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

[uclamike]

Usually, when athletes came to Victor Conte and his BALCO empire for help taking performance-enhancing drugs and evading detection, Conte would carefully research their sport's anti-doping program first -- scrutinize its banned substance list, examine when and where and how often urine or blood samples would be collected, determine which laboratories would test them using what type of equipment -- and devise a detailed plan to beat it.

When boxer Shane Mosley and his handlers approached him in the summer of 2003, Conte didn't waste his time.

They told him Mosley might be tested the day before the September fight in Las Vegas and immediately after it. That's all Conte needed to know, all he needed to hear. No reason to sift through pages and pages of drug protocols, or sleuth out the calibration levels of a lab's high resolution mass spectrometer, or calculate clearance times of detectable substances in case of an unannounced test during pre-fight training.

"That's announced testing," the doping guru says. "That's IQ testing. If that's all they do, why do I need to find out what's on the banned list? And I never did bother.

"Boxing's testing program is beyond a joke. It's worthless."

Conte had that thought in the summer of 2003, when he loaded up the 32-year-old Mosley with endurance-boosting erythropoietin (EPO) and a cocktail of other verboten substances for what would be a landmark 12-round decision over Oscar De La Hoya. The difference now is that more and more people are questioning boxing's commitment to anti-doping as well.

For that, thank the demise of the March 13 superfight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. presumably because the former refused to meet the latter's demands about pre-fight drug testing. Mayweather wanted regular urine and blood testing in the months, weeks, even days leading up the fight, similar to the anti-doping protocols most Olympic athletes face; Pacquiao agreed to some provisions and refused others. No fight.

So the public doesn't get the epic clash it has been clamoring for. The sport doesn't get a much-needed infusion of mainstream attention. The two boxers and their promoters don't get preposterously rich, and Las Vegas doesn't get a respite from the recession. But doping and boxing suddenly find themselves in the same sentence and that alone, Conte and others say, may be the greatest legacy of Pacquiao-Mayweather, regardless if they ever meet inside the ropes.

"Whether he meant to or not, Floyd has shown that the process is tainted and it's going to be hard to overlook now," says Margaret Goodman, the former chief ringside physician for Nevada and an outspoken critic of the sport's anti-doping policies. "You just can't ignore it any longer. There just is no rationale."

Adds Conte: "I see this potentially as an opportunity to improve the effectiveness of drug testing. And here's why I think this is so important for boxing and MMA: When you increase speed and power, you're also increasing potential damage to the opponent. Crushing a baseball is one thing. Crushing a guy's brain is another."

* * *

Keith Kizer is the executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, which oversees professional boxing, Mixed Martial Arts and other forms of "unarmed combat" in the state. He is talking about the commission's drug testing program.

"You have to be vigilant," Kizer says. "And I think we are."

Are they?

It depends on your perspective, depends where in the realm of relativity you sit. Pro boxing has no national or international governing body that mandates drug testing, leaving it to individual states in this country. And compared to most states, Nevada indeed is vigilant.

Texas , for instance. Instead of Mayweather in Las Vegas , Pacquiao will fight March 13 against Joshua Clottey at the new Dallas Cowboys stadium outside Dallas . The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation will oversee it.

Its anti-doping program?

Essentially there isn't one. The state has the authority to demand urine testing for certain performance-enhancing substances "with probable cause," according to TDLR spokesperson Susan Stanford. Without probable cause to suspect Pacquiao or Clottey are juiced up (neither has failed a past drug test), no drug testing is required to license the fight.

Nevada has upgraded its drug testing program several times over the past decade, ramping up its stimulant testing, then adopting the World Anti-Doping Agency banned substance list, then adding in 2008 the ability to demand random, out-of-competition urine tests at the commission's discretion for any boxers licensed by the state.

Sounds good, until you consider:

• Under Nevada 's program, you get 48 hours' notice to report to the closest accredited lab for a random test, plenty of time for many banned substances to clear your urine. "That's random testing?" Goodman asks. "That's random announced testing. They might as well shoot up a flare to tell them a test is coming."

• In many labs, no one is following you into the bathroom and making sure the urine sample is indeed yours (as doping control officers do in Olympic-style testing), or closely checking identification so someone who looks like you isn't showing up, or running DNA tests on the urine to rule out imposters.

• Even if the sample is yours, Nevada doesn't routinely test for erythropoietin (EPO) and several other potent substances that can be detected in urine using more sophisticated, more expensive, more time consuming methods.

• While the Nevada commissioners can demand blood testing, which can find human growth hormone or identify endurance-boosting blood doping not detectable in urine, Kizer concedes they never have.

• While Nevada has the authority to target-test prior offenders or suspicious athletes based on "cause," it rarely does. Otherwise, Mosley would be subjected to numerous unannounced, out-of-competition tests based on his admission under oath to using EPO and other illicit substances before the De La Hoya fight. "And if you're not going to do it on him," Goodman says, "then who are you doing it on?"

• Nevada doesn't keep a log of previous urine and blood test results to track the longitudinal chemical profiles of athletes, in case certain markers indicative of performance-enhancing drug use appear.

How easy is it to beat a testing program like Nevada's?

"As simple as walking across the street," says Travis Tygart. "It's good for PR, to give the appearance that you're testing, but nothing more."

Who is Tygart ?

He is the CEO of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), which handles drug testing for Olympic athletes in this country using regulations created by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). He's also the person whom members of the Mayweather camp contacted during negotiations for the Pacquiao fight to learn about the so-called "gold standard" of performance-enhancing drug vigilance.

"It's a fundamentally different approach," Tygart says when asked to compare his agency's program to others in U.S. professional sports. "The WADA approach is to use best practices and policies and procedures to truly protect the rights of clean athletes. Other programs are simply there for PR purposes. … Anybody with a heartbeat can find ways around them."

Pacquiao initially agreed to three blood tests in the run-up to a March 13 fight -- once at the introductory news conference in January, again 30 days out and in the locker room immediately after the fight. The Mayweather camp shook its head. The next proposal was 24 days out. Another no.

USADA would never agree to such provisions because it amounts to announced testing and because of the wide variety of banned substances an athlete could take in the period between tests. If it is administering the drug program, it chooses when and where to test, and how often. There is no fudge factor. No compromise. No preferential treatment for boxers who stand to make $40 million each from a single fight.

Under USADA rules, athletes must file quarterly calendars of where they'll be and when, making themselves available for urine and blood testing between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., seven days a week, 365 days a year, anywhere on the planet. Suspicious athletes or past offenders regularly are target tested, sometimes two, three, four days in a row. The urine and blood results are recorded over the years to create a biological profile, so even the slightest change will hoist a red flag.

A comprehensive program, yes. Impervious? Hardly.

Athletes can miss two tests every 12 months without repercussion. Sprinter Marion Jones passed an estimated 160 drug tests in her career before admitting she took steroids. Conte's stable of BALCO athletes were caught only after USADA obtained a used syringe containing "the clear'' -- an previously undetectable designer steroid -- and reverse-engineered a test for it.

There are other problems. The blood test for human growth hormone has been around since 2004, and an athlete has yet to be caught with it, perhaps because it can detect HGH going back only two days, if that. There still is no known test for autologous blood doping, where an athlete removes his own blood, stores it and re-infuses it to boost endurance by increasing his levels of oxygen-carrying red blood cells. Even the urine test for EPO, Conte insists, goes back only 19 hours if the drug is administered intravenously. And who knows what new-fangled designer steroids are out there.

"You could test every athlete every day, and even then you might miss something," Kizer says. "You do what you can."

* * *

The big question is: Can they do more? Should they?

The true extent of doping in boxing is unknown, certainly. No one is checking off a box on a survey saying they regularly 'roid up before fights. But the anecdotal evidence is growing, and doping experts say substances like anabolic steroids, human growth hormone and EPO have a bigger impact on boxing than most sports because of their recuperative benefits during heavy training and because of their strength and endurance boost during the actual fight.

There's also the argument that if doping is so prevalent in pro sports such as baseball and football, why wouldn't elite boxers be using them as well with so much at stake?

"I looked around and, from what I saw, everybody was doing the same (stuff)," heavyweight Tommy Morrison, an admitted steroid user, said in 2005. "It wasn't something that was talked about openly. But when you looked around, you could tell."

Kizer isn't convinced his program needs radical overhaul to catch the drug cheats.

"I've still never had a drug testing expert come to this commission and say, 'You're behind the curve, you need to be blood testing, you need to be EPO testing,'" he says. "Mr. Mayweather has every right to demand it. But that's a private negotiation and not something we're involved in."

It is that very demand which is so encouraging to people like USADA's Tygart , less for its subject than its origin.

"What's most important here is you have athletes who say we want this," Tygart says. "We've long encouraged athletes to take ownership of their sport. It's too easy for those who are running a sport and profiting from it to just want to have the best athletes on the field or in the ring, even if they're all doped up. That shows real progress from the athlete standpoint, that they're aware of these issues. Hopefully that momentum continues.

"That's what ultimately happened in the Olympic movement. The athletes brought change. The athletes have to want clean sport. They have to say, 'We're not going to fight big fights if there isn't drug testing in them.' You don't want to hijack big fights, but it might take a couple big fights that don't happen."

It's not that easy, of course. If Nevada suddenly instituted USADA-style testing, promoters might take lucrative fights to places with less stringent anti-doping regimens. Nevada also runs into jurisdictional issues by sending someone across state borders in search of a boxer to urinate in a cup. And who's paying for it? Currently, the Nevada commission foots the bill, which might explain why it isn't routinely subjecting urine samples to the $400 EPO test.

"Nobody wants this," Goodman says. "Can you imagine if both fighters agree to testing before the fight, which is what you should do if you want to do it right, and someone came up positive and you'd have to cancel the fight? Can you imagine? Everyone is worried about the money aspect and not the safety aspect."

Conte is hopeful, just not overly optimistic. Call him cynical, but understand he once had a window into the dark side of doping. He knows how effective these drugs are, how rampant they are, how easy they are to use without fear of detection.

"Here's the real question: Do they want to know?" Conte says. "Do they really want to know what people are using -- how much and how often and by whom? That's the question for boxing."

His answer?

"I'm not sure they do."


Mark Zeigler is a staff writer at the San Diego Union-Tribune

 

[sir rob a lot]

Totally agree. I dont think its going to happen (maidana/khan), I think GBP is going to lightweight protect this kid.

 

[proshares]

They protected Kool-Aid Ortiz and look what happened when they stuck him in there w/someone who didn't back down after getting hit or knocked down. Justsaying. Can't promote the kid as the next Prince and then put him in against weak opposition/duck the top dogs.

Mosley-Mayweather good, but still second-best
Tuesday, January 19, 2010 | Print Entry

Your weekly random thoughts …

As soon as Shane Mosley's welterweight unification fight with Andre Berto was canceled -- understandably, because Berto lost numerous family members in the Haiti earthquake and isn't prepared to go forward with the fight during this heartbreaking time -- the possibility of Mosley defending against Floyd Mayweather Jr. immediately came up.

It's the obvious fight. Mosley needs a dance partner, and Mayweather also needs one. Besides, it's a huge fight.

Let's just hope the sides can make it happen (probably for early May) and not get bogged down in the ego and stupidity that killed Mayweather's fight with Manny Pacquiao, which was supposed to be on March 13.

If you ask me, there are three superfights in boxing. One is Pacquiao-Mayweather, which is by far the biggest. The other two are Mosley-Mayweather and Pacquiao-Mosley.

So while Pacquiao moves on to face Joshua Clottey -- the next-best available welterweight for him to fight -- Mosley and Mayweather hopefully will come together.

Mosley-Mayweather is a fight I've wanted to see for many years, going back to the late 1990s when Mayweather was the junior lightweight champ and Mosley was the lightweight champ. But Mosley didn't stick around at 135 pounds waiting for Mayweather; he jumped all the way up to welterweight to lure a prime Oscar De La Hoya into the ring.

As much as I like Mosley-Mayweather, though, remember one thing: It's still second-best. Pacquiao-Mayweather was, and still is, the biggest fight out there.

• Not sure what to make of some phone calls I received Monday night: Informed sources said that even though Berto planned to withdraw from the fight because of his family situation, his adviser, Al Haymon, who also happens to handle Mayweather, made a deal for Berto to get paid (either by the Golden Boy/Mosley side or Mayweather or both) to step aside to allow for Mosley-Mayweather (a much bigger fight than Mosley-Berto) to be put together. One reason it sounded plausible is because, according to a source familiar with the Mosley-Berto contract, the deal had a rescheduling clause in it, in the event either guy had to delay the fight. That clause was not exercised. Perhaps a payment to Berto made that go away.

• With Mayweather off March 13, it should come as zero surprise that HBO PPV and Top Rank struck a deal for the network to produce and distribute the Pacquiao-Clottey card on March 13. There never was any way in the world that a Mayweather fight would have actually gone on the same night against another opponent, as had been insisted upon by Golden Boy, which is promoting Mayweather. HBO's Ross Greenburg and Mark Taffet had to let the craziness play out, and now it has. Pacquiao gets March 13. Mayweather will go some other time. All's well that ends well -- except for the fact that we still aren't getting Pacquiao-Mayweather. And don't think that I or millions of boxing fans are going to forget that any time soon.

• Example 5,879 on why boxing often leaves me scratching my head: Mosley slaughtered Antonio Margarito in January 2009 in a huge victory. Margarito later had his license revoked for at least a year for trying to load his gloves before the fight, yet he may wind up back in the ring before Mosley. Top Rank, which believes Margarito will be licensed in Texas, plans to put him on the Pacquiao-Clottey undercard. Mosley, meanwhile, hasn't fought since beating Margarito and probably won't fight until the spring now that his fight with Berto is off. Crazy.

• Promoter Don King always seems to wait until the last minute to secure sites for his cards. King, however, has found a home for the March 6 HBO show headlined by the Devon Alexander-Juan Urango junior welterweight unification fight. It will take place at the Mohegan Sun resort in Connecticut. He landed the site with about seven weeks before the fight. By King's standards, that's an eternity.

• You may not like watching John Ruiz fight/hold, but it made a lot of sense for Golden Boy to sign him because it also promotes David Haye, which means Golden Boy will control a piece of the heavyweight title regardless of who wins their April fight. And then Golden Boy can give the winner of Haye-Ruiz to Bernard Hopkins, assuming he beats Roy Jones Jr. (which he should). As long as HBO doesn't let Ruiz anywhere near one of Golden Boy's dates on the network, everything will be just fine.

• Regardless of whether he got a buyout, I'm glad Jermain Taylor withdrew from the Super Six tournament. Nobody wants to see the guy get hurt. But I found it pretty weak that while thanking everyone in his statement announcing his withdrawal that he left out promoter Lou DiBella, who had been an integral part of Taylor's career from day one. Although DiBella had resigned a couple of weeks earlier over concerns about Taylor's health, he deserved more from Taylor than to be ignored as though he never existed. Taylor won the undisputed middleweight championship and made many millions of dollars, and he has DiBella to thank for being a major reason it happened.

• Times may be tough for some promoters, but Top Rank keeps rolling along. Bob Arum's company will promote 11 cards in the next 10 weeks. The marathon begins with an excellent HBO card in New York on Saturday night when featherweight titlist Steven Luevano defends against junior featherweight titlist Juan Manuel Lopez in the main event, and runs nonstop through a Fox Sports Net card on March 27. In all, there is one HBO card, one combo "Latin Fury"/"Pinoy Power" pay-per-view card, eight FSN cards and the centerpiece of it all: the Pacquiao-Clotty HBO PPV card. Top Rank matchmaker Brad "Abdul" Goodman is going to be awfully busy for the next couple of months.

• I don't know about you, but between the return of ESPN2's "Friday Night Fights" a couple of weeks ago and the regularity of the new "Top Rank Live" series on FSN, I'm a pretty happy camper when it comes to the basic cable offerings. Unfortunately, it's a miserably slow start for HBO and Showtime. With regard to the new Top Rank series, I thought the debut card headlined by Vanes Martirosyan's extremely competitive fight with Kassim Ouma was excellent. Hopefully, shows like it will be the norm and not the exception.

Let's also hope that Top Rank won't be destroying another network's taste for boxing as it did when it got the keys to the castle from Versus and then burned it down. I think Arum understands, although you never know. At least he's saying the right things.

Here's what he had to say recently when I asked him about the FSN series and reminded him of the disaster he was responsible for at Versus: "We f---ed up Versus. If we don't learn from the mistakes we made at Versus, then this series will go down the drain. Versus was not something we are proud of. It just went off the tracks. We didn't pay attention to it. I admit that. This is different. Now we brought a guy on, Carl Moretti, whose first responsibility is that series."

• After the 2009 awards stories came out a few weeks ago, I was asked by several Fight Freaks to name my biggest robbery of the year. I'd have to go with two of them. Ali Funeka got absolutely hosed when he got a draw against Joan Guzman. Same goes for Sergio Martinez, who got an inconceivable draw against Kermit Cintron, who really had been knocked out earlier in the fight until referee Frank Santore made one of the worst calls I have ever seen and allowed the fight to continue.

• So Evander Holyfield's fight with Frans Botha in Uganda had been postponed from Jan. 16 to Feb. 20. Anyone shocked? Hopefully, the farce will wind up being canceled.

• Ron Scott Stevens, who was unceremoniously dumped as chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission in July 2008 (even though he apparently had done a fine job) has always had interests outside boxing. One of them is theater. Stevens has written and produced an off-Broadway play called "The Cutting Den." Its three-week run opens Feb. 4 at the Soho Playhouse. Publicist Donald Tremblay described the play as being about a Brooklyn barbershop fronting for a gambling parlor. One of the interesting notes about the play is that former middleweight titlist Doug DeWitt, who has been acting since the end of his boxing career in 1992, has one of the lead roles.

• DVD pick of the week: I received some DVDs from a buddy of mine the other day. One fight he sent was one that I have on VHS but in crappy condition. The DVD of this original ABC broadcast, however, was in stunning condition, which made it all the more enjoyable watching one of the greatest heavyweight slugfests ever. It was George Foreman's epic five-round brawl with Ron Lyle from Jan. 24, 1976, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. It was Foreman's first sanctioned fight in more than a year (he had done some exhibitions) following his knockout loss to Muhammad Ali, and Foreman barely survived. Lyle hurt Foreman in the first round and dropped him twice in the fourth round. But Foreman also dropped Lyle in the incredible fourth before knocking him out in the fifth. It's a truly awesome fight.


@Realspitts: @PaulMalignaggi whutts good! 2 questions:have u been watchin that show jersey shore and do ufist pump?

 

[marionthebarberian]

Originally Posted by Sir Rob A Lot

Totally agree. I dont think its going to happen (maidana/khan), I think GBP is going to lightweight protect this kid.

Roach said, that JMM was offered and that he will accept that fight.

 

[proshares]

[h2]Margarito poised to receive license[/h2]
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By Dan Rafael
ESPN.com
Archive

More than a year after having his license revoked for attempting to fight with illegal pads coated with a plaster-like substance inside his hand wraps, disgraced former welterweight titleholder Antonio Margarito will attempt a comeback -- as long as he is licensed by the Texas commission -- Top Rank promoter Bob Arum told ESPN.com on Wednesday night.

Arum said the indication he has received from Texas regulators is positive and that Margarito will be granted a license. If Texas gives him one, Arum said Margarito will fight in the co-feature on the March 13 Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey HBO PPV card at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington.

So sure that Margarito will be licensed, Top Rank on Wednesday signed Carson Jones to fight him.

"Tony has applied for a license and we're optimistic they'll grant it to him," Arum said.

Bobby Dobbs, Jones' manager, told ESPN.com that Jones signed a contract for the fight. He said the contract contained no language regarding the possibility of Margarito not being licensed.

"Just a standard bout agreement," said Dobbs, who added that it would be a scheduled 10-round fight at a maximum weight of 155 pounds.

Margarito (37-6, 27 KOs) was considered the world's No. 1 welterweight when he put his title on the line against Shane Mosley on Jan. 24, 2009, in Los Angeles, where a Staples Center-record crowd of 20,820 turned out for the fight.

Mosley wound up dominating Margarito and scoring a ninth-round knockout victory for a major upset.

However, there was also considerable drama in the minutes leading up to fight when Naazim Richardson, Mosley's trainer, objected to the way Margarito's left hand had been wrapped. When the wrap was cut off and checked, California officials found an illegal pad that had been coated with a plaster-like substance inside it, something that had escaped notice of the commission inspector overseeing the hand-wrapping process. Then Margarito's other hand wrap was cut off and checked, and it too contained an identical illegal pad.

At a hearing three weeks later, Margarito's plea of ignorance was rejected by the California State Athletic Commission, which revoked his license, as well as that of trainer Javier Capetillo, on a 7-0 vote. The revocation effectively banned them from boxing in the United States for at least a year. After a year, both are eligible to be licensed again, but with no guarantee that they would receive one.

However, there is nothing that precludes Texas or any other commission in the United States from licensing Margarito once the year is up.

Arum said the Association of Boxing Commissions, a non-profit organization that represents 46 state commissions and several Native American tribal boxing commissions, has sent a letter to the Texas commission stating that it is allowed to license Margarito if it so desires once the one-year minimum punishment from California is up.

"We cleared everything with the ABC and we're hopeful that the Texas commission will approve his application, which we're very optimistic about," Arum said. "The ABC had to give the OK that an athletic commission is free to license Margarito if they so feel and that the California revocation does not prevent them from doing it in 2010, which it might have in 2009 [before a year was up]. Texas has a letter from the ABC. Now it's up to the Texas commission."

After Margarito had his license revoked, Arum threatened to put him in a fight in his native Mexico, where boxing commissions are not under any obligation to adhere to disciplinary action doled out in the United States. In fact, some boxing officials in Mexico openly campaigned for Margarito to fight there while his license was revoked in the U.S.

"But that was in the emotion of the moment," Arum said. "We didn't fight in Mexico. We waited the year by design and we're hopeful the commission sees that he sat out."

Dobbs said Top Rank was "adamant" with him that there would be no problem with Margarito getting his license back. In order to take the fight with Margarito, Dobbs said Jones turned down a fight with Freddy Hernandez, which would have been televised on Showtime's "ShoBox" series in February.

Jones (24-7-1, 15 KOs) scored an eye-opening third-round knockout victory against previously unbeaten Tyrone Brunson on Dec. 4.

It is unclear if Capetillo will also be licensed by Texas.

Dan Rafael is ESPN.com's boxing writer.

 

[uclamike]

By Prince Dornu-Leiku - Godwin Dzanie Kotey AKA Alloway, the trainer of WBO welterweight title challenger Joshua Clottey and his assistant Daniel Clottey have been refused a visa renewal by the US Embassy in Accra. The coach and assistant's respective previous visas expired at the end of November last year, but attempts to renew it in order to make it to the US on time for preparations by the boxer towards the March 13 world title fight against Manny Pacquiao has been met with resistance by US authorities in Ghana.

According to the two after they went to the US Embassy last Wednesday to apply for the visa renewal, Kotey the trainer was only given a paper stating that the visa has been temporarily withheld and he will get a call later, but Clottey the assistant trainer was flatly refused. This, the two say does no good to the preparations of Joshua Clottey as he prepares for the do or die showdown with the Philippine's Manny Pacquiao. "We are very disappointed because we need to train. Now Joshua is all alone in the US and even if he is training, there is no supervision," Coach Kotey stated..

A boxer needs four others to work with in his corner when preparing for and during the fight itself, which are the chief cornerman who is automatically the trainer, his assistant, the cutman and the bucketman. Mr. Godwin Kotey has therefore appealed to Ghanaian boxing authorities and promoters for the March 13 big fight to intervene in order for the US Embassy to issue the visas to the trainer and his assistant to make the journey.

Joshua Clottey who only last Tuesday concluded paperwork in the US on the fight is expected to return to Ghana tomorrow in order to personally facilitate the visa application for the trainers. "You need time to prepare in boxing. Even the day Joshua was notified for the fight was already too short for a fight of such magnitude. He needs at least four months to prepare for a big fight like this," a very frustrated Godwin Kotey said

 

[proshares]

Surprised GBP is putting Mares out there against a solid puncher with a great chin...seen this script before...

[h2]Unbeatens to square off on May 22[/h2]

Comment Email Print By Dan Rafael
ESPN.com
Archive

When Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez meet May 22 in the fourth chapter of their storied rivalry, expectations are high for yet another exciting fight. But the Yonnhy Perez-Abner Mares undercard, too, also could provide an all-action slugfest.

Perez (20-0, 14 KOs), who won a bantamweight belt by outpointing Joseph Agbeko in a brutal October fight on Showtime, returns to the network to make his first defense against Mares (19-0, 12 KOs), a 2004 Mexican Olympian and one of Golden Boy Promotions' rising contenders.

The unbeatens are scheduled to meet at Staples Center in Los Angeles, where Mares lives, and not far from Santa Fe Springs, Calif., where Colombia's Perez, 31, is based.

Perez-Mares will open the telecast headlined by Vazquez and Marquez, who waged three epic junior featherweight fights -- Vazquez leads 2-1 -- and will meet at featherweight. Their second (2007) and third ('0 bouts were named fights of the year by a variety of outlets, including ESPN.com. The reason the first fight didn't claim the award was because it also took place in 2007.

Perez-Mares looms as a competitive fight as well that promises plenty of action.

"I think it's a great opening fight for that main event and the right fight for that arena," said Gary Shaw, Perez's co-promoter. "I think it's a 50-50 fight."

Shaw said he could have matched Perez with an easier opponent, but there was no point.

"I believe if you're going to preach and talk about doing what's best for boxing, then you have to do what's right," Shaw said. "Yonnhy has an optional defense and I could have put him in easier [company], but what does that do for him or for boxing? If Yonnhy loses and it's a great fight, which I expect it to be, he's still very viable. If he wins, he's bigger."

Frank Espinoza, Mares' manager, told ESPN.com that their side has agreed to the fight but that the 24-year-old Mares would take a tune-up fight in March. He said he's working out the specifics of the tune-up with Golden Boy.

"We like the fight and we've agreed to the fight," said Espinoza, who also manages Vazquez. "We have to finalize the contract but I don't foresee any problems. It's a fantastic opening fight. It's going to be quite a doubleheader. We're going to take a fight in March and then go ahead and fight in May. That's what we need to do.

"Abner needs a tune-up fight to get the rust and kinks out. It's always dangerous because you never know what will happen, but it's more dangerous for a guy going in there with so much inactivity. We want to get him in shape, get the kinks out and prepare him to fight Perez. Abner really wants the fight. It's his time. He's been waiting and he wants to do it in L.A. in front of his hometown. He's really excited and pumped up for it."

Dan Rafael is the boxing writer for ESPN.com.

 

[sir rob a lot]

^probably the next live fight I will catch.

 

[dako akong otin]

for you Amo.. if you're still lurking

 

[uclamike]

Since reporting Wednesday night that Top Rank was planning a fight for disgraced former welterweight titlist Antonio Margarito and that it believes he will be licensed by the Texas commission, the reaction to the story from people inside the boxing industry has been swift and strong.

Several industry insiders called or e-mailed me on Thursday to vent their disgust at the notion after reading the story, and I can't say I blame them. I was a little ill just reporting the facts, which are that Margacheato is likely to receive a license in Texas to fight Carson Jones on the undercard of the Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey welterweight title fight at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington on March 13 (HBO PPV).

We all know the story by now, about how Margacheato and trainer Javier Capetillo had their licenses revoked in February '09 by the California State Athletic Commission a few weeks after it was discovered that before Margacheato fought (and got drilled by) Shane Mosley that his gloves had been loaded with illegal pads coated with a plaster-like substance.

Few buy Margacheato's plea of ignorance, and many question the legitimacy of his other victories, including his knockout win against Miguel Cotto in the fight before he faced Mosley. Boxing fans around the world were disgusted by the blatant attempt to cheat and the thought of the potential damage he could have done to Mosley in an unfair fight.

If you want to see what happens in that kind of situation, just watch the recent HBO documentary "Assault in the Ring" (just out on DVD) which chronicles the story of the scandalous 1983 fight at Madison Square Garden in which junior middleweight Luis Resto and evil trainer Panama Lewis removed the padding from his gloves before Resto disfigured Billy Collins Jr. over 10 rounds.

Resto and Lewis were banned from boxing for life and served prison time, as they deserved. Margacheato, now that a year since the license revocation is just about up, will be eligible to be licensed by commissions around the country. However, Texas is considering giving Margacheato a license without him having to go before the California commission again to ask for one. It's technically within the rules, but it will be a horrible decision if Texas gives the cheater a license.

It's also a bit disturbing that Top Rank and its chairman, Bob Arum, would support it, especially since Arum promoted the Resto-Collins fight and knows as well as anyone what might have happened had Margacheato entered the ring with loaded gloves.

Main Events chief Kathy Duva described the possibility of Margacheato being licensed as "sooo wrong!" in an e-mail to me.

Even Jones' manager, Bobby Dobbs, expressed mixed feelings.

"If my fighter wasn't being given the opportunity of a lifetime and a huge payday, I am not sure if I would think he should fight either," he wrote me.

The most scathing e-mail came from promoter Jeff Wald from "The Contender."

"Of all the many disgusting things I have seen in boxing, this ranks near the worst," Wald wrote to me. "There is no way he didn't know what was in his gloves. I can't believe Arum would support this guy and have him fight after he was responsible for almost destroying Cotto, who is also handled by Arum. … The rest of the U.S. should never give him a license and California should now bar him for life with no appeal. Texas obviously does not care about fighters or their health. Panama Lewis was barred for life and so should Magarito."

 

[sir rob a lot]

Ward vs. Green April 17th @ Oracle Arena in Oakland
via Andre Ward's twitter.

I guess the Green/Bika fight fell apart.

 

[kingjames23]

MAYWEATHER-MOSLEY DONE DEAL FOR MAY 1?
By Ben Thompson | January 22, 2010



According to multiple sources, the long-awaited showdown between WBA welterweight champion Shane Mosley and undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr. is virtually a done deal. Golden Boy Promotions was already reserving May 1 and May 8 for future bouts, but it was unclear as to which date they were targeting for the proposed matchup. That was until this evening when, apparently, UFC President Dana White received word that Mayweather vs. Mosley will indeed take place on May 1. The news prompted White to take action and he decided to reschedule UFC 113, which was originally set to take place on May 1. In order to avoid going head-to-head with a boxing event of that magnitude, UFC 113 will now take place the following weekend on May 8.

"We were trying to not go the same night as boxing, but these !#%*!+% guys can't get out of their own way. I have never seen anything so unorganized, selfish and dysfunctional as boxing. It's a joke," the UFC President would inform Steve Cofield of Yahoo! Sports. Although White is clearly irritated, the decision is a wise one.

The last time the UFC went head-to-head with a Mayweather bout was on September 19, 2009. After a long retirement, Mayweather returned to face Juan Manuel Marquez on the exact same day as UFC 103. In the end, it was Mayweather who came out on top, pulling in an impressive 1 million PPV buys compared to the UFC's 400,000 PPV buys. "Bottom line, we did a good number and we still got our *##+% kicked," White admitted at the time. Clearly, that's something that he hasn't forgotten, as the decision to move UFC 113 to May 8 would not have been made unless White recieved confirmation on the date for Mayweather's next bout.

Furthermore, Bear Richardson, the son of Shane Mosley's trainer Naazim Richardson, recently revealed on his Facebook page that he, along with the rest of Team Mosley, would now be helping Shane prepare for a May 1 showdown with Mayweather. His status update read, "AT SUGAR SHANE MOSLEY CRIB! ME,SUGAR SHANE,DYNAMITE,SHARP,BIGFOOT,STEVE,BRO NAAZIM. SHANE N BERTO FITE WAS CANCELED SO NOW WE GETTIN READY FOR SHANE VS. MAYWEATHER MAY.1ST N VEGAS!"

Out of respect for Andre Berto, who pulled out of his scheduled January 30 title unification with Shane Mosley due to the catastrophy in Haiti, there's no doubt that both sides will continue to say that negotiations are "ongoing" to avoid looking like they're taking advantage of the situation. However, given the fact that this is the fight that Mosley has been hoping for all along, there were practically no obstacles in the way of finalizing the deal in the first place. When they actually do decide to make the official announcement remains to be seen, however, rest assured, the announcement is coming. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, expect Mayweather vs. Mosley to take place on May 1...and if it doesn't, expect UFC President Dana White to drop some more F-bombs.


http://www.fighthype.com/pages/content6786.html

.

Wish Shane didn't have to wait like 15 months to fight but he got what he wanted.

 

[sir rob a lot]

Glad we pissed Dana and UFC off.

....he knows boxing aint dead ! 

 

[mfr3shm]

Originally Posted by Sir Rob A Lot

Glad we pissed Dana and UFC off.

....he knows boxing aint dead ! 

i don't pay any mind to UFC, MMA etc... but i always hear Dana White say how Boxing is a dying sport and I'm also glad that he needs to push his UFC PPV a week later.


Anyone have any idea as to the money splits for Mosley vs Mayweather i know Mosley was willing to take 35% or something in that area to fight Pacquiao. I doubt it would be a 50-50 split.

 

[aepps20]

 

[marionthebarberian]

Originally Posted by MFr3shM

Originally Posted by Sir Rob A Lot

Glad we pissed Dana and UFC off.



....he knows boxing aint dead ! 

i don't pay any mind to UFC, MMA etc... but i always hear Dana White say how Boxing is a dying sport and I'm also glad that he needs to push his UFC PPV a week later.


Anyone have any idea as to the money splits for Mosley vs Mayweather i know Mosley was willing to take 35% or something in that area to fight Pacquiao. I doubt it would be a 50-50 split.

It wouldnt surprise me if its 30 - 70

 

[eagle 0n]

Damn..Dako's boy Viloria got KO'd?

Read he collapsed in the dressing room after the fight. Hope he's okay

 

[sir rob a lot]

^yea, I seen that on Donaire's twitter.

Prayers are with him.

 

[dako akong otin]

yeAh, Viloria was mad tired by the 12th.  There's a video somewhere in youtube. But he was losing balance and knocking his own self down by missing on punches...

VILORIA IN STABLE CONDITION AFTER COLLAPSING IN DRESSING ROOM

By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 23 Jan 2010

Brian Viloria who lost his IBF light flyweight title to CarlosTamara of Colombia in a stunning TKO at 1:45 of the 12th round is in“stable condition†at the Makati Medical Center where he wastransferred to after being initially rushed to the San Juan De DiosHospital near the Cuneta Astrodome where the fight took place.

Viloriaappeared to have punched himself out in a fight where he hurt Camarawith vicious body shots in the early rounds before wilting, giving theformer Colombian Olympian a chance to come back with continuousflurries and some big shots to the side of the head as Viloria wasdazed and ultimately could hardly move.

The ninth round was the beginning of the end for Viloria who wascomfortably ahead after eight rounds. Even as his trainer Robert Garciascreamed at him to use the jab and to move which proved effective inthe early going, Viloria who appeared to be egged on by the crowd triedto go for a knockout as Filipino fight fans kept chanting “Viloria!Viloria!!†and paid the price.

Tamara continued to pressure Viloria relentlessly and although thechampion occasionally caught the mandatory challenger with some wildshots, his punches had lost their sting while Tamara appeared to begetting stronger and his confidence zooming as he sensed Viloria was introuble.

Viloria got drawn into a close quarter slugfest in round eleven andpaid heavily as Tamara connected time and again and with his energyalmost totally sapped, Viloria stumbled onto the canvas twice in thefinal round out of sheer fatigue. Sensing his chance Tamara rushedViloria against the ropes and hammered him with a flurry of punchesbefore international referee Bruce McTavish stepped in and verycorrectly signaled the end as Viloria could hard stay on his feet.

Viloria was helped to his dressing room where he collapsed and wasthen rushed to the nearby San Juan De Dios Hospital where they wastedalmost 30 minutes with no CT Scan being done and no doctor attending tohim forcing Solar Sports top executives Wilson Tseng and PeterChanliong and Viloria’s manager Gary Gittelsohn to have him transferredto the extremely well-equipped Makati Medical Center where he was givena CT Scan and a series of other tests.

Games and Amusements Board boxing division chief Dr. Nasser Cruzwho spoke to Viloria inside the emergency room said “right now he isstable. They did a lot of medical tests. CT Scan was good and normal,they were worried about the cervical spine because Brian wascomplaining of neck pains so they did a scan also. They wereentertaining more of muscle spasms. They did a chest Xray and it wasalso good so right now he is being asked to stay in the hospital, maybeovernight to observe because boxers who have a difficult fight andreceive a lot of punches to the head really have to stay in thehospital like they did in the cases of Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hattonand Miguel Cotto.â€

Dr. Cruz said Viloria who complained about a headache “could havehad a mild concussion or just a mere cervical spasm, the muscles of theneck.â€

Attending physician Dr. Regina Makalintal told www.insidesports.ph,Standard Today and Viva Sports “the patient is conscious, followsverbal commands. He’s just complaining of unusual tightness of the headbut the cranial nerves are okay, there is no paralysis or weakness ofthe upper and lower extremities, his reflexes are okay.We did a scanand its normal, there is no evidence of bleeding, there is no fractureof the skull. He is stable in his functions and he’s doing good.â€
edit: found the vid

 

[proshares]

A little ticked that Bika didn't go through w/taking the fight w/Green.  I've never been a fan of Green and I don't think he's done anything of significance to deserve a shot in this tournament.  I hope Ward mops the floor with him.

[h2]Top Rank giving $1 per ticket to relief[/h2]

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Associated Press

NEW YORK -- Boxing promoter Top Rank willdonate $1 from every ticket it sells through the end of the year toHaitian earthquake relief.

The Las Vegas company will begin withSaturday night's featherweight doubleheader at Madison Square Garden,where about 5,000 fans are expected to see Juan Manuel Lopez challengeSteven Luevano for the title. Yuriorkis Gamboa faces Rogers Mtagwa inthe co-main event.

Arum

"Starting with this fight and everyfight through the rest of the year," Top Rank chief Bob Arum saidFriday. "For a fight like this, it might be a few thousand, but forMarch 13 it could be 40 or 50 thousand."

Manny Pacquiao makes hisreturn to the ring on March 13 against Joshua Clottey at the newCowboys Stadium in Dallas. The facility is being configured for 40,000fans, but it could conceivably fit upward of 70,000 depending ondemand. The lowest-priced ticket is $50, or roughly the same as thesuggested pay-per-view price.

Arum said he wasn't sure how manytickets will be sold the rest of the year because there is no accurateway to predict how many shows will be put together, who will headlinethe shows and where they will take place.

"Hopefully other promoters will join us," Arum said.

TopRank does have a deal with Fox Sports for 36 televised shows in 2010,and Pacquiao -- who draws huge crowds everywhere he goes -- is expectedto fight again later in the year. That means the potential sales couldbe in the hundreds of thousands.

"We had to do something," Top Rank spokesman Lee Samuels said. "It's just devastating."

WhileTop Rank doesn't have any Haitian fighters under its wing, the sporthas still been affected by the magnitude-7.0 quake. Haiti's governmentestimates the Jan. 12 disaster killed 200,000 people, with another250,000 injured and 2 million homeless in a nation of 9 million.

Amongthem were relatives of welterweight titleholder Andre Berto, who pulledout of a lucrative fight against Shane Mosley next week because of thestrain caused by the earthquake.

Berto was born in Miami butrepresented Haiti in the 2004 Olympics, after narrowly missing the U.S.team. He has many relatives on the island and has been involved incharity and relief efforts in his parents' homeland for several years.

"Ihave received an incredible outpouring of support, and I sincerelyappreciate everyone's prayers for the people of Haiti," Berto said. "Ihope that everyone will continue to keep the Haitian people in theirthoughts and prayers as we work to rebuild this proud nation."

Bertohas teamed with boxing equipment-maker Everlast to create a red andwhite T-shirt with his "AB" logo on the front, a silhouette of Haiti onthe back and the words "Greatness is Within." The shirts cost $20 withall profits going to the American Red Cross.

Everlast has alsodonated $10,000 worth of clothing to the recently established BertoDynasty Foundation, which will be distributed to those in Haiti who arewithout basic necessities.

"Like the rest of the world, we aredeeply saddened by the tragic events in Haiti and are committed tousing our resources to help those in need," Everlast chief executiveNeil Morton said in a statement.

[h4]Luevano relishes underdog role against Lopez[/h4]

By Dan Rafael
ESPN.com
Archive

Chris Farina/Top RankProving ground: Juan Manuel Lopez, left, and Steven Luevano meet in a battle of promising featherweights.

Featherweight Steven Luevano is the quiet type who hasn't gainedmuch notoriety, even though he owns a world title and has made fivedefenses against quality opponents.

He has no real fan base to speak of. Doesn't have much charisma either.

He doesn't talk trash about his opponents. He doesn't makeheadlines by getting into trouble, and he'd rather spend his timehanging out with his wife and kids than whooping it up with the fellas.

And a few days before his next title defense, the La Puente,Calif., resident passes the time by simply sitting in his New Yorkhotel room watching television.

It's too cold for the California kid to go out much anyway.

"Pretty boring," he said. "But that's what I do."

Luevano could probably walk into his own news conference and not be recognized.

That low-key nature is why, despite talent and his winning ways,Luevano is a virtual afterthought to many going into a defense againstjunior featherweight titleholder Juan Manuel Lopez on Saturday night(HBO, 9:45 ET/PT) at Madison Square Garden's WaMu Theater.

Lopez is the star of the show. That's how HBO sees it, as well as Top Rank, which promotes both fighters.

Lopez (27-0, 24 KOs), with his outgoing personality, broad smile,punching power and strong backing from Puerto Rican fans, will be theone responsible for filling the seats and drawing viewers.

He's the fighter Top Rank builds shows around, not Luevano(37-1-1, 15 KOs), who isn't even pictured on the poster -- even thoughhe's the one defending a title. In fact, Top Rank's Bob Arum has talkedopenly about his desire to make a future fight between Lopez andfeatherweight titlist Yuriorkis Gamboa, not even mentioning thepossibility of Luevano-Gamboa.

In the "Boxing After Dark" co-feature, Gamboa (16-0, 14 KOs)makes the second defense of his version of the title against RogersMtagwa (26-13-2, 18 KOs), who is supposed to serve as a means tocompare Lopez and Gamboa, because he pushed Lopez to the limit in asensational October junior featherweight title fight, also at the WaMuTheater.

Despite short shrift in the promotion, Luevano hasn't lashed outlike many fighters would. He hasn't screamed about being disrespected.Instead, he's a gentleman.

"I just do what I do. That's probably why they take my kindnessas a weakness," Luevano said. "But I know I am not weak. I am a lotbetter fighter than Juanma is. Come Saturday, everyone will see what Iam really made of."

Said Arum: "It's an excellent fight. To me, it's a pick 'emfight. Whatever the hype going in, whoever the guy with the fan base,this is what boxing is about -- two equally matched kids."

As for the star treatment Lopez receives from Top Rank, Luevano understands business is business.

"He has all those knockouts and a country behind him, and theyfeel like he's better for business and that they can make more moneyoff him," Luevano said, without a hint of anger in his voice. "To me, Idon't really think much of him. To me, he's like a six-round fighterand then he gets tired, so we're looking to get him into the laterounds. I'm a lot better boxer than he is. I may not have all theknockouts that he has, but I know I'm a lot more skilled fighter.

"But I don't like to talk bad about anybody because I don't knowthem and they don't know me. There's no point in talking bad aboutsomebody I don't know. I just like to show my talking in the ring."

Although Lopez, 26, gets top billing as the challenger, he said he doesn't let it go to his head.

"I will not underestimate [Luevano] because I was told before mylast fight against Mtagwa that fight was going to be easy," Lopez said."But I knew it wasn't easy because I saw the videos of Mtagwa. I knowLuevano is a tough guy from watching him, but I know I will be able tohandle him."

Arum said Lopez is front and center because of his star status, which isn't a knock on Luevano -- just reality.

"Steven understands he has no fan base like a Puerto Rican kidlike Juanma, so he has to make his bones the hard way, by beating thekid that has the fan base," Arum said. "So this is an opportunity forhim, and even though it's a 50-50 fight and he's the champion, all theattention is on the kid with the fan base. That's the way of the world.Steven isn't the attraction. He's not the kind of kid that the premiumnetworks would really give a shot to. It's not a knock. That's the wayof life. He's on HBO because he's fighting Lopez. Let's be honest aboutit. It's not a knock on anybody. It's the way of the world.

"But instead of being bitter and difficult and upset that Lopez ismaking more money, Steven swallows his pride and realizes it's a goodopportunity to establish himself. So I give him all the props in theworld. He's a lovely, lovely kid, a good fighter and has a nice workethic. He's the kind of kid you want to be associated with. But whenLopez fought on a pay-per-view when we couldn't do an HBO fight, it did25,000 homes in Puerto Rico. That's translates to $500,000, plus theU.S. homes we did. You take somebody like Lopez and you can put him ona card like that and you don't blow your brains out. If you put Steviein there, where's the fan base? I'm not saying it's right or wrong.It's real."

As for Top Rank's talk of a possible Lopez-Gamboa fight, Luevano, 28, is unmoved by that.

"It doesn't disappoint me," he said. "I won't be the onedisappointed at the end of the fight. If Top Rank wants to have themfight, they should have gone right ahead and done it, because if theydo ... it won't be to unify titles because I'm keeping mine. If theywant Gamboa and Lopez fight, go right ahead. But I would like to fightGamboa also. I don't mind them talking about any fight, because theycan say whatever they want to say, but I know what I can do and what Iam going to do."

The fact that Lopez will be the overwhelming crowd favorite isalso no big deal to Luevano. When he won a vacant title in 2007, hewent to England and knocked out Englishman Nicky Cook in the 11th round.

"I'm pretty much used to it because I went out to England andfaced the same thing," he said. "I will do the same thing I did inEngland -- don't even pay attention to the crowd. Just focus on Juanmaon the other side of the ring and listening to my coaches."

Dan Rafael covers boxing for ESPN.com.

[h4]Top Rank takes Texas[/h4]

While the eyes of the boxing world will be on the MannyPacquiao-Joshua Clottey fight at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas,on March 13 (HBO PPV), Top Rank is putting on a significant card thenight before at a venue to be determined in the Dallas area.

The card, which will be part of its new "Top Rank Live" series(Fox Sports en Espanol/FSN), is slated to feature Rodel Mayol (26-4-1,20 KOs) of the Philippines, who is making the first defense of hisjunior flyweight title against Mexico's Manuel Vargas (26-4-1, 11 KOs).

In the co-feature, former heavyweight titleholder Samuel Peter(33-3, 26 KOs) faces Nagy Aguilera (15-2, 10 KOs) in a titleeliminator; the winner will move one step closer to an eventualmandatory shot against Wladimir Klitschko.

Peter won his version of the title by knocking out Oleg Maskaevin March 2008, but lost it to Vitali Klitschko in his first defense inOctober '08. Aguilera scored an upset when he stopped Maskaev in thefirst round on Dec. 11 in what was supposed to be a tune-up fight for afinal eliminator.

"Alexander Povetkin [the mandatory challenger] is way overdue tofight Klitschko. Something needs to happen," said Ivaylo Gotzev,Peter's manager. "So we're fighting March 12, Povetkin is supposed tofight March 13, and Klitschko fights March 20, so everything isaligning. We're definitely going to push through to that title shot.We're fighting a guy we can make a statement against, a young, hungry,willing fighter. Their side is excited about the opportunity and so arewe."

[h4]QUICK HITS[/h4]

Jones

• Although HBO has yet to formally commit to the Roy Jones-BernardHopkins pay-per-view rematch, which is going forward despite Jones'being knocked out in one round by Danny Green last month, Golden Boy'sRichard Schaefer (the fight's co-promoter) told ESPN.com thatdiscussions continue and the fight probably will move from April 17 toApril 3 at the network's request. He said if it moves, it means HBOwould be involved. HBO wants Jones-Hopkins to move so the network canstage an HBO doubleheader on April 17, which would include LucianBute's super middleweight title defense at Montreal's Bell Centre,where Bute regularly draws sellout crowds. Bute promoter InterBox needsto go April 17 because of the arena's availability, and HBO owes him afight.

Pavlik

• Top Rank's Bob Arum, who handles middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik,and Lou DiBella, who promotes junior middleweight titlist SergioMartinez, are negotiating a Pavlik-Martinez bout for April. Arum metThursday with HBO about the fight, and while the network would preferthe thrice-scuttled Pavlik-Paul Williams fight to be repaired, it madean offer for Pavlik-Martinez. "HBO gave us a number, which is areasonable number, and now I have to talk to Lou and make the fight,"Arum told ESPN.com. If it happens, it would be in Atlantic City, N.J.,Arum said. The target date is April 17. Arum said HBO has talked to himabout Pavlik's fight being part of a split-site doubleheader that wouldalso include the Bute bout from Montreal. "HBO's idea is to doubleKelly's fight up with [Bute's], which would be tremendous," Arum said.An eventual fight between Bute and Pavlik is something HBO has designson, and having them on the same telecast would push that closer tofruition.

Khan

• Schaefer said he's talking to HBO about scheduling juniorwelterweight titlist Amir Khan's American debut for April 10. "Amirwill have his own date, and one fight HBO is very interested in is JuanManuel Marquez," Schaefer told ESPN.com. "Amir facing Marquez live onHBO, now that's a big fight, isn't it?" Other bouts being discussed forKhan include Paulie Malignaggi and Juan Diaz. But Golden Boy also needsto sort out the situation with Khan's mandatory against Marcos Maidanaduring a two-week window it has received from the WBA. Schaefer, whoco-promotes Maidana, said his manager is coming to Los Angeles to meetwith about the situation.

Marquez

• Whether he fights Khan or not, lightweight champ Marquez is movingoff May 1 because Shane Mosley-Floyd Mayweather is in the works forthat date, Schaefer said. "We're not there yet with Mosley-Mayweather,but if that fight happens I think the most likely date is May 1 [on HBOPPV] and Marquez would be May 8 live on HBO," he said. Possibleopponents include Michael Katsidis and Juan Diaz (in a rematch of2009's fight of the year) or the possibility of a Khan fight in Aprilor May. "A lot depends on venue availability and fighter preferences,"Schaefer said. "We also have to see what kind of monies are available."

Guerrero

• Whatever headliners Golden Boy promotes on HBO in April and May,Schaefer also has to finalize undercard bouts, and he's discussedvarious matches with the network. If Katsidis doesn't fight Marquez ina main event, one match could be interim lightweight titlist Katsidis,one of Marquez's mandatories, facing junior lightweight titleholderRobert Guerrero, who would move up in weight. "We'd like to put thatfight together for one of our undercards," Schaefer said. Guerreromanager Shelly Finkel also told ESPN.com that it's a fight they'd liketo make. Guerrero's alternative is an unattractive mandatory againstMzonke Fana; HBO isn't interested and it isn't economically viable.Maidana is also a possibility for one of the undercards. "There are alot of things to discuss, but there are a lot of guys we can mix andmatch and make some great fights," Schaefer said.

Ortiz

• Junior welterweight Victor Ortiz (25-2-1, 20 KOs), the 2008ESPN.com Prospect of the Year, headlines the Feb. 25 season premiere ofGolden Boy's "Fight Night Club" series, which moves to Fox Sports Netfrom Versus this year but will still take place at Club Nokia indowntown Los Angeles. Ortiz suffered a TKO loss to Marcos Maidana whenOrtiz quit in their July fight, but he bounced back in December to stopAntonio Diaz. Golden Boy's Schaefer told ESPN.com that if Ortiz winshis fight, he'll be back on HBO -- which televised all three of his2009 bouts -- in an undercard fight in May. Schaefer said one of thematches that interests HBO is Ortiz against ex-lightweight titlist NateCampbell. "We have to discuss it with Nate and Victor, but that's anexciting matchup," Schaefer said.

Pacquiao

• Tickets for the Pacquiao-Clottey welterweight title fight on March13 (HBO PPV) at Cowboys Stadium go on sale Saturday morning. It's oneof the most significant world title bouts to be held at a majorAmerican sports stadium since Muhammad Ali and Ken Norton met for theheavyweight title at Yankee Stadium in 1976, a fight that Top Rank,which promotes Pacquiao and Clottey, also staged. Cowboys Stadium willbe configured for a crowd of approximately 40,000. Tickets are pricedat $700, $500, $300, $200, $100 and $50 and can be purchased in personat the stadium or via Ticketmaster.

Latimore

• A pair of notable fights are coming to ESPN2's "Friday NightFights." On March 19, junior middleweights Deandre Latimore (20-2, 16KOs) and Sechew Powell will hook up in a rematch, Powell co-promoterLeon Margules told ESPN.com. It will be a title eliminator to produceCory Spinks' mandatory challenger. Latimore stopped Powell in theseventh round on ESPN2 in June 2008 and lost a split decision to Spinkslast year. Powell (25-2, 15 KOs) has won two in a row since the loss,after which he tested positive for marijuana and was suspended for 60days by the New York commission. On March 26, the "FNF" date goes toTavoris Cloud (20-0, 18 KOs), who will make his first light heavyweighttitle defense against an opponent to be determined.

Stevens

• Super middleweight Curtis Stevens (21-2, 15 KOs) has no problemfighting in his opponent's territory. In fact, he believes he thriveson it. Good for thing him, because Stevens will face Jesse Brinkley(34-5, 22 KOs) on his turf in Reno, Nev., in a Jan. 29 (ESPN2)eliminator. "I feed off the crowd, so the more hostile the environment,the worse off it will be for him," Stevens said. "As I already toldJesse and all his fans when I went to first announce the fight in Reno,he hasn't ever been in the ring with someone like me. To be honest,when I first heard about the fight I really couldn't believe heaccepted it. If he thinks he is going to use me as his steppingstone tobigger things in the super middleweight division, then he is in for arude awakening. He will realize he made a mistake when he wakes up onhis stool or back in his dressing room because I promise you I am goingto knock him out cold." The winner moves a step closer to a mandatoryshot at titleholder Lucian Bute.

Brewster

• Former heavyweight titleholder Lamon Brewster (35-5, 30 KOs), whohas lost three of his last five fights, has fallen to opponent statusand has been lined up to serve as a steppingstone for prospect RobertHelenius (10-0, 6 KOs) when they meet Jan. 30 in Neubrandenburg,Germany. "I am excited to fight one of the biggest names in boxing atthis early stage of my career," Helenius said. "I have big plans and inorder to accomplish them, I have to keep progressing. A victory overBrewster would be a giant stride into the right direction." The fightis on the undercard of middleweight titleholder Sebastian Sylvester'sfirst defense. Sylvester was supposed to face Pablo Navascues, but heis out of the fight after promoter Sauerland Event announced he testedpositive for a banned substance during a random drug test. Sauerland islooking for a replacement.

[h4]QUOTABLE[/h4]

Pacquiao

"Joshua Clottey's style is different from styles I have fought.Clottey is bigger and taller than Miguel Cotto. I thought his fightwith Cotto was very close. I have to prepare and train hard becauseClottey is strong and a former champion. I won't promise that I'll win,but I promise it will be a good fight." -- Manny Pacquiao, on his March 13 opponent, at a news conference this week announcing the HBO PPV fight at Cowboys Stadium

[h4]QUOTABLE[/h4]

Clottey

"Pacquiao is my favorite fighter. He has been for a long time. Inmy country of Ghana, which is a very poor place, Manny is very popular.He really is a superstar. When I got the call about fighting Pacquiao,I could hardly believe it. I immediately said yes. This is a dream.Fighting Pacquiao will not be easy. Not for him and not for me. I willhave to punish him. I know he will hit me. But I plan to throw everypunch hard and make it hurt. I will chase him. I will not allow him toset up and do what he did to [Oscar] De La Hoya, [Ricky] Hatton and[Miguel] Cotto. Manny is going to feel every punch I throw." -- Clottey, at a news conference announcing the showdown

 

[gunna get it]

ok... leggoooo Gamboa.

lets see if he polishin his skills

 

[eagle 0n]

its about that time

 

[mfr3shm]

Yall think Gamboa will get dropped at some point in the fight?

 

[proshares]

Mtgawa hurt Lopez bad in that fight and I can't remember if I've ever seen JML hurt before. Gamboa doesn't have a great chin, I could see him going down multiple times.

I got Gamboa and Luevano.

 

[gunna get it]

did Michael Buffer just say "Lets get this party started!" ?