Official 2012 Boxing Thread: JMM/Manny IV - FOTY.

Hopefully Hopkins taking on Dawson clears the way for Bute/Froch.

Edit:

Took awhile but looks like he's finally reached gatekeeper status:

Shane Mosley, the former pound-for-pound king and three-division champion, is 40 now. He is 2-3-1 in his previous six fights, and he has looked particularly poor in going 0-2-1 in his past three since his upset knockout of plaster-less Antonio Margarito in 2009.

The last time we saw Mosley, he was knocked down in the third round and lost a shutout decision to Manny Pacquiao in their massively hyped -- and even more disappointing -- welterweight title bout last May.

Since then, Mosley (46-7-1, 39 KOs) has kept a low profile. But now he says he is ready to return, that he is healthy and that his manager, James Prince, and attorney, Josh Dubin, have been approached by Golden Boy -- the fighter's former promoter before their falling out prior to rival Top Rank signing Mosley for the Pacquiao fight -- to gauge his interest in two potential bouts.

I talked to Mosley the other day, and he said he was asked a couple of weeks ago about his interest in a fight with junior middleweight titlist Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, who holds one of Mosley's old belts. In recent days, Mosley said, he was asked about his interest in facing former junior welterweight titlist Amir Khan.

"They offered me a fight with Canelo and I was like, 'Yeah, I'll take it,'" Mosley said. "Then they came back to me and said, 'What about Amir Khan?'"

Mosley said that fight was also of interest to him, although not at the weight that was suggested: 145 pounds.

Khan, who lost his two junior welterweight belts to Lamont Peterson in controversial fashion on Dec. 10, wants a rematch first and foremost. But Golden Boy knows there are issues there and is looking ahead because Khan had talked before the Peterson fight about moving up anyway.

"I said, 'No way at 145.' I might do it if it was at 147. I was thinking 149 or 150," Mosley said. "It's possible, but I would want to be sure everything is right. It's interesting, but it depends on the setting, the weight, what type of money."

Of the two names brought to Mosley's attention, he said he prefers Alvarez, who has been mentioned prominently as a potential May 5 opponent for Floyd Mayweather Jr., who soundly outpointed Mosley in May 2010.

With Mayweather and Pacquiao trying to finalize opponents, because it seems very doubtful they will fight each other next, everyone else in the hunt is jockeying for position, including Mosley.

"I haven't fought in a while and would have to make weight properly if I was going to fight Khan," Mosley said, adding that he weighed about 168 when we spoke a few days ago. "Now that I am healed properly, I can get back to work again."

Mosley said he injured the Achilles tendon in his left foot several weeks before the Pacquiao fight and that it hindered him badly in the fight. He said he had issues with his other leg also. The injuries have taken some time to heal, but he said he would be ready for a fight in the spring, which is when Alvarez and Khan are both expected back in action.

"I wanted to take some time off and heal properly," Mosley said. "I'm feeling a lot better and ready to go. I'm not hurt. If Golden Boy is willing to put their guy, Canelo or Amir, up to fight me, so be it. I'm excited to get back in the ring. I want to prove to everybody what happens when I am 100 percent."

I don't see the Khan fight happening and remain hopeful a rematch with Peterson will come to fruition. It makes too much (dollars and) sense not to happen.
When I asked Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer about Mosley's claim that he is being considered for the fights, he said only, "My full focus in on the Peterson rematch."

I think Mosley is a long shot, at best, to face Khan.
Besides, it remains to be seen if HBO or Showtime would be interested in either bout. But I'll say this: As disgusted as I was with Mosley's performance against Pacquiao -- and it was a fight I killed even before it took place, and wound up playing out even worse than I had predicted -- I think Mosley, even at this stage of his career, would be Alvarez's toughest opponent so far. Alvarez has been very protected.

"I'm better than anyone Canelo [has] fought," Mosley said. "By all means, put me in with him and let me knock him out. To me, Canelo is a warm-up for me to another fight. We can definitely do that."

 
 
Showtime really needs to allow the Froch-Bute fight to happen. I don't care if they aren't American, that's the most intriguing matchup at SMW after Ward-Bute.
 
They really want Bute/Ward to be made first. I don't know if they'll give in to Bute taking a risky fight before a matchup with Ward.
 
grin.gif
wouldnt be too mad at that Mosley v Canelo match in LA
Thats definitely the toughest he has faced so should be a tune up for a bigger match with contenders
 
The sad thing is that Ward-Bute probably won't happen anytime soon. Ward is going to take on Anthony Dirrell as his mandatory and then he will most likely give Kessler a rematch. In his mind Bute needs to prove himself and the only way that happens is to make risky fights with guys like Froch.
 
Originally Posted by Don Dela Vega

What would happen if Khan and Pacquiao decided to fight at 147? Would Freddie train neither?

He would drop Khan with the quickness.  With that said, it wouldn't matter because Khan is with GBP and Pac does whatever Uncle Bob tells him to so that fight has 0 chance of ever happening.
 
On Freddie Roach might have been the most boring half hour I've ever experienced. I can't believe HBO Sports let this garbage air.
 
Originally Posted by HankMoody

On Freddie Roach might have been the most boring half hour I've ever experienced. I can't believe HBO Sports let this garbage air.

HAHAHA 5 more episodes sucka
 
laugh.gif
 Same ++!! different network now that Showtime has one of Haymon's boys in charge.  Showtime doesn't want Froch/Bute because they're trying to force Andre Dirrell (who is with Haymon) on Bute.  Bute's promoter doesn't want that so now they're moving forward with trying to make an April fight with Froch even if it means less money for them.  I can respect that.
 
News and other stuff.

Spoiler [+]
After 26 months out of action, former undisputed middleweight champ Jermain Taylor made a successful ring return by stopping Jesse Nicklow in the eighth round on Dec. 31. After such a long layoff, Taylor plans to waste no time before his next fight, promoter Lou DiBella said.

"Jermain likely will come back in April," DiBella said. "He bruised up his right hand in the fight with Nicklow, but he is feeling great now. We've talked about him keeping active. When you take a couple of years off, you need to get back in there, and fighting twice a year is not sufficient if you want to work into a big fight, which is what Jermain wants to do."


[+] Enlarge
AP Photo/Eric Jamison
It has been more than six years since Jermain Taylor was at his peak and beat Bernard Hopkins to capture all four major middleweight titles.
Taylor's lengthy layoff, of course, wasn't just a matter of his taking a nice vacation. Taylor had been brutally knocked out in the 12th round by Arthur Abraham in the opening stage of the Super Six World Boxing Classic super middleweight tournament, a loss that came on the heels of a rough 12th-round knockout loss to Carl Froch in a world title bout.

Taylor (29-4-1, 18 KOs) suffered a brain bleed and short-term memory loss against Abraham and was strongly encouraged by his team and his family to step away from boxing. He eventually dropped out of the Super Six and took the long sabbatical, although he never announced his retirement.

Then he began to prepare for a comeback. He reunited with trainer Pat Burns, who had led him to the middleweight title before their breakup. He reunited with DiBella, who had resigned as his promoter when Taylor, 33, was considering fighting on in the wake of the Abraham defeat. And he returned to the middleweight division rather than stay at super middleweight, where he probably never belonged in the first place.

Taylor also went through rigorous medical testing by multiple experts and was eventually licensed in Nevada after going through additional testing, the results of which all came back clean, according to Taylor and the Nevada State Athletic Commission's medical experts.

Still, DiBella said he doesn't plan to rush Taylor.

"I think he needs a couple of steps up in competition before fighting again at the highest level," DiBella said. "If he can handle it, we'd like to get him to the point where by the fall he is ready for a big fight. I think he needs at least two more fights before that point."

The working schedule for Taylor, according to DiBella, would be for him to fight in April and August.

"Then, if all goes well -- and remember, this whole comeback is on a fight-by-fight-basis -- hopefully, he's ready for something big in the November or December time frame," DiBella said.


Rafael's boxing blog
Get the latest scoop and analysis on the world of boxing from ESPN.com's Dan Rafael in his blog.

DiBella said Showtime, which put on the Super Six and televised Taylor's comeback last month, is interested in continued involvement in his career.

Taylor's comeback took place at the Morongo Casino in Cabazon, Calif., but DiBella said the spring fight in the works probably would take place in Little Rock, Ark., Taylor's hometown.

"I know it's important to him to go back and fight at home, so that's where the next fight likely will be," he said.

As for a possible opponent, DiBella said none has been picked yet, but "I'd like a guy with a name and world-class pedigree. Not the tip-top of the middleweight division, but someone who is a world-class fighter."

DiBella said that opponent could be somebody like former junior middleweight titlist Joachim Alcine, whom DiBella promotes. Alcine is coming off a big upset decision win against middleweight David Lemieux on Dec. 10.

"Whoever Jermain fights, he is ready for whatever we can work out for him," DiBella said. "I spoke to Jermain the other day and he is excited. He's feeling good and he has a real hunger right now, which is good."


Mares return eyed for April

Bantamweight titlist Abner Mares (23-0-1, 13 KOs), who won a clean, lopsided decision in his rematch with former titleholder Joseph Agbeko on Dec. 3 after their controversial first fight in August, is being penciled in to return to Showtime on April 21, Golden Boy promoter Richard Schaefer told ESPN.com.


[+] Enlarge
Jeff Gross/Getty Images
Abner Mares, right, who defeated Joseph Agbeko convincingly in their December rematch, is expected to be back in action in April.
Schaefer said he met with Mares and his team on Tuesday to talk about the fighter's next bout, which the promoter said could come against former flyweight titlist Eric Morel (46-2, 23 KOs), who is also with Golden Boy and won on the Mares-Agbeko II undercard.

Schaefer said the card could take place in Mexico City or Cancun. Although Mares lives in Southern California, he was born in Mexico and represented the country in the 2004 Olympics.

"I think it is important that he fights at least once a year in Mexico," Schaefer said.

Schaefer said he would like to make the proposed card a tripleheader and also include Anselmo Moreno (32-1-1, 11 KOs), another bantamweight titleholder, who dominated Vic Darchinyan in a title defense on the Mares-Agbeko II undercard, and former junior lightweight titlist Jorge Linares (31-2, 20 KOs), who would be returning from his 12th-round knockout loss to Antonio DeMarco in October in a fight for a vacant lightweight title.

Chisora keeps on talking

British heavyweight contender Dereck Chisora (15-2, 9 KOs) has talked an awful lot since getting the opportunity to challenge Vitali Klitschko (43-2, 40 KOs) for his world title on Feb. 18 (Epix and EpixHD.com) at Olympiahalle in Munich, Germany, and he isn't about to stop.

Chisora is not only predicting that he will knock out Klitschko, but the brash Brit also is calling the round in which he will do it.

"I'm in tip-top shape, the best I've been in for my entire career, and I'm going to smash Mr. Vitali Klitschko to bits," Chisora said during media day at his gym this week. "People are saying that Klitschko is the hardest fight of my career, but this is going to be the hardest fight of his career. I'm going to war with him. He won't get to use that big height and reach against me with the way I'm going to fight him, and I've got the eighth round in my head that I'm going to stop him in.

"Everyone that has fought the Klitschko brothers have been scared. This is one cat that isn't scared of him or anyone, and I'll throw him off of that throne he's been sitting on for the last few years."

Don Charles, Chisora's trainer, obviously is on his man's side.

"This is the best shape he's been in since we started working together seven years ago," he said. "He's physically and mentally right for the fight and is going out there to beat Klitschko and become the world champion. [The] 15,000 fans didn't faze him in Finland against Robert Helenius, and even though he was robbed of the [European] title, his confidence is sky-high and he knows what he can achieve. The height won't be an advantage to Klitschko if he can't use it, and Dereck is not going to let him use it, just like he did against Helenius. Dereck is going to give Klitschko an absolute nightmare."

Klitschko is 6-foot-7 and Chisora is 6-1, but Helenius is 6-6 and Chisora appeared to have a relatively easy time getting inside against him when they met Dec. 3. Helenius won a controversial split decision, but Chisora performed so well that Klitschko, who will be making his eighth defense, offered him the title shot.


Quick Hits


[+] Enlarge
Chris Farina/Top Rank
The card featuring Brandon Rios, left, and Yuriorkis Gamboa will be moving from March to April and from California to Las Vegas.

• With time running out and opponents not finalized, Top Rank and HBO are moving a planned March 3 doubleheader featuring former lightweight titlist Brandon Rios (29-0-1, 22 KOs) and former featherweight titlist Yuriorkis Gamboa, who is moving up in weight, to April 14. Originally, the card was set to take place at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., but with a new date it is headed to Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. And instead of Rios and Gamboa fighting in separate bouts, there is now a chance they could meet each other at lightweight. HBO, Top Rank and Rios' team are on board with that plan, but Gamboa's camp still needs some convincing. Although Rios is coming off an 11th-round knockout of John Murray on Dec. 3 on the Miguel Cotto-Antonio Margarito II undercard, he was stripped of his belt for failing to make the 135-pound limit. But he is now working with a nutritionist and hopes to remain at lightweight. Gamboa (21-0, 16 KOs) has held two versions of the featherweight title but has been stripped of both belts.



• After coming to terms on the Bernard Hopkins-Chad Dawson light heavyweight championship rematch on Wednesday, co-promoters Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy and Gary Shaw said they hoped to match lightweight titlist Antonio DeMarco with Michael Katsidis on the undercard of the April 28 fight. However, Schaefer told ESPN.com on Thursday that he didn't think DeMarco-Katsidis would come off. "Katsidis wants to fight at 140," Schaefer said. He also said they offered to do a DeMarco rematch with Jorge Linares, but "DeMarco does not want to do that next, but rather take an interim fight first." Trailing badly on all three scorecards, DeMarco made a huge late-rounds surge and stopped Linares in the 12th round of a dramatic fight in October on the Bernard Hopkins-Chad Dawson undercard. The sanctioning organization ordered a rematch, but one of the stipulations was that DeMarco could take an optional defense first. So now Schaefer said he is in talks with HBO to add heavyweight prospect Seth Mitchell (24-0-1, 18 KOs) to the Hopkins-Dawson II card, which will take place at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J.

• Now that Hopkins-Dawson II has been scheduled, the representatives for former champ Jean Pascal (26-2-1, 16 KOs) and rising contender Ismayl Sillakh (17-0, 14 KOs) are discussing a match that would serve as a final elimination bout that would give the winner a mandatory shot at the winner of Hopkins-Dawson II. Square Ring promoter John Wirt, Sillakh's promoter, told ESPN.com that he is in talks with Pascal promoter Yvon Michel about the fight. "We're very hopeful that this fight will take place between Sillakh and Pascal, and Yvon and I are talking about potentially doing it in May, but nothing is done yet." Stylistically, both fighters are aggressive and it would seem to shape up as a fan-friendly fight. "I think it's a great fight. I think a lot of people think it's a fantastic fight and will showcase both fighters' skills," Wirt said. "Obviously, I think Sillakh has the skills to win. People have been avoiding him for a long time now and we're very appreciative that the WBC ordered this fight. This is the role sanctioning organizations are meant to play, giving opportunities to deserving fighters that otherwise wouldn't get one without the situation being forced." Showtime has interest in Pascal-Sillakh, although it may not fit in the network's budget or schedule. Pascal hasn't fought since losing the title to Hopkins in May.



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• Golden Boy formally announced the two 10-round bouts that will round out a Showtime-televised tripleheader on Feb. 11 (9 p.m. ET/PT) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. On the undercard of the rematch between former welterweight titleholders Victor Ortiz and Andre Berto, junior middleweight contender Erislandy Lara (15-1-1, 10 KOs), in his first bout since a highly controversial majority decision loss to Paul Williams in July, will face Ronald Hearns (26-2, 20 KOs), a former middleweight title challenger and the son of newly elected Hall of Famer Thomas Hearns. In the televised opener, featherweight Gary Russell Jr. (19-0, 11 KOs), the 2011 ESPN.com prospect of the year, will face Dat Nguyen (17-2, 6 KOs), whom Russell was supposed to face in November before Nguyen withdrew because of a leg injury.

• Union Boxing Promotions, which promotes welterweight titlist Vyacheslav Senchenko (32-0, 21 KOs) of Ukraine, blew away Golden Boy Promotions in a purse bid held Thursday for the right to stage Senchenko's mandatory WBA defense against former junior welterweight titlist Paulie Malignaggi. Union Boxing Promotions bid a whopping $1,000,010 and said it planned to put on Senchenko's fourth title defense in late April in Donetsk, Ukraine -- Senchenko's hometown -- where he has fought regularly. Senchenko is entitled to 75 percent of the winning bid ($750,007.50) and Malignaggi 25 percent ($250,002.50), although Malignaggi hasn't yet accepted the terms. He has said previously that he didn't want to fight in Ukraine, even after Union Boxing Promotions made an offer in excess of $300,000 (which was rejected) before the purse bid. Golden Boy, the only other bidder, offered $250,000 and planned to put on the fight April 21 in New York or Italy had it won. Malignaggi (30-4, 6 KOs) has won three fights in a row since Amir Khan knocked him out in the 11th round of a May 2010 junior welterweight title bout, after which Malignaggi moved up in weight. The WBA also called for a purse bid for the mandatory fight between middleweight titlist Gennady Golovkin and interim titlist Hassan N'Dam. It is scheduled for Feb. 22.

• Lineal lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez (53-6-1, 39 KOs) hasn't defended his title since a November 2010 knockout of Michael Katsidis. Since then, he fought once at junior welterweight and then challenged welterweight titlist Manny Pacquiao, losing a majority decision in November in their third fight. With Marquez's inactivity at 135 pounds, the WBA had already relieved him of his belt, and the WBO has now followed suit, stripping him of his second alphabet title. Scotland's Ricky Burns (33-2, 9 KOs), the interim beltholder, has been elevated to full titleholder. He claimed the vacant interim belt by outpointing Katsidis in November. "When I beat Katsidis, I felt like a world champion anyway, but this makes it all real and I'm thrilled with the news that I'm now the official full [WBO] world champion," Burns said. "It's a great feeling, but now it's back to reality and training hard for what will be a tough title defense." Burns will make his first defense against former titleholder Paulus Moses (28-1, 19 KOs) of Namibia on March 10 at the Braehead Arena in Glasgow, Scotland. Marquez could wind up challenging junior welterweight titlist Lamont Peterson next.



[+] Enlarge
Boris Streubel/Bongarts/Getty Image
Alexander Povetkin will still defend against Marco Huck next month, but he is now obligated to face Hasim Rahman in his next fight.

• When Sauerland Event announced that heavyweight titlist Alexander Povetkin would make his second defense against cruiserweight titlist Marco Huck, who is moving up for the opportunity, on Feb. 25 (Epix and EpixHD.com) in Stuttgart, Germany, former heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman (50-7-2, 41 KOs), who was made the WBA's mandatory challenger despite not having faced a rated fighter in more than three years, asserted his rights and tried to prevent Povetkin-Huck from happening. But Sauerland Event's Chris Meyer and Rahman's promoter, Greg Cohen, reached an agreement this week that will allow Povetkin-Huck to take place as scheduled, with the winner obligated to defend against Rahman within 120 days.

• Both Martin Murray (23-0-1, 10 KOs) and Darren Barker (23-1, 14 KOs), two of England's top middleweights, are coming off unsuccessful shots at world titles. (Murray fought to a draw with Felix Sturm in December and Barker got drilled in the 11th round of an October title fight after giving lineal champion Sergio Martinez problems in the early going.) Their camps have been bickering over a potential fight between them. Ricky Hatton's Hatton Promotions, which handles Murray, claims that Eddie Hearn, Barker's promoter, turned down a "big offer" for the fight. "I am not privy to what Darren earned when he fought Sergio Martinez last year, but I think our offer may have topped it or, at worst, been very close," Hatton said. "Put it this way: It was a huge amount for somebody challenging for British and Commonwealth championship crowns. Eddie Hearn initially made an offer for Matchroom Boxing to stage the fight, which we bettered by a considerable amount. Eddie responded and only matched what we put on the table, which was strange, and added it was his final offer. But we again countered and bettered it by a fair amount. Eddie said he 'thinks' that he has got Darren a world title fight in May. If Darren has got a world title fight for the sort of money Hatton Promotions are offering, fair play to him, but this is a concrete offer and not a contest his promoter can 'think' will happen." Hatton didn't reveal the terms of his offer.

• Welterweight Thomas Dulorme (13-0, 10 KOs) and junior middleweight Jonathan Gonzalez (14-0, 13 KOs), two of Puerto Rico's top prospects, have opponents for their Feb. 17 "ShoBox: The New Generation" doubleheader on Showtime. Dulorme will face Jose Reynoso (15-3-1, 2 KOs) of Riverside, Calif., and Gonzalez will face former middleweight title challenger Billy Lyell (24-10, 5 KOs) at the Chumash resort in Santa Ynez, Calif., promoter Gary Shaw announced. ... Featherweight titlist Billy Dib (33-1, 20 KOs) of Australia will make his second title defense, a mandatory, against Mexico's Eduardo Escobedo (32-3, 23 KOs) on March 7 in Hobart, Tasmania, an Australian island. The fight has been added to the card that will be headlined by middleweight titlist Daniel Geale (26-1, 15 KOs) of Australia. He makes his mandatory defense against Osumanu Adama (20-2, 15 KOs) of Ghana. ... Representatives for bantamweight titlist Koki Kameda (27-1, 17 KOs) of Japan and interim titleholder Hugo Ruiz (29-1, 26 KOs) of Mexico have worked out an agreement under which each man will defend his belt before they fight each other in a mandatory bout later in the year. Ruiz is slated to fight March 17 against an opponent to be determined, while Kameda's bout will come sometime in April. ... Junior lightweight Vicente Escobedo (24-3, 14 KOs), a 2004 U.S. Olympian, will return home to Woodland, Calif., to headline Telefutura's March 3 "Solo Boxeo Tecate" card against Lonnie Smith (14-2-2, 10 KOs) of Las Vegas in a scheduled 10-rounder.
 
Bet you guys love to hear this:

David (Atlanta)


Arum keeps saying Pacquiao's opponent will be announced next week, well it's the end of another week, what's up?

Dan Rafael (12:05 PM)


Who knows? Probably getting everything worked out. The tea leaves are beginning to read more and more like Bradley unless suddenly Cotto and Manny can agree on a weight.
 
i hate the business of boxing. boxing needs a commissioner type figure.
endrant
 
Fights from this weekend.

Spoiler [+]
Saturday at Hamburg, Germany

Ruslan Chagaev W8 Kertson Manswell
Heavyweight
Scores: 80-71, 80-73, 79-72
Records: Chagaev (28-2-1, 17 KOs); Manswell (22-4, 17 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: In August, Chagaev, a former titleholder, faced Alexander Povetkin for a vacant belt and lost a decision in a competitive fight. After the defeat, Chagaev, 33, a southpaw from Uzbekistan living in Hamburg, Germany, contemplated retirement. However, he decided to continue with his career and had an easy night of it as he rolled past Manswell, 35, of Trinidad and Tobago, on a card that featured most of the stable from German promoter Universum. Chagaev was rolling along with ease when he put the cherry on top of his victory by scoring a knockdown in the final round when he cracked Manswell with a pair of right hooks to dump him to his rear end against the ropes. Chagaev stalked Manswell when the fight resumed and had him reeling, but could not finish him off before the final bell. Chagaev probably will get another notable fight given how weak the heavyweight division is these days. Manswell dropped to 2-4 in his last six fights, but the two victories in the stretch were against sub-.500 opponents while the four defeats came to better regarded foes: Chagaev, Bermane Stivern, Mike Perez and former title challenger Cedric Boswell. This amounted to a good workout for Chagaev.

Denis Boytsov KO4 Darnell Wilson
Heavyweight
Records: Boytsov (30-0, 25 KOs); Wilson (24-14-3, 20 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Boytsov, 25, of Russia but living in Hamburg, Germany, is a talented heavyweight with the makings of a top contender, but layoffs and woeful opposition have made him a disappointment so far. He has had his career thrown off track by a series of hand injuries, including two surgeries on his right hand, so he only fought once in 2011. This was just his second bout since November 2010. But Boytsov looked good against former fringe cruiserweight contender Wilson, 37, of Tacoma Park, Md., who lost his second in a row and dropped to 1-8 in his last nine fights. Boytsov did what he was supposed to do in getting rid of Wilson. He was in total control before ending the fight suddenly when he nailed Wilson with a right hand behind the ear and sent him to all fours. Wilson rolled over onto his rear end and got to one knee but took the full count from referee Holger Wiemann at 45 seconds. It would be nice to see Boytsov stay healthy and fight a legitimate opponent for change.

Rakhim Chakhkiev W10 Alexander Kotlobay
Cruiserweight
Scores: 100-89 (twice), 99-89
Records: Chakhkiev (12-0, 9 KOs); Kotlobay (21-3-1, 15 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Chakhkiev, 29, of Russia but living in Hamburg, Germany, won the Olympic heavyweight gold medal in 2008. Despite only a dozen professional fights he is probably ready to face much a much better caliber of competition than Kotlobay, 31, of Russia, could provide. This was all Chakhkiev, who knocked Kotlobay down in the third round and rolled to the shutout decision. Kotlobay's three fight winning streak came to an end. Perhaps Chakhkiev should have gotten rid of him though. In Kotlobay's last defeat, former cruiserweight titleholder Enzo Maccarinelli knocked him out in the first round of a European title bout in April 2010. At Chakhkiev's age and the level of amateur experience he has, it is time for him to make a move.

Jürgen Brähmer TKO4 Jose Maria Guerrero
Light heavyweight
Records: Brähmer (37-2, 30 KOs); Guerrero (29-3-1, 11 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Brähmer, 33, of Germany, had not fought since he defended his version of the light heavyweight title with a fifth-round knockout of Mariano Plotinsky in April 2010. But after that, Brähmer pulled out of multiple fights at the last minute (just days before the bout). He did it before a unification fight against Beibut Shumenov in January 2011 (leaving town without informing anyone) and then did it again when he was supposed to make a mandatory against Nathan Cleverly in May. That withdrawal resulted in Brähmer being stripped of his belt, which was the right call given how utterly unreliable he has shown himself to be. He made his return to face Guerrero, 35, of Spain, and was simply too strong for him. He dropped Guerrero in the second round and the fight was stopped in the fourth round as Brähmer was beating up on Guerrero, who was cut, when referee Jürgen Langos stopped the fight at 2 minutes, 37 seconds on advice of the ringside doctor.

Firat Arslan TKO2 Orlando Antonio Farias
Cruiserweight
Records: Arslan (32-5-1, 21 KOs); Farias (23-11, 12 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Former cruiserweight titlist Arslan, 41, of Germany, turned in an efficient performance against journeyman Farias, 38, of Argentina. He was all over him in the second round. Arslan dropped him twice with left hands to the body. Farias barely beat the count on the first knockdown and did not seem too interested in continuing to fight as time was called to clean his dislodged mouthpiece. Moments after the second knockdown, Arslan was punishing him when referee Jürgen Langos stepped in and called it off. Farias looked relieved. Arslan won his third fight in a row since being stopped in the 11th round of an interim title fight by Steve Herelius in July 2010.

Also on the card, former junior lightweight titlist Vitali Tajbert (22-2, 6 KOs), 29, a native of Kazakhstan living Germany, took an eight-round decision against Jose Luis Graterol (14-11-4, 5 KOs) of Venezuela on scores of 79-73, 78-74, 78-76. Tajbert was fighting for only the second title since losing his 130-pound title in Japan to Takahiro Ao in November 2010. Graterol lost his third fight in a row.



Saturday at Springfield, Mo.

B.J. Flores TKO6 Hugo Pineda
Cruiserweight
Records: Flores (27-1-1, 17 KOs); Pineda (39-6-1, 28 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Flores, 33, who grew up in Springfield, fought at home for the third consecutive fight, but beat an opponent who had no business being in the ring with him. Pineda, 40, of Colombia, who had not fought since 2008, lost his third bout in a row and dropped to 1-4 in his last five. Pineda, it is also worth noting, was fighting about 50 pounds heavier than his best days, when he got knocked out by Kostya Tszyu in a 1996 junior welterweight title fight and by Felix Trinidad in a 1999 welterweight title fight. Just a joke of a matchup, so it is no wonder Flores, in his first fight since signing with promoter Don King last summer, rolled to the win. Flores dropped Pineda in the fourth round, according to the Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader, before stopping him at 2 minutes, 34 seconds of the sixth round.

Cory Spinks W12 Sechew Powell
Junior middleweight
Title eliminator
Scores: 116-112, 115-113 (twice)
Records: Spinks (39-6, 11 KOs); Powell (26-4, 15 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Spinks, 33, of St. Louis, is the former undisputed welterweight champion and a former two-time junior middleweight titleholder. But with his inactivity and the obvious way he had not taken care of himself in recent years, few gave him a serious shot to beat fellow southpaw Powell, who has also seen better days but was viewed as being fresher than Spinks. According to the Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader, Powell appeared only a few punches away from a mid-fight knockout, but Spinks rallied to take the tight decision. Spinks, the son of former heavyweight champ Leon Spinks, was only fighting for the second time since he lost his 154-pound belt to Cornelius "K9" Bundrage in August 2010. But Spinks did not just lose that fight. Bundrage destroyed him on the way to a one-sided fifth-round knockout and it looked Spinks' career in meaningful fights was over. But now Spinks is the mandatory challenger for... you guessed it: Bundrage, who has been extremely inactive since he has had the title, making only one defense (against Powell). So Spinks will get his title shot but what network in the world would spend a dime to buy a Bundrage-Spinks rematch? That is just an abysmal mandatory fight. Powell, 32, of Brooklyn, N.Y., meanwhile, has never reached his considerable potential and dropped to 0-2 in his last two bouts.



Friday at Airway Heights, Wash.

Ruslan Provodnikov KO6 David Torres
Junior welterweight
Records: Provodnikov (21-1, 14 KOs); Torres (21-3-2,13 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Provodnikov, 28, from Siberia in Russia, has become a regular on "Friday Night Fights" because he is usually in crowd-pleasing scraps. For this fight he worked in the gym for about three weeks with trainer Freddie Roach (who was in the corner on fight night) and seemed to try to box a little more than just brawl like he usually does. Whatever the case, he totally outgunned the smaller, slower Torres, 33, of Othello, Wash., who showed a big heart but simply could not deal with the physicality of Provodnikov. Provodnikov looked like he might end the fight very quickly when he dropped Torres to his backside with a clean left hand in midway through the first round.

Provodnikov went after Torres following the knockdown, but managed to survive the round. Provodnikov was in the control virtually the rest of the fight before ending it in the sixth round. He cut Torres under his right eye in the fifth round and in the sixth round he dropped the bleeding Torres with a hard overhand right. Although Torres was able to continue, he was clearly in rough shape. He tried to fight back and landed a couple of shots, but Provodnikov was all over him and finally smashed him with a three-punch combination that floored him again and referee Bobby Howard called it off at 2 minutes, 53 seconds. Provodnikov won his fourth fight in a row since losing an upset 12-round decision to Mauricio Herrera last January in the 2011 "Friday Night Fights" season premiere. The somewhat inactive Torres dropped to 1-3-2 in his last six fights since June 2008 and he is 0-2-2 in his last four bouts.

Ji-Hoon Kim W10 Yakubu Amidu
Lightweight
Scores: 98-92, 97-93, 96-94
Records: Kim (23-7, 18 KOs); Amidu (17-3-1, 15 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Win or lose, Kim, 25, of South Korea, is always in good fights because he fights only one way -- straight ahead with no defense to speak of. That is one of the reasons he has become a staple in recent seasons on "Friday Night Fights." His career probably will not last too long, but it is always going to be interesting when he laces 'em up. This brawl was no different as Amidu fought the same way, which is why it turned out to be the best fight of the weekend. Even though the scores were appropriately one-sided in favor of Kim, it was a tremendous battle with lots of clean punching and "ooohs" and "ahhhs" from the crowd. Amidu, 27, who is co-managed by Hollywood star Vince Vaughn, put up a strong effort but Kim's relentless punching was simply too much for him. Kim rocked Amidu several times in the first half of the fight and opened a cut over Amidu's left eye in the seventh round, but Amidu, who from Ghana and lives in Los Angeles, also had his moments in the rousing battle. Kim won his second fight in a row following a decision loss in a lightweight title bout to Miguel Vazquez in August 2010 followed by a first-round knockout loss to Lenny Zappavigna in a title eliminator in October 2010. Amidu, who had not lost since a seventh-round knockout to Ricky Burns (who would go on to win world titles at junior lightweight and lightweight) in 2008, saw his four-fight winning streak come to an end.
 
That USS fight should be good. Both guys had legit gripes about various things that happened in that fight. Hopefully kelly can overcome his issues and not take any body shots (in and outside of the ring)
 
Looking forward to USS Cunningham, need to get a stream of that.

It appears Berto/Ortiz will be postponed per Dan Rafael. Berto in hospital due to suffering injured arm during training
 
Interview with the new head of HBO Sports:

Spoiler [+]
Ken Hershman now sits in the biggest chair (figuratively, at least) in the boxing business. As the new president of HBO Sports, Hershman wields the biggest checkbook to buy fights -- about $35 million a year -- even though nobody at the network likes to talk about the specific figures.

On the job since only Jan. 9, Hershman is still learning the lay of the land at his new office after previously working for HBO's archrival, Showtime, since 1992.

[+] EnlargeJim Lampley & Ken Hershman
Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for HBOHBO Sports president Ken Hershman, right, on the job for only a few weeks, is still learning the lay of the land and getting to know his co-workers at his new network.

"It took me over a week to get a stapler when I got here," Hershman joked during an interview with ESPN.com on Monday. "I literally walked into my office and there was furniture and a computer, and that was it. Not a piece of paper, not a pen, not a stapler. It wasn't like they didn't know I was coming. Luckily, I had a pen in my briefcase."

Now that he has his office supply situation straightened out, Hershman is starting to delve more into programming the network's fights for the second quarter and beyond.

"It's exciting, energizing and challenging," Hershman, 48, said of the new gig. "It's everything I thought it would be and more."

Since 2003, Hershman, an attorney by trade, had overseen Showtime Sports and wielded the second-biggest checkbook in the boxing business. That was until mid-October, when he was a surprise hire by HBO, a network he often took public shots at in his rhetoric while at Showtime.

Hershman, however, could not begin immediately. He had to sit out while waiting for his Showtime contract to expire. His hiring at HBO came three months after Ross Greenburg, who, after a decade in the job and more than 30 years at the network, was forced to resign following a series of blunders that left the department reeling. The biggest one was the loss of Manny Pacquiao for what turned out to be one fight last year to Showtime.

As HBO bosses Richard Plepler and Michael Lombardo sought a replacement for Greenburg, they talked to several candidates. Rumors swirled about who would get the job, which is generally regarded as the most powerful position in American boxing.

Eventually, they turned to the competition. Hershman had experience in the business, existing relationships with dealmakers, knowledge of the sport and had earned acclaim for the creativity he showed while at Showtime, where he was the driving force behind the groundbreaking Super Six World Boxing Classic and often got more bang for his limited buck than HBO did with millions more to spend.

"I was here before the security," Hershman said of his anxiousness to get started on his first day.

He did not want to discuss the process by which he came to be at HBO.

"I don't want to talk about that. What we're doing is looking forward," he said. "HBO showed confidence in me and has entrusted me with this job. The boxing business is the boxing business, so there won't be a lot that's different here. But HBO is different, and I have to adjust to that.

Rafael's boxing blog

Rafael Get the latest scoop and analysis on the world of boxing from ESPN.com's Dan Rafael in his blog.

"In the boxing business, though, a lot of things are similar. I'm dealing with a lot of the same promoters. Many of the fighters are different here than were at Showtime, but a fight is a fight. I think the biggest difference is the way people interact with HBO. Their expectations are higher. This is the leader in the category. That part has been a little different, but the basic structuring of the fights and dealing with the budgets, that is pretty much the same."

Besides boxing -- on the network and HBO PPV -- Hershman also oversees a department that produces "24/7," the acclaimed reality series that follows the buildup to major HBO PPV fights, a critically acclaimed sports documentary department and the award-winning news magazine show "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel."

But boxing is the foundation. When Hershman arrived, the first quarter of fights at the network had been scheduled. Now he and his team, namely Mark Taffet, Kery Davis and Peter Nelson, are working on the next batch of fights.

Hershman didn't want to get into too many specifics about deals that aren't done yet, but the promoters involved have said he is working to finalize an April 14 lightweight fight between exciting young stars Brandon Rios and Yuriorkis Gamboa and the light heavyweight rematch between Bernard Hopkins and Chad Dawson for April 28.

"They're all sensitive discussions," Hershman said. "Would I love to see Gamboa fight Rios? I'd love to buy that fight in a heartbeat."

As for Hopkins-Dawson II, Hershman said, "We're looking at a whole bunch of fights and we think that it will do very well. Bernard Hopkins is a legend in the sport and a ratings driver. It would make a lot of sense, and Dawson is an amazing young fighter, a real challenge for Bernard. I don't know why we wouldn't do that. It seems like the right fight for the schedule. There will be some announcements coming shortly."

He's keeping the rest of his plans close to the vest. But Hershman did say that he likes the idea of continuing to do tournaments.

[+] EnlargeChad Dawson and Bernard Hopkins
AP Photo/Jae HongKen Hershman hopes to give Bernard Hopkins and Chad Dawson an opportunity to redeem themselves on HBO's airwaves. "We think that it will do very well," Hershman said of a rematch.

"I think there is a place for them in the sport," said Hershman, who in addition to the Super Six also put on a four-man bantamweight tournament at Showtime last year. "They are a really fun and interesting element that adds to a fight. I would look to do it again. In what format, in what weight class, it remains to be seen. But the fans reacted well, the writers seemed to like them, the fighters liked it, so why not?"

He is also open to more heavyweight action, especially involving champion brothers Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko. But Hershman said he sees no big-time matchups on the horizon.

"I wish there was more activity in the heavyweight division and that we could participate in it, but I don't see it there," he said. "But I am always open to anything and would look to be an opportunist with the Klitschkos. They do tremendous numbers when they've fought on HBO. Would I love for them to come here? Yes. We'd love to get a U.S.-based fight, but we also understand their business model [of fighting in Germany]."

Hershman's hiring came just a month before Showtime's Super Six concluded. For almost two years, Hershman lived daily with the numerous ups and downs of the tournament.

He regrets not being able to be there to present the trophy to champion Andre Ward, who defeated Carl Froch, another fighter Hershman put on the air time and again.

"I watched every minute of [the final] and I did feel a bit of a loss of not being there personally," he said. "But it wasn't going to happen. I had to get over it. I was proud to see it come to a conclusion. I thought Andre Ward did an amazing job. I think it was great for boxing that [the Super Six] happened and that it concluded."

Greenburg's tenure at HBO was hampered by an inability to finalize a Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. match -- the biggest fight in the sport and, if it ever happens, likely the biggest-money fight in history.

Hershman, too, would like to help finalize the fight that fans have wanted for more than two years. But he said there is more to boxing than just that fight, which is why he's happy to move forward and hopes to work on Mayweather's May 5 fight against an opponent to be named and Pacquiao's June 9 fight, also against an unnamed opponent.

"I would love the fight to happen, obviously," he said of Pacquiao-Mayweather. "It would be a tremendous fight and event. That being said, I understand each side's position and view of the world, and they are not coming together just yet. We have a lot of great fights we could make with Floyd and Manny and we hope to be involved in every one. They are key assets to this network. We will be as supportive as we can to be as successful as possible with whichever fights they are in.



My attitude is, until they say they're really going to do it, let's move on and program the best fights around it. They're not fighting in May or June, so we are moving on and hope to be involved in the fights they each have then.
 
Per som twitter feeds, Miguel Cotto it is for Floyd Mayweather on May 5.

Cotto is an all time personal favorite, I believe that's the case for others in here, so I am cool with it in that regard.
 
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Would've been better 4 years ago, BUT...I'm good with it now.

Esp w/ Cotto coming off the Margarito W, and not having to weight drain.

Cotto/Mayweather > Pac/Bradley...guess I know where my $ is going.
 
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