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

[scott frost]

Demetrius Hopkins v. Arnaoutis.............

 

[proshares]

Yea, a little bit of a lull right now.  Here's to hoping the 2nd half produces some fireworks.

As we hit the halfway mark of 2010 this weekend, HBO Sports President Ross Greenburg did not want to spend a lot of time looking back at the first half of the year. Instead, as fits his personality, he was more interested in looking ahead to what he hopes will be a second half that will produce more competitive fights and fireworks than what turned out to be a fairly lackluster first half.

As the person who presides over the largest budget in televised boxing -- tens of millions of dollars each year -- as well an HBO PPV division that produces and distributes boxing's biggest fights, Greenburg is a kingmaker.

He decides which fighters, managers and promoters get the network's backing. Ultimately, it is his decision which fights HBO will buy, or not buy, giving his opinion tremendous weight.

The two biggest fights of the first half of the year -- Manny Pacquiao against Joshua Clottey at Cowboys Stadium in March and Floyd Mayweather against Shane Mosley at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in May -- were both HBO PPV events that resulted in one-sided blowouts. On top of that, Greenburg had been outspoken at the end of 2009 about how much he wanted -- like most other boxing fans -- to finalize Pacquiao against Mayweather. It didn't happen, and he was brutally disappointed. Now, the sides are again inching closer to an agreement for a fall fight.

Greenburg has been a steady hand in the talks, but is sticking to the promise not to discuss the negotiations in the media.

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"I can't even discuss it," he said. "No comment. None."

Besides that, however, Greenburg was talkative in covering several topics during a half-hour interview with ESPN.com this week as he looked back, briefly, on HBO's first half of the year and looked ahead to the second half.

HBO got off to a rough start when its big winter fight, a welterweight unification fight between Mosley and Andre Berto, was called off a few weeks before the fight when Berto withdrew following the massive earthquake in Haiti that killed eight of his family members.

"The loss of Mosley-Berto in January hurt us," Greenburg said. "We were looking forward to that fight, obviously. It was a double whammy in that we lost that fight and Pacquiao-Mayweather couldn't be made. That triggered Mayweather-Mosley and Pacquiao-Clottey, which were two big pay-per-view events that clearly broke through to the mainstream. They were the cornerstone of the first half of the year and they at least overshadowed somewhat the disappointment of not having Pacquiao-Mayweather. Having said that, we got off to a slow start because we didn't have a big HBO fight, Mosley-Berto, that we had planned, so we had to make do. I think we came through it OK."

Greenburg pointed to the April 17 card that featured Sergio Martinez winning the middleweight championship from Kelly Pavlik in Atlantic City, N.J., with super middleweight titlist Lucian Bute scoring a knockout of Edison Miranda in Montreal on the same telecast.

"That was a big night for us," Greenburg said. "Martinez beating Pavlik and Bute looking good in front of a packed house was exciting television. And then, of course, closing the first half with Miguel Cotto and Yuri Foreman at Yankee Stadium [on June 5] was a real boon. Unfortunately, Foreman tore his ACL and there was some controversy, but we did a big rating, it was a big night and a major splash in New York. We were happy with that."

Other than the possibility of Pacquiao-Mayweather at welterweight, Greenburg hopes to get big fights done in other divisions.

There has already been some disappointment, however. Greenburg wanted to put Mosley-Berto back together for September. On Tuesday, he was bullish about it, claiming during the interview that there was no Plan B for either fighter as it related to an HBO fight if Mosley-Berto didn't get made.

But then came the news Wednesday night that Golden Boy had made a fight between Mosley and Sergio Mora, whom it also promotes, for Sept. 18 on pay-per-view -- a card HBO has not committed to being involved with.

After Golden Boy's Richard Schaefer announced Mosley-Mora, Greenburg declined to discuss the implosion of one of the fights he most wanted to make for the fall.

The other biggie he wants is a rematch between Martinez and Paul Williams. They waged a sensational fight on HBO in December, one bout before Martinez beat Pavlik. If Greenburg can convince the sides to make the fight, it would take place in November.

While Martinez's camp isn't anxious to make it, promoter Lou DiBella said he is willing to do it on a 50-50 deal. Convincing the Williams camp has been more daunting, especially with promoter Dan Goossen continually saying that Williams is moving back down to welterweight.

Greenburg doesn't want to hear it.

"For whatever reasons we are having trouble seeing [Williams-Martinez II] through," he said. "Same with Mosley-Berto. The promoters and managers are bickering over splits and I'm getting tired of this split war every time a fight is to be made. I wish there was an objective voice in the background to tell them to stop the grandstanding. I think promoters, managers and fighters have to take a step back and analyze the situation a little more effectively. We need to make these fights. Boxing needs big fights, not just HBO. The sport needs big fights. Other than Pacquiao, Mayweather and maybe Mosley, none of these fighters we're talking about have attained superstar status. You need them to fight each other to create superstars. We're here with a big check and we're here to market all of these fighters when they want to fight each other."

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Liu Jin/AFP/Getty ImagesExpect Devon Alexander to be a staple on HBO for years to come.

Greenburg didn't want to address how the network would schedule -- or if it would at all -- Martinez and Williams if they didn't fight each other. Ditto for Berto, now that there is no Mosley fight.

HBO is also deeply involved in the junior welterweight and featherweight divisions, both of which are stocked with young talent ready to fight each other.

The 140-pound junior welterweight division, with fighters such as Devon Alexander, Timothy Bradley, Amir Khan, Marcos Maidana and Victor Ortiz -- has Greenburg particularly excited. He knows fights among them could be a staple of HBO's boxing franchise for the next few years.

"These guys are flamboyant and charismatic in the ring and real athletes," Greenburg said. "I think the mix of these young guys, and then you throw in a veteran like Juan Manuel Marquez [who probably will move up after his July 31 HBO PPV rematch with Juan Diaz], and this is a hot division with some really scintillating matchups. We are going to try to make them happen. I think Khan-Marquez is certainly in the works [for Dec. 11 if Marquez wins July 31]. We hope it happens. Diaz can disrupt it in less than a month, but if Khan-Marquez happens and if Bradley-Alexander happens, we have a hot division. These fights have to take place. We ultimately have to get to a point where somebody is standing on the mountaintop."

Alexander defends his two belts against Andreas Kotelnik on Aug. 7 and Bradley makes his HBO debut on July 17 against Luis Carlos Abregu in a nontitle welterweight bout.

In Greenburg's perfect world, if Alexander and Bradley come through, he'd like to see them face each other, ideally in the first big fight of 2011 -- Jan. 29, the Saturday before the Super Bowl, when HBO usually tries to schedule a major fight.

"Maybe the fight could happen earlier," Greenburg said. "But we are deep in that division and we're ready to roll. We think all the parties are on board and ready to make some big fights."

The talent is similar at featherweight, which boasts Juan Manuel Lopez, Yuriorkis Gamboa, Celestino Caballero and Chris John, all of whom have appeared on HBO, as well as Elio Rojas, who will face Gamboa in a Sept. 11 unification fight on the network.

However, Lopez, who had been fighting on HBO, is moving to rival Showtime for a fight July 10. If he wins, a plan is already in place for him to return to Showtime on Sept. 18 to face Rafael Marquez. So how did Lopez get away from HBO?

"When we sat with Top Rank a few months ago to discuss several possible fights, and we couldn't do them all, we thought 'Juanma' was going to have his next fight on one of their pay-per-views. That's what they told us," Greenburg said. "And the next thing we go on [ESPN.com] and find out he's fighting on Showtime. So it's going to take some time to figure out things in the division. Arum said his plan was to work toward 'Juanma' fighting Gamboa. Clearly, that is not the plan right now. The doubleheader [on HBO in January] is as close as they got. But we really like Gamboa [who is also with Top Rank]. We think he's a major talent and we'll continue to track his career. We also like Chris John, who has been in some good fights on HBO."

Eventually, Greenburg hopes to match Lopez and Gamboa.

"What we will do is wait to see what happens with Lopez next week and then again in the fall, presumably on Showtime, and then we'll march on and see if we can create the big one," he said. "Obviously, we are very interested in Lopez-Gamboa."

The division Greenburg is not interested in is heavyweight. Wladimir Klitschko and Vitali Klitschko are fine champions, he said, but there is a lack of interest in them in the United States, meaning a lack of interest in them from HBO.

"I'm really souring on the heavyweights," Greenburg said. "There doesn't seem to be any interest in the U.S. and there doesn't seem to be any heavyweights besides David Haye who would have any juice in challenging the Klitschkos. We're out of the heavyweight division. We're not playing in that sandbox right now. It doesn't make any sense for us. The fights happen over there [in Europe], they're on tape delay. There is just very little interest in this country."

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Oliver Vosshage/Getty ImagesThe future looks fuzzy for the heavyweight division as long as Wladimir Klitschko keeps defending in Europe.

Greenburg said HBO won't make an offer for Wladimir's September fight with Alexander Povetkin.

"We made a decision [Monday]," Greenburg said.

What about doing Vitali's next fight in the fall?

"Nope," he said. "The heavyweights have clearly lost their edge in the United States. I think we have enough stars in the lower weight divisions to get us through a down period for heavyweights. I think if we had a strong American heavyweight champion it would do wonders for American boxing, but it's just a dream at this point."

Other than a Klitschko against Haye, or one of those three against Tomasz Adamek, Greenburg said he doesn't see any heavyweights HBO is interested in.

"Other than that, we'll take a pass," he said. "It would be great if the Klitschkos came over here and reignited some interest in this division. It's tough to continually go over there. I understand their financials. I know how big they are in Germany and they will continue to fight over there. I understand the economics of their business."

Greenburg also covered some other topics:

• Buying Bute's fall fight against Jesse Brinkley: "We may not have a slot for this Bute fight but [we're] looking forward to working with him in 2011."

• HBO's future with Cotto: "You have to talk to Bob. He has a Cotto plan, but we really like him. I thought [HBO broadcaster and trainer] Emanuel [Steward] did a great job with him in the Foreman fight. Bob is talking about a rematch with Antonio Margarito. He is looking at it as pay-per-view event. He's really salivating over that and we'll follow his lead."

• The possibility of HBO staging a tournament like Showtime's ongoing Super Six World Boxing Classic in the super middleweight division: "If we do tournaments there will be two semifinals and a final four months later. We believe in knockout tournaments where fighters fight quickly and efficiently over a couple of nights three or four months apart like we did with the middleweight series [that HBO did with Don King in 2001]. The idea is for speedy results, not to drag it out for more than a year."

As Greenburg was wrapping up on various topics before 9 a.m. on Tuesday, DiBella arrived at his New York office for a meeting about Martinez and Berto. Greenburg was busily planning for the second half of the year.

"I am optimistic," Greenburg said. "I think there are some big fights to be made and we'll try to make them. We are always looking forward."

Dan Rafael is the boxing writer for ESPN.com.

Happy 4th to everyone, be safe.

 

[proshares]

Mario (Houston)


Any news on Sergio Martinez's next move?

Dan Rafael (12:20 PM)


His promoter, Lou DiBella, is talking to HBO, which wants only the Williams rematch. Martinez/DiBella are willing to make if they have no other choice, but right now Williams and his team don't want to make it. So if that is the case, I don't see why HBO should punish Martinez when he is willing to fight Williams and just about anybody else. I'd like to see him face any nunber of guys if Williams won't fight him.

 

[mistadobalina]

i totally thought juanma vs concepcion was yesterday....fuccc

 

[proshares]

Junior bantamweight Ulises "Archie" Solis W10 Eric Ortiz Scores: 99-88, 98-89 (twice)​

Records: Solis, 31-2-2, 21 KOs; Ortiz, 31-11-3, 20 KOs

Rafael's remark: In 2006, Solis won a junior flyweight title and made eight defenses -- including a ninth-round knockout of Ortiz in his first defense -- before being stopped by Brian Viloria in the 11th round in April. Since then, Solis has won three in a row, including a title eliminator against Bert Batawang in April that put him in position to challenge the winner of the Sept. 4 rematch between titleholder Luis Lazarte and Carlos Tamara in a mandatory fight. However, Solis, 28, who is the brother of interim junior lightweight titlist Jorge Solis, is used to staying active and did not want to sit and wait for the title shot. So he took this stay-busy bout against Ortiz, a former titleholder, in the main event of "Top Rank Live" and had a relatively easy night against his Mexican countryman. Solis simply had too much of everything for Ortiz, although referee Jay Nady docked a point from him in the ninth round for shoving Ortiz to the canvas. However, moments before the end of the round, Solis scored a knockdown when he clipped Ortiz with a left-right combination that forced Ortiz to touch his glove to the mat. A looping right hand from Solis landed in the 10th round and forced Ortiz to touch his glove to the canvas again for another knockdown, which punctuated an outcome that was obvious. Ortiz, 33, briefly held a junior flyweight title in 2005, stopping Jose Antonio Aguirre to win a vacant belt before being smashed in the first round six months later by Viloria. In Ortiz's next fight, he challenged Solis for his version of the 108-pound title in their first meeting. Now, after their rematch, Ortiz has lost two in a row and for the third time in four bouts.

Records: Melligen, 19-2, 13 KOs; Adjaho, 17-3, 9 KOs

Rafael's remark: Melligen, 24, of the Philippines, had an outstanding amateur career and is a fine professional prospect despite two defeats, one which came in his seventh pro fight and the other which came on a split decision to Michel Rosales in November under very trying circumstances, because the bout took place just after his best friend, Z Gorres, wound up in a coma after defeating Luis Melendez. That understandably messed with Melligen's head. But the southpaw rebounded from the defeat and has now won three fights in a row. He beat Adjaho rather handily, mainly because he was so much busier than Adjaho, who landed some good shots but not nearly enough of them. It was not the most fan-friendly fight but it was a solid, although unspectacular, performance from Melligen, who nonetheless seems to have a lot of potential. Adjaho, 30, who is from the African country of Benin but now based in Rochester, N.Y., had given future lightweight titlist Miguel Acosta a tough fight in a 2007 split decision loss in their title eliminator. Adjaho went on to win his next two fights before Antonio DeMarco stopped him in the ninth round of a title eliminator last July. After a year off, Adjaho moved up to welterweight to face Melligen, who had gotten props from Floyd Mayweather Jr. for the work he gave him in sparring as Mayweather prepared for his fight with Juan Manuel Marquez last year.

Records: Gilbert, 21-2, 16 KOs; Bailey, 10-9-1, 4 KOs

Rafael's remark: Gilbert, 34, the former participant in the first edition of "The Contender" in 2004, pounded out the lopsided decision in front of his hometown fans. The victory was his third in a row since a virtual shutout loss to Nevada rival and fellow former "Contender" contestant Jesse Brinkley in February 2009. Don't put too much stock in Gilbert's victory. He beat Bailey, 32, of Bakersfield, Calif., a guy who has now lost four fights in a row and six of his last seven bouts.

[th=""]

Saturday at Reno, Nev.​

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Welterweight
Mark Melligen W10 Anges Adjaho
Scores: 99-91, 98-92, 97-93
​

Light heavyweight
Joey Gilbert W8 Billy Bailey
scores: 80-72, 79-73 (twice)
​

Cruiserweight Steve Herelius TKO11 Firat Arslan Wins a vacant interim cruiserweight title​

Records: Herelius, 20-1-1, 12 KOs; Arslan, 29-5-1, 18 KOs

Rafael's remark: As much as we despise interim titles, this is a case where it was actually warranted. Guillermo Jones, the WBA's cruiserweight titlist, stopped Germany's Arslan in the 10th round in September 2008 to take the belt from Arslan, but has not fought since. It is surprising that the WBA hasn't stripped him considering his mandatory defense is eons overdue. In any event, it approved an interim title because of Jones' inactivity. To fight for that trinket, it ordered France's Herelius, a 33-year-old southpaw, to face Arslan, 39, a move that was somewhat questionable because Arslan had not fought since facing Jones almost two years ago. But he and Herelius did fight and both men appeared in supreme condition as they put on a pretty entertaining show (which you can watch, along with numerous fights, in its entirety on promoter Universum's outstanding YouTube channel). Herelius did a nice job boxing from the outside for stretches but he began to slow later in the fight while Arslan pressured him and badly rocked him in the seventh round. Referee Stanley Christodoulou docked Herelius, who was bleeding from a cut over his right eye, a point in the 10th round when he charged at Arslan and appeared to purposely head butt him in the chin. Arslan shook it off and was in control, but with about a minute to go in the 11th round, Herelius backed him up with an uppercut and all the wind seemed to go out of Arslan's sails. Herelius battered him for the remainder of the round, landing numerous punches to the head and body while Arslan covered up and did not fire back. When the round ended, an absolutely gassed Arslan had to be helped back to his corner by Christodoulou, who would call off the fight moments later when it was obvious Arslan was not going to be able to continue. Arslan was taken to the hospital, where he was treated for dehydration and spent the night as a precaution. For Herelius, who was coming off a nine-month layoff, it was the biggest win of his career in which he suffered his lone loss to Albert Sosnowski at heavyweight (where Herelius fought for most of his career) in a ninth-round knockout in 2007.

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Saturday at Stuttgart, Germany​

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Junior bantamweight Hugo Cazares TKO7 Everardo Morales Retains a junior bantamweight title​

Records: Cazares, 32-6-2, 23 KOs; Morales, 34-15-2, 23 KOs

Rafael's remark: Cazares, 32, of Mexico, is the former junior flyweight world champion who has had something of a rebirth at junior bantamweight. In September, he got a draw in Japan challenging titlist Nobuo Nashiro before outpointing him there in an action-packed rematch in May. Making his first defense, Cazares took a soft touch in Morales, his 33-year-old countryman. Although Cazares' face was marked up, he cut and dominated Morales before dropping him with a left hand in the seventh round. Referee Mark Nelson had seen enough and called it off at 1 minute. Morales kept his record in title bouts perfect -- meaning he remained winless in dropping to 0-4. In 2003, he was stopped in five rounds challenging then titleholder Omar Narvaez. In 2006, Pongsaklek Wonjongkam whacked him in the fourth round to retain another version of the 112-pound title. And last July, Tomas Rojas stopped him in the ninth round in defense of an interim belt. A quick word about Cazares' title -- although he is a quality fighter, his belt is trash. Vic Darchinyan is the legitimate champ who happens to be recognized by the WBA as its ludicrous "super champion." Nonito Donaire parades around as interim titlist. And Cazares is the so-called "regular champion." If you can count, that means the WBA recognizes three titleholders in the same division. That's two too many.

[th=""]

Saturday at Tlalnepantla, Mexico​

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Welterweight Demetrius Hopkins W10 Mike Arnaoutis Scores: 100-90, 99-91 (twice)​

Records: Hopkins, 30-1-1, 11 KOs; Arnaoutis, 22-6-1, 10 KOs

Rafael's remark: In December 2008, Hopkins, the 29-year-old nephew of the great Bernard Hopkins, challenged then-junior welterweight titlist Kendall Holt on short notice and dropped a split decision in a fight he had within his grasp. Following the defeat, Hopkins had legal problems, spent time in jail for failure to pay child support and did not fight in 2009. But Hopkins returned in March as a welterweight for a shutout decision against Jesse Feliciano and followed with this lopsided rout of Arnaoutis in the ESPN2 "Friday Night Fights" main event. Hopkins, of Philadelphia, was better than Arnaoutis, 30, a native of Greece living in Atlantic City, N.J., in every aspect of the fight. Bigger, busier and more accurate, Hopkins used his boxing skills and a solid jab and was a bit more aggressive than usual as he reddened the face of Arnaoutis and dominated from the outset. Arnaoutis' corner, headed by trainer Bill Johnson, was begging its man to get aggressive and go after Hopkins, but Arnaoutis simply had no answers and seemed content to go the distance in a disappointing performance. At one time, Arnaoutis was a quality contender and a former junior welterweight title challenger. But now he's lost three in a row and four of his last five bouts (including his two fights at welterweight) and has become a steppingstone opponent. Hopkins stepped all over him. One strange thing about the card: It was held at the Citizens Business Bank Arena, which holds about 11,000, and featured two decidedly East Coast fighters in the main event with almost no local appeal on the undercard. The show drew maybe 2,000. It made no sense to have it there and undoubtedly promoter TKO Boxing lost tens of thousands of dollars on the show.

Records: Elegele, 9-0, 7 KOs; Walton, 4-2, 3 KOs

Rafael's remark: Elegele, 26, of Melbourne, Fla., turned pro in November and has been on a very busy schedule by fighting once a month. A 6-foot southpaw with apparent pop, he's a prospect, but one who is a raw talent. Walton, 29, of Salt Lake City, a fellow southpaw who took the fight on a couple of days' notice, was clearly outgunned and five inches shorter. He did what he could. Walton even came up with a clean straight left hand in the first round that staggered Elegele and turned his legs to jelly. Elegele, who is trained by Tony Morgan (who also trains welterweight titlist Andre Berto), regained his composure and took over the fight. Elegele landed a left hand to the top of Walton's head just as the bell sounded to end the second round and knocked Walton down. In the third round, Elegele had forced Walton to a corner and was firing shots, many of which were missing. A few got in, and although Walton was not hurt, referee Wayne Hedgpeth stepped in and stopped the fight at 1 minute, 37 seconds. Walton was throwing a punch as Hedgpeth moved in and he almost got clipped by the punch. It was a questionable stoppage even though the result was surely going to be an Elegele victory. According to the punch statistics, Elegele landed 81 blows in the two-plus rounds while Walton connected on just 10.

Records: Contreras, 15-0, 13 KOs; Cruz, 7-4-3, 7 KOs

Rafael's remark: Contreras and Cruz hooked up years ago in the amateur ranks and Contreras got the win. And he did it again in the professional ranks, and did it with relative ease in a forgettable fight. Contreras, 26, born in the Dominican Republic and living in Irvington, N.J., was quicker, longer, busier and more accurate. No surprise he won based on that as he landed 132 of 433 blows while Cruz connected on 54 of 351 shots. The damage inflicted by each was minimal, however. Contreras' best shot was a right hand to Cruz's head in the third round. It rocked Cruz, but Contreras did not follow up. In the fourth, Cruz returned the favor, landing a powerful right hand just as the round was ending. Contreras, who was an excellent amateur, is considered a prospect by some and he is managed by Cameron Dunkin, who has a keen eye for talent.

[th=""]

Friday at Ontario, Calif.​

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Welterweight
Joseph Elegele TKO3 William Walton
​

Lightweight
Francisco Contreras W8 Eric Cruz
Scores: 80-82 (twice), 78-74
​

Bantamweight Jamie McDonnell TKO3 Rodrigo Bracco Retains European bantamweight title​

Records: McDonnell, 15-2-1, 7 KOs; Bracco, 11-3, 5 KOs

Rafael's remark: In March, McDonnell went to France and stopped Jerome Arnould in the 10th round to claim the European title. Making his first defense, McDonnell, 24, returned home for his first defense against Italy's Bracco, 30, who was fighting his first scheduled 12-rounder. Of course, it did not last nearly that long as McDonnell turned in a dominant performance. He bludgeoned Bracco, including a heavy body attack, until it was called off late in the third round. McDonnell won his seventh fight in a row since a two-fight losing streak.

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Friday at Yorkshire, England​

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Junior middleweight Anthony Mundine W12 Carlos Adan Jerez Scores: 120-109, 118-110 (twice)​

Records: Mundine, 39-3, 23 KOs; Jerez, 30-13-3, 16 KOs

Rafael's remark: Mundine has held a world title at super middleweight. Then he dropped down to fight at middleweight in some of his recent bouts. He wanted to drop to junior middleweight for a January fight, but struggled with the weight and fought (and beat) Robert Medley at middleweight. But determined, for whatever reason, to fight at junior middleweight, Australia's Mundine, 35, this time made the weight to fight Jerez, 31, a hand-picked journeyman from Argentina who had fought most of his career between lightweight and welterweight. Mundine came in slightly under the limit at 153½ pounds and was a tad sluggish, but still good enough to easily handle a smaller, run-of-the-mill foe such as Jerez, who brought nothing to the table. Mundine used his jab, controlled the pace and put rounds in the bank for the easy and uneventful win, his 16th in a row since Mikkel Kessler easily outpointed him in Australia in 2005 in a super middleweight title bout. Although Mundine talks a big game and has his fans (and plenty of detractors too) in Australia, he simply does not challenge himself against the best fighters to be considered anything more than a guy who might hover in the top 10 of whatever division he settles, rather than formidable championship material. Fighting a guy like Jerez, who lost his second fight in a row and is 3-4 in his last seven bouts (including a 2008 welterweight loss to Saul Alvarez), does absolutely nothing for Mundine's credibility, especially when he could not stop him. When Mundine decides to take a real fight please let us know. It's hard to believe Australians continue to support his boring fights.

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Wednesday at Brisbane, Australia​

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His fight plan is a simple one: enter the Octagon, deliver the knockout blow and go home.

Former boxing champion James Toney has 83 professional fights under his belt, but none as a mixed martial artist. That will change Aug. 28 when he meets Randy Couture at UFC 118 in Boston.

Taking on one of the greatest fighters in mixed martial arts history doesn't bother Toney. He believes the strategy that has worked throughout his boxing career will serve him well on fight night -- just keep punching.

His fight with Couture will be contested under MMA rules, but Toney couldn't care less. To him, it's just another fight, and he promises to rely solely on his boxing skills to prove a point.

"I look at this [fight] as a way to show everybody that boxing ranks supreme," Toney told ESPN.com recently while in Las Vegas to observe UFC 116. "It's still the No. 1 sport; it's still the best sport. I like MMA; I'm not a hater. I watch it all the time.

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"But when somebody like [UFC president] Dana White, who started in the boxing game, says that MMA is better than boxing -- then hold on. You're wrong there."

It's this attitude that motivated Couture to ask White for the chance to fight Toney. Couture loves boxing, but not the disrespect he believes many boxers show toward mixed martial arts.

"The mixed martial artists I know have a ton of respect for boxers and what boxers do," Couture told ESPN.com. "Most of us train in boxing as part of our mixed martial arts training.

"You don't hear too many mixed martial artists going around, running their mouths about how boring boxing is, which is what we could easily be saying about boxing. On the other side of the coin, you continuously hear boxers running their mouths about how terrible mixed martial artists are with striking and how they'd knock everybody out."

The former UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion is confident his hand, not Toney's, will be raised when the bout is over. The Octagon is his domain, and he refuses to let a boxer walk in and dominate.

Couture (18-10-0) is one of the best fighters ever to compete in MMA. His wrestling abilities are legendary, and he's also comfortable applying several other fighting disciplines. The same can't be said for Toney.

The former International Boxing Federation middleweight, super middleweight and cruiserweight champion has never competed in wrestling, Muay Thai, jiu-jitsu or kickboxing. Toney will rely primarily on his hands and is confident that will be enough to get the job done.

"In [MMA] you have people like Randy Couture who are scared, and will try to hold me like a girl," said Toney, who has a professional boxing mark of 72-6-3 (2 no-contests). "I'm going to make him pay for that. Everybody knows that if you're inside on me, one mistake and that's your #$@.

"Did y'all tell Randy Couture that I'm wearing smaller gloves? What do you think is going through his head right now? 'How am I going to stay away from his hands?' That's what he's thinking."

Interestingly, that is exactly what Couture has on his mind. He knows Toney is a very skilled striker whose hand speed and punching power are likely to increase with five-ounce MMA gloves.

But Couture is a seasoned mixed martial artist who knows his way around the Octagon. There is nothing in the cage that Couture hasn't seen or experienced.

He will have a huge advantage in the experience department. Couture plans to avoid Toney's striking, then use his inexperience in the cage against him.

"He's a great striker; he's got good power. To be honest, he's going to be dangerous in that realm of the fight," Couture said. "If I try to trade punches with him, then [getting knocked out] is a possibility. "That's why I'm doing my homework, and have no intention of standing in there and boxing with James Toney. That would be stupid.

"Experience is a huge thing in our sport, but you can't discount the boxing experience that James has. Many people did that with me when I started; they discounted the years of wrestling experience I had. This is an individual combative sport; experience counts for something."

Cage experience should play a significant role in this fight, especially if Couture can get Toney off his feet. But like all fights, this contest will begin standing and that's where Toney is at his best.

Toney will enter the cage with a chip on his shoulder. He knows White wants him to lose but vows it will never happen. In fact, his intent isn't just to defeat Couture, but to humiliate him by registering a knockout.

"I heard all the things that Dana said, but if I listened to that I wouldn't be me," Toney said. "Losing is not an option. I'm not going in there to lose; I'm going in there to destroy this dude."

Competing in the Octagon excites Toney. He doesn't have a shred of fear as the days wind down to his MMA debut.

His confidence is at an all-time high. And while he won't allow the thought of losing to enter his mind, Toney isn't taking Couture lightly.

"Y'all talk about Randy this and Randy that, but if you look at my background, you know I have never had an easy fight," Toney said. "I've fought the biggest and best fighters in the world. Why should I be afraid of an MMA fighter?"

 

The former welterweight champion Antonio Margarito is reportedly very confident about his chances to beat both Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto. A source in Margarito's camp was contacted by Golzka to discuss the fighter's current status. Margarito's team is going through the same motions as Cotto by waiting for the final conclusion to Pacquiao's negotiations to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. in November.

The source claims that Mayweather may elect to wait a little longer and push the Pacquiao fight to a date in early 2011. Top Rank, the promoters for Pacquiao, will bring him back on November 13 with or without Mayweather.

If the Mayweather fight is pushed to next year, Margarito's team is still claiming to be first in line to fight Pacquiao in November. If Pacquiao and Mayweather decide to fight in November, Margarito's team believes Top Rank will attempt to make a rematch with Cotto at the end of the year.

"Antonio would love to fight Pacquiao in November. The fight was discussed with us. Antonio has always said that he has the tools to beat Pacquiao and he still believes that to be true. If Manny Pacquiao elects to fight Mayweather, Antonio would like a rematch with Miguel Cotto or Shane Mosley. He wants to set things straight. A rematch with Cotto would erase any doubts about the first fight. Antonio doesn't see anything being different in the rematch. The result would be the same."

 

BoxingScene.com was advised that it's practically a lock for Lucian Bute (26-0, 21KOs) to make a mandatory defense of his IBF super middleweight title against Jesse Brinkley (35-5, 22KOs) on the date of October 15 at the Bell Centre in Montreal. Talks are ongoing for the fight to get televised by ESPN as part of the Friday Night Fights series.

I've been told that InterBox, who promote Bute, are very interested in placing super middleweight contenders Kelly Pavlik and Librado Andrade in separate fights on the undercard.

There is a decent shot for Andrade, a popular fighter among Canadian fans, to land on the card. Pavlik is doubtful to fight on the show. InterBox would like to get him on board to further build a future fight with Bute, but the price of getting Pavlik involved on the card is too expensive. A source close to the negotiations told BoxingScene that Pavlik's minimum is too high to make him a realistic possibility for the card.

 

Speaking with Sportal.de, promoter Kalle Sauerland of Sauerland Event, discussed Arthur Abraham's upcoming fall fight with Carl Froch in the third stage of the Super Six Boxing Classic. There are still continued negotiations for the venue location. Both fighters refuse to give up the homefield advantage. Sauerland predicts the fight will be even more explosive than Froch's recent fight with Mikkel Kessler.

"I think that will be even more spectacular. A lot is at stake, first, to be world champion, and second, a lot of money. It is an important fight for both. If you look at the fighting styles of Arthur Abraham and Carl Froch, this fight is a hot number," Sauerland.

Sauerland doesn't understand why there is much concern from Froch over the judges. He doesn't see the fight going the distance because Abraham is going to finish the job before the twelfth round.

"We are still in talks over the venue, but we believe the judges we will not be needed that evening. Arthur was present at the Kessler-Froch fight and he identified weaknesses in Froch's style," Sauerland said.

 

[proshares]

Featherweight titlist Yuriorkis Gamboa will still attempt to unify belts, just not against Orlando Salido as originally planned. Instead, Gamboa will face Elio Rojas to unify two of the major 126-pound titles.

Gamboa and Rojas will meet Sept. 11 in the main event of an HBO "Boxing After Dark" card at a venue to be determined -- although promoter Top Rank hopes to have the fight in Las Vegas -- Top Rank's Carl Moretti said. Moretti said Top Rank and Don King, Rojas' promoter, have come to terms, although they are trading paperwork.

[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.

"We've sent them a draft of the contract for them to review and we're waiting for their comments, but we've agreed on the terms," Moretti told ESPN.com.

Gamboa had been scheduled to face Salido in a unification match on July 24 on HBO in Las Vegas, but the card was scrapped because Salido suffered a cut in his split-decision, title-winning effort against Cristobal Cruz on May 15 and it had not healed enough to allow him to train properly for the bout.

Before Salido got the fight with Gamboa, Rojas had been the target. However, according to Top Rank, issues between King and Rojas' manager, along with the tight schedule, forced Top Rank to turn to Salido, who it also promotes.

Once Salido dropped out and there was more time to make a fight for Gamboa, Top Rank made another run at Rojas because that is who HBO preferred, Moretti said.

"Style-wise, Rojas presents Gamboa with a different kind of fight than Salido," Moretti said. "Salido is right-handed and in front of you and can punch. Rojas is a lefty, he's taller than Gamboa and not easy to hit. He's more of a pure boxer."

Moretti said there is no rematch clause and that neither side has options on any future fights.

"It's Gamboa's title against Rojas' title. Pretty simple," Moretti said.

King is famous for insisting on options if one of his fighters risks his belt in an optional bout, but he didn't in this negotiation, Moretti said.

"It shows that they really believe they have a shot to win the fight, which they do," he said.

Rojas has wanted a significant fight.

"He wanted this fight. He wanted Gamboa or [titlist] 'Juanma' Lopez, and now he has one, and when he beats him, he would go for another unification fight," Victor Rojas, Elio's uncle and one of his representatives, told ESPNDeportes.com.

To prepare for the fight, Rojas has hooked up with a new trainer, the highly regarded Kevin Cunningham. Cunningham, who is training unified junior welterweight titlist Devon Alexander for his Aug. 7 fight with former titleholder Andreas Kotelnik in Las Vegas, said Rojas joined the camp on June 30.

"They called me and asked me if I would train him," said Cunningham, who first met Rojas several years ago at King's training facility in Orwell, Ohio. "Elio is a good kid. He watched the way I run my camps when we were in Ohio and he has wanted me to work with him and this opportunity came up.

"This could be a very, very good fight. You've got Gamboa, who's coming in with good hand speed and he can punch and he has had his way with everybody he's fought so far. But I think Elio is the most talented opponent Gamboa would have seen so far in his career, so I like Elio's chances. He's going to have to be at his best and extremely sharp, but I see a lot of mistakes that Gamboa makes. I got nine weeks to get Elio ready and he will be ready."

Gamboa (18-0, 15 KOs), 28, a 2004 Cuban Olympic gold medalist and defector, will be making his fourth title defense. He is one of the linchpins in the talent-rich division and has become an HBO staple because of his penchant for making exciting fights.

"We think he's a major talent and we'll continue to track his career," HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg said in a recent interview with ESPN.com.

Rojas, 27, a native of the Dominican Republic living in New York, won his version of the title in Japan, scoring a unanimous decision against Takahiro Aoh last July. In Rojas' only defense, he easily outpointed titlist Guty Espadas in Espadas' native Mexico in February.

The planned co-feature is a lightweight title eliminator between Anthony Peterson (30-0, 20 KOs), of Washington, D.C., and Brandon Rios (24-0-1, 18 KOs), of Oxnard, Calif., both of whom are promoted by Top Rank. The winner is supposed to become the mandatory challenger for titlist Miguel Acosta, another Top Rank fighter.

 

[sir rob a lot]

Never rooted for Toney before in my life...and I havent watched a UFC card in ages...but I will be rooting for "Lights Out" to put Coture to sleep.

 

[proshares]

Alright, free agency is over let's get this thread going again.  Right now, the Nevada Commission meeting right now to discuss Margarito getting a license in Nevada.


[h4]

[h4]Arum letting Lopez-Gamboa marinate[/h4]

By Dan Rafael
ESPN.com
Archive

Top Rank's Bob Arum promotes Juan Manuel Lopez and Yuriorkis Gamboa, two of the most exciting fighters in the world. They're both undefeated and both hold featherweight titles. Arum's master plan is for them to eventually meet in what would surely be a major fight.

But Arum is also a businessman. He wants to build the fight. He wants to let it, as he says, "marinate."

He doesn't believe it's ready yet and perhaps won't be for another year. Until the pressure mounts and the dollars pile up, Arum said, he's content to have them fight other titleholders and contenders in the deep division, and if and when they're still standing, he'll match them.

Arum isn't shy about his intentions either. After Lopez vacated his junior featherweight title and won a featherweight belt in January by stopping Steven Luevano in the seventh round and Gamboa retained his belt on the undercard by blowing away Rogers Mtagwa in two rounds, Arum addressed the situation head on.

"When everyone is panting about seeing these guys fight each other, I'll do a big, big blowout kind of show. I promote both of them. I owe it to both of them to make them the biggest amount of money they can make," Arum said, adding that he has next summer in mind. "It's a great fight, but it's got to be the kind of fight where, even though they are only 126 pounders, they will make a s--- load of money."

Gamboa has a unification match with Elio Rojas slated for Sept. 11 as he tries to roll toward Lopez. For his part, Lopez makes his first title defense against fellow Top Rank fighter Bernabe Concepcion, a 22-year-old Manny Pacquiao protégé from the Philippines.

They meet Saturday night (Showtime, 9 ET/PT) in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where Lopez has become the island's second-most popular active fighter behind Miguel Cotto.

In the Showtime opener, Nonito Donaire (23-1, 15 KOs) defends his interim junior bantamweight belt against Hernan "Tyson" Marquez (25-1, 18 KOs) in what is expected to be Donaire's final bout at 115 pounds before moving up to bantamweight, where he'd like to face unified titlist Fernando Montiel, or even junior featherweight.

Although there are big plans for Lopez (28-0, 25 KOs) beyond Concepcion (30-2-1, 17 KOs), he said he isn't taking him for granted, even though he's a significant favorite.

"Concepcion is a very strong guy," Lopez said through translator Ricardo Jimenez. "We know he has power, but we also know with our speed and movement we should be able to defeat him. You have to give him credit for taking the fight here. He's a professional and he's willing to come here, but there are only two guys in the ring fighting. You have to respect that he would come to my home to fight me."

Concepcion earned the fight in a de facto eliminator when he outpointed Mario Santiago in surprisingly easy fashion in February in a fight in which Arum had promised the winner a shot at Lopez.

Although Lopez, 27, has scored numerous early knockouts, he said, "I think it's going to be a long fight. I know he's not a great defensive fighter and he gets hit a lot, so it could be a short fight. But I don't expect that. I think he'll try to put a lot of pressure on me. I think he'll be able to take my punches and be in condition, but as the fight goes deeper, it will be to my advantage and I can hurt him later in the fight."

If Lopez wins and comes away uninjured, there is already a deal in place for his next fight. He's lined up for a Sept. 18 Showtime fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas against Rafael Marquez, the Mexican action star and former two-division champ coming off a third-round stoppage of rival Israel Vazquez in their fourth fight in May.

It's all part of Arum's plan to have Lopez and Gamboa face other top featherweights before facing each other. The fight with Concepcion was planned long before the Marquez fight came up, but even though it's now on the books, Lopez insisted he's not looking ahead.

"I'm just thinking about this fight," he said. "I know that fight is out there and I know I will eventually fight him, but I'm only thinking about Saturday night. After that I will think about what's next.

"I have a fight and a fighter who will be tough, so you can't be thinking about anyone else. But Marquez is a [future] Hall of Famer and it's been a dream of mine to fight him. So of course, I'm motivated for Saturday night like I am for any fight, but even more because I think he might be the next one.

"There are a lot great fighters and interesting fights that can be made in this division and I look forward fighting them. Sooner or later there will be two of us left and I hope to be one of them, and when we make that fight with Gamboa it's going to be one of the biggest fights the division has ever seen."

Marquez is expected to attend the bout and to formally announce the September fight afterward, assuming Lopez wins.

Arum said he doesn't think Lopez will feel the pressure of that situation as he readies to fight Concepcion.

"He's a grounded kid. He's the kind of kid who is disciplined, who is not looking ahead to the next fight, so I'm not concerned that he is looking past Concepcion," Arum said. "But the Filipino is a tough, tough kid with a great, great punch. If you relax for a second he can tag you, and then it's all over.

"We didn't make this fight as a setup fight. We weren't even contemplating the Marquez fight when we made this fight. Concepcion is a legitimate tough opponent. The featherweight division is really heating up isn't it?"

[h4]Barrera going for lightweight belt[/h4]

AP Photo/Jon SuperMarco Antonio Barrera is determined to clinch another title in a fourth weight class.

Marco Antonio Barrera, a former junior lightweight, featherweight and junior featherweight champion, will get the opportunity he's wanted -- to fight for a lightweight title knowing a victory will make him the first Mexican fighter to win belts in four weight classes. Barrera's bitter rival, Erik Morales, tried and failed against David Diaz in 2007.

Top Rank's Bob Arum, who now promotes Barrera after years or doing battle against him, including with Morales, told ESPN.com that Barrera (66-7, 43 KOs) will challenge lightweight titlist Humberto Soto. Although they talked about the fight taking place in Mexico in September, Barrera probably will take one more fight before facing Soto.

In his first fight with Top Rank, Barrera, 36, easily outpointed Adilton De Jesus on June 26. After the fight Arum said he would eventually give Barrera a shot at one of the two 135-pound titlists he promotes, Soto or Miguel Acosta. Arum said this week it would come against Soto.

"That is definitely happening," Arum said.

Top Rank is planning a pay-per-view card from Mexico on Sept. 25 featuring Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., who is coming off his impressive win against John Duddy on the same show that Barrera beat DeJesus. Barrera's tune-up could come on the undercard before he goes for a belt against Soto.

"I don't know who wins that fight. Sometimes I think Barrera, sometimes I think Soto. I don't know," Arum said. "I'm not thrilled with these titles anymore, but for Barrera it's big. It's a big goal for him to be the first Mexican to get a title in that fourth division."

Soto (52-7-2, 32 KOs) won a vacant belt against Diaz in March and has made one defense.

[h4]Sturm saga over[/h4]

Vladimir Rys/Bongarts/Getty ImagesA free man: Felix Sturm has cut ties with promotional outfit Universum.

Middleweight titleholder Felix Sturm, idle since last July during a legal battle over his contract with Universum, reached a settlement this week with the German promoter and is now a free agent.

"Universum Box-Promotion and Felix Sturm have come to a settlement of the lawsuit and will amicably go our separate ways," Universum said in a statement. "Both sides have agreed to keep the details of the settlement confidential. Universum wishes Felix Sturm all the best for the future."

According to German media reports, however, a German court ruled that Sturm (33-2-1, 14 KOs) could buy his way out of the contract for $1.2 million -- less than Universum was seeking -- which he did.

Sturm, under his own promotional banner, is expected to defend his title Sept. 4 in Germany.

A Sturm representative has offered the fight to junior middleweight contender Kermit Cintron (32-3-1, 28 KOs), according to Lou DiBella, Cintron's promoter.

"They made us an extremely low offer, but an offer to fight for a middleweight title in Germany," DiBella told ESPN.com. "We're interested and we're talking, but right now the money is just way too low. If we can work it out, Kermit is interested and obviously considering it."

Cintron doesn't have many notable options in the U.S. following his HBO-televised debacle in May against Paul Williams, in which Cintron fell out of the ring and didn't continue in the what became a four-round technical decision loss.

[/h4]

 
[h4]

[h4]QUICK HITS[/h4]

Pavlik

• Former middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik, who lost his title to Sergio Martinez in April, is making plans for a fall ring return, Cameron Dunkin, Pavlik's co-manager, told ESPN.com. "Kelly is just waiting to hear from me and from Top Rank. They have talked to me about a small fight in October, probably at 168. They asked me if Kelly would be interested in fighting again in mid-October and I said absolutely. Kelly is ready to get started and get going again." Top Rank's Carl Moretti told ESPN.com that the fight Dunkin was talking about was a possible match in Montreal on Oct. 15. Moretti said InterBox, promoter of super middleweight titlist Lucian Bute, has offered Pavlik a spot on the undercard of Bute's title defense against Jesse Brinkley at the Bell Centre. An eventual match between Bute and Pavlik has been discussed as an HBO bout for next year. Having them on the same card and on the same schedule would stoke interest in an eventual showdown.

Luevano

• Former featherweight titlist Steve Luevano (37-2-1, 15 KOs) will be released by Top Rank, the only promoter he's ever been with, manager Dunkin told ESPN.com. Top Rank signed him out of the amateurs in 2000 and guided him to a featherweight title in 2007. He made five defenses before Juan Manuel Lopez stopped him in the seventh round in January. "He's being released. They sent me the paperwork," Dunkin said. "Steven didn't ask for a release, but (Top Rank's) Carl Moretti told me they didn't have anything for him, there wasn't a place for him and it didn't make any sense to keep him." Dunkin was not happy with the situation, adding that, "I was told when he fought 'Juanma' that they were going to take care of him no matter what happened, and not turn their back on him, but you know how that goes. We're big boys. We understand. It's just business."

Ortiz

• Junior welterweight contender Victor Ortiz (27-2-1, 21 KOs), coming off a lopsided decision against Nate Campbell May 15, is penciled in to fight on Golden Boy's Sept. 18 Shane Mosley-Sergio Mora pay-per-view undercard from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer told ESPN.com that Ortiz's likely opponent is former titleholder Vivian Harris, who is also with Golden Boy. "That is the fight we are working on," Schaefer said. Harris (29-4-1, 19 KOs) is coming off a highly controversial fourth-round TKO loss to Lucas Matthysse, who wouldn't give him a rematch.

Julio

• Junior middleweight Joel "Love Child" Julio (35-4, 31 KOs) will look to rebound from an 11th-round knockout loss to Alfredo "Perro" Angulo when he fights Aug. 21 in Newark, N.J., on the undercard of heavyweight contender Tomasz Adamek's bout with Michael Grant. "We have penciled in the 'Love Child' for the co-feature and plan to start moving him back down to 147," Main Events' Kathy Duva told ESPN.com. Julio probably will weigh about 152 in an effort to eventually get down welterweight, where he was most formidable. Main Events and Integrated Sports are putting the finishing touches on a deal that will see the card available on pay-per-view for $29.95.

• British promoter Frank Maloney got himself a new two-year deal to provide England's Sky Sports with regular Saturday night fight cards beginning in September. Sky has been airing boxing on Fridays, but the move to Saturday, a higher-profile night for fights, is viewed as a positive move for the sport in England. "It is a massive boost for boxing in general that they have decided to move our sport from Friday to Saturday and proves how committed they are," said Maloney, who is best known for his work with Lennox Lewis. "The two year-deal also gives me time to develop other fighters that I am very excited about." Two of his blue-chip prospects were both 2008 Olympic bronze medalists: super heavyweight David Price and light heavyweight Tony Jeffries.

Estrada

• After pulling out of several fights because of ongoing problems with his right hand, super middleweight prospect Shawn Estrada (6-0, 6 KOs), a 2008 U.S. Olympian, is again scheduled to fight. He's slated to go July 23 in Lemoore, Calif., on the ESPN2 undercard of the show headlined by light heavyweight titlist Beibut Shumenov in his mandatory defense against Vyacheslav Uzelkov. Because of the injury and surgery, Estrada hasn't fought since May 2009.

• The vacant lightweight title bout between Ji Hoon Kim (21-5, 18 KOs) and Miguel Vazquez (25-3, 12 KOs), which will take place Aug. 14 in Laredo, Texas, has gained U.S. TV distribution. The bout will headline an edition of "Top Rank Live" on Fox Sports en Espanol. In the co-feature, hot contender Mikey Garcia (22-0, 18 KOs) faces Cornelius Lock (19-5-1, 12 KOs) in a title eliminator that sets up the winner for a mandatory shot at Orlando Salido. Since Salido and Garcia are promoted by Top Rank, the company could have given Garcia a shot without having him fight an eliminator. However, Garcia's team accepted the fight. "It's a tough fight. Lock can punch, he's got a lot of experience and he's dangerous as hell," said Cameron Dunkin, Garcia's manager. "Top Rank wanted to do this fight and we're OK with it." Lock is coming off a competitive points loss to former junior featherweight titlist Daniel Ponce De Leon on the May 1 Floyd Mayweather-Shane Mosley undercard.

Marquez

• Fight fans will be able to see the Juan Manuel Marquez-Juan Diaz lightweight title rematch, and the accompanying undercard, live on July 31 in nearly 300 movie theaters around the country thanks to the continuing relationship between promoter Golden Boy and NCM Fathom. This will be the fourth fight Golden Boy and NCM Fathom have brought to the big screen, following on the heels of Floyd Mayweather's bouts with Juan Manuel Marquez and Shane Mosley and the Bernard Hopkins-Roy Jones rematch. "Seeing a battle like this on the big screen is an incredible front-row experience for fans who love to experience the thrill of boxing matches in their local movie theater," said NCM Fathom vice president Dan Diamond. "This rematch between two great champions on 40-foot screens and in HD is as close to being ring-side as you can get."

McBride

• Heavyweight Kevin McBride, the one-hit wonder who ended Mike Tyson's career with a sixth-round knockout in 2005, is ending a nearly three-year layoff Saturday night. McBride (34-6-1, 29 KOs), who was knocked out by Mike Mollo and Andrew Golota in his post-Tyson fights, faces Zack Page (20-29-2, 7 KOs) in an eight-rounder in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. The card is available for $12 on NESportsTV.com. "Nobody thought I could beat Tyson and I did," McBride said. "They didn't believe in me then and they're going to doubt me now. I beat Tyson under tremendous pressure and feel that I'm capable of beating anybody. I've been out of action 2½ years. I had injuries to my back, ankle and wrist, but I'm healed now and ready to go all out. I was supposed to get a world title shot after I beat Tyson, but I didn't and that took away my hunger for boxing."

Foreman

• Former junior middleweight titlist Yuri Foreman is up and about after right knee surgery following his title-losing ninth-round TKO to Miguel Cotto on June 5 at Yankee Stadium. Foreman said he is now "walking a bit with a knee brace" and that "rehab (is) going well, but I would like to speed up the process." He expected to return in February. & Junior lightweight contender Argenis Mendez (16-1, 9 KOs), coming off the biggest victory of his career, returns to headline promoter Lou DiBella's "Broadway Boxing" card against Shamir Reyes (18-6-2, 7 KOs) July 28 in Manhattan. Mendez, a 2004 Dominican Olympian, outpointed Martin Honorio in May to muscle his way into the top 10 rankings. & Featherweight contender Antonio Escalante returns to headline Telefutura's "Solo Boxeo Tecate" Aug. 6 from his hometown of El Paso, Texas, against Edel Ruiz. Escalante, who has been bothered by elbow problems that forced to withdraw from a fight a couple of months ago, is coming off a decision win against Miguel Roman on ESPN2 in a fight of the year candidate.

[h4]QUOTABLE[/h4]

Caballero
"Great champions are willing to fight great champions. I should not be victimized by the politics of boxing or the cowardice of other fighters. Why should I have problems feeding my family because I'm too good?" -- featherweight contender and former unified junior featherweight titlist Celestino Caballero, on his inability to get any of the top featherweights to fight him, particularly titlist Yuriorkis Gamboa, who refused the bout HBO most wanted.

[/h4]

 

[proshares]

The Margarito process:

[h6]Dan Rafael
  (12:51 PM)
[/h6]


They have gotten to the Margarito section of the meeting. This should be interesting.

[h6]Dan Rafael
  (12:51 PM)
[/h6]


Some preliminary stuff going on right now. Lawyers talking to the commission and going through some technical stuff.
[h6]Dan Rafael
  (12:58 PM)
[/h6]
Margarito's attorney is making a presentation right now. Basically talking about Margarito's record has been spotless to this point and talking about how the past California inspector testified that he had done many of Margarito's fights and never suspected him of cheating.
[h6]Dan Rafael
  (1:02 PM)
[/h6]
The Margarito thing is getting interesting.

[h6]Dan Rafael
  (1:03 PM)
[/h6]


The chairman of the commission, Pat Lundvall -- she just interrupted Margarito's attorney and basically told him they are not going to retry the case from California.
[h6]Dan Rafael
  (1:12 PM)
[/h6]
Margarito is now being questioned by the commissioners. He has a female translator from his attorney's firm translating for him.
[h6]Dan Rafael
  (1:14 PM)
[/h6]
Margarito is saying it was pre-made knucklepads that Capetillo put on his hands before the Mosley fight. He said it is the only time Capetillo ever used a pre-made pad.

[h6]Dan Rafael
  (1:15 PM)
[/h6]


The commissioners are on him pretty good right now. Margarito said he did not ask Capetillo why he used a pre-made knucklepad for the fight even though it was out of the ordinary.
[h6]Dan Rafael
  (1:24 PM)
[/h6]
Still denying he knew anything was in the wraps. He just said, "Sincerely I did not feel anything in the wrapping."
[h6]Dan Rafael
  (1:32 PM)
[/h6]
They are having a discussion about specifics of the hand wrapping and the routine that was usually followed. Margarito said again he didnt see anything different or feel anything different when he flexed his hand. He said, "I felt the wraps were fine."
[h6]Dan Rafael
  (1:47 PM)
[/h6]
OK, the lawyer is done. Now Margarito himself is formally addressing the commission.

[h6]Dan Rafael
  (1:47 PM)
[/h6]


He is thanking the commission for considering the application and says he appreciates their time.

[h6]Dan Rafael
  (1:48 PM)
[/h6]


Margarito said he would never do anything to dishonor or discredit boxing.

[h6]Dan Rafael
  (1:48 PM)
[/h6]


He is talking about his previously clean reputation of having never been accused of cheating. "I was as proud of that reputation as I was of my record in the ring."

[h6]Dan Rafael
  (1:49 PM)
[/h6]


He is saying, "I understand you will have questions for me and I will answer them with the truth exactly as I did when I presented myself to the commission in California. I didnt have plater of Paris on my hads as some people have commented incorrectly."

[h6]Dan Rafael
  (1:50 PM)
[/h6]


"Before the fight my trainer Javier Capetillo, my former trainer, put a knuckle pad made of gauze on my hand. I learned later the knuckle pad hd something irregular on the inside but I didnt know that truthfully in the moment."

[h6]Dan Rafael
  (1:50 PM)
[/h6]


"The knuckle pad didnt seem diffent to ones he had put on my hands before."

[h6]Dan Rafael
  (1:51 PM)
[/h6]


"I never felt anything hard or irregular. Evertthing I felt was that it was a knucklepad that was normal. In that moment I was focused on one thing and that was preparing myself to go out to the fight with Mosley."

[h6]Dan Rafael
  (1:51 PM)
[/h6]


"If I would have noticed there was something irregular or wrong I would have been the first person to say I can't go out and fight."
[h6]Dan Rafael
  (1:53 PM)
[/h6]
"I had many opportunities to fight in the past year (during the revocation period) but I respected the rules of hte commission. I thought about and talked to my family and decided not to fight."
[h6]Dan Rafael
  (1:54 PM)
[/h6]
"Over the past year I have taken steps, spoken to my new trainer about the wrapping process about not breaking the rules. I have paid a very high price this past year."
[h6]Dan Rafael
  (1:55 PM)
[/h6]
"I received many offers during my year punishment and what I decided was not to fight. I paid a high prioce but I think I've earned the right to come before you and ask respectfully for a license to restore my reputation with the fans."
[h6]Dan Rafael
  (1:55 PM)
[/h6]
His statement is over. Now he is being questioned by the chairman.
[h6]Dan Rafael
  (1:57 PM)
[/h6]
"I accept responsibility because they are my hands and that is why I have taken steps to make sure this never happens again."
[h6]Dan Rafael
  (1:58 PM)
[/h6]
He is saying he will now be more involved in the wrapping process rather just let his trainer do it and zone out.
[h6]Dan Rafael
  (1:58 PM)
[/h6]
"I am going to be involved in the process and reviewing the materials that go on my hands."
[h6]Dan Rafael
  (1:59 PM)
[/h6]
He was asked why he hasn't reapplied in California.
[h6]Dan Rafael
  (2:00 PM)
[/h6]
"They gave me a punishment for one year. I havent gone back. I've already satisfied the punishment they gave me."
[h6]Dan Rafael
  (2:01 PM)
[/h6]
He is being asked again why he wouldn't go back and apply in California.
[h6]Dan Rafael
  (2:02 PM)
[/h6]
"I come here to the commission in Nevada to show the world I dont need to use anything on my hands."
[h6]Dan Rafael
  (2:02 PM)
[/h6]
He is not answering the question, obviously.
[h6]Dan Rafael
  (2:02 PM)
[/h6]
"I've already met the punishment they gave me. I think even today they probably wouldn't give me a license and I don't think that's fair."
[h6]Dan Rafael
  (2:03 PM)
[/h6]
He was asked if the Cali punishment was fair. "It is just (meaning justified) because they found something irregular. If I would have noticved I wouldn't have gone out (to the fight)."
[h6]Dan Rafael
  (2:03 PM)
[/h6]
The lawyer is saying they are in Nevada because he's suing California.
[h6]Dan Rafael
  (2:04 PM)
[/h6]
And he is making the point that they are not obligated that they have to apply in Cali and that he can apply anywhere he wants.
[h6]Dan Rafael
  (2:04 PM)
[/h6]
A commissioner just asked what could have happened to Shane had they not discovered those wraps.
[h6]Dan Rafael
  (2:05 PM)
[/h6]
His answer -- "It would have been harm to Shane Mosley. It would have put him in danger. If I had known there is no way I would have gone out there."
[h6]Dan Rafael
  (2:06 PM)
[/h6]
A commissioner has asked to go into deliberations.
[h6]Dan Rafael
  (2:09 PM)
[/h6]
Commissioner Skip Avansino is saying he should have gone to Cali to apply because they have the files and are well versed in the case. He says he knows there is no obligation to do that and that Nevada is cvapable of voting up or down but he suggests to Margarito that it could be his in his best interest to return to California. He says he has served his time in California and they would be willing to listen to his testimony and statements. "I think he needs to go to Calif and clean this matter up. They should be the first to rule."

 

[dako akong otin]

damn, haven't been in this thread in awhile..  
Nonito should win...    and hope Bernabe doesn't get too embarassed, lol

 

[proshares]

[h6]Dan Rafael
  (2:11 PM)
[/h6]


The chairman is disagreeing with Avansino and saying Nevada should be able to vote without him having to go to California.
[h6]Dan Rafael
  (2:12 PM)
[/h6]


Chairman Lundvall: "I do nto think he has aduty legally or morally to go back to California."
[h6]Dan Rafael
  (2:12 PM)
[/h6]


She is saying she understands because of the lawsuit pending.
[h6]Dan Rafael
  (2:13 PM)
[/h6]


Lundvall: "It is incumbent upon this commission to act upon the application."
[h6]Dan Rafael
  (2:13 PM)
[/h6]
Avansino made a motion to table the application until he goes back to California.
[h6]Dan Rafael
  (2:14 PM)
[/h6]
Commissioner Bill Brady just seconded the motion from Avansino.
[h6]Dan Rafael
  (2:16 PM)
[/h6]
They are clarifying the motion is not to deny the application (which would basically give him a one-year suspension). The motion is to table the application so he can go to Calif.
[h6]Dan Rafael
  (2:17 PM)
[/h6]
They're getting real technical with the rules.
[h6]Dan Rafael
  (2:20 PM)
[/h6]
They are questioning if he is remoreful right now.
[h6]Dan Rafael
  (2:22 PM)
[/h6]
She said, "There is not value in kicking the can down the road." She wants Nevada to take a stand.
[h6]Dan Rafael
  (2:22 PM)
[/h6]
This is a real nailbiter I gotta tell you. I have no idea what is about to happen.
[h6]Dan Rafael
  (2:24 PM)
[/h6]
Lundvall is going strong for Margarito. She says he deserves another chance.
[h6]Dan Rafael
  (2:24 PM)
[/h6]
She said: "Asking for us to make a decision on his application he deserves that kind of answer instead of us passing it on to someone else."
[h6]Dan Rafael
  (2:25 PM)
[/h6]
She said she supports his application and Avansino is still calling for a vote.
[h6]Dan Rafael
  (2:26 PM)
[/h6]
They voted. 4-1. The commission has made a decison that it is not taking any action!
[h6]Dan Rafael
  (2:26 PM)
[/h6]
WOW!
[h6]Dan Rafael
  (2:26 PM)
[/h6]
They say he should go back to Calif. After that a process he is invited back to Nevada.
[h6]Dan Rafael
  (2:26 PM)
[/h6]
I am fairly stunned right now.
[h6]Dan Rafael
  (2:26 PM)
[/h6]
For the record -- Lundvall was the yes vote.

 

[gunna get it]

I honestly believe Margarito.

I dont think this was his doing and I guess Im just finding it hard to believe he would be in on this. and yall know I dont care for Tonio at all but I believe him 100%

 

[bigmike23]

pro put a spoiler on that crap jack *!@

and come on now jay you buy that crap? i sure as hell DONT

 

[proshares]

Do you know how +$#++!# long it took me to post that !!% hole? Be happy you at least got a portion of it.

Y'all already know I'm hoping he gets reinstated. But this pretty much seals the deal that he won't be fighting this year. It'll either be PBF/Manny or Manny/Cotto 2 at 154 in November. Would you honestly rather see that rematch or him go against Margarito.

This FNF is great so far. I +$#++!# miss boxing.

 

[shaunhillftw49]

Showtime or ESPN?

 

[bigmike23]

nobody wants to see pacman VS Cotto 2

 

[proshares]

ESPN right now, showtime tomorrow night.

So Mike, would you be opposed to him getting his license and being Pac's backup?

BTW you +%@@$#% penis pirate, you ever signed up for a Twitter?

And you were right, alllllllllll these dudes on the other site were mad eager to drop the _ bomb uncensored

 

[bigmike23]

his cheating $!# should never be allowed to fight again

and why do we need to see pac VS cotto again? it was a walking mismatch the 1st time and why would it be different at 154? you already know Roach and the rest of them bums would call for a catch weight so it wouldnt even be at the full 154


im tired of arum trying to keep $%%% in house and letting pac fight big names that are really easy wins

 

[eagle 0n]

Hope the the Martinez/Punisher rematch pulls thru.

 

[proshares]

Well according to Rafael, the deadline he set is a soft deadline but they wanna at least get it done before August so they can start the promotion and #%*!. Last thing I heard from a friend of mine @maxboxing was PBF put an offer out to Manny's camp to do 14 days and a test the day afterwards.

I agree with you to an extent about him not being able to get a license but I got a soft spot for the dude, I wanna see him fight again. And I think a Cotto/Margs rematch would play out the same way *shrugs*

I like how you ducked my other questions though %!+% face.

 

[bigmike23]

i never made a twitter

and i told you them clowns was going to be saying the N word left and right. and i know 90% of them ant black

. And I think a Cotto/Margs rematch would play out the same way *shrugs*
i dont, he knows now one shot wont end the fight he has to break him down and not back up and run

 

[proshares]

Son every other post was "this +!%#* did this" and "that +!%#* did that" I was stunned. Like these dudes are stuck in HS. If AMP drops the N bomb I'll die

But if Cotto gets caught by one of those uppercuts when he's coming forward that'll change the fight. He may not hit the same power but he'll still fight the same style, you know? Take Jenna Jameson's and still move forward and throw hands. Garcia didn't hit him, that's why I think he never dropped his hands and decided to trade. When Cotto hits him, he'll go back to the old style.

Just make a Twitter already.

Eagle, there's no fights for him at 147, him and DiBella have their mind set to go back to 147 and HBO has already said they'll pay good money of what's left of their budget to get Paul/Sergio 2 done and are iffy on a welterweight fight for him. He's not that type of fighter but he looks like he's ducking Sergio a tad bit.

 

[proshares]

This dude Molina almost took Lundy's head off. Couldn't finish though

 

[aepps20]

Hopefully Molina can capitalize on the knockdown.

 

[sjsneakerheadiii]

Anybody else see Hank just get dropped?

I laughed.