Boxing News Thread

[heyzel]

Pacquiao-Bradley: The Arum train keeps rolling
June 7th, 2012

By Tim Wathen: With the Manny Pacquiao vs. Tim Bradley fight only a few days away, it’s time to make the ultimate prediction and explain why this writer feels there will be a new king crowned Saturday night. Bob Arum and his company Top Rank do one thing better than any other promoter in the business.

They predict the future. That’s why they are so successful. They have the ability to predict the outcome of a high percentage of their fights. In my opinion, that’s why Arum made this fight. Pacquiao has been Arum’s main cash cow for years but I get the sense he sees it coming to an end.

With the likelihood of getting a fight with Floyd Mayweather dwindling, and running out of his own fighters to put in with Pacquiao, the future for his top fighter is looking bleak. Add the countless distractions, age, a long career and sub-par performances in recent fights to the equation and you can see why Arum may want to setup one of his younger fighters to take over the crown.

Bradley is the new long term investment of the company. Fights that were probably not possible with Pacquiao, such as a Khan fight and even a Mayweather fight are a real possibility with Bradley. Arum will also rake in a boat load on the Pacquiao rematch which is bound to draw more attention than Saturday night and essentially send Pacquiao into retirement unless Arum can convince him to do one last Marquez fight. Arum is a business man. He will always go in the direction of his future. Bradley certainly lacks the star power of Manny Pacquiao. He doesn’t have his power or speed. He does have determination and fire that will carry him through a lot of fights in the future. A win over Pacquiao will elevate him to the next level and make him a PPV fighter. That’s essentially what Arum needs to happen to keep the gravy train moving. He’s Arum’s best bet to move forward and he knows that. Bradley is in his prime and Pacquiao’s career is coming to an end.

I highly doubt Arum would have risked this fight if Pacquiao was younger and had fewer miles on him. It’s unlikely Bradley would beat Pacquiao in his prime. This leads me to my main point. Pacquiao is not that fighter we all watched and loved. He’s still a good fighter but he’s not an elite. Arum isn’t going to let Mayweather get a chance to beat him. He’s setting it up to pass the torch on his own terms.

 

[heyzel]

DEFENDING “STEROID GURU” VICTOR CONTE

June 8th, 2012 By Pedro Fernandez

A LOOK AT VICTOR CONTE

Victor Conte

San Francisco, CA- Having been on the Bay Area music as a native, and a guy who seen everybody from the Rolling Stones to Frank Sinatra and more, I know a little more than the average music fan. I consider this a preface for what I’m sure what I’m about to write about is going to irk some of you, while others think that I’ve hit a least a double were we playing baseball and not writing. That being the following story is the most prevalent subject in sports and boxing, that being “Drug Use.” And no I’m not talking about Cocaine, Heroin, and Meth (Speed), I’m on the subject of fighters using Performance Enhancing Drugs such as Steroids and the like.

A BASS PLAYER IS A WEIRD DUDE/CHICK

Most of the bass players that I’ve encountered were introverted. But Victor Conte, who had led bands prior to becoming part of Tower of Power in 1976, joining his cousin and guitar player Bruce Conte for one album, was the exact opposite of that notion of being “an introvert.” He can charm the media, and at the same time sell his top of the line SNAC.com (Sports Nutrition For Advanced Conditioning products in a manner that can pay four (at least) salaries and leave Victor smiling. As far his playing bass, having played drums and trombone in school, the bass player was always a “different” type guy.

 

[heyzel]

Boxer reveals terrible secret

Boxing great Micky Ward, the inspiration for the Mark Wahlberg movie “The Fighter,” says he was molested by a family friend from age 9 until he was 12. In Ward’s autobiography, “A Warrior’s Heart: The True Story of Life Before and Beyond The Fighter,” the retired boxer wrote of his attacker, who was 10 years older: “He never asked me to do anything to him, but rather I was always on the receiving end of his advances. It wasn’t every month or every week, but it happened and it happened many times.”

Ward told Page Six yesterday he’s kept the fact from friends — including Wahlberg — and family, including his half-brother and trainer Dicky Eklund: “I didn’t tell anyone — I was too embarrassed.” But the book, explained Ward, “was about my life, and I might as well tell the whole story.” He said he once fought his attacker, identified in the book as “a homeless bum,” in a boxing match at a gym when Ward was 15, and also confronted him years after the abuse. But Ward didn’t hurt him either time.

“I could have ripped his head off,” he wrote. “But I realized that if I . . . took justice into my own hands, and wound up spending the rest of my life rotting in a prison cell . . . he would have won.” Ward’s book is out today from Berkley/Penguin.

 

[CHRISHOGGALYPSE]

As if Ward's life didn't suck enough...

 

[JLMACN]

Boxer reveals terrible secret

Boxing great Micky Ward, the inspiration for the Mark Wahlberg movie “The Fighter,” says he was molested by a family friend from age 9 until he was 12. In Ward’s autobiography, “A Warrior’s Heart: The True Story of Life Before and Beyond The Fighter,” the retired boxer wrote of his attacker, who was 10 years older: “He never asked me to do anything to him, but rather I was always on the receiving end of his advances. It wasn’t every month or every week, but it happened and it happened many times.”

Ward told Page Six yesterday he’s kept the fact from friends — including Wahlberg — and family, including his half-brother and trainer Dicky Eklund: “I didn’t tell anyone — I was too embarrassed.” But the book, explained Ward, “was about my life, and I might as well tell the whole story.” He said he once fought his attacker, identified in the book as “a homeless bum,” in a boxing match at a gym when Ward was 15, and also confronted him years after the abuse. But Ward didn’t hurt him either time.

“I could have ripped his head off,” he wrote. “But I realized that if I . . . took justice into my own hands, and wound up spending the rest of my life rotting in a prison cell . . . he would have won.” Ward’s book is out today from Berkley/Penguin.

Ward was on KC radio 810 the other day......man it was a great interview. He talked about this secret he held from his family for a long time. He said that he could of easily killed the guy, but he chose to let it be because he never wanted to be in prison or anything like that.

Man he was cursing on the radio and everything and it was hilarious because usually they try to edit that shit but because it was a live interview (and a great interview) the hosts were just moving along like normal. classic radio moment when he was talking about his fights with gotti.....

 

[bigface]

damn right every fighter is beatable! I hate when people think otherwise.

Timing is a hell of a thing to, just got to get that at just the right time...

Anyways, for fun here are some pre-mayweather cotto quotes from bigface, this should lighten the mood around here:

Cotto is damaged goods and was never a elite fighter to begin with. I want to see Mayweather beat Cotto like he beat Gatti.

Cotto and Margarito = Damaged goods..

WOW the battle of the shot fighters. Maragrito is going to retire Cotto.

I think that both Margarito and Cotto are done as far as being top fighters. But I think that Margarito has more in the tank then Cotto. Plus Margarito owns Cotto's soul by taking that '0' away.

So Cotto didn't get brutally KO'd by Margarito and Manny? Or the brutal beating he took from Cottley. Stop acting like Cotto doesn't have a hard time beating a 38 yr old Mayorga. I can't wait until Cotto fights a live body so the world will be exposed to what I already know. Cotto is not the same fighter he's damaged goods just like Paul Williams and Pavlik.


Cotto is 30 years old and already past his prime. lol. Maragarito at 154 is too big and strong for Cotto. At fight time Maragarito will be around 165 -170lb. Cotto had a hard time keeping 38 year old Mayorga off him. The fight will look just like the 1st fight Maragarito pressure will wear down Cotto for a late stoppage.
So what do you call a 30 year old fighter that is not the same anymore? I call him shot or damaged goods. You think about that really quick while you look at your Manny poster.​

The funny thing is that you forgot to post what I said after the fight..
[Cotto made me eat my words about him being damaged goods. Cotto fought like he wanted to take Mayweather '0', and both fighters took some bombs. He did the right thing by manning up and saying sorry to hater ass Larry Merchant too. I'm glad he's putting the pressure on Top Rank and Bob Arum to try and make the Manny fight happen. Mayweather's inside fighting last night was a work of art. Cotto should've went to the body hard from round 1 till the end.] or this [All I have to say is as a Cotto hater, Cotto is a fucking G. Great fight Cotto. Mayweather landed some bombs and you fought hard like a true champion. Mayweather was in front of Cotto all night and fought a fan friendly fight. Great night of boxing.]

lol. I guess you forgot to post that.. SMH Again I make you look like a hating ass dickrider that you are. Unlike you I'm a real man that stands behind my words, AND I CAN ADMIT WHEN I"M WRONG. Can you admit when you're wrong??? Or do you start making up excuses and changing the subject. I understand it has to hurt to not be man enough to admit that you're wrong or that you don't understand what you're talking about. So keep digging up some more of my old post, so you yourself can learn how to be a real man of your word , and you will find a lot of boxing information in my posts too.

I always get a great laugh at making you look dumb. lol.

 

[heyzel]

Arum interested in matching Mike Jones against Pacquiao-Bradley winner
June 8th, 2012

By Chris Williams: If Top Rank promoter Bob Arum gets his way, he’ll be matching up his unbeaten Top Rank stable fighter Mike Jones (26-0, 19 KO’s) against one of his other Top Rank fighters WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao or Tim Bradley.

Arum would like to put Jones in with the winner of the Pacquiao-Bradley fight from this Saturday.

Arum said to RingTV “[Mike] Jones is very interesting. If Jones win this fight [against Randall Bailey this Saturday], it’s very valuable for him, because he’s a potential opponent for either Pacquiao or Bradley.”

I think Pacquiao-Jones fight won’ draw flies. Arum might as well drag out Joshua Clottey again rather than putting the still unknown Jones in against Pacquiao. It doesn’t matter if Jones has the IBF paper welterweight title from this weekend; he’s still never faced anyone really good and he’s looked awful in fights against Jesus Soto Karass and Sebastian Lujan.

What I don’t understand is why would Arum match the 6-foot Jones with Pacquiao when he won’t put Pacquiao in with junior middleweights. Jones is a HUGE welterweight, bigger than Antonio Margarito. I’d be surprised if Pacquiao said yes to a fight against Jones, because the size differences would be huge between the two fighters.

 

[bigface]

Lara vs Freddy Hernandez: June 30th ShoBox
Dan Rafael is saying that Lara will face Hernandez as part of a ShoBox doubleheader that also has Bundrage-Spinks 2 on it.

The same Freddy Hernandez that Berto KO'ed in 1 round at 147lb. SMH, what is Lara doing wasting his time 1st Hearn now this.

 

[heyzel]

Pacquiao vs Bradley: Roach-Ariza Drama Resolved, For Now


Pacquiao vs Bradley: Roach-Ariza Drama Resolved, For Now

206480_10150226708710923_747385922_9037192_4017321_n_tiny by Scott Christ on Jun 8, 2012 2:19 PM EDT in Boxing News Analysis

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Is Alex Ariza on a short leash with Team Pacquiao? (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

Stephen Dunn - Getty Images

Is Alex Ariza on a short leash with Team Pacquiao? (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

Lem Satterfield reports that the drama in Manny Pacquiao's corner between trainer Freddie Roach, cut man Miguel Diaz, and strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza appears to be settled, as the fighter has intervened and made the call that Ariza will still work the corner. Diaz, however, will be on the apron, and Ariza reportedly will not be.

It's been the only real "controversy" for Team Pacquiao head into tomorrow night's Pacquiao vs Bradley fight on HBO pay-per-view.

"I have already talked to Freddie and Alex Ariza," said Pacquiao, downplaying any notion of turmoil. "Everything is okay, and it's fine. I will focus on Freddie. Alex will be in the corner."

Ariza says he's been asked not to comment publicly. The outspoken fitness guru has also been feuding with promoter Bob Arum recently, and says he's been banned from Julio Cesar Chavez Jr's team ahead of Chavez's fight on June 16 with Andy Lee. Ariza was also recently fired by Amir Khan, who faces Danny Garcia on July 14.

Star-divide

Diaz, who has called Ariza a "fraud" but makes clear he doesn't mean that Ariza cheats, says that Alex won't handle the cuts, as he has done in the recent past:

"I'm up, and Alex is down. I'm working the apron and Alex is down," said Diaz. "He'll be carrying the buckets and whatever else there is to do. That's all. No problem."

From an outsider's perspective, it seems only a matter of time before Ariza is gone from Team Pacquiao, if there is a Team Pacquiao for much longer, anyway. He probably talks too much for his own good, is too brash for his own good, too arrogant for some peoples' tastes. I don't think there's any question he's a good S&C coach, but how much is that worth compared to the headaches he seems to cause?

 

[2-0-Sixx]

The same Freddy Hernandez that Berto KO'ed in 1 round at 147lb. SMH, what is Lara doing wasting his time 1st Hearn now this.

stay busy fight for lara. He's fighting Freddie in two weeks, so it's short notice and lara only fought less than a round against Hearns.

and relax about the cotto quotes just fucking with u, don't be so emotional its the internetz.

 

[bigface]

^^Be a man and stand behind your words.. Don't backpeddle when the truth comes out.

 

[2-0-Sixx]

back peddling on what weirdo?

 

[Lamberto Quintero]

Kochulito Montiel also fights tomorrow...hope he can get the dub.

 

[heyzel]

Arum: HBO wants to do Donaire-Arce in the fall if they win their next fights
June 8th, 2012

By Dan Ambrose: Top Rank promoter Bob Arum will be looking to match WBO super bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire and Jorge Arce together in the fall of this year if they can get past their next opponents. Arum says that HBO is on board with it and wants to televise an Arce-Donaire fight.

Arum said to RingTV “If Arce looks good, and Donaire beats [Jeffrey] Mathebula, then HBO wants to do that fight in the fall. Whenever they’re ready, October, November.”

While I wouldn’t mind seeing Donaire and Arce fight if there was no other options available, it’s not the fight that I really want to see right now. I don’t think Arce is the best fighter at super bantamweight, and I don’t feel that Donaire is the best either. I’d much prefer to see Donaire OR Arce face WBA World super bantamweight champion Guillermo Rigondeaux (9-0, 7 KO’s) in the fall then seeing the two of them fight each other.

I wouldn’t mind seeing them fight if it’s elimination bracket to face the best fighter in the super bantamweight division, but if this is all Arum’s got, then I’ll pass on that. I don’t want to pay to see two fighters avoiding Rigondeaux. I don’t think Donaire has any intention of facing Rigondeaux after he faces Mathebula and Arce, so it’s not appealing to see him take one winnable fight after another.

The 32-year-old Arce will be fighting Jesus Rojas on Saturday night on the undercard of the Manny Pacquiao vs. Timothy Bradley fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Arce is expected to easily win tomorrow night, as Rojas is just someone beatable being brought in for him to get a win over to keep him busy until the Donaire fight.

Donaire will be fighting IBF super bantamweight champion Jeffrey Mathebula on July 7th at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California. Mathebula is an other fighter without much power that’s been well scouted and isn’t much of a threat to Donaire.

 

[heyzel]

1600 tickets still available for Pacquiao-Bradley fight, says Arum
June 8th, 2012

By Chris Williams: In news that has to really hurt Bob Arum, there are still 1600 tickets available for tomorrow’s Manny Pacquiao – Tim Bradley fight at the MGM Grand, according to Dan Rafael of ESPN. Dan says that Top Rank promoter Bob Arum is reporting that there are still 1600 tickets available for the fight.

This is extremely important because it suggests that the demand for the fight isn’t what Arum likely expected it to be, and he may have made a HUGE mistake by hand-picking Bradley for Pacquiao rather than a softer target but a bigger name. Pacquiao’s past fights, with the exception of his fights against Joshua Clottey and Antonio Margarito, have all sold out quickly. The only reason the Clottey and Margarito fight didn’t sellout was because Arum had the fight take place in the giant 100,000 seat Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The only way Pacquiao and Arum would sellout that stadium is if they had Floyd Mayweather Jr. in there.

Mayweather’s name is like gold, and fans would fill out just about any stadium in the United States if he were to fight the Filipino.

The real negative to the Pacquiao-Bradley fight not selling out tomorrow night is that it will probably mean that the pay-per-view numbers will be less than staggering. They kind of go hand in hand. When the gate is less than spectacular, the PPV numbers are also disappointing. What this means is that Pacquiao may not even get 1 million buys for the Bradley fight. This in turn will sink any chance of there ever being a Mayweather-Pacquiao bout, because Mayweather isn’t about to give Pacquiao a 50-50 deal if he can’t match his huge PPV numbers. Pacquiao might have to give in with his stubborn refusal to accept a 60-40 deal from Mayweather.

 

[2-0-Sixx]

anyone here what Fat Dan said yesterday? He said that if Victor Ortiz beats Lopez next, very very good chance of Canelo vs Ortiz. Sick!!

 

[heyzel]

TMZ: Shannon Briggs - K.O.'d In $420,000 Legal Bout; Holyfield - When Selling Your House for $7.5 Million Actually Sucks

by TMZ Staff - Shannon "The Cannon" Briggs can add one loss to his nearly-impeccable fighting record -- because he just suffered a trouncing in court ... for nearly half a million bucks. Shannon's ex-publicist Kali Bowyer sued the boxer, claiming she helped him earn $2.8 million back in 2009 -- but was never paid commissions..

Bowyer claimed Shannon owed her $420,000 for her services -- and according to a South Carolina court, the boxer blew off the lawsuit.

The court issued a default judgment against the boxer this week for the full amount ... ordering him to pay up stat.

Calls to Shannon weren't returned.


Evander Holyfield -- When Selling Your House for $7.5 Million Actually Sucks

by TMZ Staff

Good news: Boxing legend Evander Holyfield recently sold his house for $7,500,000!!!

Bad news: It was at a public auction, he actually owes the bank twice that amount ... and he also owes over $200,000 in back taxes.

According to docs filed in Georgia, Holyfield's massive mansion -- 54,000 sq. ft on 234 acres -- outside Atlanta sold at public auction on March 6 ... but part of the money will go directly to Uncle Sam to pay off his back tax bill.

As for the rest ... according to the documents, Holyfield owed more than $14,000,000 on the house -- plus more than $2500 in foreclosure expenses. It's unclear whether the bank is going after him for the balance.

Calls to Holyfield's rep were not returned.


Evander Holyfield Faces Jail Time for $300k in Child Support Debt

Evander Holyfield is staring down some jail time if he doesn't cough up more than $300k in unpaid child support, TMZ has learned.

The GA. Dept. of Human Services has gone to court on behalf of Evander's 18-year-old daughter Emani Holyfield ... claiming the former champ hasn't paid a dime of court ordered child support since April 2010, and his tab is now $372,097.40.

The DHS is fed up with the waiting game ... so it's asking a judge to lock up Holyfield and garnish his wages until he antes up the back support.

Evander's rep tells TMZ she was unaware of the situationm but added, "Mr. Holyfield has a wonderful relationship with his daughter."

Love don't pay the bills.

 

[heyzel]

Ward vs. Dawson on September 8th in Oakland on HBO
June 9th, 2012

By Scott Gilfoid: WBA/WBC super middleweight champion Andre Ward (25-0, 13 KO’s) will be putting his unbeaten record on the line on September 8th against WBC light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson (31-1, 17 KO’s) in a fight televised by HBO in Oakland, California.

It’s interesting that Ward and his promoter were able to get the fight to take place in Oakland, because I didn’t think that Dawson would ever agree to that. However, Dan Rafael is reporting on his twitter page that Oakland, California will be the city where this big fight takes place. I personally can’t wait to see this fight, as it’s going to be a huge treat to see the two best fighters in their respective divisions getting it on in front of a huge nationwide audience on HBO. Dawson is the best fighter in the light heavyweight division, while Ward is the best in the super middleweight division.

On the undercard of the Dawson-Ward fight will be Antonio DeMarco vs. John Molina. I can’t say I’m interested in that fight, but I guess a some people might want to see it.

Ward defeated former WBC super middleweight champion Carl Froch in his last fight in the Super Six tournament last December. What was thought would be a competitive fight turned into a big mismatch with Ward dominating the action from start to finish. Since beating Froch, Ward has been hoping to get Froch back in the ring so that he could beat him again. Unfortunately, Froch has zero interest in facing Ward right now, and it’s unclear when Froch will ever be interested in tangling with him again.

 

[heyzel]

Roach: Bradley is made to order for Pacquiao; I’m not worried about him
June 9th, 2012

By Chris Williams: Trainer Freddie Roach isn’t concerned about the danger that Tim Bradley presents for his aging fighter Manny Pacquiao for their big fight tonight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Roach believes that Bradley is the perfect guy for Pacquiao to look good against.

Of course, Roach also thought Pacquiao would easily beat Juan Manuel Marquez last November, and we saw what happened there. Pacquiao got schooled by the Mexican fighter. Roach now blames Pacquiao’s dreadful performance on family problems instead of old age and/or lack of skills.

Roach said “I think this opponent [Bradley] is made to order for us. Whatever he does, we do better. Being tough is a good thing to be in boxing, but it doesn’t win fights…I’m not worried about him”

I kind of disagree with what Roach is saying here. Pacquiao isn’t a better defensive fighter than Bradley. That’s a joke if Roach believes that Pacquiao is better than Bradley in defensive skills. It’s also pretty clear that Bradley is a better inside fighter that Pacquiao. Bradley is perhaps the best fighter at close range in both the light welterweight and welterweight divisions.

The one thing that Pacquiao is better at is his ability to hit and run. But even that has deteriorated in his last few fights because Pacquiao’s legs aren’t able to get him around like they used to due to his problems with leg cramps. Pacquiao is a stronger puncher, but it doesn’t matter because he won’t be able to land a lot of shots because of Bradley’s excellent defensive skills.

At the same time, Pacquiao is vulnerable to body shots, and that’s one thing that Bradley is very good at. He’s a superb body puncher. If Bradley is able to set up shop on the inside against Pacquiao tonight, we could see Pacquiao chopped down just as 40-year-old Joel Casamayor was from Bradley’s body punching. I think Casamayor was always a great fighter at absorbing body shots, but even he couldn’t handle Bradley’s body shots. I don’t rate Pacquiao as being good at taking body shots, and I think we could see a knockout tonight if Bradley can pound him to his weak area for

 

[2-0-Sixx]

I can't believe dawson is moving down to 168 to fight Ward AND is fighting him in Oakland. dope fight but I don't really see what Dawson gets out of this unless he plans on staying at 168.