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

[smedroc]

Originally Posted by dako akong otin

totally forgot about Haye fighting.  Did he call out the Klitschos after the fight?

He said they aint got no where else to go (like he aint been ducking 

) and that a fight with one of them has to happen next year.

 

[bigmike23]

like most of us said. WAYYY to much speed for the cheating bum to handle. fight went how i thought it would

i love paul williams and would cheer for him hard VS manny. put he has zero defense and would leave him self wide open to mannys speed and punchs all night

 

[beermann2]

Hey fellas, how does a fighter balloon up after a weigh in? What and how much is he allow to eat and drink? I triped out at how much Tony went from 150 to 165 pounds.

imo, manny should retire. Nothing else to do unless Mayweather comes knocking.
As a fan of boxing:
vs cotto: i won't pay to watch it. It doesn't interest me.
vs mosely: na I'll go over a friends house to watch it.
vs marquez: I would pay to watch it and see if JMM can win, but I know he won't cuz manny is a jumping bean.


Props to Frost for that link. Thanks.

 

[dapper d]

God, I would hate to see Mosley fight Manny...that's such a bad match-up for him...
Plus, a life of fighting is starting to really show with shane...He stutters a lot and his tongue is real heavy...

You know, Marquez wants that fight...give it to him

 

[gunna get it]

Manny wont fight Shane.
Roach wont let that happen, he already told Shane flat out no. thats really not the best of match ups for Manny.

manny gets hit ALOT.

but maybe after the Floyd/Mosley fight they feel more confident

ey fellas, how does a fighter balloon up after a weigh in?


by going back to eating what they normally eating and hydrating.

 

[lesgodsonc0]

Didn't Hatton used to balloon up to 190-200 between fights? 

Esp for a 140 fighter.

As far as Pac-Man goes...It's Floyd or bust for him. Not sure why anybody would pay to see any of those fights...the 1st fight against Cotto wasn't even close, so the rematch is nothing but a money grab for Top Rank. Marquez....eh at this point, I feel that it's a bit late. Let's wait and see what he does against Katsidis.

 

[japanair21]

Originally Posted by GUNNA GET IT

Manny wont fight Shane.
Roach wont let that happen, he already told Shane flat out no. thats really not the best of match ups for Manny.

manny gets hit ALOT.

but maybe after the Floyd/Mosley fight they feel more confident

ey fellas, how does a fighter balloon up after a weigh in?

by going back to eating what they normally eating and hydrating.
I feel like Shane has just enough strength and speed that it could get to Manny. Floyd could weather a storm like Shane, but I don't know if Manny could.

 

[chitownrivera07]

Originally Posted by Stringer Bell 32

Originally Posted by Sir Rob A Lot

I like Pac/Cotto II. Especially at the 154 limit. I remember when MAC was that dude on NT Boxing... he loses. And yall are easy to jump ship.. smh.

The Margarito loss changed him forever

This.....

I Remember I wanted to literally throw hands with every dude that said something bad about Cotto that night after the fight

I mean the guy was bleeding out of his ears, how is that even possible?! 

I'll always rock with the man, and hope he can land some fights that'll prove he's still a boxer to be reckoned with 

..............That left hook to the body ?!

 

[mextra45]

If you didnt know Margarito has a broken orbital bone he is getting surgery in Tx as soon as the swelling goes down around his eye .
There aint but one fight that matters and we all know what that is .
In other news Martinez - Williams in a few days , This match up is great lots of punches and two guys with great chins , If Sergio Pulls this off i think he is Fighter of the year

 

[kingjames23]

Originally Posted by Ultimate Dude

Originally Posted by JapanAir21





They threw around Paul Williams name on the telecast. Good God Manny would be in a world of trouble against The Punisher. That reach would be unbearable for Manny. There wasn't too much difference between Manny and Margarito as far as reach went. That's what probably sold Manny to take this fight. The first few rounds Margarito was weary to go in with Pac. The few times Manny got in the ropes and in trouble, he got hurt, and from that point forward, Margarito had his head lowered and that was BAD NEWS for him. The size seemed to maybe be an issue for 2 rounds to start, but if Margarito is going to leave his head open like that, it becomes much easier for Pac. If Paul Williams fought Pac? He could keep Pac at bay with that reach advantage. It's not just 5-6 inches height, but the reach.



Amir Khan was an intriguing name they threw out there for Manny. I'd pay my PPV money to watch this fight. When's last time Manny fought someone who's pretty much on top of their game? Cotto had already been tarnished, as had Ricky, as had Margarito. Clottey? Eh. Oscar? That fight was a money-fight, all it was. Only reason David Diaz got a shot was because he stopped an already bum-Morales. I'd love to see an Amir Khan/Pacquiao fight, but I just don't see it.

i am under the impression that you have not watched punisher all that much. punisher often fails to utilize what is clearly a definite reach advantage and is always more than willing to mix it up close up.

amir khan has not really done much to demonstrate that he is "at the top of his game" as you put it. until he beats maidana plus a top jr welter the likes of tim bradley, devon alexander or even victor ortiz, then he has not proven much at this stage in his career.

That's very true. Although he did jab more and use that reach early in the fight with Kermit. He wasn't having much success, got frustrated and then went back to his old style. Which made Kermit jump out of the ring.

 

[mfr3shm]

Originally Posted by JapanAir21

Originally Posted by GUNNA GET IT

Manny wont fight Shane.
Roach wont let that happen, he already told Shane flat out no. thats really not the best of match ups for Manny.

manny gets hit ALOT.

but maybe after the Floyd/Mosley fight they feel more confident

ey fellas, how does a fighter balloon up after a weigh in?

by going back to eating what they normally eating and hydrating.

I feel like Shane has just enough strength and speed that it could get to Manny. Floyd could weather a storm like Shane, but I don't know if Manny could.


I think Pacquiao will most likely fight Mosley next, and they can sell it as Mosley landed one big punch against Mayweather and lets see what Pacquaio can do against Mosley and possibly beat Mosley worse than Mayweather did. I think it can sell because other than that nobody wants to see Pac/Cotto 2 there is nothing that Cotto can do to beat Pac.
Also Mosley is free from Golden Boy Promotions he recently decided that from now on he will be negotiating who he fights, and Mosley is also going to be launching his own boxing promotion company in the near future.

 

[air234ever]

this was mayweather talking smack a couple months ago..... he scared

 

[scott frost]

[h2]Mosley burns bridges with Golden Boy for a shot at Pacquiao and big fights[/h2]

"It's business. I never had any problems with Bob Arum. Matter of fact, my best fights have been with Bob," - Shane Mosley

Former five-time world titlist and future Hall of Famer 'Sugar' Shane Mosley is ready to move forward with his boxing career, and no, he is not talking about retirement at all. The 39-year-old Mosley was conspicuously seen during the post-fight press conference of the Pacquiao-Margarito card promoted by Top Rank Promotions last Saturday night in Arlington, Texas.

Mosley's presence in the post-fight press conference was surprising considering that he is a partner in Golden Boy Promotions which has an ongoing and much-publicized dispute with Top Rank. I took the opportunity together with some other media personnel to ask Mosley about important matters regarding his career. Mosley had recently announced hiring a new advisor in J Prince, and with his appearance at the Top Rank presser, signs definitely were pointing towards change.

Mosley expressed his desire to fight Pacquiao next and despite being impressed by Pacquiao's performance against Margarito, believes he had a much more definitive victory over the disgraced Mexican when they fought in January of 2009. 

When asked what it would take for him and Richard (Schaeffer of GBP) to make the Pacquiao fight happen, Mosley replied, "It wouldn't be Richard, I will do it myself. He won't be involved with it because Top Rank and Golden Boy have a problem, so I have to stick my side to boxing and do it myself.. I'm with J Prince."

Mosley also admitted that he and his new advisor Prince have already visited the Top Rank offices to discuss future fights with Top Rank fighters.

"It was both of us. We talked a little bit to see what's available with the Top Rank fighters over here and what's going on with Margarito and Pacquiao."

Surely, fans will definitely react unfavorably if a Pacquiao-Mosley fight is announced instead of the fight they truly have been clamoring for which is a fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather, but with Mayweather having to deal with a plethora of legal matters on top of his many excuses not to fight Pacquiao, what other big named fighters are out there really for Pacquiao to face? When asked about Pacquiao-Mayweather, Mosley said, "I think Floyd would fight him, but I dont think he could fight him right now. I think he would, but I don't think he can. He has a lot of things going on right now."

Asked if GBP would still have to be involved based on his contractual obligations to them if he is indeed to fight Top Rank fighters like Pacquiao, Mosley replied, "I was never in contract with them for a while. I'm a partner with Golden Boy, I don't have a contract with Golden Boy. I haven't been in a contract with them for the last 2 years, me and Bernard."

And if he were to fight Pacquiao, what promotional outfit would it be under? "It would be under Shane Mosley Promotions," Mosley responded. 

With the way Mosley was talking, it was as if GBP was already far behind on his rear-view mirror, but as far he is concerned, he is simply doing what's best with what's left in his boxing career. Asked if the recent moves he's made and plans of fighting Top Rank fighters would hurt his relationship with GBP, Mosley replied, "It could, it might, but my career is coming to an end so.." and added, "I will never cut ties or friendships, but if they want to cut off my stock or whatever in Golden Boy, that's one thing, but I don't think it's necessary to cut my friendship with them."

The ultimate insult might be when Mosley put his career in proper perspective and said, "It's business. I never had any problems with Bob Arum. Matter of fact, my best fights have been with Bob. All my best fights have been with him, even my fights with Oscar. I fought Oscar, I fought Margarito, all my big fights have been with Bob Arum."

Expect another big one to be announced soon.

Dennis "dSource" Guillermo is a freelance sports journalist. He can be reached through email @ [email protected].

 

[classy freshman]

Anyone going to the Paul Williams fight in AC this weekend? I will be there.

Mini NT summit????

 

[gunna get it]

go to youtube and watch the "ask a fighter" series by HBO...

Williams and Martinez are up...

 

[bigmike23]

Would an African-American boxer stand a better chance against Manny Pacquiao than his most recent competition?

“
Floyd Mayweather would beat Manny Pacquiao because the styles that African-American fighters -- and I mean, black fighters from the streets or the inner cities -- would be successful.

 

[maddog345]

Nobody wants to see Mosley vs. Pacquiao. This fight would have been good a couple years ago. Now, not so much. Mosley put up a poor performance against a poor fighter.

On another note, I'm ready for the Williams & Martinez rematch.

 

[mrdills]

How do you guys feel about Hopkins claim that Manny doesn't fight Afro American fighters? I mean he seems like he is trying to fight floyd.

 

[frink85]

who else is there besides Floyd? PWill is too big for him, and if he fights Mosley he's taking on another old washed up guy. And do people want to see him take on some no-name dude/up-and-comer for weak money just to prove a point? B-Hop must've joined Golden Boy marketing dept, or he's full of crap.

 

[proshares]

Originally Posted by JapanAir21

Amir has done enough in my eyes to scare Manny. I don't think he has the name-power to get a big fight with Manny. Same goes for Berto.

Paul may not use his reach to his advantage as good as he should be able to, but even tonight Manny had some issues with Margarito's size at first.

Those issues would be worse with Paul, and he's much quicker than Margarito.

Manny would handle both of them with ease.  Khan hasn't fought anyone with a semblance of power since Prescott for a reason...

 

[proshares]

PERTH, Australia -- Australian cruiserweight Danny Green retained a minor world title with a unanimous points decision over American challenger B.J. Flores on Wednesday.

The judges scored the fight 117-112, 118-110 and 118-111 for Green, who improved to 31-3 with 27 knockouts. Flores dropped to 24-1 with one draw.

Green was troubled in the early rounds by Flores' quick jab but landed the more telling punches as the fight progressed.

Green's last fight ended controversially in July, when Paul Briggs was floored by a glancing blow after 29 seconds. Australian authorities described the fight as a "sham contest" and said Briggs had not disclosed his health problems. Green was cleared of any wrongdoing.

I am here today to clarify the situation on a pair of red-hot rumors that have torn their way through the Internet in recent days:

No, Oscar De La Hoya is not coming out of retirement to fight Ricky Hatton, who would also have to come out of retirement.

And, well, maybe there will be a fight between heavyweight contender Tomasz Adamek and Roy Jones Jr.

The idea of a De La Hoya-Hatton showdown was discussed a few years ago -- and would have been a huge fight -- but it never came to fruition as each lost fights and moved closer to retirement. De La Hoya has retreated to a life of promoting fights since Manny Pacquiao annihilated him in December 2008. Pacquiao also destroyed England's Hatton in May 2009, sending him into a deep funk that included a widely-seen video of him going on a cocaine binge. Fighting is clearly not in either man's future.

But that didn't stop The Daily Mail, an English newspaper, from reporting that Hatton had been offered a fight with De La Hoya by Roberto Diaz, a matchmaker for De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions, which promoted Hatton for the final four fights of his career.

Diaz had been in England representing Golden Boy at last Saturday's fight between heavyweight titlist David Haye, whom Golden Boy has an interest in, and Audley Harrison. Diaz visited with Hatton while he was in England and was quoted as saying, "This would be a huge event, which we believe would fill a football ground here in England."

Maybe so, but no fight was offered, or even discussed -- and it's not happening, according to De La Hoya, whom I spoke with on Tuesday night. He was in Mexico City for a Wednesday news conference at which Golden Boy's new deal to promote monthly fights on Mexican mega-network Televisa is going to be announced.

"I'm f------ pissed off," De La Hoya said about the rumor. "Me fighting Ricky Hatton is a bunch of baloney. Not true, a million percent. They can pay me all the money they want in the world, but I'm not coming back for no money. I have no idea where that stuff comes from. They quoted Roberto Diaz, but we spoke to him and he said, 'No, I didn't say that.' I was shocked by it. I am a happily retired man."

Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer was with De La Hoya and added, "There's nothing to it. Oscar was surprised by it and he wasn't happy about it. There is no truth to the rumors. Oscar is not fighting Ricky Hatton or anyone else."

As for an Adamek-Jones fight, it's being discussed, although it's certainly not as far along as has been reported -- that the fight is all but set for March in New York or Newark, N.J., where Adamek is a major draw.

I called Main Events promoter Kathy Duva, who co-promotes Adamek, to find out what was up. She said Adamek idolizes Jones and that they met in person at the Prudential Center in Newark two weeks ago, where Adamek attended the Zab Judah-Lucas Matthysse card she promoted and Jones was working the HBO broadcast as an analyst. However, that was it.

"They met at the Judah fight and they talked," Duva said. "But that fight is nothing being considered. We talked to Adamek about it and he knows it's not the direction for him to go in. It was something where Roy asked Adamek if he would fight him and Tomasz was probably just being polite to a guy he idolizes. I think things were probably misunderstood. That's not a fight that's going to happen. That is certainly not a fight I'd work on.

"I've never had any conversations with Roy's people whatsoever, and [Adamek co-promoter] Ziggy Rozalski tells me he hasn't either. There isn't going to be a fight. I understand why Roy would like to, but at this point in his career Tomasz has other things to do that are much more attractive."

Adamek is scheduled to face Vinny Maddalone at the Prudential Center on Dec. 9 (Integrated Sports PPV), but even after Adamek's expected victory, Jones won't be considered as a future opponent, Duva said.

That isn't quite the case, however, according to Rozalski and John Wirt, CEO of Square Ring, Jones' promotional company.

They said they are in fact discussing the fight as an alternative if Adamek can't get a title shot with Vitali Klitschko or his brother, Wladimir Klitschko.

Clearly, there is dissention in the Adamek camp. Main Events is against the fight. Rozalski is for it. They'll need to come to an agreement before any fight can be locked in.

"We work for the fighter, and that is Tomasz's desire -- to fight Roy Jones -- if we can't get a fight with Klitschko or even Haye," Rozalski said. "If we don't get those fights, this is what Tomasz wants. I do what Tomasz says. He's the boss. We work for him. Kathy and [Main Events attorney] Pat English are against it. I do what Tomasz wants me to do and he is 100 percent happy with the deal he and Roy made at the fight in Newark. They agreed on percentages. That's his dream, to fight a legendary American fighter like Roy Jones."

Wirt, who was on the line with Rozalski, said he sent him a draft contract and "from Ziggy's perspective and Tomasz's perspective, it's acceptable, and now it's in the hands of Main Events. If the other options don't work out for Adamek, this is something worth pursuing."

 

[bennyblanko]

i want to see manny fight zab. i didnt get to see the lucas matthysse fight but zab is one of the slickest fighters around (in the first five rounds). it would be a good test for manny to see how he handles that type of fight.

 

[gunna get it]

LOL if u did see Zab fight Lucas then trust me you wouldnt wanna see Zab get killed by Pacman.

 

[proshares]

What a difference 11 months can make -- or even three years in Sergio Martinez's case.

Before Paul Williams and Martinez met Dec. 5, the consensus was that it was a fine fight but not what people had bargained for. Remember, Williams was supposed to challenge then-middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik in a major fight, but he withdrew about a month before the much-anticipated bout.

So on relatively short notice, junior middleweight titlist Sergio Martinez moved up in weight to face Williams at middleweight.

The rest is history.

They turned in an epic slugfest, one of the best fights of 2009. The southpaws traded knockdowns in the first round and the action never relented in what turned out to be a bloody battle fought at a tremendously high skill level. Ultimately, Williams prevailed on a majority decision that was soured only by the incomprehensible 119-110 scorecard turned in by judge Pierre Benoist, who has been ridiculed since for scoring what was an exceptionally close fight 11-1 in rounds for Williams.

From the moment Williams and Martinez left the ring that night in the ballroom upstairs at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J., there was demand for a rematch.

It didn't happen right away, though, as both took interim fights. Martinez went on to unseat Pavlik to win the middleweight championship in April and Williams claimed a bizarre technical decision against Kermit Cintron in May after Cintron fell out of the ring in the fourth round and did not continue.

But finally, after a long, drawn-out negotiation, the rematch is Saturday (HBO, 10 p.m. ET), this time in the larger main arena at Boardwalk Hall.

"To the fans, all I can say, get ready for what fighting is all about," said Dan Goossen, Williams' promoter. "Once the bell rings it will be bombs away."

HBO will open its telecast by replaying Manny Pacquiao's history-making beatdown of Antonio Margarito to win a vacant junior middleweight belt, his record-extending eighth weight division title, last Saturday night at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

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So after such a memorable first fight between Martinez (45-2-2, 24 KOs) and Williams (39-1, 27 KOs), how's this one going to go?

"This one will be more brutal this time," said Williams, 29, whose team insisted on a 158-pound catch weight for the bout instead of the middleweight division limit of 160. "It will be more action and there will be more punches thrown. The same as on the first fight but 10 times more so, you know, it's going to be a good fight. But I know I'm coming out the winner, either with a knockout or a decision.

"I'm going to do what I do best and we'll put a real beating on him this time. I'm going to put that beating on him this time. Nothing personal, always business."

Williams surprised many, however, when he said he would be "real cautious" in the fight.

Come again?

[+] Enlarge
Ed Mulholland/FightWireImages.comSergio Martinez, right, gave Paul Williams all he could handle for 12 rounds.

"I don't want him to be hurt bad," he said.

Martinez is also ready for another pitched battle.

"I will fight him, I will attack him and I will box him," Martinez said. "I have prepared for a war and on Saturday night, we are going to get one. The moment of truth will be on Saturday and I will prove why I am the champion. This time after the fight I expect there will be no excuses from Paul Williams like the ones I have been hearing in the past few months."

Williams and his team claim that the reason for the touch-and-go nature of the first fight was because he changed opponents on short notice. He had been preparing for Pavlik, a right-handed fighter who does not use a lot of movement in the ring. Martinez is a left-hander with good lateral movement.

"I just basically wasn't prepared for him but now I'm prepared for him," Williams said. "If everybody thought the first fight was good, that's me on, you know, a three-week notice and look at me with a three-month notice. So there's going to be much more to see."

Martinez does not buy that, saying he too had short notice to prepare for Williams, who has outrageous size for the division -- a 6-foot-1 frame and 82-inch reach.

"Paul Williams is a great fighter and a great champion, but also he's a great talker and he has excuses," Martinez said. "He had the same amount of time as I did and that's basically it. He should do more training and less talking."

For Martinez, now considered along with Williams to be one of the top five fighters in the world pound-for-pound, to be in the position of being middleweight champion and heading into a major fight is nothing short of stunning. Just a few years ago, he was virtually unknown.

Born in Argentina, Martinez played soccer and was into cycling before finding boxing and turning pro at 22. He spent the early years of his career fighting in his native country. Then he moved to Spain and spent several years fighting there and in England. Now, a late bloomer at 35, he lives and trains in Oxnard, Calif. But no matter where he was, he never stopped trying to fight his way to the top.
[table][tr][th=""]

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Martinez's big break came in 2007, when he hooked up with adviser Sampson Lewkowicz, whose reputation for unearthing unknown but high-quality fighters around the world and putting them on a path to bigger stardom is well known. He did it with featherweight titleholder Chris John and lightweight star Michael Katsidis. And he also did it with another fighter you might have heard of -- Pacquiao. Lewkowicz is responsible for bringing him to the United States from the Philippines in 2001.

Lewkowicz had done a good job helping former junior middleweight champ Javier Castillejo of Spain secure some notable fights in the Unites States, including one with Oscar De La Hoya. Castillejo's manager, Ricardo Sanchez Atocha, also managed Martinez. Atocha and Lewkowicz got along well and Lewkowicz liked what he saw in Martinez and began advising him.

Lewkowicz said he is not surprised that Martinez has earned recognition as one of the world's best fighters.

"I thought he would be what he is today, nothing less," Lewkowicz said.

But getting a top American promoter to see the same thing he did was not so easy.

"I was very surprised that nobody wanted to sign him," Lewkowicz said. "No promoters wanted to do that or wanted to see what I saw. I cannot teach them."

He had offered Martinez to multiple promoters, including Golden Boy and Top Rank.

"But they looked at the Argentinean fighters as good opponents because they have a quality to give a good show, but nobody thought about trying to take him to the next level," Lewkowicz said.

He had also sent a DVD of Martinez's fights to Lou DiBella, who was "blown away."

"I always believed I had a pretty good eye for talent," DiBella said. "When Sampson sent this DVD around I looked at it and I didn't know anything about him and I was like, 'Oh my God, where did this guy come from?' He wasn't fighting King Kong, but he was fighting top European talent and he was playing with these guys. And I also saw speed and power. I was blown away. And I have always had a lot of faith in Sampson's eye.

"I was like, 'how is this guy not already a world champion?' And then I met him and he looks like a movie star and is the most humble guy you could ever meet. I felt that he was special and he had unusual gifts. The looks, the charm, but also a combination of power and speed."

DiBella signed Martinez almost immediately, agreeing to pay him good money -- about $30,000 for his first three fights -- considering those first few bouts would not be televised.

"I thought it was like Christmas morning when I looked at the DVD," DiBella said.

After a few smaller fights, DiBella secured Martinez a fight on HBO against Alex Bunema in October 2008 and he turned in a sensational performance in an eighth-round knockout. That led to another HBO fight against former welterweight titlist Cintron for an interim junior middleweight belt. Martinez fought extremely well and even scored a knockout until it was overturned by the referee after he had called off the fight. Then Martinez settled for a stunning draw in a fight most believed he had clearly won.

With Martinez's reputation soaring after the performance against Cintron, he was in the right place at the right time when Pavlik dropped out of the Williams fight. Martinez was set to fight on the undercard as a backup in case Pavlik, who had already dropped out of the fight once previously, pulled out again. When he did, Martinez was elevated to the main event to face Williams on short notice.

They waged their epic fight, which led to Martinez's championship win against Pavlik in April. And here we are with the Martinez-Williams rematch at hand.

Martinez intends to put a beating on Williams, just the same way Williams said he planned to do.

"I'm going to hurt him worse than I did in the first fight," Martinez said. "I think I can stop Paul Williams.

"The rematch is the best thing, not only for boxing fans but for Paul and me. Both of us need closure from our last fight. We need to know that the result is final this time."

When welterweight prospect Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, already one of Mexico's most popular fighters at age 20, demolished former champ Carlos Baldomir in September on the undercard of the Shane Mosley-Sergio Mora HBO PPV card, it sounded as though most of the 13,591 at Staples Center in Los Angeles were there to cheer for Alvarez, who scored a highlight reel KO in the sixth round.

When Alvarez (34-0-1, 26 KOs) returns to action to face former junior welterweight titlist Lovemore N'Dou, on Dec. 4 in Veracruz, Mexico, fight fans in the U.S. will be able to see this bout, too, after Golden Boy Promotions made a deal with HBO Latino, HBO's Spanish-language network, to broadcast it live (11:30 p.m. ET).

"I think it's a very significant fight for Canelo and another big test for him," Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer said. "It's a dangerous fight. We are very happy that the fight will be televised in the United States so his fans here will be able to see him again."

"I am looking forward to another great fight and will be prepared to use all of my boxing skills to beat the very experienced Lovemore N'Dou," Alvarez said. "I promise to bring home a victory for all the people of Veracruz who recently suffered great losses from a hurricane. I will bring joy and satisfaction to the people that have suffered."

N'Dou (48-11-2, 31 KOs), who has never been stopped in his 17-year career, believes his immense experience will carry the day. "This fight is an example of experience versus youth," he said. "Experience will prevail this time. I've watched a few of his fights and there's no doubt that he's got talent, but I just don't see how he can beat me with all the experience I have."

In the co-feature, Mexico's Daniel Ponce De Leon (40-2, 33 KOs), a featherweight contender who crushed Antonio Escalante in three rounds on the same Sept. 18 undercard as Alvarez-Baldomir, faces Argentina's Sergio Medina (35-3, 20 KOs).
[h3]Rodriguez learning from top sparring[/h3]
Super middleweight prospect Edwin Rodriguez (17-0, 13 KOs), who is coming off a dominant ninth-round knockout of James McGirt Jr. on Showtime's "ShoBox" on Nov. 5, returns to face Aaron Pryor Jr. on Jan. 14 in the co-feature of the season premier of ESPN2's "Friday Night Fights." Middleweight Peter Manfredo Jr. headlines the card in Key West, Fla. Pryor (15-2, 11 KOs), the son of the Hall of Famer with the same name, outpointed Dyah Davis in an eight-rounder on the Rodriguez-McGirt undercard.

Rodriguez, 25, is getting some of the best sparring a young fighter can get. He recently worked with Daniel Geale in Australia as Geale was preparing for a middleweight title eliminator against Roman Karmazin. Now, Rodriguez has been in camp as one of Carl Froch's main sparring partners as he prepares for his Super Six fight with Arthur Abraham. When that camp is over, Rodriguez is headed to Canada to work with light heavyweight champ Jean Pascal and middleweight prospect David Lemieux, both of whom have fights coming up.

"Edwin is getting the best sparring in the world, which is helping him develop," promoter Lou DiBella said. "Froch thinks the kid is terrific and said he was one of the best young guys he's been in the ring with. He's not going in with a sparring partner mentality, and that's what the guys like about him. I think this kid is good enough to hold his own and be a great sparring partner for them while also gaining incredible experience getting ready for his own fights."

• Junior middleweight titlist Sergei Dzinziruk's next fight will be on HBO, co-promoter Gary Shaw told ESPN.com. "First quarter of 2011," Shaw said. "I had a meeting with HBO on Monday, and he was a big part of the discussion. They said they would put him on in the first quarter. I gave them a list of opponents we would have no problem fighting. I would say you're looking at February or March." Shaw said the list of opponents Dzinziruk (37-0, 23 KOs) is willing to face includes Miguel Cotto, the winner of Saturday night's Sergio Martinez-Paul Williams rematch, Vanes Martirosyan or Kermit Cintron. "We're not looking to hide from anyone," Shaw said. Dzinziruk made his American debut in his last fight, stopping Daniel Dawson in the 10th round on Showtime in his sixth title defense. It was Dzinziruk's first fight in 18 months, partly because of a dispute with former promoter Universum.

• Top Rank has finalized its "In Harm's Way" pay-per-view card on Dec. 4 from the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. It has added featherweight contender Miguel Angel "Mikey" Garcia (23-0, 19 KOs), who will open the telecast against Alejandro Perez (14-2-1, 9 KOs). The other televised bouts are: middleweight Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. against Alfonso Gomez in the main event, with Nonito Donaire against Wladimir Sidorenko in a bantamweight bout and lightweight titlist Humberto Soto defending against Urbano Antillon.

• Top Rank announced a pair of notable cards in Mexico that will be part of its "Top Rank Live" series on Fox Deportes. Junior flyweight champ Giovani Segura (25-1-1, 21 KOs), who might face Ivan "Iron Boy" Calderon in a rematch of their August fight of the year candidate in the spring, will fight a flyweight bout against Manuel Vargas (28-6-1, 13 KOs) on Nov. 27 in Tijuana. Also on the card, lightweight titlist Miguel Vazquez, who won a vacant belt via decision against Ji Hoon Kim in August, makes his first defense against Ricardo Dominguez. On the Dec. 11 card in Torreon, junior bantamweight titlist Juan Alberto Rosas (32-5, 26 KOs), who won his belt via sixth-round knockout of Simphiwe Nongqayi in July, makes his first defense against former unified titlist Cristian Mijares (40-6-2, 18 KOs). That card also will see former three-division champ Marco Antonio Barrera (66-7, 43 KOs) in action in a lightweight bout against an opponent to be named.

• The long-discussed fight between former three-division champ Erik Morales (50-6, 35 KOs) and former junior lightweight titlist Jorge Barrios (50-4-1, 35 KOs) is on for Dec. 18 in Morales' hometown of Tijuana, Mexico, Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer told ESPN.com. "Yes, it's set," Schaefer said. "I will be meeting with Erik [on Friday] to discuss TV." The fight will be seen throughout Mexico, but Schaefer, who promotes Barrios but works with Morales, hopes to work out television coverage in the U.S. Morales has won two fights in his comeback after a 2½-year retirement, although Barrios represents by far the most notable opponent of his return. They will fight at a contract weight of 138 pounds. Barrios returned from an 11-month layoff on Oct. 1 to take a lopsided 10-round decision from Wilson Alcorro.

• British welterweight contender Kell Brook (22-0, 15 KOs) watched Philadelphia's Mike Jones (23-0, 18 KOs) struggle to a majority decision win against Jesus Soto-Karass on the Manny Pacquiao-Antonio Margarito undercard and is hoping to face Jones early next year. A fight between them for an interim title has been discussed by their promoters. "I've been looking at some fights of Jones and, of course, saw his fight at the weekend," Brook said. "He's a good fighter but I don't think I've got anything to fear from him. I'm within touching distance of that world title, and I'm very excited because I know that it's going to be mine." Before a possible Jones fight, Brook has a Dec. 11 bout against Michael Clark. "I'll knock Clark out early, and then Jones will have nowhere to hide," Brook said. "I've always said that I want to win a world title in style, and what better way to do it than by taking on an unbeaten American who is getting plenty of hype. Jones can box and he can punch, but he can't beat me."

• Mexico's 22-year-old Juan Carlos Burgos (25-0, 18 KOs) is headed to Japan to face Hozumi Hasegawa (28-3, 12 KOs), a former bantamweight titlist, for a vacant featherweight title Nov. 26. Although Hasegawa, 29, lost his bantamweight belt via fourth-round knockout to Fernando Montiel in an April unification fight, the WBC is giving him a shot at the vacant featherweight belt, which it unceremoniously stripped from injured Elio Rojas. Burgos, the nephew of former flyweight titlist Victor Burgos, knows he is going into enemy territory and said he is ready. "I think every boxer has goals to make it to a world title fight," Burgos said. "My trainers, my family, my promoters and my fans have high hopes for me. It's now up to me to bring back this championship to Mexico, a dream I had since I was a young boy. Hasegawa is a valiant and legendary champion in Japan, and it will a be a huge honor for me to trade leather with him." Although Burgos is ready for battle inside the ring, he showed class by extending his condolences to Hasegawa on the recent death of his mother from cancer. "I just learned that he lost his mother a couple of weeks ago, and I want to send him and his family my deepest condolences," Burgos said. "I am sure he has gone through a very rough time but he is still going to fight me, and I take my hat off to him."
[h3]Quotables[/h3]
"This is going to be a very difficult fight. I'm not taking anything for granted. I'm going to have to be at my best for this fight, but it's going to be a fight that fans are going to love. They're going to love this fight because I have a feeling it's going to be the fight of the year. I'm going to give my part. I know that Michael's going to come to fight. He's going to give his part." -- lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez, on his title defense against Michael Katsidis on Nov. 27 (HBO) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas

"I love fighting. Even better, I love winning. That's exactly what I'm coming to you to do." -- Katsidis, on challenging Marquez

 

[proshares]

BTW read somewhere that Arum spoke to DiBella about Berto (if he wins next weekend) being Manny's May opponent. Like it better than Manny beating up on Shane.

I'm taking Sergio by late stoppage tomorrow night.