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

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me watch another Chambers Title Fight.
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Might as well overdose on Cough syrup
 
Those russians are on that rocky 4 type stuff its going to be hard for anybody to beat them that inst 6 feet with a good jab.
 
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Chambers is 6'1" w/a good jab and I can't remember him landing one good punch.  Hopefully Adamek or Haye can have some kind of better luck but I doubt it.  Povetkin is going to be the next one destroyed by Wlad, he's just a younger Sultan Ibramagov
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at least, Haye and Adamek appear to have heart (more so Adamek)

thats whats needed to beat these giants, the willingness to take that one-two in order to land your 3 or 4 bombs...
 
Both of the brothers have good movement in and out nowadays so I think Adamek/Haye will take what they can but only be able to land 1 maybe 2 big punches. But who knows, maybe that's enough to put them down. I just hope Adamek and Haye don't end up fighting each other before they get to Wlad or Vlad. Let both of em get a shot. I think Wlad just has the Povetkin mandatory and Vlad just has that one fight (forget the guys name) in a couple months. Adamek takes care of Arreola and Haye take care of Ruiz maybe we see both get a shot before the year is up.

If only this fool Sam Peter had his mind right and in better shape a couple years ago.
 
[h1]
[h1]Pacquiao says he can afford to wait[/h1]
ESPN.com news services

MANILA, Philippines -- Manny Pacquiao is still open to fighting Floyd Mayweather Jr., but is waiting for the challenge to come from the other side and for promoters to iron out a spat over drug testing.

"I came this far in my boxing career without Mayweather, so I see no need to call him out," Pacquiao told reporters Monday. "He needs me to bolster his career.

"I am open to him fighting me anytime he wants to."

Pacquiao returned to thousands of cheering fans in Manila to celebrate his latest victory over Joshua Clottey in Dallas. He'll now focus on a bid to enter politics, campaigning for a seat in the Philippines' House of Representatives in the May 10 national elections.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerrry Jones has expressed interest in bringing a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight to Cowboys Stadium, which hosted Pacquiao's win over Clottey.

Mayweather's insistence on Olympic-style testing was the primary reason negotiations fell through in January for a megafight against Pacquiao. Mayweather wanted blood tests up to 14 days before the fight, while Pacquiao claims he feels weak after drawing blood and would not agree to testing within 24 days.

The negotiations quickly deteriorated, and Pacquiao signed to fight Clottey while Mayweather turned his attention to welterweight champion Shane Mosley.

Mayweather will face Mosley in Las Vegas on May 1 after both agreed to undergo an unlimited number of unannounced blood and urine tests before and after the fight.

"He should win against Mosley. If not, Mosley and I will fight," Pacquiao said.

Pacquiao is now concentrating on the national elections. His 2007 campaign fell short, but this time Pacquiao said he is better prepared.

"I have prepared for my political plans even before I faced Clottey last week," he said. "I am ready to campaign."

The two-month campaign starts later this week. Apart from running for his own seat in southern Sarangani province, Pacquiao is also campaigning for presidential aspirant Manny Villar, a senator and the richest politician in the country.

Villar raised Pacquiao's hand after welcoming him at a hotel Monday, before the boxer headed for a church service and a courtesy call in the presidential palace.

Asked if he plans to retire from boxing if he wins at the election, the 31-year-old Pacquiao said he was undecided.

"My own mother asked me to stop boxing. We'll talk about it," he said.

Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.

 
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Saturday at Düsseldorf, Germany​
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Heavyweight
Wladimir Klitschko KO12 Eddie Chambers
Retains unified heavyweight titles​
[/td][/tr][tr][td]Records: Klitschko, 54-3, 48 KOs; Chambers, 35-2, 18 KOs
[/td][/tr][tr][td]
Rafael's remark: Thank goodness for trainer Emanuel Steward. All fight long he was begging Klitschko, who was utterly dominant and in no danger, between rounds to pick up the pace, to put his punches together and to get rid of the undersized, noncompetitive Chambers. At one point, Steward likened the terrible fight we were seeing to Klitschko's horrendously boring fight against Sultan Ibragimov in 2008, one in which a tiny bit of aggression from Klitschko could have been enough for a knockout. Steward was so frustrated with Klitschko, who, by the way, had won every second of every round, before the beginning of the 12th round that he yelled what all of us who were watching (including the 50,000-plus at the soccer stadium) must have been thinking: "We don't need another bulls--- decision!" Thankfully, Klitschko finally got the message and went out there and put Chambers away for a spectacular knockout with five seconds left in the fight. He creamed him with a left hook that sent Chambers staggering backward into one of the corner pads before he collapsed sideways and came to rest facedown with his body hanging over the bottom ring rope. Referee Geno Rodriguez called it off without a count. He could have counted to 100 because Chambers, who had been punished for the whole fight, was gone.





But what the hell took Klitschko so long? That is what is sooooo frustrating about the best heavyweight in the world. He totally dominates but doesn't thrill, which is what we want from the heavyweight champion. Klitschko, 33, of Ukraine but based in Germany, could have ended this mandatory fight just about anytime he wanted to. As early as the second round, he staggered Philadelphia's Chambers, 27, with a hard right hand. But Klitschko, who won his 12th fight in a row, didn't go after him. Chambers tried to rough Klitschko up, which was kind of funny. It was like watching a mouse try to rough up a lion. He picked Klitschko up during clinches in the first and second round and tried to slam him to the canvas both times. That was pretty much the extent of his offense. He simply had zero ability to get inside Klitschko's long and devastating jab. He talked like he had a great game plan in the buildup to the fight, and maybe he did. But outweighed by 35 pounds and 5-plus inches shorter, Chambers could not implement whatever plan he had in any way. Round after round, Klitschko rocked his head back with jabs and mixed in some heavy rights. Klitschko is so basic in the way he fights -- jab, jab, jab, jab, right hand, repeat -- but with his physical advantages, quick hands, smarts and skills, most opponents simply can't do anything against him.





By the third round, Chambers' left eye was swelling after eating so many jabs. When Chambers' right glove broke in the ninth round, he had a rest while the glove was changed, but that didn't help change the momentum either. Steward, meanwhile, stayed on Klitschko after every round until his words finally got through. It was an exciting ending to Klitschko's eighth defense, but the first 11-plus rounds were dreadful and are exactly why he has been essentially banished by the American TV networks, relegated to bootleg Internet streams or his official Web site's pay-per-view. The way the fight with Chambers went just gave those TV executives more ammunition for why they avoid his fights and those of his brother, fellow heavyweight titleholder Vitali Klitschko. It's not their fault they are so dominant, but they could help their cause significantly with a little aggression, which was exactly the point Steward was trying to make.





Chambers, who deserved the title shot based on recent wins, saw his five-fight winning streak come to a violent end. He hadn't lost since a decision to 2004 Russian Olympic gold medalist Alexander Povetkin in January 2008, a fight that was also in Germany. Povetkin, a long overdue mandatory challenger for one of Klitschko's belts, looms as his next opponent later this year. He may be slightly more competitive than Chambers, but it looks like another Klitschko wipeout.




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Saturday at Key West, Fla. ​
[/th][/tr][tr][td]
Heavyweight
Odlanier Solis TKO4 Carl Drumond

​
[/td][/tr][tr][td]Records: Solis, 16-0, 12 KOs; Drumond, 26-3, 20 KOs
​
[/td][/tr][tr][td]
Rafael's remark: Solis is one of the more intriguing up-and-coming heavyweights. The 29-year-old won a 2004 Olympic gold medal for Cuba and defected a few years later along with gold medal-winning teammates Yuriorkis Gamboa and Yan Barthelemy before turning pro in 2007. Solis has been on the fast track in the pros, and with all that amateur pedigree, why not? Now that Top Rank is aboard as his co-promoter with Arena-Box, he's moving even more quickly.





In October, he faced his first name opponent in faded former title challenger Monte Barrett and blew him away in two rounds. About a month ago, there was talk that Solis could get a May 29 shot at titleholder Vitali Klitschko, but for a variety of reasons the deal did not work out. So Solis kept his date on "Top Rank Live" and faced off with a solid-enough opponent in Drumond, who had fought well in a technical decision loss against former titlist Ruslan Chagaev and went the distance with fringe contender Derric Rossy in a decision loss in his last two bouts.





Against Solis, however, Drumond, 35, of Costa Rica and living in South Florida, was totally outgunned. The fight was delayed just before the ring walks because of a problem with Drumond's hand wraps. He almost left the arena and didn't fight at all. Finally persuaded to go through with the fight, Drumond hung in there for three rounds while Solis had his way. He banged Drumond and a knockout looked like it was only a matter of time, even though Drumond had not been severely rocked. But Drumond didn't want to wait to wind up on his back. He had enough after three rounds and, just like that, quit on his stool 1 second into the fourth round. It was such an unacceptable quit job that, according to Top Rank, the Florida commission was holding his purse. It was a solid performance for Solis. Despite weighing 268½ pounds and not looking in the greatest shape, Solis has obvious heavy hands and is pretty nimble for a big dude. He put his punches together well and his jab looked nice when he used it. It's just a matter of time until he gets a title opportunity. An eventual title bout against Vitali Klitschko (not Wladimir Klitschko, because he has another mandatory defense to make) later this year is not out of the question, and that would be a fight that HBO probably would be interested in.
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[tr][td][/td][/tr]
Featherweight
Jorge Diaz W8 Alejandro Lopez
Scores: 76-74 (three times)​
[tr][td]Records: Diaz, 13-0, 8 KOs; Lopez, 15-1, 4 KOs
[/td][/tr][tr][td]
Rafael's remark: This was a fun scrap between 22-year-old undefeated prospects. Diaz, from Jersey City, N.J., started very well. He scored a knockdown with 40 seconds left in the first round when he clocked Mexico's Lopez with a counter left hand. A left hook dropped Lopez again in the second round and it looked as though Diaz was going to cruise to a decision or maybe even get the knockout. But Lopez showed a lot of heart to hang in there and you know what? He mounted a nice rally to win several of the later rounds in an entertaining bout. Diaz got the deserved decision based on the two extra points he got for the knockdowns. What the fight showed is that Lopez is worth seeing again despite the defeat and that Diaz, one of our favorite prospects, still has a lot to learn, but there is no rush at his age. Maybe these guys can have a rematch down the road?
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Junior middleweight
Glen Tapia TKO2 Carlos Rodriguez

​
[tr][td]Records: Tapia, 4-0, 3 KOs; Rodriguez, 3-3, 3 KOs
[/td][/tr][tr][td]
Rafael's remark: Tapia is yet another Top Rank prospect to keep an eye on. Managed by Pat Lynch, who is best known for guiding the career of the late Arturo Gatti, Tapia is aggressive and awfully fun to watch. The Passaic, N.J., prospect looked in phenomenal condition and took it to Rodriguez. One body shot in the first round apparently broke Rodriguez's protective gear, which wound up falling down one of the legs of his trunks. That is not something we've ever seen in a boxing ring before, but it forced the fight to be delayed while Rodriguez took off his trunks and had the protector taped back together around his waist while Tapia waited in a neutral corner. When the fight resumed, Tapia simply continued pounding him with nice combinations until Rodriguez, 21, of Miami, quit after the second round for his second loss in a row. Tapia will be back in action on April 17, fighting on the undercard of the Kelly Pavlik-Sergio Martinez middleweight championship fight at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J.
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Junior lightweight
Luis Franco W4 Walter Estrada
Scores: 40-36 (three times)
​
[tr][td]Records: Franco, 5-0, 4 KOs; Estrada, 35-13, 24 KOs
[/td][/tr][tr][td]
Rafael's remark: Franco is one of several former Cuban amateur stars to defect in recent years. Franco made his way to the United States in 2009 after representing Cuba in the 2004 Olympics. The 28-year-old faced his most experienced pro opponent in Colombia's Estrada, a 35-year-old former world title challenger, and had no issues sweeping all four rounds. Estrada showed a good chin, but dropped his fifth fight in a row and eighth of his last nine.
[/td][/tr]

[/table][table][tr][th=""]
Saturday at Cancun, Mexico​
[/th][/tr][tr][td]
Featherweight
Jhonny Gonzalez KO2 Antonio Davis
Title eliminator​
[/td][/tr][tr][td]Records: Gonzalez, 43-7, 37 KOs; Davis, 26-6, 13 KOs
[/td][/tr][tr][td]
Rafael's remark: Gonzalez, a former bantamweight titleholder, looked great demolishing Davis. He was all over Davis in the first round and then laid an absolute beating on him in the second round. Gonzalez, 28, of Mexico, cut Davis over the right eye and bloodied his nose while dropping him four times in the second round before referee Jose Guadalupe Garcia called it off without a count after Davis went down hard for the final time. Gonzalez, who won his third consecutive fight since being drilled in three rounds by junior featherweight titlist Toshiaki Nishioka in May 2009 and then moving up to featherweight, moved a step closer to a mandatory title opportunity against Elio Rojas. That has the makings of a very interesting fight. Davis, 37, a former featherweight and two-time junior lightweight title challenger from Atlanta, lost his second in a row and appears just about finished, unable to take a solid shot. His previous loss was a fourth-round knockout against then-junior lightweight titlist Humberto Soto last March.




[/td][/tr]



[/table][table][tr][th=""]
Friday at Durant, Okla.​
[/th][/tr][tr][td]
Junior middleweight
Sechew Powell W12 Deandre Latimore
Title eliminator
Scores: 117-111, 116-112, 114-114​
[/td][/tr][tr][td]Records: Powell, 26-2, 15 KOs; Latimore, 20-3, 16 KOs
[/td][/tr][tr][td]
Rafael's remark: When Powell and Latimore first met in June 2008, it was supposed to be a tuneup for Powell on his way to a title fight. But a funny thing happened on the way to the title shot -- Latimore stopped him in the seventh round of what had been a competitive fight for the upset on ESPN2. Powell tested positive for marijuana after the fight. The presence of pot in his system certainly couldn't have helped his performance. While Powell, 30, of Brooklyn, N.Y., returned from suspension to win two fights in a row, he had been out of action for 15 months before facing Latimore in a title eliminator with a shot at the winner of the Spinks-Cornelius Bundrage title bout at stake. Meanwhile, Latimore, 24, of St. Louis, parlayed the upset over Powell into an April 2009 title shot against Spinks, but lost a split decision. After winning a comeback fight, Latimore and Powell were matched again with a title bout on the line in the "Friday Night Fights" main event. It was a competitive fight. Latimore started well, using his aggressiveness to keep Powell on the defensive. But Powell was able to find his rhythm and use his better technical skills to outbox the bigger-punching Latimore for the majority decision as he avenged his loss. Powell, who opened a cut over Latimore's right eye in the sixth round, probably deserved a unanimous decision, but he's not complaining. Now, he has the title shot he expected to have a couple of years ago. When it will actually happen is up in the air because the Spinks-Bundrage bout, originally scheduled for March 26 on "Friday Night Fights," was called off after promoter Don King defaulted on the purse bid.
[/td][/tr]

[tr][td][/td][/tr]
Super middleweight
Edwin Rodriguez KO1 George Armenta
​
[tr][td]Records: Rodriguez, 14-0, 10 KOs; Armenta, 13-6, 11 KOs
[/td][/tr][tr][td]
Rafael's remark: Rodriguez, 24, a native of the Dominican Republic living in Worcester, Mass., was a standout amateur -- he won a 2005 U.S. national title and 2006 National Golden Gloves title --- and now looks like a serious prospect on the rise under promoter Lou DiBella. Getting some national television exposure on ESPN2's "Friday Night Fights," Rodriguez impressed. Armenta, 32, of Silver Spring, Md., is normally a durable opponent. He had never been stopped going into the fight and had faced some quality opponents, including future titleholder Yuri Foreman and Sechew Powell. But Rodriguez needed a mere 47 seconds to knock him out with a left hand to the body. It was quick, it was violent and it was impressive. Looking forward to seeing more of Rodriguez.
[/td][/tr]

[/table][table][tr][th=""]
Friday at Antwerp, Belgium​
[/th][/tr][tr][td]
Welterweight
Randall Bailey KO1 Jackson Bonsu
Title eliminator​
[/td][/tr][tr][td]Records: Bailey, 41-7, 36 KOs; Bonsu, 31-4, 24 KOs
[/td][/tr][tr][td]
Rafael's remark: Simply put, Bailey is one of the most dangerous pure punchers in boxing. It's been that way for many years. Even though Bailey, 35, is a bit past his prime, he is one dangerous dude and Bonsu now knows it firsthand after suffering a massive knockout. Bailey, a former junior welterweight titlist from Miami, got a mandatory opportunity to challenge then-140-pound titlist Juan Urango in August and was stopped in the 11th round of a terrific fight. That looked like it might be the end for Bailey, but he elected to fight on. He moved up to welterweight and won a fight in December. That opened the door for Bailey to go to Bonsu's hometown in Belgium for an elimination fight that would put the winner a step closer to a mandatory shot against titleholder Jan Zaveck. Bailey was the underdog against Bonsu, but not for long. Bailey knocked him down twice in the opening round before referee Tony Weeks called it off without a count. The first knockdown was from one of Bailey's awesome fastball right hands. It was surprising that Bonsu even made it to his feet. But moments later, he was down for good as Bailey notched yet another spectacular knockout. He set it up with a booming right hand and followed with a nasty left that made Bonsu look like a rag doll being flopped in half before he fell to the canvas in a knockout of the year candidate. How do you not love Bailey? He can knock anyone out at any moment. Bonsu, 29, dropped to 3-3 in his last six fights, but had never been stopped so brutally or so early.








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Friday at Mexico City​
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Flyweight
Oscar Ibarra TKO4 Darwin Zamora
​
[/td][/tr][tr][td]Records: Ibarra, 21-4, 13 KOs; Zamora, 17-4, 15 KOs
[/td][/tr][tr][td]
Rafael's remark: In the Telemundo main event, Ibarra, 24, of Mexico, won his seventh bout in a row after losing two straight. He did not have any problems with Zamora, whom he manhandled in a one-sided bout until the referee finally called it off with one second remaining in the fourth round. Zamora, 22, of Nicaragua, has lost two of his last three fights.
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He had to tear his acl/mcl lol the hook was flat out nasty you aint supposed to fall like that
 
Why did the ref let him keep fighting and why did his trainer not throw the towel in when the ref didn't stop it
 
[h1]
[h1]Klitschko vows to "mess up" Haye [/h1]
ESPN staff
March 22, 2010
4292.2.jpg


Wladimir Klitschko defeated Eddie Chambers via knockout [emoji]169[/emoji] Getty Images

Related Links

Wladimir Klitschko has vowed to "mess up" David Haye if he gets his wish for a bout against the WBA heavyweight champion.

After defeating Eddie Chambers via 12th-round knockout at the weekend to defend his WBO, IBO and IBF titles, Klitschko issued a warning to Haye about what will happen to him if the two square-off in the ring.

"[Haye's] face will be really messed up and look like a pizza when I have finished with him," Klitschko said. "Like I knocked out Chambers, I will knock out Haye. He will be the 49th knockout on my record."

Haye has not been reluctant to aim verbal swipes at Klitschko, saying last week that the Ukrainian has been "battered" in the ring on several occasions.

Unsurprisingly, Klitschko was less than enamoured with Haye after hearing these comments. "I am upset with many things concerning David Haye. I have just had enough and want to fight him," Klitschko said.

Wladimir's brother Vitali, who is also keen to fight Haye, is due to defend his WBC belt against Albert Sosnowski on 29 May. Sosnowski had been set to fight Audley Harrison for the European title, but withdrew after the opportunity for a shot at Vitali's title arose.

Instead, Harrison will now face Michael Sprott for the now-vacant European strap on April 9. On the Klitschko-Chambers undercard, Sprott earned himself the title shot after he stopped Werner Kreiskott in the opening round.
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[/h1]
 
[h3]
[h3]Technical KO for Cunningham-Godfreyhttp://espn.go.com/sports/boxing/bl...d/5022474/technical-ko-for-cunningham-godfrey[/h3]
March, 23, 2010
Mar 23

5:43

PM ET

 

First the bottom line: There won't be an edition of ESPN2's "Friday Night Fights" this week even though there were tremendous efforts from a whole bunch of people who tried to salvage the Steve Cunningham-Matt Godfrey vacant cruiserweight title bout.





After days of trying to save the fight, ESPN issued this statement on Tuesday: "We worked diligently with the IBF, Kathy Duva and Dominic Pesoli to bring the Godfrey-Cunningham fight to Chicago on the original scheduled date of March 26. Unfortunately, the Godfrey camp chose not to continue with the fight and now 'Friday Night Fights' will return on April 2 with Delvin Rodriguez vs. Mike Arnaoutis."





What a damn shame. For no good reason, the fight is off. Godfrey, and those who gave him horrible advice, are to blame.





As I outlined in my blog Friday, Cunningham and Godfrey were supposed to meet this Friday in Las Vegas on a Don King-promoted ESPN2 card. However, when King and the network couldn't work out some contractual issues, the card was called off Wednesday morning. That in itself was shocking because ESPN's boxing contracts with promoters are standard. Only King seems to have a problem. In any event, the cancellation put King in default of the $65,200 IBF purse bid he had won in December to promote Cunningham-Godfrey.





Under IBF rules, the rights to the fight fell to the second-place bidder, Duva's Main Events, which offered $53,200.





Under those same IBF rules, Main Events had up to 90 days to put the fight on once King defaulted. It could have put it off for a few months and mounted a real promotion in which it could have drummed up sponsors and sold tickets. But Duva went to work immediately after King's card was called off and tried to move heaven and Earth to keep the main event together for Friday. Even though Main Events would lose money, she wanted to do right by ESPN and the boxers, particularly Cunningham, whom she hopes to promote once his contract with King expires on Sunday.





A lot of people worked hard to save the fight besides Main Events. Pesoli, a Chicago promoter, agreed to put the fight on top of his previously untelevised club card, even though there was no particular reward for him. He's just a good guy.





The Illinois commission made some adjustments to accommodate the fight, including quickly renewing Main Events' promotional license (which cost $1,000, just one of the many expenses Main Events will wind up eating now that there is no show).





The IBF worked quickly to rule on King's default and reassigned officials.





Cunningham continued to train and had no problem with the switch. In fact, he was quite thankful not to have wasted a training camp and its considerable expense only to see the fight go down the tubes.





And ESPN programmer Doug Loughrey worked through myriad issues on the network end to make the last-minute change work.





All along, Main Events attorney Pat English said he was in constant touch with Jimmy Burchfield, Godfrey's promoter, to keep their side up to date on the situation. English said Burchfield assured him that Godfrey was continuing to train and would be ready for the fight.





Main Events worked so quickly that the Godfrey side received a new bout agreement on Friday afternoon, not even 48 hours after the fight was thought to be off.





Everything appeared to be set on Friday and the fight was promoted twice on last week's edition of "Friday Night Fights."





Then came the hammer Saturday, when Godfrey's trainer, John Scully, who I have known for many years -- since before I covered boxing -- told me that despite the announcements on the air the previous night, there was no fight. It was news to me and it sure was news to Main Events and Loughrey when I passed along the heads up.





According to Scully, with whom I traded a ton of e-mails over the weekend, Godfrey had lost two days (which later became three days when Scully changed the story) of training when they thought the fight was off. Supposedly, Burchfield had failed to let Godfrey know that plans were in the works to keep the fight on Friday. Scully said the "mental and emotional letdown" was too much for Godfrey to go through with the fight, even though it would take place a week later on its originally scheduled date.





What a lame excuse, especially when the fight was put back together so quickly -- even if he had missed a couple of days of training.





Duva was incredulous, and I don't blame her.





"He got a contract from us at noon on Friday, so there was still plenty of time to train on Friday," she said. "He found out about the default Wednesday afternoon. The worst case -- the worst -- he lost two days of training. Come on. He's already winding down training by that time. You're a professional athlete. At that point, all you're doing is breaking a sweat and staying in shape. The fact that they left the gym is incomprehensible to me, especially when Jimmy told Doug his guy was still training."





Cunningham said he had no hard feelings toward Godfrey but did say: "It sounds like there was communication problems in his camp. It's just a shame that it's costing everyone this opportunity. No doubt this boxing business is messed up and shady stuff happens, but at the championship level it is the fighter's job to stay focused and be ready for whatever."





Well said.





Godfrey, presumably, wants to win a world title. This is not an easy business. Sometimes it isn't fair, either. But after putting in time training and spending money on camp, how do you pull out of a world title opportunity you have worked most of your life for when the fight had only been off for about two days? Are you kidding me?





Here's the kicker: Godfrey will now lose his chance altogether. If he or anyone on his team had bothered to learn the IBF's rules, they wouldn't be surprised.





The IBF is dropping Godfrey from its rankings and moving on to the next available contender to fight Cunningham for the vacant title at a later date. That is Troy Ross, a worthy title challenger and a former winner of "The Contender." Frankly, if you ask me, that's a better fight in the ring than Cunningham-Godfrey anyway.





Marian Muhammad, the president of the IBF, informed Burchfield of the decision on Tuesday in an e-mail obtained by ESPN.com.





In the letter, she wrote: "It is now crystal clear that Mr. Godfrey has pulled out of the eliminator. As I related to you [Monday], provided Mr. Godfrey was not prepared to participate in the bout on March 26, he would lose his position in the rankings and his opportunity to fight for the title at this time. I have instructed championships chairman Lindsey Tucker to proceed down the list of rankings to determine the next leading available contender to fight Steve Cunningham."





You won't find me agreeing too often with the sanctioning organizations, but I agree with the IBF on this one.





"Everybody here did the right thing, except Godfrey," Duva said. "Whoever is advising him, it's a damn shame because there is no reason this should have happened. Somebody should have read the rules and known that this fight could have been rescheduled at any minute."





As late as Sunday afternoon, there was still hope that Godfrey would come to his senses. Despite the best efforts of a lot of people, he didn't.





Now he has to pay the price.





No title shot.





And no sympathy.
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