Boxing News Thread

[heyzel]

Ariza: I can get Brandon Rios back down to 135lbs
April 18th, 2012

By Chris Williams: Strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza is confident that if Brandon Rios works with him before his next fight, Ariza can get him back down to 135lbs with no problems, according to boxing news from Fighthype.com. That’s interesting because Rios has missed making 135 on two consecutive occasions in the past year.

Ariza told fightype.com “If Rios wants, let me know you now to get to 135. Not only will I guarantee that he’ll make 135 and be an animal the next night, I’ll even do it for free if he’s not.”

That’s pretty unbelievable. I don’t see it happening unless Ariza can be Rios’ shadow 24/7 and live with him and make sure he doesn’t sneak treats before and after his training sessions. I don’t think Ariza can put in that kind of commitment to watch over Rios, because he’s got other priorities. But besides that, it might be difficult for Bob Arum, Rios’ promoter, to agree to let Rios take another chance at 135 after failing twice. It’s not just the failing to make weight; it’s how sickly looking and weak Rios was in his actual fights. Yeah, maybe Ariza can get Rios into shape to make 135, but I don’t think it’ll be fighting shape. I think it’ll be a fighter that looks as if he’s been on a diet for too long where his muscles will be stringy and weak. If Arum is going to put Rios in with a soft touch, then it doesn’t matter. But if he matches him against someone good, we may see Rios get dominated like he was last Saturday night against Richard Abril. Rios can’t afford to put in another performance like that one.

Ariza doesn’t see Rios as a 140 pounder when he looks at him, and he believes that his frame is that of a 135 pounder. He’s probably right, as a lot of boxing fans have been saying the exact same thing. That’s why his time at 140 will be troublesome unless Arum is going to keep him away from the good fighters and instead match him softly. Rios’ days as a top fighter will likely be all but over when he starts fighting at 140. I expect Arum to feed him cream puffs for the most part and strategically match him against guys he has a high degree of certainty that he can beat. But as far as Rios beating the top 10 quality fighters in the light welterweight division, I can’t see it unless you get more of the judges working the fight like the ones that gave Rios his win over Richard Abril. I think Rios should do whatever he can to stay at 135 because that’s probably his only chance of staying on top. If that means hiring Ariza as his strength and conditioning coach then Rios should be ready to do that. He sure has nothing to lose at this point in making some badly needed changes in his game. I think he also needs to get a new trainer because he still doesn’t show basic skills that even elementary fighters are using, such as moving his head, jabbing, showing movement. He looks like a fighter that learned a few things and then fell asleep during the rest of the instructions.

 

[heyzel]

Pacquiao: My kids wants me to beat Mayweather before I retire
April 19th, 2012

By Chris Williams: Welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao says he won’t be retiring until AFTER he faces Floyd Mayweather Jr. and hands him a loss. Pacquiao is doing this at the request of one of his kids who specifically wants him to face Mayweather and beat him before Pacquiao finally hangs up his gloves.

Pacquiao said to sugarrayleonard.com that one of his children told him “I want you to retire, but before that I have a request – you need to fight Floyd Mayweather and beat him.”

Well, if Pacquiao wants to give what his kid is asking him to do then Pacquiao is going to have to agree to take the short money in order to make the Mayweather happen, because that’s only way it’s going to happen. You can’t expect Mayweather to give Pacquiao a 50-50 deal in terms of the purse split when Pacquiao is struggling to beat guys like Juan Manuel Marquez and wins the fight by a controversial decision. Mayweather fought the same guy and won every round of a 12 round fight in 2009.

You can’t expect Mayweather to give Pacquiao a 50-50 deal when he doesn’t shine against guys like Shane Mosley, Antonio Margarito and Joshua Clottey. After Mayweather’s fight against Miguel Cotto on May 5th, it’s going to be pretty much academic at that point that Pacquiao will have to take the smaller cut of the financial pie in a Mayweather fight, because Mayweather will make easy work with Cotto, and show how much better he is than Pacquiao in doing so.

Pacquiao beat Cotto in 2009 by a 12th round TKO, but he took a lot of punishment a long the way and he also fought the bout at a catchweight handicap. Mayweather doesn’t want Cotto to be weakened because he sees that as a cheap way of winning a fight. He wants Cotto at the FULL weight for the 154 pound division, which is why he’s agreed to fight him at 154 on the dot rather than make him drain down to 150 or some other god awful catchweight to try and get an advantage over him.

Cotto said it himself the reason why he chose to fight Mayweather next rather than Pacquiao was because the way he was treated during negotiations with Mayweather compared to Pacquiao. Cotto said to RingTV “We had more than one reason for deciding to pick the Mayweather fight instead of the Pacquiao fight, you know? I received better treatment in Mayweather’s negotiations and we decided to go with Mayweather.”

What Cotto is likely talking about is the weight issues. Pacquiao’s team wanted Cotto to come all the way down to 147 to fight Pacquiao and weren’t interested in meeting him at a catchweight of 150lbs, whereas Mayweather agreed to the fight Cotto at the full weight of the junior middleweight division at 154.

 

[JLMACN]

Chris Williams is a dumbass

 

[heyzel]

Manny Pacquiao Goes One-On-One With Sugar Ray Leonard on Timothy Bradley Fight and More (Video)

206480_10150226708710923_747385922_9037192_4017321_n_tiny by Scott Christ on Apr 18, 2012 7:31 PM EDT in Boxing Interviews & Quotes

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Hall of Famer Sugar Ray Leonard sat down for a one-on-one interview with Manny Pacquiao for SugarRayLeonard.com recently, and we've got the video for you. The two discuss Manny's fight on June 9 with Timothy Bradley, retirement, and more.


Pacquiao on the weight of his responsibilities:

"I have a lot of responsibility, especially giving time to my family, and of course the fans, and of course the work in my job, in my office, but I'm still OK. I'm still happy continuing my boxing career."

Star-divide

Pacquiao on losing track and keeping focus:

"You have to focus first and give time to your family, and then the rest, that's your job, your responsibility being a boxer, being a politician. Your responsibility to the fans, everything. You have to manage your time."

Pacquiao and Leonard on the Bradley fight and retirement:

Leonard: "Some people say he's not a threat. What's your take on Tim Bradley?"

Pacquiao: "He's undefeated, he's strong. This kind of fight -- you cannot underestimate him. He's strong and he's a good fighter, so I consider this fight as one of my hardest fights. And you know that."

Leonard: "Without question. When I fought Tommy Hearns the second time -- damn it -- I wasn't as focused. I was in shape, I got in great shape. Everyone kept saying, 'Well, Ray, you know he's shot, he's this, he's that, one punch it's over.' The fighter himself has to stay focused. Sometimes after you reach a certain level, it's hard to maintain that level. When it does become hard, that's a good sign that it's time to pack it in. How does your family feel? Does your family want you to retire, your wife and kids?"

Pacquiao: "My family wants to retire. Especially my mom and also my kids. But my kids, I have kids 11 years old, 10, and 5, and 3, the request is, 'Daddy, I want you to retire, but before you retire I have one request.' 'What is that?' 'You need to fight Floyd Mayweather and beat him.'"

 

[heyzel]

Adrien Broner's Next Fight: Gary Sykes Possible, Miguel Beltran Jr Wants the Fight

WBO super featherweight titleholder Adrien Broner will return to the ring on May 19 in the HBO co-feature to the Lamont Peterson vs Amir Khan rematch, but anyone hoping the 22-year-old, heavily-hyped Cincinnati youngster would be taking a tough test on that date should probably lower their expectations.

Two names have been mentioned thus far: Gary Sykes of England and Mexico's Miguel Beltran Jr, neither of whom are considered true contenders at 130, and neither of whom would be considered a threat to Broner.

Sykes (20-2, 5 KO) has reportedly accepted the offer, but Rick Reeno reports that it's only about 50-50 that the fight will happen according to someone close to the negotiations. There are issues such as whether or not Sykes can get a work visa to come to Las Vegas for a fight that's happening in a month. (Which alone should tell you how seriously Golden Boy, Al Haymon, and HBO are taking this date for Broner.)

Star-divide

For those unfamiliar with Sykes, the 28-year-old is a fine domestic-level fighter in the UK, and a former British champion at 130 pounds. He took his first pro loss in November 2010, when he entered a Prizefighter tournament as the reigning British champ, figuring it to be easy money. Instead, he was stopped in 45 seconds by Gary Buckland in the semifinals. Later, he would rematch Buckland, and lose a very good fight over 12 hard rounds last September. Since the loss to Buckland, he's fought once, beating a no-hoper in March via six-round decision.

Sykes would have no chance at beating Broner. It's every bit as bad a fight as HBO was ripped for accepting a few years back, when Kelly Pavlik had to face Gary Lockett and the network picked it up even though it was a pure mismatch made due to sanctioning body nonsense. Both Sykes and Lockett are/were competent, decent fighters, but far from world class. Broner vs Sykes would show true favoritism from HBO, which isn't unexpected, but to be honest, if this is what Broner's going to do, maybe he'd fit better at Haymontime where Al's boys all get the silver spoon treatment these days.

Then there's 22-year-old Miguel Beltran Jr (26-1, 17 KO), who is probably a slightly better opponent than Sykes, but still not a top contender at the weight or anything. There is this idea that because some people had Eloy Perez ranked about No. 10 in the division, that Broner took a challenge last fight. This could not be further from the truth. First of all, it was incredibly easy to not rank Eloy Perez in the top ten going into that fight. I didn't, and I never strongly considered him, either. He got a few glances a few times, but there are much better fighters at the weight. Broner is currently avoiding all of them while allegedly building the foundation for his superstardom.

Beltran was scheduled to face Diego Magdaleno earlier this year, but didn't. He's just recently gotten his license back in Nevada, and Osman Rodriguez reports that Beltran is itching to land the fight, and feels that Broner is being babied:

"Broner only fought one real opponent in his career and lost - but he was given a gift over Daniel Ponce De Leon. Broner's nickname is 'The Problem.' That's a good nickname for him because the only problem he has is when he fights real Mexican nationals."

Personally, I find that trash talk clunky and kind of dumb, but hey, it's a call-out, it's there, and it's a slightly better fight than Sykes, in my view.

Currently, the plan appears to be for Broner to take this soft touch, have Max Kellerman slobber over him (if Max is there on 5/19), probably get a few hype pieces on that new Lampley boxing show, and then face Vicente Escobedo on a Boxing After Dark show in August. Escobedo is likely going to face Edner Cherry on May 12 to stay fresh and line up the dates. I think Broner vs Escobedo is a fine fight. I also don't think there's any good reason other than HBO is willing to bend over backwards for this kid that it's not the May 19 co-feature, instead of a future main event.

More and more, the Broner push is reminding me of the incredible sweetheart handling that Andre Berto received from HBO. In both cases, I really believe the fighters can fight. In both cases, I don't think this is the way to prove it. Andre Berto never really gained a lot of true respect until he fought and lost to Victor Ortiz. Broner has his fans because of his style, because of his personality, and he has his detractors for those same reasons. He's an interesting guy. But if they take Gary Sykes, it's very clear that they're not interested in giving the interesting guy interesting fights, nor will the network force them to do so.

 

[heyzel]

ictor Ortiz: Brandon Rios Doesn't Have What it Takes
Yahoo! Contributor Network
By Paul Magno | Yahoo! Contributor Network – Tue, Apr 17, 2012 2:31 AM EDT
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The Victor Ortiz-Brandon Rios feud, one of the fiercest boxing rivalries in recent years, has fallen under the radar for many fight fans. One-time friends as young boxing prodigies, the grudge has slowly simmered for years and has turned into a bitter war of words, fought at a distance.

Former welterweight world titlist, Ortiz, wasted no time in giving his opinion of Rios' lackluster performance Saturday night against Richard Abril despite not actually having seen the fight:

"I heard he didn't look too well," Ortiz told The Koncrete Jungle.com. "I didn't see it, but my coach told me he looked like a four-round fighter."

Not looking too upset by his bitter rival's bad outing, he then replied to the interviewer's statement that Ortiz trainer, Danny Garcia, said Victor would KO Rios in the first round if they ever met in the ring as welterweights.

"I agree," Ortiz answered without hesitation. "He doesn't have what it takes to be at a caliber like myself. He's gotten to where's he's gotten because of the fact that his brother [pointing to trainer, Danny Garcia, brother of Robert Garcia] has a name. And he's [Rios] got a mouth."

When asked if he would like the opportunity to shut Rios' mouth, Ortiz was quick to reply.

"Why not? I need a tune up fight."

At the risk of playing junior matchmaker, Ortiz-Rios is one of those fights that practically sells itself. Two old friends turned enemies, with plenty of real life animosity.

There's no way the fight can happen now, though. Ortiz has his scheduled rematch with Andre Berto set for June 23 and Rios, despite his poor performance in a controversial win last Saturday, is still being propped up for a big money bout in July, possibly against Juan Manuel Marquez. There's also the little detail that Rios is just about to make his debut at junior welterweight while Ortiz has been a full fledged welterweight for a couple of years. Another obstacle is the fact that Rios is a Top Rank fighter while Ortiz is with Golden Boy and the two promotional rivals rarely do business these days.

But down the road, this grudge makes absolute sense. Hopefully by the time both fighters get into a position where they can fight one another, this ridiculous Top Rank vs. Golden Boy feud will be over.

As for the winner? It would be hard to bet on Rios after his dull performance on Saturday, but Ortiz is so inconsistent. It's going to take a look at the way these rivals perform in upcoming fights before a real pick can be made.

Paul Magno was a licensed official in the state of Michoacan, Mexico and a close follower of the sport for more than thirty years. He is also a contributor to Fox Sports. In the past, Paul has done work for Inside Fights, The Queensberry Rules and Eastside Boxing.

Sources:

The Koncrete Jungle, 'Brandon Rios is a good tune up fight' says Victor Ortiz

 

[heyzel]

Re: Felix Tito Trinidad "It'll be difficult for Cotto to beat Mayweather but possible
Let’s talk boxing; Miguel Cotto’s fight is coming up, how can Cotto counter Mayweather’s speed?

It’s going to be a very good fight, and important for both. It’s a very, very difficult fight for Miguel Cotto. It’s a difficult fight because of the speed of Mayweather. What he should do is what he should have been doing for a little while now, to find as much speed as possible to counteract that movement of the torso of Mayweather; with all of that, if he succeeds in augmenting his speed, if he gets it perfect, that’s how he can counteract Mayweather. If he can’t reach that speed, he should body to body with Mayweather, round after round, right there in close to Mayweather, like we Puerto Ricans know how to do, put all our heart into it and stay body to body with Mayweather. Try to find a good punch and soften him bit by bit.

How do you see Cotto at 154? Does he look solid to you? Is there room for improvement? How is he at that weight?

Well Cotto made himself champion there. It was against a boxer who wasn’t of the highest quality. We know Yuri Foreman wasn’t a solid champion, you now know that he was a little hurt in his knees, but he made himself champion, then he fought Mayorga who came out from a long retirement, but as a Puerto Rican Champion, I wish Cotto the best of success, he has had very good fights, some not so good, but he is champion and it’s time he moves forward.

Do you think that Cotto’s Cuban trainer has helped him better his physical conditioning?

He’s helped him, everyone who knows boxing knows that the Cuban, the Cuban trainer that has Cotto training in a different manner, has greatly helped his conditioning.

Finally, your prediction for the fight. What’s going to happen?

Well, this fight I think is going to be a very good fight in the early rounds. If Cotto’s left with no stamina, if Cotto’s conditioning isn’t of the best, it’s going to be very difficult continuing on, because the other has the conditioning, the intelligence, the ability to not take many shots, and is very elusive. Well, we have to go for our own, but the other is number 1.

Can he win, yes or no?

Cotto can beat him, I’m sure of it, but it is not easy

 

[naner12]

It'd be a shame if they give Sykes the fight against Broner, when there's a guy that's ranked #1 in the WBO and who actually deserves a shot at the title.

 

[heyzel]

Jermain Taylor: “I know that if I fight Bernard Hopkins 100 times that I would beat him 100 times no matter what”

by Geoffrey Ciani (Exclusive Interview by Jenna J & Geoffrey Ciani) - Yesterday’s edition of On the Ropes Boxing Radio featured an exclusive interview with former undisputed middleweight world champion Jermain ‘Bad Intentions’ Taylor (29-4-1, 18 KOs) who is taking on undefeated Caleb Truax (18-0-1, 10 KOs) tonight in a bout that will be televised on Showtime Boxing. Taylor spoke about his upcoming fight with Truax and also reflected back on some key moments in his career, such as his victories against Bernard Hopkins, his fights with Kelly Pavlik and Carl Froch, and his recent comeback against Jess Nicklow after more than a two year absence from the sport. Taylor also touched on a number of other topics and shared his views on the upcoming fight between Floyd Mayweather Junior and Miguel Cotto as well as the rematch between Chad Dawson and Bernard Hopkins. Here is what Taylor had to say:

Regarding his fight against Caleb Truax:

“I’m feeling great. You know it’s my time to come back and I’m looking forward to getting back in that ring!”

On how much he believes he can improve on his previous effort against Jesse Nicklow when he returned from a two-plus year absence:

“You know in that first one it was just about getting all of the bugs out. I feel like when I go in there this time I’ll be a lot more calm, a lot more relaxed, and a lot more patient with my punches, and it will be a totally better fight.”

His views on his upcoming opponent Caleb Truax:

“I know he’s undefeated. I know he comes to fight. He’s a fighter! I know he likes to bring it, and I’m going to give him all he wants.”

Regarding his training and preparations for this fight:

“I have just been working on keeping the left hand up, throwing a lot of straight punches, not loading up with the right hand all the time, and just taking my time if I get a guy hurt. Just take my time and go ahead and get him out of there!”

On how he expects to be received by the crowd from Biloxi, Mississippi:

“Hopefully it’s going to be a great crowd! It’s kind of close to Arkansas so I have some fans there. Hopefully it will be a great crowd!”

His views on what he got out of his time during his two year absence from professional boxing:

“Well first of all that was the best two years of my life! I took that time off and I figured I had to get back to myself and train hard, and get back to the hard work, and do everything that I lost while I was losing those fights. I just had to get back to myself.”

Regarding what he expects from himself now that he is once again competing in the middleweight division:

“I expect to get all of the belts back, to get every belt that I won. There is no problem making weight. I’ve been eating all through camp. It’s just a great weight for me! I never should have been at 168. You know I feel now I’m at the weight I’m supposed to be at. I’m going to be champion again at 160.”

His views on the current middleweight landscape and the reigning champion Sergio Martinez:

“Yeah, Sergio Martinez. He’s a great fighter. I take nothing away from him, but whenever I fight him it’s going to be time for him to give up the belts.”

Regarding his two matches against Bernard Hopkins and how they helped him transform as a fighter:

“Those Hopkins fights, man! It was just I was at a point in my life where I wanted to be the best! I wanted to be on top and there was no way I was going to lose those fights. Up until those fights I was working hard, and all I knew was working hard and just never giving up. After those fights I just got comfortable, comfortable and relaxed. When I took those two years off and I came back, I got that same ‘old way’ back, that hunger back. I missed boxing! I love boxing! Boxing is what I do. I mean I’ve been boxing since I was 12 years old and it’s something I love to do. I have to get back to my old ways, those old ways, the way that I beat Hopkins.”

On whether he ever felt any added pressure being labeled as ‘The Heir Apparent’ as he rose through the ranks before challenging Hopkins:

“Oh no. I didn’t pay attention to that. All that ‘Heir Apparent’ stuff, I never paid attention. I don’t pay attention to the good or the bad. I just take it as it comes. Hard work pays off! When you start working hard in the gym it shows in the ring.”

On whether he feels any added motivation now that a lot of fans are counting him out during his comeback run:

“Of course. You know to be honest with you, all of my life in the majority of my boxing career I’ve been the underdog, especially in the amateurs. I was never supposed be on the Olympic Team or all of this. There was times when I was told that I wasn’t good enough to go on a trip to fights. It’s always something. But I’m going to tell you man, hard work pays off! I’m back to my old ways. If anybody starts doubting than just watch me in that ring, because in boxing all you have to do is keep winning. That’s all you have to do.”

On whether he feels he still has one of the best jabs in all of boxing:

“I know I still have it. I know it! Just in the gym sparring, and you could see it a little bit with Jess Nicklow. I mean my right hand was hurt, but that jab got him all out of there. Man in the gym sparring, it’s just like the jab is unstoppable, and I’m back to using it, and you’ll see it in my fight.”

On whether he ever felt something was not right with him going into his first fight with Kelly Pavlik when he suffered his first defeat as a pro:

“Well you know when I fought Kelly I had Kelly out. Out! He was out on his feet. I just couldn’t finish him. I was tired. I wasn’t. Like I said, after those Hopkins fights I had reached my goal. That’s all of my life I had goals, and once I reached that I guess I lost my focus. Now that I have my focus back I’m untouchable. As far as with Kelly, I didn’t know. I was just going through the motions. You know but I had him out and just couldn’t finish him. I got tired in the later rounds and he got me out of there.”

His views on why he was unable to hold on in his loss against Carl Froch:

“I think I would say that I was just tired of boxing. I needed a break from boxing and I was just going through the motions like I said. With those fights, here it is I had these guys out and I’m tired in the later rounds. I can’t even. There’s nothing I could do. Come on now. That just shows you that you’re not doing what you used to do. Here it is with Hopkins I fought twelve rounds and half of the fight I was losing blood. Those fights were not me. I was just going through the motions.”

On whether he is at all surprised that Bernard Hopkins is still a champion at age 47:

“No. That man is doing his thing, and you got to look at that as motivation. I mean here it is he’s still doing his thing, and I know that if I fight Bernard Hopkins 100 times that I would beat him 100 times no matter what. But he is still doing his thing and I respect that so much. He never loses his focus. Once you lose focus you might as well stop boxing because you’ll get hurt.”

On whether he believes Hopkins has a chance in his upcoming rematch against Chad Dawson:

“I would never count the man out. I would never count either one of them out. I think anything can happen in a boxing match. It just depends on who’s the better man that night.”

His views on the upcoming fight between Floyd Mayweather Junior and Miguel Cotto:

“I just think it’s going to be a great fight. Like I told you a minute ago I never count a fighter out in a boxing match because anything can happen. But I wish them both good luck and I hope they go in there and make the fans happy.”

On whether there are any boxers boxing today whom he is a big fan of:

“No, not really. You know of course Mayweather. I love watching him, but as far as anybody else, no. I really don’t.”

Regarding the story behind how he first started using the boxing nickname “Bad Intentions”:

“I first started using ‘Bad Intentions’. Well it was at Northern Michigan University, and I got a scholarship to go there for school for boxing. I was in the ring sparring one day and all of the guys on the side of the ring were talking about how I throw everything with bad intentions, and they just kept saying it, and kept saying it, and the name kind of stuck with me. So everybody just started calling me ‘Bad Intentions’,
because every punch I throw has bad intentions on it, even the jab.”

His views on what he would need to do to defeat reigning middleweight champion Sergio Martinez:

“I will just beat him! I’ll just beat him. I’ll go in there and fight him. Whatever it takes, whatever it takes to win, that’s what I’m going to do! I just beat him! I don’t have a strategy to go in there and beat him. I’ll just go in there and get it done!”

On whether he has an interest in taking on one of the other belt holders before facing Sergio Martinez:

“I really just feel that if you have a belt, I’m coming for you! I don’t care which one comes first, or if you have any kind of name, that’s who I’m coming for. I’m wanting to shut it all done, because these guys ain’t dogs. I never dodged anybody in my life. I’m a dog! I’m a dog that’s going to fight when I get in that ring!”

His official prediction for his fight against Caleb Truax:

“My official prediction is just to beat this guy by any means necessary, just to beat him. Go in there and just beat him down no matter what!”

 

[heyzel]

Broner: I’m in a different league than Orlando Salido
April 19th, 2012

By Scott Gilfoid: WBO super featherweight champion Adrien Broner has no fear of WBO featherweight champion Orlando Salido and sees himself as being above him in talent.

According to Dan Rafael on his twitter, Sean Gibbons, the manager for Salido, said Salido will “Brush his [Broner] hair all over the canvas. When Adrien Broner is ready fora real fight, Orlando Salido is available.”

Broner answered back “Haaaaa. I will make him look like the big head lil human he already is. Salido is a good fighter, but I’m one of a kind and if we was to fight, the wrold will see why I’m in a different league.”

I sure wish Broner would fight Salido, because I’ve not been impressed with any of his recent opponents following his tough fight against Daniel Ponce De Leon in March of last year. Broner has beaten the following fighters since then: Jason Litzau, Vincente Martin Rodriguez and Eloy Perez. Broner is now facing even weaker opposition with his fight against Britain’s Gary Sykes, who isn’t even ranked in the top 15 by any of the sanctioning bodies in the super featherweight division.

I’m sure the WBO will quickly have Sykes suddenly ranked high in the rankings or at least at the 10 position. I die laughing when/if that happens because Sykes doesn’t belong anywhere near the top tier, but I can definitely see that happening in the next week or two. It’s got to be soon because the Broner-Sykes fight is coming up fast on May 19th on the undercard of the Amir Khan vs. Lamont Peterson rematch in Las Vegas.

There’s really no one at super featherweight to match Broner against. That’s sad part. Sykes, as horribly over-matched as he is, stands about as much chance as all the other super featherweights. Unless Broner is in love with the super featherweight division, he needs to move up to lightweight so he destroy some of the paper champions like Ricky Burns, Miguel Vazquez and Antonio DeMarco. None of those guys would stand a chance against Broner.

At super featherweight, it’s mighty slim pickings for Broner with the best options being Juan Carlos Salgado, Takahiro Aoh and Taskashi Uchiyama. None of them stand a chance against Broner. But there’s no upside in beating those guys because no one knows who they are in the United States other than the hardcore boxing fans. Broner can destroy them but he won’t get much more from beating them than he will when he destroys Sykes in one or two rounds next month on May 19th.

 

[naner12]

Do these guys get paid to write some of those articles? It started out decent enough and then the last two paragraphs happened.

 

[Lamberto Quintero]

Shit is horrible, are there any good boxing analysts writing these days?

 

[heyzel]

New Study Suggests Boxers Should Retire At The First Signs Of Brain Damage

Belt_select_tiny by Waldo Rastel on Apr 19, 2012 11:38 PM EDT in Boxing News Analysis

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Freddie Roach fought for too long and developed Parkinson's Disease. (Photo by Scott Heavey/Getty Images)

Scott Heavey - Getty Images

Freddie Roach fought for too long and developed Parkinson's Disease. (Photo by Scott Heavey/Getty Images)

Preliminary results from a new brain study suggest that there might be a point of no return for some combatants. Essentially, there becomes a point where the brain can no longer repair itself and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) becomes inevitable. The symptoms of CTE include personality changes and general cognitive difficulties, much like Alzheimer's disease.

The actual study involves a combination of brain scans using MRI technology and various cognitive tests to measure the extent of damage to the brain. The scope of the study includes 109 fighters segmented into three groups based on the amount of time the fighter has been a professional. The specific cutoffs for each group are as follows: the first group has less than 6 years of experience, the second group has 6 to 12 years, and the final group has more than 12 years of experience.

"In those that fought less than six years, we didn't find any changes," Bernick said. For that group, he said, "the more you fought didn't seem to make any differences in the size of brain structure or their performance on some of the tests like reaction time."

But for the other two groups of boxers and combat athletes, "the greater number of fights, the sizes of certain volumes of the brain were decreasing," he said. "But, it was only in those that fought more than 12 years that we could detect the changes in performance in reaction time and processing speed."

Star-divide

These results suggest that there may be a time lag between brain injury and becoming symptomatic, although the researchers are not convinced that the time lag always exists. Regardless of time lag, a fighter should retire immediately at the first signs of brain damage in order to prevent future irrevocable damage.

The researchers suggest that testing be mandatory in order to stop the endemic of brain injuries.

"The big thing we can do is some kind of baseline testing on all athletes, so we can compare where they are [after a head injury] with where they were," Dr. Howard Derman, medical director at the Methodist Concussion Center in Houston, said. "I think X-ray and MRI scans are a larger leap, and players' associations of all the leagues would really [be opposed]."

Brain injuries are a serious problem in boxing and we need to have more stringent testing to save boxers from themselves. Should ruling commissions force boxers retire at the first signs of brain damage?

 

[2-0-Sixx]

while more research on brain damage is great, I think they are off to just say if you fight a certain amount of fights or for a particular length you're in danger.

First off, you're in danger of losing your life anytime you step in the ring. Just the other week another Indonesian fighter died with like 12-13 pro fights and was only a pro for a couple of years. Brain damage and even death is a risk for any fighter, 1 fight or 100 fights.

Second, it's not about the amount of fights it's about the punishment you take. Think of fighters as cars. It's all about the mileage. You can have a 15 year old car that only has 50,000 miles, it's in great shape, while a newer 5 year old car could have 250,000 miles on it, it's going to break down.

You fight like Freddie Roach (all offense no defense) you're not going to last long. While Bernard Hopkins, at 47, is still going strong because he's never taken a beating in his life, never really took any punishment because he's a defensive wizard. So it varies.

 

[heyzel]

This is a really difficult subject for me as well. Half of me thinks that fighters have a right to make a living, but the other half knows that some boxers will fight until their brain becomes mush. There needs to be some regulatory mechanism that keeps track of changes in the boxers’ brains and makes them fully aware of the consequences of fighting on.

 

[corinthian]

any of y'all ever watched a pay per view match in the theater? I'm thinking about catching the mayweather vs cotto fight there.

 

[heyzel]

I was thinking about catching that fight at the movies myself

 

[heyzel]

got damn erislandy lara is the real deal

 

[naner12]

any of y'all ever watched a pay per view match in the theater? I'm thinking about catching the mayweather vs cotto fight there.

I watched Mayweather/Marquez & Mayweather/Mosley at the theaters. It's cool to see it in high quality on a theater screen, and people get wrapped up in the fight like they're actually there. Especially when I went to Mosley/Mayweather people were rowdy in there, not your normal movie theater experience. It was cool but expensive, I had gone cause it was just me and my girl but I'd rather get a few folks to throw up on the PPV and watch it a big screen at someone's crib.

 

[heyzel]

Chisora to appeal his license ban on 5/14
April 20th, 2012

By Sean McDaniel: Former British and Commonwealth heavyweight champion Dereck Chisora (15-3, 9 KO’s) will be meeting with the British Boxing Board of Control on May 14th to appeal his boxing license being withdrawn.

Chisora lost his license to fight after a series of questionable actions in February where in the span of two days Chisora slapped WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko at the weight-in a day before their February 18th fight in Munich, Germany; spat water into the face of Vitali’s brother IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko while he was standing in the ring on the night of the fight, and then Chisora took part in an altercation with former WBA heavyweight champion David Haye after Chisora’s fight with Vitali. During the brawl, Chisora made threats towards Haye. In total, Chisora’s actions turned off a lot of boxing fans who may have been sympathetic to him for his strong performance in his loss to Vitali. The BBBofC promptly took Chisora’s boxing license away for an indefinite period of time rather than giving him a suspension with an end date. Without a working date to know when he can get his boxing license back, Chisora is kind of in limbo where he doesn’t know when or if he’ll ever get his license back.

If Chisora’s appeal fails, it could push him into picking up a boxing license outside of the UK so that he can resume his career in the ring.

It’s highly doubtful that Chisora will be allowed to fight anytime soon. At best, my guess is he could be back in six months but I kind of doubt it