Boxing News Thread

[heyzel]

Arum excited about how good Pacquiao is looking in training camp

By Marcus Richardson: Top Rank promoter Bob Arum is very excited about how well his money fighter WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao has been looking recently in his training with Freddie Roach at the Wildcard gym as Pacquiao gets ready to take on one of Arum's unbeaten stable fighters Tim Bradley on June 9th in Las Vegas, Nevada. Obviously, Arum doesn't want to see his cash cow Pacquiao beaten at this point because it mess things up for future pay-per-view bouts, as well a future fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Arum said to RingTV "When I saw him [Pacquiao] on Monday, he was still a little jet-lagged. But today, you know, I've never seen him physically look the way that he does. The fact that he's loving a good life now is really beginning to show in his demeanor, and in his face, and in the way that he's carrying himself."

I have no idea what Arum is talking about, because if anything, Pacquiao looks a lot older than he was three years ago when he beat Miguel Cotto. He looks physically older than he was even a year ago. How can he look younger when he's aging and taking punishment in beating up Arum's Top Rank stable fighters one after another. Granted, Arum has done a good job of preserving Pacquiao by putting him in with a faded Antonio Margarito in a catchweight title fight at 154, Joshua Clottey, Shane Mosley and Miguel Cotto in yet another catchweight title fight.

However, Pacquiao still has taken a lot of shots in some of those fights and he's definitely not looking fresh-faced or younger. He's coming off of an awful performance against Juan Manuel Marquez last November in a fight that you can make a good case that he lost that fight. Pacquiao isn't getting any younger and just because he's hitting the mitts with enthusiasm doesn't mean anything. The proof is in the ring, and Pacquiao is going to have a lot of proving to do on June 9th against a hungry, young lion in Bradley. He wants what Pacquiao has got and he's coming to take his belt from him.

The judges won't do Pacquiao any favors if he gets another controversial decision because you can't have a fighter winning time after time by controversial decisions without turning the public off.
Article posted on 13.05.2012

 

[heyzel]

Vitali Klitschko ready for retirement

By Vitali Shaposhnikov: "My sports career is nearing completion, but sport has always had a place in my heart and it always will have,” said our PhD heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitschko in a recent interview. (http://www.worldboxingnews.net/2012/05/vitali-my-sports-career-is-nearing.html)

As boxing fans, we have heard similar statements being voiced all the time, and have learned that most of the time they don’t carry their meaning for a very long time. Fighters threaten with retirement, and even officially go into one, just to announce their comebacks soon after. But in this case, I have a feeling that Vitali would be a man of his word, and bow out for good.

Of course the question is, how does he leave the sport? In other words, who does Vitali need to beat in order to leave with style? David Haye, despite not being a very formidable opponent for Vitali, would still put on a decent show and give millions of boxing fans certain satisfaction from watching the fight. Unfortunately, that might no longer be an option, as Haye is now scheduled for a showdown against Chisora.

Amongst the top rated heavyweights, I don’t see a potentially great fight for Vitali. Neither Povetkin nor Helenius would post too much threat for the Ukrainian, leaving him with a weak exit of out his career. To be perfectly honest, I think that the only person on that list that could possibly create some excitement against Vitali, is a fighter who has been beaten by him before.

Chris Arreola, I think, would put up a good fight and show aggression for as long as he is still standing. It would not only give Arreola a shot at the title as well as redemption, but would also allow Vitali to finish his career with a good battle, possibly being one of the better ones in his career.

 

[heyzel]

Mike Jones vs. Randall Bailey: For IBF welterweight title

By Sevak Sarkisian: Yesterday I was curious to know who will be fighting on the upcoming Manny Pacquiao and Tim Bradley undercard, and to my surprise there was one match-up that actually seems to have the potential to be a competitive fight. To be honest, I’m a little surprised the promoters decided to put it on the undercard. Truthfully, they could have used the opportunity to once again showcase a young prospect against a faded veteran.

But instead, we will be seeing a title fight between top contender Mike Jones taking on the experienced Randall Bailey for the vacant IBF welterweight title.

Both fighters present a legitimate threat to one another in very different ways. Randall Bailey is a huge puncher and possesses knockout power especially in his right hand. The right uppercut and the right cross are his best punches and he’s KO’d plenty of people with them. 36 of his 42 wins have come by knockout. However, he sometimes makes it to obvious that he’s looking for that one big punch and abandons his game plan looking for that one shot.

However, his opponent Mike Jones possess good hand speed and above average skills. Jones also possesses unique physical gifts for the weight class standing at 6’0 feet tall with a 72 inch reach. But just like any other fighter to ever live, Mike Jones has his shortcomings and limitations as well. He has shown in the past that he is capable of getting caught up in the moment and letting emotion get the best of him. He has to stay poised and relaxed, and think long term against a dangerous puncher like Bailey. Mike Jones has to avoid getting hit with that big right hand and make sure he puts his big speed advantage to good use. He also has to make sure he doesn’t get caught up in a brawl and take advantage of his boxing skills.

If Jones fights a “smart” fight he should be able to handle business on June 9th in Las Vegas against the older puncher. However, history tells us that’s not a guarantee and if the seasoned veteran can take advantage of those moments and land his money punch it can be lights out for Mike Jones. I must admit I expect Mike to take advantage of his natural attributes and not make the fight harder than it should be and win the fight in a competitive well-earned championship win.

 

[heyzel]

Beware of Puerto Rico Boxing Resurgence
May 13th, 2012

By Gerardo Granados: Currently there is not a single world boxing champion from Puerto Rico and it is quite odd, because of the rich boxing tradition of the great skilled, brave and on times flamboyant attitude of the boricua fighters. A friend of mine asked me if there is someone to blame? Is it lack of promotion or is it lack of young talents? I believe there is no one to blame and also there is nothing to worry about.

When Floyd Mayweather defeated Miguel Angel Cotto, Puerto Rico lost his last world champion. Danny Garcia is a United States Citizen so he can´t be considered on the list.

Just as the mythological Phoenix, Puerto Rican boxing will come back from his ashes stronger than ever and will reclaim his place in boxing tradition. Currently Juan Manuel Lopez, Ivan Calderon, Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. and Miguel Angel Cotto are the top contenders to dispute world title but these ring warriors are no youngsters and the new generation of great boricuas boxing champions might be just around the corner.

Generations of boxing fans around the world have enjoyed great Puerto Rican champions, hall of fame members and future ones like the Wilfredo´s, Wilfredo Vazquez, Wilfredo Gomez, Wilfredo Benitez, Hector Camacho, Edwin Rosario, John Ruiz, Juan LaPorte, Esteban De Jesus, John John Molina, Tito Trinidad and Miguel Angel Cotto just to mention a few. To believe that this awesome tradition might have come to an end is like to think that tomorrow the sun wont come out. It´s quite intriguing what is it what Puerto Rico will do to regain his place in professional boxing because they won´t stay with their arms crossed doing nothing about it.

Can the reader imagine to lost the traditional boxing rivalry between Puerto Rico and Mexico? Of course boricua fighters have rivalries against others fighters but against Mexican fighters, due the pride involved you can tell you will watch a good fight.

There might be no need to warn boxing fans of the Puerto Rico boxing resurgence but the reader better keep an eye on them because the new generation of Puerto Rican fighters will come stronger than ever and we all might be gladly surprised. My friend asked me “when?” well it could take less than we think.

 

[heyzel]

The Money Spin: Has Richard put Bob Arum on the spot?
May 13th, 2012

By Frank (Frankly) Livingstone: Well, the latest news from both Bob Arum and Richard Schaefer in relation to the allocation of the revenue for the elusive Pacquiao–Mayweather fight certainly keeps the comatose bout on a life support (for now). Bob Arum suggested a 45-45 split and the 10% bonus goes to the winner. Bob argues that if Floyd sees the fight as an easy payday, Floyd has no problem agreeing to it.

On the other hand, Richard suggested a different approach wherein he suggested having one of the big accounting firms to account for the PPV numbers and live gates receipts for both the Pacquiao and Mayweather fights to determine a fair allocation of the revenue. He is willing to go back from 2007 when GBP was involved with Floyd.

Richard’s counter offer seems to be the most logical in determining the revenue sharing. Richard is quite confident that the revenues for the Mayweather’s fights would be higher due to good promotional strategy by having the fights on or near the Cinco de Mayo and adding good undercard fights with it. The last fight with Cotto resulted to 1.5 million PPV that was actually a double main event cards with Canelo Alvarez/Shane Mosley attracted a lot of Mexican and Mosley fans to buy the PPV.

But I suspect Richard’s offer has more to it than meets the eye. As you know, Manny Pacquiao has a defamation case against Floyd Mayweather for PEDS allegation. The lawyers of Manny would have to prove that the PEDS allegations have damaged Manny’s reputation. So if Richard’s offer is accepted and the review of the revenues from Pacquiao’s fights revealed an increase in the revenue since the PEDS allocation, this would be a fatal blow to Manny’s defamation case. But I am sure Manny’s top notch lawyers have anticipated this scenario and would indeed has a different angle to pursue the case.

But Richard’s offer has indeed put Bob Arum back in the corner. It would be interesting how this play out. Bob’s offer is a challenge for Floyd to prove that he is the best in the planet by agreeing to a 45:45 split and 10% bonus to the winner. Richard’s offer is more of a challenge to Bob if he is willing to open Top Rank’s books to the public. This may be a publicity stunt by Richard Schaefer but in this case, Richard has nothing to hide. How about you, Bob?

 

[BUTCHER 206]

Fight Game with Jim Lampley - Episode 1

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xqskdf_fight-game-with-jim-lampley-episode-1_sport

just a friendly heads up; you know siccness supports videos from sites other than youtube? daily motion being one of them

for example:

[video=dailymotion;xqskdf]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xqskdf_fight-game-with-jim-lampley-episode-1_sport[/video]

 

[BUTCHER 206]

blehh nevermind its kind of small when you try and watch it on siccness, and no fullscreen mode

 

[heyzel]

Only Pacquiao can push Mayweather to the limit
May 14th, 2012

By John F. McKenna (McJack): Former World Boxing Association (WBA) light middleweight champion Miguel Cotto (37-3-30 KO’s) is indeed a very good fighter. According to undefeated superstar and new WBA light middleweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. (43-0, 26 KO’s), Cotto is the toughest opponent he had ever faced. Floyd won a decisive unanimous decision over Miguel on May 5 in a competitive fight.

It was a fight that “Money” May suggested that on occasions he went toe to toe with Cotto so that fans would be provided a more entertaining fight. You would have to take Mayweather at his word in that respect.

Putting on a good show for his fans is more money in the bank for future Mayweather fights. Famed promoter Tex Rickard, who promoted heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey’s heavyweight brawls asked the “Manassa Mauler” prior to his epic fight with Luis Angel Firpo if he couldn’t just lighten up a bit and let the fight go a little while longer so that the paying customers would get their moneys worth. Rickard was fearful that his cash cow would KO Firpo in the first round. Dempsey, never one to be badgered by either managers or promoters told Rickard to “Go to Hell!” Rickard’s fears that the fight would be an abbreviated one were justified. Dempsey KO’d Firpo early in the 2nd round. But the fight wound up being possibly the greatest fight of all time and the boxing fans who were present did not complain.

Miguel Cotto is a very good fighter, but he is not a great fighter. And while his fight with Mayweather was a competitive one, Cotto did not push Mayweather to his limit. It is this writers opinion that the only fighter capable of pushing “Pretty Boy” to his limit is the fighter he most likely will never fight, WBC welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao (54-3-2, 38 KO’s).

Floyd Mayweather Jr. is in fact a great fighter, perhaps the greatest fighter of his generation and unquestionably one of the greatest defensive geniuses ever to set foot in the ring. But at this point in his career Floyd seems to be obsessed with protecting his “0”, and to do that he will not risk losing it by engaging Manny Pacquiao in the squared circle.

There is enough blame to go around for the fight between “Pretty Boy” and “Pacman” not happening. Presently though it seems as if the Mayweather camp is coming up with excuse after excuse to prevent the mega fight from happening. God bless Floyd for pushing for drug testing in boxing, but with regard to him fighting Manny it has been a non issue for months. Manny has agreed to the drug testing Floyd has called for. Still Mayweather bests Pacquiao over the head with the drug testing club as if it were still a viable issue.

Not willing to accept to a 50/50 cut of the revenues is another phony issue that even supposedly seasoned boxing observers appear to grapple with. The idea that a fighter who has won world championships in eight different weight divisions in addition to being named Fighter of the Year three times and Fighter of the Decade by boxing writers somehow is not worthy of a 50/50 split is ludicrous. It is amazing how many boxing pundits have bought into that nonsense.

They reason also that Floyd’s Pay Per View (PPV) numbers have been higher than Manny’s. Those who claim that are grasping at straws. The PPV numbers for the Mayweather – Cotto fight have come out at 1.5 million. It’s miraculous how the numbers came out in just a week, whereas the numbers for the Mayweather – Ortiz fight in September were delayed again and again. It also goes without saying that the fight with Cotto drew large PPV numbers because it was a double header with Saul Alvarez and Shane Mosley appearing on the undercard.

Prior to Mayweather’s fight with Cotto, Pacquiao had in fact outsold Floyd in PPV sales on average for their last threes fights. In addition, Pacquiao’s fights routinely outsell Mayweather’s live gate numbers. The argument therefore that Mayweather deserves a higher cut of the take just doesn’t hold water.

Another argument that is being bandied around by people who should know better is that if Pacquiao would just drop his defamation lawsuit against Mayweather the fight could be made. The Mayweather camp has been strongly insinuating for a number of years that Pacquiao is on “the juice”. Unfortunately for Floyd he has no evidence that Manny has ever used Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDS). Pacquiao has never tested positive for PEDS. And while insisting that Manny drop the lawsuit, the Mayweather camp continues to make the assertion that Manny is on “the juice”.

Pacquiao retained a high profile and very expensive attorney to pursue the defamation lawsuit against Mayweather. More than likely the costs to Manny have already run into the millions of dollars. Being the good guy he reportedly is I suppose it is the position of Team Mayweather that Pacquiao should just drop the case and eat the costs himself. As good a guy as Manny is, that is not the way it works in the real world.

 

[heyzel]

What Next For Miguel Cotto?

By James Slater: Puerto Rico’s Miguel Cotto may have lost more big fights than he’s won - see his defeats at the hands of Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Junior - and he has had a long and hard career; yet there is nothing to suggest he should not fight again. Cotto acquitted himself very well against “Money” during May 5th’s blockbuster, to the point where he gave the sublime Mayweather his toughest fight in a number of years.

Cotto, who has been beaten only twice legitimately (and he also avenged the painful loss to Antonio Margarito - a fight that many people see as one where his foe may well have cheated, using “loaded gloves&#8221 looked strong and powerful on May 5th, only losing because he was in with a truly special fighter in Mayweather. Why would Cotto look towards the exit door after such a fine and spirited effort?

The question is, who should Cotto fight if he decides to box on?

Right now, on a number of boxing web sites, there is a story reporting how Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer is floating the idea of a possible return fight between Mayweather and Cotto. Schaefer apparently feels the first fight was good enough, exciting enough and competitive enough for a part-II to be a worthy fight. While the first fight was good and certainly entertaining, would fans really be willing to part with another $59.99 to see it again? I don’t think so.

The first Mayweather-Cotto fight did very well on Pay-Per-View - earning a staggering 1.5 million buys - but no way would a rematch do close to that. Who would be willing to give Cotto a shot at winning a return? Mayweather should move on (to you know who) and Cotto should look elsewhere for a marquee name if he chooses to box on.

How about Cotto against new star and reigning WBC 154-pound champ Saul Alvarez? That one would definitely sell; another addition to the long traditional Mexico Vs. Puerto Rico rivalry as it would be. Or maybe Cotto could look to pick up an alphabelt against one of the current titlists? Maybe Cotto could even shoot for a piece of history by winning a piece of the middleweight title? At 5.7” Cotto wouldn’t be the biggest middleweight, but he wouldn’t be the smallest either.

Cotto, 37-3(30) is a definite future Hall of Famer (as Floyd Mayweather said himself post-fight on May 5th), and he really has nothing much left to prove. But I think this proud warrior will want to go out as a winner, and that there is a fight or two, or three, in his future. Who wouldn’t want to see this honourable, consistently exciting fighter wage war again

 

[heyzel]

Got Change For A Dollar?
By Jason Petock, Doghouse Boxing (May 14, 2012) Doghouse Boxing
-
50 Cent
It has been reported that hip hop artist Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson is interested in pursuing a professional boxing career. Apparently, Jackson has been acquainting himself more with the fight game and is already a high profile fixture on Mayweather’s “Money” team, a status which gives him that much more exposure if not anything else in the boxing world. In the 1980’s he competed on the amateur level in the Junior Olympics. Planning on starting his own boxing promotion company with the help of best friend Floyd “Money” Mayweather (43 – 0 / 26 KOs) at his side, it appears that Curtis Jackson has the right pull within the sport and adequate enough bankroll (gross understatement) to get things moving, even if his run at being a professional prizefighter might be a little too late and short sighted perhaps.

Don’t take this the wrong way. There have been several entertainers who have made the leap into the ring from their respective fields for better or worse. Take for instance actor Mickey “El Marielito” Rourke (6 – 0 – 2 / 4 KOs), who had a brief professional career as a light heavyweight and fought from 1991 – 1994. Granted the best opposition he faced was Oklahoma fighter Sean “The Matchmaker” Gibbons (14 – 7 – 3 / 9 Kos) during his brief run as a boxer. Rourke even fought as an amateur and was a mainstay at both Miami’s 5th Street Gym and the Outlaw Boxing Gym in Los Angeles. In all honesty, however, his opponents tended to be tomato cans. Nonetheless, a boxer is a boxer and if you have only one professional fight it is still a hell of a lot more than the next guy who has zip.

On the other side of the spectrum you have the professional athletes of other sports who think they have what it takes to step into the ring. No one can forget Cowboys football legend Ed “Too Tall” Jones’ epic failure when he laced up the gloves. Of course it always takes pure intestinal fortitude when you take that step through the ropes and decide to see if you really can face your fears and find out what you are made of. Jones found out early that football would definitely remain his forte and boxing was far, far in the rearview mirror in terms of a career on any level. Actors want to be singers, singers want to be actors, athletes want to be musicians, and musicians want to be athletes. (Side note: and writers want to be fighters). It’s just the way it is.

Let’s break it down by pros and cons and be a little more realistic from an outside perspective, given everything is hypothetical anyway. Now what if Jackson steps into the ring on the undercard of some pay-per-view even that his stable mate “Money” throws him into? Nine times out of ten, no matter how in shape Curtis Jackson is or gets, and no matter how much training and understanding of the “Sweet Science” he obtains, whoever he fights will not valid him as a professional prizefighter unfortunately. Although his street cred and album sales would skyrocket that much further. Maybe a duet with “Money” called “Pop Shottin’ Pugilists”? Just make sure that Roy Jones Jr. (55 – 8 / 40 KOs) doesn’t get to rap on the track (no offense Champ) if you want it to be successful. That was something I not only must have forgot but really wanted to forget.

Now this isn’t meant as a diatribe used to crush the hopes of any aspiring fighter (least of all a multi-millionaire type hip hop mogul who could give two shits about what someone writes about him), but we still have to be honest with ourselves as purveyors of the sport. Just think of Mickey Rourke’s brief boxing career and that should answer all the questions you have and then some. Jackson may not be Rourke, but its apples and oranges at this point. Boxing’s not easy and while bullets can obviously kill a man, “50 Cent” may be biting off more than he can chew should he decide to let the punches fly.

Jason can be reached with your questions, concerns, gripes, moans, complaints, insults or kudos at BoxingWarrior[USER=30659]@hot[/USER]mail.com. Your feedback is appreciated as always. Stay honest and keep punching.


50 is trying to box now?

 

[heyzel]

Ariza: Pacquiao doesn’t deserve a 50-50 deal with Mayweather if his numbers are higher
May 14th, 2012

By Chris Williams: Surprisingly Manny Pacquiao’s strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza thinks that Pacquiao shouldn’t get an even 50-50 slice of the financial pie in a fight against Mayweather if Mayweather’s gate and pay-per-view numbers are better.

Ariza said this in response to a question about whether Pacquiao deserves a 50-50 deal with Mayweather: “Not if Floyd’s #’s are higher.”

Ouch, that hurts! I wonder why Ariza isn’t kissing Pacquiao’s backside? After all, he is his employer. I respect the heck out of Ariza for being honest like this, though.

We’re already seeing that Mayweather’s numbers are higher with his fight against Miguel Cotto recently, which thus far has brought in a cool 1.5 million buys. Pacquiao’s fight with Cotto was only able to bring in 1.25 million PPV buys. Obviously, to determine whether Mayweather is the bigger draw you have to look at more than one fight, which is why I think it’s a good idea that Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer had recently that an accounting firm needs to tabulate the numbers of the two fighters to determine who the bigger money fighter is. Schaefer’s open to the idea, and thus far Bob Arum, Pacquiao’s promoter, hasn’t said whether he’ll agree to this idea. Arum’s suggest is to have the purse split 45-45 each with the extra 10 percent going to the winner of the fight. Mayweather, however, doesn’t believe that Pacquiao is worth 45%, so even that offer by Arum is a non starter. I agree with Mayweather. Why give Pacquiao 45% of the revenue right off the bat if he’s only bringing in 40% of what Mayweather is bringing in.

Ariza also said in response to a twitter comment from someone saying that it wasn’t all Arum’s fault: “Wrong, it’s Arum’s fault.”

Ariza also said “Manny can’t fight anyone not promoted by Bob.”

 

[heyzel]

Garcia: Victor Ortiz can beat Cotto and Canelo Alvarez
May 14th, 2012

By Dan Ambrose: Trainer Danny Garcia has big dreams in his head planned for his fighter former WBC welterweight champion Victor Ortiz (29-3-2, 22 KO’s) if he can make it past former two-time welterweight champion Andre Berto (28-1, 22 KO’s) next month in their rematch at the Staples Center, in Los Angeles, California.

Garcia wants Ortiz to go gunning for Miguel Cotto and Saul Alvarez at 154lbs, and he sees the 25-year-old Ortiz beating both of those guys, according to examiner.com.

Garcia said to Examiner.com writer Chris Robinson “I know we can beat Cotto, and I would also like to fight Canelo, because Canelo is a 154 pounder, but Victor can go up to 154 pounds easy. He’s big and I know we can beat Canelo.”

If Garcia had said that after Ortiz’s 12 round unanimous decision win over Berto last year in April, he probably wouldn’t have too many boxing fans that would argue with him over this. However, Ortiz looked horrible in his last fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. last September, losing by a 4th round knockout after melting down mentally and head-butting Mayweather out of frustration in the 4th round when things weren’t going his way.

As everyone already knows by now, the head-butt lead to Ortiz losing a point. He then apologized repeatedly to Mayweather, even dropping his guard to apologize yet again after the action was restarted. Mayweather then KO’ed Ortiz with a left-fight combination to the head while referee Joe Cortez was looking at the time-keeper outside of the ring. With that performance, it’s hard to see Ortiz having the mental composure to beat fighters like Cotto and Alvarez. When things start going bad for Ortiz at some point in the fight, it’s easy to see Ortiz melting down like he did against Mayweather OR like he did in his 6th round TKO loss to Marcos Maidana in 2009.

I think Ortiz will be mighty lucky if he can get past Berto in their rematch on June 23rd. That’s going to be a tough fight for Ortiz, and there’s a good chance he loses that fight. As it is, Ortiz was put down on the canvas twice by Berto last time. I’d be surprised if he can make it out of that fight without getting down again, but for the 10 count.

Garcia also said he wants Ortiz to get a rematch against Mayweather, and that’s probably not ever going to happen at this point no matter what Ortiz does in the Berto fight.

 

[heyzel]

Dawson making a mistake to fight Ward at 168lbs
May 14th, 2012

By William Mackay: WBC light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson (31-1, 17 KO’s) and WBA super middleweight champion Andre Ward (25-0, 13 KO’s) are on course to fight at some point in the coming months at 168lbs, or at least that’s what Ward thinks the fight will take place at.

Dawson basically volunteered to move down in weight from 175lbs to fight Ward in his own weight class rather than facing him at a catchweight, which would seem like the more logical thing for Dawson to do in order to avoid being weight-drained. However, Dawson said after his recent 12 round decision win over Bernard Hopkins that he has no problems with moving down to 168 to fight Ward. He said he’ll fight him either at that weight of 175, as long as the fight can get made. Ward already said he prefers to fight Dawson at 168, and it’s not surprising why he’s saying that. Dawson is a big light heavyweight, both naturally taller and heavier than Ward.

It’ll be a lot harder for Dawson to move down in weight than it would be for Ward to move up in weight, but that’s the point. Dawson will end up slightly weakened if he moves down to fight Ward at 168. Dawson obviously doesn’t know how much this will effect him because he’s never had to move down in weight to face anyone before. This will be the first fight for Dawson at 168, and he’s picking a tough fighter for him to be making that first test.

If Dawson isn’t weakened by the move down, he’s still going to have a tough time against Ward because he’s not much of an inside fighter. Dawson does most of his work from the outside, and he’ll have problems if Ward is able to draw him into an inside battle. I’m not so sure that Ward will have much success in getting the stronger Dawson to fight that kind of fight, because he’s not someone that Ward can rough up and push around like he’s done against fighters like Allan Green, Carl Froch and Mikkel Kessler. Dawson is too strong and too athletic to be forced into an inside war against Andre.

 

[2-0-Sixx]

Son Of Bernard is going to beat Dawson clear.

 

[heyzel]

I like dawson in this fight if he can fight using his reach he may give ward some trouble

 

[heyzel]

Carl Froch: “It could be over very quick because when Bute feels the power and the intensity, and the pressure from me that he’s never been put under before, he may just fall apart!”

by Geoffrey Ciani (Exclusive Interview by Jenna J & Geoffrey Ciani) - The most recent edition of On the Ropes Boxing Radio featured an exclusive interview with former two-time WBC super middleweight champion Carl ‘The Cobra’ Froch (28-2, 20 KOs), who is challenging IBF champion Lucian Bute (30-0, 24 KOs) on May 26 at the Nottingham Arena. Froch spoke about his upcoming fight, shared his opinions on what he thinks of Bute as a boxer, and also discussed other aspects pertaining to his career including his experience in the Super Six and his loss in the Final to Andre Ward. Here is what The Cobra had to say:

Regarding his upcoming fight against Lucian Bute:

“Yeah I’m very excited about fighting in the UK for a change, and for it to be on my home soil so to speak in Nottingham, I’m very excited about it.”

His views on the type of reception Bute will receive from the audience:

“You know he’s the away fighter. He’s not going to be well received. They’re going to be polite and they’re going to be honorable, because he’s a fighter and the fight fans got a lot of respect for both ends. But he’s going to get booed. I’m going to get cheered. I’m the home fighter. He’s the away fighter. He’ll get plenty of respect before and after the fight. I’m sure he will. He comes across very well. You see he’s a gentleman. He’s very polite and he speaks well. So it’s not like when Andre Dirrell came over and he was very mouthy, and a bit cheeky, and leery and a bit arrogant, you know. Lucian Bute is none of them so he’ll be alright.”

His views on the recent announcement that Bute was suffering from a foot problem:

“Yeah I heard about it! I was a bit worried that he was going to pull out, and it seems that the antibiotics he’s been on from the doctors has cleared up the infection and he’s okay! He’s fit and healthy to fight. So it’s good news! I don’t think it would have affected him too much. I think it was a toe or a foot infection that spread up his leg a little bit, but if he’s got antibiotics then that will be straight on top of it and clear it up. I’m sure it’s fine and I’m glad he’s not going to delay the fight. We could do without that to be honest.”

On what he is expecting from Bute on May 26:

“What am I expecting from him? Yeah! I’m expecting him to come and fight the fight of his life! That’s what he needs to do to keep his title in my hometown, because it’s going to be very tough for him. I’m coming with all guns blazing, fit and strong. I’m feeling very good so I expect Lucian Bute to show up like a professional, to be fit and strong, and to come and win. In his mind he’s coming here to win the fight but he’s got a very tough task (1) because he’s away from home, he’s in my back yard, and (2)because he’s fighting me. He’s not fought anybody at my level in his whole career. But having said that he’s beaten everybody he’s faced. That’s all you can do, beat who’s in front of you.”

On what made him to decide to take on a guy like Bute coming off the loss to Andre Ward in the Super Six Final following the tough stretch of opponents he has faced since even before the Super Six even started:

“You know it’s just the kind of man I am. I’m very, very disappointed I lost the WBC title. So with that away then to get straight back into world title contention, so that’s just where I’m at. I didn’t want to fight a Joe Bloggs, or a bum of the month, or a journeyman. I just didn’t want to do it. I got no motivation for that and no desire to just have a warm-up fight and a tick over fight. I’m 34 years old. I feel I’m in my prime. I feel fit and strong, and I feel great. But you know I’m not 24. I’ve not got time to waist. You don’t see Floyd Mayweather fighting Joe Bloggs and names that you don’t know about. I’m not saying I’m Floyd Mayweather by the way, but you get what I’m saying. He’s always involved in big fights. Even if he has a year out or even if he’s inactive for awhile, he doesn’t come back and have a steady fight. Now I know I’ve been fighting the best of the best, but that’s what I’m about! You know I’m a man’s man! I’m very, very serious about the sport and very serious about boxing. I really want to get a world title back around my waist. So the only way to do that was to fight Lucian Bute, because the WBC title wasn’t available, the WBA wasn’t available because Ward had it. So IBF, that’s the next best one as far as I’m concerned. There are only three major governing bodies and that’s the WBC, WBA, and IBF. So Lucian Bute was there and my promoter did a fantastic job and made the fight. So I’m a very happy man.”

His evaluation of Bute’s skill set as a boxer:

“I think he’s a very good boxer/fighter. He can box, he can move, as all southpaws can. You know southpaws are so awkward and they’re quite skillful, but they’re counterpunchers. They move on the back foot and they like to pick you off at range. He’s very good Bute. You got to give him his credit. He’s quite an all arounder. For a southpaw he can fight a bit on his front foot, he can box and move, he uses the ring well. So he’s got a lot of skills. He’s fast. He can bang. If you look at his record is it 28 or 30 wins he stopped about 24. He’s got a high percentage knockout ratio. So he’s got a lot of positive attributes going for him, other than the fact that the level he’s been mixing it at hasn’t been at a super high standard. I mean the two names that stand out on his record are Brian Magee and Glengoffe Johnson, two fighters that I’ve also beat. I knocked out Magee quite bad six years ago, and I broke my hand in round two and I got my knockout later on. I think that fight would have lasted two or three rounds if I didn’t break my hand in round two. We’ve shared another name actually, Sergey Tatevosyan. We shared that opponent. He went twelve rounds and won on points, and I knocked out Tatevosyan, well I stopped him on his feet in the corner in round two or three I think. It might have been round two. So on paper I’ve done a better job than Bute. I’ve beaten a better level of opposition, and I fought at a higher level for longer, and with the opponents we’ve got in common I’ve made easier work of them. Although there is an argument that he did a better job against Johnson than what I did. When Johnson fought me, Glengoffe Johnson, he came to fight. I don’t believe against Bute that Johnson came to fight. I think he just came to get through the fight, and that makes a big difference when someone’s putting you on your back foot and letting shots go. With that aside Bute is a very good fighter who deserves respect. He’s unbeaten and I’m looking forward to taking the title off him, because I really believe I got what it takes to put him under some serious pressure. Especially in my backyard, especially in Nottingham, I’m putting him under a lot of pressure with a high work rate. I’m super fit at the minute. Everything is going well in the gym. I did 13 rounds the other day. I did 7 and then 6 and I just did 12 rounds today. I just weighed out at 167 pounds and 4 ounces, and when I went in the gym I weighed 170, and I’ve weighed about 167.5. So I’m on the way, I’m in great shape, and I’ll stop talking now and let you ask another question.” (laughs)

On how he would rate Lucian Bute amongst the other top opponents he has faced in his career:

“It’s difficult to do that, because I thought about this. Somebody asked me a similar question the other day, and because he’s not fought at that top, top level. The Johnson fight doesn’t really count, and the Brian Magee fight don’t count either because Brian Magee is well past his best. He’s had a couple of good ones of late, but really he’s well past his best. It’s hard to judge. It’s hard to judge a level of opposition based on just what you see, especially when they’re fighting low level opposition. You know Lucian Bute might be a great, he might be an all time great, and he might be up there pound-for-pound, but at the minute there is nothing that indicates or proves that he is. You know I fought Mikkel Kessler who’s been in the ring with the likes of Joe Calzaghe and top level fighters like that; and Andre Ward is now being considered pound-for-pound one of the top five; and Andre Dirrell, you know they’re both Olympic Medalists; Arthur Abraham was a knockout puncher and had beaten everybody, and I just got a flawless victory over him; Jermain Taylor was undisputed middleweight champ. He just beat Jeff Lacy and then he fought me on a high. He felt confident he was going to take my belt, and that was a good fight and one that I finished emphatically and dramatically at the end. So you could look at me and say he’s a good fighter because of this, this, and this. But when you look at Bute you can say he’s a decent fighter, but in all honesty who has he beaten and what has he done? He got knocked out as an amateur quite bad. I know that was a long time ago by Golovkin, but he got knocked out as an amateur! You should not really be getting knocked out by amateurs to be honest. If you got a good chin, with the head guards and the gloves, you don’t really get that badly hurt and he was knocked out cold. And let’s not forget the Librado Andrade fight! Now I know he stopped him to the body in the rematch, but you only got to look at that fight and really and truly Lucian Bute lost that fight by knockout stoppage late. He was saved by the referee in the dying seconds as far as I’m concerned, because he was badly gone. So you could count that fight as a loss. It’s hard to assess him and say he’s this good, but we’re certainly going to find out, aren’t we, how good he is on May 26 because he’s in Nottingham and he’s facing Carl Froch, The Cobra, who’s on the comeback trail so I’m very dangerous and I’m very hungry.”

His views on the upcoming heavyweight showdown between David Haye and Dereck Chisora:

“You know what? I’d rather not comment on that at the minute, because I’m thinking about my fight. My fight is two weeks away, and I don’t even want to take anything away from my fight one bit. It’s so important to me this world title. I’m coming off the back of a loss, and to me, it’s all about me at the minute. So I got nothing to say about that.”

His evaluation of his performance in his decision loss against Andre Ward in the Super Six Final:

“Oh I had a very bad night! It was a poor performance by myself. I was loading up. I was trying to knock him out. I was tensing up, and showing him my punches, and trying to hit him hard instead of boxing and moving and putting 3s and 4s together. It was a below par performance for me, and it was a very good performance from Andre Ward. You got to give him his credit, because with what he does he’s very boring and you know he’ll put a glass eye to sleep, but he’s effective. He gets the win. So give him his credit, but let’s not get excited because he’s not very exciting. But you know he beat me fair and square! I got to be honest. He did enough to win. I didn’t hit him enough.”

On whether he would be interested in pursuing a rematch with Ward for a unification match in the event he beats Bute:

“Absolutely not if I’m totally honest. I think Andre Ward steps up to light heavyweight anyway, so I don’t think a unification fight with Andre Ward is there. Because of the reasons I’ve said about Ward I’ve got no aspirations or desire to fight him. I don’t like that style of fighting! I got no respect for it. It’s obviously very effective with what he does, but let’s be honest. He’s not very exciting, and I’m an exciting type of fighter. I’m in there to entertain, I’m in there to please the television, put bums on seats, and get the crowd going. And a fight with Andre Ward, anybody against Andre Ward, it’s never going to happen. Look at all of his fights. They’re all the same.”

On what fans can expect when he squares off against Bute on May 26:

“What can they expect? Yeah. They can expect fireworks! It’s going to be a great night of boxing between two top athletes. You know Lucian Bute wants to defend his title away from home against me, a top level fighter. I so badly want to win this world title in front of my home fans. I’ve left no stones unturned. So the fight fans, the non-boxing fans, the armchair fans, the TV broadcasters—they’re in for a real, real treat. Let me tell you. This is going to be a great, great fight for the fight fans. It really is. This fight can end in one of two ways. It can either go the distance and be a real humdinger for twelve rounds where he is trying to survive and he’s letting shots go, and I’m putting him under pressure and landing body shots and head shots. There may even be a knockdown involved. He may go down and get back up and then hold on. Or it could be over very quick because when Bute feels the power and the intensity, and the pressure from me that he’s never been put under before, he may just fall apart! It might just be a one-sided performance by me. But either way it’s very exciting and fight fans should be looking forward to this one. They really should. It’s amazing that a major American broadcaster, and I’m not saying that EPIX isn’t a decent TV channel—but it’s disappointing that Showtime has turned their back on this one and that HBO aren’t involved, because I think it warrants a big box office and it warrants a big TV station getting a hold of it. Thankfully we got Sky Sports in Britain onboard, which is great for people in Britain. But I think the American fans deserve to see this fight on one of the major networks. But there you go. It’s not my decision. It’s the paymaster’s decision and they’ve decided not to go with it, which is amazing really.”

On whether he has anything to say he would like to pass on to all of his fans:

“All The Cobra fans? Yes of course! I always got time for them! Thanks very much for all of your support. It’s been a wonderful journey. I’m not saying the journey is over. You know I’m a former two-time WBC champion. I’m now fighting for the IBF title and this is the most important fight of my career, because I cannot go out on my career on a loss to Ward in the way in which I lost it. It was just a dull fight! It was a terrible night for me, and a night in which it brings me great sadness and it upsets me when I think about it. It’s just awful! So this fight for me now with Bute means everything, and all of my fans that have been behind me, they supported me from start to finish and traveled all over the world. It’s not cheap following The Cobra. I’ve been away that much and my British fans have to dig deep into their pockets to come and support me. But I got a lot of love as well in America. There are a lot of American boxing fans that support me and are behind me. So I just want to say a big thanks to all of them, and be watching me because the journey is not over yet!”

 

[heyzel]

Paul Williams vs. Saul Alvarez In September

By Vitali Shaposhnikov: On May 5 in Las Vegas, on the undercard of the Mayweather Jr. (43-0-0) vs. Miguel Cotto (37-3-0) showdown, the twenty-one year old Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez (40-0-1) proved to the boxing fans that he is a difficult opponent for anyone who shares the ring with the young Mexican star. The older well seasoned Shane ‘Sugar’ Mosley (46-8-1) was unable to stand ground and keep up with the pace of the younger and stronger Alvarez.

After eliminating Mosley, the question of who should Alvarez face next was on top of everyone’s mind. While there are options, some of them are much better than others. Golden Boy Promotions didn’t take long in figuring out the question to that answer, and are already working on securing Canelo’s next foe.

According to the RingTv.com, the former two-time welterweight titleholder Paul ‘The Punisher’ Williams (41-2-0) might be next for Alvarez, possibly as soon as September 15, 2012. (http://ringtv.craveonline.com/blog/...ez-williams-marquez-morales-mitchell-welliver)

Richard Schaefer was quoted saying the following regarding the likelihood of the fight being made: "Absolutely, Canelo will definitely fight on September 15. I'm going to be speaking tomorrow, with advisor, Al Haymon, and one of the names which we are considering is Paul Williams. You can put 'Wow' in capital letters. That might be the name of the fight. 'Wow.'"

I totally agree that ‘wow’ is a very good way to put it. I like the match-up, and I see a challenge for both men if the fight actually takes place. Paul is a good fighter with enough stamina to keep peppering his opponents with punches through the night. His biggest advantage in that fight would be the ability to throw and land consistent solid punches from afar.

For Alvarez, getting on the inside would be imperative, as he would likely be outworked on the outside. His punches are crisp, but at the same time, it’s hard to judge whether he would be able to land them on a moving target. Mosley was trying to take angles early in the fight, but abandoned his movement as the rounds went on.

But speculations aside, I would love it if this fight was signed and booked. This would be a good fight for both, and would undoubtedly open some interesting doors for the victor

 

[CZAR]

So would this be on PPV or just regular HBO? This would be a fight I would love to see. Not sure if I would buy it but would think about it. Got Em!!

 

[IronLungs420]

So would this be on PPV or just regular HBO? This would be a fight I would love to see. Not sure if I would buy it but would think about it. Got Em!!

not sure if trolling or serious?? I highly doubt golden boy is going to have Canelo headline a regular hbo fight on Mexican independence day weekend. Golden boy isn't stupid they saw the #'s the last ppv involving canelo brought in.

 

[RM211]

cheating hand wraps (margarito) postponed his fight due to injury...


lol, yes he had a fight on may 26th, in tucson...