Boxing News Thread

[2-0-Sixx]

Great fight Sept 11th. War Gamboa!



By Dan Rafael
ESPN.com
Archive

Featherweight titlist Yuriorkis Gamboa will still attempt to unify belts, just not against Orlando Salido as originally planned. Instead, Gamboa will face Elio Rojas to unify two of the major 126-pound titles.

Gamboa and Rojas will meet Sept. 11 in the main event of an HBO "Boxing After Dark" card at a venue to be determined -- although promoter Top Rank hopes to have the fight in Las Vegas -- Top Rank's Carl Moretti said. Moretti said Top Rank and Don King, Rojas' promoter, have come to terms, although they are trading paperwork.

"We've sent them a draft of the contract for them to review and we're waiting for their comments, but we've agreed on the terms," Moretti told ESPN.com.

Gamboa had been scheduled to face Salido in a unification match on July 24 on HBO in Las Vegas, but the card was scrapped because Salido suffered a cut in his split-decision, title-winning effort against Cristobal Cruz on May 15 and it had not healed enough to allow him to train properly for the bout.

Before Salido got the fight with Gamboa, Rojas had been the target. However, according to Top Rank, issues between King and Rojas' manager, along with the tight schedule, forced Top Rank to turn to Salido, who it also promotes.

Once Salido dropped out and there was more time to make a fight for Gamboa, Top Rank made another run at Rojas because that is who HBO preferred, Moretti said.

"Style-wise, Rojas presents Gamboa with a different kind of fight than Salido," Moretti said. "Salido is right-handed and in front of you and can punch. Rojas is a lefty, he's taller than Gamboa and not easy to hit. He's more of a pure boxer."

Moretti said there is no rematch clause and that neither side has options on any future fights.

"It's Gamboa's title against Rojas' title. Pretty simple," Moretti said.

King is famous for insisting on options if one of his fighters risks his belt in an optional bout, but he didn't in this negotiation, Moretti said.

"It shows that they really believe they have a shot to win the fight, which they do," he said.

Rojas has wanted a significant fight.

"He wanted this fight. He wanted Gamboa or [titlist] 'Juanma' Lopez, and now he has one, and when he beats him, he would go for another unification fight," Victor Rojas, Elio's uncle and one of his representatives, told ESPNdeportes.com.

To prepare for the fight, Rojas has hooked up with a new trainer, the highly regarded Kevin Cunningham. Cunningham, who is training unified junior welterweight titlist Devon Alexander for his Aug. 7 fight with former titleholder Andreas Kotelnik in Las Vegas, said Rojas joined the camp on June 30.

"They called me and asked me if I would train him," said Cunningham, who first met Rojas several years ago at King's training facility in Orwell, Ohio. "Elio is a good kid. He watched the way I run my camps when we were in Ohio and he has wanted me to work with him and this opportunity came up.

"This could be a very, very good fight. You've got Gamboa, who's coming in with good hand speed and he can punch and he has had his way with everybody he's fought so far. But I think Elio is the most talented opponent Gamboa would have seen so far in his career, so I like Elio's chances. He's going to have to be at his best and extremely sharp, but I see a lot of mistakes that Gamboa makes. I got nine weeks to get Elio ready and he will be ready."

Gamboa (18-0, 15 KOs), 28, a 2004 Cuban Olympic gold medalist and defector, will be making his fourth title defense. He is one of the linchpins in the talent-rich division and has become an HBO staple because of his penchant for making exciting fights.

"We think he's a major talent and we'll continue to track his career," HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg said in a recent interview with ESPN.com.

Rojas, 27, a native of the Dominican Republic living in New York, won his version of the title in Japan, scoring a unanimous decision against Takahiro Aoh last July. In Rojas' only defense, he easily outpointed titlist Guty Espadas in Espadas' native Mexico in February.

The planned co-feature is a lightweight title eliminator between Anthony Peterson (30-0, 20 KOs), of Washington, D.C., and Brandon Rios (24-0-1, 18 KOs), of Oxnard, Calif., both of whom are promoted by Top Rank. The winner is supposed to become the mandatory challenger for titlist Miguel Acosta, another Top Rank fighter.

 

[heyzel]

Cotto vs Margarito Rematch on The Line in Nevada

By Lem Satterfield

When former world champion Antonio Margarito appears before a five-member panel of the Nevada State Athletic Commission on Friday in Las Vegas, in an attempt to regain his license to box in the United States, a potential November fight with Manny Pacquiao is not the only opportunity at stake.

If Floyd Mayweather Jr. accepts the proposal to fight Manny Pacquiao on November 13, Top Rank CEO Bob Arum will explore the possibility of staging a rematch between Margarito and WBA junior middleweight champion Miguel Cotto in December.

Margarito's boxing license was revoked in California in February 2009 following an illegal hand-wrapping scandal. Prior to his fight with Shane Mosley on January 24, 2009, Mosley's trainer Naazim Richardson discovered a hard plaster-like substance on Margarito's hand-wraps. The wraps, including two inserts, were confiscated by an inspector for the California commission.

Margarito's suspension ended on February 11. He returned to the ring in May, in Mexico, to win a ten round unanimous decision over Roberto Garcia. Arum feels Margarito has done his time and deserves to box again in the United States.

"Antonio is well-represented, and he's going to present his case to the Nevada Commission, and hopefully, they will see it his way and give him a license," said Arum. "I think that he's been out for more than enough time."

Margarito has always claimed that he was unaware of what his former trainer, Javier Capetillo, had placed in his gloves. Capetillo was also suspended last February by the California commission.

"He's [Capetillo] the one that wrapped the hands. So he's the one who does the job," Margarito said. "All that I do is put my hands out there so that he can wrap them, and that's what I did."

A Cotto-Margarito rematch would satsify any doubts about their first encounter. Since the hand-wrap scandal, Margarito's brutal stoppage of Cotto in 2008 has come under question.

Nevada State Athletic Commission director Keith Kizer is confident there was no foul play on the night Margarito stopped Cotto.

"I know that he wasn't rigged during the Cotto fight because we had our inspectors check him out and everything, as did Cotto's people. He was fully checked out. One of our referees, Jay Nady, was back there, we had our inspectors back there. Cotto's guy was back there. They all checked him out and everything was fine," said Kizer.

"They felt the hand wraps and everything, and we have an inspector who I've seen check the hand wraps before, and he checks them out thoroughly. He watched the hand wraps that night. If you don't have experienced inspectors, you can probably slip something through."

 

[heyzel]

Mike Tyson Rules Out a Return, Cites Health Issues

By Ruslan Chikov

The once undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, "Iron" Mike Tyson, has ruled out any possibility of a return to boxing. Tyson, 44-years-old, spoke to a Kazakhstan paper and said there is no chance he will ever fight again. He squashed another rumor by telling the paper he doesn't have any desire to become a trainer for other boxers.

"Overall, I'm in good shape, but my state of health prevents me from engaging in boxing. I used alcohol, drugs, but I've done away with all of those bad habits and right now I'm trying to strengthen whatever is left. I didn't want to be a trainer. For this you need a special gift. It is unlikely that this will happen," Tyson said.

The former champion wants to focus on the one thing that makes him very happy, helping children in need.

"I do not consider myself a superstar, I just live. Today, I consider it an achievement to help sick children. This is what I have really achieved in life. Everything that came before this, no longer has any significance," Tyson said.

 

[heyzel]

Kelly Pavlik Ponders a Possible Stay at Middleweight

By Rick Reeno

Reliable sources have advised BoxingScene.com that former middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik is seriously considering the possibility of staying at 160-pounds. I've heard Pavlik and his team have discussed the possible direction of remaining in the middleweight division.

Back in May, Pavlik waived his option for an immediate rematch with Sergio Martinez. Pavlik's manager, Cameron Dunkin, announced his fighter's decision to move up to super middleweight.Pavlik lost a unanimous decision, and his middleweight titles, to Martinez on April 17 in Atlantic City. Pavlik's had a real struggle making the weight. Reportedly he lost 13-pounds in two days to make the middleweight limit.

Despite the constant struggles, there is one key factor - he still made the weight. Not only did he make the weight for all of his fights, but he made it without a nutritional expert and/or a first class physical conditioning trainer in his camp. I've heard members of his team are considering the option of adding a physical conditioning expert to evaluate if Pavlik is physically capable of making the middleweight limit safely.

The road at super middleweight is not paved with roses. HBO is interested in making a fight between Pavlik and undefeated IBF champion Lucian Bute. The style of Bute is going to present Pavlik with a lot of trouble.

Besides a potential fight with Bute, HBO has no interest in lackluster matches. To get back on the network, Pavlik will have to take a very risky fight. One name I've heard mentioned, that HBO would approve, is Librado Andrade. It's no picnic to fight Andrade. Unless Pavlik is able to hurt or get Andrade's respect in the early rounds, it's going to be a very long night.

If Pavlik is capable of remaining at middleweight, there are several options, which includes a rematch with Sergio Martinez, or potential fights with Paul Williams, Anthony Mundine or even Felix Sturm.

 

[heyzel]

Roger Mayweather's Trial May Sideline Pacquiao Fight?

By Mark Vester

According to Top Rank CEO Bob Arum, the possible sticking point in whether or not Floyd Mayweather Jr. decides to fight in 2010, is Roger Mayweather's upcoming August trial for allegations that he assaulting and choked female boxer Melissa St. Vil last August in Las Vegas. Based on Roger's track record with past assault cases and other criminal charges, there is a good chance that he might do a few months behind bars if convicted in the latest assault case.

Last week Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions reached an agreement on the terms for a Mayweather fight with Manny Pacquiao on November 13 in Las Vegas. The agreement was sent to Mayweather for his approval. He has until mid-July to accept the terms. There is big question mark on whether Mayweather wants to fight agin in 2010. If he decides to wait, Arum is willing to make the fight against Pacquiao under the same terms in 2011, with May as the target month.

Arum told the Los Angeles Times that Pacquiao would not go forward without trainer Freddie Roach at his side, which makes him believe Mayweather will possibly not go forward without uncle Roger in his corner.

"It's imminent," Arum said. "I don't think Manny would fight without Freddie

 

[heyzel]

Sturm vs Cintron in Play For September 4 in Germany?

By Rick Reeno, Michael "Scoops" Doss

BoxingScene.com was advised by reliable sources in Germany that WBA middleweight champion Felix Sturm (33-2-1, 14KOs) is trying to secure Kermit Cintron (32-3-1, 28KOs) as a possible opponent for a scheduled return on September 4 at the Lanxess-Arena in Cologne, Germany.

Sturm, now a promotional free agent, has not fought since last July's decision win over Khoren Gevor. He was busy battling his ex-promoters, Universum, over the validity of his contract. Both sides announced on Tuesday that a settlement was reached.

If a deal is reached, Sturm would be Cintron's first fight as a middleweight. I don't see weight being an issue. Cintron and Sturm are similar in size and between the two of them, Cintron is the actual puncher. It remains to be seen if Sturm's long stretch of inactivity will affect him in the fight.

BoxingScene reached out to Cintron's promoter Lou DiBella, who confirmed Sturm's interest in fighting Cintron, but said the two sides are very far apart on the money.

"They [Sturm's team] did speak to me about fighting Cintron but the money they offered is very low for a fighter like Cintron. Cintron has no problem fighting Sturm, and he has no problem fighting him in Germany, but the offer is unbelievably low," DiBella told BoxingScene.com.

 

[heyzel]

Why should there be a Pacquiao vs. Cotto 2?

By Shaun Campbell: There is not doubt that both Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto are both brilliant fighters. Pacquiao is one of the top welterweights in the world, and Cotto is now the WBA light-middleweight champion. There has been a lot of talk since their fight last year that the two will meet again at welterweight if a fight with Mayweather does not materialize for Pacquiao.


However, I am left wondering why there is a case for a rematch between the two fighters. Yes it was an entertaining fight, but Pacquiao arguably dominated the fight with the rare successful combination from Cotto landing. Manny knocked Cotto down twice before eventually stopping him in the twelfth round. It seemed the fight was entertaining due to Pacquiao’s class and talent, and Cotto’s heart and will. It was exciting to see Pacquiao land huge shots, and Cotto to come forward still and occasionally land his punches back. However, it is hard to make a case that in a rematch at welterweight (a weight Cotto struggled to make before moving up to light-middleweight), that Cotto would be successful and beat Pacquiao.

Cotto recruited hall of fame trainer Emanuel Steward to help him get his career back on track after the loss to the pound for pound king at the time. Cotto’s famous left hook returned in the fight against Yuri Foreman, however, he still got hit with shots that you would hope he would have avoided. Pacquiao on the other hand is still looking strong and good at welterweight. Although in his last contest again Joshua Clottey, Pacquiao wasn’t at his best, probably because of Clottey’s tight defence.

In my mind, I can only see the same happening if there is a rematch. I don’t think Cotto would look as good back down at welterweight, and I think Pacquiao would probably stop him again. But as a boxing fan, I think any fight other than Manny Pacquiao vs Floyd Mayweather would now be a disappointment. I don’t want to see Pacquiao in the ring with anyone other than Mayweather. Cotto has many great fights still out there for him, but sadly for him, I think a Pacquiao bout with only result in another loss on his record. Surely there is more of a case for Mayweather to fight Cotto if the long awaited mega fight does not happen?

 

[heyzel]

Arum says Pacquiao has made significant concessions for Mayweather bout

By Eric Thomas: Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, speaking to the Los Angeles Times, said that his fighter Manny Pacquiao has made significant concessions to make the fight happen with Floyd Mayweather Jr. for November.


Arum didn’t say what those concessions are, but the LA Times article mentioned the 14 day blood testing cutoff, which Pacquiao agreed to before the negotiations with Mayweather started recently. It would be sad if this was the extent of the concessions because it would seem that 14 days might not be good enough to appease Mayweather this time, even though that’s what he asked for during the failed negotiations with Pacquiao and Arum in January of this year.

At the time, Pacquiao wouldn’t budge from his stance of wanting the random blood testing to stop 24 days before the fight. With the negotiations at a stalemate, Pacquiao then fought Joshua Clottey on March 13th, beating him by a lopsided 12 round decision. Mayweather, in turn, defeated Shane Mosley by an even more lopsided 12 round decision on May 1st. Later, when Pacquiao agreed to the 14 days cutoff, Arum seemed happy, thinking that this would solve a big part of putting together a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight this time.

After all, that was the one sticking point that held back the negotiations from going forward. Mayweather and Pacquiao had already agreed on a 50-50 cut. However, information leaked out where Mayweather was no longer asking for a 50-50 deal, and wanted a cut of 60-40 for a Pacquiao fight.

With everything different this time, Arum seemed to be going by the mindset of the last negotiations being good enough to make the fight happen between Mayweather and Pacquiao.

Things had changed since then, though. Pacquiao’s fight with Clottey didn’t do nearly as well as Mayweather’s fight against Mosley. This would explain why Pacquiao’s concessions might not be enough this time to make the fight.

Arum later learned that the blood testing that was done for the Mayweather-Mosley fight was stopped 18 days before their fight for some reason. Arum said “We don’t care who’s doing the test. They stopped taking blood 18 days before [Mayweather vs. Mosley], so that shows they can do it and be fine.”

Things aren’t that simple. Mayweather distrusts Pacquiao, and wants blood testing to be done all the way up until the fight with him. He won’t be satisfied with testing that stops 14+ days before the fight. Pacquiao feels weakened when having his blood tested and wants enough time for him to recover from the procedure.

Arum isn’t getting anywhere by mentioning what happened with the Mayweather-Mosley blood testing as a way of making it easier for Pacquiao. The fact of the matter is Mayweather doesn’t feel comfortable with fighting Pacquiao unless he’s tested thoroughly.

Hopefully, 14 days isn’t the concession that Arum is taking about, because that means the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight probably won’t happen because Mayweather will likely want Pacquiao to agree to test well within 14 days. And the 50-50 deal from before also won’t likely work this time around.

That will probably have to change as well, if not this time, then in the next negotiations. Mayweather will probably want a bigger cut of the percentage and will likely point to his better PPV numbers as a reason for it.

 

[heyzel]

Roger Mayweather: “I Know he [Floyd] can knock him [Pacquiao] out”

By Dave Lahr: Roger Mayweather, the trainer and uncle of unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr., thinks that Floyd can knock out World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao when/if they fight in November. Roger also thinks that Floyd deserves a 60-40 split of the revenue for the proposed November 13th fight. However, Roger also likes the idea of the winner of the fight getting 60% and the loser 40%. However, that’s something that Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum won’t likely agree to unfortunately.


In an interview on East Side Boxing’s On the Ropes Radio program, this is what Roger had to say about Mayweather stopping Pacquiao: “I know he [Floyd] can knock him [Pacquiao] out – period. Once Pacquiao takes that test [referring the random blood test for performance enhancing drugs], he’s going to get a beating he ain’t never had before because there ain’t no way in the world a guy [Pacquiao] swinging that wild is coming after my nephew, period.”

I have to agree with Roger. I can’t see Pacquiao beating a talented fighter like Mayweather with his wild charging style of fighting. In looking at how wide open Pacquiao was in his last fight against Joshua Clottey in March, Mayweather would have beaten the stuffing out of Pacquiao the way he left himself open all night long in that fight. As it is, Clottey had Pacquiao’s face looking all beat up by the end of the fight, and Clottey hardly threw any punches.

I can only imagine what a busy fighter like Mayweather would do to Pacquiao if he bum rushed Mayweather all night long like he did with Clottey. And by the way, that was a horrible fight. Freddie Roach said over and over again what a good opponent Clottey would be. I wonder if that was code for Roach meaning that he was going to be another easy mark for Pacquiao. I could have told you that Clottey was going to be a punching bag. You just watch a couple of his fights and you can see it for it is. But, yeah, I agree with Roger – Floyd would knock Pacquiao clean out if they were to fight.

Speaking about the 60-40 split, Roger said “I think it should be 60-40. Why shouldn’t it be? Floyd ain’t never lost. This mo’s [Pacquiao] been knocked out twice. He’s been knocked out twice when he was 105 pounds, so why would they come to the same agreement about the same amount of money? Floyd ain’t never tasted defeat.” Roger is so right. Mayweather is unbeaten and never tasted defeat. He’s not one of those fighters with a built up record based on fluff wins.

Mayweather has beaten the best fighters his entire career. He didn’t take on over-the-hill fighters or ones that were weight drained. Mayweather has show that he’s a real talent. I could understand Pacquiao wanting a 50-50 deal if he was unbeaten like Mayweather is, but the fact of the matter is he’s not unbeaten. Pacquiao has lost several times, and struggled with Juan Manuel Marquez, a common opponent, and someone Mayweather just finished dominating in a 12 round decision last September. That alone is pretty significant. And when you add in Mayweather’s better pay-per-view numbers recently, you can only come to one conclusion that he deserves the bigger cut of the revenue. I think 60-40 is more than fair.

 

[heyzel]

How is Arum going to keep Chavez Jr. winning long enough for him to fight Cotto?

seems like the general idea is for unbeaten Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (41-0-1, 30 KO’s) to be matched up against WBA junior middleweight champion Miguel Cotto sooner or later in a fight where the inexperienced and largely still unproven against quality upper tier fighter Chavez Jr. will be drilled to pieces in a big money fight. However, that match-up can’t happen until things are settled between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr., because Cotto is the backup plan for Arum to be substituted for Mayweather if he doesn’t sign the contract for the Pacquiao fight.


Chavez Jr. would then temporarily lose the big money Cotto fight and would have to be kept busy until Cotto is freed up at some point. Arum doesn’t want just anyone fighting Chavez, though. He’s not going to be putting Chavez Jr. in with a slugger like Antonio Margarito. It wouldn’t draw enough fans in the United States, and besides, Margarito may not get boxing license back anytime soon in the U.S.

However, with Cotto fighting either Pacquiao next or possibly facing Margarito in a rematch, it leaves Chavez Jr. sitting around without a high profile opponent to fight. I wish I could say that Arum would match Chavez up against someone from the top 15 in the junior middleweight or the middleweight divisions, but I don’t think so.

I think Chavez Jr. is going to be kept under glass until Cotto is freed up. Arum has matched Chavez Jr. very carefully all this time, building up and impressive record over obscure 2nd and 3rd tier fighters that few people have ever heard of. Chavez Jr. is definitely going to be fighting someone, but don’t hold your breath hoping it’s a 1st tier fighter. My guess is it’s going to be a 2nd tier fighter along the same lines as the 42 fighters that Chavez Jr. has previously fought.

I think Chavez Jr. will do well matched against a 2nd tier fighter and will keep winning until Cotto has some time available for them to fight and Cotto to destroy Chavez Jr. in a minor slaughter. Chavez Jr. will then have his first loss on his record and then hype will likely die with that loss. It’s too bad that Cotto is the only one that can get his mitts on Chavez Jr. because I would love to see Alfredo Angulo, Sergeii Dzinziruk, Kermit Cintron, Paul Williams, Sergio Martinez, Kelly Pavlik, Daniel Jacobs, Gennady Golovkin, Dmitry Pirog, or Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam all get a shot at Chavez Jr.

 

[heyzel]

Timothy Bradley: From Hunter to Hunted, and He Likes It

By Thomas Gerbasi

If the world of professional boxing ever has a czar, I’d like to nominate WBO junior welterweight champion Timothy Bradley for the position. Why? Well, in a game filled with dodgers and demands, Bradley – while understanding that this is a business – just wants to fight.

“I want to fight Devon (Alexander), I want to fight Amir (Khan), I want to fight (Marcos) Maidana, I want to fight Victor Ortiz, and all these fighters,” Bradley told BoxingScene. “The 140 class right now is the best division and we have some of the top young athletes in the world heading into their prime, and I think this division could be something like in the days when you had (Thomas) Hearns, (Marvin) Hagler, Sugar Ray (Leonard), and (Roberto) Duran in the same division going head to head.”

Of course, then the business end of things rears its ugly head, and with different promoters, different sanctioning bodies, different networks, and all that other fun stuff getting in the way, the odds of getting something like that done anytime soon are slim. But Bradley, who was scheduled to fight Maidana this month before the Argentinean withdrew from the bout, still has hope.

“If we all agree to it, then why not do it?” he asks. “But again, it’s not always the fighters’ decision; it’s the promoters’ as well. A promoter wants to protect his asset and it’s an investment - get him the right fights, build him up, and then go for the big fight. I don’t mind. I want to have a four man tournament. Let’s have the Americans fight against the overseas fighters, and then whoever wins there can fight each other, and whoever wins that is considered the best junior welterweight in the world.”

“That’s what boxing needs,” continues Bradley. “It needs big fights between young fighters trying to make a name for themselves. Not taking anything away from the older fighters who’ve been in the game for a while now, but with all these young fighters trying to make a name for themselves, you’re gonna see some fights. And in every division I feel there are too many champions. There should be one reigning champion, and every division should have a tournament to find out who is the best in the division.”

It’s a far cry from Bradley’s salad days battling it out on the local circuit in Southern California, as he scored win after win in the hopes of getting his big break. That break came in 2008 when he traveled to England to lift Junior Witter’s 140-pound title and begin his run towards the pound-for-pound list. Now, Bradley is, for want of a better term, the man, in the division, and he kinda likes the view from here.

“This is what I’ve been fighting for all these years,” he said. “I started off fighting and trying to get to that world championship, and after you get the championship, you want to get the fans’ respect. They didn’t think it was legitimate, ‘oh, he just got lucky,’ and then once you get the fans’ respect and once you get all the analysts and commentators on your back, then they start pushing you and pushing you and you can get one of these big megafights. So it’s been a great journey, I love the pace that I’m going in my boxing career at this moment. It’s been tough, but I really embrace the boxing public for putting me pound for pound; I think that’s amazing in my sixth year as a professional, and I just can’t believe it. I just want to continue and make everything that everybody’s saying about me true.”

It would be difficult not to get behind Palm Springs’ Bradley (25-0, 11 KOs, 1 NC), who not only can fight, but who is a solid citizen and one of the good guys in the game. But before he starts moving towards the big fights on the horizon, Bradley first has to get by another tough Argentinean knockout artist in 29-0 (23 KOs) Luis Carlos Abregu on July 17th. Adding to the intrigue is that this will be Bradley’s first official welterweight bout since 2006, when he checked in at 146.5 pounds against Alfonso Sanchez. One thing’s for sure though, he’s enjoying that extra seven pounds in training camp.

“It’s been fun,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of energy. I went to my doctor and he’s been checking my levels and he’s been like ‘are you training?’ Yeah, I’ve been training hard. He said ‘Your energy’s there and I think you’re gonna be big time ready for this fight.’”

Funny what being able to eat a little more can do for your psyche. But even more exciting for Bradley is that this bout has the potential to be an audition for the big names at welterweight – namely a couple guys named Pacquiao and Mayweather – should those two decide not to dance later this year.

“This is an audition for the big names,” he agrees. “I’m willing to go up and face any of these guys. It’s definitely a tough fight (against Abregu). This guy hasn’t lost, he’s a big knockout puncher, he’s a lot bigger than I am and he’s been a welterweight his whole career, while I haven’t, so this is a tough challenge. A lot of people are not giving Abregu any credit or any chance, but he packs a big punch, and let’s see if I’m able to take the punch at 147 pounds.”

Yet if things go well, as Bradley expects, he insists that he’s not abandoning 140 pounds anytime soon.

“I can still make 140 pretty easily,” he said. “I just have to dedicate myself a little bit more as far as getting the cardio up. I’ve got unfinished business at 140 and I definitely want to go back there and face some of these challenges there. There are a lot of big names at 147 who I would definitely move up there to fight, so I just want to test the waters at 147 and see how I do and then we can just go from there.”

It’s been a pretty life-altering two years for the 26-year old Bradley since he first put his stamp on the world boxing stage, and you can tell that he’s still adjusting to the ins and outs of big time boxing. The main adjustment is tempering your initial expectations. At first, you expect that once the title comes, fights will follow, but as he’s found out, that’s not always the case.

“It is tough,” he admits. “It’s been a rollercoaster. I go from beating Lamont Peterson to not even able to get a fight with anybody. It was ridiculous. I was getting frustrated because nobody wanted to fight me, and then all of a sudden, everybody and their mama wanted to fight me now. I was looking at ESPN the other night, and there was the kid who was 4-0 calling me out already. (Laughs) Wow, I’ve got a big target on my back and all these guys are gunning for me now, A couple months ago, there was nobody.”

Add in the callouts, the threats from sanctioning bodies to strip titles, and all the rest, and it could bring you down and make you lose track of what you need to do in the gym and the ring, but at the very least, Bradley’s got that part figured out, so Abregu can’t hope to catch the junior welterweight champ napping.

“I look at every fight like it’s my last fight, so I never have a mental struggle getting up for a fight,” he said. “This is my job and so all I say is, you know what, I’m gonna kick his ass because he’s in the way of what I’m trying to get. He’s in the way, so he has to be destroyed.”

And if you ask Timothy Bradley whether it’s better to be the hunted or the hunter – since he’s been in both positions – he doesn’t hesitate in his response:

“I like to be hunted because it keeps me sharp,” he said. “I like when everybody wants to fight, and when people challenge me, it motivates me. And when they say I can’t do something, then it really motivates me because I want to show ‘em.”

 

[heyzel]

Joel Casamayor Wants To Avenge Loss To Marquez

By Jhonny Gonzalez

Former champion and Olympic gold medal winner Joel Casamayor has a big challenge ahead of himself on July 31 when he steps in the ring with Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Casamayor said the fight with Guerrero will "not be easy" but when he is 100% focused on his training, he doesn't think "any fighter" can beat him.

He wants to use a big win over Guerrero to get a rematch with the man fighting in the main event that night. Casamayor wants more than anything to avenge the 2008 TKO loss to Juan Manuel Marquez. In the eleventh round when the fight was stopped, two of the three judges had the fight scored a 95-95 draw. Casamayor was knocked down in that eleventh round and Marquez would later knock him down a second time before the referee stepped in to stop the fight.

Casamayor has never been happy about that loss and wants a rematch to make things right. He needs to be beat Guerrero first. Marquez will defend his WBO/WBA lightweight titles in a rematch with Juan Diaz in the main event.

"Whatever it takes to get Marquez in the ring. Everyone thinks it was a close fight. I think the fight was stopped unjustly," Casamayor said.

 

[heyzel]

Carl Froch Talks DeGale, Jeffries, Groves and Smith

By Mark Vester

In his recent Nottingham Post column, former WBC super middleweight champion Carl Froch takes a look at some of the up and coming super middleweights in the UK. Froch has sparred with Tony Jeffries and and George Groves, who makes his American debut on the Marquez-Diaz undercard on July 31 in Las Vegas. He is impressed with the ring skills of Brian Magee, Paul Smith and James DeGale, who captured gold in the 2008 Olympics.

"I've sparred both Tony Jeffries and George Groves, and I can confirm that, along with the likes of Paul Smith and James DeGale, that the British super-middle weight scene is in good shape," Froch said.

Which of the bunch will rise to the top? Froch is not sure. He sees some strong abilities in all of them. Froch just hopes the boxers will eventually be matched against each other in the ring.

"They all bring their own attributes to the table and are all hungry for the titles, so it's going to be a great period for the boxing fans if they can all overcome politics and face one another," Froch said. "Who would I pick out of the bunch? It's genuinely hard to say. Groves is similar to myself, he likes to fight. Jeffries is a great all-rounder with lots of determination and Olympic medal level ability."

"Brian Magee is a strong southpaw with bags of experience. DeGale's talents took him to an Olympic gold medal and tough Smith showed a lot of grit to beat Dodson with those cuts which might have derailed other fighters. "I'm just glad we have a great bunch of lads who can all keep these islands on the map in the super-middleweight division – a division in which we have always been the major force

 

[heyzel]

Pacquiao might retire if he can get Mayweather bout

By Eric Thomas: If WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao can get his big mega fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr., then there is a chance that Pacquiao might retire following that fight, according to news from Mb.com.ph.

Pacquiao had this to say on Thursday, “It depends [whether Pacquiao will retire or not]. But this may be my last fight so we can focus on giving service. As a congressman, it is my mission to fulfill and help the people that have been long assistance from the government. This is my mission and dream. I dreamed of becoming a world champion, now I dream of becoming a good leader and public servant.”


It’s understandable why Pacquiao would want to retire after fighting Mayweather. It would be Pacquiao’s biggest fight of his career, and he would make the most money ever has before. Pacquiao already need anymore money, but the money he would make in the Mayweather bout would be further reason for Pacquiao to hang up the gloves for good.

Pacquiao also doesn’t have anything to really look forward to beyond a fight against Mayweather. Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum appears to have his mind made up about putting him in with his fighters Antonio Margarito and Miguel Cotto, and neither of those fights are truly exciting bouts because Pacquiao already destroyed Cotto last year in a 12th round knockout, and Margarito hasn’t looked good since before his 9th round stoppage loss last year to Shane Mosley.

Fighting Margarito and Cotto has got to be a bit of a letdown for Pacquiao, because neither of those fighters would have much of a chance to beat Pacquiao at this point. Margarito might have had chance over two years ago, but he looks pretty average now and not in the same class as Pacquiao

 

[heyzel]

Rafael not impressed with Haye for not fighting Wladimir Klitschko

By Jim Dower: Dan Rafael of ESPN wasn’t pleased that WBA heavyweight champion David Haye, after months of calling out IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko, still won’t fight him despite reportedly getting the 50-50 offer that he was originally looking for when he went into the negotiations with Klitschko.


Rafael says that Haye wanted to keep all of the British television money for the Klitschko fight, and wanted Klitschko to keep his German television money, and the rest of the money would be 50-50.

However, that’s not what it means to have a 50-50 deal, and it looks as if Haye was trying to put himself in a better situation in the negotiations rather than shooting for a true 50-50 deal. Now Klitschko has moved on and will be fighting Alexander Povetkin on either September 11th or September 18th.

As for Haye, it’s looking as if he’s going to be fighting Audley Harrison next, if the rumors are true. That will would be a huge step down from a fight against Klitschko. However, it is at least a winnable fight for Haye, because Harrison hasn’t done much on the pro level other than beat 2nd tier fighters and win the Prizefighter competition against novice boxers from the UK.

Haye should be at least good enough to beat Harrison as long as he doesn’t run into one of Harrison’s desperate shots.

Haye has come close to fighting both Klitschko brothers now at least three times, but has either backed out or in the case of his failed fight with Wladimir last year, come up with a mysterious back injury weeks before the fight.

Wladimir seems sick of the whole thing and just wants to fight Haye and shut him up for good. But with Haye unable to get in the ring with Wladimir or his bother Vitali Klitscchko it seems like he’s just wasting his time

 

[heyzel]

Pacquiao vs. Mayweather: The greatest promoted mismatch in history

By Christian Ramos: One has to agree we might be into a treat. The event will be the biggest event in the history of boxing. It will be one of the biggest sporting events in recent time. It’s already the greatest promoted fight without it being officially signed.

Luckily for us, everybody is so focused on the event, that nobody realizes how big of a mismatch the fight really is.


On one side of the ring you have Manny Pacquiao, a fighter that possesses powerful and fast punches from either hand. He has the ability to lay out small men that have mediocre or bad defense. He jumps with every punch and seems to have the ability to find himself off-balanced most of his fights. Everybody talks about the angles he throws from as if it was a beautiful science, and the truth is that he just found something good out of a weakness.

He does though have great stamina. He has an incredible way of throwing so many punches that his opponents do not know when it’s their turn. They haven’t even been able to hit him lately.

Unfortunately, when he does get hit, he looks awful. Not even judging his ability to take the punches, but literally looks awful. The man has high cheek bones and lumps up and cuts too easily when opponents actually do hit him.

On the other side of the ring stands Pretty Boy Floyd. He is easily one of the greatest fighters in the history of the sport. He somehow successfully remains the villain of the sport. The funny thing is that he likes it.

His defense, hand-speed, amazing conditioning, and DECEPTIVE power have allowed him to maintain a perfect record with defeats over a couple Hall-of-Famers and the position to make it cool to turn down a title opportunity.

All over the web people debate on this long-awaited fight. It actually seems people believe it’s going to be competitive.

Well what happens when you have a southpaw with little defense against a lightning-fast counter-puncher with a sharp right as his main weapon?

What happens when you have a wide puncher against the sharpest defense in the game?

What happens when you get hit a by jabs and rights all night and you have high cheek bones?

What happens when that fast, defensive counter-puncher is bigger than you and can keep it up for more than 12 rounds without taking a deep breath?

Very easy. Floyd wins. It’s not as competitive as people make it. Therefore why does it make sense for them to fight?

Money and legacy. Both men are all-time greats, and certainly both have lots of money.

But remember, the sport’s boxing. Boxing is what they do. Both do it greatly. One does it better.

 

[heyzel]

HBO very interested in Bradley-Alexander fight in early 2011 – News

By Dan Ambrose: HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg is really fascinated by potential mouth-watering fight between light welterweight champions Timothy Bradley and Devon Alexander and would like nothing better than to have this fight put together so that HBO can show this fight to American boxing fans in the early part of 2011.


Greenburg had this to say to the LAtimes.com, “We’re very intrigued by that match-up between the two best 140 pounders in the world. Two young, in their prime, American studs.”

It’s unclear what Greenburg’s thoughts are about WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan and WBA interim light welterweight champion Marcos Maidana, both of whom you would think should figure in HBO’s future fights as well.

Greenburg wants to show the Bradley-Alexander fight around the time of the Super Bowl, saying “We have a slot the week before the Super Bowl – prime real estate – and this is a fight that would be very intriguing to place there.”

I bet it would be, but Bradley will want to be paid really well for him to take the fight, which is why he’s been reluctant to fight Alexander in the past. He knows that a Bradley-Alexander fight should be worth a lot more money than they’re currently willing to pay it.

This is why Bradley wants to keep winning and wants Alexander to keep winning as well so that when they do fight, it will be for a lot of money instead of the smaller cash. Bradley is right. It’s not good for him to get less than what he feels he should be getting for a fight against one of the best champions in the light welterweight division.

And he’s also right that a future bout between him and Alexander will be worth a lot more in two or three years compared to now, when both he and Alexander are still making a name for themselves.

Of course, what Bradley may be overlooking is how much more popular he’ll become if he is able to beat Alexander decisively and knock him out. It would be quick way for him to get a lot popular in a hurry. However, the impact of a win over Alexander won’t be as big as some people think because Alexander is still not well known among the casual fans and far from a popular fighter.

Instead of using up Bradley and Alexander now, Greenburg needs to push for a light welterweight tournament similar to the Super Six tourney involving super middleweights. That way the light welterweights like Bradley and Alexander would get much better known to the public.

Of course, some fighters like Khan wouldn’t agree to fight in the tourney. However, that won’t matter because he’ll only stunt his own growth by not participating because if all the best fighters in the division take part in the tourney, then Khan would have to settle for fighting lightweights and he won’t get the name he wants by fighting smaller guys.

HBO now has pretty much the best fighters in the light welterweight division signed up to fight on their network, fighters like Khan, Bradley, Alexander, Maidana, and Victor Ortiz. They also have lightweights Juan Diaz and Juan Manuel Marquez.

It’s doubtful there will be an official tournament involving the light welterweights, but if HBO has its way, it will almost the same as a tournament because they’ll push to have these same light welterweights fight each other until one fighter emerges at the top of the hill.

 

[heyzel]

Khan Avoiding Maidana

By Muhib Khan: The fight between WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan (23-1, 17 KO’s) and WBA light welterweight interim champion Marcos Rene Maidana (28-1, 27 KO’s) has been on the horizon for quite some time now. Khan is believed to be one of the top light welterweights and so is Maidana. Its left me quite puzzled as whether or not they are going to ever fight? Khan has called out Maidana in his last defence, but intending to fight Maidana is something totally different.


Maidana is a big banger and I really truly feel that team Khan are going to avoid anybody who’s a big puncher right now. Since Khan’s 1st round knockout loss to Colombian Breidis Prescott in 2008, Khan has fought some quality fighters, but all being strategic fighters as oppose to big punchers. I’m a fan of Khan and I feel quite bitter as his matchmaking is not what we want to see.

Talking of wanting to fight the winner of the July 31st lightweight bout between WBA/WBO lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz, both of which I feel are fighters on the downside of their careers would prove nothing for Khan. I don’t think he would gain any creditability by fighting either of those fighters as they would have to come up in a weight class to fight Khan at light welterweight. Diaz lost his last fight to Paulie Malignaggi and Marquez is not the fighter who was knocked down three times and still drew to Manny Pacquiao in 2004. Marquez also lost his last fight to Floyd Mayweather Jr. last September.

Maidana and Khan would be a good match up, and if Khan was to win I would feel that he could capture the whole of America, and critics couldn’t say anything to him, even if he ran 12 rounds from Maidana. This would be a good start for Khan to fighting real Light Welterweights.

 

[MOREBASS]

Heyzel, I know some of these articles are from boxingscene, but where are the other one's coming from? The ones that are really amateurish...?

 

[heyzel]

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