Firstly I want to start by congratulating Manny Pacquiao. I am a massive fan of the fab 4 but was unfortunate not to be alive to see their almost round robin fights so being able to tell my kids in the future that I got to see a prime Manny Pacquiao goes some way to making up for it. As expected the fight did not fail to impress as Manny Pacquiao was his normal fast and furious self whilst when he did box, Cotto had success.
Pacquiao was the favourite and duly won stopping Cotto in the 12th after knocking him down twice early but maybe in bias I reserve my ultimate praise for Miguel Cotto. He showed last night that he is a true warrior and has a warrior's heart. He was roundly criticised for 'quitting' against Antonio Margarito (who in all likelihood did have plaster of paris in his hand wraps) but against Clottey and last night he erased that memory. Even with blood streaming from his nose, mouth and a cut near his eye Cotto carried on. Many would have been wilted under Pacquiao's pressure, or would have taken the easy way out by quitting on their stool but Cotto stayed in there, as a Cotto fan I'm annoyed Kenny Bayless robbed him of the chance of finishing the fight but the result will not tarnish what we saw in the ring.
You will be hard pressed to find a fighter better than Pacquiao, who is now a 7 weight champion, from the past decade or even ever but also you will be hard pressed to find a fighter who has shown such extreme courage under fire like Miguel Cotto. There is no shame in his loss, and after a hard career fighting the best, no one would begrudge him a rest.
The boxing world awaits! Just under a week to go until WBO welter weight champion Miguel Cotto takes on pound for pound king Manny Pacquiao in what promises to be an explosive fight. If you have been following HBO's 24/7 series you will have seen that Pacquiao is not guaranteed the walk in the park that many predicted with problems and distractions aplenty in his camp. Here's a little teaser courtesy of GP
'Bad' Chad Dawson last night convincingly defeated Glen Johnson by unanimous decision to erase any talk of a robbery that may have lingered after their first bout. Johnson's age told as Dawson looked too strong and fast for his 40 year old opponent who this time around did not contest the result.
Dawson is easily one of the most impressive fighters at 175 pounds but needs to learn how to excite fans because someone of his size with his speed should attract fans in droves. Even in his home town of Hartford, Connecticut he could not draw as only 5,230 people turned out to see the home town hero.
So after all his talk, David Haye did as he said and beat Valuev to become WBA heavyweight champion of the world. Haye stuck and moved and even wobbled his 7'2 opponent in the last round all with a broken right hand to win a majority decision in Germany (yes I did say he won a decision in Germany!) He fought with a style different to that of which we are used to and got the job done, so must be commended. Now bring on John Ruiz!
"No Mas" Two words that are ingrained in boxing history that may or may not have been the utterance of a flummoxed Roberto Duran as he took on Sugar Ray Leonard in a rematch for his welter weight crown in New Orleans in November 1980. 29 years later the words have resurfaced but instead of a fighter saying them, we as boxing fans are.
Kelly Pavlik and Jermain Taylor first met in 2007 for the undisputed middleweight crown and despite the champion Taylor flooring Pavlik in the first round Pavlik rose to stop Taylor in the 7th. Since then their careers have gone in opposite directions but essentially have us saying the same thing, no mas.
Pavlik, a down to earth likeable guy from Youngstown, Ohio, continued to rise in stature and was touted as a new star in boxing. He beat Taylor again in a non title rematch and then stopped his mandatory, Gary Lockett in 3 rounds. He was cruising but then 'The Ghost' came unstuck.
The young star faced the wily veteran Bernard Hopkins and was expected to be too young and strong for his 43 year old opponent who had just come off a split decision loss to Joe Calzaghe. Yet Pavlik looked on dimensional as Hopkins comprehensively beat Pavlik by a wide unanimous decision. A defeat to Hopkins is nothing to be ashamed of as Hopkins is a certain first ballot hall of famer but it was the manner in which he was beaten that was so shocking. He offered nothing in the fight as Hopkins beat him to the every punch and was even confident enough to bolo punch Pavlik on numerous occasions. The indestructible aura around him was gone and even in his return against Marco Antonio Rubio he was not his same impressive self (although Rubio was partly to blame).
Pavlik's team looked to get their man back on track with a June date against Sergio Mora, a junior middle weight but a credible name having defeated Vernon Forrest, but this was called off due to a staph infection in one of Pavlik’s hands and Pavlik awaited a chance for redemption.
A chance to erase the stain Hopkins left on his record looked distant then suddenly to the delight of boxing fans everywhere Top Rank and Dan Goosen announced that an agreement had been reached for a fight between Pavlik and Paul 'The Punisher' Williams. Pavlik’s chance had arrived against a man considered one of boxing’s most dangerous and avoided. A victory would provide credibility to his middleweight reign having only defended his crown against the limited Lockett and Rubio.
The fight was scheduled for October but to the dismay of the boxing world the nagging staph infection reared its head again and the fight was postponed. There was mild disappointment when the Mora fight was called off but when the Williams fight was postponed the decision was met with disappointment turning to anger when it was revealed that Pavlik had missed doctor appointments that were scheduled to heal the injury. It looked like the fight was off as Williams began to search for a new opponent but the fight was saved and rescheduled for December. Then last week Jack Loew, Pavlik's trainer revealed that his fighter's hand had not healed as expected and the fight was off again. This time the fight was done with Williams’ team beyond furious and moving to find another opponent to fill the Dec date. The decision to call off the bout lead Dan Goosen, Williams' promoter, to claiming they do not need Pavlik and won’t enter negotiations again
Now the knives were out as people’s patience (as well as mine) had well and truly ran out. The man people thought was going to be boxing's next was derided as merely a contender. His 'ducking' of Arthur Abraham, his weak opposition since winning the middleweight crown as well as the supposed personal problems (alcohol related) he was suffering are now all being held against Pavlik.
I am not one for kicking a man when he is down but I can see where this anger has come from, it is abundantly clear that Pavlik's career has not progressed as it could/should have and the same people who derided Jermain Taylor’s tenure at the top of the illustrious middle weight division are now wanting Pavlik dethroned. As a boxer your hands are your tools of trade so we cannot chastise Pavlik for not jumping at the chance to fight with his infected hand but stories about him missing his appointments do not endear him to the fans that were so looking forward to the bout. I have an appreciation for all boxing but even I have my limit and if he is unable to defend his title then he should vacate his titles and allow someone that is fit and able to fight a chance. It appears Pavlik has stagnated and even regressed in his stint as champion thus I would be far from upset to see The Ring Magazine relieve him of his title.
Michael Gerard Tyson was a terror in the ring, demolishing all that stood before him at the height of his career. The youngest heavyweight champion of the world after beating Trevor Berbick aged 20, Tyson went on to clean up the division and become the undisputed champion before dropping his title in a massive upset to James 'Buster' Douglas. Sadly despite regaining his title Tyson was never the same fighter and after a stint in prison his star diminished with controversy courting him both in and out of the ring so here GP captures Tyson at his awesome best.
The rescheduled Kelly Pavlik/Paul Williams bout for December 5th has been cancelled for the second time after Pavlik again pulled out with with a staph infection in his hand. Jack Loew, Pavlik's trainer, claimed that Pavlik is struggling to make a closed fist with his left hand.
"He's trying," said Loew. "He's been running, he's been trying to train in the gym. He's trying to shadow box with one hand, hit the speed bag with one hand. ... I've been trying to keep it a secret but it's not going great and I'm not going to fool anybody any longer."
HBO tried to reschedule the middle weight title fight for January 23rd 2010 but Paul Williams' promoter Dan Goosen has rejected this and instead plans on going ahead with the December 5th HBO date.
Carl Froch held on to his WBC super middle weight title last night in front of his home crowd with a split decision victory over Andre Dirrell in Nottingham's Trent Arena.
The fight was very close with Dirrell using his superior hand and foot speed to out box Froch but Froch kept up the pressure landing telling blows on Dirrell when he could catch him. Dirrell's movement clearly frustrated Froch, leading Froch to give Dirrell something akin to a judo throw after a clinch in the fifth round.
Dirrell was docked a point in the 10th round for excessive holding thus began to mount a spirited offence landing some clean left hands and this carried on into the 11th catching Froch with a left hook that appeared to daze the man from Nottingham.
Into the 12th round Dirrell began aggressively letting both lefts and rights fly but Froch continued to stalk Dirrell and forced Dirrell back into defensive mode as the fight drew to a conclusion.
The decision was in the air, one judge scored it 114-113 for Dirrell but this was nullified by two scores of 115-112 for Froch, who improves to 26-0 (20KO) with the win.
The second and third stages of the Super Six super middle weight tournament has been announced and has thrown up quite a feast for boxing fans. In stage two the pick of the three bouts sees Mikkel Kessler take on Carl Froch whilst Arthur Abraham takes on Andre Dirrell and Jermain Taylor takes on Andre Ward. Then in stage three Carl Froch then takes Arthur Abraham whilst Mikkel Kessler takes on Jermain Taylor and the two Andres face off as Dirrell takes on Ward.
GROUP STAGE 2
ANDRE DIRREL vs. ARTHUR ABRAHAM
MIKKEL KESSLER vs. CARL FROCH
JERMAIN TAYLOR vs. ANDRE WARD
GROUP STAGE 3
ANDRE DIRRELL vs. ANDRE WARD
CARL FROCH vs. ARTHUR ABRAHAM
MIKKEL KESSLER vs. JERMAIN TAYLOR
This competition does not fail to deliver as these two rounds provide more exciting bouts
The first round of the Super Six tournament kicked off tonight and it did not fail to provide the excitement it had promised. Former middle weight world champion Jermain 'Bad Intentions' Taylor took on 'King' Arthur Abraham in Berlin's o2 arena in a fight filled with high drama and in what was almost a repeat of his last fight it ended with Taylor kayoed in the 12th. Taylor started well behind his jab but Abraham's high guard proved tricky for Taylor to break through as many of his punches were caught on Abraham's gloves and arms.
Abraham came on strong in the second half of the fight taking control and eventually knocked out Taylor with a long right hand through Taylor's gloves. Taylor was already behind on the cards at this point with a point deduction for low blows in the 6th round not helping his cause. As the tournament's rules state Abraham leads the pack with 3 points, 2 for the win and 1 for the knockout.
As per usual in the run up to a mega fight, The Ring Magazine has compiled a team of boxing insiders, experts and actual boxers to have their say in who will win in the monumental clash between WBO welter weight titlist, Miguel Cotto and Pound for Pound King, Manny Pacquiao.
Pacquiao picks
1. Nick Charles (Showtime) - Pac decision 2. Bernard Fernadez (Philly Daily News) - Pac decision 3. Andre Berto - Pac stoppage 4. Timothy Bradley - Pac decision 5. Brian Kenny (ESPN) - Pac decision 6. Joe Tessitore (ESPN) - Pac decision 7. Darius Ortiz (ESPN boxing editor) - Pacquiao stoppage 8. David Diaz - Pac decision 9. Dave Wilcox (DailySports.com) - Pac stoppage 10. Ronnie Nathanielz (Manila Standard/Boxingscene) - Pac wins 11. Naazim Richardson - Pac decision 12. Bill Calogero (Talkin' Boxing with Billy C) - Pac decision 13. Steve Farhood (Showtime) - Pac stoppage 14. Scott Mallone (Ring Magazine Thailand) - Pac stoppage
No surprise seeing David Diaz pick Pacquiao after the thrashing he was handed by Pacman to lose his WBC light weight title in June 2008 or to see Malignaggi pick Cotto after the Puerto Rican fractured his orbital socket in their junior welter weight clash in 2006. I for one can not see why so many people are choosing either fighter by decision, this fight will clearly end in stoppage with both Cotto and Pacquiao having numbing power.
Bernard Hopkins will face Enrique Ornelas on December 2nd in Philadelphia in preparation for his 2010 bout with Roy Jones. Ornelas, brother of Librado Andrade, previously lost an eliminator bout against Marco Antonio Rubio for Kelly Pavlik's WBC middleweight title. Though he won his last bout in July, Ornelas isn't expected to pose much of a threat to Hopkins in the bout.
The current heavyweight landscape in boxing is not an appealing one and is can be cited as part of the reason why boxing is not as important in the world of sport as it previously was.
We had names and characters like Joe Louis, Sonny Liston, Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Larry Holmes and Mike Tyson who had exciting styles and characters that enthralled audiences. Now many people would be hard pressed to name 5 current heavyweight fighters and although David Haye is doing his best to return some pageantry to boxing with his publicity stunts and public goading of opponents, its just not the same.
The Klitschko brothers who rule the division with Iron fists do not have the same aura about them, they are very clinical in their styles lacking the pomp of Ali or the circus like attraction of Tyson.
I hold nothing against the Klitschkos as they are both good boxers and with better competition they would be held in higher esteem but nobody wants to pay money to see Wlad jab a flabby man to death. The lack of worthy opposition as well as the fact the brothers have vowed never to face each other means that we apparently will endure this for quite a while (unless David Haye can save the heavyweight division like he says), thus when I came across this video I felt the need to post it. It embodies what the heavyeight division should be like, it has showmanship, it is fast, fluid whereas today's division is slow and lethargic.
Again props to GP for capturing the exact feeling!
As was to be expected Cristobal Arreola was not able to become the first heavyweight champion of Mexican descent. His fight with Vitali Klitschko was a one-sided beating that was eventually called off in the 10th round at the behest of Arreola's corner, after Vitali landed everything at will. Arreola always came forward but ate jabs, right hands hooks and uppercuts that bloodied his nose and swelled his face. After the fight an emotional Arreola expressed his disappointment in quite colourful fashion!
Well this is some of the best news I have had in a while. Its being reported that a Hopkins/Jones Jr fight will take place. It will be a 50/50 split with it changing to 60/40 to the victor if he wins by kayo. The fight will take place in early 2010, if Jones is able to get past IBO Cruiserweight champion Danny Green in Australia on December 2nd.
Im expecting Hopkins to gain his revenge on Jones Jr, in what should be a good fight if both fighters perform how they did in their last fights respectively.
Tonight history could possibly be made as Cristobal Arreola aims to capture the WBC heavyweight title. Yet this is a feat easier said than done as he faces Vitali Klitschko.
The clash takes place in the Staple Centre, giving each fighter the 'home' advantage with Arreola actually from LA and Klitschko having fought two of his most memorable fights there (Lewis & Sanders) and its where his wife gave birth to his 3 kids.
Arreola has it all to do if he is to walk away with the belt but has a punchers chance. I expect it to be a lively encounter with Arreola being a very game opponent for Vitali. I expect Klitschko to take it by the 9th round.
The fight went how people expect with the bigger Mayweather dominating Marquez but after the fight another dimension was added when Max Kellerman added 'Sugar' Shane Mosley to the equation. Already in the ring with Bernard Hopkins as Marquez is a Golden Boy fighter, Kellerman enquired about a potential fight with between the two men. People have berated Mosley for a lack of class here but if you watch carefully he handled himself with poise rather it was his promoter, Bernard Hopkins that stirred up the frenzy urging Mayweather to fight Mosley.
The situation got out of hand and lead Kellerman to cut short the interview and rush back to Jim Lampley.
Now this poses the question, Mayweather has been called out on TV infront of millions by Shane and Golden Boy, will he accept? He claims he fought Marquez because Marquez called him out, will he do the same with Mosley?
I don't want to dwell on this as it has happened, but I have lost respect for Mayweather after this whole affair.
It was evident that he did not intend on making weight in the first place and thus the odds were further stacked against Marquez. Mayweather swaggered in at 146 pounds, 2 over the initial 144 limit compared to Marquez's 142 pounds. To make this worse he refused to be weighed on fight night thus whilst Marquez came in at 148 pounds Mayweather supposedly came in around the the mid to high 150 pound weight range. I suppose the $300,000 Marquez received for each pound made it better!
Now this aside Marquez fought a valiant fight but was hopelessly outclassed by the returning Mayweather. He was slick defensively with Marquez landing only 12% of his punches, sharp offensively landing at will, notably a crushing left hook/uppercut hybrid that floored Marquez in the second round. You would never have guessed he had been away since December 2007!
It looked to me that he was toying with Marquez and did himself a disservice by not finishing the job and being the first man to stop the brave Mexican warrior.
Been away for a while and Im back. I will post on the most recent stuff and keep it moving.
The boxing world, still reeling from the deaths of Arturo Gatti, Alexis Arguello and Vernon Forrest, has been rocked again by the death of Irish bronze medalist, Darren Sutherland. Sutherland,27, was found dead at his home in Bromley last night (14th September) by his manager Frank Maloney. His death is being treated as suicide.
Sutherland had a glory filled amateur career topped with an Olympic bronze after losing to eventual gold medal winner James Degale in the 2008 games in Beijing. He, like Degale, then turned pro having 4 fights and winning them all, the last being on June 30th. There were high expectation of him winning a super middleweight title and facing Degale again as a pro. Our thoughts are with his loved ones.
Last week Doug Fischer posted a supposed email he received in regards to a sparring session between Floyd Mayweather Jr and junior welter weight challenger Lamont Peterson. The email hinted that in a heated session between the two Peterson was unable to keep up with a sprightly Mayweather,
“FLOYD IS MORE THAN READY FOR MARQUEZ. HIS HAND SPEED, REFLEXES, CONDITIONING, TIMING AND RHYTHM ARE ALL THERE.
"MY FIGHTER TOLD ME THAT LAMONT PETERSON SHOWED UP AT FLOYD’S GYM TWO WEEKS AGO TRYING TO MAKE A NAME FOR HIMSELF. AFTER VERBALLY ABUSING EACH OTHER FOR 30 MINUTES WHILE PUTTING ON THEIR HANDWRAPS, THEY WENT EIGHT 4-MINUTE ROUNDS WITH 15 SECONDS REST, WHICH WAS A SPARRING SESSION WORTH PAYING FOR ACCORDING TO MY FIGHTER. AFTER EIGHT ROUNDS, LAMONT COULDN'T GO NO MORE BECAUSE OF FATIGUE. THAT’S WHEN FLOYD REALLY STARTED TAUNTING HIM SAYING TO HIM ‘ANOTHER ROUND, ANOTHER ROUND!’ WHEN LAMONT REFUSED TO GO ANOTHER ROUND, THAT’S WHEN THE VERBAL ABUSE WENT TO RECORD LEVELS IN THE MAYWEATHER CAMP. NAME CALLING AND VERBAL ABUSE CONTINUED TO BE DIRECTED AT LAMONT FOR ANOTHER 10 MINUTES.”
This lead many to believe the Mayweather was indeed back and that his two year hiatus would not be a factor but over at boxingscene.com, Rick Reeno has unearthed an alternate view of the sparring session:
There were many who were impressed after reading that bit of information. I was impressed until I spoke with a well-known insider in Las Vegas, who told me - "You heard what? That's not true. I know several guys who were there and Lamont Peterson worked Mayweather over." After making several more calls to my contacts in Vegas, it became embarrassing to even repeat the above story.
Then I began to dig.
I got a hold of one individual who was actually there. He completely backed the version of the story where Peterson handled his business and sent shockwaves in the Mayweather gym. Due to a friendly relationship with the Mayweather team, the person asked to remain anonymous.
"Lamont did his thing. If anybody got their ass kicked - it was Floyd. Lamont went to town on the boy. Make no mistake, it was competitive and exciting to watch."
Then I dug some more.
The hunt led me to Team Peterson member Jeff Miller. He was present for the sparring and backed the story of my sources. After showing him a copy of the story floating around the net, with Mayweather making Lamont quit, he advised me to contact Peterson's trainer/manager Barry Hunter.
I then made my way to Hunter. Coincidentally, Hunter had heard about the story Monday night through his wife - and I didn't blame him for being animated at times during our conversation. He couldn't believe that so many people were running with the story - without speaking to both sides.
The two days of sparring took place by chance. Lamont, Hunter and their entourage were in town for Anthony Peterson's fight at the Hard Rock. They were looking to get in some sparring work. A mutual friend, former heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman, made a suggestion to head over to the Mayweather Gym. Rahman made the call and got them the green light.
Hunter was more than ready to set the record straight.
"That's bullsh*t. There were several people in the gym. If you are going to put the story out there, at least tell the truth. We weren’t even going to speak about it. I had a few people ask me about it and I said 'I plead the fifth.' The first day was real hostile. They went to war the first day. Lamont had 18-ounce gloves on and Floyd had on 14-ounce gloves. They went 8 to 10 4-minute rounds with 15 to 30 second rests. The first day was relatively even, the second day Lamont did his thing," Hunter told BoxingScene.com
"Keep in mind, Lamont was out of shape with 18-ounce gloves on. I have to tell you, it was unbelievable to watch. I wish I had a tape to show you. They thought after the first day we weren't coming back but we went right back. The second day, Lamont was off the chain. It was raw, uncut and things they said to each other you certainly wouldn’t say in a church. They, meaning the uncle and father, thought that was the best work that Floyd ever got. The combinations, the skill, it was unbelievable to watch those two.
“Lamont did not go there to make a name for himself. Lamont is not a stranger to sparring former and current world champions. I'll keep the names a secret but it wasn't the first time he went into someone's backyard and put it on. I can't take nothing away from Floyd, he can fight. What got him is this. The average person Floyd spars can't hold a candle to him. But Lamont is a world champion like Floyd, not some sparring partner. And I think it caught Floyd off-guard. If they ever show a tape of that, his reign of terror will be over."
I asked Hunter about one version of the story where Peterson, prior to the start of the last round of their second day of sparring, went after Mayweather with a vengeance. That incident did take place but contrary to some of the stories, it was Hunter who stopped the sparring after the situation began to intensify.
"We said 'one more round,’ and they said 'one more round. ' Floyd went to go drink some water and Lamont went right to him and hit him. He didn't want no breaks. Lamont went into his bang of tricks in that round. I remember there was one punch he threw where it looked like a pitcher was winding up to throw a ball, and he threw a bodyshot. Then it was getting a bit heated,” Hunter said.
“Lamont is one of the toughest men I've ever known in my life. He took off his head gear and wanted to fight without head gear. They went in the middle of the ring, face to face, talking back and forth. I went in and got him and I took him out because now it was beyond fighting. I stopped it and that's the truth."
Peterson will get his big chance at the spotlight when he challenges WBO junior welterweight champion Timothy Bradley on December 5. I’ve spoken to a few on my respected colleagues about Bradley-Peterson. The predictions are literally split down the middle - an early indicator of a great fight.
Thus the jury is out. Who is to be believed?
I myself am not even sure, I think the original story is extremely exaggerated but the Peterson version could have been padded in order to make him look better. All will be revealed when Mayweather steps into the ring on September 19th
It appears that an agreement has been reached between Shane Mosley and Joshua Clottey to square off for Mosley's WBA Super champion title on December 26th or the aptly named 'Boxing Day'. HBO will televise the fight between the welter weights
I don't think I'm the only person fearing burnout. September has just started, the fight is in November and he has commenced full training. Prove me wrong sir!
It appears after whetting out appetites with the conversation last week Bernard 'The Executioner' Hopkins is not interested in facing Roy Jones Jr after all.
After his contentious win over Paulie 'Magic Man' Malignaggi on Saturday, it appears Juan 'Baby Bull' Diaz has set his sights on a bout with former junior welter weight king, Ricky Hatton.
Both fighters are promoted by Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions and with Diaz looking to make waves at 140 pounds and Hatton coming off a devastating 2nd round kayo at the hands of Manny Pacquiao, it appears that the two would be perfectly matched.
"We've wanted to fight Ricky Hatton for a long time. Juan wants this fight because he knows it would be a war. It would be a slugfest with two bulls meeting in the center of the ring. I don't know about fighting him in the UK though. Juan Lazcano trained in my gym for that fight with Hatton. When he hurt Ricky, the referee called time out. I don't know about fighting him out there,"
Savannah went onto tell BoxingScene.Com that a rematch with Malignaggi isn't impossible but only if they are not able to attract Hatton,
"If we don't fight Hatton, we would have no problem fighting Paulie in a rematch but our preference would be Ricky. I'll say one thing, there won't be a match in New York. Maybe it could happen in Las Vegas but not in New York."
Paulie Malignaggi is a colourful character, from his wild hairstyles to his flamboyant ring attire he has always stood out. But now he is the talk of boxing for another reason.
Malignaggi spoke out last week voicing his concerns over his bout with Diaz. He claimed that he bowed over weight, money, location, the venue and even the ring size. He finally lost his temper in a phone call with Rick Reeno about the appointment of officials. He claimed that Richard Schaffer of 'Golden Boy Promotions' promised him neutral officials but to his surprise Gale Van Hoy of Texas, Raul Caiz, a Mexican American and David Sutherland of Oklahoma, which neighbours Texas were appointed in his bout with Juan Diaz, a Texas based Mexican American.
Malignaggi's fears were realised on Saturday night when he lost, what was seen by most as, an extremely close unanimous decision by margins of 110-118, 113-115 & 112-116. I, as well as many others, felt that Malignaggi had done enough to win.
Diaz, coming off a knock out loss Marquez in February, was seen as one of Golden Boy's hot prospects. He racked up 30 consecutive wins picking up the WBO, WBA & IBF light weight titles by the age of 23. He fought at a fast and ferocious pace for all 3 minutes of every round and seemed unstoppable. Until he came up against seasoned Nate Campbell. He fought well until he suffered a cut above his eye and wilted, losing a split decision and his titles. When he faced Juan Manuel Marquez, the same happened again. At first he looked impervious rushing Marquez and hurting him at times but as Marquez began to figure him out he was cut, again he wilted and went on to be knocked out in the 9th round.
Thus the fight on Saturday night was seen as a make or break for him as well as Malignaggi, who had lost to Ricky Hatton in November of 2008 and despite picking up a win in April of this year was in career limbo.
The fight was close let it be told, the light-handed Malignaggi popped his jab, moved and attempted to out box Diaz who constantly came forward with furious energy but at the end of the 12th,I and many other felt Malignaggi had done enough to merit a win. Clearly this wasn't the case as Gale Van Hoy saw the fight as wide as 118-110 in favour of Diaz!
Even Oscar De La Hoya (more in an attempt to save face rather than in genuine outrage) spoke out against the judging at the Golden Boy promoted event,
"The fight was a close fight [Diaz-Maliganggi]. We look at the landslide that one of the judges had, I don't agree with it. I'm not a judge but I don't agree with it. Paulie Malignaggi was right [about getting screwed by the scoring] but it was a close fight. Both fighters gave it their all. You have to give it up to Paulie Malignaggi because he came to fight. He was in tremendous shape and put on one hell of a performance,"
Malignaggi was furious and rightly so at the post fight presser he had this to say:
And he is right. It was a travesty that the scoring turned out how it did, Malignaggi did fight valiantly and to see the result is a discredit to him and boxing itself. One would have thought that after Malignaggi aired his concerns about such things happening, the robbery would have been a little more discreet. Yet judges like Van Hoy simple didn't care. His scoring of the fight was simply horrible.
Boxing has had its dark days, it is well known that the had its say in the outcomes of fights with fighters, referees and judges alike all playing their part, and this harps back to these times as the home town and in house fighter was presented with a gift.
Malignaggi has bathed himself in glory in how he handled the situation, he took nothing away from Diaz, acknowledging him as a tough and worthy opponent. Yet no one will begrudge his ill will toward Golden Boy or anyone involved in this fiasco. We can only hope that Paulie does not allow this to leave such a bitter taste in his mouth that he doesn't not continue to fight.
Golden Boy, despite Oscar's public attempt to show disgust, has much to explain.
During HBO's broadcast of Boxing After Dark last night, (I'll get to the results of the fights later), there was a touching tribute to three of the pugilists that left us this summer. Here it is:
16 years ago two fighters, who would go onto to be amongst the biggest in the sport, met in Washington DC for the vacant IBF middleweight title. On the night Roy Jones Jr took a 12 round decision against Bernard Hopkins. Now it appears the two would like to do it again. Hopkins,44 and Jones, 40 both called up the Calvin Murphy show to discuss the possibility of a rematch in what would break down into a furious but humorous exchange, that mirrored their now legendary exchange televised on HBO all those years ago.
Roy Jones offered Hopkins a deal where the winner would get 60% of the purse with the loser getting 40% yet Hopkins refused insisting Jones Jr gets the 40%. Jones Jr pushed with his initial deal and even went as far as offering a winner takes all deal. At that point Hopkins hung up, having lost interest in Jones Jr's offers.
Jones Jr then told Calvin Murphy that Hopkins had been doing the same thing for 5 years and that it was Hopkins' worst nightmare to see Jones back looking good, in reference to his 10 round destruction of Jeff Lacy. Jones then went on to claim that if he could not get Hopkins then he would be more than happy to pursue both Antonio Tarver and Glen Johnson in order to gain revenge over the two fighters who kayoed him in 2004.
I don't think its anything to get excited over yet especially as Jones already has a bout with Dan Green scheduled for the IBO cruiser weight belt and Hopkins has recently offered Paul Williams a fight at 170 pounds but if it does go ahead, with the form both fighters have been in, I expect a fight that mirrors the entertainment of their phone calls!
The promising months ahead in boxing have hit a snag as the Kelly Pavlik/Paul Williams clash scheduled for October 3rd has been potponed. Pavlik suffered a reoccurance of the staph infection that caused his fight with Sergio Mora to be abandoned. Top Rank spokesman Fred Sternburg has announced the WBC/WBO bout will now take place on November 21st
Junior fly weight world champion, Ivan 'Iron Boy' Calderon will be drafted in to help Miguel Cotto train for his bout with Manny Pacquiao. Calderon is recognised as one of the fastest and best pure boxers in the sport and was also brought in to spar with Oscar De La Hoya in preparation for his fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. Freddie Roach, Oscar's trainer at the time later revealed that Calderon boxed circles around the 'Golden Boy'. His speed and the fact he fights in the southpaw stance, like Pacquiao, should be of massive benefit to Cotto's training as he prepares for the November 14th bout. Calderon, also from Puerto Rico, is in training for a September rematch with Rodel Mayol who is from Pacquiao's native Philippines.
The November 7th rematch between 'Bad' Chad Dawson and Glen 'The Road Warrior' Johnson has been approved by the WBC as an interim title fight. The two faced off last year with Dawson winning a close and in the eyes of some dubious decision. The winner of the light heavy weight bout will then be the mandatory to current WBC light heavy weight champion Jean Pascal who faces his mandatory Silvio Branco on September 266th.
It is being reported from various sources that a deal is in place for WBC/WBO middle weight champion Kelly 'The Ghost' Pavlik to defend his crown against Paul 'The Punisher' Williams on October 3rd.
This is the second time the fight has been attempted after negotiations fell apart last year. But it appears this time the talks between the two camps has been successful, as they were concluded on Tuesday afternoon.
It is likely the fight will take place in Atlantic City but this, like the fight, is yet to be confirmed.
27 years ago today, August the 12th, a Porsche 928 crashed along the federal highway from Santiago de Querétaro to San Luis Potosí. The driver of the car, a 23 year old from Santiago Tianguistenco, Estado de México, died instantly. His death would be as mourned as his life celebrated. The driver of the car was Mexican boxing legend Salvador Sanchez.
Sanchez started boxing professionally at a young age after an amateur boxing career that supposedly spanned only 4 fights. Despite his young age he quickly racked up victories over tough Mexican opposition only coming unstuck when the experienced Antonio Becerra defeated him for the vacant Mexican bantam weight title, the only defeat he would suffer in his celebrated career. Despite this defeat Sanchez kept on moving forward, he went up in weight to feather weight where he defeated Felix Trinidad Sr, Puerto Rican feather weight champion and father of Puerto Rican legend Felix Trinidad Jr, as he edged closer to a world title shot. On February 2nd 1980 this chance came against, Danny ‘Little Red’ Lopez.
Lopez was extremely confident in his abilities and tough to beat but this did not deter Sanchez and he knocked Lopez out in the 13th round. Sanchez defended his title against Ruben Castillo in a 15 round unanimous decision before he faced Lopez in a rematch. Lopez claimed that Sanchez had benefitted from beginner’s luck so Sanchez went about disproving this theory taking an extra round to dispatch of Lopez by TKO in June of the same year. Sanchez defended his title four more times including a unanimous decision over future champion Juan La Porte before he faced Wilfredo ‘Bazooka’ Gomez in the biggest bout of his career. Gomez was an undefeated knockout specialist from Puerto Rico had dominated the super bantam weight division, his victims included undefeated at the time, Carlos Zarate who he had stopped in 5 rounds. He moved up in weight to face Sanchez in August 1981 and sparks flew as the two faced off.
Sanchez started fast and dropped Gomez within 40 seconds but Gomez rallied back to take the second round. Gomez’s eyes began to swell in the third round and Sanchez began to target the affected area to maximise the damage. With the weight of Puerto Rico on his shoulder’s Gomez fought back to take the 5th round and had Sanchez hurt on the ropes in the 6th yet by this time his left eye was badly swollen and his right was closed. Sanchez sensed the weakness and battered Gomez in round 7. This was a precursor to round 8 as Sanchez drove a near blind Gomez onto the ropes and landed a combination that nearly drove a sagging Gomez out of the ring. Referee Carlos Padilla had seen enough calling off the fight and handing Sanchez the 8th round knockout. Gomez was the betting favourite in the lead up to the fight so his victory was seen as somewhat of an upset. It catapulted Sanchez from obscurity to stardom amongst Mexican and international boxing fans alike. Sanchez would fight three more times including a war with an unknown Azumah Nelson in July 1982. The fight was a war that ended in the 15th round when Sanchez almost knocked Nelson out of the ring and caused referee Tony Perez to stop the fight.
At the time of his death in 1982, Sanchez was in training for a September rematch with La Porte. There were rumours abound that he would face Gomez in a rematch or move up in weight to face the light weight champion of the world Alexis Arguello. Sadly neither materialised.
Sanchez died as feather weight champion and had shared the 1981 Ring Magazine ‘Fighter of The Year’ award with Sugar Ray Leonard. More importantly he had carved out a legacy for himself and was recognised as Mexico’s greatest ever champion. When discussed today Sanchez’s name will always be mentioned amongst the best featherweights like Willie Pep and Kid Chocolate. The real shame lies in that at the tender age of 23 despite having had 44 bouts he had much more ahead of him.
Future boxing hall of famer Bernard Hopkins has become the latest in a line of people in the boxing world to pick Manny Pacquiao ahead of Miguel Cotto when the two face off on November 14th. Hopkins believes that Cotto's face will not be able to stand up to the fast and powerful punches of Pacquiao.
"I don't believe that his face can take twelve rounds of this fight,"
Hopkins was quoted by Primera Hora.
Hopkins is not the only person to take this view as Floyd Mayweather Sr also expressed a similar concern. In his June 13th victory over Joshua Clottey, a headbutt opened a gaping wound over Cotto's left eye and both Hopkins and Mayweather Sr believe that Pacquiao can and will reopen the cut.
A rivalry is building between Mexican prospects Julio Cesar Chavez Jr and Saul Alvarez. Although the two unbeaten fighters are in different weight classes, Alvarez sees no reason why the two cannot face off.
Alvarez (28-0, 21KOs) feels as a good a fighter as Chavez Jr (39-0, 29KOs) is he has made his way off his father's name stating,
"He's had a good career and he's a good fighter. There has been a lot of talk about a fight between us and if they can make [the fight], then let's do it. I saw some of his fights on TV. He rose up fast because of his father's name, and I've made a career with hard work. I think people realize that when they see me fight. His promoters turned his amateur career into a pro career. I can't deny that I would like to fight him but I am also thinking about bigger things and my plan is to keep growing and growing,"
But these comments did not sit well with Chavez Jr who retorted,
"He is a good fighter, very young. I think he talks about me sometimes. They told me that he wants to fight me. I do not like to talk a lot. He looks strong, and I think, as I said before, that he is a good fighter, but nothing exceptional. This is evident in the ring. He hasn't fought anyone. I was fortunate that my dad was Julio Cesar Chavez. But at the end I'm still the one who is fighting for the opportunity,"
Alvarez faces Carlos Leonardo Herrera on September 15th in a welterweight clash whilst Chavez Jr faces Jason LeHoullier on September 12th in the junior middleweight division.
Miguel Cotto has spoken out again against the incessant comparisons between himself and fellow Puerto Rican legend, Felix 'Tito' Trinidad. Cotto has often been criticised for not being fan friendly like Trinidad and has thus earned an a reputation for being cold and almost robot like. But Cotto feels that the comparison is unfair as he is his own man with his own personality,
"You can not compare the way I am with Felix Trinidad. I am not him. Tito came to a place and greeted everyone and was very well liked. But, I am one of those guys who comes and and greets everyone. I get to a site and the less people who know me, the better I feel, I have always been accessible to the press in Puerto Rico."
"I'm not Felix Trinidad. Miguel Cotto is Miguel Cotto. I'm not going to change. If I were participating in a beauty contest, I should be waving and smiling all day. But I'm a boxer."
Also speaking to El Nuevo Dia, Miguel Cotto Sr defended his son claiming,
"Your personality is your personality. People have to understand that, but they can not. People prefer to see Miguel laughing and talking to them, but he is not Tito, that's his personality. If you want to see Miguel Cotto laughing, then tell him a good joke."
Hall of fame trainer Emmanuel Steward feels with his help Miguel Cotto can knock out pound for pound king, Manny Pacquiao. Before the fight was announced it was strongly rumoured that Steward would join Cotto's camp and take over from Joe Santiago, who has just replaced Cotto's uncle Evangelista Cotto. Yet as of now nobody from Cotto's camp has contacted Steward, speaking to Primera Hora,
"Up until now, nobody has communicated with me [from Cotto's camp], but I would love to be able to have the opportunity to work with Miguel. If we reach an agreement,"
Steward then went on to give his opinion on the fight claiming with him in his corner,
I don't have any doubts that Miguel would knock Pacquiao out,I am of the few people who gives Miguel a big shot to win that fight by boxing. Miguel is perhaps the best boxer to go to the body. I have seen some as many things that can improve and I know that he can knock Pacquiao out."
WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto is taking no chances. With several months to go before his November 14 bout with Manny Pacquiao, the Puerto Rican champion has already begun training for the fight. Cotto returned to the gym on Monday and did five rounds on the heavy bag, 40 minutes of running and several stretching exercises. He wants to hit the gym two to three times per week until August 24, when he plans to start training full time for the fight with Manny. He doesn't want stamina to become an issue in the late rounds.
"I've done other things, but I've yet to return to the gym. The idea is to go two to three times a week until Phil Landman (his conditioning coach) arrives in Puerto Rico on August 22 and then I'll begin to train full-time on the 24th," Cotto told Primera Hora.
Cotto's trainer, Joe Santiago, told the paper that his fighter's training began early because the opponent is considered the best in the sport.
"We want to go to work slowly and get the most out of the following three months to achieve a high level of preparation," said Santiago. "We want to avoid the history of previous fights, like the one with Antonio Margarito. We do not want to arrive feeling tired on the day of the fight and therefore we will moderate the workload."
Floyd Mayweather Sr believes Freddie Roach has made an error in picking Miguel Cotto as Manny Pacquiao's next opponent. Although most are picking Pacquiao to beat Cotto, Mayweather Sr believes Cotto has the power to win.
“I think Cotto has a very a good shot to win. He’s got a good puncher’s chance. If Cotto hits him to the head or the body, he is going to take his ass out. Cotto did not look good against Clottey and I think Clottey beat him. That was a bad cut [suffered by Cotto during the Clottey fight]. I think a cut like that would affect anybody. A cut like that can keep you out of the game,”
Mayweather Sr then went on to claim that Cotto could end the fight with one punch, questioning Pacquiao's previous wins and ability to deal with Cotto's power,
“He whooped on Oscar De La Hoya who was dehydrated and had no liquids in him. Ricky Hatton was suspect before the fight. Cotto is a puncher. If Cotto is in good shape and he hits him to the body or the head, he can take him out, my mark my words. [Roach] made a mistake by thinking Cotto ain’t that good. If Cotto hits him right, he take his head off, remember I told you that. Cotto is going to be ready for this fight, believe me. If Cotto hits him to the head or the body, he is gone"
I personally don't understand why people are writing Cotto off, I agree that Cotto's power is enough to handle Pacquiao and although Pacquiao is fast and powerful himself, Cotto has the ring savvy to cut the ring down as well as the timing to land on Pac. Im a Cotto fan so I may be talking with bias but I expect a hard fought Cotto win.
Former IBF welter weight champion, Joshua 'Grand Master' Clottey has now been made mandatory challenger to the WBA welter weight championship. With 'Sugar' Shane Mosley as the 'super' champion and Vyacheslav Senchenko as the 'regular' champion, it is to be seen whom the WBA will call upon to face the tough Ghanaian.
Clottey is wasting no time though attempting to bait Mosley into a fight. Clottey has stated that Mosley can run no longer and that his manager Vinny Scolpino will be meeting with Top Rank in order to have them begin the match making process.
“I don’t think Shane (Mosley) can runaway this time since I am the first contender to the title, he has avoided me over the years, but I think this is the right time for us to fight because there cannot be any excuses from anybody anymore."
Miguel Cotto still refuses to put his WBO welter weight title on the line when he faces Manny Pacquiao on November 14th in Las Vegas. The fight is scheduled to take place at a catch weight of 145 pounds but Cotto refuses to defend his title unless Pacquiao meets him at the 147 pound welter weight limit, claiming Pacquiao can have the weight or the title but he can't have both.
Freddie Roach, Manny Pacquiao's trainer, told the Manila Bulletin Manny doesn't need the fight if the title is on the line. He says that the WBO should force Cotto to defend the title but Cotto has already countered that by planning to vacate the belt if the sanctioning body attempts to force his hand.
"The WBO should make it a title fight. We don’t need the fight if the title is not on the line," Roach said. "I want Manny to do this for a reason. I want Manny to win seven world titles. Titles are overrated but I would like to see Manny do this."
*HBO have pencilled in tentative dates for both the Vitali Klitschko/Chris Arreola and the Kelly Pavlik/Paul Williams bouts despite an agreement being reached for neither fight. September 26th would see Klitschko and Arreola clash for the WBC heavyweight title whilst Pavlik would defend his middleweight crown against Williams on the 3rd of October.
*After his impressive shut out of Andreas Kotelnik, Amir Khan has been ordered by the WBA to face off against his undefeated mandatory Dimitry Salita. According to Salita, his promoters, Square Ring, have begun negotiations with Frank Warren already.
*Speaking of Amir Khan, Ricky Hatton has vowed no fight will take place between himself and the WBA junior welter weight champion as long as Khan is promoted by Frank Warren. Hatton and Warren have had problems in the past with the two facing off in the courts and Hatton refuses to work with him under any circumstance.
Vic Darchinyan has today vacated his IBF super fly weight title. The Armenian, who still holds the WBA and WBC titles, informed the IBF by letter today. The IBF had ordered Darchinyan to face mandatory Simphiwe Nongqayi but now Jorge Arce may be in line to face Nongqayi for the vacated belt.
Former Olympian and junior middleweight world champion Vernon Forrest was last night shot dead in an attempted car jacking in Mechanicsville, Atlanta. Forrest was inflating his car's tyres when two men attempted to steal the Jaguar. Forrest who was also in possession of a firearm confronted the men, a brief chase ensued and shots were fired. Speaking to WSB Radio in Atlanta, Lt. Keith Meadows said
"The victim and suspects became involved in a brief foot chase, at some point, gunfire was exchanged between the two of them. The victim was shot at least once in the head."
Forrest, 38, was fatally wounded by two semi-automatic weapons, according to police.
Forrest who had vacated his WBC junior middle weight title with a rib injury in May was due to face Sergio Martinez on August 1st. He had a record of 41 wins, 29 by way of kayo and 3 losses, two of these wins famously coming against Sugar Shane Mosley.
After having to pull out of his June 20th Heavyweight bout with Wladimir Klitschko with a back injury and then failing to reach an agreement with Wladimir's brother Vitali, David Haye has moved onto WBA heavyweight Nikolai Valuev. The two will square off on November 7th for Valuev's WBA title with the location as yet confirmed. Haye has already begun his own unique style of promotion likening the fight to David(Haye) VS Goliath claiming,
“David only needed a slingshot and a stone to flatten Goliath and I’m convinced my right hand generates more power than a stone. I’m going to prove that size doesn’t matter. Mark my words: I will be the first man to knock Nikolai Valuev out.”
This will be no easy task as Haye will be giving away 8 stone in weight and 9 inches in height against the 7 foot tall Valuev, who is yet to be stopped or floored in 50 professional fights.
In reference to the Klitschkos, Haye claims he felt 'disrespected' by the contract negotiations and thus had to go down an alternative route,
"The level of disrespect they have shown me throughout has left me feeling insulted. I will not be a slave fighter,”
DAVID VS. GOLIATH’, will be shown exclusively in the UK on Sky Box Office.
The first round of the 'Super Six' super middleweight tournament finally has confirmed dates. The first two bouts will take place on October 17th whilst the third and final bout of round one will be on November 21st. All three bouts will take place on Showtime in the USA.
On October 17th, undefeated WBC champion, Carl 'The Cobra' Froch will take on unbeaten Olympian Andre 'The Matrix' Direll. On the same night former IBF middleweight champion 'King' Arthur Abraham takes on former undisputed middleweight champion Jermain 'Bad Intentions' Taylor.
As Mikel 'Viking Warrior' Kessler will be facing WBA mandatory, Gusmyl Perdomo on September 12th he will take the November 21st date against Andre 'S.O.G' Ward.
After this round of fights, the tournament will have two more in 2010 and then the semi-finals and finals will take place in 2011.
An agreement has been reached between Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto to fight on November 14th, according to Top Rank. The reigning pound for pound king, Pacquiao will face three time world champion Cotto in Las Vegas on Saturday 14th November. The fight will be aired on HBO and Bob Arum who promotes both fighters confirmed,
Top Rank is working on a major media tour to start right after Labor Day. Further details will be announced as we get closer to kicking off the tour.
This comes just days after 'Sugar' Shane Mosley declared he was willing to drop to 140 pounds and take a 40% share to Pacquiao's 60% in order to face the Filipino.
Billed as ‘The Man Who Would Be King’, Amir Khan last night ascended to the throne in quite remarkable fashion. 10 months after his devastating kayo at the hands of Breidis Prescott (who coincidentally had lost his first fight on Friday night) Khan returned to the Manchester MEN Arena and totally erased the memory with a shut out of WBA junior welter weight champion Andreas Kotelnik. Khan, fighting for the first time at junior welterweight, started strongly and it was immediately apparent that his speed of foot and hand would trouble Kotelnik as he seemed to beat the defending champion to the punch and escape before Kotelnik could reply. Kotelnik, a slick counter puncher, always seemed a step behind as Khan effectively used his jab to not only create openings but to keep the stalking Kotelnik at bay. In the second round alarm bells rang as the previously weak chinned Khan was caught with a right hand after a succession of hooks to the body but Khan showed no ill affect and immediately fired back. It appeared moving up in weight had helped with his punch resistance. The fight placed both men in unfamiliar scenarios as Kotelnik worked aggressively at a high rate, whereas Khan was fighting going back and very often on the back foot. But Khan was too elusive, always moving working behind a high tight guard and it became evident he was frustrating the champion. Khan began to pick Kotelnik off with shots, threw lighting fast combinations and backed Kotelnik’s up with flurries. In the 8th round we saw a moment of brilliance from Khan, as Kotelnik trapped him on the ropes. Kotelnik came in aggressively looking to slow the young Olympian down but Khan was too fast as he bobbed, weaved and escaped firing back his own shots against the Ukrainian with whom he had switched positions. Kotelnik himself kept a tight, high guard and was able to catch many of Khan’s head punches on his arms thus Khan dug hooks to the body as the Kotelnik continued to hunt him. In the 10th round the action slowed as Khan appeared to lose some energy. Khan had only been the distance once whereas Kotelnik is used to going 12 rounds. Sensing Khan tiring, Kotelnik stepped up his attack in the 11th catching Khan with a right hand to which Khan stood firm. Kotelnik really let his hands go but Khan was able to cover up as well as fire back his own counters. Coming into the 12th Kotelnik appeared to have more spring in his step than Khan and went looking for the knockout. Khan stood and traded with Kotelnik throwing counter combinations but also coasted content with allowing Kotelnik to chase him. As the final bell went both men raised their arms but there was only one winner as the judges had it 120-108, 118-111 and 118-111 in favour of Khan as the 22 year old was crowned the new WBA junior welter weight champion.
Being billed in the UK as 'The Man Who Would Be King', Amir Khan faces Andreas Kotelnik for the WBA junior welter weight title at the Manchester MEN Arena on Saturday night.
Khan, making his first appearance at the weight, hopes that after four years of plying his trade as a pro with a record of 20 victories from 21 fights he can erase the memories of his crushing defeat at the hands of heavy hitting Colombian Breidis Prescott and take the title. The Olympic silver medalist won't be in for an easy time as Kotelnik is an experienced fighter with a record of 31 wins from 34 fights. Kotelnik possess sound boxing skills and although he only has 13 kayos in his 31 fights can hit reasonably hard, which will be worrying for Khan who has been rocked numerous times.
Khan faced the wily old legend Marco Antonio Barrera in his last fight and despite clearly being in control, the 5th round technical decision victory was marred by a clash of heads that caused blood to stream into Barrera's eyes and left him effectively fighting blind. The referre called a halt to the action as Barrera clearly could not continue and the fight thus went to the score cards where Khan had racked up a convincing lead. Kotelnik on the other hand won a split decision against his mandatory Marcos Maidana in a 12 round duel in Rostock, Germany. What is important about this is, is that Maidana, a heavy handed Argentine, recently stopped hot prospect 'Vicious' Victor Ortiz in six rounds. The fact that Kotelnik was able to go 12 rounds with Maidana who effectively broke Ortiz' spirit and forced him to quit, speaks volumes of Kotelnik's pedigree.
The immediate questions to ask are, how will Khan operate in the 140 pound division? Will moving up in weight improve Khan's punch resistance? Has the masterful Freddie Roach come up with a game plan that can ensure victory for the young man from Bolton?
Khan will have to be on his A game to secure the win here, he will have to box masterfully and use his hand speed advantage. Although he may not be able to stop Kotelnik, he may be able to overwhelm him with the volume of punches he can throw. He will also have to make sure that his defence is tight, he employed a tight high guard against Barrera in order to protect his chin and he will have to ensure that he does not allow his guard to drop. Kotelnik on the other hand will know that timing off sets speed so he will have to be precise with his timing to counter the fast hands of Khan. Despite Khan's seemingly weak chin, Kotelnik should not go head hunting as he will be leaving himself open to Khan's shots.
The fight promises to be an intriguing battle between the two junior welter weights, and by Sunday morning either a new king will have been crowned, or a young pretender will have fallen attempting to take the thrown.
*Ricky Hatton remains in hospital with a mystery illness after being admitted two days ago with complaints of chest pains and vomiting. Swine flu has been ruled out. This severely dents any hopes of a ring return.
*The Vitali Klitschko/David Haye fight appears to have found a home, in Frankfurt's 'World Cup' Stadium which can hold over 50,000 people. The September 12th heavyweight bout will be announced officially in the coming days, being broadcast in the US on HBO and on Sky Sports in the UK
*After last weeks victory over Vic Darchinyan, Joseph Agbeko has become a marked man. WBO bantam weight champion Fernando Montiel is now ready to hold off a mandatory defence against Eric Morel in order to face Agbeko in September or October.
After JuanMa Lopez turned down a fight with Celestino Caballero due to the heavy sanctioning fees the fight for their three belts would incur, Caballero has reacted angrily. Whilst Lopez is actively seeking a fight with either Rafael Marquez or Israel Vasquez, the two would prefer to face each other and add to their now classic trilogy and thus Lopez is left to facing his mandatory, Rogers Mtagwa.
But Caballero would prefer to see himself in Mtagwa's shoes as the gangly Panamanian told BoxingScene,
“Why take a chance where you can lose to a nobody? If he loses to me, then he loses to the best. He doesn’t have to worry; I will pay for all of the sanctioning fees. Don’t be a maricón in front of your own people. It’s shameful the way he is acting in front of his own people by fighting nobodies. Mtagwa does not bring any greatness to him. The best fight with the best,”
With Caballero offering to pay for the sanctioning fees as well as calling Lopez a 'maricón' I find it hard to believe Lopez will not respond to this as he should, in the ring with his fists!
Middleweight champion of the world Kelly Pavlik has spoke out against Showtime and their Super Six tournament today. Speaking to Joe Scalzo of The Youngstown Vindicator , Pavlik quite angrily exclaimed:
“Why would I be in that tournament when I’m a middleweight? They never asked me and I never wanted to join. Let them beat each other up. Let them ruin their careers for peanuts."
"Those guys are fighting for peanuts. They’re going to burn their whole career and for what? Nobody watches Showtime. Trust me, when the winner of that tournament fights his next fight, it’ll be on HBO. I like HBO. I will fight for HBO. All the big-time fighters like Floyd Mayweather, [Manny] Pacquiao, [Miguel] Cotto, Shane Mosley, the Klitschkos — they all fight on HBO.”
Whoever ends up being the tournament winner, Pavlik told Scalzo that he would be more than happy to move up to fight them.
“Whoever the winner is,” Pavlik said, “I’ll kick his [butt].”
Pavlik has not had much success above 160 pounds as he looked out of sorts in a victorious rematch with Jermain Taylor at 166 pounds and was completely broken down in an 170 pound catch weight fight with Bernard Hopkins, so it would be interesting to see him move up and face any of the potential winners of the tournament.
Fight fan, boxing fanatic call me what you want. I am a devout follower of the sweet science and it honestly takes up most of my waking hours as I watch or train.
Hagler, Hopkins, Cotto, Duran, JuanMa Marquez, Whittaker and Juan Diaz to name a few are my favourite boxers.
I'm also a London based amateur boxer (still undefeated)
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