Boxing News Thread
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With win, Lopez-Marquez in September
After Rafael Marquez stopped rival Israel Vazquez on cuts in the third round to even their epic four-fight series at 2-2 on May 22 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, featherweight titleholder Juan Manuel Lopez sat quietly at the post-fight press conference.
He had also been ringside for the fight and hoping to eventually fight the winner. Lopez has had his wish granted, provided he handles some business first.
Lopez and Marquez will meet Sept. 18 in a Showtime main event at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, their handlers told ESPN.com on Wednesday. However, the fight is contingent on Lopez winning a fight already scheduled for next month and coming out healthy.
Puerto Rico's Lopez (28-0, 25 KOs), a former junior featherweight titleholder, moved up and claimed a featherweight belt by stopping Steven Luevano in the seventh round in January. Lopez will make his first title defense against Manny Pacquiao protégé Bernabe Concepcion on July 10 in San Juan on Showtime knowing Marquez is on the books next if he wins and is uninjured.
"The only one who doesn't agree to this deal is a guy named Bernabe Concepcion," Top Rank's Bob Arum, who promotes Lopez and Concepcion, said. "But we made our deal with Showtime and we have the MGM on hold."
Gary Shaw, who co-promotes Marquez with Fernando Beltran, a longtime close associate of Arum's, said their side had come to terms with Showtime last week.
"I'm really excited about this fight because I believe Marquez wins the fight," Shaw said. "I think 'Juanma' is overrated. [Showtime's Ken] Hershman told me Top Rank's deal with him was done and Beltran told me we were all buttoned up and done. So all we are waiting for is the July fight and for 'Juanma' to come out victorious and healthy."
Lopez-Marquez would pit one of the bright rising stars in boxing [Lopez] against the respected veteran star [Marquez] in a fight that would also add another chapter to one of boxing's most heated rivalries -- Puerto Rico versus Mexico. And it would be taking place on the weekend of Mexican Independence Day, a traditional time for a major fight involving a top Mexican fighter.
"That's always a big rivalry and we're doing the fight on the Mexican holiday," Shaw said. "What could be bigger?"
Said Arum, "It's a sensational fight and a great fight particularly for that date because it's the 200th anniversary of Mexican independence."
While Lopez, 26, made the trek to Los Angeles to see Marquez fight in person last month, Marquez, 35, has also wanted to fight Lopez very much, Shaw said.
"Rafael Marquez really wanted this fight," Shaw said. "He believes he wins the fight and that it's a great opportunity for him. If he beats 'Juanma' he knows that anyone who doubted that he should be in the Hall of Fame won't be able to doubt him anymore."
Marquez (39-5, 35 KOs), the younger brother of lightweight champ Juan Manuel Marquez, was a long-reigning bantamweight champion before moving up and winning the junior featherweight title in the first fight with Vazquez. He lost two subsequent junior featherweight title fights to Vazquez in their memorable series before moving up to featherweight and winning two fights in a row, including the fourth bout with Vazquez.
"If Marquez beats Lopez, he's got some more really big fights in the division," Shaw said. "The next fight I'd try to make is with [Top Rank-promoted titlist Yuriorkis] Gamboa."
Arum said that on paper, Lopez-Marquez reminds him of a classic matchup he promoted between Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales, who fought one of boxing's all-time great trilogies.
"I look at the fight like another Barrera-Morales kind of fight because of their styles and the way they're going to come and bomb each other, and not take a backward step," Arum said.
After Rafael Marquez stopped rival Israel Vazquez on cuts in the third round to even their epic four-fight series at 2-2 on May 22 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, featherweight titleholder Juan Manuel Lopez sat quietly at the post-fight press conference.
He had also been ringside for the fight and hoping to eventually fight the winner. Lopez has had his wish granted, provided he handles some business first.
Lopez and Marquez will meet Sept. 18 in a Showtime main event at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, their handlers told ESPN.com on Wednesday. However, the fight is contingent on Lopez winning a fight already scheduled for next month and coming out healthy.
Puerto Rico's Lopez (28-0, 25 KOs), a former junior featherweight titleholder, moved up and claimed a featherweight belt by stopping Steven Luevano in the seventh round in January. Lopez will make his first title defense against Manny Pacquiao protégé Bernabe Concepcion on July 10 in San Juan on Showtime knowing Marquez is on the books next if he wins and is uninjured.
"The only one who doesn't agree to this deal is a guy named Bernabe Concepcion," Top Rank's Bob Arum, who promotes Lopez and Concepcion, said. "But we made our deal with Showtime and we have the MGM on hold."
Gary Shaw, who co-promotes Marquez with Fernando Beltran, a longtime close associate of Arum's, said their side had come to terms with Showtime last week.
"I'm really excited about this fight because I believe Marquez wins the fight," Shaw said. "I think 'Juanma' is overrated. [Showtime's Ken] Hershman told me Top Rank's deal with him was done and Beltran told me we were all buttoned up and done. So all we are waiting for is the July fight and for 'Juanma' to come out victorious and healthy."
Lopez-Marquez would pit one of the bright rising stars in boxing [Lopez] against the respected veteran star [Marquez] in a fight that would also add another chapter to one of boxing's most heated rivalries -- Puerto Rico versus Mexico. And it would be taking place on the weekend of Mexican Independence Day, a traditional time for a major fight involving a top Mexican fighter.
"That's always a big rivalry and we're doing the fight on the Mexican holiday," Shaw said. "What could be bigger?"
Said Arum, "It's a sensational fight and a great fight particularly for that date because it's the 200th anniversary of Mexican independence."
While Lopez, 26, made the trek to Los Angeles to see Marquez fight in person last month, Marquez, 35, has also wanted to fight Lopez very much, Shaw said.
"Rafael Marquez really wanted this fight," Shaw said. "He believes he wins the fight and that it's a great opportunity for him. If he beats 'Juanma' he knows that anyone who doubted that he should be in the Hall of Fame won't be able to doubt him anymore."
Marquez (39-5, 35 KOs), the younger brother of lightweight champ Juan Manuel Marquez, was a long-reigning bantamweight champion before moving up and winning the junior featherweight title in the first fight with Vazquez. He lost two subsequent junior featherweight title fights to Vazquez in their memorable series before moving up to featherweight and winning two fights in a row, including the fourth bout with Vazquez.
"If Marquez beats Lopez, he's got some more really big fights in the division," Shaw said. "The next fight I'd try to make is with [Top Rank-promoted titlist Yuriorkis] Gamboa."
Arum said that on paper, Lopez-Marquez reminds him of a classic matchup he promoted between Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales, who fought one of boxing's all-time great trilogies.
"I look at the fight like another Barrera-Morales kind of fight because of their styles and the way they're going to come and bomb each other, and not take a backward step," Arum said.
Berto says he should have his next opponent picked out in a few weeks
By Sean McDaniel: Unbeaten WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto (26-0, 20 KO’s) says he’s looking at a variety of opponents for his next fight. According to Boxingtalk.com, Berto says that Shane Mosley, IBF welterweight champion Jan Zaveck and WBA light middleweight champion Miguel Cotto are a few of the opponents he’s looking at fighting next.
However, there are some others that he’s not mentioning that he could fight as well. Berto won’t be fighting anytime soon, however, because he tore his left bicep in his 8th round TKO win over Carlos Quintana on April 10th, and he’s going to need some time to rehab the injury to get back to where he was before it occurred.
Berto says he’s not interested in moving down in weight to take on the top light welterweights in the division like Timothy Bradley, Devon Alexander, Marcos Maidana or Amir Khan. Berto says “I definitely got to handle my business at 147. There’s a lot of hungry fighters down there [talking about the light welterweight division], but I don’t think there’s enough money for the best young fighters.”
Berto wants to take a big named opponent. However, for him to do that, he’s going to have to land a fight against Cotto, Mosley, Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Manny Pacquiao next. The chances of fighting any of them would seem rather slim right now. Cotto is being looked at as a possible replacement opponent for Pacquiao in case he doesn’t fight Mayweather.
If that fight doesn’t happen, Cotto could be fighting Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. next or possibly Antonio Margarito. A fight between Berto and Zaveck probably wouldn’t interest U.S. boxing fans, because most of them have never heard of Zaveck nor seen him fight. That wouldn’t be the big named opponent that Berto is looking for, that’s for sure. Berto would do well if he could pick up another welterweight title, but it would purely be a status thing and likely be seen as a paper title because Zaveck isn’t considered to be in the class of welterweights Mayweather or Pacquiao.
However, it would give Berto more of bargaining chip if he were to fight against one of the big names, but then again, Berto would do just as well if he could get someone like Mosley or one of the top junior middleweights to fight him. A fight between Berto and Alfredo Angulo or Sergeii Dzinziruk would also be a great fight and would likely help make a name for Berto more than a fight against Zaveck.
By Sean McDaniel: Unbeaten WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto (26-0, 20 KO’s) says he’s looking at a variety of opponents for his next fight. According to Boxingtalk.com, Berto says that Shane Mosley, IBF welterweight champion Jan Zaveck and WBA light middleweight champion Miguel Cotto are a few of the opponents he’s looking at fighting next.
However, there are some others that he’s not mentioning that he could fight as well. Berto won’t be fighting anytime soon, however, because he tore his left bicep in his 8th round TKO win over Carlos Quintana on April 10th, and he’s going to need some time to rehab the injury to get back to where he was before it occurred.
Berto says he’s not interested in moving down in weight to take on the top light welterweights in the division like Timothy Bradley, Devon Alexander, Marcos Maidana or Amir Khan. Berto says “I definitely got to handle my business at 147. There’s a lot of hungry fighters down there [talking about the light welterweight division], but I don’t think there’s enough money for the best young fighters.”
Berto wants to take a big named opponent. However, for him to do that, he’s going to have to land a fight against Cotto, Mosley, Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Manny Pacquiao next. The chances of fighting any of them would seem rather slim right now. Cotto is being looked at as a possible replacement opponent for Pacquiao in case he doesn’t fight Mayweather.
If that fight doesn’t happen, Cotto could be fighting Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. next or possibly Antonio Margarito. A fight between Berto and Zaveck probably wouldn’t interest U.S. boxing fans, because most of them have never heard of Zaveck nor seen him fight. That wouldn’t be the big named opponent that Berto is looking for, that’s for sure. Berto would do well if he could pick up another welterweight title, but it would purely be a status thing and likely be seen as a paper title because Zaveck isn’t considered to be in the class of welterweights Mayweather or Pacquiao.
However, it would give Berto more of bargaining chip if he were to fight against one of the big names, but then again, Berto would do just as well if he could get someone like Mosley or one of the top junior middleweights to fight him. A fight between Berto and Alfredo Angulo or Sergeii Dzinziruk would also be a great fight and would likely help make a name for Berto more than a fight against Zaveck.
Arum says he wants Barrera to win a title and defend it a couple of times
Photo: Rafael Soto/Top Rank – By Chris Williams: At the final press conference for fighters John Duddy, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Marco Antonio Barrera (65-7, 43 KO’s), Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said this about the 36-year-old Barrera: “My goal is to do the rest of his [Barrera] for his brilliant career and to bring to the point where he wins four world championships and maybe has a defense or two of those world titles and make some really good money and send him off to a proper retirement.”
Given how poor Barrera has looked in the past three years, losing three out of his last five fights, doesn’t seem kind of unrealistic for Barrera to win a title at this point in his career? I’m all for helping fighters out at any point in their careers, but even if Barrera was standing on Arum’s shoulders and being given the biggest boost possible with the best match-making possible, I just don’t fathom how Barrera can win another title.
He’s looked horrible since moving up to lightweight, and probably belongs back at featherweight or super featherweight, if he could make that weight. I don’t think he can at this point, and I think he’s too small and slow to compete at lightweight. Right now, Barrera isn’t ranked at all in the top 15 in the lightweight division, as far as I can tell. That could change in an instant, I’m sure, but does anyone really think that Barrera could beat WBA/WBO lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez or WBC lightweight title holder Humberto Soto.
I don’t think Barrera would stand a chance against either of them. Heck, Barrera already lost to Marquez three years ago in a one-sided 12 round decision in 2007. I’m sure Barrera hasn’t gotten any better since then. Barrera could try for the vacant IBF lightweight title, but that would likely mean that he would have to beat someone like Ali Funeka. I don’t see that happening.
Barrera will be fighting Adailton De Jesus (26-4, 21 KO’s) on the undercard of Saturday nights’ fight between John Duddy and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. at the Alamodome, in San Antonio, Texas. Barrera might be lucky if he still has enough left to get by De Jesus. It’s incredibly strange that a fighter with the talent and credentials of Barrera would be fighting on the undercard of a fight between two non-champions like Duddy and Chavez Jr., mainly because neither of them have ever won a world title before, and probably never will. It’s bizarre beyond believe that a fighter like Barrera is fighting on a card where Duddy and Chavez Jr. are the main event, but this is boxing. It shows that things haven’t been going well for Barrera recently.
Photo: Rafael Soto/Top Rank – By Chris Williams: At the final press conference for fighters John Duddy, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Marco Antonio Barrera (65-7, 43 KO’s), Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said this about the 36-year-old Barrera: “My goal is to do the rest of his [Barrera] for his brilliant career and to bring to the point where he wins four world championships and maybe has a defense or two of those world titles and make some really good money and send him off to a proper retirement.”
Given how poor Barrera has looked in the past three years, losing three out of his last five fights, doesn’t seem kind of unrealistic for Barrera to win a title at this point in his career? I’m all for helping fighters out at any point in their careers, but even if Barrera was standing on Arum’s shoulders and being given the biggest boost possible with the best match-making possible, I just don’t fathom how Barrera can win another title.
He’s looked horrible since moving up to lightweight, and probably belongs back at featherweight or super featherweight, if he could make that weight. I don’t think he can at this point, and I think he’s too small and slow to compete at lightweight. Right now, Barrera isn’t ranked at all in the top 15 in the lightweight division, as far as I can tell. That could change in an instant, I’m sure, but does anyone really think that Barrera could beat WBA/WBO lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez or WBC lightweight title holder Humberto Soto.
I don’t think Barrera would stand a chance against either of them. Heck, Barrera already lost to Marquez three years ago in a one-sided 12 round decision in 2007. I’m sure Barrera hasn’t gotten any better since then. Barrera could try for the vacant IBF lightweight title, but that would likely mean that he would have to beat someone like Ali Funeka. I don’t see that happening.
Barrera will be fighting Adailton De Jesus (26-4, 21 KO’s) on the undercard of Saturday nights’ fight between John Duddy and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. at the Alamodome, in San Antonio, Texas. Barrera might be lucky if he still has enough left to get by De Jesus. It’s incredibly strange that a fighter with the talent and credentials of Barrera would be fighting on the undercard of a fight between two non-champions like Duddy and Chavez Jr., mainly because neither of them have ever won a world title before, and probably never will. It’s bizarre beyond believe that a fighter like Barrera is fighting on a card where Duddy and Chavez Jr. are the main event, but this is boxing. It shows that things haven’t been going well for Barrera recently.
Mayweather get the respect he deserves after he whips Pacquiao?
By Dave Lahr: It’s sad that the great Floyd Mayweather Jr. still isn’t getting the credit and the adoration that he deserves after beating talented fighters like Shane Mosley, Ricky Hatton and Oscar De La Hoya, to name just a few of the many fighters that Mayweather schooled in his impressive career. But even thought Mayweather shown himself to be the best fighter in boxing over and over again, it looks like he’s still not getting the credit or respect he deserves from the boxing public.
I think Mayweather is going to whip Manny Pacquiao’s backside in front of a worldwide audience to convince boxing fans that Mayweather is the best fighter in the world. I can’t wait until Mayweather puts a clinic on beating Pacquiao and making him look like a schoolboy taking a play yard whipping. And there isn’t a thing that Pacquiao or his trainer Freddie Roach will be able to do about it. Roach can plan all he wants to try to come up with a scheme to beat Mayweather.
It’s not going to work no matter what Roach devises. You have to have immense talent to beat a fighter like Mayweather, and I think Pacquiao is a little short on that. Mayweather is going to shut some yaps when he gets in the ring with Pacquiao by whipping the stuffing out of him.
Pacquiao and Roach will probably come up with the same ploy that they used on Joshua Clottey in Manny’s March fight. In other words, Roach is going to have Pacquiao pressure Mayweather and try to overwhelm him with punches rained in from every direction. That isn’t going to work. I never seen such a waste of punches in my life. Pacquiao threw like 1200 punches and missed almost all of them as he hit gloves and air all night long, even when Clottey standing directly in front of him.
Just mindlessly throwing punches isn’t going to help Pacquiao beat Mayweather one bit. All it’s going to do is leave a million areas for Mayweather to counter Pacquiao and bust up his face, twist his nose, cut up his eyes and get his lips swelling twice their normal size. I can just see it. Pacquiao runs out trying to throw punches without even aiming them.
Mayweather, seeing the crude and primitive game plan that Pacquiao is using, will be nailing Pacquiao with repeated short punches to the head. The shots will whiplash Pacquiao’s head every which way. Instead of abandoning his game plan, Pacquiao will stick to trying to pressure Mayweather and will keep getting drilled with deadly accurate shots that will start to distort Pacquiao’s features before long.
Roach won’t know what to do. When he realizes things are quickly falling apart, Roach will start barking orders a mile a minute at Pacquiao, sending him into mental overload. It won’t matter even if Pacquiao did understand what the heck Roach is jabbering about. He won’t have the ability to make sense of it all and apply what Roach is spitting out.
Meanwhile, Mayweather will be building up a huge lead in the fight, and turning Pacquiao’s head into a swollen mass of ugly red. Since this will be the biggest fight of all time, there’s no way the referee will step in to save Pacquiao from taking a senseless beating.
Instead, he’ll lead nature take it’s course and allow the one-sided slaughter to continue. My guess is Pacquiao will hit the deck by the 8th, and lay there in a beaten pile of flesh. Roach will come over and drag Pacquiao by one arm almost like a doll to his corner while mumbling “the horror, the horror.”
By Dave Lahr: It’s sad that the great Floyd Mayweather Jr. still isn’t getting the credit and the adoration that he deserves after beating talented fighters like Shane Mosley, Ricky Hatton and Oscar De La Hoya, to name just a few of the many fighters that Mayweather schooled in his impressive career. But even thought Mayweather shown himself to be the best fighter in boxing over and over again, it looks like he’s still not getting the credit or respect he deserves from the boxing public.
I think Mayweather is going to whip Manny Pacquiao’s backside in front of a worldwide audience to convince boxing fans that Mayweather is the best fighter in the world. I can’t wait until Mayweather puts a clinic on beating Pacquiao and making him look like a schoolboy taking a play yard whipping. And there isn’t a thing that Pacquiao or his trainer Freddie Roach will be able to do about it. Roach can plan all he wants to try to come up with a scheme to beat Mayweather.
It’s not going to work no matter what Roach devises. You have to have immense talent to beat a fighter like Mayweather, and I think Pacquiao is a little short on that. Mayweather is going to shut some yaps when he gets in the ring with Pacquiao by whipping the stuffing out of him.
Pacquiao and Roach will probably come up with the same ploy that they used on Joshua Clottey in Manny’s March fight. In other words, Roach is going to have Pacquiao pressure Mayweather and try to overwhelm him with punches rained in from every direction. That isn’t going to work. I never seen such a waste of punches in my life. Pacquiao threw like 1200 punches and missed almost all of them as he hit gloves and air all night long, even when Clottey standing directly in front of him.
Just mindlessly throwing punches isn’t going to help Pacquiao beat Mayweather one bit. All it’s going to do is leave a million areas for Mayweather to counter Pacquiao and bust up his face, twist his nose, cut up his eyes and get his lips swelling twice their normal size. I can just see it. Pacquiao runs out trying to throw punches without even aiming them.
Mayweather, seeing the crude and primitive game plan that Pacquiao is using, will be nailing Pacquiao with repeated short punches to the head. The shots will whiplash Pacquiao’s head every which way. Instead of abandoning his game plan, Pacquiao will stick to trying to pressure Mayweather and will keep getting drilled with deadly accurate shots that will start to distort Pacquiao’s features before long.
Roach won’t know what to do. When he realizes things are quickly falling apart, Roach will start barking orders a mile a minute at Pacquiao, sending him into mental overload. It won’t matter even if Pacquiao did understand what the heck Roach is jabbering about. He won’t have the ability to make sense of it all and apply what Roach is spitting out.
Meanwhile, Mayweather will be building up a huge lead in the fight, and turning Pacquiao’s head into a swollen mass of ugly red. Since this will be the biggest fight of all time, there’s no way the referee will step in to save Pacquiao from taking a senseless beating.
Instead, he’ll lead nature take it’s course and allow the one-sided slaughter to continue. My guess is Pacquiao will hit the deck by the 8th, and lay there in a beaten pile of flesh. Roach will come over and drag Pacquiao by one arm almost like a doll to his corner while mumbling “the horror, the horror.”
Arum says a new Super star [Chavez Jr] has been born
By Dave Lahr: Bob Arum looked like he was in ecstasy last night after Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (41-0-1, 30 KO’s) defeated John Duddy (29-2, 18 KO’s) by a 12 round decision at the Alamodome, in San Antonio, Texas. Arum, looking almost like he was gloating, said a new super star has been born, referring to the 24-year-old Chavez.
I saw the fight and don’t know what the big fuss is all about. Chavez Jr. looked pretty average to me. It was like watching an ESPN 2 fight and seeing a couple of obscure B level fighters going at it. In this case, Chavez Jr. defeated a defensively wide open Duddy by a mostly one-sided 12 round decision.
The fight didn’t really get one-sided until the 2nd half of the bout when Chavez began to get a little more aggressive by taking the fight to Duddy. Before that, Chavez was letting Duddy come to him and was getting the better shots in during their exchanges. Neither Chavez or Duddy looked like championship caliber fighters, as far as I can tell.
I thought Chavez looked decent but not like a future champion and certainly not good enough to beat Miguel Cotto or Sergio Martinez, if that’s what Arum has planned for him. Freddie Roach, the trainer for Chavez, wants to get him one more fight before having him fight for a title. Man, they can give Chavez 20 more fights, and I don’t see him winning a title in the light middleweight or the middleweight divisions, at least not a world title. He might win another Silver title or some other made up belt, but not a world title.
Chavez didn’t show the kind of talent that would make me think he’s any more than a gatekeeper fighter. He’s still young, so maybe he’ll get better in the future. I don’t know that he will. By 24, you can usually tell if a fighter is going to be a future champion or not, and I don’t see Chavez as being in the same class as Martinez, Kermit Cintron, Alfredo Angulo, James Kirkland or Felix Sturm.
I see Chavez as a bottom 15 type of fighter. But it looks like Arum is really sold him for some reason. I have no idea what he sees in him because Chavez looked average to me.
By Dave Lahr: Bob Arum looked like he was in ecstasy last night after Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (41-0-1, 30 KO’s) defeated John Duddy (29-2, 18 KO’s) by a 12 round decision at the Alamodome, in San Antonio, Texas. Arum, looking almost like he was gloating, said a new super star has been born, referring to the 24-year-old Chavez.
I saw the fight and don’t know what the big fuss is all about. Chavez Jr. looked pretty average to me. It was like watching an ESPN 2 fight and seeing a couple of obscure B level fighters going at it. In this case, Chavez Jr. defeated a defensively wide open Duddy by a mostly one-sided 12 round decision.
The fight didn’t really get one-sided until the 2nd half of the bout when Chavez began to get a little more aggressive by taking the fight to Duddy. Before that, Chavez was letting Duddy come to him and was getting the better shots in during their exchanges. Neither Chavez or Duddy looked like championship caliber fighters, as far as I can tell.
I thought Chavez looked decent but not like a future champion and certainly not good enough to beat Miguel Cotto or Sergio Martinez, if that’s what Arum has planned for him. Freddie Roach, the trainer for Chavez, wants to get him one more fight before having him fight for a title. Man, they can give Chavez 20 more fights, and I don’t see him winning a title in the light middleweight or the middleweight divisions, at least not a world title. He might win another Silver title or some other made up belt, but not a world title.
Chavez didn’t show the kind of talent that would make me think he’s any more than a gatekeeper fighter. He’s still young, so maybe he’ll get better in the future. I don’t know that he will. By 24, you can usually tell if a fighter is going to be a future champion or not, and I don’t see Chavez as being in the same class as Martinez, Kermit Cintron, Alfredo Angulo, James Kirkland or Felix Sturm.
I see Chavez as a bottom 15 type of fighter. But it looks like Arum is really sold him for some reason. I have no idea what he sees in him because Chavez looked average to me.
Team Alexander: Bradley Has To Settle Things at 140 First
By Mark Vester
Devon Alexander's mananger/trainer, Kevin Cunningham, says Timothy Bradley needs to settle business at 140-pounds before he thinks about making a title run at 147 or 154. Bradley, the WBO champion at junior welterweight, is moving up to 147-pounds on July 17 against Carlos Abregu. Bradley has expressed interest in facing WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto, WBO champion Manny Pacquiao and even WBA junior middleweight champion Miguel Cotto.
Alexander returns on August 7, defending his WBC/IBF 140-pound belts against former champion Andreas Kotelnik. He would like to fight Bradley before the year is out.
"Instead of Tim Bradley talking about going up to junior middleweight with Cotto or middleweight with Paul Williams...that's crazy. You have a big fight right here with the only unified champ in your division. Prove yourself at 140 first and those other big fights will be there," Cunningham said to BoxingScene.com's Ryan Burton.
"As far as Team Alexander is concerned, 140-pound division is not big enough for the two of us. We want to get in the ring and show the world that Devon is the best 140-pounder in the world. Tim Bradley is just claiming to be the best 140-pounder in the world."
By Mark Vester
Devon Alexander's mananger/trainer, Kevin Cunningham, says Timothy Bradley needs to settle business at 140-pounds before he thinks about making a title run at 147 or 154. Bradley, the WBO champion at junior welterweight, is moving up to 147-pounds on July 17 against Carlos Abregu. Bradley has expressed interest in facing WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto, WBO champion Manny Pacquiao and even WBA junior middleweight champion Miguel Cotto.
Alexander returns on August 7, defending his WBC/IBF 140-pound belts against former champion Andreas Kotelnik. He would like to fight Bradley before the year is out.
"Instead of Tim Bradley talking about going up to junior middleweight with Cotto or middleweight with Paul Williams...that's crazy. You have a big fight right here with the only unified champ in your division. Prove yourself at 140 first and those other big fights will be there," Cunningham said to BoxingScene.com's Ryan Burton.
"As far as Team Alexander is concerned, 140-pound division is not big enough for the two of us. We want to get in the ring and show the world that Devon is the best 140-pounder in the world. Tim Bradley is just claiming to be the best 140-pounder in the world."
Yuri Foreman-John Duddy Could Happen in New York
By Mark Vester
Following Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.'s twelve round decision win over John Duddy at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, Top Rank CEO Bob Arum discussed the future options for Duddy. A fight that Arum is interested in making, would see Duddy take on Yuri Foreman in a big clash at New York's Madison Square Garden. It's not clear if Duddy would come back down to 154 or Foreman would come up to 160.
Foreman is recovering from right knee surgery. He injured his knee during the nine round TKO loss to Miguel Cotto on June 5. It will take up to six months for Foreman to full recover. Once he recovers, Arum would like to make that fight. Foreman vs. Duddy would be an interesting crossroads fight.
"As soon as [Duddy] recovers and as soon as Yuri's knee heals, we're going to sell out Madison Square Garden next year," Arum said.
By Mark Vester
Following Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.'s twelve round decision win over John Duddy at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, Top Rank CEO Bob Arum discussed the future options for Duddy. A fight that Arum is interested in making, would see Duddy take on Yuri Foreman in a big clash at New York's Madison Square Garden. It's not clear if Duddy would come back down to 154 or Foreman would come up to 160.
Foreman is recovering from right knee surgery. He injured his knee during the nine round TKO loss to Miguel Cotto on June 5. It will take up to six months for Foreman to full recover. Once he recovers, Arum would like to make that fight. Foreman vs. Duddy would be an interesting crossroads fight.
"As soon as [Duddy] recovers and as soon as Yuri's knee heals, we're going to sell out Madison Square Garden next year," Arum said.
Andre Ward really the next Bernard Hopkins?
by Liam Fitzgerald: I was unable to see the recent Super Six match up between Andre Ward (22-0, 13 KO’s) and Allan Green (29-2, 20 KO’s) live but was excited about seeing it after hearing rave reviews about his performance as well as the fact that he won 120-108 on every scorecard. What intrigued me most was how many people compared the technique he showed in the fight to that of a young Bernard Hopkins.
However, having watched the fight now, I’m really struggling to agree with this comparison. I can definitely see some similarities but I believe that it is still very premature to put the Super Six leader in the same bracket as the future Hall of Famer.
Firstly, I must say that I had been very impressed with Ward’s dominating performance over Mikkel Kessler. In that fight he threw some lovely combinations and mixed up his attack well to put the Dane off and comfortably beat him. However, the win has been put into context for me now after Kessler’s win over Carl Froch which didn’t impress me at all and left me thinking that the WBC champion is in fact a declining fighter. Yet I can not take away the strength of this win as it was really a big upset from a youngster fighting for a World title for the first time.
So therefore I was very excited for his next fight against Green. Clearly his fellow American was a massive underdog and in my mind the result was never in doubt. What I was looking for was an improvement on the Kessler performance. Yet though he was even more dominant, I believe that has a lot to do with Green’s weaknesses more than Ward improving. He seemed too wary of Green’s reputed power and so chose to work in very close to stop his opponent freeing his arms to let fly. True, it was effective and got him win but it rightly drew criticism from some fans who felt the win was ugly.
It would be true to analyse that in this aspect Ward’s win was similar to some of Hopkins’ performance in the past. What they both do well is to neutralise their opponent’s offence and as a result put them in control of the tempo and style of the fight. This led to some really poor fights to watch in Hopkins’ case as well, the one with Winky Wright springing to mind. However, in general Hopkins tended to bring an excitement to fights that Ward hasn’t yet done and which he may struggle to do in the future.
This may in part be down to personality. Hopkins is clearly an outspoken, volatile character who brings attention and publicity to his fights, whether negatively or positively. Ward’s personality has yet to shine through a great deal and he remains fairly unknown to casual boxing fans. Of course, he is still young and winning the Super Six would be massive to his status in boxing circles. And on the basis of the first 2 rounds of the tournament, he certainly seems the man most capable of doing so.
However, the reason that the tournament is enjoying so much success is because all of the fighters are very close in terms of ability. There is no stand out star and having started with 4 undefeated fighters, it seems unlikely that any of them will come out of the tournament wit h their ‘0’ intact. I think this because I believe the speed and agility of Andre Dirrel will be enough to make him the first man to beat Ward and thus get him into the semis. So in comparison with Hopkins, even though he is young, I doubt Ward will be able to dominate his weight division in the way the Executioner did during the 90’s- 00’s. Plus, the middleweight division in them years was stronger than 168lbs is now.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t dislike Ward and have a lot of respect for his ability. I see him making the final of the Super Six and possibly winning it and if that happened he would clearly become a big star. However, what I don’t agree with is the comparisons with Hopkins who has fought some of the p4p best fighters in the world and won. Plus, his technical style of fighting was undoubtedly more exciting and intriguing to watch when beating men like de la Hoya, Trinidad, Tarver and Pavlik than Ward’s has been up to now. You never know if Ward wins the Super Six and has mega fights with Bute And Dawson, he could impress us all by nullifying their threat and winning but at this moment I don’t see him beating them type of fighters.
by Liam Fitzgerald: I was unable to see the recent Super Six match up between Andre Ward (22-0, 13 KO’s) and Allan Green (29-2, 20 KO’s) live but was excited about seeing it after hearing rave reviews about his performance as well as the fact that he won 120-108 on every scorecard. What intrigued me most was how many people compared the technique he showed in the fight to that of a young Bernard Hopkins.
However, having watched the fight now, I’m really struggling to agree with this comparison. I can definitely see some similarities but I believe that it is still very premature to put the Super Six leader in the same bracket as the future Hall of Famer.
Firstly, I must say that I had been very impressed with Ward’s dominating performance over Mikkel Kessler. In that fight he threw some lovely combinations and mixed up his attack well to put the Dane off and comfortably beat him. However, the win has been put into context for me now after Kessler’s win over Carl Froch which didn’t impress me at all and left me thinking that the WBC champion is in fact a declining fighter. Yet I can not take away the strength of this win as it was really a big upset from a youngster fighting for a World title for the first time.
So therefore I was very excited for his next fight against Green. Clearly his fellow American was a massive underdog and in my mind the result was never in doubt. What I was looking for was an improvement on the Kessler performance. Yet though he was even more dominant, I believe that has a lot to do with Green’s weaknesses more than Ward improving. He seemed too wary of Green’s reputed power and so chose to work in very close to stop his opponent freeing his arms to let fly. True, it was effective and got him win but it rightly drew criticism from some fans who felt the win was ugly.
It would be true to analyse that in this aspect Ward’s win was similar to some of Hopkins’ performance in the past. What they both do well is to neutralise their opponent’s offence and as a result put them in control of the tempo and style of the fight. This led to some really poor fights to watch in Hopkins’ case as well, the one with Winky Wright springing to mind. However, in general Hopkins tended to bring an excitement to fights that Ward hasn’t yet done and which he may struggle to do in the future.
This may in part be down to personality. Hopkins is clearly an outspoken, volatile character who brings attention and publicity to his fights, whether negatively or positively. Ward’s personality has yet to shine through a great deal and he remains fairly unknown to casual boxing fans. Of course, he is still young and winning the Super Six would be massive to his status in boxing circles. And on the basis of the first 2 rounds of the tournament, he certainly seems the man most capable of doing so.
However, the reason that the tournament is enjoying so much success is because all of the fighters are very close in terms of ability. There is no stand out star and having started with 4 undefeated fighters, it seems unlikely that any of them will come out of the tournament wit h their ‘0’ intact. I think this because I believe the speed and agility of Andre Dirrel will be enough to make him the first man to beat Ward and thus get him into the semis. So in comparison with Hopkins, even though he is young, I doubt Ward will be able to dominate his weight division in the way the Executioner did during the 90’s- 00’s. Plus, the middleweight division in them years was stronger than 168lbs is now.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t dislike Ward and have a lot of respect for his ability. I see him making the final of the Super Six and possibly winning it and if that happened he would clearly become a big star. However, what I don’t agree with is the comparisons with Hopkins who has fought some of the p4p best fighters in the world and won. Plus, his technical style of fighting was undoubtedly more exciting and intriguing to watch when beating men like de la Hoya, Trinidad, Tarver and Pavlik than Ward’s has been up to now. You never know if Ward wins the Super Six and has mega fights with Bute And Dawson, he could impress us all by nullifying their threat and winning but at this moment I don’t see him beating them type of fighters.
Rafael lists Ward #1 and Bute #2 at Super middleweight
By William Mackay: Dan Rafael of ESPN lists WBA super middleweight champion Andre Ward (19-0, 13 KO’s) as number #1 in the super middleweight division and IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute (26-0, 21 KO’s) as number #2. This is the opposite of what many boxing fans have. Many of them have Bute as number #1 and Ward #2. Rafael is clearly going out on the limb by selecting the young 26-year-old Ward as number #1 because other than his fights against Edison Miranda, Mikkel Kessler and Allan Green, Ward hasn’t faced that many top fighters during his six year pro career.
However, Ward is a 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist, and that certainly shows his pedigree and he looked sensational in his dominating performances against Miranda, Kessler and Green. None of those fights were remotely close, as Ward totally dominated all three of them without any problems.
In contrast, Bute’s experience isn’t that much more than Ward, despite fighting seven more fights during his career. Bute never made it to the Olympics while fighting as an amateur. The closest that Bute got was taking part in the World Championships in Bangkok, Thailand, in 2003. Bute made it to the finals but was then viciously knocked out in the 4th round by the power punching Gennady Golovkin from Kazakhstan. As a pro, Bute has faced and beaten fighters like Sakio Bika, Alejandro Berrio, William Joppy, Fulgencio Zuniga, Librado Andrade (twice) and Edison Miranda.
As you can see, Bute has a little more experience compared to Ward, but against fighters that Ward would also likely beat with ease. You can’t look at any of the fighters that Bute has faced thus far and say that Ward couldn’t beat every last one of them without too many problems. Bika is probably the best of the bunch, but he’s vulnerable to being out-boxed and I can see Ward handling him without too many problems.
I agree with Rafael’s ranking of Ward and Bute. I think Bute is a great fighter, but he’s so predictable and doesn’t fight as well on the inside compared to Ward. Bute is all about hitting and running. When he does fight on the inside, he likes load up with shots. He’s done well lately against Andrade and Miranda, but both of those fighters were flawed and not nearly as good in close compared to Ward.
I think Bute would be in real trouble if Ward was to fight him and force Bute to fight on the inside. I doubt Bute have much choice because Ward lands his shots and then he’s on top of his opponents with one lighting fast move. He shoots in like a knife and once he’s on top of his opponent, it’s impossible to extract him. If Ward was to fight Bute in his adopted country of Canada.
I think Bute would have a better chance at beating Ward, because the Canadian referee would likely be constantly breaking Ward and Bute and not allowing Ward to work on the inside. In order for Ward to beat Bute, he would have to beat him on the outside with his quicker hands. I think Ward could do that too. He would be too fast for Bute and would land every time with his shots, whereas Bute would be limited to his jab and run style, which I see as not being effective against Ward.
By William Mackay: Dan Rafael of ESPN lists WBA super middleweight champion Andre Ward (19-0, 13 KO’s) as number #1 in the super middleweight division and IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute (26-0, 21 KO’s) as number #2. This is the opposite of what many boxing fans have. Many of them have Bute as number #1 and Ward #2. Rafael is clearly going out on the limb by selecting the young 26-year-old Ward as number #1 because other than his fights against Edison Miranda, Mikkel Kessler and Allan Green, Ward hasn’t faced that many top fighters during his six year pro career.
However, Ward is a 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist, and that certainly shows his pedigree and he looked sensational in his dominating performances against Miranda, Kessler and Green. None of those fights were remotely close, as Ward totally dominated all three of them without any problems.
In contrast, Bute’s experience isn’t that much more than Ward, despite fighting seven more fights during his career. Bute never made it to the Olympics while fighting as an amateur. The closest that Bute got was taking part in the World Championships in Bangkok, Thailand, in 2003. Bute made it to the finals but was then viciously knocked out in the 4th round by the power punching Gennady Golovkin from Kazakhstan. As a pro, Bute has faced and beaten fighters like Sakio Bika, Alejandro Berrio, William Joppy, Fulgencio Zuniga, Librado Andrade (twice) and Edison Miranda.
As you can see, Bute has a little more experience compared to Ward, but against fighters that Ward would also likely beat with ease. You can’t look at any of the fighters that Bute has faced thus far and say that Ward couldn’t beat every last one of them without too many problems. Bika is probably the best of the bunch, but he’s vulnerable to being out-boxed and I can see Ward handling him without too many problems.
I agree with Rafael’s ranking of Ward and Bute. I think Bute is a great fighter, but he’s so predictable and doesn’t fight as well on the inside compared to Ward. Bute is all about hitting and running. When he does fight on the inside, he likes load up with shots. He’s done well lately against Andrade and Miranda, but both of those fighters were flawed and not nearly as good in close compared to Ward.
I think Bute would be in real trouble if Ward was to fight him and force Bute to fight on the inside. I doubt Bute have much choice because Ward lands his shots and then he’s on top of his opponents with one lighting fast move. He shoots in like a knife and once he’s on top of his opponent, it’s impossible to extract him. If Ward was to fight Bute in his adopted country of Canada.
I think Bute would have a better chance at beating Ward, because the Canadian referee would likely be constantly breaking Ward and Bute and not allowing Ward to work on the inside. In order for Ward to beat Bute, he would have to beat him on the outside with his quicker hands. I think Ward could do that too. He would be too fast for Bute and would land every time with his shots, whereas Bute would be limited to his jab and run style, which I see as not being effective against Ward.
Judah vs. Santa Cruz on July 17th: Hopefully, Zab doesn’t lose again
By Jim Dower: Former two division champion Zab Judah (38-6, 26 KO’s) will be making one of his infrequent appearances next month against Jose Armando Santa Cruz (28-4, 17 KO’s) in a 10-round non-title bout at the Prudential Center, in Newark, New Jersey. Judah, 32, is hoping to restart his career back in the light welterweight division where he originally started and found his first success. It may be too late for Judah to find the kind of success that he had before.
10 years ago, Judah was considered by some to be the best fighter in the light welterweight division. Judah beat quality fighters liked Junior Witter, Allan Vester and Reggie Green with ease. But then Judah ran into WBA/WBC light welterweight champion Kostya Tszyu, who stopped Judah in two rounds. Judah would later capture the WBO light welterweight title a year later with a 12 round split decision victory over DeMarcus Corley in July 2003.
Judah then moved up in weight to the welterweight division where he soon after won the IBF/WBA/WBC welterweight title with a 9th round stoppage victory over Cory Spinks. The wheels came off of the Judah bandwagon in 2006, when Judah was beaten in back to back fights to Carlos Baldomir and Floyd Mayweather Jr. The loss to Baldomir seemed to show that Judah was a little undersized for the division and not up to some of the grueling wars that are sometimes required of the fighters.
Since the losses to Baldomir and Mayweather, Judah was beaten by both Miguel Cotto and Joshua Clottey in failed title challenges. The remainder of Judah’s opposition have been 2nd tier opposition. It’s incredible that Judah has wasted two years since his loss to Clottey in 2008, and has only fought twice since them against Ernest Johnson and Ubaldo Hernandez.
Judah’s opponent on July 17th, the 29-year-old 5’10” Santa Cruz is another 2nd tier opponent for Judah. Santa Cruz, however, was at one time briefly the WBC lightweight interim champion four years ago in 2006. However, Santa Cruz has lost to David Diaz, Joel Casamayor and Antonio Pitalua since then, and was stopped in two of those fights. Santa Cruz has won his last two fights since his knockout loss to Pitalua, albeit against beatable opposition.
Judah needs to look good and get Santa Cruz out of there. Once Judah gets past this obstacle, he needs to get his career in the fast lane and start looking to go after some of the champions. At 32, he’s running out of time to do things with his career. Judah needs to go after WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan. I think light welterweight champions Devon Alexander and Timothy Bradley would beat Judah at this point in his career, but I think Khan is vulnerable to getting knocked out by Judah.
That’s the biggest money fight of the three and the one Judah needs to be looking at. Ideally, if Judah can beat Khan, there would be a possibility of a rematch and Judah could get two good paydays against Khan in the near future.
By Jim Dower: Former two division champion Zab Judah (38-6, 26 KO’s) will be making one of his infrequent appearances next month against Jose Armando Santa Cruz (28-4, 17 KO’s) in a 10-round non-title bout at the Prudential Center, in Newark, New Jersey. Judah, 32, is hoping to restart his career back in the light welterweight division where he originally started and found his first success. It may be too late for Judah to find the kind of success that he had before.
10 years ago, Judah was considered by some to be the best fighter in the light welterweight division. Judah beat quality fighters liked Junior Witter, Allan Vester and Reggie Green with ease. But then Judah ran into WBA/WBC light welterweight champion Kostya Tszyu, who stopped Judah in two rounds. Judah would later capture the WBO light welterweight title a year later with a 12 round split decision victory over DeMarcus Corley in July 2003.
Judah then moved up in weight to the welterweight division where he soon after won the IBF/WBA/WBC welterweight title with a 9th round stoppage victory over Cory Spinks. The wheels came off of the Judah bandwagon in 2006, when Judah was beaten in back to back fights to Carlos Baldomir and Floyd Mayweather Jr. The loss to Baldomir seemed to show that Judah was a little undersized for the division and not up to some of the grueling wars that are sometimes required of the fighters.
Since the losses to Baldomir and Mayweather, Judah was beaten by both Miguel Cotto and Joshua Clottey in failed title challenges. The remainder of Judah’s opposition have been 2nd tier opposition. It’s incredible that Judah has wasted two years since his loss to Clottey in 2008, and has only fought twice since them against Ernest Johnson and Ubaldo Hernandez.
Judah’s opponent on July 17th, the 29-year-old 5’10” Santa Cruz is another 2nd tier opponent for Judah. Santa Cruz, however, was at one time briefly the WBC lightweight interim champion four years ago in 2006. However, Santa Cruz has lost to David Diaz, Joel Casamayor and Antonio Pitalua since then, and was stopped in two of those fights. Santa Cruz has won his last two fights since his knockout loss to Pitalua, albeit against beatable opposition.
Judah needs to look good and get Santa Cruz out of there. Once Judah gets past this obstacle, he needs to get his career in the fast lane and start looking to go after some of the champions. At 32, he’s running out of time to do things with his career. Judah needs to go after WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan. I think light welterweight champions Devon Alexander and Timothy Bradley would beat Judah at this point in his career, but I think Khan is vulnerable to getting knocked out by Judah.
That’s the biggest money fight of the three and the one Judah needs to be looking at. Ideally, if Judah can beat Khan, there would be a possibility of a rematch and Judah could get two good paydays against Khan in the near future.
How badly will Chavez Jr. get spanked if he fights Cotto or Martinez?
By Jason Kim: All for hyping a fighter when they’ve shown some legitimate talent and the ability to beat the current champions in whatever division they’re fighting. However, I’m less patient about hyping a fighter that beats another B level fighter and then starts crowing about how they’re going to be a champion. Last Saturday night, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (41-0-1, 30 KO’s) did a good job of grinding out a 12 round decision over John Duddy (29-2, 18 KO’s) at the Alamodome, in San Antonio, Texas.
While I think it was a great victory for the 24-year-old Chavez, given that his opponents up that point at hand been B and C level fighters, I still didn’t see anything in that victory that would suggest that Chavez would do anything but lose and lose badly if were to take on ANY of the champions in either the light middleweight or middleweight divisions. I saw nothing that would make me think that Chavez could beat fighters like Miguel Cotto, Sergio Martinez, Felix Sturm, Cory Spinks, Alfredo Angulo, Sebastian Sylvester or Sergeii Dzinziruk.
That’s just the way I see it. Chavez doesn’t have something going for him and that’s his age. At 24, he could out-last most of these fighters, in theory, and go after them once they old and addled. At that point, maybe I think there’s a chance that Chavez Jr. can win a major title in either of those divisions, but I’m really not holding my breath on that happening. Chavez will get older too, and maybe not get better.
I suspect Chavez is about as good as he’ll get. 24 is young for some fighters and it’s the prime for others. My guess is 24 is the prime for Chavez. I see him as having his foot all the way to the floor on his gas pedal, as good as he’ll ever get. Chavez’s promoter Bob Arum sees him as a new star in boxing. God, I don’t know about that. I didn’t see anything in that performance against Duddy that would suggest to me that Chavez is a star.
I did see Chavez staggered in the 6th round by the light hitting Duddy, and I also saw him struggle through most of the first half of the bout and end up with two bruised eyes. My question is: if Chavez is a star, then why is he struggling with a fringe contender like Duddy? Shouldn’t Chavez, being a star, breeze through a guy like Duddy? Why in the heck is he struggling with him then?
I’m not feeling good about Chavez’s future right now. And I don’t like his chances at all if he fights Cotto or Sergio Martinez anytime in the next five years. Chavez is not ready now to fight either Cotto or Martinez, that’s for sure. And I don’t see him being ready until both Cotto and Martinez are totally shot to pieces. They’re too good and what I saw of Chavez last Saturday night was a flawed fighter with some ability, but not enough to make up for all his flaws.
By Jason Kim: All for hyping a fighter when they’ve shown some legitimate talent and the ability to beat the current champions in whatever division they’re fighting. However, I’m less patient about hyping a fighter that beats another B level fighter and then starts crowing about how they’re going to be a champion. Last Saturday night, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (41-0-1, 30 KO’s) did a good job of grinding out a 12 round decision over John Duddy (29-2, 18 KO’s) at the Alamodome, in San Antonio, Texas.
While I think it was a great victory for the 24-year-old Chavez, given that his opponents up that point at hand been B and C level fighters, I still didn’t see anything in that victory that would suggest that Chavez would do anything but lose and lose badly if were to take on ANY of the champions in either the light middleweight or middleweight divisions. I saw nothing that would make me think that Chavez could beat fighters like Miguel Cotto, Sergio Martinez, Felix Sturm, Cory Spinks, Alfredo Angulo, Sebastian Sylvester or Sergeii Dzinziruk.
That’s just the way I see it. Chavez doesn’t have something going for him and that’s his age. At 24, he could out-last most of these fighters, in theory, and go after them once they old and addled. At that point, maybe I think there’s a chance that Chavez Jr. can win a major title in either of those divisions, but I’m really not holding my breath on that happening. Chavez will get older too, and maybe not get better.
I suspect Chavez is about as good as he’ll get. 24 is young for some fighters and it’s the prime for others. My guess is 24 is the prime for Chavez. I see him as having his foot all the way to the floor on his gas pedal, as good as he’ll ever get. Chavez’s promoter Bob Arum sees him as a new star in boxing. God, I don’t know about that. I didn’t see anything in that performance against Duddy that would suggest to me that Chavez is a star.
I did see Chavez staggered in the 6th round by the light hitting Duddy, and I also saw him struggle through most of the first half of the bout and end up with two bruised eyes. My question is: if Chavez is a star, then why is he struggling with a fringe contender like Duddy? Shouldn’t Chavez, being a star, breeze through a guy like Duddy? Why in the heck is he struggling with him then?
I’m not feeling good about Chavez’s future right now. And I don’t like his chances at all if he fights Cotto or Sergio Martinez anytime in the next five years. Chavez is not ready now to fight either Cotto or Martinez, that’s for sure. And I don’t see him being ready until both Cotto and Martinez are totally shot to pieces. They’re too good and what I saw of Chavez last Saturday night was a flawed fighter with some ability, but not enough to make up for all his flaws.
Abraham vs. Froch: Is Carl about to see his Super Six dreams die?
By William Mackay: Assuming that former WBC super middleweight champion Carl Froch (26-1, 20 KO’s) does eventually find a venue that’s agreeable to him for his fight with Arthur Abraham (31-1, 25 KO’s) in September, is Froch about to get knocked out and then knocked out of the Super Six tournament? Froch, 32, can no longer afford to lose another fight if he wants to continue on into the semifinals of the Super Six tourney. Froch was beaten pretty conclusively in his last fight by Mikkel Kessler in Herning, Denmark, although Froch would be the last one to admit it.
Froch still thinks he won the fight for some reason. Hopefully, Froch can put the loss behind him enough so that he can concentrate at his task at hand and try to figure out a way to beat Abraham. It’s not going to be easy for Froch, because Abraham likes to go direct at his opponents to try and take off their heads. Froch is pretty much the same kind of fighter. He doesn’t use a lot of lateral movement and likes to stand and trade power shots with his opponents.
Normally, Froch is the bigger puncher and is able to get away with his straight ahead style of fighting. However, Froch has had problems in the past year in his fights against Jermain Taylor, Andre Dirrell and Kessler. Froch has won two of the three fights, but the fact that he’s getting hit a lot and barely winning now seems to suggest that his style is now longer working for him.
And if Froch thinks he can run over Abraham, he finally have met a fighter that can not only beat him, but knock him out to the point where there can be no excuses. Froch liks to punch, but Abraham is clearly a better puncher. Since Froch doesn’t have good hand speed or ring movement, he won’t be able to depend on just moving away from Abraham to prevent him from catching up to him and battering him.
Froch most likely will have no other choice by to fight Abraham’s style of fight if he wants to try and win. He won’t be able to move, because Abraham has shown the ability to cut off the ring against much quicker fighters than him in the past. Froch won’t likely be able to stay clear of Abraham, and I really doubt he’ll try. I think Froch’s pride will be too much for him to even consider running from Abraham.
That will make Abraham’s work much easier, because Froch will come right at him and be standing in Abraham’s power alley as he starts to tee off with his massive shots. Froch has been hurt in his last three fights now, and that’s not a good sign. That tells me that Froch’s chin is starting to show cracks and it’s getting worse every time. I think Abraham is going to bust open Froch’s chin and leave him on the canvas before long unless Froch can somehow completely revamp his style of fighting before September.
By William Mackay: Assuming that former WBC super middleweight champion Carl Froch (26-1, 20 KO’s) does eventually find a venue that’s agreeable to him for his fight with Arthur Abraham (31-1, 25 KO’s) in September, is Froch about to get knocked out and then knocked out of the Super Six tournament? Froch, 32, can no longer afford to lose another fight if he wants to continue on into the semifinals of the Super Six tourney. Froch was beaten pretty conclusively in his last fight by Mikkel Kessler in Herning, Denmark, although Froch would be the last one to admit it.
Froch still thinks he won the fight for some reason. Hopefully, Froch can put the loss behind him enough so that he can concentrate at his task at hand and try to figure out a way to beat Abraham. It’s not going to be easy for Froch, because Abraham likes to go direct at his opponents to try and take off their heads. Froch is pretty much the same kind of fighter. He doesn’t use a lot of lateral movement and likes to stand and trade power shots with his opponents.
Normally, Froch is the bigger puncher and is able to get away with his straight ahead style of fighting. However, Froch has had problems in the past year in his fights against Jermain Taylor, Andre Dirrell and Kessler. Froch has won two of the three fights, but the fact that he’s getting hit a lot and barely winning now seems to suggest that his style is now longer working for him.
And if Froch thinks he can run over Abraham, he finally have met a fighter that can not only beat him, but knock him out to the point where there can be no excuses. Froch liks to punch, but Abraham is clearly a better puncher. Since Froch doesn’t have good hand speed or ring movement, he won’t be able to depend on just moving away from Abraham to prevent him from catching up to him and battering him.
Froch most likely will have no other choice by to fight Abraham’s style of fight if he wants to try and win. He won’t be able to move, because Abraham has shown the ability to cut off the ring against much quicker fighters than him in the past. Froch won’t likely be able to stay clear of Abraham, and I really doubt he’ll try. I think Froch’s pride will be too much for him to even consider running from Abraham.
That will make Abraham’s work much easier, because Froch will come right at him and be standing in Abraham’s power alley as he starts to tee off with his massive shots. Froch has been hurt in his last three fights now, and that’s not a good sign. That tells me that Froch’s chin is starting to show cracks and it’s getting worse every time. I think Abraham is going to bust open Froch’s chin and leave him on the canvas before long unless Froch can somehow completely revamp his style of fighting before September.
Roach thinks Pacquiao will call Mayweather’s bluff: Is Freddie blowing smoke up every
By Chris Williams: Trainer Freddie Roach loves to give a good quote. You put a microphone underneath his mouth and he’ll just start talking. In an article at the Star.com, Roach says he thinks that his fighter WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao will agree to the random blood tests that Floyd Mayweather Jr. wants in order to call his bluff. The thinking here is if Mayweather is really serious about wanting to fight Pacquiao, then he would in turn immediately agree to the fight.
However, Roach doesn’t specifically mention the purse split and that’s something that is rumored to be one of the areas that are holding the fight up from moving forward in the negotiations. I think Roach is talking about the drug testing, and that’s just one of the issues. I seriously doubt that Pacquiao will agree to take the small percentage and wind up with only 40%.
Roach says “At this point I feel that Manny is going to agree to everything. That’s out bluff. We’re going to call his bluff. We’ll see…I can’t speak for Manny, I can’t speak for Arum, but I feel the fight will happen because Manny is going to call his bluff and say ‘let’s do it.’ Manny’s a congressman. He’s going to agree with everything Mayweather wants. That’s why I think the fight will happen.” That sounds like a lot of wishful thinking on Roach’s part.
I really wonder if he’s even checked this stuff out with Pacquiao or if he’s just talking from the top of his head, hoping that Pacquiao will call Mayweather’s bluff. After all, it’s not like Roach doesn’t get something out of Pacquiao fighting Mayweather. He’ll get his normal huge trainer fee. I don’t see Pacquiao calling Mayweather’s bluff. I don’t see that happening at all. Not only do I see Pacquiao standing firm at the 14 day cutoff window that he agreed to for the random blood testing for performance enhancing drugs, but I don’t think Pacquiao will ever agree to anything less than a 50-50 deal in terms of the financial cut.
It would be a pity if the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight doesn’t take place, because this is a fight that the entire world wants to see. But I don’t think Roach knows what he’s talking about. I can’t see Pacquiao, with his ego, giving in on the blood testing and no way will he agree to take less of the purse, even though 40 to 45% would still be by far the biggest payday of Pacquiao’s career. He sees it as a fairness issue, and probably won’t want to knuckle under and let Mayweather get his way.
But, yeah, as a congressman, it would be a nice move for Pacquiao to give the people what they want and just give in to whatever Mayweather is asking for. I think none of this will happen. Roach’s vision seems like a pipe dream to me. What I see happening is Pacquiao digging his heels in the sand and refusing on both the random blood testing within 14 days and also refusing to take less than 50% of the pay cut, even though Mayweather has been shown to have the better PPV numbers in the past few years.
I then see Pacquiao fighting Miguel Cotto or maybe Antonio Margarito next. The Cotto fight will probably happen. After that, Mayweather might agree to Pacquiao’s requests knowing that Pacquiao is on the verge of retirement
By Chris Williams: Trainer Freddie Roach loves to give a good quote. You put a microphone underneath his mouth and he’ll just start talking. In an article at the Star.com, Roach says he thinks that his fighter WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao will agree to the random blood tests that Floyd Mayweather Jr. wants in order to call his bluff. The thinking here is if Mayweather is really serious about wanting to fight Pacquiao, then he would in turn immediately agree to the fight.
However, Roach doesn’t specifically mention the purse split and that’s something that is rumored to be one of the areas that are holding the fight up from moving forward in the negotiations. I think Roach is talking about the drug testing, and that’s just one of the issues. I seriously doubt that Pacquiao will agree to take the small percentage and wind up with only 40%.
Roach says “At this point I feel that Manny is going to agree to everything. That’s out bluff. We’re going to call his bluff. We’ll see…I can’t speak for Manny, I can’t speak for Arum, but I feel the fight will happen because Manny is going to call his bluff and say ‘let’s do it.’ Manny’s a congressman. He’s going to agree with everything Mayweather wants. That’s why I think the fight will happen.” That sounds like a lot of wishful thinking on Roach’s part.
I really wonder if he’s even checked this stuff out with Pacquiao or if he’s just talking from the top of his head, hoping that Pacquiao will call Mayweather’s bluff. After all, it’s not like Roach doesn’t get something out of Pacquiao fighting Mayweather. He’ll get his normal huge trainer fee. I don’t see Pacquiao calling Mayweather’s bluff. I don’t see that happening at all. Not only do I see Pacquiao standing firm at the 14 day cutoff window that he agreed to for the random blood testing for performance enhancing drugs, but I don’t think Pacquiao will ever agree to anything less than a 50-50 deal in terms of the financial cut.
It would be a pity if the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight doesn’t take place, because this is a fight that the entire world wants to see. But I don’t think Roach knows what he’s talking about. I can’t see Pacquiao, with his ego, giving in on the blood testing and no way will he agree to take less of the purse, even though 40 to 45% would still be by far the biggest payday of Pacquiao’s career. He sees it as a fairness issue, and probably won’t want to knuckle under and let Mayweather get his way.
But, yeah, as a congressman, it would be a nice move for Pacquiao to give the people what they want and just give in to whatever Mayweather is asking for. I think none of this will happen. Roach’s vision seems like a pipe dream to me. What I see happening is Pacquiao digging his heels in the sand and refusing on both the random blood testing within 14 days and also refusing to take less than 50% of the pay cut, even though Mayweather has been shown to have the better PPV numbers in the past few years.
I then see Pacquiao fighting Miguel Cotto or maybe Antonio Margarito next. The Cotto fight will probably happen. After that, Mayweather might agree to Pacquiao’s requests knowing that Pacquiao is on the verge of retirement
Arum thinks the Mayweather-Pacquiao negotiations won’t be taking place too much longe
By Chris Williams: Promoter Bob Arum, who is working for WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao, doesn’t think the negotiations between Pacquiao and unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr. will be going on too much longer. Arum still won’t give a date as to when the negotiations will be completed.
There’s also a chance that the negotiations won’t be completed because of differences over the purse split and the random blood testing cutoff. Pacquiao wants a 50-50 deal, which is the same deal as last time when he and Arum unsuccessfully attempted to put together a fight with Mayweather. At that time, Mayweather was in agreement with the 50-50 split of the revenue.
However, he wanted the blood testing to go up until 14 days before the fight while Pacquiao wanted it to stop 24 days. Instead of sticking it out with the negotiations, Arum then picked another one of his Top Rank fighters Joshua Clottey for Pacquiao to fight inside. The results weren’t overwhelmingly positive, as the fight brought in only 700,000 pay-per-view buys, less than half of the 1.4 million PPV buys that Mayweather took in for his fight against Shane Mosley on May 1st. Perhaps because of that, Mayweather is asking for a bigger cut of the financial pie this time.
It’s understandable, because his numbers were better not only for this fight, but also for his fights against Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Juan Manuel Marquez.
Arum and Pacquiao can’t wait on Mayweather forever, though, because Arum has booked the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, and the Cowboy Stadium, in Arlington, Texas, for November 13th and he needs to start marketing the fight ahead of time. If Mayweather doesn’t take the fight, then Pacquiao could fight some of Arum’s other fighters in his Top Rank stable like Miguel Cotto (again) or Antonio Margarito.
Neither of those fights is particularly appealing but that’s about the best that Arum has to offer in his stable right now. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. isn’t ready for a fight against Manny Pacquiao, and besides that, he’s probably too big to get down in weight low enough. Besides that, it would probably end up being a terrible fight, much worse than Pacquiao’s recent win over Clottey.
Chavez struggled with John Duddy this past weekend, winning a 12 round decision but struggling nonetheless for much of the fight. A fight between Pacquiao and Margarito would be good if Margarito had his boxing license to fight in the U.S., which he doesn’t, and if he hadn’t gotten so badly dominated a year ago by Shane Mosley. Margarito hasn’t done much to redeem himself since that loss other than beating Roberto Garcia, a fighter few fans have even heard of.
By Chris Williams: Promoter Bob Arum, who is working for WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao, doesn’t think the negotiations between Pacquiao and unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr. will be going on too much longer. Arum still won’t give a date as to when the negotiations will be completed.
There’s also a chance that the negotiations won’t be completed because of differences over the purse split and the random blood testing cutoff. Pacquiao wants a 50-50 deal, which is the same deal as last time when he and Arum unsuccessfully attempted to put together a fight with Mayweather. At that time, Mayweather was in agreement with the 50-50 split of the revenue.
However, he wanted the blood testing to go up until 14 days before the fight while Pacquiao wanted it to stop 24 days. Instead of sticking it out with the negotiations, Arum then picked another one of his Top Rank fighters Joshua Clottey for Pacquiao to fight inside. The results weren’t overwhelmingly positive, as the fight brought in only 700,000 pay-per-view buys, less than half of the 1.4 million PPV buys that Mayweather took in for his fight against Shane Mosley on May 1st. Perhaps because of that, Mayweather is asking for a bigger cut of the financial pie this time.
It’s understandable, because his numbers were better not only for this fight, but also for his fights against Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Juan Manuel Marquez.
Arum and Pacquiao can’t wait on Mayweather forever, though, because Arum has booked the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, and the Cowboy Stadium, in Arlington, Texas, for November 13th and he needs to start marketing the fight ahead of time. If Mayweather doesn’t take the fight, then Pacquiao could fight some of Arum’s other fighters in his Top Rank stable like Miguel Cotto (again) or Antonio Margarito.
Neither of those fights is particularly appealing but that’s about the best that Arum has to offer in his stable right now. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. isn’t ready for a fight against Manny Pacquiao, and besides that, he’s probably too big to get down in weight low enough. Besides that, it would probably end up being a terrible fight, much worse than Pacquiao’s recent win over Clottey.
Chavez struggled with John Duddy this past weekend, winning a 12 round decision but struggling nonetheless for much of the fight. A fight between Pacquiao and Margarito would be good if Margarito had his boxing license to fight in the U.S., which he doesn’t, and if he hadn’t gotten so badly dominated a year ago by Shane Mosley. Margarito hasn’t done much to redeem himself since that loss other than beating Roberto Garcia, a fighter few fans have even heard of.
Steward Thinks He Can Neutralize Pacquiao's Speed
By Lem Satterfield
When trainer Emanuel Steward sat down with Miguel Cotto to discuss last November's TKO loss to Manny Pacquiao, the Puerto Rican star told him there were no issues related to weight or being drained from making weight. Pacquiao and Cotto fought at a catch-weight of 145-pounds, and there were some experts who felt the extra two pounds were a factor in the fight.
According to Cotto, there was one big hurdle that he couldn't solve in the fight - Pacquiao's speed. He told Steward that "he couldn't deal" with the Filipino's fast hands.
Steward hooked up with Cotto prior to the fight with Yuri Foreman on June 5. Cotto stopped Foreman in the ninth round to capture the WBA junior middleweight title. If Pacquiao is unable to reach an agreement for a November fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr., then Cotto becomes a possible opponent to fill the hole.
Steward says the issue of dealing with speed is his specialty. He doesn't see the difference in speed being a huge factor in a potential rematch. Even with the puzzle of speed being solved, Steward still views Pacquiao as a very tough nut to crack.
"That would not be a problem with me this time because I specialize in fast sparring partners. That's something that I insist on. I've never had a fighter come back at the end of a round and tell me that 'I've got a problem because I can't handle his speed,' you know? But any time anybody's fighting Manny Pacquiao, you have your work cut out for you any way that you cut it," Steward said.
By Lem Satterfield
When trainer Emanuel Steward sat down with Miguel Cotto to discuss last November's TKO loss to Manny Pacquiao, the Puerto Rican star told him there were no issues related to weight or being drained from making weight. Pacquiao and Cotto fought at a catch-weight of 145-pounds, and there were some experts who felt the extra two pounds were a factor in the fight.
According to Cotto, there was one big hurdle that he couldn't solve in the fight - Pacquiao's speed. He told Steward that "he couldn't deal" with the Filipino's fast hands.
Steward hooked up with Cotto prior to the fight with Yuri Foreman on June 5. Cotto stopped Foreman in the ninth round to capture the WBA junior middleweight title. If Pacquiao is unable to reach an agreement for a November fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr., then Cotto becomes a possible opponent to fill the hole.
Steward says the issue of dealing with speed is his specialty. He doesn't see the difference in speed being a huge factor in a potential rematch. Even with the puzzle of speed being solved, Steward still views Pacquiao as a very tough nut to crack.
"That would not be a problem with me this time because I specialize in fast sparring partners. That's something that I insist on. I've never had a fighter come back at the end of a round and tell me that 'I've got a problem because I can't handle his speed,' you know? But any time anybody's fighting Manny Pacquiao, you have your work cut out for you any way that you cut it," Steward said.
Tim Bradley-Devon Alexander Could Be Next, Says Shaw
By Rick Reeno
If HBO puts the right number on the table, promoter Gary Shaw tells BoxingScene.com that we could very well see a junior welterweight unification between champions Timothy Bradley and Devon Alexander in early 2011. There could be a chance for Bradley-Alexander to take place at the end of the year, but not likely. HBO would have a lot more wiggle room in their budget in early 2011.
Bradley, the WBO champion, makes his welterweight debut on July 17 against Carlos Abregu. Alexander defends his WBC/IBF titles against Andriy Kotelnik on August 7.
"Ive been talking with [HBO], maybe we'll fight Devon Alexander next," Shaw said to BoxingScene.com
"We'll fight [Andre] Berto. We'll fight [Amir] Khan. We'll fight them all, but Timmy wants to prove himself at junior welterweight. And he's gone on record saying that until he fights all of the 140-pounders, he doesn't consider himself the best in the world...I do [consider him the best in the world]."
By Rick Reeno
If HBO puts the right number on the table, promoter Gary Shaw tells BoxingScene.com that we could very well see a junior welterweight unification between champions Timothy Bradley and Devon Alexander in early 2011. There could be a chance for Bradley-Alexander to take place at the end of the year, but not likely. HBO would have a lot more wiggle room in their budget in early 2011.
Bradley, the WBO champion, makes his welterweight debut on July 17 against Carlos Abregu. Alexander defends his WBC/IBF titles against Andriy Kotelnik on August 7.
"Ive been talking with [HBO], maybe we'll fight Devon Alexander next," Shaw said to BoxingScene.com
"We'll fight [Andre] Berto. We'll fight [Amir] Khan. We'll fight them all, but Timmy wants to prove himself at junior welterweight. And he's gone on record saying that until he fights all of the 140-pounders, he doesn't consider himself the best in the world...I do [consider him the best in the world]."
Gamboa vs Rojas Close For Sept. 11, Not Done Just Yet
By Rick Reeno
Top Rank advised BoxingScene.com on Thursday morning that a deal is close, but not done yet, for a featherweight unification between WBA champion Yuriorkis Gamboa (18-0, 15KOs) and WBC champion Elio Rojas (22-1, 13KOs). All of the major sticking points have been agreed upon. The contracts have not been signed. Barring any unforeseen issues, the fight probably won't get finalized until after the holiday weekend.
I've also been advised that it's not exactly a set plan to stage the fight on September 11 at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. The venue has not confirmed availability for the planned September date. The venue situation won't be resolved until next week.
Devon Alexander's trainer, Kevin Cunningham, will prepare and work Rojas' corner for the fight with Gamboa. The original plan had Gamboa facing IBF champion Orlando Salido on July 24. Salido suffered a cut in training and the fight was kicked.
The co-feature will remain with a lightweight eliminator between two unbeatens, as Anthony Peterson (30-0, 20KOs) will fight Brandon Rios (24-0, 18KOs).
By Rick Reeno
Top Rank advised BoxingScene.com on Thursday morning that a deal is close, but not done yet, for a featherweight unification between WBA champion Yuriorkis Gamboa (18-0, 15KOs) and WBC champion Elio Rojas (22-1, 13KOs). All of the major sticking points have been agreed upon. The contracts have not been signed. Barring any unforeseen issues, the fight probably won't get finalized until after the holiday weekend.
I've also been advised that it's not exactly a set plan to stage the fight on September 11 at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. The venue has not confirmed availability for the planned September date. The venue situation won't be resolved until next week.
Devon Alexander's trainer, Kevin Cunningham, will prepare and work Rojas' corner for the fight with Gamboa. The original plan had Gamboa facing IBF champion Orlando Salido on July 24. Salido suffered a cut in training and the fight was kicked.
The co-feature will remain with a lightweight eliminator between two unbeatens, as Anthony Peterson (30-0, 20KOs) will fight Brandon Rios (24-0, 18KOs).
Dawson vs Bute is The Plan; Perez-Agbeko Part 2 Ordered
By Rick Reeno
Promoter Gary Shaw advised BoxingScene.com that he would like match IBO light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson against Lucian Bute, the IBF champion at 168-pounds, and giving Bute the homefield advantage of the Bell Centre in Montreal is not a problem.
Dawson has a big fight ahead on August 14 against WBC champion Jean Pascal. Shaw is very confident with Dawson's ability to win the fight. Considering that most of the big names at super middleweight are secured by Showtime in the Super Six tournament, Dawson could become a realistic possibility for Bute.
"I have respect for Jean Pascal, but I don't see him beating Chad Dawson...no way. [Chad is] too fast, too technical, too big," Shaw said. "I see us winning the fight. The same type of fight as Glen Johnson. And hopefully after this I can bring Bute to the table. Dawson is an HBO fighter. Bute is an HBO fighter. It's a natural fight. He can come up to 175 or we can meet him at a catch-weight.
According to Shaw, the IBF ordered a rematch between bantamweight champion Yhonny Perez and Joseph Agbeko. Perez won the title from Agbeko last October by unanimous decision. The problem with the fight is not making it. Shaw is having trouble finding a televised spot for the rematch.
"I told the IBF, there are no dates," Shaw said
By Rick Reeno
Promoter Gary Shaw advised BoxingScene.com that he would like match IBO light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson against Lucian Bute, the IBF champion at 168-pounds, and giving Bute the homefield advantage of the Bell Centre in Montreal is not a problem.
Dawson has a big fight ahead on August 14 against WBC champion Jean Pascal. Shaw is very confident with Dawson's ability to win the fight. Considering that most of the big names at super middleweight are secured by Showtime in the Super Six tournament, Dawson could become a realistic possibility for Bute.
"I have respect for Jean Pascal, but I don't see him beating Chad Dawson...no way. [Chad is] too fast, too technical, too big," Shaw said. "I see us winning the fight. The same type of fight as Glen Johnson. And hopefully after this I can bring Bute to the table. Dawson is an HBO fighter. Bute is an HBO fighter. It's a natural fight. He can come up to 175 or we can meet him at a catch-weight.
According to Shaw, the IBF ordered a rematch between bantamweight champion Yhonny Perez and Joseph Agbeko. Perez won the title from Agbeko last October by unanimous decision. The problem with the fight is not making it. Shaw is having trouble finding a televised spot for the rematch.
"I told the IBF, there are no dates," Shaw said