2010 Official Boxing Thread: Soto/Antillon, 2010 Fight of the Year.

[proshares]

So Bika declines to fight Green because of his father's death but now is on tap to replace Dirrell? Damn, looks like the people doubting Dirrell's injury may be right. It makes no sense to me, both these idiots Ward and Dirrell sign up for this tournament damn well knowing that they'll have to fight each other no matter what and then stall when that time comes?

 

[bigmike23]

But at the same time why say you have a head injury of all things? He will have ever boxing commission testing the hell out of him if he ever fights again

 

[proshares]

Yup, that's why Valero could never get fights in the US early in his career with all the head injuries/damage. I don't get it, pretty much a guaranteed 7 figure pay day and your first title fight. I understand this is a close friend of yours but you signed up for this opportunity of a lifetime knowing damn well you'd have to fight Ward.

 

[gunna get it]

Both them guys are certified clowns.

 

[slimcharliebrown]

Bring back Bad Intentions! But in all seriousness these 2 clowns never wanted to fight each other, and they say this problem comes up now, but say he's been suffering head problems and hasn't been able to train since the fight with Abraham? Why didn't they make a bigger deal of it then? Ah well the next 2 months of boxing should be good as long as everyone stays healthy and the fights go on as scheduled. 

 

[proshares]

They're saying Ward/Bika may not be part of the Super Six since Ward is already qualified for the semis. Doubleheader w/Froch & Abraham.

Meanwhile, Kessler did an interview yesterday and said his eye is the same and he's still have bouts of double vision and immense pain. On the fence about retiring.

 

[proshares]

Richard Schafer saying that Pascal/Hopkins has a 99% chance of landing on regular Showtime instead of Showtime PPV.

 

[bigmike23]

According to manager and trainer Barry Hunter, junior welterweight contender Lamont Peterson has accepted an offer to fight Victor Ortiz on December 11 at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas. The fight will be the HBO televised co-feature to Amir Khan's defense of the WBA 140-pound title against interim-champion Marcos Maidana.

Peterson (28-1, 14 KOs) has only suffered one defeat in his pro career, to current WBO king Tim Bradley. Ortiz (27-2-1, 21 KOs) has won four in a row since suffering a sixth round TKO loss to Maidana in June of 2009. If Peterson wins, Hunter says they will target the Khan-Maidana winner.

 

[gunna get it]

http://www.ustream.tv/cha...329288&utm_medium=social


watch Zab train live...

 

[bennyblanko]

espn 3 got the brinkley/bute fight at 10:15 pm.

 

[tcerda]

Originally Posted by GUNNA GET IT

http://www.ustream.tv/cha...329288&utm_medium=social


watch Zab train live...

 


Sorry Gunna I couldnt help myself

  

 

[bigmike23]

how did traver look at HW last night?


Vitali Klitschko how another ZZZZZZZZz figh today?

 

[gunna get it]

Shannon Briggs is reportedly in critical conditional in the hospital after last nites fight ...

 

[proshares]

Rewatched the Klitschko fight, I don't know why his trainers or the ref didn't stop it earlier.

Anyone watch the Tarver fight on Showtime? I'm interested to hear how they called it since he'll be back in the booth with them soon.

Heard that if Pavlik wins, they're still very interested in Bute/Pavlik.

 

[scott frost]

Heard that if Pavlik wins, they're still very interested in Bute/Pavlik.



Kind of sort of want to see this, I think, maybe.

 

[proshares]

Gotta see how he looks in November first.  If he's motivated and has a new cutman, I'd love to see it.  He's always been able to take a good body shot.

Heavyweight Vitali Klitschko W12 Shannon Briggs Retains a heavyweight title Scores: 120-107 (twice), 120-105​

Records: Klitschko, 41-2, 38 KOs; Briggs, 51-6-1, 45 KOs

Rafael's remark: Briggs, the former two-time titleholder, had done nothing in years to warrant this title shot, but because the heavyweight division is so weak on credible contenders, and because Briggs has a name, he got the fight. He might regret it after the absolutely massive beating he took. Klitschko, with the highest knockout percentage in heavyweight championship history, laid gargantuan punishment on Briggs for the entire fight, but Briggs never went down. He showed a big heart and absolutely nothing else. Klitschko pummeled him repeatedly with flush right hands, many of them the chopping variety to the side of the head and behind the ear. Punch after punch, Briggs, 38, of New York, just sopped it all up in a frightening display. Klitschko, 39, fought a flawless fight and seemed on the verge of a knockout several times, including in the seventh round when he buckled Briggs with a right hand near the end of the round. But the bell saved him and referee Ian John Lewis showed no interest in stopping it. The pounding got worse in the eighth when the fight seemed to move from sporting event to simple and unnecessary public violence. Klitschko kept pounding away trying to get Briggs to go down, but he wouldn't, and Briggs' trainers (Herman Caicedo and Eddie Mustafa Muhammad) and Lewis showed a lot of bravery by letting the beating continue. In the end, Briggs made it to the final bell, but at what cost? He wound up in the hospital with a broken left orbital bone, a broken nose and a badly torn left biceps (for which he will need surgery). And who knows what other damage was done that won't present itself until later in Briggs' life? If Briggs was written off before the fight by most, he's now finished. He barely threw punches and took an inordinate amount of punishment. Klitschko just rolled in making his fifth title defense since reclaiming his old belt with a stoppage of Samuel Peter in October 2008, when Klitschko came out of a nearly four-year retirement prompted by various injuries. Klitschko has barely lost a round since launching his comeback, although he probably has sore hands today after Briggs' face hit them so often. There has been talk of Klitschko coming back to the United States in 2011 for a fight with top contender (and former light heavyweight and cruiserweight champ) Tomasz Adamek, but Klitschko also has a mandatory defense due against the winner of the Odlanier Solis-Ray Austin eliminator, which is tentatively scheduled for Dec. 17. The way Klitschko is fighting these days, he could probably fight Adamek, Solis and Austin all in the same night and have no problem. His only competition would be a fight with Wladimir Klitschko, his fellow heavyweight champion and younger brother, but they have said repeatedly that they will never fight. On the undercard, cruiserweight contender Ola Afolabi (15-2-3, 6 KOs), who recently signed with K2 Promotions, the company owned by the Klitschko brothers, scored a 10-round decision against Sandro Siproshvili (24-7, 11 KOs), 27, of the Czech Republic. England's Afolabi, who won on scores of 100-90, 98-92 and 97-93, had not fought in 10 months since losing a decision to titlist Marco Huck. Afolabi is expected to return Dec. 11 on the undercard of Wladimir Klitschko's defense against Dereck Chisora.

[th=""]

Saturday at Hamburg, Germany​

[/th]

Junior featherweight Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. TKO11 Ivan "Choko" Hernandez Retains a junior featherweight title​

Records: Vazquez Jr., 20-0-1, 17 KOs; Hernandez, 28-5-1, 17 KOs

Rafael's remark: Vazquez did not turn in the sort of lights-out performance he had hoped for in this Integrated Sports pay-per-view main event, but it was nonetheless a solid performance and a workmanlike effort as he got rid of Hernandez in his second 122-pound title defense in an entertaining fight. Vazquez, 26, of Puerto Rico, is the son of the former three-division titleholder with the same name. Vazquez Sr. is also his son's trainer and brought him from a kid with a dream and zero amateur fights to a world title, which Junior won in February. That fight against Marvin Sonsona and his first defense against Zsolt Bedak in May were in Puerto Rico. For his second defense, Vazquez returned to Kissimmee, the Orlando suburb where he made his professional debut in 2006 and fought 13 of his first 20 fights on promoter Tuto Zabala Jr.'s regular Telemundo cards. Hernandez, 27, of Mexico, is a former junior bantamweight titlist who had lost his two previous junior featherweight title shots by knockout, to Israel Vazquez in 2006 and Toshiaki Nishioka last October. But he's experienced, had won two fights in a row since the loss to Nishioka, and put up a game effort. He had a lot of success in the first half of the fight, partly because Vazquez often slipped in his new shoes. Finally, Zabala, who works in the corner, put tape around the shoes between the fourth and fifth rounds, which did the trick. Vazquez was able to keep his legs under himself and began wearing down Hernandez, who possibly suffered a broken nose (based on the deep red-colored blood that was flowing in the second half of the fight). Finally, in the 11th round, with Vazquez unloading punches against Hernandez, who was basically defenseless and not punching back, referee Telis Asimenios rightly stopped the fight 50 seconds into the round. Good win for a rising potential star.

[th=""]

Saturday at Kissimmee, Fla.​

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Flyweight Julio Cesar Miranda TKO2 Michael Arango Retains a flyweight title​

Records: Miranda, 34-5-1, 27 KOs; Arango, 31-10-3, 25 KOs

Rafael's remark: After longtime flyweight titlist Omar Narvaez moved up to junior bantamweight, Mexico's Miranda, 30, knocked out Richie Mepranum in the fifth round to win the vacant belt in June in his third try for a title. Pongsaklek Wonjongkam had outpointed him in an April 2009 interim title bout, and Moruti Mthalane did the same for a vacant belt in November. Miranda stopped Ronald Ramos in the eighth round of his first defense on Sept. 4 and returned in short order to plow through Arango, 31, of Colombia, in his second defense. Arango, who dropped to 2-3 in his last five bouts, stood little chance of winning. Sure enough, Miranda confirmed it with the early knockout in the "Top Rank Live" main event. They went right after each other at the opening bell, swinging away, to the delight of the crowd. In the second round, Miranda tagged Arango with a solid right hand on the jaw that wobbled him and sent him staggering into the ropes. Miranda followed with two left hands, neither of which seemed to land flush, and referee Russell Mora jumped in to stop the fight at 1 minute, 30 seconds. It was a poor stoppage. Miranda had been hit solidly only once and was still on his feet early in the fight. Gotta question that one. Arango sure did, complaining about it as soon as it happened.

Records: Marroquin, 16-0, 12 KOs; Cerrillo, 4-5, 4 KOs

Rafael's remark: Marroquin is one of Top Rank's premier prospects. The 21-year-old from Dallas stayed busy with his fifth fight of the year, easily outboxing and outpunching Cerrillo for the shutout decision. Marroquin got in good work, displayed a variety of punches and generally did as he pleased. He will be back on a much bigger stage on Nov. 13, when he returns to his hometown to fight on the undercard of the Manny Pacquiao-Antonio Margarito show at Cowboys Stadium, where he also fought on Pacquiao's undercard in March. Cerrillo, of Mexico, lost his third fight in a row.

[th=""]

Saturday at Monterrey, Mexico​

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[td][/td]

Featherweight
Roberto Marroquin W6 Rafael Cerrillo
Scores: 60-54 (three times)​

Heavyweight Alexander Povetkin KO5 Teke Oruh ​

Records: Povetkin, 20-0, 15 KOs; Oruh, 14-3-1, 6 KOs

Rafael's remark: On Sept. 11, Povetkin was supposed to challenge heavyweight champ Wladimir Klitschko in a long-overdue mandatory defense. Povetkin was due to make in excess of $2 million based on the purse bid that had been held. However, Teddy Atlas, Povetkin's trainer (and ESPN's ringside analyst for "Friday Night Fights") convinced him to withdraw from the fight just before the press conference that would kick off the promotion because he did not think that Povetkin, the 2004 Russian Olympic gold medalist, was ready for that kind of fight yet. Atlas, who has now been with Povetkin, 31, for three fights, wants to keep him busy while preparing him for an eventual title fight. So without the support of Sauerland Event, Povetkin's German promoter, Povetkin took this fight in his native Russia and stopped Nigerian-born, Las Vegas-based Oruh, 32. Povetkin was in total control when he connected with a flush overhand right and knocked Oruh out in the center of the ring with three seconds left in the fifth round. Povetkin was supposed to come right back to fight in Germany on Oct. 31 on the Sebastian Sylvester-Mahir Oral middleweight title bout undercard. However, according to Chris Meyer of Sauerland Event, Povetkin will not be ready to come back so quickly and likely will not be on the card.

[th=""]

Saturday at Chekhov, Russia​

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Super middleweight Lucian Bute TKO9 Jesse Brinkley Retains a super middleweight title​

Records: Bute, 27-0, 22 KOs; Brinkley, 35-6, 22 KOs

Rafael's remark: Left out of the Super Six World Boxing Classic, Montreal's beloved Bute couldn't care less. The 30-year-old southpaw just keeps racking up dominant wins, scoring knockouts, packing the Bell Centre and making good money. He did it again against Brinkley, the hard-working former "Contender" participant who came into the bout on a nine-fight winning streak, having earned the mandatory title shot with an upset (and lopsided) decision against Curtis Stevens in January. But fighting Stevens and fighting Bute are totally different ballgames. Bute set the stage when he clearly hurt Brinkley, 33, of Yerington, Nev., with a body shot in the first round. Bute landed another hard left to the body in the fifth round, dropping Brinkley with the shot to the gut. In fact, whenever Bute landed to the body, he seemed to hurt Brinkley. Bute continued to soften up Brinkley with body shots, forcing him to drop his hands to protect himself. In the eighth, Brinkley, who was bleeding from a cut over his left eye, went down from an uppercut to the chin, barely making it out of the round. In the ninth, a left uppercut to the chin dropped Brinkley to his knees before he rolled over onto his back, and referee Sam Williams called it off. It was a dominant and expected victory for Bute, who is a tremendous body puncher and wields one of the best uppercuts in the business. Brinkley was often on the wrong side of both weapons as Bute made his sixth defense since winning the title in October 2007. If former middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik wins his fight against Brian Vera on Nov. 13, a showdown between Bute and Pavlik is very possible next year. The camps have had serious discussions, and it's a fight HBO would love to buy that would be lucrative for both sides. Further down the road, if light heavyweight champ Jean Pascal retains his title on Dec. 18 against Bernard Hopkins, a Pascal-Bute fight looms as the biggest fight in Canadian history. Cha-ching.

Records: Diaconu, 27-2, 15 KOs; Sheika, 30-10, 21 KOs

Rafael's remark: Like super middleweight titlist Lucian Bute, who won in the main event, Diaconu, 32, is a native of Romania who adopted Montreal as his hometown. In June 2009, he lost his light heavyweight belt in a unanimous decision to Jean Pascal, a Haitian who also adopted Montreal as his hometown. Then he lost the rematch to Pascal in December and had been on the shelf since, partly because of subsequent hand and elbow surgery. Making his return, Diaconu faced Sheika, a one-time top super middleweight contender and former title challenger who is way past his prime after absorbing terrible punishment over the years. But Sheika always comes to fight and still packs a punch, which he showed in the second round. He landed a hard right hand over a lazy Diaconu jab and dropped him with 30 seconds left in the round. Diaconu brushed it off and rallied to dominate most of the rest of the fight. He opened a cut over Sheika's right eye in the third round and simply beat him to the punch the rest of the way to set himself up for another run at a title. Sheika, 33, of Paterson, N.J., dropped to 4-4 in his last eight, with each loss coming against a notable opponent: Diaconu, Roy Jones Jr., and former super middleweight titleholders Markus Beyer and Jeff Lacy. Sheika said afterward he plans to retire.

[th=""]

Friday at Montreal​

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[td][/td]

Light heavyweight
Adrian Diaconu W10 Omar Sheika
Scores: 98-91, 98-92, 97-92​

Heavyweight Antonio Tarver W10 Nagy Aguilera Scores: 98-92 (three times)​

Records: Tarver, 28-6, 19 KOs; Aguilera, 16-5, 11 KOs

Rafael's remark: Tarver was perhaps the best light heavyweight of the past decade, during which he won various alphabet belts, the legitimate title and shocked the world in 2004 with his second-round knockout of Roy Jones Jr. (when that still meant something). In fact, Tarver took two of three fights from Jones and faced the cream of the crop in the division. But that was then and this is now. He is a month shy of turning 42, was coming off losses in his last two fights to Chad Dawson on lopsided decisions, had not fought in 17 months and, in moving up two weight classes, was a soft 221 pounds -- a whopping 46 more than in his last fight. In other words, his desire to eventually win a heavyweight title has just about everything working against him. If there are any positives in Tarver's quest, they are that he is a relatively fresh fighter for a 41-year-old and obviously still has the outstanding skills that made him one of America's most decorated amateurs in history. There's also the fact that the heavyweight landscape, particularly in the United States, is horrible. So it was against that backdrop that Tarver began his quest against Aguilera, a hard-punching 24-year-old from the Dominican Republic who lives in Newburgh, N.Y. The quicker, more agile Tarver certainly won the fight and did so with ease, outboxing the often-inactive Aguilera. But to be blunt, it was a horrible fight -- and if it's any indication of how Tarver is going to box as a heavyweight, no thanks. But we can cut Tarver a little bit of slack for the pedestrian performance because he was coming off a long layoff and apparently injured his left shoulder in the fourth round, which is hard to deal with as a southpaw. Tarver said he was happy with his performance, even if nobody else was. Although he landed some solid shots on Aguilera, Tarver did not appear to hurt him. There's a big difference between having power at light heavyweight and having it at heavyweight. Aguilera, whose claim to fame is a first-round knockout of former heavyweight titlist Oleg Maskaev in December, lost for the third time in his last four fights.

Records: Porter, 17-0, 13 KOs; Munoz, 18-4-1, 11 KOs

Rafael's remark: Porter, who turns 23 on Oct. 27, gave himself an early birthday present with a bloody victory against Munoz. Porter was an elite amateur, winning a 2007 National Golden Gloves title and serving as a 2008 U.S. Olympic alternate. He turned pro at 165 pounds and then settled in as a junior middleweight. But Porter, of Cleveland, was seemingly undersized for the 154-pound division, so he dropped down to the 147-pound welterweight class in July and against Munoz was in his second welterweight fight in a row. Porter does not seem to pack a big punch, despite his high knockout percentage. However, he dominated Munoz, who showed a big heart and little else. While Munoz moved forward looking to brawl without the slightest regard for lateral movement or head movement, Porter, who gained a measure of fame for giving Manny Pacquiao good work in sparring, picked him apart. He used a versatile attack, speed and accurate combination punching to dominate. It turned into a bloodbath when an accidental head-butt opened a cut near Munoz's right temple in the fifth round. The blood flowed like water coming from a faucet. Another accidental butt opened another cut on the left side of Munoz's head in the seventh round, the blood flowing freely. There was another butt in the ninth round and, you guessed it, more blood. Besides the butts, which were unintentional, Porter hammered Munoz time and again. Referee Gary Ritter certainly could have stopped the fight at any time after about the sixth round, but it went until Munoz's corner finally threw in the towel at 2 minutes, 5 seconds of the ninth round in a bout scheduled for 10. Munoz, 32, of Albuquerque, N.M., dropped his third in a row, all by knockout.

[th=""]

Friday at Miami, Okla.​

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[td][/td]

Welterweight
Shawn Porter TKO9 Hector Munoz​

Junior lightweight Eloy Perez W10 Dominic Salcido Scores: 96-94 (twice), 95-95​

Records: Perez, 19-0-2, 5 KOs; Salcido, 18-3, 9 KOs

Rafael's remark: Perez, 23, of Salinas, Calif., was the favorite and the fighter being groomed for bigger things by Golden Boy Promotions. Salcido, 26, of Rialto, Calif., figured to provide Perez with a decent enough test, but nothing too scary. Turned out that Perez had a very tough time in eking out a majority decision in a very close and, frankly, boring fight in the main event of Telefutura's "Solo Boxeo Tecate." Salcido started off well and closed fairly well, but Perez, the crowd favorite, was shading the close rounds in the middle of the fight to emerge with the win. Perez actually looked bored at times, as if he was going through the motions and fighting only in spots. If he does that against a better opponent, he will be in big trouble. Salcido, once a highly regarded prospect, has not been the same since 2004 U.S. Olympian Vicente Escobedo knocked him out in the sixth round in 2008. Including that fight, Salcido is 2-3 in his last five bouts.

Records: Gomez, 7-0, 6 KOs; Montano, 17-8-2, 2 KOs

Rafael's remark: Gomez, of East Los Angeles, turned pro in April to much fanfare. Just 18, he was a standout amateur, winning a silver medal at the 2009 world amateur championships and a U.S. national title. As a pro, he had scored six consecutive knockouts inside three rounds. His handlers at Golden Boy Promotions wanted to extend him a bit, which is where Montano came in. The 28-year-old journeyman from Mexico is not a puncher at all, but he has a great chin (never stopped in his eight defeats), has faced good competition and is well-known as a sparring partner for a number of top fighters. He would likely provide Gomez with exactly the kind of experience Golden Boy wants him to get. He did just that, and Gomez aced his test. Montana landed some decent body shots, which Gomez did not seem to like, but that was about it. Gomez dished out his best and Montano, as expected, took all the shots, despite being rocked several times. He was still standing at the final bell, although he did not win any rounds in what was a great learning experience for Gomez, who has a bright future.

Records: Wilder, 13-0, 13 KOs; Sconiers, 17-21-2, 11 KOs

Rafael's remark: Despite Sconiers' woeful record, he represented a major step up in competition for the very raw Wilder, 24, of Tuscaloosa, Ala. The 2008 U.S. Olympic bronze medalist has been fed one stiff after another as his handlers have padded his record while giving him much-needed experience after a short amateur career. But Sconiers was on a whole different level than Wilder's past opponents, having faced a slew of notable foes in his career, including Razor Ruddock, Ray Austin, Clifford Etienne, DaVarryl Williamson, Maurice Harris and others. Three fights ago, Sconiers even upset Andre Purlette with a third-round knockout. Wilder had his hands full in this fight. Although Wilder dropped Sconiers four times and ultimately got the knockout at 1 minute, 9 seconds of the fourth round in the scheduled six-rounder, Sconiers put a major scare into him. In the second round, Sconiers knocked him down (and nearly out) with an uppercut and continued to batter him until the bell saved him and ended the round. Wilder eventually got himself together and finished Sconiers, but not without his flaws all hanging out. Several other Golden Boy prospects were also on the card. Brandywine, Md., heavyweight Seth Mitchell (19-0-1, 13 KOs), 28 -- a former Michigan State linebacker and perhaps the best American heavyweight prospect -- dropped Derrick Brown (13-6-3, 11 KOs) three times for a first-round knockout. Bantamweight Randy Caballero (5-0, 4 KOs), 19, of Coachella, Calif., was pushed the distance for the first time in a 40-36 (three times) shutout decision against Mexico's Missael Nunez (4-10-2, 0 KOs). Paramount, Calif., featherweight Charles Huerta (15-1, 9 KOs), 24, knocked out Felipe Cordova (10-2, 4 KOs) of Brownsville, Texas, in the first round.

[th=""]

Friday at Indio, Calif.​

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[td][/td]

Junior welterweight
Frankie Gomez W6 Ramon Montano
Scores: 60-54 (twice), 58-56​

[td][/td]

Heavyweight
Deontay Wilder TKO4 Harold Sconiers​

 

[gunna get it]

I watched the Tarver fight.

He still looked slick. he hurt his arm in the fight and couldnt throw the left like he wanted too.

He popped buddy alot but couldnt wobble him, even Tarver said he's concerned about not having enough power. Kirk menafee (sp) called a fair fight, they said they not sure about Tarver trying to get that Heavyweight title, maybe 5 or 6 fights down the road but his time is short

 

[proshares]

I don't think he's got 5 or 6 fights in him, though. If Potvekin and Haye keep ducking, I say give Tarver Vlad or Wlad in another couple fights or so. Go up against Arreola, I think that'd be a good test.

Jay that's the same dude from Fox 5? Didn't know he was calling fights now.

 

[gunna get it]

yup, thats him. He's been doing ShowBox for a while now.

 

[scott frost]

Tarver is still a name, he'll get a shot alot sooner than later if he wants it

 

[gunna get it]

I cant remember too many times where Tarver has been rocked...

his career is a "what if" to me, cus if he started at a younger age, I think he would have been a superstar, he's a natural.


and Seriously, Im looking forward to Pacman vs Margarito.
not sure if its Freddie Roach talkin +#**, but I cant wait to see if Pacman can pepper Margarito with enough punches to make him not throw back. Is Pac strong enough to hit then hold Margarito the way Shane could?

real interesting fight.

somewhere in Vegas Pooosie Boy Floyd is hoping and praying for a Tonio win...

 

[proshares]

Yea now that I think about it, he may be a bit fresher since he started so late in his career.

Roach always talks %**! but I don't think Manny will be able to hold like Shane did.

I'm really looking forward to Zab/Matthyse. They both have pop and if they get in the middle of the ring, it may last 4 rounds and be fight of the year. Stacked two months coming up

Sucks we have to wait until Nov 6th for the next big card.

 

[jagshemash]

Originally Posted by GUNNA GET IT

I cant remember too many times where Tarver has been rocked...

his career is a "what if" to me, cus if he started at a younger age, I think he would have been a superstar, he's a natural.


and Seriously, Im looking forward to Pacman vs Margarito.
not sure if its Freddie Roach talkin +#**, but I cant wait to see if Pacman can pepper Margarito with enough punches to make him not throw back. Is Pac strong enough to hit then hold Margarito the way Shane could?

real interesting fight.

somewhere in Vegas Pooosie Boy Floyd is hoping and praying for a Tonio win...

Yea, I'm not sure what to make of this fight.  Roach has already said that most of Margarito's success has come when his opponents are backed into the ropes and I assume their strategy will be to keep him off the ropes.  Well, I can guarantee that Cotto had no intentions of getting pinned against the ropes but Margarito wore him down and forced him into the ropes.  Same thing recently with Calderon-Segura.  Mosley had a great strategy which was basically to tie up and turn to keep him away from the ropes and blast him as he came in.  Like you said I'm not sure Pacquiao will be able to do this nor does he hit as hard as Mosley...there's a vid on youtube of a guy who's sparred with Mosley, Mayweather, and Pacquiao and he ranks their power in that order.  However, I do respect Roach in that fact that he can break down an opponents weaknesses and capitalize on them through the gameplan he lays out and so may have something else up his sleeve. 

 

[proshares]

JMM/Katsidis tripleheader may be in doubt, Katsidis older brother died in Australia the other day (RIP).

Khan sparring with Manny and JCC Jr. on the way to the Phillippines to help spar as well.

 

[proshares]

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

[h4]1. MANNY PACQUIAO[/h4]

[h4]Welterweight titlist Record: 51-3-2, 38 KOs Age: 31[/h4] Pacquiao Hits: If Floyd Mayweather Jr. won't fight Pacquiao, so be it. The PacMan was ready, willing and able to meet him Nov. 13, with full drug testing in the lead-up to the fight. But Mayweather decided he wanted no part of it -- and wound up in legal trouble anyway. So Pacquiao will carry on with his career, gunning for a title in a record-extending eighth weight division. Misses: Unfortunately, Pacquiao is facing Antonio Margarito, an opponent who isn't worthy of sharing the same ring with Pacquiao -- based not only on Margarito's hand-wrap scandal and suspension but also on his most recent ring results, a brutal knockout loss to Shane Mosley two fights ago and a sloppy win against a journeyman in May.

[h4]2. FLOYD MAYWEATHER JR.[/h4]

[h4]Welterweight Record: 41-0, 25 KOs Age: 33[/h4] Mayweather Hits: He has a perfect record, titles in five classes, a spot on the pound-for-pound list and an eventual spot in the International Boxing Hall of Fame. And he has been one of the very best in recent boxing history, even if he didn't always fight the opponents the public and press wanted to see him tangle with most. But you can't argue with the results. Misses: Instead of making tens of millions of dollars by taking on Pacquiao in the fight the world wants to see, Mayweather decided to take "a vacation." Ultimately, with so much time on his hands, Mayweather got himself in all kinds of trouble: a vile, racist and homophobic video rant he went on against Pacquiao, plus the eight charges filed against him by Las Vegas authorities stemming from an alleged domestic incident involving the mother of his children. What a shame that Mayweather will end this year having fought only four times since 2007.

[h4]3. PAUL WILLIAMS[/h4]

[h4]Middleweight Record: 39-1, 27 KOs Age: 29[/h4] Williams Hits: In a year with so few really big fights to get excited about, Williams and Sergio Martinez will fight in one of the biggest on Nov. 20 when Williams challenges for the middleweight title. He and Martinez waged a truly sensational nontitle battle last December, which Williams won via a heavily disputed majority decision. The rematch ought to be another tremendous battle, one that all boxing fans should be looking forward to. Misses: Although Williams got the technical-decision win against Kermit Cintron in May, it looked like he was in for a very rough night before the bout was short-circuited in the fourth round when Cintron fell out of the ring and the fight was stopped. We'll always wonder what would have been if the fight had continued.

[h4]4. JUAN MANUEL MARQUEZ[/h4]

[h4]Lightweight champion Record: 51-5-1, 37 KOs Age: 37[/h4] Marquez Hits: Throughout his career, Marquez has never ducked a tough challenge: He has faced Mayweather two divisions above his normal weight, Pacquiao twice, Juan Diaz twice, Marco Antonio Barrera, Joel Casamayor and Chris John (in Indonesia). That is a tremendous lineup of opponents. And Marquez isn't looking to take it easy, either, which is why he is set to face hard-punching brawler Michael Katsidis on Nov. 27 in what looks like a candidate for fight of the year. Great matchup. Misses: Katsidis' older brother died Oct. 19. You have to hope -- for the sake of both fighters -- that Katsidis will still be able to face Marquez, despite the obviously terrible situation.

[h4]5. SERGIO MARTINEZ[/h4]

[h4]Middleweight champion Record: 45-2-2, 24 KOs Age: 35[/h4] Martinez Hits: Martinez turned pro in 1997, and even though it took him a decade to get important fights, he never gave up trying to make it big. He finally enjoyed a breakout in 2008 and 2009, when he turned in three terrific performances on HBO: a knockout of Alex Bunema, an outright robbery of a draw against Kermit Cintron, and the first epic battle with Paul Williams. It all led to his middleweight championship victory against Kelly Pavlik in April and the fight we're all looking forward to: the rematch with Williams on Nov. 20. Misses: Suggestions are welcome.

[h4]6. MIGUEL COTTO[/h4]

[h4]Junior middleweight titlist Record: 35-2, 28 KOs Age: 29[/h4] Cotto Hits: Cotto has won titles in three divisions and has fought more top fighters -- and fought them more regularly over the past several years -- than just about any fighter on earth. Just look at the names: Manny Pacquiao, Shane Mosley, Antonio Margarito, Joshua Clottey, Zab Judah, Joshua Clottey, Paulie Malignaggi and more. If only Floyd Mayweather Jr. had the same attitude. Misses: After winning a 154-pound title against Yuri Foreman in June, Cotto had minor shoulder surgery and decided to take the rest of the year off before planning a return in March. It's hard to hold that against him, and we won't. But it is a bummer that he won't fight this fall.

[h4]7. TIMOTHY BRADLEY JR.[/h4]

[h4]Junior welterweight titlist Record: 26-0, 11 KOs Age: 27[/h4] Bradley Hits: Bradley has been on a tremendous winning run in recent years: There was a defeat of dangerous puncher Luis Carlos Abregu at welterweight; a near shutout of Lamont Peterson; a dominant (albeit abbreviated) performance in a no-contest with Nate Campbell; a unification victory against Kendall Holt in a title unification match; a near shutout of solid Edner Cherry; a win on enemy turf in England to claim a title against Junior Witter; and a near shutout of future lightweight titlist Miguel Vazquez. And Bradley isn't about to take it easy now. He faces the toughest opponent of his career in his next fight when he meets Devon Alexander in a much-anticipated unification fight on Jan. 29. Misses: Now that the Alexander fight is good to go, there's nothing to say here. We can put the brutal negotiations behind us and just give Bradley credit for taking the fight.

[h4]8. BERNARD HOPKINS[/h4]

[h4]Light heavyweight Record: 51-5-1, 32 KOs Age: 45[/h4] Hopkins Hits: From the moment Hopkins signed to challenge light heavyweight champ Jean Pascal on Dec. 18, it looked like an intriguing fight. How will the crafty veteran Hopkins -- who knows every trick in the book but will turn 46 in January -- deal with a prime, hungry champion 18 years his junior? Although an underdog, Hopkins has made a career out of defying the odds, so seeing if he can do it again will be interesting. But what makes the bout even better is the fact that Showtime and the promoters have moved it off pay-per-view and onto the regular network. Misses: Although an interesting match, Pascal-Hopkins figures to be more of a chess match than an exciting action fight, because that is how Hopkins has been making his fights for years.

[h4]9. WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO[/h4]

[h4]Heavyweight champion Record: 55-3, 49 KOs Age: 34[/h4] Klitschko Hits: On a list in which heavyweights usually need not apply, Klitschko has pounded his way into pound-for-pound recognition as a dominant heavyweight champion. There are two ways to do it: Defeat a big-name rival in a defining fight or simply roll through the division, cleaning out the top contenders one by one. Well, other than his brother, Vitali Klitschko -- whom Wladimir won't fight for obvious reasons -- the champ is systematically cleaning house. He registered his ninth defense by crushing former titlist Samuel Peter in the 10th round of their rematch on Sept. 11. It was yet another thoroughly dominant performance. Misses: His style leading up to his inevitable knockouts can be awfully frustrating to watch sometimes. With his physical gifts, sick jab and pure punching power with both hands, it often seems as though he lets his opponents hang around way too long before the finish.

[h4]10. NONITO DONAIRE[/h4]

[h4]Interim junior bantamweight titlist Record: 24-1, 16 KOs Age: 27[/h4] Donaire Hits: Donaire held an interim junior bantamweight title, but because he couldn't land a significant fight in the weight class, he gave it up to move up to bantamweight, where he'll face former titleholder Wladimir Sidorenko in a dangerous fight on Top Rank's Dec. 4 "In Harm's Way" pay-per-view card. As nice of a match as that is, it's merely the appetizer. If Donaire wins, he'll be on his way to a Feb. 19 showdown with unified titleholder Fernando Montiel on HBO in one of the best fights that can be made in the small weight classes. Misses: It isn't Donaire's fault, but what an utter bummer it is that he hasn't had a significant fight since winning the flyweight title from Vic Darchinyan in 2007.

The next 10

11. Andre Ward
12. Lucian Bute
13. Celestino Caballero
14. Sugar Shane Mosley
15. Chad Dawson
16. Juan Manuel Lopez
17. Fernando Montiel
18. Chris John
19. Arthur Abraham
20. Jean Pascal