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

[maddog345]

Originally Posted by GUNNA GET IT

u put him on the same list as Kermmy O man, I cant go that far but I was thoroughly disappointed

I know, I know. I'm venting. I'm just so disappointed in Dawson. He could have won this match so easily. If he would have just thrown his punches & not let this guy take breaks, Chad would still be undefeated.

 

[bayburyya]

I'm so pissed that Chad actually complained after the fight. If this %@$+* shows up for the first 10 rounds, he can win easily. Oh well...

 

[gunna get it]

Yall didnt peep Foxxy Brown Sack Chasin Jean Pascal ...

 

[proshares]

Missed the fight...but sounds like it was a typical bad Chad fight where he just bounced around the ring for 5 rounds and he didn't have any urgency at all as always and lacked passion as he has his entire career. Pascal has never been down and took every shot Carl freaking Froch could throw so I doubt Chad could have taken him out in the 11th or 12th. He's been having big money problems and managerial/family problems lately so who knows, maybe that got to him.

Hopkins would whoop all these knuckleheads up

Even if there is a rematch clause, I'm pretty sure Pascal can take a mandatory defense of the alphabet or Ring belt so he could possibly fight Cloud and then Chad again. I doubt Bute is next.

 

[hanktrill]

chad=overrated ...i had glen wining the first fight , heh .....also he has no killer instinct

 

[gunna get it]

Originally Posted by Proshares

Missed the fight...but sounds like it was a typical bad Chad fight where he just bounced around the ring for 5 rounds and he didn't have any urgency at all as always and lacked passion as he has his entire career. Pascal has never been down and took every shot Carl freaking Froch could throw so I doubt Chad could have taken him out in the 11th or 12th. He's been having big money problems and managerial/family problems lately so who knows, maybe that got to him.

Hopkins would whoop all these knuckleheads up

Even if there is a rematch clause, I'm pretty sure Pascal can take a mandatory defense of the alphabet or Ring belt so he could possibly fight Cloud and then Chad again. I doubt Bute is next.

you didnt watch the fight. Pascal was out on his feet twice  in the 11th. He was on the way up outta there.




  

 

[cafinest23]

Chad could have won this fight. All he had to do was sit down on his punches. Can't take anything away from Jean he fought the perfect fight to beat Chad. In order to cement his place at the top of the LHW division he must start fighting with a sense of urgency.

 

[gunna get it]

IF I was these 175 lb dudes, I'd take my %!% down to 168 and make some real money.

there are no more big $ fights at Light Heavy except the canadians because they gonan sell out their fight.

Chad, Pascal and Bute all need to be at 168

 

[aepps20]

Do you guys think that Chad's problems are fixable? He's a very talented fighter but IMO it is very difficult to get out of the bad habit of not fighting with a sense of urgency or taking rounds off.

 

[bayburyya]

Originally Posted by GUNNA GET IT

Yall didnt peep Foxxy Brown Sack Chasin Jean Pascal ...

I definitely peeped but thought I was trippin.  She was after that  @!%+% with no shame.

 

[yungmatt]

Chad is !*!$%

Talented with no heart

 

[ap27]

Originally Posted by aepps20

Do you guys think that Chad's problems are fixable? He's a very talented fighter but IMO it is very difficult to get out of the bad habit of not fighting with a sense of urgency or taking rounds off.

I think a lack of a sense of urgency and low punch output is fixable, and you'd like to think he learned a lesson last night, but some of the quotes he was saying afterwards doesn't make it seem like he learned anything. Complaining about holding and headbutting, and saying "i fought my fight" when asked about why he didn't bring up his punch output just showed he wasn't thinking about what he did wrong, he was just complaining that things didn't go the way he wanted it to...as messed up as it is, i honestly think the best thing for him might have been to taste the canvas and realize that what he's doing isn't good enough to beat anyone good (under 40). 

Last night he reminded me a LOT of zab judah the way he stared at his opponent without throwing anything and couldve won the fight easily if he had the heart and will to let his hands go. The big difference is, judah in his prime at least wanted to knock people out and talk $++#. And he was slicker and could counterpunch. Chad looks like he wants to get an easy decision pushing his right hand and go home. So he might take out some more weak competition, and make some money in the process, but from what I've seen in this fight and the first Glen Johnson fight, I don't think he'll ever be a great fighter.

 

[proshares]

Originally Posted by GUNNA GET IT

Originally Posted by Proshares

Missed the fight...but sounds like it was a typical bad Chad fight where he just bounced around the ring for 5 rounds and he didn't have any urgency at all as always and lacked passion as he has his entire career. Pascal has never been down and took every shot Carl freaking Froch could throw so I doubt Chad could have taken him out in the 11th or 12th. He's been having big money problems and managerial/family problems lately so who knows, maybe that got to him.

Hopkins would whoop all these knuckleheads up

Even if there is a rematch clause, I'm pretty sure Pascal can take a mandatory defense of the alphabet or Ring belt so he could possibly fight Cloud and then Chad again. I doubt Bute is next.

you didnt watch the fight. Pascal was out on his feet twice  in the 11th. He was on the way up outta there.  

About to watch the replay right now so we'll see.

I think it's only a matter of time before the 168 lbers move up to 175 but I don't think either would have problems moving down esp Pascal.  These intros taking forever

.

 

[solewoman]

that fight was horrible. i thought i was tripping when i saw foxxy lol. chad never followed up. he would rock jean a few times and then give him time to recover....what part of the game is that? he shouldve just attacked attacked like he was doing right before he got cut. its his fault he lost he shouldnt have procrastinated.

 

[proshares]

Originally Posted by GUNNA GET IT

Originally Posted by Proshares

Missed the fight...but sounds like it was a typical bad Chad fight where he just bounced around the ring for 5 rounds and he didn't have any urgency at all as always and lacked passion as he has his entire career. Pascal has never been down and took every shot Carl freaking Froch could throw so I doubt Chad could have taken him out in the 11th or 12th. He's been having big money problems and managerial/family problems lately so who knows, maybe that got to him.

Hopkins would whoop all these knuckleheads up

Even if there is a rematch clause, I'm pretty sure Pascal can take a mandatory defense of the alphabet or Ring belt so he could possibly fight Cloud and then Chad again. I doubt Bute is next.

you didnt watch the fight. Pascal was out on his feet twice  in the 11th. He was on the way up outta there.

Just finished the replay, you're right he hurt Pascal a couple times there but didn't follow up at ALL.  That brutal left hook stopped Pascal dead in his tracks and Chad just stood there.  I have not been this frustrated watching a fighter since Zab/Baldomir.

 

[gunna get it]

Fam, I kept watching that 11th cus I was makin the Foxxy brown gif

that left Hook/uppercut was Devastating. I dont think Ive seen Chad throw a more beautiful one punch. Pascals reaction was priceless.

like *!$! who just hit me ?! and he couldnt move hahaha he was frozen arms dangling feet planted and thsi guy Chad faked to rush over and did Nothing to folllow up

 

[proshares]

Have not seen a punch like that in some time. Pascal coming forward then the counter and he just froze.

Foxy gif

 

[gunna get it]

http://twitpic.com/2evvn3 <- Click it

 

[proshares]

she got up there QUICK.

 

[got shoes]

this was a great fight

 

[proshares]

[table][tr][th=""]

Saturday at Montreal​

[/th][/tr][tr][td]

Light heavyweight
Jean Pascal Tech. Dec. 11 Chad Dawson
Wins vacant world light heavyweight title/retains a light heavyweight belt
Scores: 108-101, 106-103 (twice)​

[/td][/tr][tr][td]Records: Pascal, 26-1, 16 KOs; Dawson, 29-1, 17 KOs
[/td][/tr][tr][td]




Rafael's remark: Dawson was the 4-1 favorite. He was in the top few on most pound-for-pound lists, having decisively defeated the likes of Tomasz Adamek, Antonio Tarver (twice) and Glen Johnson (well, at least one of their two fights was a decisive win). And no less than Floyd Mayweather Jr. had hailed him as the future pound-for-pound king. So when Dawson, 28, of New Haven, Conn., went to Pascal's turf in Montreal because he is unable to draw a crowd in his home region, he was still expected to use his better skills, speed and three-inch height advantage, to defeat Pascal. But that's why they fight the fights.





Pascal was the better man from the opening bell as he pulled the upset and did it in convincing fashion before an adoring throng at the Bell Centre in Montreal, which is one of the great boxing cities in the world these days, boasting such fighters as Pascal, super middleweight titlist Lucian Bute (who was ringside and could loom as an opponent for Pascal in the biggest fight in Canadian history) and rising star David Lemieux.





While Pascal, 27, fought with aggression and purpose throughout the fight, Dawson was passionless and unwilling to lay it on the line. Pascal was. What else would you expect from a guy who suffered three separate shoulder dislocations in his December rematch with Adrian Diaconu but still gutted it out to the final bell to retain his title before undergoing shoulder surgery? Pascal's rehabilitation delayed the mandatory fight with Dawson for months, but the shoulder seemed just fine in the fight.





Pascal, a 2004 Olympian, made the fight. He pressed forward and opened a lead by forcing Dawson into retreat. He had Dawson on the run in the seventh round after rocking him with a right hand to the chin and buckling his knees with another right hand moments later. He cracked Dawson with another solid right hand in the eighth and once again had Dawson hurt to the point where he had to hold to collect himself. Dawson did answer by stunning Pascal in the ninth, but Pascal was back on the attack in the 10th round in an inspired performance. In the 11th round, knowing he needed to win the last two rounds big because that is what his trainer, Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, pleaded with him to do in the corner, Dawson went for the knockout. He hurt Pascal, but Pascal has never been down and has shown a great chin throughout his career. He withstood Dawson's desperate attack before an accidental head butt opened a serious cut over Dawson's right eye. The blood was pouring from the cut and referee Mike Griffin, who did a fine job throughout the fight, called timeout to have the ringside doctor look at the injury. Although Dawson wanted to continue, the fight was called off because of the cut and sent to the scorecards for the technical decision.





The outcome was obvious as Pascal won to retain his alphabet title for the third time. More important, with Dawson ranked first and Pascal ranked second in most independent rankings, Pascal also claimed the Ring magazine world championship -- the lineal title -- which had been vacant since Joe Calzaghe's retirement.





Dawson, whose safety first style can be maddening to watch, which is perhaps why he couldn't sell out a fight in his driveway, was filled with sour grapes afterward. He complained about Pascal's supposed head butting being on purpose (yeah, whatever) and insisting that because he had Pascal hurt in the moments before the fight ended, he would have knocked him out later in the round or in the 12th. Nonsense. He got beat, plain and simple, and it was pathetic to hear him make excuses instead of giving Pascal the credit he deserved. Dawson had 10-plus rounds to do something against Pascal and he didn't. The better man, and the more crowd pleasing fighter, won. Dawson's lack of fire and lack enthusiasm was painfully obvious and had to make you appreciate Pascal's energy all the more.





Dawson does have a rematch clause, but Pascal has the ability to take an interim bout first. If promoter Yvon Michel and Canadian competitor InterBox can somehow make a deal for him to face Bute, you're talking about a fight of gargantuan proportions in Canada. They'd need a stadium for the fight, not just a regular arena like the Bell Centre. What Dawson does next remains to be seen. Whatever it is, let's hope he comes to fight.




[/td][/tr]





[/table][table][tr][th=""]

Saturday at Laredo, Texas​

[/th][/tr][tr][td]

Lightweight
Miguel Vazquez W12 Ji Hoon Kim
Wins a vacant lightweight title
Scores: 120-108, 119-109, 118-111​

[/td][/tr][tr][td]Records: Vazquez, 26-3, 12 KOs; Kim, 21-6, 18 KOs
[/td][/tr][tr][td]
Rafael's remark: Kim, 23, of South Korea, made a lot of fans with his incredibly aggressive style in his ESPN2 appearances. But while he is quite fun to watch, he is not very skilled and it showed against Mexico's Vazquez, 23, who manhandled him for the lopsided victory in the "Top Rank Live" main event. Despite some head clashes that caused cuts, Vazquez outboxed Kim all the way and never appeared in much trouble, despite Kim's constant, but often ineffective, pressure. With the victory, Vazquez claimed the IBF's 135-pound title, which has been vacant since February 2009, when Nate Campbell yielded it on the scale after not making weight for a defense against Ali Funeka. Vazquez now has a title, although it's hard to view him as an elite lightweight given his thin résumé. His only two defeats came on points to rising star Saul "Canelo" Alvarez -- including in his four-round pro debut -- who fights now at junior middleweight, and a 2007 points loss to future junior welterweight titlist Timothy Bradley Jr. Vazquez's most notable victory before the title bout came 13 months ago in his last fight, when he claimed a split decision against Amir Khan conqueror Breidis Prescott. Kim's 13-fight winning streak came to an end.





By Vazquez winning a belt, it gives promoter Top Rank three titleholders: Vazquez, Miguel Acosta and Humberto Soto. Top Rank also promotes Marco Antonio Barrera, who is gunning for a title in the division. Top Rank's Carl Moretti told ESPN.com that the company is looking to put on a tournament involving its three beltholders.
[/td][/tr]

[tr][td][/td][/tr]

Featherweight
Miguel Angel "Mikey" Garcia TKO11 Cornelius Lock
Title eliminator ​

[tr][td]Records: Garcia, 23-0, 19 KOs; Lock, 19-6-1, 12 KOs
[/td][/tr][tr][td]
Rafael's remark: Garcia is yet another in a long line of outstanding fighters nurtured by Top Rank and manager Cameron Dunkin from pro debut to top-notch prospect. Garcia, 22, of Oxnard, Calif., is the younger brother of former junior lightweight titlist Robert Garcia (his trainer) and may very well wind up being better than his kin. Garcia can fight and has had the look of a future champion for quite some time. By beating Lock, and doing it with relative ease, he took the next step. The victory set him up for a mandatory shot at Orlando Salido's belt, meaning an eventual fight with the winner of the Sept. 11 Yuriorkis Gamboa-Salido unification fight. Garcia patiently took a couple of rounds to figure Lock out and then it was off to the races. A straight right hand dropped Lock in the third round and things didn't get much better for him from there. Garcia was in control and dominating. Lock looked like he might quit at the end of the 10th round. His face was busted up all over and blood was spilling from various cuts and orifices. But he continued into the 11th, when Garcia put him away with a right hand that dropped him to his backside. He was a beaten man and referee Jon Schorle did not bother to count. It was an excellent performance from Garcia, a potential future star. Lock, 31, of Detroit, lost his second in a row and for the third time in four fights, the other losses coming on decisions to more established contenders Antonio Escalante and Daniel Ponce De Leon.
[/td][/tr]

[/table][table][tr][th=""]

Saturday at Panama City ​

[/th][/tr][tr][td]

Bantamweight
Anselmo Moreno W12 Nehomar Cermeño
Retains a bantamweight title
Scores: 117-112, 115-113 Moreno, 115-113 Cermeño​

[/td][/tr][tr][td]Records: Moreno, 30-1-1, 10 KOs; Cermeño, 19-2, 11 KOs
[/td][/tr][tr][td]
Rafael's remark: In March, Moreno traveled to Cermeño's native Venezuela and defended his 118-pound title, winning a tight fight on a split decision. The WBA ordered an immediate rematch and this time they did it in Moreno's native Panama, where Cermeño, 30, now lives. The result was the same: Moreno, 25, in his seventh title defense, won again by split decision in another close fight that was not very entertaining to watch. Moreno is a bit of a runner. He's accurate when he punches, but there isn't enough of them to make it interesting. Cermeño, who made his name in 2009 with a pair of decisions against Cristian Mijares, is a borderline dirty fighter. He regularly dives in with his head and throws low blows, which makes for messy fights. Referee Hubert Earle warned him for going low in the fourth round and the fight continued to unfold much like the first one with Cermeño trying to make the fight and Moreno moving, moving, moving. In the end, they produced another tough fight to score, but Moreno deservedly got the close nod again. Please, oh please, let there not be a third fight.
[/td][/tr]

[tr][td][/td][/tr]

Middleweight
Gennady Golovkin TKO1 Milton Nunez
Wins a vacant interim middleweight title​

[tr][td]Records: Golovkin, 19-0, 16 KOs; Nunez, 21-2-1, 19 KOs
[/td][/tr][tr][td]
Rafael's remark: Golovkin, who lives in Germany, was a decorated amateur, winning a silver medal for his native Kazakhstan in the 2004 Olympics and defeating American super middleweight contender Andre Dirrell on his way to the podium. As a pro, the 28-year-old he's been one of the sport's top prospects for the past few years and when he got a chance to fight for a belt, albeit one of the horrible WBA's hideous interim titles, he cashed in big time. Golovkin simply outclassed Nunez, 22, of Colombia, who looked like a rank amateur in the ring with him. Golovkin went right at him, rocking him with head shots almost immediately and knocking him down under heavy pressure. He got up and was unsteady, forcing referee Russell Mora to stop the fight at 58 seconds. Good performance from Golovkin, who could be a force in the middleweight division, although that's not really based on a win against such an obscure opponent. For what it's worth, Nunez's other loss was also by first-round knockout in 2008.
[/td][/tr]

[/table][table][tr][th=""]

Saturday at Guasave, Mexico​

[/th][/tr][tr][td]

Strawweight
Donnie Nietes W12 Mario Rodriguez
Retains a strawweight title
Scores: 119-109, 118-110, 116-112​

[/td][/tr][tr][td]Records: Nietes, 27-1-3, 15 KOs; Rodriguez, 10-6-3, 7 KOs
[/td][/tr][tr][td]
Rafael's remark: What a joke of a title fight. Rodriguez, 21, of Mexico, had zero business fighting for a world title, even if the universe of qualified 105-pounders is small. He is now 1-1-2 in his last four bouts and the one victory came against a guy who was 0-20-3. Can't blame Nietes. The 28-year-old Filipino fought who his people put in front of him. In this case, he went to Rodriguez' hometown and rolled to the decision in his fourth defense since winning a vacant belt in 2007. Three of the defenses have been in Mexico. He gave Rodriguez a bloody nose in the seventh round and hurt him with a body shot. Way behind, Rodriguez did close strong over the final four rounds as Nietes tired. He opened a cut over Nietes left eye in the 10th round, but it wasn't enough to derail him.
[/td][/tr]



[/table][table][tr][th=""]

Saturday at Norfolk, Va.​

[/th][/tr][tr][td]

Heavyweight
Hasim Rahman KO6 Damon Reed
​

[/td][/tr][tr][td]Records: Rahman, 48-7-2, 39 KOs; Reed, 45-14, 32 KOs
[/td][/tr][tr][td]
Rafael's remark: Former heavyweight champion Rahman, 37, of Baltimore, was crushed in seven lopsided rounds by Wladimir Klitschko in a December 2008 title challenge. It seemed to be the end of Rahman's career, but after a 16-month layoff, he returned. Now, Rahman has notched three consecutive wins, all by knockout, against low-level competition as he tries to position himself for another money fight. Reed, 38, of Topeka, Kan., has racked up a ton of wins on the club circuit, but has always lost when he's stepped up in class. Against Rahman it was no different for Reed, who suffered his eighth knockout loss and lost for the third time in his last five bouts.
[/td][/tr]



[/table][table][tr][th=""]

Friday at Ontario, Calif.​

[/th][/tr][tr][td]

Heavyweight
Cristobal Arreola W12 Manuel Quezada
Scores: 118-107 (twice), 117-108​

[/td][/tr][tr][td]Records: Arreola, 29-2, 25 KOs; Quezada, 29-6, 18 KOs
[/td][/tr][tr][td]
Rafael's remark: Arreola entered the fight having lost two of his last three bouts. The losses came via one-sided 10-round beatdown from Vitali Klitschko in a world title fight 11 months ago and a close, but clear decision loss to Tomasz Adamek in April. The win was a lopsided knockout against Brian Minto, a gritty fighter with a big heart, but not a legitimate heavyweight contender. What Arreola needed in the "Friday Night Fights" main event against fellow Southern California fighter, former sparring partner and fellow Mexican-American was a victory and an impressive one, given that Quezada was not considered in his league. Arreola did get the win, but he was not impressive. Although Arreola, 29, knocked Quezada down twice in the ninth round and again in the 12th, each of which came more from an accumulation of punches instead of a one particular shot, he did not do anything to make you believe he could rise again to the top of the division. He outweighed Quezada by 28 pounds as Arreola, whose conditioning has always been suspect, was 5½ pounds heavier than he was against Adamek. He and his camp always talk about how he's going to improve his conditioning, but he hasn't. It's like a broken record. Even though Arreola landed 326 of 988 punches (33 percent), according to CompuBox, they seemed to be more arm punches than blows with serious steam on them. His punch output did clock in as the third-most punches thrown in a heavyweight fight in the 25-plus years that CompuBox has tracked fights, but Quezada landed 239 of 844 (28 percent) as Arreola was not hard to find either. Despite the output, Arreola had some sluggish rounds in the middle of the fight and he often looked plain disinterested. He said afterward that he hurt his left hand from the third round on and then his right hand in the ninth round. Still, this was not the kind of performance that will launch Arreola back into the title discussion. Don't expect to see him back on HBO any time soon. Quezada, 32, who has never beaten a notable opponent, lost his second in a row.





In an undercard bout, super middleweight Shawn Estrada (8-0, 8 KOs), a 2008 U.S. Olympian, knocked out fellow Los Angeles fighter Alex Armenta (7-2, 6 KOs) in 57 seconds for his second win a month after being sidelined for more than a year because of a hand injury
[/td][/tr]



[/table]

[table][tr][th=""]

Friday at Pico Rivera, Calif. ​

[/th][/tr][tr][td]

Junior lightweight
Eloy Perez TKO5 Derrick Campos
​

[/td][/tr][tr][td]Records: Perez, 18-0-2, 5 KOs; Campos, 20-9, 11 KOs
[/td][/tr][tr][td]
Rafael's remark: It was a dominant performance from Perez in the "Solo Boxeo Tecate" main event on Telefutura. Perez, 23, of Salinas, Calif., is a prospect coming along nicely. Golden Boy thought enough of him to put him on the May 1 undercard of the big Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Shane Mosley fight. Perez displayed a crisp jab to control Campos, 29, of Topeka, Kan. Perez was patient, especially for a young fighter, as he took it to Campos. They had some crowd-pleasing exchanges, but Perez was getting the better of them. He knocked Campos into the ropes early in the fifth round and was pounding around the ring when referee Jose Cobian stopped the bout at 2 minutes, 2 seconds when Perez was unloading blows and Campos was not answering.
[/td][/tr]

[tr][td][/td][/tr]

Lightweight
Carlos Molina TKO5 Glenn Gonzales
​

[tr][td]Records: Molina, 13-0, 7 KOs; Gonzales, 7-2, 4 KOs
[/td][/tr][tr][td]
Rafael's remark: Molina, 24, of Norwalk, Calif., was the clear fan favorite and he gave the fans what they came for, a dominant performance in an action fight against Gonzalez, 25, of the Philippines. Molina, one of several Southern California Golden Boy prospects, opened a cut over Gonzalez's right eye on an accidental head butt in the third round. They slugged it out throughout the action-packed fourth round, but Molina, the more polished and sharper fighter, was getting the better of the exchanges. By the time the fifth round ended, Gonzalez had taken enough and retired on his stool, dropping his second fight in a row and giving Molina a solid victory in a fun fight.
[/td][/tr]

[/table][table][tr][th=""]

Friday at Tampa ​

[/th][/tr][tr][td]

Welterweight
Jesus Pabon TKO8 Ernesto Zepeda
​

[/td][/tr][tr][td]Records: Pabon, 15-1, 9 KOs; Zepeda, 39-14-4, 34 KOs
[/td][/tr][tr][td]
Rafael's remark: Pabon, 30, of Puerto Rico, got off to a painful start in the Telemundo main event, hitting the deck twice in the second round after being nailed below the belt. In the third round, Zepeda, 33, of Mexico, was docked a point by referee Frank Santore for yet another low blow. And the low blows kept coming. Pabon went down from another shot below the belt in the sixth round, but did not a lose a point this time. All while Pabon was getting hit in the jewels, he was also dishing out head shots to Zepeda and doing damage. At the end of the seventh round, he dropped Zepeda virtually at the bell when he knocked him into the ropes. With the area under his right eye badly busted up, and having taken a lot of shots, Zepeda retired on the stool one second into the eighth round to end what had been a dirty fight. Zepeda lost his third in a row and dropped to 2-6 in his last eight.
[/td][/tr]

[tr][td][/td][/tr]

Featherweight
Luis Franco TKO5 Yogli Herrera
​

[tr][td]Records: Franco, 6-0, 5 KOs; Herrera, 25-12, 15 KOs
[/td][/tr][tr][td]
Rafael's remark: Franco, of Miami, was a 2004 Cuban Olympian who defected last year and turned pro. Like many of his Olympic teammates, Franco has a ton of potential, a lot of amateur experience and needs to move quickly since he is already 28. Herrera, cannon fodder these days as the 28-year-old Colombian lost his ninth in a row, had a good moment in the third round, scoring a flash knockdown on a wild left hand. Other than that, the fight was all Franco. He dropped Herrera in the fourth round and Herrera lost two points for twice holding excessively in the fifth round before being knocked down again by a straight right hand. Herrera made it to his feet but did not seem interested in continuing and referee Dennis DeBon called it off at 2:52 of the fifth round.
[/td][/tr][/table]

 

[proshares]

Former three division champion James Toney has fired back at Bernard Hopkins and WBA heavyweight champion David Haye. Both fighters have been very critical of Toney's entrance into the world of MMA. Toney has a huge task in front of him when he faces former UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture on pay-per-view August 28 in Boston.

Haye called Toney "delusional" for making such a move. Hopkins said Toney will "get his @$@ kicked." Toney says both Hopkins and Haye will eat their words after he pulls off an impressive MMA debut in two weeks.

"I don't like neither one of them anyway so it don't matter," Toney told ESPN. "I don't care about the boxing community. I care about James Toney. It's about James Toney and Randy Couture. It's not about James Toney and boxing and James Toney and MMA.

"This is James Toney and Randy Couture so for Bernard he can go somewhere and get his damn teeth fixed. And David Haye, he's gay. I don't care about none of that. So they can just listen to all their *******t."

 

The WBC has officially ordered Lou DiBella and ARENA-CEO Ahmet Öner to start free negotiations for the welterweight world championship between Andre Berto and Selcuk Aydin. Berto won the title in June 2008 by knocking out Miguel Angel Rodriguez; Selcuk Aydin has captured the WBC Silver Championship by outscoring Ionut "Jo-Jo Dan“ Ion in Istanbul. Both fighters are unbeaten. Berto has won all of his 26 pro-fights (20 kos), Selcuk Aydin scored 20 wins in as many fights (including 15 kos).

"Andre Berto is one of the biggest names in US boxing today“, said Ahmet Öner. "He is one of the faces of HBO. This is the chance Selcuk has been waiting and fighting for. I’m sure it will be a hell of a fight.“

"I have been waiting for more than a year to face Berto“, adds Selcuk Aydin. "I want to prove that I am one of the best welterweight fighters in the world today.“

The open negotiation period for the fight ends on September 17th. If no agreement is reached it will go to purse bid at the WBC headquarters in Mexico.

One week ago Selcuk Aydin and promoter Ahmet Öner had been invited by Don King to his big show in St. Louis. Öner and King agreed on co-promoting Aydin in the USA.

 

[scott frost]

Just watched the recording of the Dawson fight. Dawson is far from exciting, too cautious and maybe doesnt have "it". Guess the writing was always on the wall but I just refused to read it.

 

[jagshemash]

Originally Posted by GUNNA GET IT

Fam, I kept watching that 11th cus I was makin the Foxxy brown gif

that left Hook/uppercut was Devastating. I dont think Ive seen Chad throw a more beautiful one punch. Pascals reaction was priceless.

like *!$! who just hit me ?! and he couldnt move hahaha he was frozen arms dangling feet planted and thsi guy Chad faked to rush over and did Nothing to folllow up

That uppercut was nasty the way he just froze him with it.  I was thinking before the fight that would be a key punch because of the way he dives in sometimes.  I wish he would have gone in for the kill.

Cloud's trainer tweated to Dan Rafael that they want Pascal and would blow him out of the water.  That I'd like to see. 

 

[proshares]

Zab Judah, who made a successful return to the junior welterweight division last month, would like to fight one of the top 140-pounders, but can't get any of them to get into the ring with him. So Judah will fight somebody who will, Michael Clark.

Judah (39-6, 27 KOs), a former two-time junior welterweight titlist and the former undisputed welterweight champion, will meet Clark on Oct. 2 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

"I know he's coming to win," Judah told ESPN.com on Monday from Las Vegas, where he's training with Eddie Mustafa Muhammad. "I'm just excited. I'm back in training. Me and Eddie have been in the gym putting in the work. I am looking to go in there and show the world that I am back and that I am the best 140-pounder in the world."

Brooklyn, N.Y., native Judah, 32, fought at the Prudential Center on July 16 in his first fight since reuniting with his original promoter, Main Events, and knocked out Jose Armando Santa Cruz in impressive fashion in the third round.

It was Judah's first fight since deciding to return to the junior welterweight division after several years as a welterweight. He weighed 141 pounds against Santa Cruz for the non-title match. The contract for the scheduled 10-rounder against Clark is 142 pounds, but Judah said he plans to weigh 140 to show others in the division that he is serious about fighting in the weight class.

"I felt great in the Santa Cruz fight," Judah said. "For this fight here, I will come in at 140. I'm feeling good. Whenever I step in the ring, it will always be an exciting night. I'm making a promise that it will be a dynamic performance. I am mentally and physically ready."

Judah would like to fight one of the titleholders -- Devon Alexander, Timothy Bradley or Amir Khan -- but they have not shown interest. Alexander and Bradley might fight each other Jan. 29.

"With the performances of Bradley and Alexander [in their recent fights], I consider myself the best guy in the division," Judah said. "Those guys know with me back at 140 that my eyes are set on them, Devon, Bradley and Khan. I don't know when or which order they will be taken in, but there will be order in the court. I am looking to be undisputed champion at 140 pounds."

Main Events promoter Kathy Duva said she tried to sign several name opponents to face Judah and also let HBO know that he was willing to fight any of the titleholders, all of whom have been fighting on the network. She said she was rebuffed by all of them.

"We offered the fight to Juan Urango, Victor Cayo, Paulie Malignaggi, Lucas Matthysse, Julio Diaz, Kendall Holt and Joel Casamayor," Duva said. "None of them were interested."

Besides Alexander, Bradley and Khan, Duva said Judah was willing to fight interim titlist Marcos Maidana, Victor Ortiz, Robert Guerrero and lightweight champ Juan Manuel Marquez or former titlist Juan Diaz if they wanted to move up to junior welterweight.

"HBO knows we are willing to fight any of them, but I was told the only way I was going to get Zab on HBO was to fight on one of Golden Boy's dates since they have the dates and they have most of those fighters," Duva said.

Duva also said she got a call from Lou DiBella, promoter for welterweight titleholder Andre Berto, offering Judah a fall fight.

"Zab came down from welterweight because he had been fighting in a division he was too small for for a long time and he isn't going to make that mistake again," Duva said. "I told Lou if Berto wants to come down to 140, we can make the fight right now. But that isn't something he's interested in, which is fine. But we are not going to wait until these guys are willing to fight Zab. We went after just about everyone in the top 10, so it's frustrating. So we give Michael Clark a lot of credit because he's willing to fight Zab. He should be given credit. People want to fight Zab at 147, but not at 140, so that's where we are."

Duva is confident that with a strong performance against Clark, Judah will eventually land another big fight.

"Zab needs to just keep putting together wins like he did in July with the idea to get a fight against one of the big guys in the division and eventually his marketability will trump their reticence to fight him," said Duva, who added that television plans for the Oct. 2 card were in the works. "Outside guys who have belts, he's the best in the division and we'd like guys to fight him. That's what this is supposed to be about, fighting the best fights, not looking for an easy fight."

Clark (40-5-1, 18 KOs), 37, of Columbus, Ohio, fought for a lightweight belt in 1999 and was knocked out in the fifth round by Artur Grigorian. In 2006, he was on "The Contender" reality series and eliminated after losing a welterweight bout to future junior middleweight titlist Cornelius "K9" Bundrage. Clark is 4-0-1 with a no contest in his last five bouts since suffering a wrist injury in a first-round loss to Mike Alvarado in December 2007.

I'd suggest you all stay farrrr away from the new thread bound to be created about Mexican vs. Filipino boxers over what Barrera's cousin said