Lem’s latest: Jimmy Ellis dies; Mayweather-Maidana press scores
Former heavyweight boxing champion Jimmy Ellis, who trained with fellow Louisville fighter Muhammad Ali and squared off against some of his era's best fighters, has died in his hometown at the age of 74, according to The Associated Press.
Ellis' brother, Jerry, said the ex-champion died at a Louisville hospital Tuesday after suffering from Alzheimer's disease in recent years.
Ellis defeated Jerry Quarry to win the WBA crown in 1968. Ellis defended the title by defeating Floyd Patterson, but was stopped by Joe Frazier in a fight to unify the world heavyweight championship in 1970.
He was stopped by Ali in the 12th round of their bout in 1971.
Ellis, the son of a preacher, retired from boxing in 1975. He spent years training fighters and later worked for the Louisville parks department.
Ellis won his final fight by first-round knockout over Carl Baker in May 1975 for a record of 40-12-1, with 24 knockouts.
HOW DID THEY SCORE FLOYD MAYWEATHER JR.-MARCOS MAIDANA?
RingTV.com sought the scores of 21 boxing insiders for last Saturday's majority decision by Floyd Mayweather Jr. over Marcos Maidana, adding Maidana's WBA welterweight title to the RING and WBC championships Mayweather already owned.
Mayweather won by scores of 116-112, and, 117-111 on the respective cards of Dave Moretti and Burt A. Clements, with Michael Pernick scoring it a draw at 114-114. RingTV.com's Lem Satterfield scored it for Mayweather, 118-110.
Floyd Mayweather Jr., 115-113: My card was basically in step with that of Michael Pernick, except that I gave Floyd Mayweather round three, whereas Pernick and several others scored the round for Marcos Maidana. Mayweather took two, three, six, seven, nine, 10 and 11. Maidana had one, four, five, eight and 12.
Doug Fischer, Editor RingTV.com
Floyd Mayweather Jr., 115-113
Lyle Fitzimmons, BoxingScene.com
Floyd Mayweather Jr., 116-112: I gave Marcos Maidana rounds one, three, five and 12.
Norm Frauenheim, THE RING magazine, www.15rounds.com
Floyd Mayweather Jr., 115-113
Jeffrey Freeman, www.KODigest.TV
Floyd Mayweather Jr., 116-113: I gave Marcos Maidana the first, third, fourth, fifth — and the eighth was an even round for me.
Floyd Mayweather, 115-113
David Greisman, BoxingScene.com
Floyd Mayweather Jr., 115-113.
Keith Idec, The Record/BoxingScene.com
Floyd Mayweather Jr., 116-112.
Ryan Maquinana, CSNBAYAREA/BoxingScene.com
Floyd Mayweather Jr., 115-113
Rich Marotta, KFI Radio, Los Angeles
Floyd Mayweather Jr., 115-113: My score on last week's fight was for Floyd Mayweather. I gave Marcos Maidana the first, third, fifth, eighth and 12th.
Floyd Mayweather Jr., 116-112
Jack Obermayer, Fight Fax Inc.
Floyd Mayweather Jr., 115-113
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John J. Raspanti, Doghouseboxing.com/KO Monthly Magazine/examiner.com
Floyd Mayweather Jr., 115-113
Matt Richardson, Fightnews.com
Floyd Mayweather Jr. 115-113: It was a difficult fight to score with some close rounds. I wouldn't argue with a draw or a 7-5 win for either man. There's no way Marcos Maidana only won three rounds, however. That's impossible and an insult to my intelligence.
Chris Robinson, Hustleboss.com/BoxingScene.com
Floyd Mayweather Jr., 116-112: I would have to watch it again to get a full grasp of the fight. Close, tough fight, but I saw Floyd winning a lot of the second-half rounds.
Draw, 114-114
Michael Rosenthal, THE RING Magazine
Floyd Mayweather Jr., 115-113
Abel Sanchez, trainer of WBA middleweight titleholder Gennady Golovkin
Floyd Mayweather Jr., 116-112: Marcos Maidana threw more punches, but you can't score punches that don't land. I felt that referee Tony Weeks kind of lost a little control of the fight by allowing Maidana to hit Floyd Mayweather in the back of the head.
That was very advantageous of Maidana to throw that looping right hand to the back of the head, but if you hit to the back of the head, that's a foul.
Floyd Mayweather Jr., 116-112: I gave Floyd Mayweather eight rounds, leaving four for Marcos Maidana. There were a lot of swing rounds.
Charles Villa, guest/fan, Portland, Ore.
Floyd Mayweather Jr., 115-113
Floyd Mayweather Jr., 116-112: I thought Floyd Mayweather won 8-4. I don't see the fuss, only that Marcos Maidana did better than anyone thought.
NATHAN CLEVERLY MAKES CRUISERWEIGHT DEBUT ON LEE SELBY-ROMULU KOASICHA CARD
Former WBO light heavyweight titleholder Nathan Cleverly (26-1, 12 KOs) said that he feels "really sharp and energetic" in advance of his May 17 cruiserweight debut against Sean Corbin (17-4, 12 KOs) at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, Wales. He is attempting to rebound from a fourth-round stoppage loss to WBO 175-pound titleholder Sergey Kovalev in August.
"I can still make light heavyweight, but there's a difference between making the weight and performing at my best at the weight. My body fat percentage is too low [at 175 pounds,] and I feel sluggish when I try to get down to the weight. My mouth gets dry and my legs get heavy," said Cleverly, 27, in a press release.
"When I am at [200 pounds] I feel great, really sharp and energetic. I need a few fights to settle into the weight. You are going to come up against some big guys, and I need to see how I react to that and deal with it. I think I will handle it well and that's what we'll find out on May 17."
Cleverly-Corbin is the co-feature on a card headlined by a WBC featherweight eliminator between Lee Selby (18-1, 7 KOs) and Romulu Koasicha (21-3, 12 KOs). There is also a rematch between lightweights Gary Buckland and Gavin Rees, the latter of whom suffered his third straight loss by split-decision to Buckland in February. Also featured is super middleweight Callum Smith opposite Tobias Webb.
