The countdown is on!

HBO have begun the countdown to Cotto/Pacquiao 24/7

Oh Whats His Name Is Fighting That Other Guy!

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!

No surprises

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!

Hopkins/Jones Agreement Reached!

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.

Klitschko/Arreola

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.



Nice prank there by Arreola

Mayweather/Marquez: Aftermath

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?

Mayweather/Marquez

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.

Boxing World Shocked By The Death Of Olympian Darren Sutherland

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.

Fighting Words From Cotto as the 'Firepower' press tour kicks off

Good to hear Cotto talking with such ferocity, Pacquiao as humble as ever.

Sparring Shock For Mayweather?

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

Mayweather/Marquez Trailer From Gorilla Productions

This guy has serious talent one day Im going to do a big drop of all his work

Mayweather vs Marquez Trailer from GORILLAproductions on Vimeo.

Mosley/Clottey Set For December 26th

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

Super Six Advert

The advert is great, getting me more excited. I think Kessler will win but I'm taking Froch as an outside pick

Cotto In Full Training

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!