Boxing News Thread

[heyzel]

Khan says he’ll be ready to fight Mayweather and Pacquiao in 12 months

By William Mackay: With only 23 fights as a pro, WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan (22-1, 16 KO’s) believes that he’ll be ready to fight both Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao by next year. This is kind of amazing, given that Khan was knocked out in the 1st round by Breidis Prescott in 2008, and has been carefully brought along since that time, facing fighters like Oisin Fagan, Marco Antonio Barrera, Andriy Kotelnik and Dmitri Salita. All good fighters, to be sure, but not exactly the type of opposition that would make you think that Khan will be ready to face fighters like Pacquiao and Mayweather.


In an article at the Sun, Khan says “In 12 months from now, I will be ready for Manny and Floyd Mayweather Jr. I know them both well and they both want to fight.” I bet he does, but I don’t it would be a very good idea, since Khan has little experience, is totally unknown in the U.S. and hasn’t shown anything that would lead me to believe that he would do anything other than get knocked out by both Mayweather and Pacquiao. Mayweather isn’t a huge puncher, but I think if he were to connect with Khan’s chin the way that he was blasting away at Shane Mosley last Saturday night, Khan would probably be finished in a round or two.

I see Pacquiao also stopping Khan in one or two rounds, depending whether he’s going easy on him or not. I like Khan’s ambition and think its great, but I can’t see the public being remotely interested in seeing Khan matched against either Mayweather or Pacquiao now or a year from now. A win over Paulie Malignaggi won’t change much, because Malignaggi has no power whatsoever and has already been beaten recently by Ricky Hatton and Juan Diaz.

It’s going to take more than wins over Kotelnik, Salita and Malignaggi to interest the American public in a Khan-Mayweather or Khan-Pacquiao fight. Khan is going to have to fight someone like Marcos Maidana, Devon Alexander or Timothy Bradley for him to catch the attention of the American fans. Even then, Khan will need at least another big win over one of those guys to get fans interested in seeing Mayweather and Pacquiao fight him.

A win over the weak-punching Malignaggi will hardly get anyone excited, I hate to say. Malignaggi isn’t a huge star in the U.S. and is only known somewhat on the East Coast. Sure, hardcore boxing fans know who Malignaggi is, but the casual boxing fan don’t have clue on who he is. So, it’s going to take some solid wins over Bradley, Alexander or Maidana for Khan to get the attention of U.S. fans for them to want to waste their money in seeing Khan matched against Mayweather and Pacquiao. The problem is Khan would likely have huge problems against Maidana, Bradley and Alexander, and probably to all three of them.

That would pretty much end Khan’s dream of fighting Mayweather and Pacquiao, you would guess. Who knows? Maybe Pacquiao, a friend of Khan’s, might show interest in fighting him anyway in a stay busy fight, but it probably wouldn’t be pretty. I just don’t see Khan anywhere close to being in the same league as Pacquiao and I think it would make for a terrible fight if you’re into competitive matches. If you like to watch a slaughter, then I think a Khan-Pacquiao fight would be right up your alley.

Khan says “This game’s all about timing. You have to know the best time to have these fights. I want to catch these guys when they have come off their peak.” I respect Khan’s honesty, but that’s not exactly inspiring that Khan wants to fight them while slipping. Isn’t he supposed to want to fight them while they’re in their prime and not over-the-hill? Heck, Khan already fought a fighter who was well past his peak in 36-year-old Barrera. What good is getting a win over someone that is getting old?

Anyway, Mayweather and Pacquiao won’t be coming off their peak a year from now, so I have no idea what Khan is blathering about. And I don’t see Khan fighting those guys, because I see Khan getting beaten up if he steps it up against Bradley, Maidana and Alexander in his fight after the Malignaggi fight. I have a feeling, though, that Khan won’t be facing any of those guys next or a year from now. That way Khan will still be winning and will be in the position to fight Mayweather and Pacquiao. But I just can’t see how or why they would want to fight Khan if he’s not had any credible wins under his belt against top world class fighters.

 

[heyzel]

The Welterweight Roundabout: A look into boxing’s most exciting division

by Michael Brady: Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather, and Shane Mosley. The top three welterweight fighters of our generation, and some of the best period. Pacquiao a fearless seven weight world sensation; Mayweather an unbeaten technical master, and Mosley a devastating lionhearted warrior.

After Mayweather’s “schooling” of Mosley I now rate all three boxers on fairly similar plateaus, with Floyd possibly just above Pacquiao and Shane just below Manny. A boxing master-class unfolded last night as Floyd beat Sugar Shane at his own game. Call it old age, call it ring rust or just call it Mayweather’s undeniably astonishing ring generalship; but never have I seen anybody beat Shane Mosley in that fashion. Mosley’s only breakthrough was round two, where he clearly wobbled Mayweather, knee’s buckling and balance momentarily impaired he seemed to be close to toppling over. Shane on the cusp of a fantastically dramatic upset (one I wanted to see, I admire Shane as a warrior and a gentleman). However; Mayweather, who’s chin I have only ever seen tested properly once before (Corley) came back showing it was built with rubber attributes, bouncing back to his senses so rapidly from punches that would have fragmented many other fighters.


The impressive part of the situation, was Mayweather’s ability to lose no ground under Shane’s furious onslaught, no matter how badly Floyd was rocked, he remained there in front of Shane; and that shows that taking a punch is just as much mental will as it is physical. Mayweather’s ability to adjust and adapt proved vital, never making the same mistake again, leaving Shane with an even smaller window of punching opportunity.

Mosley is relentless, look at the Margarito fight; and yet Mayweather managed to derail any thoughts Shane had on pressuring him. Nervous and hesitant Mosley had been neutralized and disabled, Mayweather forcing him to second guess himself constantly. Never before have I seen another fighter do this to him.

I still stand by this now, the fighter I felt had the best chance of beating Floyd Mayweather, was Shane Mosley; he had all the properties and the capability to beat him, I still think when fighting Mayweather it’s crucial you gain control over the centre of the ring, which Shane did not do.

I feel Shane would have faired much better against Manny, as he has always had difficulties with technically sound boxers, Pacquiao is not a technically sound boxer. Instead he uses superlative stamina and punch output to dominate opponents, whilst combining it with speed and power. Defence wise he doesn’t stack up well.

That’s the type of fighter that Mosley has always faired better with and more often than not winds up with a knockout.

In my book, Floyd edges Manny, it’s tough but after what I witnessed last night I now know Mayweather is capable of adapting and switching to any style he likes and is easily the technically best boxer on the planet. He could “school” Pacquiao as he did Mosley, but that’s not an easy task.

I also think Mosley would have a solid chance against Pacquiao, more so than he did with Mayweather, but then, it doesn’t take much imagination to see Manny doing to Mosley what he did to Cotto.

Mayweather is beatable, the blueprint on beating him is far from a mystery, the question is, is anybody actually capable of executing it successfully? 41 have tried, 41 have failed. Love or hate the man, you have to respect his sensational ability in the ring, beating Shane like that has silenced every critic and he’s one of the greatest of all time.

Pacquiao is without doubt the most exciting boxer, blistering speed and deceiving power. Freddie Roach could be the key within a Mayweather fight, coming so close before with DLH. Once in the ring he seems unstoppable, defying odds and logic everytime. The man is fearless and his legacy is unquestionable, but will his scrappy defence and rough technical ability be exploited?

Mosley like Pacquiao is capable of dominating any division he’s in, one of the best lightweights of all time and a future hall of famer. His conduct outside of the ropes has to be admired, and his work in the inside them is engrossing; fusing speed, power and a warrior mentality to batter and destroy his opponents. At 38 however he’s not what he used to be, and Mayweather may have dented him permanently now.

And lets not get started on Berto, Clottey, Cotto…

Safe to say; the welterweight division is the most enthralling and is burning bright at the moment, with anybody seemingly able to beat anybody, who knows what’s around the corner?…

 

[heyzel]

Sources: Mayweather-Mosley Does 1.2 Million PPV Buys?

By Mark Vester

Veteran boxing scribe Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports was advised by "good sources" that last Saturday's HBO pay-per-view featuring Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Shane Mosley generated an early buyrate figure of around 1.1 to 1.2 million, which is not much higher than the 1 million buys generated by Mayweather's pay-per-view with Juan Manuel Marquez last September.

If the buyrate number stands true, it's a very good number, but many industry insiders will consider it a failure. Mayweather-Mosley was the most hyped and advertised pay-per-view in the history of the sport. Mayweather had the best possible B-side opponent that money could buy, outside of Manny Pacquiao, and the expections by Golden Boy Promotions was a buyrate figure in the millions.

Last week, Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer had predicted a possible figure of 4 million buys. Nobody took that figure serious. Most insiders predicted a buyrate number in the realm of 1.5-1.6 million. Mosley was viewed as a serious threat and certainly one of the most recognizable names in the entire sport. It's going to be interesting when the final buyrate number comes down and how it affects the future negotiations to make a fight with Pacquiao.

Mayweather himself had predicted some record breaking numbers. He was going to use the buyrate figure as muscle to demand a higher split of the money against Pacquiao, but if the numbers stay below 1.5, it's going to be hard for Mayweather to make such a demand.

Even if the number exceeds expectations, a good argument can be made that Pacquiao could have generated over a million buys against Mosley, and Mayweather would have had a hard time generating over 700,000 buys with Clottey as the B-side, which Pacquiao was able to accomplish in March.

 

[heyzel]

Paul Williams, Kermit Cintron Talk Fight, Mayweather, More

The most feared fighter in the world, and three-time World Champion Paul “The Punisher” Williams will face former Welterweight World Champion and knockout artist Kermit “The Killer” Cintron on Saturday, May 8 at the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA. The two fighters will meet above Williams natural 147 pounds and subsequently being dubbed “The Weight is Over,” in a bout televised by HBO at 10 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the west coast) and presented by Goossen Tutor Promotions in association with Di Bella Entertainment. The two fighters and their promoters participated in a conference call to discuss the upcoming 12-round fight and the significance it means to the welterweight division.

PAUL WILLIAMS

“(Kermit’s) a big puncher and can box too. I’ve shown that I’m a big puncher and I’m a boxer too.”

What’s it like to fight in different weight classes?

“To me it’s kind of fun. People can’t really categorize me. It’s hard because you can’t get anybody to fight you. It takes discipline because once you finally pick a weight you’ve got to get up or down in weight. I kind of like it.

“It (switching weight classes) isn’t killing us so far. Everything’s good. So if it’s not broke don’t fix it.

“I don’t have to prove anything to anyone. I don’t care what people think about me as a fighter. I just have to go out and do my thing.”

“I just have to go out and execute my game plan and my strategy. Because you could be looking for one thing then get another thing.”

What did you think of Saturday’s Mayweather-Mosley fight?

“You know the first two rounds Mosely had him. But after that Mosley stopped fighting. He just started fighting a survival fight. If Mosley could have just kept up that pressure he could have had him. But after that he just stopped. But then Mayweather did what Mayweather does best. Mosley stopped fighting so he started fighting and that was the story.”

KERMIT CINTRON

What is it going to take for other top fighters to decide to fight you?

“I think it’s going to take the media and the networks. You all have the pens and the microphones. When you see guys fight and you’re talking about fights they should take you never mention my name. I think the media and the networks will have to start pushing those guys to fight the biggest and best fights and to fight someone who’s going to put up a fight.

What is your most comfortable weight?

“All of them are comfortable for me. The weight doesn’t matter to me. I’m more comfortable with getting a fight and then working on what we’ve got to work on.

“Paul Williams and I are not here for the money. We’re trying to fight the best and be the best. I believe Paul Williams is the best and he believes I’m the best and that’s why we’re fighting. A lot of fighters are avoiding us but my attitude is to fight the best. To be the best you have to fight the best. That’s why I’m here: To fight the best and win. And be closer to the bigger fights.”

Would you submit to Mayweather’s drug-testing demands?

“To me it doesn’t matter. Take the test or don’t take the test. It doesn’t matter.”

It’s been a year since you beat Angulo? What do you think of all the attention Angulo gets?

“It is what it is. I’m not going to cry about it. I know I beat his ass and I just move forward in my career. I’m just looking forward to May 8 and putting on a good show.”

GEORGE PETERSON (Williams’ manager)

“I think it’s going to be a fight and not a sparring match. Citron and Paul both talk about being victorious and they should be thinking in those terms. But we think on Saturday night that we will be victorious. For those who come out on Saturday night, we feel like they’re really going to enjoy the fight.

“If it was me or Paul and there were signs that someone was on drugs I would say, give them some more drugs. We just want to fight. Regardless of anything. You can give them all the drugs they want. We just want to fight, that’s it. Paul Williams is a warrior’s fighter. If he loses he says, ‘hey, I lost.’ If he wins it’s, ‘hey, I won.’ I just believe in all that other stuff. I’m old-school. This is a new generation of boxing but I don’t believe in that. I believe if you’re a fighter let’s fight. Forget all of that other stuff.”

“Because the media has a microphone in front of them – you know a Jim Lampley or a Max Kellerman or an Emanuel Steward – they make decisions for other people when they should let the fighters make their own decisions. This is what is shooting Paul in the head and in the foot, they are making those decisions. Paul is saying give me a 147-pounder and let me show you that I can make 147 pounds. And if you are still that much in doubt then watch us eat breakfast before the weigh-in. That’s what we do. Not to let the media handle that.”

DAN GOOSSEN (Williams’ Promoter)

“With the welterweight division (Paul’s natural weight division) it’s getting harder and harder to find takers out there mainly because of the size discrepancy. But it’s not Paul’s fault that he’s 6-foot-2 and has a longer reach than the Klitschkos. But what has never left us is that we’re looking to crack that super stardom and the way to do that is to make the super fight. It’s been no secret that’s Paul’s best weight is 147 and Paul and George Peterson will discuss if he can still make 147. The fights that we would like to make with a win Saturday night is the Pacquaios, is the Mayweathers. You throw any of the top welters out there and they’ve gone by the wayside now. The Cottos, the Margaritos. I mean, Paul got rid of Margarito when no one wanted to. Cotto was dispatched by Margartio. So there are three welterweights that are out there today and they should all be mentioned in the same breath and that’s Pacquiao, Mayweather and Williams.

“When everything is said and done Paul is a 147-pounder. To be the best and to be the greatest and to be No. 1 I don’t believe anyone can really say that until they get in the ring with Paul Williams. It may not be today or it may not be tomorrow but eventually Paul Williams will get his opportunity to show what we’ve been saying for the past two or three years. It will all come to fruition.”

LOU DiBELLA (Cintron’s Promoter)

“Kermit’s not only the biggest puncher Paul has been in there with, but he’s also a guy capable of boxing beautifully and boxing to victory which he did in what I thought was a very one-sided win over Alfredo Angulo. I think you’re going to see fireworks on Saturday night on both sides. I do expect a barnburner. Truly, anyone can win this fight and that’s what boxing is all about. It’s about guys trying to entertain. Both these guys take and throw big blows. Both these guys know how to box and both these guys are warriors.”

 

[heyzel]

Alexander Ready To Replace Maidana, Wants Bradley Now

By Rick Reeno

As previously reported on BoxingScene.com, Marcos Maidana withdrew from his scheduled fight with WBO junior welterweight champion Timothy Bradley. Bradley-Maidana was set to take place on the HBO televised date of July 17 at the Agua Caliente Casino in California.

A very interested party in the Bradley-Maidana fallout is WBC/IBF junior welterweight champion Devon Alexander. For the last few weeks, there has been some tension between the camps of Bradley and Alexander, who are regarded as the two best fighters at junior welterweight. Alexander is scheduled to appear on HBO in August. And like his rival Bradley, Alexander has been unable to lock down an opponent.

Alexander's trainer/manager Kevin Cunningham tells BoxingScene.com that his fighter is ready, willing, and able to replace Maidana.

"He has no opponent. We have no opponent. They are the two best junior welterweights in the world. The only problem is, Tim Bradley is not ready to fight Devon Alexander. They want to claim they are number one but they don't want to have a fight with the best guy in the division to prove that they are the best in the division," Cunningham told BoxingScene.com.

"Right now is the perfect opportunity to give the fans what they really want in boxing, to see the two guys who are the best in their division fight each other to prove who is the best in the junior welterweight division."

Cunningham believes the Agua Caliente Casino is too small for Bradley-Alexander. He realizes the possibility of getting the fight to Alexander's hometown of St. Louis is slim, so he's willing to compromise.

"We don't have to fight in St. Louis. We can meet him in Las Vegas. What excuse are they going to come up with now? HBO would love to make this fight and I think they would compensate it. Let's do this. It would be the perfect opportunity. If Team Bradley refuse to make this fight, they need to stop claiming they are the best. They need to stop claiming they are number one because they're ducking the best guy in the division," Cunningham said.

 

[heyzel]

Shocker: Marcos Maidana Withdraws From Bradley Fight

RANCHO MIRAGE, CALIF. – World Boxing Association interim super lightweight champion MARCOS "El Pollo" MAIDANA pulled out of his fight against undefeated World Boxing Organization junior welterweight champion TIMOTHY “Desert Storm” BRADLEY today. The public news conference scheduled for Tuesday, May 4 at Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa in Rancho Mirage, Calif. is canceled.

Gary Shaw, who co-promotes Bradley with Thompson Boxing Promotions, received a call from Eric Gomez, Vice President/Matchmaker of Golden Boy Promotions, Maidana's co-promoter, moments ago informing him that Maidana was pulling out of the fight.

"Eric told me Maidana missed his flight to the U.S. and later in the same conversation told me Maidana's back was still injured and that he would not be fighting Timmy on July 17," said Shaw. "Obviously Maidana's back was not getting any better and a call to us last week from Team Maidana would have been the professional thing to do. But HBO and Agua Caliente are standing behind Timmy and his July 17 date, and I expect to announce Timmy's new opponent soon."

Phil Cooper, executive director of marketing for Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa said the development is a disappointment: "Certainly this is not what we expected, however we're excited about what Gary has in the works

 

[heyzel]

Mayweather needs to fight Sergio Martinez next and forget about the Pacquiao fight

y Dave Lahr: As much as it might be an interesting match-up between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, I think Mayweather needs to forget about that fight happening and instead go after WBC/WBO middleweight champion Sergio Martinez (45-2-2, 24 KO’s). That fight is the most realistic option that Mayweather available to him in the future, not a fight against Pacquiao. While I think the bout against Pacquiao is the more appealing fight because of the fan interest it would draw, I just don’t think it’s humanly possible to make the fight happen now or in the future.


With Pacquiao afraid to have his blood tested anywhere close to the fight; it’s not realistic to even consider a match between Mayweather and Pacquiao. The word is that Pacquiao is willing to have his blood tested, but only as close to the fight as 24 days, which is exactly what he agreed to do during his failed negotiations with Mayweather in February of this year. Mayweather won’t go for that, so he needs to forget about Pacquiao and let him continue to fight guys like Joshua Clottey, Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto.

Mayweather needs to focus on opponents that are willing to agree to his random blood testing. I think Martinez, 35, would agree to the testing and I can’t see it being difficult to arrange a fight with him. Martinez still hasn’t made the huge money in the sport, despite being one of the most talented fighters in boxing for the past few years. Martinez recently defeated WBC/WBO middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik by a 12 round unanimous decision in April to capture Pavlik’s middleweight titles. Martinez now is awaiting the word whether Pavlik will opt to use his rematch clause that he had in his contract with him. If so, then that will keep Martinez busy for awhile. However, I expect Martinez to dominate Pavlik in the rematch and beat him as easily as he did the first time around.

Martinez would be a difficult stylistic challenge for Mayweather due to his southpaw stance, hand speed and his in and out attacks. Martinez, 5’10”, would have a slight advantage over the 5’8” Mayweather and maybe a little bit more power. Mayweather would have to figure out how to deal with Martinez’s powerful left hand and his unpredictable attacking style. Martinez is a young 35, and has good stamina.

There’s not much danger here of him running out of gas after the 2nd round like Shane Mosley did last Saturday night. He’s a very athletic fighter with great talent, balance, defense and is an excellent all around boxer. Martinez should have probably beaten both Paul Williams and Kermit Cintron, losing a controversial decision to Williams and fighting to an equally controversial 12 round draw with Cintron after appearing to knock him out earlier in the fight. The only real lose on Martinez’s resume was against Antonio Margarito 10 years ago in a 7th round stoppage in 2000.

Martinez has improved a lot since then and it’s likely that he would beat Margarito if they were to fight today. I could see Martinez dropping Mayweather two or three times in the fight and making it really close. Martinez can do it all – jab, slug, defend and move. It would be a tough fight for Mayweather, because he would have to come up in weight to 154 to make the fight happen.

 

[WYNO707X4]

if the cash cow fights martinez he aint going to be the cash cow no more i see 500,000 ppv buyz.every one paid on saturday to see mayweather get knocked out you could tell in the 2nd round when he got hit the arena went wild. if manny fights margarito over a 1 mill buyz and they saying of making the fight at estadio azteca over 100,000 seatz.all roads lead to manny.all mexicans want to see this cuz they think margarito could kick his ass.

 

[Tony]

1.2 million? That's it, I thought it would be closer to 2 million.

 

[heyzel]

Kermit Cintron’s Rebirth Spearheaded By Shields, DiBella

By Ryan Songalia

Kermit Cintron and Paul Williams have faced three common opponents in their respective careers: Antonio Margarito, Sergio Martinez and Walter Matthysse. All of Cintron’s three career blemishes (two knockout defeats to Margarito and a draw with Martinez) have come against men that Williams has defeated. Both men stopped Matthysse.

Luckily for Cintron, “triangle theories” mean little in boxing.

Just as Miguel Cotto lost to Margarito but defeated Margarito’s conqueror, Shane Mosley, styles dictate the way fights play out. Cintron, a former welterweight titlist, is well aware of the inconsistent track records such equations hold.

“It's different,” says Cintron, 32-2-1 (28 knockouts). “It doesn't matter if I had lost to Margarito twice and Martinez had lost to Williams, but I had a draw with Martinez and Williams beat Margarito. Every fight is different.”

Cintron’s 154-pound clash against Williams this Saturday night at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. – which airs live on HBO’s “World Championship Boxing” (9:45 PM ET/6:45 PT) – is the next act in a rollercoaster career that has seen more plot twists than a Floyd Mayweather fight negotiation.

After Cintron failed to avenge his initial defeat to Margarito, falling to a sixth round body shot in their 2008 rematch, it appeared his run as a top fighter had come to an end. Like Earnie Shavers discovered against Tex Cobb, Cintron found out that his power alone would not get the job done against top competition.

Cintron had reeled off five consecutive knockout wins prior to that encounter, including an IBF welterweight title-winning performance against Mark Suarez. It was perhaps telling of his chances in the Margarito rematch that assistant trainer Joey Gamache was in his corner that night instead of head trainer Emanuel Steward.

Clearly needing a facelift, Cintron hooked up with trainer Ronnie Shields and signed with promoter DiBella Entertainment. Promoter Lou DiBella realized that he had a fighter who many felt was ruined, but he gambled on the wild card.

“I’m a firm proponent of looking at fighters that people look at as damaged goods, or guys that have a lot of talent but others are starting to give up on,” says the New York-based DiBella. “Kermit's only losses at the time I signed him were to Margarito, and frankly, who knows what kind of advantages Margarito was taking in those fights? I think Kermit has shown pretty well since then.”

After a single tune-up against Lovemore N'Dou, Cintron stepped up against then-interim junior-middleweight champ Sergio Martinez on two weeks notice. Despite being clearly out-boxed early and arguably knocked out in the seventh round, Cintron finished the fight strong to “salvage” a draw.

That same Martinez has since given Williams a life-and-death struggle and upset Kelly Pavlik last month to wrest the middleweight crown away.

While the Martinez fight at the time did little to sway Cintron detractors, his next fight three months later against the unbeaten Alfredo Angulo turned more than a few heads. Cintron combined his heavy-handed power with effective movement and boxing technique to out-box and out-duel network darling Angulo, handing him his first defeat. Cintron is the first to credit his new trainer for these new wrinkles to his style.

“It showed in the Angulo fight how much more I've improved working with Ronnie Shields,” Cintron said. “With [original trainer Marshall Kauffman], I was more of a come-forward type fighter. I was sitting on my punches a lot more, and I was able to knock people out.

“At the same time, I felt that my skills weren’t improving, so that's why I went with Emmanuel Steward,” Cintron said. “For the four fights I was with Emmanuel Steward, I was learning from him, using my jab more. Now that I’m with Ronnie Shields, he’s trying to make me the complete fighter that I always wanted to be.”

Shields, who also trains Juan Diaz and Rocky Juarez, among others, says the path to rebuilding Kermit started by rebuilding him from the inside out. Cintron, who had been criticized as a mentally weak fighter by some, needed to be reborn through the psychological conditioning that comes from doing what is needed to be set up for success.

“I think with Kermit it was all mental, because he didn’t put himself through what he's going through now,” says Shields. “It’s all about what you do in that gym. Now he’s doing all the right things: He’s eating properly, sleeping properly, working hard and getting the rest he needs.”

Though Cintron still resides in his hometown of Reading, Pa., he relocates to Shields’ training facilities in Houston when it comes time to get ready for fight night. Shields says that hooking Cintron up with a conditioning coach was the missing component to his self-confidence.

“I got him with this guy Brian Caldwell; he really knows his stuff and does a good job with conditioning,” Shields says. “The first day he came down to me and we started working, I put him through some really hard workouts. He’d never worked that hard before. Now it’s easy for him. He's not killing himself, because he knows he’s in shape.”

Cintron, a former amateur wrestler, describes his work with Caldwell this way: “I go through hell with him everyday.

“It’s not fun, and it shouldn’t be fun,” Cintron says. After I’m done with the workouts, I’m just like, ‘Man, I’m real glad I did that tough workout today.’ Going through it, I’m mad as hell, but it’s something I have to do.”

Cintron feels that his training environment has been healthy for his emotional growth as a fighter. It affords him the opportunity to leave the distractions of home life behind and focus instead on being a professional boxer.

“I just think that training here in Houston, there’s other fighters down here that are really focused on their boxing, and that helps a lot,” Cintron said. “I come down here to train and to be focused, and being around other fighters that are working hard in the gym rubs off and makes me want to train harder. I don’t go through the motions. I give it 120 percent in the gym.”

Says Shields: “Kermit listens to me, and that's all I ask from any fighter. Just listen to what I’m telling you, and everything will be fine.”

Exile From Primetime Networks

“I didn’t really understand that.”

That's what Lou DiBella had to say regarding Kermit Cintron being snubbed by HBO after he Angulo. While Angulo went on to face Harry Joe Yorgey two fights later on HBO (five months after the Cintron defeat), Cintron lingered on the sidelines, fighting unheralded trial horse Juliano Ramos five months later on Broadway Boxing, stopping him in five.

“Honestly, I think [Angulo] has gotten away with some easy touches, and I'm not all that impressed with Joel Julio, either,” DiBella says of Angulo’s most recent opponent. “With that being said, Angulo has got a good style for TV. I don’t blame them [HBO] for sticking with Angulo, but it’s a little unfair that Kermit had to wait. This is a great opportunity that he’s getting, and a little bit of patience paid off.”

In the year since they met, Cintron has fought just once while Angulo has fought three times.

That said, while the Ramos fight did little to increase Cintron’s overall exposure, it did fulfill a career dream of his – fighting at the Coliseo Roberto Clemente in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Cintron was born just outside of there, in Carolina, Puerto Rico, but he had never fought there as a professional. While swaying the networks would take time, DiBella made the effort to keep his client happy.

“I lost some money, but it was a lifelong dream of his to fight there,” DiBella says. “He also needed to be active. He got a lot of love there, so I was happy to give him that opportunity.”

Though Cintron is not considered an adored local son by Puerto Ricans in the way Felix Trinidad and Miguel Cotto are, DiBella is still optimistic that continued success will lead to Cintron finding a permanent home in their hearts. DiBella plans to organize a promotional trip to Puerto Rico for Cintron should he emerge victorious over Williams.

Business At Hand

“Paul Williams is a good fighter, and I feel I’m a good fighter as well,” Cintron says. “I feel good about this fight. I’ve been training very hard for it, and I’m expecting to win the fight.”

This are confident words from Cintron, who at just short of 6-feet is still a few inches shorter than Williams, who is listed at 6-foot-2 but is believed to be slightly taller.. Williams also throws many more punches: Cintron threw 534 total punches over 12 rounds against Martinez, compared to Williams’ tally of 979.

Cintron's big advantage, however, comes in the heaviness of his hands. Fans only need to recount his frightening destruction of Matthysse in 2007 as evidence.

“Paul Williams is a guy that throws a lot of punches," says Shields. “At some points [Cintron’s] going to have to box him, but at some points Kermit is going to have to back him up and make him fight his fight. I don’t want to give away what we’re going to do, but at some point he’s going to have to slow the fight down a little bit. Whether that’s at the beginning or end, I’m not divulging that part.”

With Shields, Cintron has a renewed sense of self-belief that wasn’t always apparent in recent years.

“I feel like I’m in the top three at 154 pounds,” Cintron says. “I feel I’m in a good position now, especially fighting Paul Williams. That’s the whole reason I’m fighting him, because I’m in a good position where I can fight big name fighters.”

Coincidentally, Cintron's one conqueror, Margarito, is also fighting the same night in Mexico against unknown Roberto Garcia – on an independent pay-per-view far away from the primetime networks. It's funny how boxing works sometimes. -RS

BWAA Dinner June 5 in NYC

Of all the events penciled in on my calendar this summer (most of them located in Seaside Heights or Wildwood, NJ), the Boxing Writers Association of Americas 85th Annual Awards Dinner on June 5 has to highlight my list this coming season. I'm in my second year of membership with the organization but will be attending the dinner for the first time. Now all I need to do is figure out which tie goes best with my new light blue tuxedo (I jest).

Honorees include Manny Pacquiao, the BWAA's choice for "Fighter of the Decade" as well as "Fighter of the Year, "Trainer of the Year" Freddie Roach and "Broadcaster of the Year" Joe Tessitore of ESPN2.

Tickets priced at $200 can be purchased at the BWAA website www.bwaa.org . Cocktail hour begins at 6:00 PM. Dinner and Awards begin at 7:30 PM.

And yes, I am of legal age to enjoy the cocktail hour.

 

[heyzel]

Arum: Pacquiao Won't Make Concessions, Quotes Are Fake

By Ronnie Nathanielsz

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum tells BoxingScene.com that pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao will not make any concessions in order to ensure that a mega-buck fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. takes place. He branded numerous internet reports claiming Pacquiao agreed to a 14-day cut-off on the drug testing as “totally false.”

Arum made it clear that both he and Pacquiao are standing firm on a 24-day cut-off period for the random blood tests and the previously agreed upon 50-50 split on the money. Arum told us “all I’m saying, right now we are holding to our position.”

Discussing the Mayweather-Mosley fight Arum said “Mosley really got old and slow and offered no opposition. If Manny had hurt Floyd the way Mosley did in the second round he wouldn’t have stopped till he took him out.”

He said Mosley “had no energy, had no rhythm, had no speed and his trainer (Naazim) Richardson was telling him what to do and he couldn’t do it.”

Arum said that should a Mayweather fight not materialize, Pacquiao has several options. The first would be a possible fight against former champion Antonio Margarito who takes on Roberto Garcia in Margarito’s first fight after a one year layoff due to a suspension slapped on him by the California State Athletic Commission over the use of padding in his hand-wraps before his fight against Mosley last January.

Arum also raised the possibility of a rematch with Miguel Cotto from whom Pacquiao won the WBO welterweight title with a 12th round TKO last November.

Arum told BoxingScene.com, insidesports.ph, Standard Today and Viva Sports “if Cotto beats Yuri Foreman, Manny may want to fight Cotto at 150 pounds for the junior middleweight title in a rematch.” Arum added, “that fight is sellable because Cotto has Emanuel Steward training him etc.”

Arum is arriving in Manila early Thursday morning and will take a connecting flight to General Santos City where he will stay until Tuesday, May 11 which is one day after the Philippine presidential elections in which Pacquiao is running for the lone congressional seat in Sarangani against Roy Chiongbian of the wealthy and politically entrenched Chiongian dynasty.

In the meantime Keith Kizer, executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission disclosed that both Mayweather and Mosley had “at least 5 urine tests tests each for Mayweather and Mosley and at least 5 blood tests for Mayweather and 6 blood tests for Mosley.”

Kizer was unable to confirm the claim by Pacquiao’s conditioning expert Alex Ariza that the US Anti Doping Agency subjected Mosley to a blood test one day before he arrived in Las Vegas on fight week. However, Kizer said Mosley’s first test was on March 23 and Mayweather’s on March 22.

Following a report that said the blood tests cost $20,000 Kizer said he didn’t know how much the tests cost and who paid for them. At the same time he said with the random blood test issue being raised, the NSAC “always revisit our drug testing policies and have made several changes thereto over the years. I do not know what changes the Commission may make in the future.”

 

[heyzel]

Paulie Malignaggi Says: "This Fight is For America!"

By Mark Vester

Former junior welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi has dedicated his upcoming fight with WBA champion Amir Khan to the United States. Khan makes his American debut on May 15 when he defends the title against Malignaggi in New York's Madison Square Garden.

"This fight is for American! Putting the U.S. back on the map, but still got love for all my UK fans," Malignaggi said.

Khan has some troubles of his own. Several outlets have reported that a Los Angeles model, Leanne Crow, is claiming the British fighter send her several dirty text messages and several photos where he exposed himself. Malignaggi is giving Khan an open hand of support in the matter. He says every guy has been there before.

"Khan, I heard about your sex scandal...don't trip. We have all been guilty of sending dirty text messages bro. When you are at the top, everyone wants you to crumble. Keep it moving," Malignaggi said.

 

[trips]

Bob Arum is a real pimp, hes gonna fuck shit up for Pacquiao. yall can forget about him fighting Mayweather it wont happen unless The Bob Father lol is out the picture http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0J80ppIGWo .

 

[REdRUM]

Fucking Maidana, you piece of shit.

That was going to be a dope fight.

 

[Tony]

Wow.... at Arum/Pacquaio.... looks like they're ducking Mayweather.

 

[2-0-Sixx]

part of the negotiating process, arum is trying to make it seem like pacquiao has options when in reality he doesn't. He's not fooling anyone that there could be a pacquiao vs cotto rematch lol.

arum is a fool though. I wish pacquiao would leave his ass, at this point pac doesn't need him i don't know why he keeps his greedy ass around.

 

[heyzel]

Joe Calzaghe Returns to have rematch with Bernard Hopkins?

By Phylip Rees: It is being reported in today’s British Press ( Daily Mail ) that talks have been held for this fight to take place later this year. It was reported that Joe has financial considerations behind this planned return to the ring. For his fans, myself included, further developments to this story will indeed make interesting reading. Bernard Hopkins should no doubt relish the opportunity to avenge his loss to Calzaghe and with the element of “grudge” involved it should make for a very interesting bout.

 

[heyzel]

Wladimir Klitschko-David Haye is Heading To Germany

By Ruslan Chikov

According to reports in the Russian press, the unification between heavyweight champions Wladimir Klitschko and David Haye is probably going to take place in Germany rather than England.

Klitschko's trainer Emanuel Steward has been talking about a September fight date. Golzka reports the fight is being discussed for the month of November. Last weekend in Las Vegas, Klitschko's adviser Shelly Finkel and Haye's co-promoter Golden Boy Promotions had positive discussions with American cable network HBO. The proposed fight date will have to work for HBO, German network RTL and the cable network carrying the event in England

 

[Tony]

It's looking like Arum (not Manny since Manny doesn't call his own shots) is "cherry" picking now. Why fight Cotto again? Why fight Margarito? These dudes have already been beaten up.

 

[2-0-Sixx]

^^like I just said I think arum is using that as leverage for negotiating purposes, maybe to try and bring the split down close to 50/50 I don't know.

obviously pac vs cotto would be a joke and to a lesser extent so would margarito.

Pacquiao said he wants the fight, will take the tests, then arum says pacquiao never said anything lol. it's clear arum is trying to get some leverage here. Pac should fire him cuz its not going to work (unless that 1.2 million buys is really true, that would fuuck floyd's whole 60/40 shit up bad).