Boxing News Thread

[heyzel]

Mosley: “”I’m going to knock him [Mayweather] out” – News

By Eric Thomas: World Boxing Association welterweight champion Shane Mosley (46-5, 39 KO’s) made it clear how serious he is about his May 1st bout against unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr., saying “I don’t play. I give 100 percent. I’m going to give everything that I have. Mayweather knows that.” Mosley, now thirty-eight, has wanted to get a shot at a big money fight against Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao for the past few years but has been virtually ignored by them for some reason. It seemed like he was never going to get a shot against either of them until recently when Mayweather was unable to negotiate a fight with Pacquiao.


Mosley was supposed to be fighting WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto on January 30th, but when he pulled out of the fight weeks before that due to a catastrophic earthquake in Haiti, which killed some of his extended family members, it left Mosley without an opponent at the same time that Mayweather came available. Mayweather still likely wouldn’t have fought Mosley if not for Pacquiao choosing Joshua Clottey, a highly ranked welterweight, on March 13th. This put a lot of pressure on Mayweather to have to fight someone good or better. Mayweather then decided to take Mosley as an opponent finally after all this time.

Mosley sounds a little peeved at being ignored for so long, commenting “I was waiting for a year to fight either one of these guys. Did they care if I was going to wait? No. But it’s the fans who are going to benefit from this fight.”

Pacquiao and his management weren’t particularly interested in fighting Mosley either, even after he said he would be willing to drop down in weight and fight Pacquiao at a catch weight. Instead, Pacquiao’s team chose Miguel Cotto, a fighter who had been recently badly beaten up by Antonio Margarito in an 11th round stoppage in 2008.

Speaking about Mayweather, Mosley says “I’m going to knock him out. I can’t wait to get into the ring and dig my teeth into Mayweather. It’s going to be the fight of the decade.” Mosley stands to make a lot of money in the Mayweather fight after the pay per view numbers are in. And if Mosley can beat Mayweather, he will get an even bigger payday against Pacquiao if the Filipino fighter and his management are interested in pitting him against Mosley. Pacquiao has expressed interest in fighting Mosley, and even thinks he’s going to beat Mayweather on May 1st. A fight between Mosley and Pacquiao would be huge, and it’s a fight that would likely take place in the Dallas Cowboy Stadium, like the Pacquiao-Clottey fight.

Mosley makes it clear that he intends on giving Mayweather his first defeat, saying at the press conference “May 1 symbolizes something. After this fight, it is going to be clear. It is going to be the date of Mayweather’s first loss.”

Mayweather is going to have to step up to the plate and show more in the way of offensive work rate if he wants to beat Mosley. He isn’t going to beat Mosley by pot shotting all night long. Mayweather is going to have to mix it up and throw a lot of punches, something he hasn’t done a lot of in the past seven years.

 

[heyzel]

Spinks-Bundrage, Cunningham-Godfrey Double on 3/26

By Rick Reeno

BoxingScene.com had been advised of a televised doubleheader on March 26. ESPN's Friday Night Fight's will carry the show. In the main event, Cory Spinks will defend his IBF junior middleweight title against mandatory Cornelius Bundrage. Spinks, now being trained by Buddy McGirt, is coming off a near one-year layoff.

The co-feature will have an interesting cruiserweight fight between Steven Cunningham and Matt Godfrey. The vacant IBF title will be up for grabs. The venue has not been set but I've heard Las Vegas and St. Louis are in the running to host

 

[heyzel]

Mayweather, Mosley: Heated Words Over Money, Ex-Wife

By Mark Vester

Floyd Mayweather vs. Shane Mosley has been building for years. There has been a lot of bad blood and the two fighters certainly showed it during the press conference in New York City on Tuesday. Besides the two of them nearly trading punches at the start of the presser, they traded words during multiple interviews and much of it was caught by Rick Reeno and Bill Emes of BoxingScene.com.

Mosley: I'm The champ.

Mayweather: Belts do nothing but collect dust. Man, I don't want his belt. I'm not paying no sanctioning fee. He can keep his belt. This is the biggest money he ever made, with me. [He and Andre Berto] were splitting three million a piece. That's a nice payday for Berto. It don't matter what you do, you are getting your biggest payday with me when it's all said and done.

Mayweather: [Mosley's ex-wife] Jin is your manager.

Mosley: Oh she is?

Mayweather: You beat Oscar De La Hoya twice and now you're an employee under Golden Boy Promotions. You work for Golden Boy.

Mosley: You and Jin need to get together.

Mayweather: I like Jin. Jin is a great person. She did great with your career. I'm not the one who has to pay her alimony every month, that's you. I'll get the kid [talking about Mosley] a Mayweather suit, a custom suit. Some real gators. That's off the rack [pointing to Mosley's suit].

Mosley: This is custom right here. That's not custom [pointing to Floyd's suit].

Mayweather: That don't say Mosley promotions [pointing to the fight banner].

Mosley: But that's my company.

Mayweather: That don't say Mosley promotions.

Mosley: You're paying my company.

Mayweather: Stop, just stop. You better check your records. You don't want me to get the paperwork out. Look up here. Look at what it says. It says Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions. Go get your own business man. Be your own boss man.

 

[Johnny Truelove]

lol

 

[heyzel]

Will Mayweather-Mosley reach 3 million PPV buys?

By Chris Williams: If the May 1st fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Shane Mosley fails to pick up interest from Hispanic boxing fans, will this fight be able to reach the 3 million pay-per-view mark that Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer has predicted for it? This is a fight that matches Mayweather, a fighter that doesn’t like to mix it up very much, against Mosley who has a crowd pleasing style of fighting that could bring in boxing fans from all nationalities in the U.S.


Hispanic fans tend to want to see more entertaining fights, as George Willis of the New York Post points out and they could be turned off towards watching a fight involving Floyd Mayweather in particular because this fight is going to cost $49.95 to watch. The Mayweather-Mosley fight will do well regardless of whether a lot of Hispanic fans purchase the fight on pay-per view, but it might come up for short of Schaefer’s ambitious prediction for the fight.

It’s certainly more than worthy of those kinds of numbers because Mayweather and Mosley could be the #1 and #2 fighters in the entire welterweight division. However, Mosley is 38-years-old, hasn’t fought in over a year, and hasn’t been involved in any mega fights in the past seven years since his last fight with Oscar De La Hoya in 2003.

Mosley has continued fighting since then but he hasn’t had an opponent across from him like De La Hoya that made any of his fights huge PPV draws like the Mayweather bout will be on May 1st. Mosley has the exciting style that would attract Hispanic viewers, but he’s struggled in fights against Winky Wright and Miguel Cotto, losing to both fighters in the past seven years.

Mosley probably won’t be enough on his own to draw Hispanic fans to want to put their money down in big numbers to watch Mayweather running around the ring trying to avoid getting hit all night long. That seems like a recipe for fan frustration rather than excitement. The fight will do well regardless of whether Hispanic fight fans show interest in the fight, but without them I can’t see the Mayweather-Mosley fight reaching the 3 million pay per view mark that Schaefer is predicting.

Even if Golden Boy Promotions tries to market the fight to the Hispanic audience, I’m not sure they will show interest in this fight to help it reach the 3 million mark. It will take a better undercard that is currently put with this fight, and the focus would have to be more on the undercard than the main event, because the Mayweather-Mosley fight could be a stinker if Mayweather runs around the ring all night long.

 

[heyzel]

Haye predicts wins for Froch, Khan and Mitchell

By Sean McDaniel: WBA heavyweight champion David Haye is becoming something of a Nostradamus predictor in the boxing world. In his latest round of predictions, the 29-year-old Haye is predicting that British fighters Amir Khan, Carl Froch and Kevin Mitchell will all win their next fights coming up. Haye, who seems to have an eye for talent, says this in article from The sun about Froch’s upcoming April 24th fight against former WBA super middleweight champion Mikkel Kessler in the Super Six tournament:


“Carl has a big test in front of him when he takes on Mikkel Kessler in Denmark, but he [Froch] has shown what a tough competitor he is. Kessler can boast so much experience at the highest level, he gave Joe Calzaghe a real hard time when they fought in Wales” [in November 2007]. This is a fight in which Kessler was beaten by 12 round decision by Calzaghe.

Haye says “A worry is that Kessler is coming into this [April 24th Super Six bout] off the back of a surprise defeat against Andre Ward [last November 21st in their stage 1 Super Six tourney bout] and he’ll be looking to put that right against Carl, though I don’t think he will.”

What Haye fails to mention, however, is that Kessler will likely have a huge benefit by fighting in front of his home fans in Denmark. Kessler was considered by many people to be the best fighter in the super middleweight division up until recently when he was beaten in an upset loss by Ward. However, despite being defeated by Ward in an 11 round technical decision last November, Kessler remains one of the best fighters in the Super Six tournament and possibly the 2nd best fighter overall. Froch will have to use his power to try and stop Kessler, because he doesn’t figure to have the boxing skills to beat a guy like Kessler, who can both punch and box extraordinarily well. This isn’t going to be a fight in which Froch will have a huge audience supporting him like he did in his last fight in Nottingham.

Speaking of Amir Khan, Haye says “Amir has learned his lesson getting knocked out by Breidis Prescott and he’s not about to make the same mistake again. I know his opponent Paulie Malignaggi [who Khan will be fighting on May 15th in New York] pretty well from the amateur scene when I represented Great Britain and he was fighting for the United States. He [Malignaggi] had crazy hairstyles even back then but he is a real tricky customer in the ring. I take Khan to do a number him, though.”

Most boxing fans feel that Khan should be able to beat Malignaggi by decision or possibly by knockout. Malignaggi has lost two out of his last four fights, and before that he had questionable wins over the likes of Lovemore N’dou and Herman Ngoudjo. This is a very winnable yet dangerous fight for Khan. If he or fails to win impressively, it could hurt his ability to become a big star in the U.S, which is one of Khan’s goals.

Haye says “Kevin Mitchell is the one who has really caught by eye in recent fights. He will be the next one up to win a world title. He’ll be fighting [WBO light welterweight interim champion] Michael Katsidis probably near the end of May and it could be a peach of a world title contest. I have known Mitchell since he was a kid and I was getting a bit worried because he seemed to be fighting such low level opposition. I was concerned about him making the necessary step up. But the performance he put in against Prescott, the big Colombian who knocked out Khan, showed an unbelievable maturity. Kevin showed he can fight to a plan against Prescott, his timing and skill were world class.”

Mitchell defeated Prescott by a lopsided 12 round decision in December 2009 by using movement and pin point shots to earn a decision. Prescott spent the better part of the night chasing Mitchell without luck and missing with many of his power shots.

 

[heyzel]

Dawson could fight Bute after Pascal bout – News

By Eric Thomas: Gary Shaw, the promoter for light heavyweight Chad Dawson (29-0, 17 KO’s) says that Dawson could possibly fight International Boxing Federation super middleweight champion Lucian Bute (25-0, 20 KO’s) after Dawson gets through with his August 15th bout against WBC light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal. In an article from Dan Rafael of ESPN, he quotes Shaw as saying “He [Dawson] wants the biggest fights he can get and Pascal is a big fight. If he beats Pascal, maybe we’ll come back and fight Lucian Bute.” That sounds like great news if things turn out to be like that.


However, Dawson first has to get by Pascal on August 14th, at the Bell Centre, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Dawson, 27, will be traveling to Canada to fight in the adopted country of Pascal. Fighting in Canada isn’t easy thing for visiting fighters, and often they complain about being shafted as far as trying to get a decision. One would hope that Dawson doesn’t end up losing for the first time by winding up on the wrong side of the score.

However, if he can get by Pascal, then a fight against Bute, another fighter from another country who fights out of Canada, it would be a huge bout. Beyond Pascal, Tavoris Cloud and Bernard Hopkins, Dawson doesn’t have any competition in the light heavyweight division. Hopkins hasn’t shown any interest in fighting Dawson., Cloud is someone that could potentially be a good opponent for Dawson in the future if Cloud can build up his name a little before to make it interesting by attracting a lot of fans.

The super middleweight has a much higher number of talented fighters than the light heavyweight division. Bute is the first of many top super middleweights that Dawson needs to go after in the future if he wants to ensure that he can keep finding good fights. There’s no point in wasting time defending titles against the mostly obscure fighters in the light heavyweight division when the super middleweight division has a number of fighters that have become well known due to the Super Six tournament.

Bute, 30, is a good fighter and has looked good for the most part since capturing the IBF title in 2007. If Dawson can get by Pascal, and Bute beats his next opponent Edison Miranda, then a Dawson-Bute fight could be huge in Canada and in the United States. HBO would likely show the fight, and by the time they do end up fighting each other both Bute and Dawson will be better known to boxing fans.

I see Dawson totally dominating Bute and eventually stopping him by the 10th or 11th rounds. Bute is a hit and run fighter with decent hand speed. However, Dawson is taller, much faster in terms of hand speed and better on defense. I see this as an easy fight for Dawson. My only question is whether Bute and his people would take this fight. I doubt they would because Dawson would be a huge threat to Bute

 

[heyzel]

Klitschko to retire, not before retiring Haye

By Tj Amin: Many boxing fans are hotly anticipating a clash between David haye and Vitali Klitschko, this defiantly looks like a fight that will go ahead some time later this year providing contractual issues can be sorted out. Both fighters have publicly said they are willing to fight each other and the trash talking has already begun. David Haye’s charisma, speed and power has injected a lot of excitement and optimism into the heavyweight scene, with many people believing (or hoping) this is the man to finally topple the heavyweight monopoly that is the Klitschko brother’s.


As much as I enjoy watching David Haye fights I don’t really giving him much of chance against Vitali as he will be far too big, strong, experienced and accomplished for David Haye. In Haye’s previous bout, due to Valuev’s size he had to understandably use movement and craft to just about overcome the giant. This will be a similar story against Vitali who is 5 inches taller and will probably weigh in 2 stones heavier.

However, Haye who is not known for his punch output will not be able to successfully adopt similar tactics against a more mobile, faster, stronger and skilled boxer then Valuev was. Klitschko is an expert in using his size advantage to keep out of range, whilst using his jab to unbalance and wear down his opponents, before unleashing big right hands.

The question is will David Haye have the movement and stamina to last 12 rounds considering he has only gone the distance once in his career. It is clear to see that Haye possesses knockout power, but how effective will his power be against a man who has a granite chin and has never been knocked down before, not to mention the highest knockout ratio in boxing history.

With this all been said we all know the power associated with heavyweights and a fight can be won and lost in a split second, but I fear that Haye will be worn down before eventually being stopped. Either way this is an intriguing fight which will appeal to boxing fans on many levels.

Share and Enjoy:

 

[heyzel]

Haye: “Kevin Mitchell will win a world title this year” – News

By Tim Walsh: World Boxing Association heavyweight champion David Haye feels that unbeaten lightweight contender Kevin Mitchell (31-0, 23 KO’s) will win one of the lightweight titles in 2010. In an article at ESPN, the 29-year-old Haye says “Kevin Mitchell will win a world title this year. I think Mitchell could beat anyone in the world at his weight right now. I wasn’t sure he had what it takes, but against [Breidis] Prescott he showed world class skills and timing against a dangerous opponent. He’s [Mitchell] got it and it’s the right time for him.” I don’t know that I agree with Haye’s assessment of Mitchell’s chances at winning a title or his skills for that matter.


Mitchell did beat Prescott by a 12 round decision in December 2009, but Mitchell did it by punching and running for the full 12 rounds against a flawed opponent. Prescott is considered by many as a one-dimensional slugger with poor accuracy. The fact that he was able to stop Amir Khan in one round in 2008 is more the result of Khan fighting the wrong fight rather than how good Prescott is as a fighter.

Had Khan used his head and boxed Prescott instead of slugging with him, he would have likely easily beaten the Colombian fighter without suffering so much as a scratch in the process. Instead, Khan made the mistake of jumping on Prescott from the opening bell and running into one of his big left hooks. The rest is history. Prescott dropped Khan twice and took him out.

Mitchell moved away from Prescott, staying away from his power shots and landing an occasional punch of his own to get the victory. It was a good win, but hardly one that I would get excited about given how one-dimensional and crude Prescott is as a fighter. At the same time, Mitchell didn’t show me that he could throw enough punches while standing in the trenches to beat a better fighter than Prescott.

Mitchell’s next opponent WBO lightweight interim champion Michael Katsidis (26-2, 21 KO’s) is equally flawed, and probably not much better than Prescott in ability. Katsidis, 29, has been beaten in two out of his last five fights, which isn’t a very impressive statistic.

Since being beaten in back to back fights by Juan Diaz and Joel Casamayor in 2008, Katsidis has taken on softer opponents, beating Angel Hugo Ramirez, Jesus Chavez and Vicente Escobedo. Some would say that Katsidis has turned his career around by winning these three fights in a row. I don’t see it that way. I think Katsidis has beaten three good fighters, but ones not in the class of Casamayor or Diaz. Chavez is old, Escobedo unproven, and Ramirez is a 2nd tier fighter.

If Mitchell beats Katsidis, he will technically be the World Boxing Organization lightweight champion. However, I see Mitchell being able to hold onto the WBO title about as long as it will take to drink a cup of coffee. There’s the matter of top contenders Ali Funeka and Anthony Peterson that Mitchell would have to deal with. I see both of those fighters as being better than Mitchell. While I know Mitchell will be able to win his first non-mandatory defense if he stays away from those guys, I think he’ll be beaten once he has to fight either of them.

I also have serious doubts that Mitchell will be able to beat Katsidis as well, even thought I think Katsidis is a terribly flawed fighter. There are other top lightweights that I feel would also be too good for Mitchell, such as Edwin Valero, Antonio DeMarco, Yuri Romanov, Urbano Antillon, Jose Alfaro, Miguel Acosta, Joan Guzman, Paulus Moses, Casamayor, David Diaz, and Marco Antonio Barrera.

None of them are currently ranked in the top 15 by the WBO, but they are ranked high by the WBA, WBC and IBF. Valero is the WBC lightweight champion and possibly the best fighter in the division. There’s also Juan Manuel Marquez, who along with Valero, is probably the best fighter in the division. I don’t see Mitchell beating him either.

 

[WYNO707X4]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nalG500sxoA&feature=player_embedded I DONT KNOW HOW TO POST THE VID BUT HERE YOU GO CHECK IT OUT

 

[BROWN GUERRERO]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nalG500sxoA&feature=player_embedded I DONT KNOW HOW TO POST THE VID BUT HERE YOU GO CHECK IT OUT

Wack video. Why didn't it show Mercer getting subbed by a fighter with 3 months of ground training? Or Art Jimmerson tapping out just from being mounted? These videos are dumb as fuck.

 

[2-0-Sixx]

^^nice video.

I kinda like jackie chan's quote

“I don’t like to see ‘ultimate fighting.’ As a martial artist, I find it too violent putting them in a cage. At the end, it’s not fighting anymore. That’s not the martial arts. Martial arts is about respect. When somebody is knocked down, stop. I really respect Sugar Ray Leonard. Come on, [when a guy is down,] stop. Don’t fight. That’s not the spirit. When you’re down, I’ll grab you up. Are you OK? Should we continue? That’s the martial arts spirit. That’s what I want.”

 

[2-0-Sixx]

Wack video. Why didn't it show Mercer getting subbed by a fighter with 3 months of ground training? Or Art Jimmerson tapping out just from being mounted? These videos are dumb as fuck.

who the hell is art jimmerson?

 

[BROWN GUERRERO]

The boxer who fought in UFC 1 with one glove lol.

 

[2-0-Sixx]

oh that retard? lmao, I remember that video. Yeah, his pro boxing record was 33-18, dude was a scrub to begin with.

side note: WTF were they thinking having him wear ONE boxing glove? lmao, worst idea ever.

 

[heyzel]

Cotto vs. Foreman to be shown on HBO

By Chris Williams: In a fight that is effectively for the bragging rights of New York, former World Boxing Organization welterweight champion Miguel Cotto (34-2, 27 KO’s) will be stepping up in weight to take on WBA light middleweight champion Yuri Foreman (28-0, 8 KO’s) on June 5th, at the Yankee Stadium, in the Bronx, New York. The fight will be shown on regular HBO and not Pay-Per-View, according to the news outlet Primera Hora. A press conference will be held on March 22nd in Tampa, Florida, to announce the fight.


The Yankee Stadium is one of the smaller baseball parks with a seating capacity of only 50,000. It’s doubtful that the Cotto-Foreman fight will sellout, because attention for this fight will largely be driven by the much more popular Cotto rather than the like known Foreman.

To be sure, Foreman is somewhat well known in the New York area, but he’s still not had enough big name fights for him to be considered a major star at this time in the area, even though he currently holds down the WBA light middleweight title.

Incidentally, Foreman just won the WBA title in his last fight, beating a ring rusty Daniel Santos by a 12 round decision in November. Santos, 34, hasn’t fought since winning the WBA title in July 2008 win a 6th round knockout against then champion Joachim Alcine.

Cotto was dominated in his last bout, getting stopped in the 12th round by Manny Pacquiao in November 2009. Although Cotto gave it his best shot at winning, he just didn’t have the speed or the movement needed to compete with Pacquiao and ended up taking a battering. Coming off a loss like that, it’s seems kind of strange to have Cotto fighting in a huge stadium like the Yankee Stadium.

That seems like something that should be done for a fighter that has been winning as of late rather than a fighter like Cotto who just lost badly and who has been beaten in two out of his last four fights. However, boxing fans in the New York area will likely flock to see Cotto fight regardless of who he’s facing and the fact that he’s finding less and less success in the ring nowadays.

It’s unknown what Cotto will do if he gets beaten up and stopped again. If Cotto gets taken out by the light hitting Foreman, this would be Cotto’s third knockout loss in his last five fights and perhaps a hint that Cotto doesn’t have it anymore. Cotto was stopped in the 11th round by Antonio Margarito in July 2008. And in his fight with Joshua Clottey, a bout in which Cotto won by a 12 round split decision in June 2009, Cotto looked like he was ready to be stopped in that fight as well.

If Cotto gets beaten up and blasted out by Foreman, though, it’s hard to tell where Cotto could go from there. Moving back down to the welterweight division might not be the answer right now, because Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and Andre Berto are down there and they would be big problems for Cotto. If Cotto stays at light middleweight, he could be too small to compete against the bigger fighters in the division like Paul Williams and Kermit Cintron.

 

[heyzel]

Timothy Bradley interested in fighting Devon Alexander

By Jim Dower: World Boxing Organization light welterweight champion Timothy Bradley (25-0, 11 KO’s) says that he’s interested in fighting IBF/WBC light welterweight champion Devon Alexander (20-0, 13 KO’s) in June if possible.

In an article at Boxing Talk, Bradley said “Let’s do it” when asked if he’d be interested in facing Alexander in June. However, Bradley says that the “money has to be right” for him to fight Alexander.

Bradley goes on to say that he thinks it would be a close fight in the first six rounds but that he’d get to Alexander in the later rounds of the fight. Bradley, 26, who is considered to be the best fighter in the light welterweight division by many, says that he thinks Alexander is very talented and a tough fighter.


However, a fight between Alexander and Bradley might not happen next, because the 23-year-old Alexander has been mentioning 32-year-old Zab Judah (38-6, 26 KO’s) as an opponent that he’d like to fight next.

Judah, at one time the IBF/WBA/WBC welterweight champion, has been mostly a gate keeper in the welterweight division since losing his last title, the WBC belt, to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2006. Judah has fought three times in the past two years, beating Ernest Johnson and Ubaldo Hernandez while losing to Joshua Clottey.

Judah is a better known fighter than Bradley among casual fans of the sport, but it’s hard to tell how much he has left at this point in his career. It’s been five years since Judah beat a high quality fighter, defeating Cory Spinks by a 9th round stoppage in 2005 to capture the IBF/WBC/WBC welterweight titles.

But since that time, Judah has failed in fights against top level opposition, losing to Carlos Baldomir, Mayweather, Miguel Cotto and Joshua Clottey. The only real opposition that Judah has been able to beat is 2nd tier fighters. At 5’7”, Judah should have moved back down to the light welterweight division long ago where he would have had a better chance at competing than at welterweight.

Alexander looked very impressive in defeating International Boxing Federation light welterweight champion Juan Urango last Saturday night on March 6th in an 8th round TKO. Alexander ended the fight with a big uppercut to the head of Urango. Alexander had knocked Urango down moments earlier with an identical looking uppercut.

If Alexander wanted to get attention immediately from hardcore boxing fans, a fight against Bradley would be the way to go rather than taking on Judah. Bradley is probably the much tougher opponent and the one that would give Alexander more of a name than beating up on Judah at this point. Judah doesn’t have a title like Bradley does, and Zab has been beaten in four out of his last nine bouts.

If you take away Judah’s wins against 2nd tier opposition among the nine fights, Judah’s record is 0-4-1, which is pretty poor to be given a title shot. Despite Judah’s lack of wins over top level opposition in the past four years, he’s ranked at number #7 in the IBF light welterweight division.

 

[heyzel]

Is Roach’s big mouth making it worse for Pacquiao?

By Esteban Garduno: Freddie Roach has been talking long hard for anyone that wants to hear him about how his fighter Manny Pacquiao is going to beat Joshua Clottey on March 13th. As you would guess, a lot of the predictions by Roach have made its way back to Clottey and angering him to the point where he seems totally obsessed with punishing Pacquiao and taking his World Boxing Organization welterweight title on Saturday night. Roach may think he’s doing Pacquiao a favor by trying to get into the head of Clottey with his trash talk, but it could make things much tougher for Pacquiao, because he’s the one that will have to be in the ring with the angry and committed Clottey, not Roach.


It’s usually not a good idea for a fighter to fight angry, because they don’t think clearly and make mistakes. However, in some cases being pissed off can actually help a fighter by making them even more willing to fight as hard they can. In Clottey’s case, he’s feeling really disrespected by the way that Roach has pointed out his flaws and predicted a knockout win for his fighter Pacquiao. This could hurt Pacquiao if Clottey is willing to go to any lengths to win.

Roach may not be aware of this, because he’s been out of the ring for ages and might not understand what it means to given an opponent extra motivation. Many trainers and coaches purposely bend over backwards not to upset their opponent by showing disrespect because they rightfully know that a motivated opponent is harder to deal with than one that has been treated well.

Roach may not know or care about any of this, because he seems to have become slightly cocky with the success that Pacquiao has had in the past five years. Roach is riding the gravy train and I think Roach has a feeling that Pacquiao is invincible in the ring. I don’t know if he is, but it doesn’t help to give an opponent extra motivation, especially if you’re not the one that’s going to be taking his shots.

Pacquiao will have to answer for the barbs that Roach has been slinging at Clottey for the past month, and he could end up taking a great deal more punishment as a result. Maybe Roach doesn’t care, because he seems to be trying to push Pacquiao into retiring in a couple of fights. But it won’t help Pacquiao if he gets beaten up by Clottey, and has nothing left for a subsequent fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Roach should leave the trash talking to the fighter. If Pacquiao wants to downgrade Clottey, then he should be the one that does it and not Roach. It seems like Roach has taken over the job of Pacquiao by yapping 24/7 about how badly flawed Clottey is. Roach doesn’t like to keep his mouth shut, and prides himself on being outspoken, but he should at least think about what it could mean for his fighter.

If Clottey is willing to fight his heart out to make Roach eat his words, it will be Pacquiao who could end up paying for it.

 

[heyzel]

Is Mayweather’s precious “0″ a monkey on his back?

By Gary E G: The one and only controversial win in Floyd Mayweather’s 40 fight unbeaten career was his bout against Jose Luis Castillo in 2002. Many who saw the fight thought that Castillo was robbed and the few minutes leading up to the official announcement is the only time I have seen Mayweather look truly worried in a boxing ring. But inexplicably he scored a wide unanimous decision and after he won the rematch fair and square all was forgiven and largely forgotten. But how would the man and more importantly the boxer have changed if Castillo had gotten his just desserts?


Boxing is the only sport we have were being undefeated comes into the equation. All of our other modern greats Woods, Federer et al have failed at the moment that counts somewhere along the line. If the same had happened Mayweather all those years ago might it have humbled him, loosened him up, made him less tentative as a fighter and more of a crowd pleaser. It must weigh heavy on your mind every time your about to step in the ring knowing tonight might be night that people find out your only human. Could this be the reason Mayweather seems reluctant to go for the kill, like in his last match with Marquez.

It is so late in his career now and he has built his whole persona around the fact that none could conquer him, that at this stage defeat could possibly destroy Mayweather’s confidence as a boxer but his fight with Castillo was long before he became a superstar and if he had of lossed that night might he have become a true fighter, loved by the people purely for his skills and not despised for his attitude, like a certain Filipino who knows what it’s like to get knocked on his ass.

 

[heyzel]

How Big will Mayweather-Mosley Really Be?

By Alexander Fugate: First, I would like to apologize to everyone, as I was mistaken in an earlier article stating ticket sales for the May 1 mega-fight. It has since been brought to my attention that Stubhub.com allows fans to sell tickets to other fans. It appears (to me at least) to be a legal form of scalping online. Stubhub, from my current understanding doesn’t directly sell tickets to events, but simply allows people with tickets to events to sell them.


So, the numbers I previously stated are probably quite off, but the word is sales are going well and most would be surprised, to say the least, if this doesn’t sell out well ahead of fight night. Still, I made a mistake, and I offer my sincerest apologies.

However, the question out there is how well will Mayweather-Mosley actually do? Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy Promotions has said he expects 3 million PPV buys. This seems to be an absurdly high number. The record for most PPV buys for any boxing match ever is 2.44 million and that is the only fight to ever eclipse the 2 million mark. Not even Mike Tyson ever garnered over 2 million PPV buys. So, 3 million certainly seems like a stretch, but it isn’t impossible.

And it certainly isn’t the first time Schaefer has estimated huge numbers for a Mayweather fight that left many rolling their eyes. But his previous high estimates for a Mayweather fight have been accurate. As Dan Rafeal of ESPN.com reported on March 4, 2010, “He (Schaefer) predicted that Mayweather-De La Hoya would break the all time PPV record in 2007, and it did. Last year he predicted Mayweather-Juan Manuel Marquez would crack a million buys, which few believed. It did.

So when Schaefer predicted Wednesday that Mosley-Mayweather would break the Mayweather-De La Hoya record, I didn’t laugh this time. It could.” I agree with Mr. Rafael that the fight on May 1st could break the record for PPV buys, but being possible is a far cry from being a sure thing. More people have access to PPV fights now than ever before and both Mayweather and Pacquiao fights since they fought De La Hoya have done very well to say the least.

Some wonder if this fight can gain that much support with two African-American fighters facing each other. And while there is no doubt many fighters of different ethnic backgrounds have prospered with the help of their fellow citizens, Mayweather-Mosley will still generate much interest with casual boxing fans. Trinidad and Cotto both received a lot of support from fellow Puerto Ricans, Hatton from the UK, Pacquiao from Filipino’s, and numerous Mexican greats from their fellow countrymen. Still, Hatton’s numbers don’t include the UK PPV buys, and the Phillipines don’t have PPV’s to my understanding. When PPV buy numbers are released, the figure released only includes “domestic” buys, which I presume to mean only in the USA. If one takes into account UK buys for Hatton fights, he got over 2 million for his fight with Mayweather and a couple hundred thousand over one million for fighting Pacquiao. Undoubtedly there is a large portion of Mexicans and many Filipino’s in the US, and I’m not sure whether PPV tallies include Puerto Rico, since it is part of the USA, but regardless there is a meaningful Puerto Rican population inside the “states”, especially in New York.

Honestly, I don’t see the fact that both fighters are African-Americans having much to do with how well this fight will be received. Whenever two of the best pound for pound fighters in boxing are in the same weight class and fight each, its going to pick up a lot of support from all boxing fans, both hardcore fans and casual fans alike. I can’t believe that Mexicans are going to tune out of such a big fight; to suggest so seems racist to me. I believe Mexicans are no different than any other ethnic group, and that boxing is especially popular in Mexico. There might be some that only tune in to cheer on their fellow countrymen, but the majority of Mexicans that purchase PPV boxing events do so for the same reason as everyone else, because they are fans of the sweet science.

Especially considering the ever popular 24/7 series will have a four show lead-up to the May 1st showdown; and it will also be heavily marketed by Golden Boy Promotions as they see a lot of potential in this showdown. And considering the legions of loyal Pacquiao fans, and that so much has been made of the Mayeather-Pacquiao negotiations, I can only see that helping attract more viewers. Many will want to see how both fighters perform and try to gauge their chances at beating Pacquiao. If Pacquiao gets past Clottey this weekend- which I and most gamblers agree is a certainty (Pacquiao is currently a 7-1 favorite)- than a showdown with the winner of Mayweather-Mosley later this year would almost certainly shatter all records for money and PPV buys generated from a boxing match. I think the failed Mayweather-Pacquiao negotiations will also help boost sales for Pacquiao-Clottey this weekend.

So considering the marketing Mayweather-Mosley will receive and the hype surrounding a future fight with Pacquiao for the winner, and the fact that these are not only two of the top welterweights, but two of the best pound for pound fighters in the game today, I see May 1st doing exceedingly well. Even though Schaefer has been correct in past predictions, his current 3 million mark still seems out of reach to me.

An interesting side-note is that both Mayweather and Freddie Roach have stated in the past that Mosley isn’t a big enough draw. Roach insisted the money wasn’t there for a Pacquiao fight with Mosley last summer and Pacquiao instead faced Miguel Cotto. That fight generated a great 1.25 million PPV buys, but if May 1st, doubles that, and Mayweather wins, it seems Pacquiao will have lost a ton of leverage and power in negotiations for a fight with Mayweather in the future. It would only seem logical that Mayweather should get a bigger slice of the purse in a Pacquiao fight if he is able to double Pacquiao-Cotto buys against an opponent that is supposedly less of a draw than Cotto.

Trying to be realistic, I see May 1st, getting anywhere between 1.75 million and 2.55 million buys (there are some variables, e.g. if Pacquiao wins, the amount of commercials, to name a couple) and that Pacquiao-Clottey will get around one million, give or take 100,000. If Pacquiao gets over a million and Mayweather-Mosley only gets around 1.75 million, Mayweather will have gained some leverage albeit not a huge amount, but if May 1st, sets records, than Pacquiao will have to face the fact that Mayweather is the much bigger draw and take substantially less than 50% for a future bout with Mayweather.