09 Boxing Thread:: 12/12 Diaz.vs.Malignaggi HBO/Bradley.vs.Peterson Showtime

[proshares]

Why lose respect for him? I'm not a huge fan of his but this knuckle problem is serious. He can't close his fist completely still and he's hopingin the ring. You can't blame him for not wanting to get in the ring w/PW if he's not 100%, he knows damn well he'll have to be to fight him. He cancome in at 80% for this fight and still win with ease and get back in his groove.

And to be fair to him, I didn't see anyone complaining about PW and his team basically agreeing to the fight verbally last year and then coming back sayingthey want more money...just saying.

 

[bigmike23]

According to the Grand Rapids Press , the hometown paper of Floyd Mayweather Jr, the mega-fight with Manny Pacquiao will take place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. For several weeks, the MGM Grand and Texas' Cowboys Stadium were fighting against each other with huge multi-million dollar bids to host the event.

A source close to the negotiations told the paper that Mayweather-Pacquiao will head to the MGM Grand. The paper notes the deal is expected to be finalized with an official announcement in the next few days. A press conference is scheduled for the first week of January in New York City.

 

[sir rob a lot]

Yo i called Cotto/Foreman earrrrly. Yes, I want a cookie.

 

[proshares]

[h2]Pavlik retains WBC, WBO titles[/h2]

Comment Email Print Associated Press


YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Kelly Pavlik hammered away with a flurry of uppercuts, then raised his hands and jumped into the arms of trainer Jack Loew.

The WBC and WBO middleweight champion had successfully declared his return to boxing.

"I'm definitely back," Pavlik said.

Pavlik stopped Miguel Espino in the fifth round Saturday night to defend his titles and end what has been a difficult year on a high note.

After a 10-month layoff because of a staph infection on his left hand, Pavlik dropped Espino to a knee in the fourth round with staggering right uppercuts. He then knocked Espino down in the fifth, and trainer John Bray threw in the towel while referee Steve Smoger stopped the fight 1:44 into the round.

"We're not going to have another layoff," Pavlik said. "The hand held up great. It's a little tender, but nothing ice can't fix."

It was going to take more than ice to repair Pavlik's image.

Pavlik was the target of rumors and criticism for looking sloppy in his last fight, a win against Marco Antonio Rubio in February, then losing the chance to fight Paul Williams because he needed 10 months to heal a staph infection on a knuckle of his left hand.

As a result, his trip back to Youngstown on Saturday night had a much different feel than the first. After beating Rubio in front of a raucous sellout crowd at the cross-town Chevrolet Centre, Pavlik knocked out Espino in front of a half-full Beeghly Center at Youngstown State.

The announced crowd of 3,409 was less than half of the 7,000 capacity.

Espino (20-3-1) was rated the No. 3 contender by the WBC, though few gave the fighter from North Hollywood, Calif., much of a chance. He was deducted a point for punching after the bell following the first round, then was warned in the second and third for repeated low blows.

Bray said the plan was to circle to the right and jab for the first four or five rounds, and Espino quickly scrapped that idea.

"As soon as Miguel got hit, the warrior came out and he went toe to toe," Bray said. "He didn't stick to the gameplan. He's a real warrior. Kelly Pavlik is a great champion and a big puncher. We fell into his trap."

Espino wasn't impressed by Pavlik's punching power, and he didn't recall ever taking a step back because of a blow from the champ.

"I thought I hurt him a few times," Espino said. "He didn't think I could hit. He thought he could bully me, but I don't remember taking one step back. ... If there was ever a day to take a champion down, today was the day."

Pavlik agreed his jabs weren't on targets, leaving the uppercut his only effective punch.

"It definitely wasn't one of my better performances," Pavlik said. "We got the job done."

Pavlik will now turn his attention to Williams, whom he was supposed to fight Oct. 3. The infection postponed the fight until Dec. 5, and it was canceled when Pavlik realized he still couldn't make a fist with his injured left hand.

Williams decided to fight Sergio Martinez on that date instead.

"We've got a signed contract that is no longer valid," Top Rank chief Bob Arum said. "But if they want to fight Kelly Pavlik, all they have to do is initial that contract and send it to me and the first available date HBO has, we'll do the fight like we were supposed to do on Dec. 5."

Pavlik said Williams is now the priority, but if another deal can't be reached, he would like to fight WBA middleweight champion Felix Sturm.

"Sturm is right on top of the list," Arum said.

The win Saturday was also sweet for Loew, whose brother-in-law Jimmy Villers had a heart attack on his way to the locker room after officiating an undercard fight earlier in the night.

Villers was speaking and in stable condition at St. Elizabeth Health Center after grabbing his chest and collapsing in the aisle. Medical personnel used a defibrillator and strapped oxygen to his face, and Villers was alert when he was placed on a stretcher and taken to the hospital. A cardiologist sitting near the ring helped take care of him.

"It wasn't a good night at the beginning," said Loew, who walked into the situation when he was coming out to watch the next fight. "From what I understand, he's OK."

On the undercard, rising prospect Vanes Martirosyan (26-0, 17 KOs) looked impressive in stopping Willie Lee at 2:13 of the third round of their junior middleweight fight -- possibly setting up a title fight early next year.

"Vanes is ready for a world title shot," his trainer Freddie Roach said. "He's 26-0, done his homework, and he is ready for the big fight."

The pay-per-view fights from Youngstown were part of a unique split-site doubleheader with the opening bouts coming from Ciudad Obregon, Mexico.

Former junior lightweight champion Humberto Soto won a unanimous 10-round decision over Jesus Chavez, while Nehomar Cermeno retained his WBA interim bantamweight title by knocking out Alejandro Valdez in the 11th round.

After the result was announced, Valdez fell to the canvas and was taken to the hospital. His status was not immediately available.

[h2]Valero still WBC lightweight champion[/h2]

Comment Email Print Associated Press


LA GUAIRA, Venezuela -- Edwin Valero stopped veteran Hector Velazquez after six rounds Saturday night to keep his WBC lightweight title in a town on Venezuela's Caribbean coast.

The 28-year-old Valero (26-0, 26 KOs) was bleeding from an eyebrow and his nose after a pair of accidental head-butts early in the fight. But the feisty Venezuelan kept attacking, giving Velazquez (51-14-2) his third loss in four fights.

It was Valero's first defense since winning the belt in April with a second-round knockout of Antonio Pitalua in Austin, Texas. Valero is already planning to defend the title in early 2010 against Antonio DeMarco, who holds the interim WBC belt.

The fight Saturday night was held just outside Caracas -- Valero's first fight since problems renewing his U.S. visa prevented him from defending his title in Las Vegas last month against junior lightweight champion Humberto Soto.

Valero at the time accused the U.S. government of discrimination, saying he had completed all the necessary paperwork and that his application wasn't approved in time because of his sympathy for Venezuela President Hugo Chavez -- a fierce critic of the U.S. government. Valero has an image of Chavez tattooed on his chest along with a Venezuelan flag.

Authorities say that Valero has a pending drunken driving charge in Texas, which is the primary reason he was denied a visa.

The charismatic lightweight turned professional in 2002 and fought without any problems until he failed a prefight MRI exam two years later in New York, when it was revealed that he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage in a motorcycle accident in 2001.

Valero was place on indefinite suspension and wound up fighting mainly in Japan and Latin America. He finally received a license to fight in Texas, where he won his 135-pound title in the kind of dazzling performance that has become his hallmark.

 

[proshares]

Some pretty good fights to end the boxing year. Looking forward to another year

How soon before the 2010 post is started up?

[h2]Pavlik doles out beating in hometown[/h2]
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By Dan Rafael
ESPN.com
Archive

• 
  
  Jared Wickerham/Getty Images
  For five rounds, Kelly Pavlik brutalized a severely outgunned Miguel Espino.
• 
  
  AP Photo/Mark Stahl
  With Miguel Espino out of the way, Kelly Pavlik has turned his attention back to Paul Williams.
• 
  
  Chris Farina/Top Rank
  A lighter, in-shape Sam Peter had little trouble dominating Gabe Brown.
• 
  
  AFP/Getty Images
  Edwin Valero, right, took the fight out of Hector Velazquez after six fast-paced rounds.

« Down and out | Bring on Williams | Not the same Sam | All Valero | »

A roundup of the past week's notable boxing results from around the world:
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Saturday at Youngstown, Ohio​

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Middleweight
Kelly Pavlik TKO5 Miguel Espino
Retains world middleweight title
​

[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Records: Pavlik, 36-1, 32 KOs; Espino, 20-3-1, 9 KOs
[/td] [/tr][tr][td]
Rafael's remark: It's been a rough 2009 for Pavlik, but at least he closed it in strong fashion with a dominant and exciting performance against Espino, a hard-charging but overmatched challenger. Pavlik hadn't fought since stopping mandatory challenger Marco Antonio Rubio in February in his hometown of Youngstown, the longest layoff his career. Pavlik was sidetracked by a nasty staph infection in a finger in his left hand that forced him to twice call off defenses against Paul Williams. Even when the infection was gone, the resulting two surgeries left a tendon in his finger a mess and he had a bad reaction to antibiotics, which put him in the hospital. Although he still couldn't make a complete fist, he took the fight with Espino -- an easier opponent than Williams -- on five week's notice so he wouldn't be stripped of his sanctioning organization titles.

Although the Youngstown faithful did not turn out in droves like they have for Pavlik in the past (he drew just 3,409, less than half the 7,000 capacity), those who did buy tickets, or order what turned out to be an excellent Top Rank pay-per-view card, got their money's worth. Espino, best known for appearing on the first season of "The Contender" reality series, came to fight. He never took a backward step and was courageous in defeat. Pavlik, 27, making his third defense, was way bigger and more powerful than Espino, who was rocked repeatedly with bombs, but took everything and kept coming. It was a slugfest, but one that Espino had no chance to win because he doesn't have much power. By engaging in a punchout, Pavlik made it a lot more entertaining than it would have been had he listened to trainer Jack Loew and used his size and reach advantage by staying on the outside and picking Espino apart. Instead, he stood toe-to-toe with him and made it exciting. Espino was warned multiple times for low blows, although none of them appeared intentional. Pavlik shook 'em off and finally crushed Espino with a giant right uppercut in the fourth round. Espino went down to a knee in the middle of the ring and barely beat the count. Pavlik unleashed two more uppercuts and Espino, who was bleeding from his nose, went down again before rising at nine. In the fifth, Pavlik continued to brutalize Espino with body shots and uppercuts, dropping him for a third time. Although Espino got up again, showing enormous heart, trainer John Bray asked referee Steve Smoger to call it off, which he did at 1 minute, 44 seconds.

With Espino out of the way and Pavlik apparently healthy and back on track, he called for Williams to fight him next year. Top Rank's Bob Arum said he'd like to simply reinstate the contract everyone signed before Pavlik's withdrew because of the hand problem. That's unlikely, however, given the rancor between the camps. Barring that fight being put back together, Pavlik could wind up in a unification bout with German titleholder Felix Sturm. There's also an outside chance he could move up to super middleweight to face Canadian titleholder Lucian Bute. Whomever Pavlik faces, it's nice to have him back in action.
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Junior middleweight
Vanes Martirosyan TKO3 Willie Lee
​

[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Records: Martirosyan, 26-0, 17 KOs; Lee, 17-6, 11 KOs
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Rafael's remark: Martirosyan, a 2004 U.S. Olympian from Glendale, Calif. (but born in Armenia), looked outstanding disposing of Lee in surprisingly easy fashion to open Top Rank's excellent split-site pay-per-view card. The Freddie Roach-trained prospect staggered Lee, 29, of New Orleans, with a right hand in the first round and never stopped connecting. Martirosyan, 23, dropped Lee with a right hand in the second round. He finished Lee with a series of blows with 47 seconds left in the round of a good outing. He isn't ready for a top contender just yet, but Martirosyan, who gets a bit wild at times, ought to be after a couple of more fights.
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Featherweight
Miguel Angel "Mikey" Garcia KO3 Yogli Herrera
​

[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Records: Garcia, 19-0, 16 KOs; Herrera, 22-13, 15 KOs
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Rafael's remark: Garcia, 22, of Oxnard, Calif., doesn't get the hype of some other prospects, but he's probably the best one in boxing that you haven't really seen much of. When Vanes Martirosyan's fight ended early, Garcia, who is extremely poised and patient for such a young fighter, got unexpected television time on Top Rank's pay-per-view card and made the most of it in a dominant performance against a game veteran. Trained by his brother, former titleholder Robert Garcia, "Mikey" dropped Colombia's Herrera, 27, with a left hand near the ear in the third round. A flush right hand down the middle knocked Herrera down again later in the round, and that's all she wrote. Herrera lost his eighth in a row.
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Middleweight
Matvey Korobov TKO3 Ken Dunham
​

[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Records: Korobov, 9-0, 7 KOs; Dunham, 6-12-1, 4 KOs
[/td] [/tr][tr][td]
Rafael's remark: Korobov, 26, a 2008 Russian Olympian now living in Florida, was an amateur star and one of the most sought-after amateurs after the Beijing Games. Top Rank and manager Cameron Dunkin got him, and they're moving him nicely. In his second fight since hooking up with respected trainer Kenny Adams, Korobov took out the overmatched Dunham, 29, a late substitute, with ease. Korobov did as he pleased, dropping him in the first round and twice more in the third round of the blowout.
[/td] [/tr][tr][td]

Heavyweight
Samuel Peter TKO4 Gabe Brown
​

[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Records: Peter, 33-3, 26 KOs; Brown, 18-13-4, 12 KOs
[/td] [/tr][tr][td]
Rafael's remark: After losing his title to Vitali Klitschko in a lopsided TKO loss in October 2008 and following that horrible performance with an even worse one in a decision loss to Eddie Chambers in March, Peter, 29, hit bottom. But now the Las Vegas-based Nigeria native is on the comeback trail. He signed with Top Rank, dropped 20-plus pounds and has won three in a row by early knockout, albeit against lesser opposition. But he's been in shape, which is the big difference. Peter, who was 240 pounds to Brown's 363 pounds, dominated. Peter dropped him in the fourth and finished him with an ensuing flurry. Peter undoubtedly will get another significant fight before too long. Brown, a buddy of Roy Jones, dropped to 0-7-1 in his last eight bouts.
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Saturday at Ciudad Obregon, Mexico​

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Bantamweight
Nehomar Cermeño TKO11 Alejandro Valdez
Retains an interim bantamweight title
​

[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Records: Cermeño, 19-0, 11 KOs; Valdez, 22-4-2, 16 KOs
[/td] [/tr][tr][td]
Rafael's remark: Cermeño, 30, of Venezuela, has opened a lot of eyes with his recent performances. After back-to-back wins against former unified junior bantamweight titlist Cristian Mijares this year, Cermeño followed with a strong performance against Valdez, who was challenging for the interim belt in his hometown in the main event of the Mexican portion of Top Rank's split-site pay-per-view card. Valdez suffered a nasty cut over his right eye from an accidental head butt in the first round and fought through it all night. But Cermeño dominated, dropping Valdez twice in the second round and easily outboxing him. Cermeño lost a point for using his knee as a weapon in the 11th, but he followed the deduction by knocking him out with two seconds left in the round. All in all, an excellent showing from Cermeño, whose belt is quite dubious. But what else do you expect from the wretched WBA, which recognizes the active and uninjured Anselmo Moreno, who fought four times this year and defended his title on Dec. 4? The WBA is a joke. Valdez, 26, was getting a title opportunity three months after he battered bantamweight titlist Fernando Montiel in a nontitle bout in Mexico, but was robbed of a third-round knockout. The cut that caused the end of the fight was ruled as being caused by an accidental head butt (making the fight a technical draw under Mexican rules) instead of a punch, which was clear as day on TV replays. Valdez collapsed after the fight with Cermeno and was taken to the hospital. According to Top Rank, he was only dehydrated and would be fine.
[/td] [/tr][tr][td]

Lightweight
Humberto Soto W10 Jesus Chavez
Scores: 100-87 (three times)​

[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Records: Soto, 50-7-2, 32 KOs; Chavez, 44-7, 30 KOs
[/td] [/tr][tr][td]
Rafael's remark: Soto, a reigning junior lightweight titleholder who is expected to soon vacate his title, moved up to lightweight to face Chavez, a former lightweight and junior lightweight titleholder who is past his prime. Although the judges ruled it a shutout, this was a tough, tough fight. Chavez, 37, showed surprising resolve and never stopped coming at Soto in the all-action slugfest. But Soto, 29, was simply bigger, stronger, faster and more skilled as he did more than enough to earn the decision -- even though it seemed Chavez deserved at least a couple of rounds. Mexico's Soto dropped his Texas-based countryman in the first round with a shot behind the ear and the action never let up. The fourth round was very intense. Chavez resorted to dirty tactics, including shoving Soto almost completely out of the ring in the fifth round, which cost him a point. He also did damage with a severe low blow in the sixth round, but Soto shook it off and they continued to pound away -- with Soto getting the better of it. Chavez dropped his third fight in a row and fourth bout in his past six, a downhill slide that began after the unfortunate death of Leavander Johnson as a result of injuries suffered in their 2005 lightweight title bout. Chavez should strongly consider retirement.
[/td] [/tr][/table] [table][tr][th=""]

Saturday at La Guaira, Venezuela​

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Lightweight
Edwin Valero TKO6 Hector Velazquez
Retains a lightweight title
​

[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Records: Valero, 26-0, 26 KOs; Velazquez, 51-14-2, 35 KOs
[/td] [/tr][tr][td]
Rafael's remark: Valero, the wild-swinging, big puncher from Venezuela, had won a junior lightweight belt and defended it four times before moving up to lightweight and knocking out Antonio Pitalua in two rounds in April to win a vacant lightweight title. That was Valero's first fight after signing with Top Rank, and big things were in the works. Top Rank and Valero, who had been unable to get a license anywhere in the United States except Texas because of a previous medical issue, hoped to gain his license in Nevada and move into some bigger fights. However, that path was stopped cold because Valero was busted on a drunken driving charge and unable to obtain a visa to enter the United States. So his career once again was thrown off track. Rather than a big fight in the U.S., he wound up taking this defense at home against Velazquez, a onetime fringe featherweight and junior lightweight contender once stopped in six rounds by Manny Pacquiao. It was a rough, physical fight in front of a raucous crowd. Although Valero suffered a cut over his eyebrow from an accidental head butt early in the bout, he was clearly the stronger man. He landed heavy shots to wear down Mexico's Velazquez, 34, who did not come out for the seventh round as he lost for the third time in his past four fights. Valero is next due to face interim titleholder Antonio DeMarco in Mexico on Feb. 6 in a Showtime main event, the first time Valero will be seen on American television other than small pay-per-view cards.
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Saturday at Tuxtla Gutierrez, Mexico​

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Featherweight
Cristobal Cruz Tech. Draw 3 Ricardo Castillo
Retains a featherweight title​

[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Records: Cruz, 39-11-2, 23 KOs; Castillo, 38-7-1, 25 KOs
[/td] [/tr][tr][td]
Rafael's remark: Cruz, 32, has been on a nice roll since claiming a vacant belt in November 2008 against Orlando Salido. Castillo, 30, the younger brother of former lightweight champ Jose Luis Castillo, looked like he'd be an easy mark because he's always fallen short when taking on top opponents. But Cruz's third title defense ended in disappointment as it was ruled a technical draw when he and his Mexican countryman clashed heads in the third round. Cruz was unable to continue and since the bout had not gone the required four rounds to send it to the scorecards, it was ruled a technical draw. The fight was a rematch. In 2003, Cruz won an eight-round unanimious decision against Castillo.
[/td] [/tr][/table] [table][tr][th=""]

Saturday at Managua, Nicaragua​

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Junior flyweight
Johnreil Casimero KO11 Cesar Canchila
Wins a vacant interim junior flyweight title​

[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Records: Casimero, 14-0, 8 KOs; Canchila, 28-3, 22 KOs
[/td] [/tr][tr][td]
Rafael's remark: Fighting on a card in honor of the late Alexis Arguello in Arguello's native Nicaragua, Casimero, 19, of the Philippines, scored an impressive knockout in the main event. He dropped Canchila with a right to the head midway through the round and finished the still-unsteady Canchila with a tremendous right hand to the temple moments later. Canchila was out before he hit the deck and the referee immediately called it off as medical personnel raced to his side. Canchila, 27, of Colombia, lost for the second time in three fights. He was also knocked out in the fourth round in an exciting rematch with Giovani Segura for a different version of an interim junior flyweight title in March. Casimero is definitely a fighter we'd like to see again, even if the WBO interim belt he claimed is bogus, considering that pound-for-pound entrant Ivan "Iron Boy" Calderon holds the real title.
[/td] [/tr][/table] [table][tr][th=""]

Saturday at Mendoza, Argentina​

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Junior flyweight
Juan Carlos Reveco KO3 Ronald Barrera
Retains an interim junior flyweight title​

[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Records: Reveco, ; Barrera, 26-7-2, 16 KOs
[/td] [/tr][tr][td]
Rafael's remark: Reveco, 26, of Argentina, claimed his nonsensical WBA interim belt (is there any other kind?) in August via split decision against Francisco Rosas and was making his first defense against Barrera. It was a good little scrap, and they were trading punches in the third round when Reveco caught Barrera with a left to the body. He went down, wincing in pain, and took the full count sitting on his backside. Barrera, 25, of Colombia, who has challenged for strawweight and junior flyweight belts, dropped to 0-4 in title bouts. He fell to 0-2-1 in his past three bouts.
[/td] [/tr][/table] [table][tr][th=""]

Saturday at Schwerin, Germany​

[/th] [/tr][tr][td]

Light heavyweight
Jürgen Brähmer W12 Dmitry Sukhotsky
Retains a light heavyweight title
Scores: 118-110, 116-112 (twice).
​

[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Records: Brähmer, 35-2, 28 KOs; Sukhotsky, 14-1, 9 KOs
[/td] [/tr][tr][td]
Rafael's remark: Making his first defense, Brähmer was tested in his hometown by obscure Russian Sukhotsky, 28. Brähmer took advantage of Sukhotsky's leaky defense to score well, including a left hook that rocked him in the second round. An accidental head clash opened a cut over Brähmer's left eye in the sixth round. Sukhotsky came on strong and hurt Brähmer in the eighth round with hooks and uppercuts. He staggered Brähmer again in the 10th round and nailed him for more than 20 unanswered shots. Brähmer was bleeding badly from the cut and seemingly out on his feet, but the bout was allowed to continue. Brähmer got a bit of luck when referee Michael Ortega called time so the ringside doctor could examine the cut. The delay gave Brähmer valuable recovery time, and he hung on for the decision.
[/td] [/tr][tr][td]

Middleweight
Sebastian Zbik W12 Emanuele Della Rosa
Retains an interim middleweight title
Scores: 120-109, 117-111 Zbik, 115-113 Della Rosa​

[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Records: Zbik, 28-0, 10 KOs; Della Rosa, 27-1, 7 KOs
[/td] [/tr][tr][td]
Rafael's remark: Germany's Zbik, 27, claimed a shocking split decision against Italy's Della Rosa, 29, to retain perhaps the most ridiculous interim belt in boxing, and that's saying something. Why? Because Kelly Pavlik, who owns the WBC title, among others, is up to date on mandatory defenses and defended the real title on the same night. Zbik, who claimed the vacant interim trinket in July, may be a good fighter, but his belt is crapola. Zbik outboxed Della Rosa and was quite shocked to hear judge Herminio Cuevas Collazo's scorecard, which incredibly went to Della Rosa. Wonders never cease when it comes to scorecards. At least Zbik and his team knew the crazy scorecard ahead of time, because the WBC's awful open scoring system was being used, so everyone knew the cards after the fourth and eighth rounds.
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Friday at Hinkley, Minn.​

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Middleweight
Fernando Guerrero TKO4 Jesse Nicklow

​

[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Records: Guerrero, 17-0, 14 KOs; Nicklow, 19-2-2, 7 KOs
[/td] [/tr][tr][td]
Rafael's remark: Nicklow, 22, of Baltimore, had some success against rival Guerrero, 23, who was born in the Dominican Republic but grew up in Salisbury, Md., in the amateur ranks. Nicklow beat him twice, but he also lost their three other meetings, and got rolled in their professional showdown in the "ShoBox" main event on Showtime. Guerrero, a former National Golden Gloves champion and 2007 U.S. national champion, is one of boxing's best, and most exciting prospects, and did nothing to harm that reputation with his performance. Guerrero, a southpaw who still needs to work on his defense, landed a ton of punches in the second round to slow down Nicklow. In the fourth, he dropped him with a right, but Nicklow survived and fought back valiantly. But Guerrero took the shots and continued to hammer him until referee Mark Nelson stopped it with 51 seconds left in the round. Guerrero will be back in action shortly. He'll headline Feb. 19 on ESPN2's "Friday Night Fights" against Jesus Gonzalez.
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Junior middleweight
Shawn Porter TKO4 Jamar Patterson
​

[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Records: Porter, 12-0, 10 KOs; Patterson, 8-1, 4 KOs
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Rafael's remark: Cleveland's Porter, 22, was an outstanding amateur who gained notoriety this year for the excellent work he gave Manny Pacquiao while serving as his chief sparring partner as Pacquiao prepared for his November fight with Miguel Cotto. Porter is a blossoming pro and turned in an explosive performance against Patterson, 27, of Utica, N.Y. Patterson, who had only fought once in the past 3½ years, was surprisingly sharp early. But Porter was sharper and faster and hit harder. He has incredible hand speed and beat Patterson to the punch almost every time, including the giant left hook that dropped Patterson in the fourth. The fight was over moments later during Porter's follow-up attack. Although Porter, a 2007 National Golden Gloves champion and 2008 U.S. Olympic alternate, appears a little undersized for the junior middleweight division, his speed and power are going to give a lot of opponents serious, serious problems. He's a major league prospect to keep an eye on. You'll have your chance on Feb. 19, when Porter fights on ESPN2's "Friday Night Fights" against Damian Frias in Cleveland.
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Welterweight
Lanard Lane TKO2 Said El Harrack
​

[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Records: Lane, 10-0, 7 KOs; El Harrack, 8-1, 3 KOs
[/td] [/tr][tr][td]
Rafael's remark: Few had ever heard of Lane, 27, a Houston firefighter, before this explosive performance in the "ShoBox" opener, but it was impressive enough to want to see more of him. He wasted no time against El Harrack, 22, a native of England living in Nevada. Lane, using an accurate right hand, dropped him twice in the first round and had him all but out. With his eye swelling, Harrack returned for more abuse in the second round. Lane was dominating the round, but wasn't doing the kind of damage he did in the first round when referee Mark Nelson surprisingly jumped in for a very odd stoppage midway through the round. El Harrack was very angry with Nelson, screaming at him and dropping to his knees in disappointment. It was a terrible stoppage, but it doesn't take away from Lane's excellent performance.
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Friday at Kobe, Japan​

[/th] [/tr][tr][td]

Bantamweight
Hozumi Hasegawa TKO4 Alvaro Perez
Retains a bantamweight title​

[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Records: Hasegawa, 28-2, 12 KOs; Perez, 18-2-1, 12 KOs
[/td] [/tr][tr][td]
Rafael's remark: Japan's Hasegawa has had an outstanding title reign. The southpaw won his belt in 2005, faced several good opponents and made his 10th, and probably final, defense with a dominant performance against Nicaragua's aggressive Perez, 27. Hasegawa plans to relinquish his belt and move up in weight, so this was a nice exclamation point on his title run. Hasegawa, not known as much of a puncher over the years, boxed well early and led on all three scorecards before turning on the power. He recorded his fifth knockout in a row -- most of these have been of the spectacular variety. This one was just that: With about 20 seconds left in the round, he landed a nasty left cross on the button that dropped Perez face first to the canvas. Referee Bruce McTavish called it off without bothering to administer a count. Hasegawa, who turned 29 two days before the fight, will go to junior featherweight, although he is also considering a jump up to featherweight.
[/td] [/tr][/table] [table][tr][th=""]

Thursday at Paris​

[/th] [/tr][tr][td]

Heavyweight
Jean-Marc Mormeck W8 Vinny Maddalone
Scores: 79-75, 79-73, 77-75​

[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Records: Mormeck, 34-4, 22 KOs; Maddalone, 32-6, 23 KOs
[/td] [/tr][tr][td]
Rafael's remark: Ending a 25-month layoff, France's Mormeck, 37, returned to the ring. The former cruiserweight champion hadn't fought since November 2007, when he lost the title to David Haye via seventh-round knockout. Now fighting as a heavyweight, like Haye (who now holds a belt), Mormeck took a competitive decision from New Yorker Maddalone, 35, the lovable club fighter who comes to brawl. Maddalone was aggressive -- as usual -- and had his moments, but ultimately, Mormeck was a bit too fast and too skilled for Maddalone.
[/td] [/tr][/table] [table][tr][th=""]

Wednesday at New York​

[/th] [/tr][tr][td]

Junior featherweight
Guillermo Rigondeaux W8 Lante Addy
Scores: 80-71 (twice), 79-72​

[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Records: Rigondeaux, 4-0, 3 KOs; Addy, 6-5-1, 4 KOs
[/td] [/tr][tr][td]
Rafael's remark: Rigondeaux, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and Cuban defector, was one of the most decorated amateurs in history. Because of the incredible depth of his amateur experience, his handlers are moving him quickly. He was scheduled for a 10-rounder in just his third professional bout, although he schooled Addy in an eight-rounder in an appearance on promoter Lou DiBella's "Broadway Boxing" card. Rigondeaux, who faced Addy on just a few days' notice when original opponent Rafael Tirado dropped out because of an issue with his prefight medical exam, had no problems with the new foe. The Freddie Roach-trained southpaw dropped the tough-as-nails Addy, of Ghana, in the first round and cruised to the virtual shutout decision. Rigondeaux is scheduled to return Feb. 5 against Cuauhtemoc Vargas on the Feb. 5 edition of ESPN2's "Friday Night Fights."
[/td] [/tr][/table]

 

[bigmike23]

The deal is not done yet, but the Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. welterweight title fight likely will take place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Golden Boy Promotions president Oscar De La Hoya told ESPN.com on Monday.

"It looks like it," said De La Hoya, whose company is promoting Mayweather for the fight, of the MGM hosting the much-anticipated March 13 showdown between boxing's top two fighters. "There is no other place you really want to do a big event. It has to be in Las Vegas. But there is nothing 100 percent yet. A done deal is a signed deal and there is no signed deal."

Various media reports over the weekend cited unnamed sources saying that a deal had been finalized for the March 13 HBO PPV fight to take place at the MGM Grand.

Leonard Ellerbe, one of Mayweather's advisers, also told ESPN.com that the MGM Grand was likely but that "talks are ongoing. We haven't signed anything. We don't have a deal yet."

Richard Sturm, who is negotiating the deal as president of entertainment and sports for MGM Mirage, said through a spokesman, "It is not an appropriate time to comment."

Since a fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather first became a serious possibility, the MGM Grand was considered the frontrunner. Its Grand Garden Arena has played host to boxing's biggest Las Vegas fights for more than a decade. Pacquiao and Mayweather have both fought there several times, including in their most recent fights.

Also, Golden Boy and Top Rank, Pacquiao's promoter, both have close ties to the casino.

There has been worldwide interest in hosting the fight from venues in such places as Dallas, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Atlanta, Miami, Dubai and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Jerry Jones, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys, for instance, offered a $25 million site fee -- the biggest in boxing history -- to host the fight at the new 100,000-seat Cowboys Stadium.

However, the promoters and fighters apparently believe they can generate more money by going to the MGM Grand, which seats only about 17,000, and scaling the ticket prices to produce a record gate of more than $20 million in addition to selling roughly 40,000 closed circuit seats in the city for $100 apiece.

Many believe that wherever the fight takes place, it will break the all-time pay-per-view record of 2.44 million buys set by De La Hoya's 2007 fight with Mayweather, which was at the MGM Grand. That fight also holds the record for biggest gate, generating $18,419,200 from a paid attendance of 17,078.

"We really appreciate Jones' interest in such a mega fight," De La Hoya said about the Dallas offer. "There was interest all over the world. It looks very bright for Mayweather-Pacquiao to possibly be able to break the records that I hold with Mayweather. If we do it right, Golden Boy and Top Rank, we can really shatter the existing record by hundreds or thousands of pay-per-views. It's really exciting."

Official announcement of the fight is expected any day with kickoff news conferences being planned for the first week of January

 

[ham city]

Originally Posted by EAGLE 0N

Just got the new ESPNmag issue with Quadtrine Hill on the cover.

They're talking bout manufacturing Heavyweight boxers outta former NFL/CFB players and other athletes. Dunno bout that, like the old heads at the gym say, "you can't play boxing". We'll see.

Personally I'm a pretty big believer in it. I guess I'm a converted former football player and I've had success with it at therecreational/amateur level. The bolded section is definitely true though.

You find a lengthy hooper who's not a ho boy and you got some serious tools for success right there. I'm a big fan of manufacturing athletes in anysport though, ask the hoop coach at the high school I coach football at, I stay getting them bouncy mother +@$%%%* to come out for spring drills.

 

[mextra45]

If you think about it all the big athletic guys are playing football or basketball , Boxing could use use them you would have guys with good size and notflabby out of shape but undersized guys getting beat up . Some may even be naturally talented in fighting they cant be much worse that Deonte Wilder and he wona medal

 

[bigmike23]

by David P. Greisman

The attraction of boxing, beyond the action and drama of sanctioned violence, is what this Sweet Science says about life.

There are no advantages for those that come from money and social class. Success comes to those with discipline, those whose hard work molds their athleticism, power and skills into a pugilistic product.

There will be triumphs, times of celebration. There will be defeats, moments for commiseration.

Life is about what we do to keep winning. Life is about how we try to bounce back from losses.

In 2009, those losses were heartbreaking and all too frequent.

Death happens. It is one of those life lessons. Every year, we say goodbye to numerous names, be they boxers, trainers, managers, or writers, be they those who were in the forefront, those who never found fame, or those whose contributions came in the periphery but who are missed nonetheless.

This year, we bid so many premature farewells - to fallen fighters who suffered fatal injuries in the ring (Benjamin Flores, Marco Nazareth and Francisco Rodriguez, to name a few); to former fan favorites whose retirements ended abruptly and astonishingly in what have been ruled suicides (Alexis Arguello, Arturo Gatti); to champions in the ring (Vernon Forrest) and outside of it (HBO employee Arthur Curry).

We must take consolation in the idea that life is cyclical. Rodriguez, in death, had his organs donated to others. Vernon Forrest, through his charitable works, provided assistance for the developmentally disabled.

We remember their contributions, all while moving on.

As cold as it sounds, we always move on. There is always another generation, new life, new innovations, new faces, new stars.

Oscar De La Hoya, long boxing's biggest star, retired. De La Hoya's absence paved the way for Manny Pacquiao's ascent. Joe Calzaghe, the longtime top super middleweight, retired. Six candidates for his throne are now in a tournament to replace him.

There continue to be great fights - Juan Manuel Marquez against Juan Diaz, Bernard Dunne against Ricardo Cordoba, Jean Pascal against Adrian Diaconu. There continue to be great sights - fans packing arenas in places such as California, Canada and Germany, millions tuning in for mega-matches in Japan and Poland.

We can reflect with heavy hearts, but we can also laugh at the lighter moments. We can rage at bad scorecards, and we can revel when all of that is forgotten amid the thrill, the action, and the drama of two men punching for superiority.

Next year, as with every year, will bring the sad and the silly, the lowlights of controversy and the highlights of competition. But before 2010 may begin, we must bring 2009 to its proper end. Without further delay, part one of this year's Freewheeling Fighting Awards:

The "A-Rod Award," for positive tests for performance enhancing drugs: to light heavyweight Jared Lovett and cruiserweight Cory Phelps.

The "Urine Trouble Award," for a positive test for diuretic use: to Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

The "R. Kelly Award," for the most disgusting moment involving a bodily fluid: to Juan Manuel Marquez, who, on an episode of "Mayweather-Marquez 24/7," urinated into a jar… and then drank it.

The " 'You Got Any Excuses Tonight?' Award," for best trash-talk during referee instructions: to Kendall Holt and Carson Jones.

Holt, before his April junior-welterweight title fight with Timothy Bradley, taunted his opponent with: "You ready for this heart? You ready for this heart? Lemme know if you're ready."

Bradley won by decision. Apparently he was ready.

Things worked better in December for Jones, a junior middleweight who was facing Tyrone Brunson, a prospect with the record for most consecutive first-round knockouts. Jones warned his opponent: "You fighting a real fighter. You fighting a real fighter."

Jones backed up his talk with actions, stopping Brunson in the third round.

The "Roy Jones Jr. Award," for having excuses: to Roy Jones Jr., who had a laundry list of 'em some two weeks following his December loss to Danny Green, which came by first-round technical knockout.

Jones, in an interview at BoxingTalk.com, started with "I peaked a little early on training camp," then moved on to "They allowed him to wrap his hands two hours earlier, and they allowed him to use stuff that they not supposed to use. The gauze that you use isn't supposed to have no adhesive nothing on it."

That wasn't all.

"They first try to give me a pair of used gloves," Jones said next. Then, when Jones got new gloves and complained about Green's hand wraps, according to Jones, "They said, 'No, you're not fighting in used gloves now, so we're going to let his hands stay wrapped just the way they are.' "

Was Jones done yet? Nope.

"Then he hits you with a shot behind the head with a cast on," Jones said. And, apparently, during the time afterward when Green was pounding away at a Jones who wasn't throwing back, "They stopped it too quick," Jones said.

The "Tony Danza Award," for a pro boxer trying to be an actor: to Manny Pacquiao, who - unlike Shannon Briggs in "Bad Boys 2" and "The Transporter 2," and unlike Roy Jones in "The Matrix Reloaded" - was the leading role in "Wapakman." Of course, it helps that "Wapakman" is a Filipino film…

The "Mickey Rourke Award," for an actor trying to be a pro boxer: to Shawn McLean, who appeared on episodes of "Law and Order," "New York Undercover" and "The Sopranos" before appearing in the ring.

McLean's 2009 included a first-round knockout of 1-0 Rashad Minor and a fourth-round stoppage of a guy named Faruq Saleem, whose 38-0 record, needless to say, was more than a bit inflated. McLean did suffer a first-round technical knockout loss in November to the 8-0 Edmund Gerber. McLean's record is now 4-5, with three wins by way of knockout.

The "Roger Mayweather vs. Zab Judah Award," for best attack by a corner man on an opposing fighter: to Bernard Hopkins, who was working Oscar De La Hoya's corner for his exhibition match with Shaquille O'Neal, then playfully jumped on the big man after the bout ended.

The "Mike Tyson Award," for Bite of the Year: to Humberto Toledo and Derek Chisora.

Toledo was disqualified in February in the 10th round of a lightweight fight with Breidis Prescott after he put his head down during a clinch and tore flesh from between Prescott's shoulder and neck.

Chisora, meanwhile, basically got away with it in his heavyweight bout against Paul Butlin. According to reports, Chisora committed the foul during the fifth round and went on to win an eight-round decision.

The "Tommy Gallagher 'Don't Scratch Them Toyotas!' Award," for most awkward combination of boxing and product placement: to boxer Nate Campbell and interviewer Jim Gray, who had this exchange prior to Campbell's August bout with 140-pound titlist Timothy Bradley:

Gray: "Bradley made a lot of soup jokes about you before the fight, Nate. Did that get under your skin?"

Campbell: "No. He just said a few things about Campbell Soup. That stuff didn't bother me."

Gray: "Well, Nate, soup is good food."

Campbell: "Real good food."

The "George Carlin Award," for learning what words you can't say on television: to Chris Arreola, who dropped four variations of the F-word in a televised post-fight interview following his September stoppage loss to heavyweight titlist Vitali Klitschko.

The World Boxing Council suspended Chris Arreola from its rankings and from fighting for its world title for six months, all because of "his foul language in the ring," according to the WBC's press release.

In the press release, Jose Sulaiman, the WBC president with seemingly infinite wisdom, "clearly expressed his being upset […] when he stated that there is no way a boxer within the scope of the organization he leads can be let express himself [sic] in such a vulgar way without getting a penalty."

The "Cow Pie Award," for bulls**t everywhere you look: to the World Boxing Association, which has 31 "super," "regular" and "interim" world champions in boxing's 17 weight classes. Of course, the WBC has 25 champions, interim champions and emeritus champions. The World Boxing Organization has just 19 champions and interim champions, and the International Boxing Federation has only 15 champions.

The "Luis Resto Award," for casting aside fair play: to Antonio Margarito, who was caught with tampered hand wraps prior to his January stoppage loss to Shane Mosley. Two pads had been inserted inside the wraps on each hand. Those pads looked wet and had a substance on them that looked like plaster of Paris. Tests on those pads found calcium and sulfur. Combine those two with oxygen and you have plaster of Paris.

The "Panama Lewis Award," for a corner man who should be banned from the sport: to Javier Capetillo, Margarito's trainer.

The "Three Wise Monkeys, Three Blind Mice Award," for either seeing no evil or just being dangerously incompetent: to the California State Athletic Commission, which had an inspector in the room as Capetillo wrapped Margarito's hands and yet noticed no illegal activity.

Earlier this year, we also found out that the California commission let a boxer with HIV get in the ring in June 2005 before said boxer's blood test results came in. The referee for that bout, Ray Corona, has sued the commission for negligence.

The "Balloon Boy Award," for biggest lie of the year involving a bunch of hot air: to American Dream Promotions (whoever they are) and Fernando Vargas' VEP Promotions, for the absolute bull they put forth in a November press release.

The press release claimed the November pay-per-view featuring Zab Judah (against a journeyman named Ubaldo Hernandez) and Joel Casamayor (against some dude named Jason Davis) had a buy rate that "exceeded 100,000."

ESPN.com scribe Dan Rafael did some digging into just how poorly the pay-per-view really did. A person in the business told Rafael the fight only sold about 1,000 buys on DirecTV, and from that number, including sales from other cable and satellite systems, "they will be lucky to do 5,000 buys."

The "Tiger Woods Award," for best lie of the year involving other women: to former 140-pound contender Jan Bergman, who was arrested about a year ago and charged with assaulting his fiancée after she found him with two women carrying overnight bags, according to South African newspaper The Sowetan.

The incident allegedly began when Bergman's fiancée came with their two children for a Christmas visit. Bergman wasn't there, so she let herself in with a spare key. Bergman apparently didn't think she would be there until days later. He soon arrived with the other women.

"When I asked him about the two women, he claimed that they were his sisters," Bergman's fiancée said. "But I know all his sisters."

The "Kendall Holt vs. Ricardo Torres 2 Award," for most damaging head butts: to Noe Bolanos, Victor Fonseca and Rodel Mayol.

Bolanos clashed heads with junior welterweight Vivian Harris in August. Harris collapsed and had to be taken to the hospital, though he was more shaken up, unlike the injuries suffered by Fonseca's and Mayol's opponents.

Fonseca hurt junior featherweight Al Seeger in October with a clash of heads in the second round. After a ninth-round stoppage loss, Seeger was hospitalized with bleeding on the brain.

Mayol hurt 108-pound titlist Edgar Sosa in November with a butt, putting Sosa down on all fours. Soon thereafter, Mayol finished Sosa, sending him to the hospital, where he had screws and two titanium plates inserted into his face.

The "Corrales-Castillo Award," for in-fight comeback of the year: to Carl Froch, for his 12th-round technical knockout win in April over Jermain Taylor.

Froch was 14 seconds away from losing his super-middleweight title. He had been knocked down in the third round and had battled back, but going into the final round, he was behind 106-102 on two scorecards, ahead 106-102 on the third. He could not win the fight with one knockdown, or two, or even three. He needed the fight to end before the round did.

And so it went.

In the final round, Froch hurt Taylor, knocked him down and then finished him soon thereafter against the ropes. The referee waved the fight off with just those 14 seconds left on the clock.

Coincidentally, last year's winner of this award, Rogers Mtagwa (who earned it with his win over Tomas Villa), nearly got himself a second-straight "Corrales-Castillo Award," but his comeback against Juan Manuel Lopez in October fell short.

The "Kanye West Award," for best crashing of someone else's moment: to Shane Mosley, who got into a verbal altercation with Floyd Mayweather Jr. in September after Mayweather's decision win over Juan Manuel Marquez.

The " 'Duck' Award," for the most-overused term of the year: "Quitter," a word often spoken with derisive venom, be it about Robert Guerrero against Daud Yordan, about Victor Ortiz against Marcos Maidana, or about Nate Campbell against Timothy Bradley. It was sad enough that some used the term in 2008 to label Miguel Cotto after his loss to Antonio Margarito.

Some of the best fighters have retired in their corners or refused to continue. And while warriors such as Arturo Gatti and Diego Corrales always went out on their shields, it is unfair to expect everyone else to live up to those standards.

The "Al Capone Award," for the taxman interrupteth : to Julio Cesar Chavez, Thomas Hearns, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Manny Pacquiao and Kelly Pavlik.

As of September, the Internal Revenue Service had a pair of liens against Chavez, one for more than $12.4 million for income taxes due from between 1993 and 1998, the other for more than $366,000 for income taxes due from 1999.

Also in September, the talk was about money Mayweather owed the IRS. Mayweather had paid off IRS liens in previous years, and this time he reportedly owed the agency $6.17 million in unpaid taxes from 2007.

In April, Thomas Hearns was reported to owe $448,190 in back taxes to the federal government and the state of Michigan.

As for Pacquiao, he held his training camp for the Miguel Cotto fight outside of the United States because remaining in America for too many days would mean he would owe taxes on his earnings.

And earlier in the year, talk about a proposed bout between Pavlik and Sergio Mora included staging the fight in Cleveland, Ohio. The problem with that was Pavlik's promoter was turned off by the city's gate tax, which would take 8 percent of gross sales in addition to the state's 5 percent admission tax, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Robbery of the Year: There were so many to choose from, unfortunately. This was a year that brought plenty of questionable or just plain bad decisions, and a year in which Sergio Martinez was robbed of a victory against Kermit Cintron not once, but twice in the same night.

But the biggest robbery of the year came in September in an over-the-limit bantamweight bout between Fernando Montiel and Alejandro Valdez.

The story of the three-round fight: Montiel dropped Valdez a minute into the first round. Valdez cut Montiel over the left eye less than a minute into the second round. The cut seemed to come from a punch, not a head butt, and there was never any ruling otherwise.

Valdez dropped Montiel with an uppercut in the last minute of the second round. The referee gave Montiel time to recover by having a ringside physician check on his eye. The bout went one more round. At the end of the third, the fight was stopped. A "No contest" was announced.

Here's what happened next, according to BoxingScene's very own Jake Donovan:

"Chaos ensued in the ring, with Valdez's team refusing to leave until they received an explanation as to why their fighter wasn't ruled a knockout winner. Their persistence paid off; nobody at ringside could offer a valid reason, overturning the verdict in Valdez's favor.

"However, that overturned verdict didn't stick. Sometime after the camera finished rolling, the inept Mexican boxing commission once again changed the verdict back to a technical draw. This, despite the fact that no evidence existed of a head butt or any other accidental foul causing the cut over Montiel's left eye, or a ruling of any kind by the third man."

Knockout of the Year: This year, as with most years, there were numerous highlight-reel-worthy knockouts. Handing out this award depends on subjective criteria; for this scribe, the knockout of the year goes to the most notable single punch of the year, the moment that shocks every time you see it. A lot of this has to do with the right camera angle perfectly catching both the impact and the aftermath.

Manny Pacquiao's second-round knockout of Ricky Hatton in May was both beautiful and brutal.

Pacquiao set up the shot by letting Hatton come toward him. He drew Hatton in with a jab that fell short, seemingly intentionally, then took a step back and planted his feet for the final left hand. The punch connected low on Hatton's jaw, right on the button.

Hatton fell down and to the left, the side of his head crashing to the mat. His body turned involuntarily, his arms above his head, his eyes unfocused and glaring at the lights. There was no need for the referee to count.

This was yet another "Wow" moment provided by Manny Pacquiao. And that "Wow" factor does not seem to diminish no matter how many times this knockout is shown.

Part Two of the "Freewheeling Fighting Awards" will run Monday, Dec. 28.

The 10 Count will return next year.

 

[stringer bell 32]

Fighter of the Year - Pretty Boy Floyd Mayweather


cuz @*!$ the fanboys, son!

 

[proshares]

You're not serious right?

 

[sir rob a lot]

^^Info on avy. And no, he's not serious. At least I hope not....

 

[mfr3shm]

Fight of the year: Juan Manuel Marquez vs Juan Diaz (Martinez/Williams also very good fight)

Fighter of the year: Manny Pacquiao :/

Prospect of the Year: ? i've been following this guy named Mike Jones he is a welterweight got power.

 

[dako akong otin]

DONAIRE'S NEW TRAINER IS ROBERT GARCIA

By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 23 Dec 2009

WBA super flyweight interim champion Nonito "The Filipino Flash" Donaire has picked former world champion Robert Garcia as his new trainer although he's made it clear that former two-division world champion Dodie Boy Penalosa will remain in his corner.
[table][tr][td]
[/td] [/tr][/table]
Garcia trains a number of fighters including WBO featherweight champion Steven Luevano and IBF light flyweight champion Brian Viloria at the La Colonia gym in Oxnard, California.

Garcia has been credited with the amazing turnaround of Viloria who is now a far more aggressive and skilful fighter as evidenced in his sensational 11th round knockout of highly-fancied Ulises Solis of Mexico to win the title last April 19 at the Araneta Coliseum.

The appointment of Garcia was made at Top Rank Promotions "Pinoy Power III" press conference at the Las Vegas Hilton earlier on Wednesday, Manila Time.

Donaire faces Mexican Gerson Guerrero in one of two title fights on the card with the other being the WBO bantamweight encounter between champion Fernando Montiel and undefeated Ciso "Kid Terrible" Morales from the Philippines.
.
Also on the card, former two-division champions Gerry Penalosa and Eric Morel clash in a WBO bantamweight title eliminator while world-rated Bernabe Concepcion and Mario Santiago figure in what promises to be a ten-round war.

Donaire was first trained by his father Nonito Donaire Sr who steered his career to the IBF/IBO world flyweight championship when he scored a spectacular, one -punch knockout of Vic "The Raging Bull" Darchinyan in July 2007. That KO was chosen as "Knockout of the Year." He also handled "The Filipino Flash" in his successful title defenses against Luis Maldonado of Mexico and Moruti Mthalane of South Africa which ended in stoppages, before father and son parted ways.
.
Donaire Sr then trained Marvin Sonsona who won the WBO flyweight title with a comfortable twelve round decision over Jose "Carita" Lopez but couldn't make the weight in his first title defense and lost the belt on the scales.

Donaire Sr was in the corner of 19 year old Johnreil Casimiro when he scored a stunning 11th round knockout victory over Cesar Chantila to win the WBO light flyweight interim title in Nicaragua last Sunday and will train Ciso "Kid Terrible" Morales for his fight against Montiel on the "Pinoy Power III" card to be telecast by the giant broadcast network ABS-CBN on Sunday, February 14.

 

[proshares]

Rob, avy is Olivia Munn.

 

[bigmike23]

Tomasz Adamek's manager and long time advisor, Ziggy Rozalski recieved a call from HBO's Kery Davis with an offer for his fighter to face Chris Arreola in California on April 24th.

The former light heavyweight and cruiserweight champion from Poland has yet to face Jason Estrada on February 6th in Newark but Adamek is sure that the former American Olympian will become another stepping stone in his heavyweight journey. Although his fight with Estrada probably will not be broadcast on American television, Adamek's clash with Arreola is rumored to be the main event of a tentative "Boxing After Dark" telecast.

Adamek was targeting to challenge Arreola as soon he came up to heavyweight division. In his opinion, the Mexican-American warrior is too slow and doesn't have enough skills to be a serious heavyweight contender.

If the fight comes together, it will only be 11 weeks between Estrada and Arreola, but Adamek said that you can't refuse to step up if HBO is asking.

 

[dako akong otin]

Its gonna Christmas Eve here in the PI tonight....


so i just wanted to greet my fellow boxing heads an advanced Merry Christmas

 

[proshares]

Originally Posted by dako akong otin

Its gonna Christmas Eve here in the PI tonight....


so i just wanted to greet my fellow boxing heads an advanced Merry Christmas

You too man

And ever since Rafael mentioned it, I've been wanting to see Arreola/Tua. I'd rather Adamek either fight Cunningham again or Hopkins, let the blob getobliterated by Tua.

 

[proshares]

Updated: December 23, 2009, 6:26 PM ET

[h2]The top three pound-for-pound fighters[/h2]

Comment Email Print Share
By Dan Rafael
ESPN.com
Archive

Who is the world's best fighter regardless of weight class? See my top 20 below.

And don't forget to check out the divisional rankings, now updated weekly.

For a list of the current champions in all weight classes, click here.

Note: Results through Dec. 22.
[table][tr][td]1[/td] [td]

Manny Pacquiao

Welterweight titlist
Age: 31 | Record: 50-3-2, 38 KOs
[/td] [/tr][tr][td]
Hits: Pacquiao, who was the ESPN.com fighter of the year in 2006 and 2008, enjoyed another year worthy of being considered for the award in 2009. He blasted Ricky Hatton in two rounds to win the junior welterweight championship, then moved up to welterweight to stop Miguel Cotto in the 12th round of the year's biggest fight to win a title in a record seventh division. The PacMan now moves on to the biggest fight in boxing since the first Sugar Ray Leonard-Thomas Hearns fight: a battle with Floyd Mayweather Jr. Pacquiao is boxing's star of stars, and he makes the sport go 'round these days.

Misses: If Pacquiao would forget his political ambitions just temporarily, his fight with Mayweather could be May 1 instead of March 13, providing the time needed to make it an even bigger event. As big as it will be in March, it would be even more astronomical with a few more months to promote the once-in-a-generation fight.
[/td] [/tr][/table]
[table][tr][td]2[/td] [td]

Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Welterweight
Age: 32 | Record: 40-0, 25 KOs
[/td] [/tr][tr][td]
Hits: With his brief retirement in the rearview mirror, Mayweather returned to dominate Juan Manuel Marquez in September and looked as though he hadn't taken any time off at all. Now, with Mayweather safely through the Marquez fight and Pacquiao safely through his November fight with Cotto, they are poised to shatter records when they meet in the March 13 fight that the world demands to see. Gotta give credit to Mayweather for not fooling around in negotiations and accepting the fight in short order.

Misses: For all of Mayweather's accomplishments -- and they are considerable -- he has yet to face, much less beat, a prime welterweight despite campaigning in the division since 2005. His welterweight résumé consists of a shot Sharmba Mitchell (a natural junior welterweight), Zab Judah (who was coming off a loss), Carlos Baldomir (the champ at the time, but a journeyman), Ricky Hatton (who was moving up in weight for the fight) and Juan Manuel Marquez (the lightweight champ Mayweather handpicked to move up two divisions). Mayweather did mix in a fight with Oscar De La Hoya at junior middleweight, but he didn't exactly have an easy time in the split-decision win.
[/td] [/tr][/table]
[table][tr][td]3[/td] [td]

Bernard Hopkins

Light heavyweight
Age: 44 | Record: 50-5-1, 32 KOs
[/td] [/tr][tr][td]
Hits: Just a month shy of his 45th birthday, Hopkins ended a 14-month layoff on Dec. 2 and looked very good in disposing of a game Enrique Ornelas in a lopsided decision win. Although Hopkins won his fight, Roy Jones Jr. -- his expected opponent in March -- lost a tune-up fight on the same day. But it won't derail Hopkins, who has some decent potential fights in the absence of Jones. The most likely are super middleweight titlist Lucian Bute and cruiserweight Danny Green, who knocked out Jones.

Misses: Although Bute and Green are on Hopkins' short list, neither is as interesting as a showdown with cruiserweight champ Tomasz Adamek, whom Hopkins called out loudly in early 2009 but then suddenly went very, very quiet about. That's the right fight -- not Bute or Green -- and Hopkins, Golden Boy and HBO know it.
[/td] [/tr][/table]

Updated: December 23, 2009, 3:29 PM ET

[h2]Top pound-for-pound fighters[/h2]

Comment Email Print Share
By Dan Rafael
ESPN.com
Archive

Rafael's top 3 pound-for-pound fighters​

[table][tr][td]4[/td] [td]

Shane Mosley

Welterweight champion
Age: 38 | Record: 46-5, 39 KOs
[/td] [/tr][tr][td]
Hits: Mosley fought the good fight trying to land bouts with Pacquiao, Mayweather or a rematch with Cotto. When he finally realized those fights weren't going to happen -- at least not right now -- he put the disappointment behind him and accepted the next-best challenge: a unification fight with youthful and fast Andre Berto. Mosley won't make as much money to fight Berto as he would have for any of those other fights, but Mosley is a pro and isn't complaining. They'll meet Jan. 30 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas in a fight that is a great way for HBO to kick off the year of "World Championship Boxing."

Misses: Although he looked almost flawless in his destruction of Antonio Margarito, Mosley is 38 and will have been off for a year by the time he faces the 26-year-old Berto. Will Mosley's long layoff and his age finally catch up to him? You never know.
[/td] [/tr][/table]
[table][tr][td]5[/td] [td]

Paul Williams

Middleweight
Age: 28 | Record: 38-1, 27 KOs
[/td] [/tr][tr][td]
Hits: When middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik withdrew from a Dec. 5 fight with Williams because of a lingering hand injury, Williams took a fight that was just as difficult (or perhaps even tougher) when he agreed to face versatile southpaw junior middleweight titlist Sergio Martinez on five weeks' notice. The result was a sensational fight-of-the-year candidate, which Williams won via tight decision. When Williams and his people say that he'll fight anyone from welterweight to middleweight, it's hard to doubt them.

Misses: Ideally, Williams and Pavlik will meet in the first half of 2010 in a fight so many of us would like to finally see. But if the Williams camp continues to insist that a new deal be 50-50, it's unlikely to happen. Pavlik is the champ and the bigger draw, and his handlers at Top Rank are very unlikely to make that concession.
[/td] [/tr][/table]
[table][tr][td]6[/td] [td]

Chad Dawson

Interim light heavyweight titlist
Age: 27 | Record: 29-0, 17 KOs
[/td] [/tr][tr][td]
Hits: Dawson took care of his business in 2009 with two decisive, albeit unexciting, victories. He fulfilled his contractual obligation by giving Antonio Tarver a rematch and whitewashed him for a second time. Then he gave Glen Johnson a rematch of their 2008 barnburner and easily outboxed him. Now the stage is set for a more interesting 2010, which could include a bout with titlist Jean Pascal of Canada. That could be a really good fight.

Misses: Pascal-Dawson is the fight both sides are interested in, and it happens to be a mandatory bout. But it probably will have to wait until June (instead of the target month of April) because Pascal suffered a shoulder injury in his most recent fight.
[/td] [/tr][/table]
[table][tr][td]7[/td] [td]

Juan Manuel Marquez

Lightweight champion
Age: 36 | Record: 50-5-1, 37 KOs
[/td] [/tr][tr][td]
Hits: Marquez took a shot against Floyd Mayweather Jr. by moving up two weight classes and lost a lopsided decision in September. But he is expected to drop to junior welterweight or return to lightweight, where he should be much, much more effective in a ring return that likely will happen on May 1. Marquez could face former junior welterweight Ricky Hatton, which would be a big event given the popularity of both guys.

Misses: Although you can easily argue that Marquez beat Pacquiao in both of their terrific fights, he was saddled with a split-decision loss and a draw, and he doesn't seem likely to get a third fight any time soon now that Pacquiao-Mayweather is being finalized.
[/td] [/tr][/table]
[table][tr][td]8[/td] [td]

Miguel Cotto

Welterweight
Age: 29 | Record: 34-2, 27 KOs
[/td] [/tr][tr][td]
Hits: After a rest following his 12th-round knockout loss to Pacquiao in November, Cotto will try to regroup in a likely June return. But instead of taking a meaningless fight against a nobody, he's angling for a serious opponent. The three names being mentioned most prominently are former welterweight titlist Kermit Cintron, junior middleweight titlist Yuri Foreman and Antonio Margarito in a rematch of Cotto's controversial loss, should Margarito be re-licensed.

Misses: Cotto took quite a beating in the second half of the fight against Pacquiao. You have to wonder if he'll ever be able to bounce back in a meaningful way even though he is only 29.
[/td] [/tr][/table]
[table][tr][td]9[/td] [td]

Nonito Donaire

Interim junior bantamweight titlist
Age: 27 | Record: 22-1, 14 KOs
[/td] [/tr][tr][td]
Hits: "The Filipino Flash" returns to action on Feb. 13, when he'll defend his belt against Gerson Guerrero on a Top Rank pay-per-view card. By getting started quickly in 2010, Donaire ought to be able to get in three fights during the year, including a possible rematch with rival Vic Darchinyan, whom Donaire upset with a massive fifth-round knockout in 2007 to win a flyweight title. Both sides appear to have interest in a sequel, as do many fight fans. Bring it on.

Misses: A combination of injury, illness and a lack of television dates limited Donaire to only two fights in 2009 -- something his team hopes to rectify in 2010.
[/td] [/tr][/table]
[table][tr][td]10[/td] [td]

Ivan "Iron Boy" Calderon

Junior flyweight champion
Age: 34 | Record: 33-0-1, 6 KOs
[/td] [/tr][tr][td]
Hits: Since turning professional in 2001 following a run at the 2000 Olympics, Calderon has been one of the best pure boxers of his generation, dominating two weight divisions. He is the epitome of a fighter who uses the sweet science to win, win, win.

Misses: If you're 34 and a heavyweight, you can be in your prime. As a 108-pounder, it usually qualifies as old age, and the 34-year-old Calderon is starting to slow down. Three consecutive fights ending in technical decisions because Calderon was badly cut by accidental head-butts certainly hasn't helped keep him young.
[/td] [/tr][/table]

The next 10:

11. Arthur Abraham
12. Kelly Pavlik
13. Chris John
14. Sergio Martinez
15. Tomasz Adamek
16. Timothy Bradley Jr.
17. Hozumi Hasegawa
18. Andre Ward
19. Celestino Caballero
20. Joshua Clottey

Miranda could add spice to super middleweight

Wednesday, December 23, 2009 | Print Entry

One thing about super middleweight Edison Miranda is that -- win or lose -- he's usually entertaining. So even if he hasn't necessarily done a whole lot to warrant his upcoming title shot, I'm still looking forward to seeing what "Pantera" can do when he challenges Robert Stieglitz in Germany on Jan. 9 for a belt in one of boxing's hottest divisions.

It's not like Stieglitz, who will be making his first defense, had done much either to deserve his title shot against Karoly Balzsay in August, but he pulled the minor upset with an 11th-round TKO.

I won't surprised if Miranda does something similar. Frankly, I was surprised Stieglitz's handlers selected Miranda as an opponent, because he's a dangerous dude with excellent power. If Miranda wins, it will add even more spice to the loaded 168-pound division.

Most of the attention at super middleweight is focused on the Super Six tournament, whose participants include titleholders Andre Ward and Carl Froch, as well as ex-titlist Mikkel Kessler, former middleweight champs Jermain Taylor and Arthur Abraham and Andre Dirrell. Over on HBO, titleholder Lucian Bute is gaining exposure. A Miranda victory over Stieglitz (36-2, 22 KOs) will just add another interesting name to the mix.

The last time Miranda (33-4, 29 KOs) fought for a world title was in 2006, when he challenged Abraham for a middleweight belt and lost a highly controversial decision in Germany (in a great fight).

Now, Miranda has a second chance.

"I may have not taken the belt with me the last time I left Germany, but this time it will be wrapped around my waist when I return back home," Miranda said.

Since the loss to Abraham, Miranda has lost his three biggest fights: a sensational middleweight eliminator by knockout to future champ Kelly Pavlik in 2007; a knockout to Abraham in their super middleweight rematch in 2008; and a decision loss in May to Ward, who went on to upset Kessler and win a title in a Super Six match.

However, consider that the combined record of Miranda's opponents in those fights is 88-1, with the lone loss being Pavlik's decision defeat when he moved up in weight to face the great Bernard Hopkins. Stieglitz isn't in the class of those fighters.

Colombia's Miranda, 28, rebounded from the loss to Ward to blow out Francisco Sierra in the first round on Oct. 22 -- his first fight with trainer Joe Goossen and co-promoter Dan Goossen (who worked along with longtime Miranda promoter Leon Margules).

"I didn't think a title shot would come this quick," Miranda said. "I thought it would take longer. I am really happy to be fighting for a world title. I felt very awkward going to Germany [for the first Abraham fight] because that is not my home, but the home of my opponent. Everybody knows I won that fight. I feel like the only way I am going to win over there is by a knockout, and that is what I plan to do."

Joe Goossen likes what he has seen from his newest pupil.

"Miranda has taken to our gym ethic, which is very demanding," Goossen said. "By his own admission, he never came even close to putting this type of effort into the gym. Edison is really a superior athlete, but he was an athlete in hiding because, as much power and strength that he brought into the ring, he either neglected or didn't learn some of the more subtle things to use in a fight -- which is using both hands and not just relying on the one big right hand. Now he can match skills with skills, not just power against skills. He is going to bring a more complete package to the table in January."

If Miranda is going to win the belt, I think his new trainer will be a big part of the reason. Besides his cool fashion sense and calm, direct corner demeanor, Joe Goossen is one of the most underrated trainers in the business. Apparently, he and Miranda have clicked since hooking up earlier this year, although the proof will come Jan. 9.

"Joe has been fantastic to work with," Miranda said. "I feel like a new fighter already. I am very excited to put on a great performance in front of the world."

So while Miranda is surrounded by some new faces, one thing hasn't changed: He can still trash-talk with the very best of them.

"I have been to battle with some great champions and have fought them in their backyards," Miranda said. "This is not new to me, and if Robert Stieglitz wants me to fight him in his hometown, then I will happily destroy him in front of his fans."

 

[stringer bell 32]

Originally Posted by Proshares

You're not serious right?

Na, I'm just on some #!*##!%%

 

[theprofessorofpugilism]

I don't care that he didn't earn the title shot. I don't care that he's facing a paper champion. I don't care that it'll probably be anincredibly short title reign. If Miranda comes out with that belt on the 9th, im gonna feel like a proud father watching that. It might even get a little dustyin the man cave.

 

[eagle 0n]

[h2]Pacquiao is Fighter of the Year[/h2]

Comment Email Print >http://a.espncdn.com/icons/share-i... -moz-initial;">Share </div><cite class= By Dan Rafael
ESPN.com
Archive

Eoin Mundow/Cleva Media/Icon SMIHands down: Ricky Hatton can attest to the fact that Manny Pacquiao is boxing's best fighter.

If you are surprised by the pick for 2009 ESPN.com fighter of the year, well, you haven't paid attention to boxing for the past 12 months.

It's Manny Pacquiao, the biggest no-brainer selection since, well, 2008, when Pacquiao was also the obvious pick.

In fact, the pound-for-pound king and icon of the Philippines has claimed fighter of the year honors in three of the past four years, as he concluded yet another tremendous campaign in 2009.

In 2008, Pacquiao raced up the scale, winning titles at junior lightweight, with his tight decision against Juan Manuel Marquez, and at lightweight, with his battering of titleholder David Diaz, before going to welterweight and pounding Oscar De La Hoya into retirement.

Pacquiao's 2009 was just as impressive as he continued to electrify fans by winning both of his fights by dominant knockout. With decisive victories against Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto, both coming at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Pacquiao added championships in two more weight classes to give him titles in a record seven divisions -- flyweight, junior featherweight, featherweight, junior lightweight, lightweight, junior welterweight and welterweight.

It was also the year in which Pacquiao, already on the fringe of all-time great status, put his name firmly into the discussion. Greatest southpaw. Greatest Asian fighter. Clear top 25 fighter of all-time.

His promoter, Top Rank's Bob Arum, calls him "the greatest fighter I've ever seen" in more than 40 years in the business. He compares Pacquiao's star power -- and fighting prowess -- to Muhammad Ali's, whom Arum also promoted.

[h4]Rafael's Fighters of the Year[/h4] [table][tr][th=""]Year[/th] [th=""]Fighter[/th] [/tr][tr][td]2009[/td] [td]Manny Pacquiao[/td] [/tr][tr][td]2008[/td] [td]Manny Pacquiao[/td] [/tr][tr][td]2007[/td] [td]Floyd Mayweather Jr.[/td] [/tr][tr][td]2006[/td] [td]Manny Pacquiao[/td] [/tr][tr][td]2005[/td] [td]Ricky Hatton[/td] [/tr][tr][td]2004[/td] [td]Glen Johnson[/td] [/tr][tr][td]2003[/td] [td]James Toney[/td] [/tr][tr][td]2002[/td] [td]Vernon Forrest[/td] [/tr][tr][td]2001[/td] [td]Bernard Hopkins[/td] [/tr][tr][td]2000[/td] [td]Felix Trinidad[/td] [/tr][/table]

Trainer Freddie Roach, who has been with Pacquiao since 2001, believes he could be in line for more fighter of the year nods, perhaps again in 2010 if the tentative March 13 summit meeting with Floyd Mayweather Jr. comes off and Pacquiao wins.

"The scary thing is we still have not seen the best of Manny Pacquiao," Roach said after the knockout of Cotto. "I have never trained an athlete like Manny, who after more than 50 fights is still willing to learn new techniques and is able to apply them. One of the reasons Manny is so hard to fight is because you never see the same Manny two times in a row. He always has a new style making him totally unpredictable and impossible to anticipate. Plus his conditioning is supreme to anyone in the sport. He is an athletic phenomenon.

"I get a lot of credit for his success, but it's Manny who does the work in the gym and does the fighting in the ring. He's incredible. His last five fights have been at four different weight divisions. He goes up in weight. He goes down in weight. He fights the best in each division."

After the stunningly easy upset win against De La Hoya to end 2008, Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KOs) dropped to junior welterweight in May to face Hatton, the champion who had never been beaten at 140 pounds.

Pacquiao ruthlessly took care of him in short order, blasting him out in two rounds with one of the most spectacular knockouts in recent memory. That gave Pacquiao a title in a sixth division, including a record fourth lineal championship.

That set the stage for the year's biggest fight as Pacquiao, who turned 31 on Dec. 17, moved back up to welterweight to challenge Cotto for his belt. Cotto was the biggest and strongest man Pacquiao had ever faced. While the bout began competitively, the tide turned to Pacquiao after a few rounds. From there, it was a landslide as Pacquiao stormed to a bloody, 12th-round knockout to win yet another title in a fight that also was the year's biggest commercial success as it generated 1.25 million pay-per-view buys.

Pacquiao's reaction to all the hoopla was typical: Humble and with his country on his mind.

"Nothing personal, just doing my job," Pacquiao said after the Cotto fight. "One of the biggest advantages I have is that every fight is an opportunity to give honor to the Philippines. The Filipino people don't just give me their support, they also give me their strength, their pride and their love. It's an awesome power and a big responsibility. This fight was about history. People will remember that the first man to win world titles in seven different weight divisions was a Filipino."

---

Other contenders:

Fabrice Coffrini/Getty ImagesThe comeback continues: An injury free Vitali Klitschko is a force to be reckoned with at heavyweight.

Vitali Klitschko: Klitschko had not fought since the end of 2004, forced into retirement the following year and into giving up his heavyweight title because of injuries. But after a nearly four-year layoff, the injuries healed and Klitschko made a triumphant return in late 2008 to punish Samuel Peter en route to an eighth-round knockout to reclaim his old belt. It wasn't just a cameo appearance. In 2009, Klitschko (39-2, 37 KOs) put a hammerlock on his title at age 38. While baby brother and fellow heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko fought just once in 2009 because of his own injuries, Vitali was busy. The Ukraine native made three defenses against quality opponents, winning each with overwhelmingly dominant performances in which he scarcely lost any of the 31 rounds. In March, Klitschko faced southpaw mandatory challenger Juan Carlos Gomez, a superb technician and former cruiserweight titleholder, and drilled him in the ninth round. In September, Klitschko, who makes Los Angeles his part-time home, faced Southern California native Cristobal Arreola in Los Angeles and shut him down with ease before forcing Arreola's corner to throw in the towel after 10 brutally one-sided rounds. Klitschko made a quick return in December to score a virtual shutout of American Kevin Johnson, who was so petrified that he only could land five power shots in 12 rounds.

---

AP Photo/Mark AveryTimothy Bradley made waves and had a breakout year in '09.

Timothy Bradley Jr.: With Manny Pacquiao knocking out Ricky Hatton to win the junior welterweight championship in May and then leaving the division, and casting serious doubt on former champ Hatton's future, the 140-pound division was wide open for a new No. 1 fighter to emerge. That's Bradley (25-0, 11 KOs), who put together an excellent 2009 campaign to become the division's marked man. The 26-year-old from Palm Springs, Calif., got started in 2008 when he won a world title and made one defense. But Bradley really broke out in 2009. He began in April, taking a hard-fought decision against Kendall Holt to unify two belts, surviving knockdowns in the first and 12th rounds and pulling out the decision. Bradley returned to action in August for what many thought would be a difficult defense against former lightweight titlist Nate Campbell. But Bradley dominated until the fight was called off in the third round because Campbell was unable to continue due to a severe cut over his left eye. Bradley was originally awarded a TKO victory, but it was later changed to a no contest when the California commission correctly ruled that the cut had been caused by an accidental head-butt. Still, Bradley had dominated and looked good doing it. In December, Bradley made a mandatory defense against interim titlist Lamont Peterson, his pal from the amateur ranks. It was expected to be a difficult assignment, a toss-up fight in which folks were split as to who would win. But Bradley put the questions to bed quickly. He scored a third-round knockdown and dominated Peterson for a near-shutout victory in the best performance of his career.

---

Daniel Gluskoter/ICON SMIAndre Ward emerged as the man to beat at super middleweight by dominating Mikkel Kessler.

Andre Ward: Big things were expected from Ward from the moment he stepped onto the podium to accept his 2004 Olympic gold medal, and in 2009 he delivered on those expectations. The 25-year-old from Oakland, Calif., moved from rising contender to top-notch titleholder by going 4-0 and establishing himself as the No. 1 super middleweight in a deep division. Ward opened his year in February with a dominant decision victory against Henry "Sugar Poo" Buchanan. That set the stage for Ward's first real step up in competition against dangerous puncher Edison Miranda. Ward (21-0, 13 KOs) easily dominated him en route to a lopsided decision. As a tune-up for his entrance into Showtime's Super Six World Boxing Classic tournament, Ward blew out Shelby Pudwill in three rounds to set the stage for his title shot. Ward got it in November in his Super Six opener and not only beat Danish star Mikkel Kessler via 11th-round technical decision to win a title, he thoroughly dominated him in the upset. It was a stellar performance from Ward and a sensational way to cap a big year.

---

AP Photo/Shuji KajiyamaHozumi Hasegawa might be the best fighter boxing fans haven't heard of.

Hozumi Hasegawa: Japan's No. 1 fighter is a virtual unknown in the United States, but the southpaw bantamweight titleholder had a tremendous year. Known mostly as a skilled technician, Hasegawa (28-2, 12 KOs) rang up three defenses in 2009, winning each by crushing knockout to run his defense total to 10. Hasegawa, 29, kicked off the year with a first-round blowout of Vusi Malinga, a good mandatory challenger from South Africa, whom he dropped three times in the rout. Hasegawa followed by registering two knockdowns in another first-round destruction of Nestor Rocha in July. In his third defense of the year, Hasegawa scored yet another sweet knockout of Nicaragua's Alvaro Perez in the fourth round of a lopsided fight. Maybe you haven't heard of Hasegawa, but he's good. Very good.

---

AP Photo/Douglas HealeyCarl Froch's come-from-behind KO of Jermain Taylor resonated with American fight fans.

Carl Froch: "The Cobra" oozes confidence, and it's easy to see why. The super middleweight titlist from England had claimed a vacant belt in a late 2008 slugfest with Jean Pascal and retained it twice in 2009 against quality opponents. In April, Froch came to America and defended his belt against former undisputed middleweight champion Jermain Taylor. Taylor knocked him down for the first time in his career in the third round and was ahead when Froch (26-0, 20 KOs) rallied for a tremendous 12th-round knockout in a dramatic comeback. In October, Froch, 32, returned home to Nottingham and defended his title in the opening round of the Super Six World Boxing Classic by taking a tight split decision against slick American Andre Dirrell.
Also coming: awards for knockout, prospect, round and fight of the year Dunno bout Froch as a nominee tho

 

[proshares]

Think Bradley should be the #2.

 

[bigmike23]

Originally Posted by TheProfessorOfPugilism

good to see you back

 

[proshares]

Amo finally posted out of all the excitement of Miranda getting another title shot I feel bad posting this:

[h2]Illness forces Miranda out of title fight[/h2]

Comment Email Print By Dan Rafael
ESPN.com
Archive

Super middleweight Edison Miranda, ill with the flu and suffering from a nasal infection, withdrew Monday from his bout with titlist Robert Stieglitz, which was scheduled for Jan. 9 in Magdeburg, Germany, Miranda co-promoter Dan Goossen told ESPN.com.

"He's been sick, a combination of the flu with a severe nasal infection," Goossen said. "He's been fighting it and fighting it. It's just has been an uphill battle and [Monday] we met with him and he just looks terrible, and certainly weak. He's just not capable of being ready for Jan. 9. It's a terrible blow to all of us. He was devastated when reality hit and he knew he couldn't fight."

Stieglitz (36-2, 22 KOs), born in Russia but living in Magdeburg, would have been making the first defense of the 168-pound belt he won in August by stopping Hungary's Karoly Balzsay in the 11th round.

Whether Stieglitz's handlers will find a new opponent or try to reschedule the fight with Miranda has not been determined.

"If they're up to rescheduling it we'd love to follow through on the fight when Edison is healthy," said Goossen, who co-promotes Miranda with Leon Margules of Warriors Boxing. "If they're not interested in rescheduling, we'll get him back in the ring when he's healthy and try to get him another title shot."

Miranda has fought when he was ill before, but this time it was just too much, Goossen said.

"If he was less than perfect he would overcome it, but he was less than 50 percent," Goossen said. "You can't put any fighter in that position, and he understood it."

Miranda (33-4, 29 KOs), 28, a native of Colombia who lives in Puerto Rico and trains with Joe Goossen (Dan's brother) in California, would have been in his second title bout.

He challenged for a middleweight belt in 2005, also in Germany, and lost a controversial decision to Arthur Abraham.