business, it becomes essential to keep those instincts in check in order to do their jobs effectively."I don't have an emotional reaction any longer, because if I did, I'd be sick all the time," said promoter Lou DiBella, a 20-year veteran of the boxing business. "A man does what a man wants to do. Everybody is master of their own life. You have to detach yourself because Roy's living Roy's life and Evander's living Evander's life. That being said, do I think they're putting themselves at risk of not having the health and well-being in the middle and later stages of their lives? Yes. Does that bother me a little bit? I mean, when you work with people a long time, you like them, you respect them, you want to see them OK. But you have to detach because you can't live someone else's life for them."To me, a lot of these fights go beyond just being not attractive. They go into the realm of dangerous. And by the way, I think I'm entitled to say that because I have put my money where my mouth is. I'm not coming at it as a hypocrite. I'm not trying to sell you a death match."DiBella is referencing his much-publicized recent split from former world middleweight champion Jermain Taylor, whom DiBella wanted to see retire following Taylor's violent knockout loss to Arthur Abraham. DiBella promoted Taylor for nine years, but refuses to be involved in his career any longer.When you have a relationship like that with a fighter, it's nearly impossible not to be saddened by the news of his ill-advised comeback, so DiBella took a stand in the hope that he would never have to hear that news.Fernandez had a reasonably close reporter-subject relationship with Philly-based two-division titleholder Meldrick Taylor, and the disastrous decline of the talented ex-Olympian shaped Fernandez's willingness to give a fighter his two cents when the situation calls for it."To see Meldrick's descent from the first Julio Cesar Chavez fight, it was a precipitous fall, and for him to have gone through his boxing fortune and be taking bouts for $2,000 in Alabama and Hawaii, it saddened me," Fernandez said. "That was one of the reasons why, a couple years ago, when I saw Ivan Robinson, who's another guy I like a lot, and he started to talk about, 'I can still do it, I'm going to take this fight for $2,000 because then I can get another fight with (Arturo) Gatti,' I spoke up. I told him, 'Look, you've got a nice family, a nice home. You didn't achieve all that you wanted to, but you have to understand when the time has passed. Look at Meldrick. You don't want to wind up like that.' And I think that Ivan has been the better for that. I mean, I think he might have taken one or two fights after that, but to this point I haven't seen any obvious detrimental effects to his mental faculties."Whether we'll be able to say the same for guys like Holyfield, Jones or Morales remains to be seen.Among that crew, it's most surprising to see Jones refusing to walk away from the fight game. In his prime, Jones, shaken by seeing his friend Gerald McClellan turned into a virtual vegetable in the ring, made as much money as he could facing as little risk as possible. He wasn't padding his legacy, but he was padding his bank account without ever getting beaten up.Now he's in his 40s and damaging both his health and his legacy."Roy always told you he would retire before he ever put himself in danger," DiBella said. "He said he would retire before his skills erode. Those words came out of his mouth."Shame on any of us who believed him. Rarely does a fighter quit this sport at the perfect time, and rarely does the first retirement take. Jones spent most of his career being so different from your typical fighter in so many ways. It turns out he wasn't different from the typical fighter at all.A lot of us spent Jones' prime expecting to get a sick thrill from seeing him finally take a beating. But now that we've seen it over and over, there's no thrill; there's only the "sick" part.This is what fighters do. They hang around too long. And this is what we, as fans, do. We let ourselves get depressed over it. Just like those old fighters, we see the punch coming, but we can't seem to get out of the way of it.RASKIN'S RANTS- One more reason to be depressed about washed-up legends fighting on from DiBella: They often prevent other fighters who are in their prime but have less name value from getting opportunities. "They're recognizable names in a sport that's lacking them," DiBella said of the Joneses and Holyfields. "Meanwhile, I can't get a fight for Sergio Martinez on HBO unless he fights someone bigger than he is, and there should definitely be room at the inn for a fighter like Sergio Martinez. You can make a great fight, but in terms of selling tickets at a venue, the more recognizable names, even if they're half-dead, are still attractive. That's why people like (Hector) Camacho are still fighting. He's a recognizable name, and a small casino will put up money for someone that they think can sell tickets, whereas if you put together a great fight but the names aren't recognizable, they're not interested."- And a final note on old guys who should be retired by now: Johnny Tapia is a weird exception to the rule in that you know his pain and the damage he does to himself are even greater when he isn't fighting, so it isn't so depressing hearing that he plans to box again. "I love it. I love the sport. It's not about money, it's not about fame," Tapia told Showtime's Steve Farhood last Saturday night. However, if there's one reason to want Tapia to quit boxing, it's this: He has a shot at getting into the Hall of Fame five years after his final fight, and the longer he waits, the less likely it becomes that he'll be around to attend his induction.- Last week's column on the proposed super heavyweight division elicited more email than just about anything I've written for RingTV.com, and the most incredible thing was that every single email I received was in agreement with me that a super heavyweight division is a terrible idea. Usually, when people take the time to write in, it's to disagree. The fact that nobody did that this time should give the alphabet gangs a sense of just how pathetic this idea of theirs is.- Why is it that in the not-very-Hispanic Philadelphia suburb in which I live, we get Fox Sports Espanol but not Fox Sports Net?- If for no other reason, be sure to tune into Friday Night Fights all season so you can catch your weekly updates on the consistency and texture of Peter Manfredo Sr.'s bowel movements. Honestly, I'm a little surprised Manfredo was the one to break the news about his own diarrhea. I would have thought my friend Dan Rafael would be all over that scoop.- I'm not going to lie, I got a little choked up watching Nick Charles make his return to ShoBox on Friday night. Could there have been a more appropriate arena for this comeback than the "Tingley Coliseum"? Only if there's a place somewhere known as "Warm-Fuzzy Stadium." In any case, welcome back, Nick.Eric Raskin can be reached at RaskinBoxing@yahoo.com.

Perez-Mares match on for May 22

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 15:59:41 PST

The fascinating bantamweight matchup between beltholder Yohhny Perez (20-0, 14 knockouts) and young contender Abner Mares (19-0, 12 KOs) has finally been agreed upon by the fighters, according to sources with both camps.Perez-Mares will be the Showtime-televised co-feature to the fourth Israel Vazquez-Rafael Marquez fight that takes place at Staples Center in Los Angeles on May 22.The bout, which promises non-stop action as well as world-class skill and technique, was proposed weeks ago but only Mares, THE RING's No. 8-ranked bantamweight, had agreed to the terms of the fight. That is until Monday, when Perez, THE RING's No. 4-ranked bantamweight, signed the contract.Mares had verbally agreed to terms and still has to sign the contract to make the bout official, but his manager Frank Espinoza has told RingTV.com that the signing is a mere formality. Fans can expect the 31-year-old titleholder from Colombia and the 24-year-old Southern Californian to get it on in the ring on May 22.Perez, who beat experienced contenders Silence Mabuza and Joseph Agbeko last year to establish himself as one of the world's best 118 pounders, figures to be the most experienced foe of Mares' five-year career.Mares, a 2004 Mexican Olympian who looked very sharp in his last outing (a six-round KO of Carlos Fulgencio last August), figures to be the most talented fighter Perez has ever faced.Both bantamweights are skilled, aggressive and busy boxer-punchers.As great a matchup as Vazquez-Marquez always is, Perez-Mares could steal the show.

Dougie's MASSIVE Monday Mailbag

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 23:19:32 PST

GREAT WEEKEND, HORRIBLE DECISIONHey Doug,Well, although the Gabriel Campillo-Beibut Shumenov decision left a very bad taste in my mouth, I thought this was a good weekend of boxing for the fans. I hope that the thing most people remember from this weekend is that you don't need a Pacquiao or a Mayweather to have good fights on television. Here are some of my questions/observations about this weekend's fights. Let me know what you think.1. For the record, I scored the Campillo/Shumenov fight 117-111 for Campillo. Campillo is so economical, I bet he washes plastic silverware and reuses it. Most of the punches he threw seem to be right on target, even if there wasn't a lot of power behind them. He also did a good job of blocking or partially deflecting most of Shumenov's punches, which is why I had Campillo winning handily. Although the decision was horrible, I'm still glad this fight happened, since these two guys have now established themselves as respectable opponents for the top of the light heavyweight division. Campillo/Dawson and Shumenov/Cloud are fights that I REALLY want to see now. Who do you think wins those two fights?2. Along with Campillo, Jesse Brinkley made himself a fan right here this weekend. I always enjoy watching a fighter simply show up and do what he has to do to win a fight, especially when his opponent has been talking all kinds of trash. As long as he can resist the urge to go straight back with his hands down, I think he can give anyone but the top super middleweights a hell of a fight. With most of the top super middleweights tied up with the Super Six, where would you like to see him go from here? A fight with Sakio Bika, possibly? Also, I loved the fact that Peter Manfredo Sr. ran into the ring at the end of the fifth round to protect his fighter, and that he was in Brinkley's corner even though his son was fighting in another city.3. Chris Avalos looked like a world-beater, as usual, but I wish Nieves could have continued fighting the way he did in the first round. I wanted to see if Avalos could make adjustments during the middle of a fight if things were going exactly his way. How far do you think Avalos can go in the bantamweight and super bantamweight divisions?4. Nice win for Jorge Arce, but I was more impressed with Angky Angkota and his ringpost impression during the fight. That guy definitely has a second career when he decides to hang up the gloves.Well, that's all I've got. Hope this one isn't too long to make the mailbag, since I'd really like to hear your thoughts on this past weekend of boxing. Keep up the good work, Doug. -- Brian Lee, Lincoln, IL Good observations on a good weekend of boxing, Brian. I'll respond to them in order:1. I scored Friday's light heavyweight title fight 116-112 for Campillo and I thought I was being generous to Shumenov. Duane Ford, who scored it 115-113 for Shumenov, had a bad night. Patricia Morse Jarman, who had it 117-11 for Shumenov, had the worst night of her judging career. She's usually a very capable judge (when Fernando Vargas isn't involved). Having said that, I think it was a damn good fight by light heavyweight standards. Those 175 pounders threw a lot of leather and showed some big balls. I agree that the exposure was a good thing for them and for the light heavyweight division, which is in need of new blood almost as bad as the sport's current pool of main event judges. Basedon what I saw Friday night, I would favor Campillo to beat RING-ranked light heavyweight contenders Adrian Diaconu (No. 9), Yusaf Mack (No. 7) and Tavoris Cloud (No. 6). I think the Spaniard would give Dawson a very good fight, but I'd pick Bad Chad to win that one by close, unanimous decision. I think Cloud vs. Shumenov would be a fight of the year candidate -- probably the best 175-pound slug fest since Julio Gonzalez battled the late Julian "Mr. KO" Letterlough -- one, that the hardnosed Floridian would win by close decision (unless, of course, the fight takes place in Vegas and Ford and Jarman are judging).2. Brinkley's a real vet and underrated IMO. The dude has all-around skills, ring generalship and a nice counter-right hand. I worked the broadcasts of his two fights last year and I was impressed with how relaxed he is in the ring. I think Manfredo Sr. is getting more out of Jesse than he did training his son, and I think Brinkley can beat some top 168 pounders (including beltholder Robert Stieglitz). He and Bika would be a good toss-up fight, but I think Brinkley wants a shot at a belt next and he's got one with Lucian Bute thanks to his victory on Friday. Unfortunately, I think Bute's style is all wrong for Brinkley. 3. I think Avalos is the goods as long as he isn't rushed to the top of the competitive 118-pound division. He's not ready for badasses like Abner Mares yet, but I think he could get some good experience fighting some of Abner's victims such as Diosdado Gaby and Damian Marchiano, two vets that would give Avalos what he needs: quality rounds.4. That's a funny line about Angkota. Hey, he did what he was supposed to do with the popular veteran, make Arce look like he's got another year of fighting in his legs. I still hope Arce retires soon. I don't want to see him get beat up and embarrassed by Nonito Donaire or any other young gun. I enjoyed watching Eduardo Escobedo fight in the co-feature of that Top Rank Live card. That's a seasoned youngster I'd like to see in with a featherweight contender next time he's on TV.DANGEROUS FIGHTSWhat up Doug,I'll keep it short. Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather "egoed" their way out of fighting each other now both of them are about to get there asses whooped. Joshua Clottey is no joke and I've always thought that Sugar Shane was better than both of them. Floyd isn't big, strong and long like Winky Wright and the late Vernon Forrest. I think Mayweather truly didn't want this fight but the situation made it impossible to do anything else. Talk about intrigue, what's Money the chump going to do when he can't get a guy just as fast and skilled as he is off of him? The difference between Floyd and Shane is the Sugarman wants to knock your ass out. Damn, I can't wait. By the way, my gut feeling says Andre Dirrell takes out Arthur Abraham and Andre Ward stops Allan Green (another cat with more mouth than game). Talk to you. -- Big 313I like Ward and Abraham by decision in those Super Six bouts. I'm looking forward to covering both from ringside, but I'm really excited about Mosley-Mayweather. Mosley is always motivated but he's really something special when he takes on a fighter that he's wanted in the ring for a long time. Mayweather has dismissed and disrespected Mosley for the last four years. Now it's time for him to back his mouth up in the ring.I agree that Clottey is no joke. I think the Ghanaian is more difficult and dangerous than Cotto was for Pacquiao because of his style and specific strengths. We'll see what happens. Maybe the big welterweight showdown of late 2010 will be Mosley-Clottey.MOSLEY, MAYWEATHER & MARGARITOHey Doug,Just wanted to say a few words about the Mosley vs Mayweather fight. I would like to see Mosley beat Mayweather up really bad but I don't think it will happen, in his last fight against Margarito he looked so freaking good only because Margarito was mentally broken down, Margarito's body was there getting the s__t kick out of it but I think in his mind all he could think about is how he got caught cheating. So basically I think it's gonna be a pretty easy fight for Mayweather. I really hope I'm wrong. How do you see this fight? I also think that Margarito should be banned for life from boxing. There's no freaking way he didn't know he had that in his wraps. I box and when my trainer wraps my hands I can see everything he's doing. Well, keep up the good work man, and can't wait for the Edwin Valero vs. Antonio Demarco fight on Saturday. It should be a good one. -- JosueI can't wait for Saturday, either. It will be good. DeMarco is a solid, young contender and "my son" always delivers excitement.You can't keep Margarito from getting his license reinstated but you, as a fan, can ban him for life by boycotting all of his future fights.For the record, I think it's possible for a fighter to not pay attention to his hands being wrapped and we have to keep in mind that Capetillo was busted by Brother Naazim as soon as one of the "plaster" inserts was put into the wraps. So it's not like Margarito had a lot of time with it in there. He never had the wrap completed with a glove on. He never hit anything with the insert. I don't think his mind was gone when he entered the ring with Mosley. I'm more familiar with Margarito than most fans and boxing writers. He doesn't let anything bug him before a fight. I just think he had a bad night (he always did whenever he had a bad camp) with a badass. Mosley was motivated and he whupped that ass like no other fighter ever has. No excuses. Give Shane the credit he deserves for that victory. Or just wait until he gives Mayweather a beating.FLOYD'S GAMBITDoug,Can't contain my excitement regarding the Mayweather-Mosley match-up. I was skeptical when I heard the rumblings that Golden Boy was working on trying to make this fight, as I simply didn't think Floyd would ever fight Shane, but now that it's done this has gone along way, at least for me, in erasing the Pacquiao-Maywether fall out.The way I see it everybody wins in this scenario, well everybody but Top Rank and Team Pacquiao whose own 'plan b' now pales in comparison. Golden Boy wins because they now have the biggest fight of 2010. Mosley wins because he finally gets to cash in on his great victory over Margarito last year and ensures he'll have at least one more Superfight before the end of his career. Mayweather also wins, but not because he FINALLY stepped up to the plate and accepted a seriously tough fight, because lets be honest IT'S WHAT HE IS SUPPOSED TO DO! But to me he's coming out of this thing looking like an evil genius. I think the argument that he was 'scared' to fight Manny has now lost a lot of its steam, especially in the light that he's facing a guy who pretty much did everything short of offering to fight Manny with one arm behind his back and Team Pacquiao seemed to want no part of it. Also if Floyd wins and wins impressively, its going to be hard to argue against him being elevated to the top of the pound for pound rankings, regardless of how good Manny looks against Joshua Clottey.Clottey is nice (by the way I'm shocked at how many people think Manny will stop him), but fighting the guy who lost to the guy whose ass you just royally kicked is a step back as far as I'm concerned.Finally, we the fans are the big winners, we get the consensus #2 vs. #3 (P4P) fighters in the world and it also marks the first time, in my mind at least, since Mayweather took on Diego Corrales way back when, that an opponent of Floyd's has a legitimate shot of defeating him.This is a great fight for boxing fans, maybe not the event that Pacquiao-Maywether would have been, but for the diehard fan its more than a reasonable facsimile.(P.S - I'm picking Mayweather to win by a decision, but I don't envy you Doug. Floyd's 'nut hugger nation' is going to be out in full force for this one... you need to release like a 'deleted scenes' version of your mailbags, lol.) -- Tom G.Floyd's fans have been very quiet since the Pacquiao fight fell out. I wonder what's up with them. Something tells me the thought of their boy fighting this hardnosed "old" vet makes them nervous. We'll see what happens. I favor the 38-year-old Mosley by close decision or late stoppage. Mosley has trouble with boxers, and Mayweather certainly qualifies as a top-notch boxer, but it's the tall rangy types that dominate him. Boxers his height (or smaller) can give him trouble in the first half of a bout but they are usually in for a hard time down the stretch (see Shane's fights with James Leija, Luis Collazo and Miguel Cotto for examples of this). Of course, if Cotto can out-point Mosley, Mayweather, who is faster, sharper and rangier than the Puerto Rican, certainly can. However, I have to point out that Mosley fought the 30-0, pre-Margarito version of Cotto and gave him fits in the late going.Anyway, I agree with you. Everybody wins with this matchup. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Mayweather signs by the time this mailbag is posted, and that once the fight is finalized that both boxers stay healthy until fight time. MAYWEATHER VS. THE GREATSRay Robinson & Leonard were the only debatable fighters on the list. Mayweather would clown Armstrong, Gavilan (especially Gavilan), and Burley. I'll be honest, I don't know much about Charley Burley but, I know enough about him to know he couldn't touch Lil' Floyd. Floyd will beat Mosley and Pacman before he is finished. And after seeing Paul Williams' performances against Carlos Quintana (1st time) and Sergio Martinez, I think you would have to be a fool to think Lil' Floyd couldn't outbox him for 12 rounds. Floyd gets a lot of negative press for his recent competition but, I remember. I remember when he was fighting Zab Judah everybody wanted him to fight Carlos Baldomir. And he did. When he was fighting Baldomir, everybody was saying how he was ducking Ricky Hatton. Than he knocked out Hatton. Than everyone said he couldn't beat Oscar. So, he did. Technically speaking, Floyd HAS fought and beat EVERYONE the boxing public has requested. It isn't his fault that he is so good that he exposed them fighters as not being in his class. Some people REALLY thought Baldomir and Hatton had a chance. Now, the G.O.A.T. is debatable in any sport. But, I will say this, Floyd Mayweather Jr. is the most TALENTED fighter of all time. -- TommyYou have a warped take on recent history, Tommy. There was no huge public demand for Mayweather to fight Baldomir or Hatton. Prior to the De La Hoya fight, Floyd was only known by hardcore fans and the diehards wanted him to fight badass welterweights like Margarito and Cotto. No one gave a rat's ass about Baldomir (who was just a Zab Judah creation) and PPV numbers to this fight support my claim. If you can find more than five credible boxing writers who thought Baldomir had a chance in hell to beat Mayweather I'll mail you a $100 bill.Post-De La Hoya nobody cared to see Mayweather defend the welterweight title against Hatton, a guy who went life and death with Luis Collazo at welterweight and who looked ordinary in out-pointing Juan Urango at 140 pounds. I'll say this about the Hatton fight, at least the Brit's popularity and HBO's 24/7 series made for an event that helped to further Mayweather's crossover celebrity that began with the De La Hoya fight.However, Mayweather "retired" rather than face the media's and the public's demand to fight the winner of Cotto-Margarito. And he fought the 36-year-old lightweight champ when he decided to come back. It's funny. Before he fought De La Hoya, Mayweather claimed that Goldie only fought smaller and older fighters on his way up. Now look what Mayweather does while on top of the proverbial mountain. At least the next "old man" Mayweather faces is a real welterweight. You might be right about Mayweather's chances vs. Mosley, Pacquiao and P-Will, but we'll never know until he fights them. One fight at a time, kid. Let's see what happens on May 1.Your thoughts on Mayweather vs. the Greats are absolutely ridiculous and unfounded. Thank you for being honest about not knowing much about Burley. Now be honest about Armstrong and Gavilan and admit that you've never seen a complete fight of either all-time great. And if you have, you don't know what you're looking at.EMPIRICAL DATA ON FLOYD & ROBINSONDougie,When I read that Floyd vs. The Greats article, I ralphed. I know Floyd passes the "eyeball test" with flying colors (he just looks dominant), but so do the Harlem Globe Trotters. I don't think they'd fair too well against the 1987 Lakers.I decided to do some homework. Below is cold, hard data. These are Floyd's last 12 fights dating back to his last legitimate opponent who was naturally in his weight class (my notes in parenthesis). The names in bold are his fights at welterweight against welterweights.2009:-UD Juan Manuel Marquez (2-division jump UP for JMM, Floyd doesn't make weight)2008: INACTIVE2007:-KO 10 Ricky Hatton (Jr. Welterweight champ fighting at welterweight, only other welterweight fight he went life and death with Luiz Collazo)-SD Oscar De La Hoya (Moved up for big $, solid win, nothing spectacular)2006:-UD Carlos Baldomir (On 15 occasions, Carlos got in the ring and did not win)-UD Zab Judah (Record as welterweight: 7-5-1)2005:-KO 6 Sharmba Mitchell (Record as welterweight: 2-3)-KO 6 Arturo Gatti (We love Gatti, but come on)-KO 8 Henry Bruseles (Previous fight was a Draw against Ener Julio)2004:-UD Demarcus Corley (Lost his previous fight)2003:-TKO 7 Philip N'Dou (N'Dou's best opponent to that point was Cassius Baloyi)-UD Victoiano Sosa (2 fights prior Sosa drew with someone named Lamar Murphy)2002:-UD Jose Luis Castillo (Won a narrow decision against an excellent fighter)Hard facts: 1. Floyd has not fought a legitimate champion in their weight class since 2002, when the Rams were in the Super Bowl. 2. Floyd is 3-0 (1) welterweight vs. welterweights, with his best win being against Carlos Baldomir. 3. His true welterweight opponents have a combined record of 52-17-7 vs. welterweights.Now, I'm only 30, so I didn't get to watch Ray Robinson fight live, but I've watched a dozen or so of his fights on ESPN Classic. Here is what Sugar Ray Robinson did as a welterweight vs. welterweights: 1. 30-0 (20) 2. Wins over Kid Gavilan (twice) and Henry Armstrong 3. As a welterweight, went 4-1 against Jake Lamotta, who was fighting at middleweight.Guys please, and I mean please, stop mentioning Floyd Mayweather in the same category as Ray Robinson. It would be like comparing Scott Mitchell to Peyton Manning. Or, even worse, like comparing Floyd Mayweather to F'ING SUGAR RAY ROBINSON!!!Please stop.Go Harlem Globetrotters!!! -- DannyWell stated and researched, Danny. Now why can't Mayweather fans do this kind of homework? Oh, right, because that would shatter the illusion.I get it.

Weekend Review: Mayweather-Mosley

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 20:18:35 PST

Jose Nieves (right) simply couldn't stand up to the powerful punches of Chris Avalos on Friday night in Albuquerque. N.M. Photo / Tom Casino-ShowtimeBEST NEWSMayweather-Mosley: We didn't get the fight we wanted, Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. Instead, we get TWO good fights. First, Pacquiao signed to fight capable Joshua Clottey on March 13 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. That matchup that isn't thrilling but it is competitive, perhaps the most-competitive since Pacquiao last fought Juan Manuel Marquez. And, now, Mayweather and Shane Mosley have agreed to fight on May 1. The fans have wanted to see Mayweather face a legitimate challenge for a long time and this, it seems, is it. And the best part of all this? We could still see Pacquiao-Mayweather within a year and it would be bigger than ever.BEST OPPORTUNITYMosley: Mosley sat down at a restaurant in Las Vegas shortly after he knocked out Antonio Margarito and said without seeming boastful: "I think I can be the best pound-for-pound fighter again. That's my goal now." Mosley had to wonder whether an opportunity to realize the goal would ever come. He lobbied aggressively most of 2009 to fight either Pacquaio or Mayweather but appeared to come up empty. Then, after unforeseen events, he suddenly had his big chance. He'll have a legitimate claim on the pound-for-pound title if he upsets Mayweather. Then, if he fights and beats Pacquiao, he would be considered the best fighter on earth at an age (38) when most of his peers are retired.BEST DRUG TESTINGMayweather-Mosley: Mosley had to agree to Olympic-style testing for performance-enhancing drugs to begin negotiations, which presumably means this fight will have the most-effective testing in history. That doesn't mean it's impossible to beat the system; no program is infallible. However, this form of random testing -- which includes both blood and urine samples -- is superior to any typically used in boxing. In an ideal world, this would only be a first step toward cracking down on PEDs in the sport. However, cost and oversight would be tough obstacles to overcome in efforts to introduce such testing on a large scale.BEST MATCHUPMosley-Pacquiao: If we can't have Mayweather-Pacquiao right away, I'm pleased that we get Mayweather-Mosley. But the fight I really would like to see is Mosley-Pacquiao. Any fight with Mayweather in it can be a stinker, even against Mosley. That's what you often get with a defense-first boxer who isn't interested in satisfying the fans' blood lust. Mosley and Pacquaio are different; they actually take risks in the ring. That fight would be an absolute war. And who knows? We might see it if Pacquiao gets past Clottey and Mosley upsets Mayweather, which isn't far fetched. And Mosley wouldn't have to go down to junior welterweight, as he said he'd do last year. The fight would be at 147.BEST CHANCE AT UPSET?Eddie Chambers: I don't think Chambers will "shock the world," as he predicted he'd do against Wladimir Klitschko on March 20 in Dusseldorf, Germany. He's too small to handle a giant with a fine-tuned fighting system. I expect Klitschko to score a knockout, as I do every time he or his brother fight. That said, Chambers might be slick enough to frustrate Klitschko at times. The Philadelphian is the best athlete-boxer in the heavyweight division. He's also extremely confident and has experience fighting in Europe, losing to Alexander Povetkin in 2008 and beating Alexander Dimitrenko in his last fight. Dimitrenko isn't the fighter Klitschko is but he's 6-7 -- and half inch taller than Klitschko -- and Chambers handled him fairly easily.STRANGEST SCORINGShumenov over Campillo: The Beibut Shumenov-Gabriel Campillo light heavyweight title fight Friday in Las Vegas was difficult to score. Shumenov, the aggressor, did well early in the fight and in the first half of most rounds. Campillo, the better boxer, controlled the later rounds and second half of most rounds. I thought it was a close fight but I leaned toward Campillo, who was the busier, more-accurate puncher. I'm not sure what judge Patricia Morse Jarman -- 117-111 for Shumenov -- was watching. That means she had Shumenov winning nine rounds. I'm almost as perplexed by Levi Martinez -- 117-111 for Campillo. Jerry Roth had it 115-113 for Shumenov, with which I disagree but can accept. Three judges, three completely different scores.MOST EXCITINGChris Avalos: The bantamweight prospect was expected to receive a stiff challenge from slick, experienced Jose Nieves on Friday night in Albuquerque, N.M. And, for one round, it appeared he would. Nieves, who had lost only once going into the fight, outboxed his younger foe for three minutes. Then the fierce, hard-punching Southern Californian let loose. He put Nieves down twice in both the second and fourth rounds, prompting the referee to end the slaughter at 2:20 of the fourth. Avalos (15-0, 12 KOs) will need to be tested against top competition before we can anoint him a legitimate title contender but he appears to be an exciting prospect. He certainly is fun to watch.BEST MATCHMAKINGAmir Khan vs. Juan Manuel Marquez: Khan has received permission to pursue a fight with Marquez before he defends his 140-pound title against Maidana and probably will meet the Mexican star on the Mayweather-Mosley undercard. Marquez is the perfect opponent for Khan -- big name, good money, probably a minimal threat. Marquez is still capable of giving anyone not named Mayweather trouble. However, I suspect that his weight gain, wear and tear and age (36) will have begun to take a toll on him. Khan will prove to be too quick and athletic for Marquez at this point, although I wouldn't be shocked to see Marquez find a way to win. It should be noted that this is a great undercard fight.WORST PREDICTIONCurtis Stevens: The slugger from Brownsville, N.Y., predicted he would take out veteran Jesse Brinkley in the first round on the Friday Night Fights card in Reno, Nev. When he failed to score an early KO, he lost both his bravado and confidence and ended up losing a one-sided decision. Stevens' inability to back up his words should serve as an example for other fighters: Don't make promises you can't keep. It's embarrassing. Brinkley turned in a terrific performance against a pretty good opponent but I don't think he has the talent to compete with 168-pound titleholder Lucian Bute, with whom he is negotiating to meet on April 17 in Montreal. Brinkley's tough, though; one never knows.NICEST TO SEEJorge Arce over Angky Angkota: The little Mexican star said beforehand that he'd retire if he lost to Angkota on Saturday night in Mexico City, which isn't the best frame of mind going into a big fight. However, once the opening bell rang, Arce proved he has plenty left by winning a seventh-round technical decision and his second major title after Angkota was cut by an accidental headbutt. Arce has brought fans countless thrills over his 14-year career, which no one would dispute, but let's step back and look at his record. The man is 53-6-1 (40 knockouts) with many fights against elite opponents. Those numbers might earn him Hall of Fame consideration one day.BEST YOUNG ANALYSTDoug Fischer: I'm biased because he's my colleague but Fischer is one of the most-underrated television analysts in the business. The RingTV.com co-editor, who worked the Shumenov-Campillo card with Colonel Bob Sheridan on Fox Sports Net, understands the technical side of boxing as well as anyone outside of fighters and trainers themselves and certainly can articulate it better than those inside the ropes. His uncanny ability to remember details of past fights and a passion for the sport that is infectious serves him well both at RingTV.com and in front of the camera. Prediction: His will become one of the most-recognizable voices in the sport in the near future.BEST QUOTELeonard Ellerbe, Mayweather's advisor: "Floyd tried to fight the guy everyone thought was the best guy available and we couldn't get that fight done, so we went to the next guy on the list. As I've said many times, when Floyd decided to come back to boxing, he did it to be in major events. He's going to face all of the top welterweights and one by one, knock them all off."Michael Rosenthal can be reached at RingTVeditor@yahoo.com

Sanchez's breakthrough came at Lopez's expense

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 17:44:40 PST

You couldn't blame the 6,000 or so fans at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix, Arizona for refusing to give up on Danny "Little Red" Lopez even as a 21-year-old, once-defeated kid named Salvador Sanchez beat him around the ring. After all, Lopez, who was making his ninth defense of the WBC featherweight title, had been through this all before -- the mixture of blood and sweat burning his eyes, the swelling around his eyes pulling down the dark shades, further obscuring his vision, and the punches that landed so cleanly you could be excused for thinking he was, at best, indifferent to pain, and at worst, an enthusiast of masochism. Lopez, at 42-3 (39), had made a career of walking through the punches and wills of men less committed than he and hammering them to the canvas. It made him, along with the similarly configured light heavyweight champion Matthew Saad Muhammad, one of the more popular TV fighters of his time in an era when it was hard to find a weekend on the calendar when some pug or another wasn't scrambling the brains of one of his brethren on network television. "That was the way I trained. I trained that way in the gym, coming forward, give or take a shot," Lopez recently told me from his home in California. "It used to work for me quite a bit." It was largely this improbable gift for drama, along with a dynamite right hand, that propelled Lopez into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, New York. He will be inducted in June. It was his great misfortune that Sanchez, 33-1-1 (26), wasn't like the others, whose constitutions and chins Lopez so consistently shattered. One of 11 children, Sanchez was born and raised in Santiago Tianguistenco, a small town roughly 30 miles south of Mexico City. His father owned a small construction company. He'd begun fighting in grade school when neighborhood toughs, mistaking his diminutiveness for weakness, tried to bully him. It seems always to start that way, doesn't it?"Trouble would start when the other guys would look me over and see how little I was and then steal my books and pencils," Sanchez told writer Douglas Looney in 1980. Later, older boys would call him "nena," or "little girl." "Then I would have to show them I had the tools," Sanchez said. "There were a lot of bloody noses and bloody eyes. Unfortunately, sometimes they were mine."None of the blood spilled in the ring on February 2, 1980 belonged to Sanchez. It all had once belonged to Lopez, then to posterity. A ringside observer for the New York Times reported counting more than a dozen fresh cuts on Lopez' face after referee Waldemar Schmidt stopped at :51 of the 14th round. The largest wounds -- a gash at the corner of his right eye that pumped blood from early on, and a left eye that was swollen shut for all practical purposes -- twice moved referee Schmidt to ask for the ringside doctor's permission to continue the fight, presumably so he wouldn't be held liable if Lopez bled to death. Lopez didn't bleed to death. He charged headlong into Sanchez,' full arsenal round after round, hoping it would work this time like it had against all the others. He just couldn't connect."He was a much better fighter than I thought he was and than I expected," Lopez said. "He had the moves and I never could hit the guy. He just gave me way too much movement. I just could never land a shot on him. If I did it was a glancing shot or a shot to the body that didn't hurt him anyway. He was a strong, great young fighter."He was in great condition and my punches never seemed to bother him at all," said Lopez. "I don't know if I ever landed a shot that would have taken somebody else out but I never could hit him with a solid shot."Sanchez had no such worries. Once he started Lopez' left eye swelling, he would slide to his right and bang Lopez on the left eye. It worked over and over. It was exactly what he had envisioned happening when, after fighting on a couple of Lopez' cards, he studied the champion and planned his strategy."I knew from the first time I saw him that I could hit him with my right," Sanchez said after the fight. "Today, I don't think I missed with it."To many, Sanchez' win came as an enormous surprise. He was not well known outside Mexico. Even Lopez didn't know much about him."Going into the fight I had no idea how good Sanchez was," he said. "I took him as another up-and-comer coming to try and get my title and I trained hard for the fight and was in good shape and didn't take him lightly for sure."Others weren't as surprised."It was no big surprise to people in the fight game," Don Fraser, the legendary West coast promoter who put together many of the biggest fights of the era, told RingTV.com. "People in the fight game knew Sanchez was a very good boxer and puncher and knew that Danny Lopez, even though he was a very good puncher too, really wasn't in his league. Sanchez was considered a very good fighter."A few months shy of two years after Sanchez dethroned Lopez, Dwight Muhammad Qawi overwhelmed Saad Muhammad in Atlantic City, effectively bringing to a close one of the fight game's great TV eras. Thirty years down the road, those fights still hold up. Epilogue:Sanchez was killed in a car crash in 1982, after making nine title defenses. He was posthumously enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 1991. Lopez fought just twice after losing the title to Sanchez. He was stopped by Sanchez in the 14th round in their rematch, and in a one-fight comeback in 1992, Jorge Rodriguez stopped him in the second round. Some random observations from last week:I like Mayweather-Mosley more than I did Mayweather-Pacquiao anyhow. And speaking of Mosley, this is a how a fighter acts who has nothing to hide. Take note, Pacquiao fans... Kudos to Jesse Brinkley for taking apart Curtis Stevens on Friday Night Fights. It's always fun when a bully gets his head handed to him... Ray Serrano is a nice enough little boxer, but he's a threat to hurt someone like a Scandinavian sprinter is a threat to win an Olympic gold medal. It just ain't happening...That the Glen Johnson-Yusef Mack fight is an IBF "title eliminator" -- in Johnson's first fight since being schooled by Chad Dawson -- is just the kind of logic-defying nonsense that has become the norm in our sport. How embarrassing...So based on what you saw on ShoBox, who would you pay to see fight again -- Archie Ray Marquez or Derrick Campos?... I don't know how far Chris Avalos' punch will take him, but I'll be watching him until it takes him no further...Bob Arum is absolutely right to delay Yuriorkis Gamboa-Juan Manuel Lopez. His job is to make the fight as big as it can be, and it can get a lot bigger than it is right now. Good for him... According to Australian boxing doyen Paul Upham, delays in getting a visa are what kept Sakio Bika from meeting Allan Green to see who would replace Jermain Taylor in the Super Six tournament. Green never got so lucky in his life; Bika would have run through him like week-old oysters... Don't worry, Erik Morales' comeback won't last long. Just as long as it takes to make Barrera-Morales IV, which I welcome no matter how old they are. Who wouldn't?... Add JD Salinger, who died last week, to the list of great writers to leave us over the last few years. He joins Norman Mailer, W. C. Heinz, Kurt Vonnegut, William Stryon, and John Updike. And yet, Jeremy Priven, Tyra Banks, the Octomom and the executive members of the WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO live on. Bill Dettloff can be reached at dettloff@ptd.net

Arce beats Angkota on TD

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 23:36:58 PST

Fans of Jorge Arce will get to watch him fight for at least a little while longer. The entertaining 30-year-old veteran from Los Mochis, Mexico, announced that he would retire from the sport if he lost to Angky Angkota before he fought the unheralded Indonesian fighter in Mexico City on Saturday. After losing two title bouts -- a late-round TKO to Vic Darchinyan and a one-sided decision to Simphiwe Nongqayi -- last year Arce began to acknowledge that his grueling 15-year pro career had finally caught up with him. However, the former two-time 108-pound beltholder wanted to give the sport one more shot with Angkota because a vacant 115-pound title was on the line.Arce (53-6-1, 40 knockouts) nabbed his prize by pummeling Angkota (23-5, 14 KOs) to a seventh-round technical decision in the main event of a Fox Sports Net-televised (in the U.S.) card. Arce dropped the first round to a confident boxing Angkota but took command of the bout in the second round by bulling the Indonesian into a neutral corner and pounding his heavily tattooed body with both hands.Angkota tried to fight with his back to the ropes but was not effective. He oddly allowed himself to be forced into the same corner, where he was punished by Arce, in rounds two, three, four, five and six. Angkota finally moved to the center of the ring at the start of the seventh round but he suffered a nasty cut over his right eye from an accidental headbutt, which ended the bout once the ringside physician got a look at it.After the bout, Arce, who is now trained by noted Mexican coach Nacho Beristain, said he felt so good during the fight that he'll consider extending his career at least until the end of the year.In the co-featured bout of the Top Rank-promoted card, former 122-pound title challenger Eduardo Escobedo (27-3, 19 KOs) scored a unanimous 10-round decision over game Joksan Hernandez (17-2, 10 KOs).Escobedo, a talented protege of Beristain, controlled the first half of the bout with his lateral movement and counter-punching, which produced a flash fourth-round knockdown. However, the 25-year-old featherweight was pressed hard by Hernandez, who closed the competitive bout strong.Escobedo, who dropped a decision to then-beltholder Daniel Ponce-DeLeon in 2007, won by scores of 97-92, 97-93 and 96-93.

Mayweather-Mosley: A reason to celebrate

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 14:28:24 PST

The sport finally has a true feel-good story. Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Shane Mosley have agreed to fight on May 1 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, as Yahoo! Sports first reported. It's not Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao but it's a heck of a consolation prize.All those who care about boxing were disgusted only a few weeks ago when the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight fell apart over the timing of random blood testing. And a lack of worthy opponents for Mayweather afterward only added to the frustration.Now, however, we have a matchup that can be described as an event. Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy Promotions, which represents Mayweather and Mosley, compared the All-American matchup to Leonard-Hearns. That might be a stretch but it does have a similar feel.Mayweather is either the No. 1 or No. 2 fighter in the world, a sublimely skilled boxer who has rarely been challenged in his career. That, his critics will say, is in part because he has been reluctant to accept genuine challenges.Well, Mayweather has taken away some of their ammunition by first agreeing to fight Pacquiao - yes, he really intended to go through with the fight - and now signing to face someone deemed by almost everyone a legitimate threat."All these people who called Mayweather a coward, all these names, saying he's avoided this and that ... this is a reality check," Schaefer said. "The reality is that Mayweather hasn't avoided anyone and he certainly isn't afraid of anyone. The fights just have to make sense."This fight made sense. Mayweather won't enjoy the wind fall he was expected to receive against Pacquiao but will make a fortune nonetheless.Schaefer, who correctly predicted that Mayweather-Juan Manuel Marquez would exceed 1 million in pay-per-view buys, believes this one could approach the record 2.15 million buys of Mayweather-Oscar De La Hoya in 2007. That translates to a lot of money for both fighters.And, more important to the fans, Mayweather has a live opponent who contrasts sharply from the blown-up, much-too-slow Marquez that was embarrassed by him last year.Mosley, in effect, has won the lottery. He lobbied aggressively for a lucrative fight against either Pacquiao or Mayweather with the knowledge that his career is winding down at 38 years old.One of boxing's true nice guys more or less gave up by accepting a lower-profile fight with Andre Berto. However, Berto pulled out because of the earthquake in Haiti - his ancestors' homeland -- and the door was opened for a fight against Mayweather.Thus, Mosley will receive the payday of a lifetime and get the chance to prove that he remains one of the best fighters in the world pound for pound.And yes, Mosley, who admitted to taking performance-enhancing drugs before he fought De La Hoya in 2003, will happily submit to the Olympic-style testing upon which Mayweather insisted in negotiations with Pacquiao. That's a small price to pay for an opportunity like this.As De La Hoya said, "I believe Shane will raise his hand and say, 'Take me the laboratory.'"Some experts believe Mosley will provide a stiffer challenge to Mayweather than Pacquiao would've because he has similar hand speed and ability but is naturally bigger than the Filipino fighter. Mayweather has opened as about a 2-1 favorite.The many Mayweather haters, fed up with his arrogance, are licking their chops at this very moment wondering whether the time for comeuppance is at hand.Others might look at Mosley's career-invigorating knockout of Antonio Margarito last January as an illusion, a victory over a slow-handed opponent ideally suited for Mosley's style. Remember, before that, Mosley's performances against Miguel Cotto and Ricardo Mayorga raised speculation that he was in decline.The many Mayweather fans scoff at Mosley just as they scoffed at Pacquiao, the thinking being that no one is capable of beating their man.The bottom line is this, though: It will be fascinating to find out who's right. And fascinating is the last word we'd associate with a Mayweather matchup against the likes of Kermit Cintron, Paulie Malignaggi, Nate Campbell or any of the others mentioned as possible opponents.Mayweather-Mosley isn't Leonard-Hearns but it might be De La Hoya-Trinidad, which was an enormous fight that captured the attention of even casual fans. This is about as big as it gets in boxing short of Mayweather-Pacquiao.Yes, boxing appears to have survived the Mayweather-Pacquiao debacle. First, Pacquiao picked a credible (although less-than-exciting) opponent and could fill Cowboys Stadium on March 13. And, now, fate provides Mayweather with an opponent who translates into big money and is acceptable to everyone.Let's enjoy this.Michael Rosenthal can be reached at RingTVeditor@yahoo.com

Shumenov wins controversial rematch with Campillo

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 03:31:53 PST

Gabriel Campillo (right) lifts his hand in victory after a hard-fought 12-round battle with Beibut Shumenov (left) in Las Vegas, Nev., on Friday. However, it was Shumenov who won what many observers thought was a gift split decision. Photo / Naoki FukudaLight heavyweight prospect Beibut Shumenov fought hard in his rematch with Gabriel Campillo, but the titleholder from Spain fought smarter and busier throughout the entertaining 12 rounder that headlined a Fox Sports Net-televised show from Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nev., on Friday.However, Campillo's skill, accuracy and activity was not recognized by two of the official judges and Shumenov (9-1, 6 knockouts) received a gift split-decision victory.The self-promoted Las Vegas resident from Kazakhstan was awarded scores of 115-113 and an absolutely ludicrous 117-111, avenging the close majority decision he lost to the Spaniard last August. One judge scored the bout 117-111 for Campillo (19-3, 6 KOs). Most of the ringside press scored the fight for Campillo, a well-rounded southpaw boxer from Madrid who fought in the U.S. for the first time Friday night.Neither fighter is well-known to American fight fans but both exhibited exceptional heart and ability during the brisk and bloody 12-round bout. Shumenov showed his considerable athletic talent for much of the fight. The 2004 Olympian is a physical specimen with heavy hands, however, he faded badly in the late rounds and wasn't able to land clean punches on the cool-headed slick-boxing Campillo, who out-boxed and out-hustled the challenger for much of the bout. It was clear by the late rounds, when Campillo almost overwhelmed a backpedaling Shumenov with non-stop combination punching, that the 31-year-old Spanish titleholder is seasoned enough to compete on the world-class level. As tough and determined as Shumenov is, the 26-year-old banger still needs to develop before taking on the sport's top 175-pound fighters. In the co-featured bout of the evening, junior middleweight prospect Erislandy Lara (10-0, 6 KOs) took a step towards contender status by stopping season two of The Contender winner Grady Brewer (26-12, 15 KOs) in the final round of their 10-round bout.Lara controlled most of the bout from a distance with his stiff southpaw jab and hard straight lefts to the body. However, Brewer had his moments, especially in the third and fourth rounds, when he stunned the 26-year-old Cuban amateur star with right crosses.Lara stepped up his pressure in the fifth round and took over the bout after an accidental headbutt opened a nasty cut over Brewer's left eye in the sixth round. After dropping Brewer with a hard left uppercut two minutes into the 10th, Lara forced referee Tony Weeks to halt the bout at 2:44 of the round by pressing the 39-year-old veteran with non-stop punches along the ropes.The KZ Productions (Shumenov's promotional company) and Golden Boy Promotions co-promotion featured a good non-televised undercard that was enjoyed by the Las Vegas fans in attendance at Hard Rock's Joint venue.In what was arguably the fight of the night, unheralded junior lightweight prospect Eloy Perez, of Salinas, Calif., out-boxed and out-slugged the very game David Rodela, of Oxnard, Calif., over 10 hard-fought rounds to earn a unanimous decision.Perez (16-0-2, 4 KOs), who won by scores of 97-93 and 98-92 (twice), overcame a fast start by Rodela (14-2-3, 6 KOs) and clinched the victory by being the slicker (but still offensive-minded) fighter down the stretch of the contest. Featherweight prospect Ronny Rios (9-0, 5 KOs), of Santa Ana, Calif., out-boxed tough and talented Willshaun Boxley (5-4, 3 KOs), of Coons Rapids, Minn., to a hard-earned unanimous six-round decision. Rios won by scores of 60-54 and 59-55 (twice) but the fight was more competitive than the judges' tallies indicate.Junior welterweight prospect Jessie Vargas (8-0, 3 KOs), of Las Vegas, looked sharp in out-punching game southpaw Ricky Kinney (3-2, 2 KOs), of Baton Rouge, La., over four rounds to earn a decision by unanimous scores of 40-36.Light heavyweight prospect Gayrat Ahmedov (10-0, 6 KOs), Las Vegas by way of Uzbekistan, made quick work of Harely Kilfian (8-4, 7 KOs), stopping the 6-foot-4 journeyman in the first round with a single left hook to the body.Junior middleweight prospect Ravshan Hudaynazarov (10-0, 8 KOs), Las Vegas by way of Uzbekistan, stopped Shadrack Kipruto (10-13, 7 KOs) in the third round of their scheduled four rounder.Lightweight prospect Carlos Molina (10-0, 6 KOs), Norwalk, Calif., easily blasted Tyler Ziolowski (12-11, 6 KOs), of St. Joseph, Mo., into a quick first-round retirement, stopping the career opponent 54 seconds into the fight with a series of power shots.

Brinkley outpoints Stevens

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 00:54:53 PST

RENO, Nev.-- Jesse Brinkley defeated Curtis Stevens by a unanimous decision in a super middleweight title eliminator at the Grand Sierra Resort. The fight was more exciting than the official scores - 117-109, 118-108 and 119-107 - indicate.Both fighters continued to throw punches after the bell to end the fifth round. As trainers from both corners ran into the ring, one of Brinkley's cornermen held Stevens on the ropes before referee Vic Drakukich restored order. Drakulich then ejected that cornerman. Brinkley (35-5, 22 knockouts) knocked down Stevens (21-3, 15 KOs) in the sixth and his fans expected him to finish the job in the next round. However, Brinkley, surprised that Stevens didn't throw caution to the wind, coasted in the seventh and actually lost that round.Still, Brinkley controlled the rest of the fight in the judges' eyes."Stevens was not as strong as I thought he would be," Brinkley said. "My jab was the key to victory. However, I did not have an 'A' performance. I drifted in the middle rounds and was too cautious in the round after the knockdown. My strategy was to work my jab and not stay in front of him." My scorecard was 117-109 Brinkley.

Avalos stops Nieves in 4

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 21:21:38 PST

Hard-punching prospect Chris Avalos stopped Jose Nieves at 2:20 of the fourth round of a scheduled 10-round bantamweight bout Friday night n Albuquerque, N.M.Avalos (15-0, 12 knockouts) put Nieves (17-2-3, 8 KOs) down twice in the second round and twice more in the fourth, after which the referee stopped the fight to save the Puerto Rican fighter from further damage.Nieves was supposed to have been a significant step up in the competition for Avalos, who is from Lancaster, Calif. And that's the way it looked in the first round, which Nieves seemed to win by outboxing his younger foe.However, Avalos put Nieves down in the second, hurting him in the process, and the loser was on the defensive thereafter.In a preliminary bout, Archie Ray Marquez (10-0, 7 KOs) of Albuquerque easily outpointed Derrick Campos (20-8, 11 KOs) of Topeka, Kan., in an eight-round feathweight bout.

Former titleholder DeWitt continues to perform

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:25:15 PST

A lot of fighters use the word "perform" to describe what they do in the ring. And once one gives that type of performance, no other type is likely to be as intimidating.Doug DeWitt will tell you that. The former middleweight titleholder, now 48, entertained boxing fans from 1980 to 1992. And from about the time he retired he has done his performing on stage or in front of a camera.Acting isn't easy but it isn't life and death, as boxing is, unless it's one's sole means of putting food on the table. DeWitt makes a good living as a boxing-for-fitness trainer in New York City and has made good investments, allowing him to accept stage roles without pay.However, even in middle age, he wants to make a living acting as he once did in the ring."I enjoy it," said DeWitt, who plays an ex-boxer in a play - "The Cutting Den" - that opens a three-week run on Thursday at Soho Playhouse in New York. "That's the great thing. I have a business that keeps me going. If I had no money, I couldn't do it."... I don't want to do it as a hobby, though. I still believe I'll make it. I did in boxing. I was a poor 15-year-old kid when I started and made a great career for myself."DeWitt said he tries to accept his accomplishments in boxing because he can't change anything now. It's not easy, though.The native of Yonkers, N.Y., was a skillful boxer. He won a major middleweight title when he knocked out Matthew Hilton in the 11th round in 1990 and generally won the fights he was expected to win.However, he more often than not came up short in his biggest fights during an era rich with talent in and around his weight division. The list of his most-recognizable opponents is hair-raising: Robbie Sims (twice), Milton McCrory, Thomas Hearns, Sumbu Kalambay, Hilton, Nigel Benn and James Toney. DeWitt went 2-6 in those fights.His best performance might've been a unanimous-decision loss to a peak Hearns in 1986, a time when The Hitman was among the two or three most-feared fighters in the world and few could stand up to his punches."A person learns to deal with whatever they accomplished or didn't accomplish," said DeWitt, who tries but fails to live by that philosophy. "Do I think I could've done better? Yes. Do I think I had a chance to have a great career? Yes. ... It haunts me every day."I know I could've beaten everyone I lost to if I was a little more dedicated. But you have to go on with life ... and I think I'm doing well in that life."DeWitt was always captivated by movies as a child but had no real acting experience when acquaintance and fight fan Mickey Rourke, impressed with his performance against Hearns, encouraged him to try acting.Soon, with his boxing career winding down, he began taking acting classes and a second passion was under way. He said his acting coaches gave him positive feedback immediately and he continues to work hard on his craft.He has worked mostly in the theater in New York but has done some television and film, including a small part in the 1996 Rourke film "Bullet.""The first time I really tried acting was a short story for a teacher at the Lee Strasberg Institute," he said. "I played a boxer. She [the teacher] was blown away. I thought she was kidding me but she said, 'Doug, you were so natural.' So I thought, 'Well, I want to give this a shot.' I knew I could do it like I knew I could box."And here I am today, still doing it."DeWitt said boxing and acting are completely different in some ways but similar in others.Of course, the physical demands aren't comparable. No one tries to hit DeWitt in his second career. However, for him, the discipline required to succeed in boxing has extended to the stage. Hence his work ethic.And the necessity to stay relaxed in the ring is another tool he uses in acting. He was always comfortable performing."I know a lot of people think it's easy," he said. "I know guys who can't say a speech as best man at their brother's wedding, though. They get nervous. Some people are that way. ... I have confidence from boxing. I don't understand why a lot of fighters struggle after boxing. To me, everything is easy after boxing."Nothing you can do is harder than that. I don't care what I do; it's easier than boxing. It's life and death in there. That's the easiest way to say it.""The Cutting Den," the play that opens on Thursday, was written by someone familiar to DeWitt: former New York State Athletic Commission Chairman Ron Scott Stevens, a playwright since the early 1980s.His latest work, according to a press release, "is a modern day flood story set in a Brooklyn barbershop/bookie parlor during the first week of the Major League baseball season. When debts go unpaid, sparks fly until the shop burns red-hot." DeWitt plays a thug hired by a local crime family to collect outstanding debts who also happens to have been a former middleweight contender, which was no stretch for the real-life middleweight. Stevens said the character, Eddie Armstrong, is in the early stages of pugilistic dementia and his behavior is erratic.DeWitt's mind is fine but he was a natural fit for the part."I've known Doug a long time," Stevens said. "I knew him when he became WBO champion. I used to watch him ringside and watched him train for years. A few years ago he told me he was acting. I told him I write plays and that one day I'd write a play where I could cast him."When I wrote this play, I thought of him immediately. I asked him to read for us with a group of actors and then he had an audition for the director. He did well and won the role."DeWitt is excited about the new project, although he believes he was capable of playing the lead. He doesn't want to be type cast as a boxer. And, again, he'd love to be paid.If that doesn't happen on a large scale? He'll be OK with it. His No. 1 priority and love of his life is his 3-year-old son, Douglas, who could be heard playing happily in the background when DeWitt did this phone interview.And he truly enjoys acting and expects to continue doing it with or without paychecks."The greatest job I've ever had is being a father," he said. "God is No. 1. I believe strongly in God. Then comes my son. And I have brothers, good friends, a lot of people in my life I care about. So I'm happy with life."My son comes before anyone else, though. He's a smart, good-looking boy. I expect him to be something big one day."Just like dad, a former champion who has made life after boxing work.Michael Rosenthal can be reached at RingTVeditor@yahoo.com

Dougie's FAT Friday Mailbag

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 23:04:16 PST

QUICK POINTSHi Dougie,Couple of quick points I would like you to respond to: 1. I gently rested my head on my desk at work for a few minutes in silent despair after reading Eric Raskin's piece about the possibility of a 'Super Heavyweight' division. If it's bad for boxing then you just know the sanctioning bodies are going to sign up for it. What do you think the chances are of something this absurd actually happening? 2. Well done for pointing out the double standards that promoters seem to be held to at the moment. As badly as Golden Boy Promotions handled the whole Pac/Mayweather saga I don't remember Oscar De La Hoya or Richard Schaefer telling fans that they could go f___ themselves. Interesting how that comment hasn't caused the level of outrage that some of the comments made by GBP representatives have. 3. Given your proximity to the Amir Khan camp, do you have any latest updates on who he may face next? There has been talk over here of either Marcos Maidana or Paul Malignaggi, who do you think it will be? Thanks. -- Toby, London, UKHey Toby. I'll answer your points in order:1. I don't put it past at least one of the alphabet organizations to institute a super heavyweight division just to see if they can make some quick money off the novelty of it, but I don't think it's a "movement" that will gain any steam because I believe that sooner or later one of the Klitschkos will struggle or lose to a much smaller fighter (it could happen when Eddie Chambers challenges Champ Wladdy in March) and when the brothers finally retire I don't think there will be enough talented big men (heavyweights taller than 6-foot-4 and heavier than 240 pounds) to have a separate division. Beyond the Klitschkos, I don't think any of the current "giants" in the division can hang with "little guys" like Alexander Povetkin, Chambers, David Haye, Denis Boytsov, Tomasz Adamek, and our old friend John Ruiz. Honestly, I wouldn't pick Nicolay Valuev or Alexander Dimitrenko to beat any of those aforementioned contenders. 2. Tell me about it, brotha. Bob Arum-ageddon can do no wrong, while Golden Boy Promotion is viewed as the living embodiment of all that is evil. The boxing media's double standard is just plain silly and it's getting really old. I would love it if more fans would call these boxing writers on their obvious bias (you guys know who they are). 3. My proximity to King Khan is no closer than yours. All I know is that he's signed a co-promotional deal with Golden Boy (with his own company) and they have asked the WBA to hold on the mandatory matchup with Marcos Maidana. Freddie Roach and Amir have told me that they have no fear of fighting the Argentine bomber, but Richard Schaefer would like that fight to "marinate" a bit while Amir makes a name for himself in the U.S. fighting an old lightweight vet like JM Marquez or Nate Campbell. Malignaggi was mentioned as a potential opponent, but now it looks like the Magic Man could be Andre Berto's next opponent.A PLEA TO JM MARQUEZDougie,This is a plea to Juan Manuel Marquez: Please do not fight Amir Khan at 140 pounds. I don't like the idea of JMM in with a big hitter at 135 let alone a natural junior welter at 140. I just don't think his speed came with him and I'd hate for his career to end with losses to Floyd Mayweather and Khan (though I'm convinced Floyd was north of 147 for their fight on fight night.)I'd much prefer to see Tim Bradley in with Khan. JMM has too much of a legacy to have to step up in weight to fight Khan. Maybe I'm putting too much into the Floyd fight but JMM just didn't put the weight on well and he looked like he was stretching himself at 135 against Diaz. -- Tony, LAI agree with you. I don't think Marquez is effective above 135 pounds, and stylistically speaking, Khan is all wrong for an aging, naturally smaller and significantly slower counter-puncher. I can see Khan keeping Marquez at the end of his jab and moving non-stop, forcing the older, slower man to come after him. That's no good for Marquez.If Marquez fights again I'd like to see him take on an aggressive "comer" like Michael Katsidis or David Diaz, and then, quite Frankly, I'd like to see him hang up his gloves while he's got his faculties and money in the bank.As for Khan, I would also like to him take on Bradley, Maidana or perhaps the Devon Alexander-Juan Urango winner. Victor Ortiz is also a suitable opponent for Khan in my opinion. I don't really care to see the British star take on former lightweight titleholders.BOXING IS JUST FINEHi Doug,I am a big fan of your mailbags and I always try to make it in one of yours, so I hope this one make the cut. I am tired of everybody saying that without the PacMan-Mayweather fight, boxing is done. That can be the way an average boxing fan thinks, but not our way, the true hardcore fans.There are a lot of great potential fights like Juanma Lopez-Yuriorkis Gamboa, Lopez-Chris John or Gamboa-John. We could have a series of fights with featherweights if we include Rafa Marquez, Israel Vazquez, Celestino Caballero, Abe Concepci n, Mario Santiago and Antonio Escalante. Hey, we are going to have a lot of boxing to watch, good entertaining nights of boxing. Boxing is dead? Come on, not with this 126-pound division. We have the next generation of great fights and the best thing about this division is that the winners can move to the 130-pound division.Well, my friend, God bless you and we hope to see you soon again in Puerto Rico, where you have a bunch of fans. -- Carlitos, Puerto RicoThe falling out of Pacquiao-Mayweather hurt boxing's reputation among casual fans and the mainstream media but I agree that the sport is in good hands with the new generation of fighters who are currently making their names. It's not just the featherweight division. There's vast potential in almost every weight class and it starts with the top fighters willingness to face each other. Looking at the 2010 schedule I see contenders fighting contenders and it's a beautiful thing. Next Saturday "my son" Edwin Valero (THE RING's No. 1-rated lightweight) takes on Antonio DeMarco (THE RING's No. 9-rated lightweight, who I personally think should be ranked higher). Glen Johnson (the No. 3-rated light heavyweight) takes on Yusaf Mack (No. 7) on Feb. 5. Arthur Abraham (the No. 6-rated super middleweight) takes on Andre Dirrell (unrated by THE RING, but I consider him to be a contender) and Devon Alexander (the No. 4-rated junior welterweight) takes on Juan Urango (No. 6) on March 6. Manny Pacquiao (the No. 1-rated welterweight) fights Josh Clottey (No. 5) on March 13. Wladimir Kitsch (THE RING heavyweight champ) defends against Eddie Chambers (the No. 3-reated heavyweight). Carl Froch (the No. 3 super middleweight) battles Mikkel Kessler (No. 4) and Andre Ward (No. 2) takes on Allan Green (No. 7) on April 17. Mosley-Mayweather is close being a done deal. So is Yonnhy Perez-Abner Mares (excellent bantamweight scrap).Those are all good, high-profile fights (televised by HBO, HBO PPV or Showtime) and they will set up major fights for the fall.BOXING MEDIA'S DOUBLE STANDARDMr. Fischer:Just wanted to note my agreement with you re: the disparate treatment the GBP execs face compared to those at Top Rank. Sure, DLH gets on my nerves w/ his blogs and transparent promoting every time someone tries to get an objective analysis out of him (though I'm not sure whey anyone would even ask a promoter for an objective analysis). Yet, DLH & Schaeffer have never shown anything but respect for the fans and the industry. They have shown a greater commitment to the game at the grass roots level, which is absolutely essential for the health of the sport by supporting fighters who need it most, while expanding and actively engaging the fan base. Fight Night Club is an example of the making cards about the fighters and the fans, not these insulting PPV events (Top Rank is a prime offender) that do nothing but line the promoter's pockets. And is there anything more embarrassing than trying to corral a group of borderline boxing or MMA fans over to an event like Pac-Cotto then spending the first couple hours apologizing for the horrid undercards? What other sport does this? I'm not saying GBP doesn't, but I think that they try and learn and improve, which is how they got where they are. Further, would anyone else stoop to the ethical lows Arum has in loudly and arrogantly trying to sidestep any discipline for Margarito's depraved act(s)? Arum's reaction was as hostile to the fans as towards the CA Commission. I do not doubt that had that fight taken place in NY, there would be a serious investigation into criminal charges. Do you see owners in any other sport coddling an athlete caught brazenly trying to cheat by committing a criminal act seriously endangering the long-term health and careers of the other athletes? Can you IMAGINE the reaction if that was DLH, instead of Arum, pulling any of the above? Like I said, DLH annoys the heck out of me sometimes, but I can't think of another athlete who best embodies the American dream, which has a little to do with luck, but a LOT to do with hard work, discipline, smarts, and even humility. Likewise, I can think of no other promoter who best embodies the arrogant, insulting cliche that Don King once represented. I can think of no reason for the disparate media & fan treatment except for petty jealousy. That boxing fans and media succumb to those instincts so easily says a lot about why the sport sometimes fails to grow the way it should. Best. -- Matthew, NYCWell stated, Matthew. There's not much I can add to your points, but I also wonder why so many boxing writers who vehemently damn the "heinous act(s)" of Javier Capetillo and Antonio Margarito do not have equal scorn or outrage for the promoter who backs the fighter's story -- that nobody believes -- wants to get him back in the ring ASAP, and is more than willing to circumvent the California State Commission to do so.If it were Schaefer and De La Hoya, instead of Arum, who promoted Margarito and supported his story in the face of overwhelming evidence and sought to get the disgraced fighter re-licensed ASAP, FORGET ABOUT IT, there would be entire websites devoted to damning Golden Boy Promotions. Thomas Hauser would have already written have three books on the subject and have six more in the works. IOLE'S MARGARITO COLUMNI just finished reading Kevin Iole's article about Antonio Margarito being re-licensed in Texas and how despicable that is. I find it funny that certain media outlets are bashing Margarito based on what they think he may have done in prior fights. Iole even compared his KO ratio as he moved up in competition to that of Mike Tyson, alluding to Margarito's punching power and the increase in KOs as he stepped up the competition which leads to "proof" of illegal hand wraps for more than just the Mosley fight. Any boxing writer should know that Margarito is not a one-punch KO guy but more of a grinder that had steadily improved his technique, punch output, and ability to cut the ring off. Iole leads the readers to believe that all of Margarito's recent accomplishments were due to illegal handwraps and dismisses the actual boxing and uncanny ability to absorb punches. Can we assume under that logic that the reason for Hozumi Hasegawa's recent KOs are due to something illegal (PED's or wraps)? He was considered somewhat of a feather fisted fighter until his recent terror scoring five straight KOs (12 total in career). Granted that there is some precedence to point at that proves that Margarito has attempted to cheat (Mosley fight), however there is no concrete evidence that there was any wrongdoing prior to this fight. In the Cotto fight, it was widely regarded that Cotto was the bigger puncher and to my eyes this fight unfolded much like all of Margarito's fights (Mosley is the exception). He took all that Cotto dished out and came on strong to win the fight. Margarito was landing flush shots on Cotto's chin and body throughout the fight and even if he punched as soft as Paulie Malinaggi he probably would have prevailed. Hell Malinaggi even gave Cotto fits after getting his orbital bone fractured. My point is that we should just take the information that we are certain of (Margarito was caught with illegal wraps in the Mosely fight) and not speculate on what could have been done in prior fights. Let me man continue fighting in the sport he loves and take extra precaution on his hand wraps going forward. I will be looking forward to his upcoming fight unlike many others and hope you can turn things around and prove he is better than the fighter people are labeling him. -- Dion Mejia, San Jose, CAI can't help Margarito. He's going to have to earn the respect of the fans and the media one fight at a time. Can he do it? If he wins and does so in humble fashion, probably, although there will always be a throng of boxing writers who will damn him until the day he retires or dies. Perhaps that's what he deserves. I'll forgive him because I don't believe that he was loading his gloves for fights prior to the Mosley match. I think Capetillo panicked with the Mosley bout because Margarito had looked like such dog s__t throughout camp for that fight. But that's just me. Maybe I'm just a na ve fool. So be it. Anyway, Margarito is lucky he's in a sport that has put convicted murderers and guys who threw fights into the hall of fame.Regarding Iole's column, it's obvious that he believes that Margarito is a lying, cheating scumbag. Who knows? Maybe he's right. However, I have to wonder where the outrage is for Margarito's promoter.Iole correctly stated in the lead to his column that Margarito "isn't taking the most ethical route to try to get back into the boxing business." I agree, but the fact of the matter is that Margarito can't do s__t without Bob Arum. So why doesn't Iole damn the Big Bob Man?And if Iole is so sure that Margarito is basically a repeat attempted murderer, why would he support a system that would reinstate the boxing license of such a dangerous criminal?Also, I didn't quite get Iole's statement that he "will never buy another ticket to a card Margarito is fighting on" or spend "a cent on a PPV broadcast that includes" the fighter. Iole is one of the most prominent boxing writers in the sport. He doesn't buy tickets to major fight cards. He's credentialed as media. If he buys a PPV, he can expense it to Yahoo!. If Iole really wanted to make a statement he would refuse to COVER or even write about any card that includes Margarito.I also dismiss the Tyson-Margarito comparison. They were different fighters. Tyson was a weak-willed front runner who peaked early, in part due to his off-the-charts income and celebrity. Margarito was an iron-willed (and iron-chinned) grinder (as you stated) who got stronger as the fight wore on, and he was also a late bloomer.IN BRIGHTEST DAY, IN DARKEST NIGHT...From your mailbag: "Grown-ass men dressed up like Green Lantern". LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for making my day with that comment!! -- CYou are welcome. I don't mind mentioning that I'm a big fan of the Green Lantern Corps. mythos.THE BOBFATHER'S BOOTYAy dawg, that comment about the Bobfather giving the media the "red eye" was right on point. Seems like that this guy gets a pass for everything while the media jumps down Golden Boy's throat for everything. Personally, I think both companies should get their heads out of their asses because as of right now, this is looking a whole lot like Arum vs. King which put the kibosh on all kinds of good fights in years past. At any rate, what comics are you collecting these days? I'm following the Marvel Dark Reign/Siege stuff right now as well as their Realm of Kings space stuff. Holla back! -- FleetwoodI collect most of the X-titles (which gets pretty costly) and I'm currently following the whole "Necrosha" crossover arc. I was into the premise at first but now I'm getting kind of sick of all the dead mutants coming back and I'm also having a hard time following all the story lines (as I usually do with these major multi-title crossovers that comic book companies do way too much of).I tried to follow Dark Reign but I tired of it pretty quick. I won't even pick up the Dark X-Men. I don't have the time to invest in Siege... maybe I'll check it out once it all goes to TPB. I THOROUGHLY enjoyed the Realm of Kings series. Long live the Imperial Guard (the creation of my all-time favorite comic book artist, the late, great Dave Cockrum)!

Hall of Fame Friday: Bobo Olson

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 21:01:50 PST

Note: This is the second installment of a new series on RingTV.com in which we'll post a profile of a fighter in the International Boxing Hall of Fame.BOBO OLSONBirthdate: July 11, 1928Date Of Death: Jan. 16, 2002Birthplace: Honolulu, HawaiiWeight Classes: Middleweight, light heavyweightProfessional Record: 99-16-2 (49 knockouts)Title Held: World middleweight (Oct. 31, 1953-May 18, 1956)Best Performances: Randy Turpin (W 15), Kid Gavilan (W 15), Joey Maxim (W 10, W 10), Tommy Yarosz (W 10), Rocky Castellani (W15), Walter Cartier (KO 5), Joey Giambra (W 10), Wayne Thornton (W 10, W 10), Andy Kendall (W 10)Year Of IBHOF Induction: 2000Background: Born Carl Elmer Olson, the son of a Portuguese mother and a Swedish father ... Grew up in a tough neighborhood, where he was involved in numerous street fights ... Learned to box by participating in bootleg bouts against U.S. military personal stationed in Hawaii ... Took out a professional boxing license in 1944 when he was only 16 years old by using a fake identity card. Won three bouts before his true age was discovered ... Fought out of San Francisco in '45 and part of '46, winning eight straight before returning to Hawaii ... A winning streak ended at 21 in July '47, when George Duke handed him his first pro loss. Bounced back to outpoint Duke the following month ... Fought the first of four bouts with Sugar Ray Robinson, Oct. 1950, getting knocked out in the 11th round in a fight for the Pennsylvania State world middleweight title ... Challenged Robinson again, in '52, after Sugar Ray had won the legitimate 160-pound title, but lost a 15-round decision ... When Robinson retired in '52, Olson defeated Paddy Young (W 15) in an eliminator, and then beat Randy Turpin for the vacant championship, putting the British ex-champ down twice and winning a unanimous 15-round decision at Madison Square Garden ... "Bobo is a cutie who slips punches, bobs and weaves, hides his face in a peek-a-boo shell and, above all, keeps punching," wrote The Associated Press' Jack Hand in 1953, the year Olson was selected as THE RING's Fighter of the Year. "No great puncher, Olson wears a man down with his steady attack, throwing some of his punches with a half-open glove" ... Tallied three successful defenses of the title, but began having difficulty making the weight, and challenged light heavyweight champion Archie Moore in June in '55. Olson was the betting favorite, but Moore knocked him out in the third round ... Lost middleweight championship in '55, when Robinson came out of retirement and iced Olson in the second round. Also lost fourth and final bout with Robinson (KO by 4) ... Gradually worked his way into the light heavyweight ranks during the following decade, during which he scored a pair of wins over Wayne Thornton in '64, but a knockout loss to Jose Torres later that year ended hopes of winning the 175-pound title ... Won three of his final four bouts, but retired after a majority decision loss to Don Fullmer in '66 ... Did public relations work for the Teamsters Union after quitting the ring and later became a union elevator operator ... Suffered from Alzheimer's disease for a number of years prior to his death.Note: This story originally appeared in THE RING magazine.

Weekend Preview: Busy Friday

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:44:57 PST

Self-promoted light heavyweight Beibut Shumenov shadowboxes in preparation for his rematch with beltholder Gabriel Campillo in a Fox Sports Net-televised main event from Las Vegas on Friday. Shumenov, who challenged for Campillo's title in only his ninth pro bout, dropped a close majority decision to the Spaniard last year. Photo / Naoki FukudaBoxing fans with TiVO and DVR will be using the digital video recorders on Friday as the sport will be featured on four cable networks.Here's a look at the major bouts on all four shows appearing on Fox Sports Net, ESPN2, Showtime and Telemundo:Fox Sports Net will televise the light heavyweight title rematch between Gabriel Campillo (19-2, 6 knockouts) and Beibut Shumenov (8-1, 6 KOs) from Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nev.The two 175 pounders are not well known to American audiences but both are talented and worthy of attention. Campillo, a 31-year-old Spaniard fighting in the U.S. for the first time, is a capable southpaw with a classic stand-up boxing style predicated on a busy jab. Shumenov, 26-year-old native of Kazakhstan who now resides in Las Vegas, is a 2004 Olympian who defeated two former titleholders in his first eight pro bouts before fighting Campillo to a close, majority decision in his ninth pro bout.The two are engaging in an immediate rematch and the clash of styles, Shumenov has an athletic-but-unorthodox approach to boxing, should make for another nip-and-tuck 12-round battle.Fox Sports Net's live broadcast (8 p.m. PT/11 p.m. ET) begins with a 10-round junior middleweight bout between undefeated prospect Erislandy Lara (9-0, 5 KOs) and seasoned veteran Grady Brewer (26-11, 15 KOs).The fight could turn out to be an ugly one. Brewer, of Lawton, Okla., can be very awkward when he wants to be, and Lara, a former Cuban amateur standout, has been known to box safety first at times. However, the bout is significant because Brewer figures to test the talented 26-year-old southpaw.Brewer is 39 years old but the journeyman-turned-fringe contender is on a four-year, eight-bout win streak that includes a second-round stoppage of previously undefeated Albert Onolunose (18-0) in his last fight. Should the Lara-Brewer bout end early, undefeated welterweight prospect Jessie Vargas (7-0, 3 KOs), a Las Vegas-based Mexican national who some compare to a young Antonio Margarito, will be featured in a four-round swing bout against Rickey Kinney (3-1, 2 KOs), of Baton Rouge, La.BRINKLEY-STEVENSESPN2's Friday Night Fights series delivers a cross-roads bout in the super middleweight division from Reno, Nev., when veteran Jesse Brinkley (34-5, 22 KOs) takes on prospect Curtis Stevens (21-2, 15 KOs). Brinkely, of Yerington, Nev., is best known for his participation on the first season of The Contender reality series but the 33-year-old vet has quietly raked up eight consecutive victories dating back to mid-2007, often fighting in front of energized crowds in Reno. Brinkley's performances have been hot and cold depending on the shape he's come in. He looked sharp battering fellow first season of The Contender alum Joey Gilbert en route to a one-sided 12-round decision last February, but he was overweight and sluggish in a 10-round decision over light heavyweight Mike Paschall last July.Stevens, only 24, has only fought four times since losing a one-sided 10-round snoozer to Andre Dirrell in a forgettable track meet two and half years ago. The heavy handed New Yorker looked vulnerable while going life-and-death with spoiler Dan Mouton in a close eight-round win last April, but he appeared formidable in stopping then-undefeated (22-0) prospect Piotr Wilczewski in three rounds last July.Brinkley is by far the most experienced fighter Stevens has faced in his 5 -year pro career. The 12 rounder, which is a title eliminator for one of the sanctioning organizations, should be a good one. It will be interesting to see if Stevens can hurt Brinkley with his vaunted power and if the younger man has the stamina to last the distance with the battle-tested veteran.CHARLES RETURNS TO SHOBOXThe best news about Showtime's ShoBox telecast from Albuquerque, N.M., is that beloved commentator Nick Charles, who took a leave of absence from the broadcasts to battle bladder cancer, which is now mostly in remission, is returning to the show he's co-hosted with Steve Farhood since its inception in 2001.However, the 10-round main event between undefeated bantamweight prospect Chris Avalos (14-0, 11 KOs) and Jose Nieves (17-1-3, 8 KOs) is certainly worth mentioning.Avalos, a 20-year-old boxer-puncher from Lancaster, Calif., is taking a huge step up in competition with Nieves, a 29-year-old southpaw from Carolina, Puerto Rico, who was fighting in 10-round bouts more than two years before the young prospect turned pro.The local attraction, 21-year-old Archie Ray Marquez (9-0, 7 KOs), of Albuquerque, N.M., is in the ShoBox co-feature. The junior lightweight prospect takes on Kansas journeyman Derrick Campos (20-7, 11 KOs) in an eight-round bout.RUIZ-MELENDEZThe main event of Telemundo's broadcast from Mexico City pits 20-year-old bantamweight sensation Jesus Ruiz (19-2-2, 17 KOs), of Nogales, Sonora, Mex., against the far more experienced Luis Melendez (26-4-1, 21 KOs), of Cartagena, Colombia, in a 12-round bout.Melendez, an aggressive 30-year-old southpaw, dropped Fernando Montiel before being stopped in the 12th round of a spirited 115-pound title challenge in October of 2007. However, who knows where the Colombian's head is after his 10-round loss to Z Gorres last November nearly resulted in the Filipino veteran's death.Melendez and Gorres went toe to toe for much of their fight until the Colombian dropped the Filipino lefty in final round. Gorres got up and won the bout on points but then collapsed in his corner and was rushed to a hospital where he was put into a medically induced coma in order to treat a subdural hematoma he suffered during the bout. Gorres eventually regained consciousness and is expected to make a full recovery but the fight must weigh heavily on Melendez's heart.Will he be able to let his hands go against the hard-punching young Ruiz?SATURDAY SLUGFEST?There is one nationally televised (in the U.S.) show on Saturday, a Fox Sports Net broadcast from Toluca, Mexico, featuring the return of popular former 108-pound titleholder Jorge Arce (52-5-1, 40 KOs) vs. Indonesia's Angky Angkota (23-4-0, 14 KOs) for a 115-pound title.Arce is only 30 but the little warrior turned pro when he was 15 and he has many brutal extended slugfests among his 59 pro bouts, perhaps too many. Arce took a frightful beating during an 11th-round TKO loss to hard-punching 115-pound king Vic Darchinyan last February and the Los Mochis, Mexico native did not appear to have his legs or reflexes in a one-sided 12-round decision loss to South Africa's Simphiwe Nongqayi last September.Who knows what the heavily tattooed Angkota brings to the table? One thing is for certain, the 28-year-old boxer-puncher did not had it easy on his way to the top. He was put in with future 105-pound titleholder (then 39-5-2) Muhammad Rachman in only his second pro bout back in 2001. The poor kid was smashed in one round as could be expected. However, Angkota went on to win more fights than he lost, including 10-round decisions over former and future 105-pound titleholders Joma Gamboa and Donnie Nietes in 2004. He hasn't been knocked out since that first-round KO in his second pro bout, so he doesn't appear to be soft touch for Arce.Whatever happens, let's hope Arce doesn't take unnecessary punishment.

Fight Night Club returns, Ortiz headlines first show

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:05:45 PST

Victor Ortiz (far left), Oscar De La Hoya (left center), Hector Alatorre (right center), and Luis Ramos (far right) pose during a press conference announcing the second season of "Fight Night Club." Ortiz-Alatorre will headline the first show on February 25. Ramos will also be on the Fox Sports Net-televised card. Photo / Gene Blevins-Hoganphotos/Golden Boy PromotionsGood news for Los Angeles-area boxing fans, who will get the opportunity to watch Victor Ortiz fight live for as little as $20 a seat at Club Nokia in downtown L.A. on February 25.That's a heck of deal considering the last time Ortiz fought in L.A. he and Marcos Maidana engaged in a memorable shootout that resulted in a TKO loss for the young junior welterweight standout but also left the fans at Staples Center breathless.Now for the bad news. Ortiz won't be fighting Maidana in a rematch on that night. The soon-to-be 23-year-old southpaw isn't facing undefeated titleholder Timothy Bradley or British star Amir Khan, either. Ortiz (25-2-1, 20 knockouts) is fighting someone named Hector Alatorre.Feel free to ask yourself, "Hector Ala-who?" The tough-but-limited journeyman from Tulare, Calif., is the first to admit that he's a virtual unknown outside of his central California community but he will joined on the Feb. 25 card by a few well-known prospects from the L.A. area and Orange County, including undefeated lightweight Luis Ramos.That's because the Ortiz-Alatorre 10-rounder headlines this year's first Fight Night Club, Golden Boy Promotions' monthly club show designed to showcase the L.A.-based company's home-grown talent. The well-received series, which was televised on the Versus network, began with four summer shows at Club Nokia last year. Fight Night Club featured some of Golden Boy's up-and-comers from Southern California, such as Santa Ana's Ramos, Oxnard's David Rodela and Paramount's Charles Huerta. The prospects fought four- and six-round bouts in front of raucous local crowds and were often in with live opponents. Huerta, a promising featherweight, suffered the first loss of his career -- a shocking first-round KO to Derrick Wilson -- in the July headliner. Rodela, an exciting junior lightweight, was pushed to the limit in his two six-round main events, which he won by close decisions.Fight Night Club returns to its home at Club Nokia, the swanky 2,200-seat venue across from Staples Center at L.A. LIVE, but it has a new network partner in Fox Sports Net and it has expanded to 10 shows beginning with the Feb. 25 card.Most of the shows will be headlined by prospects such as Ramos and Huerta, but occasionally a more advanced fighter, such as Ortiz, can use the series as a means of staying busy between higher-profile fights."Fight Night Club is all about creating followings and recognition for developing young fighters but it's also a great opportunity for more-seasoned fighters to stay active and in the public eye while they wait for title fights," Oscar De La Hoya, president of Golden Boy Promotions, said at a Tuesday press conference announcing the 2010 season of the series. "Last year, (bantamweight contender) Abner Mares headlined a Fight Night Club and he's right there for a world title."There's a good chance that Mares will challenge for world title in May, but even so, he could headline the March Fight Night Club just to make sure he's sharp and ready for it. Sergio Mora, who we just signed, is a veteran but he might headline one of the shows because he hasn't fought since 2008. "I take my hat off to fighters like Abner and Victor. They're not getting paid HBO money with Fight Night Club, and obviously they deserve that kind of pay, but they're willing to sacrifice to stay sharp and they're acting like real fighters. Fighters fight." Ortiz's management believes that activity is ultimately more vital to a young fighter's career than big paydays.Rolando Arellano, who co-manages Ortiz with Shelly Finkel, used to co-manage Fernando Vargas (also with Finkel). Arellano says the former 154-pound titleholder's inactivity played a big part in the fighter's abbreviated prime."Once Fernando became an HBO fighter he fought once every 18 months and during the time between fights he would put on weight and his skills would erode," Arellano said. "That old saying 'Use it or lose it' holds true for boxing. Victor has an HBO date in May but we don't want him sitting around for six months."Enter Alatorre (16-8, 5 KOs). The 28-year-old journeyman, who has never been stopped, is durable enough to go rounds with Ortiz but doesn't have the power to threaten the potential 140-pound star.Golden Boy's matchmakers hope Alatorre, who gave former 130-pound titleholder Carlos Hernandez a hellish outing in a 10-round split-decision loss in 2008, will be spirited enough to at least make for an entertaining scrap against Ortiz. If Alatorre is as animated on fight night as he was at the press conference, the fans should get their moneys worth."Some people see me as a ladder for Victor to climb, but people forget that some ladders lead down. Some stepping stones are slippery," Alatorre said. "I'm not here to lose. I'm here to make a statement. For me, this is a rematch from seven and half years ago. We fought (as amateurs) in the (California State) Golden Gloves finals at Lincoln Park. I was the defending champion and I took him lightly. He was just a young kid, and forgive my French, but he was barely dropping his balls."We had a good fight. I thought it could have gone either way, but he won. I wasn't mentally prepared then. Now I'm ready."Ortiz didn't quite know what to make of Alatorre's "balls" statement but he was respectful of his unheralded opponent."I know Hector is no joke," Ortiz said. "I'm going to be ready." De La Hoya and Arellano want Ortiz to stay ready all year because they plan to keep him busy -- and against much stiffer competition than Alatorre."I'd like Victor to fight five times this year," Arellano said. "I realize that HBO doesn't have enough dates for three or four to be on their network but he can be placed on some pay-per-view undercards and we're always happy to come back on Fox Sports Net, which is in more than 80 million households."De La Hoya is more concerned with who Ortiz fights than what network the fights are on. His company currently promotes (or represents) former champ Ricky Hatton; current beltholder Khan; two former lightweights standouts now campaigning at 140 pounds, Juan Manuel Marquez and Campbell; former titleholder Vivian Harris; undefeated puncher Lucas Matthysse; and Ortiz's nemesis, Maidana. De La Hoya believes Ortiz can hold his own with any of the aforementioned junior welterweights and he says Golden Boy will try to match him against some of those formidable fighters this year."There's a lot of great talent at junior welterweight and Victor is at the forefront," De La Hoya said. "I think he's ready for all of them."A boxing writer asked De La Hoya about Bradley, THE RING's No. 1-rated junior welterweight, who isn't promoted by Golden Boy."Timothy Bradley, a fellow Southern Californian, is there for Victor, too," he said. "There's also (titleholders) Devon Alexander and Juan Urango. Victor is young. He's going to be around for a long time so there's time for him to fight them all."Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times asked Ortiz who he would like to fight next."This guy named Hector Alatorre on Feb. 25," Ortiz replied.THE DREADED 'TBA'If the proposed Shane Mosley-Floyd Mayweather showdown is made, there's a good chance Ortiz will be on the televised undercard of the May 1st or May 8th pay-per-view event. Who the Oxnard, Calif., resident will fight is not known yet, but Campbell apparently is the front runner.Arellano says that Ortiz will fight on HBO in May even if Mosley-Mayweather isn't made.Ramos (13-0, 7 KOs) doesn't have an opponent for his six-round lightweight bout on Feb. 25 but the 21-year-old southpaw knows his foe will be a step up from the hardnosed journeymen he fought in his three Fight Night Club appearances last year."I've been told that my opponents are going to get tougher this year," he said. "I fought journeymen last year, tough guys, but they had losing records. I don't think I'll be fighting anyone with a losing record this year. They're going to have winning records and I'm sure at some point this year I'll have to face an undefeated up-and-comer like myself."Some of the guys who fought on last year's shows fought undefeated fighters with mixed results. I'll probably be a little nervous before a fight with a fellow prospect but once I'm in the ring I'll find a way to win."I'm excited about facing better competition because I want to put my boxing skills to the test."That's what the series is all about.FNC TICKET AND SERIES INFO.Doors for the Feb. 25 show open at 6 p.m. PT. The first bell rings at 7 p.m. PT.Ticket prices start at $19.75 (general admission for floor standing room and balcony seats). There are also $60 tickets (VIP balcony seats, which grant buyers access to the Club Nokia VIP Room), $100 (VIP front row balcony seats, which come with a Fight Night Club autographed boxing glove and grant buyers access to the Club Nokia VIP Room), and $250 (VIP on-stage with the ring seats, which are limited to only 10 per show and allow purchasers to sit ringside on Club Nokia's stage near VIPs attending the fight, receive an Oscar De La Hoya autographed boxing glove and provide buyers access to the Club Nokia VIP Room [must be 21 years of age and over]).The Fight Night Club series, which is sponsored by DeWalt Tools, Budweiser and Vitamin Water, will return to Club Nokia on March 25, April 29, May 27, June 24, July 29, Aug. 26, Sept. 30, Oct. 28 and Nov. 18.

10 questions going into the Pacquiao-Clottey fight

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 01:27:05 PST

1. Is Clottey a worthy opponent? Short answer: yes. Pacquiao is THE RING's No. 1-rated welterweight; Clottey is No. 5. That's a good matchup. The Ghanian is coming off a loss to Miguel Cotto, one of the most-respected fighters in the world, but some believe he did enough to win a close decision. Clottey has never been knocked out and has good defensive skills, which means he'll probably survive at least until the late rounds. That said, it's difficult to get excited about Clottey's chances or the fighter himself. He's merely a very good boxer with pretty good power, which won't be enough to stave off a fierce, quick-handed marvel like Pacquiao. The Filipino is roughly a 4-1 favorite for a reason. And Pacquiao went from Floyd Mayweather Jr. to a relative unknown for his opponent. A drop off that enormous will limit the buzz surrounding the fight.2. Can Pacquiao hurt Clottey? Pacquiao has faced two welterweights. One, Oscar De La Hoya, could barely fight back. The other, Cotto, doesn't have the best chin in the world. Clottey is different. The reason he has never been knocked out is he can take a punch. He has proved that over and over again. Thus, there is a very real possibility that the Clottey will remain standing for the full 12 rounds. I don't see that happening, though. I believe Pacquiao has legitimate welterweight power. Plus, Clottey has never seen this kind of hand speed or punches coming from so many unpredictable directions. The punches that hurt opponents most are the ones they don't see coming. Pacquiao might not take Clottey out with one punch but an accumulation of them should do the job. If not? Doesn't matter. Pacquiao will just outbox his inferior foe.3. Are Pacquiao's last four victories misleading because of the opposition? Pacquiao supporters will roll their eyes when they read this but it's a legitimate question. Diaz is good but limited; De La Hoya had nothing left; Hatton was overrated and some will argue that Cotto never fully recovered from the beating he took from Margarito. So what does that say about Pacquiao? Not much. As his trainer, Freddie Roach, has pointed out, we thought these opponents were all pretty good going into their meetings with Pacquiao. It was afterward, for the most part, that we began to question to them. Clottey might actually be the most-difficult to criticize even after the fact because he has had a fine career and has shown no signs of decline. Still, some will find serious fault with him and anyone else Pacquiao fights short of Mayweather or Mosley. The bottom line is that he's destroying whomever they put in front of him. Let's enjoy it.4. Has Pacquiao's reputation taken a hit after the failed negotiations with Mayweather? I don't think so. Most fans seemed to blame Mayweather for the impasse, insisting that he was out of line to make blood-testing demands outside normal protocol even though Pacquiao has never failed a drug test. I also don't think many people believe he has taken performance-enhancing drugs. Most adhere to the innocent-until-proven-guilty philosophy, which is the only fair approach to take. Undoubtedly, a small percentage feel strongly that he should've taken the blood test two weeks before the fight if he had nothing to hide. And a smaller percentage, those convinced he couldn't have such success at heavier weights without some help, will accuse Pacquiao of wrong doing. That's a very small group, though. He is relatively unscathed.5. Will Pacquiao suffer a letdown after his epic showdown with Mayweather fell through? Not a chance. Pacquiao is the most-focused, most-professional boxer I've ever seen in spite of myriad distractions. In part, that's just how he is. He is so committed that he left his homeland and traveled halfway around the world seeking a good trainer simply because he wanted to tap into what he knew was vast potential. The fact he has the hopes and dreams of an entire nation on his shoulders also is an immensely powerful motivating factor. He knows too much is riding on every fight to let down. And even if he were to slip up, Roach would be there to give him a good kick in the behind. Pacquiao will be as ready as ever on March 13.6. Could Pacquiao's demanding schedule the past few years catch up to him? Pacquiao, 31, hasn't had a particularly hard fight since the rematch with Juan Manuel Marquez in March of 2008. He cruised past David Diaz, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto, although the first few rounds against Cotto were brutal. However, Pacquiao, one of the hardest workers in the world, has been training diligently to perfect his craft for 15 years without a significant break. That includes countless sparring sessions in which he has absorbed considerable punishment. Also, no one has a more hectic and demanding personal schedule than the Filipino idol. It's not farfetched to wonder whether all of the above will take a toll on him at some point.7. How many people will attend the fight at the new Cowboys Stadium in Dallas? An estimated 20,000 tickets were sold the first day they were available. That's probably a tribute to Pacquiao's growing popularity in the U.S., a large number of boxing-friendly Latinos in the Dallas area, a strong sports culture in Texas and the novelty of the first boxing card there. The stadium reportedly will be configured for 45,000 seats. I doubt that many people will buy tickets but I won't be surprised to see a large crowd. I suspect the atmosphere will be festive but those in attendance shouldn't necessarily expect electricity. I attended the Wladimir Klitschko-Ruslan Chagaev fight at a packed 60,000-seat soccer stadium in Germany and the energy dwindled to nothing when it became clear that Klitschko was going to win easily. Then again, the 126,000-seat Estadio Azteca in Mexico City rocked throughout the Julio Cesar Chavez-Greg Haugen fight.8. How many pay-per-view buys will the fight generate? Pacquiao-Mayweather, featuring the two biggest pay-per-view draws in the U.S., might've smashed records by generating a record 3 million-plus buys. Pacquiao-Clottey? I think 800,000-900,000 -- or just shy of the 1 million Pacquiao-Cotto drew -- is realistic. Clottey isn't nearly the attraction Cotto is in part because he doesn't have a Latino fan base in the U.S. However, the fascination with Pacquiao is still growing and the unusual venue -- Cowboys Stadium -- adds to the appeal of the event. Plus, Antonio Margarito's return from suspension would give the show a significant bump if he receives a license in Texas.9. What if Pacquiao wins? Bob Arum, Pacquiao's promoter, has come up with a fascinating plan to have his star attraction fight Antonio Margarito this year if the disgraced Mexican fighter receives a license in Texas. That would be a very lucrative matchup. The fact Margarito would be returning from his suspension in California -- for illegal hand wraps -- and a large following among Mexicans and Mexican-Americans would make him a hot commodity and the fight much more attractive than Pacquiao-Clottey. Thus, we might be looking at 2011 for the Pacquiao-Mayweather showdown. That's assuming neither of the star participants slips up in the meantime and can get past blood-testing issues in the end.10. What if Clottey wins? A Clottey victory would turn the boxing world upside down. Suddenly, the sport's most-popular figure would be exposed as human after all and lose the remarkable momentum that has experts comparing him to the greatest fighters of all time. The landscape would be far less interesting, to say the least. Pacquiao would remain an attraction -- particularly if he could beat Clottey in a rematch -- but he probably would never be quite the same. Pacquiao-Mayweather or Pacquiao-Mosley would still be big but, with a diminished Pacquiao, wouldn't smash pay-per-view records. Clottey would set himself up for some healthy paydays but will never be a true star. This is fantasy, though: Clottey isn't going to win.Michael Rosenthal can be reached at RingTVeditor@yahoo.com

De La Hoya: Mayweather-Mosley closing in on deal

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 20:48:54 PST

Oscar De La Hoya said he's optimistic that the proposed May 1 fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Shane Mosley, both of whom De La Hoya represents, and the failed Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight will happen.De La Hoya also said that Antonio Margarito, who is applying for a license in Texas, should be banned for life for loading his hand wraps but would support leniency if Margarito would admit wrong doing.The representatives of Mayweather and Mosley have been in negotiations for more than a week."They're going great, actually," De La Hoya told reporters at a news conference to promote the Fight Night Club card on Feb. 25 in Los Angeles. "The camps are working extremely hard to make that fight happen."... I have to tell you: (An agreement) is not too far away. Is that fight going to happen? I'm very confident it will."The question-and-answer session centered around testing for performance-enhancing drugs in boxing - the issue that scuttled the March 13 fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao - and then drifted to Margarito.De La Hoya said that the inability of Mayweather and Pacquiao to come to terms was a missed opportunity for Pacquiao and boxing."I think people are realizing, 'Wow, these people are bashing each other's brains in,'" he said. "If one fighter is on something, it can be devastating. It could even be fatal. ... It should be mandatory that fighters go through these extensive tests to make sure they're clean."... That was the perfect stage to show the world us fighters have nothing to hide."Still, De La Hoya believes the strong public demand for the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight and the money the fighters stand to make - as much as $40 million each, according to some estimates - will make the fight a reality.One or both of the fighters would have to give ground for that to happen, though. Mayweather demanded blood testing two weeks before the fight but Pacquiao - promoted by De La Hoya's rival Bob Arum - drew a line at 24 days."The public will hopefully make him change his mind," said De La Hoya, referring to Pacquiao. "Why would you not want to make $40 million? Why would you not want to show the public that this speculation [about whether Pacquiao might be taking any illegal substances] is nonsense?"Go ahead. Be the king and the master and say, 'Hey, what are you talking about? I'm clean, I'm a clean athlete.'"That discussion led to Margarito, who was suspended by the California State Athletic Commission for at least one year after he was caught with a illegal pads in his wraps before his fight against Mosley last January.De La Hoya didn't mince words when asked what he thought about the prospect of Texas granting Margarito - also promoted by Arum - a license to fight on the Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey undercard March 13 in Dallas."I'm actually disgusted," he said. "The fact they're going (around) California, weaseling their way in through Texas, I'm disgusted by it. I just finished watching a documentary [about Luis Resto's infamous glove tampering]. Whatever type of cheating you're doing, it's just wrong. It's wrong because you're messing with somebody's life. When you mess with somebody's life in the ring, you should be banned for life. That's my opinion."Mosley has admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs before his fight against De La Hoya in a 2003 rematch but said he didn't know what he was taking at the time. Now, Mosley not only is promoted by De La Hoya but they are also friends.Should Mosley also be banned for life for cheating?"Shane came forward and talked about it," De La Hoya said. "... When he said he didn't know he took it, that they gave it to him, I believe him. In the second fight, did he feel different to me? He did. I was lucky to have enough talent not to get hit as much and stay away from him."With Shane, he admitted it. He said, 'Yes, I did it. This [convicted steroid distributor Victor] Conte guy is a bad guy. When you have loaded hands and you're throwing punches ... it's a different level."Margarito said he didn't know that his trainer, Javier Capetillo, inserted the illegal pads into his wraps. De La Hoya, echoing the opinion of most fighters, doesn't believe him."These are your weapons," he said, pointing to his hands. "If a trainer puts one more wrap on, you know it. ... If Margarito comes clean, if he says he did this and is sorry, then that's a different story. ... Then maybe the commission will have some kind of sympathy."Michael Rosenthal can be reached at RingTVeditor@yahoo.com

Super sighs: Fight against fracturing of heavyweight division

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 20:37:13 PST

It wasn't easy, but somehow the cretins running boxing's for-profit sanctioning bodies - men and women gifted with the divine ability to turn wine into water, diamonds into coal and Ricky Frazier into a mandatory - have succeeded in turning the word "super," a term previously free of negative connotations, into one of the most dreaded words in the English language.It started nearly a decade ago with the WBA's introduction of the "super champion" concept, whereby they found a way to give title belts to two fighters in the same division. And it threatens to get worse in the months ahead if the alphabets succeed in creating a "super heavyweight" division.The heads of the WBA, WBC and IBF, Gilberto Jesus Mendoza, Jose Sulaiman and Marian Muhammad, respectively (that's the only way you'll ever see the seven letters that form the word "respect" share a sentence with those names), met in Cancun earlier this month to see whether they could more effectively rape and pillage our sport. One order of business was initial discussion of introducing a super heavyweight division.It doesn't take a genius to see why this idea would appeal to the alphabets: An 18th weight class equals new opportunities to extract sanctioning fees.But if you're a boxing fan, this idea should hold zero appeal. Those sanctioning fees won't land in your pocket. And the value of what once was the most prestigious title in all of sports - heavyweight champion of the world - will be rendered almost nonexistent.We all know hard times have fallen upon the heavyweight division in recent years. But as bad as things are, splitting the heavyweight division in two will make it even worse. It could become so bad that we someday look wistfully back upon the bygone Klitschko Brothers era as something we wish we could recapture.For starters, consider the talent pool. There isn't enough to properly populate one heavyweight division right now. Look at the RING rankings. Alexander Dimitrenko and Tony Thompson are both still in the Top 10. If you divide the division into "heavyweights" (presumably with a weight limit of 220 or 225 pounds) and "super heavyweights," you're making each division twice as diluted as heavyweight currently is.Almost everyone agrees that the NBA and NHL have over-expanded and watered down their products, but at least they did so just a couple of teams at a time; they didn't go around doubling the number of teams in the league. That's approximately what the creation of a super heavyweight division would do from a depth-of-talent perspective.And following right in line, the addition of a super heavyweight division would destroy the cachet of titles in either weight class. Suddenly, "heavyweight" would become a second-rate title, given approximately the respect that "cruiserweight" is given now. And "super heavyweight" would not inherit all of the prestige "heavyweight" once held, because there is no history behind the term.Imagine that you're one of the Klitschkos. If your heavyweight belts are suddenly replaced with super heavyweight belts, then you're no longer a part of the same all-time-great discussions as Joe Louis and Muhammad Ali. Every debate about where to rank you among the legends of the division becomes complicated and perhaps altogether moot. Is Vitali Klitschko a Top-25 all-time heavyweight? Well, he's not a heavyweight at all, so can we really have that discussion?Similarly, if the 220-pound Alexander Povetkin claims one of the new "heavyweight" titles, can he be properly assessed in the annals of history if he never has to defend his belt against the best big men of his era, namely the Klitschkos?There's an argument out there that it isn't fair for 220-pounders to fight 250-pounders, that they don't stand a chance of winning. We heard some of this chatter after Cris Arreola lost to Vitali Klitschko last September (it was a rather comical argument since Arreola was himself a 250-pounder, just not as tall a 250-pounder as Klitschko) and then ironically we heard it again after Arreola was the bigger man pummeling 218-pound Brian Minto in December.If Minto feels he's too small to compete against these guys, well, it's not like anybody's forcing him to fight them. He can go ahead and compete exclusively against guys like Povetkin, Eddie Chambers, Ruslan Chagaev or David Haye. But he'll find that the results are the same. He'll lose to those fighters because he's just not as good as them. Minto is an honest heavyweight who tries hard and can beat some of the B-level guys, but he's not at the world-class level.History has shown us that smaller heavyweights who are world-class fighters can beat heavyweights who have three or four inches and 20 or 30 pounds on them. How else would you explain Lennox Lewis getting knocked out by both Oliver McCall and Hasim Rahman? Or Wladimir Klitschko getting KO'd by Lamon Brewster? Or Vitali Klitschko losing to Chris Byrd? Jack Dempsey hammered Jess Willard, and Max Baer brutalized Primo Carnera. More recently, Chambers schooled Dimitrenko. And Haye outpointed Nikolai Valuev despite giving away nine inches and 99 pounds.The Klitschkos are obviously much better fighters than Dimitrenko and Valuev, but the reason they keep winning isn't that 220-pound heavyweights can't beat them. It's that at this moment there aren't any 220-pound heavyweights good enough. We likely wouldn't be having this discussion about whether the Klitschkos are too big for everyone if Ali or Larry Holmes or a prime Evander Holyfield were around right now.Yes, times have changed, athletes have grown and most 195-pounders wouldn't stand a chance against the Klitschkos. But that problem was already addressed with the creation - and later, the 10-pound limit increase - of the cruiserweight division. (And you'd still have a hard time convincing me that Louis, at about 202 pounds, wouldn't have a realistic shot at upending one of the Klitschko brothers.)Should we penalize Wladimir and Vitali by inventing this new division just because the current 220-pounders aren't good enough to beat them?Lurking within that question is the solution to this potential super heavyweight problem: As the most powerful - and, importantly, the most financially valuable - names in the heavyweight division, the Klitschkos need to stand up to the alphabet boys. Wladimir holds two alphabet belts. Vitali holds one. If they refuse to play ball, if they talk to Sulaiman or Muhammad or Mendoza before this thing becomes official and they tell them, "We're heavyweights and we're not paying sanctioning fees on super heavyweight titles," then there's a good chance this atrocious idea never gets off the ground.Wladimir and Vitali, the boxing world needs you to step up right now. I don't know exactly where I'd rank you among the all-time heavyweights. But it's up to you guys to make sure I'm at least engaging in that discussion after your careers are over.RASKIN'S RANTS- I'm halfway with Bob Arum on continuing to build toward Yuriorkis Gamboa vs. Juan Manuel Lopez with interim fights. On the one hand, the fight isn't quite big enough yet; on the other hand, let's recall Oscar De La Hoya-Felix Sturm, Danny Green-Roy Jones, Ray Mercer-Tommy Morrison, Zahir Raheem-Erik Morales and every other "build up the big event" fight that either prevented that big event from happening or cost it pay-per-view buys. I think it's right to put Gamboa and Lopez on one more card together. But then I'd go ahead and make the fight between the two of them rather than giving them additional opportunities to get bumped off.- Max Kellerman did something unusual just before the Gamboa-Roger Mtagwa fight: He used a Rocky Balboa parallel without it feeling like a tired clich . It was actually fitting and well delivered. (Of course, then Mtagwa entered the ring to "Eye Of The Tiger" and it turned into a clich .)- My unsolicited advice for Shane Mosley as he tries to make a fight with Floyd Mayweather: Be working on a back-up plan. You're already looking at about 16 months of inactivity, and the last thing you need is for Mayweather to hold your career hostage "negotiating" a fight he doesn't necessarily want.- Self-serving plug No. 1: The first article in my 10-part HBO.com series on the HBO fights of the decade debuted last Wednesday, and a new article will appear each of the next nine weeks. In case you're curious, no, Wladimir Klitschko-Sultan Ibragimov didn't make the list.- Self-serving plug No. 2: Last week's episode of RING Theory was our best yet, if I do say so myself. Another thank you to RING Editor-in-Chief Nigel Collins for his guest appearance, and thanks as well to Harold Lederman for his guest appearance (whether he realizes he was on the show or not).- If you want to ride a rollercoaster of emotions reading a single headline, try this one from Fightnews.com last week: "Oquendo-Whitaker not on ... yet". First you see the names Oquendo and Whitaker together and you immediately feel queasy. Then you see the "not on" and you breathe a sigh of relief. Then you read the "yet" and you double over in pain once again. Here's hoping that if Fres Oquendo-Lance Whitaker gets signed, it lands on the Bernard Hopkins-Roy Jones II undercard, where I'll be certain not to see it.Eric Raskin can be reached at RaskinBoxing@yahoo.com.

Dougie's Monday Mailbag

Sun, 24 Jan 2010 23:13:37 PST

FEATHERWEIGHT FUTUREHi Doug,Well, once again both Yuriorkis Gamboa and Juan Manuel Lopez showed why they are must-see TV. Like anyone else, I can't wait to see those two step in the ring to face each other. Of course we'd all like to see it happen immediately, but I can't complain with Bob Arum wanting to wait and make the fight as big as possible. The good part in having to wait is that there are a bunch of quality fighters in an around the division for each of them to fight. If they go the titleholder route, you have Chris John, Cristobal Cruz, and Elio Rojas; then there are the junior featherweights who could move up, like Celestino Caballero or Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym; and, if they wanted a more popular 'name' opponent, I could even see them going with the Vazquez-Marquez winner. Who knows what will happen in the coming months, but at least this past Saturday night got the ball rolling again and got us talking about actual fights and not fight contracts/negotiations. Thanks. -- Jesse, New JerseyAmen for that, Jesse. This past Saturday was the start of the year for boxing for me. All the big-fight negotiations that played out in the press from late December through the first two weeks of January was just pre-season B.S. as far as I'm concerned. The real boxing schedule began with real fighters in real fights. We saw two of the sport's top young talents in action on Saturday and the performances of both Gamboa and Lopez exceeded my expectations. I thought both men would win but I figured both would be taken the distance. Well, it looks like I wasn't giving them enough credit. These young guns are the real deal.I don't mind waiting a little bit for an eventual showdown between the two but I don't want to wait until one of them begins to struggle to make 126 pounds, or one (or both) has a poor performance against an interim opponent, before they finally face each other. In letting a fight "marinate" there's always the risk that one of the fighters could lose or look bad, which obviously takes the luster off of the eventual showdown.Then again, if one of them takes on a top-tier featherweight like Chris John, or a top 122-pounder like Celestino Caballero, I won't be disappointed if either Lopez or Gamboa struggles (or even loses). I'll just be happy that fights between the best fighters in two divisions are being made.FUTURE SHOWDOWNHey Doug,In a future JuanMa vs Gamboa fight, I have Gamboa by KO. JuanMa's is too slow and gets hit too much. What about you? -- Stephen, MontrealI see it as an even fight right now. I know Gamboa looked like Ray Robinson against Rogers Mtagwa. I realize that he's the definition of dynamic. Gamby has phenomenal speed and power, but he's still there to be counter punched. Mtagwa wasn't the kind of boxer to do that. He's a rugged free-swinging slugger who has seen better days. Lopez is a decent counter puncher who possesses good technique and heavy hands. The Puerto Rican southpaw can test Gamboa's chin early and he may be able to capitalize on the Cuban's mistakes better than lesser fighters like Darling Jimenez, Marcos Ramirez and Roger Gonzalez were able to.GAMBOA-LOPEZDoug,I'm really loving this slow rivalry Bob Arum is building between Gamboa and Lopez. I for one can't wait until these two young studs finally face off in the ring, but I like Bottom-Line Bob's plan of having his two 'destroyers' clean out the division before facing each other.I thought Gamboa looked absolutely sensational. I know Mtagwa came in very light and he was moving up in weight, but still... Gamboa appeared to hurt him with just about every clean shot he hit him with. I thought if Gamboa had pressed him as early as the first round he could have ended things, I counted at least two times Gamboa backed off after stunning him. Gamboa appears so relaxed in the ring and so supremely confident. I think the Meldrick Taylor comparisons are on point as far as their speed and willingness to stand and trade when they could do otherwise is concerned, but Meldrick never had this kind of power... Lopez looked more workmanlike against a more difficult opponent, but as much as Mtagwa was tailor made for Gamboa, Luevano, despite his skill of trade, lacked the pop and physical strength to answer any questions his previous fight raised. I still have serious thoughts about whether or not Lopez can hold off Gamboa at this weight. And if Mtagwa nearly knocked him silly, what will Gamboa's punches do to him at featherweight?Can you explain to me how HBO -- boxing's greatest network -- can listen to Lennox Lewis and believe he's an asset in any way to their broadcasts? He is beyond bad, has trouble pronouncing the fighters names -- when he remembers them -- and never has anything to add. We -- me included -- used to kill George Foreman for some of his comments ("Shane Mosley can never be the true welterweight champion until he beats Six Heads Lewis..."), but in between asinine statements, Big George could actually put together a coherent thought. I just don't get it and it's not like Lewis is a beloved superstar like Sugar Ray Leonard (another gem).When Max Kellerman first showed up in the studio on FNF, a lot of people used to rip and poke fun at him. I always thought his enthusiasm was good for the sport. I'm starting to suffer from Max Fatigue though. He really beats you over the brain with his points, but I'm not sure how much is his fault. Unless Bob Papa prompts him, I'm not sure Lennox would even speak. -- Tom G.When you're talking about HBO, and the decisions the network's sports division often makes regarding its boxing programming, you have to understand that the decision-makers don't have hardcore fans in mind. They usually think in terms of casual fans, which they believe will translate into crossover appeal for their shows. So they're always looking for the "human interest" story of the fighters and they usually want well-known personalities or "experts" to rep the sport on their broadcasts. Sometimes they find guys who are well known and respected who can deliver real insight (like with Emanuel Steward), other times, well, they're going for the name. Lewis isn't a household name in the U.S. like Leonard or Foreman, but most sports fans, even those with just a passing interest in boxing, know that at one time 'Big L' was the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. That's a big deal to HBO's executives. What other networks that showcase boxing have the former heavyweight champ calling the action to their fights? None. And they like that. It's as simple as that, my man.I think Lewis does occasionally offer insight. He knows a lot more about the sport than he expresses on a regular basis but I think his personality prevents him from stepping on Papa's or Kellerman's toes. He's not a know-it-all former athlete, and I'll bet you that many viewers like that about him. Those viewers probably aren't hardcore fans, like you, but once again, I don't think the suits at HBO give a damn about what you think. They're kind of like Bob Arum. LOL.I agree that the big question most fans will have about Lopez when he eventually fights Gamboa is whether or not he can withstand the Cuban's power. I think Gamboa's speed should be part of that question. Daniel Ponce-DeLeon had plenty of power but he didn't have the speed (or technique) to reach Lopez's chin. Gamboa does.However, Lopez has the kind of patience, poise and fundamentals to time a dynamic boxer-puncher like Gamboa. I'm not going to go Gamboa crazy just because he blasted Mtagwa, who was softened up by Tomas Villa and Lopez. Nobody will admit to it now, but 95% of the hardcore fans I talked to or corresponded with LOVED Felix Trinidad over Bernard Hopkins before their fight in 2001. Why? Because Tito looked like a monster vs. Williams Joppy while B-Hop was merely workmanlike (and ugly) in out-pointing Keith Holmes in the first round of Don King and HBO's middleweight tournament. Styles make fight, folks. Don't forget that.WHO'S THE BEST CUBAN?Nice article on the three Cuban prospects last week. I'm a huge fan of all three. They are going to bring a lot of excitement to the sport.I was actually wondering about your thoughts on Guillermo Rigondeaux. I've watched a lot of boxing in my lifetime and when I watch this guy I can't help but think that this may be one of the all-time great counter punchers the sport has ever seen. This guy has ice water running through his blood and with his extensive amateur career it's clear he's seen it all. He stands in front of his opponents as relaxed as I've ever seen as soon as there is the slightest mistake he lets go with pin-point accuracy.Do you think he could not only possibly one of the next top fighters of this era, and possibly the best counter punchers of all time? Thanks. -- AndyIt's too early to tell if Rigondeaux is one of the best counter punchers of this era (let alone all time) because we haven't seen him in with the top junior featherweights yet. I'll say this about him, he's one of the best I've seen in recent years. His defensive ability is uncanny and it's a major component of his counter-punching efficiency. Watching him spar with (smaller) world-class fighters and young prospects who are his size or bigger has been a joy. I'm not exaggerating when I tell you that 108-pound titleholder Rodel Mayol (who is a lot faster than most junior featherweights) couldn't hit Rigondeaux with a single flush shot in four rounds of sparring. I'm looking forward to watching Rigondeaux fight in the Friday Night Fights co-feature on Feb. 5 (the main event is the rescheduled light heavyweight crossroads match between Glen Johnson and Yusaf Mack).Erislandy Lara is taking on Grady Brewer, the toughest opponent (on paper) of his pro career, this Friday. That 10-round bout, which is the co-feature to a Fox Sports Net-televised card, should be interesting. Brewer is a good gatekeeper when it comes to undefeated prospects. If they don't have it, Grady will let us know.And, like everyone else, I can't wait to see Gamboa in action again. I'd love to see him take on the "real" WBA titleholder Chris John, or his No. 1 and No. 2 contenders, hard-hitting Daniel Ponce-DeLeon and slick-boxing Daud Yordan.ARUM'S POST-FIGHT COMMENTSHere's Bob Arum's comments after the Lopez and Gamboa victories:"I know what people want and they can go [expletive] themselves," Arum said with great exuberance. "I want to wait and build this to be the biggest featherweight fight of all time. It's my job as a promoter to do that. When they fight, they'll fight to be best featherweight in the world. I want to see those two clean out the division and I don't want to see them rush to fight each other. There's no way I want to rush and do this." Granted this fight would be bigger if both were more well known to the casual fan, but this is the overall problem with boxing. Arum himself put it out there that Gamboa and Lopez would fight in the future particularly if they were both to be victorious, but now he says he knows what the fans want and they can go f__k themselves? This is the problem with boxing because guys like this don't care what the fans actually want to see and are too concerned about the business of boxing and what benefits them the most. This comment was pathetic and so is the fact that Mayweather-Pacquaio didn't get made. I blame this on Arum and Mayweather. -- Mike, NYCMe too. And you are absolutely right. Arum's statement is an example of what is at the core of boxing's ills. The power brokers -- the promoters, network executives, managers, and star fighters -- don't give a damn about what the real fans want. This is one of the main reasons the sport stopped growing (in the U.S., at least) more than two decades ago. I've said this before, but I'll go ahead and repeat it, boxing could learn a thing or two from the comic book industry. Regular readers of the mailbag know that outside of boxing my only interest/hobby is comic books. What I like about the comic book publishers (and even the producers and directors of the big-budget Hollywood adaptations of a lot of comic books) is that they'll go to the various conventions and listen to what the super nerds and ultra geeks have to say about the characters and story lines before they start a new publication or begin production on a film. They actually start with the hardcore fans, those grown-ass men dressed up like Green Lantern. Now contrast that with the boxing industry, which at best takes its hardcore fans for granted and at times appears to have utter contempt for the loyalists. Arum has no problem referring to hardcore fans as "schmucks" on record.Can you imagine Stan Lee going to Comic Con and addressing the thousands of fanboys there like this:"What's up losers! I know what you want to see in my books and on the screen, but guess what? You can all go and f__k yourselves! Ha ha! How ya like them apples!?"It wouldn't happen. Even if Lee really felt that way (and he doesn't) it wouldn't happen. It wouldn't happen in any successful industry. ARUM KNOWS WHAT PEOPLE WANT?Dougie,Given the quote, "I know what people want and they can go [expletive] themselves," why should I want to watch a Top Rank card again anytime soon? As compelling a match up "Pacquiao v the guy that jumped to the canvas every chance he got against Cotto" is, I feel like I'll be OK saving my 50 or 60 bucks. -- T. SmithHey, if you want to say "f__k you" right back to Arum that's what you do. You don't give him your money. It would be nice if some of my peers in the media would grill good ole Arum-ageddon they way they scrutinize everything that comes out of Richard Schaefer's and Oscar De La Hoya's mouths but it's not going to happen.Maybe these writers were just taught to respect their elders but I get the feeling that Arum could waltz out to a post-fight press conference and give them all the finger, tell them to f__k themselves and then bend over, drop his trousers, part his wrinkled butt cheeks and literally give them the "red eye" and they'd stand up and applaud him.

Weekend Review: Big nights for Gamboa, Lopez, Tamara

Sun, 24 Jan 2010 21:21:39 PST

Yuriorkis Gamboa (right) had Rogers Mtagwa reeling throughout their short fight on Saturday night. Photo / Emily Harney-FightWireImagesBIGGEST WINNERYuriorkis Gamboa: I don't want to anoint Gamboa the next great fighter after his two-round demolition of Rogers Mtagwa on Saturday in New York City, particularly after writing that we make snap judgments too often. That said, WOW! Gamboa looked like a complete package at least on one night, showing the speed, power and poise of a true star. His punches were accurate and extremely punishing, the result being three knockdowns. Yes, Mtagwa's aggressive style was made for a puncher like Gamboa. Still, the Tanzanian is a very rugged fighter who had given Juan Manuel Lopez hell in his previous fight. Gamboa's performance was simply spectacular.BIGGEST WINNER IIJuan Manuel Lopez: Lopez didn't dazzle the crowd or television audience quite the way Gamboa did but also turned in a very impressive performance. The Puerto Rican star dominated a slick, experienced southpaw even though he was moving up in weight, which is saying a lot. Lopez patiently and methodically broke down the Californian and then took him out with two devastating rights in the seventh round, an emphatic end to a great night. Just like that, Lopez regained any ground he might've lost in his narrow victory over Mtagwa in October and set up a fascinating matchup with Gamboa - if and when it happens.MOST FRUSTRATINGLopez vs. Gamboa: Promoter Bob Arum urged those of us who would like to see Lopez and Gamboa fight immediately to do something unnatural and possibly illegal to ourselves. He said those people can, "Go (expletive) themselves." I understand that Arum wants his two young featherweights to build their reputations, which would make for an even bigger showdown later on. However, what he's saying is that he wants safer fights for Lopez and Gamboa. Is that what boxing needs? Safer fights? I love the idea of two young, immensely talented, undefeated fighters facing one another while they're hot rather than hoping they'll get hotter. Maybe it's just me. By the way, after Gamboa's performance on Saturday, I don't see him losing to Lopez.MOST DISAPPOINTINGRogers Mtagwa: Everything that Mtagwa built in his sensational performance against Lopez came crashing down against Gamboa on Saturday. He was outclassed, overmatched and overwhelmed against a far superior fighter. Mtagwa shouldn't be written off but that was a giant step backward. Perhaps his poor performance lends credence to the notion that Lopez was weakened because he had difficulty making 122 pounds, meaning maybe Mtagwa wasn't as good as he looked that night. Also, Mtagwa weighed only 122 for the 126-pound fight. He'll probably go back down to junior featherweight and try to rebuild.MOST DETERMINEDCarlos Tamara: The thing that struck me about the Tamara-Brian Viloria fight on Saturday in the Philippines was how fierce and fresh the New Jersey-based Colombian was in the final round of a taxing fight, the round in which he stopped Viloria and took his junior flyweight title. To me, Tamara looked like an incredibly determined fighter who was thinking: "I'm just not leaving this ring without that belt." Those who have followed Tamara knew going in that he was no pushover. He's experienced - having fought once before for a major title - and tough. Now everyone knows how formidable he is.MOST CRUSHINGBrian Viloria losing: Viloria was told by Sugar Ray Leonard after he first won a major title that holding onto the belt will be much harder than winning it. The former U.S. Olympian had another harsh reminder of that Saturday in the Philippines. Viloria worked very hard to regain his status as an elite fighter after struggling in 2006 and 2007 and succeeded, stopping Ulises Solis to regain a title. Now this. Viloria rebuilt once before; he can do it again if he wants to. The good news is that he's apparently OK. He collapsed in his dressing room after the fight and was rushed to a hospital, where doctors reportedly determined he suffered no permanent damage.MOST-DISTURBING SILENCEMayweather-Mosley negotiations: Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Shane Mosley's representatives have been in talks for about a week and there's no sign of a pending announcement. A report several days ago indicated that negotiations were going well. A more-recent report, on Examiner.com, cited a source close to Mayweather saying the fighter might be balking because he would make much less money fighting Mosley than he would've made fighting Pacquiao, whom Mayweather apparently deems the more beatable of the two. I hope that source is wrong. If he's not, Mayweather will have the distinction of spoiling two huge events in a span of about a month. He might never live that down.MOST DISTURBING NEWSErik Morales coming out of retirement: The former Mexican star was a great fighter, probably a first-ballot hall of famer. I miss his fire and unusual ability. However, the man has lost his last four fights and five of six, including two knockouts by Pacquiao. I was never more certain that a fighter should retire after his final fight, a decision against tough, but limited David Diaz in August of 2007. Now, ESPN.com reported, he will face Jose Alfaro in a welterweight bout on March 27 in Mexico and plans to fight beyond that. I support his right to fight if he meets the medical requirements but I don't like it, which is the case whenever a badly faded star refuses to face reality.TOUGHEST MANDATORYAmir Khan fighting Marcos Maidana: I believe Khan is the most-talented 140-pounder in the world but I still wonder about his chin, which dramatically came into question when he was knocked out by Breidess Prescott in 2008. So who does the Briton get to defend his title against on April 17? One of the biggest punchers around, Marcos Maidana, who pounded the spirit out of another hot young prospect in Victor Ortiz last year. The Argentine has 26 KOs in his 27 victories. Khan probably will win because of his superior boxing ability but the odds say he's going to get tagged once or twice. It will be fascinating to see what happens. This fight isn't set in stone. Khan is trying to get an exemption from the WBA to fight Juan Manuel Marquez first.MOST UNSETTLINGAntonio Margarito possibly regaining a license: The Mexican slugger has the right to reapply for a boxing license after the minimum one-year suspension he was given in California for having loaded wraps. Arum, his promoter, is confident Texas will license Margarito to fight on the Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey undercard on March 13 in Dallas. I also understand that Arum doesn't want Margarito to re-apply in California, where the promoter doesn't feel his client was treated fairly. If Margarito didn't know trainer Javier Capetillo inserted the illegal pads in his wraps, as he claims, then I think a one-year suspension is sufficient. If he did know, then the punishment doesn't fit the crime. And I, as well as most fighters I talked to, believe he had to know. Arum reportedly wants Pacquiao to fight Margarito this year.BEST QUOTEArum, on a potential Lopez-Gamboa showdown: "I want to hear you guys ask me that question [about when they'll fight] over and over and over. Because then I know they're taking care of their business and we're doing our jobs. They're terrific young fighters and terrific kids, but this fight is going to be huge one day. If I just threw them in there now, yeah, you'd love it and it would be a great fight, but it wouldn't do the kind of business it's going to do a while from now. Believe me when I tell you, down the road a fight between these two guys is going to be huge. You watch."Michael Rosenthal can be reached at RingTVeditor@yahoo.com

Giampa: Kellerman's comment off base

Sun, 24 Jan 2010 18:22:01 PST

Former Las Vegas boxing judge Chuck Giampa, now a consultant who advises fighters, will provide occasional analysis of officials and scorecards when he is not directly involved in an event. Here is his take on a comment made by Max Kellerman about scoring a close round in the Steven Luevano-Juan Manuel Lopez fight on Saturday. I have been more than pleasantly surprised in the past few months by comments I've received from boxing fans who ask about the criteria for scoring a fight. Their comments indicate that they are interested in the analysis of the fighters' strategy, the referee's actions and the criteria used by the judges. However, most of their questions are based on comments made by TV commentators of the fight in question, which can be misleading. Sometimes the commentators are incorrect in their assessments, as analyst Max Kellerman was during the Steven Luevano-Juan Manuel Lopez fight on Saturday in New York City. At the beginning of the second round, blow-by-blow announcer Bob Papa described the scoring of the close first round this way: "When you get these close fights, those are the kind of rounds that could be ... who do you give it to? ... it could be a factor in how you score the it." Kellerman immediately responded: "Those kinds of rounds tend to go to the guy with the big fight coming up." After scoring more than 120 world title fights, and with due respect to Kellerman, I must disagree with him. That comment is so inaccurate that it demeans the role of a judge. I have never heard of that philosophy mentioned at any of the judging seminars I've attended or post-fight meetings in more than 20 years of judging professional boxing. Fans hear this comment from a TV analyst and unfortunately some may believe that is how a judge would score a close round. So I have to tell the loyal fans of boxing: Close rounds are NEVER scored that way. A judge must award each round to the fighter who won that 3-minute segment with no advantage to the current champion and certainly can never award a close round to the fighter with the big fight coming up. Prior to each title fight that Harold Lederman is scoring on HBO, he states very clearly the criteria of scoring each round: clean, effective punching; effective aggression; defense; and ring generalship My philosophy is that one punch can determine a round and one round can determine a fight. Every second of every round is important to the judge scoring that round. A past fight, a future fight or the current champion has no bearing on how a round is scored. So to all of the fans who watched the Luevano-Lopez fight on HBO: Don't be misled by Kellerman's erroneous comment. Chuck Giampa can be contacted at chuckgiampa@aol.com

Hopkins fighting Jones to 'stay busy'

Sun, 24 Jan 2010 15:26:48 PST

Many of us greeted the news that Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones were finally getting together again the way we might receive the news that Hootie and the Blowfish were reuniting, or that some comic from the 1930s who everybody thought was dead already, actually died. That's to say some of us cared. Most of us didn't.It seemed a moot point when Jones went down against Danny Green in Australia as though someone had dropped a cartoon anvil on his head. In the first round, no less. And from one punch! Surely that would squash any chance there was of another meeting between Hopkins and Jones. So certain were we that when I wrote a feature about it for the March 2010 RING magazine (on sale now), the piece was titled, "Going In Different Directions: Hopkins and Jones Will Meet Again ... In the Hall of Fame!"Shows how much we know, especially when it comes to Bernard Hopkins. As you have no doubt heard by now, the fight will proceed in spite of Jones' collapse against Green, and really, we should have seen it coming. The signs all were there.After beating Enrique Ornelas in Philadelphia, Hopkins spoke about the Jones fight proceeding as though the Green fight had never happened; every day brought new stories about negotiations for a fight between Hopkins and another fighter breaking down; and Jones' promotional company filed a protest with the authorities in Australia, claiming Green hands were wrapped illegally, hence the knockout. So here we are, Bernard Hopkins-Roy Jones II in April in Las Vegas. And the question everyone is asking Hopkins, who has appeared all along to be the one pushing for the fight, is why? The answer, according to Hopkins, is pretty straight forward: to keep active."It really is important that I stay busy more than it is about fighting any particular person, especially Roy Jones Jr.," Hopkins said. "It's not like I would turn down any other fight that was meaningful to fight Roy Jones Jr. So it's not like it's an obsession. It's just something I'm left with."Fights with Lucian Bute, Tomasz Adamek, and Green all fell apart for one reason for another, according to Hopkins. "Bute and their people said the money was fine, everything was great, but they're looking other places," Hopkins said. "Basically that Bernard Hopkins is not the guy we're looking for. And you know what? I respect that. I respect Bute's management for saying we're not ready for Bernard Hopkins whether the money's OK or not. So Bute's out.""Then we go to Adamek. We know what Adamek's doing. He's fighting heavyweight. So now Adamek's out. "And now you're down to trying to get Danny Green. Now Danny Green, all of a sudden, even having a good deal at 60-40 on the table, believes that since he beat Roy Jones Jr. and that since HBO wants to be involved in my business, not necessarily his business, he believes that everything that comes in the pot on my end (should be his too)."Draw your own conclusions about the validity of Hopkins' statements here; truth is relative in the fight game more than in most places, but know that Hopkins became a Hall of Fame fighter and a millionaire essentially self-managed and until very recently without the long-term aid of any very big promoter. How many fighters can say that?He knows how this business works. So Hopkins was left with the rematch with Jones or a fight with Chad Dawson, who most believe is the future of the light heavyweight division, if not its best fighter right now. Recalling an earlier deal for a Dawson fight, Hopkins said he and Dawson were offered a split of $2.5 million, an amount Hopkins found unacceptably low, even given the state of the economy."I know 2.5 is 2.5 and I know there's a recession and all, but ya'll gotta be serious," Hopkins recalled thinking. He knows the fans want him to fight Dawson, or Adamek or Bute or Green or just about anyone other than Roy Jones."I would love for you to be writing about (me and) Chad Dawson. I'd love for you to be writing about this guy, that guy. But, hey, I can't make a fight if the next guy ain't trying to make it with me. It takes two to tango in this business. I've always been willing and able to fight anybody over my whole life and career and nobody can really dispute that."He's right about that. And besides, Dawson apparently doesn't really fit in with Hopkins' longer-term plan."My real goal is to fight the winner of John Ruiz-David Haye," Hopkins said. "That's gonna have people saying the opposite: Is Bernard f___ crazy? But this is me! Do I sit around and wait for this opportunity, and let another year go by on a 45-year-old body and hope I can restart the engine? No, I got to do what's right for Bernard Hopkins. I can go in the ring and spar and spar and spar and spar but there's nothing like being in the ring with five or 10 or 16,000 people seeing you and responding to that pressure." Hopkins said he won't lose another year to inactivity the way he did after beating Kelly Pavlik when HBO and Golden Boy Promotions couldn't get together on what dates were available for what fighters. He said he and Shane Mosley found themselves in the same boat and he's still incredulous at the way it happened. "Two African-American fighters who won the two biggest upsets in the last 20 years and sat for a year and half. Are you f______ kidding me?" he said. "I'm not an idiot, I know the politics. ... I love and respect my company but I'm fighting even harder now, with the company, than when I was by myself. What I think was going on is you got these two fighters that are not in the prime that shouldn't be fighting and are not moving out of the way and are not getting beat to be moved out of the way, and we can't move them because they're not our future."So although he is fighting Jones to stay sharp, he recognizes there is enormous risk: If he loses to the Roy Jones who was flattened by Green, he takes a big hit."I have plans and motivation but I will not look at Roy Jones Jr. as a guy who can't take a punch. I can't do that - this is a bigger risk for me than it is for him. And Roy Jones can still punch. Let him hit me on the chin and knock me out and guess what, it'll be a blow to everything I've done, at least half of it."As to the fight's commercial appeal, Hopkins recognizes that some people will like it, some won't, but he likened it to a game of one-on-one between Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson. "Guess what ... they could be 90 years old; I'm coming," he said. "Why? Because it's Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan. It's a legend against a legend." We'll see if that's enough for Hopkins-Jones II to sell. Even if it doesn't, you can bet Hopkins will have something else up his sleeve. He always does. Some random observations from last week:To say Yuriorkis Gamboa was sensational blowing out Rogers Mtagwa is an understatement. He looked like a featherweight hybrid of prime Roy Jones and Mike Tyson and nothing like the undisciplined neophyte we saw earlier in his career. ... Juan Manuel Lopez, who was about as impressive stopping a very good Steven Luevano, will have a very hard time with Gamboa. Anyone who gets hit as much as Lopez does - or at all, apparently -- will be in some trouble against Gamboa. The guy cracks. ...The most astute thing Lennox Lewis said during the Boxing After Dark broadcast came when he observed that, "(Mtagwa) is tailor-made for ... uh ... um." If there is a classier fighter in all of boxing than Miguel Cotto, I haven't seen him. ...Kudos to ESPN2 for picking up the excellent Yusaf Mack-Glen Johnson fight that was canceled when Andre Berto pulled out of his fight with Shane Mosley. ...New rule: No more posed pictures of guys pointing at things. Every damn photo we see these days in boxing has to have a guy pointing at something in the picture - a belt, a fighter, a logo. Enough with the pointing already. ...Hey, I have an idea: Restore Antonio Margarito's license, but for his first five fights back his opponent is allowed to load up his gloves the way Margarito tried to against Mosley. How's that work for you, Antonio? ... Kudos to my Ring Theory co-host Eric Raskin, who suggested on our most recent show that the streaky Brian Viloria was due for a smack down. That's precisely what happened when Carlos Tamara stopped Viloria in the 12th round in The Philippines.Bill Dettloff can be reached at dettloff@ptd.net

Lopez, Gamboa cruise but Arum balks at immediate showdown

Sat, 23 Jan 2010 21:38:36 PST

Yuriorkis Gamboa (right) lands a crunching right to the face of Rogers Mtagwa on the way to a dominating second-round KO of the normally durable journeyman. Photo / Naoki FukudaNEW YORK, N.Y. -- Juan Manuel Lopez had something to prove Saturday night and it's safe to say he proved it at the Theater at Madison Square Garden.The last time Lopez was there, he sat glumly in his corner with a towel over his head grateful he had escaped with his perfect record still intact. On Saturday night, he slapped his knees in excitement immediately after one of the best performances of his career.Lopez was sharp, at times electric and much more tactical and cunning than he was the last time he fought at the Theater, when he was engaged in a life-and-death struggle against Rogers Mtagwa last October. This time, the Lopez the sellout crowd of 5,142 expected to see showed up, dominating and then stopping Steven Luevano 44 seconds into the seventh round to take the Southern Californian's alphabet title.That set up the possibility of a great featherweight showdown with Yuriorkis Gamboa, another featherweight titleholder, sometime in the near future. Gamboa did his part earlier by stopping Mtagwa in the second round, the Tanzanian's reward for the scare he put into Lopez back in October.But don't expect to see Lopez-Gamboa right away. Bob Arum, the promoter of both fighters, dispelled any notions that the fight is on the horizon."I know what people want and they can go [expletive] themselves," Arum said with great exuberance. "I want to wait and build this to be the biggest featherweight fight of all time. It's my job as a promoter to do that. When they fight, they'll fight to be best featherweight in the world. I want to see those two clean out the division and I don't want to see them rush to fight each other. There's no way I want to rush and do this." Arum mentioned a possible matchup with Celestino Caballero -- with either Lopez or Gamboa -- in May or June. Arum also said he would like to add Chris John to the mix. Lopez (28-0, 24 knockouts) demonstrated that he could compete with any of the above on Saturday, fighting much more patiently than he did when he went after Mtagwa three months ago.The Puerto Rican star slowly broke down his experienced foe until it was time to go in for the kill. A right uppercut followed by a short right put Luevano (37-2-1, 15 KOs) down and ended his night. Referee Benjy Estevez Jr. waved off the fight with Luevano on his feet but very wobbly. Mtagwa never had a chance against Gamboa, who began landing bombs after the opening bell and didn't stop until the fight ended with Mtagwa slumped in the corner at 2:35 of the second round.The Gamboa-Mtagwa fight was fun while it lasted. Gamboa (17-0, 15 KOs) made easy work of Mtagwa, when referee Steve Smoger stepped in to stop the fight with Mtagwa (25-14-2, 18 KOs) slumped in the corner at 2:35 of the second round. Gamboa dropped Mtagwa in the opening round with a left hook. In the second, the Cuban expatriate hit Mtagwa with almost every left hook he threw and wobbled the Philadelphia-based Tanzanian with a right. He then floored Mtagwa again with a right to the chin. Finally, Gamboa trapped Mtagwa in the corner and put him down under a torrent of shots.At that point, referee Steve Smoger didn't hesitate to end the slaughter. A point of intrigue going into this fight: Could Mtagwa repeat against Gamboa what he did against Lopez? Obviously not. It didn't even seem to be the same fighter. One problem was the fact Mtagwa weighed in at 122 pounds for the 126-pound fight. Another was that many placed way too much emphasis on Mtagwa's once-in-a-lifetime performance three months ago. Afterward, neither Lopez nor Gamboa was ready to commit to a fight against each other. They deferred to Arum, whose ear-to-ear grin made it clear that he relished a potentially huge fight between his two young stars at some point. But can Gamboa be successfully attacking at full throttle against someone as seasoned as Lopez? Can the stout, thick Gamboa neutralize Lopez's considerable reach advantage? Can Lopez keep Gamboa away? We'll just have to wait to find out.Joseph Santoliquito is the managing editor for THE RING magazine.

Tamara upsets Viloria via 12th-round TKO

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 23:38:16 PST

Brian Viloria had a lot of incentive to defend his 108-pound title against Carlos Tamara.The 29-year-old veteran was fighting in the Philippines, his ancestral homeland, which has embraced him, and a proposed showdown with undefeated world champ Ivan Calderon awaited him if he could turn back the challenge of the Colombian Olympian.But Tamara (21-4, 15 knockouts) would not be denied on Saturday (Philippines time).Fighting like a man possessed, the 26-year-old challenger survived Viloria's early success, fought through swollen eyes, and put forth a savage late-rounds rally that the titleholder could not survive.Tamara overwhelmed Viloria (26-3, 15 KOs) along the ropes in the final round of the bout, forcing referee Bruce McTavish to step in at 1:45 of the 12th and save the titleholder. Viloria was never off his feet but he was absolutely spent after trying to withstand Tamara's relentless attack.Over the first half of the entertaining contest it was Viloria who dished out the punishment by beating Tamara to the punch from the outside and ruthlessly pounding the Colombian's body when the two engaged on the inside. However, the taller, rangier Tamara never strayed from his jab, which prevented Viloria from mounting a consistent attack and eventually allowed him to set up body-head combinations that weakened the titleholder. Once Tamara was able force Viloria to the ropes in rounds six, seven and eight, he outworked the natural counter puncher. By rounds nine and 10, Tamara was doing more than out-hustling Viloria, he was punishing the Filipino-American who was on the 2000 U.S. Olympic team. Tamara administered such a sustained beating in the 11th, the round could have been scored 10-8 in his favor even though Viloria was never off his feet.Viloria gamely fought back in spurts throughout Tamara's spirited assault down the stretch of the fight but he was simply out of gas in the final round and done in by an accumulation of punches."I came here to win and my conditioning, desire and motivation to become a world champion is what got me through," Tamara, a late substitute, said after the fight.The loss has to be hard pill to swallow for Viloria.He suffered his first knockout and for the second time in his up-and-down nine-year career a loss to an underdog ruined his management's plans for a high-profile, big-money matchup. During his first title reign there had been talks of matching Viloria with Japanese star Koki Kameda, who held a 108-pound title at the time.However, Viloria lost to Omar Nino Romero and then failed to win his next two bouts.Viloria, who contemplated retirement before giving the sport one more chance under the guidance of boxer-turned-trainer Roberto Garcia, pulled himself out of obscurity with an eight-bout win streak that includes a title-winning TKO over Ulises Solis last April.After defending his title against Jesus Iribe in his native Hawaii last August, Viloria was on the cusp of something big before he ran into Tamara.Viloria's shot at Calderon may now go to the battle-tested and iron-chinned Colombian. At least, that's what Tamara hopes."I know (Viloria) talked about Calderon and Calderon wanted to fight Viloria, but what about me? I just beat Brian Viloria," Tamara said.

RING Theory: Audio show

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 18:04:14 PST

Hall of Fame Friday: Joey Maxim

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 17:43:33 PST

Note: This is the first installment of a new series on RingTV.com in which we'll post a profile of a fighter in the International Boxing Hall of Fame.JOEY MAXIMBirthdate: March 28, 1922Date of Death: June 2, 2001Birthplace: Collinswood, OhioWeight Class: Light heavyweight, heavyweightRecord: 82-29-4 (21)Title Held: World light heavyweight (Jan. 24, 1950-Dec. 17, 1952)Best Performances: Ray Robinson (KO 14), Jersey Joe Walcott (W 10), Freddie Mills (KO 10), Gus Lesnevich (W 15), Floyd Patterson (W 8), Jimmy Bivins (W 10), Bob Satterfield (W 10), Bob Murphy (W 15), Curtis Sheppard (W 10, W 10), Red Burman (W 10)Year of IBHOF Induction: 1994Background: Born Giuseppe Antonio Berardinelli in a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio ... Took up boxing at an early age, and in 1940 (fighting as a middleweight) won the Chicago Golden Gloves, the Intercity Golden Gloves, and the National AAU champions ... Turned pro in January 1941 at the age of 18 ... Ring name derived from the Maxim machine gun, due to the rapidity of his left jab ... Never a big puncher, he relied on his excellent left jab, clever boxing skills and a great chin (stopped only once in 115 pro bouts) ... Surprised by beating Top-10 contender Red Burman, in his first year as a pro ... Stayed active during World War II while serving as a military policeman in Miami, Fla. ... Outpointed future heavyweight champion Jersey Joe Walcott (in Camden, N.J., no less) in '46 ... Won American light heavyweight title in '49 with 15-round decision over Gus Lesnevich ... Traveled in January 1950 to London where he knocked out English slugger Freddie Mills to capture the world light heavyweight championship ... Challenged Ezzard Charles for the heavyweight championship in December '51, losing a 15-round decision ... Dropped back down to light heavy and retained the title with a 15-round decision over "Irish" Bob Murphy in his next bout ... In his most famous fight, he turned back the challenge of reigning middleweight champion Sugar Ray Robinson in June '52. Approximately 48,000 fans at Yankee Stadium saw Robinson build up a big lead, only to become exhausted by temperatures in excess of 100 degrees Fahrenheit and retire in his corner after the 13th round. "Did I have air-conditioning in my corner?" quipped Maxim when some refused to give him credit for beating Robinson ... Lost 175-pound championship to Archie Moore in June '53 ... Last hurrah came when he became the first to beat future heavyweight champ Floyd Patterson, in June '54 ... Had his final fight in May '58 ... Owned a restaurant in Cleveland, worked as a casino host and stand-up comic in Las Vegas, and drove a cab in Florida after quitting the ring ... Died of a stroke while living in West Palm Beach, Fla.

Weekend Preview: Viloria, Lopez and Gamboa in action

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 17:25:32 PST

TONIGHTBrian Viloria defends his junior flyweight belt against Carlos Tamara at 7 p.m. PT / 10 p.m. ET (Saturday in the Phillippines) in Manila.The fight is being televised on SolarTV pay per view, which reportedly reaches 18 million homes in the U.S. Check your carrier.Viloria (26-2, 15 knockouts) is on a roll since he lost to Edgar Sosa for a vacant 108-pound title in 2007, winning seven consecutive fights. That includes a one-punch, 11th-round KO of Ulises Solis to regain a junior flyweight belt in April of last year.The Hawaiian is making the second defense of his title.Tamara (20-4, 14 KOs) , a New Jersey-based Colombian, is fighting for a major title for the first time.Also on that card, Filipino Donnie Nietes (25-1-3, 14 KOs) defends his strawweight title against Mexican Jesus Silvestre (15-1, 12 KOs)>SATURDAYSteven Luevano (37-1-1, 15 KOs) defends his featherweight title against Juan Manuel Lopez (27-0, 24 KOs) in New York City on HBO.Lopez, a junior featherweight titleholder, is moving up in weight to challenge Luevano. The Puerto Rican is coming off a close, hard-fought decision over rugged Rogers Mtagwa in October. Lopez fought several times above 123 pounds earlier in his career.Luevano, from La Puente, Calif., is making the sixth defense of the title he won by stopping Nicky Cook in the 11th round in 2007.Also on that card, Cuban expatriot Yuriorkis Gamboa (16-0, 14 KOs) defends his featherweight title against Mtagwa (26-13-2, 18 KOs).Gamboa won the interim title by knocking out Jose Rojas in the 10th round in April of last year and then stopped Whyber Garcia in the fourth round in his first defense.This will be Mtagwa's second opportunity to fight for a major belt.

Debacle beginning of change in boxing's drug culture?

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 12:17:02 PST

Usually, when athletes came to Victor Conte and his BALCO empire for help taking performance-enhancing drugs and evading detection, Conte would carefully research their sport's anti-doping program first -- scrutinize its banned substance list, examine when and where and how often urine or blood samples would be collected, determine which laboratories would test them using what type of equipment -- and devise a detailed plan to beat it. When boxer Shane Mosley and his handlers approached him in the summer of 2003, Conte didn't waste his time. They told him Mosley might be tested the day before the September fight in Las Vegas and immediately after it. That's all Conte needed to know, all he needed to hear. No reason to sift through pages and pages of drug protocols, or sleuth out the calibration levels of a lab's high resolution mass spectrometer, or calculate clearance times of detectable substances in case of an unannounced test during pre-fight training. "That's announced testing," the doping guru says. "That's IQ testing. If that's all they do, why do I need to find out what's on the banned list? And I never did bother. "Boxing's testing program is beyond a joke. It's worthless." Conte had that thought in the summer of 2003, when he loaded up the 32-year-old Mosley with endurance-boosting erythropoietin (EPO) and a cocktail of other verboten substances for what would be a landmark 12-round decision over Oscar De La Hoya. The difference now is that more and more people are questioning boxing's commitment to anti-doping as well. For that, thank the demise of the March 13 superfight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. presumably because the former refused to meet the latter's demands about pre-fight drug testing. Mayweather wanted regular urine and blood testing in the months, weeks, even days leading up the fight, similar to the anti-doping protocols most Olympic athletes face; Pacquiao agreed to some provisions and refused others. No fight. So the public doesn't get the epic clash it has been clamoring for. The sport doesn't get a much-needed infusion of mainstream attention. The two boxers and their promoters don't get preposterously rich, and Las Vegas doesn't get a respite from the recession. But doping and boxing suddenly find themselves in the same sentence and that alone, Conte and others say, may be the greatest legacy of Pacquiao-Mayweather, regardless if they ever meet inside the ropes. "Whether he meant to or not, Floyd has shown that the process is tainted and it's going to be hard to overlook now," says Margaret Goodman, the former chief ringside physician for Nevada and an outspoken critic of the sport's anti-doping policies. "You just can't ignore it any longer. There just is no rationale." Adds Conte: "I see this potentially as an opportunity to improve the effectiveness of drug testing. And here's why I think this is so important for boxing and MMA: When you increase speed and power, you're also increasing potential damage to the opponent. Crushing a baseball is one thing. Crushing a guy's brain is another." * * * Keith Kizer is the executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, which oversees professional boxing, Mixed Martial Arts and other forms of "unarmed combat" in the state. He is talking about the commission's drug testing program. "You have to be vigilant," Kizer says. "And I think we are." Are they? It depends on your perspective, depends where in the realm of relativity you sit. Pro boxing has no national or international governing body that mandates drug testing, leaving it to individual states in this country. And compared to most states, Nevada indeed is vigilant. Texas , for instance. Instead of Mayweather in Las Vegas , Pacquiao will fight March 13 against Joshua Clottey at the new Dallas Cowboys stadium outside Dallas . The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation will oversee it. Its anti-doping program? Essentially there isn't one. The state has the authority to demand urine testing for certain performance-enhancing substances "with probable cause," according to TDLR spokesperson Susan Stanford. Without probable cause to suspect Pacquiao or Clottey are juiced up (neither has failed a past drug test), no drug testing is required to license the fight. Nevada has upgraded its drug testing program several times over the past decade, ramping up its stimulant testing, then adopting the World Anti-Doping Agency banned substance list, then adding in 2008 the ability to demand random, out-of-competition urine tests at the commission's discretion for any boxers licensed by the state. Sounds good, until you consider: - Under Nevada 's program, you get 48 hours' notice to report to the closest accredited lab for a random test, plenty of time for many banned substances to clear your urine. "That's random testing?" Goodman asks. "That's random announced testing. They might as well shoot up a flare to tell them a test is coming." - In many labs, no one is following you into the bathroom and making sure the urine sample is indeed yours (as doping control officers do in Olympic-style testing), or closely checking identification so someone who looks like you isn't showing up, or running DNA tests on the urine to rule out imposters.- Even if the sample is yours, Nevada doesn't routinely test for erythropoietin (EPO) and several other potent substances that can be detected in urine using more sophisticated, more expensive, more time consuming methods.- While the Nevada commissioners can demand blood testing, which can find human growth hormone or identify endurance-boosting blood doping not detectable in urine, Kizer concedes they never have.- While Nevada has the authority to target-test prior offenders or suspicious athletes based on "cause," it rarely does. Otherwise, Mosley would be subjected to numerous unannounced, out-of-competition tests based on his admission under oath to using EPO and other illicit substances before the De La Hoya fight. "And if you're not going to do it on him," Goodman says, "then who are you doing it on?"- Nevada doesn't keep a log of previous urine and blood test results to track the longitudinal chemical profiles of athletes, in case certain markers indicative of performance-enhancing drug use appear. How easy is it to beat a testing program like Nevada's? "As simple as walking across the street," says Travis Tygart. "It's good for PR, to give the appearance that you're testing, but nothing more." Who is Tygart ? He is the CEO of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), which handles drug testing for Olympic athletes in this country using regulations created by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). He's also the person whom members of the Mayweather camp contacted during negotiations for the Pacquiao fight to learn about the so-called "gold standard" of performance-enhancing drug vigilance. "It's a fundamentally different approach," Tygart says when asked to compare his agency's program to others in U.S. professional sports. "The WADA approach is to use best practices and policies and procedures to truly protect the rights of clean athletes. Other programs are simply there for PR purposes. ... Anybody with a heartbeat can find ways around them." Pacquiao initially agreed to three blood tests in the run-up to a March 13 fight -- once at the introductory news conference in January, again 30 days out and in the locker room immediately after the fight. The Mayweather camp shook its head. The next proposal was 24 days out. Another no. USADA would never agree to such provisions because it amounts to announced testing and because of the wide variety of banned substances an athlete could take in the period between tests. If it is administering the drug program, it chooses when and where to test, and how often. There is no fudge factor. No compromise. No preferential treatment for boxers who stand to make $40 million each from a single fight. Under USADA rules, athletes must file quarterly calendars of where they'll be and when, making themselves available for urine and blood testing between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., seven days a week, 365 days a year, anywhere on the planet. Suspicious athletes or past offenders regularly are target tested, sometimes two, three, four days in a row. The urine and blood results are recorded over the years to create a biological profile, so even the slightest change will hoist a red flag. A comprehensive program, yes. Impervious? Hardly. Athletes can miss two tests every 12 months without repercussion. Sprinter Marion Jones passed an estimated 160 drug tests in her career before admitting she took steroids. Conte's stable of BALCO athletes were caught only after USADA obtained a used syringe containing "the clear'' -- an previously undetectable designer steroid -- and reverse-engineered a test for it. There are other problems. The blood test for human growth hormone has been around since 2004, and an athlete has yet to be caught with it, perhaps because it can detect HGH going back only two days, if that. There still is no known test for autologous blood doping, where an athlete removes his own blood, stores it and re-infuses it to boost endurance by increasing his levels of oxygen-carrying red blood cells. Even the urine test for EPO, Conte insists, goes back only 19 hours if the drug is administered intravenously. And who knows what new-fangled designer steroids are out there. "You could test every athlete every day, and even then you might miss something," Kizer says. "You do what you can." * * * The big question is: Can they do more? Should they? The true extent of doping in boxing is unknown, certainly. No one is checking off a box on a survey saying they regularly 'roid up before fights. But the anecdotal evidence is growing, and doping experts say substances like anabolic steroids, human growth hormone and EPO have a bigger impact on boxing than most sports because of their recuperative benefits during heavy training and because of their strength and endurance boost during the actual fight. There's also the argument that if doping is so prevalent in pro sports such as baseball and football, why wouldn't elite boxers be using them as well with so much at stake?"I looked around and, from what I saw, everybody was doing the same (stuff)," heavyweight Tommy Morrison, an admitted steroid user, said in 2005. "It wasn't something that was talked about openly. But when you looked around, you could tell." Kizer isn't convinced his program needs radical overhaul to catch the drug cheats. "I've still never had a drug testing expert come to this commission and say, 'You're behind the curve, you need to be blood testing, you need to be EPO testing,'" he says. "Mr. Mayweather has every right to demand it. But that's a private negotiation and not something we're involved in." It is that very demand which is so encouraging to people like USADA's Tygart , less for its subject than its origin. "What's most important here is you have athletes who say we want this," Tygart says. "We've long encouraged athletes to take ownership of their sport. It's too easy for those who are running a sport and profiting from it to just want to have the best athletes on the field or in the ring, even if they're all doped up. That shows real progress from the athlete standpoint, that they're aware of these issues. Hopefully that momentum continues. "That's what ultimately happened in the Olympic movement. The athletes brought change. The athletes have to want clean sport. They have to say, 'We're not going to fight big fights if there isn't drug testing in them.' You don't want to hijack big fights, but it might take a couple big fights that don't happen." It's not that easy, of course. If Nevada suddenly instituted USADA-style testing, promoters might take lucrative fights to places with less stringent anti-doping regimens. Nevada also runs into jurisdictional issues by sending someone across state borders in search of a boxer to urinate in a cup. And who's paying for it? Currently, the Nevada commission foots the bill, which might explain why it isn't routinely subjecting urine samples to the $400 EPO test. "Nobody wants this," Goodman says. "Can you imagine if both fighters agree to testing before the fight, which is what you should do if you want to do it right, and someone came up positive and you'd have to cancel the fight? Can you imagine? Everyone is worried about the money aspect and not the safety aspect." Conte is hopeful, just not overly optimistic. Call him cynical, but understand he once had a window into the dark side of doping. He knows how effective these drugs are, how rampant they are, how easy they are to use without fear of detection. "Here's the real question: Do they want to know?" Conte says. "Do they really want to know what people are using -- how much and how often and by whom? That's the question for boxing." His answer? "I'm not sure they do."Mark Zeigler is a staff writer at the San Diego Union-Tribune

Score losers: What can be done about out-of-whack scorecards?

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 11:54:39 PST

NOTE: This is the second part of a two-part story. To read Part I, click here.Rarely does dumb luck determine results in sports. But often it's timing, a close cousin of luck, that makes all the difference.New York Jets fans probably wouldn't tell you their team is in the AFC Championship game based primarily on luck. But they have to admit their team has enjoyed good timing -- squeaking into the playoffs by happening upon opponents with nothing to play for in each of their last two regular-season games, then watching opposing kickers blow two easy field goals in each of their two playoff games.In tennis, it's not about how many games you win, but rather when you win them. One player can break his opponent's serve six times and never have his own serve broken and still lose 0-6, 0-6, 7-6, 7-6, 7-6. When the skill levels are comparable, timing can make all the difference.The scoring of a boxing match calls upon similar factors. A fighter shouldn't be rewarded for having superior luck, but he can be rewarded for his timing, for knowing how to eke out close rounds. A boxer can lose five of 12 rounds decisively and win the other seven by the margin of just a punch or two, and he'll win the bout.This is something the public must understand -- that boxing is scored on a round-by-round basis and not at the end of the fight. Before we can explore the solutions for scorecards that appear to contradict reality, we must grasp the difference between perceived end-of-fight reality and actual one-round-at-a-time reality."I tell people this all the time: A 12-round boxing match is actually 12 one-round matches. Every round is an independent event," said Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Director Keith Kizer. "We had a fight here about three years ago, Gerry Penalosa vs. Daniel Ponce De Leon, very competitive fight, but one judge had it 120-108 for Ponce De Leon and the other two had it 119-109 for Ponce De Leon. A lot of people were saying, 'That was a competitive fight, how could it be 12-0 or 11-1 in rounds?' Well, you look at each round, De Leon didn't win them by much, but he did win 11 or 12 rounds in my opinion."As athletic director, I don't look at the overall scores to determine whether a judge got it right or wrong. I'll use that as a starting point, but really, I'll look at the rounds where a judge differed from conventional wisdom. And I'll ask was that round close enough where it could have gone either way, and if it was, then you can't say the judge got it wrong."One other critical element the public must understand before declaring a score to be bogus is that the three judges are all seated on different sides of the ring to account for the fact that a fight does not appear the same from every angle. Kizer noted that HBO did a study following the second Shane Mosley-Oscar De La Hoya fight -- a Nevada fight with highly scrutinized scoring -- in which they asked one control group to judge the fight after watching it exclusively using the footage recorded by a hard camera on one side of the ring, then asked another control group to judge it using footage recorded from an alternate side of the ring.All three official judges scored that fight 115-113 for Mosley. The study found that the majority of one control group scored it that same way, while the other had it 115-113 for De La Hoya.With this information in mind, most commissioners won't lose sleep over a score just because the final tally seems dubious to the layperson. For the commissioner to get worked up, there have to be rounds that were scored curiously regardless of where the judge was sitting.Unfortunately, that sentence describes the two most controversial scorecards of 2009, Gale Van Hoy's 118-110 card in the first Juan Diaz-Paulie Malignaggi fight and Pierre Benoist's 119-110 submission in the Paul Williams-Sergio Martinez battle.So once we've identified what actually qualifies as flawed judging, what can be done to improve scoring and prevent recurrences?Many experts believe boxing judges should be taught to use uniform scoring criteria, insisting that the current system allows for too much room for interpretation based on a judge's style preference."The ABC (Association of Boxing Commissions) needs to pick a set criteria for scoring," opined New Jersey Commission head Aaron Davis. "If we have that, and then we make it mandatory for judges to attend the ABC's classes, we could see some togetherness in style. Some judges go by technique, some go by power punches, some go by the volume of punches, and that shouldn't be the case."Van Hoy used the style argument to support the way he scored most of the rounds in Diaz-Malignaggi, saying he put little stock in what he termed the "pitty-pat" punches of Malignaggi.Retired Nevada judge Chuck Giampa disagreed with Van Hoy's scorecard in the Diaz-Malignaggi fight but agrees with his philosophy -- that punches he perceives as hurtful should count more than anything else. Giampa doesn't necessarily fall in line with Davis' thinking that different judges preferring different styles is a bad thing."If you talk to a baseball umpire, he's got his own strike zone," Giampa said. "As long as he's consistent in both the top of the inning and the bottom of the inning, even if the replay shows he's wrong, he made a decision based on his philosophy. And it's the same way with boxing judges. They have to be true to their philosophy."I was criticized for the way I scored the [first Julio Cesar] Chavez-[Meldrick] Taylor fight, where I had Chavez winning going into the last round, but I stand by that score. Taylor caught a beating in there and that's how I saw it, and 20 years later, more people seem to agree with me. Jim Lampley told me recently, 'Chuck, I gotta tell you, I ripped you 20 years ago on that fight, but you obviously saw something that we didn't see. You saw the effectiveness of the punches and Taylor was never the same after that.'"One thing everyone seems to agree on is that continued education for judges, through classes and seminars, is a must. And Kizer feels that perhaps even more important than the periodic seminars are the meetings a commissioner should hold with his officials in the immediate aftermath of a fight card."After every fight, we have a postfight meeting," Kizer said. "Those meetings are great for breeding discussion. For example, in [Manny] Pacquiao vs. [Miguel] Cotto, there was a round where Cotto won most of the round but he got knocked down in the round. Two of the judges -- I think it was Adelaide Byrd and Dave Moretti -- they went 10-9 Pacquiao. And Duane Ford went 10-8. And it's arguable both ways. But we had all three judges explain why they went the way they did, and that was good for me to hear. But also it was good for all of the other judges to hear, because our goal is to have all these judges have the same criteria."It's important to note that Cole did discuss Diaz-Malignaggi with Van Hoy and Davis did have a postfight meeting with Benoist after Williams-Martinez."If there is a score that I can't explain, I'm going to go to the judge and have the judge explain it," Davis said. "We can agree, or we can agree to disagree on a decision, but I want to make sure that the public and the fighters can be guaranteed a good, fair fight. After Pierre's decision, I went and talked with him, he told me how he scored each round, we went through it round by round. I think a lot of it came down to style and what he preferred. Maybe Pierre had a bad night, but he's done great work for years, so for me to say he should never judge again, that would be stupid for the sport of boxing and it would be stupid for me."The commissioners all agree on that point, that one controversial scorecard should never be the end of someone's judging career. So how should they "punish" a struggling judge?Many fans would push for a demotion from 12-rounders to four- or six-rounders, but commissioners tend not to pursue that line because of their philosophy that prelim fights should be taken just as seriously as title fights."Being a boxing judge is a hell of a responsibility, whether it's a four-round fight or a world-title fight," Cole said. "It's a hell of a responsibility to determine who was the better man on that particular night.""I was trained that a four-rounder is as important as a title fight," Giampa seconded. "In fact, you can screw up a round in a 12-round fight and still have the right guy winning. There's not a lot of leeway in a four-round fight. One round can change everything, and you're often talking about young fighters with undefeated records where winning means everything."Instead, one approach that seems popular is to have an experienced and trusted judge shadow a judge who's coming off a bad fight, to have them watch a couple of fights together from ringside and discuss their scoring in each round.Another approach Giampa recommends is assigning the judge about whom you have concerns to a fight where you also assign two of your most reliable judges. That way, if the questionable judge has a second illogical scorecard, at least there's a likelihood it will be overruled by the other two judges and no fighter's career will be derailed while the commissioner determines whether the judge is still fit to officiate.Whatever your approach to rehabilitating a disgraced judge, one goal should be to restore his confidence. Heavy criticism can make a judge question himself to the point where he can't put the past out of his mind while presiding over future fights. That's why demotions typically don't work well.A little positive reinforcement never hurts, especially when you consider how much negative energy a judge absorbs when he screws up."I think the criticism has been unfair," Van Hoy said. "Look at this fact: I've never received a word of compliment on the good scores I've turned in over the years. Nobody ever says you did good. But I know I'm a good judge, and my record supports it."At this particular moment, the general boxing public probably wouldn't agree with that last statement. But with the passage of time, maybe Van Hoy will silence the critics. The same goes for Benoist.But if not, if either of them hands in a scorecard as indefensible as the ones they did in high-profile bouts last year, then the commissioners can solve these judging problems in the simplest way possible. Judging, as Dickie Cole noted, is "a hell of a responsibility." And no fighter should have his record permanently affected by a judge who can't live up to that responsibility.RASKIN'S RANTS- As long as I just spouted off some 4,000 words on controversial decisions, I ought to comment on the Vanes Martirosyan-Kassim Ouma scoring from this past Saturday night. That was a classic case of "debatable" but not "indefensible." I personally thought the scores in Martirosyan's favor seemed a tad wide; it probably should have been a one-point fight one way or the other. But the bigger question is this: Where the heck did that performance from Ouma come from? It seemed to me that Martirosyan was thrown off all fight by the mere fact that he had a live body in front of him. Meanwhile, one Web site called it "Martirosyan's best performance to date." Huh? Later in the same piece, it was revealed that The Adventures Of Rocky & Bullwinkle represents the finest work of Robert DeNiro and that Guns 'N Roses peaked with The Spaghetti Incident.- It was the band Toad The Wet Sprocket who sang in 1991, "Just make sure I'm around when you've finally got something to say." No truth to the rumor that the song is all about the work of B.J. Flores on Friday Night Fights.- Along similar lines, just make sure I'm around when Demetrius Andrade is fighting someone who doesn't remind me of Verne Troyer.- This just in: Bernard Hopkins is going to fight a rematch with Morrade Hakkar on April 17. There, now don't you feel better about Hopkins-Jones II?Eric Raskin can be reached at RaskinBoxing@yahoo.com.

Perez-Rodela added to Campillo-Shumenov undercard

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 10:42:02 PST

The junior lightweight fight between Eloy Perez and David Rodela, originally part of the undercard of the now-canceled Shane Mosley-Andre Berto showdown that was to take place on Jan. 30, has been moved to the undercard of the Gabriel Campillo-Beibut Shumenov rematch that takes place at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on Jan. 29.Perez (15-0-2, 4 KOs), of Salinas, Calif., and Rodela (14-1-3, 6 KOs), of Oxnard, Calif., are both considered to be seasoned prospects with the potential to emerge as 130-pound contenders this year. The Californians are scheduled to go 10 rounds on the non-televised portion of the card.The Campillo-Shumenov light heavyweight title bout will be televised live on Fox Sports Net (11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT) along with a 10-round junior middleweight bout between hot Cuban prospect Erislandy Lara (9-0, 5 KOs) and fringe contender Grady Brewer (26-11, 15 KOs), of Lawton, Okla.Featherweight prospect Ronny Rios (8-0, 4 KOs), of Santa Ana, Calif., is scheduled to face Willshaun Boxley (5-3, 3 KOs), of Coons Rapids, Minn., in a four- or six-round TV swing bout.A number of unbeaten prospects will be featured on the non-televised undercard of the KZ Event Productions and Golden Boy co-promotion, including lightweight Carlos Molina (9-0, 5 KOs), welterweight Jesse Vargas (7-0, 3 KOs), light heavyweight Gayrat Ahmedov (12-0-1, 8 KOs), and junior middleweight Ravshan Hudaynazarov (9-0, 7 KOs).

GBP to promote Alvarez

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 09:43:10 PST

Golden Boy Promotions has reached an agreement to promote popular Mexican welterweight Saul Alvarez (30-0-1, 22 KO's), the Los Angeles-based promotional company announced on Friday.The multi-fight agreement between Golden Boy Promotions and Alvarez was signed Friday during a press conference in Guadalajara Jalisco, Mexico, the hometown of the 19-year-old prospect."I want to show everyone that I will be a world champion and that I'm ready to fight the best fighters in the world," said Saul Alvarez. "The opportunity to work with Golden Boy is definitely one that I could not pass up as I feel it will help me achieve my goal of reaching my full potential as a fighter and becoming a huge success in boxing."Alvarez's aggressive style in the ring and red hair, which earned him the nickname "Canelo" (which translates to "Cinnamon" in English), has made him one of the most popular fighters in Mexico, where his appearances on Televisa (the largest network in the country) have drawn impressive ratings."This is a very important moment for Golden Boy Promotions," said Oscar De La Hoya, President of Golden Boy Promotions. "Saul is an idol throughout Mexico because he has incredible natural boxing talent and a charismatic personality to go along with it. This signing of Saul Alvarez is something that will lead both Saul and Golden Boy to continued success in boxing in the United States, Mexico and around the world."

Dougie's Friday Mailbag

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 02:54:38 PST

LUEVANO'S CHANCES AGAINST JUANMA Hi Doug:You've done a wonderful job with The Ring's website. I was very sad when you left MaxBoxing but after seeing the results, I should have had more faith in your decision. Am I the only one outside his camp who likes Steven Luevano in the 'JuanMa' Lopez fight? Between the Gerry Penalosa and Roger Mtagwa fights, I find Lopez very exposed to counterpunching. JuanMa's best success seems to come from straight-forward punchers akin to Ponce De Leon. People like to look at the Mtagwa fight as just a bad night for Lopez but here was an opponent dropping four pounds who was still the stronger man. Mtagwa at featherweight, assuming JuanMa did not get significantly stronger at 126 pounds, would probably have left the young man on the canvas. The argument for Lopez is that he'll be significantly stronger at the higher weight like Cotto from 140 to 147 pounds but he could very well be Hatton for the same move or Vic Darchynian from 115 to 118. I didn't notice his being drained at 122 and I think his main motivation for a move up is to pit himself against a champion and excuse himself from another Mtagwa fight. Penalosa, a great 118-pounder, was able to stand toe-to-toe with Lopez and land his hardest stuff on his chin. Luevano, though not as tough or skilled as Gerry, also can employ a crafty counter-punching style and, though not a knockout artist, has an additional eight pounds of heft over Penalosa's counters. I'm assuming Juan Manuel Lopez doesn't get stronger at the higher weight and Luevano wins the fight. Sounds like lunacy but so did Malinaggi over Diaz in their first bout. What do you think? Thanks for making my weeks more enjoyable. -- Vicken, Glen Dale, MDI consider Luevano to be a very live underdog in tomorrow's main event from NYC. I'm picking Lopez by decision. I think he will be stronger at 126 pounds, at least at the beginning of bout, and I believe he'll hurt Luevano at some point in the early rounds.I think Luevano is straining to make 126 pounds and that struggle leaves him a little bit vulnerable in the early rounds of his bouts (think Felix Trinidad towards the end of his welterweight reign). However, Luevano has underrated grit and survival skills and I think he'll get through the rough waters and box his way into the fight by the middle rounds, which should provide some nice infighting that will be highlighted by Luevano's counter-punching that you noted. I think Luevano might be the sharper, fresher fighter down the stretch, but Lopez has something to prove and I think he'll dig deep to hold off the Southern Californian's late-rounds rally. It might be very close, Lopez might get some help from the judges, but I think if he stays on his feet, he'll win on points.We'll see what happens. I'll think it will be a competitive fight and I'll be happy for whoever wins. Consider me a fan of both Luevano and Lopez.TOO EXCITEDDougie,My thoughts and prayers are with Andre Berto. Just a horrible situation all the way around. I hope that poor kid not only recovers but gets his shot when he does. He's showing real cajones walking away from this opportunity for far more important things.(Insert question here that will get you speaking as long and as in depth as possible about a Mosley-Pretty in Pink Floyd match-up).I'll believe it when I see it....but man do I want to see it. I think this is a better fight than Pacquiao-Mayweather... maybe not as interesting in style clash and what-ifs, but a better fight. -- Tony, Los Angeles You're not alone in your opinion that Mosley-Mayweather could be a better fight than Pacquiao-Mayweather. Many of my peers feel the same way, but I'm not sure. Both Pac-man and the Sugar Man are aggressive fighters who force action against pure boxers, perhaps even defensive specialists like Mayweather. I maintain that Floyd has trouble with southpaws and that was one of Pacquiao's advantages going into that fight.Mosley might be bigger and stronger than Pacquaio but he has an orthodox style that Mayweather can predict, time and counter. (Hey, if Miguel Cotto did it, Floyd can do it, right?)Having said that, I think Mosley is sharper than ever under Naazim Richardson's guidance and I think his athleticism, iron will and durability will definitely take its toll on Mayweather during a 12-round fight.I don't want to go any more in depth about that potential matchup because, let's face it, all it is now is talk. If and when it gets done I'll be happy to pontificate and debate on the match up for hours with hardcore fans.I MISS MOSLEYI was looking so forward to Mosley-Berto and it sucks that its off now. I'm glad Mayweather is talking about facing Mosley (finally) but it could be close to a year and a half that Mosley is out of action by the time they get in there, if they do. Geez, can you believe Margarito could be back in the ring before Mosley! That's insane man!Knowing Mosley like you do, do you think the long layoff will make him very rusty or is he more like Bernard Hopkins who seems unbothered by long layoffs? Hope all is well. -- Steve, MontrealThere's only one B-Hop, Steve, but I don't think the layoff will bother Mosley that much if he winds up fighting Mayweather in May. Why? For starters, like Hopkins, Mosley never allows himself to be out of shape. He's a gym rat. Another reason I believe he'll be reasonably sharp if he fights in May is that since 2001 Mosley has not fought more than twice in the same year. It's not like he's used to fighting four or five times a year. If May is the only time he fights in 2010 you better believe he'll be ready to go.It does indeed suck that he hasn't fought since beating Margarito. It's even "suckier" (yes, I'm allowed to make up words in the mailbag) that Margarito could fight before he does. Hell, it's very possible that Margarito could get a shot at Pacquiao before Mosley (or Mayweather for that matter).Boxing, like life, is not fair. IS MAYWEATHER BACKED INTO A CORNER?Doug,I really enjoy your high-energy writing style. It is entertaining and informative. It would seem that Mosley, after basically having to beg for a fight with Mayweather or weight drain himself for a fight with Pacquiao, is now in a position of power, so to speak, because Mayweather is in desperate need of a pugilist that will trump Pacquiao's choice of the formidable Clottey, and Nate Campbell or Paulie Malignaggi was not going to inspire the masses to fork over pay-per-view money. Is Mayweather finally backed into a corner to where he must take the fight with Mosley, a fighter who he dismissed in his interview with Brian Kenny on ESPN as someone who had five losses and who took steroids, or does he find a way to back out? Also, do you think Floyd will insist on Olympic-Style Drug Testing? I think Mosley will be amenable to this since he has been so eager to get a big fight, and I believe he sees this as an opportunity to solidify his place in boxing history, something that seems important to Mosley. Finally, if this testing does happen, does it help to set a precedent, much like in a court of law, where future fights will be easier to negotiate with regard to drug testing because a protocol would have already been provided in a high-profile fight? We were all crying in our Cheerios over missing out on Pac-man/Mayweather. Could fight fans fortune have changed to the point where we could see Pac/Clottey, Mosley/Mayweather, and then see a mega fight between the victors of this final four? Man, I sure hope so. -- RobertWouldn't that be nice.Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Mayweather and Mosley have yet to finish their negotiations and sign to fight in May.If the fight does happen, I believe both fighters will subject themselves to Olympic-style drug testing. I don't see how Mayweather could fight a guy who has admitted to taking PEDs without demanding random blood testing after the stink he made during the Pacquiao negotiations. If he didn't insist that Mosley submit to random blood testing it would prove that he brought up the drug testing demand for Pacquiao to either cause the Filipino icon duress or to find a way out of the fight.If Mosley-Mayweather happens and they both agree to do the random testing I believe it will set a precedent, at least for really big boxing events. Is Mayweather backed into a corner? If he wishes to remain relevant I think so. There are a few interesting challenges for Mayweather at welterweight, including Paul Williams and Kermit Cintron (if they can make 147 pounds, and I think both giants would do so for a crack at Floyd), Timothy Bradley (who can easily put on a few pounds for the biggest opportunity of his career) and Berto. However, beyond Pacquiao and Mosley, there are no mega-events out there. The fans, and even Mayweather's most ardent supporters in the media such as Y! Sport's Kevin Iole, will not tolerate him fighting another opponent who doesn't have a perceivable chance to beat him (such as Nate Campbell, Paul Malignaggi, and God help us, Matthew Hatton). Fights with Williams, Bradley, Berto and Cintron would excite some hardcore fans, but wouldn't do much to stoke the interest of casual fans and the mainstream sports media. Those are also dangerous fights for Mayweather, who isn't one to take a risk unless he's going to make an ungodly amount of money. He can't do that with those guys. He can with Mosley, so the guess here is that he's going to have to fight the "cheater with five losses."If he doesn't fight Mosley, I really don't know what he can do to maintain his lofty position in the sport. If he dismisses Mosley fans and members of the sports media will bury him with criticism. Fights with Malignaggi or Campbell will seem even more pointless, and I don't think he can wait for Pacquiao to come around in the fall. Bob Arum is crazy enough to put Pac-man in with Antonio Margarito just to spite his former star fighters (Mayweather and De La Hoya). I think Mayweather has to fight Mosley, which is some much-needed good news for fight fans.

Our perceptions of fighters often don't reflect reality

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:41:34 PST

No one writes off Albert Pujols if he's in a slump. They figure he'll battle his way out of it. No one questions Peyton Manning if he throws three interceptions in a game. Off day, they say. And no one will get down on Kobe Bryant if he shoots 8-for-24. The shots will fall tomorrow.But if the most-accomplished boxer loses decisively or even wins ugly sometimes, the perception of him can change radically and in an instant.Take Juan Manuel Lopez, who fights Steven Luevano on Saturday in New York City. The Puerto Rican junior featherweight was the next great star until he struggled to beat Rogers Mtagwa and now he's perceived as vulnerable, at least until another dominating performance.Another example is Kelly Pavlik. The middleweight champion was one of the fastest-rising stars until he stepped up in weight to fight Bernard Hopkins and lost a one-sided decision. The monster who twice beat Jermain Taylor suddenly had glaring flaws.Such is the lot of elite boxers, who are great one day and all too beatable next. Some dismiss such summary judgments as meaningless drivel but acknowledge that they have long been a part of the sport."It's common and it's very, very short-sighted," said Bill Caplan, a Hall of Fame boxing publicist. "I lose patience for sports writers and fans who say a guy was never that good if he doesn't have a great, A-plus night. Fighters are like any athletes -- they have bad nights. And the matchup of styles is so important."The point is that someone shouldn't necessarily be diminished because he didn't take his opponent out or win easily."The power of perception can have the opposite effect.We refused to believe that Muhammad Ali was no longer "The Greatest" until Larry Holmes proved it in the ring. We couldn't accept the fact that Mike Tyson was beatable even after he lost to Buster Douglas and Evander Holyfield. "Iron Mike" was actually favored in the rematch with Holyfield, which ended with a Holyfield missing a portion of his ear."Jack Dempsey lost 10 out of 10 rounds in the first fight with Gene Tunney but was favored in the rematch," boxing historian Bert Sugar said. "It was as if the first fight didn't matter."That type of skewed perception is reserved only for the legends of the sport, those who we desperately want to believe have one more great fight left in them. Most fighters don't fall into that category. And most fighters pay a price if they slip up even once.One reason for that, several experts agreed, is the infrequency with which the sport's biggest stars fight. A titleholder or top contender might fight twice a year, which creates an exciting sense of urgency but less room for error.A baseball pitcher can have a bad start but he can come back less than a week later and redeem himself. That's how it was in boxing in the old days, when losing -- even losing badly -- didn't matter as much because fighters had the chance to make amends very soon afterward."Once upon a time Sugar Ray Robinson fought Jake La Motta twice in three weeks ... and once in between!" television analyst Larry Merchant said. "The fact he lost the first fight was quickly canceled. In terms of their images, fighters have a lot more at stake today. ... They don't have the chance to come back in five days."The guys who have the right stuff, though, they come back and change minds."Shane Mosley would fall into that category. The five-time titleholder was all but written off after he lost a close decision to Miguel Cotto and then struggled before stopping Ricardo Mayorga in the 12th round in September of 2008.He was getting old. He wasn't as fast, wasn't as sharp. So what happened in his next fight four months later? He kicked the you know what out of one of the most-feared fighters in the world at the time, Antonio Margarito.Once again perception was wrong."Mosley was fighting a very strong, unorthodox, awkward fighter in Mayorga," Merchant said. "So it took him time to knock him out. So what? To knock a guy like that out and then be declared a dead man can only happen in boxing."Another reason perception can change so quickly is the preoccupation with perfection, meaning it's somehow a sin to lose a fight even though virtually every fighter in history has lost.Pavlik might be the best contemporary victim of that plague. He was undefeated and blazing hot after his victories over Edison Miranda and Taylor and then made the ill-fated decision to fight Hopkins at light heavyweight, a big-money event against an older foe.We know what happened. Pavlik was outclassed by a bigger and better fighter, after which observers were compelled to reassess the loser. He went from a tough, hard-punching wrecking machine to a one-dimensional fighter who could be handled by a big, good boxer.Pavlik, who also has had health issues, has beaten Marco Antonio Rubio and Miguel Espino since the Hopkins fight and is still rebuilding his image."Pavlik fights above his weight class against Bernard Hopkins, loses decisively and suddenly his rocket seems to be grounded," Merchant said. "And it could take him who knows how long to restore his reputation, depending on what opponents are out there and what fans are paying attention to. It turned out the guy was sick (against Hopkins) and had other physical problems. He went ahead with the fight when he probably shouldn't have. And he fought in a weight division he had never fought before against a great old pro. The judgment still stands. If the guy made mistakes in and out of the ring, then fair enough."... I just think making these cosmic pronouncements about whether a guy is over the hill or shot or the next great thing based on one or two fights is like talk radio and internet blather. It doesn't mean much."Floyd Mayweather Jr. might actually feel trapped by perception. Some of his critics suggest he's not necessarily afraid to fight anyone -- including Manny Pacquiao -- but is afraid of losing the zero in his loss column.They would argue that he believes maintaining that zero assures his rightful place in history. The fact that almost every great fighter has lost multiple times -- Rocky Marciano being the greatest exception -- doesn't seem to matter."I think he might be afraid of losing because of his legacy," Sugar said. "He's told me he's the greatest fighter ever because Sugar Ray Robinson lost and he never has. That's how he thinks."And, finally, boxers generally are held more accountable for their performances because they have no teammates.If Pujols goes 0-for-4 and the Cardinals win, no one cares. If Manning struggles but the Colts win a defensive struggle, then OK. And if Bryant can't find the basket and the Lakers win, then no one will remember the superstar's bad night.Boxers, like all athletes in individual sports, succeed or fail alone. There's no place to hide."They're out there in their underwear, basically naked to the world," Sugar said. "What they do in the ring is plainly evident. It's easy to say, 'Well, he's a bum or he's not a bum.'"Lopez can prove he's anything but a bum by scoring a spectacular knockout or perhaps simply dominating Luevano on Saturday night. Then, hallelujah!, he'll immediately regain his status as the next great thing even though he's the same fighter he was before he met Mtagwa.The point here is that Lopez's ability as a fighter doesn't change with the wind. It's our opinions that do that.Michael Rosenthal can be reached at RingTVeditor@yahoo.com

Report: Margarito applies for license in Texas

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 22:34:01 PST

Antonio Margarito has applied for a boxing license in Texas and his promoter, Bob Arum, believes the disgraced fighter will get it, Arum told ESPN.com.Margarito is scheduled to fight Carson Jones on the undercard of the Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey fight on March 13 at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas. That's more than a year since he was suspended by the California State Athletic Commission for having illegal pads in his hand wraps before his fight against Shane Mosley.Margarito, along with trainer Javier Capetillo, was suspended indefinitely but has the right to re-apply for a license after one year in California.Arum told ESPN.com that he has received positive feedback from the authorities in Texas."Tony has applied for a license and we're optimistic they'll grant it to him," Arum said.Jones, a journeyman from Oklahoma City, Okla., reportedly has signed a contract to fight Margarito in a 10-round bout with a 155-pound weight limit.Margarito, fighting with legal wraps, was knocked out by Mosley in the ninth round on Jan. 24 in Los Angeles. He was suspended by the CSAC on Feb. 10.

Who is the best Cuban fighter?

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 22:04:17 PST

Former Cuban amateur star Yuriorkis Gamboa exchanges punches with Darling Jimenez during their 10-round bout in 2008. Gamboa's willingness to mix it up is one of the reasons trainer Joe Goossen is high on the flamboyant featherweight. Other insiders believe Gamboa's amateur peers from Cuba, Erislandy Lara and Guillermo Rigondeaux, are better boxers. Photo / Chris Cozzone-Fightwireimages.comYuriorkis Gamboa is back in the spotlight.The dynamic featherweight from Cuba takes on rugged slugger Rogers Mtagwa in the co-feature to Saturday's Boxing After Dark doubleheader from the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City.The Mtagwa fight will be Gamboa's third appearance on HBO.Gamboa (16-0, 14 knockouts) scored a 10-round decision over fringe contender Darling Jimenez and a second-round knockout of undefeated Marcos Ramirez in his first two appearances on the network. The explosive speed and power the 2004 Olympic gold medalist displayed against Jimenez and Ramirez illustrated why so many are excited about him, but the flashy featherweight also exhibited his flaws, poor defensive technique and a sometimes reckless attitude, when he was dropped in both bouts. Gamboa has settled down a bit and tightened up his technique since those two HBO appearances, which took place in 2008. The 28-year-old boxer-puncher has also continued to raise his profile in the sport by winning an "interim" title belt, signing a co-promotional deal with Top Rank, and by displaying his considerable talent in bouts that were televised on ESPN2, Showtime and one of Top Rank's small "Latin Fury" pay-per-view shows.However, Gamboa isn't the only Cuban amateur star who has emerged as a pro to watch. Last year two of Gamoba's former amateur teammates, Erislandy Lara and Guillermo Rigondeaux, garnered accolades from the boxing community.Lara (9-0, 5 KOs), a slick-boxing southpaw, fought seven times in 2009. The 26-year-old junior middleweight is so seasoned that his promoter, Golden Boy Promotions, will pit him against experienced fringe contender Grady Brewer, winner of season two of The Contender and a veteran of 37 pro bouts, on a Fox Sports Net-televised card on January 29.At the advanced age of 28, Rigondeaux (4-0, 3 KOs), a two-time Olympic and world amateur champ, turned pro in the junior featherweight division last year to much ballyhoo and instantly began living up to his amateur hype with impressive performances. The counter-punching southpaw, now 29, is so ring savvy that his trainer, Freddie Roach, believes he can beat former 122-pound champs Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez right now.Gamboa, who turned pro in 2007, has a head start on his compatriots and is already considered to be a contender by many boxing scribes and publications, including THE RING, which ranks him No. 10 among featherweights.However, does that mean Gamboa is the best of the recent defects from Cuba? Many believe that the more defensive-minded Lara and Guillermo are better technical boxers than Gamboa and some would argue that they have more upside than their often impetuous former teammate. RingTV.com asked three boxing insiders who they think is the best of the talented Cuban trio and why.Teddy Atlas:"Obviously, Gamboa is the most experienced in the pros but he's flawed in some ways, technically. He's a little undisciplined with his hand placement and his defense, but he's got terrific talent and terrific confidence. The way Gamboa is with his talent, it's like giving a race car to an 18-year-old kid. Sometimes they get carried away and they run red lights. That's how Gamboa is in the ring. Sometimes he gets carried away with his ability and sometimes he gets caught because of that, but his power and his amateur experience is evident. His charisma is evident even though he doesn't speak English. He's very special."And even though he's been caught and dropped before he's always gotten up and behaved like a fighter. He always get up from knockdowns and takes care of business."Lara is a little bit better technically than Gamboa and not as reckless. He's closer to the vest with his talent, but he's a kid who understands his identity. He knows what he is and he stays within his ability in the ring. He's a boxer who controls the distance. He keeps you in a place where he can use his southpaw jab and where he can do what he wants when he wants to do it. He stays on familiar, safe ground. I like his demeanor. He's very calm, very patient. He doesn't over do it like Gamboa. "Lara's talent is not as explosive as Gamboa's, but I like him."I did Rigondeaux's fights in the Olympics in 2000 and 2004. I saw him when he was 18 in Sydney and I saw something that looked very special. He had that ring presence that very few amateurs have. He had the talent, the skill set and ability we see in Gamoba now, but his approach is different than Gamboa's. Everything he did was contained. There was a deliberateness about him. "He might have had the Porsche but he wasn't running red lights. I think his driving lessons were a little better than Gamboa's. Rather than chase you to get you, he would let you chase him and take advantage of your mistakes. He'd turn your aggression into something productive for him. You don't see that in the amateurs very often because you only have many rounds to work with but he still found a way to inject his style into that limited time frame. Most fighters feel an urgency to go out and lead more but he found a way to make (his opponents) do what he wanted them to do."He stayed that way in the pros. He's a terrific counter puncher and a great body puncher. He's got all the talent that Gamboa has but he's more much more contained. When you see his talent, when he does strike in the ring, it's every bit as explosive as Gamboa. He's not as flamboyant as Gamboa but his talent is every bit as electric when he's ready to show it."If I have to chose between Gamboa, Lara and Rigondeaux, I'll have to go with Rigondeaux because he's got the talent but also the discipline. With Gamboa, one day he'll run a red light and there will be a truck there waiting for him. That won't happen with Rigondeaux. He'll never run the red light because of his temperament, his technique and his discipline."Atlas is a veteran trainer, who is currently working with heavyweight contender Alexander Povetkin. He's also the broadcast analyst for ESPN2's weekly 'Friday Night Fights' boxing series, where he's called the action of Gamboa, Lara, and Rigondeaux.Cliff Rold:"It's hard for me to divorce who the best is from who has the most upside. If we're talking about one of them going into the hall of fame 10 years from now I think it's going to be Lara."I like his fundamentals. I like his size. I like that he's steady. You don't see him getting hit with crazy shots. You don't see him miss much. You see a fighter who allows his fights to develop naturally. There's an organic flow to his fights. He's not trying to force anything. You can also see that he's being moved steadily by his handlers. I like that. "With Rigondeaux, they've got to move fast because of his age. With Gamboa, I think they want to move him fast while there aren't any killers in the featherweight and junior lightweight divisions. But I think Lara's handlers can take a little more time with him because he's the youngest of the bunch and I think that will help him develop into a world-class junior middleweight or middleweight."Lara doesn't jump off the screen at you like Gamboa or Rigondeaux. He doesn't "wow." He doesn't have that "wowing" thing that you see with Gamboa and Rigondeaux, but he's got that base."He reminds me of Michael Spinks and Evander Holyfield in the 1976 and 1984 Olympics. They didn't jump off the screen the way some of their teammates did, like a Ray Leonard or a Meldrick Taylor, but eventually, in the pros, they proved they were just as great."Lara can move his hands more. That's a criticism I've heard about him and I agree with it. People say he relies too much on his jab and his one-two, but that's something he can work on. Other punches can be added to his arsenal because his foundation is so set. I think he's going to be around the longest of the three and the junior middleweight and middleweight divisions are ripe for the taking. It's very likely that he will be around for another eight or nine years."I like Gamboa. He's the most eye catching of the three. In many ways, he reminds me of Meldrick Taylor. He's dynamic but he's a flawed fighter and I think someone is going to knock the s__t out of him. He's been down three or four times already with mediocre fighters. It's only a matter of time before someone keeps him down. I don't care how talented you are, you can't fight with your hands down around your d__k."Rigondeaux is the total package. If he had gotten here (turned pro) earlier he would be my pick (as the best), but he's 29 and maybe older than that. He looks like a grown-ass man who's had to chase kids out of his garage already. Still, he will probably win a title at 122 pounds before the year is out. He's that advanced." Rold, a senor writer for Boxingscene.com, is a member of THE RING's Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America.Joe Goossen:"Out of the three I'm most impressed with Gamboa. I saw him a lot early on in his career when he was going for broke and sometimes getting dropped, and it almost reminded me of a (Felix) Trinidad kind of thing. He got knocked down but he always got up and then look out! He was going to take someone's head off. "What I really like about Gamboa is his instincts for the game. You got a lot of guys who go by the numbers and box a textbook fight, and he has that ability because of his amateur background. He can do fundamental things that you're supposed to do, but on top of that he's got that superior athleticism that reminds me of (Shane) Mosley. "Sugar Shane can box but he can also do things other fighters can't because of his athleticism. When you saw him fight (Antonio) Margarito, you saw the proper boxing technique, like lateral movement and setting everything up with his jab, but you also saw the smart athletic stuff that allowed him to explode at unpredictable angles. Gamboa has that same ability. That's what makes him special."I've seen Lara fight once or twice and I think he is very good. He might be too young for us to really tell how far he can go, but I like what I see from him right now. He reminds me a little of Joel Casamayor. He picks you apart and then goes for the kill, only I don't think Lara's killer instinct is as strong as Joel's was. "Lara's a little too defensive minded for my taste, a little too cautious, but he's definitely got a future. "Rigondeaux, I've seen once or twice, and I was fairly impressed, but not overly impressed. I don't doubt the guy's skills but when you spend that much time in the amateurs, I don't know, you kind of carry that mindset into the pros. He's got good power but he uses it sparingly. He's happy to merely outpoint his opponent and he's a little bit too deliberate for my taste."I'm not saying Lara and Rigondeaux don't have great potential. They do. Those Cuban southpaws are a real pain. They're hard to beat. I don't know if they convert them in the amateur system over there or if there's just a lot of lefties on the island but I know from training Joel Casamayor that they are very cagey. "Gamboa breaks the mold and I like that because he's so exciting. He comes to fight. He's got the speed, the power, the courage and the athleticism. When he lets his hands go he lets them go hard. Every punch he throws has hurt on it and he can deliver them from any angle."Some say that's his weakness. He went too hard in some fights and left himself open for left hooks. So, hey, welcome to the pros and the world of fighting tough Mexicans and Dominicans. That's how a young fighter learns. I don't know if it was his attitude that caused the knockdowns so much as it was his hand placement, but I think he's working on his fundamentals."He's young. He's talented. He's improving and he's exciting. That's why I think I think he's got a great future."Goossen has trained a dozen fighters to world titles, including former junior lightweight and lightweight champ Joel Casamyor, arguably the best Cuban fighter in recent times.

Score loser: An exploration of out-of-whack scorecards

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 22:37:05 PST

Debatable decisions aren't just a part of boxing. They're one of the best parts of boxing. After all, it's a sign of excellent matchmaking and very often an entertaining fight when both competitors are able to make a reasonable argument that they won.No, debatable decisions are not a problem plaguing boxing. But indefensible scorecards are, as we were reminded several times in last year.Alongside positive trends such as the best possible fights being made and a relative scarcity of unworthy fights being peddled on pay-per-view, the defining negative trend of last year was the borderline-inconceivable scorecards that judges handed in with disturbing regularity.Not every fan will agree with every decision handed down in a sport like boxing, with subjective elements to judging. It's the same in figure skating or gymnastics. The fight community has come to accept that. Consider Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez I. One judge scored it 113-113, one scored it 115-110 for Pacquiao and the third had it 115-110 for Marquez, and still it wasn't viewed as a particularly controversial decision. All three scores were justifiable depending on what stood out to any individual judge.But there are limits to what is acceptable even in a subjective endeavor, and two scorecards in particular in last year left boxing observers in disbelief.First, on Aug. 22 in Houston, Texas, judge Gale Van Hoy scored the first Juan Diaz-Paulie Malignaggi fight 118-110 for the local fighter, Diaz, even though almost everyone else believed it was too close to call. Then, on Dec. 5 in Atlantic City, N.J., in another fight that seemed to be a toss-up after 12 rounds, judge Pierre Benoist saw Paul Williams a 119-110 winner over Sergio Martinez.There were other scorecards that stopped just short of outrageous. In Eddie Chambers' fairly comprehensive win over Alexander Dimitrenko, Chambers won by eight points on one card and five on another, but judge Paul Thomas somehow scored it 113-113. And two judges, Alan Davis and Benoit Roussel, raised eyebrows by scoring Ali Funeka-Joan Guzman a 114-114 draw even though most observers believed Funeka won as many as eight or nine rounds.Those scores toed the line of inconceivability. Van Hoy's card and Benoist's card stepped over that line."I've watched the fight since, and I did see two rounds I could have easily given to Paulie," Van Hoy told RingTV.com last week. "The rounds that I could have given him were 10 and 11. If I'd done that, I would have scored it 116-112, the same as [judge David Sutherland]."The criticism I've taken has certainly bothered me. Honest to God, I've never had that before. I've done 50 or 60 world title fights, and I've never been criticized like that. I feel real bad about those two rounds, and if I ever see Paulie again, I'll tell him that. But then again, Paulie should be happy I scored those rounds the way I did, because he wouldn't have gotten a rematch with Diaz if it hadn't been for me."That favorable ironic twist for Malignaggi, however, doesn't undo the reality that Van Hoy had a bad night at the office. Dickie Cole, the head of the Texas State Athletic Commission, stands by Van Hoy in general but admits he disagreed with his scoring of the fight."Just like a good fighter can have a bad night, a good judge can have a bad night," Cole said. "I didn't agree with all the rounds he scored in that fight. I thought it was a real close fight. But I have to admit, I wasn't concentrating like a judge, I wasn't scoring it. Van Hoy's honest, there's no doubt about his honesty. He's been my friend a long time, and I know he would never throw anybody under the bus."Cole might've felt it necessary to vouch for Van Hoy's honesty in part because the veteran Texas judge scored widely for the Houston fighter in Houston. There was a suspicion of bias amongst many observers, particularly from Malignaggi, who predicted before the fight that he wouldn't get a fair shake in his opponent's hometown.The notion that Benoist entered the Williams-Martinez fight with a possible agenda hasn't really been floated. There was no local fighter at Boardwalk Hall that night, no obvious reason to suspect favoritism. But that doesn't make his score any less controversial. It just means that most people are branding him incompetent rather than a mix of that word and corrupt."I believe Pierre had a bad day, and I believe you won't see another bad day from him," said New Jersey State Athletic Control Board Director Aaron Davis. "I was surprised by his scorecard. I didn't see the fight going the way he did. If you look at Pierre Benoist's record on BoxRec[.com], he's been a good judge for a long time. From his history, this would probably be the only time that he's had a questionable card. So for people to jump on the bandwagon and say that he's too old or he's corrupt in any way, believe me, we do a background check on everyone, and he's about as square as could be."Davis casually brought up two very important words: too old. Benoist is in his 80s. Van Hoy is 75. Whether those numbers and the numbers on their scorecards might be connected in any way is a matter of opinion.Van Hoy said of his age, as you'd expect him to, "I think I'm a better judge now than I've ever been."And to a man, the commissioners interviewed for this article agreed that age is at worst a minor concern for them. That includes Keith Kizer, the executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission."I don't think age is an issue," Kizer said. "Don't get me wrong, age can be a factor, especially with referees. I've had referees who've come to me and retired saying, 'Keith, I just can't do it anymore.' But all judges have to pass physicals every year regardless of their age, they all have to do eye exams every year. So age is definitely not a factor as far as what judges we'll use. Everyone just has to be fit to work."So the next time you accuse a judge of being blind, remember that his vision has been tested and is in fact adequate enough to read an eye chart.Whether that judge has been blinded by ego, however, might be another story. Retired judge Chuck Giampa believes overconfidence is common among many judges and prevents them from sharpening their tools and being the best officials they can be."No matter how long you've been a judge, you just can't rest on your laurels," Giampa said. "You don't get away from the basics: mental and physical preparation before a fight and your total concentration during the fight. A judge's mind can drift, and you have to have your ego in check to realize that you're screwing up or that you're losing concentration and then have the work ethic to do something about it."I have one scorecard from my career that I regret. It was Sugarboy Malinga and Nigel Benn in England and it was a split decision that I was on the wrong side of. I got blasted, and rightly so. What happened was, my mother had passed away that year, and we had a lawsuit going against the doctor for wrongful death, and I got a call about it the day before the fight and my mind was just not on the fight. I remember there were two rounds that I just had no focus, and if I'd scored those rounds correctly, it would have been a unanimous decision for Malinga."So you can have bad nights. The most difficult fight for a judge is always the next fight after he screwed up. It's like getting a driving violation - you get one, and it's not that bad, but you don't want two in a row. So you have to admit you screwed up and learn from it, and a lot of judges won't do that."Not to pick on Cole and Van Hoy, both of whom admit to a certain level of dissatisfaction with the scorecard Van Hoy turned in for Diaz-Malignaggi, but neither will take full responsibility for that abominable 118-110 score. Both Cole and Van Hoy pointed a finger at the HBO commentary crew, specifically unofficial scorer Harold Lederman and his 115-113 card in favor of Malignaggi, for exacerbating the controversy."Who I feel wronged by is Harold Lederman," Van Hoy said. "See, they can criticize you, but you can't say nothing back. And Harold Lederman, that's why they call him 'Wrong Way Harold.' They called him 'Wrong Way Harold,' the promoters did, when he was a judge. He's never had one right in his life. And he was very vicious about my scorecard for no reason.""I have a lot of respect for ol' Harold Lederman, but he's a showman," Cole said. "He creates a controversy when there is no controversy. I'm not saying Harold's not honest. He's devoted, he's honest. But sometimes he gets carried away with what he thinks. You have to open up a can of worms, and you open up the can of worms and look at it, and there really are no worms in there. It's what's manifested in somebody's mind. One guy's opinion vs. another."Cole raised an interesting related point, saying that the worst kind of judge of all is a trainer because trainers tend to judge a fighter based not only on what he's doing, but also on what they think he should be doing.One thing you have to say in Lederman's favor is that he concentrates on the fights just the way a judge would. For boxing broadcasts on most networks other than HBO, the color commentator keeps the unofficial TV scorecard, and it's hard for him to pay proper attention to scoring when he's simultaneously trying to produce compelling conversation.One such double-dutied commentator, ESPN's Teddy Atlas, shined a light on another type of scoring controversy just this past weekend on Friday Night Fights. At the end of the Juan Carlos Burgos-Juan Carlos Martinez fight, which ended in a 12th-round stoppage for Burgos, Atlas noted angrily that judge Tony Garcia had the fight scored 95-95 through 10 rounds despite Burgos arguably sweeping every round.The point here is not to excoriate Garcia; many rounds were close and, again, Atlas is not focusing the way a judge should while he watches the fights. Rather, the point is to note how a bad score all too often gets swept under the rug because the fight ended in a knockout."Sometimes a bad score slips through the cracks," Kizer noted. "Maybe it ends in a knockout, or maybe a guy screws up but the right guy still wins, so people say, 'Well, the right guy won.' But to me, scores like that are just as big a cause for concern as scores that do swing the outcome."In other words, we'll never solve the problems associated with scoring boxing matches if we look only at the final result.***Tomorrow, in the second part of this two-part article, we'll look beyond the causes and explore the possible solutions that might help cut down on the out-of-whack scorecards that reflect so poorly upon our sport.Eric Raskin can be reached at RaskinBoxing@yahoo.com.

RING Theory: Audio show

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 12:47:39 PST