Boxing News Thread

[heyzel]

Roach Talks Khan-Maidana, Pacquiao-Margarito, More

By Chris Robinson

Roughly a week before leaving for Baguio City in the Philippines, trainer Freddie Roach had business to attend to in Las Vegas, Nevada. Inside of the Pearl Theatre at the Palms Casino and Resort, Roach would work the corner of aspiring lightweight contender Jose Benavidez Jr this past Saturday night underneath Yuriorkis Gamboa's HBO-televised unification victory over Orlando Salido.

One of the most promising prospects in the sport, Benavidez would improve his record to 8-0 with 8 stoppages with a systematic second round beat down over journeyman Manuel Delcid. Possessing gifts inside of the ring that beguile his eighteen years of age, the Phoenix, Arizona native is one to watch for and Roach is beyond optimistic regarding his future.

“He’s the best prospect in the world,” Roach stated with conviction shortly after Benavidez’ victory. “He’s only eighteen years old so we have to make sure that we take our time with him and that we don’t rush him. He’s going to be something special in the future I feel.”

On November 13th, Roach’s star fighter Manny Pacquiao will attempt to win a title in an eighth weight class when he meets former champion Antonio Margarito at Cowboys Stadium. Team Pacquiao is set to commence training camp on the 20th of this month and it was only natural to ask Roach his thoughts on the matchup.

“I’ve just been getting the right sparring partners and working on that right now,” Roach continued. “I guess I have the right guys now and I don’t see it being a hard fight. We’re too fast for him and I think we’ll knock Margarito out.”

One of the storylines surrounding the upcoming camp was the fact that Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. was said to be one of the chief sparring partners for the Filipino icon. The 24-year old Sinaloa, Mexico native had been working with Roach since late April but recently the rumor leaked that he was considering foregoing the trip overseas because of not wanting to divide his time between two camps in seperate locations. Asked for his take on the matter and whether or not Chavez would be coming, Roach confirmed the news.

“No,” he stated. “I just was told no. It’s going to be Rashad, Vanes, and a guy called Tapia.”

The three men Roach is referring to are welterweight prospect Rashad Holloway, undefeated junior middleweight Vanes Martirosyan and New Jersey prospect Glen Tapia. The trainer also noted that Chavez’ December 4th clash with Miguel Cotto is now definitely off because of the latest turn of events, leaving his future in the sport uncertain for the moment.

There has also been much banter surrounding another one of Roach’s pupils, Amir Khan, as the WBA junior welterweight champion has been caught up in a war of words with interim titlist Marcos Maidana, whom he may or may not be facing this December depending on how everything plays out. While the two pugilists’ mud-slinging has been amusing Roach insists it is time for each man to cut the drama.

“I’ve only heard rumors and read things on the internet but to me it’s all bulls***. Who knows. Twitter and all those stupid games where they are shouting at one another. I mean, get a life.”

 

[heyzel]

Bob Arum Talks Mayweather, Rios, Pavlik, Pacquiao

By Michael Marley

Please, don't tell anybody but, inside that aged crocodile hardened exterior of legendary promoter Bob Arum lies an empathetic, compassionate human being.

Why ruin the man's image this close to his 79th birthday?

And, when it comes to the plight of beleaguered Floyd Mayweather Jr., Arum and his contemporary career rival, Don King, are Ebony and Ivory, singing in perfect harmony.

Sure, the pair of promotional dinosaurs have a commercial angle. King would still love to become the guiding light of Mayweather's wobbly career and Arum still sees his ultimate touchdown as making the Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao super bout.

But, make no mistake, Arum is not putting his verbal foot up Mayweather's posterior.

Instead, speaking to me on Tuesday said both he and Top Rank president Todd duBoef (Arum's stepson) had been exchanging fond memories of Mayweather's long stint under their promotional banner.

"Really, I wish Floyd the best," Arum said. "I have some fond memories of Floyd.

"I remember when he came to our offices one day, wearing some crazy outfit that had all the colors of the rainbow in it. I remember, or I should say that Todd reminded me, that Floyd was really a sweet kid back then, one of two fighters who got invited to Todd's wedding.

"He was very sweet but very naive about a lot of things back then. Since such a young age, all he did was train to box and box.

"On another day, he was at our office and was clearly exhausted. Todd asked Floyd why he was so exhausted and Floyd said he had been running all over town to pay his phone bill and his light bill and this bill and that bill," Arum said.

"We told him he could pay all those bills with personal checks but he didn't know that. All his life was boxing, boxing, boxing and nothing else. So I'm not going to kick him now, I feel bad for him."

On other topics, Uncle Bob proclaimed:

KELLY PAVLIK: "Kelly goes to training camp this weekend in the Poconos and once he is ensconced there, we'll announce our plans."

BRANDON RIOS: "I think that his victory (over Anthony Peterson) might be a star is born kind of victory. The kid was a screwup, a goofball but under (trainer) Robert Garcia and the girlfriend who is now his wife Brandon has matured. His future is bright."

MANNY PACQUIAO, expressing empahthy for booze and cocaine addled former foe Ricky Hatton: "That is the kind of guy that Manny is."

ON MOVING TICKETS FOR MANNY-MARGARITO NOV. 13 IN TEXAS: "Tickets go on sale Saturday down there but early word is good. I think we will outdo Manny-Joshua Clottey (50,000 approximately in the seats at Cowboys Stadium). The Cowboys season ticketholders are hot for the fight and I think we can exceed the Clottey fight."

 

[heyzel]

Froch needs three to four weeks for his back to heal

By Scott Gilfoid: Former WBC super middleweight champion Carl Froch (26-1, 20 KO’s) is going to need three to four weeks for his injured back to heal before he’ll be ready to take on Arthur Abraham in the Super Six tournament. Froch injured his back somehow in training.

And the injury hasn’t helped Showtime’s tournament, because we’ve already had Mikkel Kessler drop out recently and the two talented Americans Andre Ward and Andre Dirrell can’t agree on a venue for their scheduled fight this month on September 25th.


Froch’s injury was perfect in terms of keeping up with how bad things have gotten recently. All we can hope now is that Froch’s injury doesn’t linger and cause him to miss even more time. When you’re dealing with back injuries, these things can go on forever. I read Froch as the type that won’t get in the ring unless he feels 100% healthy.

He doesn’t want anything to take away from his performance and give his opponent a small edge. The problem is when you get injuries, the time that you miss in training causes you become rusty and you lose a certain percentage of your ability because you’re not training. We could see that with Froch.

This perhaps the worst possible time for Froch, because he’s taking on a knockout artist in Arthur Abraham and there’s a good chance Froch is going to get knocked out. Even in his best condition, Froch would have big problems with Abraham because of his power and due to Froch’s bad habit of fighting with his hands down by his waist.

It could be that Froch is starting to show his age with this injury. When you get up there around your mid 30s, things start to fall apart on you. We could be seeing that with Froch and his back ailment.

 

[heyzel]

Mosley vs. Mora: Shane says there are still big fights out there for him

By Dan Ambrose: 39-year-old Shane Mosley (46-6, 30 KO’s) will be fighting Sergio Mora (22-1-1, 6 KO’s) on Saturday night at the Staples Center, in Los Angeles, California. Mosley lost his last fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. on May 1st in a one-sided beating to the faster and younger Mayweather.

Mosley, however, is blaming the loss on some neck pain that he was suffering previous to the bout. Whatever the case, Mosley won’t have any more excuses that boxing fans will buy if he gets beaten by Mora on Saturday night. Mosley may have to face up to the sad reality that he’s a fighter that has seen his best day and who no longer can beat the top guys in the division.


Mosley is favored to beat Mora by a 3-1 margin, and it’s going to be interesting if he can live up to that on Saturday night. Mora is a fast fighter that specializes in hitting without being hit. He’s perhaps the worst opponent you could pick for a fighter that’s losing his legs like Mosley appeared to be in his fight with Mayweather.

Mora will test Mosley and make him work harder than he wants to work. Mosley is still convinced that he can fight Manny Pacquiao and get rematches with Miguel Cotto and Mayweather. That would be nice but it would take an impressive win by Mosley against Mora, as well as some cooperation from Mayweather and Pacquiao.

Mayweather doesn’t seem to be interested in fighting right now, and when he does get around to fighting again next year, it’s not likely going to be Mosley that he wants to fight. As for Pacquiao and Cotto, their Top Rank promoter Bob Arum is likely going to put Cotto and Pacquiao back in with each other in a rematch.

And after that, who knows. It probably won’t be Mosley that gets the call for either of them. In the meantime, Mosley keeps getting older and he’s running out of time. He looked great in beating Antonio Margarito a year ago in January 2009, but that was a long time ago and Mosley has fought only once since then against Mayweather. Mosley looked shot against Mayweather. It could be that Mosley’s ambitions are more than what his aging body can accomplish at this late stage in his career. It would be great if he were to turn around and beat Mora impressively and then get an immediate fight with Cotto or Pacquiao.

But the odds are stacked against all of that happening. Mosley may beat Mora, he’s probably going to struggle against him and not look very impressive. It’s hard to look good against Mora and it takes a fighter that has power, speed and movement. I don’t know if Mosley has enough left in the tank to pull this off.

 

[heyzel]

Maccarinelli faces Frenkel in make or break fight on Saturday

By Sean McDaniel: Former World Boxing Organization (WBO) cruiserweight champion Enzo Maccarinelli (32-4, 25 KO’s) will be defending his EBU cruiserweight title on Saturday night against unbeaten German based contender Alexander Frenkel (22-0, 17 KO’s) in the Magnificent Seven card in Birmingham.


Maccarinelli, 30, has lost three out of his last seven fights and really can’t afford to lose if he wants to remain relevant to the cruiserweight division. Maccarinelli is being considered for the proposed Super Six cruiserweight tournament and a loss to Frenkel would all but destroy that from happening.

Enzo is coming off an impressive 1st round knockout over Alexander Kotlobay in April to win the vacant European Boxing Union cruiserweight title. Maccarinelli jumped all over Kotlobay in the opening seconds of the round and immediately had him in trouble with big body shots.

Maccarinelli’s ability to punch isn’t the question. It’s his ability to take punishment. His chin isn’t the sturdiest in the division and he’s in danger when he takes on fighters that can punch a little. Indeed, all three of Maccarinelli’s losses in the past three years have come by knockout to David Haye, Ola Afolabi and Denis Lebedev.

There’s no shame in getting knocked out by fighters from that bunch, because all three of them can punch well and are top fighters. However, if Maccarinelli isn’t good enough to beat the top guys in the division, then he’s going to have to be satisfied with being just a contender who looks good against the lower ranked guys, but who gets stopped when he steps it up.

On Saturday night, Maccarinelli will be facing a big puncher in Frenkel. The guy can punch if nothing else. Frenkel isn’t the fastest fighter in the division or a great boxer either. But he can punch and if he connects with one of his big shots on Maccarinelli’s chin, he’s going to feel it.

Maccarinelli has been sparring with British heavyweight Derek Chisora recently. Chisora has been impressed with Maccarinelli and thinks he’s going to beat Frenkel on Saturday night. We’ll see about that. Sparring is one thing but it’s a whole different matter altogether when Maccarinelli takes the head protection off and gets in the ring with a puncher like Frenkel.

We could see Maccarinelli get knocked out again unless he can get to Frenkel before he gets to him with his power shots. The good news for Maccarinelli is that Frenkel has been fighting completely soft opponents during his career. His German management hasn’t done him any favors by putting him in with only 2nd and 3rd tier opposition.

Frenkel is going to be taking a huge step up in competition against the hard hitting Maccarinelli on Saturday night.

 

[2-0-Sixx]

Amir Khan vs Maidana is a done deal, contracts signed, DEC 11th in Vegas.

 

[Rumpelstiltskin]

Maccarinelli is fighting?
For some reason I thought he retired...

 

[2-0-Sixx]

I thought he did too apparently he's not done getting brutally knocked out

 

[heyzel]

Sources: Sergio Martinez-Paul Williams II Should Happen

By Lem Satterfield

The long-awaited rematch between WBC middleweight champion Sergio Martinez and Paul "The Punisher" Williams should get finalized for November 20, according to sources who are close to the negotiations. The fight will take place in Atlantic City or Washington, D.C. HBO will televise the fight, along with the replay of Manny Pacquiao vs. Antonio Margarito, which takes place on November 13. Last December Williams won a twelve round majority decision over Martinez in a fight where both boxers went down in the first round.

The contracts have not been signed but sources inidcate "there are no outstanding deal points" and "everything has been hammered out and everything has been agreed to." There will be a catch-weight of 157-pounds. Williams last appeared in the junior middleweight division and wants to return at some point to the welterweight limit of 147-pounds. Martinez's last two bouts have been at middleweight.

 

[heyzel]

Juanma vs Gamboa Likely For June in NYC, Says Rivera

By Jhonny Gonzalez

There have been some comments from WBO featherweight champion Juan Manuel Lopez about a possible unification with WBA/IBF champion Yuriorkis Gamboa in early 2011. Juanma's co-promoter, Peter Rivera of Puerto Rico Best Boxing, says the fight is likely for the month of June in New York City, around the time of the popular Puerto Rican Day Parade.

Rivera has been in contact with Juanma's other co-promoter Top Rank, and they have discussed the course of action to create the fight with Gamboa. Juanma is scheduled to fight Rafael Marquez on November 6. If Juanma retains his title, Rivera says he would return to the ring in a potential February doubleheader in Puerto Rico. Gamboa would appear in the co-headliner. The doubleheader would be the final showcase for both before a June meeting.

"This is the plan that we've had from the beginning. Even Juanma has long known about this. We want people to have the chance to see them both on a card before they fight in June. It's a big fight and it makes sense to have one show in Puerto Rico and then go to New York in June," Rivera told Carlitos Narvaez.

 

[heyzel]

Easy fix for the Super Six, if you can wait

By Matt Muranaka: Before you read on, I like to write my articles to have a little debate in the responses. I’ll lay down what I know so far, and some possible scenarios that i thought of on the spot. You are entitled to your opinion, and I respect all comments. Enjoy the article.

Showtime has ran into devastating problems as of late. With such great promise to boxing fans when announced back in July of 2009, it was a tournament that we hope brought exciting fights, great match ups in all stages, bring new fans to boxing, and add in a fresh breath of boxing goodness. After all there where 6 world class super middleweights, 4 of which where coming into the tournament undefeated and 2 world champion veterans. Add in the WBA, WBC supper middleweight titles and with a total of 163 wins 4 loses 119KO’s, we were in for a ride, or so we thought…


Group stage one of the Super Six World Boxing Classic started with 2 out of 3 fights starting in October 09 and ending in November 09. At the end of group stage one Showtime was able to bring in Allan Green (29-2,20KO’s) to quickly replace Jermain Taylor(28-4-1,17KO’s). Taylor withdrew after losing to Arthur Abraham (31-1,25KO’s) in the first group stage. Citing “..give my body and mind some much needed rest, because I have been boxing for nearly 20 years.” Was Taylor not aware that this was a tournament and that was only the first group stage? Well if you saw the punch that came in the 12th round with less than 11 seconds in the fight, that didn’t hurt that idea to much either. Or seeing “Bad Intentions” laying in the ring motionless with his arms and elbow cocked twitching in the air…

Group stage two started in March an ended in June, and more disaster struck the SSWBC.

With Mikkel Kessler (43-2,2KO’s) out for 9 months suffering from a very acute eye injury. The “Viking Warrior” saw Professor Dr. Gerhard Land stating, “Mikkel said he has been bothered by problems with his vision during the fights with Ward and Froch as well as in the training during the build up to the fights. There is a weakness of the superior oblique muscle of his left eye. To continue boxing, the muscle needs a proper rest, meaning no fighting or sparring for nine months. After this break, we expect a full recovery.” That news broke late in August, so nine months we should see the return of the “Viking Warrior” to face the winner of the Super Six… if we get to see a winner out of this once promising tournament.

So the tournament got shot straight to the semi-finals with 4 fights left in the tournament (semi-finals, consolation, final). We all thought might as well, since Kessler was injured and Allan Green lost his first fight to Andre Ward (22-0,13KO’s) convincingly. We thought no problem, its boxing this stuff happens. Ironically in conversation with friends that day, the same mumbling sentence keep coming up in other ways that could derail this revolutionary tournament that would revitalize the boxing movement; “..unless something happens in the training c..a..m…p…..

It looks like Carl Froch (26-1,20KO’s) hurt his back this past Monday. Ironically Froch goes by “The Cobra”….. and must severely injured it, or trying to rest it because he wasn’t even at the press conference. In fact Mick Hennessey, Froch’s promoter, had to tell the news to Showtime and media. But in all bad news there must be good news, it only needs a few weeks to recover.

And with the Dirrell (19-1,13KO’s), Ward (22-0,13KO’s) fight no where to be even heard of, we wonder who to put the blame on. How could Showtime not have planned where venues where to be taken place, when they already had the brackets laid out last year? Come on Showtime! But they aren’t really the one’s to blame, are they? Its been heard from many boxing sites that Ward and Dirrell, close friends that met in the 2004 Olympic USA boxing team, have not agreed upon a venue and are looking ways to avoid the showdown. Showtime had sent both of their promoters legal action letters of “Breach in contract” if they do not agree to fight in three potential fight nights. What puzzles me is the fact that they knew about this fight back in mid 09. All six of the fighters signed binding contracts to the layout and scheduling of all the fights. Did they think they where going to booth be out by this time or what? I live in Oakland, an am a great fan of the “S.O.G” and would love to see another fight at Oracle Arena. It was already a record having two world title fights in Oakland in back to back years, but three world title fights in two years… Its not fair as much as i would love to see it happen, but to then say have it in Michigan? I disagree with that just because Dirrell comes into; a title fight with the only undefeated fighter left in the tourney and “The Matrix” in a do or die situation. Its only fair that this fight needs to be in a neutral site. So the only two American fighters left looking for a neutral site…… Vegas? ( I realize its close to California but people are very poor in Oakland and only a handful, including myself would travel to see that fight )

So here we are September 2010, 14 months have past. One undefeated fighter is left, one fighter has semi retired, one recovering from a career ending injury, one out on injury, one lack luster fight, the WBC title in the air and us, the fans, standing around with our pants pulled down around our ankles. Word quickly hit the boxing sites that the SSWBC was in jeopardy, and that it was f.u.b.a.r to continue. Not so fast anxious boxing fans!

We could wait for Froch to fully recover before continuing the tournament and in the meanwhile settle where the Matrix and Son of God venue is to be.

Wait till May of 2011 and continue to go on with the full Group Stage 3 fights since Kessler and Froch would both be healed. In the meantime while tournament would be on hold I would love to see Ward get permission by Showtime to go ahead and see the match up I want, er we all want…right? A chance to grab the 3rd Super Middleweight belt, IBF champion Lucian Bute (26-0;21KO’s). Since Showtime couldn’t get “Mr KO” due to contractual terms with HBO, it would be a very amazing PPV event. It is a stupid idea because Showtime would be risking one of the two titles that they tied down for the tournament, but it would be a great buildup for the fight but in the other hand it would make or break the tournament. I can dream can’t I ?

Or Showtime and HBO can strike a deal to bring in Bute to the tournament to fight Green. To save on production cost, have all three fights set in one neutral venue. To end Group stage 3 in one successful swoop.

So I ask the great fans of BoxingNews24, what could happen to salvage anything that’s left in the Super Six World Boxing Classic and save face at the same time?

 

[Tragedy]

juanma and gamboa is gonna be good. gamboa didn't look too impressive in his last fight. and juanma is very consistant i'd like to see how this plays out should be a very good fight. they both will bring the best out of eachother.

 

[2-0-Sixx]

I wouldn't be suprised if the Super Six is canceled soon.

The round robin is so cool on paper but this is exactly why it doesn't work in boxing - injuries, bad losses, politics, takes freakin forever, etc.

The only way tournaments work in boxing are single round elimination. They are quick, straight to the point and a clear winner emerges at the end.

For example, the MW tourny to unify all the belts in 2001:

Bernard Hopkins (IBF) vs Keith Holmes (WBC)
William Joppy (WBA) vs Tito Trinidad
=
Hopkins (IBF/WBC) vs Trinidad (WBA)
=
Winner: Hopkins (IBF/WBC/WBA)

In that one tournament, you had the top four guys fight and all the belts were unified to a single winner (Hopkins) in a period of two nights of boxing. That's how it's done!

 

[Rumpelstiltskin]

Ya, this super 6 has been a failure.

JT and Kessler both out.
Now we are down to 4.

Green jumps in for JT and stands there for 12 rounds.
SOG won't leave his backyard.
Froch and Abraham argued over the site, then Froch gets hurt.

Dirrell has been the only soldier out of all of this.

 

[heyzel]

Chavez Jr. having second thoughts about fighting Cotto?

By Jim Dower: Unbeaten middleweight contender Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (41-0-1, 30 KO’s) won’t be traveling to the Phillipines with trainer Freddie Roach to help get Manny Pacquiao ready for his November 13th fight against Antonio Margarito at the Cowboys Stadium, in Arlington, Texas. Promoter Bob Arum, who just found about this, said in an article at Primera Hora, “if this is true that then it means that Chavez Jr. doesn’t want to fight Cotto.”


Arum wants Julio to train with Pacquiao to help him get ready for the Margarito fight. At the same time, the training with Pacquiao would help Chavez Jr. get ready for his big money fight against WBA junior middleweight champion Miguel Cotto, who Chavez Jr. is supposed to be fighting on December 4th.

Arum said “I cannot make an announcement until I speak directly with him [Chavez Jr.], but he needs to go to the Philippines to train with Freddie. In the event that he cannot, then we will seek another opponent for Miguel.” Is Chavez Jr. having second thoughts about fighting Cotto now? If so, this would be the second big named fighter that Chavez Jr. won’t be facing. A couple of months ago, former WBC/WBO middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik was mentioned as an opponent for Chavez Jr.

However, the management decided not to make that fight for some reason. Few people gave Chavez Jr. any chance of beating Pavlik, just as few are giving Chavez Jr. any chance of beating Cotto. However, even if he were to lose, it would be a big payday for Chavez. This would be the first big test for Chavez, who has fought only one fringe contender during the entirety of his seven year pro career. The WBC made Chavez the mandatory challenger for WBC middleweight champion Sergio Martinez.

Could it be that Chavez and his team prefer that fight to the Cotto bout? Either way, you would figure that Chavez has very little chance of beating Martinez and will likely get dominated by Martinez. However, Chavez has a better chance of finishing the fight on his feet if he faces Martinez than if he faces the slugger Cotto, who often knocks out his opponents.

Boxing fans have been really excited about the Cotto vs. Chavez Jr. bout ever since it was first talked about. It would be sad if the fight doesn’t come off because Chavez Jr. or one of his people have had second thoughts about it. He can’t keep fighting B level fighters for the remainder of his career. Sooner or later, Chavez Jr. has to step it up and this would seem like the perfect time.

Share and Enjoy:

 

[heyzel]

Insider Notebook: De La Hoya on Mayweather, Hatton, Etc.

By Robert Morales

Oscar De La Hoya on Tuesday stood on the apron of a makeshift boxing ring at Placita Olvera, an area behind the famed Olvera Street in Los Angeles. About 200 feet away is the beginning of the Mexican tourist spot filled with shops and eateries cooking the most delicious taquitos one could ever taste.

Fans strained to see over all the reporters and photographers as fighters such as Victor Ortiz, Carlos Baldomir and Saul "Canelo" Alvarez lightly worked out in preparation for their fights on Saturday's undercard of the "Sugar" Shane Mosley-Sergio Mora junior middleweight main event at Staples Center (on HBO pay-per-view).

It was a bit chaotic, as there really wasn't enough room for all the media on the platform on which the ring was erected. But even though the quarters were cramped, De La Hoya had no trouble conveying his feelings about what he believes was the effect of Mosley's one-sided loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in May.

As a lead into a question inquiring about this, De La Hoya was reminded that Mosley is a very prideful fighter.

"Oh, absolutely, I think he was crushed," De La Hoya said. "And Shane Mosley is a fighter who is very, very personal. He's very sensitive when it comes to his training, his boxing, his career. He doesn't want people talking, ''Well, Mayweather beat you easy,' and, 'Mayweather did this and that.' He doesn't want that. It crushes his ego.

"Mosley's a fighter who is very proud of what he's accomplished, of who he is inside the ring."

De La Hoya said Mosley will use all this as motivation.

"He loves boxing," De La Hoya said. "He's a fighter for life. So if he even hears one person talk about that, it makes him work harder, it makes him want to really prove to the world that he can really come back and fight even harder and be himself. So it's going to be very interesting to watch if he did grow old, like a lot of people are saying, or if he still has it."

Mosley was reached Tuesday via telephone at his camp in Big Bear. He didn't seem perturbed at what De La Hoya had to say, but he did not agree with him.

"No, it didn't really hurt me because I knew what the problem was before I even entered the ring," Mosley said. "He was the better man that night and if I can get another chance at (Mayweather), I know it will be different."

Mosley was asked if he would like to elaborate on knowing what the issue was before the fight.

"No excuses," Mosley said. "He won the fight and he was the better man that night."

After that fight, and a few times since, Mosley has said his neck was tight during the fight and that prevented him from throwing more punches.

As for him getting old in the ring that night - he turned 39 last week - Mosley was asked what he would say to those thinking that.

"I guess this fight right here will tell the tale, if I had gotten old in the ring or not," he said. "I don't think that's the case."

A Comeback Fighter

Mosley was 38-0 before losing for the first time, to Vernon Forrest. He lost again to Forrest in a rematch, but bounced back with his second victory over De La Hoya following a no-contest with Raul Marquez. With another big win over De La Hoya in his pocket, Mosley lost two consecutive fights to Winky Wright.

Undaunted, Mosley reeled off five wins in a row - two over Fernando Vargas and another over Luis Collazo - before losing a narrow decision to Miguel Cotto. Mosley again showed his mettle by rebounding with a 12th-round knockout of Ricardo Mayorga and a dazzling ninth-round TKO of Antonio Margarito.

Tough to keep a future hall of famer down.

"It shows that I never give up, that I'm a true champion," Mosley said. "That is what true champions do. When they're down, they come back and fight hard. I just have that in my heart, in my soul."

Ten-Year Anniversary

Both De La Hoya and Mosley were reminded that this past June was the 10-year anniversary of their first fight, held at Staples Center. They were asked what they remembered most about that night that saw Mosley earn a thrilling split decision victory before a very large and loud crowd.

"I remember Salma Hayek being there," De La Hoya said, smiling. "I remember Jennifer Lopez being there. I remember P Diddy being there. I remember all these stars. That's one thing I do remember, is all of the stars and celebrities that went down to watch 'Sugar' Shane Mosley and myself fight.

"But, obviously, the one thing that will always stay in my mind is how great a fighter 'Sugar' Shane Mosley is."

Mosley loved the atmosphere.

"The fans, the arena was filled to the brim," Mosley said. "It was so great. It was the first time I had been in a big fight of that magnitude. With Oscar, I was happy to share it with him in L.A."

Mosley also recalled that the Lakers beat the Indiana Pacers two days later at Staples Center to win the NBA championship.

De La Hoya on Mayweather, Hatton

It was interesting to hear De La Hoya's thoughts on Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Ricky Hatton. Mayweather has taken a lot of flack for his recent racist comments about Manny Pacquiao, and he was also arrested for grand theft larceny (stealing a phone) and could face domestic violence charges for assaulting the mother of his children.

Hatton apparently has cocaine and alcohol problems and is in a rehabilitation center.

"I truly feel it's a call for help," De La Hoya said. "I think with Mayweather, with Ricky Hatton, I don't think we should be bashing them. We shouldn't be saying how negative and this and that. I think we should help because it's serious. Who knows the way Mayweather's thinking? Who knows? Maybe he has to get back in the ring to clear his head and do what he does best inside the ring.

"With Hatton, we have to wish him all the best and hopefully he gets help. He's heading toward the wrong path; he's already on the wrong path. But there's always help. You can always put a stop to it and help him. I wish him the best."

De La Hoya suggested both Mayweather and Hatton get back to doing the one thing that can keep them out of trouble.

"That squared circle is the best thing that can ever happen to a fighter," De La Hoya said. "If you're born with it, the squared circle is what saves you from everything. And so whether it's Mayweather, whether it's Hatton, whether it's whoever, that squared circle is probably the best thing that can ever happen to you.

"Whether it's Hatton coming back and fighting, maybe that's what he has to do. If it's Mayweather fighting as often as three, four times a year, maybe that's what he has to do. It all depends on them. But my thing is that we just want the best for them. We have to help them out."

Ortiz Not Thinking About Anyone But Harris

Rolando Arellano, co-manager of Victor Ortiz, seems to have a good plan for Ortiz should Ortiz get past Vivian Harris in a junior welterweight fight on Saturday's aforementioned undercard.

"We want to fight for a championship," Arellano said. "There are two ways we can actually get there right now. I don't think Devon Alexander is very attainable because of Don King and all the politics associated with that.

"So our quickest way would probably be Timothy Bradley and if for some reason Timothy Bradley doesn't want to fight us, then the next one would be to fight on the undercard of Amir Khan and (Marcos) Maidana and take the winner of that one."

Alexander and Bradley are junior welterweight champions whose proposed unification fight is in jeopardy of not being made. Ortiz is the No. 1 contender to Bradley's WBO belt, and Arellano said he will make sure the WBO enforces its rules as they pertain to a champion defending his title against his top challenger.

But when cornered at Placita Olvera, Ortiz was adamant about not wanting to discuss the subject.

"No, I'm not really looking forward or ahead of anything besides Saturday," said Ortiz, who indeed appeared very focused. "So I can't really answer any questions ahead of that. I do know that I'm prepared and I know Vivian is, too.

"But as far as I'm concerned, I'm here for Saturday night. Anything after that, I'll leave it to my coaches, my managers."

The Scene of The Crime

Ortiz, just 23, will be returning to the venue where he was stopped by Maidana in the sixth round in June 2009. Ortiz was perceived by some as having quit in the fight, and he has taken some heat. He was asked if he felt the need to show anything to the fans in attendance come Saturday.

"I don't have anything to prove to anyone," said Ortiz, wearing a very serious look. "I'm happy with myself, I'm happy with what I do. I perform on my expectations and no one else's. So if somebody thinks any less of me, then that's on them. To each his own. Everyone's liable to hold their own opinions."

Ortiz (27-2-1, 21 KOs) is 3-0 with two knockouts since the loss to Maidana.

 

[trips]

I still have a soul (HBO Boxing)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtMm0swu5i8

 

[2-0-Sixx]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtMm0swu5i8

damn, that shit was tight. I was hoping it was going to be a new series

 

[WYNO707X4]

i saw in hbo that vicente escobedo vs robert guerrero.... fuck that going to be good. woodlone vs gilroy. i gotz to go with vicente

 

[heyzel]

Is the window on the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight closing?

By Marquise Bullock: The window seems like it may be closing on one of the biggest mega fights within the last 10 years. The “powers that be” seems like they don’t want this fight to happen. Right now there is no one to blame anymore. Floyd went on vacation and got into loads of trouble, and Pacquiao may have wrote a check he can’t cash in fighting Mexico’s own Antonio Margarito. Every year it seems like when the fight doesn’t get made, fans just debate over who would win and say well next month, next year we’ll see. But has it ever occured to anyone the window may be closing and might shut for good.


Floyd “Money” Mayweather has seen his share of troubles in the past, but the troubles surrounding him nowadays might be to great to blow off. First racist rants that he was man enough to apologize for to anyone it may offended, and the alleged fight he had with long time girl friend and mother of his three kids, Josie Harris. He faces eight charges, which are both misdemeanor and felony crimes. If convicted Mayweather could possibly receive 34 years ,the maximum sentence and a fine up $20,000. Mayweather’s trial begins November 9th of this year. Also rumors have circulated, stating Mayweather supposedly getting married in February of next year. Now that sounds like a busy, busy man. Also Mayweather has said he will not fight without his uncle in his corner, who also faces charges of assault on a female and could possibly go to prison.

Pacquiao is in the fiasco also. He’s fighting the dangerous Antonio Margarito, who already beat Sergio Martinez, beat Kermit Cintron twice, beat Joshua Clottey, battered Miguel Cotto, gave a good war to Paul Williams, and had the guts to fight Shane Mosley. Margarito is no push over, at all! People are counting him out just like people counted out “Buster” Douglas when he fought “Iron” Mike Tyson. This is the sport of boxing where anything can happen. Personally I think Margarito’s pressure style is too much for the best P4P fighter in the world, but we will just have to wait and see. But if Pacquiao just so happens to lose, the value for the potential mega fight is pretty much out the window. A loss for Pacquiao right now would in some ways be a blow to boxing. As many fans would feel he’s not at the top of his game to fight the undefeated Floyd Mayweather.

But if Mayweather can beat his case and Pacquiao doesn’t fall to the Mexican slugger, there’s the blood testing situation. Pacquiao has claimed to agree to full random blood testing, but what does he really mean? Pacquiao just might mean the 14 day cut off that was in the first negotiations, as Roger Mayweather says Pacquiao behind closed doors still doesn’t agree on blood testing up until the fight. And Floyd Mayweather quoted “no test, no fight”. A 50/50 split is fair for both fighters in my opinion. But does Mayweather look at it that way, even though I don’t think that that’s a big issue. I think it will be a 50/50 spilt no matter how many PPVs Pacquiao and Margarito sell. So is the window closing or is it still open? Will there ever be a great rivalry between the two best P4P fighters in the world? Will “Pretty Boy” Floyd and Manny “ Pacman” Pacquiao ever meet in the famous squared circle? Hopefully because Floyd will be 34
years of age and a fighter’s prime can only last for but so long.