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James Kirkland: Tentative Return is Eyed For August
By Rick Reeno
The year is still young but the wheels are already rolling for the tentative return of junior middleweight contender James Kirkland. BoxingScene.com was advised by Kirkland's co-manager and personal attorney, Michael Miller, that an August return is very possible. Last September during a federal hearing in Texas, Kirkland was sentenced to a 24 month prison term for illegally purchasing a firearm during the month of April. At the time of the arrest, Kirkland was still on probation for a 2003 armed robbery offense, which prohibits him from purchasing and/or possessing firearms.
When Kirkland was hit with the 24-month sentence, the court shaved off 6 months for time already served. Under the federal guidelines, he was able to shave off an additional 100 days for good behavior.
On June 28, Kirkland will get transfered to a half-way house to finish the remaining six months of the sentence. Kirkland will be allowed to leave the half-way house from 7am to 7pm to train. With prior notice given, Kirkland can leave the half-way house to fight - and that includes taking a fight outisde of Texas.
During his prison stay, Kirkland's weight shot up. At one point he weighed 205-pounds. It took a few months for Kirkland, 25, to get himself back in shape. Miller saw Kirkland around the Thanksgiving holiday and said his fighter was now weighing 174-pounds and his body looked good. Golden Boy Promotions is calling Miller on a regular basis to check on Kirkland's status. They are very eager to bring him back.
"[Kirkland will return] probably in the middle of August. He will take a warm-up fight in August and maybe a bigger fight in October or November," Miller told BoxingScene.com
By Rick Reeno
The year is still young but the wheels are already rolling for the tentative return of junior middleweight contender James Kirkland. BoxingScene.com was advised by Kirkland's co-manager and personal attorney, Michael Miller, that an August return is very possible. Last September during a federal hearing in Texas, Kirkland was sentenced to a 24 month prison term for illegally purchasing a firearm during the month of April. At the time of the arrest, Kirkland was still on probation for a 2003 armed robbery offense, which prohibits him from purchasing and/or possessing firearms.
When Kirkland was hit with the 24-month sentence, the court shaved off 6 months for time already served. Under the federal guidelines, he was able to shave off an additional 100 days for good behavior.
On June 28, Kirkland will get transfered to a half-way house to finish the remaining six months of the sentence. Kirkland will be allowed to leave the half-way house from 7am to 7pm to train. With prior notice given, Kirkland can leave the half-way house to fight - and that includes taking a fight outisde of Texas.
During his prison stay, Kirkland's weight shot up. At one point he weighed 205-pounds. It took a few months for Kirkland, 25, to get himself back in shape. Miller saw Kirkland around the Thanksgiving holiday and said his fighter was now weighing 174-pounds and his body looked good. Golden Boy Promotions is calling Miller on a regular basis to check on Kirkland's status. They are very eager to bring him back.
"[Kirkland will return] probably in the middle of August. He will take a warm-up fight in August and maybe a bigger fight in October or November," Miller told BoxingScene.com
Eddie Chambers: “I’m going to come home heavyweight champion of the world
by Geoffrey Ciani - This past week’s edition of On the Ropes featured exclusive interviews with Eddie Chambers, Jason Estrada, Roland Estrada, and Jesse Brinkley. Highlighting this episode was a nice conversation with the number one ranked heavyweight, Eddie Chambers, who is slated to challenge Wladimir Klitschko for his WBO and IBF heavyweight championship belts. Here are some excerpts from the Chambers interview:
On his recent victory against then undefeated heavyweight contender, Alexander Dimitrenko:
“The performance was pretty good. I give myself about a solid B, and the reason is because there were things I was doing in this here fight and it wouldn’t fly with Wladimir. I was standing in front of him too much, my legs were too straight and stiff, and I didn’t move as much as I should have been moving both to the target and away from the target.”
Regarding how the Dimitrenko fight has helped prepare him for Wladimir Klitschko:
“I think that Dimitrenko’s only thing was he wasn’t as strong. I guess that would mean his physical attributes weren’t up to par with Wladimir, but his ability, his boxing skills, his speed, his movement were—I don’t want to say more so than Wladimir, but at least on par with what he had. It’s just that he didn’t have the experience and he wasn’t ready for what I was bringing to the table.. I’m not sure that Wladimir will be either, but it’s definitely a situation in that fight right there that was the perfect fight to put me in a position to fight Wladimir. He’s not a mirror image of Wladimir, but close enough—something similar enough to keep the good things and throw away the bad.”
On his strategy for beating Klitschko:
“Well one thing is for sure, I mean, a lot of people decided as the smaller fighters, they try to move their head and get inside without any kind of jab or any kind of offense to work their way to the bigger fighter, and I think that is the biggest mistake. I think people let them use their height more by doing so.”
Regarding his speed and his movement as his key assets against Klitschko:
“It’s about being more consistent with a certain kind of attack. Now, I do believe that at times I will have him confused and looking for answers because he’s not going to be able to pinpoint that jab and land it with regularity as well as bringing that right hand behind it for a KO to land that big shot. So of course he’s going to find it confusing, but it’s going to be more about frustration.”
His prediction for his upcoming fight with Wladimir Klitschko:
“My victory. I never say I’m going to go in and knock him on in this round. I’m not a big smack talker or anything like that. I do my talking with my hands, and they’re going to do a lot of talking that night and I just predict that I’m going to come home the heavyweight champion of the world.”
Regarding his views on pound for pound king, Manny Pacquiao:
“When I first really got a good chance to see him was when he fought Marco Antonio Barrera. I was amazed. He was a little unsettled and a little green looking in a lot of ways, but he was firey, he had a lot of heart, and wanted to fight until the end, and that always wins me over. I’m high on him, very high on him. I would love to see the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight happen. I would love to see that fight happen, but I do have a good fight to look forward to hopefully with Mosley-Mayweather.”
His views on the upcoming mega bout between Floyd Mayweather and Shane Mosley:
“Shane is a strong, tough guy who comes to win every night and he goes for the knockout, so you never know, but right now I’m looking at Floyd probably by a close decision.”
***
Jason Estrada
We also had a good discussion with heavyweight contender Jason Estrada and his father/trainer, Roland. Estrada is slated to face Tomasz Adamek this Saturday, February 6 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Are here some quotes from Jason during the course of that interview:
On his training and preparations for his fight with Adamek:
“The camp has been great. I can’t complain. There haven’t been any problems with the camp, but sparring has been great, and the best thing is I’ve had so much time to prepare. That’s a benefit in and of itself, I never had this much time to prepare.”
On whether he believes Adamek is looking past him towards a potential April showdown with Chris Arreola:
“I’m not really worried about him looking past me and looking for other fights right after me like he’s going to walk
by Geoffrey Ciani - This past week’s edition of On the Ropes featured exclusive interviews with Eddie Chambers, Jason Estrada, Roland Estrada, and Jesse Brinkley. Highlighting this episode was a nice conversation with the number one ranked heavyweight, Eddie Chambers, who is slated to challenge Wladimir Klitschko for his WBO and IBF heavyweight championship belts. Here are some excerpts from the Chambers interview:
On his recent victory against then undefeated heavyweight contender, Alexander Dimitrenko:
“The performance was pretty good. I give myself about a solid B, and the reason is because there were things I was doing in this here fight and it wouldn’t fly with Wladimir. I was standing in front of him too much, my legs were too straight and stiff, and I didn’t move as much as I should have been moving both to the target and away from the target.”
Regarding how the Dimitrenko fight has helped prepare him for Wladimir Klitschko:
“I think that Dimitrenko’s only thing was he wasn’t as strong. I guess that would mean his physical attributes weren’t up to par with Wladimir, but his ability, his boxing skills, his speed, his movement were—I don’t want to say more so than Wladimir, but at least on par with what he had. It’s just that he didn’t have the experience and he wasn’t ready for what I was bringing to the table.. I’m not sure that Wladimir will be either, but it’s definitely a situation in that fight right there that was the perfect fight to put me in a position to fight Wladimir. He’s not a mirror image of Wladimir, but close enough—something similar enough to keep the good things and throw away the bad.”
On his strategy for beating Klitschko:
“Well one thing is for sure, I mean, a lot of people decided as the smaller fighters, they try to move their head and get inside without any kind of jab or any kind of offense to work their way to the bigger fighter, and I think that is the biggest mistake. I think people let them use their height more by doing so.”
Regarding his speed and his movement as his key assets against Klitschko:
“It’s about being more consistent with a certain kind of attack. Now, I do believe that at times I will have him confused and looking for answers because he’s not going to be able to pinpoint that jab and land it with regularity as well as bringing that right hand behind it for a KO to land that big shot. So of course he’s going to find it confusing, but it’s going to be more about frustration.”
His prediction for his upcoming fight with Wladimir Klitschko:
“My victory. I never say I’m going to go in and knock him on in this round. I’m not a big smack talker or anything like that. I do my talking with my hands, and they’re going to do a lot of talking that night and I just predict that I’m going to come home the heavyweight champion of the world.”
Regarding his views on pound for pound king, Manny Pacquiao:
“When I first really got a good chance to see him was when he fought Marco Antonio Barrera. I was amazed. He was a little unsettled and a little green looking in a lot of ways, but he was firey, he had a lot of heart, and wanted to fight until the end, and that always wins me over. I’m high on him, very high on him. I would love to see the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight happen. I would love to see that fight happen, but I do have a good fight to look forward to hopefully with Mosley-Mayweather.”
His views on the upcoming mega bout between Floyd Mayweather and Shane Mosley:
“Shane is a strong, tough guy who comes to win every night and he goes for the knockout, so you never know, but right now I’m looking at Floyd probably by a close decision.”
***
Jason Estrada
We also had a good discussion with heavyweight contender Jason Estrada and his father/trainer, Roland. Estrada is slated to face Tomasz Adamek this Saturday, February 6 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Are here some quotes from Jason during the course of that interview:
On his training and preparations for his fight with Adamek:
“The camp has been great. I can’t complain. There haven’t been any problems with the camp, but sparring has been great, and the best thing is I’ve had so much time to prepare. That’s a benefit in and of itself, I never had this much time to prepare.”
On whether he believes Adamek is looking past him towards a potential April showdown with Chris Arreola:
“I’m not really worried about him looking past me and looking for other fights right after me like he’s going to walk
oh man, this is going to be a sick card
Victor Ortiz-Nate Campbell Agree To Fight on May 15
By Rick Reeno
BoxingScene.com has been informed that an agreement has been reached for junior welterweights Victor Ortiz and Nate Campbell to fight each other on May 15 in Las Vegas. The fight will be televised by HBO as the co-feature to Amir Khan's possible defense of the WBA 140-pound title against Juan Manuel Marquez.
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140 pounds is crazy deep. You got Timothy Bradley against Edwin Valero possibly next. Maidina (they guy who stopped Ortiz) vs Cayo, Devon Alexander vs Urango real soon.... Still there is ricky hatton and paulie the guido. This division is tacked full of talent.
Victor Ortiz-Nate Campbell Agree To Fight on May 15
By Rick Reeno
BoxingScene.com has been informed that an agreement has been reached for junior welterweights Victor Ortiz and Nate Campbell to fight each other on May 15 in Las Vegas. The fight will be televised by HBO as the co-feature to Amir Khan's possible defense of the WBA 140-pound title against Juan Manuel Marquez.
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140 pounds is crazy deep. You got Timothy Bradley against Edwin Valero possibly next. Maidina (they guy who stopped Ortiz) vs Cayo, Devon Alexander vs Urango real soon.... Still there is ricky hatton and paulie the guido. This division is tacked full of talent.
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i kinda new this along but i didnt wanna but my familys bussiness out there but now its public so heres the update from our local paper...SPORTS > PRO SPORTS
2 votes
BOXING: Guerrero pulls out of fight due to wife's illness
9:46 AM
By Dispatch Sports Staff
Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero
Photo by: Dispatch file photo
GILROY - IBF Jr. Lightweight titlist and Gilroy native Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero (25-1-1, 17 KO's) was scheduled to fight in his first bout of 2010 on March 27, but recently made the decision to withdraw due to the declining health of his wife Casey, whose battle with Leukimia has faced setbacks recently, Guerrero's publicist Mario Serrano said.
In a statement released by Serrano and the Guerrero camp on Tuesday, Guerrero pleads for the community's prayers during the tough time.
"Right now I'm going through a difficult time dealing with my wife Casey's illness with Leukemia," Guerrero stated. "Fortunately we found a bone marrow match, but there are some complications that are making things difficult. I'm asking everyone in the boxing community along with family, friends and the general public to keep Casey in their prayers. I will continue to keep my faith in Jesus Christ and pray for understanding."
Serrano said Casey received a bone marrow transplant and has been in the hospital for 13 days battling infections.
"We are hoping and praying her body responds to the bone marrow," Serrano said.
Guerrero was slated to fight Michael Katsidis.
"I want to thank my promoter Golden Boy Promotions for their understanding in this situation," Guerrero continued in the statement. "I was ready to do battle with Katsidis but mentally my mind wouldn't be at 100 percent, and to fight a warrior like him you have to be at your best psychologically."
i kinda new this along but i didnt wanna but my familys bussiness out there but now its public so heres the update from our local paper...SPORTS > PRO SPORTS
2 votes
BOXING: Guerrero pulls out of fight due to wife's illness
9:46 AM
By Dispatch Sports Staff
Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero
Photo by: Dispatch file photo
GILROY - IBF Jr. Lightweight titlist and Gilroy native Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero (25-1-1, 17 KO's) was scheduled to fight in his first bout of 2010 on March 27, but recently made the decision to withdraw due to the declining health of his wife Casey, whose battle with Leukimia has faced setbacks recently, Guerrero's publicist Mario Serrano said.
In a statement released by Serrano and the Guerrero camp on Tuesday, Guerrero pleads for the community's prayers during the tough time.
"Right now I'm going through a difficult time dealing with my wife Casey's illness with Leukemia," Guerrero stated. "Fortunately we found a bone marrow match, but there are some complications that are making things difficult. I'm asking everyone in the boxing community along with family, friends and the general public to keep Casey in their prayers. I will continue to keep my faith in Jesus Christ and pray for understanding."
Serrano said Casey received a bone marrow transplant and has been in the hospital for 13 days battling infections.
"We are hoping and praying her body responds to the bone marrow," Serrano said.
Guerrero was slated to fight Michael Katsidis.
"I want to thank my promoter Golden Boy Promotions for their understanding in this situation," Guerrero continued in the statement. "I was ready to do battle with Katsidis but mentally my mind wouldn't be at 100 percent, and to fight a warrior like him you have to be at your best psychologically."
Pavlik vs Martinez confirmed for April 17
By Dan Rafael
ESPN.com
Archive
Middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik and junior middleweight titlist Sergio Martinez have agreed to terms for April 17 bout, the promoters for both fighters told ESPN.com on Tuesday.
The contracts are not signed, but both sides said that was a formality.
"We're waiting for Lou [DiBella, Martinez's promoter] to send back the contract, which he said there are no problems with," said Top Rank's Bob Arum, Pavlik's promoter. "Kelly is on board and we're planning a press conference in New York, but HBO wanted us to hold off until after the Olympics. But the fight is agreed to. We're good on our side and Lou tells me it's good to go on his side. We're putting off the press conference strictly because of the Olympics."
They'll meet at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J., where Pavlik is a major draw -- his fans have regularly traveled there by the thousand from Youngstown, Ohio.
Martinez, a native of Argentina living in Spain, made his own fans at Boardwalk Hall in December, when he thrilled the crowd at the Hall's smaller Adrian Phillips Ballroom by duking it out with middleweight contender Paul Williams in a thrilling majority decision loss that took no luster away from Martinez.
"It's a great Atlantic City fight, especially with Williams-Martinez having just taken place there and Pavlik being the most proven attraction there in the post-[Arturo] Gatti era," DiBella said.
The bout will headline a major "World Championship Boxing" split-site doubleheader on HBO. Super middleweight titlist Lucian Bute of Montreal will defend his 168-pound belt against Edison Miranda of Colombia at the Bell Centre in Montreal before the action shifts to Atlantic City for Pavlik's 160-pound title defense against Martinez.
Should Pavlik and Bute both win, it could lead to a potential Bute-Pavlik fight. Arum said there have been preliminary discussions about the bout between Top Rank and InterBox, Bute's promoter, and it's a fight that HBO has major interest in.
But first things first. Pavlik is in a serious fight, and his team knows it.
"It's a terrific fight and I think Kelly is going to win, but we know this is a very tough fight," Arum said. "But I think that Kelly has the firepower to come through and win the fight." Pavlik, who is 6-foot-2, is the naturally bigger and stronger fighter compared to the 5-11 Martinez, 34, who is a southpaw and faster.
"Sergio Martinez is the best 154-pound fighter in the world, but he simply could not turn down an opportunity to take on the true middleweight champion of the world," DiBella said. "While size is not his advantage, speed is, and sometimes David slays Goliath. We had to bite the bullet a little bit, but it's a great opportunity even though it is above the weight where Sergio prefers to fight. But he didn't do so badly at middleweight against Williams did he? We all know that a lot of people thought Sergio won that fight. At some point, he'd like to move down and fight in his own weight class, but this is a big opportunity for him."
Pavlik (36-1, 32 KOs), 27, will be making his fourth defense since scoring a dramatic seventh-round knockout against Jermain Taylor at Boardwalk Hall to win the title in September 2007. Pavlik has also fought a pair of nontitle bouts, outpointing Taylor in a super middleweight rematch and losing a lopsided decision at 170 pounds to Bernard Hopkins.
Pavlik is coming off a fifth-round knockout of overmatched Miguel Espino on Dec. 19, which followed a 10-month layoff. During that time, Pavlik was twice scheduled to defend against Williams, but each time the fight was called off because a problem Pavlik had with his hand stemming from a staph infection.
The second time the fight was called off, Williams instead faced Martinez (44-2-2, 24 KOs), who has yet to defend his 154-pound crown, on short notice in one of the most action-packed bouts of 2009.
The only open issue in the deal, according to DiBella, has nothing to do with the agreement between the promoters or fighters.
"There are no substantive issues on the paperwork between me and Arum," DiBella said. "The only issue that exists is that Kelly has had some health issues and I want to know that if Sergio trains for the fight and Kelly is forced to pull out for some reason that Sergio would able to fight another opponent we agree on in Montreal on the Bute undercard.
"If something happens and Kelly's staph infection comes back or he has another problem with his hand, we want to be able to fight somebody else on that date. My guy can't have another long layoff. But there is no issue about anything between me and Bob. I just need to get this worked out with HBO, but I don't think it is going to be an issue."
Dan Rafael is ESPN.com's boxing writer.
By Dan Rafael
ESPN.com
Archive
Middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik and junior middleweight titlist Sergio Martinez have agreed to terms for April 17 bout, the promoters for both fighters told ESPN.com on Tuesday.
The contracts are not signed, but both sides said that was a formality.
"We're waiting for Lou [DiBella, Martinez's promoter] to send back the contract, which he said there are no problems with," said Top Rank's Bob Arum, Pavlik's promoter. "Kelly is on board and we're planning a press conference in New York, but HBO wanted us to hold off until after the Olympics. But the fight is agreed to. We're good on our side and Lou tells me it's good to go on his side. We're putting off the press conference strictly because of the Olympics."
They'll meet at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J., where Pavlik is a major draw -- his fans have regularly traveled there by the thousand from Youngstown, Ohio.
Martinez, a native of Argentina living in Spain, made his own fans at Boardwalk Hall in December, when he thrilled the crowd at the Hall's smaller Adrian Phillips Ballroom by duking it out with middleweight contender Paul Williams in a thrilling majority decision loss that took no luster away from Martinez.
"It's a great Atlantic City fight, especially with Williams-Martinez having just taken place there and Pavlik being the most proven attraction there in the post-[Arturo] Gatti era," DiBella said.
The bout will headline a major "World Championship Boxing" split-site doubleheader on HBO. Super middleweight titlist Lucian Bute of Montreal will defend his 168-pound belt against Edison Miranda of Colombia at the Bell Centre in Montreal before the action shifts to Atlantic City for Pavlik's 160-pound title defense against Martinez.
Should Pavlik and Bute both win, it could lead to a potential Bute-Pavlik fight. Arum said there have been preliminary discussions about the bout between Top Rank and InterBox, Bute's promoter, and it's a fight that HBO has major interest in.
But first things first. Pavlik is in a serious fight, and his team knows it.
"It's a terrific fight and I think Kelly is going to win, but we know this is a very tough fight," Arum said. "But I think that Kelly has the firepower to come through and win the fight." Pavlik, who is 6-foot-2, is the naturally bigger and stronger fighter compared to the 5-11 Martinez, 34, who is a southpaw and faster.
"Sergio Martinez is the best 154-pound fighter in the world, but he simply could not turn down an opportunity to take on the true middleweight champion of the world," DiBella said. "While size is not his advantage, speed is, and sometimes David slays Goliath. We had to bite the bullet a little bit, but it's a great opportunity even though it is above the weight where Sergio prefers to fight. But he didn't do so badly at middleweight against Williams did he? We all know that a lot of people thought Sergio won that fight. At some point, he'd like to move down and fight in his own weight class, but this is a big opportunity for him."
Pavlik (36-1, 32 KOs), 27, will be making his fourth defense since scoring a dramatic seventh-round knockout against Jermain Taylor at Boardwalk Hall to win the title in September 2007. Pavlik has also fought a pair of nontitle bouts, outpointing Taylor in a super middleweight rematch and losing a lopsided decision at 170 pounds to Bernard Hopkins.
Pavlik is coming off a fifth-round knockout of overmatched Miguel Espino on Dec. 19, which followed a 10-month layoff. During that time, Pavlik was twice scheduled to defend against Williams, but each time the fight was called off because a problem Pavlik had with his hand stemming from a staph infection.
The second time the fight was called off, Williams instead faced Martinez (44-2-2, 24 KOs), who has yet to defend his 154-pound crown, on short notice in one of the most action-packed bouts of 2009.
The only open issue in the deal, according to DiBella, has nothing to do with the agreement between the promoters or fighters.
"There are no substantive issues on the paperwork between me and Arum," DiBella said. "The only issue that exists is that Kelly has had some health issues and I want to know that if Sergio trains for the fight and Kelly is forced to pull out for some reason that Sergio would able to fight another opponent we agree on in Montreal on the Bute undercard.
"If something happens and Kelly's staph infection comes back or he has another problem with his hand, we want to be able to fight somebody else on that date. My guy can't have another long layoff. But there is no issue about anything between me and Bob. I just need to get this worked out with HBO, but I don't think it is going to be an issue."
Dan Rafael is ESPN.com's boxing writer.
just to keep people updated for those following Marquez vs Khan, Marquez backed out of the fight and it's a no go. His trainer Nacho Beristain said he didn't want Marquez to fight Khan and it wasn't the right fight to have after losing to Mayweather so badly.
Sooo...
Amir Khan will now fight Paulie Malignaggi at 140, likely the same date in april on HBO.
Andre Berto will likely fight Carlos Quintana or Kenall Holt.
As for Marquez, apparently he wants Ricky Hatton but no news as of yet if that will happen or not.
IMO, now is the perfect time for Edwin Valero vs JMM in a super fight in Mexico.
Sooo...
Amir Khan will now fight Paulie Malignaggi at 140, likely the same date in april on HBO.
Andre Berto will likely fight Carlos Quintana or Kenall Holt.
As for Marquez, apparently he wants Ricky Hatton but no news as of yet if that will happen or not.
IMO, now is the perfect time for Edwin Valero vs JMM in a super fight in Mexico.
By virtue of the statements issued by Edwin Valero, regarding the fact that will no longer fight in the Lightweight division, the World Boxing Council has decided, as a courtesy to the champion, to name him “World Champion in Recess”, while he makes his final decision.
In the meantime, to not freeze the title, the WBC will determine the rival for Humberto Soto, who will fight for it, after a voting by the WBC Board of Governors, is held.
In the meantime, to not freeze the title, the WBC will determine the rival for Humberto Soto, who will fight for it, after a voting by the WBC Board of Governors, is held.
How Can We Revive Boxing In America
Paul McCreath - In the past few years we have seen a gradual decline in boxing in America. The flagship division, the heavyweights has seen the most obvious change. Where once we could take it for granted that most if not all of the champions would be American and probably at least eight of the top ten fighters as well, now we have no alphabet champs from USA and only 3 rated in the Ring's top 10 the last time I looked. The problem is not just with the big guys but extends into the lighter divisions as well and even worse into the amateurs. A few years ago Olympic medals were plentiful but today they are rare. Few Americans are world top 15 rated in any division..
Another sign of decline is the complete lack of any boxing on main network TV. Once we had twice weekly telecasts almost year round. Today many of the newspapers don't report any boxing results and little news. They don't send reporters to the big fights anymore. The sports news programs on TV or radio seldom mention boxing these days. Boxing has become a fringe sport followed mainly by the Latinos (thank God for them) and ignored by the main general population. Many of the die hard fans complain that they can't find anybody else that is still interested in the sport. Big superfights still draw well but people are buying the event and not really the sport in this case. The sport is fine at the top but the foundation is very week.
So what do we do to turn things around? I certainly don't have all the answers but I have a few ideas. Perhaps after you have read this piece you the reader can add a few more suggestions.
Any sport is only as strong as its foundation so the place to start is at the amateur level. Right now it is a mess. We frequently hear from old-timers that many of the trainers of today don't know the basics so how can they teach them to boxers?Other sports have coaching certification programs and boxing should do the same. A few of the most respected trainers should be hired by Boxing USA to run courses to upgrade the knowledge of the other trainers. With better teaching we could eventually expect better results in the ring. Another problem at the amateur level is the practice of putting the officials first instead of the boxers. We hear reports of officials being put up in plush accommodations at major tournaments while the boxers get sent to fleabag hotels. This has to stop or we will continue to lose good young lads from the sport.
Moving into the pro game one thing that would help would be the establishment of national champions in America. The Association of Boxing Commissions could do this. USA is probably the only country where boxing is at all common that does not have national champions. This again would be part of the foundation on which to build new stars to attract new fans.
We would also need to see promoters, especially the big ones take a more long range approach to their business. Today the promoters offer an attractive main event and undercards that are often pure garbage. Instead of filling out their undercard with club fighters with little following they should be showcasing their young guns in competitive matches. They are the future of the game. Look at how they do it in Europe. Every big card is packed with young prospects who soon get to be recognized by the fans since thousands see them fight on these cards. By the time they are ready for a main event fight they are well known and they too can pack the place.
Fighters need to fight more often. If a fan sees a fighter he likes in action he wants to see him again. Now it takes so long between fights that by the time that fighter appears again the fan has forgotten who he is. This is no way to build a fan base. Speaking of fan bases it would help if fighters would fight in their hometowns more often. Remember how Joe Mesi used to draw the big crowds in Buffalo? They knew him and liked him. Would he have been big in Vegas or Florida? Probably not nearly as much so.
Another thing fighters should do is get more reasonable in what they expect to get paid. It is fine for the superstars of the sport to get their millions but there is only a handful of them. The rest are not that great at drawing crowds. If a promotion draws 2000 fans that might result in a gate of $60000 gross. With no TV and rent to pay as well as preliminary fighters and other expenses how can the promoter pay the main event guys $25000 each or more? In the old days the main event fighters usually split about 60% of the gate between them with often no guarantee. Maybe a few fighters need to think about this as a guideline. If you can draw the crowds then you will get paid more.
The Brits have a practice I like. Over there it is common for ordinary club fighters in the preliminaries to sell 2-300 tickets themselves when they appear on a card. Even regular losers get plenty of fights if they can sell tickets.
PPV of course is a great liability to the sport as a whole although it makes a few stars and promoters rich. All other sports offer free TV for their full schedules and playoffs. This is how new fans are created. Boxing shuts them out with PPV so the number of fans dwindles each year. New fans will not buy something they are not yet interested in. They need to see it free in order to get interested. Perhaps the internet could help here. We already get many fights on the net on sites like YouTube on a delayed basis. Why not all the fights on similar sites?Make them free of course. This would not hurt the live gate any and would help create new interest. It would be great to get back on network TV too but realistically that will not happen with the interest level in the sport so low. It has to make business sense for the networks and boxing fans are not big spenders. The demographics for TV advertising are not good. The corrupt reputation of the sport does not help either. Anything that can be done to clean up the image of boxing would sure help.
Finally I think the sport has to be open minded about possible changes in how it is run. One possibility is an increase in the number of tournaments of all kinds. The Super Six has created a lot of interest. The old Contender series was good although many felt there was too much emphasis on the background and too little on the actual fights. In the UK the Prizefighter Series has been hugely popular. Any kind of tournament is good because it gets fighters active in competitive fights. Let's have more of them.
That is about it for my ideas. Now it is the reader's turn. How would you improve things?
Paul McCreath - In the past few years we have seen a gradual decline in boxing in America. The flagship division, the heavyweights has seen the most obvious change. Where once we could take it for granted that most if not all of the champions would be American and probably at least eight of the top ten fighters as well, now we have no alphabet champs from USA and only 3 rated in the Ring's top 10 the last time I looked. The problem is not just with the big guys but extends into the lighter divisions as well and even worse into the amateurs. A few years ago Olympic medals were plentiful but today they are rare. Few Americans are world top 15 rated in any division..
Another sign of decline is the complete lack of any boxing on main network TV. Once we had twice weekly telecasts almost year round. Today many of the newspapers don't report any boxing results and little news. They don't send reporters to the big fights anymore. The sports news programs on TV or radio seldom mention boxing these days. Boxing has become a fringe sport followed mainly by the Latinos (thank God for them) and ignored by the main general population. Many of the die hard fans complain that they can't find anybody else that is still interested in the sport. Big superfights still draw well but people are buying the event and not really the sport in this case. The sport is fine at the top but the foundation is very week.
So what do we do to turn things around? I certainly don't have all the answers but I have a few ideas. Perhaps after you have read this piece you the reader can add a few more suggestions.
Any sport is only as strong as its foundation so the place to start is at the amateur level. Right now it is a mess. We frequently hear from old-timers that many of the trainers of today don't know the basics so how can they teach them to boxers?Other sports have coaching certification programs and boxing should do the same. A few of the most respected trainers should be hired by Boxing USA to run courses to upgrade the knowledge of the other trainers. With better teaching we could eventually expect better results in the ring. Another problem at the amateur level is the practice of putting the officials first instead of the boxers. We hear reports of officials being put up in plush accommodations at major tournaments while the boxers get sent to fleabag hotels. This has to stop or we will continue to lose good young lads from the sport.
Moving into the pro game one thing that would help would be the establishment of national champions in America. The Association of Boxing Commissions could do this. USA is probably the only country where boxing is at all common that does not have national champions. This again would be part of the foundation on which to build new stars to attract new fans.
We would also need to see promoters, especially the big ones take a more long range approach to their business. Today the promoters offer an attractive main event and undercards that are often pure garbage. Instead of filling out their undercard with club fighters with little following they should be showcasing their young guns in competitive matches. They are the future of the game. Look at how they do it in Europe. Every big card is packed with young prospects who soon get to be recognized by the fans since thousands see them fight on these cards. By the time they are ready for a main event fight they are well known and they too can pack the place.
Fighters need to fight more often. If a fan sees a fighter he likes in action he wants to see him again. Now it takes so long between fights that by the time that fighter appears again the fan has forgotten who he is. This is no way to build a fan base. Speaking of fan bases it would help if fighters would fight in their hometowns more often. Remember how Joe Mesi used to draw the big crowds in Buffalo? They knew him and liked him. Would he have been big in Vegas or Florida? Probably not nearly as much so.
Another thing fighters should do is get more reasonable in what they expect to get paid. It is fine for the superstars of the sport to get their millions but there is only a handful of them. The rest are not that great at drawing crowds. If a promotion draws 2000 fans that might result in a gate of $60000 gross. With no TV and rent to pay as well as preliminary fighters and other expenses how can the promoter pay the main event guys $25000 each or more? In the old days the main event fighters usually split about 60% of the gate between them with often no guarantee. Maybe a few fighters need to think about this as a guideline. If you can draw the crowds then you will get paid more.
The Brits have a practice I like. Over there it is common for ordinary club fighters in the preliminaries to sell 2-300 tickets themselves when they appear on a card. Even regular losers get plenty of fights if they can sell tickets.
PPV of course is a great liability to the sport as a whole although it makes a few stars and promoters rich. All other sports offer free TV for their full schedules and playoffs. This is how new fans are created. Boxing shuts them out with PPV so the number of fans dwindles each year. New fans will not buy something they are not yet interested in. They need to see it free in order to get interested. Perhaps the internet could help here. We already get many fights on the net on sites like YouTube on a delayed basis. Why not all the fights on similar sites?Make them free of course. This would not hurt the live gate any and would help create new interest. It would be great to get back on network TV too but realistically that will not happen with the interest level in the sport so low. It has to make business sense for the networks and boxing fans are not big spenders. The demographics for TV advertising are not good. The corrupt reputation of the sport does not help either. Anything that can be done to clean up the image of boxing would sure help.
Finally I think the sport has to be open minded about possible changes in how it is run. One possibility is an increase in the number of tournaments of all kinds. The Super Six has created a lot of interest. The old Contender series was good although many felt there was too much emphasis on the background and too little on the actual fights. In the UK the Prizefighter Series has been hugely popular. Any kind of tournament is good because it gets fighters active in competitive fights. Let's have more of them.
That is about it for my ideas. Now it is the reader's turn. How would you improve things?
Cuban invasion
Another wave of Cuban boxers have defected and hit American shores looking to make their mark in the professional ranks. In the coming weeks and months, you can expect to hear the names of these nine fighters: Yuniesko Gonzales (light heavyweight), Yasnay Consuegra (heavyweight), Pedro Rodriguez (heavyweight), Luis Ortiz (heavyweight), Inocente Fizz (heavyweight), Vilier Quinones (middleweight), Glendys Hernandez (heavyweight), Puro Pairol (featherweight) and Kadel Luis (flyweight). Gonzales and Hernandez made their pro debuts last week.
Fight.news.com
Another wave of Cuban boxers have defected and hit American shores looking to make their mark in the professional ranks. In the coming weeks and months, you can expect to hear the names of these nine fighters: Yuniesko Gonzales (light heavyweight), Yasnay Consuegra (heavyweight), Pedro Rodriguez (heavyweight), Luis Ortiz (heavyweight), Inocente Fizz (heavyweight), Vilier Quinones (middleweight), Glendys Hernandez (heavyweight), Puro Pairol (featherweight) and Kadel Luis (flyweight). Gonzales and Hernandez made their pro debuts last week.
Fight.news.com
