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Saul Alvarez vs. Matthew Hatton brings in 1.4 million viewers on HBO
By Jim Dower: Last Saturday night’s fight between unbeaten Saul Alvarez (36-0-1, 26 KO’s) and Britain’s Matthew Hatton (41-5-2, 16 KO’s) brought in huge numbers on HBO, according to Dan Rafael. The fight brought in 1.4 million viewers, which turned out to be the best ‘BAD’ main event for HBO in two years since the James Kirkland vs. Joel Julio bout in March 2009.
This is incredible considering that before this fight, the 20-year-old Alvarez had faced mostly 2nd tier opposition and older former champions like Carlos Baldomir and Lovemore N’dou. You have to give credit to Alvarez and his popularity among the Mexican fanbase for the huge numbers, because Alvarez is a huge star in Mexico despite being still an unproven fighter. Hatton, the brother of former two-time world champion Ricky Hatton, was fighting for the first time in the United States and likely wasn’t the reason for the huge amount of viewers.
The huge interest in seeing the Alvarez-Hatton fight is good news for HBO, because they could have a star and a big draw on their hands if Alvarez can keep winning for awhile. But that’s going to be tough because Alvarez looked far from unbeatable last Saturday night against Hatton. There are a lot better fighters ranked in the top 15 compared to Hatton, and the way that Alvarez was getting hit by the light hitting Hatton, Alvarez could have some serious problems if he ends up fighting guys like Erislandy Lara, Miguel Cotto, Kermit Cintron, Antonio Margarito, Alfredo Angulo or Paul Williams in the future. Alvarez is targeting Shane Mosley and Cotto next.
By Jim Dower: Last Saturday night’s fight between unbeaten Saul Alvarez (36-0-1, 26 KO’s) and Britain’s Matthew Hatton (41-5-2, 16 KO’s) brought in huge numbers on HBO, according to Dan Rafael. The fight brought in 1.4 million viewers, which turned out to be the best ‘BAD’ main event for HBO in two years since the James Kirkland vs. Joel Julio bout in March 2009.
This is incredible considering that before this fight, the 20-year-old Alvarez had faced mostly 2nd tier opposition and older former champions like Carlos Baldomir and Lovemore N’dou. You have to give credit to Alvarez and his popularity among the Mexican fanbase for the huge numbers, because Alvarez is a huge star in Mexico despite being still an unproven fighter. Hatton, the brother of former two-time world champion Ricky Hatton, was fighting for the first time in the United States and likely wasn’t the reason for the huge amount of viewers.
The huge interest in seeing the Alvarez-Hatton fight is good news for HBO, because they could have a star and a big draw on their hands if Alvarez can keep winning for awhile. But that’s going to be tough because Alvarez looked far from unbeatable last Saturday night against Hatton. There are a lot better fighters ranked in the top 15 compared to Hatton, and the way that Alvarez was getting hit by the light hitting Hatton, Alvarez could have some serious problems if he ends up fighting guys like Erislandy Lara, Miguel Cotto, Kermit Cintron, Antonio Margarito, Alfredo Angulo or Paul Williams in the future. Alvarez is targeting Shane Mosley and Cotto next.
Pound-For-Pound Top 20 Boxers Update, 3/11
As usual, the primary standard for pound-for-pound contention around these parts is quality wins, with an emphasis on recent competition; other supplementary standards include the so-called eyeball test, whether the boxer has taken on any quality opponents (or even any opponents) over the last year, career-long resume, etc.
1. Manny Pacquiao, welterweight
Same old story with Pacquiao -- nobody is threatening his standing as the pound-for-pound king. So secure is he that he can fight relatively unqualified opponents like Shane Mosley (in May) and he still is miles past anybody else.
2. Floyd Mayweather, welterweight
If only Mayweather fought at all, maybe he could return to the #1 spot. Instead, he has more in common of late with Kim Kardashian and Lindsay Lohan than a professional boxer. Hey, he's pals with Charlie Sheen! Hey, he had a birthday cake shaped like some dollar bills! If he doesn't fight by May, and there's no indication he will, he'll be gone from this list by virtue of a year of inactivity.
3. Juan Manuel Marquez, lightweight
Here's where things got a bit complicated. Donaire got consideration for the #3 slot, but I went with Marquez for his far, far longer resume. The draw with Pacquiao, the loss in the rematch that most people thought he won, the wins over Marco Antonio Barrera, Joel Casamayor, Juan Diaz and Michael Katsidis -- I think that's a better body of work. And he still looks like one of the best fighters in the world, doesn't he? No word on what's next, with him dropping out of an Erik Morales fight in hopes of getting Pacquiao later this year, but he could be challenged for the #3 spot soon by the more ambitious-sounding schedules of the two men just beneath him.
4. Sergio Martinez, middleweight
As impressive as Donaire's resounding 2nd round stoppage of Montiel was, memories are short -- Martinez just did the exact same thing a couple months ago to Paul Williams, the consensus #3 man in the sport at the time. Martinez belongs above Donaire, I think. The man he's fighting next weekend, Sergiy Dzinziruk, is moving up from 154, but he's arguably the most talented junior middle, so Martinez beating him could -- could -- push him above Marquez. Let's see if he does it impressively and if Dzinziruk isn't beaten merely by apparent size advantage.
5. Nonito Donaire, bantamweight
By the eyeball test, Donaire has long belonged in the pound-for-pound top 5. But aside from one very high quality win three years ago over Vic Darchinyan, his achievements haven't matched his talent. Now they're catching up. Donaire moved up in weight and absolutely crushed a top-10 guy in the world last month. And there's at least a strong chance he'll keep taking on world-class opponents; most indicators point to Donaire facing Anselmo Moreno next in May, unless Moreno signs with Golden Boy -- with whom Donaire's promoter Top Rank refuses to do business. Donaire could be at #3 soon enough if he takes on and beats that caliber of opponent next.
6. Timothy Bradley, junior welterweight
His win over Alexander in January was ugly, to be sure. But it's hard to deny Bradley's domination of 140, which got him back into the top 10 here. He's beaten a pretty long list of top-10 and borderline top-10 junior welters, having added the #2 or #3 man -- depending on your view -- by comprehensively defeating Alexander. Bradley-Amir Khan for all the marbles at 140 figures as one of the best fights in boxing right now, even if it might not be the world's most entertaining bout, because you're talking about two of the world's best young talents deciding the world's best boxer in one of the world's best divisions. And all indicators is that it's a go for later this year, perhaps July.
7. Wladimir Klitschko, heavyweight
The heavyweight champion was docked from the #5 spot by no fault of his own. It's just that others have scored more impressive wins of late, because they have impressive opponents to beat who will face them. Klitschko's was going to be fighting Derek Chisora in April -- although that now looks to be canceled -- simply because that's about all who was available and willing, and at this point Klitschko is in this top 10 at all based on sustained ownership of his weak division. However, things could be changing soon. Talks with David Haye -- a borderline top-20 pound-for-pound fighter -- are heating up, and are hotter because of Klitschko-Chisora being canceled. And even if the rug is pulled out from us again on that one, Klitschko could be fighting Tomasz Adamek -- a borderline top-20 pound-for-pound fighter later this year, too. Those are about the only two opponents who can move Klitschko up again.
8. Andre Ward, super middleweight
Ward gets Arthur Abraham in the semi-finals of the Super Six in May, and so badly has Abraham's stock dropped that Ward beating Abraham might not do a good goddam for his pound-for-pound placement. We'll see. But there are people beneath him who have more formidable opponents in the offing. Like, say, Carl Froch.
9. Carl Froch, super middleweight
Also in May, Froch faces Glen Johnson, who's a more impressive scalp right now than Abraham -- if Froch can get it, since most everybody who faces Johnson has trouble beating him if they do it at all. I still think Froch is criminally underappreciated out there. He has wins over Jean Pascal, Jermain Taylor, Andre Dirrell (however disputed) and Abraham, plus his one loss was a close one to Mikkel Kessler. Over the past two years, there is nobody who's taken on competition that tough, let alone come out ahead.
10. Miguel Cotto, junior middleweight
Cotto is back in action next weekend against Ricardo Mayorga, who does absolutely nothing for him pound-for-poundwise. Yeah, OK, I probably have Cotto higher than I should. He's due to be docked soon, not just because others are facing top opponents but because Cotto's resume is aging -- he has so, so many wins over top guys that I've been giving him a pass for his two losses, against Pacquiao and against a then-elite, untainted Antonio Margarito. But a good win over Yuri Foreman in a new division, a tough win over Joshua Clottey and an expected win over Mayorga are the highlights for the past two years, and that won't be enough to keep him in good stead by the next update.
11. Juan Manuel Lopez, featherweight
Lopez faces Orlando Salido in April, and while Salido is a respectable enough opponent on one level, it's teeth-gritting material in that Salido is coming off a loss to Yuriorkis Gamboa and Top Rank simply can't muster the balls to put on Lopez-Gamboa -- a fight that isn't any bigger today than it was last year and won't be any bigger tomorrow if Lopez beats Salido. Lopez' refusal/unwillingness/inability to face an elite feather like Gamboa, Chris John or (until recently) Celestino Caballero limits his upward mobility, but Lopez could move up a spot by beating just because I have Cotto ranked too high.
12. Paul Williams, welterweight
Williams benefits from the Donaire-Montiel shakeup, nothing more. There's talk of him fighting in April, but it's reportedly more likely that he'll be fighting in July. Williams' team wants him to move to welter and go in tough despite his recent devastanting KO loss, the latter a brave, high-risk and possibly foolish move. But there are compelling young opponents for Williams at 147, among them Andre Berto (won't happen because both are represented by Al Haymon and Al never ever ever puts his guys in against one another) and Mike Jones.
13. Vitali Klitschko, heavyweight
Klitschko will face his best opponent in almost two years when he takes on Odlanier Solis in March, which makes his dilemma his brother's, only magnified. Vitali might be better than his brother, but because he won't fight him we can't know. Plus, Vitali hasn't faced as many of the top heavies in recent years as has little brother. Solis is borderline top-10, but the only thing he really brings to Vitali is speed and the hope that Vitali's balance between "looks like he's one the decline" and "still has it" favors the former. Beating Solis can't do much for Vitali's P4P cred, if anything. Because of the peculiar deal the bros struck with Adamek, though, Vitali could land a fight with him later this year and therefore move up.
14. Giovani Segura, junior flyweight
Segura could be headed for the top 10 as soon as the next update, since he's rematching with Ivan Calderon in April. Granted, Segura enters as the favorite, but beating Calderon twice would still make him potentially top-10 material when combined with Segura's accumulating wins over the best guys in his division and a large number of fringe contenders, as well as him being the clear champeen. It's always funny to me when a guy as crude as Segura gets into the P4P elite, but it goes to show that fighting the fights -- not just how a boxer looks -- is what makes the best.
15. Pongsaklek Wonjongkam, flyweight
For once, Wonjongkam doesn't have an opponent booked, rare for the busy Thai boxer. I understand why some people have him higher than I do, but all he's done for years is beat the talented but somewhat unproven Koki Kameda, beat the fringe-y Julio Cesar Miranda and struggle with Suriyan Sor Rungvisai; before that, it's a draw and a loss to Daisuke Naito, and that takes us back to 2007. Everybody above him has taken on, and beaten, better opponents or more good opponents or both in the past four years. If Wonjongkam-Segura ever happens, and that's the big idea -- and were Wonjongkam to win -- we would be looking at a very different story.
16. Bernard Hopkins, light heavyweight
By career achievement and by whom I think deserved a win in Hopkins-Jean Pascal last year, Hopkins is top-10 worthy. But I do put some stock into the actual Ws and Ls, so Hopkins is here for now. He's got to be the favorite in a rematch, but you wonder if someday Hopkins' age doesn't catch up with him. We'll find out in May. If it goes how I expect, B-Hop could be back in the top 10 he long inhabited.
17. Jean Pascal, light heavyweight
The skepticism of Pascal is somewhat warranted; he doesn't look like much and was lucky to escape without defeats in his last two fights. But the facts remain that he legitimately beat then-P4P #3 or #4 Chad Dawson to claim the divisional championship, fought the legendary Hopkins tougher than a lot of people have, nearly beat current top-10 PFP Carl Froch and has two wins over then-top-10 light heavy Adrian Diaconu. That's a pound-for-pound top-20 resume, to me, even if I think he's not much longer for this list.
18. Chad Dawson, light heavyweight
There are those who believe Dawson's P4P resume was built on beating old guys, but have I mentioned lately that he beat a not-old Adamek, too? He also very well might have been on his way to a stoppage win over Pascal before a head butt ended matters early. With new trainer Emmanuel Steward in his corner, he'll face either Librado Andrade or Diaconu next on the Hopkins-Pascal II undercard, then is in line for the winner of that bout. Wins in those fights are a map for an upward climb.
19. Tomasz Adamek, heavyweight
Adamek is in line for a drop based on fighting a series of nobodies at heavy before and after beating Chris Arreola; he can only live off his cruiser and light heavy resume for a little longer, because his heavy resume is, um, light. Although Arreola is heavy. This paragraph got away from me. Let's just keep going. With his last quality win in April of last year over Arreola, he's due to fall based on my "what have you done in the last year?" standard. He fights Kevin McBride in April, just to give you a sense of things. What with honorable Khan, Gamboa and Bute fighting over the next two months, and what with the bantamweight tournament finale coming up, Adamek should soon be gone. Beating a Klitschko in the fall? That gets him back here lickety-split.
20. Fernando Montiel, bantamweight
Thus continues my tradition of not docking world-class boxers too much for losing -- no matter how graphically -- to other world-class guys. Cotto, Williams and Dawson are the prior such beneficiaries of that principle, and Montiel's the latest. Losing to another world-class guy doesn't make you un-world-class; it just makes you less so than the person who beat you. That said, Montiel's in danger of falling out the bottom of the list just because of the Khan/Gamboa/Bute/bantam tourney business upon us.
Honorable mentions: Hozumi Hasegawa, David Haye, Lucian Bute, Shane Mosley, Chris John, Ivan Calderon, Mikkel Kessler, Andre Dirrell, Yuriorkis Gamboa, Abner Mares, Joseph Agbeko, Amir Khan
As usual, the primary standard for pound-for-pound contention around these parts is quality wins, with an emphasis on recent competition; other supplementary standards include the so-called eyeball test, whether the boxer has taken on any quality opponents (or even any opponents) over the last year, career-long resume, etc.
1. Manny Pacquiao, welterweight
Same old story with Pacquiao -- nobody is threatening his standing as the pound-for-pound king. So secure is he that he can fight relatively unqualified opponents like Shane Mosley (in May) and he still is miles past anybody else.
2. Floyd Mayweather, welterweight
If only Mayweather fought at all, maybe he could return to the #1 spot. Instead, he has more in common of late with Kim Kardashian and Lindsay Lohan than a professional boxer. Hey, he's pals with Charlie Sheen! Hey, he had a birthday cake shaped like some dollar bills! If he doesn't fight by May, and there's no indication he will, he'll be gone from this list by virtue of a year of inactivity.
3. Juan Manuel Marquez, lightweight
Here's where things got a bit complicated. Donaire got consideration for the #3 slot, but I went with Marquez for his far, far longer resume. The draw with Pacquiao, the loss in the rematch that most people thought he won, the wins over Marco Antonio Barrera, Joel Casamayor, Juan Diaz and Michael Katsidis -- I think that's a better body of work. And he still looks like one of the best fighters in the world, doesn't he? No word on what's next, with him dropping out of an Erik Morales fight in hopes of getting Pacquiao later this year, but he could be challenged for the #3 spot soon by the more ambitious-sounding schedules of the two men just beneath him.
4. Sergio Martinez, middleweight
As impressive as Donaire's resounding 2nd round stoppage of Montiel was, memories are short -- Martinez just did the exact same thing a couple months ago to Paul Williams, the consensus #3 man in the sport at the time. Martinez belongs above Donaire, I think. The man he's fighting next weekend, Sergiy Dzinziruk, is moving up from 154, but he's arguably the most talented junior middle, so Martinez beating him could -- could -- push him above Marquez. Let's see if he does it impressively and if Dzinziruk isn't beaten merely by apparent size advantage.
5. Nonito Donaire, bantamweight
By the eyeball test, Donaire has long belonged in the pound-for-pound top 5. But aside from one very high quality win three years ago over Vic Darchinyan, his achievements haven't matched his talent. Now they're catching up. Donaire moved up in weight and absolutely crushed a top-10 guy in the world last month. And there's at least a strong chance he'll keep taking on world-class opponents; most indicators point to Donaire facing Anselmo Moreno next in May, unless Moreno signs with Golden Boy -- with whom Donaire's promoter Top Rank refuses to do business. Donaire could be at #3 soon enough if he takes on and beats that caliber of opponent next.
6. Timothy Bradley, junior welterweight
His win over Alexander in January was ugly, to be sure. But it's hard to deny Bradley's domination of 140, which got him back into the top 10 here. He's beaten a pretty long list of top-10 and borderline top-10 junior welters, having added the #2 or #3 man -- depending on your view -- by comprehensively defeating Alexander. Bradley-Amir Khan for all the marbles at 140 figures as one of the best fights in boxing right now, even if it might not be the world's most entertaining bout, because you're talking about two of the world's best young talents deciding the world's best boxer in one of the world's best divisions. And all indicators is that it's a go for later this year, perhaps July.
7. Wladimir Klitschko, heavyweight
The heavyweight champion was docked from the #5 spot by no fault of his own. It's just that others have scored more impressive wins of late, because they have impressive opponents to beat who will face them. Klitschko's was going to be fighting Derek Chisora in April -- although that now looks to be canceled -- simply because that's about all who was available and willing, and at this point Klitschko is in this top 10 at all based on sustained ownership of his weak division. However, things could be changing soon. Talks with David Haye -- a borderline top-20 pound-for-pound fighter -- are heating up, and are hotter because of Klitschko-Chisora being canceled. And even if the rug is pulled out from us again on that one, Klitschko could be fighting Tomasz Adamek -- a borderline top-20 pound-for-pound fighter later this year, too. Those are about the only two opponents who can move Klitschko up again.
8. Andre Ward, super middleweight
Ward gets Arthur Abraham in the semi-finals of the Super Six in May, and so badly has Abraham's stock dropped that Ward beating Abraham might not do a good goddam for his pound-for-pound placement. We'll see. But there are people beneath him who have more formidable opponents in the offing. Like, say, Carl Froch.
9. Carl Froch, super middleweight
Also in May, Froch faces Glen Johnson, who's a more impressive scalp right now than Abraham -- if Froch can get it, since most everybody who faces Johnson has trouble beating him if they do it at all. I still think Froch is criminally underappreciated out there. He has wins over Jean Pascal, Jermain Taylor, Andre Dirrell (however disputed) and Abraham, plus his one loss was a close one to Mikkel Kessler. Over the past two years, there is nobody who's taken on competition that tough, let alone come out ahead.
10. Miguel Cotto, junior middleweight
Cotto is back in action next weekend against Ricardo Mayorga, who does absolutely nothing for him pound-for-poundwise. Yeah, OK, I probably have Cotto higher than I should. He's due to be docked soon, not just because others are facing top opponents but because Cotto's resume is aging -- he has so, so many wins over top guys that I've been giving him a pass for his two losses, against Pacquiao and against a then-elite, untainted Antonio Margarito. But a good win over Yuri Foreman in a new division, a tough win over Joshua Clottey and an expected win over Mayorga are the highlights for the past two years, and that won't be enough to keep him in good stead by the next update.
11. Juan Manuel Lopez, featherweight
Lopez faces Orlando Salido in April, and while Salido is a respectable enough opponent on one level, it's teeth-gritting material in that Salido is coming off a loss to Yuriorkis Gamboa and Top Rank simply can't muster the balls to put on Lopez-Gamboa -- a fight that isn't any bigger today than it was last year and won't be any bigger tomorrow if Lopez beats Salido. Lopez' refusal/unwillingness/inability to face an elite feather like Gamboa, Chris John or (until recently) Celestino Caballero limits his upward mobility, but Lopez could move up a spot by beating just because I have Cotto ranked too high.
12. Paul Williams, welterweight
Williams benefits from the Donaire-Montiel shakeup, nothing more. There's talk of him fighting in April, but it's reportedly more likely that he'll be fighting in July. Williams' team wants him to move to welter and go in tough despite his recent devastanting KO loss, the latter a brave, high-risk and possibly foolish move. But there are compelling young opponents for Williams at 147, among them Andre Berto (won't happen because both are represented by Al Haymon and Al never ever ever puts his guys in against one another) and Mike Jones.
13. Vitali Klitschko, heavyweight
Klitschko will face his best opponent in almost two years when he takes on Odlanier Solis in March, which makes his dilemma his brother's, only magnified. Vitali might be better than his brother, but because he won't fight him we can't know. Plus, Vitali hasn't faced as many of the top heavies in recent years as has little brother. Solis is borderline top-10, but the only thing he really brings to Vitali is speed and the hope that Vitali's balance between "looks like he's one the decline" and "still has it" favors the former. Beating Solis can't do much for Vitali's P4P cred, if anything. Because of the peculiar deal the bros struck with Adamek, though, Vitali could land a fight with him later this year and therefore move up.
14. Giovani Segura, junior flyweight
Segura could be headed for the top 10 as soon as the next update, since he's rematching with Ivan Calderon in April. Granted, Segura enters as the favorite, but beating Calderon twice would still make him potentially top-10 material when combined with Segura's accumulating wins over the best guys in his division and a large number of fringe contenders, as well as him being the clear champeen. It's always funny to me when a guy as crude as Segura gets into the P4P elite, but it goes to show that fighting the fights -- not just how a boxer looks -- is what makes the best.
15. Pongsaklek Wonjongkam, flyweight
For once, Wonjongkam doesn't have an opponent booked, rare for the busy Thai boxer. I understand why some people have him higher than I do, but all he's done for years is beat the talented but somewhat unproven Koki Kameda, beat the fringe-y Julio Cesar Miranda and struggle with Suriyan Sor Rungvisai; before that, it's a draw and a loss to Daisuke Naito, and that takes us back to 2007. Everybody above him has taken on, and beaten, better opponents or more good opponents or both in the past four years. If Wonjongkam-Segura ever happens, and that's the big idea -- and were Wonjongkam to win -- we would be looking at a very different story.
16. Bernard Hopkins, light heavyweight
By career achievement and by whom I think deserved a win in Hopkins-Jean Pascal last year, Hopkins is top-10 worthy. But I do put some stock into the actual Ws and Ls, so Hopkins is here for now. He's got to be the favorite in a rematch, but you wonder if someday Hopkins' age doesn't catch up with him. We'll find out in May. If it goes how I expect, B-Hop could be back in the top 10 he long inhabited.
17. Jean Pascal, light heavyweight
The skepticism of Pascal is somewhat warranted; he doesn't look like much and was lucky to escape without defeats in his last two fights. But the facts remain that he legitimately beat then-P4P #3 or #4 Chad Dawson to claim the divisional championship, fought the legendary Hopkins tougher than a lot of people have, nearly beat current top-10 PFP Carl Froch and has two wins over then-top-10 light heavy Adrian Diaconu. That's a pound-for-pound top-20 resume, to me, even if I think he's not much longer for this list.
18. Chad Dawson, light heavyweight
There are those who believe Dawson's P4P resume was built on beating old guys, but have I mentioned lately that he beat a not-old Adamek, too? He also very well might have been on his way to a stoppage win over Pascal before a head butt ended matters early. With new trainer Emmanuel Steward in his corner, he'll face either Librado Andrade or Diaconu next on the Hopkins-Pascal II undercard, then is in line for the winner of that bout. Wins in those fights are a map for an upward climb.
19. Tomasz Adamek, heavyweight
Adamek is in line for a drop based on fighting a series of nobodies at heavy before and after beating Chris Arreola; he can only live off his cruiser and light heavy resume for a little longer, because his heavy resume is, um, light. Although Arreola is heavy. This paragraph got away from me. Let's just keep going. With his last quality win in April of last year over Arreola, he's due to fall based on my "what have you done in the last year?" standard. He fights Kevin McBride in April, just to give you a sense of things. What with honorable Khan, Gamboa and Bute fighting over the next two months, and what with the bantamweight tournament finale coming up, Adamek should soon be gone. Beating a Klitschko in the fall? That gets him back here lickety-split.
20. Fernando Montiel, bantamweight
Thus continues my tradition of not docking world-class boxers too much for losing -- no matter how graphically -- to other world-class guys. Cotto, Williams and Dawson are the prior such beneficiaries of that principle, and Montiel's the latest. Losing to another world-class guy doesn't make you un-world-class; it just makes you less so than the person who beat you. That said, Montiel's in danger of falling out the bottom of the list just because of the Khan/Gamboa/Bute/bantam tourney business upon us.
Honorable mentions: Hozumi Hasegawa, David Haye, Lucian Bute, Shane Mosley, Chris John, Ivan Calderon, Mikkel Kessler, Andre Dirrell, Yuriorkis Gamboa, Abner Mares, Joseph Agbeko, Amir Khan
206-Come on the 154lb WBC belt is Sergio Martinez old belt that he had to vacant because they wanted to hand it to catch weight king Manny. Sergio is not too big he just KO'ed Williams at 152lb. Sergio is the man at 154lb and 160lb he earned it by beating the real champions. Let him fight the winner.
Katsidis injured while sparring in Thailand, fight with Guerrero in doubt
By Jim Dower: In what could be terrible news for the April 9th fight card headlined by Marcos Maidana vs. Erik Morales, lightweight contender Michael Katsidis (27-3, 22 KO’s) suffered a bad cut over his eyebrow while sparring in Thailand to get ready for his scheduled 10 round bout against Robert Guerrero (28-1-1, 18 KO’s). The cut was reportedly bad enough that it required 5 stitches to repair.
This may not sound like a lot but given that there is less than a month before the Guerrero fight, it’s pretty much impossible for the cut to heal properly before April 9th. Katsidis has problems with cuts in many of his fights but this would make it much worse for him, because the cut will likely quickly open up once Guerrero starts connecting, leaving Katsidis partially blind with blood dripping in one of his eyes.
By Jim Dower: In what could be terrible news for the April 9th fight card headlined by Marcos Maidana vs. Erik Morales, lightweight contender Michael Katsidis (27-3, 22 KO’s) suffered a bad cut over his eyebrow while sparring in Thailand to get ready for his scheduled 10 round bout against Robert Guerrero (28-1-1, 18 KO’s). The cut was reportedly bad enough that it required 5 stitches to repair.
This may not sound like a lot but given that there is less than a month before the Guerrero fight, it’s pretty much impossible for the cut to heal properly before April 9th. Katsidis has problems with cuts in many of his fights but this would make it much worse for him, because the cut will likely quickly open up once Guerrero starts connecting, leaving Katsidis partially blind with blood dripping in one of his eyes.
Judah wants Juan Manuel Marquez next
By Dan Ambrose: Fresh off his 7th round knockout victory over Kaizer Mabuza last weekend to win the vacant IBF light welterweight title, Zab Judah (41-6, 28 KO’s) is now targeting 37-year-old WBA/WBO lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez (52-5-1, 38 KO’s) for his next fight according to the latest boxing news.
Judah, according to fighthype, wants to fight Marquez in June or July in a pay-per-view fight. Judah also has hopes of fighting the other top light welterweights such as Timothy Bradley, Devon Alexander and Amir Khan but notes that they all have fights that are scheduled and won’t be free in the summer months.
Marquez, however, hasn’t fought since November when he defeated Michael Katsidis by a 9th round stoppage and still doesn’t have a fight scheduled. This would be the perfect fight for Judah, because Marquez is a PPV and Judah would have someone that could help bring in some fans. Judah looked lackluster for most of his fight last weekend up hurting Mabuza in the 7th with a left uppercut that caused Mabuza to fall into the ropes.
When action resumed, Judah quickly took Mabuza out with a flurry of shots. Judah spent most of the time in the fight trying to avoid shots rather than throwing them. Marquez would likely be a huge favorite over Judah because he has a good chin, throws a lot of punches and would pressure Judah the entire time.
It might be Marquez’s best opportunity to capture a relatively easy title. Judah looked poor during most of the Mabuza fight and won a questionable decision in his fight before that against Lucas Matthysse.
By Dan Ambrose: Fresh off his 7th round knockout victory over Kaizer Mabuza last weekend to win the vacant IBF light welterweight title, Zab Judah (41-6, 28 KO’s) is now targeting 37-year-old WBA/WBO lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez (52-5-1, 38 KO’s) for his next fight according to the latest boxing news.
Judah, according to fighthype, wants to fight Marquez in June or July in a pay-per-view fight. Judah also has hopes of fighting the other top light welterweights such as Timothy Bradley, Devon Alexander and Amir Khan but notes that they all have fights that are scheduled and won’t be free in the summer months.
Marquez, however, hasn’t fought since November when he defeated Michael Katsidis by a 9th round stoppage and still doesn’t have a fight scheduled. This would be the perfect fight for Judah, because Marquez is a PPV and Judah would have someone that could help bring in some fans. Judah looked lackluster for most of his fight last weekend up hurting Mabuza in the 7th with a left uppercut that caused Mabuza to fall into the ropes.
When action resumed, Judah quickly took Mabuza out with a flurry of shots. Judah spent most of the time in the fight trying to avoid shots rather than throwing them. Marquez would likely be a huge favorite over Judah because he has a good chin, throws a lot of punches and would pressure Judah the entire time.
It might be Marquez’s best opportunity to capture a relatively easy title. Judah looked poor during most of the Mabuza fight and won a questionable decision in his fight before that against Lucas Matthysse.
He was given the choice of which belt he wanted to keep 154 or 160 and he chose 160.
157 pounds. And that was a catchweight fight demanded by Al Haymon who represents Paul Williams or the rematch wouldn't be made (martinez wanted it at the full 160). So Martinez' last two fights have been at 160 (pavlik) and 157 (p-will) and his fight this saturday is 160...
Not to mention he walks around between 190-200 pounds.
Not sure how he can be the man at 154 when his only significant fight there was against Kermit Cintron which was declared a draw (he should have won though).
Previous to that he won an interim WBC belt against Alex Bunema.
So his resume at 154 is actually pretty whack.
157 pounds. And that was a catchweight fight demanded by Al Haymon who represents Paul Williams or the rematch wouldn't be made (martinez wanted it at the full 160). So Martinez' last two fights have been at 160 (pavlik) and 157 (p-will) and his fight this saturday is 160...
Not to mention he walks around between 190-200 pounds.
Not sure how he can be the man at 154 when his only significant fight there was against Kermit Cintron which was declared a draw (he should have won though).
Previous to that he won an interim WBC belt against Alex Bunema.
So his resume at 154 is actually pretty whack.
Boxing Promoter Gets Probation
A celebrity boxing promoter gets two years probation after he was accused of fixing fights and promoting them without a license. According to court records, Damon Feldman staged a fight in Philadelphia between Danny Bonaduce (The Partridge Family) and a comedian from the Howard Stern show. According to the Associated Press, Feldman didn’t fight the charges and pleaded no contest.
The Philadelphia Daily News says Feldman is banned from promoting in Philadelphia for 2 years.
A celebrity boxing promoter gets two years probation after he was accused of fixing fights and promoting them without a license. According to court records, Damon Feldman staged a fight in Philadelphia between Danny Bonaduce (The Partridge Family) and a comedian from the Howard Stern show. According to the Associated Press, Feldman didn’t fight the charges and pleaded no contest.
The Philadelphia Daily News says Feldman is banned from promoting in Philadelphia for 2 years.
Young Prominent Boxer Killed
Posted in: Boxing
A young prominent boxer is killed in Baltimore,Maryland. And now his community is mourning his death. Ronald Gibbs, 17, was stabbed and killed over the weekend after he tried to save his sister. He was apparently inside a home when heard his sister arguing with a man, he walked outside to defend her, and that’s when the man stabbed Gibbs and his sister. She’s expected to be okay. Gibbs loved boxing and was preparing to head to the Olympics. He was ranked fourth in the country in the Police Athletic League.
For more on this story click here: http://www.wbaltv.com/r/27111206/detail.html
Posted in: Boxing
A young prominent boxer is killed in Baltimore,Maryland. And now his community is mourning his death. Ronald Gibbs, 17, was stabbed and killed over the weekend after he tried to save his sister. He was apparently inside a home when heard his sister arguing with a man, he walked outside to defend her, and that’s when the man stabbed Gibbs and his sister. She’s expected to be okay. Gibbs loved boxing and was preparing to head to the Olympics. He was ranked fourth in the country in the Police Athletic League.
For more on this story click here: http://www.wbaltv.com/r/27111206/detail.html
Steward predicts early stoppage for Cotto over Mayorga
By Dan Ambrose: Emanuel Steward, the legendary trainer for WBA junior middleweight champion Miguel Cotto (35-2, 28 KO’s), believes his fighter will stop challenger Ricardo Mayorga (29-7, 23 KO’s) inside four rounds on Saturday night at the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Steward seems to be speaking out of both sides of his mouth, however. He’s been saying that he wants Cotto to box Mayorga, use his jab and avoid slugging with him.
How is Cotto going to stop Mayorga within four rounds by moving and jabbing? Does Steward think that Cotto can stop Mayorga with jabs? That’s not going to happen. If Cotto is going to get an early stoppage, he’s going to have to go back to his old style of brawling and if he does that, he’s going to be leaving himself wide open to getting hit with some of Mayorga’s huge shots.
Steward might be wise to tell Cotto to forget about trying to knock Mayorga out and instead focus on boxing him and keeping away. The last thing Cotto needs is to get in a war with Mayorga and end up getting cut up, and hurt. Cotto has taken too many beatings in the past three years and Mayorga hits hard enough to give him yet another beating. In this case, Steward might end up getting his fighter knocked out if he instructs for Cotto to go after Mayorga and try to stop him early in the fight. Mayorga is too big, and too strong for the little 5’7” Cotto to slug with.
By Dan Ambrose: Emanuel Steward, the legendary trainer for WBA junior middleweight champion Miguel Cotto (35-2, 28 KO’s), believes his fighter will stop challenger Ricardo Mayorga (29-7, 23 KO’s) inside four rounds on Saturday night at the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Steward seems to be speaking out of both sides of his mouth, however. He’s been saying that he wants Cotto to box Mayorga, use his jab and avoid slugging with him.
How is Cotto going to stop Mayorga within four rounds by moving and jabbing? Does Steward think that Cotto can stop Mayorga with jabs? That’s not going to happen. If Cotto is going to get an early stoppage, he’s going to have to go back to his old style of brawling and if he does that, he’s going to be leaving himself wide open to getting hit with some of Mayorga’s huge shots.
Steward might be wise to tell Cotto to forget about trying to knock Mayorga out and instead focus on boxing him and keeping away. The last thing Cotto needs is to get in a war with Mayorga and end up getting cut up, and hurt. Cotto has taken too many beatings in the past three years and Mayorga hits hard enough to give him yet another beating. In this case, Steward might end up getting his fighter knocked out if he instructs for Cotto to go after Mayorga and try to stop him early in the fight. Mayorga is too big, and too strong for the little 5’7” Cotto to slug with.
Paul Williams and Adrien Broner a possibility in an HBO doubleheader for 6/11
By Jim Dower: Steve Kim from maxboxing is reporting that HBO is looking to put together a June 11th doubleheader with Paul Williams (39-2, 27 KO’s) making a comeback against a still to be determined opponent and unbeaten super featherweight contender Adrien Broner (20-0, 16 KO’s) fighting in the second part of the card.
Why HBO is looking to put Broner on their network again is a mystery, because Broner looked terrible in his last fight against Daniel Ponce De Leon last weekend, earning a controversial 10 round unanimous decision in a fight that many boxing fans felt that Broner should have lost. I personally had De Leon winning the fight. However, even if you ignore the controversial decision, you can’t ignore how boring Broner was in the fight. It looks like HBO us making the same mistake of putting on fighters that don’t please the boxing public.
Broner slightly resembles Floyd Mayweather Jr. with his fighting style, but he fails to put his punches together the way that Mayweather does and doesn’t seem nearly as sharp and in command as Mayweather. It’s not a good sign that Broner is having to go life and death with a fighter like De Leon, who was wiped out with ease by Juan Manuel Lopez. HBO might want to cut their losses and lose Broner.
Williams was stopped in the 2nd round in his last fight against Sergio Martinez. It was an especially bad knockout loss for Williams in that he was knocked completely out by a left hand thrown from Martinez. The severity of the knockout loss would suggest that Williams won’t be fighting anyone dangerous in June. That’s not going to be good and having Broner in the same card could equal bad ratings for HBO.
By Jim Dower: Steve Kim from maxboxing is reporting that HBO is looking to put together a June 11th doubleheader with Paul Williams (39-2, 27 KO’s) making a comeback against a still to be determined opponent and unbeaten super featherweight contender Adrien Broner (20-0, 16 KO’s) fighting in the second part of the card.
Why HBO is looking to put Broner on their network again is a mystery, because Broner looked terrible in his last fight against Daniel Ponce De Leon last weekend, earning a controversial 10 round unanimous decision in a fight that many boxing fans felt that Broner should have lost. I personally had De Leon winning the fight. However, even if you ignore the controversial decision, you can’t ignore how boring Broner was in the fight. It looks like HBO us making the same mistake of putting on fighters that don’t please the boxing public.
Broner slightly resembles Floyd Mayweather Jr. with his fighting style, but he fails to put his punches together the way that Mayweather does and doesn’t seem nearly as sharp and in command as Mayweather. It’s not a good sign that Broner is having to go life and death with a fighter like De Leon, who was wiped out with ease by Juan Manuel Lopez. HBO might want to cut their losses and lose Broner.
Williams was stopped in the 2nd round in his last fight against Sergio Martinez. It was an especially bad knockout loss for Williams in that he was knocked completely out by a left hand thrown from Martinez. The severity of the knockout loss would suggest that Williams won’t be fighting anyone dangerous in June. That’s not going to be good and having Broner in the same card could equal bad ratings for HBO.
Martinez vs. Dzinziruk: Sergio wants Cotto and Chavez Jr. next
By Eric Thomas: Sergio Martinez (46-2-2, 25 KO’s) has one of his toughest bouts of his 14-year pro career this Saturday night against Ukrainian Sergiy Dzinziruk (37-0, 23 KO’s) at the Foxwoods Resort Casino, Mashantucket, Connecticut. The WBC has agreed to put one of their newly invented belts, the WBC Diamond middleweight title at stake for this fight.
It hardly is needed though, because boxing fans already are well aware that Martinez is the best fighter in the middleweight division. The Diamond strap is a mere formality that will likely be ignored by fans who are mostly concerned with just seeing a good fight. Martinez wants to go after Miguel Cotto or Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. next if he gets by Dzinziruk. Those fights would give Martinez a good payday while keeping him busy.
Neither Cotto or Chavez Jr. will give Martinez much in the way of competition because both of them are so badly flawed. Cotto may be a shot fighter, while Chavez Jr. is someone that would be better at home being ranked in the 2nd tier rather than someone with a #1 ranking by the WBC.
Dzinziruk, 35, has a very real chance of beating Martinez if he can keep his jab busy and stay out of the way of Martinez’s big left hands. Martinez didn’t use to look to load up as much, but he seems to have fallen in love with his own power since beating up former WBC/WBO middleweight champion Kelly Pavik last year. Martinez followed that up by stopping Paul Williams in the 2nd round last November in an impressive one punch knockout.
By Eric Thomas: Sergio Martinez (46-2-2, 25 KO’s) has one of his toughest bouts of his 14-year pro career this Saturday night against Ukrainian Sergiy Dzinziruk (37-0, 23 KO’s) at the Foxwoods Resort Casino, Mashantucket, Connecticut. The WBC has agreed to put one of their newly invented belts, the WBC Diamond middleweight title at stake for this fight.
It hardly is needed though, because boxing fans already are well aware that Martinez is the best fighter in the middleweight division. The Diamond strap is a mere formality that will likely be ignored by fans who are mostly concerned with just seeing a good fight. Martinez wants to go after Miguel Cotto or Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. next if he gets by Dzinziruk. Those fights would give Martinez a good payday while keeping him busy.
Neither Cotto or Chavez Jr. will give Martinez much in the way of competition because both of them are so badly flawed. Cotto may be a shot fighter, while Chavez Jr. is someone that would be better at home being ranked in the 2nd tier rather than someone with a #1 ranking by the WBC.
Dzinziruk, 35, has a very real chance of beating Martinez if he can keep his jab busy and stay out of the way of Martinez’s big left hands. Martinez didn’t use to look to load up as much, but he seems to have fallen in love with his own power since beating up former WBC/WBO middleweight champion Kelly Pavik last year. Martinez followed that up by stopping Paul Williams in the 2nd round last November in an impressive one punch knockout.
Haye: Wladimir has the heart of a hyena, he cries and squeals
By Dave Lahr: Now that IBF/WBO heavyweight champion and WBA champ David Haye (25-1, 23 KO’s) are on course for a fight during the summer, Haye is already letting loose with his thoughts on Wladimir. Haye is starting in where he left off two years ago when he was signed to fight Wladimir in June 2009, but suffered a back injury weeks before the fight, causing Wladimir to replace Haye with Ruslan Chagaev. Before that, Haye been working over Wladimir during their press conferences with trash talk and constant teasing.
Haye had this to say about the tall Ukrainian heavyweight: “I have the heart of a lion whereas Wladimir has the heart of a hyena. He cries and squeals and slips into the wilderness at the first sign of danger.”
Boy, this is bad. Haye is really giving it to Wladimir, but he is telling the truth about Wladimir disappearing at the first sign of danger. He used to try and slug it out when his opponents came after him. That changed after he was stopped by Lamon Brewster and Corrie Sanders. Wladimir now runs and holds when his opponents try and punch with him. It’s a style that’s worked for him but only because of his huge 6’6″ 245 pound size. But on the flip side, it’s caused Wladimir to become a boring fighter to watch, which has led to many boxing fans being turned off towards watching him fight. Even HBO stopped showing Wladimir’s fights because of how dull the fights were and because of the low ratings. Wladimir runs or holds when his opponents come at him and it’s utterly predictable. The good thing here is that Haye doesn’t stop punching when his opponents try to hold him. He’s going to give Wladimir big time problems when Wladimir goes to hold him.
Haye is an exciting heavyweight because of his power, speed and his aggressive style of fighting. He doesn’t run and try and avoid action like Wladmir, and that makes him a more fan-pleasing fighter to watch.
By Dave Lahr: Now that IBF/WBO heavyweight champion and WBA champ David Haye (25-1, 23 KO’s) are on course for a fight during the summer, Haye is already letting loose with his thoughts on Wladimir. Haye is starting in where he left off two years ago when he was signed to fight Wladimir in June 2009, but suffered a back injury weeks before the fight, causing Wladimir to replace Haye with Ruslan Chagaev. Before that, Haye been working over Wladimir during their press conferences with trash talk and constant teasing.
Haye had this to say about the tall Ukrainian heavyweight: “I have the heart of a lion whereas Wladimir has the heart of a hyena. He cries and squeals and slips into the wilderness at the first sign of danger.”
Boy, this is bad. Haye is really giving it to Wladimir, but he is telling the truth about Wladimir disappearing at the first sign of danger. He used to try and slug it out when his opponents came after him. That changed after he was stopped by Lamon Brewster and Corrie Sanders. Wladimir now runs and holds when his opponents try and punch with him. It’s a style that’s worked for him but only because of his huge 6’6″ 245 pound size. But on the flip side, it’s caused Wladimir to become a boring fighter to watch, which has led to many boxing fans being turned off towards watching him fight. Even HBO stopped showing Wladimir’s fights because of how dull the fights were and because of the low ratings. Wladimir runs or holds when his opponents come at him and it’s utterly predictable. The good thing here is that Haye doesn’t stop punching when his opponents try to hold him. He’s going to give Wladimir big time problems when Wladimir goes to hold him.
Haye is an exciting heavyweight because of his power, speed and his aggressive style of fighting. He doesn’t run and try and avoid action like Wladmir, and that makes him a more fan-pleasing fighter to watch.
Lemieux-Rubio: David in an important WBC middleweight title eliminator on 4/8
By Michael Lieberman: Unbeaten middleweight contender David Lemieux (25-0, 24 KO’s) faces Mexican Marco Antonio Rubio (49-5-1, 42 KO’s) on April 8th in a WBC middleweight title eliminator bout at the Bell Centre, in Montreal, Canada. The winner of this fight will become the mandatory challenger for the winner of the June 4th fight between WBC middleweight champion Sebastian Zbik and challenger Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
However, even if Lemieux beats Rubio next month, which seems likely with Lemieux’s crushing power, he still will have to wait for a shot against the winner of the Chavez-Zbik fight because neither of them are going to be eager to take on the hard hitting Canadian immediately and risk getting knocked out.
Lemieux, 22, is quickly proving to be one of the hardest punchers in the middleweight division, and perhaps a top five guy in the division. It’s still too early to know whether Lemieux deserves to be ranked up there with the likes of Felix Sturm, Dimitry Pirog, Sergio Martinez, Sebastian Sylvester or Gennady Golovkin. But we’ll be seeing soon. The Rubio fight will be a good test for Lemieux, because Rubio can punch and has been in previously with Kelly Pavlik. Rubio lost that fight by a 9th round stoppage in February 2009. It was a one-sided fight with Rubio mostly running and taking punishment.
If Lemieux can get Rubio out of there in quicker fashion than Pavlik, it will make a huge statement for Lemieux and give a good indication about how good Lemieux is. He could end up being one of the most avoided fighters before long if he keeps knockout his opponents in the first couple or rounds. In the past year, Lemieux stopped Walid Smichet in the 2nd, Elvin Ayla in the 1st, Hector Camacho Jr. in the 1st and Purnell Gates in the 2nd
By Michael Lieberman: Unbeaten middleweight contender David Lemieux (25-0, 24 KO’s) faces Mexican Marco Antonio Rubio (49-5-1, 42 KO’s) on April 8th in a WBC middleweight title eliminator bout at the Bell Centre, in Montreal, Canada. The winner of this fight will become the mandatory challenger for the winner of the June 4th fight between WBC middleweight champion Sebastian Zbik and challenger Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
However, even if Lemieux beats Rubio next month, which seems likely with Lemieux’s crushing power, he still will have to wait for a shot against the winner of the Chavez-Zbik fight because neither of them are going to be eager to take on the hard hitting Canadian immediately and risk getting knocked out.
Lemieux, 22, is quickly proving to be one of the hardest punchers in the middleweight division, and perhaps a top five guy in the division. It’s still too early to know whether Lemieux deserves to be ranked up there with the likes of Felix Sturm, Dimitry Pirog, Sergio Martinez, Sebastian Sylvester or Gennady Golovkin. But we’ll be seeing soon. The Rubio fight will be a good test for Lemieux, because Rubio can punch and has been in previously with Kelly Pavlik. Rubio lost that fight by a 9th round stoppage in February 2009. It was a one-sided fight with Rubio mostly running and taking punishment.
If Lemieux can get Rubio out of there in quicker fashion than Pavlik, it will make a huge statement for Lemieux and give a good indication about how good Lemieux is. He could end up being one of the most avoided fighters before long if he keeps knockout his opponents in the first couple or rounds. In the past year, Lemieux stopped Walid Smichet in the 2nd, Elvin Ayla in the 1st, Hector Camacho Jr. in the 1st and Purnell Gates in the 2nd
Chavez Jr. wants bout against Saul Alvarez
By Jim Dower: Like someone that’s not satisfied with what they have on their own plate, unbeaten Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (42-0-1, 30 KO’s) is eying a future fight against unbeaten WBC junior middleweight champion Saul Alvarez (36-0-1, 26 KO’s) in a fight that Chavez Jr sees as a huge fight that their Mexicans will enjoy seeing. The problem is Chavez Jr. still hasn’t even beaten WBC middleweight champion Sebastian Zbik (30-0, 10 KO’s), who Chavez Jr. is scheduled to fight on June 4th.
Zbik is considered a paper champion by a lot of boxing fans and Chavez Jr. is considered by many fans to not deserve the #1 ranking by the WBC. Whatever the case, Chavez Jr. still has to beat the badly flawed Zbik, pick up the belt, and then look to fight Alvarez or one of the top contenders like #2 ranked contender David Lemieux. Oscar De La Hoya, the promoter for Alvarez, isn’t interested in putting Alvarez in with Chavez Jr. right now.
As such, Chavez Jr. wishing and hoping for a fight against Alvarez is a waste of time. Chavez Jr. will have to settle for defending his belt against Lemieux or perhaps Sergio Martinez. Chavez Jr. will likely choose to fight one of the weaker contenders rather than take on a dangerous opponent in his first defense because he doesn’t appear to be good enough to beat Lemieux and he’s clearly not in the same league as Martinez. Chavez Jr. could have a very short reign as a champion unless he can find a way to avoid Martinez and Lemieux for an extended amount of time.
this fight would be huge in Mexico. I think GBP is doing the wise thing and letting it build to something even more major.
By Jim Dower: Like someone that’s not satisfied with what they have on their own plate, unbeaten Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (42-0-1, 30 KO’s) is eying a future fight against unbeaten WBC junior middleweight champion Saul Alvarez (36-0-1, 26 KO’s) in a fight that Chavez Jr sees as a huge fight that their Mexicans will enjoy seeing. The problem is Chavez Jr. still hasn’t even beaten WBC middleweight champion Sebastian Zbik (30-0, 10 KO’s), who Chavez Jr. is scheduled to fight on June 4th.
Zbik is considered a paper champion by a lot of boxing fans and Chavez Jr. is considered by many fans to not deserve the #1 ranking by the WBC. Whatever the case, Chavez Jr. still has to beat the badly flawed Zbik, pick up the belt, and then look to fight Alvarez or one of the top contenders like #2 ranked contender David Lemieux. Oscar De La Hoya, the promoter for Alvarez, isn’t interested in putting Alvarez in with Chavez Jr. right now.
As such, Chavez Jr. wishing and hoping for a fight against Alvarez is a waste of time. Chavez Jr. will have to settle for defending his belt against Lemieux or perhaps Sergio Martinez. Chavez Jr. will likely choose to fight one of the weaker contenders rather than take on a dangerous opponent in his first defense because he doesn’t appear to be good enough to beat Lemieux and he’s clearly not in the same league as Martinez. Chavez Jr. could have a very short reign as a champion unless he can find a way to avoid Martinez and Lemieux for an extended amount of time.
this fight would be huge in Mexico. I think GBP is doing the wise thing and letting it build to something even more major.
Youngest World Boxing Champion Ever, Now Broke and Forgotten Read more: http://latin
Former Puerto Rican boxer Wilfredo Benitez lives in a wheelchair and survives on state aid, forgotten by the world after squandering the millions of dollars he earned during a career in which he was the youngest fighter ever to win a world title.
Next Sunday will mark 35 years since that distant March 6, 1976 when the 17-year-old Benitez dared to take on Colombia's Antonio "Kid Pambele" Cervantes for the WBA Light Welterweight title.
More than three decades later, Benitez suffers badly from years of taking blows to the head, and is unable to say a word to explain what he did with what, at the time, was a fantastic fortune equaled by very few sports stars.
The money piled up by Benitez during his career quickly evaporated thanks to his and his father's dismal handling of it, as they lavished it all on cars, gifts, women and luxuries of every kind.
Benitez's health, like his bank account, also began to decline due to the punishment he took in the ring from the age of 7.
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The boxer's sister Ivonne Benitez said that she has always remained proud of the champ and close to him, especially after his health problems set in and he was diagnosed with chronic brain injuries.
Benitez, now 52, cannot do without Ivonne's assistance in his daily life at a cramped little house in Carolina, near San Juan.
Ivonne had to take charge of the ex-champion after his mother died in 2008.
"My mom was always worried about who would look after him if she died, so I promised that I'd always stay beside him. Helping my brother has changed my life completely," Ivonne Benitez said with tears in her eyes.
"He is like one more child. I'm here for whatever he needs. He was the doll I played with when he was born, and I love him as I do all my brothers," she said.
The champion's sister said that Benitez gets help with medicines from the Carolina municipality and a pension from the Puerto Rican government, which, however, is not enough to pay for his physical therapy.
Veteran boxing writer Mario Rivera Martino said that the Benitez-Cervantes bout was one of the sport's "greatest events."
He recalled that "Benitez's excellent boxing style" was the main factor in his win over Cervantes, then at the peak of his career.
"In all the history of boxing there has never been anything like it. It was certainly the greatest moment in Benitez's career and one of the most important for the sport in Puerto Rico," he said.
It was a fairly even fight, but Benitez, known as "El Radar," used more savvy than strength to surprise the then-champion and beat him by a split decision in 15 rounds.
After his historic victory, in which Benitez also became the first Latino boxer to win $1 million for a single fight, he continued his spectacular series of triumphs, including the WBC Welterweight Championship that he snatched from Mexico's Carlos Palomino.
Benitez retired in 1990 with a 52-8-1 record and was inducted six years later into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
Read more: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/ne...lfredo-benitez-broke-forgotten/#ixzz1G8Ki4mbd
Former Puerto Rican boxer Wilfredo Benitez lives in a wheelchair and survives on state aid, forgotten by the world after squandering the millions of dollars he earned during a career in which he was the youngest fighter ever to win a world title.
Next Sunday will mark 35 years since that distant March 6, 1976 when the 17-year-old Benitez dared to take on Colombia's Antonio "Kid Pambele" Cervantes for the WBA Light Welterweight title.
More than three decades later, Benitez suffers badly from years of taking blows to the head, and is unable to say a word to explain what he did with what, at the time, was a fantastic fortune equaled by very few sports stars.
The money piled up by Benitez during his career quickly evaporated thanks to his and his father's dismal handling of it, as they lavished it all on cars, gifts, women and luxuries of every kind.
Benitez's health, like his bank account, also began to decline due to the punishment he took in the ring from the age of 7.
Related Links
Opinion: After Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, Who?
The boxer's sister Ivonne Benitez said that she has always remained proud of the champ and close to him, especially after his health problems set in and he was diagnosed with chronic brain injuries.
Benitez, now 52, cannot do without Ivonne's assistance in his daily life at a cramped little house in Carolina, near San Juan.
Ivonne had to take charge of the ex-champion after his mother died in 2008.
"My mom was always worried about who would look after him if she died, so I promised that I'd always stay beside him. Helping my brother has changed my life completely," Ivonne Benitez said with tears in her eyes.
"He is like one more child. I'm here for whatever he needs. He was the doll I played with when he was born, and I love him as I do all my brothers," she said.
The champion's sister said that Benitez gets help with medicines from the Carolina municipality and a pension from the Puerto Rican government, which, however, is not enough to pay for his physical therapy.
Veteran boxing writer Mario Rivera Martino said that the Benitez-Cervantes bout was one of the sport's "greatest events."
He recalled that "Benitez's excellent boxing style" was the main factor in his win over Cervantes, then at the peak of his career.
"In all the history of boxing there has never been anything like it. It was certainly the greatest moment in Benitez's career and one of the most important for the sport in Puerto Rico," he said.
It was a fairly even fight, but Benitez, known as "El Radar," used more savvy than strength to surprise the then-champion and beat him by a split decision in 15 rounds.
After his historic victory, in which Benitez also became the first Latino boxer to win $1 million for a single fight, he continued his spectacular series of triumphs, including the WBC Welterweight Championship that he snatched from Mexico's Carlos Palomino.
Benitez retired in 1990 with a 52-8-1 record and was inducted six years later into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
Read more: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/ne...lfredo-benitez-broke-forgotten/#ixzz1G8Ki4mbd