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[Tom_Cody]

There was a stretch a while back where Ward went inactive for 7 or 8 months, but now he's back to fighting every three or four, which is great. I hope Showtime can keep him on tv and a fight with Green or Pascal would be welcome.

I have no high praise for Ward, but he looked much better than he has in the past and he was fighting by far his best opponent to date. I would still favor either Pascal or Green against him if those fights occured. More than anything else, I'm happy to see one of our few gold medal winners wake up in his pro career.

Abraham to 168 for either Lacy or Andrade? I'm not sure he goes up again or lets his title go undefended for that fight. Lacy, I don't think I can watch anymore--he's a changed fighter after Calzaghe--but I would be interested in seeing if Abraham's the guy to crack Andrade's chin.

If Pavlik-Abraham gets made to unify their titles, do you think that fight is a pick'em?

Abraham is going to end up at super middleweight very quickly if he continues to fight in the US. After getting Marquez out of the way, Abraham has only 3 potential fights at 160 in the US that HBO or Showtime would buy: Pavlik (everyone's dream fight), Wright, and Taylor. Of those, all three could take place at 168. At every level, 168 is a dramatically deeper division. Pavlik is very likely going to be looking for Calzaghe sooner than later, so I consider it unlikely the Abraham fight is going to happen. We'll see though. I honestly don't follow boxing politics as closely as I used to.

Right now, I would favor Pavlik because of reach and experience. Pavlik is going to be very hard for anyone to beat at 160 or 168 (and 175 eventually more than likely). Abraham has been extremely impressive though. He's had my attention since I watched him knock out Kingsley Ikeke. It's still difficult at this point to judge his overall package tough. His resume is lacking in experienced internationally proven opposition. Honestly, I think his stoppage of Miranda overrates his power. Its a little hard for me to take any middleweight seriously that couldn't knock out Shannon Taylor.

 

[cthoaa]

Abraham is going to end up at super middleweight very quickly if he continues to fight in the US. After getting Marquez out of the way, Abraham has only 3 potential fights at 160 in the US that HBO or Showtime would buy: Pavlik (everyone's dream fight), Wright, and Taylor. Of those, all three could take place at 168. At every level, 168 is a dramatically deeper division. Pavlik is very likely going to be looking for Calzaghe sooner than later, so I consider it unlikely the Abraham fight is going to happen. We'll see though. I honestly don't follow boxing politics as closely as I used to.

I take what you mean. Middleweight seemed at least okay around this time last year, but talent has moved on and even Marquez can come off his second retirement and become a challenger again.

Right now, I would favor Pavlik because of reach and experience. Pavlik is going to be very hard for anyone to beat at 160 or 168 (and 175 eventually more than likely). Abraham has been extremely impressive though. He's had my attention since I watched him knock out Kingsley Ikeke. It's still difficult at this point to judge his overall package tough. His resume is lacking in experienced internationally proven opposition. Honestly, I think his stoppage of Miranda overrates his power. Its a little hard for me to take any middleweight seriously that couldn't knock out Shannon Taylor.

I've seen about five or six Abraham fights, most of them recent, and from those his power looked legit. (Against limited competition, granted. He's taken things easy since the first Miranda fight.) But to me, he's not really as efficient as he was on Saturday. Going by that performance, it'd seem like he bides his time, and then flattens his opponent when he's ready. I'd say he more moves at his own pace, and if a KO comes, it comes; he won't force. In the fights I saw, he really got extended into the later rounds by some guys like Ayala and Gevor, who I felt had a points lead fairly deep in the fight.

I genuinely, genuinely thought Miranda would be more of a challenge this time around, if not beat Abraham outright. Everything was lined up in his favor; Abraham certainly made lots of concessions in taking the fight. Great US debut for him.

 

[cthoaa]

Lots of fighter-promoter splits of late. This is the most high profile in a while:

Calzaghe ends Warren association

Welshman Joe Calzaghe has split from long-term promoter Frank Warren.

Super-middleweight and light-heavyweight king Calzaghe has been promoted by Warren since 1996.

But with Calzaghe eyeing up a career swansong, possibly against Roy Jones Jr later this year, he has ended his 12-year association with Warren.

"I am now a free agent with no contract and intend to be self-managed from now on," the 36-year-old Calzaghe said in the South Wales Argus.

Warren's Sports Network company was contacted by BBC Sport but a spokesman declined to make any comment about the split.

The Newbridge-based Calzaghe is currently big box office in the United States following his points win over Bernard Hopkins in Las Vegas in April.

And with the southpaw vowing to box one last time, he has decided to split from Warren and promote the fight himself.

"My intention is to fight Roy Jones Jr, a four-weight world champion fighter," said Calzaghe.

"That would be a special event for me against a legend of the sport.

"There are issues to be resolved with my former promoter Frank Warren and I hope they can be done so amicably."

 

[harSon]

Lots of fighter-promoter splits of late. This is the most high profile in a while:

Why doesn't he just fight Sugar Ray Leonard? He fits perfectly for Calzaghe! A legend, passed his prime, old as hell, etc.

 

[gollumsluvslave]

"My intention is to fight Roy Jones Jr, a four-weight world champion fighter," said Calzaghe.

Well at least this can put to bed any doubts about Warren going for the bucks with RJJ - it's all Joe's decision. In fact the rumours abound that Warren was trying to make the Pavlik fight happen and that's why Joe has split with him.

A shame though - I think he would be better served by taking the Pavlik fight; which I think he'd win by UD. Then he could still fight RJJ if he really wanted.

Dissapointing IMO; of course Joe might look at things and decide he is damned if he fights Pavlik and damned if he doesn't - there are many people that still wouldn't give Joe his due even if he beat Pavlik (a la Lacy).

Edit - Actually, considering Joe in his auto-biography states that fighting RJJ is pointless seeing as he had already been knocked out twice, it's even more disappointing.

Someone should call him out being two-faced here; especially now there is no Warren to cloud the issue.

 

[XiaNaphryz]

What are people's thoughts on the Pacman fight this weekend? This is Manny's first fight in this weight class, right?

 

[cthoaa]

Yep, first at lightweight, so it'll be interesting to see if his power and, more importantly, his speed carries into the new division. (Some power has already been left behind in previous jumps in weight, I think.)

If Hatton-Pacquiao is actually something that's coming down the line, this is a decent test to see how he copes with a similar style. Diaz won't hold as much and fights from just little further, giving himself more room. But the work is a lot the same, only less damaging.

It'd be helpful for learning purposes if Manny took a few rounds, went a little more defensive-minded, and just stayed with Diaz to see how his strength matches up from short-range and inside; perhaps try fighting off his back foot a little because Diaz will be coming forward. Morales, I thought, fought beautifully in his limited condition vs. Diaz and laid a great blueprint to winning with countering, going to the ropes, fighting going backwards, everything. (He wuz robbed, I tell ya!) But Pacquiao just doesn't have that skillset, so I think it will just be more of the same from him: footwork to get out in the open and then jab-left, jab-jab-left with a few attempts to get the right hand going so Roach stops bugging him.

 

[cthoaa]

David Diaz (c, 34-1, 17 KOs) vs. Manny Pacquiao (46-3-2, 35 KOs), WBC lightweight title

David Diaz vs. Manny Pacquiao, Top Rank preview (part 1, part 2)
Pacquiao vs. Diaz, GMA+Solar Sports commercial (Filipino)


HBO was going to do a countdown show for Diaz-Pacquiao, and not the Miguel Cotto-Antonio Margarito fight in July. After being called out by Bob Arum for their decision, HBO opted to forego their plans, and put their budget towards a Cotto-Margarito preview instead.

HBO also put Pacquiao-Morales II (great fight) and Pacquiao-Barrera II (not great fight) on their On-Demand service and will be airing them Friday at 11 pm/Saturday at 10 am. They're not showing any Diaz fights which is weak as his title win was on HBO PPV vs. Santa Cruz. His fight vs. Morales was way better than Pac-MAB II.

 

[cthoaa]

Nate Campbell's open letter to the winner of Diaz-Pacquiao is very respectful, especially considering the venom spewed in his last one to Golden Boy's Richard Schaeffer. (There's even a smiley in this one!)

To David and Manny, Good luck to both of you this Saturday. I know alot of folks are predicting Manny to win this with ease, but I also know it ain't gonna happen that easily. But that's neither here nor there. I'm writing this letter because I want the winner of your fight to really consider the history that could be made by fighting the winner of my September 13th fight with Joan Guzman, which of course I am confident will be me : - )

Anyways, the winner of your fight in meeting the winner of my fight has the chance to do something that has only been done once in the history of boxing. A complete unification of the IBF,WBO, WBC, and WBA world titles. The only other person in history to accomplish that feat was Bernard Hopkins. Roy never did it. Oscar never did it. Floyd never did it. Nobody except Bernard ever did it. And that's not to say we would be better than those guys, or anything like that, but we do have the opportunity to do something that they never did. So lets truly make the effort, for the sake of history, to make a fight between us a reality, before mandatories, or other economic realities prevent the titles from staying together. We all know there is plenty of money to go around, and let's face it, all of us are financially ok already anyways, so for once, let's NOT make it about the money, and lets do whats right for boxing. We have a chance to make a complete unification happen. Lets not let money, or our promoters, or anything else get in the way of that.

As much as I love Don and Terry, I have no problem telling both of them that after the Guzman fight, they don't need to bother sending me any bout agreements that don't have either David or Manny's name on it (whoever wins). And both of you could tell Bob the same thing. Don't forget that these guys are supposed to work for US, not the other way around. And specifically to David, I know a fight with Manny would mean alot more $$ than a fight with you would, but if you win on Saturday, everything I have said here still stands. This chance to make history and unify all four world titles is bigger than you and me. Alot bigger. And even though it might not be for a ton of money, we still would need to fight, and not let this opportunity get away. It's about history.

It's about being the second man in the history of boxing to do this. And so to whichever of you guys wins on Saturday, don't forget what this sport has given you, and understand that sometimes something needs to be given back. Relax a while, enjoy your victory, spend time with your family, and then tell Bob that the only fight you are interested in is the Campbell-Guzman winner. We can always make money, but it's not too often that we get the chance to make history.

Nate Campbell
IBF / WBO / WBA Lightweight Champion

Weigh-ins for tomorrow's PPV are to be streamed on HBO.com, ESPN.com, and Yahoo! today at 2:30 PT/5:30 ET.



EDIT: Both fighters make weight. Champion Diaz @ 135-pound lightweight limit; challenger Pacquiao a half pound under @ 134.5.

 

[XiaNaphryz]

Pacquiao wins by TKO in the 9th round to claim the WBC lightweight title.

 

[cthoaa]

"That fucker was fast."

I thought Pacquiao would have to slow down a little and take his time to be successful against a bigger guy at a new weight; instead, he just turned it on. (110+ punches thrown in R2; 100 in R5,8)

There wasn't much resistance, but offensively, it was his most complete performance. The right hand that was so absent vs. JMM was here, early and often. Loopy and rough as it was, Manny's handspeed let him double or triple up, come off it with uppercuts... pretty much anything he wanted.

It was like his version of Mayweather-Gatti, with a few more punches returned and a less compassionate corner on the other side, unfortunately for Diaz.

 

[Tom_Cody]

It was like his version of Mayweather-Gatti, with a few more punches returned and a less compassionate corner on the other side, unfortunately for Diaz.

That's exactly what I was thinking after the fight.

The lightweight division is on fire. I can't wait to see all these potential fights play over the next year.

 

[cthoaa]

Welterweights are awesome with the combination of star power and talent. And, of course, July 26 looms near. But with Mayweather Jr. away, DLH maybe never reaching the 147 limit again, and Mosley likely going back to 154 for a fight or two, the lightweights are just the best.

Wiley veterans in Casa and Campbell. P4P fighters in Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez. Young former champions in Diaz and Katsidis. Undefeated challengers in Guzman and Valero. Strong prospects in Khan and Peterson. And division mainstays in Romanoff, Raheem, and Diaz.

Awesome, awesome division with guys that clearly aren't afraid to fight one another.

 

[cthoaa]

Ring Magazine updated their ratings for the week.

Manny Pacquiao is rated the lightweight division's #2 contender following a kayo victory over previous #2, David Diaz. Diaz is dropped to #4.

Humberto Soto's rating among junior lightweight fighters is unaffected by polling after his DQ loss to Francisco Lorenzo.



Ring Magazine's Lightweight Ratings for period ending June 30

C. Joel Casamayor CUB 36-3-1 (22)
1. Nate Campbell USA 32-5-1 (25)
2. Manny Pacquiao PHI 47-3-2 (36)
3. Juan Diaz MEX 33-1 (17)
4. David Diaz USA 34-2-1 (17)
5. Jose Santa Cruz MEX 25-3 (14)
6. Julio Diaz USA 35-4 (25)
7. Michael Katsidis AUS 23-1 (20)
8. Amir Khan GBR 18-0 (14)
9. Yuri Romanov BLR 21-2 (14)
10. Zahir Raheem USA 29-2 (17)


Ring Magazine's Junior Lightweight Ratings for period ending June 30

C. Manny Pacquiao PHI 47-3-2 (36)
1. Juan Manuel Marquez MEX 48-4-1 (35)
2. Joan Guzman DOM 28-0 (17)
3. Edwin Valero VEN 24-0 (24)
4. Humberto Soto MEX 44-7-2 (28)
5. Jorge Barrios ARG 47-3-1 (34)
6. Alex Arthur GBR 26-1 (19)
7. Yodsanan Nanthachai THA 56-3-1 (45)
8. Cassius Baloyi RSA 35-3-1 (18)
9. Mzonke Fana RSA 27-4 (10)
10. Rocky Juarez USA 27-4 (19)


Ring Magazine's Pound for Pound Ratings for period ending June 30

1. Manny Pacquiao PHI, jr. lightweight
2. Joe Calzaghe GBR, super middle/lt. heavyweight
3. Juan Manuel Marquez MEX, jr. lightweight
4. Bernard Hopkins USA, lt. heavyweight
5. Israel Vazquez MEX, jr. featherweight
6. Miguel Cotto PUR, welterweight
7. Kelly Pavlik USA, middleweight
8. Cristian Mijares MEX, jr. bantamweight
9. Rafael Marquez MEX, jr. featherweight
10. Ivan Calderon PUR, jr. flyweight

Update on Soto-Lorenzo:

Joe Cortez' Bad Call (YouTube) - Setanta video of Cortez being interviewed by Top Rank's Wally Matthews after the fight

WBC BOARD OF GOVERNORS TO DECIDE ON SOTO-LORENZO FIGHT

World Boxing Council president Don Jose Sulaiman has announced that the WBC board of governors will vote on whether to declare the interim super featherweight title fight between Humberto Soto and Francisco Lorenzo a no contest or to declare Soto the winner by knockout.

Sulaiman condemned the decision of referee Joe Cortez to disqualify Soto as a "gross injustice" and one of the biggest he has seen in a long time.He said the officials "should have accepted the WBC rule of instant replay and if they had, they would have seen what happened."

Since the fight was for the interim title Sulaiman stressed "the decision for the world is our's. The decision for the municipality is theirs" providing another insight into the WBC's differences with the Nevada State Athletic Commission which insists on appointing referees and judges for all fights and ignoring the sanctioning bodies.

 

[wackojackosnose]

HATTON WANTS PACQUIAO FIGHT NEXT YEAR

http://philboxing.com/news/story-17593.html

BWAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[cthoaa]

There's no guarantee that Hatton will be able to fight again after facing Paulie.

But seriously, if Manny looks as good against Valero as he did vs. Diaz (which should happen considering Valero's limited skills) and Hatton somehow does the improbable and escapes from Malignaggi with his life (and a victory), this fight is really big. The possibility of Manny + Top Rank taking away that huge payday in London might make Mayweather think about getting back in the ring with Hatton for a rematch. And likely for a lower share of the purse than he would have commanded if Manny hadn't become a viable opponent.

 

[cthoaa]

Felix Sturm (c, 29-2-1, 13 KOs) vs. Randy Griffin (24-1-3, 12 KOs), IBF middleweight title

Ricardo Torres (c, 32-1 28 KOs) vs. Kendall Holt (23-2, 12 KOs), WBO light welterweight title


Two championship rematches tomorrow. First in Germany where champion Felix Sturm fights Randy Griffin again after their first fight ended in a draw. And Torres-Holt II comes to America after failed appeals on Holt's behalf over their fight in Colombia. (There was a missed knockdown call in favor of Torres and Holt got hit by a soda can thrown from the crowd to go with allegations of outside interference by Torres' corner.)

Weigh-ins for Sturm-Griffin already took place with Sturm under the 160-pound limit @ 159.3 and Griffin well under @ 156.6. Torres and Holt weigh in later.

 

[Tom_Cody]

Ricardo Torres (c, 32-1 28 KOs) vs. Kendall Holt (23-2, 12 KOs), WBO light welterweight title

I can't wait for this rematch. I don't know if anyone else has see the original fight (it wasn't broadcast in the US), but all of Holt's claims are true. The stoppage was also definitely premature.

I've been a Holt fan for a long time. I hope he can get past Torres and move onto bigger and better things.

 

[Tom_Cody]

Double post.

 

[Tom_Cody]

Wow, that's excitement! Great work Kendall Holt. I'd love to see them fight again. I'd certainly much prefer either of them against Hatton instead of Malignaggi.

 

[SSGMUN10000]

Wow that Torres-Holt fight was exciting..for all 1 minute of it. After watching the replay it seems that Holt head-butted Torres on the last exchange he fell back towards the rope, Torres's hand got caught in the rope and Holt landed the finishing blow. It was not mentioned/examined during the broadcast. The butt was accidental of course. Anyways hopefully they will fight a rubber-match.

 

[Tom_Cody]

Wow that Torres-Holt fight was exciting..for all 1 minute of it. After watching the replay it seems that Holt head-butted Torres on the last exchange he fell back towards the rope, Torres's hand got caught in the rope and Holt landed the finishing blow. It was not mentioned/examined during the broadcast. The butt was accidental of course. Anyways hopefully they will fight a rubber-match.

They headbutt was mentioned on Showtime, but only briefly. I watched the replay a few more times this morning and I'm now convinced the headbutt was a significant factor in the KO. Torres' head snaps back with a force equal to a heavy punch, then you see his legs wilt, and as this is happening you can actually hear the crowd react to the blow. The follow up right hand was, with out a doubt, significantly more damaging, thought the butt seems to have been an essential set-up to the knockout punch.

I have no doubt the butt was accidental and that Holt was likely unaware himself of what had happened.

All things considered, there should be a third fight. I can't wait.

 

[cthoaa]

Okay. That was pretty scary for a second.

Their heads clashing was definitely incidental contact and I think Holt got a pretty good cut, too; it's just that Torres came away way worse. He was on top of Holt, crowding him, and Holt was only posturing to fight back. The right hand to end it was like a howitzer.

Emotions were high considering it was a rematch, Holt had been downed twice, and hit while recovering the second time, but I thought the celebration by his team was a little excessive considering Torres was still down, condition unknown. Regardless, there was a show of concern and respect at the end as well as a openness towards a rubber match. I hope they go again, whether it's immediately or after some time apart.

Also, why am I noticing so many guys in silver trimmed with red? It seems like the color combination of choice lately. I understand Pavlik's use of the colors, but not FMJ, Hopkins, etc.

 

[Quazar]

That shit was great last night. I was actually wondering if Torres was more than KOd. Tottaly unexpected fight for me. Amazing first round fight. :lol

 

[cthoaa]

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=3478973

Now, after the past several months of talking about the fight, it's a done deal, John Wirt, CEO of Jones' promotional company, Square Ring, told ESPN.com on Tuesday.

Calzaghe (45-0, 32 KOs) and Jones (52-4, 38 KOs) will meet for Calzaghe's 175-pound championship on Sept. 20 (HBO PPV). The site will be New York's Madison Square Garden, where Jones dominated Trinidad en route to a unanimous decision.

"The deal for the fight is done," Wirt said. "We're finalizing with the Garden."

The fight will be promoted by Jones' Square Ring in conjunction with Joe Calzaghe Enterprises, Wirt said. Calzaghe caused a stir last month when he severed ties with longtime promoter Frank Warren, who has sued Calzaghe, claiming he had a verbal agreement with the longtime champion to promote his fights.

 

[Tom_Cody]

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=3478973

Awesome. I'd love to go to this, but the prices will probably be insane. Also, I bet the undercard is going to be terrible if Jones is promoting the fight. Who does he even have in his stable?

 

[cthoaa]

Andre Ward apparently. (Or, at the least, he was signed by RJJ at a point.)

I was looking at ticket prices for Jones-Trinidad at the time they went on sale with a half-serious intent of purchasing. They were really high--like two, three times the price of Cotto-Mosley. Even after heavy discounting, they only got like 12,000 for RJJ-Tito so maybe they'll take this into account along with ticket sales for Calzaghe-Hopkins, which were either below capacity or slow to fill.

 

[cthoaa]

Took a while to catch up on this past weekend's fights as everything save the Klitschko fight were off US tv, but anyway:


J.Murray TKO5 L.Meager - BBBofC British lightweight title

Rounds 4,5 - John Murray vs. Lee Meager (YouTube)

Good stuff here. A technical brawl and strong performance from Murray, who really didn't look good on the Mayweather-Hatton card and struggled in another fight earlier this year.

In general I really like hearing the UK announce teams, but it's still weird hearing "gumshield" instead of "mouthpiece".



D.Santos KO6 J.Alcine - WBA light middleweight title

Santos vs Alcine 1 de 3 (YouTube)
Santos vs Alcine 2 de 3
Santos vs Alcine 3 de 3

The crowd, which included Montreal-based fighters Lucian Bute and Georges St. Pierre, was very enthusiastic, but overly so. Alcine could whiff a wide hook, or touch Santos' gloves with a three-punch combo and the crowd would erupt. (Though maybe they were only cheering because someone actually decided to do something other than just stand there.)

With the win, Santos becomes a three-time world champion and PR's fourth current world champion. (Cotto, Calderon, Lopez)



W.Klitschko KO11 T.Thompson - IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles

Wlad KTFO Tony Thompson and owns Teddy Atlas yet again (YouTube)

WTF @ Atlas? SEVEN in a row now? :lol

The fight wasn't very good, but still better than the Klitschko-Ibragimov unification earlier this year. The production values of the big German promotions are outstanding and it very much felt like a big event, even if the match itself wasn't fit for the billing.

Joe Cortez was very low-key here, even skipping his catchphrase while giving the fighters their final instructions.



J.C. Chavez, Jr. SD10 M.Vanda (97-93, 95-96, 100-90)

-Round Seven
-Round Eight
-Round Nine
-Round Ten
-Decision

MUST SEE. There is lots of pressure on Junior here as it's his father's birthday and, after headlining a string of relatively successful independent PPVs, he's fighting in front of a national television audience.

And he just loses the crowd.

By the second half of the fight, they begin to turn on him. You can see guys standing with their arms crossed or running their hands through their hair. Women are talking out of the sides of their mouths, asking or saying things to someone next to them and the response is a slow, sad shaking of the head. Jorge Arce looks like he's gonna cry at times. There are spots in the final two rounds where the crowd comes to life only for Vanda to roar back, leaving the fans wanting.

At the final bell, there is some applause, mostly for Vanda, but otherwise there's only a very nervous buzz--everyone else is just standing there. Julito is so dead tired he has to sit down while Vanda is parading around the ring. He tries to get up and walk around a few times, but always ends up sitting down again.

When the decision is announced, they boo the scorecard that has Junior winning, cheer for the one that has Vanda ahead, and begin throwing foodstuffs into the ring as Junior is announced the winner via a judge who saw all ten rounds in his favor. There is a stark contrast between father and son as Senior applauds the decision and gestures angrily towards the crowd while Junior walks around the ring, head hanging and hand raised by the ref, clearly uncomfortable with the people's reaction.

During a post-fight interview, Julito talked about maybe retiring but has since recanted and is instead looking for a title fight with Mora.

 

[cthoaa]

Updates on Oscar Diaz's condition:

Oscar Diaz In Critical Condition After Collapsing In Ring (ESPN Video)
Doctor Says Boxer Diaz Likely To Survive Brain Injury (ESPN Video)

Really bad situation that will see his corner come under heavy scrutiny, especially considering his history of hard fights, most notably vs. Golden Johnson.

The corner conversation prior the stoppage:

(End of tenth. Diaz sitting.)
Ref: Oscar, how many fingers do you see?
First corner: Three
Diaz: Three
Ref: That's a nice trick. I saw that.

(Diaz stands up, walks.)
Cutman: Hey, come here man.
Ref (to cutman): You fool around, you get him hurt.

Ref: Oscar, how are you doing? How are you doing, Oscar? I'm asking you.
(Diaz groans.)
Ref: Do you want to go on?
(Diaz pitches forward. Ref catches him, waves off fight.)
Ref: That's it.
First corner: Get me water.
Ref: That's it! Fight's over.

 

[gollumsluvslave]

Calzaghe entertaining Pavlick possibility after Jones?

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12183_3828660,00.html

 

[cthoaa]

For one last fight vs. Pavlik, I can't really see Calzaghe coming back down to 168 as there's no real point, especially as he'd be coming off two money fights with none of his purse going to the sanctioning bodies. At 168, he'd be beholden to the WBO without Warren's backing and also the WBA, where he carries (is saddled with) "super champion" status.

With Pavlik-Hopkins the month after at a catchweight of 170, it's more likely that, should the favorites of that fight and Calzaghe-RJJ come through, a fight between the winners would also be at light-heavy for just the Ring title.


EDIT:

According to ESPN, he's vacating the WBO super-middleweight title. Pascal and Balzsay will fight for the interim title, eventually assuming full champion status.

According to Boxing Scene, he's either on the verge or is already signed with Golden Boy.

According to Roy Jones via BoxingTalk, his hand is broken and the fight's off till November. (These last two articles might be related... )

 

[cthoaa]

Friday Night Fights: Gamboa vs Seeger (ESPN Video)

Gamboa's latest fight, the main event of ESPN's Friday Night Fights in which he returns to the featherweight (126) division to work on some things. Seeger had the right idea on the inside when he tried tying up Gamboa's right hand but just could not hold on, nor could he resist trading. Casamayor's white jacket + red shirt and the drabness of everyone else's clothes make it look like a filter's been run over the camera to selectively color him. He also reacted to the knockout punch faster than anyone.


Also from this weekend, a lovely rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" in Russia. The heavyweight fight afterwards between Povetkin and Sykes? Even worse.

EDIT:

DiBella: "Povetkin-Sykes Was a Disgrace To Boxing"

Promoter Lou DiBella was trying to match Povetkin with Israel Garcia (19-1, 11KOs). According to DiBella, Sauerland was being very cheap with the money, and were only offering $45-50,000 for the fight. Once source estimates that Sykes was paid between $35-45K.

"That fight was a disgrace to boxing. It was a disgrace. It looked like a fixed fight, although it wasn't. I tried to put Israel Garcia in there. I only wanted $75,000 and Sauerland refused to go above $50,000," DiBella said. "Instead they get Taurus Sykes, who only went there to take a check. He was looking to quit from a slip. That's what Sauerland gets for being cheap. The kid wasn't being paid a lot of money so he probably thought 'why take a chance and get hurt,' so he went down. They shouldn't even let Povetkin fight for a title after a disgrace like that."

Countdown to Cotto-Margarito (YouTube)

- Part 1/3
- Part 2/3
- Part 3/3

Premiered last night on HBO.

Very good show, but I can't tell you how disappointed I was to see Mr. Capetillo wearing a bluetooth headset while sitting on a leather sofa watching boxing on widescreen tv. It's just not right. I also don't ever need to hear Cotto asking grown men if they love him, and then telling them he loves them in return

 

[cthoaa]

"La Batalla" Final Press Conference (YouTube)

HBO.com streams today's weigh-in @ 5:30 ET/2:30 PT.

 

[mrbagdt]

i dont know a lot about boxing and dont pretend to, but i like to watch good fights and i like to watch documentaries about boxing history. i just wanted to post because i watched a movie tonight called 'ring of fire- the emile griffith story' and thought it was fantastic. i didnt know anything about him before and knew nothing of his story- it was really really good and i would recommend it as a watch for anyone who loves boxing but doesnt know much about him. i like to consider myself as a pretty tough dude, but i teared up a bit at the end.

another great movie i got is 'the rise and fall of jack johnson'. it is a 2 disc documentary from pbs- i picked it up off netflix.

anyway, i guess i will try to watch this fight tomorrow night so i can see some good boxing. i am guessing it will be better then the mma on CBS- and i can record that.

 

[Relix]

Cotto vs Margarito tonight! Hell yeah!

Will be out, drunk and Cotto better win or I will be considerably mad. Place your bets..

$50 on Cotto!

 

[DonCuco]

Cotto has been through some great fights of late, and has vastly improved his all around game as a boxer. The only flaw that I would say about Cotto is that in the past his chin has failed him. Margarito will not stop his inside game, and that could get to Cotto. It's going to be a very close fight, but in the end I think Margarito will take the win.

 

[smurfx]

woo war margarito!!!!

 

[Quazar]

Ordered. Should be interesting.

 

[DarienA]

Please let this main event be good....

 

[PapiShasho]

Please let this main event be good....

If any fight deserves the hype, it's this one. Considering each fighter's style, I don't see how it can't be good, unless some freak injury or disqualification happens early.

 

[MrToughPants]

Is Michael Buffer drunk? :lol

 

[Quazar]

Great damn event so far and here we go for the main event!!!!!

Spoiler

drunkness + boxing = bliss

 

[cthoaa]

i dont know a lot about boxing and dont pretend to, but i like to watch good fights and i like to watch documentaries about boxing history. i just wanted to post because i watched a movie tonight called 'ring of fire- the emile griffith story' and thought it was fantastic. i didnt know anything about him before and knew nothing of his story- it was really really good and i would recommend it as a watch for anyone who loves boxing but doesnt know much about him. i like to consider myself as a pretty tough dude, but i teared up a bit at the end.

I havent seen the movie, but I'm familiar with Emile Grifith's story. After reading the spoilers, the ending of the documentary sounds very bittersweet.

There was a pretty strong/sad quote circulated in the advertising of his biography:

I keep thinking how strange it is … I kill a man and most people understand and forgive me. However, I love a man, and to so many people this is an unforgivable sin; this makes me an evil person. So, even though I never went to jail, I have been in prison almost all my life.

 

[cthoaa]

They must really like this girl who sings the US anthem.

 

[Baby Milo]

lets go tony!

 

[Agent Icebeezy]

Cotto lost!

Floyd is still the greatest

 

[BigKaboom2]

What a fight. I'm still shocked that Paul Williams managed to beat the guy that just put in that performance.

 

[Bauer Action Hour]

The story of the fight for me is Cotto doing no body work. Hitting Margo in the face was pointless and the pressure eventually wore Cotto out. Fantastic fight, even though as Cotto fan I'm disappointed.

 

[Baby Milo]

man he just stalked and pressured him the whole fight

his chin is wow

 

[Relix]

Cotto just got owned. Wow... poor guy. Margarito was horrible, he has no thought but to throw punches. Still, his pressure and will is admirable and Cotto succumbed.

EDIT: BTW, WHAT THE HOLY FUCK AT MARGARITO'S CHIN! With all those punches anyone would have been down. Cotto was alright with the back away and use Margarito's pressure against him, but Margarito is like a huge ass steam train. I am still heartbroken when I saw Cotto's face all bloody and knowing he was at the end, plus HBO just had to show his family crying.