Boxing News Thread
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Roach should get a lot of credit for Pacquiao’s success
By Dave Lahr: Ever since Manny Pacquiao defeated Juan Manuel Marquez by a questionable 12 round decision in March 2008, he’s been in a series of fights with either older guys like Oscar De La Hoya, fighters that have been recently beaten like Miguel Cotto and Ricky Hatton.
I give a lot of credit to Pacquiao’s eagle-eyed trainer Freddie Roach for spotting beatable opponents for Manny. Roach reminds me of an old lion who knows how to spot a lame antelope that’s unable to keep up with the herd. Roach spots an opponent an opponent like De La Hoya, who at 35, was at the end of his career and had been beaten in half of his last six fights going into the Pacquiao fight.
Roach was brilliant with his trained eye, seeing that De La Hoya had slipped a notch and then going after him for a fight against Pacquiao. This was pure genius by the old lion Roach. Those eagle eyes could see what other boxing fans couldn’t when looking at De La Hoya. And then going after Cotto rather than Shane Mosley. Again, great thinking on Roach’s part. Previous to being selected for Pacquiao to fight, Cotto had taken a severe beating by Antonio Margarito in July 2008, in a 11th round stoppage loss.
Cotto didn’t look the same in his fight after the loss to Margarito, struggling to beat Joshua Clottey last year in a 12 round decision that could have gone either way. Roach, being an astute judge of talent, went after Cotto for a fight against Pacquiao. I couldn’t have a better choice myself. Why go after Mosley when you have Cotto, who had just taken a beating not too long before, was available for the pickings?
By Dave Lahr: Ever since Manny Pacquiao defeated Juan Manuel Marquez by a questionable 12 round decision in March 2008, he’s been in a series of fights with either older guys like Oscar De La Hoya, fighters that have been recently beaten like Miguel Cotto and Ricky Hatton.
I give a lot of credit to Pacquiao’s eagle-eyed trainer Freddie Roach for spotting beatable opponents for Manny. Roach reminds me of an old lion who knows how to spot a lame antelope that’s unable to keep up with the herd. Roach spots an opponent an opponent like De La Hoya, who at 35, was at the end of his career and had been beaten in half of his last six fights going into the Pacquiao fight.
Roach was brilliant with his trained eye, seeing that De La Hoya had slipped a notch and then going after him for a fight against Pacquiao. This was pure genius by the old lion Roach. Those eagle eyes could see what other boxing fans couldn’t when looking at De La Hoya. And then going after Cotto rather than Shane Mosley. Again, great thinking on Roach’s part. Previous to being selected for Pacquiao to fight, Cotto had taken a severe beating by Antonio Margarito in July 2008, in a 11th round stoppage loss.
Cotto didn’t look the same in his fight after the loss to Margarito, struggling to beat Joshua Clottey last year in a 12 round decision that could have gone either way. Roach, being an astute judge of talent, went after Cotto for a fight against Pacquiao. I couldn’t have a better choice myself. Why go after Mosley when you have Cotto, who had just taken a beating not too long before, was available for the pickings?
Mayweather-Mosley: Is Shane too much of a plodder to beat Floyd?
By Jason Kim: I like Shane Mosley and think he’s had a great career as a fighter, but I think he may have stepped out of his comfort zone in taking on Floyd Mayweather Jr. Mosley, now 38, used to be a real good mover in his time, but age has been somewhat cruel to him, slowing down his once fast foot speed to the point where Mosley is now more or less a plodding type of welterweight, good mainly for forward and back type of attacks.
Mosley is fine when he has an opponent that stands in front of him and doesn’t move like Antonio Margarito, the last fighter that Mosley beat in a 9th round TKO in January 2009. But if you take Mosley and put him in with a fighter that uses any kinds of lateral movement and angles, Mosley looks hopelessly lost. In looking at Mosley’s defeat against Miguel Cotto, I was astonished how good Cotto’s foot movement was in that fight.
Cotto doesn’t get credit for being good with his feet, but he looked damn good against Mosley in that fight, and was able to shift around enough that he wasn’t standing directly in front of Mosley all the time. Mayweather is way beyond Cotto in moving around the ring, and he’s not going to allow Mosley to set up his offense for a second. I think we’ll see early on that Mosley’s old wheels will be like their stuck in glue as Mayweather uses movement to keep Mosley constantly guessing and unable to land his shots.
I think Mosley would be a handful for Mayweather if Floyd makes the mistake of becoming immobile and letting Mosley have a target to hit. I doubt that Mayweather will ever give the 38-year-old Mosley a chance, because he knows Mosley’s weakness already from having seen Shane’s fights. Why make it easy on the old warrior by standing there and letting him get his shots off.
I think Mosley is still a great fighter and can probably beat all the other welterweights with the exceptions of ones that move a lot around the ring, but I see him being hopelessly lost against Mayweather on May 1st. Mosley can help himself if he can try to get as close as Mayweather as possible so that he can use his punch and clinch technique.
This is a new style of fighting that Mosley used successfully against Margarito, and it worked like a charm against him. If Mayweather isn’t thinking clearly, then Mosley can take advantage of him by staying near him and holding as much as possible to limit the shots that Mayweather is hitting him with. If Mosley can limit Mayweather’s offense to a trickle by clinching, then Mosley could win.
By Jason Kim: I like Shane Mosley and think he’s had a great career as a fighter, but I think he may have stepped out of his comfort zone in taking on Floyd Mayweather Jr. Mosley, now 38, used to be a real good mover in his time, but age has been somewhat cruel to him, slowing down his once fast foot speed to the point where Mosley is now more or less a plodding type of welterweight, good mainly for forward and back type of attacks.
Mosley is fine when he has an opponent that stands in front of him and doesn’t move like Antonio Margarito, the last fighter that Mosley beat in a 9th round TKO in January 2009. But if you take Mosley and put him in with a fighter that uses any kinds of lateral movement and angles, Mosley looks hopelessly lost. In looking at Mosley’s defeat against Miguel Cotto, I was astonished how good Cotto’s foot movement was in that fight.
Cotto doesn’t get credit for being good with his feet, but he looked damn good against Mosley in that fight, and was able to shift around enough that he wasn’t standing directly in front of Mosley all the time. Mayweather is way beyond Cotto in moving around the ring, and he’s not going to allow Mosley to set up his offense for a second. I think we’ll see early on that Mosley’s old wheels will be like their stuck in glue as Mayweather uses movement to keep Mosley constantly guessing and unable to land his shots.
I think Mosley would be a handful for Mayweather if Floyd makes the mistake of becoming immobile and letting Mosley have a target to hit. I doubt that Mayweather will ever give the 38-year-old Mosley a chance, because he knows Mosley’s weakness already from having seen Shane’s fights. Why make it easy on the old warrior by standing there and letting him get his shots off.
I think Mosley is still a great fighter and can probably beat all the other welterweights with the exceptions of ones that move a lot around the ring, but I see him being hopelessly lost against Mayweather on May 1st. Mosley can help himself if he can try to get as close as Mayweather as possible so that he can use his punch and clinch technique.
This is a new style of fighting that Mosley used successfully against Margarito, and it worked like a charm against him. If Mayweather isn’t thinking clearly, then Mosley can take advantage of him by staying near him and holding as much as possible to limit the shots that Mayweather is hitting him with. If Mosley can limit Mayweather’s offense to a trickle by clinching, then Mosley could win.
Pacquiao-Clottey: This fight has mismatch written all over it
By Chris Williams: In looking at the March 13th fight between Joshua Clottey and Manny Pacquiao it doesn’t seem likely that Clottey is going to be able to pull off a win over the faster Pacquiao. This fight appears to have everything in Pacquiao’s favor. You name it, Pacquiao is the much superior fighter. I got to give credit to Top Rank, the promotional team for Pacquiao, they found the perfect opponent for him to not only get a win again but also have a good chance to look against.
However, is Clottey really the best opponent for boxing fans if they wanted to see Pacquiao tested? I mean I’m alright with watching a mismatch every now and then, but I prefer to not know ahead a time about how bad of a mismatch it is so I can save my time and money watching the thing. But this fight has mismatch written all over it from the word go, and it’s somewhat unsettling that the fight is being put on pay-per-view and placed in a huge stadium like the Dallas Cowboy stadium, in Arlington.
It seems to me that those kinds of things should be put aside for fights that are actually supposed to be a competitive afraid, not an organized slaughter. In match making, I know they want to make sure they put Pacquiao in fights that they know he can win, hence Pacquiao not being matched up against the likes of Paul Williams.
It’s about match making and keeping your fighter in fights that they can actually win, but for me, I hate the idea of watching a fight that’s a mismatch going in. What’s the point if you know one of the fighters has basically no chance of winning. Yeah, I know Clottey technically has a slight chance of beating Pacquiao, but I see it as being so small that it’s not even appealing.
If I wanted to see a slaughter, I’d watch one of the free fights that they show on one Friday nights where they match a top prospect against a scrub fighter. It’s about as interesting watching those fights as it will probably be to watch Pacquiao beat up on a vastly over-matched Clottey. Again, I don’t mind seeing a mismatch, but not one that I have to pay to see. And when you look at how crummy the undercard is, it makes it even worse
By Chris Williams: In looking at the March 13th fight between Joshua Clottey and Manny Pacquiao it doesn’t seem likely that Clottey is going to be able to pull off a win over the faster Pacquiao. This fight appears to have everything in Pacquiao’s favor. You name it, Pacquiao is the much superior fighter. I got to give credit to Top Rank, the promotional team for Pacquiao, they found the perfect opponent for him to not only get a win again but also have a good chance to look against.
However, is Clottey really the best opponent for boxing fans if they wanted to see Pacquiao tested? I mean I’m alright with watching a mismatch every now and then, but I prefer to not know ahead a time about how bad of a mismatch it is so I can save my time and money watching the thing. But this fight has mismatch written all over it from the word go, and it’s somewhat unsettling that the fight is being put on pay-per-view and placed in a huge stadium like the Dallas Cowboy stadium, in Arlington.
It seems to me that those kinds of things should be put aside for fights that are actually supposed to be a competitive afraid, not an organized slaughter. In match making, I know they want to make sure they put Pacquiao in fights that they know he can win, hence Pacquiao not being matched up against the likes of Paul Williams.
It’s about match making and keeping your fighter in fights that they can actually win, but for me, I hate the idea of watching a fight that’s a mismatch going in. What’s the point if you know one of the fighters has basically no chance of winning. Yeah, I know Clottey technically has a slight chance of beating Pacquiao, but I see it as being so small that it’s not even appealing.
If I wanted to see a slaughter, I’d watch one of the free fights that they show on one Friday nights where they match a top prospect against a scrub fighter. It’s about as interesting watching those fights as it will probably be to watch Pacquiao beat up on a vastly over-matched Clottey. Again, I don’t mind seeing a mismatch, but not one that I have to pay to see. And when you look at how crummy the undercard is, it makes it even worse
Mayweather says he could have made $200 million fighting stiffs
By Dan Ambrose: In an article by Ron Borges at the Sweetscience.com, Floyd Mayweather Jr. (40-0, 25 KO’s) talks about why he’s chosen to fight World Boxing Association welterweight champion Shane Mosley (46-5, 39 KO’s), saying “I could have easily gone on a world tour fighting stiffs and made $200 million but it’s about testing my skills against fighters of my era.” I guess this is why Mayweather fought lightweight Juan Manuel Marquez in his last fight in September. It was about testing his abilities against the best fighters.
Mayweather will be facing Mosley on May 1st at the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Before Mayweather’s fight against Marquez last year, Mayweather had been out of boxing for two years after retiring shortly after his fight against light welterweight Ricky Hatton in December 2007. Mayweather came back last year to make money. He immediately eyed Manny Pacquiao for a fight that would have made him and the Filipino star a huge amount of money each.
However, Mayweather messed things up by insisting on random blood tests to take place leading up to the fight. Eventually, Mayweather’s fight with Pacquiao went down the drain over this very issue. Now Mayweather is looking to fight Mosley in May, and then if he gets out of that fight in one piece, try to work out a fight against Pacquiao later on in 2010.
It’s doubtful that Mayweather could make $200 million fighting stiffs. For that to happen, Floyd would have had to stick around for a lot longer than he’d like and risk taking all kinds of punishment along the way. At 32, Mayweather has yet to show signs of slowing down as a fighter, but as we’ve seen in the case of Roy Jones Jr., another fighter who relies on fast hand speed, Mayweather could start showing problems of slowing down by the time he reaches his mid 30s. By then, he could be finding himself having big problems against even stiffs if he’s still fighting by then.
As for Mosley, Mayweather says that he plans on fighting smart, and focusing on out-boxing the older, less mobile Shane. Mayweather obviously won’t be trying to stand in front of Mosley, not after seeing what happened to Antonio Margarito in Mosley’s last fight. Margarito had little foot movement and was a sitting duck for Mosley’s in and out attacks in their January 2009 fight.
Mosley ended up taking the fight by a 9th round stoppage. The win was a real eye opener for some fans, which saw Mosley as being past it due to his poor performance against Ricardo Mayorga in the fight prior to Margarito in September 2008. However, Mosley looked completely revitalized against Margarito, and fought like his old self from years earlier.
The question is whether we’ll be seeing the Mosley that fought Margarito or the one that struggled to beat Mayorga when he steps in the ring to face Mayweather. It might not matter which version of Mosley we see. Mayweather might be too good for Mosley anyway. Mayweather’s style of fighting, in which he uses movement and pin point strikes is one that Mosley isn’t really accustomed to facing. Indeed, Mosley perhaps has never come close to fighting anyone like Mayweather before. For this reason, it’s difficult to say for sure how Mosley will react to Mayweather’s style of fighting
By Dan Ambrose: In an article by Ron Borges at the Sweetscience.com, Floyd Mayweather Jr. (40-0, 25 KO’s) talks about why he’s chosen to fight World Boxing Association welterweight champion Shane Mosley (46-5, 39 KO’s), saying “I could have easily gone on a world tour fighting stiffs and made $200 million but it’s about testing my skills against fighters of my era.” I guess this is why Mayweather fought lightweight Juan Manuel Marquez in his last fight in September. It was about testing his abilities against the best fighters.
Mayweather will be facing Mosley on May 1st at the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Before Mayweather’s fight against Marquez last year, Mayweather had been out of boxing for two years after retiring shortly after his fight against light welterweight Ricky Hatton in December 2007. Mayweather came back last year to make money. He immediately eyed Manny Pacquiao for a fight that would have made him and the Filipino star a huge amount of money each.
However, Mayweather messed things up by insisting on random blood tests to take place leading up to the fight. Eventually, Mayweather’s fight with Pacquiao went down the drain over this very issue. Now Mayweather is looking to fight Mosley in May, and then if he gets out of that fight in one piece, try to work out a fight against Pacquiao later on in 2010.
It’s doubtful that Mayweather could make $200 million fighting stiffs. For that to happen, Floyd would have had to stick around for a lot longer than he’d like and risk taking all kinds of punishment along the way. At 32, Mayweather has yet to show signs of slowing down as a fighter, but as we’ve seen in the case of Roy Jones Jr., another fighter who relies on fast hand speed, Mayweather could start showing problems of slowing down by the time he reaches his mid 30s. By then, he could be finding himself having big problems against even stiffs if he’s still fighting by then.
As for Mosley, Mayweather says that he plans on fighting smart, and focusing on out-boxing the older, less mobile Shane. Mayweather obviously won’t be trying to stand in front of Mosley, not after seeing what happened to Antonio Margarito in Mosley’s last fight. Margarito had little foot movement and was a sitting duck for Mosley’s in and out attacks in their January 2009 fight.
Mosley ended up taking the fight by a 9th round stoppage. The win was a real eye opener for some fans, which saw Mosley as being past it due to his poor performance against Ricardo Mayorga in the fight prior to Margarito in September 2008. However, Mosley looked completely revitalized against Margarito, and fought like his old self from years earlier.
The question is whether we’ll be seeing the Mosley that fought Margarito or the one that struggled to beat Mayorga when he steps in the ring to face Mayweather. It might not matter which version of Mosley we see. Mayweather might be too good for Mosley anyway. Mayweather’s style of fighting, in which he uses movement and pin point strikes is one that Mosley isn’t really accustomed to facing. Indeed, Mosley perhaps has never come close to fighting anyone like Mayweather before. For this reason, it’s difficult to say for sure how Mosley will react to Mayweather’s style of fighting
Ward, Valero, Bradley, Berto: Why Boxing is Better than Ever
By Alexander Fugate: Many in the mainstream media have been insisting for years that boxing is dead. Nothing could be further from the truth. They point to the popularity of UFC and say it’s taken over boxing. That’s interesting considering in the last UFC PPV, UFC 109, the headliner Randy Couture got a whopping $250,000 for his winning effort against Mark Coleman. That was the most of any contestant that night. If Mayweather-Pacquiao ever happens both stand to earn between $30-$40 million.
The top earner in the UFC just got a quarter of a million. Dana White, head of the UFC, moved a PPV event from May 1st to May 8th when he found out that Mayweather-Mosley was going to fight the same night. In September 2009, UFC went head-to-head with Mayweather-Marquez. The boxing match over doubled UFC’s PPV buys getting over a million to around 400,000 for the mixed martial arts contest.
With fighters such as Bradley, Alexander, Khan, Maidana, and Valero on the cusp of being PPV stars and household names, the future of boxing looks great. All these fighters are all in or close in weight division. Marquez has reportedly turned down a bout with Khan, because in case of a loss he doesn’t want to be seen as a stepping stone for Khan. Eventually Marquez will probably be a stepping stone for one of these fighters; the adage “The ring retires fighters” seems to be true. And the people that beat the greats at the end of their career go on to become big draws and big stars themselves.
One can’t overrate how great the Super Six tournament is. Never has there been any event like this in boxing before. The top six fighters at the super middleweight division in a tournament to crown the best! Andre Ward is building his name recognition and resume. The young American is only 25 years old and possesses a record of 21-0-0 with 13 knockouts. He was an underdog entering the Super Six and was considered a long-shot to win it, but after handing Mikkel Kessler only the second loss of his career, he is now one of the favorites. The world west of the Atlantic is now being forced to pay attention to “King” Arthur Abraham. He has a defense and style similar to Winky Wright and with a record of 31-0 with 25 knockouts should be a force in the middleweight and super-middleweight divisions for years to come. The young Andre Dirrell is Abraham’s next opponent in this exciting tournament. Dirrell is a 26 year old with amazing hand-speed and his only professional loss was in round one of the Super Six against Carl Froch. Froch is 26-0; that is an impressive record with wins over some top tier opponents, yet 26 professional bouts seems a low number for a 32 year old. Froch is from the United Kingdom, and like Kessler and Abraham has had relatively little press in the states. Regardless of the outcome of this tournament, it will only enhance all the competitor’s name and the image of boxing to the mainstream media.
The welterweight division is obviously the big one right now with Pacquiao, Mayweather, and Mosley all in the same division and all considered top 10 and by many top five pound-for-pound boxers. Andre Berto is also in the welterweight division. Berto recently pulled out of a bout with Mosley due to the tragedy in Haiti which claimed the lives of several members of his family. Berto is a top young prospect. He is relatively untested thus far, but when he is mentally healthy enough to return, he looks destined to get big fights and possibly take over the division in a few years.
What happens if Mayweather beats Mosley and then Mayweather-Pacquiao happens and both stars retire? That seems very likely now. Personally, I believe Mayweather-Pacquiao will happen later this year. I see maybe one or two more fights for both before “retiring”; but “the ring retires fighters” and not the other way around. Both could come back to the sport. I think Mayweather definitely will after a year or two. Much has been made of Mayweather flaunting his “0” but I firmly believe his ego and/or spending habits will keep him fighting until that goose egg disappears. Remember he is just turning 33 and Pacquiao is only 31. Mosley is fighting at an elite level at 38. A 43 year-old Hopkins gave a top fighter a lesson in boxing, putting on a clinic against the young Kelly Pavlik.
Which brings us to the middleweight division, where Pavlik looks to be taking his first big test since losing to Hopkins. It appears Pavlik will be fighting junior middleweight champion Sergio Martinez this spring. Paul Williams is an exciting and talented fighter that will fight anywhere between 147 and 160. He won a close decision against Martinez and was scheduled to fight Pavlik twice but a lingering staph infection kept Pavlik out of the ring for a while. Now it appears he could face the hard-hitting Kermit Cintron later this year. Cintron has knockout power and his only two losses are to Antonio Margarito, and since he got caught with plaster in his hand wraps, the legitimacy of these losses have been questioned. Most boxing fans would love to see Mayweather or Pacquiao test their skills against Williams. That could be difficult though, since both Mayweather and Williams have the same manager, Al Haymon. It seems unlikely that a skilled manager such as Haymon would put his two biggest money-makers against each other. More than likely the loser would lose profitability and drawing power. However, if Mayweather can get by Mosley and Pacquiao there will be few, if any, other plausible opponents. It could happen, with Mayweather retiring again after the bout regardless of the outcome. Then Haymon would only stand to gain by pitting the two stars against each other. Pacquiao probably won’t ever give Williams a match simply because Williams would have an almost seven inch height advantage. Williams doesn’t fight in a style that utilizes his height advantage, but still a height difference that large would be extremely difficult to overcome.
The demise of boxing that some have been saying is inevitable for years now, isn’t even visible on the horizon. With young fighters such as Ward, Dirrell, Bradley, Khan, Berto, Valero, and many others boxing could be on the verge of another Golden Era.
By Alexander Fugate: Many in the mainstream media have been insisting for years that boxing is dead. Nothing could be further from the truth. They point to the popularity of UFC and say it’s taken over boxing. That’s interesting considering in the last UFC PPV, UFC 109, the headliner Randy Couture got a whopping $250,000 for his winning effort against Mark Coleman. That was the most of any contestant that night. If Mayweather-Pacquiao ever happens both stand to earn between $30-$40 million.
The top earner in the UFC just got a quarter of a million. Dana White, head of the UFC, moved a PPV event from May 1st to May 8th when he found out that Mayweather-Mosley was going to fight the same night. In September 2009, UFC went head-to-head with Mayweather-Marquez. The boxing match over doubled UFC’s PPV buys getting over a million to around 400,000 for the mixed martial arts contest.
With fighters such as Bradley, Alexander, Khan, Maidana, and Valero on the cusp of being PPV stars and household names, the future of boxing looks great. All these fighters are all in or close in weight division. Marquez has reportedly turned down a bout with Khan, because in case of a loss he doesn’t want to be seen as a stepping stone for Khan. Eventually Marquez will probably be a stepping stone for one of these fighters; the adage “The ring retires fighters” seems to be true. And the people that beat the greats at the end of their career go on to become big draws and big stars themselves.
One can’t overrate how great the Super Six tournament is. Never has there been any event like this in boxing before. The top six fighters at the super middleweight division in a tournament to crown the best! Andre Ward is building his name recognition and resume. The young American is only 25 years old and possesses a record of 21-0-0 with 13 knockouts. He was an underdog entering the Super Six and was considered a long-shot to win it, but after handing Mikkel Kessler only the second loss of his career, he is now one of the favorites. The world west of the Atlantic is now being forced to pay attention to “King” Arthur Abraham. He has a defense and style similar to Winky Wright and with a record of 31-0 with 25 knockouts should be a force in the middleweight and super-middleweight divisions for years to come. The young Andre Dirrell is Abraham’s next opponent in this exciting tournament. Dirrell is a 26 year old with amazing hand-speed and his only professional loss was in round one of the Super Six against Carl Froch. Froch is 26-0; that is an impressive record with wins over some top tier opponents, yet 26 professional bouts seems a low number for a 32 year old. Froch is from the United Kingdom, and like Kessler and Abraham has had relatively little press in the states. Regardless of the outcome of this tournament, it will only enhance all the competitor’s name and the image of boxing to the mainstream media.
The welterweight division is obviously the big one right now with Pacquiao, Mayweather, and Mosley all in the same division and all considered top 10 and by many top five pound-for-pound boxers. Andre Berto is also in the welterweight division. Berto recently pulled out of a bout with Mosley due to the tragedy in Haiti which claimed the lives of several members of his family. Berto is a top young prospect. He is relatively untested thus far, but when he is mentally healthy enough to return, he looks destined to get big fights and possibly take over the division in a few years.
What happens if Mayweather beats Mosley and then Mayweather-Pacquiao happens and both stars retire? That seems very likely now. Personally, I believe Mayweather-Pacquiao will happen later this year. I see maybe one or two more fights for both before “retiring”; but “the ring retires fighters” and not the other way around. Both could come back to the sport. I think Mayweather definitely will after a year or two. Much has been made of Mayweather flaunting his “0” but I firmly believe his ego and/or spending habits will keep him fighting until that goose egg disappears. Remember he is just turning 33 and Pacquiao is only 31. Mosley is fighting at an elite level at 38. A 43 year-old Hopkins gave a top fighter a lesson in boxing, putting on a clinic against the young Kelly Pavlik.
Which brings us to the middleweight division, where Pavlik looks to be taking his first big test since losing to Hopkins. It appears Pavlik will be fighting junior middleweight champion Sergio Martinez this spring. Paul Williams is an exciting and talented fighter that will fight anywhere between 147 and 160. He won a close decision against Martinez and was scheduled to fight Pavlik twice but a lingering staph infection kept Pavlik out of the ring for a while. Now it appears he could face the hard-hitting Kermit Cintron later this year. Cintron has knockout power and his only two losses are to Antonio Margarito, and since he got caught with plaster in his hand wraps, the legitimacy of these losses have been questioned. Most boxing fans would love to see Mayweather or Pacquiao test their skills against Williams. That could be difficult though, since both Mayweather and Williams have the same manager, Al Haymon. It seems unlikely that a skilled manager such as Haymon would put his two biggest money-makers against each other. More than likely the loser would lose profitability and drawing power. However, if Mayweather can get by Mosley and Pacquiao there will be few, if any, other plausible opponents. It could happen, with Mayweather retiring again after the bout regardless of the outcome. Then Haymon would only stand to gain by pitting the two stars against each other. Pacquiao probably won’t ever give Williams a match simply because Williams would have an almost seven inch height advantage. Williams doesn’t fight in a style that utilizes his height advantage, but still a height difference that large would be extremely difficult to overcome.
The demise of boxing that some have been saying is inevitable for years now, isn’t even visible on the horizon. With young fighters such as Ward, Dirrell, Bradley, Khan, Berto, Valero, and many others boxing could be on the verge of another Golden Era.
Winky Wright heading to Top Rank, could fight Pavlik in 2010 – News
By Jason Kim: Former IBF/WBA/World Boxing Council light middleweight champion Ronald “Winky” Wright (51-5-1, 25 KO’s) is looking to leave Golden Boy Promotions and sign with Top Rank, according to the latest news. Wright, now 38, has been frustrated by his inability to land fights in the past few years. Wright has only fought once in the last three years, losing a lopsided 12 round decision to Paul Williams in April 2009.
Before that, Wright hadn’t fought since losing a 12 round unanimous decision to Bernard Hopkins in July 2007. An advantage that Wright would have in signing with Top Rank, the same company that promotes Manny Pacquiao, is that Wright could have an opportunity to face WBC/WBO middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik later on down the road in 2010 or 2011.
Pavlik has had problems finding appealing big named stars to fight in the middleweight division, and Wright would at least give Pavlik an opponent with a recognizable name for a change. Beyond that, there’s also the potential of a fight against former WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto, who also fights for Top Rank, as does World Boxing Association light middleweight champion Yuri Foreman.
Wright looked poor in his last fight against Williams last year. Wright, a fighter who likes to throw a lot of jabs, was overrun by the high volume offense of Williams and simply couldn’t keep up with all the punches that were being thrown at him. Wright ended up taking a lot of punishment in that fight despite having a reputation for being very skilled defensively. Williams overloaded Wrights’ defense with nonstop punches, making it impossible for Wright to block them all.
A fight with Pavlik would be interesting. Wright has the jab and the defense to give a fighter like Pavlik problems. Pavlik is very deliberate with his offense, has only a few basic punches that he likes to throw over and over again and isn’t very fast in terms of hand speed. Wright might do well in bottling up Pavlik’s offense much in the same way that Wright shut down the offense on former welterweight champion Felix Trinidad in dominating 12 round unanimous decision in 2005. Trinidad was never able to get through Wright’s high guard and couldn’t deal with his powerful jabs as well.
If Wright signs with Top Rank, look for him to fight on the undercard of the Yuri Foreman vs. Miguel Cotto fight in June. This will give Wright some good visibility with boxing fans and help set him up for a shot against Pavlik for later in 2011 or early 2011.
Wright doesn’t have a whole lot of time left in his career. He turns 39 in November. He’s lost his last two fights, and unless he’s someone that is ageless like Hopkins, Wright could be nearing the end of his great career. As such, Wright needs to get to get the best fights possible while he still has time. Pavlik and Cotto would be great fights for Wright, and hopefully Top Rank can make it happen.
By Jason Kim: Former IBF/WBA/World Boxing Council light middleweight champion Ronald “Winky” Wright (51-5-1, 25 KO’s) is looking to leave Golden Boy Promotions and sign with Top Rank, according to the latest news. Wright, now 38, has been frustrated by his inability to land fights in the past few years. Wright has only fought once in the last three years, losing a lopsided 12 round decision to Paul Williams in April 2009.
Before that, Wright hadn’t fought since losing a 12 round unanimous decision to Bernard Hopkins in July 2007. An advantage that Wright would have in signing with Top Rank, the same company that promotes Manny Pacquiao, is that Wright could have an opportunity to face WBC/WBO middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik later on down the road in 2010 or 2011.
Pavlik has had problems finding appealing big named stars to fight in the middleweight division, and Wright would at least give Pavlik an opponent with a recognizable name for a change. Beyond that, there’s also the potential of a fight against former WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto, who also fights for Top Rank, as does World Boxing Association light middleweight champion Yuri Foreman.
Wright looked poor in his last fight against Williams last year. Wright, a fighter who likes to throw a lot of jabs, was overrun by the high volume offense of Williams and simply couldn’t keep up with all the punches that were being thrown at him. Wright ended up taking a lot of punishment in that fight despite having a reputation for being very skilled defensively. Williams overloaded Wrights’ defense with nonstop punches, making it impossible for Wright to block them all.
A fight with Pavlik would be interesting. Wright has the jab and the defense to give a fighter like Pavlik problems. Pavlik is very deliberate with his offense, has only a few basic punches that he likes to throw over and over again and isn’t very fast in terms of hand speed. Wright might do well in bottling up Pavlik’s offense much in the same way that Wright shut down the offense on former welterweight champion Felix Trinidad in dominating 12 round unanimous decision in 2005. Trinidad was never able to get through Wright’s high guard and couldn’t deal with his powerful jabs as well.
If Wright signs with Top Rank, look for him to fight on the undercard of the Yuri Foreman vs. Miguel Cotto fight in June. This will give Wright some good visibility with boxing fans and help set him up for a shot against Pavlik for later in 2011 or early 2011.
Wright doesn’t have a whole lot of time left in his career. He turns 39 in November. He’s lost his last two fights, and unless he’s someone that is ageless like Hopkins, Wright could be nearing the end of his great career. As such, Wright needs to get to get the best fights possible while he still has time. Pavlik and Cotto would be great fights for Wright, and hopefully Top Rank can make it happen.
Timothy Bradley = the Mayweather of the light welterweight division
By Jim Dower: World Boxing Organization light welterweight champion Timothy Bradley (25-0, 11 KO’s) is quickly finding out the painful results of being considered the best fighter in the light welterweight division. None of the top fighters are interested in fighting Bradley. Amir Khan, Zab Judah, Marcos Maidana, and even Edwin Valero are thrilled at getting in the ring and trying their luck against Bradley. And who can blame them for not wanting to fight him.
Bradley appears to be the equivalent of Floyd Mayweather Jr. for the light welterweight division. Bradley is so good that few of his opponents are able to do much against him. Granted, Bradley was knocked down twice by Kendall Holt in their bout last year in April, but beyond those two knockdowns, Bradley dominated the other rounds of the fight.
In 2009, Bradley defeated Holt and Lamont Peterson. Bradley also fought former lightweight champion Nate Campbell in August. Their fight resulted in a 3 round no contest. Bradley looked to be on his way to winning that fight after dominating all three rounds.
As good as Bradley is, he may have to move up to the welterweight division if he wants to continue to get fights. The other top light welterweights aren’t in a hurry to face Bradley and thus risk getting beaten and have their market value lowered in doing so. It’s sad, because Bradley needs to be facing the other top fighters in the light welterweight division if he wants to become a mega star like Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, but if the other top fighters in the division are unwilling to fight him, what can he do?
Khan would be a great fight for Bradley. However, there’s no way that Golden Boy Promotions is going to put Khan in with Bradley and face an almost certain loss. It’s not that Bradley is a huge puncher, because he doesn’t hit as hard as some of the big punchers like Maidana, Holt and Ricardo Torres.
However, Bradley has good speed, an excellent inside game and certain sense of toughness that enables him to beat fighters that are bigger and stronger than him. But the harsh reality is that Bradley is probably going to have to move up to welterweight if he wants to get some interesting bouts. He doesn’t have to stay at that weight class, because he can always back and forth depending upon the opponents available, but he needs to seek out fighters from both divisions to ensure that he’s getting the best fights and building his name up.
It’s the same predicament that former welterweight champion Paul Williams found himself in while fighting at welterweight. After being ignored by the other top welterweights after he defeated Antonio Margarito, Williams was finally forced to move up to the light middleweight and then middleweight divisions just to find opponents.
By Jim Dower: World Boxing Organization light welterweight champion Timothy Bradley (25-0, 11 KO’s) is quickly finding out the painful results of being considered the best fighter in the light welterweight division. None of the top fighters are interested in fighting Bradley. Amir Khan, Zab Judah, Marcos Maidana, and even Edwin Valero are thrilled at getting in the ring and trying their luck against Bradley. And who can blame them for not wanting to fight him.
Bradley appears to be the equivalent of Floyd Mayweather Jr. for the light welterweight division. Bradley is so good that few of his opponents are able to do much against him. Granted, Bradley was knocked down twice by Kendall Holt in their bout last year in April, but beyond those two knockdowns, Bradley dominated the other rounds of the fight.
In 2009, Bradley defeated Holt and Lamont Peterson. Bradley also fought former lightweight champion Nate Campbell in August. Their fight resulted in a 3 round no contest. Bradley looked to be on his way to winning that fight after dominating all three rounds.
As good as Bradley is, he may have to move up to the welterweight division if he wants to continue to get fights. The other top light welterweights aren’t in a hurry to face Bradley and thus risk getting beaten and have their market value lowered in doing so. It’s sad, because Bradley needs to be facing the other top fighters in the light welterweight division if he wants to become a mega star like Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, but if the other top fighters in the division are unwilling to fight him, what can he do?
Khan would be a great fight for Bradley. However, there’s no way that Golden Boy Promotions is going to put Khan in with Bradley and face an almost certain loss. It’s not that Bradley is a huge puncher, because he doesn’t hit as hard as some of the big punchers like Maidana, Holt and Ricardo Torres.
However, Bradley has good speed, an excellent inside game and certain sense of toughness that enables him to beat fighters that are bigger and stronger than him. But the harsh reality is that Bradley is probably going to have to move up to welterweight if he wants to get some interesting bouts. He doesn’t have to stay at that weight class, because he can always back and forth depending upon the opponents available, but he needs to seek out fighters from both divisions to ensure that he’s getting the best fights and building his name up.
It’s the same predicament that former welterweight champion Paul Williams found himself in while fighting at welterweight. After being ignored by the other top welterweights after he defeated Antonio Margarito, Williams was finally forced to move up to the light middleweight and then middleweight divisions just to find opponents.
Well, the welterweight division just got a lil more interesting if P-Will does in fact return...
Kermit Cintron to Paul Williams: Let's do it at welterweight!
Former welterweight champion Kermit Cintron has no issue facing Paul Williams at any weight between welterweight and junior middleweight. Impeccable sources inform us that Cintron would have no issue making welterweight for the proposed May 8 date HBO is holding for Williams.
Kermit Cintron to Paul Williams: Let's do it at welterweight!
Former welterweight champion Kermit Cintron has no issue facing Paul Williams at any weight between welterweight and junior middleweight. Impeccable sources inform us that Cintron would have no issue making welterweight for the proposed May 8 date HBO is holding for Williams.
Arum could move Cotto-Foreman to Yankee Stadium – News
By Chris Williams: The June 12th fight between World Boxing Association light middleweight champion Yuri Foreman (28-0, 8 KO’s) and former WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto (34-2, 27 KO’s) could be moved to the Yankee Stadium, in New York City, according to the Los Angeles Times. Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, who promotes both Foreman and Cotto, is looking to move the fight from the Madison Square Garden, in New York, to the much bigger Yankee Stadium. Obviously Arum smells more money in moving the fight.
The date of the fight would have to change to either June 5th or June 26th, because the Yankee Stadium is being used on June 12th by the New York Yankees baseball team. Foreman’s publicist Dovid Efune thinks the Cotto-Foreman fight will big, especially among the Jewish community in New York. The fight may be of big interest in the New York area.
However, it’s unlikely to draw much interest away from the East Coast, as few casual boxing fans have any idea who Foreman is despite the fact that he has a flashy 28-0 record. Most of the wins have come against 2nd tier opposition, though, and Foreman’s hit and run style of fighting is off putting for some boxing fans. Additionally, some fans see Foreman as a paper champion, and feel that Cotto is moving up in weight from the welterweight division to try and pick up an empty title add to his fight resume.
Whatever the case, Foreman might be a good opponent for Cotto right now if Miguel can figure out a way to deal with Foreman’s constant clinching and running style of fighting. It won’t be easy for Cotto, because Foreman isn’t easy to hit because he runs after hitting his opponents and grabs them when they get close to him.
It’s a style of fighting that has been used by John Ruiz and Bernard Hopkins to some extent with great effectiveness. Foreman doesn’t need a lot of power to win with a style like this because his legs does a lot of the work for him by keep him out of harm’s way. And when you add to that Foreman’s tendency to dive in head first and grab his opponents for a clinch after hitting them, it makes him very hard to beat.
Cotto could end up looking really silly and losing badly. Foreman will have a four inch height advantage over the 5’7” Cotto. And that alone will make it tough on Cotto. However, at least Cotto won’t have to worry about being knocked out in this fight. Cotto has taken a beating in three of his fights against Antonio Margarito, Joshua Clottey and Manny Pacquiao in the past two years, and this fight will at least give Cotto a rest from taking a lot of punishment.
Cotto could end up getting badly cut from Foreman, though, because with his head first style of fighting it’s resulted in bad head butts occurring in his last two fights. Whether Cotto wins or loses, it’s doubtful he’ll look good in this fight. Foreman has a way of making many of his opponents look bad.
Its unclear how many fans would show up for this fight? Yankee Stadium is huge, and it might look a little odd if only 10,000 fans show up to a stadium that seats 50,000.
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By Chris Williams: The June 12th fight between World Boxing Association light middleweight champion Yuri Foreman (28-0, 8 KO’s) and former WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto (34-2, 27 KO’s) could be moved to the Yankee Stadium, in New York City, according to the Los Angeles Times. Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, who promotes both Foreman and Cotto, is looking to move the fight from the Madison Square Garden, in New York, to the much bigger Yankee Stadium. Obviously Arum smells more money in moving the fight.
The date of the fight would have to change to either June 5th or June 26th, because the Yankee Stadium is being used on June 12th by the New York Yankees baseball team. Foreman’s publicist Dovid Efune thinks the Cotto-Foreman fight will big, especially among the Jewish community in New York. The fight may be of big interest in the New York area.
However, it’s unlikely to draw much interest away from the East Coast, as few casual boxing fans have any idea who Foreman is despite the fact that he has a flashy 28-0 record. Most of the wins have come against 2nd tier opposition, though, and Foreman’s hit and run style of fighting is off putting for some boxing fans. Additionally, some fans see Foreman as a paper champion, and feel that Cotto is moving up in weight from the welterweight division to try and pick up an empty title add to his fight resume.
Whatever the case, Foreman might be a good opponent for Cotto right now if Miguel can figure out a way to deal with Foreman’s constant clinching and running style of fighting. It won’t be easy for Cotto, because Foreman isn’t easy to hit because he runs after hitting his opponents and grabs them when they get close to him.
It’s a style of fighting that has been used by John Ruiz and Bernard Hopkins to some extent with great effectiveness. Foreman doesn’t need a lot of power to win with a style like this because his legs does a lot of the work for him by keep him out of harm’s way. And when you add to that Foreman’s tendency to dive in head first and grab his opponents for a clinch after hitting them, it makes him very hard to beat.
Cotto could end up looking really silly and losing badly. Foreman will have a four inch height advantage over the 5’7” Cotto. And that alone will make it tough on Cotto. However, at least Cotto won’t have to worry about being knocked out in this fight. Cotto has taken a beating in three of his fights against Antonio Margarito, Joshua Clottey and Manny Pacquiao in the past two years, and this fight will at least give Cotto a rest from taking a lot of punishment.
Cotto could end up getting badly cut from Foreman, though, because with his head first style of fighting it’s resulted in bad head butts occurring in his last two fights. Whether Cotto wins or loses, it’s doubtful he’ll look good in this fight. Foreman has a way of making many of his opponents look bad.
Its unclear how many fans would show up for this fight? Yankee Stadium is huge, and it might look a little odd if only 10,000 fans show up to a stadium that seats 50,000.
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Guerrero vacates title to care for wife
3:44 PM
By Dispatch Sports Staff
GILROY - Current IBF Junior Lightweight World Title holder Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero announced today that he is vacating his title in order to continue to care for his wife Casey, who is battling leukemia.
"It is with great regret that I am relinquishing the junior lightweight championship of the world that I, along with my team, worked so hard to capture," Guerrero was quoted as saying in a press release. "I feel that it is in the best interest of the sport and the fans that I care so deeply for to give someone else a chance to fulfill their dream of becoming a World Champion."
Last week, the 26-year-old Gilroy native withdrew from a bout with Michael Katsidis scheduled for March 27 to be by his wife's side as she recovers from a bone marrow transplant she received two weeks ago.
Casey was diagnosed with cancer in 2007. Guerrero and his family are now waiting to see if he body will take to the transplant she received.
"I am now focused on the love of my life, my wife Casey, as undoubtedly we face the greatest opponent of our life, cancer" Guerrero said in the press release. "Whatever the outcome, our faith in Jesus Christ will get us through. Thank you for the prayers and support. God bless."
yea so hes gunna be out for a while..but me and robert gunna go see his wife tommarow and ill give some updates to her condition...i heard she doing better..
3:44 PM
By Dispatch Sports Staff
GILROY - Current IBF Junior Lightweight World Title holder Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero announced today that he is vacating his title in order to continue to care for his wife Casey, who is battling leukemia.
"It is with great regret that I am relinquishing the junior lightweight championship of the world that I, along with my team, worked so hard to capture," Guerrero was quoted as saying in a press release. "I feel that it is in the best interest of the sport and the fans that I care so deeply for to give someone else a chance to fulfill their dream of becoming a World Champion."
Last week, the 26-year-old Gilroy native withdrew from a bout with Michael Katsidis scheduled for March 27 to be by his wife's side as she recovers from a bone marrow transplant she received two weeks ago.
Casey was diagnosed with cancer in 2007. Guerrero and his family are now waiting to see if he body will take to the transplant she received.
"I am now focused on the love of my life, my wife Casey, as undoubtedly we face the greatest opponent of our life, cancer" Guerrero said in the press release. "Whatever the outcome, our faith in Jesus Christ will get us through. Thank you for the prayers and support. God bless."
yea so hes gunna be out for a while..but me and robert gunna go see his wife tommarow and ill give some updates to her condition...i heard she doing better..
Pacquiao: “I think Mosley will win” against Mayweather
By Chris Williams: Manny Pacquiao is saying that he believes World Boxing Association welterweight champion Shane Mosley will beat Floyd Mayweather Jr. in their upcoming May 1st bout at the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas, Nevada. In an article at Fightfan, Pacquiao says “I think Mosley will win.” Pacquiao feels that it will be an entertaining bout, saying “I think Mayweather vs. Mosley will be a good fight.” It’s good to see that Pacquiao isn’t bitter about his fight with Mayweather falling apart recently during the negotiation process.
A lot of boxers would likely be a little angry if they were in the same shoes as Pacquiao. The fighters had gone though the loss process of negotiations for a fight on March 13th, but when they got to the part about random blood testing, they quickly reached an impassible impasse due to Mayweather’ request of having random blood tests inside the 30 day window.
Eventually, Pacquiao and his promotional company Top Rank moved on and signed a fight with little known Joshua Clottey instead. Pacquiao fans are generally excited about the Clottey fight, whereas casual Pacquiao fans are lukewarm to the selection of Clottey as a replacement opponent for Mayweather.
Mosley, 38, will have to fight beyond what he’s shown in recent fights if he wants to beat Mayweather. It’s unclear what Pacquiao is looking at when deciding on Mosley as the winner of a fight against Mayweather. Based on the opinions of many boxing experts, they don’t see Mosley winning. Hopefully, Pacquiao isn’t just picking Mosley just to get back at Mayweather for their failed talks.
On paper, it just don’t seem likely that Mosley will do anything other than lose to Mayweather on May 1st. Shane could make it somewhat close if Mayweather decides to mix it up with him, but given that Floyd is more of a pure boxer, it’s unlikely that he will give Mosley any opportunities by trying to trade with the older fighter.
Meanwhile, Pacquiao, as if feeling the need to pump up his fight against Clottey, says “I won’t want to disappoint people with a boring fight. I feel you need to entertain the people who watch your fights.” Is this a dig at Mayweather, perhaps?
Pacquiao continues “It’s going to be a good fight because he [Clottey] has a good style. It’s a different kind of style and I want to fight. He’s bigger and he’s taller than Miguel Cotto.” What Pacquiao doesn’t say about Clottey is that he has problems with his stamina, and has few wins over top caliber opposition.
Pacquiao also fails to mention that Clottey was beaten in his last fight against Cotto, which isn’t exactly something to feel good about when considering putting down $49.95 to watch the Pacquiao-Clottey fight on pay-per-view. If Cotto was able to beat Clottey, then it would seem logical that Pacquiao will beat Clottey with ease since Pacquiao just finished wiping the deck with Cotto in November.
By Chris Williams: Manny Pacquiao is saying that he believes World Boxing Association welterweight champion Shane Mosley will beat Floyd Mayweather Jr. in their upcoming May 1st bout at the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas, Nevada. In an article at Fightfan, Pacquiao says “I think Mosley will win.” Pacquiao feels that it will be an entertaining bout, saying “I think Mayweather vs. Mosley will be a good fight.” It’s good to see that Pacquiao isn’t bitter about his fight with Mayweather falling apart recently during the negotiation process.
A lot of boxers would likely be a little angry if they were in the same shoes as Pacquiao. The fighters had gone though the loss process of negotiations for a fight on March 13th, but when they got to the part about random blood testing, they quickly reached an impassible impasse due to Mayweather’ request of having random blood tests inside the 30 day window.
Eventually, Pacquiao and his promotional company Top Rank moved on and signed a fight with little known Joshua Clottey instead. Pacquiao fans are generally excited about the Clottey fight, whereas casual Pacquiao fans are lukewarm to the selection of Clottey as a replacement opponent for Mayweather.
Mosley, 38, will have to fight beyond what he’s shown in recent fights if he wants to beat Mayweather. It’s unclear what Pacquiao is looking at when deciding on Mosley as the winner of a fight against Mayweather. Based on the opinions of many boxing experts, they don’t see Mosley winning. Hopefully, Pacquiao isn’t just picking Mosley just to get back at Mayweather for their failed talks.
On paper, it just don’t seem likely that Mosley will do anything other than lose to Mayweather on May 1st. Shane could make it somewhat close if Mayweather decides to mix it up with him, but given that Floyd is more of a pure boxer, it’s unlikely that he will give Mosley any opportunities by trying to trade with the older fighter.
Meanwhile, Pacquiao, as if feeling the need to pump up his fight against Clottey, says “I won’t want to disappoint people with a boring fight. I feel you need to entertain the people who watch your fights.” Is this a dig at Mayweather, perhaps?
Pacquiao continues “It’s going to be a good fight because he [Clottey] has a good style. It’s a different kind of style and I want to fight. He’s bigger and he’s taller than Miguel Cotto.” What Pacquiao doesn’t say about Clottey is that he has problems with his stamina, and has few wins over top caliber opposition.
Pacquiao also fails to mention that Clottey was beaten in his last fight against Cotto, which isn’t exactly something to feel good about when considering putting down $49.95 to watch the Pacquiao-Clottey fight on pay-per-view. If Cotto was able to beat Clottey, then it would seem logical that Pacquiao will beat Clottey with ease since Pacquiao just finished wiping the deck with Cotto in November.
Froch: “I will be bringing the Froch army of fans” to the Kessler fight
By Sean McDaniel: At the International media tour Wednesday morning to kick off the stage 2 Super Six bout between World Boxing Council super middleweight champion Carl Froch (26-0, 20 KO’s) and Mikkel Kessler (42-2, 32 KO’s) in Herning, Denmark, both fighters boasted about the support that they would be getting from their fans. Kessler, from Denmark, will be fighting in front of what will likely be a large pro-Kessler arena filled with 10,000 loud fans. Kessler, 30, says “Never in my life have I lost a fight in Denmark.”
What Kessler says is true. He’s unbeaten at home during his pro career, losing his only fights against Joe Calzaghe in Wales, and receiving his second lost recently in an 11 round technical decision defeat at the hands of American Andre Ward in Oakland, California on November 21st. Having a huge arena cheering him on will likely be a huge plus for Kessler, who looked uncomfortable fighting Ward in front of a large crowd of nearly 20,000.
Having fans on his side will certainly be a welcome relief for Kessler right about now. After being dominated by Ward through much of their fight, Kessler needs all the support he can get so he can bring back his sagging confidence. Another plus that Kessler has going for him is that he’s fighting Froch, an opponent who is as slow and predictable as Librado Andrade, a top super middleweight that Kessler completely dominated in a 12 round decision win three years ago in 2007.
Andrade and Froch are of identical size, and have the same slow hand speed. If anything, Andrade is the much better pressure fighter than Froch. As such, the Kessler-Froch fight could turn out to be really one-sided with Kessler totally dominating the lead-footed Froch.
Not to be outdone, Froch says “I will be bringing the Froch army of fans. I have been received well here.” Froch may need an army of fans if he wants to try and get an edge against the talented Kessler. Based on pure boxing ability, Kessler seems to be the much superior fighter of the two.
Froch looked horrid in his last fight against Andre Dirrell in their Super Six bout last October, turning the fight into a rough and tumble bout and winning by a questionable 12 round split decision over Dirrell. Froch got the win, but didn’t win a lot of new fans with the way that he got the win. Froch has to fight better than that this time around, because it’s doubtful that he’ll be able to get the benefit of the doubt twice in a row, especially if he starts fouling like he did last time out.
Froch and Kessler will be meeting on April 24th, at the MCH Messecenter Herning, in Herning, Denmark. This is a do or die fight for Kessler, as he needs to win this fight as he’s already been defeated once already. Although Kessler has one more fight remaining in the stage 3 part of the Super Six tourney, if he loses to Froch he can pretty much forget about getting to the next level in the tournament. As for Froch, losing to Kessler will be a big blow for his career and could set him up for another loss in his next fight against big punching Arthur Abraham
By Sean McDaniel: At the International media tour Wednesday morning to kick off the stage 2 Super Six bout between World Boxing Council super middleweight champion Carl Froch (26-0, 20 KO’s) and Mikkel Kessler (42-2, 32 KO’s) in Herning, Denmark, both fighters boasted about the support that they would be getting from their fans. Kessler, from Denmark, will be fighting in front of what will likely be a large pro-Kessler arena filled with 10,000 loud fans. Kessler, 30, says “Never in my life have I lost a fight in Denmark.”
What Kessler says is true. He’s unbeaten at home during his pro career, losing his only fights against Joe Calzaghe in Wales, and receiving his second lost recently in an 11 round technical decision defeat at the hands of American Andre Ward in Oakland, California on November 21st. Having a huge arena cheering him on will likely be a huge plus for Kessler, who looked uncomfortable fighting Ward in front of a large crowd of nearly 20,000.
Having fans on his side will certainly be a welcome relief for Kessler right about now. After being dominated by Ward through much of their fight, Kessler needs all the support he can get so he can bring back his sagging confidence. Another plus that Kessler has going for him is that he’s fighting Froch, an opponent who is as slow and predictable as Librado Andrade, a top super middleweight that Kessler completely dominated in a 12 round decision win three years ago in 2007.
Andrade and Froch are of identical size, and have the same slow hand speed. If anything, Andrade is the much better pressure fighter than Froch. As such, the Kessler-Froch fight could turn out to be really one-sided with Kessler totally dominating the lead-footed Froch.
Not to be outdone, Froch says “I will be bringing the Froch army of fans. I have been received well here.” Froch may need an army of fans if he wants to try and get an edge against the talented Kessler. Based on pure boxing ability, Kessler seems to be the much superior fighter of the two.
Froch looked horrid in his last fight against Andre Dirrell in their Super Six bout last October, turning the fight into a rough and tumble bout and winning by a questionable 12 round split decision over Dirrell. Froch got the win, but didn’t win a lot of new fans with the way that he got the win. Froch has to fight better than that this time around, because it’s doubtful that he’ll be able to get the benefit of the doubt twice in a row, especially if he starts fouling like he did last time out.
Froch and Kessler will be meeting on April 24th, at the MCH Messecenter Herning, in Herning, Denmark. This is a do or die fight for Kessler, as he needs to win this fight as he’s already been defeated once already. Although Kessler has one more fight remaining in the stage 3 part of the Super Six tourney, if he loses to Froch he can pretty much forget about getting to the next level in the tournament. As for Froch, losing to Kessler will be a big blow for his career and could set him up for another loss in his next fight against big punching Arthur Abraham
UK boxing on the rise
By Ronny Jordan: In recent years the UK has produced some great fighters. Throughout the 80s there was Barry Mcguigan, Lloyd Honeyghan. The 90s Naseem Hamed, Lennox Lewis, and more recently Ricky Hatton and Joe Calzaghe plus more. All great champions of there time and will be remembered and loved by the UK public.
Apart from these few however most have fallen short at the very top level. Not always, but generally the UK has dominated the European scene but never the world. This might be changing however.
The current crop of young talent in the UK look more promising. Along with the three already holding belts, there seems to be fighter after fighter making the tricky transition from promising amateur to top professional. There’s a real serge of good UK talent at the moment of which I haven’t seen in the last 20 years.
The fighters soon to be challenging for world honors are, Nathan Cleverly, Mitchell, Kell Brook, Rendall Munroe and Matthew Macklin. There all capable or competing and winning at world level. Mitchell especially has improved so much this past year. His trainer Jimmy Tibbs has added another dimension to his impressive speed and power. In his own words he’s become a thinking fighter, and to me he now looks complete. With the up and coming Olympians all improving by the day, and also others staking there claim like Barker, Groves, O’Donnell and Murray. Can we start calling this a golden generation of UK boxers?
In addition to this, American boxing is heading towards somewhat of a slump by there own very high standards. The last 10 years has seen some of the greatest fighters in history like Jones, Mayweather, Hopkins and Winky Wright but there all heading towards the final years of there career and if truth be told Roy Jones Jr. (who I consider one of the greatest of all time) should of retired in 2008 after the Felix Trinidad fight.
Although they still have great fighters like Paul Williams, Andre Ward, Timothy Bradley and more. None of them are unbeatable. With out even mentioning America’s heavyweight scene (if you can call it that), looking through each weight division, they just haven’t got the superstars anymore. When these talented UK fighters hit there prime, they will not only be world title contenders, but also wining belts
By Ronny Jordan: In recent years the UK has produced some great fighters. Throughout the 80s there was Barry Mcguigan, Lloyd Honeyghan. The 90s Naseem Hamed, Lennox Lewis, and more recently Ricky Hatton and Joe Calzaghe plus more. All great champions of there time and will be remembered and loved by the UK public.
Apart from these few however most have fallen short at the very top level. Not always, but generally the UK has dominated the European scene but never the world. This might be changing however.
The current crop of young talent in the UK look more promising. Along with the three already holding belts, there seems to be fighter after fighter making the tricky transition from promising amateur to top professional. There’s a real serge of good UK talent at the moment of which I haven’t seen in the last 20 years.
The fighters soon to be challenging for world honors are, Nathan Cleverly, Mitchell, Kell Brook, Rendall Munroe and Matthew Macklin. There all capable or competing and winning at world level. Mitchell especially has improved so much this past year. His trainer Jimmy Tibbs has added another dimension to his impressive speed and power. In his own words he’s become a thinking fighter, and to me he now looks complete. With the up and coming Olympians all improving by the day, and also others staking there claim like Barker, Groves, O’Donnell and Murray. Can we start calling this a golden generation of UK boxers?
In addition to this, American boxing is heading towards somewhat of a slump by there own very high standards. The last 10 years has seen some of the greatest fighters in history like Jones, Mayweather, Hopkins and Winky Wright but there all heading towards the final years of there career and if truth be told Roy Jones Jr. (who I consider one of the greatest of all time) should of retired in 2008 after the Felix Trinidad fight.
Although they still have great fighters like Paul Williams, Andre Ward, Timothy Bradley and more. None of them are unbeatable. With out even mentioning America’s heavyweight scene (if you can call it that), looking through each weight division, they just haven’t got the superstars anymore. When these talented UK fighters hit there prime, they will not only be world title contenders, but also wining belts
Roach plans on having Pacquiao attack Clottey’s body
Esteban Garduno: Trainer Freddie Roach has come up with another one of his masterful strategies for his pupil WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao in his upcoming March 13th fight against Joshua Clottey. In an article at Fight Fan, Roach says “He’s [speaking of Clottey] got a good chin and so forth, but nobody has tested his body as much as we well. People with good chins don’t always take it into the body.” You think? Thank you for telling me something I don’t know, Freddie. As far as I can tell, Clottey was already exposed for having problems taking shots to the body in his fights against Antonio Margarito and Miguel Cotto.
If you watch both of those fights, Clottey slowed way down after Margarito and Cotto started pounding him in the body with heavy hooks. Clottey then spent the remainder of the fight glued to the ropes doing a poor imitation of Muhammad Ali’s rope-a-dope. It would be a complete of waste of time for Pacquiao to even try to take Pacquiao out with head shots, because not only can Clottey take a great shot without showing any signs of being hurt, but he keeps a high guard at all times and it’s hard to penetrate with shots.
Clottey’s midsection is usually wide open and an inviting target for punches. This really the only choice Pacquiao will have if he wants to land anything in the fight. It’s nice that Roach made us all aware of what Pacquiao is planning on doing, though, as if I already didn’t know. I just hope Pacquiao is astute enough to follow Roach’s program and not start head hunting like he always does.
If he does this, Pacquiao will end up probably hurting his hands and taking a lot of shots in return. Pacquiao has his hands full anyway because he’s so little and not a real welterweight in terms of frame. Oaky, so think Pacquiao is probably going to go head hunting and will ignore Clottey’s midsection after giving him a few weak shots. I’ve never seen any of Pacquiao’s fights where he’s paid much attention to throwing to the body.
Pacquiao will probably stubbornly keep throwing to the head, and basically ignore what Roach is saying to him. This will make the fight harder for Pacquiao and make Roach frantic in his corner. I think Pacquiao will still win the fight, but he’s going to come out of the fight looking more like the loser than the winner. But what can you do? Pacquiao will beat up even if he goes to the body as well.
This is Clottey’s big chance and he’s not going to roll over on his back and kick up his legs like a dog an make it easy for Pacquiao. He’s going to pound Pacquiao and mess up his features probably. Pacquiao might not be able to sing that night. He wanted the fight. Getting beaten up is the byproduct of messing around with a tough fighter like Clottey.
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Esteban Garduno: Trainer Freddie Roach has come up with another one of his masterful strategies for his pupil WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao in his upcoming March 13th fight against Joshua Clottey. In an article at Fight Fan, Roach says “He’s [speaking of Clottey] got a good chin and so forth, but nobody has tested his body as much as we well. People with good chins don’t always take it into the body.” You think? Thank you for telling me something I don’t know, Freddie. As far as I can tell, Clottey was already exposed for having problems taking shots to the body in his fights against Antonio Margarito and Miguel Cotto.
If you watch both of those fights, Clottey slowed way down after Margarito and Cotto started pounding him in the body with heavy hooks. Clottey then spent the remainder of the fight glued to the ropes doing a poor imitation of Muhammad Ali’s rope-a-dope. It would be a complete of waste of time for Pacquiao to even try to take Pacquiao out with head shots, because not only can Clottey take a great shot without showing any signs of being hurt, but he keeps a high guard at all times and it’s hard to penetrate with shots.
Clottey’s midsection is usually wide open and an inviting target for punches. This really the only choice Pacquiao will have if he wants to land anything in the fight. It’s nice that Roach made us all aware of what Pacquiao is planning on doing, though, as if I already didn’t know. I just hope Pacquiao is astute enough to follow Roach’s program and not start head hunting like he always does.
If he does this, Pacquiao will end up probably hurting his hands and taking a lot of shots in return. Pacquiao has his hands full anyway because he’s so little and not a real welterweight in terms of frame. Oaky, so think Pacquiao is probably going to go head hunting and will ignore Clottey’s midsection after giving him a few weak shots. I’ve never seen any of Pacquiao’s fights where he’s paid much attention to throwing to the body.
Pacquiao will probably stubbornly keep throwing to the head, and basically ignore what Roach is saying to him. This will make the fight harder for Pacquiao and make Roach frantic in his corner. I think Pacquiao will still win the fight, but he’s going to come out of the fight looking more like the loser than the winner. But what can you do? Pacquiao will beat up even if he goes to the body as well.
This is Clottey’s big chance and he’s not going to roll over on his back and kick up his legs like a dog an make it easy for Pacquiao. He’s going to pound Pacquiao and mess up his features probably. Pacquiao might not be able to sing that night. He wanted the fight. Getting beaten up is the byproduct of messing around with a tough fighter like Clottey.
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Is Cotto using Foreman to get another shot against Pacquiao?
By Dave Lahr: World Boxing Organization welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KO’s) would like to win an 8th world title in as many divisions before he gets out of boxing in the not too distant future. Fellow Top Rank fighter Miguel Cotto (34-2, 27 KO’s), who Pacquiao defeated in November by a 12th round TKO, is moving up in weight to go after WBA junior middleweight champion Yuri Foreman (28-0, 8 KO’s) on June 12th of this year. Foreman, incidentally, is also a Top Rank fighter like Cotto and Pacquiao.
But should Cotto defeat Foreman and capture his World Boxing Association title, it will put Cotto in the perfect position to get a second fight against Pacquiao in early 2011, if not this year. Pacquiao is really into collecting his 8th world title for some reason, and a fight against the much better known Cotto is a heck of a lot more appealing for Pacquiao than a fight against Foreman, who few boxing fans are familiar with.
As such, Pacquiao would have a good opponent to fight, one that he already beat, and would be in a great position to win his 8th world title. Pacquiao is much better off if Cotto beats Foreman than if Pacquiao goes directly after Foreman himself and tries to take his title. The reason is simple. Foreman is a lot bigger than Pacquiao at 5’11” compared to the 5’6” Pacquiao, and with his constantly movement, hit and run style of fighting and his frequent clinching, Foreman is by no means a guaranteed win for Pacquiao.
Granted, it’s not easy for a little known fighter to beat one that is as famous as Pacquiao when it comes to winning a fight by a 12 round decision. Just as Juan Manuel Marquez, who lost a questionable 12 round split decision himself against Pacquiao in March 2008.
Foreman would be a very tough fighter for Pacquiao because he doesn’t come straight forward like many of the opponents that have been put in with Pacquiao, and he’s not a stationary fighter either. As we saw in Pacquiao’s recent fight against Cotto, he had problems against Cotto when he used a little bit of movement in the fight.
Keep in mind, Cotto moves like he has lead boots on and isn’t nearly as light on his feet as a fighter like Foreman is. So if Cotto is able to take out Foreman and capture his WBA junior middleweight title, it puts Pacquiao in the perfect position to try and win his 8th world title the easy way without the risk involved with fighting Foreman.
Ideally, it would be nice if Pacquiao took on Foreman himself and proved that he could beat the kind of style that Foreman presents, but that’s unlikely to happen at this point unless Foreman somehow beats Cotto. At that point, Pacquiao will likely have to face Foreman if he’s still fixated on winning an 8th world title.
Frankly, I think it’s a waste of time to go after Foreman, who is not considered to be the best fighter of the junior middleweight champions. If Pacquiao wants to go after his 8th world title, he should fight WBC light middleweight title holder Sergio Martinez, who is considered to be the best of the bunch. But, of course, I don’t see Pacquiao tangling with a fighter like Martinez in this lifetime.
By Dave Lahr: World Boxing Organization welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KO’s) would like to win an 8th world title in as many divisions before he gets out of boxing in the not too distant future. Fellow Top Rank fighter Miguel Cotto (34-2, 27 KO’s), who Pacquiao defeated in November by a 12th round TKO, is moving up in weight to go after WBA junior middleweight champion Yuri Foreman (28-0, 8 KO’s) on June 12th of this year. Foreman, incidentally, is also a Top Rank fighter like Cotto and Pacquiao.
But should Cotto defeat Foreman and capture his World Boxing Association title, it will put Cotto in the perfect position to get a second fight against Pacquiao in early 2011, if not this year. Pacquiao is really into collecting his 8th world title for some reason, and a fight against the much better known Cotto is a heck of a lot more appealing for Pacquiao than a fight against Foreman, who few boxing fans are familiar with.
As such, Pacquiao would have a good opponent to fight, one that he already beat, and would be in a great position to win his 8th world title. Pacquiao is much better off if Cotto beats Foreman than if Pacquiao goes directly after Foreman himself and tries to take his title. The reason is simple. Foreman is a lot bigger than Pacquiao at 5’11” compared to the 5’6” Pacquiao, and with his constantly movement, hit and run style of fighting and his frequent clinching, Foreman is by no means a guaranteed win for Pacquiao.
Granted, it’s not easy for a little known fighter to beat one that is as famous as Pacquiao when it comes to winning a fight by a 12 round decision. Just as Juan Manuel Marquez, who lost a questionable 12 round split decision himself against Pacquiao in March 2008.
Foreman would be a very tough fighter for Pacquiao because he doesn’t come straight forward like many of the opponents that have been put in with Pacquiao, and he’s not a stationary fighter either. As we saw in Pacquiao’s recent fight against Cotto, he had problems against Cotto when he used a little bit of movement in the fight.
Keep in mind, Cotto moves like he has lead boots on and isn’t nearly as light on his feet as a fighter like Foreman is. So if Cotto is able to take out Foreman and capture his WBA junior middleweight title, it puts Pacquiao in the perfect position to try and win his 8th world title the easy way without the risk involved with fighting Foreman.
Ideally, it would be nice if Pacquiao took on Foreman himself and proved that he could beat the kind of style that Foreman presents, but that’s unlikely to happen at this point unless Foreman somehow beats Cotto. At that point, Pacquiao will likely have to face Foreman if he’s still fixated on winning an 8th world title.
Frankly, I think it’s a waste of time to go after Foreman, who is not considered to be the best fighter of the junior middleweight champions. If Pacquiao wants to go after his 8th world title, he should fight WBC light middleweight title holder Sergio Martinez, who is considered to be the best of the bunch. But, of course, I don’t see Pacquiao tangling with a fighter like Martinez in this lifetime.
Mayweather: “He’s [Mosley] desperate” – News
By Eric Thomas: In an article by David Mayo of the Grand Rapids Press, undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr. fired away at World Boxing Association Shane Mosley with his usual flair for tough talk, saying “I just think that Shane Mosley, he’s desperate, so he has no choice but to fight me. His career’s coming to an end and, before he goes, he wants that last big payday.” Mayweather seems to be a little hypocritical, though, because he’s not exactly made it a secret why he came back from his two year retirement last year.
Mayweather wants to make as money as he can in boxing, so why is he blaming Mosley for wanting to get a get a good payday by fighting Mayweather? But Mosley isn’t looking for one last big payday against Mayweather. Mosley wants a shot at WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao. That’s where the real big money is at for Mosley. However, to get to that big pot of gold, Mosley will have to get by the 32-year-old Mayweather on May 1st when they meet at the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Mosley, 38, apparently has blown a chance to fight Mayweather in 2006, when Mosley said after his fight against Fernando Vargas that he wanted to take a vacation rather than face Mayweather. But so what? Mosley was more than willing to fight Mayweather now, and that’s all that counts.
Mayweather says “I told Shane Mosley that all roads lead through Floyd Mayweather and that everybody makes their biggest payday with me. I think it just took him 12 years to see that this is true.”
There’s little doubt that Mosley will get a good payday against Mayweather in May, but if Mosley can somehow reach back into his youth and beat Mayweather, Mosley stands to get a really huge payday against Pacquiao in the near future, that is, if Mosley doesn’t mess things up by insisting on random blood tests for Pacquiao to take. If that’s the case, then Mosley may have as little luck of fighting Pacquiao as Mayweather did recently.
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By Eric Thomas: In an article by David Mayo of the Grand Rapids Press, undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr. fired away at World Boxing Association Shane Mosley with his usual flair for tough talk, saying “I just think that Shane Mosley, he’s desperate, so he has no choice but to fight me. His career’s coming to an end and, before he goes, he wants that last big payday.” Mayweather seems to be a little hypocritical, though, because he’s not exactly made it a secret why he came back from his two year retirement last year.
Mayweather wants to make as money as he can in boxing, so why is he blaming Mosley for wanting to get a get a good payday by fighting Mayweather? But Mosley isn’t looking for one last big payday against Mayweather. Mosley wants a shot at WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao. That’s where the real big money is at for Mosley. However, to get to that big pot of gold, Mosley will have to get by the 32-year-old Mayweather on May 1st when they meet at the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Mosley, 38, apparently has blown a chance to fight Mayweather in 2006, when Mosley said after his fight against Fernando Vargas that he wanted to take a vacation rather than face Mayweather. But so what? Mosley was more than willing to fight Mayweather now, and that’s all that counts.
Mayweather says “I told Shane Mosley that all roads lead through Floyd Mayweather and that everybody makes their biggest payday with me. I think it just took him 12 years to see that this is true.”
There’s little doubt that Mosley will get a good payday against Mayweather in May, but if Mosley can somehow reach back into his youth and beat Mayweather, Mosley stands to get a really huge payday against Pacquiao in the near future, that is, if Mosley doesn’t mess things up by insisting on random blood tests for Pacquiao to take. If that’s the case, then Mosley may have as little luck of fighting Pacquiao as Mayweather did recently.
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