2007 NT Boxing Post: Thanks For A Great Year/ Please Lock

[gunna get it]

Margarito vs Juddah?

Cotto vs Clottey?

Why not just cut out the middle man and have Cotto vs Margarito?

because Margarito slow$+@$ cant even beat Zab.

and Cotto/Clottey is a 7th round stoppage waiting to happen

ZzZzZz's

 

[stringer bell 32]

Originally Posted by GUNNA GET IT

Margarito vs Juddah?

Cotto vs Clottey?

Why not just cut out the middle man and have Cotto vs Margarito?

because Margarito slow$+@$ cant even beat Zab.

and Cotto/Clottey is a 7th round stoppage waiting to happen

ZzZzZz's
Cotto and Margarito was all been done to happen this year. From a business stand point Cotto vs Margarito makes more sense, makes more money and getMiguel closer to a fight with PBF

 

[jagshemash]

I thought the Clottey-Alvarez fight last night was to decide the mandatory for Cintron but I guess he doesn't have to take the fight, Cotto would obviouslybe bigger.

I like Clottey, probably the most underrated welterweight IMO and I think he could give Cotto a fight.

 

[theprofessorofpugilism]

Clottey's a tough dude. Miguel gonna be in a FIGHT on that one. I gotta look at some tape, but i might go with Clottey. Clottey constantly hurting hishands worries me though.

 

[mayweathermiami]

Margarito tooooo slooooowwwww for judah

 

[jagshemash]

WTF

[h1][/h1]

[h1]Mayweather mulling move to MMA in deal with Cuban[/h1]
By Dan Rafael and Marc Stein
ESPN.com

Updated: December 21, 2007, 11:28 PM ET

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Floyd Mayweather Jr., the world's No. 1 boxer, is strongly considering a revolutionary jump to mixed martial arts under a deal being discussed with Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.

Leonard Ellerbe, Mayweather's adviser and best friend, told ESPN.com Friday night that the five-division world champion, who generated 3.25 million pay-per-view buys and more than $200 million in revenue in two mega fights in 2007, came away from a Thursday meeting with Cuban giving serious thought to taking his game and considerable drawing power to MMA.

"It's definitely something he is interested in, and when Floyd makes his move, obviously it's going to be a mega event," Ellerbe said. "We don't have a timetable. Floyd is taking some time off, but Floyd understands what is involved. You have to take time to go out and understand what you're getting involved in, and he's ready to do that. But it's something he's definitely interested in doing.

"Mark Cuban is a very successful business man and has some very, very successful business ventures that we've discussed. We're looking to do a lot of business with Mark. He's a great guy, and we had a great meeting. Doing an MMA event with him is most definitely something we are looking at, among many things we are looking at doing with Mark Cuban."

Mayweather's interest in participating in an MMA event was sparked after he struck up a friendship with Cuban during their participation this season as contestants on the ABC reality series "Dancing with the Stars."

Cuban was Mayweather's guest at the fight and even carried two of his championship belts into the ring before he knocked out England's Ricky Hatton to retain the welterweight world championship Dec. 8 in Las Vegas.

Mayweather and Cuban were together again Thursday in Las Vegas, where they met to discuss various business ventures, including Mayweather participating in an MMA event.

A few boxers, such as former heavyweight contenders Ray Mercer and Frans Botha, have attempted to compete in mixed martial arts with little success. Mayweather's entrance would bring it to another level, especially at a time when the sports have been pitted against each other by fans and media -- MMA as the hotshot newcomer trying to overtake the century-old, more traditional sweet science.

One of Cuban's many business interests is ownership of HDNet Fights, a fledgling mixed martial arts promotional company whose bouts are aired on Cuban's HDNet. Cuban promoted his second event Dec. 15 in Dallas.

"Floyd is considering fighting with HDNet Fights," Cuban told ESPN.com. "We are going to let him visit some gyms to talk to some folks about what it would take to learn. He knows it won't be easy. But he is getting involved with MMA and HDNet Fights one way or another. He is pumped about it. He wants to go on to the next big thing. Floyd is a brilliant marketer. He follows the money."

Indeed, Mayweather, like Cuban, knows how to make money. Mayweather, 30, won the year's two biggest fights, a decision against Oscar De La Hoya in May in a fight that shattered all boxing revenue records and a 10th-round knockout of Hatton that did 850,000 buys and $47 million in television revenue on HBO PPV.

Mayweather-De La Hoya, with 2.4 million buys, set the all-time PPV record. Mayweather-Hatton was the biggest PPV fight in history not involving De La Hoya or heavyweights Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield.

Mayweather earned about $50 million for the two fights.

"If I said there's a guaranteed $30 million payday, Floyd would be lacing them up," Cuban said, optimistic that Mayweather would eventually participate in an MMA match. "If not, I could see him working to train and develop and invest in MMA fighters, knowing the upside. He can teach them how to be a better boxer and add to their other skills."

After each of his last three fights, Mayweather has talked about retirement or, at least, an extended break. Ellerbe said Mayweather is on vacation now but that when he returns, they'll discuss the prospect of an MMA bout in more detail.

"Floyd is about taking on challenges," Ellerbe said. "This ain't some kind of prank. That is one of many things we've talked about with Mark. Floyd would have to take time to really understand it, but it is most definitely something he is interested in."

Dan Rafael is ESPN.com's boxing writer. Marc Stein is the senior NBA writer for ESPN.com.

 

[mayweathermiami]

^ not gonna happen , my son mayweather to smart to do some stupidness like that


oh and 9 rounds to 3 cotto , drops him in the 11th but goes the distance (no edit)

 

[stringer bell 32]

I think MMA is ******

I watched some event they had on Versus this past Sunday and it wasn't my style

 

[jagshemash]

Yea, I hate that $$@%.

 

[stringer bell 32]

Boxing 2007 month by month - Part One

26.12.07 - By Andrew Wake: Well people, 2007 is nearly over and I think you'll all agree that it has been an excellent year for the fistic arts. At the beginning of the year all the talk in the media was about how MMA was apparently killing boxing, well, after a series of top class match ups, that talk as now dissipated and boxing will head into 2008 with its head held high.

If, like me, you have a terrible memory here is brief month by month recap of one the best fighting twelve months in recent times.

January

The year kicked off with the "Nigerian Nightmare" Sam Peter winning his rematch with James Toney by unanimous decision and moving into the WBC's mandatory slot.http://.

Ricky Hatton was by no means impressive when he outpointed Juan Urango to reclaim the IBF light-welterweight strap he'd given up the previous year.

Following its initial US release in December 2006, the sixth Rocky film hit cinemas around the world. Despite ol' Sly being 60 years old, the flick was surprisingly decent.

Former world heavyweight titlist Vitali Klitschko announced that he was coming back. The WBC, who had awarded the Ukrainian the ridiculous "Champion Emeritus" title when he retired in 2005, swiftly pushed mandatory challenger Sam Peter to one side and approved a match up between "Dr Ironfist" and their current champion Oleg Maskaev.

Tickets for the May super fight between Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather went on sale.

Antonio Margarito, the man who was supposed to be the most avoided fighter in the world now appeared to be the one who was doing the avoiding as Paul "The Punisher" Williams continued to call him out.

Troubled former featherweight champion Scott Harrison failed to show at an arranged meeting with BBBof C and was subsequently striped of his licence to box.

A proposed July 21st meeting of modern greats Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones ran into trouble after Jones said that the money on offer was no where near his requirements.

February

"Sugar" Shane Mosley rolled back the years and outclassed Luis Collazo in a manner that Ricky Hatton could only dream of.

Rumours began to circulate of a rift between trainer Freddie Roach and Manny Pacquiao after the respected trainer's commitment to the Filipino star was called into question due to his arrangement to train Oscar De La Hoya for his May 5th clash with Floyd Mayweather.

Cruiserweight champion O'Neil Bell was arrested in California for allegedly attacking sparring partner Larry Slayton with a hatchet.

The WBC passed the buck and asked for the on going Vitali Klitshcko - Sam Peter saga to be settled by a neutral mediator.

"Bad" Chad Dawson took the WBC light-heavyweight crown with a unanimous decision over the previously undefeated Tomasz Adamek.

Ricky Hatton relinquished the IBF trinket he'd picked up only a few weeks earlier because the sanctioning body were putting pressure on him to face Lovemore Ndou rather than his preferred choice of Jose Luis Castillo.

Two lawsuits were launched against world middleweight champion Jermain Taylor after it was alleged that "Bad Intentions" had assaulted two women in his hometown of Little Rock, Arkansas. The unbeaten fighter denied the claims.

Stars of boxing past and present turned out in force at a London benefit night for former world middleweight champ Gerald McClellan.

Lightweight contenders, Michael Katsidis and Graham Earl engaged in a toe to toe war for the WBO's interim crown. Katsidis eventually came out on top when the bout was stopped in the fifth round.

Californian Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero won the vacant IBF featherweight title by stopping Spend Abazi in the ninth stanza.

Tommy Morrison, who tested positive for HIV in 1996, returned to ring with a second round stoppage of John Castle. Morrison claimed that he didn't have HIV and that tests carried out over a decade earlier were incorrect.

March

Evander Holyfield's name was linked with a pharmacy that had been raided for distributing steroids. The "Real Deal" denied any association with the Alabama based company.

World famous boxing writer Ron Borges was suspended from his position at the Boston Globe for plagiarism.

Super bantamweights, Rafael Marquez and Israel Vasquez were involved in an early front runner for fight of the year. Vasquez quit before the start of the eighth session due to problems breathing through his badly busted nose.

WBO heavyweight belt-holder Shannon Briggs was forced to cancel his March 10th defence to Sultan Ibragimov after contracting pneumonia.

The recently retired Johnny Tapia was fighting for his life in hospital after he overdosed on cocaine.

IBF and IBO heavyweight supremo Wladimir Klitschko quickly saw off the challenge of American Ray Austin by knocking him out in the second round.

Contender series one winner Sergio "The Latin Snake" Mora pulled out of a contest with Jermain Taylor slated for May 19th.

Juan Manuel Marquez announced his presence in the super featherweight division by picking up a deserved points decision over fellow Mexican great Marco Antonio Barrera.

44 year old Evander Holyfield continued his journey back to the top of the heavyweight pile by dispatching New York's Vinny Maddalone in the third.

In his first contest in France for nearly five years, Jean-Marc Mormeck avenged his early 2007 loss to O'Neil Bell with a twelve round decision.

April

Vitali Klitschko said that he needed more time to prepare for a shot at Oleg Maskaev and it seemed that Russian champion, Maskaev, would be taking on Sam Peter after all.

The British indoor attendance record was smashed when 35,000 people turned out to see Joe Calzaghe erase the title ambitions of the highly over matched Peter Manfredo.

Diego Corrales had what would be his final fight when he was dropped twice on the way to a losing a ten round decision to Ghana's Joshua Clottey.

Manny Pacquiao scored an eighth round knockout of previously undefeated Mexican Jorge Solis. Freddie Roach was in the Pac Man's corner but had not trained him for the bout.

Ruslan Chagaev proved that you can slay the giant when defeated WBA heavyweight champ Nikolai Valuev.

Frank Warren won a libel claim against Random House, publishers of Ricky Hatton's autobiography The Hitman. Hardback copies of the book were withdrawn from the shelves and are due to be replaced with a re- edited version.

Danish promoter Mogens Palle posted an open letter to Joe Calzaghe and Frank Warren on his website. The letter offered the unbeaten southpaw $5 million to face Palle's WBA and WBC king Mikkel Kessler.

We saw the last of Acelino "Popo" Freitas (well, for now anyway) as he refused to come out of his corner for the ninth round of his lightweight unification tussle with Juan Diaz and later announced he was hanging up his gloves.

May

Bringing in more than $19 million, the eagerly anticipated clash between Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather set the record for the biggest live gate in boxing. The contest, dubbed "The World Awaits" was won by Floyd Mayweather with a much disputed split decision.

Boxing mourned the death of exciting former lightweight champion Diego Corrales. Corrales, 29, was killed in a motorcycle accident in Las Vegas.

World middleweight champ Jermain Taylor put on a disappointing display when he outpointed Cory Spinks at the FedEx Forum in Memphis. On the undercard Kelly "The Ghost" Pavlik showed his top level potential by blasting Edison Miranda in the 7th round.

In a bizarre twist Anthony Burgin, the man seriously injured when he was involved in a car accident caused by Naseem Hamed in 2005, was arrested for trying to run down Hamed's wife Eleasha and the couple's three children.

Steve "USS" Cunningham recaptured the IBF cruiserweight belt with a majority decision over pole Krzysztof Wlodarczyk.

Scott Harrison was arrested (again) over allegations of a fight in a Spanish brothel.

Both James Toney and Danny Batchelder tested positive for steroids after their clash on May 24th.

Rumours began to circulate that HBO planned to rid themselves of Larry Merchant, feeling that the younger Max Kellerman was the idle full time replacement.

June

America's only heavyweight world titlist Shannon Briggs put in a lethargic performance as he lost his WBO strap to Russia's Sultan Ibragimov.

Paul Spadafora was sent back to prison for violating the conditions of his parole.

Puerto Rican puncher Miguel Cotto announced his presence amongst the pound for pound elite when he outgunned a surprisingly brave Zab Judah at the world famous Madison Square Garden.

Former light heavyweight kingpin Antonio Tarver was far from impressive when he beat the unheralded Elvir Muriqi by majority decision. Chad Dawson dazzled on the undercard by extinguishing the threat of Jesus Ruiz in the sixth frame.

It was announced that Vitali Klitschko's comeback fight would be against Jameel McCline in September.

Paulie Malignaggi won his first world title by outboxing tough South African Lovemore Ndou at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut.

Hatton mania hit Vegas as thousands of Brits took over Sin City. The "Hitman" stopped aged Mexican great Jose Luis Castillo in the fourth with a trademark body shot.

Don King told press that Felix "Tito" Trinidad would be returning to the ring after more than two years away.

Evander Holyfield dropped fellow veteran Lou Saverese twice on way to ten round unanimous decision.

 

[stringer bell 32]

Boxing 2007 month by month - Part Two
26.12.07 - By Andrew Wake - July --- Wladimir Klitschko gained revenge on Lamon Brewster by dominating the six rounds that took place before the American former WBO king's trainer Buddy McGirt decided to pull the plug.

British promoter Frank Warren grinned from ear to ear when he announced that the 168Ibs super fight between unbeaten champions Joe Calzaghe and Mikkel Kessler would take place at the Millenium Stadium on November 3rd.http://.

A surprise victory was scored by Filipino Nonito Donaire when he scored a stunning knockout win over the previously untamed Vic Darchinyan. The fight would later go on to be named as "Upset of the year".

As predicted, Fernando Vargas and Ricardo Mayorga ended up brawling at the press conference to confirm their September 8 match up.

Unbeaten southpaw Paul Williams ripped the WBO welter strap from Antonio Margarito with a unanimous, 116 - 112, 115 - 113, 115 - 113, verdict.

Roy Jones continued to revive his career by dominating Anthony Hanshaw. The win was Jones' second on the spin since losing to Antonio Tarver in late 2005.

The human highlight reel that was Arturo Gatti called time on his glorious career after being smoked by Contender series one star Alfonso Gomez.

Bernard Hopkins called out Joe Calzaghe after beating Winky Wright in Las Vegas.

The stock of Michael Katsidis and Jorge Linares shot up when they scored wins over Czar Amonsot and Oscar Larios respectively, on the Hopkins - Wright undercard.

Gavin Rees made a mammoth leap into the world rankings when he outpointed WBA light welterweight belt holder Souleymane MBaye. Rees had previously been fighting six and eight round fights against limited opposition.

Former British heavyweight champion James Oyebola was shot dead in a London nightclub after asking someone to stop smoking.

August

David Diaz retained his WBC lightweight crown with a controversial decision over modern Mexican legend Erik Morales.

Super-bantamweights Rafael Marquez and Israel Vasquez fought another thriller. Vasquez came out on top this time with a sixth round stoppage, setting up potential for a 2008 rubber match.

Pound for pound head honcho Floyd Mayweather's management team reached an agreement with Goldenboy Promotions for the prettyboy's WBC welter defence to Ricky Hatton.

Anthony Mundine's career hung in the balance after a he contracted a series eye infection from a dirty contact lens.

Flag waving promotional giant Don King announced his plans to pit faded legends Roy Jones and Felix Trinidad against each other in early 2008.

WBO super-bantamweight champ Daniel Ponce De Leon retained his crown by wiping out Rey Bautista on a Mexico versus The Phillipines bill at the Arco Arena in Sacramento.

Spain's Kiko Martinez needed less than one and a half minutes to conquer the highly rated Bernard Dunne in Dublin.

September

There was controversy in Colombia as home favourite Ricardo Torres held onto his WBO light-welterweight title with an eleventh round stoppage of Kendall Holt. American challenger, Holt claimed that the stoppage was premature, he was struck in the face by a beer can thrown from the crowd and that one of Torres' corner staff had reached through the ropes tried to stop his movement by grabbing his leg.

Vitali Klitschko was forced to pull out of his comeback bout with Jameel McCline after slipping a disc in training.

Junior Witter proved he can live with the top fighters in the 140Ibs division when he demolished former WBA titlist Vivian Harris in seven rounds.

A publishing firm, part of Oscar De La Hoya's Goldenboy Promotions, purchased the bible of boxing, Ring magazine.

"Iron" Mike Tyson pleaded guilty to a charge of possessing drugs brought about when he was arrested in Arizona the previous December.

Oleg Maskaev pulled out of his October 6th WBC title defence to mandatory challenger Nigerian Sam Peter. The champion sited injuries to his back and ankle as the reason.

The third series of ESPN's popular boxing show The Contender begun. The opening show featured a series of tests that whittled the sixteen combatants down to ten.

Kelly "The Ghost" Pavlik became the WBC and WBO middleweight champion when he shook off a second round knock down and stormed back to stop Jermain Taylor at 2.14 of the seventh stanza.

October

Joe Calzaghe celebrated ten years as WBO super-middleweight champion.

Kendall Holt's appeal for a rematch with Colombia's Ricardo Torres was turned down by the WBO.

33 year old Marco Antonio Barrera bowed out of the sport gracefully after dropping a twelve round decision to Manny Pacquiao. Many had expected the "Pac Man" to blow away Barrera in a similar fashion to their meeting four years earlier but the "Baby Faced Assassin" battled bravely and at the final bell was able to hold his head high.

Samuel Peter was decked three times by Jameel McCline but recovered well enough to clinch a twelve round unanimous decision and take home the WBC's interim heavyweight title.

Floyd Mayweather and his dance partner Karin Smirnoff strutted their stuff for the final time on Dancing with the Stars.

Evander Holyfield's recent run of wins came to an end when he was unanimously outpointed by Sultan Ibragimov in Moscow.

Juan Diaz proved himself to be the best lightweight in the world when he put in a faultless display against the unrelated Julio Diaz. Julio was pummelled until he quit after eight rounds.

Promoter Dino Duva was fined $10,000 and suspended for six months after being caught attempting to look at the judge's scorecards during the Sam Peter - Jameel McCline fight.

Canada based Romanian Lucian Bute ripped the IBF super-middleweight from Colombia's Alejandro Berrio in Montreal with an eleventh round knockout.

Alfonso Gomez continued to add better names to his résumé as he picked up a ten round decision over granite chinned veteran Ben Tackie. On the undercard former Gomez conqueror and Contender series one winner Sergio Mora looked rusty as he struggled to get a draw against Elvin Ayala.

November

Joe Calzaghe becomes the first man to fully unify the 168Ibs division when he defeated the "Viking Warrior" Mikkel Kessler in front of 50,000 fans at the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.

Juan Manuel Marquez held on to his WBC super-featherweight championship when he beat the game and badly cut Rocky Juarez by unanimous decision.

World middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik smashed his fist through a window and required over a 100 stitches.

Jermain Taylor and legendary trainer Emanuel Steward agreed to go their separate ways. It had earlier be announced that Taylor would enforce his rematch clause and meet Kelly Pavlik again in 2008.

David Haye became the top man at cruiserweight when he came back from a fourth round knockdown to stop rugged Frenchman Jean-Mark Mormeck in the seventh.

Puerto Rican superstar Miguel Cotto proved to be sweeter than sugar when retained his WBA welterweight bauble with a twelve round decision over Shane Mosley at a packed Madison Square Garden.

There was controversy on the Cotto - Mosley undercard as Cuban southpaw Joel Casamayor retained his Ring magazine and interim WBC titles with a questionable decision over Jose Armando Santa Cruz.

Cameroon's Sakio Bika became the third winner of the popular television series The Contender when he stopped Jaidon Codrington in the eighth of what was a thrilling match.

Mike Tyson spent one day in prison, was fined $3,600 and ordered to do 360 hours of community service for drug possession and driving while under the influence.

"Ferocious" Fernando Vargas ended his career with a loss when he dropped a majority decision to Nicaraguan wild man Ricardo Mayorga at the Staples centre in LA.

December

Goldenboy and Top Rank announced that the long awaited rematch between Manny Pacquaio and Juan Manuel Marquez will take place in Las Vegas on March 15th.

On a Showtime triple header, Antonio Tarver disposed of Danny Santiago in four rounds, WBC light-middle titlist Vernon Forrest scored an eleventh round stoppage of Michele Piccirillo and Nonito Donaire moved to 19 - 1 with a TKO of Luis Maldonado.

Floyd Mayweather proved that he can still KO his opponents when he stopped Britain's Ricky Hatton in the tenth frame of their world welterweight clash at the MGM Grand. Like with the Castillo fight six months earlier, Hatton's fans turned out in force again.

Sections of the boxing world were up in arms after Bernard Hopkins allegedly said "I would never let a white boy beat me" to Joe Calzaghe at the Mayweather versus Hatton weigh in.

The International Boxing Hall of Fame named its newest inductees. Larry Holmes, Eddie Perkins, Mogens Palle, Frank Warren, and writers Joe Koizumi and Dave Anderson getting the nod, among others.

"King" Arthur Abraham made a successful sixth defence of his 160Ibs middle title by blasting Wayne Elcock in five rounds.

Boxing historian Hank Kaplan passed away, aged 88.

Venezuelan belt holders Edwin Valero and Jorge Linares both impressed in Cancun on a bill called "Night of the Champions" as they stopped Zaid Zavaleta and Gamaliel Diaz.

That 2007 in a nutshell.

Let's now raise a glass to 2008.

 

[stringer bell 32]

The stock of Michael Katsidis and Jorge Linares shot up when they scored wins over Czar Amonsot and Oscar Larios respectively, on the Hopkins - Wright undercard.

Personally, this was one of the best nights in boxing for me, this year. I saw two great fighters that I want to see more of as soon as possible

 

[theprofessorofpugilism]

[h1][/h1]

[h1]Mayweather is ESPN.com's Fighter of the Year[/h1]

By Dan Rafael
ESPN.com
(Archive)

Updated: December 27, 2007

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Gabriel Bouys/AFP/Getty Images

Floyd Mayweather, left, solidified his Fighter of the Year status by knocking out Ricky Hatton.
Pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. didn't just win two massive fights in 2007, he did it with the whole world watching, setting box office records, becoming a mainstream figure and the face of boxing he's always wanted to become. It's why Mayweather, who backed up his considerable boasts with victories against Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton, is the 2007 ESPN.com Fighter of the Year in a year that had several quality candidates -- Miguel Cotto, Kelly Pavlik, Juan Diaz and Joe Calzaghe -- and was one of the toughest years to pick in ages. Outside the ring, Mayweather starred in a pair of "24/7" reality shows on HBO that undoubtedly helped build the huge audiences for his two fights. He also danced his way into millions of homes during a high-profile run on the popular ABC reality series "Dancing with the Stars." But inside the ring, Mayweather also took care of business in two of the biggest fights in years -- two of the biggest fights in several years, really. "It was a great combination with me and my team," Mayweather said, talking primarily about advisers Leonard Ellerbe and Al Haymon. "They said, 'Listen Floyd, let us take care of the business outside of the ring and you take care of the business inside of the ring, and we'll be unstoppable.' Guess what? It worked. It was an amazing year. All I tried to do is just focus on my job; get the victories. I was trying to fight the biggest and best names out there. And that's what I did. I said to my team, 'Put me in the biggest fights out there and I will take care of the rest and win.'" [table][tr][th=""]

Rafael's Fighters of the Year​

[/th] [/tr][tr][td]Year[/td] [td]Fighter[/td] [/tr][tr][td]2007[/td] [td]Floyd Mayweather Jr.[/td] [/tr][tr][td]2006[/td] [td]Manny Pacquiao[/td] [/tr][tr][td]2005[/td] [td]Ricky Hatton[/td] [/tr][tr][td]2004[/td] [td]Glen Johnson[/td] [/tr][tr][td]2003[/td] [td]James Toney[/td] [/tr][tr][td]2002[/td] [td]Vernon Forrest[/td] [/tr][tr][td]2001[/td] [td]Bernard Hopkins[/td] [/tr][tr][td]2000[/td] [td]Felix Trinidad[/td] [/tr][/table]
On May 5 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Mayweather culminated a marathon five-month promotion by moving up to junior middleweight to win a decision and a title from Oscar De La Hoya, perhaps the only active boxer with more mainstream recognition than Mayweather these days.
The fight destroyed all boxing revenue records, including blowing away the all-time pay-per-view record by selling 2.4 million subscriptions. For his encore, Mayweather, 30, returned to welterweight on Dec. 8 and defended his title against Ricky Hatton, the brawling junior welterweight champion who brought what seemed like half of England to the MGM Grand, which was again sold out. Mayweather (39-0, 25 KOs) didn't just skate to a decision victory either, like he had done against De La Hoya. Instead, Mayweather turned aggressive, lured previously undefeated Hatton in and knocked him out in the 10th round of a dominant performance to answer the critics who said he played things too safe in big fights. Mayweather, known more for his smooth defense than his underrated offense, made a statement with the way he finished Hatton, which was enough to tip the fighter-of-the-year race in his favor. The fight generated 850,000 buys. Sure, it wasn't close to what the fight with De La Hoya did, but Hatton was a relative unknown in the United States and had never before appeared on pay-per-view. Still, it became the biggest selling fight ever not involving De La Hoya or famous heavyweights Mike Tyson or Evander Holyfield. Mayweather, who earned about $50 million for the pair of victories, may not yet be the all-time great that he and his uncle and trainer Roger Mayweather insist he is. But in 2007, no one was better on the big stage. Other contenders: [table][tr][th=""]Miguel Cotto[/th] [/tr][tr][td]
[+] Enlarge

Al Bello/Getty Images

Miguel Cotto broke into the pound-for-pound ranks and established himself as a premier welterweight fighter in '07.
The Puerto Rican star claimed a welterweight title at the end of 2006 and went about defending it three times in fierce fashion in 2007, twice against top-flight opponents. Fighting in front of a hometown crowd in March, Cotto hammered mandatory challenger Oktay Urkal for 11 rounds until his corner threw in the towel. In June, Cotto returned to New York's Madison Square Garden on the eve of the annual Puerto Rican Day parade -- a date he has made his own -- and scored a brutal 11th-round knockout of former undisputed champion Zab Judah in a tremendously exciting fight in front of a raucous building-record crowd of 20,658. Cotto, 27, returned to the Garden to close the year in November against star former champion Shane Mosley and outpointed him in another exciting fight that had many believing he was the one fighter with the best chance to defeat Mayweather in a fight many are calling for in 2008. [/td] [/tr][/table][table][tr][th=""]Kelly Pavlik[/th] [/tr][tr][td]
[+] Enlarge

AP Photo/David Gard

Power-punching Kelly Pavlik didn't allow any of his opponents to hear the final bell in 2007.
"The Ghost" had a very visible and huge year. He started it as a top contender still trying to prove himself and ended it as middleweight champion. In between, Pavlik, 25, went 3-0, won each fight by punishing knockout -- two in upset fashion -- and claimed the title after surviving a near-knockout. Pavlik got things started in January with an eighth-round highlight-reel knockout of tough Jose Luis Zertuche. Then came a seventh-round stoppage of trash-talking Edison Miranda in a sensational action fight that many favored Miranda to win. That victory set the heavy-punching Pavlik up for a mandatory title shot against Jermain Taylor. They met in September and Taylor appeared on his way to an easy defense when he knocked Pavlik down and nearly out in the second round. But Pavlik, with thousands of supporters who made the trek from Youngstown, Ohio, to Atlantic City, N.J., behind him, survived and stormed back to dust Taylor in the seventh round of a dramatic battle. [/td] [/tr][/table][table][tr][th=""]Juan Diaz[/th] [/tr][tr][td]
[+] Enlarge

John Booz/Fightwireimages.com

Don't be fooled by those boyish looks: Juan Diaz is the cream of the crop in the lightweight ranks.
In many years, Diaz would be the fighter of the year after what he accomplished in a stellar 2007. The exciting, undefeated 24-year-old lightweight titleholder entered the year with one world title belt in his collection and ended it with three after winning two unification fights in dominant and exciting fashion. In April, he pounded on Acelino "Popo" Freitas and forced him to quit on his stool after the eighth. In October, he was even more impressive as he relentlessly battered Julio Diaz in another unification fight, forcing Diaz to meekly submit on his stool one second into the ninth round of a shockingly one-sided fight. [/td] [/tr][/table][table][tr][th=""]Joe Calzaghe[/th] [/tr][tr][td]
[+] Enlarge

AP Photo/Simon Dawson

Joe Calzaghe proved he just may be the best super middleweight ever.
In 2006, Calzaghe opened the eyes of boxing fans around the world with a dominant, virtual shutout decision against Jeff Lacy in their super middleweight unification fight. In 2007, Calzaghe certified his spot as the best super middleweight in the world and as perhaps the greatest 168-pound fighter in the 23-year history of the division. Calzaghe celebrated his 10th year as a champion, remained undefeated while making title defenses No. 20 and 21 and continued to climb the pound-for-pound rankings. In April, Wales' favorite son overwhelmed "Contender" star Peter Manfredo for a third-round TKO. Quick stoppage or not, Manfredo never stood a chance. That set the stage for the biggest win of Calzaghe's career in November, a dominant decision against then-undefeated titleholder Mikkel Kessler of Denmark in one of the year's most anticipated bouts. More than 50,000 filled Cardiff's Millennium Stadium in the middle of the night (to accommodate live U.S. television coverage) to see Calzaghe, 35, claim two more title belts in a masterful performance. [/td] [/tr][/table][table][tr][th=""]Ulises Solis[/th] [/tr][tr][td]
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John Booz/Fightwireimages.com

If Ulises Solis' odessey was to break into the public spotlight by 2008, he can consider it done.
The 26-year-old Mexican racked up four defenses of his 108-pound title, winning each by knockout. In a rematch with Will Grigsby, the man from whom he won the belt in January 2006, Solis punished his opponent for eight one-sided rounds. Solis followed with a ninth-round TKO of former 105-pound champion Jose Antonio Aguirre in May, a spectacular eighth-round knockout of dangerous Rodel Mayol in August and a ninth-round stoppage of mandatory challenger Bert Batawang in December. [/td] [/tr][/table][table][tr][th=""]Cristian Mijares[/th] [/tr][tr][td]
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Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images

By dismantling Jorge Arce, Cristian Mijares, right, burst onto the junior bantamweight scene as one of the best fighters nobody knew about.
Mexico produced yet another world titleholder as Mijares, 26, went 4-0 in title bouts, including two signature victories. After winning a split decision against Japan's outstanding Katsushige Kawashima in 2006, Mijares stopped him in the 10th round in Japan in the January rematch to claim a 115-pound title. In April, Mijares scored an even bigger win, dominating division star Jorge Arce in stunningly easy fashion. Two more defenses followed, a 10th-round knockout of Japan's Teppei Kikui and a first-round blowout of France's Franck Gorjux. [/td] [/tr][/table][table][tr][th=""]Chad Dawson[/th] [/tr][tr][td]
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David Martin-Warr/DKP/FightWireImages.com

The light heavyweight division was in dire need of new blood, and in 2007 Chad Dawson provided it.
Dawson emerged as one of America's best young fighters in 2007. Other than suffering a 10th-round knockdown, Dawson surprisingly dominated powerful Tomasz Adamek to win a light heavyweight title in February. Two title defenses followed: a sixth-round TKO against Jesus Ruiz in June and a fourth-round stoppage of late-replacement Epifanio Mendoza in September. [/td] [/tr][/table]
Also coming: awards for knockout, prospect, round and fight of the year
Dan Rafael is the boxing writer for ESPN.com.

 

[shannonscrooks]

My post from Stringer's thread regarding the same article:

Considering the amount of money he earned for himself as well as the overall combined revenue that his 2 fights generated, seems like a good decision.

I might look at someone like Pavlik if I had to name a fighter of the year. He had 3 great fights that eventually lead him to winning the Middleweight crown.Floyd is a known commodity, Pavlik basically took himself from uknown "prospect" to a named fighter and Middleweight champion in the span of a year.

 

[stringer bell 32]

Let me explain myself.

I made a thread about Floyd being named fighter of the year because not many of the non-boxing following Sport Forum regulars post in here and I thought itmight spark some more interest.

EDIT-
I had the other thread locked.

I think naming PBF fighter of the year was a great choice.

 

[eg47]

can't argue with that.
I felt that PBF was FOY simply because he was boxing's top draw. I didn't want to watch the PBF vs. Hatton fight but somehow ended up ordering it afterall my folks hit me up out of nowhere wanting to watch the fight. People want to watch PBF fight.

I know Pavlik and Cotto did the damn thing in the ring this year but aren't really well known. No denying though both those fighters will be big timeforces in years to come.

 

[gunna get it]

No one in their right mind can question Pretty Boy being named fighter of the yr.

He is Boxing's cash Cow with the lack of interesting heavyweights. just when MMA was gaining ground, Floyd shut it down with 2 of the sickest pay per viewbuy rates.

Now if he would only fight Miguel Angel Cotto ....

 

[bigmike23]

[h1]Khan on course to become world champion in near future[/h1]

By Dan Rafael
ESPN.com
(Archive)

Updated: December 27, 2007

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Lindsey Parnaby/Getty Images

Amir Khan, left, continues to make strides and is inching closer to a shot at a lightweight world title.
In May, England's Amir Khan did what many boxing fans did. He flew to Las Vegas for the Floyd Mayweather-Oscar De La Hoya fight. During the weigh-in the day before the year's biggest bout, Khan, a 2004 British Olympic silver medalist and already a star lightweight in his home country, was not afforded any special treatment. He had no credential and no floor access, unlike so many of the other luminaries in attendance. Instead, Khan sat in the MGM Grand stands with everybody else, unnoticed by most. In England, that would be impossible for Khan, who is one of his country's most recognized athletes. His fights are regularly broadcast on network television and seen by millions. From his Olympic fights through his so-far undefeated pro career, he has fought under the microscope of a demanding fan base and press corps. From Day 1, he has lived with the expectations that he would become a great champion. Yet despite the fishbowl existence, Khan (15-0, 12 KOs) has thrived under the constant pressure. "I use it all on my side to motivate me when I go to the gym," Khan said. "I like the pressure. But I have family support, a good team. It makes it easy. I go home, chill out, keep my feet on the ground. I just be myself." At 21, the sky is the limit for the lad from Bolton. He's blessed with speed, size (5-foot-11) and cracking power. In 2007, Khan, one of four children, put all those attributes to good use as his rise was accelerated by promoter Frank Warren, who began to step up his level of competition. Khan handled it well. He went 5-0, winning each fight by knockout, made his HBO debut on the Joe Calzaghe-Peter Manfredo undercard in April, won the prestigious Commonwealth title in July and followed with two defenses. The second one came on Dec. 8, Khan's 21st birthday, in his hometown against Graham Earl, a former British and Commonwealth champion who 10 months earlier gave Michael Katsidis all he could handle before being stopped by fourth-round TKO in a candidate for fight of the year. Khan shockingly blew out Earl in 72 seconds, a victory that capped an outstanding year and sealed his selection as the 2007 ESPN.com Prospect of the Year. Khan's performance, however, simply set the stage for what he expects to come in 2008. "I've always said from a young age that I would be a world champion, but not only at one weight, and be known as a great legend," Khan said. "The first 15 fights have gone well for me, but I want to be the youngest British world champion." That means the clock is ticking if he is to get there before "Prince" Naseem Hamed, who won a featherweight world title in 1995, just a few months shy of his 22nd birthday. [table][tr][th=""]Rafael's
Prospects of the Year[/th] [/tr][tr][td]Year[/td] [td]Fighter[/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]
Khan believes he can do it.
"In my career, I've been proving people wrong," Khan said. "Critics questioned why I was going to the Olympics at 17. They said, 'He's a kid, he's not good enough, he'll be going against men.' I proved them wrong. I said I would be British No. 1 and I beat Graham Earl and proved the critics wrong again. I've topped the bill and had sellout crowds, which I said would happen. Now, it's to be a young world champion. "Some critics say I'm too young or I need more experience. But I'm getting better and better. I get my experience in training and in the gym. I love proving a lot of people wrong. I know how good I am. I'm going to be a world champion. I know it will be tough, but I am going to do it." Khan began boxing at age 8, when his father took him to a boxing club in their hometown. "I was full of energy, always fighting and getting into trouble in school," Khan said. "I was a tough kid, never used to listen. My dad took me to a boxing club to burn energy and give me a bit of discipline. I loved it as soon as I went in. It was like home." Khan also spent countless hours watching videos of Hamed, Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali. "You start copying things they did," he said. When Khan won the Commonwealth title via eighth-round TKO against Willie Limond on July 14, it didn't come without a scare. Limond became the first opponent to knock down Khan, flooring him in the sixth round. Khan survived the first crisis of his career and came back to drop Limond in the next round and force him to quit in the eighth. "I learned more in that fight than I did in ones where I knocked guys out [easily]," Khan said. "He caught me with about six shots to get me down, and I was back to normal again when I got up. My head was clear. I went to my corner and my coach [Oliver Harrison] said, 'You're taking this as a joke, but this is what can happen. You can get tagged.' I had to change my plan, focus again, and I knocked him down and stopped him. It made me realize if I did get knocked down that I knew how to cope with it. It's a learning curve. I'm still young." Khan is set to return Feb. 2 in London against Denmark's Martin Kristjansen (19-1-3, 5 KOs), who two fights ago settled for a draw with former lightweight titleholder Stefano Zoff. If Khan keeps winning, he'll likely fight for the British and European titles before the inevitable world title shot. Someday he'd like to come to the United States to fight. "I think it would be brilliant to come to the United States," he said. "I want to go there and fight amongst the best. I'd love to go there and prove to everyone who Amir Khan is." And then maybe he'll have a better seat at the weigh-in

 

[rayfizzle]

anyone goin to the pac vs marquez fight @ mandalay?

 

[babyfacedassassin31]

Nice article on Amir but very one sided I see the US press are already overhyping him we are proud of wat hes done so far here in the UK but the article doesntmention that 1 or 2 fights ago he was sat on his butt in a near knockout defeat to Willie Limond a guy who was supposed to give him no problems.Ever since heturned pro the paper talk in England has been to be the youngest world champion doin it quicker and younger than Naz did.

The facts are that Amirs in a real tough spot right now he beats guys easily but has yet to really have been seriously battle tested when Limond knocked himdown he showed rookie mistakes he rushed back to his feet instead of goin on one knee clearing his head and takein the 8 count,alot of us watching thought hecouldnt recover from it but he showed heart and came back and finished him off.

I for one want to see him become world champion but wat I dont want to see is a guy like Cherry knockin him out and setting kid back 2-3 years I think he needsa few tough competetive wars where he can prove his chin and skills late into a fight.We all know wat happened to Jeff Lacey not that Amir and Lacey are at allalike boxing wise but if ya promoter and the people around u hype u up to much and get u in with to good an apponent to soon u may never be tha same boxeragain.

Good luck to Amir in 2008.

Wats everybodys predictions for saturday nights fight at the Garden ?

Peace
Scottie

 

[cali dro cardo]

Why they had my dude Super Judah fighting outside in the rain, in the middle of a pop warner football field the other night?

 

[stringer bell 32]

What we want from '08 by Dan Rafael ESPN.com

---

We all know 2007 was an outstanding year for boxing. Here are some wishes for 2008:

• For Juan Manuel Marquez and Manny Pacquiao to give us the barnburner we all expect in their rematch.

• Ditto for Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez in their rubber match.

• For a heavyweight fight that more than just "fight freaks" can get pumped up for, which means preferably a big, strong, American foil forWladimir Klitschko. • For Showtime to get in the game for real instead of just pretending.

• For HBO to keep it up. • For Floyd Mayweather Jr. to stop announcing retirements, forget about MMA and fight Miguel Cotto.

• For Ricky Hatton fans to learn a new song and some respect.

• For Bernard Hopkins to be in an entertaining fight again. • For the Top Rank-Golden Boy peace to last.

• For Oscar De La Hoya to go out with a victory. • For people to stop asking me what I think about mixed martial arts (It's fine! If youlike it, cool. I have nothing against it. Just not my cup of tea).

• Peace for Mike Tyson.

• For 1984 Olympic teammates Evander Holyfield and Virgil Hill to stop taking punches.

• More of Jorge Linares, Kelly Pavlik, Michael Katsidis, Victor Ortiz,Andy Lee, Devon Alexander and Joel "Love Child" Julio.

• Less pay-per-view.

• Another entertaining season of "The Contender."

• The right fight so HBO will green-light another edition of "24/7" (my recommendation is Hopkins-Joe Calzaghe).

• For fans to continue to rebel against the evil sanctioning organizations, which don't really care about fans or fighters, only playing favorites andpadding their bank accounts.

• For Kendall Holt to get the rematch he deserves against Ricardo Torres.

• For a television outlet in the United States to regularly carry the many excellent fights that take place overseas, even if they are on tape-delay.

• For promoter Artie Pelullo to find another big star to replace Acelino "Popo" Freitas and Hatton.

• For Don King to promote fights and fighters instead of himself all of the time.

• For Juan Diaz and manager Willie Savannah to be happy with their next promoter.

• For Top Rank's Bob Arum to relax a little.

• For Steve Cunningham to have a title bout in the United States for a change.

• For Vernon Forrest's arm to hold up. Ditto for Jeff Lacy's.

• For Jorge Arce and Martin Castillo to finally fight each other.

• For Chris Byrd to call it a day and become a great trainer.

• For Main Events to get back on track before it has nothing left.

• For Roger Mayweather to get his own reality series.

• For promoter Dan Goossen to finally get himself a heavyweight who doesn't break his heart.

• For those two judges to apologize for robbing Jose Armando Santa Cruz of the decision against Joel Casamayor.

• For Ivan "Iron Boy" Calderon to get the recognition he deserves as the best pure boxer in the game.

• For Showtime's Steve Farhood to keep taking Nick Charles and the rest of us "ShoBox" fans behind the numbers.

• For promoter Lou DiBella to take a deep breath instead of blowing his stack 50 times a day.

• A 900th world title fight for Col. Bob Sheridan to broadcast.

• For Murad Muhammad to stay under his rock.

• For Seminole Warriors Boxing's Leon Margules to bring more big fights to the arena at the beautiful Hard Rock resort in Hollywood, Fla.

• For Oleg Maskaev to finally step into the ring with Samuel Peter so we can all get on with our lives.

• Good health for featherweight titleholder Robert Guerrero's ill wife.

• For Winky Wright to find an opponent.

• For Zab Judah to make sure he pays his taxes.

• For Shane Mosley to remain the classiest fighter in the game.

• For Roy Jones to stop talking about Roy Jones in the third-person.

• For Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. to fight somewhere other than pay-per-view.

• For rock-throwing Daniel Ponce De Leon to keep knocking guys out.

• For Allan Green to live up to his potential.

• For Alexander Povetkin to live up to the hype.

• For Sergio Mora to realize just how badly he messed up his career in 2007.

• For the United States to bring home some boxing gold from Beijing and for those matches not to be buried on cable.

• For Vitali Klitschko to actually make it into the ring.

• For Paulie Malignaggi to get a big fight.

• For Antonio Tarver to fight an opponent with a pulse.

• For Tony Thompson, Darnell "Ding-A-Ling Man" Wilson, Roman Karmazin, GiovanniSegura and Nate Campbell to get title shots.

• For Paul Williams to not be ducked by the top welterweights.

• For Edwin Valero to get a license to box in the United States.

• For American fight fans to get a chance to see Arthur Abraham, David Haye, Steve Molitor and AlexArthur.

• For peace on Earth, but not inside the ring. Happy New Year.

 

[yngseancombs12]

• For Roger Mayweather to get his own reality series.

 

[gunna get it]

For Bernard Hopkins to be in an entertaining fight again
For Bernard Hopkins to hang em up before Calzaghe knocks him out and ends a hall of Fame career the wrong way

 

[mextra45]

Roger gets a reality show it will be classic , get him to live in a apt. with Floyd sr . You wouldnt understand nothing being said but it would be pure comedy