04.02.06 - Interview by Troy Ondrizek: Just last night the boxing community was abuzz with the news of Briggs and Tua squaring off against one another in April. Finally we have a fight between two proven and legitimate fighters; trying to get another title shot. Just as the euphoria began to wan a little; the whole dream came crashing down. David Tua backed out. Yes, when I heard that I was crushed. I had high hopes for this fight. So did many other fans. So Shannon wants everyone to know where he stands on this issue. So I got in touch with him to hear his side of the story.

Troy: Hey Shannon hows it going?

Shannon Briggs: "Not good Troy, nice to hear from you though."

Troy: I have heard conflicting reports regarding the Tua fight. Please can you share some light in the matter?

Shannon: "Troy I'm pissed off. Tua pulled out of the fight. We were going to make decent money, so that wasn't it. I got a call last night saying the fight might not happen, and then he pulled out. That pisses me off. David and I go way back. We have been trying to fight for a long time. That time was supposed to be now."

Troy: So do you think he is trying to dodge you?

Shannon: Indirectly, Yes! He said he wanted four tune-up before he takes a fight with a guy like me. I can understand that. He said that I have been active and he hasn't; that he has too much ring rust right now. I have been in that position before. I wasn't prepared for the Lewis fight, and I was like 280lbs before the McCline fight. I was drained for that fight and McCline still couldn't knock me out. I literally got up off my couch and fought Sedreck Fields. All of those fights were mistakes I didn't need to make. I still think that if you agree to take a fight; than fight. I think Rahman knocked the fight out of him literally with that supposed punch after the bell. Showtime was kind enough to give us a date and a venue for the fight, and they were paying us decent money considering the current money market for boxing. I mean, don't take a fight if you're not ready; I should know.

Troy: Are there any other big fights out there for you?

Shannon: Not really. Guys like Brock and Peter have avoided fighting me. When I was young and not in the right state of mind; everybody and their grandmother wanted to fight me. Now that I am in better shape than ever, and I am more mature and dedicated; nobody wants to fight me. I'm thinking of fighting two more fights, and if these guys still avoid me then I will go to K1 to fight. They fight like every week, and the money is good. I have a family to feed you know, and I've done all i can outside of boxing to make a good living. I'm going to go and fight that chump Koval now; he has been talking thrash and needs to be silenced. A fight with Brewster or Valuev or any champion is my goal. I still want to be champion of the world. A fight with David would've put me right there.

Troy: So when are you going to fight Chris Koval?

Shannon: Probably later than planned. Sometime in March. The fight will be a good tune-up for me.

Troy: How is your injured ankle doing?

Shannon: It isn't one hundred percent, but I still can fight and train. The fight with David was like seven weeks away. I would've been ready for that fight; hell I would've still fought with a bad ankle if I just got it taped up.

Troy: I hope for your fans that you stay in boxing and not go to K1. Your good for boxing and vice verse.

Shannon: I don't really want to do it. I would much rather box, but I love to fight and I will do what I need to to keep busy. I just want to thank you Troy and to thank eastsideboxing for keeping me in the news. I want to thank the fans who have supported me along the way. I want to show my critics that their judgment of me is wrong. I am doing all I can to be champion. Later Troy and good luck.

Originally Posted by ForemanRules Four - Julio Cesar Chavez v Meldrick Taylor - 1990

Originally Posted by ForemanRules Five - Diego Corrales v Jose Luis Castillo - 2005

07.02.06 - By Geoffrey Ciani: On April 22, IBF heavyweight champion Chris Byrd will defend the title against #1 contender, Wladimir Klitschko. This will be the second time these two square off. The first time they met was back in October of 2000, when Wladimir Klitschko pitched a virtual shutout against Byrd, winning very round while dropping him twice en route to a lop-sided unanimous decision. And frankly, I can’t envision anything differently happening this time around (barring a KO win for Klitschko).

To be sure, this is professional boxing where anything and everything can happen – particular in the heavyweight division, where one punch can change the entire course of a fight. That said, I’m hard-pressed to think of anything Byrd can do differently to reverse the outcome of their first encounter. In fact, I’m hard-pressed to think of anything Byrd can do differently to even make things slightly more competitive. Judges scorecards in their first bout read 120-106, 119-107, & 118-108, all in favor of Wladimir; and these scorecards were actually generous to Byrd (how anyone could have scored the bout anything other than 120-106 means someone was just looking for a way to give Byrd a “close” round here or there).

Is there realistically anything Byrd can do differently this time around? Truth be known, I don’t think there is. In fact, I’m even willing to go so far as to say Byrd has virtually no chance of winning this fight (barring a freak injury suffered by Klitschko). Of course, anything is possible, but if I was Chris Byrd, this is the last person I’d want to have to defend the title against. Byrd would have best served his own interests by avoiding Klitschko like the plague.

Am I saying Byrd is that bad? No, not at all. Byrd is an outstanding technician in the ring with an abundance of skills. He’s slick, he’s quick, and he’s a great boxer with a tremendous chin and a gigantic heart. Am I saying that Klitschko is that good? Nope. While the younger Klitschko is clearly one of the top talents in the division, he is a far cry from perfection personified. Like any other fighter, he has his flaws, and these can be exposed by the right opponent. So what am I saying?

Simply put, as the old saying says that Styles Make Fights! And this fight is a stylistic nightmare for Chris Byrd, any which way you slice it. Granted, a lot has happened since their first encounter. Byrd has since won the vacant IBF title from Evander Holyfield which he has ‘successfully’ defended four times, whereas Wladimir has suffered some major setbacks with knockout losses to Corrie Sanders and Lamon Brewster. Some might view such as evidence of Byrd having a chance. After all, the first encounter was over five years ago! However, none of this really matters much in the context of this particular match-up, because regardless of what has happened since, Klitschko’s style is clearly superior to Byrd’s in a head-to-head fight.

The problem for Chris Byrd is that he’s not slick enough to out-slick Wladimir and he’s not powerful enough to cause much damage. Like Byrd, Klitschko is an outstanding technical boxer, with an impeccable jab, a snappy left hook, and a wicked right down the pipe; overall, he has very good boxing skills. Add to this the fact that Klitschko has a tremendous size advantage, which he is quite capable of utilizing, and this spells D-O-O-M for Byrd – much like it did in their previous encounter.

Also consider that Byrd is clearly on the downside; he’s not the same fighter he was when he first squared-off against Klitschko. After beating Holyfield for the vacant title, he was given gift a decision over Fres Oquendo and awarded a very controversial draw with Andrew Golota, in bouts most feel he should have lost. Then he beat Jameel McCline by the skin of his teeth, before beating the very ordinary DaVarryl Williamson in his last bout. Byrd is no longer the caliber fighter he was when last these two met; in fact, a strong case can be made that Byrd has been in steady decline since he defeated David Tua in an elimination bout prior to fighting Holyfield.

Then there’s the fact that nothing Byrd tried worked against Klitschko last time around, and there’s no logical reason to believe that this time will be any different. Byrd is a versatile fighter with tremendous heart, and none of this mattered one bit when faced with a stylistic nemesis. The problem for Byrd is he’s incapable of exploiting Wlad’s weaknesses – namely, his chin and his stamina. It takes a power puncher to beat Klitschko: someone who will either overwhelm him with brute force, as in the Sanders bout, or someone who will affect his stamina by administering a prolonged beating keyed by a successful body attack, as with the Brewster bout. Byrd has never been much of a power puncher; he simply doesn’t have the tools to execute an effective attack against Klitschko. And even worse, Byrd’s best assets are easily nullified by Wladimir.

Byrd’s best chance to win this bout may very well be to go-for-broke from the opening bell. If Wlad enters the ring cold (as is oftentimes the case), Byrd might be able catch him off guard and stun him with a barrage of punches. I doubt it, though. For starters, this isn’t Byrd’s style. Secondly, enacting such a fight plan will open Byrd up to the possibility of suffering an early KO loss. And finally, I’m not so sure Byrd is going to be overly eager to engage with Klitschko. Lest we forget, Klitschko has a clear psychological advantage going into this one. But, be that as it may, I still think this is Byrd’s best chance to win. The alternative to going for broke will likely result with Byrd being on the receiving end of a brutal prolonged beating.

The landscape of the heavyweight division is about to change. Byrd’s championship reign is about to end and the Klitschko reign is about to begin.

Mark my words: Wladimir Klitschko will become the IBF heavyweight champion of the world this April.

08.02.06 - By Michael Klimes - The Scene: The super middleweight division has been clamouring for a definitive fight and a definitive champion for some time now. Some time now may in fact be an understatement. When was the last time the super middleweight division saw a truly meaningful contest between two equally matched combatants? I think of Roy Jones Junior vs. James Toney that was twelve years ago. I think of Nigel Benn vs. Gerald McClellan, which was eleven years ago and Joe Calzaghe vs. Chris Eubank was nine years ago. The Welshman floored the self- styled ‘Lord of Brighton.’

TK Stewart, February 12, 2006 - Freddie Roach, Massachusetts native and trainer of numerous boxing world champions, was close to home in Connecticut last night. Roach was at Foxwoods Resort and Casino to assist one of his latest proteges, Peter Manfredo of "The Contender" fame, who will be facing Scott Pemberton on Sunday night in Rhode Island.

Roach sat ringside with broadcasters Teddy Atlas and Joe Tessitore during the ESPN2 Friday Night Fights boxing telecast. Among other topics, Roach spoke about working with James Toney as he prepares for a March 18th bout with Hasim Rahman for the WBC heavyweight title in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Roach was asked how much James Toney, who began his career fighting as a middleweight, currently weighs and Roach replied, "He's about 250 right now". Roach said that Toney's weight is, "...too high right now, so we're going to drop about another 20 pounds before the fight, I feel. He's starting to spar everyday, he sparred nine rounds yesterday."

At nearly one hundred pounds above his original fighting weight of 160, it's anyone's guess as to what the mercurial Toney will register come March 18th. In January, at a New York City press conference to announce the bout with Rahman, Toney promised he would be fighting at a trim 217 pounds when the bout takes place. During the course of his eighteen-year professional boxing career the 37 year-old Toney has won recognized titles at 160, 168 and 190 pounds against world-class opposition. Toney's most notable win came in October 2003 when he faced faded, but well-known former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield and won by way of a ninth-round technical knockout.

In April 2005, amidst some fanfare, Toney faced WBA heavyweight titlist John Ruiz at Madison Square Garden in New York City. In a lackluster and forgettable bout that went the twelve round distance, Toney was proclaimed the winner by a twelve-round unanimous decision. However, only 11 days after the fight the official result was changed to a "no contest" by the New York State Athletic Commission and Toney was stripped of the WBA title, fined ten thousand dollars, and suspended for 90 days when he tested positive for the banned steroid Nandrolone.

The boxing community was shocked with Toney's positive steroid test result. Toney weighed in at what was then a career high 233 pounds for the Ruiz bout. His body was flabby and devoid of muscle tone causing the surprise among many. Typical steroid users have a lean and muscular appearance. Toney's co-promoter, Dan Goossen remarked, "Anybody who saw the fight could see that James Toney would not be the poster boy for any steroids use just by the way his body looks." Goossen continued his defense, "His doctor has stated that the combination of medications used to control the inflammation and tissue growth caused the positive test result. This is further supported since the body, in combination with the medications, naturally create the form of substance reflected in the test results."

Toney claimed he was administered a legal, therapeutic, natural substance by his physician, Dr. Mark Gordon, as an aid to recovery from a biceps and triceps tear suffered in his previous bout with Rydell Booker. Toney claimed that somehow, and beyond his explanation that the legal substance resulted in the positive steroid test.

Dr. Gordon was contacted for this story, but he refused to comment unless a signed waiver was presented from Toney allowing him to discuss the matter. Toney's representatives at Goossen-Tutor Promotions were also contacted for this story in an effort to obtain the waiver, but they did not reply.

Since the Holyfield bout, in which he scaled 217 pounds, Toney's weight has continued to escalate upward. In his most recent bout, an October 2005 match against Dominick Guinn, he scaled a career high 235 pounds. The issue of Toney's girth has continued to be somewhat of a contentious issue between Toney, his trainer Freddie Roach, and members of the boxing media. No matter the subject, the discussion always seems to come back to what James Toney weighs. In a recent workout before assembled media, Toney had to be prodded into removing his shirt for photographers and he seemed embarassed at his own physical condition.

The March 18th Atlantic City bout with Rahman is less than five weeks away. At his current weight of 250 pounds it's unlikely that Toney will achieve his promised weight of 217 pounds by fight night. To hit that number, Toney would have to lose approximately one pound of body weight per day each and every day.

As for Trainer Freddie Roach, who was a very disciplined professional fighter, his weight rarely varied more than several pounds over the course of his eight-year professional career. The soft-spoken Roach who owns the Wild Card Gym in West Hollywood, California is at a loss to explain the outspoken Toney and his poundage.

Despite his own personal feelings that James weighs too much, Roach seems resigned to the fact that Toney will weigh what he weighs and accepts him for who he is no matter what the scales say. Roach has grown weary of the constant questions surrounding Toney's weight and he throws up his hands now in a gesture of mild frustration and says, "As long as James is in shape I'll be happy and we'll win this fight".

Originally Posted by Goodfella9783 Manfredo Jr. vs. Pemberton should be good tonight, with Gomez on the undercard. Some nice Sunday night fight action.

13.02.06 - On Saturday night, Feb. 18 at 12:30 a.m. (ET/PT) and replaying Friday, Feb. 24 at 10:45 p.m. (ET/PT) and Saturday, Feb. 25 at 3:15 p.m. (ET/PT), HBO2 will replay VARGAS vs. QUARTEY 2000 and DE LA HOYA vs. MOSLEY I, 2000. The Vargas-Quartey fight was waged on April 15, 2000 in Las Vegas and was a thrilling slugfest between Fernando Vargas and Ike Quartey in which Vargas was the welterweight victor..

The first De La Hoya-Mosley fight was a dramatic battle from the first bell to the last, and featured the fast-rising “Sugar” Shane Mosley in a stirring split decision victory over Oscar De La Hoya on June 17, 2000 from the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Both fights will be available 24 hours a day to HBO ON DEMAND subscribers from Monday, Feb. 20 thru the fight date.

On Saturday, Feb. 25, HBO Pay-Per-View will televise the junior middleweight showdown of VARGAS vs. MOSLEY from Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas at 9:00 p.m. ET/ 6:00 p.m. PT.

13.02.06 - By James Slater: The day of the James Toney v Evander Holyfield fight, back in 2003, I arrived at The Mandalay Bay early (much earlier than I had done at the De La Hoya v Mosley II fight, this time not having the rigours of a hangover to contend with). The place was already buzzing and a mock boxing ring had been set up along with two huge sized boxing gloves. One had Holyfield across it while the other was emblazoned with Toney's name. Programs and other merchandise were on sale and I further lightened my wallet. Two T-shirts, a cap and a program were now mine.

After a light lunch and a couple of beers I was strolling around the casino section. I was again enjoying the atmosphere and the anticipation that only a big fight can bring. I hadn't yet noticed any boxers or celebrities but put this down to my early arrival. Also, Holyfield v Toney didn't figure to be as huge an event as the De La Hoya fight. But then I had to double check my vision. None other than Evander Holyfield and a small entourage walked right past me! My pulse quickened, something I had grown accustomed to in the past few weeks, and I fumbled for my pen. I composed myself as best I could and approached Evander from the side as he was still walking..

"Mr Holyfield, sir, would you mind.?" I said, while motioning to the boxing program I had held open to a page with an image of "The Real Deal's" face that was now staring out at the real thing. He looked me straight in the eye, somewhat intimidating me I must say, and then said one solitary word. "No". I couldn't believe it. I was shocked not to mention disappointed. As I watched him turn and walk away, giving me an almost regal wave of the hand, as if to motion me from him, one of his aides said, "We're not signing anything today, sorry". And then I was stood alone feeling embarrassed. This was the first time I had been refused an autograph and by one of the sport's gentlemen, a man known for his approachability and fan friendliness.

What had I done wrong? I had certainly asked him in the usual polite way. I put it down to the fact that he was fighting later on that day. Maybe he'd simply had his game face on. I wandered over to the nearest bar and had a few more beers. Disappointment had surfaced for the first time in Vegas (perhaps this served me right, after all I had blown it with Iran Barkley a few days earlier. I know I should've bought him lunch, it was the least I could've done. For what it's worth, when I'm next in Vegas, if I see Iran again I'm going to do it right this time, no doubt) I knew I may never get another chance at Holyfield's autograph. Still, at least I had been face to face with the great man, even if the experience had unnerved me quite a bit. Evander had had a mean look on his face and if this had been a pre-fight stare down we had been engaging in, I would have certainly melted.

He was known as a nice guy, yes, but in that ring Holyfield has shown toughness, an ability to fight dirty if necessary and a frightening ability to take punches. I still considered it an honour to have at least seen him in the flesh.

As all this was going around in my head, I happened to look up just in time to see Evander's protagonist for the evening entering the casino. Only a few minutes after my encounter with Holyfield, I now had a possibility at meeting him too. Things were happening fast today. I had been unsettled by the previous rejection and I debated with myself whether or not to approach Mr Toney. Maybe it was simply better not to bother a boxer so close to a fight. Perhaps I should be more respectful. But I also knew how I might not get another chance to meet James and as he had stopped and was chatting to a group of people, I decided to give it a try. I was thrilled and relieved when he gladly signed my program. He asked me my name, and when he learnt we shared the same christian name, he joked how much the name "sucked". We both laughed and I wished him good luck, for which he very politely thanked me. Amazing. The so-called bad boy of boxing, the motor mouth who was often partial to the use of a few expletives while being interviewed post-fight, was friendly and accommodating. Maybe he just knew the value of good copy and deep down was a great guy. This is certainly my opinion today. He for one didn't mind being greeted by his fans, even on the day of his fights, this one being of the utmost importance to him.

As a result of James' kindness, the smile returned to my face. I knew now who I would be rooting for come fight time!

13.02.06 - By Jim Amato: I was very impressed with Peter Manfredo Jr.'s third round stoppage of the formidable Scott Pemberton. Now that Peter is with Freddie Roach, he looks terrific. There is talk of a third match with "Contender" champion Sergio Mora in Peter's back yard of Providence, Rhode Island. I hope it comes off. I feel that Sergio won their first fight but Peter was robbed in the rematch. These two need to settle their differences. I believe this bout will draw well. Roach has really done wonders with Manfredo Jr. Freddie is really one of the top five trainers around today. If Manfredo Jr.- Mora III is made, my pick is Peter.

With all that said. I hope that the Manfredo Jr. camp has no intention on taking on Jeff Lacy after he defeats Joe Calzaghe. It would be a big money fight and a real fan attraction but there is no way Peter hangs with Lacy. Jeff would be way too strong for Peter and he hits like a ton of bricks.

Manfredo Jr. would be better off going after one of the other 168 pound titleholders and steering very clear of Lacy.

15.02.06 - By James Allan: With the definite news that Floyd Mayweather is going to fight Zab Judah next, there is a question mark over who, Ricky Hatton’s next opponent is likely to be. Mayweather would have been the preferred choice as far as team Hatton were concerned but for whatever reasons Floyd doesn’t want it at the moment and so it will have to wait. The Hitman is riding high at the moment with two of the four major titles to his credit and the name of Kostya Tszyu on his list of victories. He is an established name in the Light Welterweight division and not the perennial contender he was in danger of becoming just over a year ago. He, along with Amir Khan, is the major boxing attraction in Britain at the moment, but unlike Amir, who is still in the early stages of his career, he is an established world-class fighter. What all of this means is that in Britain, he can sell out just about any venue he chooses to fight in. He is a pay-per-view attraction and as such his name has the financial clout to entice the top foreign fighters to come over and face him in Britain. Ricky would probably like to fight in Las Vegas and Atlantic City in order to raise his profile in the United States and also to place his name alongside boxing legends like Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran, and in the future he probably will, but it is an undeniable fact that financially he doesn’t have to. He is already a very wealthy young man and he is now a big enough name in his own right to be able to fight in Britain for the rest of his career if he wanted to. Promoters would be happy enough to push his fights and with the coverage of big fights in Britain being pushed back to two or three am in the morning in order to accommodate American TV audiences he would still draw in big viewing figures.

Given all of this, Ricky will want to face another big name in his next fight. Maussa was useful in that a fight with him allowed Ricky to add the WBA strap to his IBF title, but in terms of profile, Maussa did little to add to Ricky’s reputation. There is, in my opinion, currently a choice of four fighters Ricky would probably like to face. They are, Arturo Gatti, Miguel Cotto, Diego Corrales or Jose Luis Castillo. He could also look to fight Junior Witter, Carlos Baldomir, Acelino Freitas or Vivian Harris.

Of the first four fighters Gatti must surely be Ricky’s preferred option. He also is a huge box office attraction and a fight with him would appeal to the majority of boxing fans, as they are both come forward fighters with decent chins. If truth were told, Ricky would strongly fancy his chances against Gatti. He is six years younger than him and hasn’t been in anywhere near as many wars as him. Gatti is all heart, but as was shown in his fight against Mayweather, heart isn’t always enough, and in his own way, Ricky is just as effective as Mayweather at breaking down and demoralising opponents. His constant pressure style of fighting is incredibly difficult to combat, and I am not convinced that Gatti hits hard enough to keep Ricky off of him. If Gatti were to stand in front of Ricky, this would suit Ricky perfectly as it would save him the trouble of having to go looking for him, and while Gatti is a decent boxer when he decides to box instead of brawl, I don’t think he is quick enough or clever enough to avoid Ricky all night. At best this strategy would probably only delay the inevitable, a stoppage victory for Ricky. However, this is boxing and as such you can never take anything for granted. Ricky will know this, and for that reason I don’t see him taking Gatti quite as lightly as he took Maussa. For Gatti a fight with Ricky would represent possible redemption after taking a fearful hammering at the fists of Floyd Mayweather, a chance to win another World Title and another huge payday. All of these reasons make the fight attractive to both fighters and also to the TV companies and that’s why I see it as being a question of when not if they sign the contracts.

However, given the choice of opponents available to Ricky, my own personal preference would be for him to face Junior Witter. Witter has been calling him out for long enough now, and has a run of nineteen straight victories since his loss to Zab Judah in 2000, a fight he took at a week’s notice. There is no denying that he looked awful as he spent most of the fight running from Judah but nothing in his 17 fights before that had prepared him for taking on Judah, and given that Zab came with a huge reputation at that time, it may be that Witter took stage fright on the night believing that he may have been in over his head. Whatever the reasons, the American TV companies turned against him and seemed to have almost no interest in putting him on again. However, a run of 15 straight knockout victories followed by a good win over Lovermore N’dou and the current holding of the British, Commonwealth and European titles have raised his profile again here in Britain, and given Ricky’s immense popularity, this is a fight that could be sold over here and it would probably interest many American viewers. On a professional level, I think that Witter would cause Hatton more problems than Gatti would. He can definitely hit hard enough to trouble him and he has good movement. I am not quite sure how good his chin is, but I don’t rate Ricky as a one-punch knockout artist. He may have finished Maussa off with one shot, but by the time he did knock him out, he had sapped all of Maussa’s resistance and he was ready for taking. Ricky is a hurtful puncher but not devastating, his great strength lies in his fantastic work rate and whether or not Witter would be able to match this would be the key to their fight. Also, of all the fighters on offer for Ricky at the moment, I believe that Witter’s style most closely imitates that of Mayweather. I am not putting him in the same league as Mayweather, but it would be fascinating to see if Ricky could work him out and how quickly he could do it. On a personal level, Witter has been shouting for a match against Ricky for years now. At 31 years of age you have to ask how many more years does he realistically have left at the top end of the game? He really needs to secure a big fight now before he slips into complete obscurity. It would be interesting to watch the two top Junior Welterweights in Britain facing each other and it would be a shame if Witter were to leave the game without ever having the chance to make up for his disappointment against Judah but as we all know, fights aren’t made nowadays purely in terms of people deserving a shot. Team Hatton would probably look on Witter, as too much risk for too little gain and the chances of this fight ever taking place are negligible.

Ricky is an enviable position at this exact moment in time, able to pick his next opponent and with a super fight already to his credit. It will be fascinating to see what his next move will be.

NEW YORK (Feb. 16, 2006) - SHOWTIME On Demand is replaying two exciting SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecasts featuring unbeaten IBF super middleweight champion Jeff Lacy (21-0, 17 KOs) and his WBO counterpart, undefeated Joe Calzaghe (40-0, 31 KOs). In perhaps the most highly anticipated unification showdown in years, the talented, outstanding 168-pound world champions will collide for the undisputed super middleweight crown on Saturday, March 4, LIVE on SHOWTIME at 9 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the west coast)..

SHOWTIME subscribers can access both the Lacy-Scott Pemberton and Calzaghe-Byron Mitchell fights in their entirety as well as interview footage from both fighters at SHOWTIME On Demand now through March 4. Don’t miss your chance to see these knockout, power-punchers in action before they enter the ring on March 4, 2006.

On Nov. 5, 2005, Lacy demolished Pemberton, successfully defending his title by second-round knockout in yet another devastating performance. Showing once again why he is regarded as one of the most exciting boxer-punchers in any weight division, Lacy decked the game but outclassed Pemberton with a right hand to the head early in the second. The challenger made it to his feet and attempted to fight back but went down again, this time from a vicious overhand right in the closing seconds of the round. The referee stopped the contest without a count at 2:59.

On June 28, 2003, Calzaghe impressively and emphatically retained his title with a thrilling, come-from-behind second-round TKO over Mitchell, a former two-time World Boxing Association (WBA) champion titleholder. Calzaghe got dropped for the first time in his career when Mitchell connected with a right hand approximately 30 seconds into the second round. The defending champion, however, roared back to floor Mitchell with a wicked left hook. Britain's longest reigning titleholder continued to punish the tough, courageous challenger along the ropes until the referee stepped in and waved off the proceedings at 2:36 of the round.

Originally Posted by ForemanRules HBO To Rebroadcast Mosley-De La Hoya & Vargas-Quartey 13.02.06 - On Saturday night, Feb. 18 at 12:30 a.m. (ET/PT) and replaying Friday, Feb. 24 at 10:45 p.m. (ET/PT) and Saturday, Feb. 25 at 3:15 p.m. (ET/PT), HBO2 will replay VARGAS vs. QUARTEY 2000 and DE LA HOYA vs. MOSLEY I, 2000. The Vargas-Quartey fight was waged on April 15, 2000 in Las Vegas and was a thrilling slugfest between Fernando Vargas and Ike Quartey in which Vargas was the welterweight victor.. The first De La Hoya-Mosley fight was a dramatic battle from the first bell to the last, and featured the fast-rising “Sugar” Shane Mosley in a stirring split decision victory over Oscar De La Hoya on June 17, 2000 from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Both fights will be available 24 hours a day to HBO ON DEMAND subscribers from Monday, Feb. 20 thru the fight date. On Saturday, Feb. 25, HBO Pay-Per-View will televise the junior middleweight showdown of VARGAS vs. MOSLEY from Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas at 9:00 p.m. ET/ 6:00 p.m. PT.

16.02.06 - By Paul Ruby - In a song called “Simple Man,” Charlie Daniels sang “I’m madder than hell, and I ain’t gonna take it no more.” That line epitomizes the way I feel about the April 8th bout between Zab Judah and Floyd Mayweather. I’m disgusted that Judah could let himself get beaten by Carlos Baldomir in his own hometown. I’m disgusted that Mayweather defended the bout by contending that Judah is entitled to fight him because Judah/Baldomir was a split decision.

I’m disgusted that the fight is for a tainted IBF belt for which Carlos Baldomir could not afford to pay the sanctioning fee. I’m disgusted that HBO is selling this as a pay-per-view event and as a title fight. I’m disgusted by the arguments of promoters and pundits that Judah was not focused against Baldomir, but guarantee that he will be on April 8th. I’m disgusted by what sham title fights like these do for the public image of boxing (and how they underscore the need for a national commission, but that’s for another day altogether).

But, mostly, I’m disgusted with Zab Judah for losing to Carlos Baldomir, and I have two conclusions. First, that Zab Judah is not physically talented enough to become a great champion. Second, that Zab Judah lacks the emotional maturity to become a great champion.

I believe that both fans and experts have drastically over-rated Judah’s skills in the ring. Zab Judah has fast hands and he is an exceptional athlete, but there is much more to boxing than that. Judah lacks the fundamental skills and techniques necessary to become an elite boxer. First, I question Judah’s conditioning. Admittedly, he looks to be in perfect shape when he enters the ring and he never has problems with weight. The problem is he too often fights only in spurts. This was painfully obvious against Baldomir. The tough, but limited Argentine kept coming forward and throwing punches, while Judah was content to let himself be bullied around by an older, slower foe. Additionally, Judah gives up his hand-speed by holding his opponents far too often, rather than working in close quarters or seeking separation.

I also question Judah’s instincts in the ring. Too often fans see his sensational speed – which is among the best in the business – and forget that rounds are not judged on speed, but rather on clean punching, effective aggressiveness, ring generalship, and defense. Judah’s game is predicated on looking flashy – not on winning rounds that have been scored properly. Against Baldomir, Judah showed that he could not figure out when rounds were close and try to do something to pull them out in the last 30 seconds. For that reason, I think that Judah is too often looking for a knockout and refuses to acknowledge that even the greatest fighters cannot knock out every foe they seek to conquer. Essentially, I strongly believe Judah is a better athlete than he is a boxer. Even without his mental frailties, I tend to doubt that he could be a truly elite fighter because he lacks the technique and instincts needed to reach that level.

More importantly, I believe Zab Judah will never have the mental toughness necessary to become a great fighter. Before we speak about Judah specifically, it may be appropriate to comment on his surroundings. I believe that Judah has hurt his career by letting his father train him. Yoel Judah instilled his own values in his son and, in my humble opinion, they are not the values of a champion. The most telling sign of Yoel Judah’s shortcomings is his quote to the Showtime crew prior to the Baldomir fight. The older Judah stated that they did not plan on the fight exceeding three rounds. That one quote summarizes all of my opinion of both Judahs. Any trainer that trains champions – Freddie Roach, Dan Birmingham, Buddy McGirt take your pick – teaches his fighters not to look for a knockout, but be content to take a decision. Knockout predictions should be left to guys like you and me on our couches and to people like Al Berstein, Larry Merchant, and other journalists; they should not be made by trainers. Yoel Judah’s quote shows the hubris that was his son’s downfall. Yoel Judah seems not to adhere to the philosophy among boxers and trainers that a champion should prepare to go 12 rounds in every fight. Judging by Yoel Judah’s attitude, it cannot be considered a surprise that pride and a bloated self-concept would be traits he passed on to his son and, for that reason, part of me pities Zab Judah.

The larger part of me, however, does not feel nearly as compassionate. Judah’s three most important fights have all been unequivocal failures. When he fought Kostya Tszyu, he said it was a “winner take all” fight. In that fight, he showed the immaturity and arrogance in the ring that are arguably his trademark. In that fight, Judah was knocked down and, rather than taking an 8 count to collect himself, he tried to get up at 3, stumbled, toppled over again, and forced referee Jay Nady to correctly stop the fight in the 2nd round. In his first fight with Cory Spinks, Judah essentially gave away the first five rounds of the fight and dug a hole out of which he could not pull himself.

Against Carlos Baldomir, Zab Judah embarrassed himself before, during, and after the fight with mental errors. During referee Arthur Mercante, Jr.’s instructions, Judah punched Baldomir on the thigh instead of touching gloves with him. That was a move that even a 4-year-old should be ashamed of. It was literally despicable and Judah and everyone associated with him should feel beyond humiliated for such immature and irresponsible actions. During the fight, Judah fought only in spurts and seemed content to let Baldomir punch him in the face en route to a well-deserved decision. After the fight, Judah embarrassed himself by failing to take ownership of his actions in the ring. He was quick to blame others like his promoter, quick to look everywhere but directly in the mirror.

For those reasons, I believe too many have overestimated Judah. A champion not only reacts to adversity, he thrives on it. Zab Judah has crumbled in the face of adversity time and again, and now he is being handed a money-making fight against Floyd Mayweather. Like a champion, Mayweather will prepare properly. He will get in the ring, do his job, and win with a TKO 5 victory.

That’s the difference between Mayweather and Judah. I don’t agree with Mayweather’s views, but he gets in the ring and does his job every single time. He trains hard. He doesn’t look past opponents, doesn’t expected to be handed things. He has physical and mental toughness that nearly all others lack. He has the physical and mental toughness that Zab Judah lacks.

Floyd Mayweather will beat Zab Judah for the IBF Welterweight Championship on April 8th on HBO pay-per-view, but it will be a tainted fight that should not cost $50 and it will be for a tainted belt that should sit around Carlos Baldomir’s waist. And that’s why I’m madder than hell.





Another fight I couldnt care less about...PPV??? hell no, why pay for that crap

18.02.06 - By Izyaslav “Slava” Koza: To be honest, although a boxing fan through and through, it has been difficult to remain as captivated by the sport, when the career of my favorite fighter, Vasili Jirov has been so stagnant. I know that objectivity is the drug pushed on those of us who write about boxing, but I can’t stand the idea of being objective when part of the passion comes from pure unadulterated bias for certain fighters. To those fans who love Gatti because of so many highlight reel moments, to those who like Corrales because of his never say die even after 4 knockdowns attitude, I think the Mesi, Toney and even Moorer fights (unfortunately loses), demonstrate why I am such a huge Jirov fan. Even before that watching the 96 semi-final against Antonio Tarver, and knowing that the Tiger’s hand was messed up, I saw a boxer that deserved respect and loyal fans win, lose or draw.

After those fights to see the Tiger, struggling, unmotivated, and most of all not the lean mean punching cruiserweight machine of times past, against Orlin Norris, it was to say the least sad and painful.

Throughout his heavyweight campaign, many fans had said going back down to Cruiserweight would be the wise thing to do, and even though I did not agree with them at first, the uninspiring performance against Norris made me rethink that position in retrospect.

The problem with most heavyweights is they don’t have a specific weight target limit. Every other boxer in every other division, has to focus and train such that they make weight, and not only that but make weight and still be at an optimal performing level. Heavyweights are not bound by these limits. If Riddick Bowe wants to balloon up to 350 pounds and fight there is nothing stopping him, but maybe a really small doorway in his dressing room. The same could be said for James Toney, Kirk Johnson, and even the guys who are not necessarily big, waist wise, but just don’t consider that the extra poundage makes a difference. Digression aside, when Vasili Jirov was on top of his game and had to make a certain weight limit, he would not slack off in training, consequently that probably boosted his energy level mentally knowing he was in peak form. At least that is what it looked like to me. He looked more confident, more aggressive, more like a killer. If you compare some of those thin cruiserweight assassin pics, to the ones of him at cruiserweight the frustration of fans becomes apparent.

However, thankfully that frustration looks to be headed into the frigging gutter because last Tuesday Vasili Jirov has stated he would go down to cruiserweight. To say the least the mood of both myself, my brother, and our whole Jirov loving posse in the Metropolitan area, as well as the Jirov fans all over the worldb skyrocketed to skyscraper levels. Who is he fighting? Will he still be successful? Is he done?

Those are the questions the critics asked when the news was passed along to the public. While valid questions the answer I have is, who cares, the important thing is that the man is trying to radically reform himself and get back to not only winning but impressively winning ways. In truth, I had suspected there was something going on because in a recent interview Jirov had stated that he was training on a daily basis, and unless he was doing it the way, his arch nemesis James Toney is rumored to do, I would think that sort of thing drops the pounds and takes him closer and perhaps below the 200 mark limit of Cruiserweight.

This move also couldn’t have come at a better time because right now the cruiserweights are a hot commodity, considering Bell, Mormeck and the like. Personally I don’t see why Vasili Jirov can’t take out Bell within two or three fights. The guy has a great chin but I thought he was losing the Mormeck fight, till the Frenchy ran out of steam, and as I hear lost the Brown fight as well. In 1999 Vasili Jirov stopped an undefeated Dale Brown in 10 rounds in his first title defense. Of course fighters change and that ABC logic does not mean Jirov necessarily beats Bell, but it does create certain elements that should be considered. From what I have seen of Bell, I think trying to knock him out by going at his head is silly. Mormeck hit him with all sorts of hell and it really didn’t seem to bother Bell even though to those of us watching it seemed like the Frenchman was about to win by KO.

Bell has a good chin, but on the other hand, he was susceptible to a Mormeck body shot which he played off well, and admitted had an affect on him after the fight. Vasili Jirov, was a murderous puncher at Cruiserweight, and a lot of those fights were won by KO because of the body punching more so then his power to the head. One of his key mistakes, in my opinion, when attempting heavyweight was switching to head hunting, which coupled with other elements already mentioned made his campaign relatively unsuccessful.

Another problem is that while Vasili Jirov has a gold medal in the Olympics, to prove he is a great boxer, he does not use his boxing enough. In spurts in the Norris fight his sidestepping, and ability to get to the side of Norris was inspiring because even if he could not score a clean punch, Norris definitely could not and even a half glancing blow in that position, from Jirov is worthwhile and showing ring generalship. Had he done more of that he would have gotten the Norris decision, instead of it being a draw, do to Jirov trying to corner and head hunt against a counterpunching Norris on the ropes. I think that a well fit, and hungry Jirov, will have enough stamina to not stand flat-footed, and look for only big head shots, and to win rounds through boxing if need be. It is probably frustrating for a guy that likes to fight to dance around and throw jabs, but fighting smart and brawling are what separate boxing from tough man. I know Vasili Jirov can take a shot and can give one too, but many guys can do that, not many of them can box however, and that is what I hope the cruiserweight move will do for the man. It may lead to boring fights potentially, but I would rather he win by any means even warless ones.

The bottom line is this is a terrific move that shows Vasili Jirov’s dedication to the sport is still somewhere inside him, which is something some had started to doubt. Will that translate to victory? Perhaps but as I said win, lose or draw he is a fighter that deserves any boxing fan’s respect regardless, so really, in my biased eyes, this move is a victory in it of itself. Although it need not be said, Eastside wishes Vasili Jirov the best of luck and hopes to see him celebrating victory in the ring and on TV in the near future.

Originally Posted by ForemanRules Antonio Tarver vs Bernard Hopkins 2006-06-10

Originally Posted by Goodfella9783 I hope Hopkins rocks him, even though Tarver has the height and reach. This is sure to be PPV right?

23.02.06 - By Stuart Cornwell: When “Sugar” Shane Mosley and “Ferocious” Fernando Vargas step into the ring to do battle at the Mandalay Bay Hotel-Casino in Las Vegas on Saturday night both fighters will be all too aware that a decisive defeat would effectively signal the end of their career. Despite no title being at stake, and in spite of the fact that both fighters no longer carry the status that would make the winner of this match an “uncrowned champion” or a member of the world’s “pound-for-pound” elite, the importance of winning is perhaps greater than either fighter has ever encountered before. It is not about the money either, as both men are reportedly guaranteed well in excess of $5 million, win, lose or draw. This fight is a classic crossroads match-up and given the fierce pride and ego of the individuals concerned it figures to be a bitterly contested affair.

Six years ago a contest between Mosley and Vargas would have carried a vastly different significance. At that time both fighters were undefeated, with Mosley being lauded by many as the best fighter, pound-for-pound, on the planet, having just moved up from the lightweight division (which he had dominated thoroughly) to campaign as a welterweight. Vargas, meanwhile, was the sensational young IBF light-middleweight champion, himself being heaped with praise and destined for greatness after his impressive wins over the brilliant likes of Yori Boy Campas, Ronald Wright and Ike Quartey.. Now, however, the Mosley-Vargas fight takes on the form of a last-chance saloon and whether or not the fighters themselves publicly acknowledge that we should have no doubt that when the bell rings they will be fighting for professional survival. And while it is true that their reputations and abilities have faded somewhat, I suspect that both men will be out to prove that they are still capable of displaying brilliance. The question is : which fighter has the most left ?

I think Vargas has the least left of the two. He has never really recovered from the devastating beating he took from Felix Trinidad in December 2000, a result that stripped him of his unbeaten record and left him inevitably a little shell-shocked. Although he bounced back to win a vacant WBA title the following year he has never again defeated the caliber of opponent that he was dispatching so effectively prior to the Trinidad loss. A second crushing career defeat, this time to Oscar De La Hoya, was particularly damaging to Vargas as he and De La Hoya had engaged in drawn-out pre-fight psychological warfare. Since that defeat – in 2002 – he has only boxed four times and took a 15-month break due to a serious back injury. His last two wins have been conservative affairs against a couple of aged veterans (Raymond Joval and Javier Castillejo).

Mosley is 34 years old (to Vargas’s 28) and has lost 4 of his last 8 fights, but unlike Vargas he has never really taken a beating and has taken defeats in his stride. He has never been knocked out. The truth about Mosley is that he was never really capable of dominating at welterweight and light-middleweight as he had as a lightweight. And many sportswriters were a little too quick to bestow the “pound-for-pound” crown on him in the first place. It is mostly for these reasons that his reputation has faded, not through any dramatic decline in his abilities. I suspect he has a couple of good fights left in him.

I am definitely not prepared to write off Vargas’s chances completely though. The oddsmakers quite rightly have him listed as only a slight underdog. The buzz going around is that Vargas has trained fanatically for this fight, and unlike with other fights of his he has not ballooned up in weight out of training and has not had to take drastic weight-loss measures to make weight. I expect Vargas to show up in the best fighting form we could possibly expect from him at this stage in his career. The stakes are high. The loser of this contest has nowhere to go. The winner will be in demand and can look forward to another big payday.

I expect the fight to start off fairly evenly but for Mosley to take control as the fight progresses. He should win a comfortable decision or perhaps force a stoppage in the late rounds.

24.02.06 - Oscar De La Hoya talks about the Vargas-Mosley SHOWDOWN presented by Main Events and Golden Boy Promotions from Mandalay Bay, Saturday, February 25, Live on Pay-Per-View.

De La Hoya: "The first few rounds Vargas will come out strong and try to bully him. Mosley will stand his ground and fight harder. I think Mosley will stop him in the late rounds. People don’t realize how strong Mosley is. I had a harder time pushing Mosley around than Vargas. I do believe that Vargas is ready and in great shape..

There are two types of powers. Vargas has a heavy punch, walks you down and feels heavy. Mosley’s speed is his power.

The later rounds will be the determining factor.

Their last performances were down due to the quality of opponent. Both fighters needed this fight and both are ready.

Mosley is always in great shape and will walk you down, slowly, as the fight goes on. He can turn it up, and turn it down.

Vargas will expend all of his energy at the beginning of the fight and then fade.

The loser of this fight will be fighting on Friday Night Fights.

You cannot outbox Mosley, that is impossible. He is too fast.

Vargas will use his power and try to force his way in.

When Mosley has to turn it up he will. I will not be alarmed to see Mosley stand toe-to-toe with Vargas. Mosley has a better chin.

I added to the damage that Trinidad did and I think that Mosley will finish him off.

Vargas will be in trouble and he is in for a very good fight.

Vargas’ downfall will be his anger. His aggressive style is too over the top and it will do him in.

The fact that Vargas is focusing on his weight is another downfall."

NEW YORK (February 24, 2006) – It is official! Diego “Chico’’ Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo are signed, sealed and ready to deliver once again LIVE on SHOWTIME Saturday, June 3, 2006 (9 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the west coast). The world’s most talented and courageous lightweights will collide in their eagerly awaited rubber match for Corrales’ World Boxing Council (WBC) title at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.. The 12-round world title bout will be co-promoted by Top Rank, Inc., and Gary Shaw Productions, LLC, in association with Caesars Palace and Wynn Las Vegas.

Let the questions begin.

Can Castillo make 135 pounds? Can Corrales bounce back after getting knocked out in their last meeting? Did Castillo have an unfair advantage in the rematch? Is Corrales completely healed from a rib injury that caused their Feb. 4 fight to be postponed? Can Castillo perform with more intensity than he did in his most recent outing? How much does Corrales have left? Can the third chapter end with a clear winner and without controversy?

Most importantly, who is the most talented lightweight boxer in the world?

Stay tuned to America’s No. 1 Boxing Network. All of your questions will be answered when the 20th anniversary celebration of SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING continues on June 3.

Simply, it doesn’t get any better.

"I fully expect this fight to be a rerun of the original in both action and result," said Gary Shaw. "This will not just be Chico's coronation, but Castillo's retirement. Corrales-Castillo 3 will successfully defend its title as fight of the year!"

Top Rank CEO Bob Arum added: "This is a real fight, an exciting world title fight between two great champions who have explosive knockout power. Fight fans throughout the world will be anxious to see this showdown of big punchers.”

Corrales (40-3, 33 KOs) won the historic first bout against Castillo – and the near-unanimous 2005 Fight of the Year -- when he dramatically rallied from the brink of defeat to register a memorable 10th-round TKO to unify the title and capture the WBC lightweight belt on May 7, 2005.

Castillo (54-7-1, 47 KOs) won the brief, but brutal sequel on Oct. 8, also at Thomas & Mack, with an impressive and sudden fourth-round knockout. Despite losing the rematch, Corrales came away with both his world title belts because Castillo failed to make the 135-pound limit and one of his camp members was caught trying to tamper with the scale at the weigh-in.

“I feel fine. My rib is fine,” Corrales said. “I would be lying if I said I was not thinking about Castillo and whether he can make 135 pounds, but I have to prepare as if he will make the weight easily and be at full strength.

“What has happened in the past is history. We have each won once. Now, it comes down to who wins on June 3. I respect Castillo and I think he respects me, but it is time to get down to business one more time. This is what boxing is all about. I cannot wait for June 3.’’

Said Castillo: “I said after our last fight that if they wanted to make this like the ‘Rocky’ movie series, I did not care. I will fight Corrales five or six times. I am not worried about the weight, or making the weight. It won’t be easy, but I will do it.

“Corrales comes forward and wants to fight. I love his style. On June 3, we will give the fans another great fight.’’

Corrales, of Sacramento, Calif., captured the World Boxing Organization (WBO) 135-pound crown with a 10th-round TKO over defending champion Acelino Freitas Aug. 7, 2004, on SHOWTIME. A two-time world champion at 130 pounds, Corrales won the vacant WBO belt with a 12-round split decision over Joel Casamayor March 6, 2004, on SHOWTIME. Corrales won his first world title with a seventh-round TKO over defending IBF champion Robert Garcia Oct. 23, 1999, on SHOWTIME.

Castillo, of Sonora, Mexico, won the WBC 135-pound belt the first time with a 12-round majority decision over Steve Johnston on June 17, 2000. Following three successful defenses, he lost the title and a subsequent rematch to unbeaten Floyd Mayweather in April and December of 2002. Castillo regained the WBC belt with a 12-round unanimous decision over Juan Lazcano on June 5, 2004. Castillo is coming off an easy 12-round unanimous decision over Rolando Reyes, who replaced Corrales, on Feb 4.

24.02.06 - By Wray Edwards at Ringside, Photos © Wray Edwards -- large photo gallery -- Miami’s Glencoff Johnson (44-10-2,29 KO’s) and Winterhaven’s Richard Hall (27-5-0, 25 KO’s) went the distance tonight and they didn’t dawdle along the way. In a twelve round whackfest to determine a World Champion for the vacant the IBA Light Heavyweight title, the two boxers blasted away at each other to the limit of their abilities.

Johnson took only one breather. For most of the seventh round he made only symbolic punches…sort of going through the motions. During the rest of the fight he let it all hang out. Hall, on the other hand, went full throttle most of the way and paid a terrible price for his non-stop assaults. Glen hammered Hall with lefts. The word “hammered” seems most appropriate as Johnson worked a punch which was not quite a jab and not quite drop-shot. The strike was like when one makes a fist and pounds down like Khrushchev did at the United Nations.

Hall got right to it and gave Johnson all he could handle at times.

There was absolutely no quit in Richard as he absorbed amazing punishment for the privilege of getting to Glen now and then. Johnson had Hall in real trouble many times, but the guy just would not go down. Richard’s reach advantage was a major factor in keeping him in the contest. That was a mixed blessing to say the least. There was a bit of the red stuff to be lost for his tenacity.

Towards the end of the fight Glen was firing at will and several around the ring wondered just how beneficial the Ref’s patience was for Richard. Still, in the most dire moments, Hall somehow found the grit to fire back and marginally defend himself...Just enough to keep the ref from waving it over. Everyone in the room was amazed at Hall’s ability to hang in there.

Finally, the twelfth ran its course and the Judges were now in charge. Johnson was given the UD by a comfortable margin and became the new IBA LHW Champion. True to form, Hall would still not relent and insinuated himself into Johnson’s post fight interview to challenge Glen to another go. Can you spell glutton for punishment?

No matter…Johnson is the new IBA champion and posed for his victory

In the semi-main event Joel Casamayor was back in action against Antonio Ramirez as he seems ready to resume his career once again. Ramirez was in action last December 9th in a losing effort against Mike Anchondo in New York.

He did less well opposite Joel who encouraged Antonio to go nappy-time in the fifth round. Ramirez lay on his side for a bit after being pronated and appeared to be weighing his options. Soon he rolled on his back and stared up at the lights as the ref waived him out.

Casamayor has been infrequent in the ring lately and this match was pretty much in the warm-up category. His footwork was pretty for the most part, but he always seems to want to throw in one or two straight –back pullouts at which point he gets soundly rapped in the snoot. Ramirez caught him this way a couple of times.

Sultan, Angelo, Zab, Roberto, Shannon, and many others were there in force. The evening started out with some pretty weird mishaps. While the rigging crew was putting the proper tension on the ropes, there was a tremendous snapping bang. It seems a tension cable under the ring had let go and all the ropes immediately sagged like hot vermicelli. It took forty-five minutes to correct the problem with some tactful advice from ESB regarding removal of the undersized karabiners.

As if that wasn’t bizarre enough, a rack light right over Mr. Dundee failed, dropped a shower of sparks and lit a flame for about ten minutes.

In heavy weight action, Billy (The Kid) Zumbrum from Ogden, Utah defeated Stacy (Big Foot) Frazier who took the fight on short notice when Timor Ibragimov withdrew due to illness.

As usual, Cima Georgevich and the whole gang at the Hard Rock did a great job of making the media, the mostly full fan-house and the boxers feel welcome and roundly entertained. Warrior Boxing under the watchful eye of their fine management team brought a great show to the arena. See you at the fights.

Originally Posted by topolo ghey

Originally Posted by ForemanRules

Originally Posted by topolo Vargas just knocked mosley out

27.02.06 - By Geoffrey Ciani: As I suspected, Saturday night’s PPV match-up between Sugar Shane Mosley and Fernando El Feroz Vargas (photo: CJ Cansler / ESB) was better than most people had anticipated. Each fighter came prepared to fight, and both gave it all that they had, showing flashes of their former glory in the process. Indeed, it was a pleasure to watch these two former elites battling it out, despite the fact that their best days are behind them.

Early in the bout, Mosley took control of the action using his jab, which helped secure the first three rounds for him on my scorecard. In fact, Mosley was working his jab as well as I’ve ever seen, as frequently snapped it out with commanding authority. This created other openings which helped enable Mosley to utilize his speed advantage. Much to my surprise, Mosley was actually throwing four and five punch combinations more freuqently than I recall having seeing since he suffered his first loss against Vernon Forrest. This was by far the most aggressive Mosley has looked in sometime; he wasn’t gun shy and timid the way he has been in recent bouts – Mosley was ready to fight. He almost resembled the Mosley of old.

For his part, Vargas also came to fight, and despite losing the first three rounds, he didn’t look bad at all. That is, apart from the fact his defense isn’t nearly as good as it once was. However, that probably had a lot to do with Mosley’s blinding speed: he may be 34 years old, but his hands are still lightning-quick when he commits. Despite Mosley’s early lead, Vargas made a good account of himself, and it quickly became apparent that these two former elites were ready to go to war. Both were clearly aware of the significance of this bout; each man knew that the loser of this fight might not be afforded another big fight.

In the fourth, Vargas’s size and strength advantage began affecting Mosley. Vargas’s punches were clearly starting to hurt Mosley, as was evidenced by the fact that Mosley began retreating as he switched into a defensive posture. All of a sudden, Mosley began looking less like the Mosley of old and more like the Mosley of the post-Forrest era. Instead of snapping his jab like he was earlier in the bout, he started ineffectively flicking it feeble fashion. His demeanor also transformed drastically. In the first three rounds, he looked full of confidence, but by the fourth and fifth rounds he did a complete 180, often looking as if he were a defeated fighter. Vargas sensed this, and turned up his attack, clinching the fourth and fifth rounds as the momentum began to shift.

In the sixth round, Mosley began mixing it up again, and the fight was starting to become more and more interesting with each passing moment. Both fighters started clubbing each other with some pretty vicious punches, and it seemed as if the entire concept of defense had been abandoned entirely. It became a matter of pride, with neither fighter wanting to give in to the other. Indeed, this one was going to come down to which fighter wanted it more. Or was it?

With the scorecards fairly even after seven or eight rounds, a grotesque swelling began oozing from the region where Vargas’s left eye had once been. This was the direct result of looping right hands by Mosley that couldn’t miss their mark. Repeatedly, Vargas was tagged with this same punch over and over again; Mosley’s accuracy was impeccable. But as bad as Vargas’s eye was, he never stopped throwing punches, he never gave in, and he even managed to win the ninth round despite the fact that his left eye was completely closed under a swollen mess of flesh. It reminded me of the way Rocky Balboa’s eye looked just prior to begging ’Cut me Mick. Cut me. Except, of course, that was a prosthetic used for a special effect in a boxing film. This was real, and Vargas’s eye looked freakishly wrong.

However, much to my surprise, the ref allowed this one to go on. It seemed like a reasonable enough decision, because Vargas was actually winning rounds with one eye and never stopped fighting. But despite winning the ninth, Mosley was continuing to focus his efforts on Vargas’s left eye as he hammered away with tremendous success. I mean, Vargas was having enough trouble stopping these punches before his eye had closed; now that it was completely shut, he couldn’t even see them coming, and was rendered defenseless.

The finishing blow came in the tenth round after Mosley landed another thunderous right, which prompted referee Joe Cortez to stop the bout. By this point, the commentators were making comparisons to the disgusting lump Hasim Rahman grew after being on the receiving end of a Holyfield head butt. Cortez made the right call. I was actually surprised he hadn’t stopped it sooner. Vargas made a great account of himself and has nothing to be ashamed of. Despite losing, I think his standing improved after this fight. Besides, it’s better to have lost than to have suffered permanent damage and possible blindness.

So, what’s next for Sugar Shane? Well, he’s made his plans abundantly clear – he wants Floyd Mayweather, Jr. It’s a smart idea for Mosley to move back down in weight. I really believe he’s simply too small for 154, whereas I feel he still has the speed and the skills to dominate 147. I’ve long maintained that Mosley poses a risky style match-up for Mayweather, and dare I say – I believe Mosley would beat the reigning pound-for-pound king. However, looks like we’ll have to wait awhile before this one happens. It seems that Mayweather would prefer an easy fight against an undeserving hack like Zab Judah. Brooklyn!!

Originally Posted by KentDog You should find and post a picture of Vargas' eye, it was ridiculous. Congrats to Sugar Shane for noticing and exploiting that. Shane won like most people thought he would, but damn, didn't see that as the way it was gonna happen (I had Shane by decision).

10.03.06 - Photos by Tom Casino / Showtime - JOE CALZAGHE: “This fight is great for our division. Lacy is a good fighter, but he has not fought Joe Calzaghe. I have respect for Lacy, but if he’s underestimating me, he made a mistake coming here.

“I am a step up from what Jeff Lacy is used to.

“My training has gone well. I am really excited now that the fight is almost here. I’m ready to go 12 rounds if I need to.”

America’s No. 1 Boxing Network, SHOWTIME continues its 20th anniversary celebration of putting on world-class fights on Saturday, March 4, when talented, undefeated, hard-hitting super middleweight world champions Jeff “Left Hook’’ Lacy (International Boxing Federation) and Joe Calzaghe (World Boxing Organization) collide in the main event on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING.. The most significant unification world title bout in years will air live on SHOWTIME at 9 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the west coast) from the MEN Arena in Manchester, England. The highly anticipated, long-awaited match up is promoted by Gary Shaw Productions, LLC, in association with Frank Warren’s Sport Network.

01.03.06 - By Craig Parrish: It’s official. “Baby” Joe Mesi, the former WBC #1 contender, will begin his comeback with a match on April 1st when he takes on Ron Bellamy in Puerto Rico.This will be the first fight for Mesi since he sustained multiple brain bleeds following a victory over Vasilliy Jirov in March of 2004. Following that bout, the Nevada State Athletic Commission suspended Mesi indefinitely for fear that the brain bleeds may result in serious, or fatal injury if Mesi pursued his career in the ring. After many hearings and much legal wrangling, the suspension was lifted when a Judge ruled that it could not be held in place after Mesi’s Nevada Boxing License expired.

Mesi and his Neurologists have maintained that he is at no greater risk than any other fighter for injury and that the damage is completely healed. Apparently, the Puerto Rican Boxing Commission has agreed and granted Mesi a license.

This has caused mixed reaction in the Boxing community. While many feel that the decision to fight on should be Mesi’s alone, another factor feels that letting him get in the ring is a mistake, and that it could be catastrophic. Mesi contends that he feels great, and after a few tune-up fights to get back in shape he should be ready to pursue a title once more.

Mesi is 29-0, although his last few outings have been worrisome as his jaw has come into question. While he dominated the majority of the fight with Jirov, he hit the canvas several times in the later rounds and barely squeaked out the decision. Jirov is not particularly known for his punching power and has recently announced that he will return to Cruiserweight. Mesi is a powerful puncher and would be a welcome addition back to the Heavyweight ranks, if not for the injury issue. One must wonder if any contenders will want to fight him, with the shadow of the injury looming.

In his career, Mesi has not faced the caliber of big punchers that are in the hunt, such as Samuel Peter, Lamon Brewster, and Wladimir Klitschko. Would any of these fighters be willing to step in the ring with Mesi, knowing his history? We shall see. Bellamy is 41 years old and has only been a Pro 4 years. His record is 14-4-4.

Originally Posted by ForemanRules Evander Holyfield Needs to Follow Jerry Rice’s Lead Holyfield, please retire.

Originally Posted by Super Hulk At a few milion $$ a fight would you retire ?

02.03.06 - By Troy Ondrizek, photo by Tom Casino / Showtime: We are just but two days away from kicking off the most exciting boxing month in a long time. The first title fight is between Jeff “Left Hook” Lacy and the “Pride of Wales” Joe Calzaghe; for the IBF and WBO super-middleweight title of the world. Now if anyone thinks the IBO is a true sanctioning body, take your argument elsewhere. Now, this is one of the most anticipated fights at this weight class in as long as I care to remember. Joe Calzaghe had us in suspense leading up to this fight, regarding whether or not a sudden mysterious injury would derail his plans to actually fight another great fighter. Now I’m not calling Calzaghe a dodger; but there are some who would go as far to say that Calzaghe dodged opponents outside the ring just as well as he evaded blows from his hand-picked opponents inside the ring. Joe is making his unfathomable 18th title defense of his WBO crown. That is impressive; especially the fact that Calzaghe has beaten a who’s who of who cares in the super-middleweight division. Calzaghe has always had the tools to be the best in his weight class. Joe has great hand-speed, more than adequate power, and solid defense..

However, he is more protected then Sven Ottke was, and travels nowhere to face opponents much like Roy Jones Jr. did or didn’t do. Now it sounds like a lot of hate spewing from my mind, but I am just frustrated that Joe hasn’t capitalized and unified a respectable division. He has held his title for almost nine years, and is a very skilled and intelligent fighter. He just never saw fit to go farther than he has. This is Joe’s chance to cast away any shadows looming over his legacy, and add a great name to his resume.

On the other side of the coin is Jeff Lacy. Now I’m not saying that Lacy has defeated hall of fame caliber fighters; in fact with this being his fifth defense of his more respectable IBF crown, he has defeated some of the same opponents as Calzaghe. The thing is, Lacy, has fought five fights since he won his title 17 months ago, and Calzaghe in the same time frame has defended twice. That isn’t all that significant except, Jeff is a 28 year-old up and comer who is trying to fight the best in his division and make a name for him as a legend. In fact Lacy is willing to travel to England to fight Calzaghe. This is a feat that most young fighters will try to avoid. While Joe is a 33 year old fighter, who while being the best in his division over the past decade; has yet to achieve a true lasting legacy of his own.

Both men are obviously eager to win this fight. However, each has slightly different reasons for accomplishing the same goal. Lacy is looking to take a major step in becoming a pound for pound threat, and trying to unify the division. On the other hand, Joe will try to knock off a talented, hard-punching champion and add another title to his waist, and possibly end all doubt of his reign.

For if Lacy wins, than a future fight with another European challenger will be lingering on the horizon. Mikkel Kessler is fighter patterned similar to Lacy. That fight should lead to fireworks. Or a fight with WBC titlist Markus Beyer would help bring validity to Lacy’s claim of greatness. On the other hand, I don’t see Joe going after either of the other Champions. I feel that in his mind; if he wins, then he will have legitimized his claim to being the best at 168lbs. I say this because of lack of effort on his part to make a fight of this magnitude until this point in his career. Then again, I could be wrong; I never did think he would go through with this fight in the first place. However, if Jeff wins, then a quest for unification and bigger things to come will assuredly be down the road for the ambitious Lacy.

This fight will prove to us the legacy of both fighters. A win for Calzaghe would go a long ways in telling us about his greatness, and a loss will tell us that he just wasn’t quite the best, but a very good champion nonetheless. A win for Jeff Lacy will catapult his career, and possibly give us a great star at the present, and could prove that he is ready to become a legend. However, a loss would tell us that he could be overrated and isn’t quite the man we are searching for. Whatever the outcome, a fight like this is long overdue for this division, and is long overdue for us fight fans.

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND (March 2, 2006 ) -- Photo: Wray Edwards / ESB - There's a new monarch in town and his name is JEFF "LEFT HOOK" LACY, the undefeated IBF/IBO super middleweight champion. Lacy, who arrived in Manchester last Saturday, is ready to teach undefeated WBO super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe the first rule in U.S. Civics -- TERM LIMITS.

"I believe in the Socratic method of teaching -- teaching by asking," said Lacy as he held up his fists which he proudly calls his Dukes of Hazard. "This Saturday, I will be asking Joe all night 'who's the world's best super middleweight?' Joe is going to learn the definition of Term Limits first-hand from me. His time has come and it is time for him to go!"

Two of the best professors from the school of the Marquis of Queensbury -- Freddie Roach and Jeff Fenech -- agree.. Both have predicted a Lacy victory. Roach and Fenech face off against each other tomorrow night when IBF/IBO flyweight champion Vic Darchinyan (Fenech) defends his titles against top-rated Diosdado Gabi (Roach) at Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, CA. The Darchinyan-gabi world title fight will be televised live on SHOWTIME as the main event on "ShoBox: The New Generation," beginning at 11 P.M. ET/PT (delayed on the west coast).

"Lacy is too strong for Calzaghe," said Roach. "It will not go the distance. I see Lacy ending it in the later rounds, possibly by the 10th."

Added Fenech, "I don't see how Calzaghe can keep Lacy off of him. I wouldn't be surprised by a knockout, but I think it will probably be by a dominant unanimous decision."

With a combined professional record of 61-0 (48 KOs), and a victory by knockout percentage of 78.6%, Lacy, 21-0 (17 KOs), from St. Petersburg, FL, and Calzaghe, 40-0 (31 KOs), from Newbridge, Wales, are headed to the division’s biggest showdown since Roy Jones, Jr. and James Toney rumbled in 1994.

02.03.06 - By James Slater: Although he has the looks of a man at least ten years his junior, Ray Leonard reaches his half century this coming May. Also, as amazing as it may seem, Leonard's finest fight, against his finest opponent, hit's the twenty five year old mark a few months after Sugar's birthday. It really was back in 1981 when Ray and Tommy Hearns first clashed. I wonder if Ray feels his age if and when he views or reminisces on his finest hour in boxing. Tommy, as we all know, is trying his best to fight off the advances of father time with his current comeback. And though Ray tried the same thing on (at least) two occasions, he met only defeat and as a result is firmly retired nowadays - he has no desire to follow Tommy's lead of boxing in the twenty first century.

Ray and Tommy will always be compared with one another, such was the intensity of their rivalry and, athough to many minds they are "one and one", officially, Leonard was never defeated by "The Hitman". And despite losing a good deal of his popularity in recent years, Sugar Ray's greatness is beyond doubt. To me, the fight that cements this greatness is his come from behind win over Hearns. This was a great fighter at the very peak of his powers..

Caesars Palace was the venue and September the 16th 1981 was the date. Both Ray and Tommy were paid handsomely as they put their titles on the line in an effort to unify the welterweight championship and they both earned every last cent. Billed as "The Showdown", the bout remains one of the finest boxing matches ever staged. Sugar Ray was considered the better boxer of the two while Hearns' nickname signified who was regarded as the harder puncher. In this fight however, their roles would be reversed.

Hearns started piling up points in the first five rounds by being aggressive and stalking Leonard. In these early rounds Hearns was dictating the pace and dominating the action. Then, in the sixth, Leonard hurt Hearns for the first time and their roles were reversed. Tommy became the boxer due to being badly hurt by Ray the puncher. Tommy got on his bike and pumped out his jab throughout the middle rounds, maintaining his lead while staying out of further trouble. Leonard was having a very hard time coping with his rival's height and reach, not to mention his swift left hand. If Hearns could keep up what he was doing without getting caught again then surely he would win on points. Going into the final third of the bout he had a big lead on the cards.

Leonard had a big asset on his side though. Angelo Dundee must be given credit for his corner work with Ray. His motivational techniques are the stuff of legend, as is his "your blowing it son, your blowing it!" speech from this fight. With his left eye rapidly closing and fatigue and frustration playing their part also, Leonard needed something to gee him up. Dundee provided it. Dundee stirred up Ray's insides and sent him out for the thirteenth with a mindset consisting of desperation and determination. This made him very dangerous. With his energies now recharged, Ray went on the attack with fervour. People were about to witness Leonard's greatness. Whereas Hearns, on the other hand, had nothing left.

If Tommy could have made it to the final bell victory would have been his. However, due to his active work-rate he had hit the wall. He'd ran out of gas. There may also be another reason for his sudden fatigue. According to Emanuel Steward these days, Tommy over trained. He wanted the win so badly he had pushed himself too far in his preparations for his first super fight. Steward says he saw Tommy's head sag in the corner prior to the thirteenth round and knew then that it was all over. No doubt the temperature of one hundred degrees was also a factor. This is to take nothing away from Ray though. It's not his fault if Tommy did indeed prepare in a manner which hurt him.

Leonard knew what he had to do, and in the thirteenth round he did it. A hard body shot cracked into Hearns' ribs and "The Hitman" was in trouble. His legs were now out of his control, possibly in large part due to tiredness along with the body-blow. More hurtful shots rained in from Ray and Tommy was driven through the ropes. The referee, Davey Pearl, chose not to administer a count however, and Leonard's furious attack resumed. Hearns was trying to fight back but he was being driven around the ring. Then, with seconds remaining, Hearns was again forced through the ropes. This time a count was given, just before the bell. It had been a massive round for Sugar Ray. He would not be denied. Refusing to let his opponent off the hook, he came out in the penultimate round determined to make the cards of the judges irrelevant.

Astonishingly, Hearns fought on fairly even terms in the first minute and a half of the fourteenth. Tommy was also showing great grit and heart. The end came courtesy of a right hand that slashed across his chin. As he slumped into the ropes Leonard let loose with a blistering assault to bring matters to a close. The fight was stopped with "The Hitman" still on his feet, but totally beaten. Ray Leonard was now the undisputed welterweight champion of the world.

At the post-fight press conference the subject of a rematch came up. Leonard said he had proved himself as the best welterweight in the world and that all the rest of the questions would have to be asked of Thomas Hearns. For his part, Hearns boldly stated his intention to return, which brought applause from everyone in attendance, Leonard included. As we know though, it would be eight long years before they met again in the ring. Everyone has their own opinion as to what happened, regardless of what the judges said, when they did. Some thought Leonard did enough to prevail in "The War", while others felt Tommy's hand should have been raised.Whatever the case, and despite how Leonard's career ended, his stature as an all-time great is secure. His superb comeback victory in September of 1981 more than justifies this.

I wonder if Ray feels as old as everyone else who remembers the classic boxing match he and Tommy Hearns put on almost a quarter of a century ago. I know I almost cannot believe how very young I was back then. However, Ray Leonard will always have the treasured memory of his epic performance to keep him feeling upbeat as he advances in number of birthdays celebrated, of which I hope he has many more.

Originally Posted by topolo good post homo

04.03.06 - By Kent Appel @Ringside- "King" Sam Soliman of Melbourne, Australia stepped in on Friday March 3, 2006 to headline a seven bout card at the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, California as a replacement for former welterweight champion Vernon Forrest who was injured during training and who had to cancel fighting Raul Munoz of Leon, Mexico. The program was promoted by Goossen Tutor Promotions and part of it was broadcast live on Fox Sports Network's Best Damn Fight Night Period..

Soliman fought Munoz instead and he did his usual job of throwing "millions" of unorthodox punches from all angles per round to gain the victory in his first fight since a fine losing effort to Ronald "Winky" Wright in December 2005. Soliman won by a sixth round TKO and he improves his record to 32-8, 13 by KO while Munoz falls back to 17-8, 14 by KO. Soliman weighed in at 159 pounds while Munoz tipped the scales at 154 pounds.

I remember watching the broadcast when Soliman fought current pound for pound contender for best boxer in the world, Wright, and hearing the announcers, among them renowned trainer Emanuel Steward, saying round after round that there was no way that Soliman could keep up the pace of throwing so many punches per round and while I agreed with them that Wright won the fight by landing the harder more effective punches in most rounds, I knew that Wright was in for a hard fight and I was not surprised as Steward and the other announcers seemed to be that Wright looked and felt like he had been in a tough fight after Wright had looked so good in wins over fellow stars "Sugar" Shane Mosley and Felix "Tito" Trinidad. Nobody should ever underestimate Sam Soliman as no middleweight in the world can assume they will be safe in the ring with him.

I saw Soliman winning every round of the fight up until the time of the stoppage at 1:49 of the sixth round when he hurt Munoz with a combination of punches while Munoz was up against the ropes and while the live crowd booed the stoppage, it was a good decision by the referee as Munoz was not responding and he could have been badly injured if he was allowed to continue.

Soliman doesn't really have a huge punch but an accumulation of punches is what did the job of accomplishing the technical knockout of Munoz. Munoz was game but Soliman would just not let him rest for even one second and on this night that was a hard hurdle to overcome.

In the ten round heavyweight CO feature fight, long time contender Kirk Johnson of Dallas, Texas battled Javier Mora of Anaheim, California. Mora defeated Kirk Johnson by a TKO at 1:53 of the seventh round and he improves his record to 20-2-1, 18 by KO while Kirk Johnson's record is now 36-3, 26 by KO. Kirk Johnson weighed in at 245 pounds while Mora was 232 pounds.

Kirk Johnson started out fast in the first round and he appeared he wanted to get Mora out of there early but Mora hung in there tough and after several rounds of Johnson's domination he began to find the range in round number five when he hurt Johnson with a combination to the head.

The tide was turning in the fight as Mora picked up where he left off in round number six by again hurting Johnson with another combination to the head but then Johnson fought back late in the round by shaking up Mora with a hard combination to the head of Mora.

Johnson continued his comeback through most of the abbreviated seventh and final round when at 1:53 of the round, the fighters feet got tangled up together. Johnson tried to step away from Mora but he instead ended up falling hard to the canvas and he dislocated his right knee and he was unable to continue.

Although it was ruled Mora won by a technical knockout, Johnson was beaten as much by an unfortunate accident as he was by Mora. Earlier in the seventh and final round Johnson had almost slipped and he complained about a slippery ring floor and this ring floor likely was the cause of his falling at the end of the fight as Mora didn't land a punch to put him down and the referee ruled that there was no knockdown.

That is not to say that Mora didn't have a good chance of winning the fight if Johnson had not fell as he did shake up Johnson in rounds six and seven and he was coming on strong after losing the first four rounds. However, I saw Johnson as being ahead in the fight at the time of the stoppage and two of the three judges saw Johnson as leading in the fight by scores of 59 to 55 and 58 to 56. The third judge saw the fight as even, 57 to 57.

This fight is an excellent candidate for a rematch as even though it was a huge win for Mora, there are some doubts as to how the outcome would have been if Johnson had not been injured.

Enrique Ornelas of La Habra, California fought Darnell Boone of Youngstown, Ohio in a middleweight fight scheduled for eight rounds. Ornelas, 160 1/2 pounds, was the victor by unanimous decision by the judges' scores of 79 to 73, 77 to 75, and 77 to 75 and his record improves to 22-2, 14 by KO while Boone, 159 1/2 pounds, is now 10-4-1, 4 by KO. This fight was highly competitive but Ornelas landed the harder cleaner blows throughout most of the bout.

In a eight round Jr. welterweight bout, Lorenzo Reynolds of Saginaw, Michigan, a former national Golden Gloves champion, defeated Roberto Valenzuela of Sonora, Mexico by a unanimous decision. Reynolds, 141 pounds, improves his record to 13-0, 6 by KO while Valenzuela, also 141 pounds, steps down to 15-23-1, 15 by KO. Reynolds, a southpaw, boxed well behind an excellent right jab and he piled up enough points to win by a fairly comfortable margin by the judges scores of 80 to 72, 80 to 72, and 78 to 74.

In a heavyweight fight scheduled for six rounds, Chris Arreola of Riverside, California went up against Curtis Taylor of Atlanta, Georgia. Arreola, 245 pounds, came out of top over Taylor, 251 pounds, by a first round knockout. With the win Arreola ups his record to 14-0, 12 by KO while Taylor slides to 13-16-1, 7 by KO. Arreola went right after Taylor from the opening bell and he never let Taylor get into the fight, which ended at the 2:28 mark of the very first round.

In a six round light heavyweight fight, John Johnson of Batesville, Mississippi fought Juan Carlos Sanchez of Los Mochis, Mexico. In somewhat of an upset, Sanchez was the winner by a unanimous decision by scores of 59 to 55, 59 to 55, and 58 to 56. His record is now 24-16-3, 16 by KO while John Johnson dips to 10-1, 9 by KO. Weights, John Johnson 171 pounds and Sanchez 168 1/2 pounds. This fight reminded me of Rocky Balboa of the Rocky movies but in this one there were two Rockys. Sanchez and Johnson are both fairly short for light heavyweights and they are both southpaws with a lot of heart. They battled it out from the beginning of the fight without much let up and I didn't see a clear winner.

Finally, in a heavyweight bout scheduled for four rounds, Teke Oruh of Las Vegas, Nevada took on David Johnson of Los Angeles, California. Oruh was the winner by a unanimous decision by scores of 38 to 36, 38 to 37, and 38 to 35. He improves his record to 10-0-1, 5 by KO while David Johnson slips to 4-18-4, 0 by KO. Oruh weighed in at 257 1/2 pounds while David Johnson was 257 pounds.

05.03.06 - By Karl E. H. Seigfried: Almost a year ago, southpaw boxer Winky Wright gave big puncher Felix Trinidad a boxing lesson in a middleweight fight that most witnesses saw as a complete shutout. Tonight, England played host to a repeat performance, but with Joe Calzaghe and Jeff Lacy playing the lead roles in a super middleweight update of the story.

This match was a long time coming. Lacy fought in Cardiff on the undercard of a Calzaghe defense back in 2002, and the idea of the two undefeated fighters facing each other was rolling around promoters' heads even then. Lacy began publicly challenging Calzaghe as far back as October 2004, when "Left Hook" was coming off of an eighth round KO of Syd Vanderpool to win the vacant IBF super middleweight belt. At the time, the Welshman was searching farther afield. Following his decision win over Kabary Salem the same month, he said, "I'm still looking to move up and land a big fight at light heavyweight in 2005." After his December 2005 decision win over Omar Sheika, Lacy baldly stated "I need Joe Calzaghe," and Gary Shaw, his promoter, said that he had already made an offer to Frank Warren, Calzaghe's promoter, but had been turned own. Almost a year ago today, after his seventh-round KO of Rubin Williams, Lacy said, "Of course, I want Joe Calzaghe by the end of this year."

By May 2005, after Calzaghe's sixth-round stoppage of Mario Veit, the British press had started talking up the unification fight. Warren had come around to the idea, and said, "We're looking to get Joe in the ring with Jeff Lacy next and I believe that fight will be done in the autumn." In July, in England for the Hatton-Tszyu fight, Lacy held a press conference to promote the Calzaghe match (completely insulting poor Robin Reid, who had already been lined up as Lacy's next opponent). In August, the date was announced as November 5 at the Excel Arena in London, Calzaghe began using words like "showdown" and "superfight," and Lacy did his bit of Hollywood drama by sticking his face right in the camera after his TKO of Robin Reid and saying, "I'm coming, Joe!" Everything seemed right on track to unify Lacy's IBF and IBO belts with Calzaghe's WBO belt and determine the first Ring Magazine Super Middleweight World Champion since the division's creation in 1984. Then everything went out the window.

Calzaghe decided to squeeze in a mandatory defense of his belt against Evans Ashira in September. By the fourth round, the "Italian Dragon" was a one-handed fighter, having broken the third finger of his left hand by landing one too many uppercuts on the crown of the challenger's head. Amazingly, left-handed Calzaghe went on to win a unanimous shutout with only his right hand to work with. However, the Lacy showdown had to be scrapped, and a battle of words began. Although Lacy himself had fought through to victory with a broken hand (winning a 10-round decision over Bobby Jones in 2002), he immediately accused Calzaghe of trying to duck out of the fight. Warren then offered to set up a February match, but Shaw turned up his nose at the rain date, calling Calzaghe "a disgrace" and insisting, "I don't believe the injury is legit!" Calzaghe sniffed back, "[Lacy] needs me more than I need him."

Lacy ended up using the November date for a defense of his own against Scott Pemberton, knocking him out in the second round. There was talk for a time of Lacy moving up to light heavyweight and facing champ Antonio Tarver, but the March date was finally settled on by both camps by the end of the year. The hype began in earnest, with both sides (of course) predicting a decisive victory.
Even before he began training, Lacy was telling everyone, "I'm going over there to knock him out," and that was the line he stuck to right up until the opening bell. Shaw joined in the hyperbolic build-up and said, "He fights with Tyson's fury in the ring, and he's on Holyfield's skill level." Most observers swallowed the bait. The Lacy Love-Fest took hold of the press on both sides of the Atlantic, seeing the Floridian on the covers of both the US Ring Magazine and the UK Boxing Monthly. Showtime's Steve Farhood got it exactly backward in his prefight predictions, insisting that Lacy's aggressive attack "doesn't let you breathe in there," and that his two-handed power and his hunger would overwhelm Calzaghe. Boxing Monthly's Graham Houston used almost exactly the same words, writing that Lacy "doesn't give the opponent room to breathe," and that he sticks on the other fighter like glue. In fact, all these traits perfectly describe Calzaghe's performance and his domination of Lacy. Omar Sheika, a boxer who has fought and lost to both Lacy and Calzaghe, joined the prefight deprecators of Calzaghe's ring strengths, talking about Calzaghe's "pitty-pat" punches. In the end, it was Lacy's pawing, falling, pushing punches that would have no effect.

Long before fight night, Calzaghe accurately predicted how it would all work out. He insisted that his fast hands and ring experience would enable him to counter Lacy's big shots with quick combinations and to dodge out of harm's way before the American could respond. Enzo Calzaghe, his father and trainer (whose corner instructions tonight included the colorful "He's got f***-all!"), told Boxing Monthly that Lacy is "a one-hit wonder. Joe will take him to school and destroy him." This, it turned out, was exactly how every round of the fight would play out. Trainer and commentator Teddy Atlas said in late 2004 that Lacy "has moments where he struggles if a guy doesn't come his way, if the guy isn't in front of him," and said that he was particularly inconsistent on the inside. Robin Reid, another boxer who has lost to both Lacy and Calzaghe, insisted last August that the Welshman's hand speed and strength far surpassed the American's. Turns out the Calzaghe supporters and Lacy critics were right on the money.

As Lacy made his march down to the ring at the MEN Arena in Manchester, England, it was after 2 a.m. local time. Calzaghe said that trying to prepare for the late hour of the bout had thrown off his sleep patterns, but Lacy had managed to stay on a US schedule while training in England, planning his meals, training, and sleep so that fight-time still felt like 9 p.m. Florida time. Lacy was clearly booed as he entered the ring in a metallic USA flag robe and trunks, yet was still a slight favorite in the betting. Calzaghe, in black and white, entered to a raucous standing ovation. Both fighters were almost in the middle of the ring as the opening bell rang out.

The American seemed to take the lead in the very opening moments. Fifteen seconds in, Calzaghe tied him up after the 2000 Olympian landed a solid right, and continued a pattern of holding to smother incoming attacks. The "Pride of Wales" then began tossing off quick jabs, but was caught with a big right to the midsection. He started throwing bunches of punches, continually hitting and holding, and landed a powerful right hook in the last half-minute. With fifteen seconds to go, Lacy got in his own strong right, but was blasted by huge Calzaghe combinations of punch after punch in the last ten seconds.

Lacy came out for the second round with a bloody nose and missed with a wide right uppercut. Calzaghe swung him around into the ropes and proceeded to tag him with multiple combinations. Lacy managed to land some uppercuts to the body in the clinch and landed a couple of nice left hooks right at the midpoint of the round. Calzaghe, fleet of foot, spun out of the way of another Lacy attack and tagged him with his southpaw jab. With thirty-eight seconds left, Calzaghe landed an impressive flurry with an enormous grin on his face. Lacy managed to get Calzaghe on the ropes in the last fifteen seconds, but ended up eating a series of strong uppercuts as the Welshman landed all the shots.

In the third round, Calzaghe was quickly put in the corner, yet he was the one landing all the combinations as Lacy missed everything he threw. Still quick on his feet, Calzaghe managed to maneuver Lacy into the corner, but referee Raul Caiz, Sr. soon separated them and moved the action back into the middle of the ring, where Calzaghe began landing one uppercut after another. With ninety seconds left, Calzaghe landed a big right, then another, followed by a flurry of combinations. At the one-minute mark, Lacy managed only a weak shadow of his signature left hook, and soon had his head rocked by Calzaghe's combinations. Lacy then ate a jab before wildly missing another left hook. With ten seconds to go, and in the first instance of what was to be repeated showboating, Calzaghe stuck his left arm straight out to the side and then popped Lacy in the face with his right. In Lacy's corner between rounds, trainer Dan Birmingham urgently pleaded, "C'mon, Jeff! You're just trying to bomb everything! C'mon!"

Lacy managed a good left uppercut at the start of the fourth round, but Calzaghe immediately began throwing everything he had. In the clinches, the best Lacy could do was muster some pitty-pat uppercuts. By this point, blood could be seen around both of Lacy's eyes as Calzaghe landed every combination he attempted. The replay later showed a head butt, but the ref, standing on the other side of the fighters, ruled that the cuts were caused by punches. Lacy's left eye was also ripped open on the way to winning a 12-round decision over Richard Grant in 2003, and was blown up before he knocked out Donnell Wiggins in the eighth round of their fight the same year. Lacy continued to miss head shots and jabs, and now he was the one initiating the holds. Calzaghe rocked Lacy's head with a left uppercut and his only response was to lean into and miss a weak jab. The final ten seconds saw another flurry of combinations that bounced Lacy's head around before he headed to his stool, where his corner frantically worked to stop the blood coming from cuts over both eyes.

At the start of the fifth round, Lacy managed to get a couple of good ones in before Calzaghe started backing him up with combinations. Both fighters worked the body in the clinch, but Lacy's blows looked weak. He blew past Calzaghe as he missed a wild left hook and continued to eat multiple combinations to the head. The last half-minute saw more big misses by Lacy and more head-bouncing combinations by Calzaghe. The very end saw further Welsh showboating as the WBO champion finished out the round with both of his hands all the way down at his sides. During the pause, rivers of blood poured from Lacy's nose and his eyes were bloody. Someone in the corner was yelling, "Don't panic! Don't panic!" and there was a frantic look in the fighter's eyes. The ring physician could be seen leaning over to check on the state of the cuts. Lacy had promised a war in his pre-fight interview, called this the biggest fight of his career, and insisted that he would get stronger with every round to win by KO. Instead, he was facing a slaughter, the biggest defeat of his career, and his strength was continually ebbing away.

Round six began with a wrestling match. Calzaghe punched, held, then spun around behind Lacy, who responded by throwing weak uppercuts on the inside. Calzaghe came back with flurries and Lacy missed with a right, subsequently complaining to the referee during a clinch. Calzaghe was, by this point, landing combinations to the head at will, and Lacy looked trapped and frantic in the clinches and was subsequently warned by the referee for throwing a ridiculously huge and obvious overhand rabbit punch. In one of many amazing moments in the fight, Calzaghe threw a left-right combination to the sides of Lacy's head that sounded like two raw steaks being slapped on a marble countertop. Understandably, Lacy looked freaked-out between the rounds.

In the seventh round, Calzaghe repeatedly beat Lacy to the punch. Lacy's head seemed wide open to everything that was thrown at it, bouncing around with the impact of constant combinations, and his right-hand punch had deteriorated into a slap. He was openly wincing in pain at head clashes in the clinches. In another Kodak Moment, the thirty-second mark saw Lacy trapped in a corner, with Calzaghe teeing off on him with powerful straight left hands. Lacy managed to get out, but Calzaghe went to work on him so intensely in the final seconds that the Florida native looked lost and confused, bumping into his opponent on the way to his corner after the bell.

The eighth round saw Calzaghe throwing totally unanswered combinations and multiple straight lefts, with Lacy resorting to a sort of pushing jab. Calzaghe was shuffling and bouncing, completely light on his feet, as Lacy plodded heavily after him around the ring. Calzaghe has always said he loves fighters who come straight in at him, and sure got what he wanted tonight. Lacy missed with a hook and got tagged and spun around before having his head rocked by another final flurry. By this point in the fight, it was clear that Lacy had absolutely no defense happening at all.

After a brief time-out to fix some loose tape on Calzaghe's right glove, round nine began with Lacy getting his head knocked all the way back on his shoulders. He continued to fall into his punches and widely miss his uppercuts and wild rights. In the clinches, Lacy was wincing again, and his left and right body shots were totally ineffective at slowing down his opponent. After more combinations to the head, Calzaghe did some more showboating, winding his left hand around from the wrist like a cartoon boxer and socking Lacy with his right. Lacy's head could be seen popping up over the fighters' shoulders from uppercuts in the clinch. With thirty-five seconds left to go, Lacy was again trapped in the corner as Calzaghe teed off on him, managing to get out but missing a gigantic left hook and not being able to get any work done before the bell. Between rounds, he sadly sucked on a big pink sponge and looked lost on his stool.

Lacy started the tenth round by walking straight into Calzaghe's jabs with no defense at all. Calzaghe landed a sweet left uppercut as he walked in on Lacy, who visibly sighed as the referee separated them, like a coal miner wearily heading back to the mines. Halfway through the round, Lacy was warned for drifting low in his punches. He tried to avoid Calzaghe's relentless head shots by bobbing and weaving, but was much too slow. The round ended in more disaster for Lacy, as he was warned again for low blows, ate a one-two combo and some popping jabs, then fell off-balance and face-first into the ropes as Calzaghe spun him around. He looked exhausted in his corner, saying, "Every time I start punching, he tells me to stop."

The eleventh round didn't start out any better for Lacy. After being pushed to the canvas, he fell into a big miss, then missed with a wild left hook. The corner seemed incapable of stopping the blood, which continued to pour down his face and fly into the air as his head was battered around. He finally managed to land a nice uppercut in a clinch, but it was just an isolated punch, and he seemed bizarrely open to the combinations that Calzaghe relentlessly threw at his had, like he had nothing left to give. The referee managed to make this Calzaghe's only nine-point round of the evening by taking away a point for a headlock.

The final round started with an "Oh, my god!" moment as Calzaghe simply wailed on Lacy's head, going all out. In his pre-fight interview, when asked what he had to watch out for, Calzaghe had said, "I can't afford to drop my hands and leave my chin in the air," but that's exactly what his opponent did throughout this and all the preceding rounds. Lacy was pushed to the canvas, bouncing up to shake his head and complain as Caiz gave him the count. His first career knockdown was shown in replay to be a combination of punching and pushing. Maybe this was just ring karma for another career-first knockdown miscall; in his fight with Robin Reid, Lacy had pounded the Brit to the floor with a right hand thrown well after the referee had shouted for them to stop fighting. In both fights, the one-point deduction didn't matter at all in the end, anyway. Lacy then held onto and pinned Calzaghe's right as the Welshman pounded away with his left. More loose-tape time was called, now on Lacy's left glove, and then it was back to Calzaghe bouncing his opponent's head around as Lacy pitty-patted some light body punches in the clinch before being flurried and turned around. At the bell, Calzaghe burst into a huge smile of pride and joy in his complete shutout and total domination.

I scored the fight 119-107 for Calzaghe, like everyone in the judging box and press row (except the Puerto Rican judge, who scored it 119-105). Calzaghe, without a doubt, won every single round. Lacy said afterwards that Calzaghe "fought his fight and he fought a perfect fight tonight . . . I came up short tonight," and claimed his loss came from the fact that Calzaghe "threw me off my game on the inside." He admitted, "I need to work on my boxing skills more," but insisted, "I'll be back, baby, I'll be back." Calzaghe himself said, "I needed a fight like Jeff Lacy to show my skills . . . I always thought I was faster and better than Jeff Lacy . . . I showed everybody I'm an exciting fighter." He sure did. He went on to say that, although his problematic hand was a "bit sore after eight or nine rounds," that he felt in "total control" throughout the fight. "I'm over the moon," he concluded, "I'm ecstatic."

Before he went into training for the match, Lacy insisted, "I'm not gonna be exposed in this fight." As each round went into the books as a carbon copy of those before it, that is exactly what ended up happening. Lacy bet his whole game on landing that one magical, Marciano-like punch, but it never came together, and he was completely out-boxed. Fighting five times in thirteen months, this was the fifth defense of his IBF belt, the third of his IBO, and the last for both. Calzaghe now has all the marbles: the IBO, IBF, WBO, and Ring Championship belts. This was his eighteenth defense in eight years, making him today's longest-reigning world champion in any weight class, and, after Ricky Hatton, England's second contemporary champ.

Denmark's undefeated Mikkel Kessler, owner of the WBA belt and ranked right behind Calzaghe and Lacy by most scribes, was at ringside tonight. He's the logical contender for Calzaghe's titles, but the paying American audience for a Welshman versus a Dane in a weight class heretofore dominated by Europeans and therefore ignored in the US is not exactly overwhelming. Calzaghe said after the fight that he wants to move up in weight and challenge Antonio Tarver to be a world champ in two weight classes, and that seems like the most logical course of action, especially given the "Italian Dragon's" recent struggles to make the 168-pound limit. Whether or not the "Magic Man" can be convinced to make the match is an open question.

06.03.06 - By Craig Parrish: With the recent, and justified, early retirement of Vitali Klitschko, things were looking rather bleak for Boxing’s “Big Boy” Division, the Heavyweights. However, there have been some recent developments in the Division that gives hope to the Boxing fan that the Heavy’s are on an upswing. While the current groupof Contenders are certainly not the greatest the sport has ever seen, there is a good smattering of talent, guts, charisma, and personality that hopefully will draw fans back to what was once Boxing’s “Glamour” Division.

Lamon Brewster has been a great shot in the arm for the Heavyweights. While he is not the most accomplished Boxer, he possesses great heart and a great chin. His unlikely upset of Wladimir Klitschko could have been taken right out of a draft for the next “Rocky” movie. He funneled the energy from thatwin into a demolition of the unlucky Andrew Golota in one round, and then took on tough Luan Krasniqi in his own back yard for another victory.

If he could only manage to get more press, Brewster has all of the tools to become a “People’s Champion." He is a man who is humble, tough, and will fight anyone, anytime. He is a throwback fighter, charismatic, and a class act all the way. He is the type of Fighter that people like to root for, as he always seems to be the underdog. If Lamon can get past Sergei Liakhovich inhis next fight, he will more than likely get a shot at another belt to add to his WBO strap.

Another boost for the Division has been the re-emergence of Wladimir Klitschko. The younger Klitschko was once viewed as the next ruler of the Heavyweights, until his shocking knockout loss to Corrie Sanders and subsequent loss to Brewster. Many felt that Klitschko was done, his chin exposed and his confidence destroyed. But then Klitschko made a move that surprised everyone by facing off with the up and coming slugger, Samuel Peter. This looked like a recipe for disaster for Klitschko, as there would be no way thathe would be able to endure the fierce punching of the “Nigerian Nightmare”. And indeed there were points during the fight that looked like this prophecy would come true, as Wlad hit the canvas several times. But not only did he get up, he schooled Peter with a boxing lesson and landed a mammoth shot in the final round that nearly put Peter away. As he won the decision, one must imagine that surviving Peter has done wonders for Wlad’s confidence and under the tutelage of Master Trainer Emmanuel Stewart he has once again become a real threat in the Division. This confidence will be a boon for him when he takes on Chris Byrd for the IBF belt.

Klitschko has already beaten Byrd handily in the past and has just won a fightagainst one of the Division’s hardest punchers. Barring some bizarre incident, Wladimir should have no problem claiming the IBF belt.

The new kid on the Block is Nikolai Valuev, the massive Russian who defeated John Ruiz for his WBA belt. Valuev is a giant of a man, 7’ tall and over 300 pounds. However, he struggled in his victory over Ruiz and some even questioned the decision, even though he dwarfed the game “Quiet Man”. While Valuev may draw some fans in just for the curiosity factor of seeing this behemoth in the ring, I do not believe that he could defeat Wladimir Klitschko or possibly even Lamon Brewster. He is simply too slow. But again, he is a fresh face and most fans had never heard of Ruiz or despised his wrestling style of Boxing.

The addition of Valuev to the Title Holders may draw more viewers, and hopefully more fans. And then, you’ve got the wild cards: Hasim Rahman and James Toney. Rahman was elevated to the WBC title when Vitali Klitschko retired, and was very lackluster in his last fight against Monte Barrett. When Rahman is inspired, he can be an effective Fighter as he showed in his recent destruction of Kali Meehan. But it seems that you never know which version is going to show up. His first title defense is against Toney. Toney is a divisive character, and most fight fans seem to love him or hate him.

There is no question that he is an outstanding Boxer, in fact he is probably the most accomplished “sweet scientist” of all the current Heavyweights. Yet he is aging, and has a tendency to fight vastly overweight. If Toney comes in for Rahman in shape, he will probably get the decision. But Rahman always has a Puncher’s chance. If it’s true what they say, that style makes fights, this should be an interesting matchup. If things fall out the way I’m guessing, in a few months the Heavyweight landscape will contain these 4 Title Holders: Klitschko, Brewster, Toney, and Valuev. Hopefully, we can then get a Klitschko-Valuev match-up and a Toney-Brewster match-up, with the victors squaring off for the Undisputed title. Will it happen? Probably not. But I’m a glass half-full kind of guy and I can still hope. There will always be the nay-sayers that claim that no matter who the players are, the Division is no good. I disagree. Is it as good as it was when I was a kid in the seventies? No, and it probably never will be. I say give these guys a break, let these guys fight, and let's see who rises to the top.

If die-hard Boxing fans aren’t supporting the Heavyweights, who will? If the promoters who are strangling the sport with meaningless PPV’s wouldback off and get more fights on cable and network television, they would see their fan base expand and their profits rise. Promoters, it’s time to re-invest in the Heavyweight Division and don’t kill it for a few quick PPV dollars. These guys don’t deserve that.

07.03.06 - By Vanessa McConnell, photos by CJ Cansler -- large photo gallery -- The UFC, Ultimate Fighting Championship, is growing to intimidating numbers and viewers. So fast, it has boxing fans shaking in their boots that the UFC will someday become even more popular than boxing. In the wide world of sports, that will never happen. Every sport sets its own precedence and respects the next for it’s hard work and champions. UFC is fairly new, compared to how long boxing has been around, and some boxing fans will never accept the sport for reasons they would never admit.

Canada was in the United Stated with a point to prove at UFC 58 sponsored by Mandalay Bay, Xyience and Toyo Tires. Chris Tucker, Antonio Fargas, Chris Angel, UFC Champions Chuck Liddell, Matt Hughes and Tito Ortiz, and Michael Clark Duncan were among the few celebrities and fighters watching one of the most anticipated battles in the UFC where Canada and the United States come face to face in the Octagon.

The UFC turned the heat on Vegas last weekend as UFC packed an estimated 10,362 people into the Mandalay Bay Event Center to watch the fights broadcasted live on pay per view on iN DEMAND, DIRECTV, DISH Network, TVN, Bell Express sVu and Viewers Choice Canada. Some of Canada’s best debut fighters and champions gave the American UFC fighters a run for their money.

In the preliminary three round Heavyweight bout between Canadian Icho Larenas and American Tom Murphy (5-1), Murphy won by TKO in 3:01 of the third round when the referee stopped the fight Larenas was a bloody mess and was being tossed and thrown around the cage like a piece of meat. In the three round Light Heavyweight bout against Canadian Rob “Maximus” MacDonald (3-2) and American Jason “The Punisher” Lambert (20-5-0), Lambert picked MacDonald up over his shoulders and slammed him down to the mat, and within 1:54 of the first round pinned his arm behind his back, Kimura submission, causing MacDonald to tap out.

The last preliminary bout between Canadian Sam “Hands of Stone” Stout (9-1-1, 7 KOs) and American Spencer Fisher went the full three rounds in the Lightweight division. Fisher was good at getting Stout on to the mat but Stout was not staying down long. Stout dominated the fight with his mad quick kicks and when he drew blood and caused Fisher to loose his mouthpiece twice, he got excited and released his beast onto Fisher. Before it went to the judges for a decision it was almost like Fisher was looking into his corner for help. The crowd when mad with boos as Stout took the fight by a split decision. They felt all the rolling around a leg locks were reason to give him the fight.

The main card viewed live on pay per view was well worth the tickets that ranged from $50 to $450. First up was Canadian Mark “The Machine” Hominick (10-4-0) against Yves Edwards (28-10-1). Edwards came into the arena playing this theme song by Slim Thug ready to take the head off of Hominick in the Lightweight division scheduled for three rounds. Hominick gave Edwards his wake up call. Hominick was making his debut in UFC when he showed Edwards why he might be better in boxing that MMA.

It was almost like the two were in a sparring match or friends scared to hurt each other because they danced around most of the fight, squaring each other up. Edwards kept punching and hissing at the air like he was Sugar Ray Leonard or somebody, but only maybe one of his four quick jabs connected. The crowd booed the fighters throughout most of the first round. Finally Hominick got Edwards down on the mat, wrapped his legs around his hear and finished him off with a tap out in 1:53 of the second round.

In the middleweight bout scheduled three rounds between Canadian Joe “El Dirte” Doerksen (32-9-0) and Nathan “The Great” Marquardt (26-6-1), when Marquardt beat Doerksen by unanimous decision. Marquardt was quick, getting Doerksen down on the mat early on in the fight, setting the tone for the rest of the fight. Marquardt delivered everything but the backyard when he kicked and hit Doerksen repeatedly while he was down on the mat. The crowd was so into the fight, they actually got their own version of the UFC going in the audience and security ended up escorting three or four fans out of the arena for the disturbance.

The long awaited welterweight fight between Canadian George “Rush” St. Pierre (12-1-0) and BJ “The Prodigy” Penn (11-3-1) came to a head at the Mandalay Bay when St. Pierre won the fight by a split decision. Fans were not happy at all with the judge’s decision because they felt Penn dominated the fight and got the best of St. Pierre for most of the fight. St. Pierre is considered one of the most talented fighters in the world and Penn is one of the most recognized, respected and decorated jiu-jitsu athlete in America. Both fighters put up one hell of a fight but unfortunately only one got to win.

The middleweight bout scheduled three rounds between Canadian Steve “Lion Heart” Vigneault (11-6-0) and American Mike “Quick” Swick (9-1) was an even more exciting fight than the last one, too bad it was over almost before it got started. Swick won by tap out in 2:09 of the first round with a Guillotine submission. Swick came into the arena blasting Tupac’s “I’m a Rider” and opened up a can of whip ass on Vigneault.

Swick almost got caught up with his high kicks that nearly cost him to lose his balance but once he got Vigneault on the ground it was over. Swick shut Vigneault down quick with what he called the “Swickatine choke.” And stated that he was a little quicker and a little stronger than Vigneault. “I give him mad respect. I trained like I never trained before. I got much love for Canada.”

The main event of the evening finally arrived and the crowd was more than ready for the action. The UFC Middleweight Championship scheduled to go five rounds between Canadian David “The Crow” Loiseau (14-5-0) and American Rich “Ace” Franklin (22-1-0) was the first fight Franklin ever fought that had to go to the judge’s scorecard for a winner. Franklin is well known for his first round knockouts and was fully prepared to knock Loiseau early on in the fight, but that never happened.

Loiseau had a mean high kick that probably would have been stunning if it would have connected. At least one out of four kicks landed during the fight and Loiseau lost his balance and the advantage of the fight trying to show off those kicks. For every time Loiseau tried to kick Franklin, Franklin returned the favor with a solid punch that drew a knot over Loiseau’s right eye that grew to the size of an orange.

Franklin literally knocked the pants off Loiseau, his jock strap was hanging out by the fourth round and he was running from the third round until the fight was over. He was running so fast away from Franklin the crowd booed at him throughout the entire fight. The fight was so predictable, Chris Tucker left in the middle of the third round and the crowd was in pandemonium yelling “U.S.A.”

Franklin prepared for the toughest fight of his career only to realize that the fight was not at all his toughest. He even admitted after the fight that it had been the first fight of his that to had gone to a decision. That would explain why Franklin was slowing down and appeared to be tired in the fifth round, but by then he had Loiseau blinded in one eye and running for the hills. Loiseau, who was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth, was not only fight to put food on the table (a lot of money), but he was also fighting for Franklin’s champion belt and a UFC themed Hummer.

UFC fighters have been labeled since the beginning of the UFC time and are having problems being accepted by boxing fans nationwide. There use to be a day, many years ago, when fans would go to the same place to see wrestling and boxing and everyone respected both sports alike. What happened to cause such friction between the two sports to where boxing does not respect MMA, but MMA has mad love and support for boxing?

The first UFC was in Denver in 1993 and has been banned in many states throughout the United States. Since then, the UFC has been dedicated to providing safe sanctioned fights that have most recently persuaded California to lift its ban on UFC fights and opened up that market to bring the sell out event to Anaheim in April. Silvia and Griffin will go head to head in Anaheim for UFC’s Reality Check.

The UFC is gaining respect in the world of sports and is embraced by almost every industry except boxing, like it or not, it has crossed over to the mainstream and there is no stopping the UFC. So if you can’t beat them, join them and if you can’t join them, at least respect them because they respect you.

Many claim that the UFC court boxing fans through the media to and that it’s often not compatible with mainstream media. Everybody knows that MMA is not Boxing, the question is why is MMA so intimidating to boxing fans? Perhaps because boxing lets you keep your distance and MMA is full out body-to-body contact and most men can’t handle another man being that close to him under any circumstances, so MMA would never be considered cool to them.

UFC fighters have been labeled since the beginning of the UFC time and are having problems being accepted by boxing fans nationwide. There use to be a day, many years ago, when fans would go to the same place to see wrestling and boxing and everyone respected both sports alike. What happened to cause such friction between the two sports to where boxing does not respect MMA, but MMA has mad love and support for boxing?

UFC fighters have the potential to make hefty salaries through contracts with the UFC. For instance entry-level fighters can make an easy $2,000 to $4,000 per fight. Randy Couture retired with $225,000 from his last fight with Liddell, while Liddell took home $250,000 for that fight. The numbers are impressive and MMA is gaining fans at rates that no one would believe.

The last UFC battle against Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell sold out at 10,301 in the arena with a paying gate of $3.3 million, 2000 at a closed circuit site and an estimated 350,000 pay per view buys. I sure don’t remember the last time I have seen 4,000 boxing fans at a weigh in years, but they have turned out in drools for the last UFC fight at the Mandalay Bay last month. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to notice the difference between boxing an MMA, but it will take a million years to figure out where is the love from boxing to MMA.

10.03.06 - Hasim Rahman will face James Toney for the WBC World Heavyweight Championship on March 18,2006, in Atlantic City, NJ. Toney was named official challenger by the WBC in Rahman’s first title defense since securing the forfeited WBC Heavyweight Belt from former Champion Vitali Klitschko in November 2005. The bout will be presented by Top Rank and broadcast live on HBO.

OPERATOR: Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. My name is Brianna (ph), and I will be your conference facilitator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the James Toney conference call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speakers’ remarks, there will be a question-and-answer period. If you would like to ask a question during that time, please press star then the number one on your telephone keypad. If you would like to withdraw your question, press the pound key.

Thank you. It is now my pleasure to turn the floor over to your host, (INAUDIBLE). Sir, you may begin your call.

UNKNOWN MALE #1: Hi. Thanks everybody for joining us for the upcoming WBC world heavyweight championship, which is going to take place March 18th at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.

On today’s call, we have James Toney former heavyweight champ, his co-trainer and strength coach, John Arthur, Dan Goossen, President of Goossen Tutor, and James is there, I presume, on the line.

JAMES TONEY, FORMER HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION: I’m right here.

UNKNOWN MALE #1: All right, James. You want to open up the call and tell us how everything is going?

JAMES TONEY: Things are going good. I can’t wait until March 18t. It’s going to be a hell of night. It’s going to be a special night when we now wash out (ph) the world once again.

UNKNOWN MALE #1: All right. OK, operator, we are ready for questions.

OPERATOR: Thank you. If you would like to ask a question, you may press star one on your telephone keypad.

Our first question comes from Dan Rafael.

DAN RAFAEL: James?

JAMES TONEY: Yo, what’s up man?

DAN RAFAEL: How are you, sir?

JAMES TONEY: Good.

DAN GOOSSEN, PRESIDENT, GOOSSEN TUTOR: You better at least get a Dan, Dan in.

DAN RAFAEL: Hey, Dan, how are you?

DAN GOOSSEN: Good.

DAN RAFAEL: James you fought for the heavyweight championship in April of last year against John Ruiz. You won the fight, and then they took the title away from you because of what happened with your post-fight drug test. Can you talk about just the way you feel about getting a second opportunity to come back and try to win the title again?

JAMES TONEY: I would. You know this, is like, like I said, I’ve been there before. And to you, I really won’t consider it. I am the current IB (ph) heavyweight championship of the world. The belt don’t make me. I meant (ph) the title. So you know I’m not in this situation. I’ve been here for 15 years, so you know what, I’m just say, hey. The WBC belt is the only belt I haven’t worn. I’m looking forward to taking it home with me on that night.

DAN RAFAEL: Can you also talk a little bit about what happened between you Hasim Rahman in Mexico? He gave us his account yesterday when we spoke to him on the conference call …

JAMES TONEY: … he’s going to give you a false account …

DAN RAFAEL: … I’d like to hear your side of what happened down there.

JAMES TONEY: Well he wound me (ph) like a little sissy. He got mad because when I came down the elevator, and to me the press, right, Dan wanted me to. Me and my wife came down. He got mad because he had no attention. So he came mad, started saying, oh the champ is here. Got to push me out of the way. Damn thing got out of hand on his behalf. People were holding me. Nobody was holding him. He scared like a little woman. He slapped me. He scratched me because he’s not fast enough to hit me.

DAN RAFAEL: Did you say he didn’t slap you, but he scratched you?

JAMES TONEY: Scratched me on my lip like a little bitch.

DAN RAFAEL: Does that make this fight for you a little more personal than some other fights you’ve had in the past?

JAMES TONEY: Nothing personal because (INAUDIBLE) saying, I mean he’s, he’s going so he tells me (ph) (INAUDIBLE) big bad ass, but he ain’t. He’s a fucking pussy.

DAN RAFAEL: OK. Thanks a lot, James. Good luck to you next week.

OPERATOR: Thank you. Our next question comes from Bernard Fernandez with Philadelphia Daily.

BERNARD FERNANDEZ, PHILADELPHIA DAILY: Hey, James. How are you?

JAMES TONEY: Hey, what’s up Bernard? How are you doing?

BERNARD FERNANDEZ: I’m doing OK. You started your career as a middleweight, and while there’s a lot of us on this phone call that aren’t exactly Schwartzeneggers, you know, you’ve heard some jives about your weight, you know, that …

JAMES TONEY: No, I’ve heard it all. But you know what? The same reporters that are writing about me, you know, they can’t talk. They can’t talk. Look at themselves in the mirror, friends (ph), you know what I’m saying? Look at themselves in the mirror. That’s all they got to do. Look at themselves in the mirror. The difference between me and everybody else is that I can fight. It doesn’t matter.

BERNARD FERNANDEZ: I mean, so you know, so when people use the F word, you know, in this case fat, it doesn’t bother you?

JAMES TONEY: Why should it bother me? I can fight. They ain’t whooping my ass. Ain’t nobody yet.

BERNARD FERNANDEZ: Yes, I mean because the thing …

JAMES TONEY: Last time I got my ass whooped was by a doctor, 37 years ago.

BERNARD FERNANDEZ: It’s like that old saying, looks like Tarzan, fights like Jane, right? So as long as you win, it doesn’t matter?

JAMES TONEY: It’s doesn’t matter. But look, like I say, I’m always in shape. If I’m always being fat and out of shape, why I’m beating all these top heavyweights? Why I’m beating all these top cruiser weights? You know what I’m saying? Why would I beat all these middleweights back in the day? Tell me that? You all explain the situation. You all tell me what the chemistry is?

BERNARD FERNANDEZ: No. I mean, you know, obviously, you know, you were 160 then you were a super middle and you went to light heavy then cruiser. How difficult was it at 160 and up to succeeding various weight classes, you know, to make weight, and you’re always trying to starve yourself and, you know …

JAMES TONEY: (INAUDIBLE)

BERNARD FERNANDEZ: … there’s guys like Duran and others, you know, that haven’t been able to do that. But how difficult was it, you know, to continually have to make weight?

JAMES TONEY: Well the thing is everybody didn’t, see a lot of people don’t know, when I came back from football I was 205 pounds. Everybody was always telling me I should fight heavyweight at the time, so I dropped down. Always, I had my first whole (ph) fight at 158 against Stephen Lee. I lost a lot of weight. You know, so I always struggled with my weight throughout my whole career to maintain an unnatural weight for me. When I was middleweight champ of the world, I would the last week alone just water and lettuce. You all didn’t know that, did you Bernard?

BERNARD FERNANDEZ: Well I’d heard that, but I mean it’s got to be a certain relief, I mean you’re training everyday. Obviously you’re able to go 12 rounds with no problem, but not have to like, you know, eat lettuce and water all the time or whatever it is, whatever it is. I mean …

JAMES TONEY: … weight right now. So I’m fighting better. I’m feeling a lot better. I’m in my natural strength, you know what I’m saying? I’m even stronger. Everyone is saying Hasim Rahman is bigger than me and he’s stronger. Man, you can be big all you want to. He’s lacking, he’s, he’s lacking in the one area which really counts, that’s the heart. It doesn’t matter. I know how to fight. All these guys, and particular when they came up. I never got no protection. Look at my damn record. I’ve never been protected. Look at the record man. But now you boxers, if you’re going to box, any boxer in the story (ph), you can look at my record, you can see, I didn’t get the golden boy hype. I didn’t get the golden boy protection. I didn’t get the David Reed protection. I didn’t get none of that. I had to fight my way here, and you know why? I wanted to. I figure if you’re bigger and badder than me, let me see. Prove it to me. Fight me.

BERNARD FERNANDEZ: One last question, James. And that is, I know that you feel like sometimes you haven’t gotten your recognition as a heavyweight. I mean you beat, you beat Evander, you stopped Evander and people said Evander was old …

JAMES TONEY: … old …

BERNARD FERNANDEZ: … and then they had the drug test with the thing with Ruiz. I mean, is this the fight that’s going to, you know, like remove all doubts that you are a real heavyweight?

JAMES TONEY: Let me tell you something. I beat Evander Holyfield, right? I knocked him out. Now a year earlier, beating Hasim Rahman. Went 12 rounds with him, this bird (ph). I come and fight him. I’m the short holder (ph). All of a sudden he’s old and he’s shot. Then I come back (INAUDIBLE) went one arm (ph) for 11 rounds. And he isn’t able to quit, such as you all boys. You all love him, but the way you all love with the Crisco (ph), the Crisco (ph) Brothers. You know what I’m saying. Then I came back. I’ve beaten Ruiz once again, with one arm. My arm wasn’t even healed yet. I still beat him. Then I beat a young one, but you all support one of your up and coming guys, Dominick Guinn. Same size by the way as Hasim Rahman, and I destroyed him. So what do I got to do? What is there I need to prove to you all that I’m the best fighter in the world, period? But you know what, March 18th will show you that. After March 18th I want every, I want every box writer on their hands and knees and kiss my feet before I even talk to you all.

BERNARD FERNANDEZ: Well, you know, I’ll certainly give you credit James. I don’t know if I’ll go quite that far.

JAMES TONEY: Hey, you know what?

BERNARD FERNANDEZ: I’ll blow you a kiss, OK?

JAMES TONEY: You should give me credit now for what I’ve done. You should give me credit now because, you know, ain’t nobody in history done what I’ve done. Cump (ph) was beside one person, and that was Edwin Childs (ph). The only middleweight to campaign (ph) full time in the heavyweight. Everybody sells start (ph) doing what he did. Go back and research that.

BERNARD FERNANDEZ: Yes.

JAMES TONEY: Roy Jones didn’t do it, he did it for one fight and ran everybody (ph) down. You all still, you all still climbed on his back. Give me my respect. You all don’t give it to me, I’m going to take it. And when I do, if I do take it, I’m going to spit it right back in you all’s face. You all ain’t going to like that. I promise you. And I really don’t care if you all like me at all because it don’t make me no damn difference.

UNKNOWN MALE #1: They all love you.

OPERATOR: Thank you. Our next question comes from Lem Satterfield with Baltimore Sun.

LEM SATTERFIELD, BALTIMORE SUN: Hey what’s up James?

JAMES TONEY: Hi my man.

LEM SATTERFIELD: Hey, how are you doing?

JAMES TONEY: And you know it (ph).

LEM SATTERFIELD: Hey. So talking about the way you feel again, you were 235 against Guinn and 233 against Ruiz and you were still able to be effective. Do you think you can come in at that weight and still be effective against Rahman say if you do?

JAMES TONEY: Easily, why not?

LEM SATTERFIELD: OK.

JAMES TONEY: I’m a fighter. I’m a true fighter. I’m a real fighter, man. You know that.

LEM SATTERFIELD: Right.

JAMES TONEY: … weight, all my full career, I fought the best heavyweights out there, I fought the biggest heavyweights out there, in gym, out gym, in the streets, don’t matter. I know how to fight. I’m a real fighter. And you know and everybody in the Baltimore area knows, and knows the answer. They know I’m a real fighter and they know Hasim Rahman ain’t. You guys got him glued to (ph) like he a monster because he fought in those Glen Burnie shows on there (INAUDIBLE). You know what I’m saying?

LEM SATTERFIELD: Weight isn’t necessarily an issue with you. It’s more like, even fell for (ph) as his trainer has said and Angelo Dundee and even Holyfield have said, it’s more the accuracy, you know, with these big guys penetrating their defense. Is that what it is?

JAMES TONEY: It’s all about knowing how to fight, how to make opening, which I know how to do.

LEM SATTERFIELD: Is that, are you more particularly effective against big heavyweights?

JAMES TONEY: Oh I love it. I love being big heavyweight too. I feel like I’m going to a buffet.

LEM SATTERFIELD: The heavyweight division continually gets a bad rap. And you know, you yourself often refer to the other guys as bums. Given that, will you, will this take, what will it take for you as perceived, you know, by a lot of us as, you know, the premier heavyweight to secure a respectable legacy?

JAMES TONEY: My legacy already there. I’ve done some that only a few people have been able to do. My thing is this, as long as they’re fighting the best damn boys out there who the public and the press want to see me fight. I’m fighting Hasim Rahman. He’s the best within the division right now. So I’m fighting him. I’m going to destroy him. I’m going to show everybody. I’m going to knock Hasim right out. I am the best fighter in the world pound for pound. And everyone (ph) wants me to prove it if I fight these, in fighting guys like Hasim Rahman who wear the belt.

UNKNOWN MALE #1: And Lem, you know, just to throw in one other thing, James is going to show on March 18th that whoever he fights thereafter, OK, will be somewhat similar to what it was fighting Tyson in his heyday, Forman in his heyday, that whoever he fights will be a major fight.

LEM SATTERFIELD: I’ve got two questions, one for Dan and one for James. James, back to, you raised the steroid issue. Do you believe in spite of the steroid controversy and the resulting sanction that you still are the WBA champion, the people and the public still see you as the champion?

JAMES TONEY: I am the International Boxer’s Association heavyweight champion of the world. I am the people’s champion of the world. That’s all that matters.

LEM SATTERFIELD: OK, Dan, you had made a reference when we were in New York that James wasn’t just going to dominate Rahman, but he was going to destroy Rahman. Can you elaborate on that and do you still stand by that?

DAN GOOSSEN: Oh I just think James, I mean some people may scoff at this, I think he’s coming to his peak right now. I think his best years are ahead of him. And I believe that when you guys see him March 18th walk into that right and even beforehand when you get there and see him in person at the weight in, he looks great. He’s in great shape. He’s mentally fit. He’s physically fit. And we haven’t had that for many years. So based upon that, I feel the best is yet to come. And based upon that, March 18th I see as light’s out.

LEM SATTERFIELD: OK, so you stand by your statement?

JAMES TONEY: Yes he does, 100 percent.

DAN GOOSSEN: Of course, you’ve got me in a headlock right now.

JAMES TONEY: Yes.

LEM SATTERFIELD: OK, thanks a lot.

JAMES TONEY: Man, man.

LEM SATTERFIELD: Yes.

JAMES TONEY: You feel the same way too.

LEM SATTERFIELD: Say it again?

JAMES TONEY: You feel the same way.

LEM SATTERFIELD: OK. Hey, one last question, James. Can you talk a little bit about, you talked about Baltimore and having ties to Baltimore, can you elaborate on that just a little bit?

JAMES TONEY: My grandfather used to live there. Orange Harim, he passed. I used to go to Colts games with him back in the day.

UNKNOWN MALE #1: That was your grandfather?

JAMES TONEY: Yes.

UNKNOWN MALE #1: So his grandfather lived there, Lem.

JAMES TONEY: I got love for Baltimore and Baltimore got love for me.

UNKNOWN MALE #1: Are you there?

LEM SATTERFIELD: I’m still here.

UNKNOWN MALE #1: OK, good.

JAMES TONEY: Hasim Rahman don’t even live there no more, so tell you all something, how a city going to get behind him when he don’t even live there?

LEM SATTERFIELD: OK.

OPERATOR: Thank you. Our next question comes from Eddie Goldman with Secondsout Radio.

EDDIE GOLDMAN, SECONDSOUT RADIO: James, how are you doing today?

JAMES TONEY: What’s happening?

EDDIE GOLDMAN: OK, the question I want to ask you about the weight, can you tell us what weight you’re at now and what weight you think you’re going to plan to come in at the fight …

JAMES TONEY: Why is weight the issue there? I might come in at 265, how knows? I haven’t decided yet.

UNKNOWN MALE #1: I’ve got the scale right here, James. Got the scale right here.

JAMES TONEY: Yes, I’m on it. It says 250.

UNKNOWN MALE #1: Two fifty, no 251.

EDDIE GOLDMAN: OK. Well you’re right in the way that weight isn’t as big of an issue because although, you know, you talk in a very outspoken way, you’re such a tactician in the ring. I mean you’re known for defense, counter punching, and you’re not a brawler that just goes out and swings. Do you think you’re not given enough credit in that respect?

JAMES TONEY: Nobody never give me credit for anything. If I was flashy like Roy Jones you all would be all over my nut sack. But you know, hey, that’s the way it is. It’s boxing. You know, I’m a true warrior. I’ll fight anybody and everybody, anywhere, any time. It doesn’t matter. I don’t get, I don’t get my proper respect. I’m one of the best fighters in every division I’ve been in. You know what I’m saying? I’ve fought the best fighters at every ear (ph) …

EDDIE GOLDMAN: Well …

JAMES TONEY: … know what I’m saying? Michael Nunn knows all these guys, Barkley, Prince Charles Williams, Jirov, Holyfield. I’ve fought all these guys. Doesn’t do – all these guys – and I still don’t get no respect. But you know what, come March 18th, you all think Hasim Rahman is the best heavyweight in the world and I feel like I’m the really draspy (ph) underrated underdog. I’m proving once again, I’m proving you all wrong again. It doesn’t matter when I, it doesn’t matter what weight I come in at, the problem is you all don’t want to give me (INAUDIBLE) I can truly fight.

EDDIE GOLDMAN: Why do you think you don’t get the respect that you think you deserve?

JAMES TONEY: I don’t kiss nobody’s ass. I’m not (INAUDIBLE). I don’t kiss ass. I won’t kiss nobody’s ass. And like you said, I’m very, I’m very outspoken. I say what’s on my mind all the time. I speak the truth and people don’t like the truth.

EDDIE GOLDMAN: What do you think can be, do you think it’s going to take knocking out Rahman to change that rather than just saying that?

JAMES TONEY: I don’t care. I’m not trying, I’m not trying to please nobody. I’m doing me.

EDDIE GOLDMAN: Now after this fight, Dan said that’s going to be a major heavyweight. Do you want to work to unify these belts? Because as you know it’s very confusing to the fans. Even if you win this fight, it’s still all these other champions of these other organizations out there.

JAMES TONEY: There’s only one champion, there’s me. Only one champion. If you want to call the other guys champions, that on you guys.

DAN GOOSSEN: And Eddie, I want to make something clear. What I said is, is that any fight James will be in after March 18th – and that’s really all we’re looking at …

EDDIE GOLDMAN: Right.

DAN GOOSSEN: … addressing (ph) today – will be big. OK? Because of James Toney, not because of anybody else. It’ll be the same as you wanted to see a Tyson fight, a Foreman fight, an Ali fight, it’s going to be the same with James. James will carry the heavyweight division on his shoulders, and when he says that they’re bums, they’re bums compared to him. And again, his words will be backed up in action on March 18th.

JAMES TONEY: Yes it will. I mean I’m heated (ph).

EDDIE GOLDMAN: How do you go, when you ask the fans, even after March 18th, who is the heavyweight champion of the world and you have to start talking about these sanctioned bodies, to the casual fans who used to, in the millions, watch Tyson and Foreman and Ali and even going back you mentioned Edwin Charles (ph) and Joe Lewis and those people. It’s very confusing because there was one heavyweight champion and you didn’t have this confusion. Every other sport has one champion, a super bowl champion, a world series champion and so forth. Do you want to unify these titles at one point?

JAMES TONEY: After March 18th, like they saying now, everybody already knows I’m the heavyweight champion of the world. I’m the people’s champ right now. But after March 18th everybody is going to know that. They going to fully know there’s only one heavyweight champion out there and that’s James Toney, worldwide, no doubt about it.

EDDIE GOLDMAN: OK, do you want to, are you going to predict the round? I know you said you wanted to knock Rahman out and you’re predicting …

JAMES TONEY: … punish me, I’m going to punish him. He had like he some big rolls, some big old tub guy. You know, like I say, I’m excited, you know, hey, I’m going to keep him to the word. I’m going to be right in front of him. I’m not going no where. You know me. I, have you ever seen me run from anybody in the ring?

EDDIE GOLDMAN: No, no. I’m looking forward, I’m tremendously looking forward to this fight. I hope …

JAMES TONEY: … anybody in the ring?

EDDIE GOLDMAN: I’ve never seen you run and I’ll tell you I’m tremendously impressed by the technique, which not everybody I think understands, which is why I think they were surprised when you fought Holyfield and Jirov and beat those guys.

JAMES TONEY: I stand right, and I stand right in front, I stayed right in front of them too, didn’t I?

EDDIE GOLDMAN: Yes.

JAMES TONEY: That’s the same way I’m going to be against Hasim Rahman. I’m going to stand right in front of him and say, hey, and listen when he hit me he’s going, God damn why he, why nothing happening to him? It doesn’t matter. I’m hard headed. I’m very hard headed.

UNKNOWN MALE #1: All right, Eddie.

EDDIE GOLDMAN: All right, thank you very much.

UNKNOWN MALE #1: (INAUDIBLE)

EDDIE GOLDMAN: … March 18th.

JAMES TONEY: Yes.

EDDIE GOLDMAN: Thanks.

OPERATOR: Thank you. Our next question comes from Tim Graham with Buffalo News.

TIM GRAHAM, BUFFALO NEWS: Dan, just real quick. I know that you know that you’re very big on your guy here and what he can do for the future, but I wanted to ask you about this match up specifically and its significance for the heavyweight division. I guess maybe even taking out who the two fighters are, just the fact that they are two big fighters, probably the biggest match up since Lenox Lewis retired. Would you agree with that?

DAN GOOSSEN: Yes, I mean come March 18th you’ve got the two best heavyweights fighting each other, and I believe that’s where the prominence of this match stirs the electricity in the heavyweight division because, you know, what we’ve needed is someone that will, you know, carry the heavyweight division on his shoulders from the standpoint of fighting every big fight you can have. And that’s what James has always been about. He mentioned his middleweight and super middleweight days. Never shied away from proving who was the best. And that’s what we’ll do in the heavyweight division. That’s what we started out doing from the get go. No one gave him a shot against Jirov. We saw what he did, and quite frankly, if he would have had that same fight two years after really getting into the swing of things, or even a year later, he would have probably stopped Vasili within six rounds.

But he just got continually better. We’ve had some obstacles. We’re past those obstacles. I believe you guys are going to see one of the best heavyweights, one of the best heavyweights, forget the time period we’re in, one of the best heavyweights that have ever fought in heavyweight history. I truly believe that because James Toney is real.

TIM GRAHAM: And James, I wanted to ask you about, you know, just the whole idea of the anger that you speak with, that you carry yourself with …

JAMES TONEY: I’m not angry. I’m not angry. You all assume that I’m angry.

TIM GRAHAM: You sound angry.

JAMES TONEY: Huh?

TIM GRAHAM: You sound angry.

JAMES TONEY: That’s because that’s what you say. I mean you think I’m angry, but I’m not. That’s how I get (INAUDIBLE). Yes, you know what I’m thinking, I’m thinking may even because you know why because you guys can’t give me the thing that you all want to hear.

TIM GRAHAM: Yes, you give us plenty of what we want to hear, believe me. I think there are a lot of people whose fingers are going to be tired at the end from writing and typing because you’re a hell of a quote James. But how much of this, is just motivation? I mean you seem to really be, you know, banging the drum for yourself, you know, to get yourself pumped up for the fight. But then by the same token you say you don’t care what we think.

JAMES TONEY: I’m a fighter. That’s what I do for a living. Let them (ph) fight. The thing is, you all say I’m angry, I’m not. If somebody come up on me like Rahman do right now, of course I’m going to retaliate. I’m going to retaliate my way. It’s a way you guys ain’t used to. You got used to someone like (INAUDIBLE) being prime and proper. That ain’t me.

TIM GRAHAM: Right. Well no, I don’t think anybody …

JAMES TONEY: I’m not going to kiss nobody ass. I’m not going to kiss your reporter ass. Hey, the only ass I’m going to kiss is my kids.

UNKNOWN MALE #1: And the public’s kids because he loves kids and …

JAMES TONEY: Yes.

UNKNOWN MALE #1: … fans, OK.

JAMES TONEY: … say it, you know what I’m saying? But I’m not going to bow down and, you know, if somebody attacks me in a bad way, I’m going to get him no matter what. I don’t care if it’s the President (ph). I’m going to get him.

TIM GRAHAM: OK, I’m just trying to understand to see if you could explain to me because you say you don’t care what other people think but yet you’re constantly …

JAMES TONEY: … until the fights over with. If you catch me, if you ask anybody, they’ll tell you, James is (INAUDIBLE) person. I like people, I make people laugh. I do that. But you know what? You all don’t want to see the turn, a lot of people don’t want to take the time to do that. You guys go on assumption.

TIM GRAHAM: Well no, I’m taking the, I wanted to ask you now, you know, that’s why I’m asking you now. Why, you know, why this edge, you know, that you feel the need to, you know, to …

JAMES TONEY: (INAUDIBLE)

TIM GRAHAM: … show how (INAUDIBLE) you are and dissimilarly (ph) you know, I mean the quote you said earlier about give …

JAMES TONEY: … give quote, I’m going to give you a good bite right here. The reason I’m on the edge is I’m short and fat and old. Is that what you’re going to write about me? I’m short, fat and old and bald.

UNKNOWN MALE #1: I told you, Tim, he talks the truth.

TIM GRAHAM: Well (ph) …

UNKNOWN MALE #1: Well seriously Tim, you know what, we’re a little over a week away from the fight. He’s not on edge. He’s read some comments by Rahman and all of that. He, you know, James, quite frankly, as far as I’m concerned, has one of the best personalities, especially outside the ring. But getting this close to a fight, he’s just getting ready and what you hear from him is the truth.

TIM GRAHAM: I agree. I think that there seems to be a chip on the shoulder here that maybe isn’t …

UNKNOWN MALE #1: Yes, but we’re going to …

TIM GRAHAM: … 100 percent, I mean as you keep saying, he doesn’t get the credit he deserves, but I think a lot of people see him for the fighter that he is. And he’s a great fighter.

UNKNOWN MALE #1: Yes.

TIM GRAHAM: But I don’t understand why he feels the need to insist that everybody doesn’t give him his credit when I think he does get his credit.

UNKNOWN MALE #1: OK, well look, on March 18th, we’re going to go out there and just put another level …

JAMES TONEY: A notch on my belt, we win I’m a 70, knock out I’m a 45.

TIM GRAHAM: OK, thanks fellows.

UNKNOWN MALE #1: Thank you.

OPERATOR: Thank you. Our next question comes from Keith Idec with Herald News.

KEITH IDEC, HERALD NEWS: Hey, James, how are you doing?

JAMES TONEY: What’s up?

DAN GOOSSEN: Hey Keith.

KEITH IDEC: Hey Dan. How are you?

DAN GOOSSEN: Good.

KEITH IDEC: James, I was just wondering, other than losing the WBA belt, which …

JAMES TONEY: (INAUDIBLE)

KEITH IDEC: … isn’t important to most people, do you think that your win against Ruiz was tarnished because of the test or that people said, you know, he just made a mistake in taking something that he was taking to get over his shoulder injury and they really didn’t count it too much towards how you won the fight?

JAMES TONEY: For number one (INAUDIBLE) fight wasn’t really get up June (ph). But when once (INAUDIBLE) people’s champion, so called people’s champion Crisco (ph) pulled out again, faked the injury, you know, they came available sooner. You know, on the record, Dan asked me, are you sure you’re going to be ready? I said, Dan, get the guy to fight (ph). Which I …

DAN GOOSSEN: Which I wish I didn’t do at this point …

JAMES TONEY: … because he knows …

DAN GOOSSEN: He had one arm.

JAMES TONEY: … he asked me everything, but I wasn’t thinking inside out. I’m like Dan, take the fight, take the date, take the date, take the date. You know, not knowing that, you know, not thinking that I’m still on the rehab with the medication and everything in my system. You know what I’m saying? So you know it was honest mistake. I didn’t hide from, I didn’t hide the ordeal from the reporters like the sissy ass baseball players did. You know what I’m saying? I didn’t run from the situation. I fought it head on. You know what I’m saying? So I don’t regret anything. I don’t feel, I feel that people see, the people that saw me fight John Ruiz with one arm, which anybody else wouldn’t have done. They would have backed out, quit, like the Criscos (ph) would have backed out and did any other thing. But I went ahead with the fight. I took it. I suffered the consequences afterwards. We dealt with it. It’s over. And now we’re moving on.

KEITH IDEC: Were you guys kidding about 251 or were you serious?

JAMES TONEY: I’m serious.

KEITH IDEC: OK.

UNKNOWN MALE #1: And by the way, so everyone knows, Freddie Roach has also shown up.

KEITH IDEC: All right, is Freddie there?

UNKNOWN MALE #1: Yes, Freddie is here.

KEITH IDEC: Freddie, I was just …

UNKNOWN MALE #2: (INAUDIBLE)

UNKNOWN MALE #1: I figured.

KEITH IDEC: Freddie are you there?

FREDDIE ROACH: Yes.

KEITH IDEC: I was just wondering what you thought about, you know, James said he’s comfortable fighting at this weight. It’s not going to be, you know, a problem for him at all. I was just wondering what your thoughts on it are?

FREDDIE ROACH: We’re always, you know, you’re over weight. I like him lighter. He wants to be bigger for, because he’s fighting a big strong guys and feels he needs to weigh in. And James so far has always been right, so I’m not going to argue with him.

KEITH IDEC: Thank you guys.

UNKNOWN MALE #2: Hey, gee.

OPERATOR: Thank you. Our next question comes from David Weinberg with Atlantic City Press.

DAVID WEINBERG, ATLANTIC CITY PRESS: James, how are you doing?

JAMES TONEY: I’m good. How are you doing?

DAVID WEINBERG: Very well, very well, looking forward to you coming to town.

UNKNOWN MALE #1: Hey David, good, good.

DAVID WEINBERG: Yes, a lot of excitement in town about it already.

JAMES TONEY: Oh that’s good because that’s what I bring. I bring excitement to Atlantic City. I love Atlantic City. I had my first big fight there if you remember that.

DAVID WEINBERG: Yes, oh yes.

JAMES TONEY: What was it, 14 years ago, right?

DAVID WEINBERG: Yes.

JAMES TONEY: Fifteen years ago.

UNKNOWN MALE #2: (INAUDIBLE)

JAMES TONEY: … long time, man. It’s good to be back home.

DAVID WEINBERG: Yes. James, real quick, does being heavyweight champion mean more to you than being the middleweight champion or light heavyweight or anything else?

JAMES TONEY: I’m the people’s champion, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter. You know, I’m thankful that I’ve got the IB (ph) behind me. I’m thankful to be fighting for the WBC title, which is the only belt I have never won, but I’m about to get it come March 18th. You know, it’s going to be a great night. You know it’s in a great city, you know, Atlantic City where it should be at. You know, where all the other heavyweight, big heavyweight fights were played back in the early ‘90s. You know, hey (ph).

DAVID WEINBERG: Yes. Well there was a time not too long ago where being heavyweight champion was like the most coveted title to have in sports.

JAMES TONEY: Yes, it’s going to be that way pretty soon, after March 18th.

DAVID WEINBERG: Why isn’t it that way now do you think? What happened to the division?

JAMES TONEY: Look at the fighters. They don’t want to fight nobody. Look at them. You tell me why. You the reporter. Give me your views on it. Hey, if you give me your views, I’m going to work hard to correct them for you.

DAVID WEINBERG: Honestly I guess since Lenox Lewis, is the, was the last one I guess that could really be considered …

UNKNOWN MALE #1: But even Lenox, up until the end, didn’t want to fight anyone.

JAMES TONEY: But this, is boring. You know, see, everybody needs a flashy, boisterous, heavyweight champ like myself, and that’s what I’m going to bring. I’ll be out there. I’ve got a promoter right along with me along with a freak ass (ph) trainer and a hell of a strength coach.

DAVID WEINBERG: Well who do you think was the last like true, the guy who fit the bill? Was it Tyson? Or before him, Larry Holmes or who?

JAMES TONEY: Who is, Larry Holmes was not a, Larry Holmes was a peanut show. He couldn’t, you know, he was a great champion. Mike Tyson was a great champion early, in his early run. Evander Holyfield was a great champion, but since then, you know, Lenox Lewis, is not considered a great champion because he is boring. And firstly (ph), how do you have a British man be the heavyweight champion of the world? You know what I’m saying? Nobody want to see a British cock me, heavyweight cocking champion. You know what I’m saying? So you what, hey, I’m excited and I’m looking forward to being coronated on March 18th.

DAVID WEINBERG: When you started your career, was this in your future, or did this kind of develop …

JAMES TONEY: I told everybody I was going to be heavyweight champion of the world. You know, everybody laughs at me. They first still laughing (ph), but you know what, after March 18th all laughter stops. All the laughter stops, and guess what’s going to be my new name? You know what my new name is going to be after March 18th?

DAVID WEINBERG: What’s that?

JAMES TONEY: Cha-ching, Cha-ching.

UNKNOWN MALE #1: That’s Asian.

JAMES TONEY: That’s the name of the bank roll, cha-ching. You know what I’m saying.

DAVID WEINBERG: All right, thanks. Thanks a lot. I appreciate it.

OPERATOR: Thank you. Our next question comes from Trae Thompson with the Fort Worth Star.

TREY THOMPSON, FORT WORTH STAR: James, how are you doing?

JAMES TONEY: Hey, what’s up Trae?

TREY THOMPSON: Hey OK. You just answered your question earlier why people didn’t like the heavyweights because there wasn’t a boisterous heavyweight champ. I mean to me, my opinion, is that most of them were kind of boring.

JAMES TONEY: Exactly.

TREY THOMPSON: But here’s my question, though, my first question, do you, do you feel you’ll give fans something that they’ll remember, right now (ph)? Do you need an impressive KO to, you know, let them remember something, like hey that was a great heavyweight fight?

JAMES TONEY: Yes, I think (ph) Holyfield. I made, I came here, I made a big splash. You know what, I’ll fight, when I’ll fight March 18th I’ve got to make a big splash so people remember who the champion is. Why not, hey, if you ask every man (ph) who walk the street, you asked them who the heavyweight champion is, they wouldn’t know. You know what I’m saying?

TREY THOMPSON: Right.

JAMES TONEY: They wouldn’t even, as a matter of fact, the only person they would recognize as the heavyweight will be me. They wouldn’t even recognize, if we walked down Broadway right now in New York, Madison Avenue, they wouldn’t even notice, they wouldn’t even know Chris Bird or (INAUDIBLE) or Hasim Rahman from the next man.

UNKNOWN MALE #1: They’re going to know James Toney. Or should I say Cha-ching?

JAMES TONEY: If I walked down Madison Avenue right now, everybody would know who I am. (INAUDIBLE) because the way I dress, the way I talk and my swagger is all that.

TREY THOMPSON: OK, quick follow up to that too though, but if, you know, when you beat Rahman though, but if it becomes a fight that just, you know, kind of just another fight, would that be disappointing to you? Do you understand what I’m saying?

JAMES TONEY: Any fight, hey, all my fights, all interesting, but all I did was shut people up. I’m the man that everybody is going to come to see. They’re not coming to see Hasim Rahman. They’re not coming to see Bird or Bruce (ph) or anything. They’re coming to see James Toney and I always put on a great show and you know that.

UNKNOWN MALE #1: I defy anyone, Trae, to tell me one fight James Toney has ever been in that didn’t have excitement to it. You know, I mean he’s an exciting fighter.

TREY THOMPSON: But …

UNKNOWN MALE #1: … end of story. Thanks Trae. And one more, one more reporter please.

UNKNOWN MALE #3: (INAUDIBLE)

UNKNOWN MALE #1: He’s doing an open workout today so that you know, and I’ve got to get him downstairs to start working out.

UNKNOWN MALE #3: Sure, that may have been the last question. Do we have any more Operator?

OPERATOR: We have one question coming from Franklin McNeil from Newark Star Ledger.

UNKNOWN MALE #3: OK, thank you.

FRANKLIN MCNEIL, NEWARK STAR LEDGER: I wasn’t going to ask, but since no one did, yesterday – first of all hello James and …

JAMES TONEY: Hey what’s up Frank?

FRANKLIN MCNEIL: OK. Yesterday Rahman made a statement. I want to give you an opportunity to respond. He said this fight, according to him, was going to end one of two ways, either you were going to get knocked out or you were going to quit on your stool. You want to respond to that?

JAMES TONEY: I like that (ph). Why don’t we keep (INAUDIBLE)? Why don’t you tell him to keep his promise? Keep his promise. I’ll be ready. You know? They always start with me. I never say them, then when I finish everybody get on me about it. You know what I’m saying?

FRANKLIN MCNEIL: OK.

JAMES TONEY: Only thing I can say right now is that come March 18th, I hope he keep his promise. Bring the pain to me because I’ll be willing to accept it.

09.03.06 - By James Allan: I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Joe Calzaghe on his fantastic performance and victory over Jeff Lacy last Saturday. Joe was almost punch perfect and it became patently obvious by the end of round three that Jeff Lacy was going to be in for a hard night. I can’t actually ever recall a more one sided fight in what was supposed to be a pick em. Joe has now cemented his position as the number one super middleweight, impressed American audiences and set himself up for the super fights he should have been having five years ago. With all of this in mind, I sincerely hope his next fight isn’t against Roy Jones Jnr.

Roy is nowhere near the fighter he was just three years ago. Three defeats in his last three fights, including two knockouts have pretty much put paid to Roy’s time at the top as the best pound for pound fighter in the world.

A fight between him and Joe would have been great, in 2003, but in 2006 it is hard to see it ending in anything other than a painful beating for Roy. In truth the only reason that Joe and Frank Warren are even talking about this fight is because Roy Jones is still a marquee name to those who only take a passing interest in the sport. Almost every knowledgeable fan recognises that Roy is now a spent force. At his peak, he was almost untouchable. A combination of speed, incredibly quick reflexes and power made Roy the best fighter of his generation.

The first two qualities have evaporated to the point where men who would have struggled to lay a glove on him in his prime are now regularly hitting Roy. Joe is a quick fighter, quicker than either Johnson or Tarver and after watching him destroy Jeff Lacy; it is hard to imagine Roy having much of a chance against him. There is no shame in Roy’s fall from the top. All fighters pass their peak sooner or later, Roy has passed his. He would be well advised to hang up his gloves and find something else to do within the game. He has made enough money to live comfortably for the rest of his life and he has achieved more than enough to ensure he gains his place in the Hall of Fame.

If Joe really wants to lay claim to being the best pound for pound fighter in the World there are other challenges he could face. He could stay at Super Middleweight and face the unbeaten Mikkel Kessler. Kessler hasn’t fought in the same class as Joe, but he has to step up sooner or later and with 27 KO’s in 38 fights he too can hit hard. A fight with Markus Beyer would be a real money spinner for both of them, the fact is however, that after watching Saturday’s display Beyer would sooner run a mile on hot coals than face Joe in the ring.

Like Sven Ottke, Markus is more interested in holding on to his belt than actually securing any legacy for himself. If he wants to move up to Light Heavyweight, Joe could choose to face Glen Johnson, a man he twice pulled out of fights against. A fight with Joe would bring a big payday for Johnson, and with his road warrior mentality he would be more than happy to take it. Failing that he could look to fight Clinton Woods. Woods is on a rich vein of form at the moment and the fact that he holds the IBF version of the title would make it an attractive proposition to Joe. Tarver and Hopkins have signed to fight one another so a fight with either of them is out of the question at the moment, but perhaps the winner of that would then be willing to face Joe or then again, they may decide to have a return against one another. The point is that Joe doesn’t have to wait around for them. He has plenty of options to pick from, let’s hope he picks the right one.

I would also like to take a few moments to comment on Jeff Lacy. Between all the deserved plaudits that have been thrown Joe’s way, let’s not forget the gutsy and courageous performance of Jeff. Yes he was outclassed and shown up as over hyped by Joe, but he took his licks like a real fighter in that ring. Let’s also remember that if it hadn’t been for Jeff’s willingness to travel to Manchester in order to try and secure his legacy the fight with Joe would probably never have happened.

Lacy came over to the UK as a real champion trying to cement his claim to being the number one super middleweight by beating his biggest rival in his own country. He took a pasting for his troubles, but he never quit and he made it to the final bell. Whether Jeff will ever really recover from this fight either mentally or physically we will have to wait and see, but he showed that he has the heart of a champion and deserves just as much respect as Joe does.

Originally Posted by sweetness Would be a bad move for Roy to fight Calzaghe for sure,but needless to say roy would have been to good for him before he moved up to heavyweight then shot back down again-it took to much out of him In a perfect world Roy should of moved down to win a belt at cruiserweight then lightheavy and maybe supplemiddle then retire and really go down in history O well

14.03.06 - By Tim Neilson: It's hard to believe that on Saturday night, March 18, we'll probably be seeing the two best heavyweights in the divison, when Hasim Rahman & James Toney, face off against each other for the WBC heavyweight title. Both fighters are somewhat long in the tooth in heavyweight terms, with Rahman at 33-years-old and Toney fighting at 37, yet strangely enough, they're clearly the best in the division, as far as I'm concerned.

It's all pretty sad, no doubt. Who would ever thought that Rahman, who is now a two-time heavyweight champion, would be at the top of the division, especially when looking at his fight history over the best 5 years, where he's lost to Lennox Lewis, Evander Holyfield and John Ruiz, while fighting to a draw with David Tua.

Well, believe it or not, all it took for Rahman to get back to to the top was wins over fighters like Terrence Lewis, Kali Meehan and Monte Barrett. That's not to take anything away from them, as their good fighters, all of them, yet none of them are hardly house hold names at this point nor or they on the verge of stardom. It seems to me, Rahman should instead be fighting someone, like Oleg Maskaev, the # 1 rated challenger in the WBC, a fighter who has already knocked out Rahman in November 1999, courtesy of a devastating right hand, which knocked Rahman clear out of the ring.

Now, that's a fight I'd like to see. In fairness to Rahman, originally, he was supposed to fight Vitali Klitschko in November, however, when Klitschko suddenly retired, that all went out the window, leaving Rahman with an empty slate. What would have happened had Rahman fought Klitschko, is anyone's guess at this point, being that he's now out of the fight game. Nevertheless, the fight would have been exciting, for houwever long it lasted.

So, from a matchup standpoint, just looking at the size differences between Rahman and Toney, most people would assume that Rahman, being the bigger fighter at 6'3" compared to Toney's rather petite 5'9," would have any easy time pounding him into submission. However, Toney is a defensive genious, with a long history of making other fighters miss punches and look bad. At the same time, Toney is an excellent counter puncher, who takes advantage when his opponent miss, landing sharp combinations. In the heavyweight divsion, there's few, if any, fighters that can throw combinations effectively. Wladimir Klitschko, in the early part of his career, could put his punches together, yet he is now so gun shy and seemingly beaten down, after having been starched previously by Corrie Sanders, Ross Purity and Lamon Brewster, that he has turned into a one punch and retreat-type fighter, thus ruining his best offesive assets. In the best possible world, Rahman, if he's following instructions, could possibly dominate Toney, using his jab alone. However, in the past, Rahman hasn't seemed disciplined in fighting, often going all out, looking for a knockout, perhaps due to laziness of not wanting to go the distance.

My prediction is that Rahman won't be able to help himself and well get lulled into trying to take out Toney, and will get counter punched all night. I doubt seriously that Toney can knock out Rahman, considering that he hasn't shown to have a lot of power after moving up from the Cruiserweight division, yet Toney will easily be able to put his hands on Rahman all night long, and ultimately winning by decision. To me, it's sad, considering when looking at all the tools that Rahman has, for example, great right hand power, good left hook and a superb jab, he still seems to have lapses of concentration, which cost him in big fights, like in the Ruiz fight, where he should have easily won or the fight with Holyfield, another fight where he failed to utilize a good fight plan, thus costing him the fight. The fight outcome is entirely up to Rahman, as he has the superior size and offensive power to control this fight, no matter how much more skilled Toney is in overall ability. The trick is, Rahman's got to avoid getting angry and trying to get even with Toney, as if he does that, he will be falling into a trap that will lead to his own demise.

14.03.06 - World champion Markus Beyer got an offer for a bout vs. Joe Calzaghe. Beyer is holding the Supermiddleweight title of the World Boxing Council (WBC) and Calzaghe won in March, 2006 the unification bout against Jeff Lacy and is now the world champion of the World Boxing Organization (WBO).

His manager Frank Warren made an offer concerning a bout of the two world champions. “We are interested in a bout and are pleased that the English do, too.” stated the manager of Beyer, Wilfried Sauerland. “But the current offer is not acceptable for us – it is financially unsatisfactory and in addition the suggested date crosses the FIFA-World Cup in Germany. But we keep negotiating and would like to make this attractive bout happen in September or October 2006.”

The last time Markus Beyer defended his title, he fought against the Italian Alberto Colajanni in January 2006 and won with a Knock-out in round 12. Beforehand he beat the internationally highly recognised Omar Sheika (USA) on points.

Joe Calzaghe on the other hand won all of his 41 professional bouts (31 K.o.`s) and was boxing in may 2005 the last time in Germany against the Universum Boxer Mario Veit, who was knocked out in round 6.

Beyer will firstly defend his title on the 13th of May in Zwickau, Germany. In autumn the bout against Calzaghe could possibly follow. “Of course such unification bouts are very appealing for the audience and it is my intention, too”, said Beyer. “A bout against Calzaghe and a bout for three world championship belts is definitely a big sportive challenge.”

Calzaghe wants Toney! WBO/IBF super middleweight champ Joe Calzaghe says he wants to fight James Toney, who once held Calzaghe's 168lb title. Toney is now fighting as a heavyweight and weighed 237 lbs. for Saturday's draw with Hasim Rahman. "He's welcome to come back down to super-middle and challenge for his old title - which at least I can proudly fit around my waist - but I don't think anyone can drag him out of his training camp at McDonalds and get him into serious training in a boxing gym," said Calzaghe. "I would love to kick his arse now because I just missed out on doing it in the 90's when I was coming through but I'm sure as a young kid I would still have knocked him about. He should lose the flab and fight me because he is still a name in the sport and it would look great on my record next to a W and KO. Instead of doing weights with Twinkie bars and drinking Kool Aid he should get onto the salad, pasta and water and whip himself into shape because he'd need to be against me." Monday, March 20 2006

Originally Posted by KentDog Laugh of the day, courtesy of Fightnews.com: I had to take a second look to make sure it wasn't April 1st.

Originally Posted by KentDog Yeah, to be honest, I am getting sick of hearing his name.. he seems to be challenging everyone lately. Seriously though, if Toney came in weighing what, 237 against Rahman, how can Calzaghe expect him to drop back down to 168 to fight him? What a dick.

Memphis, Tennessee; March 22 - Looming as the biggest middleweight title match up since the glory days of Marvin Hagler, Roberto Duran and Sugar Ray Leonard 20 years ago, Undisputed and Undefeated Middleweight World Champion Jermain “Bad Intentions” Taylor will put his belts on the line against Winky Wright on Saturday night, June 17th, at FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee. DiBella Entertainment, Gary Shaw Productions and Prize Fight Promotions will present the boxing extravaganza.

The victor in this compelling title encounter pitting Taylor (25-0, 17 KO’s), the youthful megastar and favorite son of Little Rock, Arkansas against the veteran standout Wright (50-3, 25 KO’s), pride of St. Petersburg, Florida, can lay claim to the title of best pound for pound fighter in the world. HBO will televise the showdown live at 9:30 PM ET/8:30 PM CT/6:30 PM PT.

Taylor first captured the Undisputed Middleweight Championship against the legendary Bernard Hopkins on July 16, 2005 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, with a 12 round split decision triumph, and defended the title for the first time in a rematch with Hopkins on December 3, 2005 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas with a unanimous decision victory. Taylor has not tasted defeat in his pro career, upending the likes of Hopkins, William Joppy and Raul Marquez.

St. Petersburg, Florida’s Wright has reeled off 11 straight wins, including a victory over Felix Trinidad, two victories over Shane Mosley and has not lost since December 3, 1999, which was a controversial decision to Fernando Vargas.

"Memphis has illustrated clearly that it is a boxing town and FedExForum is one of the finest arenas in the country," said Taylor promoter Lou DiBella, president of DBE. "We look forward to the southern hospitality in June."
P. 2, Taylor vs. Wright in Memphis.

"Having held my last training camp there, and it being just two hours from Little Rock, Memphis is like a second home to me, said Taylor. "I can't wait to perform in front of my fans from Arkansas and my adopted hometown fans in Memphis. It's going to be a great night."

"This will be a tremendous battle in a tremendous city, and the most important fight in the 160 pound division," said Gary Shaw, Wright's promoter.

Said Prize Fight Promotions COO Brian Young: "This is the most significant middleweight championship fight in the last 25 years since Hagler vs. Leonard. The stakes couldn't be any higher in what promises to be the major fight of 2006.Two great fighters with one goal. I could not be more excited for my hometown to be the site of this epic battle."

Originally Posted by ForemanRules This thread is for boxing news, perdictions, history, upcoming fights or what ever else you want to talk about in the boxing world.

Originally Posted by topolo What is a perdiction?

23.03.06 - By Harry Hawkins: Undisputed British Light-Welterweight Champion Ricky Hatton has signed to move up a weight and face American Welterweight Luis Collazo for the WBA belt in Boston on 13 May.

This is an interesting move from the Manchester based fighter, as the force used to demolish opponents at light-welter has been Hatton's sublime power when delivering crushing body-shots.

Will the step-up from the 140lb division hamper Hatton's strength? Certainly he will be amongst fighters that may be more used to the kind of blows that the Englishman throws up, and Hatton's own trainer, Billy Graham, had preferred to avoid a bout against Collazo.

But Hatton fears no fighter, and his attempt to become a two-weight champion is something that maybe the British man hopes will bring about a super-fight with Pretty Boy Floyd Mayweather, who is due to step into the ring and face Zab Judah for the IBF title on 8 April.

Mayweather and Hatton are not alone in their recent advancement in weight and the records show that many a great fighter has been successful when piling on a few pounds. Oscar De La Hoya, James Toney and Roy Jones Jnr have all been multi-weight champions of recent times, and although these boxing icons are now in the twilight of their careers, they showed that a change in weight can prove you're great.

Super-Featherweight supremos Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales are stepping up to Lightweight and Welshman Joe Calzaghe seems to be seeking more glory at Light-Heavy.

As the pound-for-pound rankings go, Hatton and Mayweather are at the top and the two men are sure to meet at some point in the coming years. Yet Mayweather's decision to face Judah at 147lbs seems to have given Hatton a flashing 'come and get me' light, to which the Hitman just cannot resist.

It will be interesting to see what will happen after the Collazo fight for Hatton, with the possibility of Castillo and Corales heating up their rivalry at light-welter, the division could prove to be the most exciting of the bunch.

Miguel Cotto remains another option for Hatton, with the Puerto Rican holding the WBO belt. So after Mayweather beats Judah (for I'm sure that must be the only possibility), the potential for fan-favourite bouts must surely be back at light-welter, where Hatton, Cotto, Corrales, or Castillo could provide for an amazing series of bouts.

23.03.06 - Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton: “We will equal Vegas as a fight town. The economic impact - $60 million is important to Memphis, this is not chump change.”

“Winky is good, Jermain is good, may the best man win.”


Lou DiBella

“The public wanted this fight, these are the two best middleweights in the world. Winky is in the lion’s den, but he’s been in the lion's den before. The issue is not the lion’s den, it’s the young lion – Jermain Taylor. Jermain didn’t have to fight Winky coming off beating Bernard Hopkins twice. He’s going from fighting the toughest guy out there, to fighting the toughest guy out there.”

Gary Shaw

“It’s been a long way from Australia to here. Lou beat me out (in signing Jermain after the Olympics). I’ll just have to get him on June 17.”

“This is the most significant middleweight fight since 1987. Winky truly is going to be a Hall of Famer. For sure he is the single best defensive fighter in the last decade.”

"This is a fight that Jermain truly has to win because Winky is the gatekeeper of the 160 pound division.”


Winky Wright

“Thank you Jermain, we made the fight happen. Two great fighters will be coming to Memphis to show who’s best. I am here for one reason: to beat Jermain Taylor on June 17. He beat Hopkins, I beat Tito, now we will find out who the best middleweight is.”


Ozell Nelson

“Winky is a good fighter, a southpaw, but Jermain has no problem with southpaws. Jermain only fights the best, on June 17th he will again show he’s the best.”


Pat Burns

“FedExForum is a beautiful venue…Mr. Mayor, you look like you can still fight (mayor was an amateur boxer). We trained here due to the hurricane in Florida last year, and Memphis did everything right for Team Taylor…I have known Ronald (Winky) since he was a little boy, a little teenager, before he turned pro. Winky is all business, he dodges no one, and that shows you the confidence he has facing Jermain.”

“We fought a lot of southpaws moving up the ranks, now we are ready to fight the best southpaw.

“Jermain is not dodging anyone, Winky is the best out there. Winky is a left-handed Bernard Hopkins. He is slick and smart. It’s a great opportunity for Memphis and Little Rock to get together. They are going to see one heck of a fight; it is going to be an historical event.”


More Lou DiBella

“Jermain is the best fighter I have ever promoted. I am proud to be his promoter. He is my franchise. He is a low maintenance champion. I think it is his toughest fight. Jermain will prove himself again to be the best middleweight.”


Jermain Taylor

“Sorry we were late (20 minutes) I was chasing my daughter around. I had to take her to day care, and she was tough to catch.”

“I have never seen anything like Winky’s defense. He can defend all day, but we are going to have to eventually fight.

“This is weird, I am used to being up here arguing with Bernard Hopkins. Winky came over and shook my hand. I didn’t know what to do. He gave me my respect. But in the ring there is no respect.’

“I am undisputed middleweight champion of the world. Winky is the best, this is one more fight that I will have to prove myself, but I have been proving myself all of my life.

“I live right down the street (referring to he close proximity of Little Rock to Memphis), you can come to my house.”

Originally Posted by aceshigh winky write wins ko 5

25.03.06 - By Troy Ondrizek: Tonight three separate men Eliseo Castillo, Felix Cora Jr., and David Haye declared they are ready to make some noise and turn some heads in the incredibly deep and talented cruiserweight division. I have stated on several occasions that this division is something special. These men are big enough to deliver brain-thumping knockouts like the heavyweight division, but unlike the bigger boys, cruiserweights can ring up the punch count and not get tired, and are able to continue to entertain throughout the fight. In an early candidate for FOTY, Jean Marc Mormeck and O’Neill Bell gave us an amazing unification fight, in which fans were subjected to non-stop action, as the fighters were subjected to each other’s fist upside their head. Bell found a way to walk through the onslaught brought on by the bruising Frenchmen in Mormeck, to gain a stunning stoppage of his formidable foe. With just rumors of fights in talks, the division went on a relative hibernation since landmark unification bout of Bell-Mormeck back on January 7th, but tonight Eliseo Castillo, Felix Cora Jr., and David Haye helped the division flex some literal muscle and gain some notoriety..

Eliseo Castillo is a former heavyweight best known for being the last man to defeat the slick and talented Michael Moorer, and then subsequently taking a beating at the hands of the much bigger Wladimir Klitschko. Castillo is another very skilled fighter reigning from the land of Castro. At 6’2”, Castillo has great size and reach for a cruiserweight, but he uses his ring-savvy to control the action. After his heavyweight career was starting to stall, Castillo met up with South Florida businessman turned manager Scott Hirsch, and Hirsch was able to convince Eliseo to fight at his more natural weight. As with Hirsch’s other fighters, Castillo has already fought twice in past month since being signed by WCBMI, Hirsch’s managerial company. Tonight, down in heat of Miami, Eliseo put on a boxing clinic against the overmatched Willie Herring. In front of a home crowd Castillo controlled the pace and dictated all twelve rounds of their fight, thus capturing a wide unanimous decision victory for some lesser alphabet trinkets. Expect this to only be a stepping stone for Castillo, as he now throws his name into the proverbial hat as a cruiserweight contender.

A more familiar name in the cruiserweight division comes in the form of Felix Cora Jr. Cora Jr. has steadily been climbing the rankings by using his counter-punching skills and his crafty southpaw stance to defeat everybody that decided to step in the ring with him. The twenty-six year old kid from Texas has gorged himself on the division’s journeymen, in the meantime capturing the NABF title. Tonight Cora stepped up in competition and fought Darnell “Ding-a-ling man” Wilson. Just as his name states, Wilson will undoubtedly ring your bell if he connects with any of his punches. As a treat for us fight fans, this bout was on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights. Cora felt Wilson’s power and instead of withering away, Cora stood his ground and traded and counter-punched the much stronger Wilson to a unanimous decision victory. As exciting as this fight was, Cora was originally scheduled to face Dale Brown in an IBF eliminator bout. Brown arguably was robbed against current cruiserweight king O’Neil Bell, and this would’ve been a great statement victory for Cora or Brown. Felix Cora will be in a marquee match before year’s end, and expect to see him for some time.

David “Hayemaker” Haye is built like an Olympic Adonis. He is a stout 6’3” and uses deceivingly great conditioning to keep under 200lbs with his solid size. This David is the Goliath that the division needs to fear. Haye has a professional record of 16-1-0 with 16 KO’s. In fact Haye has yet to hear what the judges have ever thought of him, for in his only loss he was stopped by a much more seasoned Carl Thompson eighteen months ago. Haye was pushed too fast too soon for that fight, and has come on with a vengeance since that bout. Haye is the youngest and most accomplished of the three men mentioned here, he has British fight fans delusional about him. His punishing style and willingness to fight anybody has endeared him to the most loyal fight fans the globe over. Haye stepped in with undefeated challenger Lasse Johansen. Johansen padded his record against weak Danish opposition, but more like Mikkel Kessler and unlike Thomas Damgaard, Johansen seemed to be a game Dane in the ring; for he took Haye the farthest he has ever gone; eight rounds. Haye in typical fashion battered the older Johansen with combinations and nice body shots in the first couple rounds, than seemed to take rounds 5, 6, and 7 off to rest. In round eight Haye came back and brought the fight to Johansen and earned an alright stoppage. Haye has the skills and looks the part of a champion, but he has poor endurance, as shown in tonight’s fight; and Haye loves to party, that will be his downfall if it happens. If Haye, and right now that’s a big if, pulls everything together he can dominate this division.

All three men have something to prove, and something to give to the cruiserweight division. They are three distinct fighters who are in the mix with several other men for the chance at becoming a cruiserweight champion. They are proof positive of the not resurgence, but for the first time ever, emergence of the cruiserweight division. Now the division can throw out names such as O’Neil Bell, Jean Marc Mormeck, Guillermo Jones, Steve Cunningham, Wayne Braithwaite, Dale Brown, Carl Thompson, Johnny Nelson, Virgil Hill, Krzysztof Wlodarczyk, Sebastian Rothman, Enzo Maccarinelli, Grigory Drozd, and now Eliseo Castillo, Felix Cora Jr., and David Haye; as world class contenders. These fighters are truly world class, for they reign from every corner of the world besides Antarctica. I personally can’t wait until these fighters step into the ring to square off in eliminators to get a chance at world titles. Fight fans just might not know what to do seeing all these potential great fights. Look for a Fight Of The Year out of this division in the nest couple of years. For if you can’t enjoy this caliber of boxing, than you need to follow a different sport.

Originally Posted by Goodfella9783 I don't know if Winky has the power to KO Taylor. Will definately be a great fight. I think Taylor will be the overall aggressor.

Tuesday, March 28, 2006 - Old School Gym, Cleveland, Ohio. The 20th anniversary celebration of SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING continues with a WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP FIGHT on Saturday, April 1, when "Relentless" Lamon Brewster defends his WBO title against Sergei "The White Wolf'' Liakhovich. The 12-round world title fight at Wolstein Center at Cleveland State University, Cleveland, Ohio is promoted by Don King Productions and will air on SHOWTIME at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the west coast).

"RELENTLESS'' LAMON BREWSTER (33-2, 29 KOs)

"School's in session on Saturday night. I'll be the teacher.

"Sergei has a good record and in order to go to the next level this type of competition is necessary. Sergei doesn't have the credentials I have, but he is a good fighter and should not be overlooked.

"God willing, if I get past Liakhovich on Saturday, I will be ready for any of the other heavyweight champions, including Hasim Rahman.

"You have no idea how much it means to me to be fighting in the birthplace of Michael 'Dynamite' Dokes. It makes it that much more special that the last heavyweight championship fight in the Cleveland area in 1983 featured Michael.

"This is the best training camp that I have had since the death of my trainer Bill Slayton."

BREWSTER'S TRAINER, BUDDY MCGIRT

"We started training camp in January. He has had exceptional sparring. Lamon's confidence level has grown and he is doing things that come natural to him. We are bringing out his natural talent.

"Whether or not this fight goes 12 rounds is up to Liakhovich.

"If Lamon has to bite down, he will bite down. I am not doubting Sergei. But everyone knows how Lamon can punch. Sergei was knocked out by someone who doesn't punch as hard as Lamon (Maurice Harris)."

SERGEI "THE WHITE WOLF" LIAKHOVICH (22-1, 14 KOs)

"I am in very good condition and I am prepared for anything Brewster brings. I'm relaxed. I am perfectly focused. Kenny Weldon and I have gone through lots of possible scenarios for this fight. Our team really got together and we had the best camp we've ever had. I was paired up with the best sparring partners.

"I don't care what Lamon's doing. I am ready.

"I don't like to talk about where I grew up. These fighters who say they're from the streets can go send someone to my neighborhood and see it for themselves.

"My friends and family in Belarus will all go to a night club to watch the fight. They will be up at 8 a.m. to see it. A win by me on Saturday night would bring much happiness to my country."

LIAKHOVICH'S TRAINER, KENNY WELDON

"Lamon has had it easy. Sergei has lived in places that make Harlem look like a palace. Every fighter that goes into the ring has a street mentality. Every fighter comes to win.

"Sergei is a better fighter than Brewster. Much better. He has better moves. He's quicker. He is a complete fighter. Sergei has only been knocked out three times in his career and that includes 150 amateur fights."

28.03.06 - By Ike Enwereuzor: Former NABA heavyweight champion Serguei Lyakhovich of Vitebsk, Belarus, with a professional record of (22-1, 14 KO's) now ranked No.13 WBO 13 will challenging WBO Heavyweight Champion Lamon Brewster (33-2, 29 KO's) on April 1, 2006 at Wolstein center, Cleveland, OH, event is promoted by Don King Productions and will be televised on Showtime.

Lyakhovich, the once beaten professional heavyweight contender represented his country, Belarus in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, GA and suffered a controversial one-point to Paea Wolfgramm who went on to capture the silver medal losing to Wladimir Klitschko. In 1997, he also won a Bronze medal at the world amateur Boxing championship. This is what he had to say about his showdown with the WBO heavyweight champion Lamon Brewster:


Ike: Thanks for taking out time from your busy schedule to speak with us. How long have you been preparing for this fight Brewster?

Lyakhovich: I actually started training about 7 weeks ago for strength and boxing about a month ago, but I was training all last year for many fights, which all fell through. I was supposed to fight Jameel McCline, Chris Byrd. However, they came back to me and said the fight wouldn't happen because of some rating issues. Wladimir Klitschko was supposed to be in Germany, but I lost my passport, so I had to go to my country to correct my papers before I could go to Germany to fight him, which left me with no time to train for the fight. Also, was supposed to fight Owen Beck and some other guys, but these fights never happened, either. Now, I'm fighting for the heavyweight championship. They may say I was off for a year, but I was training all that time.

Ike: When and how did you start your amateur career?

Lyakhovich: I started when I was about 12, in my Country, Belarus. My father loved Boxing, so we used to watch some fights together, but before boxing, I was Free Style Wrestler. I won a Bronze Medal in the 1997 world amateur Boxing championship game, in Hungary. I was in Olympics in Atlanta 1996. I lost by one point to the silver medalist, who lost to Wladimir Klitschko in finals. I won a lot of tournaments as an amateur.

Ike: How did you get the name "White Wolf"?

Lyakhovich: I like this animal, because he's a very smart animal and a great hunter. I'm from Belarus, meaning "White Russian."

Ike: You're fighting Lamon Brewster for his WBO heavyweight title on April 1st. How is training and what can you tell us about this fight?

Lyakhovich: Everything is fine and going great. It will be my first fight on Showtime and I know it'll be a great show to watch. Lamon Brewster hasn't shown me anything special, so if he fights me the same way he usually fights, he'll have a big, big problem. All he has is heart and power, so I hope he's ready because I'll be prepared for everything he's got. I'll do everything to win this fight, and everybody will see what will happen. It's will be a great fight to watch. It you can't make it to the arena, tune in to Showtime.

Ike: Your impression of Brewster?

Lyakhovich: He's a good fighter and has an awkward left hook. I watched his fights on tape; He has heart and power but that's all he's got. If he fights me the same way he fought his past opponents, he'll be in big trouble, I can tell you that right now. I'll be ready for whatever he brings.

Ike: Rahman-Toney fight; what did you think of it?

Lyakhovich: I don't really want to talk about that fight. I expected much more from James Toney. I mean, he came in there out of shape, so I don't think he gave it 100% effort.

Ike: What did you learn from your fight with Maurice Harris?

Lyakhovich: They said it was a knockout. Yes, he dropped me but I got up. However, they just stopped the the fight. I don't want take anything away from Maurice Harris, because he was a more experienced boxer than me but I wasn't ready for that kind of fight yet. He had questions but I had no answers. I learned a lot from that fight, and it was good for me and thank God, I got together with Kenny Weldon, who has help me a lot and give what I need. I never stop learning.

Ike: Tell us about your fight with Derrell Dixon?

Lyakhovich: It was long time ago; I have changed trainers since then to try something new. Derrell is a tough boxer, also. I'm a better fighter, now.

Ike: How would you rate your performance in your last fight in December 2004, against Dominick Guinn?

Lyakhovich: I sparred with Dominick Guinn before that fight, and I knew his style. He's very much basic but uses his jab a lot. However, if you take his jab away from him, he has nothing left. I tried to move side to side and confuse him. I fought Guinn after I had right hand surgery

Ike: You fought Friday Ahunanya for the NABA heavyweight championship. How would you discribe the fight?

Lyakhovich: It was a tough fight and it was a huge arena with plenty of people but I stayed focused and won the fight. It was my first HBO fight.

Ike: What was your fight with Sedrick Fields?

Lyakhovich: It was a tough fight but won every round.

Ike: Any predictions for the Byrd-Klitschko II?

Lyakhovich: I think Klitschko will beat Chris Byrd again.

Ike: Judah-Mayweather fight?

Lyakhovich: I pick Mayweather to win that fight.

Ike: Tarver-Hopkins?

Lyakhovich: I think Antonio Tarver will pull off the victory. Hopkins is a great champion but his time has passed.

Ike: What's it like working Ivaylo Gotzev?

Lyakhovich: He's my manager and does a good job. Everything is nice.

Ike: What was your toughest professional fight?

Lyakhovich: I had a few tough fights; this guy from Russia, Alex Vasilev. I fought him in amateurs two times and beat him both times but they were tough fights for me. After that, I fought him again in professional in my second professional fight.

Ike: Any comments to your fans what to expect April 1?

Lyakhovich: I want to thank everyone that has supported me and I want them to come out and support or tune in to Showtime. It's going to be an interesting fight to watch

30.03.06 - By Lee Hayes: This April 22nd, IBF Heavyweight champion Chris Byrd will be returning to Germany to have his third fight with the Klitschko brothers. Klitschko cinched the number one ranking in the IBF by defeating Samuel Peter soundly last December. This is an analysis of what you can look for and may expect during their fight.

The Fighters

Wladimir "Dr Steel Hammer" Klitschko

Height: approx. 6'6

Weight: approx. 243 lbs

Reach: 81 inches

Age: 30

Best punch: Several. Jab, right cross and left hook are all dangerous.

Experience: Klitschko has an incredible amount of fight experience for a 30 year old fighter. With an amateur record of 134-6, and a professional record of 45-3, Wlad is one of the most experienced heavyweights fighting today. Klitschko was actually more of a boxer than a puncher as an amateur fighter. His list of notable opponents reads Monte Barret, Chris Byrd, Frans Botha, an ancient Ray Mercer, Jameel McCline, Corrie Sanders, Lamon Brewster and Samuel Peter.


Style: More a boxer than a slugger, Wladimir doesn't really like to trade with his opponents. He's really only aggressive when he knows he can dominate the man he's fighting. Whenever an opponent is sturdy enough to take his enormous offense, Wladimir tends to crumble. He boxed very impressively in his last fight against undefeated Nigerian sensation, Samuel Peter.

Speed: Fast, for a big man. He seems a lot faster than he is, because he's so large that it's just impressive to see a guy that size throw combinations like he does. Still, he's faster than John Ruiz, Lamon Brewster, Nicolay Valuev and Hasim Rahman. And outside of Byrd and James Toney, those are all the top fighters in the division.


Power: Top notch. Even though he's more likely to chop his opponent down over 4 or 5 rounds, Wlad's power is A+. His offense has never been his problem. Much like Evander Holyfield, his power is in his combinations. If the first punch doesn't hurt you, the third or fourth one will.


Chin & Recuperative Abilities: This is one of Wladimir's definite detriments. All three of his losses were stoppages. DaVarryl Williamson proved that it doesn't even have to be a full force punch. Just an arm punch can put Klitschko on his rump. The truth however lies somewhere in the middle. Wlad's chin isn't as bad as it looked against Corrie Sanders. That was just one of those terrible, off nights that any fighter can have. But his chin also isn't as good as it looked against Peter. Samuel looked like a rank amateur compared to Wladimir. It was nearly embarrassing. Peter barely landed a flush power punch on him the entire night. The fact remains that because of Chris Byrd's superior speed and equal high accuracy rate, it's not inconceivable that Klitschko could be stopped by the light hitting south paw. I know you'll think that's unlikely, but I'm telling you, don't be surprised if it does. Wlad's ability to recuperate from being wobbled seemed very suspect right up until his last fight against Peter. In that fight he showed that he could get up from a knock down, hang on and punch back when he was hurt. That was something new to his arsenal, and it's noteworthy.


Heart: Even though Klitschko is often criticized for his heart, and I doubted it myself after he surrendered against journeyman Ross Puritty, he has actually demonstrated a champions heart in the last few years. He got bounced up and down on the canvas like a yo-yo by semi-retired golfer/part-time boxer Corrie Sanders. But on the bright side...to get up four times, that takes heart. Not many fighters would keep getting up. He was really busted up against Sanders, but he kept getting up, and he was up when the fight was stopped. I don't really know what his damage was in the Brewster fight, but I think it definitely warranted more criticism of his testicular fortitude. However, in his fight against DaVarryl Williamson, I got the feeling that his look of disappointment in the way the fight was stopped was sincere. He even seemed more disappointed in the fact that it was such a terrible fight to begin with.


Intangibles: Really, the best quality that Wladimir Klitschko possesses is that he brings excitement to every fight he's in. His knock out ratio is very high, and he usually tries for a knock out if he thinks he can overwhelm his opponent. And, he can get knocked down or out at any given time. He could collapse. Or he could gas out and quit. There is a more likely chance that he will walk through his over matched, hand selected opponents without even breaking a sweat until he faces more power punchers, and larger heavyweights.


Chris "Rapid Fire" Byrd


Height: approx. 6'1


Weight: approx. 212 lbs


Reach: 74 inches


Age: 35


Best Punch: Short left cross to the body. The punch that wobbled David Tua, Andrew Golota , Evander Holyfield and Jameel McCline.

Experience: Incredibly, Chris Byrd has even more experience than Klitschko packed into 35 years. His amateur record was 290-25, which is one of the most successful amateur careers in the history of the sport. He fought the likes of Kostya Tszyu and Sven Otke, to name a few. Most of his fights were at super middleweight or below. Interesting trivia, Chris Byrd was actually a pretty wicked puncher when he was eleven or twelve years old. He was fast and hit hard for that weight class, and he was knocking out almost everyone he fought. Since his super middleweight silver medal victory at the '92 Olympics Byrd has compiled a professional record of 39-2-1 (20). His list of notable opponents reads Ike Ibeabuchi, Vitali Klitschko, Wladimir Klitschko, David Tua, Fres Oquendo, Evander Holyfield, Jameel McCline, and Andrew Golota. That is better than any active heavyweight fighter.

Style: Byrd's style has evolved quite a bit over the past four years. When he first turned pro, he was fighting C level opponents that he could toy with, and he often "slapped" with his punches, even using backhands instead of jabs. A lot of potential fans were turned off by the act. In reality, Byrd had little choice. He was merely trying to add theatrics to his game. Because he knew he didn't have the kind of power punches to make loud impact sounds that natural heavyweights have to influence judges score cards with. It backfired, but after hearing a total over board backlash for his sins, Byrd responded by continually trying to stand right in front of his large opponents. Even when facing giant opponents like the Klitschko brothers, Andrew Golota and Jameel McCline. He stopped back handing, and he has said many times that every punch he throws is thrown with the intent of knocking his opponent out.


Speed: Only the heavyweight debut of Roy Jones Jr. could compete with Chris's hand speed. It's tops in the division. Even though his critics claim he's slowing down with the years, I have to disagree. Perhaps they didn't watch him nearly KO Jameel McCline with his incredible flurries to the head and body. Maybe they didn't notice that it was Chris Byrd that was rallying with flurries to save his title in his controversial draw with Andrew Golota. His speed is one of his key assets, and it's not only his hand speed. It's his reflexes as well. Byrd can 'juke 'n jive' as well as James Toney when he's playing defense. He only seems to be slowing down because he's getting hit more now a days. But that's not because of speed. That's because he's trying to win over the fans he blew it with so many years ago, and he's trading with power punchers risking his life to do it. So he gets hit more, because he's taking more chances and having to face far more punches. Take a look at his compubox stats before he started trading more. He rarely even got hit by his opponents. That's only changed because he's standing in the pocket and trading with them.


Power: Even though Byrd's improved his power slightly since he turned pro, he's still one of the lightest punchers in the division. And probably one of the lightest punchers to ever hold a world title too. Still, he's not completely feather fisted. He goes the distance in almost every fight now, but that's because his opponents are of much better quality. His power has gone up, but so has the quality of chins on his opponents. Byrd has wobbled David Tua, Evander Holyfield, Andrew Golota, Jameel McCline and DaVarryl Williamson. He just has absolutely no finishing power. Because he's dedicated himself to a strength program since his first fight with Wladimir, Byrd is far more capable of physically withstanding a pushing contest with large opponents. McCline laid on top of him on the ropes during their entire right, and he's even heavier than Wlad. Byrd was able to push him off on several occasions and land rapid fire combinations off the ropes.


Chin & Recuperative Abilities: For a small heavyweight, Byrd's chin is remarkable. It's not in the league of James Toney, but Byrd has an excellent beard. He's only been stopped once, and that was against a prime Ike Ibeabuchi. Byrd took a massive amount of punishment in that fight before the ref stopped it. Byrd was on his feet before the count of ten and wanted to continue. He was out on his feet, but he made the count. He's been knocked down by Wlad in their first fight and by McCline. All by excellent power shots. In ever case though, he got up immediately after hitting the canvas and showed excellent recuperative powers.


Heart: No heavyweight has more heart than Chris Byrd. None. He is one of the lightest hitting heavyweight champions of all-time, yet he stands and trades with all of the largest behemoths the modern heavyweights have to offer. Just look at his record. Ike Ibeabuchi was 6'2, 244 3/4 lbs, Vitali Klitschko 6'8 244 1/4 lbs, Wladimir Klitschko 6'6 238 lbs, Jameel McCline 6'7 270 lbs, Andrew Golota 6'4 237 ½ lbs, and he's fighting Wladimir 6'6 243 lbs again! He can be knocked down, but only with a full balanced flush power shot from a heavy puncher. Even then, he gets right back up. The punch that Ike Ibeabuchi put Chris Byrd down with made him drool out of the side of his mouth and probably would have put most heavyweights in to a comma. Byrd got up. When he gets tagged with clean, hard shots, he lets out a "woo!" and counters back with quick, sharp combinations.

Intangibles: How much will the awful showing with DaVarryl Williamson effect Byrd's self confidence going in to this fight? People were incredibly hard on Chris after his sleep inducing bout with DaVarryl, but what his critics seem to forget, is that DaVarryl is an incredibly boring, drab fighter. John Ruiz has a more exciting boxing style. DaVarryl ran like a coward against Wladimir, and ruined what a lot of fans thought would be a great shoot out between heavyweight punchers. But he probably thought he'd get KO'd if he stood still. But there was no excuse for running from Chris Byrd. Williamson had a much harder punch, and as the slugger, he should have been pressing the attack. But much like Fres Oquendo, Williamson decided to rob the fans of an exciting fight by trying to take Byrd out of his game. Fres admitted to doing this after his fight with Chris in 2003. He said he knew if he pressed the action against Byrd he would get countered all night long, so he stayed back and made Byrd come to him.

Forcing the light hitting counter puncher to try walk him down. That's what caused Byrd vs Oquendo to be one of the most boring fights in the history of heavyweight championship boxing, and ditto for Byrd vs Williamson. Chris can't stalk guys like George Foreman. We all know that. So if a power puncher decides to stink the joint out by running from him all night long, I don't think it's fair to trash the guy when the fight reeks like rotten eggs. Byrd looked great against Jameel McCline, and that's a good measure of what he looks like at his best. If he fights like he did that night, he will do well. He's had his heavyweight title for longer than any other current titlist. Even though he's been put to the test in the last few years, Byrd's shown that nobody has been able to dominate him for six years.


Final Analysis: Byrd is bigger and physically stronger now and better equipped to physically push around mammoth heavyweights. Where he has had some downers since becoming champion, most of them have just been due to his fights being boring. Usually, they are one sided in his favor. In recent years, Wladimir has also received a ton of criticism. But it's because he's been fighting like a journeyman pugilist. Not the savior of the division. This is just the lesser of two evils. Neither of them have been perfect, and I concede that Wladimir's thorough boxing lesson on Samuel Peter was as impressive as anything Byrd's done in two years. It's incredible to think of Wladimir's football field length reach advantage. Byrd has the same reach as Oscar De LaHoya. Wladimir has the same reach as George Foreman. But despite Byrd's reach, he has above average skills at landing combinations from the outside. His inside game is outstanding. As good as James Toney's, and tops in the division.

This fight is going to come down to a couple of things. Whether Byrd will try go for broke because he's in Germany again, and knows he probably can't get a fair shake on the score cards. If he goes all out, I think he definitely has a good chance of TKO'ing or KOing Wladimir Klitschko. I think Klitschko has shown a Golota-esque tendency towards panic attacks when under pressure or new circumstances. He's never been hit by blindingly fast combinations. Byrd lost all his vision by the end of the third round in their first fight, so he could not unleash with his regular accuracy. This fight will be different. In Wladimir's favor, Manny Steward has been drilling in to his head the concept that he has to use his size and strength to rough up his opponents. Steward has talked about this before several of Wlad's fights, but the first time we really saw it was against Peter.

Wlad pushed Sam around like a rag doll in the later rounds, and looked like the bully in their brawl. If he is able to successfully do this to Chris- particularly if Byrd is in fact trying to stop Klitschko to avoid biased score cards- he could possibly win a decision. My choice for the fight is Chris Byrd by stoppage in the late rounds. Probably by referee's stoppage. I say this because Chris can take Wlad's shots. Neither of these guys are going to run, and Wlad will try keep it on the outside, and Chris will try take it to the inside. The difference will be on the ropes. Byrd is much better at fighting off the ropes than he was six years ago. Byrd is nothing like Sam Peter. You couldn't get more polar opposites. One major difference is that Peter was gassed by the middle rounds in his fight against Wlad, and Byrd never seems to get gassed. He always seems to have something in the gas tank.

31.03.06 - Photo by Tom Casino / SHOWTIME(c) - WBO Heavyweight Champion Lamon Brewster (232 pounds) and challenger Sergei Liakhovich (238.5 pounds) weighed-in for Saturday's world title fight LIVE on SHOWTIME (11 p.m. ET/PT) and made their predictions on the NCAA Final Four. The SHOWTIME telecast will be presented at a special time to accommodate fans tuning into the NCAA's Men's Final Four on CBS. The Showtime Championship Boxing telecast will be part of a SHOWTIME Free Preview Weekend (March 31-April 3) when the network will open its signal to 45 million TV households nationwide.

Donning the U.C.L.A. jersey, Brewster picked the Bruins to defeat the L.S.U. Tigers and go all the way. However, he stopped short of picking U.C.L.A.'s opponent in the finals.

"I have to go with my boys to represent Los Angeles, said Brewster, a city of Angels resident. "They are going to use stifling defense to get past L.S.U.'s inside game. But, I cannot call the George Mason - Florida game. That one is too tough to predict."

Sporting an L.S.U. jersey, Liakhovich predicts that Louisiana's finest and George Mason will win this weekend and play in Monday night's final.

"Like each of the L.S.U. players, I am a tiger," Liakhovich said. "When I step into the ring, nothing gets in the way of my prey. Brewster will find that out on Saturday night."


RELENTLESS'' LAMON BREWSTER (33-2, 29 KOs)

"My form of fighting is formless. It is like water. By being formless, I have my mind open to a lot of things. It allows me to not be surprised in the ring."

"How I fight depends on how I feel when the bell rings."

"Right now, there are a lot of smoke screens from different heavyweight fighters about what they can do. James Toney has the talent, but not the conditioning. Hasim Rahman has the conditioning and heart, but not the skills of a Toney. Chris Byrd is a proven heavyweight."

"I did not fight to my potential against Kali Meehan. He is my friend. I did not go all out and it almost cost me my title. I definitely held back. That is why I made a statement against Andrew Golota."

"My faith in God led me to Buddy McGirt. He made me realize that I have a left hand that would make my right hand jealous."

"When (former trainer) Bill Slayton died, I was like a puppy without its mother. Other trainers put a cap on what I could do. McGirt helps bring out the best in me."

"I want the WBC (World Boxing Council) heavyweight title no matter who is holding it. If Wladimir Klitschko gets past Byrd, and that is a distinct possibility, I want to fight him for personal reasons."

"I am not playing checkers. I am playing chess. I am going to put other fighters on that clock. I am (legendary chess players) Bobby Fischer, baby."

"It is shameful that we live in a day and time that people do not know who the heavyweight champion is."

"You can take any dog and put him in the ring against a pit bull. The pit bull is always going to win. You cannot go toe-to-toe with a pit bull. That is what Andrew Golota tried to do."

"I do not have a degree. I come from the school of hard knocks. I cannot work a nine-to-five job. I have to fight to provide for my family."


Buddy McGirt (Brewster's trainer)

"Once Brewster realizes how good he really is, the heavyweight division is in serious trouble. He still has a way to go."

"When Brewster gets his rhythm, I can just sit back and enjoy this fight."


SERGEI "THE WHITE WOLF" LIAKHOVICH (22-1, 14 KOs)

"I have many weapons. I have a real good right hand. What I use depends on the situation."

"We looked at three of Brewster's fights. He fights the same way all of the time."

"I like how Toney fights, but I do not think he gave his best for the Rahman fight."

"Mike Tyson and I train at the same gym in Arizona. I saw him, but never spoke to him."


Kenny Weldon (Liakhovich's trainer)

"We will do whatever is necessary to beat Brewster's hook. If we beat his hook, we beat Brewster."

"Brewster pulls his head first, than throws the hook. He is going to hit you with the hook 90 percent of the time."

Gross TKOs Gunn in wild one! Cruiserweight Shelby Gross (17-3, 14 KOs) won an exciting, albeit controversial second round TKO over Bobby Gunn (15-3, 12 KOs) Friday night at the Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. Gunn dropped Gross twice in round one. After the first knockdown, Gross spit out his mouthpiece, buying some extra time. He was floored again hard at the end of the round and barely beat the count. Between rounds, the corner pad in Gross' corner conveniently slipped off, buying Gross even more time to recover. In round two, during a wild exchange, Gross dropped Gunn with a left hook then proceeded to hit him at least twice while he was on the ground before referee Freddie Boges practically body slammed Gross to get him off Gunn. Gross then dropped the reeling Gunn twice more in the round before the bout was halted at 2:59. With the win, Gross claimed the vacant IBA title. The Gunn camp plans to protest the result. Saturday, April 1 2006

Originally Posted by KentDog This was one of the funniest fights I have ever seen. It is available to watch for free at fightbeat.com and is a MUST-SEE. This ref is absolutely terrible!! Let's just say this fight has multiple knockdowns and A BODYSLAM that is priceless!

CLEVELAND (April 2, 2006) - The Cold War may be over, but the Russians refuse to go away. Despite being a huge underdog and having remained inactive for the past 16 months, Belarus native Sergei Liakhovich shocked the sports world by scoring a 12-round unanimous decision over champion Lamon Brewster to capture the WBO heavyweight title Saturday on SHOWTIME.

One of the most thrilling heavyweight fights in recent years aired live on SHOWTIME at 11 p.m. ET/PT from the Wolstein Center at Cleveland State University in Cleveland, Ohio, and was presented at a special time to accommodate fans who tuned in to the NCAA's Men's Final Four on CBS. The SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING broadcast also was part of a SHOWTIME Free Preview Weekend (March 31-April 3) in which the network opened its signal to 45 million TV households nationwide.

Liakhovich (23-1, 14 KOs), of Scottsdale, Ariz., by way of Vitebsk, Belarus, won the last five rounds on one scorecard, the final four on another and three out of the last four rounds on the third scorecard to win his first world title. Judge Phil Rogers scored it 117-110, Tom Miller had it 115-112, while Dana DePaolo tallied it 115-113.

"I answered Brewster every time," Liakhovich said. "Then, he felt my power."

The new WBO heavyweight champion overcame a seventh-round trip to the canvas and utilized both a punishing left jab and overhand right to take control in the late stanzas. After the bout, Liakhovich had nothing but praise for his counterpart.

"Brewster was a real great champion," Liakhovich said. "He hits real hard with power and has lots of will. After the fourth round, I knew I was controlling the fight, but Brewster hits like a mule. I felt like I did the right thing when I took a knee at the end of round seven. I almost sent him down twice, too."

Brewster (33-3, 29 KOs), of Los Angeles, scored the lone knockdown when he sent Liakhovich to one knee with only seconds remaining in the seventh round. Despite seeing his nine-bout winning streak come to an end, Brewster displayed the heart of a champion throughout and was gracious in defeat.

"Liakhovich deserved to win," Brewster said. "He earned it. I take my hat off to him. He won and we have a rematch. I cannot wait to do it again. He fought a good fight and is a good fighter. We both deserve to be at the top.

"I stayed on my feet in round nine from sheer will."

SHOWTIME broadcasters Steve Albert and Al Bernstein praised the heart displayed by both fighters.

"This was one of the best heavyweight championship fights in years," Albert said. "It was even more pronounced because it comes on the heels of recent heavyweight fights that have been lackluster. Boxing needed this - an exciting, competitive and compelling heavyweight fight. It clearly got it."

"Liakhovich gave a tremendously complete performance and he needed to," Bernstein said. "Brewster hit him with some tremendous punches. This fight was not only exciting, but it was skillfully fought. That is something we do not always see in the heavyweight division. "I cannot wait for the rematch."



SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING's Albert and Bernstein called the action from ringside with Karyn Bryant serving as roving reporter. The producer of the SHOWTIME telecast was David Dinkins Jr. with Bob Dunphy directing.

SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING celebrates 20 years of hard-hitting, explosive programming in 2006. In March 1986, SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING was born when "Marvelous" Marvin Hagler defeated John "The Beast" Mugabi in a spectacular and unforgettable 11th-round knockout in Las Vegas. Since that time, the network has aired some of the most historic and significant events in the sport including both Holyfield-Tyson bouts.

Always at the forefront of boxing, SHOWTIME has set itself apart by telecasting "great fights, no rights" on the first Saturday of every month. SHOWTIME is the first network to regularly deliver live boxing in High Definition. In addition, SHOWTIME continues to be a pioneer in sports television with a number of interactive features across multiple platforms making SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecasts the most enjoyable, immersive viewing experience for the boxing audience.

08.04.06 - By Izyaslav “Slava” Koza: The fight between Pretty Boy Floyd and Zab Judah really lasted about five rounds and after that, it turned into a typical “Pretty Boy” clinic. Zab Judah admittedly came out very confident and very strong, much like he did against most of his overmatched foes, and even if you watch the tape against Carlos Baldomir, and Kostya Tsyzu as well. Mayweather was seemingly tense, and anxious and for those five rounds it seemed like Judah was going to give Mayweather, a Castillo like bout, but unfortunately for Zab Judah, championship bouts last more then five rounds.

As Mayweather alluded to in the post fight, Judah is a six round fighter, and even then I think he was being overly generous. To add to that, if you look at any Judah loss, you will realize that once Judah gets smacked back in the face, he goes into a defensive counter punching shell (which is crap, too, by the way), that allows the opponent to impose his will any which way he likes. That speaks volumes for Kostya Tsyzu, by the way, since as soon as he realized that, the fight ended in the second round with one punch.

I am not trying to take anything away from Mayweather, but basically this fight was a matter of his opponent’s limitations, rather than Mayweather’s skill. Mayweather was his usual speedy self, throwing quickly, slipping punches quickly, and winning the rounds going away. There was simply nothing coming at him after round five, and he took over the fight in his usual manner. The only slight criticisms for Mayweather, from a tactical standpoint, were that early in the fight his great shoulder defense was not as prominent as it was when Judah did try to throw something late in the fight. In the early rounds, when Judah was the most dangerous, Mayweather squared up more, giving Zab more of a chance. So, technically, early on he was more susceptible to getting caught with that one big punch. This is possibly why his glove touched down on the canvas early in the bout, off a Judah connect, and could have cost him a 10-8.

The real interesting bit in the fight came after the outcome was no longer in doubt. Zab Judah, a self proclaimed bad ass, obviously frustrated that he was on his way to yet another loss, threw what looked like a deliberate low blow (watch the tape, because it seems somewhat blatant) and followed it up with his first rabbit punch (second one was yet to come). With five seconds left in the round, and Mayweather hopping around injured, Roger Mayweather, Floyd’s trainer, jumped in the ring and tried to verbally accost Judah.

First and foremost, what Roger Mayweather did was ridiculous and stupid, and made me jump out of my chair, wanting to hit something myself. I understand his feelings since his nephew was attacked illegally, but that “family love” could have cost the Mayweather camp an easy fight, Roy Jones Montell Griffin style. It would have been completely justified, even if completely disappointing to everybody else and obviously myself.

However, that was just the beginning as the Judah was camp was just looking for a reason to get back to their pathetic and comedic street nature. While Roger Mayweather was reasonably thrown out of the arena, where the hell was the law when Yoel Judah came in the ring and initiated the brawl by swinging first? Now, at first view, I am sure you don’t notice it but if you have it on tape, rewind it and check out what Zab Judah does after his dad starts out. Soon after Judah sr. throws the first punch at uncle Roger, another Mayweather corner man tries to separate them, and Judah with a huge grin on his face runs around behind the corner man and hits him with the second rabbit punch of the night.

To me, I understand the reason why Zab threw both his first rabbit punch and the low blow that allowed him to land it, because he wanted the win. As I have said, though I won’t pat the fighter on the back, I can sort of see their side of it. However, watching what seemed like underhanded actions in that melee makes me question his character.

Credit to Floyd Mayweather Jr. for not losing his composure and embarrassing Zab the best way he knows how, and that is in the ring. Floyd did not go out looking to retaliate with illegal shots, or look for a knockout (even if said so before the 12th), he went back to doing exactly what it was that made Judah lash out so desperately. I know there might have been hoodlums and criminals cheering for Zab’s courageous actions, but I was cheering for Mayweather effortlessly showing why he is the best pound for pound fighter in the sport today. Not even in the post fight interview where Mayweather had the best, and most justifiable chance to embarrass Judah by making fun of him, did he act even a fraction of the way Judah did. That ultimately surprised me even more because that showed a tremendous improvement in Mayweather’s character. To me, that is exactly how the best pound for pound fighter in the world should react to desperate actions of desperate fighters who have absolutely no chance of ever reaching his level of dedication, devotion and flawlessness.

Congratulations to Floyd Mayweather Jr. on a fight well fought, and to Zab Judah for his flawed performance and “fighter” attitude.

14.04.06 - Ricky Hatton has officially given up the IBF Junior Welterweight title in order to pursue the WBA Welterweight title of Luis Collazo on May 13 in Boston, MA. Below is the letter Team Hatton sent to IBF President Marian Muhammad to notify that organization of his decision. Hatton remains the WBA Light Welterweight Champion.

Dear Marian Muhammad & The IBF Team,

It is with the greatest regret that I must surrender my IBF Light Welterweight Title. Winning the IBF Championship was without doubt the greatest night of my life and to have to give it up outside of the ring is truly a painful experience. Much worse than the punches I had to take to wrestle the title from Kostya!

It has NEVER been my or my team's intention not to defend my title against the IBF's appointed challenger but sadly due to outside influences, legal problems and problems meeting TV schedules, it seems that this is the situation I find myself in.

I have worn my championship with pride and I hope that in winning the
unification bout with Carlos Maussa, I have also made the IBF proud of their
champion.

I hope that in the near future I will get the opportunity to become an IBF World Champion again and that I will have the chance to defend my title. Like all fighters, we take great risks in the pursuit of our dreams of becoming World Champions and I hope that in the future I will only win and lose titles in the ring.

Once again I would like to thank you all for the time I spent as your champion and look forward to becoming one again soon, although in my heart I will remain your champion!

Ricky "HITMAN" Hatton

Originally Posted by KentDog Liakhovich v Brewster was a good fight. Mayweather v Judah this weekend on HBO-PPV. I can't wait to see what dance Judah is going to do in this one after he gets tapped on that glass chin of his.

Originally Posted by aceshigh glass chin?? kotya gave a few people a rep for having a glass chin

Mayweather-Judah II? After the controversial tenth round in their first fight, the IBF has ordered a rematch between IBF welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Zab Judah to take place no later than August 8. Although Team Mayweather has five days to respond, Floyd's promoter Bob Arum has already told the Las Vegas Review Journal where he stands. "They're out of their minds," said Arum. "Who do they think they are? This is totally inappropriate. What they've done highlights the fact they're an organization that has absolutely no credibility." Arum also stated he has made an $8 million+ offer to Floyd to fight WBO welterweight champion Antonio Margarito, possibly on August 12. Tuesday, April 18 2006

IBF letter to Floyd! By Karl Freitag Fightnews has obtained a copy of the actual letter sent from the IBF to Floyd Mayweather Jr. via his promoter Top Rank ordering a rematch with Zab Judah. In it, IBF President Marian Muhammad congratulates Floyd on his win but calls the bout "tarnished by what I call one of the most abhorrent displays of unsportsmanlike conduct to occur in boxing [in regard to Roger Mayweather entering the ring to start a tenth round melee].....based on all the information available, the poll of IBF/USBA Board of Directors and my personal attendance at the fight of April 8, 2006 between Zab Judah and Floyd Mayweather, Jr., it is the decision and directive of the IBF that a rematch between Floyed Mayweather, Jr., and Zab Judah is ordered to take place within 90-120 days of April 8, 2006 or not later August 8, 2006 for the IBF Welterweight title. The Board is also directing that no intervening bouts should be contracted for by either boxer. Kindly let us know within the next 5 days as to whether or not you feel this bout can be negotiated so that we may move forward from that point." Tuesday, April 18 2006

20.04.06 - Chris Byrd (39-2-1, 20 KOs) defends his IBF heavyweight title against IBF No. 1 contender and former WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (45-3, 40 KOs) on Saturday, April 22, at the new SAP Arena in Mannheim, Germany, on HBO. The scheduled 12-round bout is promoted by K2 Promotions and will be carried live on HBO at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT. It will be replayed later that night on HBO at 10 p.m. ET/PT.

Klitschko: This fight is something really different than other fights because it is for the championship of the world. Right now, I am looking forward to it. I have done a lot of things to get the chance to become the No. 1 challenger. I would like to also say something about Chris Byrd. He is the longest reigning heavyweight champion and one of the most experienced boxers. So I am excited and hopefully everybody is also planning to watch the fight on April 22.

Byrd: I am very excited about the fight. Wladimir is more than worthy. He is the No. 1 contender and has been doing well. So it is a great challenge for me because it is a rematch, something I want to avenge big time. I feel he is the best guy in the division right now outside of myself. So it is a very intriguing fight and will have a lot of drama leading up to it because of the last fight. I just hope we put on a great show. I am very confident in my ability and am ready for the fight. I want to show the world that I am the best in the division. So look for a great fight come April 22..


Begin Press Questions.

Question: Chris, what are your thoughts on the rematch with Wladimir and being in Germany?

Byrd: The fans here are great. Just having the open workout today and seeing all the people there basically supporting the fight; it motivates me. It does not matter where we fight. It is a great opportunity to fight Wladimir again. He is one of the top guys. This is the first rematch in my professional career. Since I have been champion the past couple of years, I have always wanted to fight the top guys and really have not been allowed to because of certain circumstances. So now it has opened up and this is really starting off a tournament format. You win and you move on and fight hopefully the next best guy out there to eliminate so that we all know who the No. 1 fighter out there is. So I am very excited about this fight that is coming up.

Question: Wladimir, is there more or less pressure fighting in what basically is your hometown?

Klitschko: It does not matter where the ring is. The ring has four corners and a referee and an opponent. Of course, the last championship of the world in Germany was three years ago and it is very good to have such a great audience who bought out the tickets. It just shows that the nation is really excited about the sport in general. I am looking forward it. We only have only a couple of days to the fight and that is a great thing.

Question: Chris, what makes you think this fight will be different than the first one when you lost?

Byrd: I think I am more confident in my ability to fight bigger, taller guys. I am defending the belt. To prove that you are the best, you have to fight the best. So I do not care if Wladimir beat me five years ago and we fought the next day after he beat me. I would still feel I am going to win. I just want to prove that I am the best guy out there. I am going to beat him.

Question: Chris, what made you be willing to accept this fight over in Germany?

Byrd: To be a world champion, you fight wherever. I feel like I get more credibility coming over to Germany to fight and win than anywhere else. I am ready to fight and prove that I really belong in this division. I may be a small guy, but I want to be huge in the division as far as being the man. I talked to my wife, my father, I prayed about it and the Lord just said, ‘Hey, go and fight. Regardless of what goes on, you fight.’ So I am here and ready to do it.

Question: Do you think you are going to get a fair shake?

Byrd: I hope this sport is fair enough that we both get a fair shake. I do not even concern myself with that. Everybody will see that if I get beat, and I get beat soundly, I will take it like a man. But if I win, and win soundly, hopefully I will get the decision and everybody will see it. So I do not concern myself with all of that. All I concern myself with is with Wladimir Klitschko in that ring on April 22.

Question: Wladimir, what did you learn in your fight with Samuel Peter, a fight where you faced a lot of adversity?

Klitschko: That dead men can keep walking and walking and walking. When I was a world champion and defending my title, I got a feeling that a lot of my opponents had a lot of respect for me and wanted to fight against me. But after I lost my title, the respect was lost. So to get the respect back, you have to go all the way. There are many question marks – no team, no stamina, no bulk, dead man, broken man, whatever. I do my job and I know that I belong (in the upper echelon of the division). So let me fight the fight. I think only action in the ring can show how good or how bad I am.

Question: Do you expect to see a different fighter in Byrd this time than you saw the first time?

Klitschko: I think Chris Byrd is a much wiser man and a lot more experienced. You cannot buy experience; you have to get it through the years. That is what he did and I think Chris Byrd is much better than five years ago when we fought in the last fight.

Question: Does the fact that your brother not fighting anymore affected your thoughts about how long you are going to stay in the sport?

Klitschko: We were talking about it a couple of years ago. Even then it was obvious that one of us would continue to fight after one had to retire. It was obvious also that the younger one would stay longer. Even though my brother (Vitali) is retired, I still have my goal to become a champion.

Question: Chris, when your cousin, Lamon (Brewster) lost, it made you and Hasim Rahman as the only American heavyweight champions. What does that mean to you being an American heavyweight champion?

Byrd: It is a great thing being champion -- period. But I really do not concern myself with it. It is about who is the best. I do not care where you come from. If you can fight, you can fight. It is just like any other sport. For a long time, Americans dominated in the heavyweight division, but everybody is getting better. We have to step our game up. But at the end of the day, if you can fight, if you have the better skills, regardless of where you come from, you are going to win. Yes, I am representing America with being champion but at the same time, I am a world champion. So I just want to stay on top of my game and keep winning.

Question: Chris, you said that at some point you were five years wiser and that Wladimir was just five years older. In those five years, what do you think has transpired in terms of your hunger and your skills, and what has happened in those five years with Wladimir that you think will make this result different from five years ago?

Byrd: Well, I can only speak for myself. Five years ago, I was more of a finesse fighter. I was willing to fight anybody but, at the same time, I was timid of the bigger guys -- you know, trying to be just more of a boxer than to just throw punches. I will fight you and I will be wiser in doing it. I just do not want to take punches for no reason, but at the same time I need to box from the outside. I can box and make him miss. But if I want to get in the trenches and fight. I can do that also, but I am a lot wiser doing it than just being knuckleheaded and going in there and banging for no reason when I am not a major power puncher like that. But I can do it in a smarter way. So I do not fear anybody anymore as far as taking their shot. So that is why I think I am wiser in the game. I have studied boxing a lot more and I study a lot of these guys’ styles and just try to break them down as much as possible with the talent I have. I try to be the smartest guy in the ring every time I fight. So at my age of 35, I have gained a lot of experience and I consider myself a lot wiser.

Question: Wladimir, (Sergei) Liakhovich and (Nicolay) Valuev have won world titles and now you are fighting a guy you have beaten once. Does that add any motivation or make a difference with you?

Klitschko: Actually, it is a political question. The audience loves contention. It does not matter the nationality. If you perform well, everybody will accept you. If you are not good enough, you are out. That is as simple as it is.

Question: Wladimir, why are you going to win again?

Klitschko: Failure is not an option to me, so just let me become a champion. Right now, this is going to be my 49th fight, so I have gained some experience. I think my best damage is coming.

Question: This will obviously be a pro-Wladimir crowd. Chris, how do you expect to deal with it? Wladimir, how do you expect the crowd to help you?

Klitschko: In Germany, people love sports in general. I remember when I fought a German opponent here and when I walked into the ring, everybody was booing me. But after the third round, everybody was cheering me. After I won, the audience accepted me. Nationality does not matter in sports. If you perform well, the audience will accept you no matter where it is.

Byrd: That is very true. It is a matter of performance. I know when I fought Vitali, they did not accept me when I got in the ring, but after four or five rounds, they saw this little guy in there fighting hard and putting up a pretty good fight, and they were cheering for both of us. If it was all one-sided, it still would not concern me. I block that out anyway. I just want to get in the ring and fight. It really does not matter to me.

Question: Chris, do your physical skills force you to fight differently?

Byrd: No, I really think I could fight the same way. I know I will maybe be a little bit slower if I did fight the same way, but that style gets a lot of big talented guys like Lamon and Klitschko. It just does not work. It just makes the fight too close. So I have to change up some things to really get the respect of the bigger guys when I am fighting them. So I try to employ a different style, a little bit different, but at the same time, I will still move my head trying not to be hit as much and to make it a fight. I cannot just sit back and let a 6-foot-7 guy who weighs 245-250 pounds outbox me or pound me from a distance. I come to fight and do it in an intelligent way.

Question: Chris, how does Wladimir compare with Evander (Holyfield) or Vitali (Klitschko) in terms of raw punching power?

Byrd: Oh, he has great punching power. I always consider when I moved up from middleweight to heavyweight, everybody has punching power and I am just now getting used to it and getting more fire in me to take it and just try to roll with it. But he can punch. He is a big guy. If he gets hit right, he is going to sleep. And I have prepared myself very well in the gym this time as far as taking punches. I can tell you one guy I have sparred with who hit harder than everybody I have fought in the ring so far. Every time I sparred with him, I felt like I was in a car accident. I think that got me mentally prepared to take anything. That makes me hungry to fight. That is why I said in the press conference that I could not wait to get hit (with) something solid so I could really take it and keep rolling with it. It gives me confidence when I can take a punch and keep fighting. But at the same time, if you get hit with the right punch, I do not care who you are, you are going to sleep. So I still try to be cautious in what I am doing in the ring because I am a smart guy. But at the same time, I fear no man’s punching power. We are going to have a great fight come Saturday night.

Question: Chris, would you rate Wladimir’s jab as a power punch?

Byrd: Yes, he has a great jab. He has a great arsenal of punches. And not only his jab, but everything else that comes with it. He is a great offensive fighter. But the jab sets everything up and we are fully prepared for that. My father is very smart in trying to counteract off everything my opponent does. If I can execute it like I should and like I have been doing it in the gym, it should not be a problem getting past it. But we will see when we get in the ring and we start fighting.

Question: Chris, you had a little bit of difficulty taking Klitschko’s punches in the first fight in the later rounds. Was that more fatigue or do you think it is just a more of an accumulation of punches? How do you see things being different this time?

Byrd: My goal this time is not to take all those punches like I did the first time. I have tried to correct a lot of things from the first time and do things differently to not have those things happen in this fight.

Question: Chris, do you feel that Klitschko will have an advantage if he keeps the fight on the outside? Do you feel that your best chances are to get inside of his jabs? Do you have any plan to deal with if Klitschko wraps you up in his arms like he did Sam Peter?

Byrd: I have been working on so many different things with my sparring partners trying to work on all of these different movements and different styles. Hopefully, the referee will do his job. Hopefully, we just fight and give a good performance to the crowd. You will see as the fight goes on the different changes both of us make if we are not doing things like we should. So I cannot really tell until we start boxing and see what happens. But I am ready for almost anything that comes and ready to adjust and do things right to win this time.

Question: Wladimir, how comfortable are you fighting inside where your height and leverage give you pretty distinct advantages?

Klitschko: Everybody uses their own advantages.

Question: Wladimir, how is having Emanuel Steward as your trainer impacted the way you train and fight?

Klitschko: I have a great opportunity to work with great people and trainers, like Freddie Roach, where I actually learned how to fight slow (pace myself) with him. I have enjoyed working with Emanuel very much and he is a great coach. The man knows about strategies, technology, techniques, etc. I enjoy the work and it takes a lot of time to really understand each other, but right now we are already three years together, so we have become closer and closer and I understand exactly what he thinks and he understands what I mean.

Question: Wladimir, would you say that you are closer to Manny than you have been to any other trainer you have had?

Klitschko: I am saying that after three years we are getting closer and closer and understanding each other better.

Question: Wladimir, how many rounds of sparring did you do in preparation for this fight?

Klitschko: I went approximately around 150 rounds.

Question: Chris, you have had several very close fights recently. Do you expect this fight to be another real close fight? Also, do you think the close fights have taken something out of you and caused you to adjust your style? Have the close fights helped or hurt you?

Byrd: I think they have helped me. It makes you realize everybody is coming to take your title. You have to be on top of your game and fight. I cannot take these guys for granted. Everybody is coming to win the heavyweight championship of the world. So I train harder and I try to give it my best each time out. I feel this is going to be a close fight. It should be a really good fight.

Question: Chris, are you planning to come out fast or are you planning to weather Wladimir’s early storm if he comes out fast?

Byrd: I have been boxing a long time. Sometimes I come out fast and sometimes I just come out. I do not have a strategy in that area. I am in great shape. I can come out fast and stay fast for 12 rounds. I just look forward to boxing. I love it. I cannot wait until the bell rings and we both get it on. It is going to be a great event.

Question: Chris, do you feel you still are strong mentally, physically, and still focused?

Byrd: I have to be. I am always trying to prove something to somebody. I am proving stuff to myself everyday and training and doing certain things. I am trying to prove to people that I really belong in this division. I have been champion since December 2002 and still do not get any respect and I am willing to face any opponent any time, and I am 210 pounds. I come to fight and, as of recently, I have been trying to prove to people that I come to fight and not shy away from anyone, not trying to be cute, but straight up and fight.

Question: Chris, do you think you can test his chin?

Byrd: Oh no, that is something I really do not concern myself with. We train to box and win. If you catch somebody, you catch them, and if not, you go 12 rounds. I do not look at a guy’s previous fight. I know what kind of talent Wladimir will have and I respect it a lot. I do not go and try and test anybody’s chin because if you do that, he will test mine. So I just go in and give it my all and put on a good show.

Question: Wladimir, you are in a similar situation to Chris in that you have won the title, but you have also been criticized for your stamina and your chin. Do you think that the criticism is fair or do you think it has kind of been overblown?

Klitschko: On your way to the top, you always get some criticism. Criticism is a great motivation. Failure is not an option to me.

Question: Do you feel any necessity or any need to disprove the critics, or can you do what you did against Samuel Peter and just focus on what Emanuel told you to do and box your way to the title if you have to do that?

Klitschko: I understand they have to talk about it, but I believe in myself and I will do it in my way.

Question: So you are a more confident fighter as a result of getting up from those knockdowns in the Williams and Peter fights than you are skeptical about your ability?

Klitschko: I am a complete fighter right now.

Question: What weight do you see yourself coming in at?

Klitschko: 240.

Byrd: As for me, it is between 212-215. That is just the normal weight for me. I feel very comfortable and strong. Anything above that is too big for me.

Question: Chris, your style has been quite successful against big men, but you have also taken a bit of flak for not being as exciting as you could. Has this caused any changes? Are you going to look to fight differently in order to become a little bit more exciting?

Byrd: I think when you fight the top challengers of the world, you have to adjust to many different styles. One style just will not cut it fighting such big guys. So I am still an elusive guy and fast, but at the same time gritty. But at the same time, if that does not work, I can resort to something else. So I just try to adapt everything and make it more exciting.

Question: Wladimir, do you think there is a certain bias against you and your brother for just being so much bigger than the opponent?

Klitschko: Of course. I think it is normal that the smaller guys get more sympathy than the bigger ones in the fight. But I will repeat myself again and have success is in the performance. So everybody has their own advantage.

Question: Chris, this is your first fight without Don King as your promoter. Could you comment on how that has made you feel a little bit looser and more happy?

Byrd: I am so pumped. I had a great training camp without Don calling me and bothering me with certain things -- you know, negotiations. It has been great. I feel free. I am not going to bash Don too much, but I am a lot happier than I was.

Question: Where are you staying?

Byrd: I am staying at the hotel. I visited the Air Force and the Army Hospital yesterday. So it was pretty cool. But I am not staying on the base.

Question: Chris, right now we have two Europeans heading things up in the heavyweight division with Wladimir looking for his shot, which makes it a European division. Do you feel any extra added pressure as an American to bring that title home?

Byrd: No, not at all. I am not putting any extra pressure on myself. Representing America for the title is great, but at the same time, if you can fight – and there are a lot of great fighters all over the world, a lot of great heavyweights – you can fight and on any given night it can be a new champion. So I respect all these guys and I respect their ability all over the world, the fighters that get in the ring in the heavyweight division. Things happen. It is like basketball in the Olympics. The other countries are coming up everywhere playing great basketball and winning the gold medal, and America has got to tend to their p’s and q’s to stay on top because there is talent everywhere. The same with boxing. It is just showing that there is a lot of talent all around the world, not only in the smaller weights, but in the heavyweight division. You have match-ups from guys all over the world to make this division really strong. It does not matter where you are from. If you can fight, you can become champion of the world.

Question: Chris, boxing may be the only sport where the media feels that they have the right or the ability to claim who won a fight regardless of what the judges say or who the real champion is despite who owns the title. When a boxer that you have beaten was declared by The Ring magazine as the true champion, how did that make you feel?

Byrd: Oh, stuff used to bother me as I was coming up and what people said or what they thought. It does not matter. I think when you get in the ring and fight, we have to prove it there. What people say, even about the fight with myself and Wladimir, they can say we are No. 1 overall, which is great. But you still have three other guys up there that are saying, “No, I am the best guy.” Until we fight each other, that is when you really prove it. So what people in the media say about certain guys and their abilities and who they think are the best, it really does not matter. Opinions and polls and independent ranking do not mean anything. That is just your opinion. Until you fight the best, you know you are the best and each one of the champions feel that they are the best in the world. So until you fight, that is when you find out.

Question: Chris, considering that Wladimir has been down nine times in his last seven fights, are you going to try to check his chin early on even though that is not your style?

Byrd: No, not at all. Like I said , if you try to check somebody’s chin, you will get checked. You have got to work on the things you did in the gym and try to make it work for you and execute it throughout the whole fight, and not get hit with the big bombs. I am a small guy in a big man’s division, and Wladimir is one of the big, talented guys. So I have to be very smart in what I am doing and just fight a complete fight and not worry about knockouts or trying to check somebody’s chin. Just box. Let the cards fall where they may.

Question: Wladimir, you got mostly knockouts in your career, but you have gone to the decision in your last fight and it looks like you are starting to be more of a boxer than just a puncher. Are you looking to get a knockout in this fight?

Klitschko: I think that is the best win that you can have. Win by points or lose by points or whatever, after the boxing is over, and people after that have so many questions as to who won. To win by KO is the best answer for all those questions.

Question: Wladimir, do you think as a champion that you are going to be more active?

Klitschko: Of course.

End Press Questions. Begin Closing Comments.

Byrd: Hopefully, we can put on a great fight Saturday night and may the best man win.

Klitschko: Enjoy the fight.

19.04.06 - MIAMI— Photos: David Martin Warr / DKP - World Boxing Council super welterweight champion Ricardo “El Matador” Mayorga will be fighting one of the most popular boxers in history on May 6, “The Golden Boy” Oscar De La Hoya, and his training regimen is evidence that he is taking this fight seriously.

Mayorga started his training here on Feb. 23 at the new Fight Club gym. The first interval of training began with a 3-mile morning jog each day at 7 a.m. After his jog, El Matador eats breakfast and takes a nap.

Gym training begins at 1 p.m. His work consists of stretching, skipping rope, exercises and strength and conditioning for an hour. Then it’s into the ring where his coaches are stressing technique with pads for 30 minutes. The workout concludes with warm-down exercises..

During the second week of March the training schedule changed to include 30 minutes per day of sparring. The adjusted training schedule starts at the gym beginning at 1 p.m. Road work was increased to four-to-five miles per day beginning around 7 p.m.

Mayorga and his co-trainer Stacy McKinley were interviewed during today’s media workout in Miami.

“We have already achieved 90 rounds of boxing, which is a large number,” McKinley said. “We’ve also put in 50 rounds of pad work and an equal number of rounds for shadow boxing. We’ve also put in 30 rounds with the heavy bag so far.

“Right now, we’re ramping down the training regimen to avoid peaking too soon. Next week, we’ll pick it back up so Ricardo peaks on May 6.

“Ricardo is already in as good condition as he was for his last three fights. Come May 6, he’ll have moved up two more levels. That’s what I call the fifth level or world championship condition. That’s what it takes to survive at the top. Ricardo has always been dangerous, but imagine what he’s going to be like when he arrives in perfect condition.

“I co-trained Ricardo for both the fights with Vernon Forrest where he was in excellent condition. He will be in better condition for this fight. Not only that, he’ll be stronger for this fight because he’ll be at the 154-pound limit as opposed to the suffering he had to endure to make 147.

“Everyone knows this is a dangerous fight for Oscar, including Oscar himself. We know this a great opportunity for us and some members of the media have forgotten how talented Ricardo really is.

“I left Ricardo after the Spinks fight because I didn’t agree with the strategy to try to box Spinks. Now he’s doing what he does best. He’s a banger. Oscar is a better boxer than Ricardo. Likewise, we know Ricardo is a better fighter than Oscar is. Our strategy is to make this man stand and fight. De La Hoya will have no choice. No running room, no ducking and hiding. We are training to fight, and I mean fight, for 12 full rounds.

“Oscar’s got a good chin; I think Ricardo’s is better. Oscar’s got heart, but he doesn’t have the heart Ricardo has shown. If you notice, when it gets tough, Oscar will give it up. I saw him do it with Felix Trinidad and Bernard Hopkins. Mayorga will make him do the same thing. Oscar’s a front runner. Once you catch up to him, you can hunt him down. Ricardo’s a gunslinger. He’ll unload both guns from the first round.”

Mayorga was equally defiant meeting with the media.

“It takes discipline to become a champion and even more to remain a champion. I am being disciplined in my training camp. I have even tailed off the drinking and cigarettes.

“My motto for this fight is: I’ll live and die for my championship. De La Hoya is coming into my danger zone. The fight is being called danger zone because that’s where Oscar is headed. He’s stubborn and he disrespected me during the media tour and that will be his downfall come May 6.

“I don’t have to prepare mentally all that much for this match because I’m always ready to fight. That’s what I am, a Nicaraguan street fighter. Oscar is the one that needs to prepare mentally to face me.

“Honestly, I have not watched a single tape of Oscar De La Hoya’s fights. I already know what his weaknesses are. He is crazy to think he can try to stand up in front of me and take the punishment I will deliver. Oscar’s washed up. He was great at one time but logic and Mother Nature tell you he’s washed up now.

“I have my work cut out for me because I’m fighting in his backyard but I would fight him in the backyard of his home in front of all of his fans and still beat him.

“I don’t want to leave the decision up to the judges so I’m going to knock him out before the sixth round.

"I have been sparring with live chickens as they emulate ‘chicken’ De La Hoya best. They run just like he does. Most people don’t understand that of all the fighters in boxing, Oscar is the one I like least. He’s a pretty boy and it makes me want to defeat him.

“He shouldn’t have gone down from that body shot that Bernard Hopkins threw. Everyone knows he took a dive in that fight.

“If he’s a man like he says he is, he should show his Mexican pride and fight with me. I know he is not the fighter he once was but he can still stand and fight me like a man.

“My strategy is to have a larger punch output and knock Oscar out. I don’t want to hear him back out of the fight because his butt hurts or he hurt his pinky finger. I want him to come to fight.”

24.04.06- I am prepared to offer Wladimir many millions to fight a rematch with Samuel Peter as soon as possible.” Dino Duva. Promoter Dino Duva says there can be no doubt who the number-one contender in the heavyweight division is now that new IBF king Wladimir Klitschko has destroyed former champion Chris Byrd.

“Duva Boxing congratulates Wladimir Klitschko. He proved himself the real Heavyweight Champion of the World with his commanding performance against Byrd last Saturday,” said Duva. “It also proves that my fighter, Samuel Peter, is right there with him and the legitimate number-one challenger in the world based on his performance against Klitschko.”

While the Ukrainian giant was able to walk through Byrd fairly easily, he found himself on the deck three times against power-punching “Nigerian Nightmare” Peter last September, while using a mix of cautious boxing and strategic holding to win a close decision. “The way Klitschko walked through a formidable champion in Byrd; it proves what a great fighter Samuel is. At just 25 years old, there can be no doubt Samuel is the future in the heavyweight division.”

Duva is hopeful that Klitschko will be a champion who is willing to take on the toughest challengers. “We hope we can convince Wladimir to give Samuel a rematch. Samuel has clearly spring boarded to the front of the division by comparing his success against Klitschko to Byrd’s. Peter vs. Klitschko II would be the biggest heavyweight fight out there right now that could be made.”

Peter, 25-1 (21 KOs), will headline this week’s ESPN2’s “Friday Night Fights” telecast from the Mohegan Sun Casino when he faces 7-ft tall slugger Julius Long in a battle for the NABF Heavyweight Title.

24.04.06- By Geoff McKay: Recently there have been unconfirmed rumors that Vitali Klitschko is considering a possible comeback. Klitschko, 34, the elder brother of IBF champion Wladimir Klitschko, announced his retirement last year after injuries forced him to postpone, and finally cancel a fight with mandatory challenger Hasim Rahman.

Before Vitali’s retirement, the Klitschko brothers had stated publicly that they sought to hold heavyweight belts simultaneously. After some unexpected losses by Wladimir that goal looked as though it was out of reach, however Wladimir’s recent destruction of Chris Byrd may have provided some motivation for Vitali, who was names WBC champion “emeritus” after he retired. This meant that should he come out of retirement, he would immediately be named number one contender and be put in line for a title shot.

It will be interesting to see what this will do to the WBC heavyweight picture. If Vitali does indeed come out of retirement, there is a possibility Rahman will have three mandatory challengers out there. First is Oleg Maskaev, his current number one contender. Next comes Toney, who the WBC has mandated a mandatory rematch for against the winner of Maskaev Rahman, and finally Vitaly. With this many challengers it might be prudent to revert to old school Ultimate Fighting Championship scheduling, where fighters fought three and four times in an evening.

Originally Posted by ForemanRules Vitali Klitschko: Are we going to see a Comeback After all? 24.04.06- By Geoff McKay: Recently there have been unconfirmed rumors that Vitali Klitschko is considering a possible comeback. Klitschko, 34, the elder brother of IBF champion Wladimir Klitschko, announced his retirement last year after injuries forced him to postpone, and finally cancel a fight with mandatory challenger Hasim Rahman. Before Vitali’s retirement, the Klitschko brothers had stated publicly that they sought to hold heavyweight belts simultaneously. After some unexpected losses by Wladimir that goal looked as though it was out of reach, however Wladimir’s recent destruction of Chris Byrd may have provided some motivation for Vitali, who was names WBC champion “emeritus” after he retired. This meant that should he come out of retirement, he would immediately be named number one contender and be put in line for a title shot. It will be interesting to see what this will do to the WBC heavyweight picture. If Vitali does indeed come out of retirement, there is a possibility Rahman will have three mandatory challengers out there. First is Oleg Maskaev, his current number one contender. Next comes Toney, who the WBC has mandated a mandatory rematch for against the winner of Maskaev Rahman, and finally Vitaly. With this many challengers it might be prudent to revert to old school Ultimate Fighting Championship scheduling, where fighters fought three and four times in an evening.

By Neil Thompson - 26TH April 2006 - FLOYD MAYWEATHER – Has now been a ‘world champion’ at super featherweight and lightweight and an alphabet title holder at junior welterweight and welterweight. He has beaten world class fighters like Castillo (twice), Corrales, Judah, Chorley, Gatti and Hernandez. Unfortunately he left the 140 lb division without proving his dominance over the rival champions which will harm his legacy in the future but these fights could still happen as both Cotto and Hatton will move up to 147 within the next couple of years. Mayweather is a defensive genius with incredibly fast hands. His power is also underrated at this weight and although he doesn’t possess one punch knockout power his punches are still very sharp and hurtful.

It appears that Mayweather is just keeping busy and isn’t taking unnecessary risks before he secures a fight with Oscar De La Hoya, which could happen within the nest 12 months. De La Hoya is the fight Mayweather craves more than anything else and a victory for Floyd would do wonders for his legacy. A fight with Ricky Hatton, the true 140 World Champion, is also a mouth watering clash and a legitimate threat to Mayweathers undefeated record. America needs a mainstream star and a victory over De La Hoya could make him one. At the moment his popularity doesn’t come near to matching his talent which is a shame for boxing. Floyd has just turned down a proposed $ 6 million fight with Antonio Margarito which is a surprise. With this in mind it will be interesting to see who Floyd does fight next, if its against a weaker opponent for less money than Margarito was offering, Floyd will get heavily criticised and rightly so.

WINKY WRIGHT – His two victories over Shane Mosley and his dominant performance over Felix Trinadad confirmed Wright place in the elite of boxing. After years of been avoided the big fights finally came for Wright and when they did he took his chance. A fight with Jermain Taylor would be interesting. In my opinion Taylor would be too fast, too strong, too big and too fresh for Winky to deal with but you cannot write Winky off, his incredible tactical boxing brain would be a huge factor for anyone to overcome. He deserves his number 2 ranking and may be around for a while to come. If Wright captures Taylor’s middleweight crown, a possible superfight with Joe Calzaghe for his super middleweight title has been mentioned. A victory over Taylor AND Calzaghe would do wonders for his already impressive legacy. Personally I think both Taylor and Clazaghe would beat the ageing Taylor but one thing I have learnt over the years is never, never under-estimate Ronald Winky Wright. They are few fighters I respect more than this guy. In my country (UK) he gained our respect well before he gained it in his own country.

MANNY PACQUIAO – Knockout victories over Erick Morales and Bererra should guarantee Pacman’s position in the top three. His aggressive non-stop offensive style proving too much for the Mexican greats to deal with. I was tempted to place him second in this list but he was outboxed in his first fight with Morales and Marquez came back from 3 knockdowns in the first round of his fight with Pacquioa to outbox him for the majority of the remaining 11 rounds. Despite his earlier set backs to Marquez and Morales, Pacquioa has fought his way back and looks better than ever. A world class chin, great power, speed and fantastic work ethic makes this warrior very hard to beat. If a Pacquioa v Berrera 2 fight can be made, I feel the outcome will be the same as there first meeting. Pacquioa has Berrera’s number.

MARCO ANTONIO BERERRA – The old Mexican warrior is still going strong but his stoppage loss to Pacquioa still prevents him going any higher than number 4 in my list. A revenge win would go along to increasing Bererra’s already impressive legacy, but until Bererra gains revenge it’s hard to place him above Pacquioa.

RICKY HATTON – After two great victories against Tyszu and Maussa, Ricky Hatton has secured his place as the true World Champ at 140. The sky is the limit for the Manchester fighter now with a number of potential big fights on the horizon. His future could include Cotto, Castillo, Corrales, Witter, Baldomir, Gatti, Mayweather, Mosley etc. Hatton’s incredible fitness, aggression, work rate, speed and chin make him a threat to any elite fighter. Ricky’s style is ideal to cause Mayweather trouble and Floyd is Ricky’s ultimate target. Many fighters with Hatton’s aggressive, high tempo style don’t last long after they’re 30 birthday, so the next 3 or 4 years are essential for Ricky’s career. A victory over the likes of Cotto and Castillo would propel Hatton higher than his number 5 ‘P4P’ ranking. A victory over Mayweather would secure his place at the very top. While Mayweather would be the betting favourite, only a fool would write Hatton off. Ricky’s upcoming US and welterweight debut is only a couple of weeks away. Luis Collazo may not be recognised as an elite fighter but he’s hungry and unknown which is a very dangerous combination. Providing Hatton gets past Collazo, expect the ‘Hitman’ to secure a more meaningful fight next time out.

JOE CALZAGHE – After 8 years as a world champion and 18 title defences of his alphabet title, Joe is finally recognised as the true World Champion at 168. Alternatively

you could claim that Warren has finally delivered Joe the fight his talent has always deserved. His victory over Lacy confirmed Calzaghe’s legacy as the best super middleweight since the heyday of the great Roy Jones. It is good to see Calzaghe finally gain global respect. Joe has just jumped ship from Showtime to HBO and a fight with Librardo Andrade is in the making.

JOSE LUIS CASTILLO – Coming off an impressive 4th round stoppage of Corrales, he deserves his spot. Castillo is the only fighter to give Floyd Mayweather a close fight. Eventhough I thought Floyd won both his fights with Castillo, the Mexican power puncher still kept things close after a total of 24 rounds against the current pound for pound number one fighter. Providing he can still make the lightweight limit he should beat Corrales again and win the trilogy 2 – 1.

ANTONIO TARVER – The true World Champion at Light Heavyweight eventhough he doesn’t hold any of the premier alphabet titles. His loss to Johnson in there first fight has cost him a few places on this list eventhough he won the rematch. Tarver is a top quality boxer with good power and a nice array of shots. However sometimes his work rate is poor and in my opinion he would have beaten Roy Jones the first time if he’d thrown more leather. Although I have a healthy respect for Tarver, I still think his time at the top is coming to the end. I feel Calzaghe would beat him and I believe Hopkins has an outside chance of upsetting him later this year.

JERMAIN TAYLOR – With the exception of Floyd Mayweather, Taylor is America’s only potential new superstar. Taylor failed to shine in both his extremely close contests with Hopkins. A victory over Winky Wright will send Taylor into the top half of this list. Most people seem to believe Taylor will lose to Wright, personally I disagree. In my opinion Taylor is younger, bigger, stronger, faster and more powerful and will take Wright on a close decision.

BERNARD HOPKINS – Although he lost to Taylor twice many people believe he was robbed on both occasions. I don’t agree but I will admit that both fights were extremely close. An upcoming fight with Tarver is scheduled for later this year. This fight should be another boring encounter as both are defensive fighters. I’m well aware that most people will think Hopkins shouldn’t still be ranked in the top ten P4P but I disagree. Hopkins may surprise us yet, as defeating Tarver is not far fetched at all.




AND THE BEST OF THE REST:

Rafael Marquez (needs to move up in weight).

Pongsaklek Wonjongkan (try saying that after a few bears).
Miguel Cotto (Stop holding this guy back – needs a big fight soon).
Antonio Margarito (How can he prove himself if everybody avoids him).
Glen Johnson (Soon to fight Chris Woods).
Chris John (Great win last time out).
Manuel Marquez (Surprise defeat to Chris John last time out).
Roman Karmizin (Under rated fighter).
Mikkel Kessler (Needs a big fight soon – a move to America would do wonders).
Wladimir Klitsckho (Very impressive against Byrd but still question remain).

29.04.06 - By Izyslav “Slava” Koza: Well chalk up another bad prediction for me, since I thought Acelino Freitas (38-1, 32 KO's) was mentally done after the Corrales beating, and Zahir Raheem (27-2, 16 KO's) would not take the Morales win for granted. Regardless of what Max Kellerman thought, I saw the fight easily for Freitas, and only had it close on points because I was giving the close rounds to Raheem.

The fight itself was dirty but surprisingly watchable, as in between the ugliness some good punches did get through. Freitas hand-speed and power were on display in every single round he won which by my count were at least 7, while the other five though close, excluding the one where Raheem hurt Freitas badly, went to Raheem because he didn’t get hit with any mind numbing power. Though compu-box had it close the tale was rather told by the effect Freitas’s power had on Raheem, who seemed eerily similar to Cory Spinks in the second Judah fight. There was just too much brashness on the way to the ring and not enough inside it once Freitas showed he was there to win and not make Raheem look good.

The first round was tactical and nothing much really happened, so I thought Raheem deserved it based on him being champ and nullifying Acelino’s power. Rounds two and three went to Freitas who landed the harder shots that seemed to take the fight out of Raheem and forced him to clinch and grab. Round four went to Raheem based on Popo not landing enough, while five was more of the same tactically superior power from Freitas. Six was the round where I believe Freitas got hurt, grabbed on for dear life and Raheem tossed him aside like a rag doll. Freitas took the opportunity to spit out the mouth piece and buy time. When the action resumed, Freitas easily sweeped seven, eight, and nine with power shots, which I thought clearly made Raheem woozy and forced him to clinch. Round ten was close and went to Raheem because Freitas did not land enough, while in the eleventh a good uppercut inside sealed it for Freitas, in my view. The twelfth was very boring and dirty with neither fighter landing really cleanly but since Raheem did not let Freitas land anything too hard, I gave him that round. HBO commentator, Max Kellerman disagreed in giving the first and twelfth to Freitas, which is why I suppose the rounds I thought Raheem took were relatively close.

Another important point in the bout was Raheem’s imitation of the Spinks trip tactic in the Mayorga fight. This is where the fighter gets in close, clinches, and though obviously hurt pretends to fall, or pushes the other guy, and it seems as if both lost their balance, when in reality, he is trying to camouflage the effects felt from the punch, or being flat out fatigued. That said, there were at least two knockdowns in the fight by my count that were a direct result of Freitas landing straight and hard right on the money and Raheem falling into him and then going down as if it were a slip. Had those counted, as I believe they should, Freitas’s margin of victory would have been even more significant. This is surprising actually, because when Freitas fought and beat Artur Grigorian, though, the margin of victory should have been small, the four actual slips by Grigorian, due to Freitas weird capoeira like style, were ruled knockdowns.

It might also have to do with Raheem’s weird super wide legged stance, which leaves him off balance, and harder to hit since he is lower but that does not seem that likely. Of course, it also allows him to bend really low and then come up grabbing the guy on the back, butt or legs in a clinch but that, I guess, is smart boxing. Of course, Raheem did the right thing by playing of not being hurt, but there is no credit for best acting awards. It was obvious Freitas was getting in the harder punches, and thankfully, though, I smelled foul play, the judges saw who was doing more damage by a mile.

Also, I would like to add that the victim mentality of Raheem, claiming he was fighting in Freitas hometown, is completely bogus. I don’t care what sort of cheers he heard from the audience, this is not Rio or Brasillia in Brazil; it's Foxwoods in Connecticut, which is closer to Raheem’s hometown of Philly then it is to Freitas’s in Brazil. That said, I just get annoyed a bit when a fighter comes up with all these small reasons here or there to justify a bad performance. To put in perspective, the crowd was cheering Raheem in the twelfth so there is no validity to that argument.

On a side note: the HBO crew did a good job in their first telecast, even though we could have done without Lennox’s “This is a fight he wants to win and must win, because he doesn’t want to lose.” Other then that, Kellerman and Charles did ok, and Lennox was good when he didn’t try to agree with everything the other guys said. Foreman and Jones didn’t and Lennox should find his niche and call the non boxers out on a few things once in a while.

All in all, the show was a success, starting from Ward deconstructing a good sound composed, but comparatively limited Kolle, to Freitas outgunning the overconfident Raheem. It was also very pleasant to hear Freitas, a foreigner living in Brazil say “God Bless America,” for a change, something foreigners haven’t been doing lately, in my opinion. It was well appreciated, Acelino. Good Job, HBO and congrats to the winners.

12.05.06 - By Bryce Wren, photo by David Martin Warr - DKP: The news is all over. Ricky Hatton is making his big American splash. Are you excited? Why would you be? Does anybody really take his first US opponent Luis Collazo seriously? Collazo is a guy who only three fights ago, last year, was boxing a guy named Richard Heath, with a 1-1 record. Do you think that’s bad for a so called high profile opponent to one of Britains greatest exports since the Beatles? Well, if you didn’t think that was bad, chew on this, the guy that Collazo fought four fights ago, named Kevin Carter had a professional record of 7-41-1 and had already been stopped 10 or 11 times going in to his fight with Luis. If you recognize Carter’s name, it may be because he was one of Ricky Hatton’s first few opponents. Hatton dispatched of Kevin with a 1st round KO. Collazo was 22-1 before he would attempt the lofty Carter.

This was a weak excuse for a title fight from Hatton. Surely he’s trying to position himself for more of that American green back money he lusts for by picking up the easiest title belt out there, but to me, he’s just wasting his prime fighting lesser opponents.

As a fellow Brit, I find the whole routine a little over done already. I was excited when Hatton beat Kostya Tszyu, but it was all for nothing, since all Ricky has tried to do since then is get low risk title belts from non-deserving “champions”. Ricky is like Roy Jones Jr., in the sense that we may very well watch him ruin his prime just for the sake staying undefeated.

Could he beat Collazo? I should bloody hope so. Could he beat Pretty Boy Floyd Mayweather jr. or Antonio Margarito? I used to think maybe, but after seeing Hatton nearly eat himself in to diabetic coma in between all of his fights, and seeing how he cares more about meaningless alphabet title belts and more about his longevity than his legacy.

I’m disappointed in Hatton. Luis Collazo is nowhere near his league. Only Hatton’s thin skin, dirty tactics and unwillingness to take on the top opposition out there can stop him in this fight. But the question still remains. Who cares? Not me. Is Hatton over rated? Yes! Since almost all of his reputation has been created from his victory over Tszyu, and he appears to have no intentions to work off of that.

So hey Americans, I’ll tell you what, if Ricky wants to stuff his face with junk food and fight meaningless, cherry picked fights, please do allow him to do his “American Invasion”. Only, please do keep him for life. Over here in the UK we would much rather trade him for serious fighters that want to fight the best, and who are always in tip top shape. You know the type mate, that Margarito fellow would do just about right.

17.05.06 - Matt Stein: According to the latest boxing gossip, Wladimir Klitschko's trainer, Emanuel Steward, has mentioned James Toney, including Calvin Brock, Sergie Liakhovich, as a possible next opponent for Wladimir's first title defense in September, with Toney being the most likely opponent due to contractual problems with the other two. If a bout with Toney can, indeed, come true, it would be a stroke of genius on the part of the Klitschko camp, for Toney (69-3-3, 43 KO's) is the far more marketable fighter of the three, and could give Klitschko (46-3, 41 KO's) a good fight, even if Toney will likely get beaten into the ground in the end.

Either way, this is a win-win situation for both fighters, since James Toney would get another shot at a heavyweight title, after having fought to a draw against the WBC heavyweight champion, Hasim Rahman, on March 18, 2006, in a fight that Toney came into looking overweight.

However, even with the extra weight, Toney made it close throught, often taking the fight to the bigger Rahman. While for Wladimir, a fight against a crafty fighter such as Toney, presents the perfect opportunity for the big Ukrainain to showcase more of his boxing skills for the public, since Toney will probably be able to stand in, at least for awhile, under Wladimir's awesome fire storm of punches.

For Toney, this would be his third attempt at a heavyweight title, after having beating John Ruiz for the WBA title, which was sooner after changed to a "No contest," when Toney tested positive for a banned substance. There was never a rematch, however, so Toney never had a chance to redeem himself against Ruiz. Nevertheless, Toney is a formidible opponent, when in shape, and could present problems for Wladimir, if Toney can get inside to land his punches. However, at 5'9", 230 lbs, getting inside may present a huge obstacle against the giant 6'6" 240 lb, Klitschko, who prefers to fight mostly on the outside, using a powerful left jab, left hook, and straight right, to dominate his foes. The big challenge for Toney, would be trying to get in range of Wladimir, without catching something big on the way in. Chris Byrd, the last fighter who attempted to do this, found out the hard way that it's not too easy, in the process of a six round knockout loss, to Wladimir.

I see the fight as being completely one-sided, with Wladimir, after a slow first few rounds, soon pinning the 37-year-old Toney against the ropes, and unleashing a flurry of right hand, left hook shots, and dropping Toney for the ten count. Toney, like a true warrior, could probably make it up and try to continue fighting, before being snowed under by a landslide of Wladimir punches, causing the referee to step in and end the brutal one-sided affair.

21.05.06 - By Ryan "Asian Sensation" Songalia: On Saturday night, fight fans were treated to an exciting encounter between an aging legend in the final chapters of his career, pitted against a young and hungry contender unwilling to take no for an answer. In a wildly entertaining bout, Marco Antonio Barrera defeated Ricardo "Rocky" Juarez via split decision to retain his WBC super featherweight title. When ring announcer Michael Buffer read the scorecards, the result was initially declared a split decision draw. However, after HBO went off the air, it was discovered that Ken Morita's score of a 114-114 draw had been incorrectly tabulated. Barrera, 62-4 (42 KO), successfully defended the WBC for the third time. Juarez, now 25-2 (18 KO), loses for the second time in 4 fights, both by close margins.

The first round set the tone for the high intensity action that would take place in the Staples Center. Barrera, who fights out of Mexico City, Mexico, came out from the bell fighting a very smart fight. Being the more versatile fighter, Barrera was able to keep the Houston, TX based Juarez on the end of his hard jab. Barrera seemed to get the better of the first and second rounds, finding success with his more fluid combinations. In the third round, Barrera was getting the better of the exchanges until one Juarez left hook sent Barrera reeling to the ropes with less than 10 seconds left in the stanza..

By the fourth round, Barrera started to develop major swelling in his face. Recovering well from the devastating punch he absorbed at the end of the third, Barrera went back to his tactical plan and seemed to do enough to shade the fourth round. In the fifth, Barrera elected to stand his ground more and go to war. Barrera was still in control, but Juarez was beginning to wear down the Mexican legend. In the sixth round, the match started to produce some serious back and forth action that fans and pundits alike had expected. Barrera had been in control for the first half of the round, but in the second half Juarez started to close the distance and got alot of good work done with his trademark left hook and body work. After 6 rounds, HBO unofficial judge Harold Lederman had Barrera winning 5 rounds to 1.

In the seventh round, Juarez started to get the close quarters fight that he desired. Fighting in a proverbial phone booth, both fighters got off well with short combinations to the head and body. By the eighth round, Juarez started to take control of the fight as Barrera's activity level dropped. After dropping his mouthpiece multiple times, it was theorized that Barrera had suffered facial injuries. Later, Barrera would explain that he had a problem with the fitting of the mouthpiece. In the later rounds, Barrera started to wear down dramatically as his pace slowed, allowing Juarez to do damage and score heavily with his left hook.

By the tenth round, Barrera's face was grotesquely mishapen as a result of the blows that Juarez was able to land. Barrera was still fighting back manfully, but was unable to keep up with Juarez' pace consistently. In the eleventh round, both warriors stood toe to toe trying to muster the one punch that would end the fight in their favor. Jaurez, who had fought conservatively in the early rounds, began to apply pressure to Barrera as the champion started to fade. In the twelfth round, both men got off vicious blows, but Juarez by far landed the more effective shots.

When the scorecards were handed in, ring announcer Michael Buffer announced the result as a split decision draw, by the scores of 115-113 Juarez, 115-113 Barrera and 114-114. However, the confusion was remedied when the official who scored the bout a draw was discovered to have incorrectly tallied up his card. The official scores were recalculated with Barrera winning 115-114 and 115-113 on two cards, while Duane Ford handed in a card that had Juarez ahead 115-114.

While Juarez lost this fight, his competitiveness against one of the sport's pound for pound elite suggests that he has the capability to one day become a champion. Juarez, who was a silver medalist in the 2000 Olympics, gave Barrera the type of hell that he hadn't experienced since the drubbing Manny Pacquiao gave Barrera in November 2003. His left hook is one of the best punches in the lower weight divisions, and he does have some subtle technicals wrinkles that make him a very dangerous opponent for anyone in that weight range. He now has two losses, but both were very close and well fought. Juarez has the ability to hang in there with anyone in the featherweight divisions.

In the aftermath of this fight, the big question was about where Barrera goes from here. During the post fight interview conducted by Larry Merchant, the HBO commentator inquired about Barrera's plans following this fight. Barrera, whose face told the story of an intense fight, replied "I don't know. Richard Schaeffer and Oscar (De La Hoya) are the ones who are going to decide. We'll see what they say."

The fight that everyone has been calling for is a rematch with Filipino sensation Manny Pacquiao. In their first encounter two and a half years, Pacquiao knocked Barrera down twice and punished him en route to an eleventh round stoppage. The steam rolling Barrera suffered at the hands of the southpaw slugger had many in the sport believing that Barrera was all done in as a prize fighter.

A win over Manny Pacquiao would mean a great deal to his legacy, as Pacquiao is the only man to officially be credited with knocking out Barrera. The Juarez fight however, suggests that at this stage of his career that he is unable to consistently handle the pace that a younger, more energetic fighter like Pacquiao fights at. It would be a monumental achievement if Barrera was to pull of the upset in a rematch, but most in the press agree that that is highly unlikely to occur. At the age of 32, Barrera has been a professional prize fighter for half of his life. The ring wars have slowed him down, and it would not surprise me if the next time he steps up again facing a young fighter that he loses by clear margins.

A rematch between Juarez and Barrera is highly unlikely, given the life and death struggle that Barrera found himself in. Juarez was fighting in his first fight at 130 following his upset loss to Humberto Soto last summer. In order for the rematch to occur, Juarez would have to be declared the number one contender, which is still a possibility given the alphabet gangs' history of questionable ranking policies. In the event that they do meet again, I would have to favor Juarez as I am not sure how much Barrera has left in the tank.

Capturing, Barrera's experience and heart allowed him to survive a spirited challenge from a dangerous young contender. Barrera, in the twilight of his career, exhibited that he still has the intangibles of a champion. Juarez, fighting in his first fight against a superstar, showed that he is a serious threat in the featherweight divisions. In one of the year's most entertaining bouts, Barrera came out on top to retain his super featherweight crown.

27.06.06 - By Tony Nobbs: In the end it was an emphatic display. On March 17 at Aussie Stadium in Sydney, NSW, Anthony Choc Mundine scored a twelve round decision victory over Perth rival Danny Green. The win in front of 30 odd thousand fans and almost an entire country watching on PPV proved that Mundine is what has always said. The Man. At least among Australian super middleweights.

Sitting ringside Mundine's over all performance was near perfect. Watching the tape over the weekend, it was even better. On the night I gave Green - former WBC “Interim” champion -rounds 1, 3 and 4. Mundine - one time WBA title holder - the rest for a 117-111 card. Looking at the tape, it was a shutout after the first. 119-109. The identical score as Kostya Tszyu who commentated along with former IBF 130 lb champion Barry Michael. The ringside officials Derek Milham (Australia)118-112, Pinit Prayadsab (Thailand) 118-111 and Michael Lee (Korea) 116-113. Referee was Terry O'Connor of England who did a stern job and after an early talking too kept both fighters honest and allowed a controversy free contest. At the end they showed the class and sportsmanship their supporters should be proud off.

Mundine(166.50 lb / record: 26-3, 20 KO's) must now be rated in the top three of the 168 lb division – behind only Joe Calzaghe and Mikkel Kessler. The Green fight was a WBA eliminator and the Sydney supremo is now the Dane's mandatory. Mundine figures to have a better show than he did when he last challenged Kessler in June of last year at the Sydney Entertainment
Center. A fight he lost by margins of 4, 4 and an out of whack 12 points officially. While this writer had always felt Anthony would be too much for Green ever since this show down was mentioned five years back, his dominance from the fifth round gave us a look at a world class fighter with freakish ability and miles of improvement still to be made. He has obviously benefited from the input of Roy Jones Snr who has been assisting his father Tony Snr in training camp. They worked together in the Kessler fight but fell short – with a lack of offense the main down fall. This time they could hardly have wished for more.

Fighting out of Redfern, Sydney, after weeks of preparation at Baryugil, his fathers hometown in the North of NSW, he put it all together against Green. Mixing a tight defense with a well equipped arsenal. Not only was he too fast – he was too good. The way he dictated where the fight was going to be fought, at what pace, the uppercut followed by the long right hand. The
lead rights. The jab. The hooks to the head and body. The evasion. Side on shoulder chin tuck. The feints. The way he tied Danny up and walked him around. The way he stayed in the pocket, smothering and countering, wasting little – firing two fisted salvos when his man covered. It's been a long time since an exhibition of boxing has been displayed in this country
as eye catching as what Mundine turned on.

The 33 year old Green (167.25 lb / record: 21-3, 19 KO's) has in the opinion of many never been the same fighter since he suffered dehydration in the Perth heat when he out pointed tough New Zealand veteran Sean Sullivan in March 2004. He subsequently got dropped by Argentine Omar Gonzales before scoring a five round cut eye TKO in September '04 and lost the rematch with Markus Beyer for the WBC title in March '05. He then left the Jeff Fenech stable and linked with proven Cuban coach Ismael Salas. In his tune up fights with James Crawford and Kirino Garcia, he looked a lot more composed and while he lacked the aggression he was renowned for he did look a lot more fresher. And thinking more. But after four rounds against Mundine, which his pressure and body attack made the early going close, he looked to run out of ideas. He was momentarily stunned by a right in the fifth and it was pretty much one way traffic from then. Many have suggested he fought the wrong fight. He did not appear to have a Plan B. But on this night, no matter what he tried he would have been shut down. There is one thing the WA warrior has and always will carry and that is a heart as big as the Nullarbor Plain. And that may have been what saw him stay the route. He got caught with some flush rights from a guy who whether people want to acknowledge or not possesses big time one punch power.

What's next for Mundine? Obviously a Kessler return, hopefully by the end of the year – depending on how Mikkel's left elbow heals after surgery. Triple A Sam Soliman says he'd agree to fight a rematch with Mundine providing the money was right. Soliman is also reportedly close to a bout with Calzaghe and would take a fight with the Taylor – Wright winer at the drop off a hat. Shannan Taylor threw his name in, providing Choc gets down to 160, so there are a couple of local fights that are possibilities. Sakio Bika's trainer Angelo Hyder is crying foul after Markus Beyer retained his belt on May 13 in Germany. But Angelo has fights lined up in the US for the Cameroon Olympian based in Sydney. Who knows. There may even be room for a Green rematch. But that should best be left until he challenges Kessler and Danny gets back with a couple of wins, providing he fights again. Danny told Perth journo's that his future is undecided.

This was Mundine's best win, compared only to his WBA title win against Antwun Echols in 2003 and his deserved but razor thin split decision over Sam Soliman way back in 2001 in only his ninth pro fight (after 4 as an amateur when he was 17). That's the same Sam who gave Winky Wright all he could handle on December 10.

Having watched Mundine box an exhibition with nationally rated Justice Ganiza in January of 1997 while he was playing in the Super League with the competition winning Brisbane Bronco's it was obvious he would become a champion if he ever took the sport on professionally. He's exceeded expectations. After just six years in boxing and turning 31 four days after the fight, he has the world at his feet. He could very well become one of this countries boxing all time greats - and a feature in the P4P listings world wide.

Originally Posted by ForemanRules Mundine vs. Green Review 27.06.06 - By Tony Nobbs: In the end it was an emphatic display. On March 17 at Aussie Stadium in Sydney, NSW, Anthony Choc Mundine scored a twelve round decision victory over Perth rival Danny Green. The win in front of 30 odd thousand fans and almost an entire country watching on PPV proved that Mundine is what has always said. The Man. At least among Australian super middleweights. Sitting ringside Mundine's over all performance was near perfect. Watching the tape over the weekend, it was even better. On the night I gave Green - former WBC “Interim” champion -rounds 1, 3 and 4. Mundine - one time WBA title holder - the rest for a 117-111 card. Looking at the tape, it was a shutout after the first. 119-109. The identical score as Kostya Tszyu who commentated along with former IBF 130 lb champion Barry Michael. The ringside officials Derek Milham (Australia)118-112, Pinit Prayadsab (Thailand) 118-111 and Michael Lee (Korea) 116-113. Referee was Terry O'Connor of England who did a stern job and after an early talking too kept both fighters honest and allowed a controversy free contest. At the end they showed the class and sportsmanship their supporters should be proud off. Mundine(166.50 lb / record: 26-3, 20 KO's) must now be rated in the top three of the 168 lb division – behind only Joe Calzaghe and Mikkel Kessler. The Green fight was a WBA eliminator and the Sydney supremo is now the Dane's mandatory. Mundine figures to have a better show than he did when he last challenged Kessler in June of last year at the Sydney Entertainment Center. A fight he lost by margins of 4, 4 and an out of whack 12 points officially. While this writer had always felt Anthony would be too much for Green ever since this show down was mentioned five years back, his dominance from the fifth round gave us a look at a world class fighter with freakish ability and miles of improvement still to be made. He has obviously benefited from the input of Roy Jones Snr who has been assisting his father Tony Snr in training camp. They worked together in the Kessler fight but fell short – with a lack of offense the main down fall. This time they could hardly have wished for more. Fighting out of Redfern, Sydney, after weeks of preparation at Baryugil, his fathers hometown in the North of NSW, he put it all together against Green. Mixing a tight defense with a well equipped arsenal. Not only was he too fast – he was too good. The way he dictated where the fight was going to be fought, at what pace, the uppercut followed by the long right hand. The lead rights. The jab. The hooks to the head and body. The evasion. Side on shoulder chin tuck. The feints. The way he tied Danny up and walked him around. The way he stayed in the pocket, smothering and countering, wasting little – firing two fisted salvos when his man covered. It's been a long time since an exhibition of boxing has been displayed in this country as eye catching as what Mundine turned on. The 33 year old Green (167.25 lb / record: 21-3, 19 KO's) has in the opinion of many never been the same fighter since he suffered dehydration in the Perth heat when he out pointed tough New Zealand veteran Sean Sullivan in March 2004. He subsequently got dropped by Argentine Omar Gonzales before scoring a five round cut eye TKO in September '04 and lost the rematch with Markus Beyer for the WBC title in March '05. He then left the Jeff Fenech stable and linked with proven Cuban coach Ismael Salas. In his tune up fights with James Crawford and Kirino Garcia, he looked a lot more composed and while he lacked the aggression he was renowned for he did look a lot more fresher. And thinking more. But after four rounds against Mundine, which his pressure and body attack made the early going close, he looked to run out of ideas. He was momentarily stunned by a right in the fifth and it was pretty much one way traffic from then. Many have suggested he fought the wrong fight. He did not appear to have a Plan B. But on this night, no matter what he tried he would have been shut down. There is one thing the WA warrior has and always will carry and that is a heart as big as the Nullarbor Plain. And that may have been what saw him stay the route. He got caught with some flush rights from a guy who whether people want to acknowledge or not possesses big time one punch power. What's next for Mundine? Obviously a Kessler return, hopefully by the end of the year – depending on how Mikkel's left elbow heals after surgery. Triple A Sam Soliman says he'd agree to fight a rematch with Mundine providing the money was right. Soliman is also reportedly close to a bout with Calzaghe and would take a fight with the Taylor – Wright winer at the drop off a hat. Shannan Taylor threw his name in, providing Choc gets down to 160, so there are a couple of local fights that are possibilities. Sakio Bika's trainer Angelo Hyder is crying foul after Markus Beyer retained his belt on May 13 in Germany. But Angelo has fights lined up in the US for the Cameroon Olympian based in Sydney. Who knows. There may even be room for a Green rematch. But that should best be left until he challenges Kessler and Danny gets back with a couple of wins, providing he fights again. Danny told Perth journo's that his future is undecided. This was Mundine's best win, compared only to his WBA title win against Antwun Echols in 2003 and his deserved but razor thin split decision over Sam Soliman way back in 2001 in only his ninth pro fight (after 4 as an amateur when he was 17). That's the same Sam who gave Winky Wright all he could handle on December 10. Having watched Mundine box an exhibition with nationally rated Justice Ganiza in January of 1997 while he was playing in the Super League with the competition winning Brisbane Bronco's it was obvious he would become a champion if he ever took the sport on professionally. He's exceeded expectations. After just six years in boxing and turning 31 four days after the fight, he has the world at his feet. He could very well become one of this countries boxing all time greats - and a feature in the P4P listings world wide.

Los ANGELES, CA – May 31, 2006 – Five-time boxing champion Johnny Tapia will officially launch his newly released autobiography, “Mi Vida Loca: The Crazy Life of Johnny Tapia” this week with appearances in Los Angeles and San Antonio. A true-life story stranger-than-fiction, Tapia lost his father before he was born and witnessed the kidnapping of his mother at age eight. She was later murdered, leaving Johnny in the Albuquerque barrio with his abusive, heroin addicted uncles who began entering him into human cockfights as a 9-year-old. He overdosed on his wedding night to Teresa, has been pronounced dead four times and refers to cocaine as “his mistress.” For now, Tapia seems to finally have his addiction issues under control and is ready to share his compelling story. Tapia battled drugs, death, poverty and demons to become a legendary champion, beloved by fans for his epic battles, both in and out of the ring.

Just when you thought you’d heard it all, Tapia comes clean with new, compelling stories of abuse, addiction and, ultimately, survival. Bettina Gilois, co-author of Tapia’s book, wrote the recent hit movie “Glory Road” and is currently in the re-write stage of Tapia’s movie for Jerry Bruckheimer Productions..

Tapia begins his appearance schedule tonight (Tuesday, May 30) when he throws out the ceremonial first pitch before the Angels game in Anaheim.

On Wednesday, May 31 at 6:00 a.m. PST, Tapia will be the in-studio guest on “Piolín por la Manana” (“Piolin in the Morning”), Los Angeles’s #1 Morning Drive program, airing on Univision Radio’s KSCA. At 10:30 PST, he will guest in-studio on the nationally syndicated “The Jim Rome Show,” which airs on more than 185 radio stations each weekday. Tapia will also appear on a number of Univision radio programs, both local and national, broadcasting from Los Angeles.

On Wednesday evening, Los Angeles area fans are invited to meet Tapia during his first official book-signing event at 6:00 p.m. at the Team L.A. store at Universal CityWalk (1000 Universal Studios Boulevard, Universal City, CA, 818-509-3090).

Later this week, the Tapia tour continues in San Antonio, Texas with a number of appearances sponsored by the San Antonio Univision radio cluster that includes top-rated stations KKOR, KXTN, KBBT, KROM and KCOR.

Tapia will make book signing stops and be available to the media in Chicago, New York and, of course, at home in Albuquerque -- once additional June dates are announced.

Please check www.JohnnyTapia.net frequently for updates and information.

Originally Posted by oaktownboy can anyone recommend any mike tyson dvds? know this is off-topic but stores don't sell em anynmore...or if they do, they don't contain the actual fights, but are biographies/documentaries

Originally Posted by oaktownboy can anyone recommend any mike tyson dvds? know this is off-topic but stores don't sell em anynmore...or if they do, they don't contain the actual fights, but are biographies/documentaries

31.05.06 -Photos: TOM CASINO / SHOWTIME - Diego "Chico" Corrales and Vic Darchinyan participated in an open media workout Wednesday at the IBA Gym in Las Vegas. Saturday on SHOWTIME, Corrales will defend his WBC title against former two-time WBC 135-pound champion Jose Luis Castillo in the third and final installment of their memorable, exciting, epic fight series. In Saturday's co-feature on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING (9 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the west coast) from Thomas & Mack Center, Darchinyan defends his IBF flyweight crown against fellow unbeaten Luis Maldonado.

Diego Corrales (40-3, 33 KOs)

“I have watched both my fights against Castillo a lot to prepare for this fight. We left no stone unturned. I know I will get the ‘W’ whether it is by knockout or decision. I don’t worry about whether Castillo makes weight or not. I just focus on my training.”

“Having three fights back to back against Castillo, I have to say, they were the most grueling camps. I never trained so hard. I know we will probably beat the crap out of each other in this fight as well.

“We bring the electricity and excitement boxing was missing. We’ve brought it back in the trilogy.”

“The victory in the 3rd fight solidifies that I am the best lightweight. I proved it before and I’ll prove it again in this fight. Castillo will not be able to touch me. I’m the smarter fighter and the biggest puncher in the lightweight division.”

Darchinyan Retains IBF Title With An Eighth Round TKO Over Maldonado

02.06.06 - By Matt Stein: According to a recent interview at Seconds Out, James Toney is entertaining fight offers from three different heavyweight champions, from Wladimir Klitschko (46-3, 41 KO's), Sergei Liakhovich to Hasim Rahman. However, Toney's promoter, Dan Goosen, prefers for Toney (69-4-3, 43 KO's) to fight the winner of the Hasim Rahman vs. Oleg Maskaev fight for the WBC heavyweight title, which will be taking place on July 29, 2006. Goosen further states that they'll make their decision on who'll they'll be facing following the weekend. That being said, I think I smell fear coming from Toney's direction and I'm starting to expect that Toney will opt out of fighting Wladimir, and choose the easier option of fighting the winner of Rahman - Maskaev, even though he would likely make more money by fighting Wladimir Klitschko, the current IBF heavyweight champion.

If the 37-year-old Toney is so confident in his ability, why not risk all and take the bigger fight against Wladimir? Heck, if Wladimir is willing to take the shot, why not Toney?

Let me guess: Toney probably saw Wladimir's fight with Chris Byrd and noticed how Wladimir gave Byrd a seven round beating, ending in a TKO. Seeing this brutal one-sided affair, might be giving Toney second thoughts about wanting to fight an offensive machine like Wladimir. Could that be it?

Against Hasim Rahman, I scored the fight for Rahman by at least three rounds and felt that Toney was given a gift by receiving a draw. However, in a match with Wladimir, that's a whole different level of a fighter, a more advanced offensive puncher. That's not to say that Rahman can't punch because he has good power. However, Wladimir is a much more devastating puncher, who is capable of knocking an opponent out with every punch. Plus, when you factor in Wladimir's huge height and reach advantage, being that he is 6'6", 244 lbs and is in excellent shape compared to Toney's 5'9" 245 lbs.

More importantly, Wladimir, who prefers to fight on the outside, would be beyond the range of Toney's shorter reach, forcing Toney to constantly have to make bull-like charges to try and get inside. As we saw in Wladimir's fight with Samuel Peter, trying to get inside on Wladimir has it's own perils, as when Peter almost had his head knocked off in the 12th when he blindly tried to walk in and got blasted with a perfectly thrown left hook that staggered badly. For me, I can understand it if Toney decides to fight the easier fight, since getting badly beaten up, or worse, knocked out, would be a huge blow to his reputation and ego. To be honest, I don't think Toney could make it 12 rounds with Wladimir, no matter what strategy he uses. As many people know, Toney’s noted for his excellent head movement. However, Wladimir is extremely good at picking off a moving target and this tactic would likely turn Toney’s head into a moving speed bag, a target Wladimir would pick apart.

Let's hope that Toney makes the good choice of choosing to take on Wladimir next, because it would say a lot about him as a fighter and he would win a tremendous amount of respect in the boxing world, as well putting him in the biggest fight of his heavyweight career. Honestly, there's no other heavyweight match out there right now that's bigger than Wladimir vs. Toney. Put it this way, even if Toney loses, he still gains by having made the courageous decision to face someone as talented as Wladimir. Besides that, Toney could always turn around and pick up the pieces and fight for a heavyweight title in another division, possibly against the WBC heavyweight champion, his original plan. What if Toney loses? Sure, it would be humiliating to be beaten to a pulp in front of a world wide audience, but you never know, Toney might win. As was shown in the past by Lamon Brewster, Corrie Sanders and Ross Puritty, Wladimir isn’t infallible.

Originally Posted by fufu How about that Topolo vs. Doublebase match.

Originally Posted by fufu How about that Topolo vs. Doublebase match.

10.06.06 - By Izyaslav “Slava” Koza: Tonight in front of a largely pro Puerto Rican crowd, Miguel Cotto its native son, gave his fellow latinos something else to celebrate besides the upcoming parade. His foe Pauli Malignaggi received a sound thrashing for all the garbage he talked before the bout, and all the posing he did for the cameras. Interestingly enough now he won’t have to pucker his face, because Cotto gave him the equivalent of a botox injection by breaking the right part of his jaw. The pain didn’t end there as late left from Miguel landed straight on the nose and mouth of Malignaggi making both ooze blood. All in all the fight left a very satisfying feeling for me since I had picked Cotto to win and was happy with the result.

Although the commentators tried to make it seem like Malignaggi was doing pretty well to be honest I was not in agreement. Really after the knockdown in round 2 and the hard punches Malignaggi took in round 1, I think he realized Cotto was not going to get fazed by his pitter pat punches. Malignaggi’s offense then amounted to doing one of two things, where in a: he ran away and threw many fast flashy combos which landed on Cotto’s gloves and did little damage, or b.) ran in looking to tie Cotto down.

In regards to strategy “a,” the only reason the commentators believed that this sort of punching was doing damage was because Cotto seemed drained and thus indirectly seemingly bothered by the punches. In my opinion this was more a matter of him being weight drained, and thus improperly prepared for the fight. Still it is an amazing testament to his dedication that he came in roughly 2 pounds under the limit, visibly dry in the face and still managed to bring the fight to Malignaggi. Late in the fight he regained his wind, and seemingly became more motivated after he busted the rest of Malignaggi’s face and cruised comfortably till the end.

Strategy “b” from Malignaggi was met with excellent inside roughness from Cotto. For one as I mentioned in my infamous Calzaghe Lacy write up, if a guy is there to hold and tie up, the opponent must be ready to get down and dirty. Miguel Cotto seeing as he is such a tremendous fighter, was not going to let his opponent get away with grappling him. In response to these tactics Miguel tried to always twist his arms in such a way as to get Malignaggi off balance, or more importantly he employed the Mayweather Jr. patented forearm to the head, which is a great deterrent to guys looking to put their arms around you and come in to break the action. Sure it may seem dirty, but as I said many times I believe that is the only way to respond, by fighting fire with fire, when the referee does not step in and do his job. By the way I felt Smoger was totally off his game in this respect. Whenever Malignaggi would come in and grapple he would tell him to push off, even though Malignaggi was the one initiating the clinches. Shouldn’t it have been the other way around where Smoger should have told Cotto to push off, or better yet, forced Malignaggi to stop wrestling?

In any case Cotto was clearly the better fighter, even if under prepared to fight at this weight, and I tip my hat off to him for living up to high expectations. Hopefully he will move to 147, where he should be much stronger. As far as Malignaggi as I said I don’t believe he deserves all the “job well done,” kudos he got as he was there mostly to survive, possibly hoping the weight problems for Cotto might pay off late. In any case he does deserve credit as any boxer does, I am just not sure if he deserves that much that we should overlook the events of the fight.

IN OTHER ACTION………..

Bobby Pacquio looked relatively better this time around against Kevin Kelley, then in his last outing a blatant robbery win against Carlos Hernandez. It could be that Kelley is old so there can’t be that much stock put into the win. Interestingly enough Pacquio put Kelley away with a body punch but landed a low blow right before that. The referee ruled it a low blow at first it seemed, but once the ringside keeper started counting the referee seemed to change his mind and count out Kelley. To his credit Kelley was more upset that he lost rather then that he was hit low, simply because in truth the low blow was not really the punch that made him go down, but still seeing as the punch was down there, and the ref did call it an “LB” Kelley should have been given a chance to recover. To be honest I don’t think it would have mattered anyway.

Jesus Chavez jr. continued his winning ways by beating up on another relatively unknown fighter with a decent record. This time around the victim in question did come out rather aggressive and for the first round it seemed like he could do something, but all hope of that disappeared when Chavez took the man’s punches and opened up viciously forcing the ref to stop it after the first knockdown of the fight.

Tommy Zibkowski, a Notre Dame football player, made an impressive and quite professional, pro debut by taking out cannon fodder opponent Robert Bell. Tommy Z caught the guy about 40 seconds in, and after he got up on shaky legs and a seemingly strong lack of desire to fight, Zibkowski clocked him with a left that spun Bell completely around and forced the ref to rush in and stop the contest. After the Zibkowski summed up the bout by saying he wanted to show that he was a professional fighter and not simply a celebrity or an athlete trying out boxing.

Thoughts on the Hopkins Tarver fight

Bernard Hopkins made history of sorts tonight in a one sided domination of Antonio “Lazy Man” Tarver to capture the Light Heavyweight crown. Though I did not make an official prediction I was leaning towards a Hopkins victory for the simple fact that I believe Antonio Tarver does not know how to be a champion. While the man does have talent, the problem is he celebrates his victories way too much, and that happened after each of his key wins, which were followed in succession by key losses.

After watching the kind of toll fluctuations in weight take on a fighter the age and talent of Roy Jones Jr., Tarver completely ignored them and followed suit. How can somebody in their right mind, go up something like 40 pounds, and then shed that weight quickly in order to fight of all people fitness freak Bernard Hopkins? PLUS he did at 37 years of age.

Miguel Cotto, a 20 something in the prime of his life, has problems with shedding pounds and yet Antonio Tarver just doesn’t give a damn. Really its pathetic to witness, and it is not surprising that Hopkins made him look goofy. Tarver was sucking wind hard against Johnson and against Jones in the first fight, and he was most likely fitter for those bouts then he was for this one.

This is precisely why its kind of hard to congratulate Hopkins all that much on winning this bout seeing as the calculating business man in him probably planned this all along. Not only did he know that Tarver tires, but also that with Rocky 6 and the extra weight, Tarver would be even worse off. Still I guess for a 41 year old this is a hell of an accomplishment so some praise is due.

Coincidentally, I had no problem in picking the Cotto Malignaggi pay per view over the Hopkins Tarver one, and part of the reason was Tarver’s attitude. Though he probably thought that “no respect” mouth of his would get extra pay per view buys, I simply smiled and became more confident in picking the MSG card. Tarver doesn’t get any respect because like I said I believe he doesn’t know how to be a champion, and also when that is coupled with a huge ego, that makes for one really unappealing character.

Congratulations to Miguel Cotto, Bernard Hopkins and all tonight’s winners, including local Andrey Tsurkan who pulled off an upset stoppage over Hector Camacho Jr.

12.06.06 - By Geoffrey Ciani: Saturday night, Bernard Hopkins added another chapter to his illustrious storybook career when he defeated Antonio Tarver in a lopsided mismatch. Who could have imagined that Hopkins would dismantle Tarver with such ease? After all, isn’t it ill-advised for a 41 year old fighter to jump two weight classes to face the division’s top dog? Indeed, under ordinary circumstances such a move would seem destined for failure. However, there’s nothing ‘ordinary’ about Bernard Hopkins and ‘failure’ is not a part of his vocabulary.

Throughout the fight, Tarver feebly pawed with his jab as he hopelessly followed Hopkins around, only to be caught by lunging right hands that never seemed to miss the mark. It was a marvel to watch, as time and time again, Hopkins repeatedly lulled Tarver into a false sense of security. Tarver simply had no answers for the brilliant tactical display put forth by The Executioner.

He was essentially reduced to fighting a one-dimensional fight, looking to land a big left in hopes of ending it. However, Tarver’s left hand rarely found its target, as the elusive Hopkins saw them coming a mile away. Hopkins’s versatility as a prize-fighter proved to be way more than Tarver could handle.

Versatility has always been Hopkins’s strongest attribute. He’s one of the few boxers out there capable of fighting however the situation demands. He can box or brawl, he can fight from the outside or on the inside, his offense and defense are equally impeccable, and he has an uncanny ability at making the proper adjustments during the course of a fight. Additionally, Hopkins has incredible footwork that’s grossly underrated; he always seems to know where he has to be and he almost always manages to be there. And to top it all off, he has absolutely amazing stamina. It often seems as if Hopkins gets stronger as the fight progresses. Indeed, had he fought in an earlier era, he’d have been extremely well-suited for fifteen round fights.

Hopkins has an amazing work ethic that enables him to be successful, even at the advanced age of 41. He’s one of the few professional athletes who trains 365 days a year. By his own admission, he treats his body “like a temple”. Clearly, this not only affords him to be in top physical condition but it also helps strengthen his mental fortitude, because as awesome as Hopkins is physically, it’s his mental strength that has enabled him to become one of the greatest boxers who ever laced up the gloves.

Hopkins imposed his will on Tarver early and often. This was something Roy Jones was never able to accomplish in his three fights with Tarver. That Hopkins was able to thoroughly dominate Jones’s conqueror speaks volumes in an historical context. On one hand, you have Jones – a fighter who never dared to be great; on the other, you have Hopkins – a fighter who always strived for greatness. Jones might well have more ‘accolades’ than Hopkins, but the truth of the matter is, Jones is no Hopkins.

Jones' ‘greatness’ was largely predicated on media hype. Indeed, Jones always seemed to choose the path of least resistance. Mere coincidence cannot explain the fact that Jones always somehow managed to avoid the biggest challenge in each division he entered. Yet, under the protective umbrella of the US media, Jones was rarely scrutinized for this. It seemed as if people were more interested in watching his flashy style than they were at seeing him fight the best available challenges. Greatness is not founded on flashy skills that make one appear better than he is when he’s fighting inferior opposition. In contrast, Hopkins always sought out the toughest challenges he could find. In this light, it makes perfect sense that Jones always managed to weasel his way out of the long awaited rematch with Hopkins, but in the end, Hopkins got the last laugh – for he is undoubtedly the best fighter of his generation.

So what does this win do for Hopkins? Well, in terms of legacy, I suppose it just amplifies something that was already well-established. Hopkins is clearly an all-time great, as evidenced by his record number of title defenses in the middleweight division. Now, Hopkins has accomplished something that even Sugar Ray Robinson was never able to do, by beating “the man” in the light-heavyweight division. That he did this at such an advanced age after spending almost his entire career in the middleweight division only further amplifies this.

The only question now is, will this be the last chapter of this illustrious storybook career? Well, in a way, this victory was the perfect way for The Executioner to end his career. He helped erase the extremely controversial loss he suffered at the hands of Jermain Taylor in their rematch last December and this gives him the opportunity to cap his career on a high note. Regardless, it’s got to be tough to walk away after such a dominating performance. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if Hopkins continued fighting at an elite level for several more years if he chose to do so. After all, Hopkins personifies greatness.

16.06.06 - By Jim Dorney: The fact that Bob Fitzsimmons died in 1917 and very little film of him exists means that quite a lot of casual boxing fans will never have heard of him. That's a real shame. Fitzsimmons was, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the most memorable characters in boxing. He completely defied everything -How you're meant to look, how you're meant to fight, what weight you're meant to fight at, how old you're meant to fight on for & many others.

The catchphrase 'The bigger they are, the harder they fall' was attributed to Fitzsimmons which he apparently remarked as he entered the ring against Ed Dunkhorst, allegedly one of the heaviest boxers ever. It's said that Dunkhorst sometimes entered the ring at over 400lbs, making his moniker 'The human freight car' somewhat appropriate!

Bob Fitzsimmons was born in Helston, a small town in Cornwall, England in 1867. When he was still a young boy his family emigrated to Timaru, New Zealand, where Fitzsimmons learned to box. He entered a tournament organised by bare-knuckle legend Jem Mace as a 14-year-old lightweight & won by beating the 200lbs plus 'Timaru Terror' - A blacksmith who was the scourge of the local rings.

Fitzsimmons was a blacksmith himself (as was Jem Mace) who worked at his brother Jarret's forge. It was there that he developed the awesome upper-body strength that would give him his inhuman punching power. He later turned professional in Australia and bar a fight against Australian middleweight rival, Jim Hall that he threw because he was told he wouldn't get paid if he didn't lose, he beat everybody, including Hall by way of knockout rematch.

Feeling that he wasn't getting anywhere fast in Australia, Bob travelled to the States to challenge the mighty Jack 'Nonpareil' Dempsey, considered one of the greatest of the early middleweight champions. Both weighing in over 10 lbs under the middleweight limit, Fitzsimmons, who was unheard of in America and due to his odd appearance a huge underdog, obliterated Dempsey, completely finishing him as a fighter. He went on to defend the middleweight title against a couple of credible challengers such as Dan Creedon before he decided to go all the way to the heavyweight title of the world.

To put Fitzsimmons' achievements into perspective, we must first examine the man himself. Fitzsimmons stood a shade under 6ft tall, with extremely skinny legs that broadened out into a remarkably muscled back and shoulders. He looked like a heavyweight from the waist up, and a lightweight from the waist down. He was ginger-haired, giving away his family's Irish heritage, balding, and his freckled face burnt easily in the sun. He was, quite simply, just not what a boxer is supposed to look like. Sometimes his curious appearance caused laughter amongst audiences, wondering how this strange-looking man had come to practice the noble art. But, as the noted boxing historian Tracy Callis says in his excellent biography of Fitzsimmons, no-one that fought him laughed.

Nicknames for the great man included "the fighting machine on stilts," "the freckled freak," "speckled Bob," "ruby Robert" and simply "the Cornishman." Fitzsimmons always considered himself quintessentially British, and Cornish above that.

Bob was one of the first ever truly scientific boxers. The man he won the heavyweight title from, James J. Corbett is generally acknowledged as the father of modern scientific boxing, and while Fitzsimmons wasn't quite as flashy a stylist, his science laid in his ability to punch. He wrote a book on boxing, instructing his readers on how to utilise their weight and balance to get the full effect of a punch, and he could hit equally hard with either hand.

After Corbett beat the legendary John L. Sullivan, the last of the bareknuckle heavyweight champions, he announced his retirement. It wasn't to last. Fitzsimmons knocked out Peter Maher in 90 seconds to claim the title & Corbett, who disliked Bob intensely, 'unretired', mooting his claim. Corbett hated Fitzsimmons so much because Bob was so vocal in calling him out, yet wasn't even a heavyweight. Fitzsimmons' prime fighting weight was around 167 lbs, which is under the super-middleweight limit. He was this weight when he beat the much heavier Corbett for the title with his famous 'solar plexus' left hook to the body, severely winding Corbett and putting him out for the count.

Fitzsimmons was the first ever middleweight champion to hold the heavyweight crown, and unlike subsequent fighters that have repeated this feat, he was still to all intents & purposes a middleweight when he did it. By contrast Roy Jones Jr. was 193lbs when beat John Ruiz, and whilst 193lbs is considered light for a heavyweight nowadays, it's nearly two stones heavier
than what Bob fought at - And Fitzsimmons won by knockout.

Further evidence to his enormous punching power was after he lost the title in a tough contest to James J. Jeffries, (who outweighed him by around 55 lbs and was three inches taller) he was granted a return a couple of years later, after knocking out the respected contenders Gus Ruhlin and Tom Sharkey. All this at the sprightly age of 39, which was unheard of at the time.

For round after round Fitzsimmons outlanded and outsped Jeffries, battering him beyond recognition. According to onlookers, Jeffries' visage was horrific after a few rounds - Fitzsimmons broke his nose and jaw, cut him badly over both eyes and cheeks, and broke one of his ribs to boot. Not bad for a 39 year old bald ginger middleweight! Only the subhuman countenance and comparative youth of Jeffries kept him in it, and without doubt it would have been stopped today and Fitzsimmons would have been the first man to regain the heavyweight championship. Finally Bob punched himself out, and Jeffries somehow managed to see well enough out of his mangled eyes to find a left hook to knock the grand old man out.

But that wasn't all - At the age of 42, Bob became the second man ever to hold the new light-heavyweight title, (again weghing in well under the limit) beating George Gardner, and putting him down several times in the process. He should really have ended it there - But like so many other fighters, his ego and desire kept him on for too many fights. Some he won, but most he lost, and he died poor from pneumonia at the age of 54, after fighting his last fight at 51.

He was the first ever boxer to win titles at three different weights, and for those titles to range from middleweight to heavyweight when he was only really a middleweight, is extraordinary. All who fought him agreed that he certainly punched like a heavyweight and his knockout percentage is impressive by heavyweight standards. I won't deny that there have been some men in history who have likely hit harder than him, but these would have been men who considerably outweighed him. It's my belief that pound for pound, Bob Fitzsimmons was the hardest hitting fighter for his weight in history. Don't let that you've not heard of him or know little about him influence your decision - Look up his record and see the men he knocked out, then consider that he was very close to stopping (and certainly would have done by today's standards) the mighty Jim Jeffries in his prime, who is generally acknowledged as having on of the sturdiest chins in heavyweight history. There's no denying it, other than him being an brilliant fighter, Bob Fitzsimmmons was a phenomenal hitter.

Originally Posted by ForemanRules McCall, Brown set for return! FORMER WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION OLIVER MCCALL AND TOP CRUISERWEIGHT CONTENDER DALE BROWN TO COMPETE ON JUNE 30 CARD June 15, 2006 They come from vastly different pasts and have taken diverse journeys to their current spots in the boxing world, but former world heavyweight champion Oliver McCall and top Cruiserweight contender Dale Brown have the same goals to be the best and to be called Champion. On Friday, June 30th, both veterans will be back in action and looking to move closer to those goals when they compete in separate bouts on the highly anticipated Ring Warriors card at the Seminole Hard Rock Live Arena in Hollywood, Florida. McCall will face hard-hitting Gary "Bring Da Pain" Bell in a ten round contest, and Brown will battle Colorado's Shane Swartz, also in a ten rounder. In the main event, unbeaten knockout artist Juan Urango will face Australia's Naoufel Ben Rabah in a 12 round bout for the vacant IBF super lightweight championship of the world. ESPN2 Friday Night Fights will televise the show, beginning at 9pm ET / 6pm PT. Blessed with a cast-iron chin and the punch to match, Oliver McCall (46-8, 33 KOs) is best remembered by fight fans for his stirring second round knockout of Lennox Lewis in 1994, a win that earned him the WBC Heavyweight Championship. After defending his crown with a decision over the legendary Larry Holmes, The Atomic Bull would lose the title to Frank Bruno in 1995, but he has rebounded since then, racking up 20 victories against just two defeats, including a first round stoppage of Oleg Maskaev, who will be challenging for Hasim Rahman's world title later this summer. In Brooklyn's Gary Bring Da Pain Bell (22-4-1, 15 KOs), McCall will be facing a talented fighter who many believe is one or two wins away from challenging the elite in boxing's glamour division. Calgary's Dale Brown (35-4-1, 22 KOs) is revered at home and abroad for his class outside the ring and his skill and determination in it. An 11 year veteran of the sport, Brown has suffered through some tough times in the ring, most recently losing a highly controversial decision to current undisputed Cruiserweight Champion O'Neil Bell in May of 2005, but with two wins in a row since that fight, Cowboy has dusted himself off and is gearing up for another title run, starting with his bout on June 30 against Shane Swartz (17-4, 12 KOs), who has been in with world-class competition such as Calvin Brock, Malik Scott, and Grigory Drozd over the course of his ten year career.

Originally Posted by aceshigh is this a fucking joke?????????????????

16.06.06 - By Karen Belford: Hello East Side People. On Saturday, ESPN is going to be having a six-hour telecast devoted to Rocky Marciano, who in case you didn’t know, is the only heavyweight champion to retire undefeated. His record, an unbelievable 49-0, is hard for me to even imagine, seeing that it looks and sounds so good. That is, until I take a peek at who he actually fought during his career. Anyway, I thought I would chime in with some thoughts for this wonderful occasion, for it’s not every day that we get to see footage of a great hero like Marciano, at least not on free television.

Normally, I don't really enjoy reading about fighters from the distant past, probably because, I feel, that boxing was more unskilled back then, the fighters looked so weak, and the heavyweight division, in particular, so watered down due to many of the young American men being forced to serve in the Korean War. Marciano, though, seems to mean a lot to people, almost seeming like a symbol for some of them, especially for the bitter and small-minded ones. If you for one second question Marciano's record, it's as if you comitted some cardinal sin or something. Give me a break, will you? He was a good fighter, but not that good.

While I am fond of the heavyweight division, I don't really consider Marciano to be a true heavyweight given his short stature, which, at 5'11" 185 lb, he would even be considered small for Cruiserweight in this day and age. However, Marciano’s good luck of fighting during the war years, which had to have had a dramatic effect on the pool of quality opponents to compete with. I mean, it hardly seems sporting that there were so few quality fighters to gauge Marciano's talent.

What's even worse, Marciano's career heavyweight championship rein, a mere three years and 7 seven fights, came about, luckily for him, after Joe Louis, Ezzard Charles and Jersey Joe Walcott, had aged beyond their prime, leaving Marciano free beat up on the older warriors when they weren’t at their best. Even with most of the fighters either being in their upper 30's to early forties, Marciano had all he could handle with them considering their advanced age. Probably, for many people, what I'm saying about Marciano, is a bitter pill to swallow, but if you look into his ring history very far, I'm sure most of you would come to the same conclusion.

Of course, I still consider what Marciano accomplished in the ring to be extraordinary, yet I can keep it in proportion based on his level of competition. All the same, he succeeded very well at beating what was in front of him, and I commend him for that. I mean, who wouldn't want to retire young (age 33) and rich, with an undefeated record (49-0, 43 KO's) and get out while you were at your top? Without giving it much of a look, it appears to be an incredible accomplishment.

In October 1951, Rocky Marciano, with a 37-0 record, built largely on easy opposition, he met up with ex-heavyweight champion, Joe Louis, who by this time was 37-years-old, balding and fighting for the very last occasion. Sadly, Marciano beat the great champion, stopping Louis in the 8th round. However, despite losing, Louis had his moments in the fight, connecting frequently with his still powerful right hand to the head of Marciano, who looked dramatically smaller than the 6'2' 213 lb, Louis.

In watching the fight, the lasting impression in my mind was how good Louis looked, even in a losing effort, compared to the young, 28-year-old Marciano, who many people in the boxing world were raving about at the time. Based on what I saw, I think a younger Joe Louis would have very easily have knocked out Marciano, especially when you consider that Louis was both the bigger fighter, and more powerful puncher.

Following that fight, Marciano first fought for a heavyweight championship, defeating champion, Joe Walcott (51-16-2, 32 KO's), on September 1952. In case people don’t know this, Walcott was 38-years-old, and one fight away from retirement when he took this fight. However, despite Walcott's age and many ring wars, he completely dominated Marciano from the onset, knocking him down in the first round with a big left hand to head. Marciano made it up, but then took a one-sided beating all the way until the 13th round, when Marciano connected with a big right hand that dropped Walcott for the 10 count, completely out cold. To be sure, Marciano did what he had to do to win, but he looked less than impessive being bounced around the ring by a fighter close to 40-years-old. Not what you would expect for someone who is considered to be one of the best, if not the best heavyweight of all time.

Eight months later, in May 1953, Marciano met up with Walcott, once more, although this time, Walcott seemed a shell of himself, and seemed to freeze at the opening bell, as Marciano pounced on him, quickly knocking out a fearful looking Walcott, in the 1st round. I've seen this fight many times and always come to the same conclusion, that Walcott didn't seem mentally ready for the bout on this night and probably should have stayed home or maybe called in sick. Clearly, it wasn't the best way for Walcott to end his career, considering I think he had a little more left, at least enough to beat Marciano, if Walcott hadn't been so afraid.

Later that same year, in September 1953, Marciano would face an old nemesis of his, Roland Lastarza, who had previously fought Marciano in 1950, losing a very close decision. However, this time, instead of trying to fight aggressively, Lastarza fought more passively, allowing Marciano to stalk him and take the fight to him. It was a bad strategy, nevertheless, and it cost Lastarza, when Marciano caught up with him in the 11th round and knocked him out.

In June 1954, fought Ezzard Charles, then 33-years-old, another small heavyweight much like Marciano, although with smooth ring moves and much more skills than Marciano brings to the ring. However, by this point in Ezzard Charles' incredible career, he fought countless ring wars, having had fought over 90 times as a professional, with a ring record of 79-10. Clearly, from an outsider's perspective, Charles had fought one too many fights and was beyond his prime years. Still, though, Charles gave Marciano a boxing lesson over the first three quarters of the fight, before tiring in the later rounds and losing a close 15-round decision to Marciano. Frankly, I consider this fight to be no worse than a draw for Charles, if not an out right victory, because he won all the early rounds as far as the 9th, before Marciano started coming on. You have to remember, though, this was the 1950's, so it's no real surprise, that Marciano got the nod when it came to the score cards.

Unbelievably, after this incredible war, three months later, Marciano and Ezzard Charles, once again, got back in the ring together. To Marciano's credit, he showed integrity by fighting Charles a second time, although it was clearly an easy decision for him, one made for financial reasons, considering that that their first fight had been such a huge success with the public. This time, Charles's punches sliced and diced Marciano's face, splitting his nose wide open in a grotesque, disfiguring manner, and cutting him on his eyebrow, in the early going. Somehow, Marciano was able to gut it out, coming back to stop Charles in the 8th round. Charles was knocked down twice in the 8th, but fought heroically, despite losing the fight.

Sadly, this fight would signal the end for Charles as a contender, for he would fight on bravely for the next four years, losing 13 times and winning 10. His two fights with Marciano, among the many others in his career, would appear to have taken out the best of him. However, at the same time, Marciano, also appeared to be slowing down, and although he was only 31-years-old, he was starting to show signs of wear and tear.

In May 1955, Marciano had a relatively easy win over the British fighter, Don Cockell, beating him into a 9th round submission. Cockell, although up for the fight, he was steamrolled by Marciano’s big punches, to the point where Cockell could no longer raise his arms to properly defend himself, leaving open his chin for Marciano’s power shots.

Finally, perhaps sensing that his abilities were starting to diminish, Marciano fought for the final time on September 21, 1955, against 38-year-old ring veteran, Archie Moore (149-19-9, 107 KO’s). Despite his age, Moore was well preserved, and actually looked younger than Marciano, who was beginning to bald and show signs of putting on weight. To take this fight, Moore was moving up from the light heavyweight division, where he had dominated for the past three years, winning 24 consecutive fights before moving up to the heavyweight division to challenge Marciano for his title.

The fight got off to a vicious start with Moore taking the fight to Marciano and landing the harder, quicker shots. Moore, at 5”11 185, was roughly the same size as Marciano but much faster hands and the harder puncher. In 2nd round, Moore tagged Marciano with a tremendous shot, knocking him to the canvas, visibly hurt. Marciano made it back up, but took a lot of punishment from Moore for the next 5 rounds. However, by the 8th round, Marciano’s constant pressure began to wear down Moore, who wasn’t accustomed to being forced to fight at such a pace, considering that he had been a knockout artist for much of his career and usually ended his fights rather quickly with stunning knockouts.

Finally, the end came in the 9th round, when Marciano stopped a weary Moore, who could no longer take Marciano’s furious punishment and was beaten into submission.

Shortly after this fight, however, Marciano, at the age of 33, announced his retirement from boxing in April 1956. The announcement was a shock for many people, needless to say, for they figured that Marciano was going to hold onto the title for years to come, and had not seen a fighter quit while at the top. Perhaps this fight, including his two ring wars with Ezzard Charles, gave him a hint that he didn’t have much longer. Or possibly, Marciano might have been hearing the footsteps up the next heavyweight champion, Floyd Patterson, who was a young up and coming contender, with a 30-1 record at the time of Marciano’s retirement. Patterson would later win the vacant heavyweight title, stopping Archie Moore in the 5th round in November 1956, the same year that Marciano retired.

Personally, as I’ve already stated, I feel that Marciano was tremendously overrated as a fighter. He was good, yes, but he fought his toughest fights against fighters that were, for the most part, beyond their best years. So, when looking at his accomplishments, one must keep that in mind, otherwise you’re seeing a warped image of how good Marciano really was. Moreover, his ring record of 49-0, was largely build on fighting 2nd and 3rd tier fighters, opponents that were essentially ring fodder and were easily knocked out by quality fighters.

Historically, this too, is something that escapes people when looking at Marciano’s record. Indeed, if you were to take a good look at Marciano’s ring record, the only real quality fighters that he beat during his career were Joe Louis, Archie Moore, Ezzard Charles, Rex Layne, Roland Lastarza, Harry “Kid” Matthews, and Jersey Joe Walcott. Not too good, is it? Especially when you throw in the fact that best ones out of the list, that is, Charles, Louis, Walcott and Moore, were either in their late 30’s, early forties or worn out from too many ring wars.

And, finally, in regards to Marciano’s supposedly devastating power, it, too, was completely overrated. Marciano, although he had 43 record knockouts on his record, he wasn’t a one-punch knockout artist or even the hardest puncher in the division, for that matter. If you want to look at harder punchers, Walcott, Louis, and Moore, were much harder punchers than Marciano ever was. Contrary to what people think, Marciano’s knockout were the result of his tremendous stamina, for he could punch nonstop without resting, resulting in Marciano clubbing his opponents into submission rather than stopping them with a tremendous shot. Throw in the fact that the vast majority of his opponents were of marginal ability, along with the old age and ring wear of the ones that were good, and you get a beautiful record of 49-0. It looks good on paper, but it hardly means that you were the best.



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24.06.06 - By Jeff Bastasini: Joe Mesi (31-0, 25 KO's) in his second fight since returning from injury suspension, earned a 6-round unanimous decision over Canadian, Stephane Tessier (3-8, 1 KO) on Friday night at the Uniprix Stadium, in Montreal, Canada. However, Mesi, 32, looked far from impressive, appearing to be at least 10 lbs overweight and much slower than he was before his suspension began two years earlier. His once impressive handspeed seems to have vanished, including most his power, since his punches looked weak and had no effect on Tessier. Nevertheless, it hardly mattered against a fighter as limited as Tessier, 33, who was clearly out of his league against Mesi. The fight was one-sided from the beginning with Mesi landing continously and using ring movement to set up shots.

However, Tessier had his moments, tagging Mesi with left hooks and straight rights that snapped Mesi's head back. I personally didn't like Mesi's reaction to the blows, as he seemed bothered by the punches, even though Tessier isn't noted for having a lot of power. Mesi's defense was largely nonexistent, as he seemed unable to block punches, even the slow telegraphed punches thrown by Tessier. Instead, Mesi was forced to use lots of ring movement to avoid Tessier's attacks. It looked odd, somehow, the picture of Mesi, a fighter with 25 KO's on his record, being stalked by a fighter with only 1 KO in his short career. In the 6th and final round, Mesi threw over 90 punches, looking to finish strong with a knockout, perhaps.

However, towards the end of the round, Mesi looked tired and was eating big right hands by Tessier and looked to be one or two shots away from being stopped. The final judges scores were 60-54, 60-54 and 59-55, all for Mesi. Overall, I was not impressed with Mesi, and I don't like his chances against a top ten fighter, even if Mesi does lose the weight. Mesi will be returning to the ring, most likely next month.