Boxing News Thread
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I think Ward/Bika will be a rough/headbutt special of a fight that ward fights like he did against Kessler. You kinda never now which bika will show up. He almost beat Calzaghe but loses to people he should beat.
I think Solis is the Cuban Arreola (no, breh). He could maybe beat a Klitschko if he trained hard and applied himself. He won't be in shape enough to beat either brother IMO
I think Solis is the Cuban Arreola (no, breh). He could maybe beat a Klitschko if he trained hard and applied himself. He won't be in shape enough to beat either brother IMO
Froch Won't Speculate, But Hints Doubt on Dirrell's Story
By Mark Vester
In his latest Nottingham Post column, Carl Froch discussed Andre Dirrell's withdrawal from the Super Six Boxing Classic. At first, Froch refused to speculate on whether Dirrell's withdrawal was legitimate or not. Dirrell withdrew last week from the Super Six with neurological complaints, claiming that Arthur Abraham's illegal right hand from their March fight was the likely cause.
"The Michigan man claims he has suffered headaches since being knocked out by Arthur Abraham. I'm not going to be drawn on whether the injury is legitimate or not because there seems to be so much speculation around it all. But it would seem many of the boxing fans out there are split on the legitimacy of it. Some claim it's genuine and some say it's not," Froch wrote.
"Some would argue that yes, it was a heavy blow sustained by an unprepared Dirrell as he lay on the canvas. But others would argue that it was a grazing punch – and that the fight could have been canceled before its original date in September."
Later on, Froch gave a hint that he some some doubts on the story by bringing up some post-Abraham comments that were made by Dirrell's promoter, Gary Shaw.
"Promoter Gary Shaw said that night after the Abraham fight that: 'He hasn't sustained concussion and his brain scans are clear.' But the point being raised by a lot of boxing analysts is that Ward and Dirrell put their friendship and careers first and decided against the match-up. If Andre (Dirrell) is injured and there is a problem, then I can only wish him a speedy recovery," Froch wrote.
By Mark Vester
In his latest Nottingham Post column, Carl Froch discussed Andre Dirrell's withdrawal from the Super Six Boxing Classic. At first, Froch refused to speculate on whether Dirrell's withdrawal was legitimate or not. Dirrell withdrew last week from the Super Six with neurological complaints, claiming that Arthur Abraham's illegal right hand from their March fight was the likely cause.
"The Michigan man claims he has suffered headaches since being knocked out by Arthur Abraham. I'm not going to be drawn on whether the injury is legitimate or not because there seems to be so much speculation around it all. But it would seem many of the boxing fans out there are split on the legitimacy of it. Some claim it's genuine and some say it's not," Froch wrote.
"Some would argue that yes, it was a heavy blow sustained by an unprepared Dirrell as he lay on the canvas. But others would argue that it was a grazing punch – and that the fight could have been canceled before its original date in September."
Later on, Froch gave a hint that he some some doubts on the story by bringing up some post-Abraham comments that were made by Dirrell's promoter, Gary Shaw.
"Promoter Gary Shaw said that night after the Abraham fight that: 'He hasn't sustained concussion and his brain scans are clear.' But the point being raised by a lot of boxing analysts is that Ward and Dirrell put their friendship and careers first and decided against the match-up. If Andre (Dirrell) is injured and there is a problem, then I can only wish him a speedy recovery," Froch wrote.
Roach Tells Pacquiao To Drop Habits, Plans Khan Sparring
by Ronnie Nathanielsz
Celebrated trainer Freddie Roach wants Manny Pacquiao’s weekend trips to Manila stopped and said no matter whether Pacquiao rests by sleeping in his car “it is definitely tiring and won’t do him any good.”
Roach told BoxingScene.com/Inquirer after Pacquiao’s workout at the Shape Up Gym in Baguio City on Tuesday that one other issue he’s been upset about, Manny’s playing basketball almost nightly and skipping roadwork the following morning, will also stop.
Roach said “tomorrow is his last day playing basketball.”
With growing concern over his trips to Manila, playing basketball and missing his morning run, Pacquiao clearly got cracking in training Tuesday.
Two weekends ago Pacquiao drove down to Camp Aguinaldo to attend the PMA Alumni Association Family Sportsfest while last weekend he arrived in Manila to participate in the 101010 run in the effort of the ABS-CBN Foundation headed by Gina Lopez to save the Pasig river.
Although he arrived in Baguio City past midnight on Monday after meeting with executive secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr and attending to some of his duties in congress and skipped jogging, Pacquiao sparred seven rounds, four with undefeated Glen Tapia (7-0, 5 KO’s) and three with the more experienced Michael Medina (24-2-2, 19 KO’s).
Roach said the sparring was “good” and indicated Pacquiao was “doing fine.”
He also told us that Pacquiao would spar later in the week with WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan who has been training alongside the pound-for-pound king both in Baguio City and at the Rizal Memorial track last Monday when strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza pushed Pacquiao in a variety of drills which he said were "tough but only the beginning."
Pacquiao continued the strength and conditioning routine in Baguio, pushing himself hard with just over one month left before he faces a bigger, taller Antonio Margarito in a battle for the vacant WBC super welterweight title at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium on November 13.
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum who is scheduled to arrive in Manila on Saturday and will proceed to Baguio for a media preview with Pacquiao on October 18 was quoted by Michael Marley on boxingscene.com as saying Pacquiao would have a second media day at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles on October 27.
Arum was not inclined to believe reports that Pacquiao was sluggish in sparring last Saturday although he conceded "Its always this way with Manny. But when he gets to the US there are less distractions for him. All the distractions, and there are a lot, go away when he leaves the Philippines" in a conversation with Marley.
Pacquiao’s chief-of-staff Joe Ramos said he was with Amir Khan who was recognized during his appearance in Congress and that they left for Baguio after dinner, arriving at around 2:00 a.m. while Pacquiao decided to have dinner in his car while on the long drive to the summer capital.
by Ronnie Nathanielsz
Celebrated trainer Freddie Roach wants Manny Pacquiao’s weekend trips to Manila stopped and said no matter whether Pacquiao rests by sleeping in his car “it is definitely tiring and won’t do him any good.”
Roach told BoxingScene.com/Inquirer after Pacquiao’s workout at the Shape Up Gym in Baguio City on Tuesday that one other issue he’s been upset about, Manny’s playing basketball almost nightly and skipping roadwork the following morning, will also stop.
Roach said “tomorrow is his last day playing basketball.”
With growing concern over his trips to Manila, playing basketball and missing his morning run, Pacquiao clearly got cracking in training Tuesday.
Two weekends ago Pacquiao drove down to Camp Aguinaldo to attend the PMA Alumni Association Family Sportsfest while last weekend he arrived in Manila to participate in the 101010 run in the effort of the ABS-CBN Foundation headed by Gina Lopez to save the Pasig river.
Although he arrived in Baguio City past midnight on Monday after meeting with executive secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr and attending to some of his duties in congress and skipped jogging, Pacquiao sparred seven rounds, four with undefeated Glen Tapia (7-0, 5 KO’s) and three with the more experienced Michael Medina (24-2-2, 19 KO’s).
Roach said the sparring was “good” and indicated Pacquiao was “doing fine.”
He also told us that Pacquiao would spar later in the week with WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan who has been training alongside the pound-for-pound king both in Baguio City and at the Rizal Memorial track last Monday when strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza pushed Pacquiao in a variety of drills which he said were "tough but only the beginning."
Pacquiao continued the strength and conditioning routine in Baguio, pushing himself hard with just over one month left before he faces a bigger, taller Antonio Margarito in a battle for the vacant WBC super welterweight title at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium on November 13.
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum who is scheduled to arrive in Manila on Saturday and will proceed to Baguio for a media preview with Pacquiao on October 18 was quoted by Michael Marley on boxingscene.com as saying Pacquiao would have a second media day at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles on October 27.
Arum was not inclined to believe reports that Pacquiao was sluggish in sparring last Saturday although he conceded "Its always this way with Manny. But when he gets to the US there are less distractions for him. All the distractions, and there are a lot, go away when he leaves the Philippines" in a conversation with Marley.
Pacquiao’s chief-of-staff Joe Ramos said he was with Amir Khan who was recognized during his appearance in Congress and that they left for Baguio after dinner, arriving at around 2:00 a.m. while Pacquiao decided to have dinner in his car while on the long drive to the summer capital.
I don't like the arreola comparison because solis is about 100 x more talented than the big nipple. arreola doesn't really have much skills other than having good power and was easily able to KO lesser opponents.
Solis is fat too but i haven't seen him be affected by it as of yet, which is to say I haven't seen him fatigued or gassed.
Also, solis seems to wear his weight better than arreola. Solis actually seems ok at that weight and maybe there is some good muscle under there whereas arreola just looks like a disgusting slob
Solis is fat too but i haven't seen him be affected by it as of yet, which is to say I haven't seen him fatigued or gassed.
Also, solis seems to wear his weight better than arreola. Solis actually seems ok at that weight and maybe there is some good muscle under there whereas arreola just looks like a disgusting slob
Roger Mayweather: Margarito has no Chance with Pacquiao
By Ruslan Chikov
Speaking with the Golzka paper, trainer Roger Mayweather, gave his opinion on the outcome of Manny Pacquiao vs. Antonio Margarito, taking place on November 13 in Arlington, Texas. Roger, the uncle and trainer of Floyd Mayweather Jr., is not giving the much larger Margarito any possible chance to win the contest.
Mayweather has a strong opinion that Margarito is going to struggle making the contracted weight of 150-pounds. Pacquiao and Margarito are fighting for the WBC's vacant junior middleweight title.
"I don't think Margarito has a f**king chance to win," Mayweather was quoted as saying. "He [Margarito] won't have nothing. It's bullsh*t. He's going to kill himself with the wei
By Ruslan Chikov
Speaking with the Golzka paper, trainer Roger Mayweather, gave his opinion on the outcome of Manny Pacquiao vs. Antonio Margarito, taking place on November 13 in Arlington, Texas. Roger, the uncle and trainer of Floyd Mayweather Jr., is not giving the much larger Margarito any possible chance to win the contest.
Mayweather has a strong opinion that Margarito is going to struggle making the contracted weight of 150-pounds. Pacquiao and Margarito are fighting for the WBC's vacant junior middleweight title.
"I don't think Margarito has a f**king chance to win," Mayweather was quoted as saying. "He [Margarito] won't have nothing. It's bullsh*t. He's going to kill himself with the wei
the jealousy is high in the mayweather camp.
the rest of the article wasn't posted, it gets far more worse. He goes on to say that freddie roach aint shit yada yada, and says that freddie is just a punching bag that can barely walk and talk, some real cheap shots like that dissing him for his illness.
Disgusting behavior, can't wait till he goes to jail. It's no wonder floyd acts the way he acts when you have dysfunctional idiots surrounding you.
the rest of the article wasn't posted, it gets far more worse. He goes on to say that freddie roach aint shit yada yada, and says that freddie is just a punching bag that can barely walk and talk, some real cheap shots like that dissing him for his illness.
Disgusting behavior, can't wait till he goes to jail. It's no wonder floyd acts the way he acts when you have dysfunctional idiots surrounding you.
Froch-Abraham: Carl looking forward to getting the WBC super middleweight title back
By Scott Gilfoid: Former WBC super middleweight champion Carl Froch (26-1, 20 KO’s) says that his training is going well and his injured back is getting better. In his column at thisisnottingham.co.uk, Froch says “Training is going really well. I’ve got a few niggles and knocks, the normal type of stuff that you pick up week to week. But the injured back is right on track – and everything is going to plan. Having done so much work in the last camp, finding my stride again has been easy.”
Froch will be facing Arthur Abraham (31-1, 25 KO’s) next month on November 27th at the Hartwall Arena, in Helsinki, Finland. Froch and Abraham are both coming off of losses in their last Super Six tournament fights and neither of them looked at all good.
Froch already postponed the fight with Abraham due to a back injury, he said. It’s hoped that Froch’s back problem doesn’t flare up again and cause him to pull out of the fight for a second time. Abraham thinks Froch is mentally damaged from the Kessler loss, as Froch keeps harping about the loss and thinks he should have won.
Froch already won a controversial 12 round decision over Andre Dirrell last year in the opening bout of the Super Six tourney. Froch looked horrible throughout – slow, wild and easy to hit. However, the European judges handed Froch the decision, which few fans outside of the UK agreed with.
In Froch’s column he says “Firstly, the news that one of my previous victims, Andre Dirrell, has withdrawn from his fight with Andre Ward in the Showtime Super Six tournament, citing neurological reasons.”
While Froch is correct about Dirrell pulling out of the Super Six tourney due to neurological problems, I would hardly call Dirrell one of Froch’s victims. If anything, you could call Dirrell a victim of a bad decision but not a victim in the sense that Froch took care of him in the ring in any real way.
Dirrell looked amazing in that fight and I thought it was one of the best performances I’ve seen from a fighter. He showed defensive brilliance, making Froch miss all night long, and lighting fast hand speed.
Froch says “He [Kessler] borrowed the belt [the WBC super middleweight title] from me earlier this year), it will still be good to get the green strap around my waist again.”
I kind of doubt Froch will do anything other than get knocked out by Abraham next month. Froch is too easy to hit, too slow, and too much of a plodder to beat a monstrous puncher like Abraham. I see Abraham putting Froch out of his misery and sending him off to another loss, but this time by a crushing knockout.
By Scott Gilfoid: Former WBC super middleweight champion Carl Froch (26-1, 20 KO’s) says that his training is going well and his injured back is getting better. In his column at thisisnottingham.co.uk, Froch says “Training is going really well. I’ve got a few niggles and knocks, the normal type of stuff that you pick up week to week. But the injured back is right on track – and everything is going to plan. Having done so much work in the last camp, finding my stride again has been easy.”
Froch will be facing Arthur Abraham (31-1, 25 KO’s) next month on November 27th at the Hartwall Arena, in Helsinki, Finland. Froch and Abraham are both coming off of losses in their last Super Six tournament fights and neither of them looked at all good.
Froch already postponed the fight with Abraham due to a back injury, he said. It’s hoped that Froch’s back problem doesn’t flare up again and cause him to pull out of the fight for a second time. Abraham thinks Froch is mentally damaged from the Kessler loss, as Froch keeps harping about the loss and thinks he should have won.
Froch already won a controversial 12 round decision over Andre Dirrell last year in the opening bout of the Super Six tourney. Froch looked horrible throughout – slow, wild and easy to hit. However, the European judges handed Froch the decision, which few fans outside of the UK agreed with.
In Froch’s column he says “Firstly, the news that one of my previous victims, Andre Dirrell, has withdrawn from his fight with Andre Ward in the Showtime Super Six tournament, citing neurological reasons.”
While Froch is correct about Dirrell pulling out of the Super Six tourney due to neurological problems, I would hardly call Dirrell one of Froch’s victims. If anything, you could call Dirrell a victim of a bad decision but not a victim in the sense that Froch took care of him in the ring in any real way.
Dirrell looked amazing in that fight and I thought it was one of the best performances I’ve seen from a fighter. He showed defensive brilliance, making Froch miss all night long, and lighting fast hand speed.
Froch says “He [Kessler] borrowed the belt [the WBC super middleweight title] from me earlier this year), it will still be good to get the green strap around my waist again.”
I kind of doubt Froch will do anything other than get knocked out by Abraham next month. Froch is too easy to hit, too slow, and too much of a plodder to beat a monstrous puncher like Abraham. I see Abraham putting Froch out of his misery and sending him off to another loss, but this time by a crushing knockout.
Mormeck vs Rahman Clash on December 2 in Paris?
Mormeck vs Rahman Clash on December 2 in Paris?
Posted by: Ruslan Chikov on 10-13-2010.
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>>>Click Here For Tons of More Breaking Boxing News, Articles and Insider Information<<<
By Ruslan Chikov
Several sources in France are reporting that former cruiserweight champion Jean-Marc "The Marksman" Mormeck, 38-years-old and a record of 35-4, 22KOs, will return on December 2 at the Halle Carpentier in Paris, France. The opponent being pushed for the fight is Hasim "The Rock" Rahman, 37-years-old and a record of 49-7-2, 40KOs.
Mormeck's participation in such a contest would indicate that he doesn't want to involve himself in the IBF's four man tournament for a shot at Wladimir Klitschko. The four men proposed were Alexander Dimitrenko, Johnathon Banks, Jean Marc-Mormeck and Denis Boytsov. Boytsov was the first to turn down the tournament offer.
It's been reported that Mormeck-Rahman would have the WBA's international title belt on the line and that adds more stock that he doesn't take part in the IBF tourney and is more geared on getting a rematch with WBA champion David Haye.
Mormeck appeared on a radio program in France and confirmed that he wants to fight Rahman in December.
"Initially, I wanted to fight the New Zealander David Tua, but he refused because he was on [Wladimir] Klitschko's list [of opponents]. So I opted for Hasim Rahman because he fought Lennox Lewis, because he is a true heavyweight, because he is tough and because he has a a lot of experience at the weight, fighting everyone who mattered like Evander Holyfield, David Tua, John Ruiz, Wladimir Klitschko. You can view this as an eliminator to see if I deserve my chance or not [at the heavyweight title]," Mormeck said.
Mormeck vs Rahman Clash on December 2 in Paris?
Posted by: Ruslan Chikov on 10-13-2010.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>Click Here For Tons of More Breaking Boxing News, Articles and Insider Information<<<
By Ruslan Chikov
Several sources in France are reporting that former cruiserweight champion Jean-Marc "The Marksman" Mormeck, 38-years-old and a record of 35-4, 22KOs, will return on December 2 at the Halle Carpentier in Paris, France. The opponent being pushed for the fight is Hasim "The Rock" Rahman, 37-years-old and a record of 49-7-2, 40KOs.
Mormeck's participation in such a contest would indicate that he doesn't want to involve himself in the IBF's four man tournament for a shot at Wladimir Klitschko. The four men proposed were Alexander Dimitrenko, Johnathon Banks, Jean Marc-Mormeck and Denis Boytsov. Boytsov was the first to turn down the tournament offer.
It's been reported that Mormeck-Rahman would have the WBA's international title belt on the line and that adds more stock that he doesn't take part in the IBF tourney and is more geared on getting a rematch with WBA champion David Haye.
Mormeck appeared on a radio program in France and confirmed that he wants to fight Rahman in December.
"Initially, I wanted to fight the New Zealander David Tua, but he refused because he was on [Wladimir] Klitschko's list [of opponents]. So I opted for Hasim Rahman because he fought Lennox Lewis, because he is a true heavyweight, because he is tough and because he has a a lot of experience at the weight, fighting everyone who mattered like Evander Holyfield, David Tua, John Ruiz, Wladimir Klitschko. You can view this as an eliminator to see if I deserve my chance or not [at the heavyweight title]," Mormeck said.
Alexander-Bradley: Devon Seals The Deal, Signs Contract
By Ryan Burton
The first mega fight of 2011 is officially signed, sealed and delivered. Last week BoxingScene.com first reported that WBO junior welterweight champion Tim Bradley had officially signed his contract to face WBC/IBF champion Devon Alexander in an HBO-televised unification bout on January 29.
Alexander had verbally agreed to terms over a month ago, but moments ago Alexander's manager and trainer Kevin Cunningham reached out to BoxingScene to announce that Team Alexander had signed on the dotted line.
"Devon signed the contract today, so this fight is on! Most pound for pound lists and ranking organizations have Bradley as number one and Devon at number two in the division. Now we can see who really is number one," Cunningham told BoxingScene.
"These are the type of fights fans want to see. Number one versus number two. Team Alexander is excited that this fight is officially going to happen."
By Ryan Burton
The first mega fight of 2011 is officially signed, sealed and delivered. Last week BoxingScene.com first reported that WBO junior welterweight champion Tim Bradley had officially signed his contract to face WBC/IBF champion Devon Alexander in an HBO-televised unification bout on January 29.
Alexander had verbally agreed to terms over a month ago, but moments ago Alexander's manager and trainer Kevin Cunningham reached out to BoxingScene to announce that Team Alexander had signed on the dotted line.
"Devon signed the contract today, so this fight is on! Most pound for pound lists and ranking organizations have Bradley as number one and Devon at number two in the division. Now we can see who really is number one," Cunningham told BoxingScene.
"These are the type of fights fans want to see. Number one versus number two. Team Alexander is excited that this fight is officially going to happen."
Who did Bika lose to that he shouldn't have lost besides Mendy in a fight where he was DQ'd for removing Mendy's face & a Soliman decision some years ago? Ward will not play the inside Bully game against Bika because Bika's someone he's not going to out tough.
.. and Solis is a far better fighter than Arreola. Whether he beats a Klitschko or not, I doubt it but he'd beat Arreola and easily, IMO.
.. and Solis is a far better fighter than Arreola. Whether he beats a Klitschko or not, I doubt it but he'd beat Arreola and easily, IMO.
good news, looks like HOPKINS vs PASCAL will be moved to regular Showtime.
Dan Rafael "Richard Schaefer just told me it's "99.9 percent" that Pascal-Hopkins is moving to live Showtime on Dec. 18 instead of being on Showtime PPV"
Also, Paulie Malignaggi has been confirmed to be on the undercard, making his 147 pound debut.
Dan Rafael "Richard Schaefer just told me it's "99.9 percent" that Pascal-Hopkins is moving to live Showtime on Dec. 18 instead of being on Showtime PPV"
Also, Paulie Malignaggi has been confirmed to be on the undercard, making his 147 pound debut.
Andre Ward receives two points for forfeit win – He’s now in the lead in the Super Si
By Dan Ambrose: World Boxing Association (WBA) super middleweight champion Andre Ward (22-0, 13 KO’s) received two points for the forfeit victory due to his scheduled Super Six tournament opponent having to pull out of the tourney because of neurological problems.
The two points gives Ward six points and puts him up by three points against the nearest Super Six competitor Arthur Abraham, who has three points. Abraham will need to knock out Carl Froch on November 27th to get an additional three points to tie Ward.
Instead of facing Dirrell next month, Ward will be taking on super middleweight contender Sakio Bika (28-4-2, 19 KO’s) in a non-Super Six tournament fight. Dirrell wasn’t replaced, so there wasn’t any need for Ward to fight anyone else for his next fight in the Super Six tournament.
He already has enough points to make the semifinals of the tournament. However, he still wanted to get his third fight and pick up another payday. As such, he’ll be fighting Bika on Showtime in a fight that will take place at the Oracle Arena, in Oakland, California.
For the 26-year-old Ward, this will be his third straight fight in his home arena, in Oakland. This is a subject that has angered a lot of fans, because they don’t feel that it’s fair that Ward hasn’t had to travel to a foreign fighter’s city in the tournament.
All the contestants have had to fight in a hostile venue, and each one of them has suffered badly when they were unable to fight at home. Ward would likely win wherever he fights, because he seems to be head and shoulders above the other fighters in the tournament at this moment.
It would be nice though if Ward had fought in a foreign venue just so that the tournament would be more equal in that regard.
Bika, 31, has a lot more experience against top level opposition compared to Ward. Bika has fought for a title against Joe Calzaghe, and he has also had fights against Lucian Bute, Jean Paul Mendy, Jaidon Codrington, and Markus Beyer. Bika was easily beaten by Bute in 2007, losing by a 12 round decision. He’ll likely get beat even worse by Ward next month. Bika doesn’t match-up well with the speedy and powerful Ward.
By Dan Ambrose: World Boxing Association (WBA) super middleweight champion Andre Ward (22-0, 13 KO’s) received two points for the forfeit victory due to his scheduled Super Six tournament opponent having to pull out of the tourney because of neurological problems.
The two points gives Ward six points and puts him up by three points against the nearest Super Six competitor Arthur Abraham, who has three points. Abraham will need to knock out Carl Froch on November 27th to get an additional three points to tie Ward.
Instead of facing Dirrell next month, Ward will be taking on super middleweight contender Sakio Bika (28-4-2, 19 KO’s) in a non-Super Six tournament fight. Dirrell wasn’t replaced, so there wasn’t any need for Ward to fight anyone else for his next fight in the Super Six tournament.
He already has enough points to make the semifinals of the tournament. However, he still wanted to get his third fight and pick up another payday. As such, he’ll be fighting Bika on Showtime in a fight that will take place at the Oracle Arena, in Oakland, California.
For the 26-year-old Ward, this will be his third straight fight in his home arena, in Oakland. This is a subject that has angered a lot of fans, because they don’t feel that it’s fair that Ward hasn’t had to travel to a foreign fighter’s city in the tournament.
All the contestants have had to fight in a hostile venue, and each one of them has suffered badly when they were unable to fight at home. Ward would likely win wherever he fights, because he seems to be head and shoulders above the other fighters in the tournament at this moment.
It would be nice though if Ward had fought in a foreign venue just so that the tournament would be more equal in that regard.
Bika, 31, has a lot more experience against top level opposition compared to Ward. Bika has fought for a title against Joe Calzaghe, and he has also had fights against Lucian Bute, Jean Paul Mendy, Jaidon Codrington, and Markus Beyer. Bika was easily beaten by Bute in 2007, losing by a 12 round decision. He’ll likely get beat even worse by Ward next month. Bika doesn’t match-up well with the speedy and powerful Ward.
Mayweather Jr. side stepping Margarito: Great Move
By Robert “Big Moe” Elmore: Over the years, many boxing fans, analysts, and experts, having been calling Floyd Mayweather Jr. a coward for side stepping Antonio Margarito. Yes, while I am a hardcore Mayweather fan, I think it was great move not to fight Margarito. Take time to read the facts before judging.and lets start here.
1) Mayweather wanted bigger fights and the bigger paydays
In 2006, Mayweather was offered $8 million by Bob Arum to face Margarito. The bout was set to take place on pay per view on August 12th of that year. In return, Mayweather wanted $10 million and a guarantee from Bob to fight Cotto and Ricky Hatton. Bob said no and only offered him $7 million. Leonard Ellerbe claimed Mayweather’s hands were not 100% after the Judah fight, but the idea of facing Margarito was not out of the question. (Side note. He did fight Carlos Baldomir for $1 dollar more. But Baldomir was the linear welterweight champ at the time) Maybe the hand injury was true or maybe not, but Mayweather played it for what it was worth using it to buy him time on his next decision. At the same time, May was eying the De la Hoya-Mayorga outcome. May knew Oscar was the cash cow at the time and he knew there was good chance that fighting DLH could possibly be his breakthrough as a superstar. He asked for $20 million to fight DLH and Arum said no and here was his reason “I don’t want to, because if I did that fight, I would be working for such a small percentage, it’s not worth it,” he said. Mayweather wanted more control of his future and who he fought from that point on. The end result; May bought out his contract for $750,000; ended up fighting and beating Oscar; the highest grossing fight at the gate and pay per view sales in fight history; he took home over $30 million for the fight ($10 million purse; another $15 from ppv sales, ticket sales) There was no way he could have done all this fighting Margarito. In his next fight against Hatton he made over $15 million plus pay per view sales, $10 million plus against Juan Manuel Marquez, and $60 million versus Shane Mosley. Currently he behind Tiger Woods on the Forbes 400 richest people. Can’t make this stuff up.
2) Margarito had nothing to offer and still has nothing to offer.
Since Mayweather has left Top Rank, he has smoked the competition by a long shot. Beating Margarito back then and now would be like (in a boring tone) “okay he beat Margarito”. Some would have us to believe that fighting and/or beating Margarito, one would be the toast of the town; get bigger pay days, and racking up big numbers on PPV But lets take a look at some of the prominent fighters today and where there careers are after fighting Margarito.
A) Paul Williams- Defeated Margarito on July 7th 2007. What is doing now? Was Practically begging for a big pay day fight against Pacquiao or Mayweather; was willing to weight drain himself to make weight. His fight against Sergio Martinez was pretty big, but then followed that up with lame bout against Kermit Citron. He’s now agreed to fight Martinez in a rematch.
B) Miguel Cotto-Got the crap kicked out of him by Margarito, fought Mosley; beat Clottey (Top Rank) was mangled by Pacquiao (Top Rank), but came up with a victory against Yuri Foreman (which was not on PPV and oh yeah Top Rank). Right now, he’s healing from shoulder surgery. Currently, he has nobody on his plate to fight.
C) Shane Mosely- Stopped Margs in the 9th round in 2009. He did not fight for an entire year; Begged Pacquiao for a fight and was willing to come down to 142 to get the fight. He was trounced by Mayweather; The WBA took there title from him because May didn’t want to pay sanctioning fees; and let a challenger off The Contender (Sergio Mora) hang with him.
D) Kermit Citron- Got creamed by Margarito twice. And was busy taking a “dive” out the ring against Paul Williams. His career too is average.
E) Roberto Garcia-Who? 15,000 buys for PPV- Enough said.
3) May didn’t want to get caught up in the “Fighting nothing but Top Rank Fighters” loop
Make no mistake. Pacquiao is one of the most explosive and exciting fighters around. People love him, he’s a congressman, and is making uncle Bob rich. But Pacquiao has used a catchweight in his biggest victories; De La Hoya,145 Cotto,145, Ricky Hatton after fighting May at 145 then drained himself back down to 140 to fight Pacquiao; and as of late he seems to be content fighting his own stable mates. Mayweather saw this a long time ago and opted to take his career into his own hands. He would not be where he is today if he was still Arum. Today, he makes over 40 million a fight; and averages 1.4 buys on PPV.
4) The Plaster situation
Only God knows how long he’s had this stuff on his hands. Margs insists that he didn’t know anything about the substance. Come on!! A manager can not wrap his fighters hands while he’s laying down, on his side, or doing cart wheels. He has to sit in front of his manager while this goes on. So he knows something. Right now he’s bending himself all out of shape for this fight. Its rumored that he is only making $1 million for this fight. Come on this is Antonio Margarito we’re talking about here and he’s only getting a million dollars?!? Yes, that was sarcastic.
In conclusion, I say Mayweather did the right thing by going after the bigger and better opportunities. To be honest, he’s earned that right. He paid his dues coming up through the ranks, watching Arum take most of his money and winning titles along the way. It is ridiculous that he makes more money fighting only once or twice a year than every fighter out here including the Klitschko’s and they run the heavyweight division. While i do not agree with all of Mayweather antics, he knows how to sell a fight, make money, and fill arenas. He will make even more if he and Pacquiao get it on. Now judge for yourselves. Peace and Love!
By Robert “Big Moe” Elmore: Over the years, many boxing fans, analysts, and experts, having been calling Floyd Mayweather Jr. a coward for side stepping Antonio Margarito. Yes, while I am a hardcore Mayweather fan, I think it was great move not to fight Margarito. Take time to read the facts before judging.and lets start here.
1) Mayweather wanted bigger fights and the bigger paydays
In 2006, Mayweather was offered $8 million by Bob Arum to face Margarito. The bout was set to take place on pay per view on August 12th of that year. In return, Mayweather wanted $10 million and a guarantee from Bob to fight Cotto and Ricky Hatton. Bob said no and only offered him $7 million. Leonard Ellerbe claimed Mayweather’s hands were not 100% after the Judah fight, but the idea of facing Margarito was not out of the question. (Side note. He did fight Carlos Baldomir for $1 dollar more. But Baldomir was the linear welterweight champ at the time) Maybe the hand injury was true or maybe not, but Mayweather played it for what it was worth using it to buy him time on his next decision. At the same time, May was eying the De la Hoya-Mayorga outcome. May knew Oscar was the cash cow at the time and he knew there was good chance that fighting DLH could possibly be his breakthrough as a superstar. He asked for $20 million to fight DLH and Arum said no and here was his reason “I don’t want to, because if I did that fight, I would be working for such a small percentage, it’s not worth it,” he said. Mayweather wanted more control of his future and who he fought from that point on. The end result; May bought out his contract for $750,000; ended up fighting and beating Oscar; the highest grossing fight at the gate and pay per view sales in fight history; he took home over $30 million for the fight ($10 million purse; another $15 from ppv sales, ticket sales) There was no way he could have done all this fighting Margarito. In his next fight against Hatton he made over $15 million plus pay per view sales, $10 million plus against Juan Manuel Marquez, and $60 million versus Shane Mosley. Currently he behind Tiger Woods on the Forbes 400 richest people. Can’t make this stuff up.
2) Margarito had nothing to offer and still has nothing to offer.
Since Mayweather has left Top Rank, he has smoked the competition by a long shot. Beating Margarito back then and now would be like (in a boring tone) “okay he beat Margarito”. Some would have us to believe that fighting and/or beating Margarito, one would be the toast of the town; get bigger pay days, and racking up big numbers on PPV But lets take a look at some of the prominent fighters today and where there careers are after fighting Margarito.
A) Paul Williams- Defeated Margarito on July 7th 2007. What is doing now? Was Practically begging for a big pay day fight against Pacquiao or Mayweather; was willing to weight drain himself to make weight. His fight against Sergio Martinez was pretty big, but then followed that up with lame bout against Kermit Citron. He’s now agreed to fight Martinez in a rematch.
B) Miguel Cotto-Got the crap kicked out of him by Margarito, fought Mosley; beat Clottey (Top Rank) was mangled by Pacquiao (Top Rank), but came up with a victory against Yuri Foreman (which was not on PPV and oh yeah Top Rank). Right now, he’s healing from shoulder surgery. Currently, he has nobody on his plate to fight.
C) Shane Mosely- Stopped Margs in the 9th round in 2009. He did not fight for an entire year; Begged Pacquiao for a fight and was willing to come down to 142 to get the fight. He was trounced by Mayweather; The WBA took there title from him because May didn’t want to pay sanctioning fees; and let a challenger off The Contender (Sergio Mora) hang with him.
D) Kermit Citron- Got creamed by Margarito twice. And was busy taking a “dive” out the ring against Paul Williams. His career too is average.
E) Roberto Garcia-Who? 15,000 buys for PPV- Enough said.
3) May didn’t want to get caught up in the “Fighting nothing but Top Rank Fighters” loop
Make no mistake. Pacquiao is one of the most explosive and exciting fighters around. People love him, he’s a congressman, and is making uncle Bob rich. But Pacquiao has used a catchweight in his biggest victories; De La Hoya,145 Cotto,145, Ricky Hatton after fighting May at 145 then drained himself back down to 140 to fight Pacquiao; and as of late he seems to be content fighting his own stable mates. Mayweather saw this a long time ago and opted to take his career into his own hands. He would not be where he is today if he was still Arum. Today, he makes over 40 million a fight; and averages 1.4 buys on PPV.
4) The Plaster situation
Only God knows how long he’s had this stuff on his hands. Margs insists that he didn’t know anything about the substance. Come on!! A manager can not wrap his fighters hands while he’s laying down, on his side, or doing cart wheels. He has to sit in front of his manager while this goes on. So he knows something. Right now he’s bending himself all out of shape for this fight. Its rumored that he is only making $1 million for this fight. Come on this is Antonio Margarito we’re talking about here and he’s only getting a million dollars?!? Yes, that was sarcastic.
In conclusion, I say Mayweather did the right thing by going after the bigger and better opportunities. To be honest, he’s earned that right. He paid his dues coming up through the ranks, watching Arum take most of his money and winning titles along the way. It is ridiculous that he makes more money fighting only once or twice a year than every fighter out here including the Klitschko’s and they run the heavyweight division. While i do not agree with all of Mayweather antics, he knows how to sell a fight, make money, and fill arenas. He will make even more if he and Pacquiao get it on. Now judge for yourselves. Peace and Love!