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2010 Official Boxing Thread: Soto/Antillon, 2010 Fight of the Year.
- Thread in 'Sports & Training' Thread starter Started by proshares,
- Start date
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, now updated weekly.
For a list of the current champions in all weight classes, click here.
Note: Results through March 23.
[table][tr][td]1[/td][td]
Manny Pacquiao
Welterweight titlist
Age: 31 | Record: 51-3-2, 38 KOs
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Hits: Pacquiao proved once again that besides being a great fighter, he is also a true superstar. How else to explain the insane numbers for his rout of rugged Joshua Clottey on March 13? Facing a fighter with zero fan base and who was completely unknown by the mainstream (although a credible foe), Pacquiao drew a staggering 50,994 fans to Cowboys Stadium, the third-largest crowd for a fight in the United States in the past 50 years or so. On top of that, the pay-per-view generated 700,000 buys, a stunning total for a one-man show that did not have the benefit of a "24/7" series on HBO.
Misses: It's unlikely, but there is always the chance that if Pacquiao wins the election in his race for a congressional seat in the Philippines in May, he might retire. That would be a shame.
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[table][tr][td]2[/td][td]
Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Welterweight
Age: 33 | Record: 40-0, 25 KOs
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Hits: Whatever you think about the legitimacy of Mayweather's demands for random blood and urine testing for his future fights -- be it his May 1 showdown with Shane Mosley or the demand he made of Pacquiao during their failed negotiation -- he seems serious about it. So you have to give Mayweather credit for his principles, even if you don't agree with his stance on the issue.
Misses: As big of a fight as Mosley-Mayweather is, it isn't nearly as huge as the Pacquiao-Mayweather showdown would have been.
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[table][tr][td]3[/td][td]
Bernard Hopkins
Light heavyweight
Age: 45 | Record: 50-5-1, 32 KOs
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Hits: With nothing else whatsoever to prove inside the ring, you can't really blame Hopkins for doing everything he possibly could do to keep alive his dream of a rematch with Roy Jones Jr. They will meet April 3 -- 17 years after the first meeting that Jones easily won. Although it doesn't mean nearly as much as it would have even a couple of years ago, Hopkins has the opportunity to even the score with Jones in a fight he ought to win handily. Can you really blame B-Hop for wanting the fight so much?
Misses: If Hopkins doesn't clearly beat Jones, it will be a serious blow to his legacy when you consider how far Jones is past his prime now. Come on: The man is coming off a first-round knockout loss and hasn't looked good in years. Hopkins should roll. If he somehow loses, how will he explain it?
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[table][tr][td]4[/td][td]
Shane Mosley
Welterweight champion
Age: 38 | Record: 46-5, 39 KOs
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Hits: Mosley has consistently sought out the biggest challenges he could find, from lightweight all the way to junior middleweight -- unlike his May 1 opponent, Mayweather. Even though Mosley has lost a few fights along the way, he is universally respected for facing all comers and beating most of them. The Hall of Fame beckons when he's all done.
Misses: As great of a fighter as Mosley has been, he gets points off for his involvement in the BALCO scandal, one of the reasons Mayweather insisted on the use of random drug testing leading up to their bout.
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[table][tr][td]5[/td][td]
Paul Williams
Middleweight
Age: 28 | Record: 38-1, 27 KOs
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Hits: Although Williams -- who says he can make welterweight, junior middleweight or middleweight -- was not able to land a fight with Pacquiao, Mayweather or Mosley, at least he has a solid HBO fight coming on May 8 against Kermit Cintron, whom he will fight at junior middleweight. That should be a good scrap.
Misses: Williams may not have been able to get one of the star welterweights in the ring with him, but he and his team blew a chance to reschedule the fight with middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik by demanding a ludicrous 50-50 split of the money. Puh-lease.
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[table][tr][td]6[/td][td]
Chad Dawson
Interim light heavyweight titlist
Age: 27 | Record: 29-0, 17 KOs
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Hits: After facing 40-something fighters Glen Johnson and Antonio Tarver twice apiece in his last four bouts, Dawson can finally move on to fight younger, in-their-prime opponents such as Jean Pascal, the fine titleholder from Canada. That fight is next. It should draw a huge crowd in Montreal, and it should be a quality fight.
Misses: The downside of his fight with Pascal is that Dawson will have to wait until August to get it on because Pascal is recovering from shoulder surgery and won't be ready until then. By the time they meet, Dawson, who is in his prime, will have been out of the ring for nine months.
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[table][tr][td]7[/td][td]
Juan Manuel Marquez
Lightweight champion
Age: 36 | Record: 50-5-1, 37 KOs
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Hits: Whether Marquez, an obvious future Hall of Famer, elects to remain at lightweight and defend his title or move up to junior welterweight (which is a possibility), there are plenty of good opponents for him to face in either division when he makes his expected ring return this summer.
Misses: He had an opportunity for a winnable, big-money fight in May against junior welterweight titlist Amir Khan, but Marquez blew the deal because he was upset that Golden Boy Promotions, in his estimation, was favoring Khan. That's no reason to blow a big fight. You don't like what they're saying? Take the fight and go out and beat the guy.
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[table][tr][td]8[/td][td]
Miguel Cotto
Welterweight
Age: 29 | Record: 34-2, 27 KOs
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Hits: Sure, Cotto is 2-2 in his last four bouts (and took beatings in the two losses), but look who they were against: Antonio Margarito, whom many believe wore loaded gloves in the fight, and Pacquiao, the best fighter in the world. Those two defeats should not overshadow all of the quality victories Cotto put together in recent years, including a clean win against Mosley.
Misses: Cotto will challenge junior middleweight titlist Yuri Foreman in June at Yankee Stadium in a fight that should not pose the physical danger of the fights with Margarito and Pacquiao. But it still could result in a loss because of Foreman's elusive nature and outstanding boxing skills. This is not a good style matchup for Cotto.
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[table][tr][td]9[/td][td]
Nonito Donaire
Interim junior bantamweight titlist
Age: 27 | Record: 23-1, 15 KOs
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Hits: It has been three years since Donaire scored a spectacular fifth-round knockout of Vic Darchinyan to win a flyweight title in a major upset. Since then, there has been fan clamor for a rematch. Now, after a lot of rhetoric between the fighters' camps over the past few years, it looks as if Top Rank (Donaire's promoter) and Gary Shaw (Darchinyan's promoter and Donaire's former promoter) are close to a deal for an August fight on Showtime. Hopefully, it will come off.
Misses: As great as that win against Darchinyan was for Donaire, he has not had a high-profile bout since, which is unfortunate.
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[table][tr][td]10[/td][td]
Ivan "Iron Boy" Calderon
Junior flyweight champion
Age: 35 | Record: 33-0-1, 6 KOs
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Hits: Calderon, who celebrated his 35th birthday in January, has been one of the best pure boxers of his generation, even if he has slowed down just a tad in the past year or so. Even when Rodel Mayol, who would go on to win a belt, made him look bad in their two bouts in 2009 -- both of which ended with Calderon suffering severe cuts and forced technical decisions -- he still pulled out a win and a draw.
Misses: Calderon has won titles in two divisions but still has not had a defining fight, even though he has fought numerous former and future titleholders. He needs a significant fight. Unfortunately, that fight -- a title unification bout with Brian Viloria, which had been under discussion -- went down the drain when Viloria got knocked out in a January upset.
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The next 10:
11. Arthur Abraham
12. Kelly Pavlik
13. Chris John
14. Sergio Martinez
15. Tomasz Adamek
16. Timothy Bradley Jr.
17. Hozumi Hasegawa
18. Andre Ward
19. Celestino Caballero
20. Hozumi Hasegawa
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I'm curious if Alonso Lopez has his dad's technique
The little video or hearsay I've seen/heard from him gives me that he's got very good footwork for a very raw fighter. Moves his head well and goes in a out pretty well too. Doesn't have much pop though. Hard to say at this point, gotta see more of him. Think of a very raw and very young Calderon I guess.
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This fool Valero caught another case
Although Allan Green voiced concern that his super middleweight title shot against Andre Ward would never come off, he can relax.
The bout was rescheduled for June 19 on Thursday, two weeks after Ward postponed the April 24 bout because of a problem with his surgically repaired right knee.
The fight, a Group Stage 2 match in Showtime's Super Six World Boxing Classic, will take place at Oracle Arena in Ward's hometown of Oakland, Calif., the network announced.
When the bout was postponed, Green accused Ward of ducking him and voiced concern about the bout ever happening. Now that it's back on, all seems well.
"He was very happy when we got the new date," said Lou DiBella, Green's promoter. "This guy has been training basically since December. First he thought he was fighting Sakio Bika in January and then he thought he was fighting Ward in April. He's been training his *%@ off for a long time and itching to get back in the ring.
"Allan is geared up. We have a date and he will be ready to fight."
Ward will be making the first defense of the 168-pound title he won from Mikkel Kessler on an 11th-round technical decision in November in a Group Stage 1 bout in the six-man super middleweight tournament.
Green, of Tulsa, Okla., got the opportunity to enter the tournament and face Ward when Jermain Taylor withdrew from the round-robin after Arthur Abraham severely knocked him out in October. Green was originally scheduled to face Bika in January in a box-off to determine who would replace Taylor, but Bika ultimately decided not to go through with the fight.
Ward (21-0, 13 KOs) and Green (29-1, 20 KOs) are expected ringside in Detroit on Saturday night to watch the Group Stage 2 bout between Germany's Abraham and Andre Dirrell of Flint, Mich.
Dan Rafael is ESPN.com's boxing writer.
A deal for lightweight champ Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz to meet in a rematch of the 2009 fight of the year is imminent, Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer told ESPN.com on Thursday.
Schaefer said the fight for Marquez's title is being planned for July 10 as the main event of an HBO PPV card. He said it would "probably" take place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
"It's very close," Schaefer said. "We are getting everything signed, but we have agreed on terms." Willie Savannah, Diaz's manager, told ESPN.com that he had received the proposal from Golden Boy and that their side wants the fight.
"It looks like that is what will happen," Savannah said. "I told them we would like to have the rematch."
Marquez, of Mexico, went to Diaz's hometown of Houston to face him at the Toyota Center in February 2009 in what turned out to be an all-action slugfest, one that Marquez won via ninth-round knockout.
The fight was named fight of the year by ESPN.com, Ring magazine and the Boxing Writers Association of America.
Marquez (50-5-1, 37 KOs), 36, went on to face Floyd Mayweather Jr. in September and lost a lopsided decision in a welterweight fight.
Diaz, 26, a former lightweight titleholder, went on to split a pair of junior welterweight bouts with former titleholder Paulie Malignaggi, winning the first fight in August on a controversial decision and losing a decision in the December rematch.
Golden Boy had talked to Marquez about a potential fight with former junior welterweight champ Ricky Hatton and one with 140-pound titleholder Amir Khan, but neither bout panned out. Diaz (35-3, 17 KOs) had nothing significant on the horizon either.
"The first fight was a great fight. These guys are both coming off losses, but they are still great fighters," Savannah said. "Doing this rematch, which you know is going to be great fight, is the biggest fight for both of them right now."
The winner will be in prime position to move up to the loaded junior welterweight division for a potential fight with any of the titleholders, Tim Bradley, Devon Alexander or Khan, all of whom are fighting now on HBO.
One of the pay-per-view undercard bouts for the July 10 card Schaefer said he is working on is a middleweight match between former undisputed junior middleweight champ Winky Wright (51-5-1, 25 KOs) and former junior middleweight titlist Sergio Mora (21-1-1, 5 KOs).
Wright has been out of action since losing a decision to Paul Williams last April. Mora, the winner of the first season of "The Contender," has another fight scheduled first. In his first bout since losing his junior middleweight belt to the late Vernon Forrest in September 2008, Mora faces Calvin Green in a scheduled 10-round middleweight bout on the Roy Jones Jr.-Bernard Hopkins pay-per-view undercard on April 3 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
Dan Rafael is ESPN.com's boxing writer.
After Erik Morales lost a close, grueling decision to then-lightweight titlist David Diaz in August 2007, he announced his retirement.
Morales -- who had clearly lost a step by that time -- said at the postfight press conference at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill., that every time he got hit his head hurt, which is certainly a sign that it might be time to go.
Another sign was that the loss to Diaz was Morales' fourth consecutive defeat and fifth defeat in his past six fights, the one victory coming in 2005 in the first of his three fights with Manny Pacquiao -- who hasn't lost since.
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Despite the losing streak, Morales' Hall of Fame legacy had been sealed years earlier. The Mexican great is a three-division champion -- junior featherweight, featherweight and junior lightweight -- with a long list of big wins and classic fights, such as his thrilling trilogy with Marco Antonio Barrera and the first two slugfests with Pacquiao.
But, like so many other great fighters restless in retirement, Morales is making a comeback after 2½ years out of the ring and will lace 'em up again in Monterrey, Mexico, on Saturday night (Integrated Sports PPV, 9 ET, $29.95).
Morales (48-6, 34 KOs), who will fight all the way up in the welterweight division, will face former lightweight titlist Jose Alfaro (23-5, 20 KOs) of Nicaragua in the main event of a card called "The Champion Returns."
As unlikely as it may seem, the 33-year-old Morales -- who turned pro at age 16 -- still has designs on becoming the first Mexican-born fighter to win titles in four divisions.
Morales couldn't accomplish that goal when he challenged Diaz for a lightweight crown, but he hopes a win against Alfaro can put him on the road to a welterweight belt.
"I'm happy to be here and completely ready to face Alfaro," Morales said. "Fans will see a different Erik Morales than in my last few fights, because now I'm hungry to win this fight and go on towards winning a world title in my fourth division. I want to prove to everyone watching that all of the hard work in training camp will result in a great performance in my return to the ring."
Pacquiao, of course, holds a welterweight title, and Morales said he'd like another crack at him, despite being stopped in the 10th round of their rematch, which was competitive, and then blown out in three rounds in their rubber match.
Another shot at Pacquiao is highly unlikely, but Morales holds on to the dream.
http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/columns/story?columnist=rafael_dan&id=5024670#/sports.espn.go.com/espn/gallery/enlargePhoto?id=5024704&story=5024670">http://sports.espn.go.com...024704&...idth=640,height=550,scrollbars=no,noresize'); return false;">[+] Enlarge
AP Photo/R. Marsh StarksWishful thinking: Morales (left) wants a fourth fight with Manny Pacquiao.
"The two opponents who have defined my career are Junior Jones and Manny Pacquiao," Morales said. "Defeating Jones was important to me because he had stopped something like 32 Mexicans in previous fights. Defeating Pacquiao is my greatest accomplishment in the ring. I remember seeing him cry after our fight. I would love another chance at Pacquiao, and I also look forward to fighting [countryman] Juan Manuel Marquez in the future."
"At 147, I'm faster than ever and freer with my body, so I can get the most out of it. First, though, is my fight against Jose Alfaro. … [He] is a great young fighter and a former world champion. A wicked puncher who will bring his best, he has a big heart in the ring, and always gives fans everything he has."
Alfaro, 26, briefly held a 135-pound belt in late 2007 and early 2008. He is coming off a 10th-round TKO loss to Mexico's Antonio DeMarco, whom he met for an interim belt on Showtime in October.
"I do not mind that Morales is the favorite in this fight," Alfaro said. "I understand, but I had the best training camp of my life, in my country, and I'm going to win. My youth and strength will dominate this match. I know that I'm going to be taking the victory to Nicaragua."
Also on the pay-per-view: Former light heavyweight titlist Hugo Hernan Garay (32-4, 17 KOs) of Argentina meets Houston's Chris Henry (24-2, 19 KOs) in a title eliminator, and heavyweight David Rodriguez (32-0, 30 KOs) faces journeyman Daniel Bispo (22-12, 16 KOs). A fight between Denver Cuello (19-2-5, 10) of the Philippines and Mexico's Juan Hernandez (15-1, 12 KOs) for a vacant interim strawweight belt fell out Tuesday after Hernandez suffered a training injury.
Dan Rafael is the boxing writer for ESPN.com.
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Just watched a couple of Alonso Lopez fights and physically looks just like Finito . He fights a like him also hes a bit raw but thats to be expected as soon as he learns to calm down a bit he will be fine . He is trained by Nacho and im sure his Dad is there too so he is getting top notch schooling . Him Being at flyweight he will be in tough fights earlier since its so hard to get a payday down there . its funny that Chavez jr gets the press but his Brother Omar is a pretty good young fighter that never gets anything said about him
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Is ESPN doing FNF tonight? Or did the supposed card get canceled altogether?
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so JMM is just going to beat diaz even worse this time
[h4]
[/h4][h4]Dirrell happy to be fighting at home[/h4]
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AP Photo/Tom HeveziDespite dropping a decision, Andre Dirrell feels he learned a lot in his fight with Carl Froch.
After suffering a split-decision loss in his previous fight in his opponent's hometown, Andre Dirrell sure is glad to be home for his next assignment.
"Fighting at home is going to be a real confidence-booster for me," Dirrell said. "I call it a do-or-die situation for me. I'm training harder than I ever did and even smarter than I ever did, because I always train hard. I'm highly prepared for battle."
He'll need to be, because Dirrell will square off with heavy-punching former middleweight titleholder Arthur Abraham of Germany on Saturday night (Showtime, 10:30 ET/PT, free preview weekend) at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit in the opening match of Group Stage 2 of the Super Six World Boxing Classic.
"I have faced power punchers before, none as explosive as Abraham, but I have fought power punchers in my career and handled them well," Dirrell said. "I'm smarter, faster and more elusive, and I feel that I have the most skill and speed. It will be difficult for him to catch on to my style, but not for me to adjust to his."
[h4]Super Six Scoreboard[/h4]
Standings for Showtime's Super Six World Boxing Classic through Group Stage 1. Group Stage 2 begins Saturday with the Abraham-Dirrell bout. Fighters are awarded three points for a knockout win, two points for a decision win, one point for a draw and no points for loss. The top four fighters advance to the semifinals following Group Stage 3 (Green replaced Jermain Taylor, who dropped out after Abraham knocked him out in Group Stage 1):
[table][tr][th=""]Record[/th][th=""]Fighter[/th][th=""]Points[/th][/tr][tr][td]1-0[/td][td]Arthur Abraham[/td][td]3[/td][/tr][tr][td]1-0[/td][td]Carl Froch[/td][td]2[/td][/tr][tr][td]1-0[/td][td]Andre Ward[/td][td]2[/td][/tr][tr][td]0-1[/td][td]Andre Dirrell[/td][td]0[/td][/tr][tr][td]0-1[/td][td]Mikkel Kessler[/td][td]0[/td][/tr][tr][td]0-0[/td][td]*Allan Green[/td][td]0[/td][/tr][/table]
Dirrell, from Flint, Mich., will be the crowd favorite, a far cry from the situation he was in for his most recent fight, when he traveled to Nottingham, England, and lost to Carl Froch on Oct. 17 in a title bout in a Group Stage 1 match of the tournament featuring six of the top 168-pounders in the world.
"I'm glad to be back in Michigan, and the opportunity to fight here in Detroit is a great thing," said Dirrell, 26, whose only previous pro fight in his home state was in his 10th fight. "This is a history-making event, and I'm excited to be a part of it. I really wanted to bring something positive to this community. It feels good to fight in Detroit, and it's something that I'm really looking forward to. When fighters fight at home, your mental game has to be really strong. This is a big, monumental event, and I'm looking forward to it, but I won't let it distract me.
"This area has been sleeping on boxing for a while now, but I'm bringing excitement about the sport back to Detroit with this fight. I'm here to make a statement to the boxing world and all the fighters in the Super Six tournament with my performance in this fight. "
Abraham (31-0, 25 KOs), 30, who drilled Jermain Taylor in the 12th round in Berlin in his opener Oct. 17, is the tournament leader with three points and is favored against Dirrell.
But the 6-foot-2 Dirrell (18-1, 13 KOs), a speedy 2004 U.S. Olympic bronze medal winner with a four-inch height advantage over Abraham, is confident he'll prevail. Part of the reason is because of what he learned in the loss to Froch, which many believed Dirrell won.
"It was a championship fight. It was in his hometown," Dirrell said. "I had a game plan, but it unfolded when he started using dirty tactics. But I've learned from that. Going into the late rounds, my mind was kind of wondering if I could go 12 rounds. By the ninth round I figured 12 would be a cinch. And I finished strong. But as far as the holding went, it wasn't part of the game plan. I wasn't meant to hold that much, but because of the dirty tactics, he threw me off my game plan. When I got on the inside I clinched a little too much, and so I'm working on that right now. I'm prepared for anything now.
"When Arthur Abraham steps into the opposite corner as me I'll be ready to get busy and get this win. Winning is everything right now. I already have one loss, and I can't lose again or I'm out of the tournament. So I'm coming off a loss and looking for that victory. I'm just working hard to get that victory, and if the knockout comes, it comes."
Dirrell is still guaranteed a Group Stage 3 bout if he loses, but advancing to the semifinals with two losses will be difficult.
The fight was originally supposed to take place March 27 in Rancho Mirage, Calif., but Dirrell tweaked his back during training, forcing the bout to be postponed to Saturday. When the original venue at the Agua Caliente resort was not available, promoter Gary Shaw moved it to Detroit.
As of a week ago, Dirrell said his back was "90 percent."
Even with the setback, he said he's well-prepared for Abraham, one of most vicious knockout artists in boxing.
"I've trained with many guys that fight like Arthur Abraham," Dirrell said. "He has awesome defense, he's very explosive and has dangerous weapons he brings into the ring."
Besides punching power, Abraham also brings tremendous desire. He wants to be great, and has embraced the idea of leaving Germany to fight in the United States, even if means coming to Dirrell's turf.
"This is a really big chance for me to be a big star in America. It's what I've been looking for," said Abraham, whose only previous fight in the U.S. was his fourth-round knockout of Edison Miranda in their June 2008 rematch. "I really feel that there is so much interest from America and from Showtime and from the journalists in the Super Six. I'm just really happy to be here, and this is a great chance for me.
"I guess it will be a little bit of an advantage for him to fight in front of his home fans, but inside the ring we are all just by ourselves and you have to fight on your own, so that shouldn't be a problem."
[h4]Maidana back in action[/h4]
Matt A. Brown/Icon SMICome on, Khan: Marcos Maidana is keen on fighting Amir Khan sooner rather than later.
Marcos Maidana burst on the American boxing scene last summer when he made heralded prospect Victor Ortiz quit in the sixth round of an all-action HBO fight in Los Angeles. The victory netted Maidana an interim junior welterweight belt and put him into the mix for major fights in a loaded 140-pound division.
After one defense in his native Argentina in November, Maidana (27-1, 26 KOs) is back in the United States to defend his belt against highly regarded Victor Cayo (24-0, 16 KOs) at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas on Saturday night (HBO, 10:30 ET/PT).
Maidana is apparently taking the fight quite seriously as he trained for two full months, including the last month-plus in Las Vegas.
"I have watched several videos. He has a good technique, swift legs, very fast," Maidana said of Cayo. "I hope he will not be able to resist my power, and if he is, then I am prepared to win on points."
Before the fight was made, Maidana had to agree to forego a mandatory fight with full titleholder Amir Khan, who was not interested in facing the dangerous Maidana yet. Maidana was disappointed but understood the business aspect.
"Khan wouldn't like to face me at the moment," Maidana said. "This shows his intelligence. I would have liked to make a unification fight right now, but my manager, Mario Margossian, advised me that it would be better to make two fights in the U.S. before the unification, which will be a very important fight. I have watched various tapes of Khan's fights and thus know him quite well. He will not be able to resist my attacks. I am sure that I am going to win by KO."
Opening the telecast, South Africa's Ali Funeka (30-2-3, 25 KOs) faces Joan Guzman (29-0-1, 17 KOs) of the Dominican Republic in a rematch for a vacant lightweight belt. In November, they fought to a highly controversial draw most observers thought Funeka easily won.
[h4]Molitor's second chance[/h4]
Canada's Steve Molitor (31-1, 12 KOs) is happy to have another chance. The former junior featherweight titleholder was blown out by Celestino Caballero in four rounds in a November 2008 unification fight, and it's taken until now to get back where he wants to be -- in another title fight. Molitor has won three straight, including an eliminator, and Saturday night faces South Africa's Takalani Ndlovu (30-5, 18 KOs) for a vacant belt at Casino Rama, where Molitor has will be fighting for the 10th consecutive time, in Rama, Ontario.
"Boxing is unlike any other sport," Molitor said. "If I was in the NHL, a two-game losing streak wouldn't mean I couldn't win the Stanley Cup. But in boxing, one tough loss set me back a year and a half. That's the nature of the sport. It's brutal and unforgiving, but I'm seriously and honestly at the top of my game, and ready for another lengthy title reign beginning Saturday night."
During his first title reign, Molitor stopped Ndlovu in the ninth round of his first defense. Molitor is expecting another knockout win against his familiar foe.
"I'm healthier and stronger than ever heading into a fight," he said. "And given the fact that I've already smacked him around the ring once, I know what to expect out of him. Come Saturday night I'm going to reclaim my title."
So does Molitor expect anything different from the first fight?
"Other than him getting knocked out a lot sooner, nothing at all," he said.
Dan Rafael covers boxing for ESPN.com.
[h4]QUICK HITS[/h4]
Solis
• Heavyweight Odlanier Solis (16-0, 12 KOs), who dominated Carl Drumond and made him quit one second into the fourth round last week, is one win away from a mandatory title shot against Vitali Klitschko. Solis, a 2004 Cuban Olympic gold medalist who defected and is now based in Miami, was ordered this week by the WBC to face Ray Austin in a final eliminator. If Solid's handlers, Top Rank and Arena Box, don't make a deal with Don King, Austin's promoter, an April 23 purse bid is scheduled. "Solis has tremendous hand speed and power and we are ready to do that fight with Austin," Top Rank's Bob Arum told ESPN.com. "We're negotiating with King."
Gamboa
• Electrifying featherweight titlist Yuriorkis Gamboa (17-0, 15 KOs) is back where is his pro career began: Germany. Gamboa makes his third title defense against Argentina's Jonathan Victor Barros (28-0-1, 16 KOs) in Hamburg. Gamboa, a 2004 Cuban Olympic gold medalist, fought four of his first five pro fights in Germany after defecting in 2007. Now, he's based in Miami, but in Germany to fight on co-promoter Ahmet Öner's debut show under his new deal with German TV outlet SAT.1. "I'm happy to be back at the place where my pro career started," Gamboa said. "I still appreciate all the help and support my German friends have been giving me after defecting from Cuba. I still have lots of friends here and I am happy that I can defend my title here in Hamburg." Arum, Gamboa's co-promoter, told ESPN.com that if Gamboa wins he'll next July 17 or 24 on HBO, probably in Las Vegas. Arum wants to match him with Celestino Caballero, the junior featherweight titlist who is moving up to featherweight. He needs to defeat Daud Yordan on HBO April 10 to preserve the fight. Although there is no live American TV coverage of Gamboa-Barros, Top Rank's Carl Moretti said highlights will air during Saturday night's "Top Rank Live" (FSN) card.
John
• Featherweight titlist Chris John (43-0-2, 22 KOs) will make his 13th title defense against Argentina's Fernando Saucedo (38-4-3, 1 KO) on May 22 in Bali, Indonesia, John's home country, Sampson Lewkowicz, John's adviser, told ESPN.com. "The deal is done," Lewkowicz said. "I got the contract (Wednesday)." John has been out of action since easily outpointing Rocky Juarez in their September rematch. John may have been back sooner, but a case of dengue fever put him in the hospital in October, and he took an extended break. Saucedo hasn't lost since dropping a 10-round decision to Acelino "Popo" Freitas in 2004.
Alexander
• HBO and promoter Don King are discussing a late July or August fight for unified junior welterweight titlist Devon Alexander. The network would like to see him face Zab Judah or Marcos Maidana, if he beats Victor Cayo on Saturday. A possible undercard bout for the next Alexander date is the overdue mandatory fight between light heavyweight titlist Tavoris Cloud and Glen Johnson. Lou DiBella, Johnson's co-promoter, told ESPN.com that King has been in touch with him to begin talks about the fight.
Soto
• On March 12, Anthony Peterson knocked out Juan Ramon Cruz in what was supposed to be a tune-up for a shot at a lightweight title. The following night, on the Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey undercard, Humberto Soto outpointed David Diaz to claim a vacant lightweight belt. Soto's first defense was supposed to be a mandatory against Peterson (30-0, 20 KOs). Top Rank's Arum said repeatedly that was the plan. He was going to put the fight on the June 5 Yuri Foreman-Miguel Cotto undercard at Yankee Stadium, and HBO had agreed to televise Soto-Peterson. However, Arum told ESPN.com this week there's been a change of plans -- that Soto (51-7-2, 32 KOs) won't make the mandatory defense against Peterson. "It isn't going to be Soto-Peterson on that card," said Arum, who is working with HBO to come up with an alternative bout. "Soto wants permission to fight in Mexico and is getting an exception (from the WBC)."
Cotto
• Arum told ESPN.com that the news conference to formally announce the Foreman- Cotto junior middleweight title bout, the first fight at the new Yankee Stadium, will be April 9 at the stadium. "The fight is done, everything's done," Arum said. "We have only put off the news conference because all of the Yankee people are down at spring training."
Litzau
• Golden Boy and Square Ring have finalized the pay-per-view undercard for the Roy Jones-Bernard Hopkins rematch April 3 at Las Vegas' Mandalay Bay. In the co-feature, junior lightweight Jason Litzau (26-2, 21 KOs) defends his regional belt against Rocky Juarez (28-5-1, 20 KOs). Also, middleweight Sergio Mora (21-1-1, 5 KOs), fighting for the first time since losing his junior middleweight belt to the late Vernon Forrest in September 2008, faces Calvin Green (21-4-1, 13 KOs) in a 10-rounder. In the opener, Ukrainian light heavyweight prospect Ismayl Sillakh (11-0, 10 KOs), who recently signed with Jones' Square Ring, steps up in competition against Daniel Judah (23-4-3, 10 KOs).
Jacobs
• Middleweight Daniel Jacobs, the 2009 ESPN.com prospect of the year, is ending a seven-month layoff caused by a hand injury in his last fight, a clear unanimous decision against fringe contender Ishe Smith. The 23-year-old from Brooklyn, N.Y. faces Jose Rodriguez-Berrio (12-4-1, 6 KOs) on Saturday night at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas on the untelevised portion of the Marcos Maidana-Victor Cayo HBO card. HBO may show highlights of the bout. If Jacobs (18-0, 15 KOs) comes through the fight and has no issues with his hand, his next bout could come May 1 on the pay-per-view undercard of the Shane Mosley-Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight.
DeGale
• James DeGale, a 2008 British Olympic gold medalist, has had just six pro fights, but the super middleweight prospect (who has yet to fight a scheduled eight- or 10-round bout) is moving into a 12-rounder for his next fight on May 15 in England. DeGale (6-0, 4 KOs), who will challenge for a regional title, faces Sam Horton (15-1, 2 KOs) on the undercard of the interim lightweight title bout between Michael Katsidis and Kevin Mitchell. "I've done 10 rounds in sparring, but I feel ready for the step up," DeGale said. "I've had a lot of amateur fights, a lot of experience before I turned professional, and people are going to see another wicked performance from me. I'm looking forward to hearing the bell go for rounds nine, 10, 11 and 12 so I can prove to people that I can do the championship distance."
Donaire
• According to Arum, the target date and venue for the Nonito Donaire-Vic Darchinyan rematch, which would be for Darchinyan's junior bantamweight championship, is Aug. 7 on Showtime from the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. … The IBF rewarded Steve Cunningham for his trouble after Matt Godfrey pull out of their Friday night vacant cruiserweight title bout at the last minute. Cunningham, likely to face Troy Ross, the next leading available contender, for the vacant title instead, will get 60 percent of the money if a purse bid is needed, rather than the usual 50 percent for a vacant title bout. The IBF has the latitude to adjust the purse splits in a bid situation. … Ex-cruiserweight titlist Giacobbe Fragomeni (26-2-1, 10 KOs) of Italy and Poland's Krzysztof Wlodarczyk (42-2-1, 31 KOs) meet for a vacant belt May 15 in Lodz, Poland, Leon Margules, Wlodarczyk's co-promoter, told ESPN.com. They'll fight for the belt Zsolt Erdei relinquished. The bout was originally slated for June 5 but moved due to Polish television scheduling.
[h4]QUOTABLE[/h4]
Loew
"Lou DiBella made a comment at the press conference announcing Kelly's fight with Martinez comparing Martinez to Carlos Monzon. DiBella may be a good promoter but he is no boxing historian. He wouldn't know Carlos Monzon from Gorilla Monsoon." -- Jack Loew, who trains middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik, on Martinez co-promoter DiBella, who compared Martinez to fellow Argentinean fighter and Hall of Famer Monzon
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DiBella
"Tell Jack Loew that at the end of Pavlik's fight with Sergio Martinez, Martinez will be holding their belt and Jack will feel like he got body slammed by Gorilla Monsoon." -- DiBella, responding to Loew's dig that invoked Monsoon, the all-time great pro wrestler
[h4]QUOTABLE[/h4]
Berto
"He's a tough veteran. If you give him too much room or a little too much confidence he will take advantage of that. You have to impose your dominance early. I'm in a tough situation. Realistically, I train hardest when a lot of people expect me to win. He's a spoiler and he did the same with Paul Williams, and I have to make sure I stay sharp and do a good job and dispose of him." -- welterweight titlist Andre Berto, on former titleholder Carlos Quintana, whom he defends against April 10 (HBO) in Sunrise, Fla.
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Gunna, you going to watch that loser Berto live on the 10th of April?
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you know he is. front row with a bottle of lotion
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As one of the biggest Abraham haters out there, I really hope Dirrell pulls this off.� I think he should be able to outbox him but I just have a feeling that Abraham is going to catch him at some point.�
I mean look at this:
+#+, how is this guy a top level fighter?� It's a rhetorical question, I'm just amazed at how he can be so effective.
I mean look at this:
+#+, how is this guy a top level fighter?� It's a rhetorical question, I'm just amazed at how he can be so effective.
I know Gunna got that pic of Abraham with the whole get up on waiting to post that #*#@ if he wins.
Dirrell has all the skill in the world to outbox him but Abraham is going to make him fight. Just gotta see how much punishment he'd be willing to take to get his shots in and how strong his shots are. If the Froch fight was any indication, he may back pedal all night...
Dirrell has all the skill in the world to outbox him but Abraham is going to make him fight. Just gotta see how much punishment he'd be willing to take to get his shots in and how strong his shots are. If the Froch fight was any indication, he may back pedal all night...
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Jags, that was a media day workout, not going to put much stock into it.
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yup
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THAT MAY BE THE GREATEST TRAINING VIDEO EVER
he turns his hooks over quite well tho, incredible torque.
you're right, he is not the most skilled but his pwer is undeniable.
IMO he is a 160 lb George Foreman (just better defense)
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I know, I'm certainly drawing any predictions based on mitt work.� If there were the case then Taylor would have been a lock in their fight:
The point I'm trying to make is that his skills are amateurish.� He looks like a %#%@+*! caveman hitting the mitts.� Even in fights his punches can get very wide and sloppy, often leaving his chin exposed.� What he has going for him is that he's smart, has tremendous power, and deceptively quick hands and it's been effective despite not being the most skilled guy.� However, just from my observation guys like this eventually get exposed.� I think a younger Hopkins would completely neutralize him and exploit the fact that he has no inside game.� Ward might be able to do the same.�
As far as the Dirrell fight, Abraham generally like's to lure his opponents in and let them get comfortable banging away at his gloves, then he waits for the right moment to explode from his shell.� I think Dirrell is going to be fighting scared meaning he's not to be hanging around too long in front of Abraham.� He's probably look to get in and get out and force Abraham to chase him which isn't something he's accustomed to doing and he's probably going to have to do this if he feels the fight is slipping away with Dirrell building up points on activity.� That can make Abraham dangerous as he'll become aggressive but it also means he might start to get sloppy as he'll probably have to throw some leaping punches as he's chasing Dirrell.� As I touched on Abraham's punches can get really wide as he leaves himself open.� Call me crazy but I think Dirrell could seriously hurt Abraham if he's able to shot a punch down the middle in between one of his wide punches as he's leaping in.� The big question is if Dirrell would have the courage to take such a risk.�
My guess in the end is that Dirrell will likely control the fight for a while but I'm just not sure if he can avoid Abraham's punches for 12 rounds and all it takes is him getting caught once during a mental lapse so I'm going with Abraham by KO but I really hope I'm dead wrong.�
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I got dirrell in the upset
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Guzman is 9lbs overweight for his fight tomorrow
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Abraham's got a lot of power in that right hand.
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I saw that...ridiculous. It was originally reported that the fight was off, then on, and now there saying it might be off again because of something to do with the IBF.Originally Posted by EAGLE 0N
Guzman is 9lbs overweight for his fight tomorrow
I hope it's on for the sheer fact that I put a little money on Funeka after the news first broke
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9 lbs!?!?
