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Golden Boy has full slate for rest of 2010

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 00:01:58 PST

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. -- A relatively slow summer season for boxing is coming to an end for Golden Boy Promotions.Golden Boy could have five big cards before the end of the year if everything falls into place, CEO Richard Schaefer said at a media workout for Mosley on Wednesday.The busy run starts with the Shane Mosley-Sergio Mora card on Sept 18 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, a card that also includes Victor Ortiz-Vivian Harris and Antonio Escalante-Daniel Ponce de Leon. Schaefer is working on a card for Nov. 6 featuring the return of James Kirkland and Robert Guerrero.Juan Manuel Marquez and Michael Katsides have agreed to fight on Nov. 27 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Schaefer said. He is working on a deal to have Amir Khan fight Marcos Maidana on Dec. 11 either in Las Vegas or Detroit.And, to cap the year, Schaefer said he's getting the paperwork finished for a fight between RING light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal and Bernard Hopkins on Dec. 18 in Quebec City, Canada.That doesn't include the "Fight Night Club" cards on the last Thursday of each month in Los Angeles."I look at our calendar for the remainder of the year and I cannot remember having had a busier time with significant fights," he said.And Schaefer believes each card has its selling point.Mosley is in a must-win situation after his one-sided loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Mora, coming off a strong victory over Calvin Green, has "everything to gain," Schaefer said.Saul Alvarez, the red-headed junior middleweight prospect from Mexico, is facing his first recognizable opponent on the Mosley-Mora card, former welterweight titleholder Carlos Baldomir. Schaefer, whose company has big plans for Alvarez, said he's concerned."I'm a little bit worried," he said. "Baldomir is a big, strong guy who is experienced. Alvarez had trouble with (Jose) Cotto, who was, what, a lightweight moving up? I think Baldomir hits harder and has a better chin than (Miguel) Cotto's brother."I wonder whether it's too much, too soon."The storyline for the Kirkland card is obvious: The former junior middleweight contender will fight for the first time since March of last year after a stint in prison, where the convicted felon was sent after he was caught buying a gun.Golden Boy would like Kirkland (25-0, 22 knockouts) to fight for a title after a few fights."We're going to see where he's at," Schaefer said. "We'll give him a tune-up fight. The plan would then be to have him back in the ring before the end of the year. Hopefully he'll be better and badder than ever."Schaefer believes Marquez-Katsides could be a fight of the year candidate. Khan-Maidana would be a fascinating matchup, a superb boxer with a questionable chin facing a huge puncher.And Pascal-Hopkins would pit a young bull coming off an upset of Chad Dawson against a fighter who will be 46 in January. Hopkins is coming off a one-sided decision over Roy Jones Jr. in a horrible fight.Schaefer has become close friends with Hopkins but said he has confidence in the old man."I was concerned before Bernard fought Kelly Pavlik," said Schaefer, referring to Hopkins' victory in 2008. "He told me to sit in my chair and enjoy the fight. I pretty much do that every time he fights now. I stopped worrying about him."This guy knows what he's doing in the ring."

Dougie's mini-Margarito mailbag

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 01:56:45 PST

I'LL KEEP MY SOAPBOXDoug,In a week where the biggest boxing news is the licensing in Texas of disgraced cheater Antonio Margarito, the only mention in your mailbag is a dig at the "scathing soapbox columns of American boxing writers"? Are you going to tell me that all of your emails were about the James Toney sideshow and nobody wrote to you about Margarito? I find that hard to believe. For a writer who has bemoaned the lack of criticism from the boxing press towards Bob Arum, this is the perfect opportunity to rip the Top Old Crank a third hole to spew feces to accompany his mouth and his backside.Maybe many boxing writers are apoplectic at the Margarito debacle because every overarching ill in the sport is on full display: the lack of central authority and real unified rules for all commissions; the damaging power that greedy scumbag promoters like Arum wield with complete disregard for the health of the sport; the state commissions' utter inability to properly regulate the sport; the lack of character, integrity, or basic humanity in boxing's power brokers (in this case, Arum and Greenburg); the fact that the sports' active shining beacon of character and integrity, Congressman Manny Pacquiao, is a willful participant now sullied by this mess; and how so many in the sport are perfectly willing to attack and personally slight (as in "soapbox" digs rather than reasoned arguments) those critical of this disgraceful fight.If you want to be all excited about Pacquiao's second one-sided whitewashing in Texas this year, I can't stop you. Get off how you get off. But just because you'd rather bury your head in the sand and pretend that this is great for the sport and Margarito deserves the opportunity (I'm pretty sure Vanes Martirosyan could also beat Robert Garcia, is he next for Manny? You like that matchup?) doesn't mean that everybody needs to respond in kind. Maybe you think Dan Rafael, Kevin Iole, and others are just yelling from a soapbox; I think they are doing their jobs exceedingly well and demonstrating that they have the courage to stand by their convictions, even if it might create tensions with Top Rank for them that could possibly hinder their future work. I'll take that over willful ignorance in defense of the worst kind of cheat boxing can produce any day.Sincerely. -- Scott KrausScott, at the time you sent this email (Friday at 9:12 a.m. PT), it was the only one I had received about Margarito being licensed in Texas. I hadn't received any email with "Margarito" in the subject line before I put last week's Friday mailbag to bed (around 2:30 a.m. on Friday). So far, I've only received four "outraged" emails (including yours) about the licensing issue, and maybe two or three others that mention Margarito and the Nov. 13 fight among other subjects. Most of the emails I received over the weekend were about the Calderon-Segura fight, complaints about RingTV.com having James Toney's MMA loss as the lead feature on Sunday, and pro and con arguments about having MMA on a boxing site. I don't think this is because most fans don't care that Margarito is licensed and in a huge fight. I think it has to do with the fact that the fight is two and half months away. I believe that most RingTV.com readers realize that there will be plenty of time to slam, support or debate the ethics of Pacquiao-Margarito as the fight date gets closer, but for now they would rather talk about the excellent junior flyweight bout they saw (or lament that they missed it) and the good, solid matchups that are coming up on Sept. 11, Sept. 18 and Oct. 2.Regarding the "opportunity" to criticize Arum and Margarito, I'm not the kind of writer who seeks out reasons to rip anyone in the sport. The only reason I've ever "bemoaned" the fact that many notable boxing writers fail to criticize Arum is because many of those same writers scrutinize every move Golden Boy Promotions makes. I'm not against criticism where it's due, I just think the media should hold everyone to the same standard. And so far, I haven't read much criticism directed towards Arum. Everything seems focused on Margarito, with a little bit of scorn tossed Pacquiao's and HBO's way.If you're a regular reader of my mailbags you probably already know that I don't feel that strongly about Margarito's decision to continue fighting and to seek a license in the U.S. I know I'm in the minority among boxing writers/media, and maybe I'm wrong for doing this, but I'm giving Margarito the benefit of the doubt. There's a reasonable doubt in my mind as to whether Margarito knew what Javier Capetillo was doing to his wraps the night of the Shane Mosley fight. If I don't know for a fact that Margarito knew that his wraps were being loaded, I'm not going to wish for -- or push for -- his being banned from the sport for life.This is not to say that I that I believe Margarito deserves the shot at Pacquiao, the substantial payday he will receive or that I'm excited about the fight. I don't think Margarito deserves to fight for a vacant 154-pound title or be in a mega-event, and I'm not pissing my pants in anticipation of Pacquiao-Margarito. However, I'm not vehemently against the bout taking place and I do plan to travel to Texas to cover the fight.As for the "conviction and courage" of the boxing writers who are outraged/disgusted by this fight taking place and have stated so in recent scathing columns, I ask you -- and I'll ask them as well -- are their convictions strong enough to boycott Pacquiao-Margarito? Because if all they are going to do is write that Margarito is the scum of the earth from now until the fight, and then show up and cover the event on Nov. 13, I think they're doing more than just "yelling from a soapbox;" I think they're helping Arum PROMOTE the damned fight!Controversy sells, Scott.Every major sports writer and his brother basically wrote that Mike Tyson was "the living embodiment of all that is evil in the universe" from the time that he bit Evander Holyfield's ear (June of 1997) through to the melee he started at the kick-off presser for the Lennox Lewis fight (January of 2002) but all those soapbox columns did was help fuel interest for the eventual Lewis-Tyson showdown.It didn't matter that Tyson was denied a license in Nevada, New Jersey and New York prior to the Lewis fight, which took place in Memphis, Tenn., in June of 2002, that pay-per-view show did a then-record 1.9 million buys and generated over $100 million in PPV revenue.And just about every major boxing writer who slammed Tyson (whose violent and unsporting behavior in and out of the ring deserved criticism) and derided the fight as a farce (which it was, Tyson had no shot against Lewis) -- with the exception of historian Bert Sugar -- made the trek to Memphis and had a grand old time hanging out and eating BBQ before and after covering the event for their various publications. Hypocrisy? Yeah, juuust a little bit. And think the same thing will happen with the Nov. 13 event. I would argue that if you (a fan or boxing writer) are truly outraged by Margarito's re-licensing and participation in this high-profile bout, you should not only boycott the event, you should try to write or speak about it as little as possible. Just state that you're against the fight taking place and refuse to support it. The louder and more damning the criticism is about an individual and/or event, the more interest and anticipation is often created.HANDS OF PLASTERWhat up big Doug? Hands of Plaster being rubberstamped for a license in Texas is a perfect example of the laughingstock our sport has become. Seriously. Tony has brought more shame on our sport than anyone since Jeffrey Resto, and he is being rewarded with a career-making fight. Are you f____ing kidding me? My friends used to kid me that boxing was no different than professional wrestling... it's not a joke any longer. I can't think of a fight that can be made that would do more damage to our sport's already flagging credibility. It's a slap in the face to boxing fans everywhere. It's a big "F___ You Finger" from Boob Arum himself. The Tijuana Twist can wrap his hands in cement if he wants, the idiots in the Texas commission won't notice. They'll be too busy feeding at the buffet trough and giggling at Richard Cole's nickname. Someone should strap a couple of cinder blocks on Margarito's hands and tell him that Boob Arum stole his Shakira Mix Tape. Let's see how Arum likes being pummeled by a moron bearing bricks. Anyone who buys this fight is underwriting manslaughter. And, they are giving tacit approval to Pac's avoiding real challenges against deserving fighters. Fighters, by the way, who weren't caught cheating. Every sissified, sugar-tittied, half a grill cheese between the legs having, Zima drinking, white-girl f____ing, loser that supports this fight is driving another nail into boxing's coffin. It's clear that the ultra-rich power brokers that control this sport couldn't give a pant load about the long-term health of the sport, and are just lining their pockets, before moving on to exploit another third-world commodity. Do you really think Boob cares if boxing goes to s__t in the next 10 years? He's gonna stroke out soon, and spend the remaining years of his life convalescing in heaven's waiting room (Miami, Fla.). He'll be mute, immobile, and unable to wipe his own ass. Fortunately, he'll have a litany of broke, and broken, ex-fighters who'll gladly wipe his ass for $8.00 bucks an hour and the occasional slobbering smile from their adopted father figure. A national boxing commission is never going to happen, because rich white men don't give a s__t about little people. State commissions aren't going to safeguard the sport as long as it brings big money into their coffers. The only people who can properly police this sport is the fans. I just went to Toprank.com, and sent them an email underlining my feelings about this embarrassment. When Top Rank opens their email tomorrow they'll have an email from me, an email from Pedro Fernandez advising them that the FBI is about to break down their front door to end "Operation Matchbox," an email from James Toney asking for directions to Jack in the Box, and an advertisement for Viagra sold direct from the Bahamas. Which one do you think Boob will read first? -- KirkMy guess is that Arum will not read any of them. He's got more pressing matters to attend to, mainly his son who is missing somewhere in the wilderness outside of Seattle and a major boxing promotion on Nov. 13. I respect your outrage at Margarito's license reinstatement and disgust for the Pacquiao fight being made (I know that you will not spend your hard-earned money on the Nov. 13 PPV). I also understand your disappointment in the current state of the sport and your sadness at the continuing downward slide of boxing's reputation and respectability. I think you've voiced what a lot of fans are feeling, but sometimes I wish you weren't so over the top with the manner in which you express yourself. Your views are valid (well, not all of them, but most of them) but when fans go totally off (as you just did) I can't blame "the powers that be" for not taking them seriously and it's hard for more casual/mellower followers of boxing to pick up on what they are complaining about. Having said that, I enjoy reading your emails, Kirk. They make me laugh, blush and cringe at the same time. When are you going to start a weekly column?Let me know when you're in the L.A. area. We're overdue a lot of hard drinks and a few a cigars. SLIDE ON BY, PACQUIAO-MARGARITODear Dougie,Hey ho, so Texas has granted Margarito the right to fight, and once again proves to the world that the heart of this wonderful sport can be so ultimately corrupted by the power and money-hungry big boys. No surprises there! What does surprise me, though, is how fight fans allow this to happen. How many people out there are sickened by how Margarito has ended up in this position, and frustrated by egocentric promoters who so blatantly dictate the fights we will and will not see for their own (NOT us or their fighters') interests. And yet, time after time, despite the obvious negative feelings towards this out there, fans still buy in to it, literally, by purchasing tickets and those all-important PPVs. Some would argue that it's just the state of the game, and, in the case of the (clearly wrong) Pacquiao/Margarito fight, why not just pay up and enjoy what in all likelihood will be an entertaining and well-deserved beating of the latter. It's also understandable how some will simply get sucked in by the promotion side of it all and see it as their duty as a 'boxing fan' to buy what's out there. It's current, it's what's happening, and they want to be part of it. Fair enough; but maybe a better way of being a boxing fan and supporting the game itself, in the state it should be in, is to let a fight like this simply slide on by without taking any of its cash with you. It's really easy to do. I'll read the reports afterwards and probably hear some excellent descriptions of how Margarito got taken apart in an exciting tear-up, and I'll be able to imagine that and smile. A highlights or full fight clip will probably appear on YouTube at some point in the future and I'll enjoy that too. Is that a cheap/hypocritical line to take? Perhaps, but the satisfaction will come from not having just lined the pockets of the side of that industry that I can't stomach. It's a simple statement, and if enough fans do it what better way would there be of telling Bob Arum et al to 'Go f*** themselves', and maybe, just maybe, making them think again. Keep up the great writing and analysis. -- Rob Thanks Rob. I think you have the right idea for fans who are frustrated with Margarito, Arum, and everyone else affiliated with the Pacquiao fight. However, I'd like to hear from you as the fight gets closer. I'd like to hear from other fans who plan on skipping Pacquiao-Margarito in the coming weeks. I want to know what you think of the media coverage of the fight and I'd like to hear if you have second thoughts on not ordering the PPV show. I don't want to come off as skeptical or jaded, but I've hear from so-called "fed-up" hardcore fans all the time who tell me they aren't going to order this PPV or that PPV because it's a "farce" or whatever. I received tons of such emails before Lewis-Holyfield II, Lewis-Tyson, De La Hoya-Mosley II, De La Hoya-Hopkins, De La Hoya-Mayorga, Mayweather-Hatton, De La Hoya-Pacquiao and Pacquiao-Clottey. Those PPV events did between 800,000 and 1.9 million buys. Somebody bought them. Maybe those events all had some degree of crossover appeal or tapped into specific markets outside of hardcore fans. Or maybe some of those hardcore heads that ranted and raved about how they are sick of lining promoters' pockets with money for fights they didn't ask for broke down on fight night and gave up their dough.I think it's case of a little bit of both and I can't help but wonder if that's going to happen with Pacquiao-Margarito. Let me go over the checklist (that Arum's already gone over a thousand times in his head):We've got the national followings of both fighters (the Filipino and Mexican faithful), HBO doing its 24/7 thing, Jerry Jones adding his influence and marketing muscle to the promotion, and the Margarito controversy and every sports columnist screaming bloody murder about it enhancing the hype. Check, check, check and check. Yeah, I'm afraid this promotion is going to do quite well.My guess is that Cowboys Stadium will host 80,000 and the PPV will do between 1 million and 1.5 million buys. Maybe I'm wrong, Rob. Maybe you and like-minded fans can prove me (and Arum and HBO) wrong. We'll see.Doug Fischer can be contacted at dougiefischer@yahoo.com

Lopez-Marquez rescheduled for Nov. 6

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 15:37:06 PST

The anticipated featherweight showdown between undefeated 126-pound titleholder Juan Manuel Lopez and former 122-pound champ Rafael Marquez has been rescheduled for November 6. The featherweight title bout, which will be bradcast live on Showtime (9 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast), will take place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.The bout was originally set for September 18 but had to be rescheduled after Marquez injured his right thumb two weeks ago."Fortunately, my thumb injury did not prevent me from continuing my conditioning, including running daily," said Marquez (39-5, 35 KOs) . "I am extremely grateful that my fight with Juan Manuel Lopez was rescheduled so quickly. On November 6, 'JuanMa' and I have a date with destiny. I can't wait." Neither can Lopez (29-0, 26 KOs)."I'm looking forward to showing my skills against a great champion like Rafael Marquez, one of the all-time greats and a future Hall of Famer," Lopez said. "It will be the biggest fight of my career."

Dougie's Monday mailbag

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 02:21:14 PST

FIGHTS THIS PAST WEEKENDI can't believe I just wasted an evening waiting for the James Toney-Randy Couture fight. While the outcome was inevitable, I still got that sinking feeling in my gut the second the fight went to the mat. I have to hand it to Couture though. He took it all in stride, and showed class in the post fight interview. After that debacle, I found an online stream of the Marcos Maidana-DeMarcus Corley, which was already in the seventh round at that point. It seemed like a decent scrap, although it looked to me like Maidana was wearing "Chop Chop" down with his relentless aggression. Still, Corley was landing clean shots to the head late in the fight. It appeared that the Spanish TV crew had it scored even, although I admit that I was distracted, and the stream was pretty choppy. I hear that Giovani Segura put a good beating on Ivan Calderon too. Your thoughts? -- Gopal RaoThanks for writing, Gopal. I'll give you my thoughts in the order that you gave me yours:It was sad seeing Toney wiped out in the manner in which Couture bested him on Saturday night, but I'm not going to say that I wasted my time watching it. I had awaited the matchup with keen anticipation for weeks (ever since I visited Toney in camp) and I was excited about watching it with friends of mine who follow both boxing and MMA closely. Everybody in the room was a James Toney fan or had been at some point. I was the only person in the room, however, who thought Toney could beat Couture. I was wrong and it was a disappointing fight in terms of its competitive and entertainment value. But I still give the Fatman credit for lasting as long as he did in a choke hold (he's a tough S.O.B.) and for taking on a card-carrying MMA badass like Couture in his MMA debut. Toney rolled the dice and he crapped out (crap being the operative word because that's what he looked like). But Couture was classy in victory (as he always is) and Toney was gracious in defeat (as he seldom is). I think it's safe to say that Randy humbled the future boxing hall of famer.As for the UFC 118 pay-per-view broadcast, I actually enjoyed the prelim fight between Nate Diaz and Marcus Davis. I didn't get into the other fights (including the main event, which featured one of the few MMA fighters I'm familiar with, BJ Penn), but it was a new experience watching an MMA event on the big screen at my friend's place. The big screen (which is really a projected image on the wall) is usually reserved for boxing, while MMA is watched on computer screens in another room. On this Saturday the boxing (Calderon-Segura and Lundy-Lother) was on the computers.My friend has satellite TV, and one of the networks he gets is the Argentinean channel that broadcasts most of the big fights that take place in South America, so we did the same thing you did by tuning into Maidana-Corley immediately after the Couture-Toney fight ended.From what I saw, Maidana was in a tough fight with the faded veteran. He scored a knockdown, was the aggressor and he was obviously the harder puncher, so I'm guessing that was the difference in the fight. I haven't seen the bout in its entirety so I can't say if "Chop Chop" was robbed, but I'm comfortable in stating that Saturday's version of Maidana would not beat Tim Bradley, Amir Khan, Devon Alexander or Victor Ortiz in a rematch.You heard right about Segura-Calderon and if you didn't see that 108-pound showdown you missed a damn good fight. The "old man" was eventually overwhelmed but he didn't go down without a fight.MORE SEGURAHell of a fight. Too bad Calderon doesn't have more power, because he could've done some real damage and made it even more interesting, but at the end, Segura was too strong and too young. At least Calderon tried has hard as he could and man what about the 4th and especially 6th round.How fun would it be if Segura was on the Pacman undercard? I am aware that it's hard for little guys to become stars, but I told everybody I knew to watch this fight (which oddly enough wasn't on PPV here) and trust me, everybody wants to see him again, so Bob give him more exposure.Giovanni Segura, he's raw, wild, all over the place and man is he fun. Regarding James Toney and boxers going into MMA here are my thoughts ........................................................................................ hope it's clear enough (and I'm not an MMA hater). As always Doug, have a good week. -- Simon, Montr alIf Calderon had power Saturday's junior flyweight championship would have been a Fight of the Year candidate because Segura would have hit the deck at least once and would have been repeatedly rocked. Of course, if Calderon had power he probably wouldn't have bothered to develop into the ultra-slick ring general he is. As much as I (and most fans) love a banger, boxing needs its sweet scientists like Calderon to add a little art and civility that balances the sport out. I don't mind a pure boxer as long as he shows some balls every now and then, and that's what Calderon did in rounds four and six. The fourth round reminded fans that he can be an action fighter when he wants and the sixth showed everyone that he has the heart of a champion. That was an impressive comeback round after he took a hardcore beating in the fifth.Don't hold your breath for Arum to wake up and recognize Segura. He could have made for 108-pound unification series years ago involving the likes of Calderon, Segura, Viloria, Solis, Sosa and Nino but he never lifted a finger. Segura is THE RING/WBA/WBO champ today because Calderon's Puerto Rico-based management/promoters PR Best Promotions made Saturday's fight. Fans should give Peter and Ivan Rivera their due props for making a risky fight with one of their champions (and a reliable revenue-generator on the island).Hopefully, Fernando Beltran, who pretty much runs "Top Rank-Mexico", will seek out all-Mexican showdowns between Segura and Solis or Sosa or Nino. My guess is that TV Azteca would garner great ratings with those fights. My two wish-list fights for Segura is a RING championship clash with flyweight champ Pongsaklek Wongjongkam and a junior bantamweight battle with Hugo Cazares. I echo your thoughts on boxers in MMA, and I'm not an MMA hater, either.FAREWELL IRON BOYDoug,Age and youth caught up and beat Calderon Saturday night!!! 35 in a lower weight class? He lasted long enough as a champ! Kudos to him and his dedication! He was the purest boxer Puerto Rico has ever had. That being said, Segura is a monster!!! What a puncher that kid is!!! He will be a champ for a while!One more thing... all those MMA fanatics calling MMA superior to boxing are idiots! They are two entirely different sports. What if Couture would put on some gloves??? It would have been as bad of a beating or worse the other way around!!! How about a double battle??? Two fights! One MMA fight, and after that a 10 rounder? Haven't written to you since you were at HOB and I was stationed in Germany! Now I am back in the states, going to Iraq in November! Keep up the good work! -- SSG MoranI remember your emails "Sarge." Good to hear from you after all these years (10, if you're counting).Anyone beating his chest over Couture's victory over James Toney is begging to be ignored. I haven't received a single email from anyone claiming that MMA is superior to boxing based on Toney's UFC debut. I'm sure if I visited enough message boards I could find thousands of goof-ball opinions, which is precisely why I stay away from such internet forums. I watched Couture-Toney with a number of MMA fans but they all happen to be educated dudes who also follow boxing so I didn't hear any "MMA beats boxing" nonsense after the fight.Anyway, onto a competitive fight, Calderon-Segura. That fight exceeded my expectations in terms of excitement. You are absolutely right to give Calderon his props for beating on top of two weight classes (105- and 108-pound divisions) for as long as he was; 35 years of age for a sub-flyweight is like 45 for the heavier weight classes. And Segura is indeed a monster. I think he'll be a champ for a long time but not necessarily at 108 pounds. He might jump to flyweight or even junior bantamweight in his next bout because he's been struggling to make junior flyweight for some time now.FNCMr. Fischer,I hope all is well. Today, my daughter (our first) is five weeks old, and has been sleeping enough to give me a chance to email you. Several points:1. Congratulations to Segura. Not only did he win The Ring Title, he will forever be known as the first guy to defeat a "Iron Boy" -- a legend in his own right. I was a little disappointed when I read that Capetillo is training Segura. 2. I have to comment on Fight Night Club. The fights and commentary were good, but the production is a little off. When I was watching the fights on Saturday, my wife asked me how old were the fights -- from the dark and dull picture the fights looked old. Also I really wish I could watch them live on TV (I know it's live on the RingTV.com). Last year there was an energy to FNC that seems to be missing this year, partly due to it not airing live. Lastly, I not a sartorialist, but it would definitely help your cause if you wore a tailored jacket. 3. I am boycotting the upcoming fight in Dallas, and I will look to group with other hardcore fans to do the same online. Best. -- Jaime, South CityThanks for writing, Jaime. I know how sleep deprived you must be. I'll answer your comments in the order they were presented:1) The thing to keep in mind about Segura is that he really honors being regarded the champ. Being another belt holder was not enough for him. He also appreciates facing and beating a Puerto Rican legend in Calderon, who happens to be one of the main fighters he watched as a fan when he first began boxing. Regarding Javier Capetillo's involvement in his career, it is what it is. The Mexican media, community and the Mota family (Richard and Arturo -- Segura's managers) are willing to give Capetillo a second chance that most American fans and media are not. Eric Raskin's column this week delves into this issue (and I happen to one of his sources for the story). Check it out.2) Here's something you have to remember whenever you watch a Fight Night Club broadcast: it's a club show with a club show budget. It's not just called Fight Night Club just because it takes place in Club Nokia. Golden Boy Promotions has brought in enough sponsors (DeWalt, McDonald's, etc.) to underwrite the live internet broadcast (it's also webcast live on ustream.com) so that fans don't have to shell out any money to watch, but they don't receive a substantial license fee from Fox Sports (if anything). However, that's not the key purpose of the show. The No. 1 mission of the series is to build local fanbases for Southern California talent as the young boxers are developed as pros. The No. 2 goal is to establish a popular monthly club series in the greater L.A. area (and GBP is accomplishing this part of their mission because the shows are well attended and appreciated by local fans). Unfortunately, the production value of the telecast comes in a distant third. The show is run on a skeleton production staff, which is limited as far as lighting, sound, etc., because of the very cramped setting. There simply isn't the money, time or space to provide the kind of lighting, extra cameras and crew members that produce the boxing shows you watch on HBO, ESPN2, and Showtime. Sorry to be long-winded. Regarding my jacket, if I had my way, I wouldn't wear one at all. (Hey, it's supposed to be a night club environment, right?) The problem with the jacket (and shirt) I wore last Thursday is that the color was too light for TV. I think it looked pretty nice live and in person, but I'm, of course, biased.3) Boycotting Pacquiao-Margarito is certainly your right as a fan if you feel Margarito doesn't deserve a shot at one the sport's biggest stars or the money that comes with it (or if you feel he should be out of the sport completely). Saving your money and encouraging other likeminded fans to do the same is the best way you can express your displeasure to Margarito, Arum, Jones, Pacquiao, HBO, the WBC and whoever else is involved in the promotion.WHEN FIGHTERS PLATEAUHello Dougie,This is my second time writing and I wanted to discuss the recent fights with Chad Dawson and Ivan Calderon. Both are obviously very skilled boxers and both had stiff challenges in Pascal and Segura. Now before these fights, Dawson and Calderon were on 2 year stinkers. Dawson was stuck fighting Johnson and Tarver, while Calderon was stuck with Mayol and Iribe. During that time, it's almost like Dawson and Calderon plateaued and sunk to that level of competition. Then when it came time to fight a younger man, they were both blitzed. My question is, what causes a fighter to drop off like that? I don't think it's an 'up' factor because Calderon/Segura had the PR/MEX rivalry and Dawson was stoked for Canada. What is it about those 2 year stinkers that sort of brought Dawson and Calderon down? (Not taking anything away from Pascal and Segura, of course.) -- BazookaJabI agree that Dawson's performance against Pascal may have suffered because of his four consecutive bouts against Tarver and Johnson -- older veterans who lacked the Haitian-Canadian's athletic ability -- but also think his relative inactivity (only fighting twice for two years straight had something to do with his lackadaisical approach.As for Calderon, I just think he got old and Segura did his part to hasten that "aging process" on Saturday.TONEY OVER CALDERON?Hey Dougie,I was a little disappointed to see the results of the Toney fight get top billing on the RingTV homepage when over the same weekend the impossible finally happened, Ivan Calderon got stopped. I know Toney's side-show had more buzz, but a fighter with as much class inside the ring as Calderon shouldn't be overshadowed by a beached James Toney. The smaller man was much bigger news, at least in terms of significance to boxing history, than the fat man's fall. Also, the score isn't "MMA 1 boxing 0"... check Anderson Silva's boxing record out. The Sugar Ray Robinson of MMA came over to boxing when he was still young and near his physical peak, and got stopped in 2 by a South American journeyman half his size. I think that puts boxing well out in front, no matter how many over the hill Ray Mercers and James Toneys roll their way into a choke hold. -- ToddBoth co-editor Michael Rosenthal and I would have preferred Calderon-Segura to have what we call the "mantle" area of the homepage Saturday night and all day Sunday but we didn't have any photos from the fight to post with my story on the bout. The photo service we subscribe to -- Fightwireimages.com, which does a great job with the fight cards they cover -- didn't cover the Calderon-Segura bout, which wasn't put on by Segura's promoter, Top Rank, so that meant we couldn't count on the always excellent shots of veteran photographer Chris Farina (Top Rank's staff photo man). Getty Images didn't even cover the fight, so we couldn't buy anything from that top-notch agency. I'll take full responsibility for getting caught with our pants down on Saturday night. I assumed that somebody was going to be there who would send Michael or I at least one or two shots of the fight after it was done. As I am with many things, I was wrong. Had I known (or thought to check) ahead of time that Fightwire and Getty did not plan to send anyone to the fight I would have contacted somebody with PR Best Boxing to arrange for the promoter of the bout to send Michael and/or I some post-fight pics.Having said that, we didn't think that it was out of line to have Couture-Toney in the mantle space. James Toney has been one of the sport's most accomplished and better-known participants for close to 20 years. His crossover to MMA (on a major PPV card of the UFC, the world's biggest MMA promotional company) was a big story. The piece I did on Toney in camp was one of the most read stories ever on RingTV.com that wasn't about Manny Pacquiao. And you better believe Fightwire and Getty Images were at UFC 118.Regarding the "MMA 1 boxing 0" headline, hey, it fit, and it played on the silly ass debate that some fans of both sports just can't seem to let go. Don't take it literally or personally.WHY?Doug,Great fight with Calderon-Segura, you summed it up pretty good in your post fight, although I thought that Calderon was basically finished after he traded with Segura in the 4th and 5th rounds (body shots all day long took away those legs).I guess its not your decision, but why is some sad no-hoper UFC fight that lasted 3 minutes the main feature on Ringtv.com? Man, this says more about boxing than anything else. Toney didn't have a prayer. Peace. -- SteveI thought Toney had more than a prayer. Maybe he never did or maybe he did and Couture didn't give him a chance, regardless, this was a clash of two future hall of famers in their respective sports that garnered a significant amount of attention from both MMA and boxing fans.I had just as much anticipation for Toney's MMA try as I did the Calderon-Segura fight and I don't think I was the only boxing fan who was looking forward to watching both fights.In fact, I'm fairly certain that more self-defined hardcore boxing fans watched UFC 118 (because of Toney's involvement) than Calderon-Segura, which isn't to say that Couture-Toney deserved top billing over the junior flyweight championship, it just turned out that way because of our photo snafu.MMA ON A BOXING SITEhey doug,i have nothing against mma. im not one of the old school bitter boxing fans who thinks boxing isnt what it used to be and thinks its falling apart. boxing isnt going anywhere. there are great fights, there are controversial fights, there are boring fights and fighters. i try to think positively and focus on what we have in front of us. however, this morning im a little disgruntled because last night there was a legitimate championship fight between the top two fighters in a division that pitted the classic boxer vs puncher. it was an entertaining match. it was a significant fight. no it wasn't pacquiao mayweather but it was the biggest fight of the weekend. a fight worth discussing. yet when i log onto ringtv.com. theres coverage of an mma fight. i understand that james toney's involvement peaks our interest, but its still an mma fight, not boxing. so why is it the top story on a boxing site. i came here hoping thered be coverage on this weekends boxing action, instead i see mma. for those who are bitter boxing fans that hate mma on principle, not actual disinterest in the sport, this is another nail on the coffin. mma is not a fad. its great for what it is. i respect it. i respect the athletes. respect the way dana white runs ufc. but at this point im not a fan. i watch the nfl. i like football. but i dont watch rugby just because its similar. i dont log onto nfl.com to read about rugby, even if brett favre decided to step in there for a day. -- robert ortizOK, OK, folks, we get it. No more MMA coverage on RingTV.com. For the record, I wrote one pre-fight story on James Toney preparing for his MMA debut. That was ONE Gym Notes column one month ago. We linked to a Yahoo! Sports column for the Couture-Toney result because we felt that the boxer involved in the MMA was a friggin' legend. SORRY. It wasn't meant to be the lead story Saturday night and it certainly wasn't meant to be a slap in the face of boxing or true-blue fans of the sport. It's not like we gave up on boxing for the weekend. I wrote a post-fight story on Calderon-Segura. I didn't write s__t about Couture-Toney even though I watched the fight. Guys, please, don't fret. Don't get disgruntled, bitter, or bummed out. (And to those boxing fans who are clinically depressed -- and I have a feeling that more than a few of you are -- go out and get some damn medication!) It won't happen again. The novelty of a high-profile boxing legend vs. MMA legend is gone.HE DID IT TO HIMSELFCouture mauled Toney like a pit bull on a f___ing poodle!In case you didn't see it yet, here is the link. Just what I expected, Toney to get fucked up. Came in fat, out of shape, unprepared, got choked out. The dude squandered his career, now he has to turn to this to make a living. The dude could have been the legitimate champion and made millions at heavyweight, but he did it to himself! -- JBI saw it. Toney was fat (so what else is new?) but I don't believe that he was out of shape or unprepared. If he was, he wouldn't have lasted 30 seconds.TOP FIVE CHINSDougie,Just a quick one. Top 5 chins you have witnessed.(PS. God bless Ivan Calderon. Legend!) -- Choppa B, Sydney AustraliaCalderon has my respect. Top five chins I've witnessed (I'm assuming you mean the top 5 fighter's who could take a shot that I've covered):James Toney, Bernard Hopkins, Evander Holyfield, Juan Manuel Marquez, and Shane Mosley.MARCOS MAIDANADear Doug,I'm surprised (from what I've read) how much he struggled with Corley, who hasn't looked good in years. Do you think he was looking past Corley to a potential Khan fight? Take care. -- PatrickI don't think Maidana was looking past Corley. I just think he had trouble with Corley's footwork and the veteran (who has a lot of top-notch experience to draw upon) was in shape and motivated for this fight.TOP 5 FUNHey Doug, I'm thoroughly enjoying the A-Z list and finding it extremely hard to decide who deserves to be ranked number 1. I can only imagine how hard you guys must be finding it to agree! On the subject of top 5's I was curious as to your opinion on the following: 1) Your Top 5 most fun to watch in the sport today?: Pacquiao is fun but his fights carry an air of inevitability that takes away from the excitement for me (it's not his fault, he's just too good!), Carl Froch's career has been a joy to follow (The Dirrell fight aside...) and, as much as he frustrates me, Chris Arreola's great fun in and out of the ring (I think he could be so much better). You've also got to love someone who takes as many punches as Librado Andrade. And, 2) Your Top 5 all time best knockouts: I can't decide on mine but Walcott-Charles 3 and Marciano-Walcott 1surely ranks Jersey Joe as the man who won and lost his title in the most spectacular fashion. One I almost feel bad watching is Ray Mercer against Tommy Morrison, that one is brutal as is the more recent Paquiao-Hatton KO. Rocky Marciano's against Rex Layne is another, and poor old Zab Judah doing the funky chicken against Kostya Tzyu will always have a special place in my heart! You'll probably be inundated with these lists, as always it will be good to hear your thoughts. -- Ewan, ScotlandThanks for the kind words on the A-Z feature. All props belongs to Rosenthal. It was his idea and he's the guy who's doing all the research and writing. I'm enjoying it as much as you are.My top five favorite fighters to watch (in particular order) has to include newly crowned junior flyweight champ Giovani Segura, Alfredo Angulo, Miguel Cotto, and the Marquez brothers. (Honorable mention: Paul Williams, Vic Darchinyan, Sergio Martinez, Yonnhy Perez and Abner Mares.)My all-time favorite five knockouts: Ray Robinson over Gene Fullmer, Joe Louis over Billy Conn (first fight), Archie Moore over Yvonne Durrell (first fight), Marvin Hagler over Thomas Hearns, and Michael Carbajal over Humberto Gonzalez (I still get goose bumps when I watch the end of this fight on tape of DVD).(The five all-time knockouts I've seen live: Diego Corrales over Jose Luis Castillo, Antonio Tarver over Roy Jones Jr., Manny Pacquiao over Ricky Hatton, Samuel Peter over Jeremy Williams, and Calvin Brock over Zuri Lawrence.)Doug Fischer can be contacted at dougiefischer@yahoo.com

Weekend Review: Big night for Giovani Segura

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 00:58:56 PST

BIGGEST WINNERGiovani Segura: Segura has become a remarkable story. The Mexican-born resident of Los Angeles didn't start boxing until he was 20, which is ancient by normal standards. He isn't a particularly good boxer, which is understandable given his relative lack of experience. Still, he beat one of the best technicians of his generation -- Ivan Calderon -- Saturday night in that fighter's backyard, Puerto Rico. Amazing. Calderon, 35, outboxed Segura for four rounds but ultimately fell victim to Segura's strengths, his punching power and relentless pressure. Segura simply broke his man down with a vicious body attack to win by an eighth-round knockout. And a new star was born.BIGGEST LOSERIvan Calderon: We probably should've seen this coming. Calderon struggled in three recent fights with both cuts and his opponents, going 2-0-1 against Hugo Cazares and Rodel Mayol (twice) and then going down once in his one-sided decision over Jesus Iribe in his last fight. And he's 35, an age when most little fighters are at least beginning to decline. He certainly has nothing to be ashamed of. He showed great courage by rallying in the sixth and seven rounds but ultimately was no physical match for Segura. The loss won't have a significant impact on Calderon's legacy. He has a good chance of entering the International Boxing Hall of Fame one day.BIGGEST WINNER IIAntonio Margarito: Margarito won the Texas lottery on Thursday. He was banished from boxing because of loaded gloves -- one of the worst sins in boxing -- and, less than two years later, is going to make a seven-figure payday when he fights Manny Pacquiao on Nov. 13 at Cowboys Stadium. I don't have a huge problem with Margarito fighting, at least in theory. A lifetime ban would be excessive in my opinion so he must be allowed to fight at some point. The thing that bothers me most is the windfall. He'll more than make up for any lost wages during the 15 months he was away from boxing, meaning he really will have suffered no longterm financial hardship. In effect, Margarito's punishment was missing one fight if we consider his two-fights-per-year pattern. Somehow it seems like he got away with it.BEST-POSSIBLE PROTESTPacquiao-Margarito: Countless fans have said countless times over the years that they'd boycott fights to take a stand on one issue or another but never seem to do so in large numbers. It might be different this time. Comments at the end of blog items and on message boards indicate many fans are livid that Margarito was awarded a boxing license in Texas in spite of his significant transgression. And I believe some will not buy the fight on pay-per-view for that reason. I support them if that's how they feel. There is no better way to send a message to the powers that be than hitting them where it hurts most -- in the wallet.MOST DISGUSTINGSome boxing fans: The majority of boxing fans who leave comments at the end of boxing stories impress me every day with their knowledge of the sport and ability to express their opinions. I wish a small minority would shrivel up and blow away. I was reading comments about a column written by Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports that was critical of everyone connected to the Pacquiao-Margarito fight, including Pacquiao. Some of the comments were vile. One Pacquiao fan called Iole a racist and referred to him as a "white pig." The fact is Iole is a decent person and fine journalist who was merely expressing his opinion. Are these people nuts?MOST FAIRCouture-Toney rematch: Randy Couture handled his victory over James Toney on Saturday with grace, congratulating the boxer for giving it a try. Now it's Couture's turn to give it a try. If the MMA legend has a sense of fair play and the guts, he'll now face Toney in the former three-time world champion's domain -- the boxing ring. Couture has had considerable training in stand-up fighting, much more than Toney received in grappling. And, because of the publicity Saturday's farce generated, a boxing match would do big numbers. It makes business sense. OK, I know it wouldn't be fair. Toney had his chance to win as long as he was standing up. Couture would stand no chance at all. Still, it's a wonderful thought.MOST EMBARRASSINGToney's defeat: Toney trained for months leading up to his MMA debut, working on both conditioning (more or less) and basic technique in grappling, only to survive a mere 3 minutes, 19 seconds before he submitted to Couture. Toney should've realized the obvious before making a chump out of himself: Boxers will rarely do well in MMA against a competent grappler. A boxer's only chance is to catch a foolish opponent coming in, as Ray Mercer once did against Tim Sylvia. If he doesn't, if he ends up on the ground, he'll be helpless because it takes years to become proficient on the mat. Toney should serve as example for other boxers: Don't get any ideas.BEST MATCHUPMaidana vs. Khan: Marcos Maidana's victory over DeMarcus Corley on Saturday might set up a fight against Amir Khan, a matchup of THE RING's Nos. 4 and 2 junior welterweights. The fight would be fascinating. I believe that Khan, whose boxing skills and athletic gifts dwarf those of Maidana, would win by a one-sided decision if not a late knockout. However, Maidana's undeniable power and the lingering questions about Khan's chin add an element of intrigue that would be gripping. And a victory would be a huge boon to both fighters. Maidana would regain a major title, which of course is his goal, while Khan would prove that he can handle a true power puncher. Let's hope it happens soon.WORSE MATCHUP?Pascal vs. Hopkins: The gut feeling here is that a possible fight between Jean Pascal and Bernard Hopkins in December would be ill advised for the old man, who will be 46 in January and didn't look particularly good when he fought Roy Jones Jr. in April. One would think that Pascal is too young (27) and athletic for Hopkins at this stage of the game. That said, I'm not so sure. Pascal's skills might be just rough enough for someone as clever as Hopkins to pull a surprise. Plus, I don't think his performance against Jones proves much because Jones didn't want to fight. Would I pick Hopkins? No way. Would he have a chance? Yes.BEST QUOTEBob Arum, Margarito's promoter, to ESPN.com: "For me, it was like a terrible nightmare, this whole thing, and now the sun is shining. I really believe that it will be a very competitive fight. One guy is much bigger and stronger [Margarito] and the other guy [Pacquiao] is quicker and hits with both hands. It will be a fascinating fight to watch."Michael Rosenthal can be reached at RingTVeditor@yahoo.com

Segura stops Calderon in eight, wins RING junior flyweight title

Sun, 29 Aug 2010 00:34:41 PST

Giovani Segura conceded much to land his fight with junior flyweight champ Ivan Calderon, but he still had enough advantages -- namely youth, size and power -- to hand the aging boxing master his first loss in a rousing back-and-forth struggle on Saturday.Segura (25-1-1, 21 knockouts) stopped Calderon (34-1-1, 6 KOs) in the eighth round of their 108-pound showdown in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, overcoming the slick 35-year-old veteran's superior skill, technique and ring generalship with dogged determination and non-stop punching.The Southern California-based Mexican took short money, traveled to Calderon's hometown and fought the stick-and-move specialist in a 24-by-24-foot ring in order to get his shot at the undisputed junior flyweight title.His gamble paid off. Segura unified two alphabet belts and claimed THE RING's 108-pound championship with the best performance of his career, but his victory did not come easy.Segura expected the anticipated pure-boxer-versus-pure-puncher matchup to be as mentally intense as it would be physically taxing and he was right. The 28-year-old southpaw slugger's patience and strategy was just as integral to his victory as his vaunted punching power.Calderon (34-1-1, 6 KOs) easily out-jabbed and out-maneuvered Segura in the early rounds of bout, but the puncher calmly stalked his fellow southpaw while methodically attacking the constantly moving boxer's body.Calderon landed the cleaner punches in the first three rounds, but Segura was clearly in the fight and systematically slowing the older man down by aiming hard rights and lefts at the hometown favorite's midsection. Calderon thrilled the packed arena by staying in the pocket and trading punches with Segura in the fourth round, but the veteran might have committed a tactical error by standing his ground.Or perhaps Calderon, who has noticeably slowed down in recent fights, simply got "old" under Segura's constant pressure. Calderon, a member of Puerto Rico's 2000 Olympic squad, had boxed in 20 alphabet title bouts going into the Segura fight. He's gone the 12-round distance 14 times in his near-10-year pro career. That's a lot of miles on 35-year-old legs.And don't think Segura wasn't aware of that fact. While Calderon landed head-twisting left crosses in the fourth, Segura punctuated the round by banging the veteran's hips. The brutal body attack paid off in the fifth round when Calderon tried to catch a breather against the ropes and was relentlessly worked over by Segura until he slipped to the canvas. Calderon got up on unsteady legs and continued to take a beating until the end of a round that could have been scored 10-8 in Segura's favor despite no official knockdown being called. However, Calderon wasn't ready to let go of his crown. The champion rallied in rounds six and seven, rocking Segura in his tracks with flush left crosses and right hooks. Calderon looked sharp as he got back on his toes and boxed in his usual stick-and move style but there was a sense of urgency in his facial features and body language seldom seen in his fights.Segura's constant pressure, high-volume punch output and perhaps his greater size -- the junior flyweight standout typically puts on 10 to 12 pounds after weighing in -- made Calderon feel his age.And the sweet scientist definitely looked old in the eighth round when Segura crowded him into a corner and overwhelmed him with power shots to the head and body until he took a knee. An uppercut stunned Calderon before he dropped down but a series of sweeping rights to his aching side convinced him to stay on his knee for the referee's full 10 count. It had to have been a difficult decision for the proud Puerto Rican to lose in that fashion but he has no reason to hang his head in shame. For 9 years he took on many of the sport's top strawweights and junior flyweights -- including former titleholders Alex Sanchez, Roberto Leyva, Daniel Reyes, Isaac Bustos, Nelson Dieppa and then-reigning RING champ Hugo Cazarez -- and always emerged victorious. Calderon's sharp mind, accurate punching and fleet footwork enabled him to outbox much bigger and far-more powerful fighters, such as Cazares, who currently holds a 115-pound title.Against Segura, his mind was as sharp as ever and his punches were on the mark but his legs were no longer able to carry out his will.

Weekend Preview: Calderon vs. Segura

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 14:46:31 PST

FRIDAY LUCAS MATTHYSSE vs. ROGELIO CASTANEDARounds / weight class: 12 rounds / junior welterweightsLocation: Rosario, ArgentinaTelevision: TelefuturaThe backdrop: Matthysse (24-0, 22 KOs) and Castaneda (26-15-3, 8 KOs) meet again after their fight in 2008 in Grand Prarie, Texas, ended in a no-contest after Castaneda was cut by an accidental head butt. Matthysse, a big puncher with solid technique, is coming off a bizarre victory over Vivian Harris in Mexico in which the fight was stopped in the fourth round even though Harris appeared to be fine. Matthysse will have the advantage of fighting once again in his home country, where all but three of his fights have taken place. Castaneda, a Mexican who lives in Sacramento, Calif., has solid skills and experience. He is 3-5 (with the no-contest) in his last eight fights but has won two straight against fellow journeymen.Also fighting: Sebastian Lujan vs. Emilio Julio, 10 rounds welterweightsRating the card: C+. It's always fun to watch a fighter with Matthysse's knockout ratio.Also Friday: Zahir Raheem faces Roberto Valenzuela in a six-round lightweight fight on gofightlive.tv.SATURDAYOMRI LOTHER vs. HANK LUNDYRounds / weight class: 10 rounds / junior welterweightsLocation: MontrealTelevision: ESPN2The backdrop: Lundy (18-1-1, 10 KOs) is a last-minute replacement who might prove to be tougher to beat than Edner Cherry, who was pulled off the card last week. Lundy was outboxing John Molina in his last fight when Molina stopped him in the 11th round. The Philadelphia fighter is talented and will be very hungry to make amends for his first setback. Lother (14-1, 10 KOs) made the unusual move from Atlanta to Toronto, where he's now based. He is a solid all-around fighter who has won five in a row since his only loss, an eight-round decision against Jesus Rodriguez in 2007. Lundy is a step up in competition.Also fighting: Nicholson Poulard vs. Alfredo Contreras, eight rounds, welterweightsRating the card: C. The most-interesting aspect of the main event is how Lundy will respond after his disappointing loss to Molina.IVAN CALDERON vs. GIOVANI SEGURARounds / weight class: 12 rounds / junior flyweightsLocation: Guaynabo, Puerto RicoTelevision: Integrated Sports PPVThe backdrop: This classic matchup of boxer vs. puncher is for Calderon's RING championship and for each fighter's sanctioning-body title. Calderon (34-0-1, 6 KOs), one of the best pure boxers in the business, is coming off a one-sided decision over Jesus Iribe in June. More important, it was his first fight in which he wasn't cut since 2008. He had been involved in three technical decisions prior to that fight - a victory over Hugo Cazares and a draw and victory over Rodel Mayol - after the blood started flowing. This will be the seventh defense of his alphabet title. He had 11 successful defenses of his strawweight title. Segura (24-1-1, 20 KOs) is a latecomer to boxing who makes up for a lack of polish with power and fighting spirit. He has won five in a row since losing a decision to Cesar Canchila in 2008, including a rematch with Canchila. This is a tough assignment for the resident of Bell Gardens, Calif., because of Calderon's superior boxing skills but his punching power and tenacity could make it a decent fight. Calderon also has the advantage of fighting before his own fans.Also fighting: Jose Gonzalez vs. Hector Marengo, six rounds, lightweights Rating the card: A-. Don't be disappointed if this turns out to be a relatively boring fight. Calderon has a distinct advantage in skill and will use it, which will probably leave a hard-charging Segura frustrated. Still, the matchup is intriguing and anything is possible because of Segura's power.Also Saturday: Marcos Maidana faces DeMarcus Corley in Buenos Aires in a non-televised 12-round junior welterweight bout. And, in Atlantic City, N.J., Chazz Witherspoon faces Livin Castillo in a 10-round heavyweight bout on gofightlive.tv.On Monday: Vyacheslav Senchenko defends his welterweight title against Charlie Jose Navarro in Donetsk, Ukraine.

Dougie's FAT Friday mailbag

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 02:16:23 PST

JAMES TONEY & CALDERON-SEGURAHey Dougie,It kills me to see this fight with James Toney and Randy Couture. Fightnews posted some predictions from boxers and MMA fighters and clearly no one in their right mind is picking Toney to win. But what is bothering me the most is the lack of respect I see some MMA fighters showing James Toney. One MMA fighter (Scott Jorgensen) stated that "it'll be Couture by first round ground and pound. I like to see Randy drag it out for three rounds but I don't think Toney has the heart for that". Are you serious with this statement??? At least Toney has the balls to fight in their sport versus arguably one of the best MMA fighters ever. If he knew anything about Lights Out, he'd know that Toney is no quitter and there is no b*tch in that man. In boxing you get vilified for quitting or deciding to pack it in for the day... just ask Victor Ortiz. In MMA it is customary to do so. A born boxer like Toney has had the BALLS to fight guys 20-30 pounds heavier than him and stand in trade with them by rolling his shoulders and slipping punches giving away punching power during a time when he was slightly past his prime. What should happen is that Toney/Couture fight a "home and away" series with this weekend being the first match under MMA rules and next year have another fight under boxing rules. I'll put my money on Toney fairing much better than Couture at the end of the day. Now on to a boxing question. Do you think Ivan Calderon has slowed down enough for Giovanni Segura to catch him? Segura will chase Calderon for 12 full rounds but I'm not sure he's a better banger or fighter than Hugo Cazares. Calderon easily outboxed Cazares however nearly got decapitated and barely survived the first fight. If anything Segura will not be discouraged in the early rounds and will continue to throw bombs until the final bell... should be interesting! My gut is we see a passing of the torch type fight much like Erik Morales win over Daniel Zaragoza. -- Dion, San Jose, CA We'll see, Dion. I just want a good fight. Like you, I think Segura's seek-and-destroy mentality will make for an intense bout even if he's soundly outboxed and outmaneuvered for much of the fight. If this matchup took place three or four years ago I wouldn't give Segura a chance of hitting Calderon in the ass with the proverbial handful of rice, but I think the Puerto Rican master boxer has slowed down.Has Calderon slowed down enough for Segura to clip and stop him? I don't know. I know he's slowed down enough to lose rounds to Juan Esquer, Rodel Mayol and Jesus Iribe in recent years and bouts. And of course, Cazares gave Calderon a tough night on two occasions. Segura is not as fast and athletic as Cazares but he might hit harder and he may be able to keep his head better than Cazares did against Calderon. Bottom line: I give Segura a very good shot at catching Calderon late in the fight.Onto my man, Lights Out. As much as I like and respect Toney, I don't share the angst you have over his current predicament. Toney squandered his talent by refusing to dedicate himself to his sport the way every professional athlete should and by insisting on fighting at unnaturally heavy weights. Toney burned his bridges in the boxing world with his prima-dona attitude and excessive spending and living. He could have been an all-time great middleweight. Heck, he could have been the best cruiserweight since the prime Evander Holyfield, but you know the choices he made. So in short, Toney made his bed and now he has to sleep in it. And that bed is full of disrespectful MMA fighters and fans who know they are getting a novice with a name served up to one of their legends. I can't expect them to be nice to Toney because Toney was not nice to them whenever he spoke about their sport. So of course, they're all going to spit on him as he makes that long walk into the cage. If Toney wants respect, he's going to have to earn it by backing up his big mouth. But I tell you what, he usually does back up his bark. If he gets beat by Couture every MMA fan and even a fair amount of boxing fans will take a nice, long greasy dump on his head. (I won't be among them. Although I realize that he basically painted himself into this corner, I admire him for always seeking out the toughest challenges and for doing so even in his pro debut in a new sport.) However, if he pulls off the upset -- and I don't think that's out of the question -- that's going to be one very sweet victory won't it, Dion? I think you'll be the first person to email me to tell me how much you love Lights Out.FUTURE OF KESSLER AND THE SUPER SIXHey Doug,News just ticked in that Mikkel Kessler has been forced to pull out of the Super Six with an eye injury. Being Danish I'm naturally a fan (who else do we have?) and I'm unsure how his future looks now. On one hand, I think he has been very unsharp the last three fights agains Perdomo, Ward and Froch. He has not looked like the old Kessler with sharp left jab and crispy one-two combinations. He narrowly beat Froch, but he did that with heart and determination, not skills and technique. The eye injury could be a reason for this, so if that got cured, we might see the Kessler of old again. But, but, but. Kessler is not young anymore and will be out for a year. I can't help thinking about Izzy Vazquez and his eye injury and how much he had lost during those 19 month off. What do you think? Will we ever see Kessler back at the top of the super middle division?What about the Super Six tournament? How is the point system going to work now? Will the third round essentially be irrelevant in terms of points? And what about Allan Green? I hope this wont affect Froch-Abraham, it has FOTY written all over it. Kind regards. -- Maxim, DenmarkThe eye injury is a tough break for Kessler and definitely bad news for all of his fans, but I wouldn't compare your Viking Warrior with Mexico's most recent Aztec Warrior. Israel Vazquez had been in MANY ring wars before his classic trilogy with Rafael Marquez. Izzy had the kind of style that intived punishment. Kessler doesn't, and he generally avoided grueling fights until his most recent fight with Froch (which I thought he won handily, by the way.) If his eye heals up and he still has the desire to be the best I think he can make a successful comeback provided he isn't brought back too soon and too hard. Regarding the Super Six tournament, I think Kessler's pullout might be a blessing in disguise. I think it was dragging out too long for the liking of most fans, even the hardcore heads who loved the concept. There were issues with getting the Ward-Dirrell fight finalized, which rumor has it has/had to do with the amount of money both fighters were to be paid. And nobody was particularly excited about Green's involvement in the tourney, especially after he laid an egg against Ward. So, if Showtime is able to work out a deal with Green (perhaps they offer him a later date on the network -- maybe a significant light heavyweight bout) and get him to step out, the network can skip Group Stage 3 and proceed to the semifinals, which would feature the fights we all want to see, anyway, Ward-Dirrell (which hopefully can be made since the network will be able to offer more money in this stage of the tourney) and Abraham-Froch (which promises to be a rough-and-wild scrap). The winners face each other in what hopefully is a good and decisive bout, bada-bing-bada-bam, end of tournament, and now fans can start thinking about the Super Six winner vs. Lucian Bute, Jean Pascal, Chad Dawson, Tavoris Cloud, and your local hero, Kessler.CALDERON-SEGURA OR JAMES TONEYHey Dougie,I hope things are well. I have been a James Toney fan since he first fought Mike McCallum. Those first 2 fights of theirs told me that McCallum would be a great challenge for Jeff Harding, and he was just a tad too much for the Hitman. Toney is fun to watch and has great skills. A true warrior inside the ring.On Sunday I could walk across the road and watch his UFC fight at the local pub. I have never watched a UFC fight in full. But if I go there I can enjoy a few brewskies. Alternatively I can drive 30 minutes across town and watch Calderon V Segura at the nearest venue showing this fight. This will be minus the beers as I'll be driving. I think Calderon v Segura is a great match so I will probably watch that. What would you do?Also I'm devastated for the sport that Kessler had to withdraw from the Super 6. Withdrawals were always a risk that could cruel this tournament. I wanted this to be a resounding success so that we would see more of these type of tournaments. 2010 is proving to be a tough year for us. -- Thanks Dougie! Choppa B, Sydney AustraliaIt's a tough year, but we'll get through it. The Super Six will continue and I believe it will deliver with its final bouts. There are no high-profile mega-fights on the horizon, but there are some very good style matchups coming up in the final four months of the year, including Gamboa-Salido and Peterson-Rios (Sept. 11), Ortiz-Harris and DeLeon-Escalante (Sept. 18), and Froch-Abraham (Oct. 2, provided the reshuffling of the Super Six doesn't cause this bout to be rescheduled). The Lopez-Marquez bout will probably be rescheduled for Nov. 6, which will push back the start of Showtime's proposed four-man bantamweight tournament to later in the year. And those fights -- Mares-Darchinyan and Perez-Agbeko II -- are can't-miss Fight of the Year candidates. Who knows? Maybe Klitschko-Peter II will be a wild heavyweight shootout. Maybe Pacquiao-Margarito will deliver more than 800 scathing soapbox columns from American boxing writers and a giant crowd at Cowboys Stadium. Maybe boxing's latest pariah will find a way to be competitive with its latest international super star. We'll see. I'm looking forward to watching and covering all of these fights.Oh yeah, I forgot to include Calderon-Segura with that bunch. That should be very, very interesting. Now onto your dilemma. It sounds to me that you are a boxing fan, not an MMA fan. If you liked both sports equally, I would tell you to stay close to home, have a few brews and enjoy UFC 118. The UFC's PPV events are typically stacked with strong undercard bouts, so you'd be guaranteed a good show with the main event and the Toney-Couture curiosity. The Calderon-Segura PPV show doesn't have an undercard to speak of, just a bunch of four- and six-rounders featuring Puerto Rican locals. However, you are obviously hyped about the main event, which is a fascinating style clash, so I think you should follow your heart and make the drive to watch Calderon-Segura.TONEY'S MMA DEBUTHey Doug,There's a bit of a buzz about this weekend's MMA fight between James Toney and Randy Couture. Even though I am a life long Karate man I have never embraced the MMA stuff as a spectator sport. I have always loved Boxing and it's rich history. I also much preferred the PKA full Contact Karate that ESPN broadcast back in the 80s to what the MMA guys are doing. It was much more stylish and was pretty exciting at its best. MMA is pretty ugly when two big bruisers hit the floor and start choking each other (just not good television). I recognize those guys are tough and a little crazy but it just ain't for me. I am a Boxing purist.That being said, I fear the Toney/Couture fight will get ugly fast. You've got to hand it to James for wanting one of the baddest asses in MMA right off the bat because that takes a lot of balls. It's like some MMA middleweight trying Boxing and saying, "Get me Marvin Hagler." If they stood and fought it could be interesting but Randy is wisely not going to fight James' fight. He is going to tackle Toney, take him to the floor and elbow him upside his head or try and break his arm. Haven't you seen Toney in training for this fight? How does he look? Do insiders give him ANY kind of chance? If he does win they will just say Couture got old. How do you see it? I am interested in your thoughts. Rock ON. -- David, NashvilleI will indeed continue to rock, David. Insiders in both MMA and boxing give Toney only a puncher's chance. Which means if Toney knocks Couture out, most folks will say he got lucky. (It goes without saying that they'll claim Couture was old; hell, they said the same thing when Lights Out trounced Holyfield, forgetting that Toney was a 3-to-1 underdog in that fight. He's a 5-to-1 dog vs. Couture.) I say that's all bulls__t. Toney should not have to choke out Couture or get the MMA legend to tap out in order to receive his due props.Anyway, despite his gut, I think Toney is in shape and motivated for this fight. I think Couture is just as motivated and fans will be treated to a better-than-expected fight. Perhaps Toney is just a sentimental favorite of mine but I think the first-ballot boxing hall of famer has a great shot at beating Couture.LATE TO THE DANCEHey Dougie,Calderon vs. Segura is definitely an intriguing matchup because of their polar opposite styles, national pride and also with the RING title being on the line but there's also the experience angle. Segura started boxing at the age of 20 and now after only 8 years in the sport has a chance to be a World Champion on Saturday. That's Marciano-esque! In honour of Segura's late start to the sport and in reference to Monday's bag request, who are your top 5 late-starters who willed themselves into boxing? Enjoy the week. Peace. -- Adam, Whitby, CanadaThat's a good question, Adam. I'm sure with enough research I could give you a decent top 5, but this being a Fight Night Club night, I started answering these questions when I returned home from downtown L.A.'s Club Nokia (around 11:30 p.m. PT), so I really don't have time to look anything up. But off the top of my head, I'd say Bernard Hopkins has to be on the list. He had a very limited amateur background and didn't turn pro until he was 23 (in 1988), but his career didn't begin in earnest until he was 25. Ray Mercer, who didn't turn pro until he was 28, definitely makes my list. (Although he was an accomplished amateur who took gold in the 201-pound division at the 1988 Olympics.) James "Bonecrusher" Smith (remember him?) didn't turn pro until he was almost 29. Ron Lyle was 30 when he turned pro (following a prison bid like Nard, I believe). The former heavyweight contender never won a world title but he probably would have if he had come around in the 1980s or 1990s instead of the 1970s when the heavyweight division was incredibly deep.It seems as though heavyweights, who generally mature slower than professional boxers in the lighter-weight classes, are able to have a late start and still be relatively successful. I'm not sure, but I think former heavyweight title challengers Jameel McCline and Tony Thompson started boxing in their 20s. All-time heavyweight great Larry Holmes was 23 when he turned pro in 1973. If Segura beats Calderon -- who is a sub-flyweight marvel to be on top of his game (or near it) at age 35 -- maybe he deserves to be on this list.TONEY PREDICTIONYou said you were going to do a feature on James Toney before the fight after going back out to watch him, etc... I'm not going to be watching the fight, but what do you think will happen? I saw some pics or footage of the same fat bastard I always see... I predict he will get f___ed up! Give me some inside info that you have from being in his camp and being in the know. -- JBI wasn't able to make a second visit to Toney's training camp in the Valley (Chatsworth, Calif.). It was just bad timing this month (my wife's birthday, our 13th wedding anniversary, and RingTV.com co-editor Michael Rosenthal being on vacation made it hard to make the time and get out and visit the Fatman once more).Don't let those pictures of Toney's ample midsection cause you to write him off completely. He's got a lot of excess skin on his belly and hips from the days when he would allow himself to balloon up to around 300 pounds. What's always been important for Toney is that he's put in the cardio work to have the necessary endurance and the right sparring to have his timing down. I think he's done that with this camp, which doesn't mean that he's got the know-how or the experience to counter Couture's ground-and-pound game. But I know that he's been working on a ground game and specific moves to catch Couture before the 47-year-old badass can grab him by his legs or waist. His reflexes seemed sharp and his hands looked quick to me when I visited a month ago, so I have to assume that they are even faster now. More importantly, I believe Toney is motivated to "shock the world." This is a new challenge for him and I think he's enjoyed learning the basics of a new combat sport. If he wasn't hyped for tomorrow's match or if he didn't respect his opponent I don't think he would have bothered going through all of the work he has since the start of the year. I think his gamble and his hard work is going to pay off. I can't predict exactly how he'll do it but I think he's going to catch Couture and take the "old man" out. AARON PRYORDougie,My wife and I had the opportunity to meet Aaron Pryor at a gathering honoring the former champ here in Dayton. He was awesome and spent time talking, posing for pics, and answering questions. I asked him how he thought he would do against Pacquiao or Mayweather. He told me he was disappointed they weren't fighting and stated that he would fight any three opponents in the same night for 40 million. He then told me it was a shame the Mayweathers made up drug allegations based on no evidence. He said he would have loved a fight with Pac as he is humble man who gives his all and it would be a great fight but he (Pryor) would win by decision or late KO.He then said, "Mayweather wouldn't want no part of me and want I bring." He said he would knock out Mayweather in "5 or 6". I happen to agree with the champ but admit I'm biased, especially now having met the man, what do you think of the mythical matchups mentioned above. Thanks for the great articles. -- Brock, Dayton, OHThanks for the tidbit on one of my all-time favorite fighters, Brock. It's always good to hear from Ohio fans (especially those who hail from my wife's hometown). I agree with The Hawk. He would have out-hustled Pacquiao to win a decision in an all-time great fight. And there's no way in hell Mayweather would have got into the ring with that crazy ghetto badass. Pryor wouldn't have received the opportunity to prove his prediction of a mid-rounds stoppage victory.ENJOYING A-ZHey Dougie,1. I am enjoying the A-Z list currently going on the site. Not only have I learned a few things about some Hall of Famers but I am trying to guess who is coming next. Who is going to be the letter X?!?2. Haye vs Harrison, Wlad vs Peter, Vitali vs Sosnowski and now Briggs - Dreadful. At least the brothers have the excuse that they seem to be willing to fight anyone. Haye is really starting to annoy the hard core boxing fans over here in the UK. He needs to get his backside to NYC and face Adamek.3. What are your thoughts on women's boxing being in the Olympics in 2012? I have been surprised by how split the boxing writing community seem to be about the issue of allowing women to fight. Surely if men are allowed to do it then women should be too.4. What did you make of George Groves the Super Middleweight prospect from the UK? I think he was on the Marquez-Diaz under card last month. I think he looks pretty useful, but, the really exciting prospect about to make an impact on the worldwide scene is Kell Brook. Have you had a chance to see him on screen?5. You asked for a to 5 request. What are your all time Top 5 match ups? Here is mine (who do you think wins?):Sugar Ray Leonard Vs Sugar Ray RobinsonHenry Armstrong Vs Roberto DuranMarvelous Marvin Hagler Vs Roy Jones JnrAli Vs TysonThomas Hearns Vs Manny PacquioKeep up the good work, love the site. -- Toby, London UKThanks for writing, Toby. I'll respond to your questions/observations in order:1) I'm also enjoying "The best of all time A to Z" series. It was a great idea by the site's co-editor Michael Rosenthal, who is going to have to do some serious research to find a decent choice for the letter "X." Stay tuned!2) The sad thing about the heavyweight division is that there are excellent matchups to be made if these guys just sign the dotted line. Haye-Adamek, Peter-Arreola, and Povetkin vs. Haye, Adamek or Arreola are all can't-miss fights. I wouldn't mind seeing Povetkin-Chambers II or Povetkin or Chambers vs. Boystov. I hate to leave the Klitschko brothers out but the division leaders might be too good for their own good. 3) I think it's great that women's boxing will be included in the 2012 Olympic Games and it will only increase the popularity that professional women's boxing has in Germany, Mexico, parts of Asia and throughout South America. Who knows? It could re-spark women's boxing in the U.S. if an American woman medals. Personally, I think the right group of female pro fighters gathered together in a well-produced reality show like "the Contender" is all it would take to rekindle interest in America.4) I didn't see enough of Groves to have an opinion on him but I'm looking forward to watching him fight in the near future. I've seen a lot of Brook and I think he is a real prospect with world-title and even star potential. I hope he continues to develop and one day makes the trek to the States.5) Sugar Ray Leonard Vs Sugar Ray Robinson -- Robinson by very close decision at welterweight; by late stoppage at middleweight.Henry Armstrong Vs Roberto Duran -- Duran by close decision at lightweight and welterweight.Marvelous Marvin Hagler Vs Roy Jones Jnr -- Hagler by close, perhaps split-decision at middleweight (especially if the bout is scheduled for 15 rounds); Jones by decision at super middleweight. Ali Vs Tyson -- Ali by late stoppage in an uneventful bout aside from constant taunting from "The Greatest."Thomas Hearns Vs Manny Pacquio -- Hearns by first-round KO. That's a horrible mismatch for the Pacman.It's really late (or early -- around 2:00 a.m. PT), so this list is really off the top of my head but my all-time dream matches at the present time are:Ezzard Charles vs. Evander Hopfield (at 190 pounds)Henry Armstrong vs. Aaron Pryor (at 140 pounds)Joe Frazier vs. Mike TysonTommy Hearns vs. Roy Jones Jr. (at 160 or 168 pounds)Ike Williams vs. Roberto Duran (at 135 pounds) Doug Fischer can be contacted at dougiefischer@yahoo.com

Rios stops Brea on FNC card

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 22:25:45 PST

LOS ANGELES - Ronny Rios has had a tendency in his young career to lose his cool when things get hot in the ring, which he acknowledges.Thus, one of his goals going into his fight against veteran Leivi Brea in the "Fight Night Club" main event Thursday night at Club Nokia in Los Angeles was to be patient.He was. Rios calmly picked apart his Dominican opponent before finally breaking him down, putting Brea down twice and ending his night with vicious body shots in the fourth round of a scheduled six-round junior lightweight bout. The fight was stopped at 2:59.Rios (12-0, 6 knockouts) is now 4-0 in "Fight Night Club" bouts at the downtown L.A. night club."I didn't want to do anything dumb and get caught," Rios said. "... I wanted to take my time and break him down. I'm not a devastating puncher. I need a few rounds to break my opponents down. And that's what happened."Rios fought carefully in the opening round as he tried to figure out Brea (17-9-3, 9 KOs), a solid boxer and good athlete who moves well in the ring.The victor picked up the pace as the progressed, however, stalking his foe and landing more and more consistently. In turn, as he took more punishment, Brea was less and less willing to engage Rios as the fight went on.Rios hit Brea with what referee Jose Cobian ruled was a low blow in the third round, which halted the fight for several minutes. Still, Rios, who believed Brea was faking, targeted his body."Why go outside the game plan if it's working?" he said.Indeed. Rios picked up the fourth round where he left off in the third. He put a retreating Brea down with the two legal body blows, sending the beaten man to his knees and ending the fight.Rios will now move up to eight-round fights, said his trainer, Hector Lopez."Now I have to really watch my diet, watch my cardio," he said. "I have to do my weight conditioning. I don't want to fall behind like some other prospects. ... It gives me more motivation to fight eight rounds now."I'm patient, though. I'm only 20. I want to develop my full strength. There's no rush."Rios' older brother, Salvador Rios, also had a successful night.The elder Rios, making his pro debut, didn't fight for the first time until he was 17 and had fought sporadically as an amateur since. Instead, he went to school and worked to help his mother with household bills.However, watching Ronny fight, he got the bug to give it a serious try. The result was impressive: He stopped overmatched Stephen Rubalcava (0-2) of Lindsay, Calif., at 1:35 of the second round of a scheduled four-round welterweight bout.Rios, 23, demonstrated unusual discipline for someone making his debut. He patiently looked for openings and landed hard, accurate punches. His body attack was particularly effective.The fight was stopped because Rubalcava was taking considerable punishment without throwing back with any effectiveness.Was he nervous?"No, not really," he said. "I was a few weeks ago. But as the fight got closer, it went away."Ronny, who is very close to his brother, was nervous for him."I was so nervous," he said. "My heart was pumping. After he won, I felt like I won. I felt like, 'OK, I don't have to fight any more (tonight)."Also on the undercard, talented San Diego prospect Antonio Orozco (8-0, 5 KOs) walked away with another victory and a valuable learning experience.Orozco's opponent, Humberto Tapia, is one of those tough Mexican fighters who give hell to rising prospects but usually end up losing a decision. That was the case on Thursday, as Orozco outboxed Tapia to win a unanimous decision but had to work extremely hard.Tapia (15-15-1, 8 KOs) is much better than the 3-9 record in his last 12 fights. He has been stopped only once.Ghanaian prospect Bastie Samir (4-0, 4 KOs) stopped Jacob Alvarez (0-2) of Victor Valley, Calif., 2:37 into a scheduled four-round super middleweight bout.And, in a wild slugfest, Jonathan Bobadilla (5-3) of Los Angeles outpointed Juan Figueroa (6-8-1, 3 KOs) of L.A. in a four-round junior welterweight bout. Figueroa was left with golf ball-sized bump on his forehead as a result of a head butt.

Super Six not what it was but we're still interested

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 11:48:37 PST

Super Six is down to Super Four. And it's just not the same.The Super Six World Boxing Classic, a great idea by Showtime, seemed to absorb the departure of Jermain Taylor fairly well. He was replaced with a capable super middleweight, Allan Green, and the six-man competition went on.Then Green barely showed up in his pathetically one-sided loss to Andre Ward in June and the tournament lost some luster.Now Mikkel Kessler, one of the favorite's at the beginning to win the whole thing, is out because of problems with his eye.So, in effect, we're left with four credible 168-pounders - Ward, Andre Dirrell, Arthur Abraham and Carl Froch - and tournament organizers must decide how to salvage their creation."We will publicly address how this turn of events affects the tournament in the coming days," Ken Hershman, vice president of Showtime, said in a statement. "I assure you we will make the best of this scenario."The logical solution, as The Associated Press pointed out, would be to eliminate Green - the only one of the remaining five with no points - and move forward to the semifinals a round early.And, by chance, the semis are already set: Ward, the point leader, faces No. 4 Dirrell on Sept. 25 while No. 2 Abraham takes on No. 3 Froch on Oct. 2.These remain exciting matchups, particularly knowing that the winners will fight one another early next year for the tournament championship. That, to borrow Hershman's words, would be making the best of this scenario.However, what started as one of the best-conceived ideas in boxing - one that generated considerable excitement because it forced the best 168-pounders to fight one another in an intriguing format - has fizzled to a good degree.No one is to blame. Those involved in the tournament knew it was risky. Such is boxing.And, sadly, we wonder whether the setbacks will deter Showtime and others from putting together similar competitions. Perhaps they should remember this: Super Six isn't quite what it was intended to be but it still commands our attention.

Boxing writers help foment acrimony in the sport

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 22:36:15 PST

Watching the feud between Golden Boy and Top Rank play out in the media has been a bit like being in a car crash. You can see exactly what's about to happen, almost like it's in slow motion, but you're powerless to do anything about it. Except that members of the boxing media aren't entirely powerless. Reporters have some (small) influence on fans (we'd like to think) and, in turn, on the promoters and networks who need those fans to make a buck. So the way that the boxing media reports a story like the GBP-TR feud can have an effect on the story itself. And the effect that we've had hasn't been good. It'd be fair to say that the media is partly responsible for Bob Arum no longer being on Golden Boy's Christmas card list, and vice versa. Much of the online coverage of what happened in the aftermath of the Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather negotiations (or lack thereof, depending on who you believe) has added little to what we know. Instead, morsels of new information have been used as excuses to drag up and repeat old news. There's nothing wrong with reporting what important figures in the sport have said, but building a story by getting a new quote every day and tacking it on is just tiresome. In fact, it doesn't just report the dispute, it perpetuates it. Boxingscene.com, one of the best news breakers in the business, did exactly that in the weeks after the negotiations fell apart. Time and again, they published a tidbit of news along with a lengthy rehash of the bad blood between the promoters. In one piece, a single new quote from Richard Schaefer was used to justify reprinting all the various utterances and statements of Leonard Ellerbe, Ross Greenburg, Oscar De La Hoya and Bob Arum. Boxingscene was approached by RingTV.com but declined to comment. Lance Pugmire, the Los Angeles Times' boxing correspondent, took a different approach with his story about Golden Boy and Top Rank. Even though it was published a week after the events described in the other articles, Pugmire's story had a new revelation at its heart; that Schaefer and Arum hadn't spoken personally since January. Pugmire spoke to both men at the time of writing the story and didn't rely on previous statements or quotes. "I know Arum disputes that he ever said: 'I was lying yesterday but I'm telling the truth today,' but things do change in this business. That's why it's important to check in on these guys as quickly as you can on a fast moving story like the Mayweather-Pacquiao negotiations," said Pugmire. Coverage of this puddle of spilled milk has also zeroed in on the personal war of words between Schaefer and Arum. The nasty things that promoters say about each other are eye catching, but if they don't add anything to a story but bitterness, then journalists are contributing to the problem by choosing to report them. Arum had some pretty nasty things to say about De La Hoya and Schaefer in an interview the day after Greenburg's statement. By no means is this a one way street; Schaefer has also said spiteful things about Arum in the past. A reporter's obligation is to get the other side of the story, especially when malicious and insulting things are being said, so it's questionable whether a Q and A format was appropriate for the Arum interview. Whether it was or not, it's an example of media coverage prolonging what had already become a tiresome dispute. In an environment where the only coverage of the two men is about their bad blood, and reporters shuttle back and forth seeking replies to the latest insults, a feud becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.Pugmire can't recall whether either Arum or Schaefer personally attacked the other while talking to him. If they did, he chose not print it. "If it has something to do with the specific topic that I'm talking about, then I would use it. But to just let someone take a cheap shot at another individual, I don't think that's fair," he said. It's not a boxing writer's job, no matter how much they love boxing, to withhold information from the public 'for the good of the sport'. Though choosing not to use quotes because they're meaningless bile is a different matter. You don't have to print something just because a promoter said it. Top Rank and Arum declined to comment, but Golden Boy's Schaefer told RingTV.com that he generally attempts to avoid the media when negotiating fights. "Through the media, fighters and promoters try to take a stand about an issue and often it becomes an ego play and that just isn't helpful," he said. "In any negotiation when the ego becomes involved and you start developing this back and forth, it's not productive. It can kill a deal, not make one." Schaefer admits that he sometimes gives information about fights in the works to the media, but tries not to get drawn in to wars of words like the most recent one. He hasn't been very successful. Schaefer also took aim at the culture of acrimony in boxing, which he thinks is perpetuated by some online boxing writing. "The fact is that there are educated boxing journalists and then you have these other sites that are writing all these trashy stories," he said. "These kinds of people would never have gotten a job at a newspaper, but online is much more flexible. I think that it doesn't help the sport of boxing." The former banker is probably right; some of the fault for the feud between the Golden Boy and Top Rank lies at the feet of the boxing media. But even at its worst, the media has only been a conduit between the promoters. Schaefer, Arum and the others would do well to remember that.Alex McClintock is a free-lance writer in Australia. He can be reached at mcclintock.alex@gmail.com and @axmcc on Twitter.

Harris can talk but does he have game?

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 13:58:42 PST

Vivian Harris echoed the thoughts of many fans when he repeatedly questioned Victor Ortiz's courage on a conference call Wednesday.Ortiz, who faces Harris on the Shane Mosley-Sergio Mora undercard on Sept. 18 in Los Angeles, was criticized for quitting against Marcos Maidana last year and hasn't lived it down in spite of three consecutive victories since."He don't believe in himself ," Harris said. "He don't have courage. ... I know that he knows that. And on Sept. 18, we're gonna see it. "I'm a fighter," Harris added later. "I know about digging deep in there. Sometimes in the ring you feel you're gonna die; you gotta dig deep. ... I don't think he has that kind of mental(ity) right now."Ortiz, not one to exchange trash talk, at first took Harris' slights in good humor. He apparently was aware that Harris was trying to gain a psychological advantage by getting under his skin."I just find that a little funny," he said. "To each his own. Everyone has his own opinion. I'm comfortable with me. I know what I'm capable of doing." And then, when Harris persisted, Ortiz seemed to grow weary of the of his opponent's comments and spoke curtly."I'll see you at Staples Center on Sept. 18," he said directly to Harris.Rolando Arellano, Ortiz's co-manager, stepped in to defend his fighter."We're the type of team that doesn't focus on another fighter's weaknesses," he said. "... I know Vivian Harris has something to prove. I give him nothing but the utmost respect. We're not here to talk about his weaknesses. By the mere fact they're weaknesses, they'll be exposed."We're here to figure out how to conquer Vivian Harris, to focus on his positive attributes. We're not here to say he's older or that he lost his last fight."Harris then seized that opportunity to continue digging at Ortiz."That's what his team believes," he said. "He has to believe that to get the victory. Once you don't believe it, it's not happening. Trust me; he don't believe it."The irony here is that Ortiz (27-2-1, 21 knockouts) is the fighter on the rise and Harris (29-4-1, 19 KOs) is trying to hang on at 32.Ortiz, 23, bounced back from the Maidana loss, a sixth-round knockout, to easily beat veterans Antonio Diaz, Hector Alatorre and Nate Campbell. He's ranked No. 1 by two of the four major sanctioning bodies in one of the deepest divisions in boxing, junior welterweight.He could land a big fight against another top 140-pounder within a year - if he beats Harris."That definitely is a good thing to look at," he said, referring to his lucrative prospects. "Right now I'm looking at Vivian Harris. He's a great fighter, a (former) world champion for reason. I can't look past him. He's definitely a danger."And then he got a little cocky when asked whether he's prepared for a veteran who throws a lot of punches."Everyone has a game plan until they get hit," he said.And then Harris jumped in again, saying with a laugh: "I'm glad you know that."Clearly, Harris still talks a good game. But can he still fight?The Guyana-born resident of Brooklyn, N.Y., hasn't had a meaningful victory since he narrowly outpointed Juan Lazcano in 2007, after which he was stopped in seven rounds by Junior Witter in a title fight.He has been in the ring only three times since then - a sixth-round KO of journeyman Octavio Narvaez in which he went down twice, a no-contest against Noe Balanos after he was cut by a head butt and a bizarre fourth-round KO loss to Lucas Matthysse in February in Mexico City. Referee Gelasio Huerta stopped the fight even though Harris, who had taken a few hard punches, seemed to be fine.Thus, we don't really know what the former titleholder has left - if anything. This is his chance to show that he remains relevant."I'm a different fighter from Maidana," he said. "I hit harder than Maidana. I'm a different fighter from Nate Campbell. I'm a far different fighter from Nate Campbell. ... I'm a sharp shooter. You know what I mean? My sharp shooting is definitely going to land."And I know once I land, he has to question himself. He better hope he doesn't get flashbacks."Harris is definitely no quitter, at least when it comes to words.Michael Rosenthal can be reached at RingTVeditor@yahoo.com

Kessler withdraws from Super Six

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 12:46:00 PST

An eye injury has forced super middleweight titleholder Mikkel Kessler to withdraw from the Showtime network's Super Six World Boxing Classic tournament.Kessler, the favorite to win the unique 168-pound tournament when it was announced, was 1-1 in the Super Six. The Danish star lost a one-sided 11-round technical decision to Andre Ward last October and an entertaining 12-round decision over Carl Froch in April in bouts that saw him lose and regain alphabet versions of the 168-pound title.Kessler (43-2, 32 knockouts), who was scheduled to defend his title against Allan Green on September 25 in Denmark in a Group Stage 3 bout of the tournament, expressed his disappointment in having to withdraw in a statement released by Showtime on Wednesday."This is the most disappointing moment of my boxing career," Kessler said. "After defeating CarlFroch, I was on the way to win the tournament, so pulling out now really hurts. The eye problem hasbothered me since the beginning of the Super Six in my preparation for the bout against Andre Ward. It also bothered me in the fights against Ward and Froch, and in my training for the fight against Green it has become unbearable. "I have consulted leading experts in Denmark and Germany and they have advised me to take a break from boxing so that the problem can heal. I have been assured that it will heal completely and that I will be back in the ring next year. As a fairsportsman, I do not want to delay the Super Six, which is still the best thing that has happened toboxing for a long time. I wish my fellow contestants the best of luck - may the best man win. I will bethere to fight the winner in 2011."Ken Hershman, the executive vice president for Showtime and the mastermind behind the Super Six, says the tournament will go on."I commend Mikkel Kessler for his decision," said Hershman. "He has made a wise choice in light ofhis doctors' recommendations and he is showing tremendous respect for his fellow competitors andfor the tournament format itself."We will publicly address how this turn of events affects the tournament in the coming days. I assure you we will make the best of this scenario. In fact, I have been aware of Mikkel's situation for a few days and I have a vision for how we can proceed that will enhance the excitement of the tournament. First, I must have some internal discussions but mark my words, the drama of the Super Six will be unrelenting and we will crown a champion in the early part of 2011."Hershman and the promoters involved in the Super Six -- Dan Goossen, Gary Shaw, Lou DiBella, Mick Hennessey, and Kalle Sauerland, who represents Kessler and Arthur Abraham -- have to decide if they want to try to find a replacement for Kessler or simply proceed to the semifinals, which is basically a four-man single elimination tournament.Therein lies the network's dilemma. There doesn't appear to be a worthy available replacement for Kessler and to go directly to the semifinals -- which pits the highest point holders against each other, in this case Abraham vs. Froch and Ward vs. Andre Dirrell -- Green, who was a replacement for Jermain Taylor and currently has zero points in the tournament, would have to be kicked out of the Super Six. Perhaps a deal can be reached with Green and his promoter, DiBella, as the semifinal bouts are the fights that fans want to see.

Rios headed in the right direction -- in boxing and life

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 00:12:54 PST

Ronny Rios is the type of person who instinctively knows which role models to follow.The talented junior lightweight was surrounded by wayward peers in his rough Santa Ana, Calif., neighborhood but emulated his older brother, Salvador, a hard-working kid who always wanted to make something of himself.When Rios started boxing, he sensed that trainer and soon-to-be father figure Hector Lopez understood how to succeed in life and followed his lead.The end product is impressive: A young man who works extremely hard at his craft and has his feet on the ground, the kind of kid who could serve as a role model himself for other boxers who grow up under difficult circumstances."Ronny was a very quiet, shy kid when I met him and not much has changed. And, from day one, he has worked his ass off," said Lopez, whose protege faces Leivi Brea in the main event of the "Fight Night Club" card Thursday at Club Nokia in Los Angeles (televised on Fox Sports Net and streamed live on RingTV.com).Rios' father abandoned the family when he was a toddler. The void doesn't seem to have been traumatic, though. An uncle served as a male influence and he had Salvador, his elder by three years.The boy walked into the TKO Boxing Club in Santa Ana when he was 12 and immediately demonstrated that he was gifted: He won a national amateur title after only six fights. He also worked harder than the other kids from the start.Where'd he pick up that habit? By watching Salvador. And he had special motivation: His mother, who cleans buildings and houses for a living with help from Sal and Ronny.Rios remembers that, as a 10 or 11 year old who watched too many scary movies, he worried that something bad would happen to his mom when she cleaned alone at night. He would accompany her as often as possible "to protect her," he said."My brother worked hard at everything he did," Rios said. "He wanted to do everything perfectly. I got that from him. And I've always been motivated by my mom. She got into a car accident. I can see she has back pain. We never had the money to get her back adjusted or anything like that, though."I want to give my mom a better life. I remember thinking that even when first started boxing."Rios (11-0, 5 knockouts) appears to be headed in that direction, although nothing is ever certain in boxing.The 20-year-old was one of the more-successful amateurs of his era, winning multiple national titles and losing to Olympian Gary Russell Jr. in the 2008 Trials. And he has won impressively as a professional, building momentum toward bigger and better things.At his age, though, he must be moved slowly."He's only 20," Lopez said. "We want to challenge him without getting him in over his head. I think Ronny will be special. He'll be one of those kids who wins the titles. But he's a good two, three years away."Rios uses the word "if" he makes it big instead of "when," another example of his level headedness. If he does, chances are he won't squander his earnings as so many successful young fighters do. He got that from Lopez.Lopez took a significant interest in Rios almost from the beginning. Rios always dreamed of winning championship belts, which was fine with Lopez, but the trainer had a stipulation: No boxing without at least a "B" average is school.Rios thought his mentor "was crazy," Lopez said, but the boy went along because he knew he was heading in the right direction. From there, Lopez, not a family member, would attend Rios' school meetings and other functions normally required of parents."In our culture ... they say, 'Get a job and help the family.' I said, 'No, you gotta finish school.' To me, that was important," Lopez said.Lopez, who is in sales and marketing for a medical group, has taught Rios about finances, knowledge so few fighters have. Rios, who still lives with his mother, is saving money to buy a house and build an emergency fund. He spends frugally. For example, he bought a used Nissan 350Z instead of blowing his entire signing bonus on an expensive car.Most of his relatively meager earnings at the moment go toward helping his mother."I always want to have a plan," he said. "I never want to live paycheck to paycheck."Rios gives credit where credit is due. He is thrilled to be fighting in the main event on Thursday but is more excited that Sal is making his pro debut on the card. The two are very close. He is still motivated by the prospect of helping his mother, who asks her son to live at home because she can't bear for him to go.And he doesn't know where he'd be without Lopez."I know I wouldn't be where I am now," he said. "I would just be working with my mom, maybe going to community college. I wouldn't be in this position. No way. I don't think I would've gotten into trouble. I'm too nerdy. I don't drink or anything. I just like to play X Box and watch movies."Hector steered me in the right direction, though. He's a good person to have in my life, a really good person. I love my life. I have nothing to complain about."Michael Rosenthal can be reached at RingTVeditor@yahoo.com

Rios returns to 'Fight Night Club'

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 15:53:54 PST

Ronny Rios is becoming the dominant fighter in the "Fight Night Club" series at Club Nokia in Los Angeles, which is streamed live on RingTV.com and is televised on Fox Sports Net.The decorated amateur star, who faces Leivi Brea in the FNC main event on Thursday, is 3-0 at the downtown night club (with two knockouts). Rios (11-0, 5 knockouts) is a polished boxer but also is aggressive, which makes him a crowd pleaser. He faces Brea (18-8-3, 10 KOs) in a scheduled six-round lightweight bout. The Miami-based Dominican became a designated "opponent" for rising prospects in the United States - losing five fights here and one in Puerto Rico to Juan Manuel Lopez - but is 2-0 in subsequent fights in the Dominican Republic.Also on the card, Salvador Rios -- Ronny's older brother -- makes his pro debut against Stephen Rubalcava (0-1) of Exeter, Calif., in a four-round welterweight bout."I'm excited about being in the main event but more excited that my brother is fighting on the same card," Ronny Rios said.San Diego prospect Antonio Orozco (7-0, 5 KOs) faces Humberto Tapia (15-14-1, 8 KOs) of Culiacan, Mexico, in a six-round junior welterweight bout.Sergio de la Torre (11-14-3, 1 KO) of Escondido, Calif., takes on Sergio Soto (16-16-1, 12 KOs) of Hermosillo, Mexico in a four-round welterweight bout.And Jonathan Bobadilla (4-3) of Los Angeles faces Juan Figueroa (6-7-1, 3 KOs) of L.A. in a four-round lightweight fight.Tickets, ranging from $19.75 to $250 (on stage), are available by calling TicketMaster at 1-800-745-3000, online at www.ticketmaster.com and at the Staples Center box office.

The Povetkin-Seldon �sparring session�

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 01:24:40 PST

Alexander Povetkin and Bruce Seldon met in the ring at the South Philly Arena on July 28. Teddy Atlas, who trains Povetkin, says that the meeting was a "glorified sparring session" and that efforts were made "to replicate the atmosphere of a real fight even though it was just a training session."The facts are as follows.Earlier this year, Povetkin was the designated mandatory challenger for Wladimir Klitschko's IBF heavyweight crown. The two sides could not agree on contract terms. Klitschko's promotional company won rights to the bout with a purse bid of $8,313,000. Twenty-five percent of that amount was to go to Team Povetkin. Then Alexander pulled out of the fight. On July 22, Atlas told ESPN.com, "I think he [Povetkin] deserves the chance to develop. I'm in the middle of training this kid, which is obviously an important time in his life for the future of his career. My job is to do the best job I can for the fighter and to make sure he's the best he can be when he's in a situation to fight. I'm not controlled or dictated by anything other than that. I was never really for the fight right now. Let me have more time with him. I decided the most important thing was to do what was the best for the fighter. My opinion was, more time would be good." Six days later, Povetkin entered the ring to face Seldon. The event, scheduled for 8 p.m., was closed to the public. Between 70 and 100 invited guests were in attendance.The event was set up to simulate a regulation fight. Conversations with multiple sources who were in attendance confirm that Povetkin and Seldon wore 10-ounce gloves.There was no headgear.The referee was Luis Rivera.The judges were Russell Peltz, Adam Berlin, and Don Steinberg.The ring announcer was Larry Tournambe.The timekeeper was Fred Blumstein.Rivera, Peltz, Berlin, Steinberg, Tournambe, and Blumstein were paid for their services. So was Don Elbaum. Elbaum did the nuts-and-bolts work of putting everything together. He negotiated with Seldon's management team and the venue and arranged for an ambulance to be on site. Bruce Seldon was paid $10,000 for his participation in the event. He brought his own corner men with him from Atlantic City.Teddy Atlas served as Povetkin's chief second. Joey Intrieri was Povetkin's cutman. The money to pay for the event came from Povetkin's management team. Refreshments (such as pizza and hot dogs) were sold. There was no beer. The event was scheduled for 10 rounds. Seldon won the first round on each judge's scorecard but suffered a cut above one of his eyes. The second round could have gone either way, but all of the judges scored it for Povetkin. Round three belonged to Povetkin. In round four, Povetkin knocked Seldon down three times. There was no three-knockdown rule, but Seldon was badly hurt and bleeding from the mouth after the third knockdown. At that point, referee Luis Rivera stopped the event.A Fight Fax report states that Seldon, 43, has been on suspension since Aug.13, 2009, because of a failed drug test administered in conjunction with a ninth-round knockout loss to Fres Oquendo in Illinois on July 24, 2009. Povetkin engaged in at least one similar "sparring session" with Robert Daniels at the Front Street Gym in Philadelphia on Oct. 17, 2009. That encounter was also stopped short of its scheduled duration by referee Luis Rivera. Greg Sirb is the capable executive director of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission. As a general rule, Sirb is outgoing and informative when talking with reporters. That wasn't the case when he talked last week with Lem Satterfield of fanhouse.com. Satterfield recounts the following exchange:Sirb: We checked into it and we classified it as a glorified sparring session.Satterfield: Can you give me any details? Sirb: Nope.Satterfield: Was there any headgear used?Sirb: Glorified sparring session, part of a training program.Satterfield: But the guy got knocked out, didn't he? Sirb: Glorified sparring session, part of the training program.Satterfield: Was Teddy Atlas there? Sirb: Yep.Satterfield: Was he working Povetkin's corner? Sirb: He was at the event.Satterfield: There's no sanctions or anything like that? Sirb: Part of a training program. Speaking with this writer on Monday (Aug. 23), Sirb said, "This is a big to-do about nothing. Things like this happen every day in gyms in Philly. If it's part of a regimented training session, there's no problem. This is silly. I'm not going to discuss it anymore."However, the Povetkin-Seldon encounter appears to have been different from a "gym war." In a sparring session, if a fighter is hurt, his adversary backs off. In this "sparring session," when Seldon was hurt, Povetkin hurt him some more.Fights are regulated by the state for several reasons. The most important of these is to safeguard the health and safety of fighters. That involves ensuring that (1) the participants are sufficiently skilled and in appropriate condition to participate, and (2) the combat is overseen by qualified licensed personnel. The state is responsible for making these determinations. Not any individual trainer, manager or promoter. Atlas and Elbaum are good boxing people. They can regulate a fight far more capably than most state athletic commissions. But there are a lot of bozos in boxing with a towel over their shoulder and a pencil in their hand. A state can't have one set of rules for Atlas and Elbaum and a different set of rules for someone else who wants to arrange a "glorified sparring session." Where should a state athletic commission draw the line? Suppose the Povetkin-Seldon encounter had taken place at a black-tie event with spectators paying $200 each for a gourmet dinner? Suppose there were six "glorified sparring sessions" at the event instead of one? Suppose one of the participants suffered a brain bleed or lost an eye?I don't have a problem with fighters sparring without headgear and with small gloves. It's fine with me if fighters go hard in sparring. And I'll accept the premise that, from Povetkin's point of view, this was a training exercise. But no matter how the Povetkin-Seldon encounter is styled, it appears to have been a fight.Was it?If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, most likely it's a duck.Thomas Hauser can be reached by email at thauser@rcn.com. His most recent book (a novel entitled Waiting for Carver Boyd) was published earlier this year by JR Books. Hauser says that Waiting for Carver Boyd is "the best pure boxing writing I've ever done."

Ring Ratings Update: Ring champs, contenders in action

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 00:10:15 PST

The summer months have been typically slow for boxing but the sport gains some much-needed momentum at the beginning of the fall season with a number of RING-rated fighters inaction, including two of the magazine's champions.Junior flyweight champ Ivan Calderon and heavyweight champ Wladimir Klitschko are set to defend their RING titles in the next three weeks.Calderon (34-0-1, 6 knockouts) puts his 108-pound title on the line against Giovani Segura in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico on Saturday.Klitschko (53-3, 48 KOs) is scheduled to defend his heavyweight title against familiar foe Samuel Peter in Frankfurt, Germany on September 11. Klitschko, who has made one defense of the vacant RING title he won by beating Ruslan Chagaev last June, got up from three knockdowns to outpoint Peter (34-3, 27 KOs) in September of 2005.Four of the many RING-rated contenders in action in the next three weeks will face each other. The magazine's No. 1-rated junior lightweight Mzonke Fana takes on fellow South African veteran Cassius Baloyi, the No. 4-rated contender, for a vacant 130-pound belt in Johannesburg on September 1. Fana (29-4, 12 KOs) dropped a majority decision to Baloyi (37-4-1, 19 KOs) in April of 2008.THE RING's No. 3-rated featherweight Orlando Salido will face the No. 6-rated contender Yuriorkis Gamboa in Las Vegas on September 11. Mexico's hardnosed Salido (34-10-2, 22 KOs) won one of the four "major" belts from Cristobal Cruz in May and Cuba's ultra-talented Gamboa (18-0, 15 KOs) also holds an alphabet strap so their fight is a partial title unification bout.This Saturday's junior flyweight showdown between Calderon and Segura is also a unification bout. Calderon, who has made six defenses of THE RING title, also holds one of the alphabet belts, as does Segura (24-1-1, 20 KOs), the magazine's No. 1-rated junior flyweight who is delighted to be fighting for universal championship recognition."This fight is very special to Giovani," Segura's manager Richard Mota told RingTV.com. "He knows that if he beats Calderon he will no longer be a titleholder, he'll be a real champion, and that's something he's dreamt about for many years."The Calderon-Segura fight, which will be available in the U.S. on a small pay-per-view card, is an intriguing bout between a pure boxer and pure puncher. The historic Puerto Rico vs. Mexico rivalry should add intensity to the 108-pound showdown and making it the perfect fight to kick start the fall's boxing lineup. RING RATINGS UPDATEThe previous week did not produce much movement in THE RING's ratings. The only change of ranking occurred in the cruiserweight division, where Germany based beltholder Marco Huck (No. 3 last week) traded places with Krzystof Wloadarczyk (No. 2 last week) on the basis of his impressive fifth-round knockout of Matt Godfrey (No. 10 last week) and greater activity this year. Godfrey exited the ratings and was replaced at No. 10 by Pawel Kolodziej.

Four months to go ... will a Fighter of the Year emerge?

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 16:46:47 PST

Fernando Montiel is among those who could win Fight of the Year honors in a year with no obvious candidates. Photo / Chris Cozzone-FightWireImagesAs far back as the middle of May, I used this column space to lament the lack of a Fight of the Year candidate in 2010. Three months later, nothing has changed on that front. And an additional year-end awards conundrum has emerged: We don't have a single worthy Fighter of the Year contender either.Generally, by the end of summer, the Fighter of the Year race has taken shape. In years past, the superstars would have all engaged in a couple of significant fights by now and had one or two more planned before the end of the year. Whoever was in position to win a major bout between September and December would have an excellent shot at the award.But 2010 has been a down year for the sport, as everyone in the boxing world has acknowledged. And a major reason for that is that boxing's elite aren't interested in fighting more than twice a year. If anything, they're interested in fighting fewer than two times a year. You can blame HBO for overpaying unproven fighters or you can blame the boxers for being unrealistic about their worth, but the bottom line is that almost all of the game's biggest names have been frustratingly inactive this year.Remember when Oscar De La Hoya fought five times in 1997 to secure Fighter of the Year honors from THE RING's sister magazine, KO? Those days are long gone. Now, two appearances is plenty to capture the award, as long as they're both major fights.Unfortunately, it's a struggle to name many boxers who are positioned to end 2010 with two meaningful victories.Over the past four years, two fighters have monopolized the Fighter of the Year award: Manny Pacquiao ('06, '08, and '09) and Floyd Mayweather ('07). Neither is a candidate this year. Pacquiao's opposition - Joshua Clottey and probably Antonio Margarito - simply isn't up to snuff. Mayweather's competition - Shane Mosley - was just fine, but there wasn't enough of it; the Mosley victory was, and will remain, his only fight this year.Traditionally, if all else fails, you can look to the top heavyweights for Fighter of the Year consideration. A heavyweight has won THE RING's award 32 times in 81 years. Not this year. Through no fault of his own, Vitali Klitschko's competition (Albert Sosnowski and soon Shannon Briggs) will have been abysmal. Brother Wladimir's opponents will have been more respectable, but still, it's impossible to claim FOTY honors beating Eddie Chambers and Sam Peter. The busiest of the top heavyweights has been Tomasz Adamek, who might end up fighting four times by year's end, but he didn't exactly dazzle against Jason Estrada or Michael Grant.Sometimes you can get a sense of who the Fighter of the Year might be by looking at who's been named Fighter of the Month in THE RING. Here's the list so far: Takashi Uchiyama, Edwin Valero, Devon Alexander, Pongsaklek Wonjongkam, Mayweather, Miguel Cotto, and Juan Manuel Lopez.Don't count on Valero winning any posthumous awards. Alexander took himself out of the running with his lackluster performance against Andreas Kotelnik last time out. Mayweather went one and done. Cotto might have an outside shot at Comeback of the Year, but fights against Yuri Foreman and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (assuming it gets signed) don't make you the Fighter of the Year. Uchiyama and Pongsaklek each scored one meaningful victory but have followed up with marking-time fights against non-contenders.The only one on the list worth considering is Lopez, who destroyed Steven Luevano, bombed out Bernabe Concepcion and will take on Rafael Marquez on a rescheduled date sometime this fall. Unfortunately, Lopez was supposed to destroy Luevano, he was supposed to bomb out Concepcion and he'll be a solid favorite to beat Marquez. "JuanMa" is having a fine year, but ultimately, he's just doing what's expected of him. If he beats Marquez, he's a default pick for FOTY if absolutely nobody else turns out to be worthy. More likely, he's in the "Honorable Mention" category.To find our Fighter of the Year for 2010, we might have to dig a little deeper than usual and take an extra close look at some of the smaller fighters to whom even the hardcore fans don't always pay much attention. There's the aforementioned Pongsaklek, who could have an outside shot if he signed for and impressively won a major fight at the tail end of the year. Whoever wins the Ivan Calderon-Giovanni Segura fight this Saturday in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, would instantly earn consideration, although it would represent the only significant victory of the year for either boxer.But the little guy with the best chance is probably bantamweight beltholder Fernando Montiel, who is having a legitimately excellent year and is in discussions for one more major outing. Montiel has been busy, with three fights in the first seven months of the year. He's been spectacular, with knockouts in the first, third and fourth rounds. Opponents Ciso Morales and Rafael Concepcion (a late sub for Eric Morel) weren't much, but Hozumi Hasegawa, the longest reigning titlist in the sport at the time, certainly qualifies as a meaningful victim. There's currently talk of a Montiel-Nonito Donaire fight in the fall. If it happens and Montiel wins, he'd become the FOTY frontrunner.But Montiel isn't the only fighter out there who can take the pole position by signing for and winning one important fight this fall. If there's one man who controls his own destiny in the Fighter of the Year competition, it's middleweight champion Sergio Martinez. The one thing that's beyond Martinez's control is getting Paul Williams to sign on the dotted line. After all, he couldn't get Alfredo Angulo to accept a career-high payday to face him (which would have given Angulo three HBO appearances in 2010 and a shot at Fighter of the Year himself). But assuming Martinez-Williams does happen (HBO is reportedly eying a Nov. 20 date), the FOTY competition could become very straight forward.If Martinez defeats Williams, that gives him two highly meaningful victories in 2010, over Kelly Pavlik to claim the legitimate 160-pound title and over Williams, whom many regard as a top five pound-for-pounder. That's a classic modern Fighter of the Year campaign, not unlike Pacquiao beating Ricky Hatton and Cotto in '09 or Mayweather defeating Hatton and De La Hoya in '07. Should it play out in that manner, it will truly feel as if 2010 belonged to Sergio Martinez, which is how we want it to be when it comes time to select the Fighter of the Year.What if that fight doesn't happen, or if Williams wins? Then it's wide open. It could be Montiel. It could be Andre Dirrell if he upsets Andre Ward. It could be Peter if he shocks Wladimir Klitschko. It could be JuanMa Lopez if nobody else does anything of note.As of this moment, nobody stands out, which is symptomatic of a year in which the biggest fights aren't being made and the best fighters can't be bothered with fighting more frequently than once every six months. It's been a disappointing year for boxing. Let's hope somebody takes advantage of that and reaches out and grabs the Fighter of the Year award, so we don't have to give it to anyone by default.RASKIN'S RANTS- Something tells me Antonio Margarito won't face any questions about his sparring license from the Texas Commission. Dickie Cole's line of questioning will probably go more like this: "Is it OK if my son referees your big fight against Manny Pacquiao? Yes? OK, then here's your license."- Is it time to start putting Jackie Nava on the list of boxing's best body punchers, pound-for-pound and gender-for-gender?- Circle Wed., Sept. 8 on your calendars. That's the date when either the RingTV.com editors cop out and skip the letter "X," or late-'80s/early-'90s journeyman junior flyweight Alfredo Xeque gets the lead spot on the front page of the web site. I'm hoping for the latter; it'll be worth it just for the line: "Sugar's ranking: No. 1,457,312."- In case you missed it last week, don't forget to check out the latest episode of Ring Theory, featuring the wit and wisdom of special guest Nigel Collins. Where else can you hear mediocre Harold Lederman impressions, updates on the state of breast augmentation in Montreal, and speculation about Bob Arum's wife having sex with the pool boy?Eric Raskin can be reached at RaskinBoxing@yahoo.com. You can read his articles each month in THE RING magazine and follow him on Twitter @EricRaskin.

Fight in Arizona is outside ring because of immigration law

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 10:18:00 PST

TUCSON - Boxing returned and Arizona's immigration fight continued Friday with a card that included two Mexicans who said WBC President Jose Sulaiman threatened to suspend them for fighting in the state.Lightweight Genaro Trazancos of Mexico City and featherweight Adolfo Landeros of Hidalgo said they were told a few days before Friday's opening bell that they faced a WBC suspension for defying a warning issued in late April by Sulaiman, who in a prepared statement said he would not authorize Mexicans to fight in Arizona after the state legislature passed SB 1070."That's it, I guess,'' Trazancos said through an interpreter after he lost to Filipino prospect Mercito Gesta at Casino Del Sol in a seventh-round stoppage televised by TeleFutura. "I guess, I'm suspended."Believe me, I strongly support Mexican migrants. They have to work for a living. So do I.''Trazancos, a 35-year-old veteran of 36 fights (23-12-1, 13 knockouts) said he did not know whether the threatened suspension would keep him off any card in Mexico or just those sanctioned by the WBC, a Mexico City-based organization."But it is Mexico, so you never know,'' he said.Neither Trazancos nor Landeros had any second thoughts about fighting in Tucson on the first card televised in the state since April 23, when Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed the legislation, which opponents say encourages racial profiling."I already had signed to fight here,'' Landeros (24-15-1, 9 KOs) a featherweight from Hidalgo, said through an interpreter after he was upset in a loss by unanimous decision to Noe Lopez, a late stand-in for injured prospect Michael Franco. "I was obligated. If I had not fought here, I don't know when I would be able to fight in the United States, for a U.S. promoter, again."The pay in Mexico isn't that good anyway. Besides, this is how I make my living. I have to work.''Lopez, who is from Nogales on the Mexican side of the border about 75 miles south of Tucson, said he was not contacted by the WBC before he agreed Friday morning to fight on the Don Chargin-promoted card. Lopez said he was only aware of Sulaiman's warning from reports on the internet. Even if he had been threatened with a WBC suspension, he said he would have fought in Tucson."I'm not worried about it,'' Lopez said, also through an interpreter. "This is what I do. It's how I support myself and my family.''Neither Sulaiman nor anybody on his WBC staff in Mexico City responded to e-mails seeking a response to the warning he issued to Mexicans planning to fight in Arizona. Trazancos said he learned second hand of Sulaiman's threatened suspension."People around me told me about it,'' Trazancos said.Landeros said he found about it by reading a story in his hometown newspaper."Then, I tried to call Sulaiman,'' Landeros said. "I left a message. But I haven't heard from him.''Chargin said he heard about the threat after he arrived in Tucson a few days before the card."Silly,'' said Chargin, who plans to return to Casino De Sol with a promotion on either Sept. 24 or Oct 1. "So what are these kids supposed to do? Quit earning a living?''Chargin said he was told that Sulaiman threatened to suspend Trazancos and Landeros for five years."We called the fighters when we heard about this and both said: 'Hey we're coming. They don't put any food on our table,'" Chargin said.The threatened suspension comes in the wake of a federal judge, Susan Bolton, issuing an injunction on July 28 that delays implementation of the bill's key elements, which mandates Arizona police ask for documentation from anybody stopped for reasonable suspicion. The Ninth Circuit Court in San Francisco will review the legislation and is expected to issue a ruling on its constitutionality.On the day the injunction was issued, the controversy, as it relates to boxing, was fueled by comments from Oscar De La Hoya during a news conference in Las Vegas before Juan Manuel Marquez's victory on July 31 over Juan Diaz, a Mexican-American who criticized the law in a guest editorial for the Houston Chronicle, his hometown newspaper.De La Hoya said there was "racism'' in the Arizona law. Sergio Mora echoed De La Hoya's comments a few days later in Las Vegas during a news conference for his Sept. 18 fight with Shane Mosley at Los Angeles' Staples Center. Without being asked, Mora said there was "latent racism'' in the legislation."It's ignorant,'' Mora said.The controversy, which includes demonstrations against the Diamondbacks at road games and an ongoing attempt to force major league baseball to pull the 2011 All-Star Game out of Phoenix, already has had an impact on boxing in Arizona, once a lively market and home to Hall of Fame junior-flyweight Michael Carbajal.A Top Rank card featuring junior-welterweight prospect Jose Benavidez, a Phoenix native, was pulled out of the state. Benavidez, who has been living in Los Angeles and training with Freddie Roach at the Wild Card Gym, was scheduled to make his hometown debut on July 17 at Wild Horse Pass Casino in Chandler, a Phoenix suburb.Top Rank's Bob Arum said concern from a sponsor and Mexican television network about the controversy forced him to move the card.Arum said he was told by Tecate, a Mexican beer, and TV Azteca, that they didn't want the card in Arizona because of SB 1070."As a company that promotes boxing, we're apolitical,'' Arum said after the cancellation in late May. "But I was informed by Tecate at TV Azteca that they just don't want us to originate anything from Arizona at this time.''Tecate was the primary sponsor for the TeleFutura show Friday in Tucson. The company declined to comment. A spokesperson said it was company policy not to comment on "any political or legislative topics.''Benavidez, disappointed in July, is eager to make his hometown debut. He has heard from friends."They've called and told me how much they want to see me fight at home,'' said Benavidez (7-0), who has been at home training for the last several days at Central Boxing just a few blocks from streets where anti-SB 1070 activists have demonstrated in front of the state capitol. "Either way, I'm pretty sure people would come to see me. But it's just not a good thing with everything going on in Arizona right now."It's just something I would feel right about. I just think it's wrong. I'm sure of that.''Since the July 17 card was canceled, Benavidez and his dad, Jose Sr., expressed their opposition to the law. At a victory over Ronnie Peterson in Chicago on May 29, Benavidez and his dad wore T-shirts that included SB 1070 covered by a circle and a slash. The same symbol of opposition has shown up on shirts and trunks of Mexican and Mexican-American boxers everywhere.Abner Mares, a bantamweight from Los Angeles, wore it on the back of a T-shirt before his majority draw on May 22 with Yonnhy Perez at Staples Center. It was on the trunks of at least one Mexican-American making a debut last month on a small Phoenix card featuring former Arizona amateurs in the initial stages of their pro careers.Chargin said he plans to continue promoting in Tucson because he said he has always been welcome at Casino Del Sol, which is on land owned and governed by the Pascua Yaqui Tribe. The tribe has its own commission with rules that mirror those followed by the Arizona State Boxing Commission.The state's regulatory agency has agreements with other tribes to oversee boxing, including Desert Diamond south of Tucson, where De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions staged a series of cards for a few years. Last summer, Golden Boy had trouble getting license for fighters from countries other than U.S. A work visa instead of tourist visa was required.Prospect Erislandy Lara, a Cuban, could not get a work visa in time for a scheduled fight last August at Desert Diamond. Since, then, Dennis O'Connell, the Arizona commission's new executive director, said fighters only have to prove "legal presence,'' meaning they can again get licensed with a tourist visa, which is easier and cheaper to acquire than a work permit.But controversy over SB 1070 has complicated the chances at resurrecting the Arizona market, which in its heyday included Salvador Sanchez, Alexis Arguello and a young De La Hoya. Casino De Sol's officials are hopeful that the property's relative independence from state governance and perhaps controversy could play a role in bringing back a business that has been mostly dormant for at least a year."We'd be more than willing to talk to the WBC,'' said Wendell Long, CEO for Casino Del Sol. "We're on sovereign land. We're a safe haven.''

Journeyman hired to fight hard ... and lose

Sun, 22 Aug 2010 20:56:24 PST

It's a sure bet that none of the 11,000 or so fans crammed into the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., on Saturday night were there to see Lenin Arroyo, a club fighter from Costa Rica now living in Miami.Arroyo, or "Volcano," as it read across the front of his waistband, was hired by the event's promoters more or less to become the ninth pro fighter to lose to Sadam Ali, the prodigiously talented welterweight who in 2008 became the first "Arab-American" to represent the United States at the Olympic box-offs. This is very important to people who follow such things. Arroyo entered the ring wearing powder-blue trunks with fringes on the sides. The fringes looked worn down and a little faded, which would seem to defeat the whole point of fringes. Across the back of his white T-shirt there was an advertisement for a factory or some such: "We don't use machines. We build them."Across the back of his waistband read the name, "Celeste." He told me later Celeste is his daughter. She's 9 years old and lives in Costa Rica. Ali's shirt was an over-sized, multi-colored construct of some expensive-looking material that could only have been fashioned by a talented and exclusive tailor. In another setting you might call it a cape. Across the back: "World Kid Ali." Ali was the fourth consecutive undefeated fighter Arroyo faced. He'd lost to Mike Jones, James De la Rosa and Mike Alvarado (combined record: 62-0) over the last year. He lasted the distance with Jones and De la Rosa; Alvarado stopped him in two. Against this backdrop Arroyo did his job against Ali, taking a knee in the fifth round and rising just after referee Steve Smoger's count reached its conclusion. Ten seconds earlier Ali had landed a perfect left hook to Arroyo's liver and not even volcanoes can withstand so precisely landed a blow. A few moments before the end, an overly talkative man connected somehow to the promotion and seated next to me said to someone -- possibly me, but as a matter of self-preservation I had ceased paying close attention long before -- that Arroyo "is like a Gatti. He even looks a little like Gatti."This gentlemen spent much of the evening sharing mostly preposterous observations punctuated with "there's no doubt about it." He openly rooted for and cheered on Tomasz Adamek in the main event, trampling on the most-sacred press row commandment. Through much of the fight he called Adamek "Adam." After a while, he realized his error and switched to "Tommy."Nevertheless, I mentally ceded his point about Arroyo and the late Arturo Gatti. Though light years more talented and successful, Gatti at his most desperate moments did the only thing he could to lessen the talent gap between him and his opponent: put his head down, charge in and hope for the best. You never got the sense it embarrassed him, or that he wished he could do more. He just did it.Arroyo didn't do even this as well as Gatti, and what's more has no big punch on which to pin his meager hopes, as Gatti did. But he had the same kind of fearless resignation about him as he charged into Ali, winging overhand rights and left hooks that had roughly the same chance of landing as they would have if had I been throwing them from my position roughly 20 feet from the ring. Arroyo (20-13-1 with four knockouts) kept at it all the same, never looking discouraged, egging Ali on, taking flush on the jaw and face every kind of punch there is to take. A long right staggered him in the first and it never got better, especially when he turned southpaw for a moment in the fourth round and was quickly blasted for his effort.The crowd, clearly on Ali's side, chanted, "Ali! Ali!" One can safely guess that none of them had been born yet when that chant first became fashionable. Ali enjoyed it nonetheless, grinning at Arroyo's creeping ineptitude while bombarding him at will. Arroyo, for his earnestness, could land nothing.Later he acknowledged Ali is "class A" fighter and much better than Jones, whom he called "lazy." His face was a lumpy connection of angry red bumps, as if he'd been attacked by an entire colony of Africanized bees. He added, "These guys are too big for me. I have to be a real lightweight. I can't get a big fight at 135, so I have to fight bigger and bigger guys." Arroyo's trainer, Richard Acosta, chimed in. "He should be fighting at 135 or 140 but he can't get fights in those weight classes. He doesn't have a big promoter so he has to fight these guys.""Fighting these guys is more money," Arroyo said. "They don't want fight someone with a good record so they fight me." Arroyo said that when he is not fighting he is a personal trainer in Miami, and that he plans on just two more fights before he quits the game. "Just two more fights and that's it. I'm 30 years old now, so I don't want to get problems with the head later on. I've been fighting for 10 years. I don't want to get stupid," he said. "Just one or two more fights and that's it." He knows as we all do that there never are enough tough guys willing to charge into a bigger fighter and slug away, especially if he's firing mostly blanks. You can always find guys to fall down. They're all over the place. The ones who go down fighting are harder to find. Arroyo goes down fighting. That will keep his phone ringing for as long as he cares to keep picking it up. Some random observations from last week:For my money the most entertaining fight on the Adamek-Michael Grant card was Joel Julio's hard-fought distance win over Philadelphia's tough, well-schooled Jamaal Davis, who is far better than his 12-7 (6 knockouts) record suggests. ...Outside Poland, there's not a better place for Adamek to fight than The Prudential Center in Newark. Remember how it was with Gatti and Boardwalk Hall? That's how it is. Adamek shouldn't fight anywhere else. ...Look for a in-depth feature on Grant and his fall from "heir apparent" to heavyweight nonentity in an upcoming issue of THE RING. ...Prediction: Many fight writers will correctly report that Grant's size advantage was of little use to him against the quicker, more agile Adamek. Those same writers, next time they handicap a fight, will out of habit pick the bigger guy. ...Yeah. Why not Pacquiao-Marquez III?. ...Count on Texas giving Antonio Margarito a license to box. They have very low standards. For example, I heard they gave a really important job to a guy named "Dickie." ... Between Grant and Chad Dawson losing, Eddie Mustafa Muhammad is having a bad stretch. Thank goodness for Zab Judah. Wait. Is it possible to use those five words together in a sentence like that? ...Did you hear? The WBC wants Andre Berto to fight your garbage man's niece's prom date or they're going to strip him. Keep paying those sanctioning fees, guys. How's that working our for you? ...If you're in the business of housing dementia patients, employing home-duty nurses or selling foods that have been creamed, put into little jars and sold by the gross, then maybe the comeback of 36-year-old Vassiliy Jirov is good news. To the rest of us, not so much. ...So Macro Huck rolled over Matt Godfrey. Great. More proof that if there's anything more useless than a cruiserweight, it's an American cruiserweight. ...I thought my eyes were deceiving me when I read that former Contender contestant Jimmy Lange won a fight. Then I saw it was against 12-40-2 (4 KOs) Mike McFail, possibly the most appropriately named fighter in the entire history of prizefighting. ... Hey did you hear? BJ Flores is a free agent! Here's a list of all the promoters clamoring to sign him:Bill Dettloff, THE RING magazine's Senior Writer, is the co-author, along with Joe Frazier, of "Box Like the Pros." He is currently working on a biography of Ezzard Charles. Bill can be contacted at dettloff@ptd.net

Hernandez, Rigondeaux win in Tijuana

Sun, 22 Aug 2010 00:53:20 PST

Junior lightweight prospect Joksan Hernandez had an easier time than expected with late-sub Ira Terry in the main event of a Fox Sports en Espanol-televised card in Tijuana, Mexico, on Saturday.Hernandez (21-2, 14 KOs) stopped Terry (24-4, 14 KOs) right hand in the first round after softening up the slick boxer with left hooks to the body. Terry rolled into a neutral corner after getting clipped by Hernandez's right hand. He got up on one knee but was counted out at 2:32 of the round.In the co-featured bout of the Top Rank-promoted card two-time Olympic gold medalist Guillermo Rigondeaux, now a 29-year-old pro junior featherweight prospect, stopped veteran Jose Angel Beranza after six rounds.Rigondeaux (6-0, 5 KOs), who easily side-stepped the Mexican fighter's forward advances and counter-punched at will, scored two knockdowns in the fourth round before his heavy hands forced Beranza's corner to halt the bout in the opening seconds of the seventh.Beranza was game throughout the one-sided fight but his face was a battered mess after six rounds with the talented Cuban southpaw.

Adamek beat Grant but may have failed Klitschko test

Sat, 21 Aug 2010 22:57:26 PST

Tomasz Adamek landed more than enough solid punches to outpoint Michael Grant on Saturday in Newark, N.J. Photo / Ed Mulholland-FightWireImagesNEWARK, N.J. -- Tomasz Adamek has risen up the heavyweight ranks in increments, measured in pounds and inches. The former light heavyweight beltholder and RING cruiserweight champion who used to starve himself to make weight no longer has to feel enervated each time he enters the ring. He no longer has to limit his activity for fear of exhaustion.Adamek can finally let loose, and he has with the aim of something larger each time he ventures into the ring with a heavyweight. His first foray with the big boys came in stopping fellow Pole Andrew Golota in five rounds. He then went the distance in a less-than-scintillating performance against U.S. Olympian Jason Estrada before taking a majority decision from sloppy contender Chris Arreola in April.The 6-foot-4 Golota weighed a career-high 256 pounds when Adamek took his fellow countryman apart in Lodz, Poland, back in October of 2009. The 6-foot-1 Estrada came in a little more compact against Adamek, weighing a career-low 237. And Arreola was around the same dimensions as Golota, at 6-foot-4 and 250 . However, Adamek's challenge on Saturday night against large and streaking Michael Grant had a more direct flavor to it. The surprisingly interesting 12-round bout, which Adamek (42-1, 27 knockouts) won by unanimous decision, pointed to an idea the Polish attraction has harbored for some time: A chance at RING heavyweight titleholder Wladimir Klitschko, or the world champ's older brother, beltholder Vitali Klitschko.Adamek, who at 6-foot-1 and 217 pounds is tiny in comparison to today's heavyweights, wouldn't know what it's like to face someone of Klitschko proportions without fighting a heavyweight who at least 6-foot-6 and a rock solid 240 pounds. Grant, who stands 6-foot-7 and weighed 261 pounds for Saturday's fight, was as close to a Klitschko facsimile as Main Events, Adamek's promoter, could find.However, the 38-year-old former contender who was annihilated by Lennox Lewis more than 10 years ago, is without a Klitschko chin. Without their punching power. Without their speed. Without their effective imposing phone-pole length jabs. Without their ability to use their great size to get out of harm's way. In other words Grant was a poor Klitschko imitation. He is large but he doesn't fight large.However Grant entered the Adamek fight having won eight in a row since being belted by Dominick Guinn in 2003. Grant's seven-year winning streak wasn't exactly filled with Ali, Frazier, Norton, and Holmes, but he did have one thing in his favor. Working his corner was Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, who currently trains Chad Dawson, the only man who has defeated Adamek in the pro ranks.It didn't help.The Polish star consistently got inside Grant's reach, fired to the body, and landed looping shots to the head, causing the bigger man to back up throughout the first half of the fight. If Grant was supposed to be Adamek's Klitschko test, it certainly stirred a number of questions: Does anyone think either of the Klitschkos would need their trainers to implore them to come forward, as Mustafa Muhammad had to with Grant in the third round? Does anyone think the Klitschkos would let Adamek get inside the way Grant did? Would either Wladimir or Vitali wait until the eighth or ninth rounds before they exerted their superior size and reach as Grant did?If Grant can make Adamek's face look like it went through a meat grinder, what will the Klitschkos do it?No amount of pulsating "Polska, Polska, Polska," or "Ad-a-mek, Ad-a-mek, Ad-a-mek" chants will help him then. More importantly, if either of the Klitschkos have Adamek in trouble -- as Grant did at the end of the sixth and 12th rounds -- they'd finish him.This experiment against the shopworn giant may have exposed Adamek. He couldn't hurt Grant (46-4, 34 KOs) and after having his way with his much larger adversary in the first six rounds, there was a considerable drop off. Grant began coming forward and imposing his will, especially in the 12th round when he hurt Adamek with a right on top of the head that him reeling and in trouble.The unanimous scores of 117-111, 118-110 and 118-111 were a little deceiving. THE RING saw it much closer, not questioning Adamek's victory, but how close the fight was, scoring it 116-112."I knew I had him hurt in the 12th round, but I know one thing, I'm not fighting anyone under 217 again," Grant joked afterward. "The only thing that Adamek brought to me is what I expected, and that was his speed. Other than that, he didn't hurt me. I knew I was wearing him down. He sustained and endured. I knew he was gone in the 12th. I knew he was hurting and he kept running." Adamek was pleased with the victory, though not very pleased with his performance. THE RING's fourth-rated heavyweight contender was frustrated by Grant holding down his head, and also by the fact he didn't feel he progressed toward a fight with the Klitschkos, who he was noncommittal about."I think I found out the big difference in size and finding the space in going underneath the jab," said Adamek, his left eye swollen. "There's a lot of work that needs to be done. I'm going to watch this fight and learn from it."Smashing Grant was supposed to facilitate a Klitschko fight. It didn't. Adamek may target another large, lumbering hand-picked heavyweight. Maybe Lance Whitaker in November, back at the Prudential Center. Maybe what we saw from Adamek against Grant was the 33-year-old's best against a large heavyweight.For now, the Klitschkos will have to wait.

Marquez injury postpones Lopez fight

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 21:40:58 PST

The featherweight showdown between Juan Manuel Lopez and Rafael Marquez, scheduled for September 18, has been postponed due to a hand injury suffered by Marquez. The anticipated crossroads fight was the main event of a Top Rank/Gary Shaw Productions-promoted show at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas that was to be televised live on Showtime. The promoters are working with the MGM Grand and Showtime in rescheduling the featherweight title bout within four weeks of the original date."I'm very disappointed but I know that these things happen in boxing," said Lopez, THE RING's No. 2-rated featherweight and a beltholder. "I hope the fight gets rescheduled soon and look forward to fighting Rafael Marquez.""I was told that Rafael injured the thumb on his right hand when it got caught in the door of a vehicle," said Gary Shaw, Marquez's co-promoter. "He then tried to work through the pain in training camp but it only made the injury worse. On his doctor's orders, Rafael will abstain from any activity with hand for a few weeks to allow it to heal properly.""Naturally we're disappointed. Fortunately Marquez's injury isn't too serious," said Todd duBoef of Top Rank, which promotes Lopez. "We have already discussed the situation with the MGM Grand and Showtime and they both are working with us to find a new mutually acceptable date. JuanMa is very happy that he'll still be able to fight one of Mexico's greatest champions as well as the toughest opponent he has ever faced. We're hopeful that we'll have a new date to announce next week, along with information about ticket refunds for patrons who cannot travel on the new date."

A decade after losing to Lewis, Grant still believes

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 17:24:17 PST

"This is his Rocky movie."It seems unusual to cast a 6-foot-7, 260-pound man built like Ivan Drago in the role of Rocky Balboa, but that's exactly what promoter Kathy Duva did on a recent conference call in reference to Michael Grant. This Saturday night at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., Grant will enter the ring as about an 8-1 betting underdog according to the various online sports books, even though it's his opponent - 6-1, 220-pound Tomasz Adamek - who's physically cut from a Rocky-like mold.However, nobody who has paid attention to the careers of the two fighters should be surprised by Grant's underdog status. If anything, the surprise came when the fight was signed and many observers did a double-take because they didn't realize Grant was still an active boxer.Adamek is one of the Top Five heavyweights in the world, mostly because of an impressive victory over Chris Arreola in April. Grant was once one of the Top Five heavyweights in the world. But it's been more than a decade since you could say that.Yes, that's right, it seems hard to believe, but it's been over 10 years since Grant, then among the hottest young heavyweights in the world, challenged Lennox Lewis for the championship. Grant was knocked down three times in the first round (injuring his knee on the way down the third time) and taken out in the second.His knee healed, he returned 15 months later, ate a left hook from Jameel McCline, broke his ankle on the way down and lost by TKO in 43 seconds. Seven straight wins against modest opposition followed, then Grant suffered a brutal seven-round stoppage loss to then-undefeated Dominick Guinn. To most, it seemed that the 30-year-old Grant was finished.But he believed otherwise. It's been a slow journey with little fanfare and no opposition ranked in anybody's Top 50, but Grant has managed to win eight straight over the last 6 years.Michael Grant turned 38 years old a few weeks ago. He's in a significant fight again. Most observers are just waiting to see how hard the big man will fall this time. But Grant, a man of faith to the end, insists we're going to see him rise instead."Time is a good thing. People look at time as getting old, but it brings wisdom. It brings experience and patience and endurance," said Grant, a religious man who walks a fine line between deep philosophy and empty platitudes with every sentence. "I'm absolutely a better fighter now than I was 10 years ago. I'm stronger mentally and stronger physically. We are an impatient nation. We don't want to wait for nothing. We want instant gratification right then and there."But I'm happy with the development and what I've been through and what I've endured, and this is a blessing, man, for Adamek to have given me this opportunity. I'm extremely grateful for this."You could read into that gratitude that Grant hasn't earned a fight of this magnitude. But what heavyweights do earn their opportunities nowadays? The division is so shallow behind Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko that one good win makes you a top contender, and veterans who haven't scored a major victory since the 1990s can hang around and cash in on their names. For Pete's (McNeeley, that is) sake, Shannon Briggs will challenge Vitali Klitschko next! In a division that is constantly looking for somebody, anybody to fill the opponent slot, there's incentive for older heavyweights to stay in the mix.In Grant's case, he's hung around because he honestly didn't feel his story was done being written. Even after the punishing loss to Guinn - the point at which most observers wrote him off and/or wanted him to retire - Grant never once thought seriously about hanging up the gloves."I knew then that Teddy Atlas wasn't the right trainer for me," Grant said. "This is not to speak negatively of Teddy, because Teddy's a hell of a trainer. But certain trainers are not for certain fighters, and at that point in time, I wasn't ready for Teddy. I knew that I had a lot of information and a lot of knowledge that I'd gained, and I knew that retirement wasn't an option because I wanted to put everything that I've learned through the years out on the table. And, hey, you're going to see it against Adamek."So how exactly does Grant, who is now trained by highly respected former light heavyweight champ Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, plan to defeat Adamek? Not by trying to use his bulk and outslug the smaller man, but by taking advantage of what he perceives to be the Polish contender's weaknesses and outboxing him."I see that his foot movement is not as good as it should be," Grant said. "Basically, when he moves to his left, he steps correctly, but when he moves to his right, he steps wrong. And he has problems with boxers. So I'm going to box. I'm going to give him trouble just with the jab alone. I know what to expect from him. He's going to try to move around. The same Adamek you saw with Arreola would be probably the Adamek you're going to see with Michael Grant. With Eddie Mustafa, he wants me to be me and he sees the potential that I have and the attributes that I possess, and he wants me to put it all out on the table as well."For a short while, in 1998 and '99, when he won five straight HBO fights (four by knockout), Grant was putting it all out on the table. But he went from the darling of HBO to a cautionary tale, almost overnight.So the question demanded to be asked on the eve of what might be Grant's final shot at resurrecting his career: If he had it do over, would he still fight Lennox Lewis on April 29, 2000?"We have to live life forward," he said. "But looking at it backwards, in a sensible state, I wouldn't take that fight because I knew I had HBO behind me, and I know that that was what HBO wanted to build up to, but not at that time. At that time, 2000, fighting Lennox, I was on my fourth fight of a six-fight deal with HBO, and I should have fought him on the sixth fight. Because after the [Andrew] Golota fight, I grew right there, I grew up, and it wasn't right for me to fight Lennox the very next fight. I should have developed a little more and made the sixth fight the ultimate test. But it didn't pan out that way."They dangled the money in front of my handlers, and they wanted to jump on it. Honestly, financially, I was good. I was making a million dollars a fight for HBO, so I wasn't starving for money. I was fine. But I was young in the business, I didn't know, I was inexperienced. I was like, 'Yeah, let's go,' but honestly, if I would have had a little bit more brains, I would have said, 'Hey, that's not the right move.' But I'm not going to say it was a bad decision. I can't say that because I learned from that. I learned how to look at life experiences and move forward instead of looking backwards."Is that deep philosophy or an empty platitude? How we'll view everything Grant has to say depends largely on how he performs this Saturday night. If he loses to Adamek as the oddsmakers suggest he will, then he'll be just another delusional, aging heavyweight whose words rang hollow. But if he upsets Adamek, then he'll be a guy who can say whatever he wants and the boxing world will listen.And he'll be one of the biggest damned Rocky Balboa impersonators we've ever seen.RASKIN'S RANTS- The great majority of the time, when I interview someone, I really only get to know them as an interview subject - not a real person. But Jay Larkin, whom I probably interviewed about 10 or 12 times during and after his tenure as Showtime Championship Boxing executive producer, had a warmth about him that made it feel as if you were talking to him person to person, not interviewer to interviewee. I can't say I truly knew Jay deeply, but I knew him well enough to say he was a good man who will be missed.- They say admitting you have a problem is the first step. Unfortunately, with Chris Arreola, it's the only step. Arreola has never denied that he doesn't train hard enough. He's also never done anything about it.- James Toney, get ready to sue. There's a new series coming to the FX network next January entitled Lights Out, about a former heavyweight champ struggling through life after boxing. As TV critic Alan Sepinwall wrote, "It's basically Rocky V if Rocky V was, you know, good." Just knowing it's on FX is enough to get me to watch, since this is the network that gave us The Shield (my favorite show of the 2000s), Rescue Me, Damages, and Louie, and has pretty much never produced a stinker.- Make sure to check out this week's new episode of Ring Theory, featuring a guest appearance by a man who spent last weekend in Montreal belting Jean Pascal. (Ladies and gentlemen, that's the way you word a tease if you want to trick all 18 of Chad Dawson's fans into tuning in.)- I tweeted two days before the Pascal-Dawson light heavyweight championship fight to be on "high alert" over judge Jack Woodburn. You'll never guess which of the three judges had Pascal winning nine of 11 rounds, including the partial 11th round that Dawson dominated.- In case you're a gambler who keeps a notebook of rules, here's what we learned in the Pascal-Dawson fight: The rule that says "Don't bet on the guy in the fuchsia trunks" is trumped by the rule that says "Don't bet on the guy whose trunks label his backside a 'Condom Depot.'"Eric Raskin can be reached at RaskinBoxing@yahoo.com. You can read his articles each month in THE RING magazine and follow him on Twitter @EricRaskin.

Dougie's Friday mailbag

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 03:06:13 PST

ADAMEK-GRANTDear Doug,Why the heck is this on PPV? I don't even think Michael Grant deserves the fight, but PPV? ESPN2, maybe, but PPV... NO WAY!I guess Marquez/Diaz II was not the start of a trend of quality PPV cards.And why is Adamek stepping down from Arreola to Grant? How about a fight with Alexander "I Don't Want To Fight Wlad" Povetkin? Or does Teddy Atlas think Alexander's not ready for Adamek, too?Oh, for the days of Lennox Lewis, Rahman, prime Tua, Byrd... at least we had the top dogs fighting each other. Now, the two top heavies won't (and I can't blame them, obviously) fight. The other top two (Haye and Povetkin) won't get in the ring with them, and the top American (Arreola) is a porker who clearly lacks dedication. That leaves us with Shannon Briggs and Sam Peter as the latest in a long line of uninspiring challengers. Are there any heavyweight diamonds in the rough who could provide new life to this desultory division? Take care. -- PatrickAdamek is worth getting behind. He's a seasoned pro with good ring smarts, solid technique and lots of guts. If he demolishes Grant, expect him to have one more stay-busy fight in November before going after one of the Klitschkos. This Saturday's fight is on a small pay-per-view broadcast because HBO isn't interested in the heavyweights beyond Arreola and Showtime seems to have given up on the division altogether. Adamek wants to stay busy and he wants to make a decent purse when he fights, that rules out premium cable (which has limited dates and is very choosey about who is featured) and basic cable (which can't offer much money to promoters). Povetkin is a semi-polished diamond. He's not ready for the Klitschkos or maybe even Adamek yet. I think Atlas did the right thing by pulling him out of that mandatory title shot. The division has potential; it just needs for the top six or seven to face each other. That might happen to some degree next year. Povetkin and Adamek make for good fights (especially if they fight each other).A LITTLE OF A LOTHey Dougie,Hope things are well. Thought I'd email in since I think I hear your voice on the stream of Pac-Diaz I'm watching. Even back at the Diaz fight there was a Pac-Money debate! Wow.I've got a few different questions/comments so I'll shoot to put them in some order: 1) What's next for Bad Chad? I don't think a rematch is necessary, because even when Chad stepped it up late he still took his foot off the pedal when it mattered most. (Side note: I think this fight was more entertaining than folks gave it credit for. A fun crowd makes a big difference.)2) When you score fights, which do you prefer: the more active fighter with the lower hit % or the less active fighter with the better %? I remember you scored the Alexander-Kotelnik fight for the latter, is that how you usually see such fights, or was Kotelnik doing something to set himself apart?3) What do you think of Adamek-Grant this weekend? I guess it's supposed to teach him how to fight the big guys. I know Grant's tall, but does he fight tall? No point in fighting such a big guy if he's not going to use his size similar to the Brothers Klitschko (apart from keeping busy).4) What do you think of Arreola having apparently hurt two hands, AND THEN (if my timeline is right) knocking Quezada down? I want to root for him, but he's gotta lose some weight. His heart sure as heck isn't the issue, he's a tough, tough guy.5) Any fights in the near future you are looking forward to in particular? Perhaps a hidden gem? Keep up the good job! -- RobbThanks for writing in Robb. If you're watching the international broadcast for Pacquiao-Diaz that is indeed my voice you're listening to (along with Alan Massengale and Wallace Matthews). I hope I was making sense. I'll answer your questions in order:1) I'm pretty sure Dawson's goal is to get Pascal back in the ring ASAP. It would be nice if he fought an interim bout but I don't think he will. It doesn't matter if you or I think the return match is unnecessary; it's probably the most important thing in his world right now. I think he'll fight with a little more focus and intensity in the rematch which will make for an even better fight than the first one (which I agree was pretty good).2) I generally score rounds for the fighter who had the higher connect percentage but those punches that connect have to be quality shots (i.e., they have to do some damage).3) Grant usually fights tall. He just doesn't have technique and confidence the Klitschkos possess. I think it's an interesting matchup even though Adamek should be considered a distinct favorite. I'm curious to see how he handles Grant's formidable reach.4) Arreola is crazy tough. I'll give him that. He won't back down from a fight because his hands hurt or because his nose is broken or because he's just not having a good night; homie lets his damn hands go, which is why I enjoy watching him fight. However, at the highest level of the sport, balls alone will not get it done. I hope he finds the character to dedicate himself more to his profession. I want to root for him.5) I'm looking forward to Ivan Calderon-Giovani Segura (a pure boxer vs. pure puncher matchup if there ever was one) next Saturday (which should be a fun night for all-around fight fans because of the UFC event that features James Toney clashing with Randy Couture), the Anthony Peterson-Brandon Rios lightweight match on Sept. 11 (the opener for HBO's B.A.D.), Victor Ortiz vs. Vivian Harris on Sept. 18 (I predict that both guys will hit the canvas in this one), and the Carl Froch-Arthur Abraham Super Six showdown on Oct. 2.DON'T DISS THE Z-MANHi DougI always enjoy reading your mailbag, and this Monday's was no exception; but I must take issue with your statement: "I do not want to see Pascal have to satisfy a mandatory vs. Zsolt Erdei. If the WBC pushes that fight, I hope he dumps the belt. I want entertaining fights, damn it!"While I hope they let him fight Bute or Cloud first, Erdei does merit a shot, IMO. Despite the fact that he fought a long list of no-hopers during his title reign, he was the lineal (not Ring, but most purists regarded him as the lineal) champion for a long time. He was also ranked within the top 5 by The Ring throughout that period. He then moved up to Cruiserweight and beat one of the titlists there, and although Fragomeni was one of the weakest Cruiserweight belt holders, he was still a top 5 Cruiserweight, and The Ring ranked Erdei #3 at Cruiserweight before he moved back down to Light Heavyweight. For a natural Light Heavyweight to be ranked #3 at Cruiserweight is quite an achievement in Pound for Pound terms.I agree his style hardly sets the world on fire (he's kind of a poor man's Sven Ottke), but boxing is a sport, it's not just show business. In any sport, the best need to compete against the best, to prove they're the best. Erdei, boring as his style is, awful though most of his competition has been, IS one of the best. so Pascal should fight him - although he shouldn't be pressured into doing so immediately.Another reason that I'd like it to happen is that I believe Pascal would win convincingly, and in doing so, would finally put paid to the horrible Erdei era. Fighters like Erdei don't cope well with defeat, especially convincing defeat, and I think Pascal would retire him. -- DaveYou make a good point about the Z-man. He was indeed the lineal light heavyweight champ (a title he won from Julio Gonzalez who picked it up from Darius Michalczewski). He's undefeated in 31 bouts and he did win a major cruiserweight belt. He deserves a shot at any of the 175-pound titleholders. I just don't want to watch a "poor man's Sven Ottke" when excellent light heavyweight matchups can be made between Pascal, Cloud, Bute, Dawson, Shumenov and Campillo. Also, I disagree that Pascal would beat Erdei convincingly. Just like Pascal's style caused Dawson fits, I think Erdei's disciplined technique would disrupt Pascal's explosive athleticism. I don't think that fight is a "gimme" for Pascal, and I think it could be a real stinker if Erdei throws off Pascal's rhythm. I'd rather see Erdei get his title shot against Cloud because I know the aggressive Floridian would make the fight worth watching.BLACK FIGHTERS AND HEARTComing from a community that says their gender is worthless and the revelation of great black fighters being punchy have taken the heart away from black fighters of this era.The last true decade for black fighters, when they were blood and guts warriors, was the late 70's and 80's, with residues of this greatness popping up throughout the 90's.The last great year for Black fighters was 2000, and from there on out, this younger generation has crept in, and it has gone down hill ever since.Back in the day, Mexican fighters were considered tough, but black fighters were considered GREAT. Not anymore. What do you think? -- Dre L.Well, as a child of the 1970s who became a hardcore boxing fan during the 1980s, I can't deny that there are a lot less African-American ring warriors than there were 25 years ago. Your email made me wonder when the last time two African-American fighters made for the fight of the year. I had to go all the way back to 1992 when Riddick Bowe challenged Evander Holyfield. For the record, Holyfield-Tyson I was THE RING's fight of the year for 1996, but let's be real, that was the beatdown of the year.However, I should point out that John David Jackson was one half of THE RING's fight of the year for 1994 (vs. Jorge Castro), Ivan Robinson was part of the fight of the year for 1998 (vs. Arturo Gatti), Emanuel Augustus meshed very well with Micky Ward to make the FOTY for 2001, and Diego Corrales' first clash with Jose Luis Castillo was not only FOTY for 2005 but arguably one of the best slugfests of all time (the late Chico was half black and as a Halfrican myself I've gotta recognize him).So I can't say that "heart" has simply left all African-American fighters. I would argue that the sport has become more Latino-dominated in the last 15 to 20 years and less African Americans are being attracted to boxing than in past decades (and that includes a lot of badasses). Also, the image of successful African-Americans has changed over the years and has become that of the glitzy/celebrity business man so unfortunately we're getting fighters with once-in-a-lifetime talent and ability who want to play it safe as Roy Jones Jr. did and Floyd Mayweather Jr. does. Are we ever going to see the likes of a Joe Frazier or Matthew Saad Muhammad in the ring again? Probably not. However, I'll go on record as say that some of the toughest fighters I've ever witnessed were African Americans (Evander Holyfield, James Toney, Chris Byrd, Bernard Hopkins and Mark Johnson come to mind). Yeah, I know these guys grew up in the 1970s and 1980s, but there are still young world-class African-American fighters who bring it. Paul Williams doesn't back down from a fight and has been in two bona fide 12-round barnburners (vs. Antonio Margarito and Sergio Martinez). James Kirkland will probably return to his brutal ways in the ring once he gets his ass out of jail. Tim Bradley and Lamont Peterson made for a enjoyable 12-round fight and showed as much balls as skill, IMO. Who knows? If Chad Dawson fights Tavoris Cloud, maybe the hardnosed Floridian will ignite the HBO-contract fighter's inner fire.TWITS, DAWSON'S LACK OF HEARTHi Doug,How are you doing?I liked what you said recently about the tweet wars: Twitter is for twits! . Thanks so much for this, I'm so tired of hearing all this nonsense about Berto tweeting this or Bradley tweeting that (in fact, I don't know if Bradley tweets or not but that's not the point). What a loss of time, I'm not married (and don't have any children yet) but I guess I still have enough to do, to learn or to aspire to, that I don't have time to lose with those twits...Anyways, there isn't much action this weekend (Adamek vs Grant doesn't really cut it for me), so I wanted to come back on last weekend. I was delighted that Pascal won but I was a also a little disappointed by the reaction many people in the US had about the fight. Nobody contested that Pascal was the victor but a good proportion of the fight writers claimed that it was just Dawson's fault: If Dawson had more fire , if Dawson threw more punches , if Dawson took more chances , etc.Dawson took a chance, he fought another titlist and went to Montreal to prove that he was the best, it didn't work out well for him but he should still be praised for taking the risk (many big stars should do the same)! And please people, how about: Dawson didn't have the fire or the workrate (or, or, or...) because Pascal was the first one smart enough to force Dawson to do something he's not good at? I mean, Dawson is a defense first boxer, so what do you do with such a guy? You force him to go forward! And that's just what Pascal did! Dawson isn't a bad boxer, he's a very good one, he wasn't exposed, he just met his match.Also, I guess Dawson had a very good 11th round but some are saying that it wasn't such a good win for Pascal, because with one more round Dawson would have knocked him out. I'm disgusted, I'm not Uatu the Watcher either and sure Dawson was finishing strong, Pascal looked tired but Pascal's legs were still sturdy during the whole 11th round. I may be wrong but when a boxer's legs are still strong he's probably not on the verge of getting KTFO.Finally, my prediction in last Friday's Mailbag wasn't totally accurate (no KO) but I think my prefight analysis wasn't too far off..."if Pascal can start the fight early, explode like he usually does, make himself smaller when getting in, hit the taller man in the body and then rough his way up to get Dawson out of his game plan; then Jean could dictate the terms of the fight."I'd like to go on and on about this but I think I already wrote too much, so I'll skip the P4P issue (that you usually don't like to talk about) and will just wish you a good week. -- Arthur Billette, Quebec City, CanadaThanks for skipping whatever you were going to write about the pound for pound. That mythical list, which is based solely on opinion, gets too much attention and I have nothing to do with THE RING's P4P ratings.I agree that Dawson should receive more credit for being willing to take on such a talented fighter on his home turf. Roy Jones Jr. never left the good ole US of A during his pro career and neither has Mayweather. I also agree that Dawson simply met his match. Pascal equaled Dawson's athletic ability and he employed a good strategy. However, I still think that Dawson could have let his hands go more. I don't think Pascal was out on his feet in the 11th round but I saw them stiffen up when Dawson landed that uppercut. Maybe it was only for a moment, but in boxing that's a long-enough window to make something happen. I'm not saying that Dawson would have KO'd Pascal had he channeled the spirit of Edwin Valero at that moment but I'm not ruling out the possibility. Good job with your prediction. In my mind it was all about "starting early" for Pascal. I didn't think he would take chances in the first few rounds, which is why I was pretty sure that Dawson could box his way to a close decision. I was wrong. Your hunch was right.HBO BE TRIPPIN'Mr. Fischer,So check this out: If you watch the HBO promo for their September 11 BAD broadcast, they mention that Anthony Peterson fights against Brandon Rios. When the screen flashes "Anthony Peterson" they show a picture of Lamont Peterson. Literally. The graphic flashes a picture of Lamont with the name "Anthony Peterson" in print at the same time. Can we get these guys a better publicist? Maybe a win against Rios will help folks distinguish Anthony from his brother. Bad Chad got whupped. Pascal looks fairly sure to lose the belt in his first defense against a certified champ like Joe "Is it 420 yet" Calzaghe, Lucian "dubious win over Andrade" Bute, or I'd-better-not-make-fun-of-him-(even though that fight against Roy Jones was a ripoff)-because-Philly-isn't-far-enough-from-DC-that-he-could-drive-down-and-whup-me-in-front-of-my-wife-kids-and-neighbors-for-talking-poorly-about Bernard Hopkins. Does this mean I won't have to watch Dawson fights on HBO anymore? Celestino Caballero, Paul Williams and Sergio Martinez badly deserve to be whupping butt on TV right now and there have been a lot of "meh" fights on HBO lately. Sorry to stir up HBO hate, but I justify pay TV because they have boxing. Can we get some high end fights like Showtime's giving me with the Super 6 and this Juanma-Marquez nuclear showdown of the ages superfight of the year? Do I have to start watching True Blood to justify my pay subscription? sheesh... -- Enrique, DCIf the only reason you subscribe to HBO is because of its boxing programming you're wasting your money. Personally, I thoroughly enjoy "Entourage" and "The Life and Times of Tim," so I'm happy to pay my monthly fee. I don't know about "True Blood." I won't complain about seeing Dawson on HBO again if he's in with Pascal or Cloud (which will probably produce some true blood for real). Those figure to be good fights. I agree that P-Will and the middleweight champ need to be featured on HBO more often. The network has tried like hell to make Martinez-Williams II and Martinez-Angulo but for whatever reason the fighters or their representatives have resisted. In other words, don't always hate the player, hate the game. I like Pascal's chances vs. Calslappy, Booty and B-flop.The Peterson brothers need more than a publicist. They need a promoter who gives a damn about them. Hopefully, Anthony Peterson makes the most of his opportunity and exposure vs. Brandon Rios. He's got more skill, talent and experience than Bam Bam, but Rios will not be a walk in the park.

Is Adamek America's heavyweight hope?

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 00:30:02 PST

Even Chris Arreola's most loyal fans realize the Southern California slugger is not the American heavyweight hope he was thought to be. If Arreola's weight (250-plus pounds) in his losses to Vitali Klitschko and Tomasz Adamek wasn't an indication of his lack of desire, his recent tougher-than-expected victory over average Manuel Quezada confirmed his perennial under-achiever status.The sad truth for American fans looking for a star-spangled heavyweight savior is that Arreola, THE RING's No. 10-rated contender, is still among the best big men the U.S. has to offer.Eddie Chambers, the only other RING-rated heavyweight from America, is skilled but undersized by modern standards. Undefeated Malik Scott, a talented boxer with modern heavyweight size, is missing in action. Veterans Shannon Briggs and Tony Thompson are getting long in the tooth. Prospects Seth Mitchell and Deontay Wilder are still years away from realizing whatever potential they might possess.So who's out there for patriotic American fans who haven't given up on the sport's glamor division to root for?Kathy Duva would like them to consider Adamek, who fights 6-foot-7 former title challenger Michael Grant on Saturday on pay-per-view television. You read right. Duva, who promotes Adamek, believes the former light heavyweight titleholder and cruiserweight champ is the heavyweight that American fans should get behind.Yes, Adamek (41-1, 27 knockouts) is from Poland. The 33-year-old veteran is proud of it, as are the thousands of Polish and Polish-American fans who pack the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., to watch him fight.However, Adamek, who lives with his wife and two girls in Jersey City, N.J., is also proud to call America his new home."Tomasz has embraced our country," Duva told RingTV.com. "He lives here with his family. His children go to school here. What's more American than coming to this country in search of a better life? We're all the children and grandchildren of immigrants. Some Americans seem to have forgotten this fact, but it's how our country was built."Adamek has been fighting in the U.S. for the past five years, building a very impressive fighter's resume in America. He won a vacant light heavyweight title with a thrilling 12-round decision over Paul Briggs in 2005 in Chicago. He seized THE RING's vacant cruiserweight title by out-pointing Steve Cunningham in a fight-of-the-year candidate in 2008 the Prudential Center. In April, he put on a gutsy boxing clinic against Arreola, upsetting the naturally bigger favorite in Ontario, Calif., to establish himself as bona fide heavyweight contender. "I love living and fighting in America," Adamek told RingTV.com with some translation assistance from New Jersey-based Polish journalist Przemek Garczarczk. "The chance to come here and develop my talent was very important to my boxing career. I've gone further than I ever would have had I stayed in Poland." Nice story. Good for him. But you're still not convinced that Adamek's the guy Americans should root for -- especially against the giant Ukrainians who dominate the heavyweight division, RING champ Wladimir Klitschko and older brother Vitali?Well, consider these points:Adamek is an experienced pro who proved that he can take a heavyweight punch during the hard 12 rounds he went with Arreola. And unlike Arreola, fans can count on Adamek to show up in top condition if he ever gets a shot at either Klitschko. Adamek is 100-percent dedicated to his profession. When he says his goal is to win the heavyweight championship, he means it. He's even serious about Grant, who he views as practice for fighting the 6-foot-7 Klitschkos."Grant is a big man with a pair of very big hands that can hurt me," Adamek said. "I'm not overlooking or underestimating him and I don't pay attention to what others say about him, those who say he's no longer any good. For all I know he could have the best night of his career against me, so I have to be ready for that."Like Chambers, Adamek has speed and mobility that can trouble bigger men. His new head trainer Roger Bloodworth is working on adding more elusiveness to his already-polished technique. Unlike Chambers, who weighed 209 pounds for the 12th-round knockout he suffered against Wladimir Klitschko in March, Adamek can effectively carry around 220 pounds and he appears to be getting stronger with each heavyweight fight."I feel like a completely different fighter from when I first fought at heavyweight against Andrew Golota last year," said Adamek, whose bout with Grant will be his fourth at heavyweight. "It's like night and day. My body is different now. I'm heavier, stronger, and I have power that wasn't there when I fought Golota. I could feel the power during my camp for Grant."Still not sure if Adamek's your man?Consider the fact that he's fun to watch. Apart from Arreola, no other heavyweight delivers the consistent action that Adamek has over three weight classes. Adamek has been in three fight-of-the-year candidates (the war with Cunningham and his two bouts with Briggs) and countless fights that ended with spectacular knockouts.Also make note of the frequency with which Adamek fights. Unlike the Klitschkos, who average two fights a year, Adamek likes to stay busy. Since December of 2007, he's averaged four fights every 12 months, and he has no intention of slowing down, according to Duva."Keeping a busy schedule was always the plan for Adamek; that's part of the reason he signed with us," said Duva, who added that a Nov. 6 date is already scheduled for Adamek's next fight. "He wants to fight as often as possible. The activity keeps him paid well, it gives him an advantage over other heavyweights, most of whom don't fight as often, and it helps move him toward his goal of fighting for the heavyweight title."Adamek's ability to sell tickets in New Jersey helps Duva keep him busy, and she says it's another reason for fans to hop on her fighter's bandwagon."There's no American heavyweight who sells tickets like Adamek does," Duva said. "His fights create a great atmosphere. They're like big parties. They're events. Outside of the champs, what heavyweight does that? The Klitschkos draw in Germany. Maybe David Haye does well in England whenever he decides to fight. But who else? And who can draw in two countries like Adamek? His fight with Golota in Poland sold out a 17,000-seat arena."His fights in the U.S. do well, too.Adamek drew 10,000 for his fight with U.S. Olympian Jason Estrada at the Prudential Center during bitterly cold conditions in February. His fight with Grant (46-3, 32 KOs), which is also at the Prudential Center, is on track to exceed 10,000.Duva believes Adamek can attract crowds outside of New Jersey, too."I think he can do well in any area where there's a big Polish population, such as Chicago," she said. "I know he could sell out Madison Square Garden, and they've approached us about hosting one of his fights. But he can do well even in areas where the Polish population isn't so big. He brought fans out in California." Adamek would probably do decent ratings if the networks would show more of his fights. However, HBO doesn't seem interested in the heavyweights beyond Arreola, and Showtime appears to have given up on the division. The Grant fight is available on an independent pay-per-view broadcast in the U.S.Duva is positive that an American TV audience would back Adamek if the U.S. networks took a chance on him."Tomasz has embraced America, and you'll see on Saturday that our country has already begun to embrace him back," she said. "Not everyone in the Prudential Center is Polish, they're just Polish for the night."

Literary Notes: Thomas Hauser's perspective on boxing books

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 13:18:04 PST

There are hundreds of books about Muhammad Ali, but very little good writing about Sonny Liston. Liston and Ali by Bob Mee (Mainstream Publishing) is very good writing about Liston. Liston's resume before he began boxing included incarceration for a long string of violent offenses (including armed robbery) and work as a strike-breaker for the St. Louis mob. His resume after prison included more run-ins with the law (one of which sent him back behind bars for nine months) and repeated arrests for offenses that ranged from driving while intoxicated to the unlawful possession of a firearm.He was menacing and monosyllabic, what Mee calls, "the flip side of Ali; with no apparent political or religious beliefs, no apparent interest in the well being of anybody outside his own household."But Mee also writes, "I found a sad man made suspicious by a world that gave with one hand and snatched away with both; a man who sought redemption and acceptance by winning the heavyweight championship of the world, but who found only disappointment, rejection, and constant reminders of the moral debt it was felt he owed his country. In the end, I found a disillusioned man, who became what it seemed the world wanted him to be." Mee would have done well to pare down the material about Ali in his book. Some of it is shopworn and, in a few instances (such as the recounting of Ali's travails with the military draft), inaccurate. But when the author turns his spotlight on Liston, his work shines.Liston began boxing in prison, was paroled in 1952, and turned pro after 11 months as an amateur. The prevailing view is that he was backed by the mob from the start of his career and that what followed was just a matter of Liston being upgraded from little mob bosses to big mob bosses.Mee writes extensively about Liston's ties to organized crime and the role of the mob in boxing midway through the 20th century. He also traces Liston's ring exploits, highlighting his two championship victories over Floyd Patterson (both first-round knockouts) followed by his losses to Cassius Clay in Miami Beach and Muhammad Ali in the unlikely venue of Lewiston, Maine.Liston-Patterson II is notable in Mee's eyes, in part, because Patterson failed to land a single punch. Bob Cannobio of CompuBox (who studied the bout on tape) demurs, saying that Floyd landed one of seven blows, compared to 25 of 58 for Liston. Whatever the number, after disposing of Patterson twice, Sonny was widely regarded as the reincarnation of Godzilla. The presumption was that he would reign as champion for years.Mee's book is styled as a study of both Ali and Liston. But its strength is as a portrait of the latter. Mee is sympathetic toward Liston, who conducted himself as though he had a grudge against the world, because of the fighter's origins. There's good material in his review of Sonny's early life in an impoverished area of rural Arkansas. But nothing is more telling than Liston's own testimony before a United States Senate subcommittee investigating the influence of organized crime in boxing:Senator Estes Kefauver: How much education did you get?Liston: I didn't get any.Q: You didn't go to school at all?Liston: No, sir. Too many kids.Q: How many kids were there? Liston: Well, my father had 25.Q: Did you have to work to help support the other 24 children? Liston: That's right.Q: What did you do? Liston: Pick cotton.Q: Do you read at all? Liston: No, sir. I don't.Q: Do you sign your name? Liston: Yes, sir.Q: Can you sign your address? Liston: No, sir.Q: Suppose your share of a fight purse was $25,000 and they handed you a check for it. Could you tell whether they were giving you a check for $25,000? Liston: Not exactly.Q: You would have to depend on somebody else? Liston: Yes, sir. Jack Nilon (who served for several years as Liston's manager) later elaborated on that theme. "Sonny is frustrated because he can't read," Nilon told a companion while sitting at the swimming pool at The Thunderbird Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. "See that sign over there: 'Please register with lifeguard.' Sonny doesn't know what that says. For all he knows, it might say 'Free Drinks.'"In that vein, Liston was also sensitive about his age, which was widely thought to be older than reported. That's because he didn't know for sure how old he was. "I only got one man to thank for what happened to me," Liston said after annihilating Patterson for the second time. "Me. I done it the hard way. Nobody never gave me nothing. There haven't been too many people that meant anything in my life. I've done some rough things, and I've had some rough things done to me."Mee is honest enough that, despite his sympathy for his subject, Liston emerges in the pages of Liston & Ali as a surly, bullying, violent man. As an adult, Sonny moved from St. Louis to Philadelphia to Denver to Las Vegas, and found trouble every step of the way. He had a ravenous appetite for women, and there were times when he abused them. While champion, he drank more than he had before. Then his substance abuse problems grew. Could he have been saved?Before the first Patterson fight, Liston invited a group of boys from a local reform school to watch him train. That same day, he told the media, "If I win this fight, you'll be able to see there is good and bad in everybody. The way things stand now, everybody thinks there is only bad in me." At that point, Liston believed that, if he defeated Patterson, he'd be embraced by society by virtue of his being heavyweight champion of the world. He wasn't. And it hurt. From that point on, Mee notes, "Liston did not really see the need to bother with niceties. And bad became worse." Liston was found sprawled across the bed in his Las Vegas home on Jan. 6, 1971. His body was bloated and decomposing. He'd been dead for approximately eight days. Theories as to the cause of death ranged from a mob rub-out to an accidental overdose of heroin. A coroner's inquest left the issue unresolved.***There's a red flag with flashing warning lights in the opening sentence of Joe Gans by Colleen Aycock and Mark Scott (McFarland & Company). That's the first of several times that the authors refer to Gans as "the greatest boxer who ever lived."Depending on the count, Gans had between 156 and 181 recorded fights between 1894 and 1909. His most storied triumph was a 42-round victory by disqualification over Battling Nelson in Goldfield, Nev., in which he reclaimed the world lightweight crown in 1906. He died of tuberculosis in 1910 at age 35. Gans was great. The question is "how great?" Was he, as Aycock and Scott maintain, "the greatest fighter ever to grace the ring" and "the first to raise his sport to the level of true artistry?" Or are these characterizations hyperbole similar to the authors' claim that Gans vs. Nelson was "the most anticipated mano a mano since Achilles fought Hector the Trojan"?Gans was America's first elite black sports champion. He was a scientific fighter who practiced the art of straight hitting and won national acclaim for his skills. Aycock and Scott provide readers with a nice portrait of time and place, coupled with voluminous data about Gans. But they seem to overreach at times in arriving at their conclusions.For example, they marvel at Gans's ability to fight in championship matches that lasted 20 rounds and more. In their view, there's no way that today's fighters could survive that ordeal. But the pace of fights a century ago was vastly slower than the pace of fights today. And contemporary fighters hit harder than their long-ago predecessors because of advances in conditioning and training, not to mention the additional protection for the hands afforded by modern gloves.On a broader note, readers will appreciate the respect that Aycock and Scott evince for what they call "the underlying dignity" of boxing. And Joe Gans has a nice epilogue that notes, "Every day throughout the world, young men walk for miles, ride a bike or bus or maybe a train, with the hope of one day standing in ring center, fending off blows of a highly trained specialist in the destruction of the human face. In no other sport do the words 'self-reliance' and 'hard work' and 'perseverance' have such relevance. The money fighters earn may be lost, but their accomplishments remain their own."***Rick Folstad is a former fighter who writes for several outlets, including TheSweetScience.com. Fighting out of Minneapolis as a junior-welterweight in the 1970s, he compiled a 20-and-2 record as a pro. The guys he beat were far from world-class. But unlike most writers (myself included), Folstad has been on the hard side of the ropes.Cornered (World Publications) is Folstad's first novel. Set in Miami in the 1970s, it's told in the first person by middleweight prospect Boone Connors. There's a plot involving the mob that's serviceable. But Folstead is at his best (and his best is very good) when he's recreating the gritty realism of boxing.Rather than characterize what Folstad says, I'll let his writing speak for itself: - "If you fight, you don't want to live in Beverly Hills and be surrounded with pretty flowers and clean white walls and marble fountains with fairy statues pissing into the water. If you fight, you want to go to gyms where the windows are dirty and cracked, the water pipes are leaking, and the floors are stained with blood. You want to go where the winos stand outside the door begging for a quarter. A good gym's got to be in the bad part of town. It's got to be crowded with a lot of guys down on their luck, guys who don't give a damn about anything but their next fight and when they're going to get paid. At least that's how I feel." - "If you can take a good punch, you're going to end up taking a lot of them and that's when you get hurt. The fighters who can't take a punch; they don't go too far or get paid too much. But they don't get hurt either. They don't turn forty and suddenly forget their name or where they live or how to get to the grocery store. They just lose a lot of fights. But Teddy wasn't like that. You could hit him across the head with a Louisville Slugger and all he'd do was flinch and smile and then try to take your head off. I figured either he'd win the title by the time he was thirty or have trouble counting to ten by the time he was forty."- "He lay on his back shivering under the hot ring lights, and the stupid-ass referee stood over him and started counting. The only sounds were Spider's heels banging on the canvas and the referee counting him out ... one ... two ... three ... four ... like Spider might actually get up and beat the count. It looked like the referee was standing over a corpse that was still twitching. I think the referee was so scared, he did the only thing he knew how to do."- "Callahan isn't a fighter. You have to have balls and a heart for that. He's just a fat miserable sonofabitch looking for an easy ride. He's always trying to suck out a little blood, a pimp working the fight game instead of the streets. I think it made Callahan feel good about himself, seeing fighters who could have kicked his ass when they were younger, drool and stutter."- "[On the women a fighter meets] If they've been drinking the night you meet them, you never know what's going to happen when you call them. They wake up sober the next day and they might have forgotten what happened the night before, even if nothing did happen. Then you call them and they tell you to get lost without really coming out and telling you to get lost. They can't remember what you look like. That's the worst, them not remembering you." - "Mel smeared a little more Vaseline on my face and asked how I felt. 'Fine,' I told him. 'Got my mouthpiece?' He started looking around to make sure he had everything before we left to go to the ring. I could tell he didn't think I was gonna win." - "I stood in the dark toward the back and looked at the ring, which always calmed me down before a fight. It was a familiar place, like your living room or your own backyard. They could do a lot of things to screw up boxing, but they could only change the ring so much. The ring still had to be square with ropes and corners and a canvas."- "The bell rang. Copper Daniels and I met in the center of the ring and stood there a second, looking at each other like you might look at someone you just met at a party. It was hot and bright under the ring lights and any remaining butterflies were gone. I started circling to my right, which is the wrong way to go when you're fighting a southpaw because you're moving into his power. But I was trying to find that feeling you get when you know right away you can beat the guy standing in front of you, when you know you can knock him on his ass whenever you want. But when you don't get that feeling, when you're not so sure, everything gets kind of tight and turned around."- "You dream of fighting for the title most of your life, but you can't get carried away with the dream. You got to be honest with yourself. How many guys get a chance to be a world champion? So you keep the dream tucked somewhere safe in the back of your head. You hold onto it without getting carried away. For most fighters, it's not going to happen. It's like living in the projects when you're a little kid and wishing for a pony for Christmas. You know you're not going to get a pony because your parents can't afford one. And where are you going to put it, in the kitchen?" Thomas Hauser can be reached by email at thauser@rcn.com. His most recent book (a novel entitled Waiting for Carver Boyd) was published earlier this year by JR Books. Hauser says that Waiting for Carver Boyd is "the best pure boxing writing I've ever done."

RING Theory: Audio show

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 09:42:00 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.Ring Theory

Lara, Despaigne win on WNF

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 21:40:51 PST
Former Cuban amateur stars Erislandy Lara and Yordanis Despaigne won separate bouts in dominating, but different fashion on an ESPN2-televised card Wednesday night from Monroe, La.Lara (13-0, 7 knockouts), a slick southpaw junior middleweight prospect, blasted journeyman Willie Lee in the first round of the scheduled 10-round main event of a special Wednesday Night Fights broadcast. Lara, engaging in his second fight with new trainer Ronnie Shields, put Lee (17-7, 11 KOs) down with a right-left-right combination midway through the opening round. The Louisiana native got up but was quickly overwhelmed against the ropes, forcing referee Laurence Cole to halt the bout. Despaigne (7-0, 4 KOs), a technically-sound light heavyweight physical specimen, dropped previously undefeated Frank Paine (11-1, 10 KOs) with a short left hook in the second round en route to a one-sided 10-round unanimous-decision victory.Despaigne, who won by scores of 100-89, 99-90 and 96-93, outclassed, outboxed and outworked Paine, a game Southern California-based Colombian slugger.

Margarito denied California boxing license

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 16:22:49 PST
Antonio Margarito was denied a professional boxing license by the California State Athletic Commission on Wednesday. The commission voted 5-1 to reject the former welterweight titleholder's application to reinstate the license that was revoked last year after he and his former trainer, Javier Capetillo, were found guilty of attempting to illegally load his handwraps before a bout against Shane Mosley in January of last year. Margarito, who fought in Mexico in May and applied for a Nevada license last month, was allowed to apply for a new license in California after a period of one year. California's ruling could complicate where Margarito's next scheduled fight -- a Nov. 13 showdown against Manny Pacquiao -- takes place. The Tijuana native's promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank Inc., had hoped to stage the pay-per-view event at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, where Pacquiao was able to draw 50,000 against Joshua Clottey in March. Margarito will now have to apply for a Texas license without the blessing of the California commission. State commissions usually uphold the decisions of other commissions, especially in regard to suspended or revoked licenses. However, commissions do occasionally rule against the decisions of other U.S. jurisdictions. The Texas commission licensed now-deceased former junior lightweight titleholder Edwin Valero in 2008, overruling a medical suspension imposed by the New York commission.The Tennessee commission licensed Mike Tyson in 2002 after the former heavyweight champ had been suspended in Nevada, New York and New Jersey. Tyson challenged heavyweight champ Lennox Lewis in Memphis in 2002.

Weekend Preview: Cubans in action

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 23:22:08 PST
WEDNESDAYERISLANDY LARA vs. WILLIE LEERounds / weight class: 10 rounds / junior middleweightsLocation: Monroe, La.Television: ESPN2The backdrop: Lara (12-0, 7 knockouts) gets into two kinds of fights, one-round blowouts and snooze-fests. If the talented 27-year-old southpaw doesn't stop Lee (17-6, 11 KOs) in the first round, fans can expect a long night as the former captain of the Cuban amateur squad jabs his way to an uneventful decision. The good news for folks who like quickie KOs is that Lee has been stopped by every unbeaten prospect he's ever faced.Also fighting: Yordanis Despaigne vs. Frank Paines, 10 rounds, light heavyweightsRating the card: B-. If the main event of this Wednesday Night Fights special does end early fans can expect some quality rounds from the co-featured bout between Despaigne (6-0, 4 KOs) and Paines (11-0, 10 KOs). Despaigne is another Cuban amateur star, but the heavy handed 30-year-old boxer has a more come-forward style than many of his countrymen. Paines is a typical Colombian banger (although he was born in France). No frills, just bombs away (as his nickname "Bomb" would suggest). The Colombian hasn't faced near the level of opposition Despaigne faced in the amateurs or pro ranks, but he's been training in the L.A. area under the eye of veteran trainer Jesse Reid in recent months and has put in tough sparring rounds with the likes of Alfredo Angulo. Despaigne's skills should contain Paines but it's possible that a fun fight could break out.FRIDAYMICHAEL FRANCO vs. ADOLFO LANDEROSRounds / weight class: eight rounds / featherweightsLocation: Tucson, Az.Television: TelefuturaThe backdrop: Franco (16-0, 11 KOs), a popular prospect from Riverside, Calif., has an entertaining style that could win over a television audience. The 23-year-old boxer-puncher got in some "growing" rounds against his last two foes -- experienced veterans Kermin Guardia and Juan Jose Beltran -- and should be able to handle anything Landeros (20-14-1, 9 KOs), a 30-year-old Mexican journeyman, can throw his way.Also fighting: Mercito Gesta vs. Genaro Trazancos, eight rounds, lightweightsRating the card: C. There are two decent prospects on this Solo Boxeo card, Franco and Gesta (18-0-1, 8 KOs). However, both appear to be in "showcase" bouts -- at least on paper. Landeros is best known for being stopped by a single body shot 28 seconds into his ESPN2-televised fight with Guillermo Rigondeaux in February. Trazancos (22-11-1, 13 KOs), who has lost eight of his last 10 bouts, was stopped in the first round by light-punching junior welterweight Mike Dallas Jr. in his last fight. Gesta, a 22-year-old San Diego-based Filipino southpaw who has been training at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, should have little trouble with the 35-year-old Mexican journeyman.SATURDAYTOMAZS ADAMEK vs. MICHAEL GRANTRounds / weight class: 12 rounds / heavyweightsLocation: Newark, N.J.Television: Integrated Sports Pay Per ViewThe backdrop: Adamek (41-1, 27 KOs), the former light heavyweight beltholder and cruiserweight champ, embarks on his fourth heavyweight fight in less than a year with a stay-busy bout against 6-foot-7 former title challenger Grant (46-3, 34 KOs).Also fighting: Joel Julio vs. Jamaal Davis, 10 rounds, junior middleweightsRating the card: B-. The 38-year-old Grant is not taken seriously by most fans and media despite his size advantages and having won eight bouts since his last loss, a seven-round stoppage to Dominick Guinn in 2003. Those who dismiss Grant's chances against the naturally smaller man point out that his last significant victory came against Andrew Golota in November of 1999. Yikes. Still, Adamek, a bona fide attraction at the Prudential Center in Newark, has an entertaining style and should make the fight worth watching. In the co-featured bout of the small pay-per-view broadcast, Julio (35-4, 31 KOs) is in a must-win situation. The former welterweight and junior middleweight contender, who suffered an 11-round knockout to Alfredo Angulo in April, is 1-3 in his last four bouts. The 25-year-old veteran needs to look impressive against Davis (12-6, 6 KOs), a durable middleweight journeyman, to avoid taking on official "gate-keeper" status. Talented New York City-based welterweight prospect Sadam Ali is also on the card.JOKSAN HERNANDEZ vs. MARLON AGUILARRounds / weight class: 10 rounds / junior lightweightsLocation: Tijuana, MexicoTelevision: Fox Sports en EspanolThe backdrop: Hernandez (20-2, 13 KOs) has won three bouts, including late-rounds stoppages of hard-punching prospects Miguel Beltran Jr. (22-0) and Daniel Ruiz (18-2), since dropping a competitive decision to talented Eduardo Escobedo in January. The aggressive 23-year-old Mexican standout will face a similar style in Aguilar (24-9-1, 17 KOs), a 22-year-old brawler from Nicaragua who is always game and has gone competitive rounds with former titleholders Daniel Ponce-DeLeon and Oscar Larios.Also fighting: Guillermo Rigondeaux vs. Jose Angel Beranza, 8 rounds, featherweightsRating the card: B. Hernandez and Aguilar should make for an entertaining fight. Rigondeaux (5-0, 4 KOs), the ultra-talented two-time Olympic champ, makes his first appearance since his February blowout over Landerous and a well-publicized split with trainer Freddie Roach. The crafty Cuban southpaw's fight with Beranza (33-18-2, 26 KOs), a very tough 34-year-old journeyman, will be his first with new trainer Ronnie Shields. Beranza, who has only been stopped three times in his career, should give Rigondeaux some rounds. The Mexican vet's last nine losses have all been distance bouts with top prospects and contenders.Also in action:Marco Huck defends a cruiserweight title against Matt Godfrey in a 12-round main event in Erfurt, Germany, on Saturday.

Gomez off Aug. 26 Fight Night Club

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 10:01:20 PST
Junior welterweight prospect Frankie Gomez is off the August 26 Fight Night Club due to an illness.Gomez (5-0, 5 knockouts), a former amateur star from East Los Angeles, was in the scheduled co-main event against Raul Tovar. Gomez will be replaced by another amateur star, 2008 U.S. Olympian Gary Russell Jr., of Capitol Heights, Md. Russell (11-0, 8 KOs) is scheduled to face tough Guadalupe DeLeon (8-11, 4 KOs), of Mission, Texas, in the six-round featherweight co-main event bout.One of Russell's amateur rivals, Ronny Rios (11-0, 5 KOs), is in the main event, a six-round junior lightweight bout with Leivi Brea (17-8-3, 9 KOs).Gomez is still scheduled to appear on the undercard of the Shane Mosley-Sergio Mora fight on September 18.

Dougie's Monday mailbag

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 01:33:16 PST
PASCAL IS THE MANHey DougI've got to be completely honest, I did not see that happening. I thought that Chad Dawson would win a clear decision, but man am I glad to be wrong. Jean Pascal completely confused Dawson with his unorthodox style and speed. He fought a really smart fight by moving a lot to his left, staying away from Dawson's jab and straight left. The thing that impresses me the most about Pascal, is how much he improved since the loss to Carl Froch. In each of his fights since he showed a little more each time. We knew he had heart and a chin (to all those who might think Pascal was about to be taken out in the eleventh, I just want to point out that he has been hurt a couples of time in his career, but he's never been down and always recovered well) but to see him beat (convincingly) a fighter like Dawson was really impressive. As for Dawson, well he has a lot load of talent but he seems to be lacking something, but lets not forget that he is still young and hey, a loss doesn't end a career. As for the future, I would really like to see Pascal against Tavoris Cloud, the rematch with Dawson, and Lucian Bute take the fighter that gets out of the Super Six (not Green) after round three, then ultimately the fighter that wins it, and then see Pascal and Bute square off (if they keep winning). But hey, I'd settle for them fighting next spring. That would be mad up here. Lastly, I know its two weeks away but just wondering what was your take on Giovani Segura vs Ivan Calderon. I think that youth and power will be too much for Calderon at this stage of his career. Sorry, a little long, as always, have a good week. -- Simon, Montr alThough I considered Pascal a live dog, I also believed Dawson would win a clear decision. I thought Pascal would box cautiously in the early going and not try to check Dawson's chin until the middle rounds. I figured he had the power to hurt the American, but Dawson has always survived rough spots and I thought he'd be the stronger man (in terms of stamina) down the stretch. However, Pascal started throwing power shots with bad intentions in the first round, which earned immediate respect with Dawson, which helped make his lateral movement more effective. He set the tone for the rest of the fight by taking some chances in the first three or four rounds. Good for him. Pascal is deserving of the recognition as the real world light heavyweight champion and I think he injects a lot of excitement into the division.I agree that Pascal has improved with each fight since his fight of the year candidate with Froch in December of 2008.I don't want to have to wait too long to see Pascal and Bute get it on. If his next fight isn't a rematch with Dawson or a showdown with Cloud, I want to see the "Brawl for Montreal." I do not want to see Pascal have to satisfy a mandatory vs. Zsolt Erdei. If the WBC pushes that fight, I hope he dumps the belt. I want entertaining fights, damn it!Although Calderon-Segura matches the ultimate stick-and-move boxer against a sometimes sloppy slugger, I think it will be a very entertaining fight. If it took place just two or three years ago I'd automatically go with the super-slick boxer, but the Puerto Rican vet has been slowing down in recent fights. Segura is the hardest puncher the champ's faced since Hugo Cazares, who gave him trouble. Right now, I see the fight as a toss-up. I'm going to visit the Azteca gym in Bell, Calif., real soon and see how Segura is looking in sparring before I make my prediction.THE NEXT FIGHT AT 175 POUNDSHey Dougie,Well, to start with, Dawson only has himself to blame. I think the way he came back late was part Pascal being knackered and part Bad Chad touching the gas pedal. If he'd planted it to the floor earlier then who knows what might've happened.Oh well, 175 has suddenly become a hot division and could be getting even hotter! Bute hasn't got much to fight down at 168, what with the Super 6 boys all being contractually tied for a little while longer and so getting a fight on with Pascal could be must see at 175 -- sod it, it's now probably in my top 3 fights I want to see made (the other being you know who vs the ego and JuanMa vs Gamboa). I think a couple of the losers will go north to 175 once the Super 6 is done as well. Froch v Pascal deserved a rematch after their FOTY contender first time round and could hopefully get made in the future @ light heavy, etc... Kessler has been at 168 for a while and could move up. All in all the division could be stacked this time next year, not to mention Cloud who with his 100+ punch output per round is going to be entertaining against guys who will look to get in a ruck with him.One final thought. I find it mildly amusing that boxers have been telling all the internet hardmen their opinions don't count, (well they do because we're the big supporters of boxing who pay our money for tickets and PPVs) and yet now 'some' of them are engaging in a war of words via Twitter and other similar networking sites! Hope all is well. -- Geoff, LondonFor the most part, Twitter is for twits. I forgot that I had a Twitter page until you brought this subject up. All I have to say is that both fighters and internet writers can be hyper sensitive at times and both probably have too much free time on their hands. Here's the solution to all of these Twitter battles: Get married and have kids like Yours Truly. Then you won't have time to Tweet. Of all of the potential matchups for Pascal the rematch with Froch is the one that escaped me. That's an obvious ticket seller and must-see TV. Good thinking. Froch has more of a light heavyweight frame than Pascal does. I bet he'd carry the weight well. We'll have to see how he fares in the rest of the Super Six, though. He's locked into Showtime's innovative tournament for the time being and we both know anything can happen. If Froch gets KTFO by Arthur Abraham and then schooled by one of the Dres, that return match with Pascal will definitely lose a lot of luster. GOOD SUMMARYHi Doug,I was at the fight, and your story "Dawson played it safe and paid the price vs. Pascal" is a good summary of what went on, despite the comments of GSP and the rest. Cheers. -- EricThanks Eric. Sometimes a fight can look different live than it does on TV, but I think most fans would agree that Dawson just a little too cautious in the early rounds and not mean enough in that 11th round when he had a golden opportunity to really blow the fight open for himself. Having said that, like Dawson's promoter Gary Shaw, I wanted to see the fight continue after the head butt occurred. I know the cut was bleeding like crazy, but that's why fighters have cutmen. What's the point in having these corner men if they don't a get chance to work on the cuts that fighters sustain? It would have been interesting to see if Dawson's cutman could have controlled the flow of blood enough for the southpaw to fight effectively in the final round of the bout.REMATCH!Dear Dougie,As I saw it Pascal got rounds 1-3, 5, 7 & 8. Chad got 4, 6, 9 & 11. Round 10 I scored a draw for a total of 106-104 in favor a Jean Pascal. It was a good fight. Pascal reminds me a little of Roy Jones for his reflexes and speed. Bad Chad is technically better and I think he was in route to a KO in round 11 or 12. There should be a rematch. What do you think? PS I'm a big fan since your Maxboxing days. -- Enrique, Puerto RicoThanks for the kind words and for reading my stuff all these years, Enrique. I agree that there should be a rematch as soon as possible for the same reasons you stated: the first fight was pretty good and the ending was somewhat inconclusive or at the very least anti-climatic as Gary Shaw said after the fight. My scorecard was close to yours. I scored rounds 1, 2, 3, 7, 8 and 10 for Pascal; rounds 4, 5, 6, 9, and 11 for Dawson. I saw a close fight. I don't know if Dawson could have stopped Pascal in the 11th round, but it sure looked like the Canadian was quickly running out of gas and was clearly buzzed twice. Maybe Dawson could have closed the show in that round. We'll never know because he didn't jump Pascal's ass when the poor man's RJJ was on stiff legs. Maybe he could have stopped Pascal in the 12th but we'll never know because the accidental headbutt and the doctor and ref took him out of the fight before the final round.REMATCH NEEDEDDear Doug,I'd expected another boring Dawson UD. I agreed with the 106-103 score for Pascal. I'd like to see a rematch, though, as I thought that Pascal was exhausted. I think there's a real chance Dawson could've gotten to him in the last round. I have no idea why Dawson didn't follow up when he had Pascal hurt in both 9 and 11 (and even in 4, which I thought Pascal stole). I liked Merchant's idea: Cloud/Dawson. How about a 175 "Final Four" in which Pascal would fight Bute in the other half? The winners could meet next spring.One question: I thought that, in WBC title fights outside the U.S., the uninjured fighter is docked a point for a butt. When it happened, I was thinking to myself that we might have a draw if two judges had it 6-5 Pascal because of the point deduction. Did the WBC scrap that absurd rule? I hope so. Take care. -- PatrickI don't think the WBC has scrapped that silly accidental headbutt-point deduction rule that saved Julio Cesar Chavez's butt in his rematch with Frankie Randall. I recall Antonio DeMarco losing a point in that round his elbow slashed open the late Edwin Valero's forehead in their match that took place in February. I think Pascal was so comfortably ahead on the official cards that the point deduction didn't matter. I could be wrong.A light heavyweight "final four," huh. I like it! Heck, I think there could be Super Six at 175 pounds (although if HBO were to put it on it couldn't be the round robin format Showtime came up with). Pascal, Dawson, Cloud, Bute, Shumenov, and either Glen Johnson, Gabriel Campillo or another 168-pound contender (preferably whoever wins the Super Six, but Librado Andrade would be welcome, especially given his history in Montreal, where I have to believe many fights would take place).NAIL ON THE HEADYour Pascal-Dawson fight report echoed my exact thoughts throughout the bout: What the hell was Dawson waiting for? Why did he wait to throw his hardest punches until the 11th round? Frankly, if that was by design, the fight plan sucked. Perhaps fighting a bunch of slower, older guys gave him a false sense of security that he can win every fight in a safety-first manner. If that's the case, too bad; sometimes a boxer like Dawson with extraordinary talent has to use at least some heart and balls and take a stand. It seems like he waited way too long to even try to let Pascal know who was boss... and it wasn't Dawson for the first 10 rounds. -- GordonAgreed.ELOY PEREZWhat's up Dougie? I hope you got a chance to see Eloy's performance via DVR. I thought he looked very good. He took out a guy no one has ever taken out before! I can't wait to see him take on Roman Martinez next year. A few more Telefutura fights and maybe an ESPN joint in there and the lil' muscle man will be in high demand to take on the PR slugger. What do you think?BTW, the whole gang from Dave's was in full support live at the bull ring (an awesome place to have a fight) as many of 68 people from Salinas and a handfull of people from Washington made the long trek to Pico Rivera to see The Prince in action. A tribute to his loyal fans. Take care Doug.(P.S. I'm going to Rios/Peterson and Mosley/Mora how bout you?) -- Sam GarciaI'll be watching Brandon Rios vs. Anthony Peterson (the co-feature to the Yuriorkis Gamboa-Orlando Salido fight) on TV. That's a scrap to sit back and drink beer to if there ever was one. I'm not sure if I'm covering Mosley-Mora of if I'll be at the JuanMa Lopez-Rafa Marquez in Las Vegas that night (Sept. 18)I watched Perez do his thing Friday. I could tell that he was just a little bit tight in the opening rounds because of the cameras, but he got into his rhythm real quick with that snappy jab and block-counters in close. Once he started dropping his combos I wasn't surprised that he stopped Derrick Campos. The form he showed in his sparring sessions with Brandon Rios suggests a very bright future. The 130-pound division is wide open and in need of some new blood. I think Perez can be a player if he stays busy and continues to learn his craft. Maybe this time next year we'll all be in Puerto Rico for what I think could be a very entertaining challenge of Rocky Martinez, one of the most exciting fighters in the sport.GOOD FIGHT, NO HOME COOKINGI just got home from the Jean Pascal-Chad Dawson fight and dumb as it might sound, one of the highlights for me tonight was seeing Michael Buffer announce live. Say what you want about him and HBO, they know how to put on a show. Doug, what a blast I had. This was a good fight with lots of skills and action and that was NOT a hometown decision because I felt Pascal clearly won at least 6 of the 11 rds including the first 3.I've known Jean Pascal from the Ring83 and Grant Bros gyms. I can't say that we are friends or that I really liked him but he takes on the challenges and performs in the ring so I have to call myself a fan now.Dawson clearly has trouble with explosive speed and awkward movement, not to mention solid punches landing on his chin. I think he might do himself a favor and step out of his "pure boxer" identity and be a little more aggressive because he had some success when he went on the offensive, in any case... I think Pascal-Bute here would be monumental! And u better come for that one Doug! The boxing crowd is different than the hockey crowd but both go nuts and it's a blast. -- Steve, MontrealCount me in, Steve. I'll be there for Pascal-Bute whenever that fight is made.Dawson does indeed have trouble with explosive speed and awkward movement but it doesn't overwhelm him. He can overcome it if he steps his pressure up a little more and is confident enough to be busier with his fists.It would be foolish for anyone to count Dawson out in the rematch (and I'm not saying that you are).Oh, and don't feel dumb if you got a shiver down your spine when Buffer announced the fighters and gave his trademark catchphrase. I've probably heard it live 100 times and I still get goose bumps before the really big fights. Pascal-Dawson was a major fight for Montreal and a special night for one of its fighters and its boxing fans. I've never received so many emails from Montreal fans as I did Saturday night and throughout the day on Sunday. You guys are very proud of your light heavyweight champion and you should be. He's a badass and he represents Montreal, Quebec, and Canada very well. However, I think you guys are going to have to learn to share the champ because Pascal made a lot of fans outside of Montreal with his performance on Saturday.Doug Fischer can be contacted at dougiefischer@yahoo.com

Lara's style keeps him in Gamboa's shadow

Sun, 15 Aug 2010 21:40:29 PST
Of the most recent pack of very good fighters to trade the suffocating drabness of Cuba for the drab tackiness of America, featherweight Yuriorkis Gamboa has received the most attention. The reasons are plain to see: he's explosive, fearless, exceptionally fast, and more vulnerable than you'd expect of one so prodigiously gifted. Put this all together and you've got a very exciting, very marketable prizefighter. Gamboa's compatriot, junior middleweight Erislandy Lara, who fights on Wednesday night on ESPN2, isn't nearly the puncher that Gamboa is. He's not as fast or as dynamic or as reckless; he doesn't take a lot of chances. Moreover, he's a southpaw, which is almost never a good thing from a fan's perspective.In the marketing business they'd say Gamboa is "sexy." Unfortunately for Lara, in all of boxing history there might not be a single southpaw counter puncher one would describe using that term. That doesn't mean he's not just as good as Gamboa is, or better even, although it wouldn't seem it comparing their records. Gamboa, who is 18-0 with 15 knockouts, has been moved much faster, already beating two experienced, undefeated fighters in Marco Ramirez (KO 2) and Jonathan Victor Barros (W 12). He already has some version or another of an alphabet title, for whatever that's worth, and THE RING rates him sixth among the world's 126-pounders.By comparison, Lara, who is 12-0 with seven knockouts, is taking the scenic route; the best fighter he's faced is Contender season 2 winner Grady Brewer, who he stopped in 10 rounds in January.His opponent Wednesday night, Willie Lee of Gulfport, Mississippi, is 17-6 with 11 knockouts. Lee's been stopped five times, most recently by promising young Vanes Martirosyan. He is representative of the majority of Lara's opponents. Lara would like him to be the last journeyman type he faces."I feel that I am ready for a title right now," Lara said recently. "I have 12 professional fights and over 300 amateur fights. But we know that this is a business and some fighters have the luxury of not being forced to fight the best. I have been after (Alfredo) Angulo, (Sergio) Martinez, (Kermit) Cintron, (Cornelius) Bundrage, or any other champion out there that is willing to give me the opportunity."Unless the rest of the world's junior middleweights leap like 154-pound lemmings off a cliff, it's unlikely Lara will get his wish. He just doesn't have Gamboa's appeal, and appeal equals big fights. Veteran trainer Joe Goossen, who trained the excellent Cuban southpaw Joel Casamayor for much of his career, understands why fans and media are drawn more to Gamboa. "Gamboa's fast, hard-hitting, very quick on his feet, and he's gotten better," Goossen told RingTV.com. "He had a few leftover amateur traits which got him dropped a few times, but he gets up and knocks you out. He brings that type of excitement to the ring which I love. He's not afraid to put himself in the danger zone. He'll throw caution to the wind, which you've got to love. You're almost certain to lose against a guy like Gamboa. "The kid's a powerhouse," Goossen continued. "He's built like a tank, he's just incredible -- very athletic, agile, and again, explosive punching power. Give him three years and he'll be the most dangerous guy on the planet." Goossen thinks highly of Lara too, but in a different way."He's just as cunning and calculating as Casamayor, a very smooth guy. He's the type of guy I've trained before -- Michael Nunn, Casamayor, Frank Liles, and other southpaws that brought a lot to the table," Goossen said."In his pro debut he looked a lot more polished than Gamboa, but Gamboa is catching up. When Gamboa gets to that point (that Lara is), one star will be shining brightly and one will be fading. Even though a style like (Lara's) will keep you in the business for a long time, I just don't see the excitement factor there with Lara like I do with Gamboa."Goossen noted that even though Lara has been fed a mostly steady stream of journeymen, just over half his wins are by knockout. When he starts fighting better guys, that kayo percentage will drop even lower. And that hurts him at the box office."People like a little mystery with what's going to happen," Goossen said. "With a guy like Gamboa you know there's going to be excitement. With Lara I don't think you're ever really going to see that. He's a winner and will probably continue to win, he just won't be knocking out the good guys."Certainly there's no crime in being more boxer than puncher. Floyd Mayweather has done pretty well for himself, as has Ivan Calderon, Juan Manuel Marquez, Chad Dawson, and Tim Bradley to name a few. Casamayor, never a huge puncher, had a wonderful career, one that may see him into the Hall of Fame. And because he's started slower than his flashier compatriot and tends to go by the book does not mean necessarily that Lara will have a less successful career. There is something to be said for the man who relies more on technique and fundamentals and less on raw physical ability. A good, but not perfect corollary might be Roy Jones and Bernard Hopkins. Nevertheless, under-appreciated expertise is an old story. We'll see sooner or later whether it is Lara's. RANDOM OBSERVATIONSYou can't expect a guy to change his temperament mid-fight, but it sure would have helped Chad Dawson if just for a straight minute or two he could have channeled a little Marvin Johnson instead of letting Jean Pascal off the hook over and over...Dawson clearly was thrown off by Pascal's herky-jerky awkwardness. You handle a guy like that by getting in his grill and staying there. That's what Dawson was unwilling to do and that's why he lost...If Dawson showed as much fire during the fight as he did during the postfight interview with Larry Merchant, he'd have stopped Pascal in about five rounds...Still, Merchant's well-documented contempt for any fighter who doesn't subscribe to the Arturo Gatti school of defense has gotten exceedingly tiresome...Friday Night Fights has been on quite a run with their prelims lately. Josesito Lopez-Marvin Cordova was a terrific scrap...Let me make sure I understand: Chris Arreola's loss to Vitali Klitschko taught him to dedicate himself to the sport. The loss to Tomasz Adamek taught him to really dedicate himself. We can only assume the next loss will teach him to be really really dedicated...Seriously, Arreola and Manuel Quezada looked like a pair of sea cows fighting over a patch of turtle grass, but Arreola threw 988 punches according to CompuBox. That proves he was in shape, Teddy Atlas' labored analogies notwithstanding...Either way, I'm rooting for Arreola to get another big fight on HBO. He's a lot more fun when he can curse to his heart's content...The next episode of Ring Theory will feature RING editor-in-chief Nigel Collins, just back from Quebec where he presented Pascal with the RING belt. Look for the show later this week.Bill Dettloff, THE RING magazine's Senior Writer, is the co-author, along with Joe Frazier, of "Box Like the Pros." He is currently working on a biography of Ezzard Charles. Bill can be contacted at dettloff@ptd.net

Vazquez beats Kim for lightweight belt

Sun, 15 Aug 2010 00:59:15 PST
Miguel Vazquez out-classes Korean banger Ji-Hoon Kim over 12 rounds to earn a vacant lightweight title in the main event of a Fox Sports Net-televised card from Laredo, Texas, on Saturday.Vazquez (26-3, 12 KOs), who turned heads by out-pointing then-undefeated Breidis Prescott last year, won by scores of 119-109, 120-108 and 118-110.The Southern California-based Mexican dominated Kim (21-6, 18 KOs) with an educated jab, lateral movement and by tying up the aggressive fighter on the inside. In the co-featured bout of the Top Rank Live broadcast undefeated featherweight prospect Miguel Garcia earned a mandatory shot at one of the alphabet titles by stopping still-serviceable fringe contender Cornelius lock in the 11th round of a good fight. Garcia (23-0, 19 KOs) dropped Lock (19-6-1, 12 KOs) in the third round and proceeded to systematically punish the game southpaw over the second half of the fight until it was waved off at 1:09 of the 11th round.

Perez, Molina score TKOs

Sat, 14 Aug 2010 01:14:45 PST
Junior lightweight prospect Eloy Perez dominated Derrick Camps to a fifth-round technical stoppage in the co-feature to a Telefutura-televised card from Pico Rivera, Calif., on Friday.Perez (18-0-2, 5 knockouts), of Salinas, Calif., controlled the fight with a crisp, educated jab and blocked and counter punched well whenever Campos (20-9, 11 KOs), of Topeka, Kansas, tried to get off. Perez buckled the legs of Campos with a cross-hook combination at the start of the fifth and punished his retreating opponent for the rest of the round until the referee waved the bout off at the 2:02 mark.In the co-featured bout of the Solo Boxeo broadcast, lightweight prospect Carlos Molina out-classed game Glen Gonzalez to a TKO when Gonzalez stayed on his stool following the fifth round.Molina, of Rosemead, Calif., was the aggressor and the sharper boxer throughout the bout. Gonazlez, a southpaw from Salinas by way of the Philippines, did his best to compete with Molina but consistently beat to the punch until a right hand opened a nasty cut over his right eye. Gonzalez's corner kept him on his stool after the fifth.

Arreola out-points Quezada on FNF

Fri, 13 Aug 2010 22:35:33 PST
Chris Arreola got back on the winning track with a lopsided decision victory over Manuel Quezada in the 12-round main event of an ESPN2-televised card from Ontario, Calif., on Friday, but he didn't do much to change his image as an underachieving heavyweight contender. Arreola (29-2, 26 knockouts) beat Quezada by scores of 118-107 (twice) and 117-108, dropping the fringe contender three times en route, but he looked like the loser after the brisk and busy 12 rounder. The 29-year-old L.A. native's face was almost as bloody and lumpy as it was following his losses to Vitali Klitschko and Tomasz Adamek, who out pointed him in April. Arreola admits to skipping out on at least half of his training camp for the Adamek fight.He told the media that he's finally getting serious about his career prior to Friday's fight but he weighed in six pounds heavier (256 pounds) for Quezada than he had for Adamek.For five rounds he used his weight to his advantage, shoving the 28-pounds lighter Quezada (29-6, 18 KOs) into the ropes behind a busy jab, hooks and overhand rights. However, Arreola slowed down in rounds six, seven and eight. And though Quezada, a 32-year-old former kick boxer from Wasco, Calif., fought like he was sleep walking he still managed to bust up Arreola's face.In the ninth round, Arreola finally shifted gears, landing hard combinations from angles. A right to the temple and a left uppercut put Quezada down midway through the round. Three short, swatting hooks put Quezada down again before the bell. It appeared that Arreola was going to score a late stoppage, probably in the 10th round, but he either consciously took his foot off the gas pedal (perhaps to spare his sore hands, which were hurt in his fight with Adamek and apparently re-injured during this fight) or simply punched himself out. Whatever the case, Arreola let his opponent back into the fight. Quezada landed quality punches in rounds 10 and 11. In the 12th, Arreola proved once again that he has heart regardless of his weight or conditioning by swarming all over Quezada until he put him down for the third time in the bout, but it was still an underwhelming performance.Arreola acknowledged this during his post-fight interview with ESPN's Jaime Mota. "It was about a C-," Arreola said when asked to evaluate his performance. The potential is still there. Arreola threw 988 punches, the third highest output from a heavyweight over 12 rounds ever recorded by CompuBox. He exhibited a nice jab in the early rounds and solid combinations late in the fight. Only Arreola knows how good he could be if he put in the work to fight in the 240-pound range. In the co-featured bout of the Friday Night Fights broadcast, Riverside, California's Josesito Lopez outworked and Colorado's Marvin Cordova to a unanimous eight-round decision in fast-paced, competitive junior welterweight fight.Lopez (27-3, 15 KOs), who won by scores of 78-73 (twice) and 77-74, pressed the action with a consistent jab and body attack in the first four rounds of the bout, while Cordova (21-2-1, 11 KOs) was content to wait for counter-punch opportunities. However, Cordova stepped up his activity late in the fifth round. Fighting with a battered face, Cordova landed a left to the body that doubled Lopez over in the sixth and took over the final two rounds of the bout by landing the harder, more accurate punches.Cordova doubled Lopez over with another body shot in the eighth round but it was below the belt, prompting referee Pat Russell to dock the Coloradan a point.

New Faces: Eloy Perez

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 23:42:52 PST
Eloy Perez spent one month in Oxnard, Calif., preparing for his Telefutura-televised bout with Derrick Campos on Friday. During that time, Perez, a crafty counterpuncher with strong inside fighting skills, sparred three times a week with Brandon Rios, a body-punching pressure fighter who happens to be THE RING's No. 10-rated lightweight. As evidenced by this footage -- taken from their second-to-last session -- Perez and Rios, who is preparing for a title-elimination bout against Anthony Peterson on Sept. 11, gave each other good work. Thanks to Rios' trainer Robert Garcia, owner of the gym, for allowing RingTV.com a sneak peak at his fighter's training, and to Perez's trainers Max and Sam Garcia (no relation) for the invitation.ELOY PEREZVital Statistics:Age: 23Hometown: Salinas, Calif.Weight class: junior lightweightHeight / reach: 5-6 / 69 inches Amateur record: 53-5Turned pro: 2005Pro record: 17-0-2, 4 knockoutsTrainer: Max Garcia (Sam Garcia, Dean Familiton)Managers: Kathy GarciaPromoter: Golden Boy PromotionsBest night of pro career: Got up from two knockdowns to drop talented foe Dannie Williams (12-0, 10 knockouts) in the wild early rounds of their 10-round thriller and then outclassed his fellow prospect with a sharp jab, smart pressure and counter punches down the stretch of their special attraction at the Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills last September.Worst night of pro career: Struggled with journeyman Carlos Vinan (7-4-2, 1 KO), who held Perez to an eight-round split draw in Sacramento in August of 2007. Perez outboxed Vinan but gave ground to the tough guy and allowed himself to be outworked.Next fight: Faces Derrick Campos (20-8, 11 KOs) in the eight-round main event of a Telefutura-televised card from Pico Rivera, Calif. Campos, a solid journeyman, has lost his last two bouts, competitive decisions to prospects Archie Ray Marquez and Andrei Isaeu. He dropped a 12-round decision to Dmitriy Salita in 2008.Why he's a prospect: Perez combines impressive athletic ability with a strong work ethic and old-school boxing technique. He had a solid amateur career highlighted by two California state Golden Gloves titles and a gold medal at the 2004 Ringside world championships (men's senior open 132-pound division). He has developed into a versatile young pro who is as comfortable slipping shots and counter punching from a distance as he is pressure fighting and attacking the body in close. He's defeated fellow prospects (Williams, Juan Santiago and David Rodela) and experienced pro Gilberto Sanchez Leon (29-6-2) in his last four bouts.Why he's a suspect: At times Perez focuses too much on defense, allowing himself to be out hustled (as he was in the two draws on his record). Other times he forgoes his excellent jab and defensive prowess to stand and trade with opponents, which made for difficult fights with harder punchers (Williams) and bigger men (Rodela). At 5-foot-6, he is almost always at a height disadvantage. Lacks one-punch power.Story lines: A hyper-active child born in the small one-street town of Rochester, Wash., Perez was introduced to the sport in his early teens to help keep him out of trouble. A natural athlete, he quickly developed into one of the better amateur boxers in the Pacific Northwest around the same time he was a standout running back on his high school football team. He turned pro on his 18th birthday and engaged in five bouts before he graduated from Rainier High School in Rainier, Washington. (He fought in his sixth pro bout the day after graduation). Local legend has it that Perez rushed for 228 yards in a high school game the day before he won his third pro bout. In mid-2006, Perez caught the attention of boxing trainer Max Garcia, who brought the young pro to Salinas, Calif., to spar former fringe contender Jesus Rodriguez. Garcia was so impressed he brought in legendary boxing sage Don Familiton to help instruct Perez. The late "Coach Familiton," then 77 years old, instilled an old-school boxing foundation and philosophy in the youth, who was eager to learn and continues to develop and advance under the guidance of Familton's son Dean and the Garcia clan, who moved Perez to Salinas, Calif., a tough little central coast town that has adopted him. Fight-by-fight record2005June 11 Geronimo Rosario KO 1 Oct. 1 Tariq Jooya UD 4Oct. 22 Ivan Korotkov UD 4Dec. 3 Darren Darby UD 4 2006Feb. 11 Cesar Olmedo UD 4June 10 Cesar Olmedo UD 6Sept. 9 Kevin Carmody Draw 8Oct. 7 Jorge Perez NC 32007Feb. 10 Juan Martinez UD 8May 24 Barbaro Zepeda UD 6Aug. 10 Carlos Vinan Draw 8Sept. 13 Odilon Rivera UD 6Oct. 26 Ron Boyd KO 3 2008June 5 Jorge Pimentel UD 8Feb. 1 Juan Jaramillo UD 102009March 7 Gabe Garcia TKO 4Sept. 12 Dannie Williams UD 10 Dec. 4 Juan Santiago RTD 5 2010Jan. 29 David Rodela UD 10 May 1 Gilberto Sanchez Leon MD 10

The Empty Seat Dilemma: Why So Many Top Fighters Can�t Sell Tickets

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 22:07:56 PST
THE RING rates Paul Williams as the No. 2 middleweight in its 160-pound rankings and the No. 7 fighter, pound for pound, but the entertaining three-division threat, who has become an HBO fighter, has a hard time attracting fans to his fights. Photo / Craig Bennett-Fightwireimages.comIt's hard to imagine that there's an elephant in the room in the boxing business, where everything is either shoved down your throat or kept hidden like a secret of national importance, but there is one, and it's this: Some of the best fighters in the world couldn't draw flies to a garbage dump, to use the phrase, more or less, that Don King in better days once employed to describe the appeal of Evander Holyfield.Many fight fans satisfy their fix watching fights on HBO or Showtime or ESPN, and as a result frequently don't notice that the fighters they see time after time after time are playing to largely empty rooms in near-abandoned casinos. And it's not just the journeymen or the neophytes or the guys on their way down -- it's guys you know and have seen a bunch of times.It's Paul Williams, who could sell out entire stadiums if you could charge his fans extra seats for their dedication to him, but as it is now couldn't fill a phone booth if you spotted him John Goodman. According to THE RING, Williams is the seventh best fighter in the world, pound-for-pound.The undefeated Chad Dawson, THE RING'S No. 1-rated light heavyweight who fights Jean Pascal for the magazine's vacant 175-pound title on Saturday, isn't much better than Williams when it comes to putting butts in seats. Dawson is No. 6 in THE RING'S pound-for-ound ratings.There are others in similar boats: the excellent, undefeated Tim Bradley, fast becoming a star in the sport but who sells tickets like Wladimir Klitschko takes chances; Nonito Donaire, one of the best little men on the planet but one who would draw more live spectators as a horse jockey than a fighter; Andre Berto, maybe the best young 147-pounder in the game who couldn't wrangle even the Haitian disaster into a higher profile, though not for lack of trying; and top-ranked cruiserweight Steve Cunningham, who said to hell with it and took his business to Europe, thank you very much.Some of this has to do with fighting style. Most of these guys are boxers or boxer-punchers. And we all know who the sport's biggest ticket sellers always have been. Think Dempsey. Think Louis and Marciano. Think Tyson. Scientists are anathema to the masses. Veterans recall that legendary matchmaker Teddy Brenner once was asked why he wouldn't put the highly cerebral light heavyweight champion Harold Johnson on television.Brenner is purported to have responded, "Harold Johnson represents perfection in the art of boxing, and there is no room in this world for perfection."Few would call any of today's fighters perfect, but certainly they don't have the style most fans find most appealing."People want to see knockouts, beat'em-down boxers, like my guy Alfredo Angulo," Mike Criscio, who manages Dawson and Angulo, told THE RING. "Alfredo can sell 10 times as many tickets as Chad can because he goes out there and tries to take somebody's head off, whereas Chad is more of a boxer than a big puncher."Fair enough. But Floyd Mayweather, whose style is so measured he makes most other fighters look like Luis Firpo in comparison, is, along with Manny Pacquiao, the biggest pay-per-view star in the business. Criscio said it's because of how hard Mayweather has worked to make himself a star."Floyd Mayweather has a name. He built his name. He goes everywhere, where Chad, for instance, is more humble and he doesn't like to show up at a lot of things. He's more laid back where Floyd is more in your face," Criscio said. "And I think Floyd's doing it right. I think the more people that know you, the more tickets you're going to sell. The more people know who you are, the better it is. It's like pulling teeth sometimes with Chad to get him to go places."Criscio said all these guys who are good fighters have one thing in common: relatively passive personalities. And that hurts them."It's a lot to do with being in your face. Berto is not in your face. Paul Williams is not in your face. Cunningham is definitely not in your face," Criscio said. "They're all laid back and have passive attitudes, where again, Mayweather is in your face."It's no secret that Mayweather likes the camera more than all the Kardashian sisters combined, and his willingness to be in front of them, even when he's playing the villain, takes him a long way. But there was a time when he sold tickets no better than does Williams or Berto. What changed?"Mayweather is a good ticket seller but look at the opponents: Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Juan Manuel Marquez," said legendary West coast promoter Don Chargin. "A real drawing card is one that can fight anyone and do it. That's why when I look at the figures on Oscar, my God. But Mayweather needs the right opponent."Chargin said that, generally, trying to pin down what makes one fighter a big box office attraction and another a box office dud is one of the more perplexing things about this business. And it rarely has much to do with the quality of the fighter."This is something that's an amazing thing in boxing," he said. "Sometimes you go to a fight and there will be some preliminary kid who looks fairly good, but all of the sudden you see people getting excited. (Berto, Williams, and Bradley) are all good fighters, but don't have that charisma."Years ago we had this kid in my hometown, Santa Fe (California), named Eddie Chavez. He turned into a tremendous drawing card for the times, and from the day he had his first fight, I used to look around and people would be standing and cheering and it carried through his whole career," Chargin said."Why? That's the thing that nobody could answer. Why do certain people have that? Look at De La Hoya when he started. From an amateur he got people excited. And look at Bernard Hopkins. Good fighter. But he doesn't sell."Longtime manager Bob Spagnola moved Orlando Canizales in the 1980s and '90s and was Joe Mesi's agent and adviser. Today he handles Chris Henry and prospect Austin Trout. He told THE RING that it's about more than random luck and charisma. Whether or not a fighter can sell tickets depends largely on how he's handled by his management team."When I found out Joe Mesi was half Polish and half Sicilian, I knew that he was related to about 40 percent of the people in the greater metropolitan Buffalo area," Spagnola said. "And they had great history up there. Obviously you have to work it, but look at Dawson. Jimmy Burchfield had him. Jimmy Burchfield has had guys like Pazienza, who drew big crowds up there in New England, but Dawson flew the coop and got with another promoter who has had him all over the place."You have to develop a market, you have to work a market. You can't just show up," said Spagnola. "I have my own little axiom: If you don't mean anything in your own hometown, you don't mean anything anywhere. Some of these guys don't mean anything in their hometowns. Just because you can jump to the front of the line and be on HBO -- listen, this is really an indictment on them. Because they've got all these stars that no one wants to see."This is an important point. HBO has gotten heat over the last several years for its reliance on Al Haymon, who guides the fortunes of Williams, Berto, and others. Critics say Haymon's relationship with HBO creates favoritism and impedes the progress of other fighters who might be more deserving of HBO's air."This is who we are being told (by HBO) is the future of boxing," Spagnola said. "That's who we pay our subscription premiums to, right? If that's it, we're kind of not interested. Listen, they're making money on the bigger fights, but it's killing us, and it's going to kill us. It's always been about building heroes."Some of this, I don't know who's making these decisions, but you look at guys with no history in boxing at all and all of the sudden they're running s___," Spagnola said. "And I know they went to Harvard and to Dartmouth, but that doesn't necessarily prepare you for this job."Something else Berto, Williams, Bradley, and Dawson have in common: They're all African-American. There is a sentiment in boxing that blacks in America have left the sport in droves and that Latin Americans are the dominant ethnic group watching the sport. Don Elbaum, the veteran matchmaker and promoter, told THE RING that when he does shows at the Blue Horizon in Philadelphia, there are more white fans in the crowd than black. And that was never the case in the past.Promoter Mike Acri, who shrewdly guided the last useful years of Roberto Duran and Hector Camacho and promotes shows throughout the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, area, said it's simple economics: that because African-Americans generally are lower on the socio-economic scale, they have less money to spend on going to the fights. But that's no reason these guys can't sell tickets."Williams and Berto are good but they haven't put on really exciting fights yet, except for Williams and (Sergio) Martinez," Acri said. "Bradley might be the best guy in the division, but you need a big fight to make you. You have to have someone to dance with. For Bradley, there's no one to dance with on a major level. He needs a defining fight and a dance partner."And Cunningham?"He's in a division where no one gives a damn," Acri said. "He had a great fight with (Tomasz) Adamek but who saw it? He could be in 10 fights with Adamek and no one would know him. And that's the promoter's fault. But even if he did get exposure, it doesn't mean he can draw. Mayweather couldn't draw s___ until he got into big fights. Cunningham and Bradley need defining fights."Chargin believes the right African-American fighter will draw everybody, not just blacks."That's the thing. Latinos are going to draw the Mexicans and that's it. Same with Puerto Ricans. But a good black fighter, if he does that crossover thing, everyone will want to see him. Tyson had a black following, a white following. Everybody wanted to see him fight. (Muhammad) Ali was the last guy who really drew black fans. When he fought it was an event."Spagnola sees the problem as the larger issue of the American boxing bosses not doing enough to build young fighters into stars and building ethic rivalries. He's appalled at the current state of the game."Our business has always been pitting groups on the lower socio-economic tiers against each other. At one time there were Jews and Irish, then Italians worked their way in, then African-Americans, and it was always pitting them against each other and the fans supporting their own," he said."Listen, you're watching American television, but what kids do you see that are American? If somebody had told me 30 years ago that there was going to be a brown-haired, blue-eyed heavyweight champion of the world who was 6-foot-4, 230 pounds and he was going to fight out in Vegas and no one was going to come and no one was going to care, I would have told them they were crazy. His name was (Oleg) Maskaev."Spagnola recalled watching the British recover from a similar state a couple decades ago."In England, about 25 years ago, they held the WBC convention in London. The British didn't have a good enough guy to be champion of the world, so they were hurting. They really didn't have anybody, their amateurs were a mess, kind of like ours are now, and they just had nothing," Spagnola recalled."So listen to what they did: they stopped giving all their money to the WBC and they branched out to two fledgling organizations and they started building local kids. They didn't go to Russia to get their fighters. They stayed at home. And they developed kids, because the British love boxing, they sponsor it and the TV pays for it. They developed these great kids and these great rivalries and these great fights and everybody made great amounts of money. That's the way boxing has always been: build up the young on the past generations. But we're not doing any of that."Still, some guys make it work. Miguel Cotto is as dependable a draw as you could want. Adamek too. And Mayweather and Pacquiao. And young Fernando Guerrero. Arturo Gatti filled the Atlantic City Convention Center for years. Kelly Pavlik does all right too.In other countries heroes abound. Lucian Bute, not even a Canadian, sells out stadiums in Montreal. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. has been headlining his own pay-per-view cards for years now. The Klitschko brothers can do 60,000 in a stadium in Germany.If it's any consolation to today's good American fighters that can't put butts in seats, they're not alone. Elbaum said a couple fighters from the past stand out in that regard."Some have it, some don't. Jimmy Carter was a great lightweight. No one gave a s____ about Carter, but my God this guy could fight. Joe Brown, the same situation. Brown and Carter would easily go through 95 percent of the guys today in their weight class. And they were lousy draws. The only time they were draws was when they fought somebody who had appeal."Elbaum said Larry Holmes suffered the same malady, as did Joey Maxim. Holmes needed Gerry Cooney to sell a lot of tickets, and Maxim needed Archie Moore or Ray Robinson. But other guys were naturals."Then you take a guy like Art Aragon. He made it because of his mouth, his style, his cockiness," Elbaum said. "He had a Hollywood-type personality and everyone loved him. He was good, but he wasn't great. There's something that catches on, a personality or a kid's hometown."Dicky Ryan, a very ordinary heavyweight out of Omaha, used to draw 8, 9, 10,000 people, every show, every time he fought. It was his hometown and people knew him and it became like, hey, this is our guy, this is our heavyweight who may make it," Elbaum said.Williams, Berto, Bradley, Dawson, and others like them should take some comfort in the knowledge that their inability to put butts in seats isn't an indictment on their talent or even necessarily on their ability to get rich. But it can't feel good to look out over that top rope and see 11 guys in the crowd, four of whom are relatives. Fighters are performers more than anything, and if there's no one watching, what's the point?Bill Dettloff, THE RING magazine's Senior Writer, is the co-author, along with Joe Frazier, of "Box Like the Pros." He is currently working on a biography of Ezzard Charles.Bill can be contacted at dettloff@ptd.net

Weekend Preview: Did Arreola train?

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 00:25:01 PST
FRIDAY CHRIS ARREOLA vs. MANUEL QUEZADARounds / weight class: 12 rounds / heavyweightsLocation: Ontario, Calif.Television: ESPN2The backdrop: Arreola (28-2, 25 KOs) lost to Vitali Klitschko and Tomasz Adamek within the past 11 months but his most-difficult foe might be himself. The Los Angeles-area product acknowledges that he doesn't train properly, which prevents him from realizing his potential. He apparently missed half his sparring sessions going into the Adamek fight because of personal issues. "People have personal problems but they still show up for work," said Darryl Hudson, Arreola's frustrated personal trainer. Has Arreola turned over a new leaf? He swears he missed only two days of training for this fight, which would be a step in the right direction, but we'll believe it when we see it. Quezada (29-5, 18 KOs), a tough, but limited journeyman, probably couldn't beat Arreola if he didn't train at all but won't roll over. Shawn Estrada, a 2008 U.S. Olympian, fights for the second time since returning from a 14-month layoff because of injuries.Also fighting: Josesito Lopez vs. Marvin Cordova, eight rounds, welterweights; Shawn Estrada vs. Alex Armenta, four rounds, super middleweights.Rating the card: B. Arreola is fun to watch whether he trains or not, although the fight probably won't be too competitive. And Estrada adds a little spice to the card.ELOY PEREZ vs. DERRICK CAMPOSRounds / weight class: Eight rounds / junior lightweightsLocation: Pico Rivera, Calif.Television: TelefuturaThe backdrop: Perez (17-0-2, 4 KOs) is an aggressive counterpuncher with a nice jab and throws effective combinations but has no power. The resident of Salinas, Calif., is on a nice streak, nine consecutive victories overly decent opposition. He is coming off a majority decision over capable Gilberto Sanchez Leon in May. Campos (20-8, 11 KOs) might be a step down. The Topeka, Kansas, fighter has lost his last two fights, although both were by decision. Carlos Molina (12-0, 6 KOs) is a talented, fun-to-watch prospect from Rosemead, Calif.Also fighting: Carlos Molina vs. Glenn Gonzales, eight rounds, junior welterweights.Rating the card: C. Perez comes to fight but wins by decision, not knockout, and Campos probably will be in over his head. Molina could steal the show.ERNESTO ZEPEDA vs. JESUS PABONRounds / weight class: 12 rounds / welterweightsLocation: Tampa, Fla.Television: TelemundoThe backdrop: Zepeda (39-13-4, 34 KOs) is a big puncher but not a big winner. He's only 2-5 in his last seven fights, including four KO losses. He's fun to watch, though, which is probably why he's being featured on the telecast. Pabon (14-1, 8 KOs) is a skillful prospect from Puerto Rico who is returning from a 1 -year layoff. He, too, is an action fighter, which means this could be a very entertaining matchup even if the skill level isn't particularly high. We predict a knockout.Also fighting: Luis Franco vs. Yogli Herrera, eight rounds, featherweights.Rating the card: B-. The main event gets an "A" for potential action but C- for quality of fighters.SATURDAYCHAD DAWSON vs. JEAN PASCALRounds / weight class: 12 rounds / light heavyweightsLocation: MontrealTelevision: HBOThe backdrop: No. 1-rated Dawson (29-0, 17 KOs) and No. 2 Pascal (25-1, 16 KOs) will be fighting for the vacant RING magazine 175-pound championship. Dawson, from New Haven, Conn., is one of the sport's brightest young stars. He has two victories over Glen Johnson, two over Antonio Tarver and one over Tomasz Adamek in his last seven fights, an impressive run. He's not the most-exciting fighter but his blend of fine-tuned skill and unusual athleticism make him very difficult to beat. Pascal, from Montreal, also is an excellent boxer with a good resume. He has two victories over Adrian Diacanu but also lost to Carl Froch in a super middleweight title fight. The Haitian probably will have an advantage fighting in his adopted home country. Dawson, on everybody's pound-for-pound list, is favored but Pascal certainly is no pushover.Also fighting: Tony Luis vs. Adrian Verdugo, eight rounds, lightweights. Rating the card: A-. The main event probably won't resemble Gatti-Ward but the skill level will be very high, which boxing purists will appreciate. JI HOON KIM vs. MIGUEL VAZQUEZ Rounds / weight class: 12 rounds / lightweightLocation: Laredo, TexasTelevision: Fox Sports Net / Fox Sports en EspanolThe backdrop: Kim (21-5, 18 KOs) is an exciting, big-punching prospect from South Korea who started his career slowly but is on an impressive roll. He has knocked out his last 11 opponents and has won 13 in a row. He'll be fighting for his first major title against his toughest opponent. Vazquez (25-3, 12 KOs) is a big, strong lightweight with solid boxing skills, which gives him a competitive edge in this fight. The Mexican has lost only to Saul Alvarez (twice) and Timothy Bradley. A featherweight fight between Miguel Angel Garcia and Cornelius Lock is a title eliminator.Also fighting: Miguel Angel Garcia vs. Cornelius Lock, 12 rounds, featherweights.Rating the card: B+. Kim is wild man, the kind of fighter fans love. And Vazquez has a legitimate chance of winning. Something has to give. The Garcia-Lock fight also is an interesting fight. Garcia (22-0, 18 KOs) is unbeaten but hasn't faced anyone as good as Lock.Also on Saturday: Anselmo Moreno defends his bantamweight title against Nehomar Cerme o in Panama City, Panama; Donnie Nietes defends his strawweight title against Mario Rodriguez in Guasave, Mexico; and former heavyweight titleholder Hasim Rahman faces Damon Reed in a 10-round bout in Norfolk, Va.

Dawson just wants to be the best light heavyweight

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 00:07:52 PST
Chad Dawson (right) and trainer Eddie Mustafa Muhammad work hard perfecting skill and strategy in the gym, which is why the southpaw has become the sport's top light heavyweight. Some say Dawson lacks popularity because he's too technical in the ring. Muhammad believes Dawson would be better known had he fought more on TV. Dawson, who who fights Jean Pascal for the vacant RING title on Saturday, doesn't care. He just wants to be the best and he thinks fans will eventually appreciate him if he keeps winning. Photo / Chris Cozzone-Fightwireimages.comChad Dawson wants to be the best light heavyweight in the world.Not the most popular, or the most exciting, or the biggest draw or ratings grabber, but the very best 175-pound fighter on the planet.This desire is a telling look into his character given the fact that Dawson, who fights Jean Pascal for the vacant RING title in Montreal on Saturday, is already considered the top 175-pound fighter by every credible boxing Web site and publication. Dawson (29-0, 17 knockouts), however, wants to prove that he's the best, which is why he is motivated the HBO-televised fight."This fight means a lot to me," Dawson told RingTV.com from Montreal on Tuesday. "Every fight is important when you're undefeated and you want to stay that way, but this one is very special because I'm going to Pascal's hometown to defend my title (IBO) and take his title (WBC) and (win) the RING belt. The winner of this fight has to be viewed as the best light heavyweight."I know I'm seen as No. 1, but Pascal's rated No. 2 (by THE RING)... so beating the next-highest contender further solidifies my position as the best." A victory over Pascal (25-1, 16 KOs) will indeed do that. The Haiti-born resident of Quebec, who has been adopted by the boxing-crazy fans of Montreal, is young, athletic, gutsy and not without skill. The 27-year-old turned heads in the boxing community by engaging Carl Froch in a fight-of-the-year candidate for a vacant 168-pound title in December of 2008. Pascal dropped a competitive decision to the rugged Englishman, his only pro loss, then immediately jumped to light heavyweight. He has won four in row, including an exciting title-winning decision over then-undefeated Adrian Diaconu and a rematch victory over the RING-rated contender.However, despite Pascal's credentials, Dawson can't beat the Canadian by boxing in a safety-first fashion as he did during his uneventful rematch with Johnson in November. Another boring victory would probably result in the 28-year-old southpaw losing fans.Dawson says he's OK with that reality."I know most fans want exciting fights but I don't feel any pressure to change my style," he said. "I'm a pure boxer. I use my skill and ability to win fights. I show my talent through the art of boxing. You're going to see me using my jab, hand speed, footwork, and head movement when I box. I'm not just going to run out there and throw a bunch of wild punches like Tavoris Cloud."Cloud is a brutally aggressive young titleholder who beat Johnson by a unanimous decision in a competitive fight on Saturday. Cloud impressed many fans and members of the media with his performance but the tough pressure fighter looked raw in the few rounds of the fight that Dawson watched."I didn't watch the whole fight but Cloud literally threw like eight punches the entire round in the ninth," Dawson said. "Johnson won that round easily. All he had to do was jab. He wasn't even throwing hard punches. He didn't have to. Cloud had nothing for him because he punched himself out in the previous round. Needless to say, I see a big puncher in Cloud, but not much else. "I heard him call me out after the fight but I don't think he really wants a piece of me. Glen Johnson was there to be hit and he still had a hard time with him."True, but Cloud and Johnson delivered an entertaining, TV-friendly fight, one reminiscent of the kind of light heavyweight battles that were the norm when Dawson's trainer, former titleholder Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, was a top 175-pound contender in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Cloud might not have Dawson's level of skill, but the Florida native will be back on TV as soon as possible because he makes the kind of fights that bring in fans and ratings.Muhammad, who beat Marvin Johnson in 1980 to win his title, said fans of that era appreciated boxers such as Michael Spinks as much as they did all-action fighters such as Johnson, Matthew Franklin (AKA Saad Muhammad) and Yaqui Lopez."You had your brawlers, who were popular, but you also had boxers that fans wanted to see," said Muhammad, who beat Franklin early in the Philadelphia slugger's career. "I could punch but I considered myself a boxer and that was OK back then. The difference between now and then was that the contenders fought each other, we fought often and we fought on network TV. That's what's missing in today's game."When I won the title, it was on prime time along with the John Tate-Mike Weaver fight. Everyone saw us fight, not just boxing fans. People recognized pro boxers when we were walking down the street."Outside of hardcore fans, Dawson probably wouldn't be recognized walking down any street in his hometown of New Haven, Conn. Muhammad believes a young fighter of Dawson's talent would have nationwide recognition had the early part of his career been on network television.Dawson has fought on Showtime six times. His last two fights were on HBO. However, subscription cable is not enough, according to Muhammad."Boxing used to have a farm system with ABC, CBS and NBC," he said. "You have to grow into HBO and Showtime, and even ESPN. The sport will always be popular but a lot of good fighters are being swept under the rug because they just haven't had the exposure. I think the loss of the networks took the sting out of the sport."Dawson believes he will eventually gain a solid television following, but he concedes that his lack of TV exposure before he became a Showtime and HBO fighter probably hurt his popularity."I guess you can say that I was under the radar," Dawson said. "I started my career fighting only in Connecticut at the Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods (casinos). My first 17 or 18 fights were not on national television. In fact, I think my first Showtime fight was against Eric Harding. I was already 21-0 at the time and that was only a ShoBox."Dawson has been impressive since he got up from a first-round knockdown to dominate Harding and win a lopsided decision in June of 2006. He won his first title by out-pointing then-undefeated (31-0) Tomasz Adamek in July of 2007. He spent 2008 and last year by twice beating former champs Antonio Tarver and Johnson via unanimous decisions.Dawson, who is rated No. 4 in the Yahoo! Sports boxing rankings and No. 6 in THE RING's Pound-for-Pound Rankings, has earned "elite fighter" status with his accomplishments.He's confident that his obvious skill and talent will one day earn him the kind of crossover success that another pound-for-pound-level pure boxer has attained. "My style is the same as Floyd Mayweather's," Dawson said. "He's the best and he wins with skills. Aside from Ricky Hatton, he hasn't knocked anyone out in a long time, but he's still the biggest pay-per-view star in the sport. "Eventually, I think fans will come around and see the skills that I have and come to appreciate my style."All he has to do is keep winning. Dawson says he's put in one of the best camps of his career to ensure he remains undefeated on Saturday."I've brought back in my conditioning coach, Axel Murillo, for this camp," Dawson said. "I didn't have him in my last two camps but I wanted him for this one because I'm fighting a young guy my age and I wanted to be fast, strong and agile."Muhammad is pleased with the form Dawson has shown in sparring sessions with crafty middleweight veteran Ishe Smith, super middleweight prospect Dyah Davis and capable cruiserweight Carlos DeLeon Jr. "Chad looked great with Ishe, Dyah, DeLeon and a Cuban amateur star," he said. "His final sessions were 10-rounders with 4-minute rounds and half-minute breaks. He's ready. I believe my fighter edges Pascal in every department. My only concern is the officiating because we're going into the lion's den. We've all seen some funny stuff with the referees and the judging in Canada in recent years, so that's the only thing I'm worried about." "If I see Marlon B. Wright in the ring, I will turn around and walk out of the arena until he's replaced," joked Dawson, referencing the referee who caused controversy with his final-round officiating in the first Lucian Bute-Librado Andrade bout.Dawson has watched many of Bute's fights. He views the undefeated Montreal-based super middleweight titleholder as a future opponent, along with other top 168-pound contenders."I can't wait for the best super middleweights to step up," Dawson said. "I believe Bute and most of the fighters in the Super Six (168-pound tournament) will soon come up to light heavyweight and make this division the hottest in the sport for the next couple of years."If that happens, Dawson intends to be the best fighter of a hot division.

Ring Ratings Update: Alexander drops, Kotelnik advances

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 21:50:57 PST
Sometimes in boxing a victory doesn't advance the winner and a loss isn't necessarily a step back for the loser -- at least not where ratings are concerned. Junior welterweight contenders Devon Alexander and Andreas Kotelnik are examples of this rule. Alexander defeated Kotelnik via hard-fought unanimous decision in his hometown of St. Louis on Saturday, but more than a few observers thought the 32-year-old former titleholder deserved the nod. Even those who thought Alexander won the fight admit that the 23-year-old dual beltholder had an off night.THE RING's editorial board and ratings panel concur with the general consensus, and as a result Alexander (21-0, 13 knockouts) has dropped slightly in the magazine's junior welterweight rankings, while Kotelnik -- who gave a spirited effort against the talented young southpaw -- climbed a few notches. Alexander, THE RING's No. 2-ranked junior welterweight since his eight-round demolition of Juan Urango in March, switched places with titleholder Amir Khan, who occupied the No. 3 spot in the ratings.Kotelnik (31-4-1, 13 KOs), who dropped a legitimately one-sided decision to Khan last July, advanced from No. 7 to No. 5."While it is unusual for the winner of a fight to drop down in the rankings and the loser to advance, that's what happened this week in the 140-pound weight class," said Nigel Collins, Editor-in-Chief of THE RING. "Amir Khan overtook Devon Alexander because his decision victory over Andreas Kotelnik was far more emphatic than Alexander's questionable nod over the Ukrainian boxer."What are the implications of this shake up in the junior welterweight rankings? There really aren't any. Alexander's tougher-than-expected fight with Kotelnik was probably just a bump on his road to greater success. In fact, the young man needed a hard fight under his belt before challenging the best of the deep and talented division. THE RING's No. 1-rated junior welterweight Timothy Bradley grew from hard 12-round bouts against Kendall Holt and Lamont Peterson. Alexander will likely grow from his experience with Kotelnik, which is a good thing given the St. Louis native wants to fight Bradley next. Bradley-Alexander could happen as soon as January. HBO, which has an interest in the fight, has been dealing independently with Bradley's representative Gary Shaw and Alexander's promoter Don King in hopes of finalizing the showdown for January 29. Shaw has told numerous members of the boxing media that negotiations for the bout have reached "final phases."If it happens, fans will finally get the high-stakes junior welterweight fight they have been clamoring for. The winner of the bout would be universally regarded as the best 140-pound fighter, however vacant THE RING title may not be up for grabs due to Alexander's recent demotion in the ratings.RING championship vacancies are filled by the winner of a box-off between the magazine's No. 1 and No. 2 contenders. Although, in some instances a box-off between the No. 1 and No. 3 contenders can fill the vacancy.Whatever happens between now and the end of January -- Khan is scheduled to fight in December -- THE RING's 140-pound title doesn't figure to stay vacant for very long. The top three junior welterweights have all publicly expressed a desire to fight one another. The junior welterweight division wasn't the only weight class that experienced some reshuffling. Thanks to King's triple-header in St. Louis, which stacked the Tavoris Cloud-Glen Johnson light heavyweight title match (won by Cloud via unanimous decision) and the Cory Spinks-Cornelius Bundrage junior middleweight title bout (won by Bundrage via fifth-round stoppage) under the Alexander-Kotelnik fight, there's much to recap in this week's Ring Ratings Update: LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS: Cloud's close 12-round decision over Glen Johnson elevates Cloud from No. 5 to No. 3, while Johnson slips from No. 2 to No. 4. The realignment pushes up Jean Pascal (No. 3 last week) to No. 2, while Bernard Hopkins (No. 4 last week) drops to No. 5.Number-one contender Chad Dawson will fight Pascal for the vacant RING light heavyweight championship this Saturday, August 14, in Montreal, Canada. Unless the bout ends in a draw THE RING belt will be presented to the winner in the ring immediately after the fight by the magazine's Editor-In-Chief Nigel Collins.JUNIOR MIDDLEWEIGHTS: Bundrage enters at No. 10, thanks to his TKO of Cory Spinks to annex a 154-pound title, which pushes out Saul Alvarez (No. 10 last week)."Although Cory Spinks had been dropped from THE RING ratings for inactivity, we felt that Cornelius Bundrage is more worthy of a ranking than Saul Alvarez because of Bundrage's one-sided victory over Spinks and overall better resume in the 154-pound division," said Collins.JUNIOR WELTERWEIGHTS: Despite his controversial decision over Kotelnik, Alexander slips from No. 2 to No. 3, while Khan (No. 3 last week) takes over the No. 2. spot. Due to his impressive showing against Alexander, Kotelnik advances from No. 7 to No. 5. Kotelnik's rise also shoves down Kaizer Mabuza (No. 6 last week) and Juan Urango (No. 5 last week) one rung each. Mike Alvarado (No. 9 last week) is removed because he is currently incarcerated, which pushes up Lamont Peterson (No. 10 last week) one slot and makes room for Paul McCloskey to debut at No. 10.

Jay Larkin, former head of Showtime Boxing, dies

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 13:11:11 PST
Jay Larkin, once one of the most-powerful figures in boxing as head of Showtime Boxing, died Monday morning at Nyack Hospital in Nyack, N.Y., after a three-year battle with brain cancer. He was 59.Larkin helped found the network's boxing program in 1986 and, ultimately becoming senior vice president and executive producer, was in charge of it for more than a decade. He was fired in 2005."We are deeply saddened by the passing of our friend, Jay Larkin," said Ken Hershman, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Showtime Sports. "His remarkable enthusiasm, his insatiable zeal for life and esprit de corps that he left behind at SHO Sports will always be with us. He will be missed by the countless people that he met and touched including all of us here at Showtime who've had the pleasure to work with him. All our thoughts and prayers are with his family." Larkin oversaw the creation of Showtime Championship Boxing, ShoBox: The Next Generation and the network's pay-per-view arm, which enjoyed huge success when Mike Tyson was at his peak.He was in charge during some the biggest events in the sport, starting with the Marvin Hagler-John Mugabi fight in 1986 and including fights featuring Tyson, Sugar Ray Leonard, Evander Holyfield, Julio Cesar Chavez and Felix Trinidad.More recently, Larkin ran the failed IFL, a mixed martial arts league.He was diagnosed with brain cancer in April 2007.Larkin is survived by his wife, Lisa, and their two sons, Ryan and Gabriel.Services will be held Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. ET at Beth David Cemetery (300 Elmont Road) in Elmont, N.Y.In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made in Jay Larkin's name to the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke University -- Duke University Medical Center, DUMC Box 3624, Durham, NC 27710 -- or online by visiting http://www.cancer.duke.edu/btc/.

Weekend Review: Alexander, Cloud get by

Sun, 08 Aug 2010 23:42:50 PST
Cory Spinks' career might be over after he was beaten up and knocked out by Cornelius Bundrage on the Devon Alexander-Andreas Kotelnik undercard on Saturday in St. Louis. Photo / Naoki FukudaBIGGEST WINNERDevon Alexander: We shouldn't be too hard on Alexander for several reasons. One, he beat Andreas Kotelnik on Saturday night in St. Louis in spite of a bad cut and the pressure of performing before a hometown crowd. Two, it seems every rising star faces such a test against a crafty, better-than-expected veteran; he barely passed. And, three, Kotelnik is a very good boxer. Thus, Alexander's "OK performance," as he put it, could be an important step in the 23-year-old's development. He is taking a hit on message boards and elsewhere for struggling against a significant underdog, which he deserves, but he'll probably be a better fighter for it.BIGGEST LOSERAndreas Kotelnik: The Ukrainian is a loser only in the sense that he might've done enough to win on Saturday but left St. Louis disgusted and without a belt. Other than that, he had a good night. The former titleholder fought on roughly even terms with one of the hottest young stars-in-the-making on a big stage, enhancing his reputation even in defeat. He definitely didn't take a step backward, as he did in a one-sided loss to Amir Khan in July of last year. Kotelnik should remain a player in the 140-division as a result of his performance. At least that's what he deserves.BIGGEST WINNER IIAmir Khan: HBO analyst Max Kellerman was right when he said midway through the Alexander-Kotelnik fight that "Amir Khan is looking very good right now." We shouldn't draw concrete conclusions because styles usually determine how a fight goes. The fact is that Khan handled Kotelnik a heck of a lot easier than Alexander did, though. Some people are quick to dismiss the Briton because he was stopped by Breidis Prescott and his resume is thinner than some of his rivals. Big mistake. Khan is as skillful and quick as any of the top 140-pounders -- probably more so -- and is also taller than the rest at 5-foot-10 (178cm), which makes him particularly hard to beat. Kotelnik could do nothing against him.BIGGEST WINNER IIITavoris Cloud: Cloud had a difficult time with 41-year-old Glen Johnson on the Alexander-Kotelnik undercard but held onto his light heavyweight belt and had an excellent learning experience, much as Alexander did. The slugger from Tallahassee, Fla., remained true to his aggressive style but also demonstrated impressive boxing skills at times against a very crafty opponent, although he might be wise to pace himself a bit more to preserve energy. Cloud seemed to be somewhat befuddled afterward that an old man gave him a tough fight but this was no ordinary old man. Cloud had a productive night.MOST FRUSTRATED ... AGAINGlen Johnson: The affable Jamaican-born veteran has been here before, on the wrong side of a close decision in a big fight. It doesn't seem to get any easier for him, though. The former RING champ obviously was extremely frustrated after the fight, claiming that he outlanded his younger opponent -- which was accurate -- and deserved to win his second major alphabet title. And who can blame him? Every big fight at this stage of his career might be his last. The good news is that his solid and entertaining performance might keep him in the title picture at least a while longer. He certainly deserves every opportunity he can get.MOST FINISHED?Cory Spinks: Spinks could to be at the end of the line. Cornelius Bundrage took his junior middleweight belt by a brutal fifth-round knock out before his hometown fans on the Alexander-Kotelnik undercard, Spinks' third loss in four fights. Spinks has been inactive and apparently has lost a step at 32, which can be disastrous for a fighter who always relied on his quickness and athleticism. He certainly has nothing to be ashamed if he's finished. He is a five-time titleholder in two weight classes. And he might be the greatest-ever son of a former titleholder -- dad Leon Spinks. Not a bad legacy.MOST FORGOTTENBreidis Prescott: The hard-punching Colombian apparently has had his 15 minutes .... er, moment of fame. Prescott was the talk of boxing after he knocked out Khan in the first round in September 2008. Since then? Not much. He's 3-2, including a unanimous decision over Harrison Cuello on Friday, and has provided little excitement. Prescott (23-2, 19 KOs) is a good fighter who might yet win some kind of title but he seems destined to be remembered as "that guy who knocked out Amir Khan." There are worse things to be remembered for.MOST IMMINENTReturn of James Kirkland: The junior middleweight from Austin, Texas, reportedly will be released from prison on Sept. 17 and will get back into the ring as early as October. Kirkland, a convicted felon, was arrested in April of last year and sent to prison after he bought a gun. Kirkland (25-0, 22 KOs) is a wild and reckless brawler who has no interest in boxing, which appeals to fans. He's the type of fighter who will probably get knocked out by a better all-around boxer one day but he could win a title or two and he'll always be fun to watch. Kirkland, 26, last fought in March of last year.MOST-DISTURBING RUMORMayweather with King? Floyd Mayweather Jr. attended the Don King-promoted Alexander-Kotelnik card, fueling ongoing speculation that Mayweather and King might unite. I have nothing against King at this stage of the game, only that his never-changing shtick has become painfully old. That combined with Mayweather's never-changing drivel would be too much to take. Like finger nails on a chalk board ... times two. Then again, if that somehow enables Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao to reach an agreement, it might be worth it.BEST QUOTEAndreas Kotelnik: "If the fight happened anywhere but here, I would be the champion. I have no words to describe what happened. That guy has something that belongs to me."Michael Rosenthal can be reached at RingTVeditor@yahoo.com

Dougie's MASSIVE Monday mailbag

Sun, 08 Aug 2010 21:20:28 PST
B.A.D. SCORINGDougie,A question for you, because I'm neither a boxing writer nor a judge -- if Fighter A throws 100 punches per round, with only 5 being effective ones, and Fighter B throws 60 punches a round, but with 15-20 of them landing effectively, who wins? If you can answer that correctly, then you know that Devon Alexander did not win Saturday's main event, and definitely not by an 8-4 margin. Add in the fact that Devon Alexander was definitely buzzed in the later rounds (11th and/or 12th), while Andreas Kotelnik still seemed fresh, and I don't know how you can see it in Devon's favor. With that said, I'm not going to be one of the hundreds of emails you'll probably get saying that Alexander was "exposed." He fought a tough fighter that fought even tougher than advertised, and probably didn't help himself with the style in which he fought. He'll come back, but hopefully not immediately into a match with Tim Bradley. He might need a little more work before tackling the (should now be unanimous) #1 fighter in the division. -- Kwok, MinneapolisI've been saying this in my mailbags for awhile now, but I have no problem repeating it: Alexander isn't ready for Bradley. The St. Louis native needs more than 21 bouts and just one tough fight under his belt. He's on his way to gaining the seasoning that will see him through future ring wars with top-notch opposition, but I think he needs another hard 12-rounder vs. another experienced vet (perhaps a rematch with Kotelnik) or a young contender (I bet Lamont Peterson is available) before he's truly ready to live up to the hype too many fans and fight scribes heaped on him after his stoppages of Junior Witter and Juan Uarango. Thank you for not playing the "exposed" card. Alexander was no more exposed by Kotelnik than Bradley was against Kendall Holt. Saturday night was a growing experience for the young man, as the tough Holt fight was for Bradley last April. I'm not a judge but I occasionally play a boxing writer on TV. I agree with your scoring criteria and I thought Kotelnik won the fight by a 116-112 score. To be Frank, I thought the Ukrainian vet put an ass whuppin' on Alexander late in the fight.DISAGREEMENTDoug:Hey bro. I have to say that I agreed and disagreed with your assessment of the Alexander/Kotelnik fight. As we've seen over and over again, styles make fights, and Kotelnik had a very difficult style for Alexander. I thought Alexander won 115-113, but from round 6 on I wouldn't have had a problem with a judge going either way. What this proves? This is where I disagree with you. I think the Tim Bradley who showed up for the Abregu fight is in for a rough night with Devon Alexander. One place I found myself agreeing with you though, is that he isn't yet a star, a Khan/Alexander fight would reveal which of these guys is the real deal as Alexander would have to fight through Khan's superior reach and punishing jab, and Alexander would test Khan's chin in the early going at least.Any which way, there are some incredible fights to be made at 140. I can't see any of the big three (Bradley, Khan, Alexander) wanting to get in with Marcos Maidana, and I just have a hunch that Zab Judah and Victor Ortiz would test any of those three, but what's even more, Kotelnik wouldn't be an easy out for any of the six fighters mentioned. Whatever his new trainer did, it's working.On the Cloud/Johnson fight, which was the far more entertaining fight, I can't help but think that Johnson got screwed again. I would agree that Cloud was landing the more significant shots in spots, but he was fighting in flurries, and Johnson took him out of his game. I had it 115-113 for Johnson but felt the 4th (which I scored for the old man), 10th (which I scored for Cloud) and 12th (which I had for Johnson) could have gone either way. I wouldn't have argued with Harold Lederman's draw, or with a one point win either way, but three 8-4 scorecards? That's not the fight I saw (or my wife who was pissed at the scores)...That said, I think Cloud with his busier fighting style would give Dawson fits assuming Dawson beats Pascal next week. While I recognize that Dawson is a technically masterful fighter, I'm having trouble getting excited for that fight, can you help me out?The part that stinks is that I don't see any name fights out there for Johnson, who clearly (in my view) earned another shot at one, is he done? -- Steve in NDJohnson isn't done but I don't think he was dominant enough against Cloud to claim that he got "screwed" once again. I scored the bout 115-113 for Cloud, who landed the much harder punches throughout the fight. Honestly, I thought Johnson was lucky that Cloud's awful management and promotional issues kept him out of the ring for the most part of the past two years. A more-active Cloud might have forced a late stoppage against the slightly faded, but always prepared and game veteran. I kind of hope Johnson retires because let's face it, there's only so many fights a man can engage in before it begins to effect his mind. Johnson is such an intelligent and honorable man I would hate to see him suffer from any degree of pugilistic dementia later in life.However, if Johnson wants to stick around for a few more fights, I won't complain. He's clearly still a top-5 contender and he makes for goddamned good fights, as Swearin' Harold Lederman would say.Johnson vs. beltholder Beibut Shumenov might have Lederman dropping MF bombs.I'm a big fan of the Storm Cloud (have been since he was a 12-0 or 13-0 prospect), but I don't know if he's ready to face Dawson or Pascal in his next bout. He needs more rounds under his belt, in my opinion. I saw a card-carrying badass take it to Johnson in many rounds, but I also witnessed some amateurish stuff from Cloud. He was loading up too much and punching himself out (which opened the door on at least three occasions for Johnson to win the following round with just a jab). The dude needs to learn to settle down. It's OK to tee off on your opponent but not every punch needs to have "KO" written on it. I think he could have varied the power and speed of his volleys in a way that would have caught Johnson off guard and prevented him from getting winded. His trainer Al Bonanni knows that and I'm sure he teaches that in the gym but it's going to take actual fights for Cloud to put that stuff into a practice and they can't all be life-and-death struggles. Right now, I think the lateral movement of Dawson and Pascal give Cloud fits. You "can't see any of the big three (Bradley, Khan, Alexander) wanting to get in with Marcos Maidana"? Really? Bradley was ready to face Maidana twice. It was Maidana who pulled out for supposed managerial reasons. That's why Chino's fellow Argentine slugger Carlos Abregu stepped in for him at the start of the month. Alexander has stated repeatedly that he would love to fight Maidana. Victor Ortiz wanted Maidana on Sept. 18 and the Argentine reportedly said "Thanks but no thanks." I think Khan's the only top-10 junior welterweight who is leery of Maidana. Why? For the very reason you stated Kotelnik was so difficult for Alexander: Styles make fights.By the way, you might be correct that "the Tim Bradley who showed up for the Abregu fight is in for a rough night with Devon Alexander." However, that's NOT the version of Bradley that Alexander would face. Bradley would be fighting a fellow shorty (5-foot-6) at 140 pounds and you better believe he'd be motivated.If you or anyone else thought Alexander beat Kotelnik by a seven-to-five round margin, I have no problem with that opinion. There were more than a few close rounds. However, I believe Kotelnik was the more effective puncher in the majority of rounds.You make a great point about most of the 140-pound division's top-10 being closely matched. If we're lucky, we'll get a scenario like fans had in the late 1970s/early 1980s with the welterweight and light heavyweight divisions, where the best fought the best, and we were always guessing as to who might come out victorious.DEVON "GOT A GREAT GIFT" ALEXANDERI like Dev. I think he is a really nice guy with most likely a lot of potential. I'm not sure what happened in the ring, but I saw him getting his ass kicked. For most of the fight you could tell his trainer was shocked at the way things were going and was desperately trying to get him to do things differently then what he was doing to turn it around. He appeared to be desperate, unable to fight his fight. His body language said he was not comfortable and not in control. Meanwhile, I saw Kotelnik coming forward and landing the cleaner, harder, more effective shots. I saw a confident challenger and an uncomfortable champion. He might have underestimated this guy, but I saw Kotelnik win. Although I did not score the fight at all... -- JBYou and I saw the same fight, JB. And I did score it, eight rounds to four for Kotelnik. There were some close rounds but I found it easy to score; the first four went to Alexander, the next eight went to Kotelnik. Having said that, I can fathom anyone scoring rounds five, eight, or 11 for Alexander. However, I should also note that I thought that rounds two and four were more competitive than the commentary indicated. I'm not mad at anyone who scored these rounds for Kotelnik.Alexander was game and very busy. The problem I had with Lederman's scorecard was that he was winning rounds that he didn't earn with cleanly landed punches. His jab stopped short (often Kotelnik, who did a good job of blocking shots all night, didn't even have to catch them with his gloves) and most of his power punches were either picked off or missed the mark. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian had Alexander looking like a damn PEZ dispenser throughout the second half of the bout.SHORT ARMS, AWKWARD JABSHey, DougieI enjoyed both HBO-televised fights Saturday night. Tavoris Cloud should seriously consider circling and using his speed to get in and out of range. I love the power behind his 4 and 5's. But, he made the fight a lot more fun for the viewer than he had to. Glen Johnson was out of shape, and in my humble opinion, prepared to do a swan song. But he seemed steeled for upset once he realized he wasn't in the ring with a marathon runner OR a finisher. Kotelnik's slightly awkward punches brought hell down on Alexander. He couldn't see the punches. If Kotelnik packed more punch or was more aggressive, we wouldn't have needed any judges. Alexander has short arms and had absolutely NO desire to get inside. How he won the fight by tapping Kotelnik's gloves all night was really Kotelnik's fault more so than the judges. Take care. -- JWGood observations, JW. I agree that if Kotelnik had better power he could have scored a KO on Saturday. Then again, if he were a puncher with his technique, he A) would never have landed the Khan fight, and might still be a beltholder, and B) probably wouldn't have been invited over the to the States to fight one of its bright young up-and-comers. I agree there was a slight awkwardness (or off-rhythm) to Kotelnik's punches, which troubled Alexander, but I also believe that the veteran's timing and combinations gave the Missourian hell. Alexander could easily evade one or two punches, but the third and fourth shots were clipping him. I also agree that Alexander was, for the most part, unwilling to commit to his shots (as Kotelnik was) and getting inside on the rangier man, and I believe that decision played into the veteran's style. I don't think Johnson was out of shape, or ever prepared to lose. I think his muscle looked kind of flat and he put on as much weight as he did after Friday's weigh-in because his body is worn out from all the ring wars he's had and it's tired of making 175 pounds. I think Johnson is still a game and competitive warrior, but his aging body is becoming less able to carry out his amazing will.KOTELNIK WON THAT FIGHTI like Devon as a person, but I can't give somebody credit for punches that get blocked or slipped. I'm not entirely sure there was a head butt either. I think, Bradley outsmarts and out-conditions him. I also think Khan uses his range and speed to edge them both.It was a good weekend of fights. I was impressed by Patrick Lopez. He has that deceptive movement like Cotto, he looks like a plodder, but he always gets in range on movers with seemingly no issues. Lateef Kayode looks like un upsized Clottey with worse defense and a killer instinct. Chris Avalos disappointed with his inability to adapt and Christopher Martin did a good job, if Kotelnik had those judges in St. Louis he would have won.Looking forward to next week as well. Hopefully Arreola's opponent is good enough to push Chris, then we can see if he really is putting in all that hard work. I think Pascal and Dawson will bring the best out of each other. Hopefully that one Canadian ref (the guy who gave Bute the long count) isn't there.Oh and I've heard all the arguments against buying Pacquiao v. Margarito. But the reason I want to buy it, is simply because I like watching Pacquiao fight. I'd pay watch him fight a bum in a stay busy fight, and he usually gives me better than that. Boring Clottey would have beaten Boring Shane at 147. Cotto would murder JMM at 144. And Margarito at 150 is tougher than Tim Bradley at 147 (Bradley couldn't beat Abregu, and Tony would have gotten to him). So I don't disparage the match up too much. Deep down I want to support Pacquiao because every time he fights he always tries to decapitate the other guy, and dollars are votes for what I want to see in the future. Plus he'll give most of that money to poor people anyway, so its like giving to charity by proxy. Have a good weekend. -- Jonathan in ChicagoPlease, please, please don't give Bob Arum any ideas, Jon. You know the man is sick enough to declare and promote any future Pacquiao bout as "the fight to end poverty in the Philippines."I'm still not excited about Pacquiao-Margarito. Maybe I'll change my mind after watching Tony train in about a month. (Maybe it's because the damn fight doesn't take place until November! There's other s__t to talk about people!)Am I crazy, or did I not see Bradley beat Abregu? Perhaps you meant that Bradley couldn't KO Abregu. OK, fine, but Bradley's lack of power doesn't mean he couldn't give Pacquiao more trouble than Margarito. He's a faster, more versatile fighter than Margz, who will plod forward in slow motion against Pacquiao like one of those Sleestaks from Land of the Lost.How can you be so sure that "Boring Clottey" would have beat "Boring Mosley"? Who are you, Uatu The Watcher? Can you peer into alternative realities? And if so, why are you looking into boring alternative scenarios?(I apologize to hardcore boxing purists for the comic book/pop culture references. Sometimes I just can't hold back my inner geek.)"Cotto would murder JMM at 144?" A current 154-pound titleholder would beat up on a guy who comfortably weighed 133 pounds for his last fight? Gee, ya think? Maybe it's just optimism or wishful thinking but I also think Dawson and Pascal will bring out the best in each other no matter who referees the bout.I'll believe Arreola worked hard in the gym when I see it in his body and his ring performance. Until then I'll just enjoy his fights, which are always fun. Nobody asked my opinion last week but I liked Martin over Avalos. (Seriously, ask RingTV.com co-editor Michael Rosenthal if you don't believe me.) I had no idea that Martin was a 10-1 underdog. I also favored Lopez over Brewer. Almost makes a man want to bet on fights. Almost. Lopez is a seasoned (from both amateur background and pro experience) Venezuelan badass who has only lost to an ultra-rugged bastard Fernando Angulo and a much bigger, superior athlete in Josesito Lopez (barely). Lateef Kayode got the job done against Escalera Jr., but I wasn't impressed either. If he really tries to challenge the cruiserweight titleholders by the end of the year, as trainer Freddie Roach contends, we might have to re-name him "No-teef Kayo'd." (Again, I'm sorry. That was too easy, but I couldn't help myself.)Why does everyone have to preface any criticism of Alexander's performance against Kotelnik with a "I like Devon" or "I like Alexander as a person." First of all, you guys don't know the kid. Second, I would be the last person to assume that you didn't like him just because you scored the fight for Kotelnik. I guess that's the power of those dramatic pre-fight features that HBO runs.HBO FIGHTSDear Doug,First, I want to thank K9 Bundrage for (hopefully) having rid us of Cory Spinks.Regarding Cloud/Johnson, I had it 115-113 for "The Road Warrior." I'd have no problem with 115-113 Cloud. No way Johnson only won 4 rounds, though. Reminded me of Johnson's first loss to Chad Dawson in that respect.Alexander/Kotelnik: This fight kind of reminded me of Gerry Penalosa's loss to Ponce De Leon, except that De Leon threw a lot more punches than did Alexander. I thought the Ukrainian won by a point, kind of in line with Bob's score--though he didn't indicate on-air how he'd scored the twelfth.Coming in to the fight, I had certainly viewed Alexander higher than Amir Khan. But Khan shut out Kotelnik (or lost at most 1 round). Yeah, styles make fights, but I was thinking tonight: If a timing-type fighter could hit Alexander like that (and get his attention--even though Devon clearly was a faster fighter), what would a tall, rangy speed demon like Khan--who hits harder and is waaaaaay busier than Kotelnik--do? And I also was wondering: Had Marcos Maidana been landing those flush straight rights, what would've happened?Of course, as the Maidana fight showed, Kotelnik has an iron chin. So the reverse should be asked, too: If Alexander landed some of the shots he hit Kotelnik with on Khan, would we have a Prescott redux? Again, I thought the scoring was too stingy to Kotelnik. And 9-3 from Harold Lederman? Respectfully but vehemently disagree.Arum said that if Marquez beat Alexander, he (Arum) might consider a third fight with Pac. Marquez is a timing type of fighter like Kotelnik, though he hits harder and IMHO has faster hands. I'd give Marquez a more than outside shot to beat the Alexander that fought tonight. Take care. -- PatrickArum says a lot of things.I would favor Alexander over JMM, which doesn't mean I think the St. Louis native can carry the Mexican legend's jockstrap (because I don't). All I'm saying is that Alexander is not Juan Diaz and Marquez is not a junior welterweight. St. Louis is as much of a sports/bar town as Chicago or Boston. I think Lederman got a little tipsy before he went on air. I'm not Uatu The Watcher, so I won't bother playing the "What If?" game with the cream of the 140-pound division but I think it's clear that the Bradley-Alexander-Khan-Maidana matchups make for some interesting scenarios. Likewise with potential Kotelnik-Ortiz-Judah-Peterson-Alvarado matchups. I was one of those ringsiders who thought Penalosa won eight rounds vs. DeLeon, who didn't throw that many more punches than Alexander did against Kotelnik.I thought Cloud won rounds one, five, six, eight, 10, 11 and 12. I thought the 12th was close and round 10 could have gone to Johnson. I thought round four could have gone to Cloud. I'm happy for Bundrage, who always seemed like a really nice guy.HELLO FROM FINLANDHey Dougie! The weather is great over in sunny Finland. I'm just soaking up some and drinking some cold Koff Finnish beer and I thought heck from one beer drinker to another to write you and so here is my post for the Monday's Mailbag:Alexander did do enough to squeak out a victory on my unofficial scorecard 115-113 (maybe a few rounds were deadlocked even).I think the youngster showed a great amount of guts and a good display of character and also some much well deserved praise to his opponent... but I think he should have stepped up to the plate and told the press that he would grant a rematch after the Bradley fight... because he should make at least 4 million for that fight. Bradley must be licking his chops after Saturday night's showing... I think Zab Judah would stop Alexander and I also think Mayweather will fight Martinez for the middleweight title under the Don King promotional banner now that Mayweather's own promotional banner is defunct.Last but not least... how come the K-brothers are trying to sell a 2 for 1 package... I mean I understand the rematch clause for the champion but to tie another fighter into a three-fight contract is another thing... Well, Dougie the pleasure has been all mine and I will have another beer for you my friend! -- Thomas J., Finland, EuropeWhy do the Klitschkos contractually obligate their opponents to fight the brother? Same reason they choose to fight in Europe more often than in the States. Because they can! If Don King can make Martinez-Mayweather for the middleweight title I will declare him the greatest promoter ever, but my gut tells me we'll see Floyd vs. Bundrage for the 154-pound strap K9 just won if "the Don" starts working with the Reluctant One.I think Judah is a threat to stop any of the top 140 pounders. It's nice to hear that a European fan scored the bout for the American, but in future emails you don't have to tell me that your scorecard is "unofficial." (Your Alexander-Kotelnik tally was better than Lederman's, by the way.)

Never mind alphabet title silliness, Dawson-Pascal is a good fight

Sun, 08 Aug 2010 19:00:58 PST
Chad Dawson is more focused on proving he's the world's best light heavyweight than collecting alphabet titles, but his son Prince seems to enjoy holding one of his belts. Dawson fights Jean Pascal for the vacant RING title on Saturday. Photo / Emily Harvey-Fightwireimages.comIf for reasons ranging from apathy to dementia you're inclined to put stock in the various appointments, indignities, and other assorted vagaries committed by the fight game's so-called governing bodies, you know that next week's fight between Chad Dawson and Jean Pascal will result in, among many things, an "undisputed" WBC light heavyweight champion.With any luck, the logical part of your mind will be compelled to question how the identity of the titleholder of a single governing body can be disputed in the first place. If nothing else, a boxing regulatory body should be in agreement with itself as to the identity of its champions.Well, yes. And no. And only if you have agreement on what the term "champion" means. Or "identity." Or "its." Or "agreement."Dawson claimed the WBC "interim" title ostensibly by beating Glen Johnson last November. This he added to his IBO light heavyweight title, which followed stints as the IBF beltholder, which was preceded by a reign as the champion of the very same organization for whose "undisputed" title he fights next week.Several of these titles were stripped from Dawson at one time or another for the high crimes of facing Antonio Tarver and Johnson, who happened to be the highest rated light heavyweights according to anyone not making a living off sanctioning fees, not to mention the only ones of good stature who would face him.All of this has resulted in the following grotesque inevitability: By the time his career is done, Dawson, a fine but hardly exceptional fighter, will almost assuredly have won more light heavyweight "world" titles than Archie Moore, Billy Conn, Tommy Loughran, Joey Maxim, Harold Johnson, Bob Foster, and Michael Spinks combined.And then some.For his part, Pascal claimed the "regular" WBC title by beating the well-regarded Adrian Diaconu in 2009 and has defended the belt twice. This after losing to Carl Froch in a battle for the WBC super middleweight belt, after which, according to the best available sources (boxrec.com), he captured the coveted WBO Inter-Continental super middleweight title, which, for reasons we can neither fathom nor explain, was vacant at the time. Perhaps it had something to with no one knowing what the hell it is.Still with us?All this, of course, followed Pascal's lengthy and momentous reign as the WBO/NABO, NABA and NABF super middleweight champion, which in some quarters is as highly regarded a post as assistant to the acting head of sanitation engineering, or special adjunct to the office of dung collection and removal, municipal division.None of this should overshadow the happy reality that title belt madness notwithstanding, the Dawson-Pascal winner (or Pascal-Dawson if you're Canadian, eh?) will deservedly receive recognition as THE RING's world light heavyweight champion. There's only one.But never mind that too for the moment. You can throw out all the belts, sanctioning fees, vacancies, BC this and BC that, IB this and WB that. This is a hell of a good matchup that should provide action, drama, and two-way thrills, the kind of theater that can be found only in a prize ring: a struggle between two world-class athletes at the pinnacle of their respective and very considerable abilities.That's good enough for me.Some random observations from last week:It goes against the laws of nature to praise moneyed monoliths like HBO and Don King Productions, but both deserve kudos for Saturday night's card from St. Louis. The judging was a bit suspect, but what do you expect when you've got young, exciting guys in Tavoris Cloud and Devon Alexander going against a 41-year-old with a wrinkled scalp and a Ukrainian who looks like he's on a first-name basis with all the local liquor store clerks? This sport has always been about the future...For what it's worth, from my couch I had Johnson edging out Cloud 115-114 in a wonderful slugfest, and Alexander just getting by Andriy Kotelnik by the same score.Harold Lederman's lopsided score in favor of Alexander, based presumably on Alexander's noteworthy ability to muss Kotelnik's hair with the breeze created by his many misses, was an abomination that provided a rare insight into the cause of much of the controversy involved in the scoring of professional prizefights. If, as Lederman implied, judges are trained to reward "busyness" over a more conservative strategy that favors quality over quantity, well, yeah, that's a problem...Nevertheless, Lederman got himself a fan for life here, when, at the start of the third round of Cloud-Johnson he announced: "What a goddam fight this is!" Good for you, Harold...You've got to admire Johnson's composure. If Cloud had growled at me like that during the referee's instructions my next move would have been to hail a cab. Johnson yawned...Alexander is a likeable kid with a wonderful story, which makes it especially unlucky that he's the least capable of the top junior welterweights. Tim Bradley -- whom Alexander hilariously called out with a "Bradley U Next" T-shirt during the postfight interview -- is a far more formidable fighter, as is Amir Khan. Alexander would be hard-pressed to beat Lamont Peterson, a good fighter Bradley thoroughly outclassed...You'd think the mostly dismal performances Breidis Prescott has turned in since flattening Khan would encourage Khan to lobby hard for a rematch. You'd be wrong...Make no mistake, if Don King somehow manages to sign Floyd Mayweather to a promotional contract, King will have forged one of the great comebacks in the history of sport...Cornelius Bundrage's knockout of Cory Spinks is more evidence yet that you should never underestimate the value of awkwardness, immense self-belief, and Emanuel Steward in your corner...Biggest waste of money ever: whatever HBO paid the guy who translated between-round instructions Kotelnik received from English-speaking Stacey McKinley...Chris Avelos is still a heck of a puncher and his loss to Chris Martin on ShoBox will make him a better fighter down the road...With all those empty seats at the Friday Night Fights and ShoBox cards I thought I was watching a doubleheader between the Oakland As and the Florida Marlins...If not for the Cloud-Johnson slugfest, the best fight of the weekend would have been the four-round draw between Antonio Avila and Russell Fiore on Friday Night Fights...Alfredo Escalera, Sr. was a damned good junior lightweight. His son is a chubby cruiserweight. Who's Junior's mother, Gabourey Sidibe?Bill Dettloff, THE RING magazine's Senior Writer, is the co-author, along with Joe Frazier, of "Box Like the Pros." He is currently working on a biography of Ezzard Charles.Bill can be contacted at dettloff@ptd.net

Alexander doesn't live up to hype with Kotelnik victory

Sun, 08 Aug 2010 00:39:41 PST
Andreas Kotelnik (left) landed more than his share of hard punches during his spirited battle with Devon Alexander, including this blood spattering left hook, however the former titleholder still lost a unanimous decision in Alexander's hometown of St. Louis on Saturday. Fans can debate who deserved to win but no one can argue that Alexander failed to live up to the lofty expectations placed upon him before the fight. Photo / Naoki FukudaDevon Alexander may have received an early Christmas gift in his hometown of St. Louis on Saturday.Even if the undefeated dual titleholder legitimately out-pointed Andreas Kotelnik -- as the official judges and HBO's "unofficial official" Harold Lederman contend -- he certainly didn't live up to his hype.This is not to say that he wasn't impressive during his hard-fought 12-round battle with the former beltholder. Alexander (21-0, 13 knockouts), who won by unanimous scores of 116-112, exhibited an incredible work rate (throwing over 1,000 punches through 12 rounds) and showed a lot of heart during the spirited fight. The 23-year-old standout may still evolve into a special fighter. However, he's nowhere near the elite status many fans and boxing writers bestowed upon him leading into Saturday's HBO-televised bout against Kotelnik (31-4-1, 13 KOs).Alexander opened as an 8-to-1 favorite over Kotelnik, who hadn't fought since dropping a one-sided decision to Amir Khan last July. Betting money quickly boosted Alexander to a 10-to-1 favorite and on some wagering websites the St. Louis native was as high as 20-to-1 by fight week.The New York Times did a major feature on Alexander, whose story of survival and perseverance from the mean streets of North St. Louis inspire such pieces. Every major boxing website ran a column on Alexander's star potential. The stage was set for the speedy southpaw to pick up the torch as the man in St. Louis. Cory Spinks, a bona fide attraction in the Midwestern city for many years, lost a 154-pound title on the undercard of Saturday's fight, which drew more than 10,000 to the Scottrade Center.All Alexander had to do was deliver the way he did against Juan Urango, the iron-chinned titleholder he knocked out with a single uppercut in March.Another breath-taking performance like that one and the entire boxing world would have demanded a showdown with fellow undefeated standout Timothy Bradley. However, Kotelnik showed us that Alexander is not ready for Bradley or stardom. For all his desire, skill, conditioning, and physical tools, he still needs more experience before he takes on the best of the best. Kotelnik, a 32-year-old veteran who defended his title against hard-punching Marcos Maidana before losing it to Khan, has experience and he used it well against his more athletically gifted opponent on Saturday.The Ukrainian trumped Alexander's speed with timing. He nullified the better athlete's power with technique. He solved Alexander's lateral movement and defense with intelligent pressure and combination punching. And his pacing enabled him to compete with the younger man's excellent conditioning down the stretch of the fight.The two were competitive through the first four rounds of the bout, but by the fifth round Alexander was huffing and puffing with a bloody nose, squinting through a cut right eye and pushing his punches instead of snapping them with his usual speed and accuracy. Working behind a consistent and well-timed jab, Kotelnik out-landed Alexander by nearly a 3-to-1 margin in the sixth round. By the seventh round, the counter-punching technician had become the aggressor in the fight, forcing Alexander to backpedal with effective pressure and three- and four-punch combinations that often found the mark with the final shot (usually a flush right hand).Alexander tried his best to regain momentum in the late rounds of the bout. He came on strong in the final minutes of the eighth and 11th, but Kotelnik answered Alexander's rally with a head-snapping combinations in the closing seconds of those rounds.By the 12th, the hometown hero was clearly exhausted. Alexander's legs appeared to stiffen with a minute left in the final round but the young titleholder gamely stood his ground and battled it out with the more seasoned fighter until the bell.Alexander, who claimed cramps were responsible for the stiffness in his legs, believes his effort merited the official verdict of the fight."I think I did enough to win," he said after the fight. "Kotelnik is a tough fighter, an ex-world champion. Kotelnik trained hard. Give him credit."Kotelnik probably will receive the credit he was denied by fans and the boxing media prior to Saturday's fight, but the veteran believes he deserves more than that."I want the belt," Kotelnik said after the fight. "I deserve it. If the fight were anywhere but here, I would be champion. That guy has something that belongs to me."Alexander doesn't agree with Kotelnik's opinion, but he's smart and grounded enough to know that he did not deliver against the Ukrainian as he had in previous fights."It was an okay performance for me," Alexander admitted. "I am my own toughest critic."Other critics are already popping up on message boards and boxing forums on the internet, but they need not dismiss Alexander the way they did Kotelnik last week. He's young and he's got a lot to learn, but he's willing to do so. He still has the talent and dedication to be something special. He may yet live up to his nickname "The Great." For now, however, he's Alexander the "Pretty Good."

Martin upsets Avalos on ShoBox

Fri, 06 Aug 2010 23:48:21 PST
Hard-punching bantamweight Chris Avalos was a knockout away from being hailed as one the sport's brightest prospects, but Christopher Martin proved that the 20-year-old slugger still has some growing up to do in a Showtime-televised main event in Hinckley, Minn., on Friday. Martin (19-0-2, 5 knockouts), a more mature, naturally bigger, and better skilled prospect, out-boxed Avalos (16-1, 13 KOs) over 10 rounds to earn a split decision victory.Martin, a 24-year-old San Diego native, won by scores of 98-92 and 97-93. The 98-94 card for Avalos was a disgrace. Martin troubled Avalos with his counter punching from the onset and took complete control of the bout from the fifth round to the final bell.Avalos, a strong-willed puncher from Lancaster, Calif., did his best to pressure Martin, but the older, heavier fighter was able to evade his punches with head and upper-body movement and stay in range to return fire. Martin, who gave Avalos angles when punching in close, continually beat the hyped youth to the punch with jabs, lead hooks, counter right hands and body-head combinations down the stretch of the fight. In the co-featured bout of the ShoBox broadcast, cruiserweight prospect Lateef Kayode (13-0, 12 KOs) stopped Alfredo Escalera Jr. (18-3-1, 12 KOs) at the end of eighth round of a scheduled 10. Kayode, a Hollywood, Calif.,-based Nigerian, was the aggressor throughout the bout. The Freddie Roach-trained boxer-puncher scored with left hooks and uppercuts while Escalera, the son of the former 130-pound champ from Puerto Rico, struggled to find his rhythm. Kayode didn't allow Escalera to get warmed up and repeatedly bulled the Puerto Rican to the ropes in the middle rounds of the bout. A right hand to the body and the head set up a huge left hook that dropped Escalera late in the round. Escalera got up on wobbly legs and survived the round but he simply lacked the will to continue and his corner did the right thing by signaling the end of the bout to referee Joe Cortez.

Prescott out-points Cuello on FNF

Fri, 06 Aug 2010 21:17:43 PST
Former lightweight contender Breidis Prescott won his second consecutive bout since suffering back-to-back losses by out-boxing journeyman Harrison Cuello in the main event of an ESPN2-televised card in Chicago on Friday.Prescott (23-2, 19 knockouts), who won by scores of 99-90 (twice) and 98-91, controlled the distance and pace of the pedestrian 10-round junior welterweight bout with his rangy jab and movement. Cuello (19-13-3, 14 KOs), an aggressive southpaw who was four inches shorter than Prescott, had trouble landing more than an occasional straight left during the middle rounds of the bout. Prescott dropped Cuello with a counter right hand in the ninth round of the bout.The 27-year-old Miami-based Colombian is scheduled to fight again in Panama on Aug. 14, an indication of Prescott's desire to regain the momentum his career had following his first-round KO of current 140-pound beltholder Amir Khan in 2008. That momentum was lost with points losses to Miguel Vazquez and Kevin Mitchell last year.In the co-featured bout of the Friday Night Fights broadcast, seasoned Venezuelan veteran Patrick Lopez overwhelmed undefeated junior welterweight prospect Prenice Brewer in the second round of a scheduled eight rounder. Lopez (20-2, 12 KOs), a former amateur star in Venezuela now based in New Hampshire, was simply too strong and technically sharp for Brewer (15-1-1, 6 KOs), a tall, rangy boxer from Cleveland, Ohio. Brewer was never down in the bout but he stopped punching back midway through the second round and covered up while halfway turning his back, giving referee John O'Brien to choice but to halt the bout at 2:38 of the round.The fight of the telecast was a four-round bout between local lightweights Russell Fiore and Antonio Avila, who fought to a crowd-pleasing majority draw.Fiore (4-0-1, 4 KOs), who was the aggressor throughout the bout, was dropped hard in the first round and rocked in the third by Avila (3-1-1, 1 KO), a more technically sound counter puncher. However, the gutsy Chicago native rallied in the fourth by knocking Avila into the ropes with a hard right hand. Referee John O'Brien correctly ruled it a technical knockdown because the only the ropes prevented Avila from hitting the canvas or falling out of the ring. The 10-8 round salvaged the draw for Fiore, who was out-boxed for the majority of the bout. Scores read 38-36 for Avila, 37-37, 37-37.

Alexander on precipice of stardom

Fri, 06 Aug 2010 13:38:05 PST
Devon Alexander has come a long way since his childhood in a forbidding North St. Louis neighborhood, about a 20-minute drive from the arena - Scottrade Center - in which he fights Andreas Kotelnik on Saturday.The 23-year-old junior welterweight titleholder is just getting started, though. He stands near the top of a talent-rich weight division that promises big fights and big money if he continues win. That's a significant "if" at this level of boxing and he knows it. Thus, he is focused on two things: Kotelnik, a former titleholder himself, and the joy of fighting in front of a hometown crowd that has embraced him as a hero."I could never have imagined as a kid all these people coming out to support me," Alexander told RingTV.com over the phone moments before the final news conference on Wednesday. "People constantly ask me for my autograph, to take pictures with me. Autographs? From a kid who grew up in North St. Louis? It's just amazing."I never really thought I'd be in a situation like this."Alexander actually has believed for some time that he'd end up with a fancy belt around his waist.The gifted southpaw became one of the best amateur boxers of his era after first walking into a gym at 7, reportedly finishing with a record in the neighborhood of 300-10. He narrowly missed earning a spot on the 2004 U.S. Olympic, losing to Rock Allen in the trials.And he is known for his work ethic. Growing up, he trained religiously while many other kids found trouble - or worse."Where I come from, you don't have too many dreams," he said. "Success never crossed my mind at the beginning. I was just the type of person who liked to train hard. I liked to do stuff 100 percent. And, as I fought in the amateurs, I loved winning. I saw that you win when you train hard."It's just a great feeling. I love it."Alexander (20-0, 13 knockouts) has known nothing but winning as a professional, passing every test as he has stepped up his opposition.He easily outpointed veteran DeMarcus Corley in 2008, won his first major title at only 22 when talented Junior Witter quit after eight one-sided rounds claiming a hand injury and added a second belt when became the first to stop durable Juan Urango in March.The victory over Urango, who many saw as the favorite going into the fight, lifted Alexander to elite status in the sport."I think that helped open eyes," said Alexander, who KO'd Urango in the eighth round with two enormous uppercuts. "People were saying, 'Can't nobody knock him out.' (Ricky) Hatton couldn't. (Andre) Berto couldn't. (Randall) Bailey couldn't. I look at that as a big victory."I just have to continue moving forward, though, to continue to prove myself. Every time I win is not enough. I have to move forward."Alexander moves into a solid, well-schooled professional in Kotelnik (31-3-1, 13 KOs) on Saturday.The St. Louisan and his longtime trainer, Kevin Cunningham didn't show much respect for his Ukrainian counterpart on a recent conference call filled with trash talk but he knows the 2000 Olympic silver medalist is no pushover."It's my job to make sure we're not overlooking anybody," Cunningham said. "... Devon is a focused individual. I'm an extremely focused individual."However, it's difficult to keep from looking at what might lie ahead. Alexander and Timothy Bradley reportedly are close to a deal on a fight in January, assuming Alexander beats Kotelnik.Alexander-Bradley isn't exactly Pacquiao-Mayweather but it's a very big and lucrative matchup that has boxing purists salivating. Two dynamic young, undefeated fighters in their 20s rarely take such a risk these days.The fighters are both on the precipice of stardom right now. The winner would be catapulted full-fledged star status, which comes with seven-figure paydays and worldwide exposure of which most boxers can only dream."That's motivation for me," said Alexander, referring to the prospect of a fight with Bradley. "I don't trip over it. I just know what awaits me when I win this next fight - bigger and better things. Can I taste it? Defiinitely. What's funny is that I don't think of myself as a superstar or anything like that. People might see me that way. I'm just happy doing what I do, doing the best I can do."I have to say I'm happy that people are starting to recognize me. It's a good thing for me."Michael Rosenthal can be reached at RingTVeditor@yahoo.com-