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This is random but LeRon McClain from the Ravens looks like James Toney lol
09 Boxing Thread:: 12/12 Diaz.vs.Malignaggi HBO/Bradley.vs.Peterson Showtime
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While everyone runs lists this week of fights they hope happen next year, we're going with eight we hope don't come off in 2009. Let's keep ourfingers crossed that these never see the light of day.
Floyd Mayweather vs. Ricky Hatton II
Mayweather hasn't even officially unretired yet, Hatton hasn't signed to fight Manny Pacquiao yet, and already there's talk of a sequel toMayweather's 10th-round stoppage of Hatton last year. Why? Because Floyd Sr. trains Hatton now? Who cares? This fight answers no questions other than thisone: How many drunken Brits can you lure to Las Vegas for a fight that's as predictable as the plot of an Owen Wilson movie -- twice? To all promoters: Wedon't want synthetic drama. We want fights that are competitive and compelling. This is neither.
Riddick Bowe vs. Evander Holyfield IV
Don't laugh. A week before Holyfield's decision loss to Nikolay Valuev, Bowe, at 41, won an eight-round decision over one Gene Pukall in Germany.Longtime readers know I have no qualms about old guys fighting, especially against one another. And hey, if a grown man chooses to keep getting punched on thehead until his brain looks like a raisin, what business is it of mine? So what's my problem with Bowe-Holyfield IV? Between the two of them, these guyshave blown through enough money to make Warren Buffet look like Joe Dirt. Not one more big payday for either of them. Not one.
Chad Dawson vs. Antonio Tarver II
If memory serves, I gave Tarver maybe three rounds in their first fight. By itself, that's not so bad. Other guys have done well in rematches after gettingbeaten up, especially Tarver, who's more or less made a career of it. And I know, Dawson didn't have much of a choice here: There was a rematch clausein the contract, so it's a done deal. But I'm calling on Tarver to waive his right to the return and call it off before it's too late. Quitesimply, life is too short to spend another evening watching him get his head handed to him for 12 rounds while he hasn't the speed anymore, the power, orthe chutzpah to do anything about it. It will be, in a word, boring. And who's got time to be bored? Not me.
Felix Trinidad vs. Anyone
How many times are we supposed to watch the once-great Trinidad haul his ever-pudgier body into rings in Las Vegas or New York to get pummeled by better,slicker fighters? You'd have thought Winky Wright beat the boxing bug out of him back in 2005 when "Tito" didn't win a moment between thesinging of the Puerto Rican national anthem and the car ride back to the hotel. But that didn't do it. He fell under Don King's spell three years laterand did only marginally better against a Roy Jones. Two words for the next time King comes calling, Tito: restraining order.
Lennox Lewis vs. Vitali Klitschko II
Every few months rumors pop up that Lewis has accepted an enormous sum of money to come back and face Klitschko in a rematch to their bout in 2003 that sentLewis lurching into retirement. And almost as frequently, Lewis denies the rumors, talks about how great it is to be retired, and then says disparaging thingsabout the Klitschkos (Vitali and Wladimir) from the safety of his ringside seat as part of the HBO broadcast team. But every man has his price. What isLewis'? $20 million? 30? 40? I'm hoping no amount. A Lewis comeback would be a grotesque distraction from the good fighters doing business in otherdivisions. Let the heavyweights burn.
Jameel McCline, James Toney, Hasim Rahman, or John Ruiz vs. Any Top-10 Heavyweight
How many chances do these guys get? McCline has had more alphabet title fights than Manuel Medina, hasn't won a single one, and still won't go away.Isn't there a strip club or something somewhere that needs a bouncer? Toney was beaten around the ring by the same Sam Peter that made Vitali Klitschkolook like Muhammad Ali, and then received a gift decision over Fres Oquendo, of all people. He has apparently given up on even the pretense of looking like hetrains for a fight. Rahman, once the legitimate world heavyweight champion, quit like a dog against Toney, then lucked into a meeting with Wladimir Klitschko,who promptly jabbed Rahman's nose into the back of his head. And Ruiz? He couldn't do as well against Valuev as 46-year-old Holyfield did. What doesthat tell you?
Wladimir Klitschko vs. Chris Arreola
Rumors suggest that Arreola, one of the better American heavyweight prospects, could face alphabet titleholder Klitschko in Los Angeles next spring. No, no, athousand times no. Not just because Arreola is chubby and apparently happy about it, because we would take a good, exciting chubby heavyweight if we thought hewere ready for Klitschko and stood a chance of winning. Arreola doesn't. Not yet. Make no mistake, the kid can punch and he can fight but remember that inhis last bout, against top-20 type Travis Walker, Arreola was dropped and had a hard time until Walker's many defensive liabilities did him in. Arreolamight be ready for Klitschko some day. But not now.
Oscar De La Hoya vs. Ivan Calderon
Look at it this way: De La Hoya, a junior middleweight, took on a welterweight in Floyd Mayweather in his first attempt to unseat the best fighter in theworld, and though he gave it a good go, it didn't work out. When Mayweather bailed on the rematch, De La Hoya figured he'd try for an even smaller guyin Manny Pacquiao. We all saw what happened there. Now, you know De La Hoya's not ready to retire. And you know he's not going to move up inweight. The next best thing? Move down again! And not a little down. Way down. All the way down to 108 pounds, where Calderon is the world champ. Theproblem with this one? If De La Hoya couldn't catch Pacquiao, how's he going to catch Iron Boy? And with this irresistible angle - the world's mostpopular boxer against its best tiny one - who could afford the pay-per-view?
William Dettloff can be reached at [email protected]
Floyd Mayweather vs. Ricky Hatton II
Mayweather hasn't even officially unretired yet, Hatton hasn't signed to fight Manny Pacquiao yet, and already there's talk of a sequel toMayweather's 10th-round stoppage of Hatton last year. Why? Because Floyd Sr. trains Hatton now? Who cares? This fight answers no questions other than thisone: How many drunken Brits can you lure to Las Vegas for a fight that's as predictable as the plot of an Owen Wilson movie -- twice? To all promoters: Wedon't want synthetic drama. We want fights that are competitive and compelling. This is neither.
Riddick Bowe vs. Evander Holyfield IV
Don't laugh. A week before Holyfield's decision loss to Nikolay Valuev, Bowe, at 41, won an eight-round decision over one Gene Pukall in Germany.Longtime readers know I have no qualms about old guys fighting, especially against one another. And hey, if a grown man chooses to keep getting punched on thehead until his brain looks like a raisin, what business is it of mine? So what's my problem with Bowe-Holyfield IV? Between the two of them, these guyshave blown through enough money to make Warren Buffet look like Joe Dirt. Not one more big payday for either of them. Not one.
Chad Dawson vs. Antonio Tarver II
If memory serves, I gave Tarver maybe three rounds in their first fight. By itself, that's not so bad. Other guys have done well in rematches after gettingbeaten up, especially Tarver, who's more or less made a career of it. And I know, Dawson didn't have much of a choice here: There was a rematch clausein the contract, so it's a done deal. But I'm calling on Tarver to waive his right to the return and call it off before it's too late. Quitesimply, life is too short to spend another evening watching him get his head handed to him for 12 rounds while he hasn't the speed anymore, the power, orthe chutzpah to do anything about it. It will be, in a word, boring. And who's got time to be bored? Not me.
Felix Trinidad vs. Anyone
How many times are we supposed to watch the once-great Trinidad haul his ever-pudgier body into rings in Las Vegas or New York to get pummeled by better,slicker fighters? You'd have thought Winky Wright beat the boxing bug out of him back in 2005 when "Tito" didn't win a moment between thesinging of the Puerto Rican national anthem and the car ride back to the hotel. But that didn't do it. He fell under Don King's spell three years laterand did only marginally better against a Roy Jones. Two words for the next time King comes calling, Tito: restraining order.
Lennox Lewis vs. Vitali Klitschko II
Every few months rumors pop up that Lewis has accepted an enormous sum of money to come back and face Klitschko in a rematch to their bout in 2003 that sentLewis lurching into retirement. And almost as frequently, Lewis denies the rumors, talks about how great it is to be retired, and then says disparaging thingsabout the Klitschkos (Vitali and Wladimir) from the safety of his ringside seat as part of the HBO broadcast team. But every man has his price. What isLewis'? $20 million? 30? 40? I'm hoping no amount. A Lewis comeback would be a grotesque distraction from the good fighters doing business in otherdivisions. Let the heavyweights burn.
Jameel McCline, James Toney, Hasim Rahman, or John Ruiz vs. Any Top-10 Heavyweight
How many chances do these guys get? McCline has had more alphabet title fights than Manuel Medina, hasn't won a single one, and still won't go away.Isn't there a strip club or something somewhere that needs a bouncer? Toney was beaten around the ring by the same Sam Peter that made Vitali Klitschkolook like Muhammad Ali, and then received a gift decision over Fres Oquendo, of all people. He has apparently given up on even the pretense of looking like hetrains for a fight. Rahman, once the legitimate world heavyweight champion, quit like a dog against Toney, then lucked into a meeting with Wladimir Klitschko,who promptly jabbed Rahman's nose into the back of his head. And Ruiz? He couldn't do as well against Valuev as 46-year-old Holyfield did. What doesthat tell you?
Wladimir Klitschko vs. Chris Arreola
Rumors suggest that Arreola, one of the better American heavyweight prospects, could face alphabet titleholder Klitschko in Los Angeles next spring. No, no, athousand times no. Not just because Arreola is chubby and apparently happy about it, because we would take a good, exciting chubby heavyweight if we thought hewere ready for Klitschko and stood a chance of winning. Arreola doesn't. Not yet. Make no mistake, the kid can punch and he can fight but remember that inhis last bout, against top-20 type Travis Walker, Arreola was dropped and had a hard time until Walker's many defensive liabilities did him in. Arreolamight be ready for Klitschko some day. But not now.
Oscar De La Hoya vs. Ivan Calderon
Look at it this way: De La Hoya, a junior middleweight, took on a welterweight in Floyd Mayweather in his first attempt to unseat the best fighter in theworld, and though he gave it a good go, it didn't work out. When Mayweather bailed on the rematch, De La Hoya figured he'd try for an even smaller guyin Manny Pacquiao. We all saw what happened there. Now, you know De La Hoya's not ready to retire. And you know he's not going to move up inweight. The next best thing? Move down again! And not a little down. Way down. All the way down to 108 pounds, where Calderon is the world champ. Theproblem with this one? If De La Hoya couldn't catch Pacquiao, how's he going to catch Iron Boy? And with this irresistible angle - the world's mostpopular boxer against its best tiny one - who could afford the pay-per-view?
William Dettloff can be reached at [email protected]
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The only advantage that an organization like say...UFC has over boxing is that Dana White makes the fights their fans want to see.
Supposedly, Arreola/Wlad is almost a done deal for May.
I'm one ofthe few who believes that Arreola is a legit talent, but he still has many flaws before he is ready. His conditioning being the main one...
If he's thrown into the fire this soon, he'll end up just like Michael Grant did.
Supposedly, Arreola/Wlad is almost a done deal for May.
If he's thrown into the fire this soon, he'll end up just like Michael Grant did.
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Grant was soft from the get go , Arreola is just not up to that level its a mismatch and his promoter should reconsider but its the biggest payday he can get .All the good heavyweights play middle linebacker lol
All the olympian's are turning pro soon a couple have already who do you think out of the bunch will be anything ?
All the olympian's are turning pro soon a couple have already who do you think out of the bunch will be anything ?
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Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Look into the future: Golden Boy has high hopes for 21-year-old Victor Ortiz.
A few days before Oscar De La Hoya faced Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas on Dec. 6, De La Hoya took to the podium at the final news conference to make hisremarks.
De La Hoya, of course, did his job to hype the pay-per-view fight. He also took time to thank his team and the numerous sponsors involved in the year'sbiggest fight. But just before wrapping up, De La Hoya had a special thank you to dole out.
This one went to "Vicious" Victor Ortiz, a 21-year-old junior welterweight who had recently signed with De La Hoya's company, Golden BoyPromotions. Ortiz, a southpaw, spent time in De La Hoya's training camp as a stand-in for Pacquiao, who's also a hard-hitting, quick southpaw. ButOrtiz was also there because he was training for his undercard fight against Jeffrey Resto, which would take place in the prime position immediately prior tothe main event.
"One person I really want to thank, who made me move my head more, was Victor Ortiz," De La Hoya said. "For giving me that shiner under myeye that they showed on TV [on HBO's '24/7'], and I wasn't too happy about, but thank you very much."
[table][tr][th=""]
Rafael's Prospects of the Year
[/th] [/tr][tr][td]Year[/td] [td]Fighter[/td] [/tr][tr][td]2008[/td] [td]Victor Ortiz[/td] [/tr][tr][td]2007[/td] [td]Amir Khan[/td] [/tr][tr][td]2006[/td] [td]Andre Berto[/td] [/tr][tr][td]2005[/td] [td]Joel Julio[/td] [/tr][tr][td]2004[/td] [td]Samuel Peter[/td] [/tr][tr][td]2003[/td] [td]Jermain Taylor[/td] [/tr][tr][td]2002[/td] [td]Miguel Cotto[/td] [/tr][tr][td]2001[/td] [td]Francisco Bojado[/td] [/tr][tr][td]2000[/td] [td]Julio Diaz[/td] [/tr][/table]It was high praise from boxing's biggest star. Although reaching the same stratosphere of stardom that De La Hoya has reached is unlikely, the talentedOrtiz (23-1-1, 18 KOs), with a crowd-pleasing, aggressive style, two-fisted power and boyish charm, has a chance to be a star for years to come, making him thechoice as the 2008 ESPN.com Prospect of the Year in a year that had several quality candidates, including Alfredo Angulo, James Kirkland, Devon Alexander andYuriorkis Gamboa.
Ortiz, who along with his older sister and younger brother was abandoned by his parents in Kansas when he was a child before he found his way to Oxnard,Calif., didn't start his year until May because he filed for bankruptcy and had his promotional contract with Top Rank voided by the court. Top Rankpromoter Bob Arum is suing co-managers Shelly Finkel and Rolando Arellano over the matter, saying they engineered the bankruptcy to get out of his promotionalcontract so they could take Ortiz to Golden Boy Promotions, which signed him after the court said Ortiz was free of Top Rank.
Finkel and Arellano, who bought Ortiz's contract from manager Cameron Dunkin at the time of the bankruptcy filing, deny Arum's charges.
So while the nasty business of boxing plays out for Ortiz, who turned pro in 2004 at age 17, outside the ring, he's doing his job inside the ring. Heturned in three ruthless knockouts against opponents who represented a mild step up in competition.
Ortiz's first fight of the year came on short notice after a court ruling allowed him to fight for Golden Boy, which added him to the May undercard ofDe La Hoya's fight against Steve Forbes.
Ortiz shook off the rust of a six-month layoff by stopping hard puncher Dairo Esalas in the fifth round. Although Ortiz was knocked down in the third round,he finished Esalas in exciting fashion, dropping him three times in all.
In September, Ortiz authored a dynamic fifth-round knockout of veteran Roberto Arrieta, before returning to destroy Resto in two rounds.
If you're curious about the loss and draw on Ortiz's record, pretend they don't exist. In his eighth pro fight, Ortiz was disqualified in thefirst round for knocking Corey Alarcon cold with an uppercut off a clinch in a mismatch. The first-round technical draw came in January 2007, when Ortiz wasthrashing Marvin Cordova and about to knock him out when an accidental head-butt opened a cut on Ortiz's forehead and rendered him unable to continue.
Ortiz's 2009 campaign will start against an opponent to be determined on HBO's "Boxing After Dark" in March. It surely won't be theonly time you see the rising star on HBO.
Other future stars (in alphabetical order with age, division, promoter and record):
[table][tr][th=""]Devon Alexander (21, junior welterweight, Don King, 17-0, 10 KOs)[/th] [/tr][tr][td]
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Ed Mulholland/FightWireImages.com
Please, Don King: Give us more of Devon Alexander!
The St. Louis native, who's trained and managed by Kevin Cunningham, is about the only gem left in King's stable. Yet for some unknown reason, King left Alexander on the shelf for most of 2008 until finally giving him two untelevised bouts in November and December under the threat of litigation. Earlier in the year, the stylish and fast Alexander had dominant points wins against ex-titlist DeMarcus "Chop Chop" Corley and former lightweight title challenger Miguel Callist. Had Alexander been with any other promoter of consequence, he'd have been a TV regular instead of a mystery man to so many fans. Mystery or not, the kid can fight.
[/td] [/tr][/table][table][tr][th=""]Mike Alvarado (28, junior welterweight, Top Rank, 24-0, 17 KOs)[/th] [/tr][tr][td]
Chris Cozzone/FightWireImages
Mike Alvarado shows improvement every time he steps into the ring.
Although Alvarado is a little older than most prospects, he got a late start. He didn't turn pro until age 23 and had only 41 amateur fights. As a pro, he seems to get better with every fight, and his Denver fan base is growing based on the crowds he has drawn in his past two fights. He's close to being a factor in his division after going 5-0 for the year against solid opponents, including three consecutive fourth-round knockouts, against ex-lightweight champ Cesar Bazan, Manuel Garnica and Miguel Huerta. A title shot in 2009 is not out of the question.
[/td] [/tr][/table][table][tr][th=""]Demetrius Andrade (20, junior middleweight, Banner Promotions/Star Boxing, 2-0, 2 KOs)[/th] [/tr][tr][td]
Emily Harney/Fightwireimages.com
Good size, fast hands and an amateur pedigree: Demetrius Andrade has everything a boxing fan could want in a young talent.
The Providence, R.I., native nicknamed "Boo Boo" was the best pro prospect on the 2008 U.S. Olympic team and first squad member to turn pro in October. Besides making the Olympics, Andrade, who started boxing at age 6, was an amateur world champion, two-time U.S. national champion and two-time national Golden Gloves champion. He has everything you like to see in a rising talent: good size (he's 6-foot-1), a deep amateur background, fast hands, power and ring smarts.
[/td] [/tr][/table][table][tr][th=""]Alfredo Angulo (26, junior middleweight, Gary Shaw, 14-0, 11 KOs)[/th] [/tr][tr][td]
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Naoki Fukuda
Like Antonio Margarito? Then you'll love Alfredo Angulo, right.
"Perro" was a 2004 Mexican Olympian who resembles Antonio Margarito in the way he looks and fights. This is a good thing. Angulo isn't the fastest fighter, but he's strong as a bull, pressures opponents and is a crowd-pleaser. He won all three of his 2008 fights by knockout, including two impressive appearances on HBO when he stopped Richard Gutierrez in five exciting rounds and slaughtered usually solid Andrey Tsurkan for a 10th-round TKO. Angulo takes a big step up Feb. 14 against ex-titleholder Ricardo Mayorga in what figures to be a slugfest and good test.
[/td] [/tr][/table][table][tr][th=""]Andre Dirrell (26, super middleweight, Gary Shaw, 17-0, 12 KOs)[/th] [/tr][tr][td]
AP Photo/Ingrid Barrentine
Andre Dirrell has taken the slow and steady route since turning pro in 2004.
Four years removed from an Olympic bronze medal, the 6-foot-3 Flint, Mich., native is coming into his own. His horrific performance against Curtis Stevens on HBO in June 2007, when he ran and stunk his way to victory, seems like a distant memory. Since then, the fast and powerful southpaw has looked sensational. He was 4-0 in 2008, including dominant, Showtime-televised knockouts of Anthony Hanshaw, Mike Paschall and Victor Oganov. Dirrell has pound-for-pound talent and is on the doorstep of some serious fights in a packed division.
[/td] [/tr][/table][table][tr][th=""]Kenny Galarza (23, junior welterweight, Seminole Warriors Boxing, 8-0, 8 KOs)[/th] [/tr][tr][td]
Javiel Centeno/Fightwireimages.com
Don't know Kenny Galarza? You're not alone but expect to hear a lot about him in '09.
Galarza hasn't received a lot of hype from his handlers, but they know they have a possible gem in the Puerto Rico native. He has looked good fight in and fight out since turning pro in mid-2007. Fighting six times in '08, Galarza faced soft opposition, but he did pass a small test in June by knocking out previously undefeated Heraclides Barrantes.
[/td] [/tr][/table][table][tr][th=""]Yuriorkis Gamboa (27, featherweight, Arena-Box, 12-0, 10 KOs)[/th] [/tr][tr][td]
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Arena Box-Promotion
Yuriorkis Gamboa's rapid-fire fists are setting the boxing world ablaze.
The 2004 Cuban Olympic gold medalist defected and has emerged as an electrifying offensive talent and a must-watch fighter. Despite serious defensive lapses, Gamboa, who has ridiculous speed, was 5-0 in 2008, including sensational knockouts against Johnnie Edwards, Al Seeger and Marcos Ramirez. But he also was knocked down by Darling Jimenez and Ramirez and changed trainers to help with his defense. If he can square that away, he'll be a star. On Jan. 9, he'll headline the season premier of ESPN2's "Friday Night Fights."
[/td] [/tr][/table][table][tr][th=""]Danny Garcia (20, junior welterweight, Golden Boy, 10-0, 7 KOs)[/th] [/tr][tr][td]
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Fightwireimages.com
Danny Garcia has a knack for knocking opponents out in style.
Philadelphia's Garcia, a 2006 U.S. national amateur champ and 2007 U.S. Olympic trials finalist, is one of several Shelly Finkel-managed, Golden Boy-promoted prospects with bright futures. They think very highly of him because he has received numerous showcases on the undercard of most of Golden Boy's big shows. They kept him busy with eight fights during the year. He has fast hands and oozes confidence.
[/td] [/tr][/table][table][tr][th=""]Miguel Angel "Mikey" Garcia (21, featherweight, Top Rank, 15-0, 12 KOs)[/th] [/tr][tr][td]
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Chris Cozzone /Fightwireimages.com
Miguel Angel "Mikey" Garcia went 4-0 in 2008.
Garcia fights with a maturity beyond his years, which should come as no surprise considering he comes from a fighting family. He's the younger brother of former junior lightweight titleholder Robert Garcia, who is his trainer. The Oxnard, Calif., native was 4-0, including going the eight-round distance for the first time in his latest fight, a decision against former title challenger Walter Estrada in October. Garcia suffered a broken pinkie on his right hand in the bout, but he's expected back by February.
[/td] [/tr][/table][table][tr][th=""]Gennady Golovkin (26, middleweight, Spotlight Boxing, 14-0, 11 KOs)[/th] [/tr][tr][td]
Golovkin has moved along steadily since winning a silver medal for Kazakhstan in the 2004 Athens Olympics. And just whom did he beat in the Olympic semifinals? American Andre Dirrell. Golovkin, now based in Germany, didn't turn pro until mid-2006, but he went 5-0 in '08 and projects as another in a long line of German-based middleweight and super middleweight contenders.
[/td] [/tr][/table][table][tr][th=""]Fernando Guerrero (22, middleweight, Prize Fight, 11-0, 10 KOs)[/th] [/tr][tr][td]
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AP Photo/Nathan Bilow
Fernando Guerrero is hoping his amateur success translates in the paid ranks.
Prize Fight has a budding sensation in Guerrero -- a talented, crowd-pleasing southpaw originally from the Dominican Republic who has a rabid following in his longtime adopted hometown of Salisbury, Md. After a standout amateur career, including a national Golden Gloves title, Guerrero turned pro in December '08 under the tutelage of trainer Barry Hunter. Since then, he's kept a torrid schedule. Guerrero gets outstanding gym work, sparring with Paul Williams and Hunter-trained brothers Lamont and Anthony Peterson.
[/td] [/tr][/table][table][tr][th=""]Daniel Jacobs (21, super middleweight, Golden Boy, 13-0, 12 KOs)[/th] [/tr][tr][td]
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Craig Bennett/FightWireImages.com
Daniel Jacobs plans to step up the competition in '09.
Although New York's Jacobs has faced woeful competition, he's clearly a fighter to watch. He had a standout amateur career and is exciting to watch because of his two-fisted power, excellent hand speed and aggressive style. He also has good size and maturity plus a strong commitment from Golden Boy and manager Al Haymon, who have put him on the undercard of big show after big show. Jacobs fought 12 times in 2008. In 2009, his schedule will slow but the level of his opposition should significantly increase.
[/td] [/tr][/table][table][tr][th=""]Kevin Johnson (29, heavyweight, Star Boxing, 21-0-1, 8 KOs)[/th] [/tr][tr][td]
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Scott Foster/Fightwireimages.com
Kevin Johnson is America's best heavyweight prospect.
There are few notable American heavyweight prospects, but the 6-foot-3, 240-pound Johnson, of Asbury Park, N.J., is one of them. He's not a puncher, but he possesses an outstanding jab, quickness and a gift for gab. Slick heavyweights aren't usually popular with fans, but that doesn't mean Johnson, who had just 16 amateur fights, isn't talented. He was 3-0 in '08, including a knockout of long-faded ex-titlist Bruce Seldon.
[/td] [/tr][/table][table][tr][th=""]Mike Jones (25, welterweight, Russell Peltz, 16-0, 14 KOs)[/th] [/tr][tr][td]
Steve Samoyedny/Fightwireimage
If Mike Jones can take a punch, he might be destined for great things.
The lanky Philadelphia native is a sleeper who has been built by Peltz the old fashioned way, locally in Philly and with little TV exposure. But Jones is a crowd-pleasing puncher with good speed. He looks like the real deal, going 4-0 in '08 and modestly upping his competition. You know he's hungry too, because he works a day job and has custody of his two daughters. It's hard to get Peltz, a Hall of Fame matchmaker and promoter who has seen it all, excited about too many fighters, but he is about Jones, and it's not hard to see why. If Jones can take a punch, he could go all the way.
[/td] [/tr][/table][table][tr][th=""]James Kirkland (24, junior middleweight, Golden Boy, 24-0, 21 KOs)[/th] [/tr][tr][td]
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Chris Cozzone/Fightwireimages.com
James Kirkland has been described as an offensive dynamo.
A nasty split with promoter Gary Shaw threatened to stunt the aggressive Austin, Texas, puncher's year. But a settlement was reached, and he signed with Golden Boy in time to be on HBO in the November Ricky Hatton-Paulie Malignaggi co-feature. The southpaw Kirkland, trained by former women's champion Ann Wolfe, was impressive in all three of his 2008 wins, smoking Eromosele Albert in one round in his HBO debut, mowing down Ricardo Cortes in two rounds and delivering a beatdown to "Contender" alum Brian Vera. Simply put, Kirkland is an exceptionally exciting fighter. Sure, he needs to tighten his defense, but his offense is special.
[/td] [/tr][/table][table][tr][th=""]Matvey Korobov (25, middleweight, Top Rank, 2-0, 2 KOs)[/th] [/tr][tr][td]
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AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh
Count on Matvey Korobov to make a smooth transition into the paid ranks.
Korobov has looked good in his first two pro bouts, but he's here because of his amateur pedigree and pro style. The 2008 Russian Olympic southpaw, now living in Florida and training with two-time trainer of the year Dan Birmingham, was a two-time amateur world champion. Top Rank is very selective when it comes to signing Olympians, but its track record is outstanding (Oscar De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather, Miguel Cotto, etc.). Korobov, managed by Cameron Dunkin, will get the company's full attention and should move quickly because he's a little older than many first-year pros.
[/td] [/tr][/table][table][tr][th=""]Vanes Martirosyan (22, junior middleweight, Top Rank, 22-0, 14 KOs)[/th] [/tr][tr][td]
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Chris Cozzone/Fightwireimages.com
Vanes Martirosyan continues to show poise and promise inside the ring.
The 2004 U.S. Olympian turned pro at 18 with Top Rank, which is the best in the business at taking a raw amateur and molding him into a quality professional. Matchmaker Brad Goodman is following that same blueprint with Martirosyan, who is being given ample time to develop and beginning to come into his own, especially since relocating from California to Houston to work with trainer Ronnie Shields. Martirosyan went 5-0 and probably would have gotten in another fight if not for a minor hand injury. His power is developing, and Shields has helped turn his jab into a weapon.
[/td] [/tr][/table][table][tr][th=""]Breidis Prescott (25, lightweight, Arena-Box, 20-0, 18 KOs):[/th] [/tr][tr][td]
AP Photo/Jon Supe
Breidis Prescott announced his arrival by knocking out Amir Khan.
The Colombia native, who has excellent power, headlined on ESPN2 in June in his American debut and eked out a split decision against Richard Abril. At that point, Prescott looked like just another fighter with a padded record. But then came a career-altering victory: a first-round destruction of 2007 ESPN.com prospect of the year Amir Khan. Prescott brutally knocked Khan down twice for the knockout in just 54 seconds. Prescott opened everyone's eyes and now commands our attention to his progress.
[/td] [/tr][/table][table][tr][th=""]"Kid Chocolate" Peter Quillin (25, middleweight, Cedric Kushner, 20-0, 15 KOs)[/th] [/tr][tr][td]
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Emily Harney/Fightwireimages.com
Living up to the hype: Peter Quillin went 5-0 against tough competition in '08.
The New Yorker has received plenty of hype, but so far he has lived up to it, especially when you consider that he had just 15 amateur fights before turning pro in 2005. He has a pleasing style and a growing fan base, and he has piqued the interest of execs at HBO (and ought to be featured on "ShoBox"). He went 5-0 and nudged up the level of his competition, beating aging warhorse Antwun Echols and tough journeyman Sam Hill.
[/td] [/tr][/table][table][tr][th=""]Bastie Samir (22, middleweight, Top Rank/TKO Boxing, 3-0, 3 KOs)[/th] [/tr][tr][td]
AP Photo/Rick Bowmer
Bastie Samir might've come up short in the '08 Olympics, but his aggressive style will be successful in the paid ranks.
"The Beast" turned pro in November and could move quickly under the guidance of manager Cameron Dunkin. Samir captained the 2008 Ghanaian Olympic team and looked like one of the best pro prospects in Beijing despite an early exit from the tournament because of a terrible decision. His style is made for the pros because he's aggressive, has a powerful jab and likes to punch to the body. Samir, who has relocated to Las Vegas, is going to be fun to watch develop.
[/td] [/tr][/table][table][tr][th=""]Beibut Shumenov (25, light heavyweight, KZ Event Productions, 7-0, 5 KOs)[/th] [/tr][tr][td]
Shumenov, a 2004 Olympian for Kazakhstan now based in Las Vegas, promotes himself and has had an impressive start to a pro career that began in November 2007. He has moved incredibly fast, facing opponents with good records and tons of experience with little fanfare. In his fourth fight, Shumenov, who fights with nonstop pressure and aggression, knocked out Donnell Wiggins in two rounds; in his sixth fight he dominated former world champion Montell Griffin over 12 lopsided rounds; and in his seventh fight he dominated dangerous ex-title challenger Epifanio Mendoza in a 10-round decision. That competition level is almost insane for a guy with so few pro fights.
[/td] [/tr][/table][table][tr][th=""]Odlanier Solis (28, heavyweight, Arena-Box, 12-0, 8 KOs)[/th] [/tr][tr][td]
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AP Photo/Christof Stache
Expect to see a lot more of Odlandier Solis in '09.
The 2004 Cuban Olympic gold medalist defected along with teammates Yuriorkis Gamboa and Yan Barthelemy before turning pro in Germany in 2007. At 6-foot-1 and 250 pounds, he's been plowing through an assortment of veteran journeymen, going 6-0 for the year. Now, he's set for his American debut on the Jan. 9 season premiere of ESPN2's "Friday Night Fights."
[/td] [/tr][/table][table][tr][th=""]Carlos Velasquez (24, junior lightweight, Golden Boy/Luis DeCubas, 9-0, 8 KOs)[/th] [/tr][tr][td]
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Javiel Centeno/Fightwireimages.com
Carlos Velasquez hopes to punch his way into the boxing mainstream in the new year.
Along with his twin brother, Juan, Puerto Rico's Velasquez had an extensive amateur career and has been impressive since turning pro in 2007. He's a headache for Golden Boy matchmakers Eric Gomez and Robert Diaz, but not because he's done anything wrong. It's because it's so difficult to find opponents willing to face him. They found four in 2008 and Velasquez dominated them all.
[/td] [/tr][/table][table][tr][th=""]Andre Ward (24, super middleweight, Dan Goossen, 17-0, 12 KOs)[/th] [/tr][tr][td]
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AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez
Andre Ward had reason to smile after a promising '08 inside the ring.
The only U.S. Olympic gold medalist in 2004 remains a potential star despite developing slower than your typical gold-medal winner. Injuries have been a problem, including knee surgery that cost him six months in 2008. When he has fought, he has displayed terrific speed and ring intelligence. He's not a one-punch knockout guy, but when he hurts opponents, they're in deep trouble. Ward stopped all three of his 2008 foes -- Rubin Williams, Jerson Ravelo and Esteban Camou. All three were reasonable steps up in competition. If Ward can stay healthy, 2009 should be his breakout year.
[/td] [/tr][/table]Also coming: award for fight of the year
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Arreola is in too deep...
If anyone needs a $20 rebate for the DLH-Pacman fight and your located in the following states: AL, AR, CT, HI, IN, KY, ME, MO, NY, NC, UT, VA, WV please letme know and I'll send you one. You'll need a copy of your cable bill.
If anyone needs a $20 rebate for the DLH-Pacman fight and your located in the following states: AL, AR, CT, HI, IN, KY, ME, MO, NY, NC, UT, VA, WV please letme know and I'll send you one. You'll need a copy of your cable bill.
marionthebarberian
Banned
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I dont know the name but does any one know of a boxer that fights undercards in big fights thats from Dallas?
he fought undercard in the de la hoya vs. mayweather and I think the de la hoya vs. pac man
he fought undercard in the de la hoya vs. mayweather and I think the de la hoya vs. pac man
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And the award goes to …
Tuesday, December 30, 2008 | PrintEntry
Posted by Dan Rafael
With the 2008 year of boxing in the history books, let's get some more ESPN.com award winners in under the wire:
Trainer of the year: Really hard to go with anyone other than Freddie Roach, the mastermind behind the amazing improvementin Manny Pacquiao over the past several years. Roach has molded Pacquiao into a complete, two-handed fighter without having him lose theaggressiveness that makes him so special. From junior lightweight championship to lightweight belt to the upset conquest of Oscar De La Hoyaat welterweight, Roach was there every step of the way during Pacquiao's historic year.
Roach wanted the De La Hoya fight desperately for Pacquiao and called me a few times during the uncertain period before the fight was signed just to makesure his view would get out to the public. From Day 1, Roach said Pacquiao would stop De La Hoya and his comments about De La Hoya no longer being able to"pull the trigger" were a big part of the fight's intricate storyline.
Besides that, Roach was the star of HBO's reality series "24/7" during the buildup to the fight and showed us all where to get the besthaircut in Los Angeles.
Manager of the year: Experienced managers Shelly Finkel and Cameron Dunkin could be up for the awardevery year. They have outstanding stables of established fighters as well as several quality prospects in the pipeline at different stages of development. ButI'm going with Mike Criscio this year. He doesn't get much publicity (doesn't seek it either) and doesn't have a huge stable.But his two big guns, light heavyweight titleholder Chad Dawson and red-hot junior middleweight prospect Alfredo Angulo, hadoutstanding years, and Criscio was a big part of setting them up for big business. Angulo twice fought on HBO and will be on again in February. Dawson beatformer champions Glen Johnson and Antonio Tarver and will make the jump from Showtime to the bigger money of HBO in March fora two-fight deal. Promoter Gary Shaw did most of that work, but Criscio also played a vital role.
Upset of the year: There are three excellent candidates for this one, but you gotta go with Pacquiao's overwhelming eight-rounddestruction of De La Hoya. For months before the fight was even signed -- back when it was merely Larry Merchant's crazy idea and fodderfor my blog -- there was a backlash in some quarters that the fight should never happen because De La Hoya was going to hurt and destroy the supposedly smallerman. On fight night, Pacquiao not only won the fight, but he thrashed the sport's biggest star in Larry Holmes-MuhammadAli fashion.
There are three others that also deserve mention:
1. Almost nobody that I know of picked Bernard Hopkins to defeat the much younger Kelly Pavlik, the middleweight championin his prime facing the 43-year-old Hopkins coming off a tight loss to Joe Calzaghe. Not only did Hopkins win the catch weight fight, he wonby virtual shutout in a masterpiece.
2. Vic Darchinyan talked a big game but nobody believed him before his junior bantamweight unification fight with CristianMijares. In the prefight media poll organized by Showtime, 26 media members out of 32 picked Mijares to win. How wrong we were. Darchinyan ravagedMijares, dropping him in the first round, beating the crap out of him and knocking him out in the ninth.
3. Lightweight Amir Khan was one of the most heralded prospects in years. The 2004 British Olympic silver medalist was supposed to be thenext big thing from England. Despite a shaky chin, promoter Frank Warren inexplicably allowed a match to be made with BreidisPrescott, an unknown fighter from Colombia who had racked up a 19-0 record with 17 KOs. Warren is normally a master at building his fighters. But hescrewed up big-time on this one as Prescott waxed Khan, dropping him twice in brutal fashion for the knockout in just 54 seconds.
Robbery of the year: As usual, there were some terrible calls this year, but two stand out:
1. Nikolai Valuev W12 Evander Holyfield. Two judges had Valuev winning and the third had it a draw. All three should befired. Holyfield, at age 46, deserved his fifth title even though nobody I know thinks he should be fighting. But when a guy wins, he should get the decision,even if it is not because he fights so well, but because the opponent, Valuev in this case, fights so utterly terrible. Valuev, despite throwing almost nopunches for 12 rounds in a miserable performance, got the nod and retained a heavyweight title.
2. Francisco Lorenzo W-DQ4 Humberto Soto. Fighting for a vacant interim junior lightweight belt, Soto kicked the crap outof Lorenzo, who had blood seemingly pouring from every orifice on his face. Soto was destroying him in the fourth and knocked him down, but hit him with agrazing shot a split-second after he went to the mat. Soto shouldn't have done that, but referee Joe Cortez ruled that the grazing blowwas the reason that Lorenzo, who did an Oscar-worthy acting job, could not continue and disqualified Soto. Memo to Cortez: The reason Lorenzo couldn'tcontinue was because Soto had bashed his head in for almost every moment of the fight.
Save of the year: Mariano Rivera would be proud of the cooperation of all involved -- Showtime, Top Rank, DemetriusHopkins and Kendall Holt -- when they salvaged a Dec. 13 card. On just a few days notice, Ricardo Torres pulled outof his rubber match with Holt, who had knocked out Torres in July in their rematch to win a junior welterweight title. Hopkins, due to box on the untelevisedundercard and a worthy challenger for the title, was quickly tapped to move into the main event and the show went off without a hitch.
Event of the year: When De La Hoya fights, it's big. Last year it was his fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. thatcaptured the public's attention. This year it was his "Dream Match" with Pacquiao that was the sport's biggest event. It was a fight that hadplenty of mainstream attention starting with national media tour that kicked off at the base of the Statue of Liberty, impressively pulled off by tour managerKelly Swanson and the rest of the PR team. Then came HBO's excellent "24/7" series; the publicity-related involvement ofAngelo Dundee, the all-time great Hall of Fame trainer and one of boxing's greatest ambassadors; and a fight week at the MGM Grand in LasVegas that buzzed. In the end, the fight sold 1.25 million pay-per-view subscriptions, generated $70 million in domestic television revenue and raked in a livegate of almost $17 million.
Non-event of the year: Mayweather's June announcement that he was retiring was met with a collective yawn. Nobody believed for onemoment that he was really done. Long break after a busy year? Sure. But a forever retirement? No chance. Mayweather was the undefeated pound-for-pound king andwelterweight champ when he supposedly hung up his gloves at age 31. And if you know Mayweather and his love for spending his money, you also knew it would onlybe a matter of time until he returned. Sure enough, best buddy and adviser Leonard Ellerbe began laying the seeds for Mayweather's returnin recent weeks, calling me to say that Mayweather would consider fighting again for the right deal. Mayweather will fight again as surely as the sun will risetomorrow morning.
Promoter of the year: Ladies and gentlemen, we have another draw. Just like last year, Bob Arum's Top Rank and De LaHoya's Golden Boy were again the standard against which you measure all promoters. They both have deep stables and continued to co-promote big fight afterbig fight in the wake of the end of hostilities in boxing's nastiest cold war. They teamed to bring us, among other bouts, De La Hoya-Pacquiao,Hopkins-Pavlik and Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez II in 2008. They'll kick off 2009 with a significant welterweight title fight Jan. 24 whenAntonio Margarito faces Shane Mosley.
To be sure, the companies have different strengths. Top Rank is hands down the best when it comes to building fighters from 0-0 into world champions andattractions with matchmaker Brad Goodman and his boss, Bruce Trampler, overseeing every move. Top Rank also keeps the cashrolling in with its array of lucrative overseas television output deals. Arum is also not afraid to go it alone without the support of HBO or Showtime. He andhis staff are more than capable of producing their own pay-per-view events and Arum is not afraid to take a financial risk in doing so.
Golden Boy, under CEO Richard Schaefer, who has a knack for turning everything he touches in to gold, is more like the Yankees in the sensethat it is not afraid to spend money to sign the best talent already developed, like James Kirkland and Robert Guerrero thisyear. Golden Boy also brings an impressive lineup of mainstream sponsors to the business like nobody else. If boxing ever gets back on network television,it's going to be Golden Boy that spearheads it.
Interview of the year: Thank goodness the Pacquiao-David Diaz fight wasn't on a broadcast network. After Diaz wasbeaten to a pulp by Pacquiao over nine rounds, he was gracious enough to do an interview with HBO's Jim Lampley at the end of thepay-per-view broadcast. During his brief interview, Diaz dropped more F-bombs than he did left hooks on Pacquiao in the entire fight.
Best move of the year: When Ricky Hatton fought Mayweather last year, the unruly and rude British fans booed and jeeredthe American national anthem with gusto for the duration of the song in an insulting display. Back at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas to face PaulieMalignaggi in November, organizers didn't want a repeat, so there was no playing of the American or British anthem before the fight, something Ican't recall before a big fight.
Comeback of the year: Heavyweight Vitali Klitschko, hands down. After almost four years in retirement and having overcomeseveral injuries, the big guy made it into the ring in one piece and destroyed Samuel Peter to reclaim his old heavyweight belt in a stunningdisplay.
Avert your eye scene of the year: Gruesome injuries are part of boxing, unfortunately, and Jorge Barrios knows it all toowell now. After Rocky Juarez dropped him in the 11th round of their junior lightweight battle, Barrios got up with as graphic and gruesome aninjury as you'll ever see. The left side of his cheek was ripped open as though The Joker had sliced him across the mouth. Blood waseverywhere as his cheek flopped in the wind.
Storyline beaten to death in 2008: Boxing vs. MMA. Whatever. Enough. They're different sports. They both have their place. They bothhave quality athletes and events. They can both co-exist. Some folks might even enjoy both sports. OK? Let's move on.
Fight I most want to see in 2008: Pacquiao vs. Mayweather. It's the reigning pound-for-pound king against the one who gave up hismantle by "retiring." It will be a massive, massive promotion, it will return the Mayweather family to our TV screens via HBO's "24/7,"it will easily do 1.5 million pay-per-view buys and, most important, it could be a really outstanding fight.
Fighters who might fight on but really met their end in 2008: Sure, maybe they won't retire, but three future Hall of Famers boxedtheir last fights of any true consequence this year:
1. De La Hoya. The jig is up. He's 35 and is 3-4 in his last seven fights after being pasted by Pacquiao. As the great NFL coachBill Parcells is fond of saying, you are what your record says you are. De La Hoya may indeed fight again (and I think he will), but itwon't ever be the same.
2. Roy Jones. We all thought he was done after being put to sleep by Tarver and Johnson in consecutive fights in 2004 andthen being dominated and nearly knocked out again by Tarver in 2005. Jones got his second act this year by beating the shell of Felix Trinidadin January before being outgunned and outclassed by Calzaghe in November. At 39, there will be no third act.
3. Trinidad. The 35-year-old Puerto Rican icon ended a nearly three-year retirement (his second retirement, by the way) and was battered byJones at 170 pounds, way above his best weight. I loved Trinidad as much as anyone. But come on. It's over.
I'll never get that hour backaward: You want pain? Forget about eating a left hook from a prime Mike Tyson. How about having to sit through the WladimirKlitschko-Sultan Ibragimov heavyweight unification fight in February? I did and I must live with the memory forev
Tuesday, December 30, 2008 | PrintEntry
Posted by Dan Rafael
With the 2008 year of boxing in the history books, let's get some more ESPN.com award winners in under the wire:
Trainer of the year: Really hard to go with anyone other than Freddie Roach, the mastermind behind the amazing improvementin Manny Pacquiao over the past several years. Roach has molded Pacquiao into a complete, two-handed fighter without having him lose theaggressiveness that makes him so special. From junior lightweight championship to lightweight belt to the upset conquest of Oscar De La Hoyaat welterweight, Roach was there every step of the way during Pacquiao's historic year.
Roach wanted the De La Hoya fight desperately for Pacquiao and called me a few times during the uncertain period before the fight was signed just to makesure his view would get out to the public. From Day 1, Roach said Pacquiao would stop De La Hoya and his comments about De La Hoya no longer being able to"pull the trigger" were a big part of the fight's intricate storyline.
Besides that, Roach was the star of HBO's reality series "24/7" during the buildup to the fight and showed us all where to get the besthaircut in Los Angeles.
Manager of the year: Experienced managers Shelly Finkel and Cameron Dunkin could be up for the awardevery year. They have outstanding stables of established fighters as well as several quality prospects in the pipeline at different stages of development. ButI'm going with Mike Criscio this year. He doesn't get much publicity (doesn't seek it either) and doesn't have a huge stable.But his two big guns, light heavyweight titleholder Chad Dawson and red-hot junior middleweight prospect Alfredo Angulo, hadoutstanding years, and Criscio was a big part of setting them up for big business. Angulo twice fought on HBO and will be on again in February. Dawson beatformer champions Glen Johnson and Antonio Tarver and will make the jump from Showtime to the bigger money of HBO in March fora two-fight deal. Promoter Gary Shaw did most of that work, but Criscio also played a vital role.
Upset of the year: There are three excellent candidates for this one, but you gotta go with Pacquiao's overwhelming eight-rounddestruction of De La Hoya. For months before the fight was even signed -- back when it was merely Larry Merchant's crazy idea and fodderfor my blog -- there was a backlash in some quarters that the fight should never happen because De La Hoya was going to hurt and destroy the supposedly smallerman. On fight night, Pacquiao not only won the fight, but he thrashed the sport's biggest star in Larry Holmes-MuhammadAli fashion.
There are three others that also deserve mention:
1. Almost nobody that I know of picked Bernard Hopkins to defeat the much younger Kelly Pavlik, the middleweight championin his prime facing the 43-year-old Hopkins coming off a tight loss to Joe Calzaghe. Not only did Hopkins win the catch weight fight, he wonby virtual shutout in a masterpiece.
2. Vic Darchinyan talked a big game but nobody believed him before his junior bantamweight unification fight with CristianMijares. In the prefight media poll organized by Showtime, 26 media members out of 32 picked Mijares to win. How wrong we were. Darchinyan ravagedMijares, dropping him in the first round, beating the crap out of him and knocking him out in the ninth.
3. Lightweight Amir Khan was one of the most heralded prospects in years. The 2004 British Olympic silver medalist was supposed to be thenext big thing from England. Despite a shaky chin, promoter Frank Warren inexplicably allowed a match to be made with BreidisPrescott, an unknown fighter from Colombia who had racked up a 19-0 record with 17 KOs. Warren is normally a master at building his fighters. But hescrewed up big-time on this one as Prescott waxed Khan, dropping him twice in brutal fashion for the knockout in just 54 seconds.
Robbery of the year: As usual, there were some terrible calls this year, but two stand out:
1. Nikolai Valuev W12 Evander Holyfield. Two judges had Valuev winning and the third had it a draw. All three should befired. Holyfield, at age 46, deserved his fifth title even though nobody I know thinks he should be fighting. But when a guy wins, he should get the decision,even if it is not because he fights so well, but because the opponent, Valuev in this case, fights so utterly terrible. Valuev, despite throwing almost nopunches for 12 rounds in a miserable performance, got the nod and retained a heavyweight title.
2. Francisco Lorenzo W-DQ4 Humberto Soto. Fighting for a vacant interim junior lightweight belt, Soto kicked the crap outof Lorenzo, who had blood seemingly pouring from every orifice on his face. Soto was destroying him in the fourth and knocked him down, but hit him with agrazing shot a split-second after he went to the mat. Soto shouldn't have done that, but referee Joe Cortez ruled that the grazing blowwas the reason that Lorenzo, who did an Oscar-worthy acting job, could not continue and disqualified Soto. Memo to Cortez: The reason Lorenzo couldn'tcontinue was because Soto had bashed his head in for almost every moment of the fight.
Save of the year: Mariano Rivera would be proud of the cooperation of all involved -- Showtime, Top Rank, DemetriusHopkins and Kendall Holt -- when they salvaged a Dec. 13 card. On just a few days notice, Ricardo Torres pulled outof his rubber match with Holt, who had knocked out Torres in July in their rematch to win a junior welterweight title. Hopkins, due to box on the untelevisedundercard and a worthy challenger for the title, was quickly tapped to move into the main event and the show went off without a hitch.
Event of the year: When De La Hoya fights, it's big. Last year it was his fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. thatcaptured the public's attention. This year it was his "Dream Match" with Pacquiao that was the sport's biggest event. It was a fight that hadplenty of mainstream attention starting with national media tour that kicked off at the base of the Statue of Liberty, impressively pulled off by tour managerKelly Swanson and the rest of the PR team. Then came HBO's excellent "24/7" series; the publicity-related involvement ofAngelo Dundee, the all-time great Hall of Fame trainer and one of boxing's greatest ambassadors; and a fight week at the MGM Grand in LasVegas that buzzed. In the end, the fight sold 1.25 million pay-per-view subscriptions, generated $70 million in domestic television revenue and raked in a livegate of almost $17 million.
Non-event of the year: Mayweather's June announcement that he was retiring was met with a collective yawn. Nobody believed for onemoment that he was really done. Long break after a busy year? Sure. But a forever retirement? No chance. Mayweather was the undefeated pound-for-pound king andwelterweight champ when he supposedly hung up his gloves at age 31. And if you know Mayweather and his love for spending his money, you also knew it would onlybe a matter of time until he returned. Sure enough, best buddy and adviser Leonard Ellerbe began laying the seeds for Mayweather's returnin recent weeks, calling me to say that Mayweather would consider fighting again for the right deal. Mayweather will fight again as surely as the sun will risetomorrow morning.
Promoter of the year: Ladies and gentlemen, we have another draw. Just like last year, Bob Arum's Top Rank and De LaHoya's Golden Boy were again the standard against which you measure all promoters. They both have deep stables and continued to co-promote big fight afterbig fight in the wake of the end of hostilities in boxing's nastiest cold war. They teamed to bring us, among other bouts, De La Hoya-Pacquiao,Hopkins-Pavlik and Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez II in 2008. They'll kick off 2009 with a significant welterweight title fight Jan. 24 whenAntonio Margarito faces Shane Mosley.
To be sure, the companies have different strengths. Top Rank is hands down the best when it comes to building fighters from 0-0 into world champions andattractions with matchmaker Brad Goodman and his boss, Bruce Trampler, overseeing every move. Top Rank also keeps the cashrolling in with its array of lucrative overseas television output deals. Arum is also not afraid to go it alone without the support of HBO or Showtime. He andhis staff are more than capable of producing their own pay-per-view events and Arum is not afraid to take a financial risk in doing so.
Golden Boy, under CEO Richard Schaefer, who has a knack for turning everything he touches in to gold, is more like the Yankees in the sensethat it is not afraid to spend money to sign the best talent already developed, like James Kirkland and Robert Guerrero thisyear. Golden Boy also brings an impressive lineup of mainstream sponsors to the business like nobody else. If boxing ever gets back on network television,it's going to be Golden Boy that spearheads it.
Interview of the year: Thank goodness the Pacquiao-David Diaz fight wasn't on a broadcast network. After Diaz wasbeaten to a pulp by Pacquiao over nine rounds, he was gracious enough to do an interview with HBO's Jim Lampley at the end of thepay-per-view broadcast. During his brief interview, Diaz dropped more F-bombs than he did left hooks on Pacquiao in the entire fight.
Best move of the year: When Ricky Hatton fought Mayweather last year, the unruly and rude British fans booed and jeeredthe American national anthem with gusto for the duration of the song in an insulting display. Back at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas to face PaulieMalignaggi in November, organizers didn't want a repeat, so there was no playing of the American or British anthem before the fight, something Ican't recall before a big fight.
Comeback of the year: Heavyweight Vitali Klitschko, hands down. After almost four years in retirement and having overcomeseveral injuries, the big guy made it into the ring in one piece and destroyed Samuel Peter to reclaim his old heavyweight belt in a stunningdisplay.
Avert your eye scene of the year: Gruesome injuries are part of boxing, unfortunately, and Jorge Barrios knows it all toowell now. After Rocky Juarez dropped him in the 11th round of their junior lightweight battle, Barrios got up with as graphic and gruesome aninjury as you'll ever see. The left side of his cheek was ripped open as though The Joker had sliced him across the mouth. Blood waseverywhere as his cheek flopped in the wind.
Storyline beaten to death in 2008: Boxing vs. MMA. Whatever. Enough. They're different sports. They both have their place. They bothhave quality athletes and events. They can both co-exist. Some folks might even enjoy both sports. OK? Let's move on.
Fight I most want to see in 2008: Pacquiao vs. Mayweather. It's the reigning pound-for-pound king against the one who gave up hismantle by "retiring." It will be a massive, massive promotion, it will return the Mayweather family to our TV screens via HBO's "24/7,"it will easily do 1.5 million pay-per-view buys and, most important, it could be a really outstanding fight.
Fighters who might fight on but really met their end in 2008: Sure, maybe they won't retire, but three future Hall of Famers boxedtheir last fights of any true consequence this year:
1. De La Hoya. The jig is up. He's 35 and is 3-4 in his last seven fights after being pasted by Pacquiao. As the great NFL coachBill Parcells is fond of saying, you are what your record says you are. De La Hoya may indeed fight again (and I think he will), but itwon't ever be the same.
2. Roy Jones. We all thought he was done after being put to sleep by Tarver and Johnson in consecutive fights in 2004 andthen being dominated and nearly knocked out again by Tarver in 2005. Jones got his second act this year by beating the shell of Felix Trinidadin January before being outgunned and outclassed by Calzaghe in November. At 39, there will be no third act.
3. Trinidad. The 35-year-old Puerto Rican icon ended a nearly three-year retirement (his second retirement, by the way) and was battered byJones at 170 pounds, way above his best weight. I loved Trinidad as much as anyone. But come on. It's over.
I'll never get that hour backaward: You want pain? Forget about eating a left hook from a prime Mike Tyson. How about having to sit through the WladimirKlitschko-Sultan Ibragimov heavyweight unification fight in February? I did and I must live with the memory forev
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Looks like GUNNA might have to cop a few copies of this weeks ESPN Mag
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i would actually love to see lennox vs. klitschko 2! vitali got robbed. he was winning that fight, but that cut was ugly. but i do wanna see that fight happen.
also, i wanna see andre ward break out this upcoming year!
also, i wanna see andre ward break out this upcoming year!
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i would actually love to see lennox vs. klitschko 2! vitali got robbed. he was winning that fight, but that cut was ugly. but i do wanna see that fight happen.
also, i wanna see andre ward break out this upcoming year!
also, i wanna see andre ward break out this upcoming year!
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Does anyone subscribe to Ring Mag?
[h1][/h1]
[h1]Vazquez-Marquez III: The gem in a trilogy for the ages[/h1]
By Dan Rafael
ESPN.com
(Archive)
Updated: January 1, 2009, 2:02 PM ET
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AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill
Israel Vazquez, right, was bloodied, but Rafael Marquez was beaten in the fighters' epic third meeting.
Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez had already etched their names in boxing history with their back-to-back junior featherweight wars in 2007. Marquez, the former bantamweight champion, had moved up in weight to challenge Vazquez for the title in their first explosive confrontation in March and won the fight of the year candidate via seventh-round TKO when Vazquez could not continue because of a serious nose injury. Had the fighters not faced each other again in 2007, the bout might have stood the test of time as the year's best. Five months later, however, their August rematch trumped the first fight. This time, Vazquez regained the title via sixth-round knockout in a battle that was even more sensational, ferocious and action-packed than the first installment. It was universally hailed as the fight of the year. [table][tr][th=""]Rafael's Fights of the Year[/th] [/tr][tr][td]Year[/td] [td]Fight[/td] [/tr][tr][td]2008[/td] [td]Israel Vazquez W12 Rafael Marquez (III)[/td] [/tr][tr][td]2007[/td] [td]Israel Vazquez TKO6 Rafael Marquez (II)[/td] [/tr][tr][td]2006[/td] [td]Somsak Sithchatchawal TKO10 Mahyar Monshipour[/td] [/tr][tr][td]2005[/td] [td]Diego Corrales TKO10 Jose Luis Castillo (I)[/td] [/tr][tr][td]2004[/td] [td]Marco Antonio Barrera W12 Erik Morales (III)[/td] [/tr][tr][td]2003[/td] [td]Arturo Gatti W10 Micky Ward (III)[/td] [/tr][tr][td]2002[/td] [td]Micky Ward W10 Arturo Gatti (I)[/td] [/tr][tr][td]2001[/td] [td]Micky Ward W10 Emanuel Burton[/td] [/tr][tr][td]2000[/td] [td]Felix Trinidad TKO12 Fernando Vargas[/td] [/tr][/table]
Fans were bracing for another hot fight when Vazquez and Marquez met again on March 1, 2008 at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., the site of their first bout almost one year to the day earlier. At the top of telecast, Showtime's Steve Albert set the stage.
"If the tiebreaker between Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez turns out to be the fight of the year, it won't surprise a single boxing fan," Albert said. "That's because Vazquez-Marquez I and II were bloody and brutal battles that featured power punching, knockdowns, changes in momentum and the highest level of skills." So how could the rubber match possibly meet the incredibly high standard set by the first two encounters? It seemed impossible, yet the Mexican stars found a way to exceed every expectation by delivering an extraordinary battle for the ages, a bout that had all of the drama, excitement, blood, heart and skill of their first two fights -- and then some -- not to mention so many more rounds of sustained action. In the end, it was Vazquez who sealed the razor-thin split-decision victory on the strength of a 12th-round knockdown seconds before the final bell, allowing him to hang on to the 122-pound world championship in an electrifying give-and-take thriller. The instant classic was a raging battle with blistering action throughout, and it placed the Vazquez-Marquez rivalry into the pantheon of boxing's greatest trilogies alongside such famous pairings as Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier, Evander Holyfield-Riddick Bowe, Tony Zale-Rocky Graziano, Marco Antonio Barrera-Erik Morales and Arturo Gatti-Micky Ward. Is it any surprise, then, that Vazquez-Marquez III was also the clear choice as the 2008 ESPN.com Fight of the Year? From the opening round, when the fighters began to trade furiously, you could sense it was going to be another special fight. After one big exchange, Albert had the feeling, too. "Here we go again," he said. Marquez appeared to take the early rounds, including the fourth, which proved to be a round of the year candidate. Marquez dropped Vazquez in the round, but he was rocked himself later in the frame. Back and forth they went all night, although Vazquez was narrowing the scores through the middle rounds and Marquez was docked a point for a low blow in the 10th after receiving multiple warnings from referee Pat Russell. It all set the stage for an epic finish. Sensing correctly that he needed the 12th round, Vazquez was all over Marquez in the bruising stanza. Finally, with seconds remaining, Vazquez sent Marquez staggering into the ropes, which kept him from going down, and Russell calmly and rightfully ruled it a knockdown just before the final bell. "This crowd was treated, as we all were, to a very special night of boxing," Showtime's Al Bernstein said as the crowd cheered. What made it so special, besides the awesome action, is that unlike most trilogies, each of the Vazquez-Marquez fights, which came uninterrupted by other bouts for either man, exceeded the previous fight. That is unheard of. "The historical significance of the trilogy is still sinking in," Vazquez said a month after the fight. "None of us will know the true impact until several years from now, but I truly believe that this trilogy will stand the test of time. I think it will be remembered for many, many years." Other unforgettables: [table][tr][th=""]Antonio Margarito TKO11 Miguel Cotto, July 26 at Las Vegas[/th] [/tr][tr][td]
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Ethan Miller/Getty Images
In one of the latest installments of a stirring international rivalry, Antonio Margarito, right, scored a blow for Mexico in his 11th-round TKO of Puerto Rico's Miguel Cotto.
Of all the national rivalries in boxing, few generate as much passion as Mexico versus Puerto Rico, and this awe-inspiring fight took its place among the rivalry's greatest bouts. From the moment the welterweight title fight was signed until the moment Cotto took a knee for the second time under a heavy assault in the 11th round -- with his uncle and trainer, Evangelista Cotto, throwing in the towel to finish it -- the fight surpassed the considerable expectations heaped upon it. "That is a modern boxing classic," HBO's Max Kellerman gushed at the fight's conclusion. Although Margarito landed shots early, the faster Cotto stayed in control and outboxed him in a fast-paced fight. But the granite-chinned Margarito, with his relentless pressure, walked Cotto down, seemingly turning the tide in the sixth round. Bleeding from his mouth and nose, Cotto was beginning to fade until finally taking that second knee under a hail of blows for his first defeat. With both eyes swollen, Margarito was smiling nonetheless after winning one of the most anticipated, and subsequently best, fights of the year. "An epic fight with an epic conclusion," HBO's Jim Lampley said moments after the stoppage. "The first loss of Cotto's career and another triumph for Mexico in the ongoing war with Puerto Rico." It was the sort of fight that makes putting up with all the political nonsense in boxing tolerable -- because every now and then you get to watch something truly special.
[/td] [/tr][/table][table][tr][th=""]Manny Pacquiao W12 Juan Manuel Marquez II, March 15 at Las Vegas[/th] [/tr][tr][td]
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Chris Cozzone/AFP/Getty Images
A split decision didn't spoil the action in a rematch of Manny Pacquiao, right, and Juan Manuel Marquez, which Pacquiao won in 12 rounds.
Almost four years after their epic draw for the featherweight championship, Pacquiao and Marquez finally met again in a junior lightweight championship bout and delivered a sensational fight. The showdown between two of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world had everything fans could have hoped for. Simply put, it was another tremendous battle filled with skill and will, blood and heart. As the ninth round came to a close, HBO's Lampley exclaimed, "They trade shots. What a war! Both men trying desperately to win the round!" But the truth is, it went like that all night. In the end, the controversial split decision could have gone either way, but the outcome didn't spoil the spectacle. There was blazing action throughout, and all but two rounds were tightly contested -- the third, in which Pacquiao nailed Marquez with a left hand to knock him down, and Marquez's big 12th round.
[/td] [/tr][/table][table][tr][th=""]Tomasz Adamek W12 Steve Cunningham, Dec. 11 at Newark, N.J.[/th] [/tr][tr][td]
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The cruiserweight title bout featuring Tomasz Adamek, left, and Steve Cunningham rates among the division's best-ever fights.
On paper, the cruiserweight world championship fight figured to be an excellent one given the boxers' contrasting styles. But who could have expected a late-year epic, the greatest fight in the brief history of Versus-televised boxing and a title bout that ranked not far behind the first Evander Holyfield-Dwight Muhammad Qawi battle as the division's most exciting fight? Adamek earned the split-decision victory on the strength of three knockdowns (in the second, fourth and eighth rounds), but Cunningham dished out tremendous punishment of his own -- including the all-action fourth, when he battered the iron-chinned Adamek for nearly the entire round before getting clipped and going down late. For 12 rounds, there was terrific ebb and flow and loads of furious exchanges.
[/td] [/tr][/table][table][tr][th=""]Chad Dawson W12 Glen Johnson, April 12 at Tampa[/th] [/tr][tr][td]
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Chad Dawson, right, traded blows with Glen Johnson but outlasted the older fighter to claim a light heavyweight title.
Whoever you thought won this light heavyweight title battle, we can all agree that it was a dynamic action battle. There was sustained, two-way action throughout the bout between the young star, Dawson, and the older warhorse, Johnson. Dawson preferred to box, but Johnson was a master at drawing him into a physically grueling war of attrition that took its toll on both men. Although Johnson was 39 and Dawson 25, it was the older man who showed surprising energy late in the bout, walking Dawson down and nearly knocking him out in the frenzied 10th round. But Dawson grew up big-time by surviving a number of rough patches to claim the disputed decision. Here's what wasn't up for dispute: It was one hell of an entertaining scrap. "Ten seconds remaining in an outstanding fight," Showtime's Albert said as the curtain came down on the thriller. "And the crowd slowly getting up, applauding and saluting two great warriors."
[/td] [/tr][/table][table][tr][th=""]Jorge Arce TKO9 Rafael Concepcion, Sept. 15 at Mexico City[/th] [/tr][tr][td]
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Craig Bennett/FIghtWireImages.com
Jorge Arce, left, is never in a bad fight. His throwdown with Rafael Concepcion was no exception.
If you've ever seen Arce in a fight that didn't feature flying leather, please let us know. In front of a roaring crowd on Mexican Independence Day, Arce gave his countrymen -- including ringside observers Antonio Margarito, Israel Vazquez, Julio Cesar Chavez, Marco Antonio Barrera and Jose Luis Castillo -- a memorable slugfest as he and Panama's Concepcion pounded away at each other with a vacant interim junior bantamweight title at stake. The toe-to-toe dogfight featured Concepcion hurting Arce in the fourth round and Arce appearing on the verge of going down multiple times before charging back in the middle rounds. Finally, an exhausted Concepcion wilted and retired on his stool after the ninth round. No fancy analysis needed. These fighters simply tried to kill each other.
[/td] [/tr][/table][table][tr][th=""]Joel Casamayor TKO10 Michael Katsidis, March 22 at Cabazon, Calif.[/th] [/tr][tr][td]
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Craig Bennett/FIghtWireImages.com
Joel Casamayor, left, dug deep into his bag of tricks to upend the heavily favored Michael Katsidis.
If Katsidis is on the card, you can pretty much be assured a slugfest. But folks had their doubts about the quality of this bout because Casamayor, defending the lineal lightweight championship, had looked awful in his previous fight and had been known to stink out his opponents. So the sheer thrills and drama of this slugfest came as a surprise. It started fast, with Casamayor dropping Katsidis twice in the first round, and the excitement never let up. Katsidis fought his way back into the bout and was beginning to wear down Casamayor, who was then knocked out of the ring and onto the apron by a body shot in the sixth round. Katsidis led on two scorecards heading into the 10th when Casamayor knocked him down with a left Katsidis never saw. With his big heart Katsidis continued, but after he ate another flush shot referee Jon Schorle called off the exhilarating bout and Katsidis suffered his first defeat. Moments after the stoppage, HBO's Kellerman summed it up perfectly: "What a shocking turn of events," he said. "When it looked like, by the fourth or fifth round, that Katsidis was beating the fight out of Casamayor, that the script was being written that the young, new fighter on the scene was going to emerge as lightweight champion -- for the old lion to pull off that kind of knockout was incredible."
[/td] [/tr][/table][table][tr][th=""]Carl Froch W12 Jean Pascal, Dec. 6 at Nottingham, England[/th] [/tr][tr][td]
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AP Photo/PA, Nick Potts
Though neither fighter hit the canvas, it was amazing that Carl Froch, right, and Jean Pascal both managed to stay on their feet for 12 rounds.
With a vacant super middleweight belt on the line, Froch and Pascal tore into each other from the opening bell as if their lives depended on it. Although there were no knockdowns, both ate numerous flush shots in a cracker of a fight that was as good a bout as the United Kingdom had to offer all year. Froch stormed toward Pascal in the opening moments of the fight in a scene reminiscent of the opening round of the classic Marvelous Marvin Hagler-Tommy Hearns fight. Pascal and Froch traded clean blows throughout the match and were both clearly spent heading into the championship rounds. Both showed enormous heart to stay on their feet until the final bell.
[/td] [/tr][/table][table][tr][th=""]Amir Khan TKO5 Michael Gomez, June 21 at Birmingham, England[/th] [/tr][tr][td]
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AP Photo/PA, Sean Dempsey
Amir Khan floored Michael Gomez, left, in the first round but had to survive a knockdown of his own to claim a TKO victory in the fifth.
One fight before Khan was stunningly knocked out by Breidis Prescott, the lightweight prospect survived a rough battle with Gomez. Khan came out fast and floored Gomez in the first round, but Gomez is a warrior with a history of exciting fights. He wasn't going down without a fight, especially on his 31st birthday. He stormed back to drop Khan in the second round of the fierce fight. "Gomez bravely will not take a backward step," ITV's John Rawling exclaimed as the fourth round came to a close. "This is almost like a 'Rocky' film for its intensity of two men throwing savage shots." In the fifth, Khan dropped Gomez with a body shot, then sent him reeling into the ropes with a right hand and a closing flurry that forced referee John Keane to end a pulse-pounding fight.
[/td] [/tr][/table][table][tr][th=""]Rogers Mtagwa KO10 Tomas Villa, Nov. 7 at Tucson, Ariz.[/th] [/tr][tr][td]
This brawl between featherweight journeymen will always be remembered as the last great fight in the eight-year-plus history of Telefutura's "Solo Boxeo" series, which, ironically, was canceled on the same day these men delivered a gripping fight -- one of the best in the show's history. Both had their moments in a match that featured back-and-forth action all night. In the ninth round, Villa dropped Mtagwa with a right hand and looked to have him out ... only for Mtagwa to survive and come roaring back in the 10th, knocking down Villa three times to seal a dramatic victory.
[/td] [/tr][/table][table][tr][th=""]Jose Reyes KO4 Ivan Valle, March 28 at Kissimmee, Fla.[/th] [/tr][tr][td]
If you're the type to stay up late on Friday nights to watch boxing on Telemundo, you were nicely rewarded with this wild lightweight donnybrook. Do you like knockdowns? Well, this one served up six in fewer than four full rounds of action. Both men were on the deck three times in a seesaw battle. Reyes finally knocked Valle down for good with a short left hand in the opening seconds of the fourth. But before that final punch, Reyes decked Valle twice in the first, Valle rebounded to knock Reyes down in the same round, and Valle added knockdowns in the second and third rounds. There were so many knockdowns in this outstanding brawl, it was hard to keep track.
[/td] [/tr][/table][table][tr][th=""]Chazz Witherspoon TKO8 Adam "The Swamp Donkey" Richards, Nov. 15 at Nashville[/th] [/tr][tr][td]
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Jeff Julian/Fightwireimages.com
U.S. television viewers missed a treat: heavyweights Chazz Witherspoon and Adam "Swamp Donkey" Richards, left, trading shots in eight action-packed rounds.
What a shame that this heavyweight slugfest wasn't televised in the U.S. But the folks who turned out for the Jermain Taylor-Jeff Lacy card, as well as those viewing the international telecast, got an unexpected treat. Richards set a fast pace from the outset and Witherspoon was happy to go along as they slugged it out in a grinding battle. They traded hard shots at close range all the way, neither boxer looking to run or hide. Eventually a tiring Richards succumbed when Witherspoon landed a series of blows, including a thudding uppercut. Richards didn't go down, but he was out on his feet when referee Bill Clancy called it off. When it was over, Witherspoon knew he could have made it easier on himself by using boxing skills instead of brawling. "I was trading with him and I shouldn't have," he said. "I'm a warrior at heart, and sometimes that is my problem." Maybe for Witherspoon, but not for us.
[/td] [/tr][/table][table][tr][th=""]Steven Luevano D12 Mario Santiago, June 28 at Las Vegas[/th] [/tr][tr][td]
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AP Photo/Isaac Brekken
Mario Santiago, left, got the better of Steven Luevano early in their featherweight title match, but Luevano dug in to salvage a draw.
Featherweight titleholder Luevano isn't known for action fights, but he found himself in a dandy against Santiago, which was overshadowed by Manny Pacquiao's historic performance against David Diaz in the main event. Luevano and Santiago exchanged knockdowns in the second round, but Santiago got the better of the two-way action in the early rounds before tiring. Meanwhile, Luevano withstood some big blows but got stronger as the entertaining scrap wore on. In the end, they were deservedly even on the cards with a rematch necessary.
[/td] [/tr][/table]
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you guys remember Czar Amonsot? blonde haired pinoy who fought Michael Katsidis a year ago... he's back!
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- Apr 25, 2008
new jack off material for u gunna in the new ESPN mag
- 8,139
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- Aug 21, 2005
Berto?
Punisher?
Cotto?
Punisher?
Cotto?
marionthebarberian
Banned
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- Feb 23, 2008
excuse the noob question, but why do some boxers do not like to fight in November?
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- Jul 23, 2007
- 1,880
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- Dec 29, 2002
Paul/Winky in April...
Winky actually agreed to a 50/50 split...
:
rops dead::
Winky actually agreed to a 50/50 split...
:
rops dead::
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- Jul 23, 2007
at what weight, super middle?
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- Jul 9, 2008
I'm still waiting for PacMan Vs Mayweather, you guys think it will ever happen? And Mosely vs Margarito, I can't see Mosely lasting more than 6 rounds.