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TEAM MAIDANA AND ALEX ARIZA CORNER MYSTERY SOLVED: SMOKING GUN SIMPLY STERILE DENTAL COTTON ROLLS
By Ben Thompson | December 16, 2013
"Look, they're just dental cotton rolls," stated world-class Strength & Conditioning Coach Alex Ariza, who spoke to FightHype.com regarding the unwarranted controversy that was created after certain blogs referenced an fan-created Instagram video to erroneously run headlines claiming that Team Maidana had somehow cheated in their upset victory over the previously undefeated former welterweight champion Adrien Broner. Admittedly, when watching the low quality 14-second video, it appears as though Ariza, who is holding several gauze pads in his left hand, grabs something in the gauze with his right hand prior to wiping Maidana's mouth and nose with it. However, after careful examination of a high-definition video of the full 60 seconds in between rounds, a slow-motion close-up shot of the same scene shows that, actually, Ariza was simply pinching the gauze to presumably get a better grip of it before tending to Maidana.
At first glance, some fans and media alike were quick to assume the worst, making accusations that Ariza gave Maidana either some smelling salt or some type of mystery pill. Their proof, presumably, was the fact that Ariza was holding some white unidentified objects in the same right hand that he pinched the gauze with. Ariza, however, set the record straight with FightHype.com, revealing that the "smoking gun" was simply a bunch of sterile dental cotton rolls that he routinely uses during fights. "They're not as clumsy as gauze pads. When I say clumsy, I mean when you pull them out, they don't unravel. They stay tight. Plus, when there are cuts inside the mouth, you don't want to use adrenaline or anything like that because those are topical solutions; if he swallows it, he'll get a stomach ache or worse," Ariza explained. "You know, it's just what the dentist uses and what he puts inside your mouth when he's stopping bleeding. He doesn't put anything on it; he just uses those things. So there's your fucking smoking gun; those are your mystery pills."
Ariza went on to give the following more detailed explanation of the events that transpired in the corner:
"Like I said, they're just sterile cotton rolls. I just keep them in my pocket in case; you just never know. Again, when the doctor was checking out Maidana in the corner [after receiving a late punch after the bell from Broner], I didn't know what he was checking him out for because he had Maidana opening his mouth and stuff like that. So I was just getting ready for the worst. We didn't know why the doctor was checking him."
"You gotta put things in chronological order. After the 11th round, the referee sends him to the neutral corner where the doctor is. So why? I mean, there's been thousands of times guys been hit late and they walk right back to their corner, right? So why go see the doctor? That means there's something wrong, so when he got back to the corner, we don't know what's wrong. Did he get cut? Did something happen? Did the abrasion under his left eye get opened up? Again, dude, I have that gauze and I keep those little sterile things in it because I put those in the mouth in case there's a cut or something inside the mouth. I don't want to have any kind of coangulent on those roles because those go inside the mouth and I wouldn't want him to swallow any of that stuff and upset his stomach."
"See, what I always do is I put one in the gauze; I place it inside with the gauze. I don't even remember every second of what happened; you're talking about 20 seconds of 12-round fight, you know what I mean, and they want me to explain every second. I don't even remember everything, to be honest with you, but it looked like he was trying to blow his nose so I went to wipe his nose. It's just a sterile thing; it's just clean. You don't want to get your hands all over it because it could go inside of his mouth. You can even see me [in the video] taking it out and wiping his eye. Believe me, if it was smelling salt or it had coagulant on it, I'm not going to wipe his eye with it. What the fuck? So I can send him out there blind? Fuck! Put it perspecitve. You have to watch the whole video. So there's your mystery pills. The culprit...sterile gauze dental rolls (laughing)."
Quite frankly, after reviewing the video and coming to my own conclusion that there was no cheating going on, I honestly didn't feel the need to address the situation. Maidana's victory over Broner was well-deserved, and he and his team should be enjoying the accolades of their performance as opposed to answering questions about an unfounded controversy. That being said, because the yellow journalism created by some of these smaller blogs has started to gain a little traction, I thought it was important to clear up anymore confusion before the story got out of hand. Hopefully this incident will serve as an example of the difference between a truly credible story and one that was created and hyped up with no facts just for the sake of generating clicks.
By Ben Thompson | December 16, 2013
"Look, they're just dental cotton rolls," stated world-class Strength & Conditioning Coach Alex Ariza, who spoke to FightHype.com regarding the unwarranted controversy that was created after certain blogs referenced an fan-created Instagram video to erroneously run headlines claiming that Team Maidana had somehow cheated in their upset victory over the previously undefeated former welterweight champion Adrien Broner. Admittedly, when watching the low quality 14-second video, it appears as though Ariza, who is holding several gauze pads in his left hand, grabs something in the gauze with his right hand prior to wiping Maidana's mouth and nose with it. However, after careful examination of a high-definition video of the full 60 seconds in between rounds, a slow-motion close-up shot of the same scene shows that, actually, Ariza was simply pinching the gauze to presumably get a better grip of it before tending to Maidana.
At first glance, some fans and media alike were quick to assume the worst, making accusations that Ariza gave Maidana either some smelling salt or some type of mystery pill. Their proof, presumably, was the fact that Ariza was holding some white unidentified objects in the same right hand that he pinched the gauze with. Ariza, however, set the record straight with FightHype.com, revealing that the "smoking gun" was simply a bunch of sterile dental cotton rolls that he routinely uses during fights. "They're not as clumsy as gauze pads. When I say clumsy, I mean when you pull them out, they don't unravel. They stay tight. Plus, when there are cuts inside the mouth, you don't want to use adrenaline or anything like that because those are topical solutions; if he swallows it, he'll get a stomach ache or worse," Ariza explained. "You know, it's just what the dentist uses and what he puts inside your mouth when he's stopping bleeding. He doesn't put anything on it; he just uses those things. So there's your fucking smoking gun; those are your mystery pills."
Ariza went on to give the following more detailed explanation of the events that transpired in the corner:
"Like I said, they're just sterile cotton rolls. I just keep them in my pocket in case; you just never know. Again, when the doctor was checking out Maidana in the corner [after receiving a late punch after the bell from Broner], I didn't know what he was checking him out for because he had Maidana opening his mouth and stuff like that. So I was just getting ready for the worst. We didn't know why the doctor was checking him."
"You gotta put things in chronological order. After the 11th round, the referee sends him to the neutral corner where the doctor is. So why? I mean, there's been thousands of times guys been hit late and they walk right back to their corner, right? So why go see the doctor? That means there's something wrong, so when he got back to the corner, we don't know what's wrong. Did he get cut? Did something happen? Did the abrasion under his left eye get opened up? Again, dude, I have that gauze and I keep those little sterile things in it because I put those in the mouth in case there's a cut or something inside the mouth. I don't want to have any kind of coangulent on those roles because those go inside the mouth and I wouldn't want him to swallow any of that stuff and upset his stomach."
"See, what I always do is I put one in the gauze; I place it inside with the gauze. I don't even remember every second of what happened; you're talking about 20 seconds of 12-round fight, you know what I mean, and they want me to explain every second. I don't even remember everything, to be honest with you, but it looked like he was trying to blow his nose so I went to wipe his nose. It's just a sterile thing; it's just clean. You don't want to get your hands all over it because it could go inside of his mouth. You can even see me [in the video] taking it out and wiping his eye. Believe me, if it was smelling salt or it had coagulant on it, I'm not going to wipe his eye with it. What the fuck? So I can send him out there blind? Fuck! Put it perspecitve. You have to watch the whole video. So there's your mystery pills. The culprit...sterile gauze dental rolls (laughing)."
Quite frankly, after reviewing the video and coming to my own conclusion that there was no cheating going on, I honestly didn't feel the need to address the situation. Maidana's victory over Broner was well-deserved, and he and his team should be enjoying the accolades of their performance as opposed to answering questions about an unfounded controversy. That being said, because the yellow journalism created by some of these smaller blogs has started to gain a little traction, I thought it was important to clear up anymore confusion before the story got out of hand. Hopefully this incident will serve as an example of the difference between a truly credible story and one that was created and hyped up with no facts just for the sake of generating clicks.
TERENCE CRAWFORD ON RICKY BURNS CLASH: "HE'S JUST BEEN GIVEN GIMMES...MY PLAN IS TO JUST GO IN THERE AND BE ME"
By Ben Thompson | December 16, 2013
"Well, he's a decent fighter in my eyes. He do a lot of things. He got a nice little jab, he likes to put on a lot of pressure, stays in shape; I just think that he's been stepping up lately, you know, and it's been showing. He's just been given gimmes...they gonna look for a close fight so they can give to him. Even if it's not that close, they give him gimmes and all that, so, you know, my game plan is to just go in there and be me and just get the job done," stated undefeated lightweight contender Terence Crawford, who talked about his long-awaited clash with WBO lightweight champion Ricky Burns. Check out what else he had to say!
BT: What's up, Terence?
TC: What's going on?
BT: You tell me. Sounds like you puttin' in work getting ready for Ricky Burns.
TC: Yeah, I'm at the gym right now.
BT: No doubt. So tell me about it! This is what you've been waiting; finally a shot at a world title. How does it feel?
TC: Oh, well, when they labeled me mandatory, that's when it all hit me. Right now, we're just going through the process of finding out what's going on with him and his jaw and what that's going to be like. But I'm excited for the fight.
BT: I know initially they were targeting a date of February 8, but it sounds like they might be pushing it back because his jaw still isn't ready. Have you heard any official word on the date yet?
TC: I ain't heard nothing from any sources or anything like that, but there's just been hearsay about it.
BT: So how much do you know about Ricky Burns and what he brings to the table inside the ring?
TC: Well, he's a decent fighter in my eyes. He do a lot of things. He got a nice little jab, he likes to put on a lot of pressure, stays in shape; I just think that he's been stepping up lately, you know, and it's been showing. He's just been given gimmes.
BT: I've seen a few of his fights and to my knowledge, I don't think he's ever faced anyone to prepare for a fighter like yourself. Is there anyone that you've already faced that you think you can possibly compare him to?
TC: Um, not really. Andre Gorges had a somewhat similar style to him with the jab and the European little stance, but other than that, not really.
BT: The fight is taking place in his backyard. Knowing that, does that make you want to alter your game plan at all and open up more to make sure there's no doubt in the eyes of the judges?
TC: Oh, most definitely. Being how they score fights over there and he's the hometown guy, and he got all his supporters over there; they gonna look for a close fight so they can give to him. Even if it's not that close, they give him gimmes and all that, so, you know, my game plan is to just go in there and be me and just get the job done.
BT: When you say "just be you", I mean, you got a lot of different facets to your game; there's a lot of different you's inside the ring on any given night. That being said, how do you think the fight with Burns is going to play out?
TC: [Laughing] I don't know, you know. I never like to say how a fight is going to play out between me and another guy because it might not play out the way we think it will. I never train to be like, we going to do this and we going to do that and this is how the fight it's going to go because he might fight a different way or be a different person in that ring; just like I feel like I'm going to be a different person in the ring. Come February 8th or February 22nd, it's just going to be, you know, a great experience and it's going to be a different me.
BT: So basically you're the type of fighter who doesn't really need a game plan because you can adjust to whatever your opponent may bring. Is that accurate?
TC: Right, right, right! I was taught at an early age that there's no style you shouldn't be able to adjust to being a great fighter. So as I was coming up, I always adjusted to any fighter that I ever fought. So I don't see me having any problems adjusting to his style either.
BT: I know a lot of people like to compare you to Pernell Whitaker. Who were some of the guys that you did look up to and try to learn from as you were coming up?
TC: It was all different types of styles. I looked at Shane [Mosley] at 35, Floyd Mayweather, Sugar Ray Leonard. I looked at Marco Antonio Barrera. I looked at [Julio Cesar] Chavez. I looked at Tyson, Ali, Sugar Ray Robinson; it was just multiple type of guys I looked at because you never know what type of fight this person is going to bring, so I just like to get as much as I can and try to put it in one arsenal, so if I need it, I got it, you know, but if I don't need it, I don't need to break it out.
BT: Was there a specific style that, as a fan, you thought was more entertaining to watch? For example, did you like watching guys that just came forward chasing after the knockout or did you prefer guys that were more technical?
TC: My thing was, I was always taught that it's called boxing, not fighting. It was called hit and not get hit, so move your head, use your angles, use your feet. You know, it's an art in there; use your paint brush. So I always looked at boxers that can box, you know, make somebody look stupid in there; hit and not get hit and the other guy is getting mad because the guy won't stand in front of him. I like those type of fighters that can take your strength and make it your weakness; like Floyd Mayweather. The guy that's aggressive, he will turn their aggression into their downfall, and I think that's the art of boxing.
BT: When you're in a fight, if you do hear some boos, is it tough to fight the urge to change things up and maybe get a little more reckless in hopes of quieting any boos?
TC: Sometimes, you know, as a fighter, you want to give the crowd what they want, but once again, I was always taught, you know, don't let the crowd get to you because they're not the ones in their fighting. They can boo all they want, but they're going to go home to their families and they're going to be alright the next day. If I go in there and I just go banging and getting my head busted up, you know, broke ribs, blood clot in my head, broke nose, they're going to be happy; it was a good fight to them, but I'm the one that's bruised up and battered and scarred for life.
BT: I always found it odd that some fans think that taking punches to the face is some type of measurement of how tough you are.
TC: Right. There's fighters that won't even step foot in a ring. It takes heart to go up in there and perform. Some people, they can go in a gym and do 100 rounds, but then they get in a fight and they just fold like a piece of paper.
BT: Is it frustrating to see how certain members of the media, or even certain networks for that matter, criticize some of the more technical boxers, like Guillermo Rigondeaux for example, accusing of them of being too boring because they don't fight a certain way?
TC: Well, to me, I don't think those fighters are boring. I just think they're so much more superior that they just make it seem boring. Agbeko, he's a good fighter and he's been in exciting fights, but I just think Rigondeaux was too much. It's just who you put in front of that person to make it an exciting fight.
By Ben Thompson | December 16, 2013
"Well, he's a decent fighter in my eyes. He do a lot of things. He got a nice little jab, he likes to put on a lot of pressure, stays in shape; I just think that he's been stepping up lately, you know, and it's been showing. He's just been given gimmes...they gonna look for a close fight so they can give to him. Even if it's not that close, they give him gimmes and all that, so, you know, my game plan is to just go in there and be me and just get the job done," stated undefeated lightweight contender Terence Crawford, who talked about his long-awaited clash with WBO lightweight champion Ricky Burns. Check out what else he had to say!
BT: What's up, Terence?
TC: What's going on?
BT: You tell me. Sounds like you puttin' in work getting ready for Ricky Burns.
TC: Yeah, I'm at the gym right now.
BT: No doubt. So tell me about it! This is what you've been waiting; finally a shot at a world title. How does it feel?
TC: Oh, well, when they labeled me mandatory, that's when it all hit me. Right now, we're just going through the process of finding out what's going on with him and his jaw and what that's going to be like. But I'm excited for the fight.
BT: I know initially they were targeting a date of February 8, but it sounds like they might be pushing it back because his jaw still isn't ready. Have you heard any official word on the date yet?
TC: I ain't heard nothing from any sources or anything like that, but there's just been hearsay about it.
BT: So how much do you know about Ricky Burns and what he brings to the table inside the ring?
TC: Well, he's a decent fighter in my eyes. He do a lot of things. He got a nice little jab, he likes to put on a lot of pressure, stays in shape; I just think that he's been stepping up lately, you know, and it's been showing. He's just been given gimmes.
BT: I've seen a few of his fights and to my knowledge, I don't think he's ever faced anyone to prepare for a fighter like yourself. Is there anyone that you've already faced that you think you can possibly compare him to?
TC: Um, not really. Andre Gorges had a somewhat similar style to him with the jab and the European little stance, but other than that, not really.
BT: The fight is taking place in his backyard. Knowing that, does that make you want to alter your game plan at all and open up more to make sure there's no doubt in the eyes of the judges?
TC: Oh, most definitely. Being how they score fights over there and he's the hometown guy, and he got all his supporters over there; they gonna look for a close fight so they can give to him. Even if it's not that close, they give him gimmes and all that, so, you know, my game plan is to just go in there and be me and just get the job done.
BT: When you say "just be you", I mean, you got a lot of different facets to your game; there's a lot of different you's inside the ring on any given night. That being said, how do you think the fight with Burns is going to play out?
TC: [Laughing] I don't know, you know. I never like to say how a fight is going to play out between me and another guy because it might not play out the way we think it will. I never train to be like, we going to do this and we going to do that and this is how the fight it's going to go because he might fight a different way or be a different person in that ring; just like I feel like I'm going to be a different person in the ring. Come February 8th or February 22nd, it's just going to be, you know, a great experience and it's going to be a different me.
BT: So basically you're the type of fighter who doesn't really need a game plan because you can adjust to whatever your opponent may bring. Is that accurate?
TC: Right, right, right! I was taught at an early age that there's no style you shouldn't be able to adjust to being a great fighter. So as I was coming up, I always adjusted to any fighter that I ever fought. So I don't see me having any problems adjusting to his style either.
BT: I know a lot of people like to compare you to Pernell Whitaker. Who were some of the guys that you did look up to and try to learn from as you were coming up?
TC: It was all different types of styles. I looked at Shane [Mosley] at 35, Floyd Mayweather, Sugar Ray Leonard. I looked at Marco Antonio Barrera. I looked at [Julio Cesar] Chavez. I looked at Tyson, Ali, Sugar Ray Robinson; it was just multiple type of guys I looked at because you never know what type of fight this person is going to bring, so I just like to get as much as I can and try to put it in one arsenal, so if I need it, I got it, you know, but if I don't need it, I don't need to break it out.
BT: Was there a specific style that, as a fan, you thought was more entertaining to watch? For example, did you like watching guys that just came forward chasing after the knockout or did you prefer guys that were more technical?
TC: My thing was, I was always taught that it's called boxing, not fighting. It was called hit and not get hit, so move your head, use your angles, use your feet. You know, it's an art in there; use your paint brush. So I always looked at boxers that can box, you know, make somebody look stupid in there; hit and not get hit and the other guy is getting mad because the guy won't stand in front of him. I like those type of fighters that can take your strength and make it your weakness; like Floyd Mayweather. The guy that's aggressive, he will turn their aggression into their downfall, and I think that's the art of boxing.
BT: When you're in a fight, if you do hear some boos, is it tough to fight the urge to change things up and maybe get a little more reckless in hopes of quieting any boos?
TC: Sometimes, you know, as a fighter, you want to give the crowd what they want, but once again, I was always taught, you know, don't let the crowd get to you because they're not the ones in their fighting. They can boo all they want, but they're going to go home to their families and they're going to be alright the next day. If I go in there and I just go banging and getting my head busted up, you know, broke ribs, blood clot in my head, broke nose, they're going to be happy; it was a good fight to them, but I'm the one that's bruised up and battered and scarred for life.
BT: I always found it odd that some fans think that taking punches to the face is some type of measurement of how tough you are.
TC: Right. There's fighters that won't even step foot in a ring. It takes heart to go up in there and perform. Some people, they can go in a gym and do 100 rounds, but then they get in a fight and they just fold like a piece of paper.
BT: Is it frustrating to see how certain members of the media, or even certain networks for that matter, criticize some of the more technical boxers, like Guillermo Rigondeaux for example, accusing of them of being too boring because they don't fight a certain way?
TC: Well, to me, I don't think those fighters are boring. I just think they're so much more superior that they just make it seem boring. Agbeko, he's a good fighter and he's been in exciting fights, but I just think Rigondeaux was too much. It's just who you put in front of that person to make it an exciting fight.
WBC heavyweight title now vacant as Vitali Klitschko named Champion Emeritus
Bermane Stiverne and Chris Arreola leading contenders for the vacant belt
THE WBC heavyweight title is now vacant after the governing body announced that Vitali Klitschko was their ‘Champion Emeritus’ - meaning he will be eligible to fight for the title should he decide to return to the ring. The Ukrainian, 42, has been focusing on a career in politics and is planning to run for presidency of his country in 2015. He had hoped to defend his title in the meantime against mandatory contender Bermane Stiverne but he has been unable to provide concrete plans and dates.
“With the current extreme and delicate political situation in the Ukraine, Vitali has answered his country's call to fight for human rights and equality. Accordingly, Vitali will not be able to provide the WBC with a predictable time-frame to return to the ring,” read the WBC statement.
“In light of those considerations, the WBC Supreme Council and the WBC Board of Governors have voted unanimously to name Vitali Klitschko WBC Heavyweight Champion Emeritus. Very few great fighters have received such an honorable distinction, which will entitle Vitali to fight for the WBC Heavyweight World Championship when he is ready to return to the ring.”
Plans to contest the vacant title have not yet been announced but the leading contenders for the title, from one to six are: Stiverne, Chris Arreola, Deontay Wilder, Bryant Jennings, Mike Perez, Dereck Chisora.
Bermane Stiverne and Chris Arreola leading contenders for the vacant belt
THE WBC heavyweight title is now vacant after the governing body announced that Vitali Klitschko was their ‘Champion Emeritus’ - meaning he will be eligible to fight for the title should he decide to return to the ring. The Ukrainian, 42, has been focusing on a career in politics and is planning to run for presidency of his country in 2015. He had hoped to defend his title in the meantime against mandatory contender Bermane Stiverne but he has been unable to provide concrete plans and dates.
“With the current extreme and delicate political situation in the Ukraine, Vitali has answered his country's call to fight for human rights and equality. Accordingly, Vitali will not be able to provide the WBC with a predictable time-frame to return to the ring,” read the WBC statement.
“In light of those considerations, the WBC Supreme Council and the WBC Board of Governors have voted unanimously to name Vitali Klitschko WBC Heavyweight Champion Emeritus. Very few great fighters have received such an honorable distinction, which will entitle Vitali to fight for the WBC Heavyweight World Championship when he is ready to return to the ring.”
Plans to contest the vacant title have not yet been announced but the leading contenders for the title, from one to six are: Stiverne, Chris Arreola, Deontay Wilder, Bryant Jennings, Mike Perez, Dereck Chisora.
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Roger Mayweather on Broner loss
“I heard he got his *ss whooped,” Roger stated bluntly of Broner. “I haven’t seen it, but I heard.”
“I can’t even see how they going to say that he’s the next boxing superstar,” Roger stated. “Who the f*** did he beat? That’s why I want to know. Who did he beat?”
“He wasn’t what people thought he was,” Roger explained. “They thought he was the next Floyd Mayweather. Now that he got his *ss whooped, people are saying ‘Oh, this motherf***er wasn’t no Floyd.’ I know God damn well he wasn’t.”
“I heard he got his *ss whooped,” Roger stated bluntly of Broner. “I haven’t seen it, but I heard.”
“I can’t even see how they going to say that he’s the next boxing superstar,” Roger stated. “Who the f*** did he beat? That’s why I want to know. Who did he beat?”
“He wasn’t what people thought he was,” Roger explained. “They thought he was the next Floyd Mayweather. Now that he got his *ss whooped, people are saying ‘Oh, this motherf***er wasn’t no Floyd.’ I know God damn well he wasn’t.”
Schaefer working on Hopkins vs. Shumenov for March or April
December 16th, 2013 | Post Comment - 40 Comments
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Hopkins Shumenov Hopkins vs. Shumenov bernard hopkins beibut shumenov By Dan Ambrose: Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer says he’s looking to put a fight together between IBF light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins (54-6-2, 32 KO’s) and WBA Super World light heavyweight champion Beibut Shumenov (14-1, 9 KO’s) in a unification bout for March or April in a fight that he may stage in Texas.
The idea that Schaefer is looking at is having a kind of mini-175 lb. tournament where Hopkins faces Shumenov while WBC champ Adonis Stevenson fights WBO belt holder Sergey Kovalev. The winner of those two sets of fights would then square off in a finals type of fight.
“The one fight I will be working on immediately is the light heavyweight world title unification between Hopkins and Shumenov,” Schaefer said to RingTV. “Bernard thinks that it should be like a little tournament where he fights Shumenov and you have Kovalev and Stevenson fight each other, and the winners of those two fights fight for the unified light heavyweight title.”
The criticism with Schaefer’s idea is it gives the soon to be 49-year-old Hopkins a free ride because many boxing fans see Shumenov as a paper champion who has never fought anyone good before during his career, and who picked up the WBA title by a very controversial decision over Gabriel Campillo in 2010. Beating Shumenov is a lot easier for Hopkins than Stevenson and Kovalev facing each other. What we’re talking about here is really the two best fighters in the division in Kovalev and Stevenson facing each other, and then the winner of that fight taking a considerable step down to face the winner of the Hopkins vs. Shumenov fight. That’s not how the tournament should be done. You can’t have the best facing the weakest in the finals because it makes a mockery of the whole idea of the best fighting in the finals.
You can make a strong argument that the loser of the Kovalev-Stevenson fight would make easy work of the Hopkins-Shumenov winner. Hopkins didn’t look good in losing to Dawson in 2011, and he didn’t show that he has a lot left in beating Karo Murat and Tavoris Cloud. If you compare what Hopkins did to Cloud to what Stevenson did to him, you can conclude that Hopkins would stand no chance against Stevenson.
If Stevenson or Kovalev, I wouldn’t go for the idea of fighting each other to get to the winner of the Hopkins-Shumenov fight. That’s a joke. I know Hopkins is pretty old, but I don’t think he should be given a free ride, and I don’t see how Shumenov should be a part of any tournament. If they want to have an actual tournament than they need to include Lucian Bute and Jean Pascal in the tournament because those would make it interesting.
Related:
Read more at Schaefer working on Hopkins vs. Shumenov for March or April
December 16th, 2013 | Post Comment - 40 Comments
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Hopkins Shumenov Hopkins vs. Shumenov bernard hopkins beibut shumenov By Dan Ambrose: Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer says he’s looking to put a fight together between IBF light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins (54-6-2, 32 KO’s) and WBA Super World light heavyweight champion Beibut Shumenov (14-1, 9 KO’s) in a unification bout for March or April in a fight that he may stage in Texas.
The idea that Schaefer is looking at is having a kind of mini-175 lb. tournament where Hopkins faces Shumenov while WBC champ Adonis Stevenson fights WBO belt holder Sergey Kovalev. The winner of those two sets of fights would then square off in a finals type of fight.
“The one fight I will be working on immediately is the light heavyweight world title unification between Hopkins and Shumenov,” Schaefer said to RingTV. “Bernard thinks that it should be like a little tournament where he fights Shumenov and you have Kovalev and Stevenson fight each other, and the winners of those two fights fight for the unified light heavyweight title.”
The criticism with Schaefer’s idea is it gives the soon to be 49-year-old Hopkins a free ride because many boxing fans see Shumenov as a paper champion who has never fought anyone good before during his career, and who picked up the WBA title by a very controversial decision over Gabriel Campillo in 2010. Beating Shumenov is a lot easier for Hopkins than Stevenson and Kovalev facing each other. What we’re talking about here is really the two best fighters in the division in Kovalev and Stevenson facing each other, and then the winner of that fight taking a considerable step down to face the winner of the Hopkins vs. Shumenov fight. That’s not how the tournament should be done. You can’t have the best facing the weakest in the finals because it makes a mockery of the whole idea of the best fighting in the finals.
You can make a strong argument that the loser of the Kovalev-Stevenson fight would make easy work of the Hopkins-Shumenov winner. Hopkins didn’t look good in losing to Dawson in 2011, and he didn’t show that he has a lot left in beating Karo Murat and Tavoris Cloud. If you compare what Hopkins did to Cloud to what Stevenson did to him, you can conclude that Hopkins would stand no chance against Stevenson.
If Stevenson or Kovalev, I wouldn’t go for the idea of fighting each other to get to the winner of the Hopkins-Shumenov fight. That’s a joke. I know Hopkins is pretty old, but I don’t think he should be given a free ride, and I don’t see how Shumenov should be a part of any tournament. If they want to have an actual tournament than they need to include Lucian Bute and Jean Pascal in the tournament because those would make it interesting.
Related:
Read more at Schaefer working on Hopkins vs. Shumenov for March or April
Maidana, Broner, Thurman, Malignaggi: Noise at 147
December 17th, 2013 | Post Comment - 63 Comments
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Broner Maidana Broner vs. Maidana marcos rene maidana adrien broner By Michael Byrne: Last Saturday night the welterweight division saw some big action at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Marcos Maidana’s domination of WBA welterweight champion Adrien Broner (27-1, 22 KO’s) is capturing all of the headlines, and understandably so.
In a quick ‘something to think about’ before the fight, I offered the suggestion that if lightweight Gavin Rees was able to find Broner’s chin in their fight earlier this year in February, then the similar-but-wildly-superior Maidana would be able to do the same. However, whether you were one of the few who expected Maidana to become champion again or not, I think pretty much everyone was surprised by just how badly Broner was dominated.
Broner’s been humbled, his mouth has been shut (even broken), and he needs to go back to the drawing board and draw a lot of maps on it. In detail. Does Broner belong at 147? Probably not. He was at super-feather only last year (in February against Eloy Perez, having missed weight in July for the Vincente Escobedo fight), and after two fights at 135, he’s jumped up to 147.
Broner got lucky against Paulie Malignaggi last June, and then got ruined by Maidana last Saturday. Broner probably couldn’t get back down to 135, but he should be able to make 140. He could fight someone like a Selcuk Aydin, move on to a Mike Alvarado, and maybe chase Lamont Peterson for the IBF title if he still has it.
The other title holders at 140, Ruslan Provodnikov and Danny Garcia, are too dangerous/talented for Broner to even consider at this point. What is more important than at what weight he fights, or even who he fights is that he needs to accept that he’s not the superstar that he told everyone he was, He needs to put some effort in at the gym, keep his head down, and concentrate. He needs to learn some respect and maybe people will slowly begin to respect him in return. Somehow, it seems unlikely. Somehow, Broner’s bandwagon has most likely crashed, and whatever he does to get it back on the road, it’s never going to fill up to its old capacity again.
Maidana, on the other hand, looked incredible. He hasn’t lost anything of his come-forward, relentless, brutal approach. He has, however, gained a jab, some movement, and some general pugilistic prowess. He failed to pick up a round against Devon Alexander, and then all of a sudden came out of the blocks against Jesus Soto Karass and tried to jab his way inside. It was crude, and the fight was close for the first half. However, his trainer Robert Garcia and Maidana have persevered and now ‘El Chino’ is both a brutal puncher and a competent aggressive boxer. His win on Saturday means he is now a world champion again and might be in a position to call some shots. Or he might not: his mandatory, and indeed the WBA interim champ, was the main undercard attraction on Saturday night.
WBA interim welterweight champion Keith Thurman did as he proposed to do: what most expected him to do, and schooled the tough gatekeeper Jesus Soto Karass. Thurman looks like a genuine contender. People criticize him for having no big scalps on his resume, but how is he supposed to acquire these scalps if he isn’t given a chance at a big fight? He retired Carlos Quintana, took every round off Jan Zaveck, knocked out an unbeaten, albeit untested, Diego Gabriel Chaves, and now he’s took out Soto Karass. Those are decent names, they’re the best fights he can get, he’s the WBA interim champ, and now he deserves a shot at the title: he deserves a chance at a real name. Maidana should, by some idea of morality or something like that, be obliged to fight Thurman.
However, Paulie Malignaggi is trying his best to stay relevant in this discussion. Malignaggi wanted a rematch against Broner after his narrow, but not necessarily controversial, split decision loss. However, Broner moved on and didn’t give him one, so Malignaggi entered and dominated the ‘Battle of Brooklyn’ against Zab Judah, proving he is still a game fighter. Broner is now demanding a rematch from Maidana after his wide points loss, even though he wouldn’t give Paulie one after a split. He doesn’t deserve one and he most likely won’t get one. Poor Adrien. Malignaggi, to some extent, deserved the rematch but he didn’t get it so let’s not cry over spilt milk, Paulie. He’s ranked right behind Thurman, so realistically he deserves the winner of Maidana-Thurman. Nothing more, nothing less. In the meantime, he should stay active in the best winnable fight he can get. His options are somewhat limited. Maybe he could talk his way into a big American showdown with the heavily-protected Jessie Vargas. He once mentioned that his favourite city in the world is Liverpool. A thriving fight city which often holds big UK fight cards, maybe he could travel and gain some more exposure, and take Frankie Gavin’s unbeaten record (ranked 5th by the WBA, behind Luis Collazo who is tied-up: scheduled to fight Victor Ortiz in January). Whatever he does, he doesn’t deserve a title crack right now.
So final thoughts: Maidana needs to give Thurman his shot, Broner needs to try and get his feet back on the same planet as the rest of us, and Paulie needs to pick up another win or two and bide his time. Tim Bradley and Shawn Porter are the other champions in the division (and, of course, Floyd Mayweather Jr, who cares little for titles anymore), and Manny Pacquiao, Robert Guerrero, Amir Khan, Kell Brook, and a few more are all dangerous contenders with points to prove at this stage in their careers. Ultimately, we as the boxing public would doubtless like to see names fight names: champions fighting dangerous contenders and even champions fighting champions. Let’s see what 2014 holds.
Read more at Maidana, Broner, Thurman, Malignaggi: Noise at 147
December 17th, 2013 | Post Comment - 63 Comments
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Broner Maidana Broner vs. Maidana marcos rene maidana adrien broner By Michael Byrne: Last Saturday night the welterweight division saw some big action at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Marcos Maidana’s domination of WBA welterweight champion Adrien Broner (27-1, 22 KO’s) is capturing all of the headlines, and understandably so.
In a quick ‘something to think about’ before the fight, I offered the suggestion that if lightweight Gavin Rees was able to find Broner’s chin in their fight earlier this year in February, then the similar-but-wildly-superior Maidana would be able to do the same. However, whether you were one of the few who expected Maidana to become champion again or not, I think pretty much everyone was surprised by just how badly Broner was dominated.
Broner’s been humbled, his mouth has been shut (even broken), and he needs to go back to the drawing board and draw a lot of maps on it. In detail. Does Broner belong at 147? Probably not. He was at super-feather only last year (in February against Eloy Perez, having missed weight in July for the Vincente Escobedo fight), and after two fights at 135, he’s jumped up to 147.
Broner got lucky against Paulie Malignaggi last June, and then got ruined by Maidana last Saturday. Broner probably couldn’t get back down to 135, but he should be able to make 140. He could fight someone like a Selcuk Aydin, move on to a Mike Alvarado, and maybe chase Lamont Peterson for the IBF title if he still has it.
The other title holders at 140, Ruslan Provodnikov and Danny Garcia, are too dangerous/talented for Broner to even consider at this point. What is more important than at what weight he fights, or even who he fights is that he needs to accept that he’s not the superstar that he told everyone he was, He needs to put some effort in at the gym, keep his head down, and concentrate. He needs to learn some respect and maybe people will slowly begin to respect him in return. Somehow, it seems unlikely. Somehow, Broner’s bandwagon has most likely crashed, and whatever he does to get it back on the road, it’s never going to fill up to its old capacity again.
Maidana, on the other hand, looked incredible. He hasn’t lost anything of his come-forward, relentless, brutal approach. He has, however, gained a jab, some movement, and some general pugilistic prowess. He failed to pick up a round against Devon Alexander, and then all of a sudden came out of the blocks against Jesus Soto Karass and tried to jab his way inside. It was crude, and the fight was close for the first half. However, his trainer Robert Garcia and Maidana have persevered and now ‘El Chino’ is both a brutal puncher and a competent aggressive boxer. His win on Saturday means he is now a world champion again and might be in a position to call some shots. Or he might not: his mandatory, and indeed the WBA interim champ, was the main undercard attraction on Saturday night.
WBA interim welterweight champion Keith Thurman did as he proposed to do: what most expected him to do, and schooled the tough gatekeeper Jesus Soto Karass. Thurman looks like a genuine contender. People criticize him for having no big scalps on his resume, but how is he supposed to acquire these scalps if he isn’t given a chance at a big fight? He retired Carlos Quintana, took every round off Jan Zaveck, knocked out an unbeaten, albeit untested, Diego Gabriel Chaves, and now he’s took out Soto Karass. Those are decent names, they’re the best fights he can get, he’s the WBA interim champ, and now he deserves a shot at the title: he deserves a chance at a real name. Maidana should, by some idea of morality or something like that, be obliged to fight Thurman.
However, Paulie Malignaggi is trying his best to stay relevant in this discussion. Malignaggi wanted a rematch against Broner after his narrow, but not necessarily controversial, split decision loss. However, Broner moved on and didn’t give him one, so Malignaggi entered and dominated the ‘Battle of Brooklyn’ against Zab Judah, proving he is still a game fighter. Broner is now demanding a rematch from Maidana after his wide points loss, even though he wouldn’t give Paulie one after a split. He doesn’t deserve one and he most likely won’t get one. Poor Adrien. Malignaggi, to some extent, deserved the rematch but he didn’t get it so let’s not cry over spilt milk, Paulie. He’s ranked right behind Thurman, so realistically he deserves the winner of Maidana-Thurman. Nothing more, nothing less. In the meantime, he should stay active in the best winnable fight he can get. His options are somewhat limited. Maybe he could talk his way into a big American showdown with the heavily-protected Jessie Vargas. He once mentioned that his favourite city in the world is Liverpool. A thriving fight city which often holds big UK fight cards, maybe he could travel and gain some more exposure, and take Frankie Gavin’s unbeaten record (ranked 5th by the WBA, behind Luis Collazo who is tied-up: scheduled to fight Victor Ortiz in January). Whatever he does, he doesn’t deserve a title crack right now.
So final thoughts: Maidana needs to give Thurman his shot, Broner needs to try and get his feet back on the same planet as the rest of us, and Paulie needs to pick up another win or two and bide his time. Tim Bradley and Shawn Porter are the other champions in the division (and, of course, Floyd Mayweather Jr, who cares little for titles anymore), and Manny Pacquiao, Robert Guerrero, Amir Khan, Kell Brook, and a few more are all dangerous contenders with points to prove at this stage in their careers. Ultimately, we as the boxing public would doubtless like to see names fight names: champions fighting dangerous contenders and even champions fighting champions. Let’s see what 2014 holds.
Read more at Maidana, Broner, Thurman, Malignaggi: Noise at 147
ADRIEN BRONER: "IT HAPPENS TO THE BEST OF 'EM...I WILL BE BACK"
By Ben Thompson | December 18, 2013
"I'm okay. You know, it happens to the best of 'em, and even as of right now, I'm still one of the best. I want to congratulate Team Maidana. Maidana, he did a helluva job. You know, he fought a helluva fight and he was the better man for tonight, but there's one thing for certain and two things for sure; I'm still AB, always ballin', and, you know, I will never put myself above nobody, but I'm still young, fly, flashy, and I'm rich, and I'm still in the game of boxing, so what's happening," stated previously undefeated former welterweight champion Adrien Broner, who conducted a post-fight interview with Showtime's Barry Tompkins following his upset loss to newly-crowned champion Marcos Maidana. The interview took place well after the live televised broadcast, so it was not aired until the replay of the card was shown late Tuesday night. If you missed the broadcast, check out what else he had to say.
ADRIEN BRONER:
"Hey, look, I'm not here to make any excuses. You know, I'm in a dangerous sport and, you know, I fought to the end. You know, like I say, some fans hate me, some love me; even if you hate me, you gotta love me. I fought to the end. But you know, we're not going to sit in sorrow. We're still going to live tomorrow like we won the fight."
"I'm not going to agree with that [a champion not knowing how good he is until he actually loses] because you don't have to lose nothing to find out how good your are. So, you know, all I can do is go back to the drawing board and, you know, do what I do best and that's come back and fight my ass off. You know, I want to thank everybody who watched the fight, who came to the fight, and I will be back."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkpe3KzPyMY
By Ben Thompson | December 18, 2013
"I'm okay. You know, it happens to the best of 'em, and even as of right now, I'm still one of the best. I want to congratulate Team Maidana. Maidana, he did a helluva job. You know, he fought a helluva fight and he was the better man for tonight, but there's one thing for certain and two things for sure; I'm still AB, always ballin', and, you know, I will never put myself above nobody, but I'm still young, fly, flashy, and I'm rich, and I'm still in the game of boxing, so what's happening," stated previously undefeated former welterweight champion Adrien Broner, who conducted a post-fight interview with Showtime's Barry Tompkins following his upset loss to newly-crowned champion Marcos Maidana. The interview took place well after the live televised broadcast, so it was not aired until the replay of the card was shown late Tuesday night. If you missed the broadcast, check out what else he had to say.
ADRIEN BRONER:
"Hey, look, I'm not here to make any excuses. You know, I'm in a dangerous sport and, you know, I fought to the end. You know, like I say, some fans hate me, some love me; even if you hate me, you gotta love me. I fought to the end. But you know, we're not going to sit in sorrow. We're still going to live tomorrow like we won the fight."
"I'm not going to agree with that [a champion not knowing how good he is until he actually loses] because you don't have to lose nothing to find out how good your are. So, you know, all I can do is go back to the drawing board and, you know, do what I do best and that's come back and fight my ass off. You know, I want to thank everybody who watched the fight, who came to the fight, and I will be back."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkpe3KzPyMY
Paul Malignaggi: The Problem with Adrien Broner is the media
The Magic Man looks into the roots of Broner's fall
PAUL MALIGNAGGI has launched a scathing attack on the media for "over-hyping" Adrien Broner, and believes it is no surprise to see him falling short of such garlanded expectations.
Broner, the self-anointed 'heir to Floyd Mayweather', has courted significant media attention over the last year with his brash, outspoken personality and, at times, unsavoury comments and actions.
He came crashing down to earth, however, at the hands of Argentine powerhouse Marcos Maidana on Saturday night, losing his undefeated record and leaving with a battered reputation.
Malignaggi always believes his reputation exceeded his abilities, and Saturday night finally showed the truth to everybody.
"You don't get satisfaction out of anyone's demise," he said.
"The problem I have here is the media continue to look stupid. In the media they see fights every single week, they're supposed to be experts. So you're supposed to be able to tell when a fighter is a pound-for-pound entrant, and when a fighter is over-hyped. Adrien Broner is a very good fighter, there's nothing wrong with being a very good fighter. There is, however, something wrong with crowning a fighter, when he's obviously not going to be the king of the sport."
"Adrien Broner was never going to be the king of the sport, but he was always going to be a pretty good fighter," he added.
"Maybe even a very good fighter, there's nothing wrong with that. The problem I have is the media continue every single year to get stupider and stupider, and they don't catch onto these things. And when I try to say things and I'm proven right, I'm going to continue to remind them how stupid they are. And maybe, if I keep reminding them how stupid they are, they might actually learn. Because nobody actually calls them out on their BS. Every single time there's a situation like this, they're always wrong."
Malignaggi stressed that this is not a new phenomenon.
"I remember a fighter called Francisco Bojado ten years ago who was so hyped by the media… when he had not yet done anything," he said.
"At least Adrien Broner has won some titles so he's proven people right in some ways. Francisco Bojado barely won a regional title in his career, these guys were crowning him the next pound-for-pound entrant. The 'next Oscar De la Hoya', he was a complete bust."
"I'm not gonna say Adrien Broner is a complete bust, he's a very good fighter. This guy was never going to be the next king of the sport, the best fighter of his generation, it was never going to happen. The fact people even thought this was going to happen is ridiculous, especially when you're a person who watches boxing every week, and should by now have a very good understanding of it."
Malignaggi lost via split-decision to Broner in June, and there were immediate calls from some quarters for a rematch - will they become louder now Broner needs to rebuild?
Not if Malignaggi has his way - "I'd love to fight Marcos Maidana after Saturday's fight. I think it'd be a tremendous fight that a lot of fans would want to see - it'd be a chance to get my old championship back" he said.
"He did a tremendous job on Saturday night… [it was] really, really impressive what he did to Adrien Broner and for that reason I would love a shot at my old championship."
The Magic Man looks into the roots of Broner's fall
PAUL MALIGNAGGI has launched a scathing attack on the media for "over-hyping" Adrien Broner, and believes it is no surprise to see him falling short of such garlanded expectations.
Broner, the self-anointed 'heir to Floyd Mayweather', has courted significant media attention over the last year with his brash, outspoken personality and, at times, unsavoury comments and actions.
He came crashing down to earth, however, at the hands of Argentine powerhouse Marcos Maidana on Saturday night, losing his undefeated record and leaving with a battered reputation.
Malignaggi always believes his reputation exceeded his abilities, and Saturday night finally showed the truth to everybody.
"You don't get satisfaction out of anyone's demise," he said.
"The problem I have here is the media continue to look stupid. In the media they see fights every single week, they're supposed to be experts. So you're supposed to be able to tell when a fighter is a pound-for-pound entrant, and when a fighter is over-hyped. Adrien Broner is a very good fighter, there's nothing wrong with being a very good fighter. There is, however, something wrong with crowning a fighter, when he's obviously not going to be the king of the sport."
"Adrien Broner was never going to be the king of the sport, but he was always going to be a pretty good fighter," he added.
"Maybe even a very good fighter, there's nothing wrong with that. The problem I have is the media continue every single year to get stupider and stupider, and they don't catch onto these things. And when I try to say things and I'm proven right, I'm going to continue to remind them how stupid they are. And maybe, if I keep reminding them how stupid they are, they might actually learn. Because nobody actually calls them out on their BS. Every single time there's a situation like this, they're always wrong."
Malignaggi stressed that this is not a new phenomenon.
"I remember a fighter called Francisco Bojado ten years ago who was so hyped by the media… when he had not yet done anything," he said.
"At least Adrien Broner has won some titles so he's proven people right in some ways. Francisco Bojado barely won a regional title in his career, these guys were crowning him the next pound-for-pound entrant. The 'next Oscar De la Hoya', he was a complete bust."
"I'm not gonna say Adrien Broner is a complete bust, he's a very good fighter. This guy was never going to be the next king of the sport, the best fighter of his generation, it was never going to happen. The fact people even thought this was going to happen is ridiculous, especially when you're a person who watches boxing every week, and should by now have a very good understanding of it."
Malignaggi lost via split-decision to Broner in June, and there were immediate calls from some quarters for a rematch - will they become louder now Broner needs to rebuild?
Not if Malignaggi has his way - "I'd love to fight Marcos Maidana after Saturday's fight. I think it'd be a tremendous fight that a lot of fans would want to see - it'd be a chance to get my old championship back" he said.
"He did a tremendous job on Saturday night… [it was] really, really impressive what he did to Adrien Broner and for that reason I would love a shot at my old championship."
Mikey Garcia takes on Juan Carlos Burgos on January 25
Heavyweights Bryant Jennings and Artur Szpilka chief-support
UNDEFEATED two-division world champion and Ventura County Police and Sheriff's Reserve Officer Academy graduate Mikey Garcia returns to the stage of his first coronation - The Theater at Madison Square Garden – when he defends his latest title, the WBO super-featherweight belt, against mandatory contender, Juan Carlos Burgos. The battle is set for January 25.
An interesting heavyweight battle between unbeaten prospects, Bryant Jennings and Artur Szpilka, will be chief-support on the Top Rank show in a 10-rounder. Also appearing will be local light-heavyweight Seanie Monaghan, 2012 Olympian and lightweight prospect Felix Verdejo, and undefeated super-middleweight Eugene Hart – son of Philly favourite, Eugene ‘Cyclone’ Hart.
“I’m happy to be returning to the ring,” said Garcia. “Burgos is a very good fighter. He did very well against Rocky Martinez at The Garden last January and I think he is deserving of this title shot. There is no question we will give the fans a very exciting fight.”
“I've been looking forward to getting back in the ring,” Burgos said. “We've had a strong training camp with excellent sparring sessions. I know Mikey is a tough boxer, but I've been putting in the work and I expect a win on January 25.”
Garcia (33-0, 28 KOs), of Oxnard, Calif., returns to the ring having won 16 of his past 18 bouts by knockout and has not gone the distance in over three years. He became a two-division world champion in his last fight, stopping defending WBO super-featherweight champion Roman "Rocky" Martinez in the eighth round with a vicious body shot to the liver on November 9, in Corpus Christi, TX. Garcia won his first world title -- the WBO featherweight championship -- on January 19, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden, dethroning two-time featherweight champion Orlando Salido via an eighth-round technical win that had Garcia winning virtually every round against the seasoned veteran. He was forced to vacate the title in his first defense, for not being able to make the 126-pound weight limit. Though drained, he was still able to rise to the occasion and knock out former two-division world champion Juan Manuel "Juanma" Lopez in the fourth round last June 15. Garcia, 26, had a great year in 2012 too, knocking out one-time world title challenger Bernabe Concepcion and former world champion Mauricio Pastrana, in the seventh and second rounds, respectively. He ended his 2012 campaign by knocking out former World Boxing Association (WBA) featherweight champion Jonathan Barros in the eighth round. Garcia is trained by his father Eduardo Garcia and co-managed and trained by his brother, 2012 Trainer of the Year Robert Garcia, the former International Boxing Federation (IBF) junior lightweight champion.
Burgos (30-1-2, 20 KOs), of Tijuana, México, will be making his third attempt at a world title. After unsuccessfully challenging Hozumi Hasagawa for the vacant World Boxing Council (WBC) featherweight title in 2010, he moved up to the super-featherweight division stringing together a two-year, five-bout winning streak, including victories over Luis Cruz for the NABO title in 2011, and former world champion Cristobal Cruz for the WBC Silver championship belt in February 2012. In July 2012 Burgos stopped undefeated Cesar Vazquez in the third round to catapult himself into the No. 1 contender position. Burgos challenged defending WBO junior lightweight champion Rocky Martinez on the same card that saw Mikey Garcia stop Orlando Salido. Unfortunately Burgos' efforts were not rewarded the same way as both fighters walked away with a disputed draw despite Burgos landing 93 more punches than Martinez, according to CompuBox statistics, including 70 more power punches, and his 36% connect rate was 13% higher than Martinez. Burgos, who turns 26 on December 26 -- Boxing Day -- returns to ring world-rated No. 1 by the WBO.
Jennings (17-0, 9 KOs), of Philadelphia, PA, is picking up steam, winning four of his last five bouts by knockout. One of the brightest lights among U.S. heavyweight contenders, Jennings, 29, captured the USBA heavyweight title in June of 2012, winning a 10-round decision over Steve Collins. He successfully defended that title in December 2012, knocking out Bowie Tupou in the fifth round. He only had one fight in 2013 -- a sixth-round stoppage victory of Andrey Fedosov in June. Collins, Tupou and Fedosov had a combined record of 71-5-1 when they faced Jennings, who enters this fight with a new managerial and promotional team. He is currently world-rated No. 4 by the WBC and No. 5 by the WBA.
Szpilka (16-0, 12 KOs), of Krakow, Poland, enters this fight having won 10 of his previous 12 fights by knockout, including three of the four bouts he fought in 2013. He has picked up an American following thanks to his two nationally-televised knockout victories over Mike Mollo in 2013, where both men hit the deck in each of their action-packed fights. Another highlight for Szpilka was his 10-round unanimous decision victory over Brian Minto for the interim WBC Baltic heavyweight title. He enters this fight world-rated No. 14 by the WBC.
Heavyweights Bryant Jennings and Artur Szpilka chief-support
UNDEFEATED two-division world champion and Ventura County Police and Sheriff's Reserve Officer Academy graduate Mikey Garcia returns to the stage of his first coronation - The Theater at Madison Square Garden – when he defends his latest title, the WBO super-featherweight belt, against mandatory contender, Juan Carlos Burgos. The battle is set for January 25.
An interesting heavyweight battle between unbeaten prospects, Bryant Jennings and Artur Szpilka, will be chief-support on the Top Rank show in a 10-rounder. Also appearing will be local light-heavyweight Seanie Monaghan, 2012 Olympian and lightweight prospect Felix Verdejo, and undefeated super-middleweight Eugene Hart – son of Philly favourite, Eugene ‘Cyclone’ Hart.
“I’m happy to be returning to the ring,” said Garcia. “Burgos is a very good fighter. He did very well against Rocky Martinez at The Garden last January and I think he is deserving of this title shot. There is no question we will give the fans a very exciting fight.”
“I've been looking forward to getting back in the ring,” Burgos said. “We've had a strong training camp with excellent sparring sessions. I know Mikey is a tough boxer, but I've been putting in the work and I expect a win on January 25.”
Garcia (33-0, 28 KOs), of Oxnard, Calif., returns to the ring having won 16 of his past 18 bouts by knockout and has not gone the distance in over three years. He became a two-division world champion in his last fight, stopping defending WBO super-featherweight champion Roman "Rocky" Martinez in the eighth round with a vicious body shot to the liver on November 9, in Corpus Christi, TX. Garcia won his first world title -- the WBO featherweight championship -- on January 19, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden, dethroning two-time featherweight champion Orlando Salido via an eighth-round technical win that had Garcia winning virtually every round against the seasoned veteran. He was forced to vacate the title in his first defense, for not being able to make the 126-pound weight limit. Though drained, he was still able to rise to the occasion and knock out former two-division world champion Juan Manuel "Juanma" Lopez in the fourth round last June 15. Garcia, 26, had a great year in 2012 too, knocking out one-time world title challenger Bernabe Concepcion and former world champion Mauricio Pastrana, in the seventh and second rounds, respectively. He ended his 2012 campaign by knocking out former World Boxing Association (WBA) featherweight champion Jonathan Barros in the eighth round. Garcia is trained by his father Eduardo Garcia and co-managed and trained by his brother, 2012 Trainer of the Year Robert Garcia, the former International Boxing Federation (IBF) junior lightweight champion.
Burgos (30-1-2, 20 KOs), of Tijuana, México, will be making his third attempt at a world title. After unsuccessfully challenging Hozumi Hasagawa for the vacant World Boxing Council (WBC) featherweight title in 2010, he moved up to the super-featherweight division stringing together a two-year, five-bout winning streak, including victories over Luis Cruz for the NABO title in 2011, and former world champion Cristobal Cruz for the WBC Silver championship belt in February 2012. In July 2012 Burgos stopped undefeated Cesar Vazquez in the third round to catapult himself into the No. 1 contender position. Burgos challenged defending WBO junior lightweight champion Rocky Martinez on the same card that saw Mikey Garcia stop Orlando Salido. Unfortunately Burgos' efforts were not rewarded the same way as both fighters walked away with a disputed draw despite Burgos landing 93 more punches than Martinez, according to CompuBox statistics, including 70 more power punches, and his 36% connect rate was 13% higher than Martinez. Burgos, who turns 26 on December 26 -- Boxing Day -- returns to ring world-rated No. 1 by the WBO.
Jennings (17-0, 9 KOs), of Philadelphia, PA, is picking up steam, winning four of his last five bouts by knockout. One of the brightest lights among U.S. heavyweight contenders, Jennings, 29, captured the USBA heavyweight title in June of 2012, winning a 10-round decision over Steve Collins. He successfully defended that title in December 2012, knocking out Bowie Tupou in the fifth round. He only had one fight in 2013 -- a sixth-round stoppage victory of Andrey Fedosov in June. Collins, Tupou and Fedosov had a combined record of 71-5-1 when they faced Jennings, who enters this fight with a new managerial and promotional team. He is currently world-rated No. 4 by the WBC and No. 5 by the WBA.
Szpilka (16-0, 12 KOs), of Krakow, Poland, enters this fight having won 10 of his previous 12 fights by knockout, including three of the four bouts he fought in 2013. He has picked up an American following thanks to his two nationally-televised knockout victories over Mike Mollo in 2013, where both men hit the deck in each of their action-packed fights. Another highlight for Szpilka was his 10-round unanimous decision victory over Brian Minto for the interim WBC Baltic heavyweight title. He enters this fight world-rated No. 14 by the WBC.
What People Forget About Floyd Mayweather Jr.
By Eric Johnson: Being active in the boxing news world, I often watch as bloggers, analysts, and fans criticize Floyd Mayweather of ducking, and “cherry picking” opponents. They say he has plenty of reputable names on his boxing resume, but that most of them were past their primes or “shot”. We live in a generation of selective memory that benefit our arguments, and trends that lead to massive outcry among different fields. There are people who don’t feel a way about certain situations, but will convince themselves that they do to avoid backlash, or to simply fit in. Out of all the things Floyd Mayweather is, he is definitely not a “ducker” or a “cherry picker”. Here’s why.
When people talk about his fights or accomplishments, they most often reflect to his career post 2007. As if it started there. As if he was always the biggest draw in boxing. That couldn’t be further from the truth. There was a time where the man known as “Pretty Boy Floyd” couldn’t sell out an arena in his hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan. There was a time where he was the most ducked fighter in all of boxing. Simply because he wasn’t a big draw, and offered small reward with high risk.
People forget that he had been calling out Shane Mosley, Cory Spinks, Oscar De La Hoya, Kosta Tszyu and other fighters for years. He was desperate to get these fights. The reality was that he wasn’t a money maker, he wasn’t a cash cow and he wasn’t a big draw. He brought nothing to the table other than a tough fight, and a difficult style. He was undefeated but unattractive to other fighters. He had beaten plenty of marquee level fighters, including Corrales, N’dou, Manfreddy, Judah, Baldomir, Corley, Gatti, and Hernandez among the names. Yet, no one wanted to pay big money to see him fight. Oh how that changed in 2007.
Both before his fight with Gatti (2005) and after his fight with Baldomir (2006), Floyd Mayweather called out Shane Mosley, Oscar De La Hoya, and Kosta Tszyu. His contemporaries made no push to get the fights signed. Mosley made an excuse about his tooth, Oscar simply showed no interest, and Kosta Tszyu saw no money. Here he was being ducked by the men who were bigger draws then him. That all changed in 2007, the #1 P4P, and probably #500 fan favorite Floyd Mayweather had bought out of his Top Rank contract, and scheduled a fight with the then cash cow of boxing Oscar “The Golden Boy” De La Hoya. Ironically enough, Oscar wanted Floyd’s status of best boxer on the planet, and Floyd wanted Oscar’s status of the biggest draw in boxing. Sometime later, they would meet up in the highest grossing fight ever, and Floyd would emerge victorious, and become the new face of boxing. After years of being avoided, after years of being ducked the “Pretty Boy” was finally the guy. Both financially, and the best among his contemporaries. The same men who avoided him for so long now wanted shots, they all wanted a piece of the pie.
In 2009, Floyd returned after a brief retirement as “Money Mayweather” and took on Juan Manuel Marquez in what I believe was a tune-up fight. It speaks to a man’s greatness when he can get in the ring with a future Hall Of Famer and win in the fashion he did after a two year absence. After the performance a familiar face emerged from the crowd. No other than Big Bear’s own Sugar Shane Mosley. He crashed the stage, calling Mayweather out. Eager to fight now and prove he was the best. Why you ask? After all the years of putting it off, and avoiding it? Simply put, Floyd Mayweather was a draw now. He was THE draw. People would flood arenas to see him fight, as they do now. Shane Mosley was coming off a beautiful win in which he all but decapitated the Mexican Warrior Antonio Margarito. It seemed like a dream fight, in which many people picked Floyd to lose prior to the fight actually happening. Mosley was #3 Pound for Pound, he was a champion, and he looked like a dangerous opponent. The fight took place, and after a surprising blow in the 2nd round, Floyd Mayweather cruised to a unanimous decision victory making his foe on the opposing side of the ring look amateurish and old. After the fight, Mosley was considered old and never a threat. Floyd was accused of cherry picking him then, and ducking Mosley when he was in his prime. The same Mosley he had been calling out for years. Ironic.
In 2011, Floyd Mayweather took on 147 pound Champion “Vicious” Victor Ortiz. The Kansas Native was fresh off of winning a belt from the then highly rated Andre Berto. Many people pointed to the fact that Victor Ortiz was a young strong Welterweight in his prime. He’s also a southpaw which according to the grapevine, Floyd has always had trouble with. They met up in September of 2011. The fight ended in controversy. After Victor Ortiz head-butted Mayweather, referee Joe Cortez gave the okay for the fight to continue. Mayweather legally took advantage of the opportunity presented to him and capitalized with a left hook, followed by a right hand that ended the fight.
Opportunistic? Yes. Dirty? Nope. Whether you’re a boxer who does his work in the ring, or a fan watching at home with a Pizza and a cold soda, we all know you should protect yourself at all times. Especially after you just took it within your own hands to head-butt a man.
In 2012, negotiations for a fight with then rival Manny Pacquiao was in the works. Negotiations failed again after Bob Arum suggested that a new arena needed to be built in order to maximize revenue for the fight. Further adding to his ridiculous excuses for not giving fans the fight of their lives. Which is why to this day, I don’t blame Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather for the fight not happening. I blame Arum, and his hatred for Floyd Mayweather. After negotiations failed, Mayweather reached an agreement with then #1 ranked Jr. Middleweight, and WBA Super Welterweight champion Miguel Cotto. Cotto was coming off of three TKO victories with Yuri Foreman, Ricardo Mayorga, and rival, and exposed loaded Glover Antonio Margarito, and Mayweather of course still undefeated. The future Hall Of Famers met up at the Jr. Middleweight limit of 154 pounds, with Mayweather emerging victorious in a tough 12 round fight.
By Eric Johnson: Being active in the boxing news world, I often watch as bloggers, analysts, and fans criticize Floyd Mayweather of ducking, and “cherry picking” opponents. They say he has plenty of reputable names on his boxing resume, but that most of them were past their primes or “shot”. We live in a generation of selective memory that benefit our arguments, and trends that lead to massive outcry among different fields. There are people who don’t feel a way about certain situations, but will convince themselves that they do to avoid backlash, or to simply fit in. Out of all the things Floyd Mayweather is, he is definitely not a “ducker” or a “cherry picker”. Here’s why.
When people talk about his fights or accomplishments, they most often reflect to his career post 2007. As if it started there. As if he was always the biggest draw in boxing. That couldn’t be further from the truth. There was a time where the man known as “Pretty Boy Floyd” couldn’t sell out an arena in his hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan. There was a time where he was the most ducked fighter in all of boxing. Simply because he wasn’t a big draw, and offered small reward with high risk.
People forget that he had been calling out Shane Mosley, Cory Spinks, Oscar De La Hoya, Kosta Tszyu and other fighters for years. He was desperate to get these fights. The reality was that he wasn’t a money maker, he wasn’t a cash cow and he wasn’t a big draw. He brought nothing to the table other than a tough fight, and a difficult style. He was undefeated but unattractive to other fighters. He had beaten plenty of marquee level fighters, including Corrales, N’dou, Manfreddy, Judah, Baldomir, Corley, Gatti, and Hernandez among the names. Yet, no one wanted to pay big money to see him fight. Oh how that changed in 2007.
Both before his fight with Gatti (2005) and after his fight with Baldomir (2006), Floyd Mayweather called out Shane Mosley, Oscar De La Hoya, and Kosta Tszyu. His contemporaries made no push to get the fights signed. Mosley made an excuse about his tooth, Oscar simply showed no interest, and Kosta Tszyu saw no money. Here he was being ducked by the men who were bigger draws then him. That all changed in 2007, the #1 P4P, and probably #500 fan favorite Floyd Mayweather had bought out of his Top Rank contract, and scheduled a fight with the then cash cow of boxing Oscar “The Golden Boy” De La Hoya. Ironically enough, Oscar wanted Floyd’s status of best boxer on the planet, and Floyd wanted Oscar’s status of the biggest draw in boxing. Sometime later, they would meet up in the highest grossing fight ever, and Floyd would emerge victorious, and become the new face of boxing. After years of being avoided, after years of being ducked the “Pretty Boy” was finally the guy. Both financially, and the best among his contemporaries. The same men who avoided him for so long now wanted shots, they all wanted a piece of the pie.
In 2009, Floyd returned after a brief retirement as “Money Mayweather” and took on Juan Manuel Marquez in what I believe was a tune-up fight. It speaks to a man’s greatness when he can get in the ring with a future Hall Of Famer and win in the fashion he did after a two year absence. After the performance a familiar face emerged from the crowd. No other than Big Bear’s own Sugar Shane Mosley. He crashed the stage, calling Mayweather out. Eager to fight now and prove he was the best. Why you ask? After all the years of putting it off, and avoiding it? Simply put, Floyd Mayweather was a draw now. He was THE draw. People would flood arenas to see him fight, as they do now. Shane Mosley was coming off a beautiful win in which he all but decapitated the Mexican Warrior Antonio Margarito. It seemed like a dream fight, in which many people picked Floyd to lose prior to the fight actually happening. Mosley was #3 Pound for Pound, he was a champion, and he looked like a dangerous opponent. The fight took place, and after a surprising blow in the 2nd round, Floyd Mayweather cruised to a unanimous decision victory making his foe on the opposing side of the ring look amateurish and old. After the fight, Mosley was considered old and never a threat. Floyd was accused of cherry picking him then, and ducking Mosley when he was in his prime. The same Mosley he had been calling out for years. Ironic.
In 2011, Floyd Mayweather took on 147 pound Champion “Vicious” Victor Ortiz. The Kansas Native was fresh off of winning a belt from the then highly rated Andre Berto. Many people pointed to the fact that Victor Ortiz was a young strong Welterweight in his prime. He’s also a southpaw which according to the grapevine, Floyd has always had trouble with. They met up in September of 2011. The fight ended in controversy. After Victor Ortiz head-butted Mayweather, referee Joe Cortez gave the okay for the fight to continue. Mayweather legally took advantage of the opportunity presented to him and capitalized with a left hook, followed by a right hand that ended the fight.
Opportunistic? Yes. Dirty? Nope. Whether you’re a boxer who does his work in the ring, or a fan watching at home with a Pizza and a cold soda, we all know you should protect yourself at all times. Especially after you just took it within your own hands to head-butt a man.
In 2012, negotiations for a fight with then rival Manny Pacquiao was in the works. Negotiations failed again after Bob Arum suggested that a new arena needed to be built in order to maximize revenue for the fight. Further adding to his ridiculous excuses for not giving fans the fight of their lives. Which is why to this day, I don’t blame Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather for the fight not happening. I blame Arum, and his hatred for Floyd Mayweather. After negotiations failed, Mayweather reached an agreement with then #1 ranked Jr. Middleweight, and WBA Super Welterweight champion Miguel Cotto. Cotto was coming off of three TKO victories with Yuri Foreman, Ricardo Mayorga, and rival, and exposed loaded Glover Antonio Margarito, and Mayweather of course still undefeated. The future Hall Of Famers met up at the Jr. Middleweight limit of 154 pounds, with Mayweather emerging victorious in a tough 12 round fight.
Props:
CZAR and CZAR