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

[dako akong otin]

[h1]

[h1][h1]Twitter: Pacman to fight "Sugar" Shane Mosley next?[/h1][/h1]
The worst secret in boxing is out of the bag: "Sugar" Shane Mosley is the most likely opponent for Manny Pacquiao's next fight.

The 39 year old American boxer used Twitter to announce that discussions between the two camps are at an advanced stage, with confirmation expected in the next 24 hours.

"Just excited about the fight with Pac [Manny Pacquiao]. I know you're going to be there," he tweeted to former world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis.

"The ink hasn't dried yet but it's pretty much a go."

Speculation has mounted over who would fight the Filipino eight division world title holder in May, 2011 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, with Juan Manuel Marquez mooted as another possible opponent.

But in a subsequent interview with the Los Angeles Times, Mosley confirmed that he would meet with Pacquiao's representatives on Tuesday to finalize a deal

"We've already discussed the fight about three-four weeks ago, so now we'll go over it again," said Mosley.

"Both sides just need to commit to what we've talked about and then I think we're done."

Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach had earlier ruled out Marquez whilst, at the same time, insisting on an important caveat if Mosley was indeed chosen

"[Mosley] won't be an easy fight for Manny," Roach told assembled reporters in the Philippines, where he was celebrating Pacquiao's 32nd birthday.

"He can punch with either hand. But if the fight pushes through, I'll insist on a drug test. He's been known to take steroids and it shows in his body."

Roach was referring to a 2003 grand jury submission by Mosley where he admitted using EPO, a performance enhancing drug, as he prepared to fight Oscar De La Hoya.

But Mosley never tested positive, and denied knowing what it was or that it was illegal.

"I'm disappointed that this is coming out again, four years after I've been to the grand jury and gave my truthful testimony," Mosley said in a 2008 statement, issued after the allegations first came to light.

"I even took a lie detector test back then to let everyone know that I wasn't trying to be an unfair fighter."

But it looks like Mosley will now have a chance to fight arguably the best pound for pound boxer in the sport to prove the detractors wrong.

[/h1]

 

[goofy08]

mosley/pac isnt a fight that interets me. but ill probably watch anyway 

this last month/ month and a half has been

for boxing fans, nothing great to look forward to in the near future though, except bradley/alexander next month

 

[bigmike23]

shane is such a clown

so the 1st time around he was on hands a knees to fight manny. saying he would drop to 135 and would let manny take 70% while he took 30%

now he is claiming he is out of a deal with Golden boy when most say he still is and i bet he wont ask manny to take a drug test like he said he would durning the PBF fight.

 

[thacapt]

Originally Posted by dako akong otin

[h1]

[h1][/h1][h1]Twitter: Pacman to fight "Sugar" Shane Mosley next?[/h1]
The worst secret in boxing is out of the bag: "Sugar" Shane Mosley is the most likely opponent for Manny Pacquiao's next fight.

The 39 year old American boxer used Twitter to announce that discussions between the two camps are at an advanced stage, with confirmation expected in the next 24 hours.

"Just excited about the fight with Pac [Manny Pacquiao]. I know you're going to be there," he tweeted to former world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis.

"The ink hasn't dried yet but it's pretty much a go."

Speculation has mounted over who would fight the Filipino eight division world title holder in May, 2011 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, with Juan Manuel Marquez mooted as another possible opponent.

But in a subsequent interview with the Los Angeles Times, Mosley confirmed that he would meet with Pacquiao's representatives on Tuesday to finalize a deal

"We've already discussed the fight about three-four weeks ago, so now we'll go over it again," said Mosley.

"Both sides just need to commit to what we've talked about and then I think we're done."

Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach had earlier ruled out Marquez whilst, at the same time, insisting on an important caveat if Mosley was indeed chosen

"[Mosley] won't be an easy fight for Manny," Roach told assembled reporters in the Philippines, where he was celebrating Pacquiao's 32nd birthday.

"He can punch with either hand. But if the fight pushes through, I'll insist on a drug test. He's been known to take steroids and it shows in his body."

Roach was referring to a 2003 grand jury submission by Mosley where he admitted using EPO, a performance enhancing drug, as he prepared to fight Oscar De La Hoya.

But Mosley never tested positive, and denied knowing what it was or that it was illegal.

"I'm disappointed that this is coming out again, four years after I've been to the grand jury and gave my truthful testimony," Mosley said in a 2008 statement, issued after the allegations first came to light.

"I even took a lie detector test back then to let everyone know that I wasn't trying to be an unfair fighter."

But it looks like Mosley will now have a chance to fight arguably the best pound for pound boxer in the sport to prove the detractors wrong.

[/h1]

But if he insists on Shane taking OSDT then it's a bit hypocritical of team Pac dontcha think?

 

[proshares]

http://twitter.com/danrafaelespn

@danrafaelespn Arum tells me Cotto fights March 12, probably in Vegas. Potential opponents he said are Martirosyan, Wolak or Mayorga. Says it will be PPV.

@danrafaelespn Arum not happy that HBO is planning to go against his PPV on March 12 with a live HBO fight.

@danrafaelespn Arum: 'If they (HBO) want to do a show against our pay-per-view, that is a major development between HBO & ourselves.

Middleweight titleholder Sebastian Sylvester and cruiserweight titlist Steve Cunningham will both get an early start to their 2011 campaigns.

Sylvester will make his fourth title defense against Mehdi Bouadla (21-3, 10 KOs) of France while Cunningham will put his belt on the line against mandatory challenger Enad Licina in the co-feature of a card in Neubrandenburg, Germany, on Jan. 22, promoter Sauerland Event announced Monday.

[h4]Rafael's Boxing Blog[/h4]

Get the latest scoop and analysis on the world of boxing from ESPN.com's Dan Rafael in his blog.

Germany's Sylvester (34-3-1, 16 KOs) is coming off an October title defense in which he dropped countryman Mahir Oral three times en route to a lopsided decision victory.

"I look forward to fighting in Neubrandenburg again. It is like my second home and I intend to deliver my fans another exciting evening," Sylvester said. "Bouadla is a strong and aggressive fighter, but together with my coach, Karsten Rower, we will find a way to beat him."

It will be the second fight for Philadelphia's Cunningham (23-2, 12 KOs) since signing with Sauerland Event, which promotes several top cruiserweights and hopes to eventually match them in a tournament. In his first fight for the company, Cunningham stopped Troy Ross in the fifth round in June to regain the vacant belt he once owned.

Licina (19-2, 10 KOs), a native of Serbia living in Germany, became Cunningham's mandatory challenger with a decision win against Felix Cora Jr. on Nov. 13 in England.

"I'm looking forward to getting back in the ring," Cunningham said. "I'm working hard to win and retain my title on Jan. 22. I still feel the world hasn't seen the best of Steve Cunningham yet. I'm expecting a hard fight from Licina. I know he'll come prepared."

Said Licina: "Every world champion is beatable. Cunningham is a strong fighter but I have spotted some weaknesses and we are going to exploit them."

MONTREAL -- Jean Pascal says that if it were up to him his next bout would be a rematch with Bernard Hopkins.

Pascal retained his WBC light heavyweight title with a majority draw against Hopkins on Saturday. But next up for Pascal will be Chad Dawson.

Pascal held a news conference Monday in his hometown of Montreal. He says he learned a lot from the wild weekend bout in which he knocked Hopkins down twice before hanging on.

Pascal's trainer, Marc Ramsay, said contract obligations stipulate that Pascal's next opponent must be Dawson. Pascal beat him in August.

Pascal says he intends to resume training about the second week of January.

 

[scott frost]

USS Cunningham........

I dont understand, does HBO not want the next Cotto bout or is Arum going in a different direction with putting together his own PPV?

 

[sammietheboss]

PAC vs SHANE im honestly thinking that Shane has an 85% chance of getting knocked out

 

[scott frost]

LONDON -- David Haye is offering Wladimir Klitschko a 50-50 split of the earnings in order to secure a heavyweight unification fight next year. A back injury forced Haye, the WBA champion, to withdraw from a fight with the younger of the Klitschko brothers in 2009. Haye has since been unable to negotiate another matchup with the Ukrainian boxer, who holds the IBF and WBO belts. The major stumbling block was believed to have been how to split the purse, but Haye and his management team said Tuesday they have offered Klitschko "50-50 on everything." Haye said there was no reason their much-anticipated fight shouldn't take place next year. "We have now ticked every box they have asked us to tick and I just hope Wladimir is as eager to fight as he tells everyone he is," Haye said. "We have removed every possible excuse and have shown we are serious about making this fight become a reality. "I only pray Wladimir is as serious as we are," Haye added, "because this fight needs to happen for the good of the sport." After retaining his belt with a third-round stoppage of fellow British boxer Audley Harrison last month, the 30-year-old Haye immediately set his sights on unifying the sport's flagship division. He wants to fight both Wladimir and his brother Vitali, who is the WBC champion, before retiring next October. "We are now perfectly positioned to get together and make this fight with Wladimir Klitschko," said Adam Booth, Haye's trainer and manager. "We have sorted out all the old problems and disagreements and are ready to sign the deal. "David and I are happy to split the entire pot 50-50 and grant Wladimir the deal he has wanted since day one. We have offered them 50-50 on everything -- just as they requested -- and now see no reason why this tremendous fight can't happen. The path is clear." Wladimir Klitschko was scheduled to defend his title against Britain's Dereck Chisora in Germany on Dec. 11, but withdrew three days before the fight after tearing a stomach muscle. The 34-year-old Klitschko must now decide whether to renegotiate a deal with Chisora or turn his attentions to Haye, which would be a far more lucrative fight. Klitschko was due to make his 10th title defense against the little-known Chisora. However, during his final workout hitting the pads with trainer Emanuel Steward, Klitschko suffered the injury. Klitschko, 34, underwent a CT scan and was diagnosed with a 2-inch tear on the left side of his abdominal muscle near the bottom of his rib cage. "The doctor said he needs four to six weeks to heal," manager Bernd Boente told ESPN.com earlier this month. "Wladimir has never had to cancel a fight before. He is totally upset. He had a great training camp in the Austrian mountains. He was in fantastic shape and he's very, very upset and very sad. And not only for him but for all the people who bought tickets to the sold-out arena. We were all looking forward to the fight. We are sorry for the fans and for our TV partners. What can you do?" Boente said he was not sure if the fight with Chisora (14-0, 9 KOs) would be rescheduled. However, Chisora told the BBC earlier this month that he is confident the fight will happen. "He offered the fight and he has to fight me," he said. Information from The Associated Press and ESPN.com's Dan Rafael was used in this report.

 

[proshares]

I think HBO has Sergio's next defense lined up for that night and I'm guessing Arum picked that day specifically so he can have Cotto ready for a summer rematch with Margarito.

 

[mfr3shm]

Mayorga back in Nicaragua 


[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
By Gabriel F. Cordero
[/font]


[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
Upon his arrival in Managua, Nicaragua, former two-division world champion Ricardo Mayorga announced that he has signed a contract to challenge WBA super welterweight world champion Miguel Cotto, with the bout possibly landing in Las Vegas on March 12. 

Mayorga has also been mentioned as a possible challenger for WBA middleweight champion Felix Sturm on February 19 in Stuttgart, Germany. It was the first time Mayorga has been in his native country in nearly four years due to legal problems. “I dreamed for many months of returning to my country. I am very happy to return to Nicaragua, and I thank God, my mother, but most of all President Daniel Ortega for having supported me,
[/font]

 

[proshares]

http://twitter.com/danrafaelespn

@danrafaelespn Been hearing after approving Andy Lee, HBO now saying no & is pushing for Sergio Martinez-Sergei Dzinziruk. But $$ an issue on both sides.

In a perfect world, which this is not, Bernard Hopkins would have gotten the decision he deserved against Jean Pascal on Saturday night in Quebec City, Pascal's backyard.

Hopkins should have gotten the decision -- after the third round, he pretty much dominated the rest of the fight -- and become boxing's oldest world champion just a few weeks shy of his 46th birthday.

By boxing standards, Hopkins is a geezer. But he is a supreme athlete and was the fighter who was fresh as a daisy at the end. Meanwhile, Pascal -- head down and wearing a dejected look -- was the one whose body language suggested he would have rather been anywhere but in the ring with Hopkins.

"Jean Pascal, his corner and all of the Canadians in the arena and on television know I won the fight," Hopkins said. "The crowd was loud in the beginning, but the silence was deafening as I dominated Pascal from the middle rounds all the way to the end of the fight. After the last round, Pascal went back to his corner with his head and hands down. I am sure he is still hanging his head today to think he let a 45-year-old man beat him up the way I did."

Pascal was gassed after about five rounds and in retreat, while Hopkins, 18 years his senior, was the busier fighter. In fact, Hopkins was the guy tracking Pascal down throughout the bout and ripping him with body shots and rights hands.

B-Hop put it best after the fight when he said of Pascal: "He ran from an old grandpa."

While judge Steve Morrow's card of 114-112 was on the money for Hopkins, judges Claude Paquette (113-113), and Dan Van De Wielle (114-114) had it a draw as Pascal retained the light heavyweight title.

Pascal said he believed he won, even though he sure didn't sound convincing. He also said, "That wasn't my best fight." Translation: "I know I lost."

Frankly, the scores could have been even slightly wider for Hopkins because even though he was knocked down in the first and third rounds, the one in the opening round was bogus. Pascal cuffed him behind the head with a right hand and Hopkins went down on the foul, but referee Michael Griffin, who generally did a fine job, missed it. The knockdown shouldn't have counted. But even if you give Pascal credit for it, Hopkins was doing well enough in the round that it easily could have been scored only 10-9 in Pascal's favor instead of the traditional 10-8, because the knockdown was so weak.

"He knows what happened in there and he has to live with it," Hopkins said. "The film doesn't lie, but I bet he doesn't even watch the tape so he and all his people around him can tell him something other than the truth. He lost the fight.

"If this guy has a backbone and wants to walk around with any kind of dignity and self-worth, the only thing he can do is fight me again. If that was me, I know that is the only way I could really live with myself."

So even though Hopkins took Pascal to school, he wound up with a bad break and a draw. OK, so it wasn't highway robbery, but that doesn't change the fact that he deserved the victory in what was a very good fight. By Hopkins' often less-than-exciting standards, it was a sheer barnburner.

But now what? Hopkins obviously deserves a rematch and Pascal, who said he was open to it, needs to fight him again to clean up the mess.

"If I were him, I would want to redeem myself and my reputation immediately after what happened," Hopkins said.

If only it were that easy.

First off, Pascal was the big draw in the fight and the reason 16,500 packed the Pepsi Coliseum. Hopkins isn't interested in a return north of the border, where the fight makes the most sense.

"The closest I will ever come to Canada again is Niagara Falls," he said. I assume he meant he'd be on the U.S. side.

There is also Pascal's contractual situation. He defeated Chad Dawson via 11th-round technical decision in a dominant performance in August, but their contract included a rematch clause for Dawson. It allows Pascal to take an interim bout -- which he did against Hopkins -- before having to face Dawson again.

So even if the WBC, which sanctioned the bout, ordered Pascal-Hopkins II, Pascal likely would have to give up the title, which he doesn't want to do, and face Dawson again. Golden Boy's Richard Schaefer, Hopkins' promoter, said after the fight that WBC president for life Jose Sulaiman, who was ringside, had ordered a rematch. However, Sulaiman said he would like to see one but didn't actually mandate it. At least that's what Pascal's promoter, Yvon Michel, told me.

The rematch clause for Pascal and Dawson isn't as set in stone as it might appear. According to Michel, "We have signed an agreement to fight Chad Dawson if HBO or Showtime is willing to pay a license fee the same or higher than the last time. So I don't know." Michel went on to say that there was a deadline for that decision looming.

From what I understand, HBO paid about $2.5 million-%@% for Pascal-Dawson. Would the network actually pay that much again? It sure doesn't seem worth it based on how the first fight went.

Maybe Pascal doesn't want to fight Hopkins again after how badly the first fight went, although he can surely make more money in that rematch than one with Dawson. But if Pascal does want a Hopkins rematch next, he should hope HBO doesn't make as generous an offer this time, which according to Michel, would free them from the obligation.

It's hard to see Showtime being interested in Pascal-Dawson II when it's an HBO leftover. Showtime surely would prefer a sequel to the dandy it aired Saturday instead.

Michel is a smart promoter. He's not looking to antagonize Dawson's promoter, Gary Shaw, by ignoring their contract in favor of a Hopkins rematch. Instead, he's content to let the situation play out and let HBO and Showtime crunch their numbers.

"It is our intention to take our responsibility and also honor our agreement, so we have to communicate with the parties involved," said Michel, who planned to talk to HBO about the situation this week. "We are not trying to escape our agreement."

My preferred scenario is that HBO not offer the requisite money to formalize Pascal-Dawson II, which would pave the way for Pascal-Hopkins II. And then I'd like to see Dawson challenge titlist Tavoris Cloud, who outpointed Fulgencio Zuniga on Friday night, and who may be the best of the 175-pound bunch. Dawson once gave up a belt to fight a rematch with Glen Johnson rather than face Cloud, who was his mandatory challenger. Cloud went on to win the vacant belt, but he and his team have always felt like Dawson ducked them. That element would add some heat to the fight. Then I'd like to see the Pascal-Hopkins II winner fight the Cloud-Dawson winner.

If that worked out (a huge if), I'd like to see the guy who emerges from Pascal-Hopkins-Cloud-Dawson fight the winner of a super middleweight title bout between Lucian Bute and the eventual winner of the Super Six World Boxing Classic (Andre Ward?).

Maybe somewhere in there we can also find room for a big fight for the winner of the Jan. 8 light heavyweight unification match between Beibut Shumenov and Jürgen Brahmer.

My fantasy scenario is most likely nothing more than a pipe dream. It makes too much sense, and this is boxing, which often makes no sense. But one thing it does show is that there are plenty of good fights between super middleweight and light heavyweight to make.

And if my fantasy scenario did work out, would anyone dare bet against Hopkins?

 

[eagle 0n]

 

[thacapt]

Originally Posted by EAGLE 0N

If only it was in Vegas, I woulda got my ticket already...

 

[carlos tevez]

@ Pac vs. Mosely...F outta here with that B.S.

 

[aepps20]

Originally Posted by Carlos Tevez

@ Pac vs. Mosely...F outta here with that B.S.

This


On another note, Devon should've dropped his trainer after the Kotelnik fight so I'm going with Timmy in this fight.

 

[abovelegit1]

Originally Posted by Carlos Tevez

@ Pac vs. Mosely...F outta here with that B.S.

This. Bob Arum is such an %%% clown, I hate that P.O.S. Actually, I hate boxing promoters in general, bunch of greedy hypocrites.

Rafael's take:
[h3]Pacquiao-Mosley a bad fight for boxing[/h3]

From day one, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum had an agenda when it came to making Manny Pacquiao's next fight. He wanted to match him with Shane Mosley, and that is what he did, and he doesn't give a damn what anyone thinks.

Heknows Mosley is an aging fighter who doesn't have a great chance towin, but he has a big name that general sports fans recognize, even ifthey don't realize he is not the same Shane Mosley of just a few yearsago.

Arum doesn't care. He only wants to do what is bestfor himself, certainly not for boxing. He is going to put Mosley in thering with Pacquiao soley because of name. It's a move that will squeezeout the last gasps of Mosley's once-outstanding career so Arum cangenerate another big payday while doing a disservice to real boxingfans who actually care about the matchups and not just a famous butfaded name.

Forget all the nonsense we've heard since Pacquiao beat down Antonio Margarito, about how Pacquiao's next opponent was going to come from a list of Mosley, Juan Manuel Marquez and Andre Berto.

Thereal list was more like Mosley, Mosley and Mosley. But Arum had toinclude a couple of other names so he could leverage Mosley intobelieving it was a competition and, therefore, drive down his price.Mosley is desperate for the fight after being beaten almost as badly inhis recent divorce settlement as he will be by Pacquiao, who shouldhave put his foot down and demanded a better fight. Make no mistakeacquiao is culpable here, too.

Arum knows this businessas well as anyone and knows how to play people. He played this one tothe hilt, talking about how he was going to solicit term sheets fromeach of the three potential opponents and then bring them with him tothe Philippines for a meeting with Pacquiao to go over the offers.

Beforeleaving, Arum declared that it would be Pacquiao who would make thedecision, not him. Arum, a master manipulator, collected the termsheets, went to the Philippines and did sit down with Pacquiao, but hehad his own agenda the entire time. Arum wanted Mosley even though (or,rather, because) Mosley looked like an old man in his past two fights.He is 39 and couldn't pull the trigger at all against Floyd Mayweather Jr.in an embarrassingly one-sided decision loss in their May fight. Hehurt Mayweather in the second round and never threw or landed anothermeaningful punch the rest of the fight. In September, Mosley fought toa putrid draw against Sergio Mora, an opponent a younger Mosley would have pummeled into submission with ease.

Aone-sided loss and a draw in an awful fight is not supposed to be howyou land a fight with the pound-for-pound king and the sport's mostpopular fighter.

Remember, in the immediate aftermath ofthe eyesore draw, Arum concurred. He said he wasn't interested inmatching Mosley with Pacquiao because of how bad he looked against Moraand because he was almost 40. But that, of course, was when Mosley wasstill with Golden Boy Promotions, Top Rank's bitter rival.

Nowthat Mosley has declared himself free from Golden Boy and negotiatedthe deal directly with Arum, he's just perfect for the fight.

Thisshould not shock anyone because apparently, as Arum once famously said,yesterday he was lying but today he is telling the truth, about whom hewanted Pacquiao to fight.

Arum even had the audacity tosuggest that a way to sell the fight was based on the fact that Mosleyis black, because some of boxing's lunatic fringe have been critical ofPacquiao for not facing any black opponents. Never mind, of course,that when Pacquiao was tearing it up from flyweight to juniorwelterweight, there weren't really any top contenders or name opponentswho were black. And keep in mind that the No.1 black fighter,Mayweather, doesn't seem to want any part of Pacquiao. But why let agood storyline get in the way of reality, right?

I almostcan see the way the conversation Arum had with Pacquiao went down inthe Philippines last week when Arum presented Pacquiao with the threeterm sheets, knowing all along he wasn't going to take anyone butMosley.

Pacquiao: I think I'd like to fight Marquez.
Arum: Did you say Mosley?
Pacquiao: No, Marquez. We have unfinished business and we had two great fights.
Arum: Did you say Mosley, or did I hear you say Miguel Cotto for a rematch?
Pacquiao: Well, maybe Berto. He's a good, young fighter. He's very fast.
Arum: Mosley, that's what I thought you said.
Pacquiao: Bob, I think I definitely want the third fight with Marquez. That's what my coach, Freddie Roach, wants. That's what the fans want. That's what I want.
Arum: So if it's the fight with Mosley you want, then the fight with Mosley it shall be.
Pacquiao: Lock up Marquez, please. Let's get it done.
Arum: Fine, we'll get Mosley, whatever you say. You're the boss. Someone get me James Prince on the phone so we can lock this up.

While Arum was getting Mosley and his adviser, Prince, on the phone, boxing fans around the world were reaching for a barf bag.

 

[smyrthil]

I guess Mosley's career is over after this...

Margarito may lose his damn eye cause of Pacquiao... messed up his damn retina...smh

 

[proshares]

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

And don't forget to check out the divisional rankings, which are updated weekly.

For a list of the current champions in all weight classes, click here.

Note: Results are through Dec. 21.

[h4]1. MANNY PACQUIAO[/h4][table][tr][td][h4]Welterweight and junior middleweight titlist
Record: 52-3-2, 38 KOs
Age: 32[/h4]

Pacquiao

Hits: As the sport's best and most popular fighter, Pacquiao is the face of boxing. And he continued his historic run when he smashed and bashed Antonio Margarito in a lopsided unanimous decision to win a title in a record-extending eighth weight division on Nov. 13 -- despite being outweighed by a whopping 17 pounds on fight night. Since Floyd Mayweather Jr. won't fight him, despite repeated overtures, Pacquiao will just keep doing his thing. The Filipino congressman plans to return to action May 7, a day the sports world will revolve around him.

Misses: Top Rank promoter Bob Arum listed three potential opponents for Pacquiao -- Shane Mosley, Juan Manuel Marquez and long shot Andre Berto. Most fans and media prefer Marquez, who gave Pacquiao two outstanding fights that could have gone either way but resulted in a draw and a split decision for Pacquiao. With his recent performances, Marquez has clearly earned a third fight. But Arum inisited on Mosley, who has looked very poor in his past two fights, a one-sided loss to Mayweather and a desultory draw with Sergio Mora. It's a bad fight for boxing, and Pacquiao must take some of the blame for allowing it to happen.
[/td][/tr][/table]

[h4]2. FLOYD MAYWEATHER JR.[/h4][table][tr][td][h4]Welterweight
Record: 41-0, 25 KOs
Age: 33[/h4]

Mayweather

Hits: When Mayweather actually does fight, he has been flawless during a career that will eventually land him in the International Boxing Hall of Fame. He has won titles in five divisions and has rarely even been in a competitive fight (example: his last bout, against Shane Mosley in May). Other than a rough second round, Mayweather utterly dominated Mosley for a near-shutout decision in one of the best performances of his career, and he did it against a real welterweight.

Misses: Where do we even begin? He simply refuses to fight Pacquiao, which would easily be the biggest money fight in boxing history. It's the fight the whole world wants to see and it isn't happening because of Mayweather. He appears more interested in not risking his unblemished record than challenging himself against the best. Outside the ring, he's a train wreck. He spent the night in jail recently as part of a battery charge against him. And he also faces eight counts in another case against him, including four felonies, as part of an alleged domestic incident. At this rate, the fight with Pacquiao doesn't look like it will ever happen, which would be a shame for the fighters and fans.
[/td][/tr][/table]
[h4]3. SERGIO MARTINEZ[/h4][h4]Middleweight champion
Record: 46-2-2, 25 KOs
Age: 35[/h4]

Martinez

Hits: There are many who believed Martinez deserved the decision when he fought Paul Williams in December 2009 in one of the best fights of that year. But he left absolutely no doubt in the rematch on Nov. 20 when he put Williams to sleep with a titanic overhand left for a spectacular knockout. It is a knockout that will play on highlight reels for eternity. With the big blow, Martinez announced his arrival even emphatically than when he convincingly outpointed Kelly Pavlik to win the title in April.

Misses: Martinez's next title defense is being lined up for March 12, and although it's not his fault, there are no big names for him to face. At this point it's between Andy Lee and junior middleweight titlist Sergei Dzinziruk, neither of whom are all that well known.

Rafael's top three pound-for-pound fighters​

[h4]4. JUAN MANUEL MARQUEZ[/h4][table][tr][td][h4]Lightweight champion
Record: 52-5-1, 38 KOs
Age: 37[/h4]

Marquez

Hits: As usual, Marquez was in another exciting fight when he faced all-action brawler Michael Katsidis on Nov. 27. Even though Marquez was knocked down in the third round, he stormed back to retain his title on a ninth-round knockout. There's a reason why so many people want to see Marquez get a third fight with Manny Pacquiao: because they've had two great fights before and Marquez has been the most competitive opponent Pacquiao has faced in several years.

Misses: This isn't a reflection on Marquez, who deserves the third Pacquiao fight, but Pacquiao and Top Rank won't give it to him. They instead picked a faded Mosley to fight Pacquiao.
[/td][/tr][/table]

[h4]5. BERNARD HOPKINS[/h4][table][tr][td][h4]Light heavyweight
Record: 51-5-2, 32 KOs
Age: 45[/h4]

Hopkins

Hits: A couple of weeks shy of his 46th birthday, Hopkins fought more like a 26-year-old, taking it to light heavyweight champ Jean Pascal -- 18 years his junior -- on Pascal's Quebec City turf in a tremendous performance. Hopkins clearly did enough to climb out of the hole he dug for himself when he was knocked down in the first and third rounds (and the first-round knockdown was not legitimate; it was caused by an illegal punch behind the head). The old man had Pascal on the run for most of the fight and clearly landed more punches. Hopkins deserved a decision that would have made him the oldest champion in boxing history.

Misses: Instead of the victory, Hopkins got a majority draw. He deserved better. Hopefully, he will get a rematch.
[/td][/tr][/table]

[h4]6. ANDRE WARD[/h4][table][tr][td][h4]Super middleweight titlist
Record: 23-0, 13 KOs
Age: 26[/h4]

Ward

Hits: When the Super Six World Boxing Classic began, many considered Ward a bit too young and inexperienced to do serious damage, but he has risen to the top of the tournament and the 168-pound division with dominant performances against Mikkel Kessler and Allan Green (plus another dominant win against Sakio Bika on Nov. 27 in a non-tournament bout). He heads into the semifinals as the top-seeded favorite to win it all. Ward is a potential future pound-for-pound king with no serious weakness in his overall game.

Misses: Although Ward is effective fighting at all styles, sometimes his fights get a little messy and bogged down with holding.
[/td][/tr][/table]

[h4]7. TIMOTHY BRADLEY JR.[/h4][table][tr][td][h4]Junior welterweight titlist
Record: 26-0, 11 KOs
Age: 27[/h4]

Bradley

Hits: Bradley had an outstanding 2009. He unified 140-pound belts by beating Kendall Holt (although he was later stripped of one of them); dominated Nate Campbell before an accidental head-butt ended the fight in a no-contest; and pitched a near shutout in a tremendous performance against Lamont Peterson. Those fights set him up for a big-time unification fight against Devon Alexander on Jan. 29.

Misses: As good as his 2009 was, Bradley's 2010 was a big disappointment -- not in terms of his performance, but rather his activity level. He fought just once, a nontitle welterweight bout in July in which he outpointed dangerous puncher Luis Carlos Abregu.
[/td][/tr][/table]

[h4]8. NONITO DONAIRE[/h4][table][tr][td][h4]Bantamweight
Record: 25-1, 17 KOs
Age: 28[/h4]

Donaire

Hits: Donaire has been a top fighter for a long time, but he turned in the best performance of his career on Dec. 4 when he simply destroyed Wladimir Sidorenko, a quality former titleholder. Donaire was like a man possessed. He dropped Sidorenko three times en route to a bloody fourth-round knockout to set up a much-anticipated title shot on HBO against unified beltholder Fernando Montiel on Feb. 19. Montiel-Donaire is about as good a fight as can be made in boxing's smaller weight divisions.

Misses: Donaire finally has the Montiel fight, but it's a shame he couldn't get that level of fight a few years ago.
[/td][/tr][/table]

[h4]9. WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO[/h4][table][tr][td][h4]Heavyweight champion
Record: 55-3, 49 KOs
Age: 34[/h4]

W.Klitschko

Hits: Although Klitschko's Dec. 11 title defense against Dereck Chisora was called off because Klitschko tore an abdominal muscle just four days before the fight, he is now engaged in negotiations to make the heavyweight fight most fans want to see, against David Haye. In the past, it has been Haye who has been the impediment to making the fight -- he even once signed a contract then pulled out weeks before the fight. But this time it looks more serious. Klitschko wants it badly. If it's to happen, it will be up to Haye.

Misses: Had the Chisora fight happened, it would have been Klitschko's third bout of the year, which is a busy year by the standards of a heavyweight champion. So it's a bummer that the fight was short-circuited at the last minute.
[/td][/tr][/table]

[h4]6. MIGUEL COTTO[/h4][table][tr][td][h4]Junior middleweight titlist
Record: 35-2, 28 KOs
Age: 30[/h4]

Cotto

Hits: Other than maybe Manny Pacquiao, has there been a fighter in recent years besides Cotto who has more consistently fought the best possible opponents, more routinely made exciting fights and more regularly sold a ton of tickets? The answer is a resounding no. Cotto has been a gift to boxing fans.

Misses: Cotto won a 154-pound title against Yuri Foreman in June and then took a break for the rest of the year, which was understandable given all the tough fights he has had. But his return, which is planned for March 12, isn't likely to come against a top opponent. Instead of conducting a legitimate negotiation for Cotto to face, say, Andre Berto in a big fight, promoter Bob Arum tried to sell HBO on a Cotto bout against decent contender Vanes Martirosyan. When the network balked, Arum decided to take Cotto to pay-per-view, where he's supposed to face Martirosyan, club fighter Pawel Wolak or long-faded Ricardo Mayorga. Not much to get excited about.
[/td][/tr][/table]

The next 10

11. Lucian Bute
12. Juan Manuel Lopez
13. Vitali Klitschko
14. Fernando Montiel
15. Paul Williams
16. Sugar Shane Mosley
17. Chad Dawson
18. Pongsaklek Wonjongkam
19. Carl Froch
20. Chris John

 

[moneymike9]

@ Pac-Mosley

That #!#% only makes sense for Arum scumbag

 

[stringer bell 32]

Keep with NT boxing tradition isn't a new thread required now that 2010 is basically in the books?

New thread after the year end awards???

 

[proshares]

If no one disagrees, I'll start it up after they come out.

 

[stringer bell 32]

 

[scott frost]

Originally Posted by GUNNA GET IT

did this negro just get knocked out cold with a Jab ?

....posted on 3/20/10 in regards to Eddie Chamber's loss Wladimir............

Was going through the thread, @#*! has my laughing out loud at home
  

 

[proshares]

While most of Top Rank promoter Bob Arum's time has been devoted this week to finalizing pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao's welterweight title defense against Shane Mosley at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on May 7, Arum and his staff have also been busy on other fronts as they get ready for 2011.

Arum has also been working on a fight for Top Rank's other major star, junior middleweight titlist Miguel Cotto (35-2, 28 KOs).

Arum said Cotto will return March 12 to headline a pay-per-view card from the MGM Grand against one of three potential opponents: contender Vanes Martirosyan (28-0, 17 KOs), a 2004 U.S. Olympian and who fought on HBO in June on the undercard of Cotto's title victory against Yuri Foreman at Yankee Stadium; Pawel Wolak (28-1, 18 KOs), who has been mentioned as a possible opponent for Cotto and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. for several months; and former welterweight and junior middleweight titlist Ricardo Mayorga (29-7-1, 23 KOs), who stopped Michael Walker in the ninth round last Friday at 162 pounds in his first fight in 27 months.

Arum promotes Martirosyan and Wolak, so either fight could be made easily. Mayorga is promoted by Don King, and Arum said they are talking.

Arum, however, is unhappy with HBO. Cotto has long been a staple of the network and he said he offered it Cotto-Martirosyan for $1.5 million -- a reasonable price compared to what Cotto fights usually command -- and was turned down because HBO had given the date to middleweight champ Sergio Martinez, who does not have an opponent.

That did not sit well with Arum, who was seething.

"We've let them know we are going on March 12 on pay-per-view," Arum said. "If they want to do a show against our pay-per-view show that is a major development between HBO and ourselves. We announced we are going on that date. We have cleared the date with the [cable and satellite] industry and they've known it, so this is a major development.

"Cotto has been on HBO for seven years and they rejected a decent Cotto fight. I don't think they know s---. We offered it for a bargain price. They said 'no' and are going with another fight. That is going to affect all of our relationships in the coming years and I emphasize all of our relationships."

Arum was clearly intimating that by taking another fight over a Cotto fight on March 12 it would impact his business dealings with the network as it relates to his other fighters, including Pacquiao. Arum does not have a deal with HBO PPV to carry Pacquiao-Mosley.

"They won't buy Cotto, but it's their money. You can't tell them how to spend their money," Arum said. "But it's wrong that they would do this to Cotto, who has given them great ratings and great fights. Not doing a good fight with Cotto at a reasonable number and then jumping on his date? That's wrong."

In other Top Rank fights, Arum said he has finalized a Feb. 26 fight between lightweight titlist Miguel Acosta and mandatory challenger Brandon Rios. They'll meet on Showtime at The Palms in Las Vegas. Rios was slated to challenge Humberto Soto for his version of the title, but Soto was in such a brutal fight with Urbano Antillon on Dec. 4 that he won't be ready in time.

Showtime is planning to make the card a split-site doubleheader with lightweight contender Antonio DeMarco facing Reyes Sanchez at an American site to be determined, Gary Shaw, DeMarco's promoter, told ESPN.com. The winner of the Feb. 26 bout will be the mandatory challenger for titleholder Humberto Soto.

Arum also said featherweight titlist Juan Manuel Lopez's next fight, which will be on Showtime from Puerto Rico, likely would take place on April 16. One opponent under discussion is Philadelphia's Teon Kennedy.

Top Rank is also working a fight between junior featherweight titlist Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. and longtime action star Jorge Arce, a former junior flyweight and junior bantamweight titlist who has moved up in weight. It's a classic Puerto Rico-Mexican rivalry fight. Arum said Top Rank is working with Vazquez promoter Tutico Zabala and is looking for a spot to do the fight.

"Maybe we'll do it on Juanma Lopez's card, maybe on the Cotto pay-per-view, maybe on Manny's undercard," Arum said. "We'd love for it to be on HBO on [Yuriorkis] Gamboa's undercard. It's a tremendous fight and a chip to put someplace."

Featherweight titlist Gamboa is due to fight on HBO's "Boxing After Dark" on a date to be determined in March. Two opponents mentioned as possibilities are former junior featherweight titlist Ricardo Cordoba and Jason Litzau. A fight with Litzau would be a nontitle bout over 126 pounds, Arum said. Litzau is coming off a major upset of Celestino Caballero on HBO on Nov. 27.
[h3]Adamek-Peter in Poland?[/h3]

AP Photo/Gregory PayanPoland's favorite son, Tomasz Adamek, is planning a return to the mother country.

Heavyweight contender Tomasz Adamek has had his last four fights in the United States -- three at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., his home away from home -- and hasn't fought in Poland since destroying countryman Andrew Golota in late 2009 in the county's biggest fight ever. But Adamek will return home to Poland for his next fight, Main Events promoter Kathy Duva told ESPN.com.

She said Adamek, who knocked out Vinny Maddalone in the fifth round on Dec. 9, will next fight April 9 or 16 in his home country with the fight "most likely" available as a pay-per-view in the United States, where Adamek (43-1, 28 KOs) has a large following among Polish fans.

There is no set opponent for Adamek yet, but "Sam Peter is under consideration because [Monday] the IBF ordered Adamek to fight him as part of their four-man box-off," Duva said. "But if we can't make a satisfactory deal with Peter, we will move on to another opponent, in which case Tomasz would not participate in the IBF's box-off."

The IBF has been trying to finalize a four-man box-off to determine champion Wladimir Klitschko's next mandatory challenger. Eddie Chambers and Derric Rossy are due to meet in the other box-off.

Peter (34-4, 27 KOs), a former titlist who was knocked out in the 10th round by Klitschko in a mandatory title challenge Sept. 11, is anxious to meet Adamek as he looks for another title opportunity.

"Samuel got an early Christmas present from the IBF in the form of this elimination fight and we've been going back and forth with Main Events about making it happen," said Ivaylo Gotzev, Peter's manager. "We are ready willing and able to fight Adamek. Hopefully, he's ready to do the same. We're looking forward to making this significant heavyweight matchup a reality. We're even willing to accommodate Adamek and fight him in his homeland of Poland. This box-off is a terrific idea that involves four top contenders, which will produce one man standing at the end and that will be the legitimate No. 1 mandatory contender."
[h3]Next for Judah?[/h3]

Scott Foster/Fightwireimages.comZab Judah isn't one to turn down the opportunity at a title.

Although there has been speculation that former junior welterweight titlist Zab Judah (40-6, 27 KO) will challenge beltholder Amir Khan in England in the spring, there has been no serious talks between the camps, Main Events promoter Kathy Duva, who promotes Judah, told ESPN.com.

Speculation began because Judah was ringside for Khan's Dec. 11 victory against Marcos Maidana in Las Vegas, but that was no surprise because Judah lives in Las Vegas. But, Duva said, "not only has there not been an offer for the fight, there hasn't even been any discussion."

Duva said she told Golden Boy, Khan's promoter, "If you want to make a deal we'll be happy to talk about it. We are not passing up the opportunity to win a world title. Zab would love to fight Amir Khan, but nobody's made even a serious attempt to talk to us."

While Judah would like a shot at Khan, he is also mandatory to face South Africa's Kaizer Mabuza (23-6-3, 14 KOs) for a vacant belt. There is a purse bid for Judah-Mabuza scheduled for Dec. 30 with the fighters due to split the winning bid 50-50. Another name that has come up as a possible opponent for Khan is Lamont Peterson (28-1-1, 14 KOs), who fought Victor Ortiz to a draw on the Khan-Maidana undercard.

• Golden Boy's Richard Schaefer told ESPN.com that HBO is holding March 5 for a "Boxing After Dark" card featuring 20-year-old rising Mexican star Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (35-0-1, 26 KOs). The two opponents under discussion are welterweight titleholder Vyacheslav Senchenko and European welterweight champ Matthew Hatton, younger brother of Ricky Hatton. Schaefer said he has the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., on hold for the show. For the opening fight on HBO, Schaefer said he is hoping to put together a lightweight bout between Robert Guerrero (28-1, 18 KOs) and Michael Katsidis. Guerrero, a former featherweight and junior lightweight titlist, is coming off a dominant victory against Vicente Escobedo on Nov. 6. Katsidis (27-3, 22 KOs), consistently one of the most exciting fighters in the world, was stopped in the ninth round by lightweight champ Juan Manuel Marquez on Nov. 27 in one of the most action-packed fights of the year. Schaefer said the fight is in discussions and that "money will be the factor, but I will deal with that in January."

• The date for Showtime's bantamweight tournament final and consolation bout is not set yet -- the card will be in April or May -- but promoter Gary Shaw, who promotes entrants Yonnhy Perez and Vic Darchinyan, told ESPN.com it will take place at the 7,000-seat Nokia Theater in downtown Los Angeles. Shaw said he has placed several holds on dates during those months and is waiting for Showtime to finalize the date. Joseph Agbeko (28-2, 22 KOs) will defend his title in the final against Abner Mares (21-0-1, 13 KOs) of Los Angeles while former titlist Perez (20-1-1, 14 KOs), who lost to Agbeko in the Dec. 11 semifinals, meets Darchinyan (35-3-1, 27 KOs), who lost to Mares, in the consolation match.

• Super middleweight titleholder Lucian Bute's first fight on his new Showtime contract was formally announced at a news conference in Montreal this week. Bute (27-0, 22 KOs) will defend his 168-pound belt against Northern Ireland's Brian Magee (34-3-1, 24 KOs), the European champion, at the Bell Centre. The undercard will include Steve "The Canadian Kid" Molitor (33-1, 12 KOs) making a mandatory junior featherweight title defense against South Africa's Takalani Ndlovu (31-6, 18 KOs), whom Molitor has already defeated twice, as well as the ring return of super middleweight brawler Edison Miranda (33-5, 29 KOs), who is known to the Montreal fans because in his last fight in April, Bute knocked him out in the third round. Miranda will face Quebec's Renan St. Juste (22-2-1, 15 KOs). Carl Moretti of Top Rank, Molitor's promoter, said Showtime had not yet decided if it would televise Molitor's bout.

• Although Sauerland Event is still bullish on putting together a cruiserweight tournament, which was originally conceived as a Super Six-style tournament but could be reduced to four participants, it will be put off again, Sauerland's Chris Meyer told ESPN.com. Originally, Sauerland Event hoped to begin it in December and then pushed it into early 2011. Now it may be moved back again as it tries to get mandatory bouts out of the way. First Marco Huck, who will be one of the entrants, made his mandatory defense last Saturday and outpointed Denis Lebedev. Next up, Steve Cunningham, who is also ticketed for the tournament, will defend his belt in a mandatory against Enad Licina on Jan. 22 in Germany. Sauerland also hopes to include titlist Krzysztof Wlodarczyk (who has an April mandatory against Francisco Palacios) and either Guillermo Jones or Steve Herelius, who also have belts. Herelius may fight mandatory Yoan Pablo Hernandez, another Sauerland fighter, in early 2011 with the winner going into the field. "We want the belts in the tourney but can't have the mandatories delayed," Meyer said.

• Former four-time heavyweight titleholder Evander Holyfield's scheduled 12-round bout against Sherman Williams (34-11-2, 19 KOs) on Jan. 22 in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., will be offered as the main event of a $29.95 Integrated Sports pay-per-view card. The fight was originally scheduled to take place at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit on Dec. 9, just the latest of several dates before eventual postponements. After it was called off last month, Holyfield (43-10-2, 218 KOs) signed to fight Danish national hero Brian Nielsen (who hasn't fought in eight years) on March 5 in Denmark. Holyfield, 48, plans to go through with both fights and vows to continue fighting until he regains the undisputed heavyweight title.

• Promoter Dan Goossen has a "ShoBox" card from Bally's Atlantic City on Feb. 11 that will showcase junior featherweight prospect Rico Ramos (18-0, 10 KOs) in the 10-round main event against an opponent to be named with super middleweight prospect Cornelius White (16-0, 15 KOs) in the eight-round co-feature against Donovan George (20-1-1, 17 KO), who is coming off a tremendous beating in a seventh-round technical decision loss to Francisco Sierra on ESPN2 in July. Also on the card, but not scheduled for Showtime's telecast, is a heavyweight title eliminator between Eddie Chambers (35-2, 18 KOs) and Derric Rossy (25-2, 14 KOs). Chambers stopped Rossy in the seventh round in 2007 when they first met. They are looking to move a step closer to a mandatory shot against champion Wladimir Klitschko, who brutalized Chambers before knocking him out cold with five seconds left in the 12th round in March. Chambers hasn't fought since. Rossy is looking forward to another opportunity against Chambers. "That first fight with Chambers was a completely different Derric Rossy," he said. "I really had no experience and was just trying to out-tough my opponents. Eddie beating me was really a rude awakening, showing me I needed to learn the craft and not try to out-muscle everyone I fight. I've worked really hard on developing my skills and devoting my life to becoming the best heavyweight in the world, and now's the time I get to show it. This is my shot and I have no intention of letting it slip away."

• 2008 Olympic gold medalist James DeGale (9-0, 7 KOs), who won the British super middleweight title by stopping Paul Smith in the ninth round for a career-best win Dec. 11, has designs on a world title bout in 2011. "It's nice to get praise, but always knew that I was capable of (beating Smith), said DeGale, 24, one of boxing's top prospects. "However, it's made me realize that I can compete with the best in the world right now. I think my plan would be to defend the British title a couple of times early in 2011, then move on to the European (title), and try and get a world title shot at the end of next year. My target has previously been to be a world champion in 2012, but there's no reason why that can't be brought forward a year or so. There are some quality fighters at super middleweight, but there are a few who have been around for a while and might be coming towards the end of their careers. Obviously, the guy everyone is talking about at the moment is Andre Ward. We are both Olympic gold medalists, both unbeaten as pros. What a fight that would be a couple of years down the line."

• Turkish heavyweight Sinan Samil Sam (31-4, 16 KOs), the former two-time European champion, is in intensive care in Istanbul, according to Ahmet Öner, his promoter and longtime friend. According to Öner, Sam vomited blood last week and taken the hospital. It was later revealed that Sam has a dire liver condition and is need of a transplant. "I called the hospital but couldn't speak to Sinan directly," Öner said. "I wish him only the best and hope that he can overcome this very serious illness. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family." Sam, who hadn't fought since regaining the vacant European title against Paolo Vidoz in July 2008, had won four in a row. He faced several top heavyweights during his eight-year pro career.

• Los Angeles' Sergio Mora (22-1-2, 6 KOs), coming off a draw with Shane Mosley in a woeful fight on Sept. 18, returns to headline on ESPN2's "Friday Night Fights" against Brian Vera (17-5, 11 KOs) at the Fort Worth Convention Center on Feb. 4, the weekend of the Super Bowl at Cowboys Stadium in nearby Arlington, Texas. Vera, of Austin, Texas, who is 1-4 in his last five fights, was originally scheduled to meet Andy Lee in a rematch of Vera's upset victory in 2008. However, the Lee camp put off signing for the fight because he is under consideration for a middleweight championship shot against Sergio Martinez. Mora and Vera are slated to meet at 163 pounds.

• Junior middleweight Erislandy Lara (14-0, 9 KOs), a former world amateur champion for Cuba before defecting and one of the fastest-rising prospects in boxing, headlines Telefutura's "Solo Boxeo Tecate" on Jan. 14 from the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, Calif., on Jan. 14. He'll face Delray Raines (18-8-1, 13 KOs). Also on the card are two other blue chip prospects Golden Boy promotes, junior welterweight Frankie Gomez (7-0, 6 KOs) and featherweight Randy Caballero (6-0, 4 KOs). … Argentina's Lucas Matthysse (27-1, 25 KOs), who dropped Zab Judah in the 10th round and gave him everything he could handle in a split-decision loss on HBO on Nov. 6, returns to action to headline "Solo Boxeo Tecate" on Jan. 21 in his home country against former titlist DeMarcus "Chop Chop" Corley (37-15-1, 22 KOs), Golden Boy's Oscar De La Hoya told ESPN.com. Corley also fought in Argentina in August, giving then-interim titlist Marcos Maidana all he could handle in a highly competitive decision loss … Golden Boy is eying a March return in the United States for junior lightweight contender Jorge Linares, the former two-division titleholder. … Former lightweight titlist David Diaz headlines 8 Count Productions' "Windy City Fight Night" card at the UIC Pavilion in his hometown of Chicago on Jan. 28 against an opponent to be named. Diaz (35-3-1, 17KOs), 1-2 in his last three fights, lost his belt to Pacquiao via ninth-round knockout in 2008. He rebounded to outpoint former titlist Jesus Chavez 15 months ago before dropping a decision to Humberto Soto for a vacant title on Pacquiao's undercard in March.
[h3]Quotable[/h3]
"I love that. I think that's the way it should be." -- Freddie Roach, the trainer of pound-for-pound king and welterweight titlist Manny Pacquiao, on the fact that Pacquiao's May 7 fight against Shane Mosley will be at the welterweight division limit of 147 pounds, rather than a catch weight like some of Pacquiao's past title fights

 

[proshares]

[h1]Sergio Martinez is the fighter of the year[/h1]

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By Dan Rafael
ESPN.com
Archive

AP Photo/Tim LarsenHave a nice trip: Sergio Martinez gave Paul Williams the night off with one monstrous overhand left.

During the jubilant celebration inside the ring after Sergio Martinez knocked Paul Williams into another dimension, trainer Gabriel Sarmiento placed a gold-colored crown on his pupil's head.

One of the members of Martinez's team had bought the prop more or less as a gag, but it was certainly a fitting symbol for what Martinez had done, not only on that November night at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J., but during a year in which he blazed his way to becoming king of the middleweight division and earning his place among the top fighters in the world, pound for pound.

Martinez -- known as "Maravilla" -- won the middleweight championship by slicing up Kelly Pavlik to win a clear decision and drilled Williams in their much-anticipated rematch to cement his status as the 2010 ESPN.com fighter of the year.

Martinez, 35, had ended 2009 by going toe-to-toe with Williams in a sensational, all-action fight, but he lost a disputed majority decision. While a rematch was what boxing fans and media asked for, their promoters wanted them go to their separate ways for at least one fight until the inevitable sequel would take place.

When a fight between Williams and Pavlik could not be made -- yet again -- Martinez, who held a junior middleweight title, happily accepted the opportunity to challenge for the middleweight championship. That title means a lot in Martinez's home country of Argentina, which produced Carlos Monzon, one of the greatest middleweight champions in history and Martinez's boxing idol.

Martinez (46-2-2, 25 KOs) and Pavlik met April 17 at Boardwalk Hall and it was clear from the outset that even though Pavlik was the bigger man, it was going to be a tough fight. Martinez easily won the opening rounds with his superior boxing ability. But after Pavlik came on strong in the middle rounds, including scoring a seventh-round knockdown, Martinez turned it up a notch. He dominated down the stretch, opening a bad cut over Pavlik's right eye in the ninth round and sweeping the rest of the fight to claim the title in an outstanding performance.

After a brutal negotiation to get Williams back in the ring, because his team clearly did not want the fight (and basically was forced by HBO to take it), he and Martinez met again on Nov. 20 in a match pitting two of the top five fighters in the world. The rematch began like their first encounter had ended -- with them trading shots at a fast pace. After a blazing opening round, it looked like fight No. 2 was going to be simply a continuation of fight No. 1.

[h4]Rafael's Fighters of the Year[/h4][table][tr][th=""]Year[/th][th=""]Fighter[/th][/tr][tr][td]2010[/td][td]Sergio Martinez[/td][/tr][tr][td]2009[/td][td]Manny Pacquiao[/td][/tr][tr][td]2008[/td][td]Manny Pacquiao[/td][/tr][tr][td]2007[/td][td]Floyd Mayweather Jr.[/td][/tr][tr][td]2006[/td][td]Manny Pacquiao[/td][/tr][tr][td]2005[/td][td]Ricky Hatton[/td][/tr][tr][td]2004[/td][td]Glen Johnson[/td][/tr][tr][td]2003[/td][td]James Toney[/td][/tr][tr][td]2002[/td][td]Vernon Forrest[/td][/tr][tr][td]2001[/td][td]Bernard Hopkins[/td][/tr][tr][td]2000[/td][td]Felix Trinidad[/td][/tr][/table]

Martinez had been landing his left hand from the outset, part of Sarmiento's plan, but when Williams left his right hand a bit too low in the second round, Martinez came over the top, connected on his jaw and obliterated him for a spectacular knockout.

Even more than the championship victory against Pavlik, the knockout of Williams was the culmination of Martinez's surprising march to the top of boxing. Just a couple of years earlier, no promoter wanted Martinez, an obscure pro who had played soccer and been a cyclist before turning to boxing. He didn't turn pro until he was 22 and fought mainly in Argentina before later fighting on the European circuit in Spain and England.

But in 2007, he hooked up with adviser Sampson Lewkowicz, the man who brought Manny Pacquiao to the United States in 2001. Lewkowicz was a friend of Martinez's manager, Ricardo Sanchez Atocha, and, like with Pacquiao, he believed in Martinez's talent and set out to find him an American promoter.

Lewkowicz sent fight DVDs to various promoters without any takers except for Lou DiBella, who was blown away by the talent he saw and signed Martinez at the end of 2007.

"I always believed I had a pretty good eye for talent," DiBella said before the Williams rematch. "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. I thought it was like Christmas morning when I looked at the DVD."

Right after Martinez had starched Williams, DiBella was even more effusive in his praise.

"Martinez will have a problem making fights because that's how f------ good he is," DiBella said. "I know what I got. I got the best fighter in the world."

You know what else DiBella has? The fighter of the year.
[h3]Other contenders[/h3][h3]Manny Pacquiao[/h3]

Nick Laham/Getty ImagesManny Pacquiao took Cowboys Stadium by the horns in 2010.

The pound-for-pound king was the fighter of the year in 2009 on the strength of two huge and dominating wins, knockouts against Ricky Hatton to win the junior welterweight championship and Miguel Cotto to win a welterweight title. In 2010, Pacquiao produced another dominant year, winning both of his fights in landslide fashion, although his opponents were not as well regarded as they had been a year earlier. When the year opened, the hope was that Pacquiao would face Floyd Mayweather Jr. in the summit meeting of pound-for-pound stars that the world wanted to see. When talks fizzed in early January, instead Pacquiao wound up defending his welterweight belt against former titlist Joshua Clottey in a hastily arranged March fight at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Pacquiao dissected Clottey in a near-shutout victory. When Mayweather refused to face Pacquiao in the fall (after another round of failed talks), Pacquiao (52-3-2, 38 KOs) met another former welterweight titlist, Antonio Margarito, in November, also at Cowboys Stadium. Despite being outweighed by 17 pounds on fight night, Pacquiao laid waste to Margarito in a brilliant display as he literally disfigured Margarito's face to win another near-shutout decision, this time picking up a vacant junior middleweight title in the process. The win gave Pacquiao a title in an eighth weight division, which extended his own amazing record.
[h3]Juan Manuel Lopez[/h3]

Chris Farina/Top Rank Juan Manuel Lopez had dozens of reasons to flash his 100-watt smile this year.

Lopez, the power-punching Puerto Rican star, defended his junior featherweight title five times before deciding to move up in weight in 2010. He made his featherweight debut in January and overwhelmed Steven Luevano en route to a seventh-round knockout to take his title and send Luevano into retirement. In July, Lopez (30-0, 27 KOs) returned home to Puerto Rico and gave fans a thrilling fight in his second-round knockout of the Philippines' Bernabe Concepcion. Both men were down in the first round of the shootout before Lopez scored two more knockdowns to win it in the second round. Lopez went into the fight with Concepcion knowing he had to win in order to preserve a fight that had already been agreed to with former bantamweight and junior featherweight champ Rafael Marquez, the great Mexican warrior who had evened his epic series with Israel Vazquez at two wins apiece in May. They met in November and waged a fantastic fight. Lopez was pushed all the way, but was winning on all three scorecards after the eighth round, when Marquez stayed on his stool because of a shoulder injury, giving Lopez the biggest win of his career.
[h3]Amir Khan[/h3]

Ethan Miller/Getty ImagesChew on this: Amir Khan made it 2-for-2 and proved he's living up to his potential.

England's Khan, the 2004 Olympic silver medalist and 2007 ESPN.com prospect of the year, fulfilled his vast promise in 2009 by winning a junior welterweight title and making one defense. In 2010, Khan (24-1, 17 KOs) kept it going with two impressive defenses, both on HBO and in the United States, where he was trying to build his name. He came to New York to face former titleholder Paulie Malignaggi in his hometown in May. Khan was superior in every facet of the game as he outboxed and outpunched Malignaggi, battering him until it was finally stopped in the 11th round of what was a flawless performance by the Brit. Khan next made his Las Vegas debut in November against his mandatory challenger, the dangerous Marcos Maidana. Many had accused Khan of ducking the big-punching Maidana when he had elected to face Malignaggi. However, Khan showed that was nonsense. He not only accepted the fight, but showed enormous heart, surviving some rocky moments to win a close unanimous decision in an outstanding fight.
[h3]Giovani Segura[/h3]

AP Photo/Andres LeightonGiovani Segura, left, overcame a slow start to stop Ivan Calderon in the later rounds.

Segura has always been a tremendously exciting fighter. He always looks for the knockout and applies such ridiculous pressure that his opponents usually wilt. Mexico's Segura (26-1-1, 22 KOs) opened the year by defending his junior flyweight belt with an easy third-round knockout of Walter Tello in February. Then came another easy knockout, this time in the fourth round of a nontitle bout against Ronald Ramos. But the fight that put Segura into the fighter of the year conversation was in August, when he faced long-reigning champion Ivan "Iron Boy" Calderon on his turf in Puerto Rico. They waged an epic, fight-of-the-year candidate in which Segura eventually tracked down Calderon, one of this generation's finest technical boxers, and pounded him out with body shots in the eighth round, handing him his first defeat. Segura had unified two alphabet belts and claimed the 108-pound lineal championship in a career-best victory. As an encore, Segura moved up to flyweight for a nontitle bout in November and laid a beating on Manuel Vargas until putting him away in the eighth round.
[h3]Fernando Montiel[/h3]

Kazugiro Nogi/AFP/Getty ImagesScore one for the little guy: Fernando Montiel proved his worth at bantamweight by going 4-0.

Montiel has never gotten the hype or exposure of some his more famous (and heavier) Mexican countrymen, but he has proven over the years to be an elite fighter. He had an excellent 2010 in which he went 4-0, winning each bout by knockout, and unifying bantamweight titles. The former flyweight and junior bantamweight titlist opened the year with a first-round wipeout of Ciso Morales to defend his bantamweight belt in February. In April, Montiel traveled to Japan, where he scored the most significant victory of his career as he stopped highly regarded longtime titleholder Hozumi Hasegawa in the fourth round of a unification fight. Montiel's encore came in July, when he scored three knockdowns en route to a third-round blowout of Rafael Concepcion. And on Dec. 10, Montiel (43-2-2, 33 KOs) blitzed Jovanny Soto, scoring three knockdowns en route to a second-round knockout in a nontitle bout that set the stage for a big Feb. 19 showdown with Nonito Donaire on HBO.

Also coming: awards for prospect, knockout, round and fight of the year