- Feb 1, 2012
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My boy Danny Garcia does it again.
Bring on Rios.
He'll smash on ol boy as well.
Bring on Rios.
He'll smash on ol boy as well.
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Official 2012 Boxing Thread: JMM/Manny IV - FOTY.
- Thread in 'Sports & Training' Thread starter Started by proshares,
- Start date
- Sep 4, 2006
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Matthysse & Rios would stomp out Garcia. He just leaves himself way to open.
- Sep 28, 2003
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Im not really favoring Garcia over either of those two, but it won't be so simple now that we've seen what his left hook can do.
- Nov 4, 2003
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The first fight was boring. It's funny I didn't know where this event was at first because I turned it on late. And when I hear the boos after every single round of the first fight I was like okay that has to be in NY haha. I hate the nets but I may go to some boxing there, I haven't been to a fight before. Might be cheaper than MSG
Tyson basically attributing the arena to jay z :x. Just hilarious to me how he brainwashed everyone to the point where you would think he owns majority shares
Quillen was going so hard in that 4th. Brutal stuff after N'dam started out strong with the combos and dictating the fight. Kind of surprised the ref let it continue after the 4th knockdown but I think it was a good choice he wanted to go and didn't look like he was about to pass out or anything. N'dam showed crazy heart gotta respect that
Kid chocolate is a funny nickname. Kind of like it
Huge knockdown in the last round. 2nd one I dunno if it was. But awesome fight
Gonna watch the rest of it tomorrow
Tyson basically attributing the arena to jay z :x. Just hilarious to me how he brainwashed everyone to the point where you would think he owns majority shares
Quillen was going so hard in that 4th. Brutal stuff after N'dam started out strong with the combos and dictating the fight. Kind of surprised the ref let it continue after the 4th knockdown but I think it was a good choice he wanted to go and didn't look like he was about to pass out or anything. N'dam showed crazy heart gotta respect that
Kid chocolate is a funny nickname. Kind of like it
Huge knockdown in the last round. 2nd one I dunno if it was. But awesome fight
Gonna watch the rest of it tomorrow
- Sep 28, 2003
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Kid chocolate is a funny nickname. Kind of like it
Huge knockdown in the last round. 2nd one I dunno if it was. But awesome fight
Gonna watch the rest of it tomorrow
He borrowed it from another Cuban boxer.
- Aug 3, 2012
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A much greater one.
- Sep 28, 2003
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- Jul 7, 2011
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Would LOVE to see a Rios/Garcia fight.
Guaranteed fireworks.
Danny is not the best boxer but I can see the progression in him from fight to fight. He is getting slicker and more confident, plus he has a good chin and power.
I don't think anyone is going to walk through him like that. They might outclass him but he is big for 140 and isn't just gonna lay down and take a whuppin.
Guaranteed fireworks.
Danny is not the best boxer but I can see the progression in him from fight to fight. He is getting slicker and more confident, plus he has a good chin and power.
I don't think anyone is going to walk through him like that. They might outclass him but he is big for 140 and isn't just gonna lay down and take a whuppin.
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- Aug 3, 2012
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Danny Garcia: Lucas Matthysse to me isn't one of the best. Doesn't even have a title.
At 8:40.
- Aug 3, 2012
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Don't nobody at 140 wanna fight this man.
He shouldn't have looked great against Ajose.
Only then people woulda wanted to fight him.
He shouldn't have looked great against Ajose.
Only then people woulda wanted to fight him.
- Jul 7, 2011
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Son was a walking target but still...... :x
- Dec 9, 2006
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I was out there great win for Pete, Devon fight str8 boring, at magic man split decision lol Chopped it up with Sam Watson and company real cool people. Trying look for Haymon lol Chopped it up with my boy Ortiz and of course talking to DLH about his match maker. Great boxing event in BK.
- Mar 3, 2006
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I mean, of course Garcia looked great against Amir, but I don't know about Bam Bam. I think Rios is the man to beat right now, not Danny.
I felt like Cano won that fight. A lot of the rounds were close, but I thought Cano fought well, pushed the issue, and hit him thoroughly better throughout the fight.
N'Dam actually fought very well. Son needs to work on his balance. I felt like if he had better balance, he had a better shot at winning that one. Other than the knockdowns, I felt like he controlled most of the fight.
That Bailey/Alexander fight was a snoozefest man...
I felt like Cano won that fight. A lot of the rounds were close, but I thought Cano fought well, pushed the issue, and hit him thoroughly better throughout the fight.
N'Dam actually fought very well. Son needs to work on his balance. I felt like if he had better balance, he had a better shot at winning that one. Other than the knockdowns, I felt like he controlled most of the fight.
That Bailey/Alexander fight was a snoozefest man...
- Dec 1, 2009
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Cano biggest problem is he's like Linares. Been cut in his last 3 of 4 fights badly.
Thought he won 115 -113 but the decision isnt surprising and Maligaggi said he doesn't want a rematch
Get Garcia - Matthyse or Maidana
Thought he won 115 -113 but the decision isnt surprising and Maligaggi said he doesn't want a rematch
Get Garcia - Matthyse or Maidana
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- Mar 3, 2006
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That cut was bad, and he may have fought better without it, but I felt like he did great considering what he put out there.
Paulie, to me, is the biggest fraud in boxing right now. The dude I dislike most in boxing right now.
Paulie, to me, is the biggest fraud in boxing right now. The dude I dislike most in boxing right now.
- Dec 1, 2009
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I used to hate him, but it was hilarious how Cano stuck his tongue out. Right out of Paulie's playbook. You know it;s bad when your hometown boos and co-workers at Showtime think you lost.
He seems down to earth in his commentary bu then he talks a lot of bs. People either hate him or love him
If HAtton beats Senchenko, wonder who wins the rematch between them.
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- Sep 28, 2003
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Paulie M beats Fatton easily 
- Sep 1, 2004
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im saying.. atleast with judah you can see he was on top for a time and has the talent to be a good fighter. paulie just sucks and has ZERO good wins but yet keeps getting on TV some how
Weeked wrap up.
A roundup of the past week's notable boxing results from around the world:
Saturday at Brooklyn, N.Y.
Danny Garcia KO4 Erik Morales
Retains unified junior welterweight title
Records: Garcia (25-0, 16 KOs); Morales (52-9, 36 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Most of the drama surrounding this rematch had nothing to do with the actual fight. It was mainly focused on Morales' two failed U.S. Anti-Doping Agency drug tests, which showed that he had traces of the banned weight loss aid clenbuterol in his system. Garcia asked for the random testing leading up to the fight, and when Morales' tests came back positive, he claimed he had eaten tainted beef at his Mexican training camp. Morales passed a third drug test after he arrived in New York, but the fight was still in limbo for a couple of days. Eventually, it went on with the blessing of the New York State Athletic Commission and Garcia, who decided the night before not to fight but woke up Saturday and decided to go through with it after a talk with his mother (not to mention considering the prospect of losing out on a career-high $1 million payday).
In March in Houston, Garcia scored a clean decision win against Morales, dropping him in the 11th round to win a vacant title. It had become vacant because Morales failed to make the 140-pound limit and was stripped, leaving it available for only Garcia to win. So when Garcia was deciding whether to go through with the second fight, it had to have crossed his mind that he would be facing a guy whom he had already beaten quite convincingly. The rematch was set because Morales had a rematch clause -- one that allowed Garcia an interim bout, which he took in July and knocked out Amir Khan in the fourth round of an upset to unify belts.
The question for many going into the rematch with Morales was not whether Garcia would win, but instead would he be able to beat Morales, the 36-year-old faded legend and former four-division titleholder, even more decisively the second time around? You bet.
Garcia, 24, of Philadelphia, blitzed Morales in maybe the best performance of his career on the card that opened the new $1 billion Barclays Center for boxing and headlined a Showtime quadrupleheader that returned world title boxing to Brooklyn for the first time in 81 years. Garcia overpowered the slower Morales. He won the first two rounds with ease and then badly hurt Morales in the third round, first with a right hand that Morales acknowledged with a nod and then with another brutal right hand to the chin at the end of the round. It shook Morales so badly that he almost went down, and then he walked to the wrong corner after the round ended.
Then came the crusher in the fourth round -- a picture-perfect, full-force left hook that Joe Frazier, the ultimate Philly fighter, would have been proud of. It landed so cleanly that Morales nearly spun all the way around before dropping like a rock. He came to rest with his body hanging over the bottom ring rope, half in the ring and half on the apron. Referee Benji Esteves didn't bother to count and called it off at 1 minute, 23 seconds. Garcia may never throw a better punch for the rest of his career.
Morales was down for a couple of minutes. His obvious Hall of Fame career is clearly finished in terms of major fights, and Morales seemed to realize that. He said he planned to take a farewell fight in his hometown of Tijuana, Mexico, where he will probably be matched with a tomato can. But after so many years in the spotlight and so many major fights -- including his memorable trilogies with Marco Antonio Barrera and Manny Pacquiao -- it's time for him to exit the stage and await his Hall of Fame call.
Garcia, meanwhile, put the finishing touches on a campaign that puts him in the running for a fighter of the year award. In 2012, he has the two wins against Morales (including a knockout of the year candidate) and the upset knockout of Khan. Helluva year for a top young fighter who continues to improve and who probably isn't yet in his prime.
Paulie Malignaggi W12 Pablo Cesar Cano
Retains a welterweight title
Scores: 114-113 (twice) Malignaggi, 118-109 Cano
Records: Malignaggi (32-4, 7 KOs); Cano (25-2-1, 19 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: After Amir Khan stopped Malignaggi in the 11th round in their May 2011 junior welterweight title bout, many left Malignaggi's career for dead. He was in a 2-3 rut and moving up in weight to tangle with bigger fighters. But Malignaggi, who never gave up on himself, won three fights in a row to earn a shot at welterweight titlist Vyacheslav Senchenko of Ukraine. In April, Malignaggi went to Ukraine as the mandatory challenger -- and as a considerable underdog -- and pulled the upset by stopping Senchenko on cuts in the ninth round. That set the stage for his first title defense in his hometown of Brooklyn on the inaugural card at the new Barclays Center.
Malignaggi, 31, hadn't fought in Brooklyn since his 2001 pro debut. He was matched with Cano, 23, a rugged fighter from Mexico with an ultra-aggressive style. Cano turned in a spirited effort in a 10th-round TKO loss to Erik Morales in a 2011 vacant junior welterweight title bout and claimed an interim belt in July. But the weight was a problem, so Cano moved up to 147 pounds to challenge Malignaggi. But Cano then failed to make the welterweight limit, coming in at 147.8, meaning he couldn't win the title. He also had to pay Malignaggi $50,000 out of his $150,000 purse as further punishment. But because of the WBA's bizarre rule, Malignaggi couldn't lose the title. So it would go down as a defense in a win, but he would keep the belt in a loss, instead of it going vacant.
Rulebook aside, Malignaggi and Cano put on a fun fight. Cano plowed ahead for all 12 rounds while throwing heavy shots. The flashy Malignaggi played to the crowd and peppered Cano with a lot of shots that had little steam on them. Still, one of them managed to open a bad cut over Cano's left eyebrow in the second round. Cano has been cut before, so this was nothing new, and his corner did a good job to keep it under control and avoid a stoppage.
Malignaggi started well, but Cano came on very strong in the middle and late rounds. In the 11th, Cano landed a nice right hand to knock Malignaggi down. Another big right hand badly rocked Malignaggi at the end of the round. Power shots were the name of the game for Cano, who was credited by CompuBox with landing 165 of his 378 power shots (44 percent; CompuBox defines a power shot as anything other than a jab) while Malignaggi's landed only 57 of 179 power shots (32 percent). Cano's punches were cleaner and more effective, but two of the judges liked Malignaggi's greater activity and gave him the decision. Although many thought Cano did enough to merit the decision, judge Glenn Feldman's lopsided scorecard for Cano seemed out of line.
Malignaggi should consider himself lucky to escape with the split decision victory, even though his title wasn't in danger. Now he will sit back and see how former champ Ricky Hatton performs in his return. Hatton, who stopped Malignaggi in the 10th round of a 2008 junior welterweight championship fight, is coming out of a 3½-year retirement to face Senchenko on Nov. 24. If Hatton wins, it's likely that he will next challenge Malignaggi for his belt. Although the first fight was a one-sided Hatton victory, the rematch would be a big fight, with England's extremely popular Hatton going for another title.
Peter Quillin W12 Hassan N'Dam
Wins a middleweight title
Scores: 115-107 (three times)
Records: Quillin (28-0, 20 KOs); N'Dam (27-1, 17 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: There were four world title bouts on the card, but this excellent battle stole the show as Quillin and N'Dam slugged it out, to the delight of the crowd. N'Dam, 28, a native of Cameroon who lives in France, got a career-high $400,000 to come to the United States to make his first title defense against Quillin. N'Dam won an interim title in May and was supposed to face full titleholder Dmitriy Pirog. But Pirog accepted another fight and was stripped of the belt, and N'Dam was elevated to full titlist. Gotta give him credit for going on the road for such a tough fight in his first defense against Quillin, whose profile has grown thanks to his two previous wins -- a June domination of former undisputed junior middleweight champ Winky Wright, whom he sent into retirement, and a sixth-round knockout of Craig McEwan last November.
Quillin, 29, who is Cuban, was born in Grand Rapids, Mich., but moved to New York as a teen and has lived in Brooklyn and Manhattan, so he had the crowd on his side. He wound up giving them something to cheer. Although Quillin knocked down N'Dam six times, this had to be the toughest fight ever in which a guy scored six knockdowns, because N'Dam never gave up. He went down twice in the fourth round (and it could have been four times in the round, but referee Eddie Claudio ruled two of them slips), twice more in the sixth round and, finally, twice more in the final moments of the 12th round. N'Dam was hurt and shaky, but Quillin couldn't finish him off. It almost came back to haunt him, because N'Dam had success in the middle rounds and put some punishment on Quillin. But Quillin took the shots and, thanks to his knockdowns, had the clear edge on the scorecards to win the world title he had dreamed of.
N'Dam has a rematch clause in his contract, but Quillin will be allowed an interim defense first. When the rematch happens, it will be worth watching because it's hard to imagine it not being another exciting fight.
Devon Alexander W12 Randall Bailey
Wins a welterweight title
Scores: 117-109, 116-110, 115-111
Records: Alexander (24-1, 13 KOs); Bailey (43-8, 37 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Bailey and Alexander were originally supposed to have fought Sept. 8 in the main event of a Showtime card, but Bailey sprained his back and the fight was postponed for six weeks and added to the Barclays undercard. Considering how the fight played out, we might have been better off had Bailey-Alexander never been rescheduled. The fight was truly awful and had the crowd booing early and often.
Bailey, 38, of Miami, was making the first defense of the vacant title he won in June with a booming 11th-round knockout of Mike Jones. In that fight, Bailey, who can barely move in the ring anymore, landed only two punches of any significance, a right hand in the 10th round to drop Jones and another right hand in the 11th to knock him out. Other than that, Bailey did absolutely nothing and was way behind before the knockout.
Against Alexander, Bailey, a former junior welterweight titlist and perhaps boxing's best one-punch knockout artist, was even worse, turning in another absolute stinker of a performance that, this time, his massive right hand couldn't save. Alexander was content to box, move, jab and hold -- basically do anything to avoid the right hand, Bailey's only prayer to win. Alexander, 25, of St. Louis, took a few decent rights but never the big one, enabling him to cruise to the win. The fight was so bad that even referee Arthur Mercante Jr. seemed irritated by the lack of action, calling timeout in the sixth round to deduct a point from both fighters for excessive holding. Just how bad was it? CompuBox has tracked punch statistics for 27 years, covering thousands of fights. Bailey made it into the record book for landing only 45 punches (out of 198 thrown), the fewest ever landed in a 12-round fight that CompuBox has tracked.
Alexander, a former junior welterweight titlist, won his third belt in two weight classes and set himself up for bigger business. Bailey, at his age and given his recent unwatchable fights, may retire. Big opportunities are unlikely to come his way considering his fights stink and he is so dangerous when he lands.
Daniel Jacobs KO1 Josh Luteran
Middleweights
Records: Jacobs (23-1, 20 KOs); Luteran (13-2, 9 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: If you can't root for a guy like Jacobs, you must have no heart. The 2009 ESPN.com prospect of the year is a former standout amateur who looked like a rising pro star. In July 2010, he got a shot at a vacant middleweight title on the Juan Manuel Marquez-Juan Diaz II undercard against Russia's previously unknown Dmitry Pirog. Jacobs was a big favorite but got knocked out in the fifth round. Still, it was a setback Jacobs might have learned from, and he returned to score a pair of easy knockout wins.
But then came the news that he had a large cancerous tumor wrapped around his spine. He was rushed into surgery and, for a time, was paralyzed. He nearly died, and doctors told him he might never walk, much less box, again. But Jacobs, 25, fought as hard as he could and survived. Not only did he walk again, he returned to the gym and was able to make a triumphant comeback after 19 months out of the ring. And when Jacobs came back, he was able to do so in front of his cheering home crowd in Brooklyn as a major part of the opening of the new Barclays Center, where Jacobs figures to fight regularly (his promoter, Golden Boy, has a deal with the arena to put on regular shows).
Sure, Jacobs was matched softly against Luteran, 26, a club fighter from Blue Springs, Mo., so a win was expected. But just the mere fact that Jacobs made it into the ring, be it against a club fighter or a champion, is an inspirational story. Jacobs, looking fit and strong, seemed to soak in the entire experience before crushing Luteran. Jacobs connected with a right hand to the head followed by a left hook to the chin that sent Luteran crashing to the mat, where he hit his head hard, for the clean knockout. Referee Eddie Cotton immediately stopped the fight at 1 minute, 13 seconds. Jacobs dropped to his knees in brief prayer and then jumped on the ring ropes and shouted to the crowd, "I'm back." It was enough to make a grown man cry.
Luis Collazo W8 Steve Upsher
Welterweights
Scores: 80-72, 79-73, 77-75
Records: Collazo (32-5, 16 KOs); Upsher (24-2-1, 6 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: The Brooklyn-born Collazo held a welterweight belt in 2005 and 2006 before losing it on a controversial decision to Ricky Hatton. Collazo also lost a highly controversial decision to Andre Berto in a 2009 title fight. After a long layoff, Collazo then won two fights in a row before being upset by Freddy Hernandez last October, getting knocked down and losing a decision on the Bernard Hopkins-Chad Dawson I undercard.
Collazo returned Saturday after another long layoff, which included shoulder surgery, as one of several New York fighters helping to open the Barclays Center for boxing. He and Upsher, 27, of Philadelphia, treated fans to an excellent scrap. They fought toe-to-toe for long stretches and mixed in some nice boxing that seemed quite competitive. The judge who scored it a shutout in favor of Collazo was very generous, although Collazo clearly deserved the victory. If he can be a little more active, there's no reason why Collazo wouldn't belong in the mix for another title opportunity in the weight class, perhaps in an all-New York showdown with his buddy, titlist Paulie Malignaggi.
Saturday at Sheffield, England
Kell Brook TKO3 Hector David Saldivia
Welterweight title eliminator
Records: Brook (29-0, 19 KOs); Saldivia (41-3, 32 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: With his hometown crowd roaring for him, Brook turned in an excellent performance, albeit against a second-rate opponent, to put himself in position for a shot at a world title. By dominating Saldivia and dropping him twice, Brook, 29, became the mandatory challenger for Devon Alexander, who claimed one of the 147-pound titles hours after this fight took place by easily outpointing Randall Bailey.
Brook's star has been on the ascent for the past couple of years as he has racked up wins against several second-tier opponents, including Matthew Hatton, Carson Jones and now Saldivia. Saldivia, 28, of Argentina, was a decent enough opponent. He has a great record but had never beaten anyone of note and has an awfully questionable chin after being stopped for the third time in three losses inside five rounds.
Brook was quicker and more physical than Saldivia, who went down in the first round after Brook landed a crisp right uppercut on his chin. Saldivia went sprawling to the mat but rose quickly. Brook continued to dominate the action until ending the fight in the third round. He landed a powerful left jab to the center of Saldivia's face, dropping the Argentine. Saldivia got to a knee to try to collect himself, but when he rose, he was wobbly and all over the place, forcing referee Howard John Foster to stop the fight 28 seconds into the round.
Now Brook, whose popularity continues to grow in England, is a mandatory challenger, but there are other major fights for him besides a bout with Alexander. There have been calls for a fight with countryman and former junior welterweight titlist Amir Khan, who will fight Carlos Molina on Dec. 15 in a junior welterweight bout but who figures to move up to welterweight before too long. Another potentially huge fight would be one against countryman Ricky Hatton, the former junior welterweight champ and welterweight titlist who is coming out of retirement on Nov. 24. If Hatton wins, that's another potential fight that would generate enormous interest in Great Britain.
Also on the card, bantamweight Jamie McDonnell (20-2-1, 9 KOs), 26, of England, stopped southpaw Darwin Zamora (21-7-1, 18 KOs), 24, of Nicaragua, at the end of the eighth round in a final eliminator to become the mandatory challenger for titleholder Leo Santa Cruz. Zamora was a late substitute for South Africa's Vusi Malinga, who suffered a training injury and withdrew from the bout.
Saturday at Buenos Aires, Argentina
Omar Narvaez KO11 Johnny Garcia
Retains a junior bantamweight title
Records: Narvaez (37-1-2, 20 KOs); Garcia (16-4-1, 8 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Most American fight fans know Narvaez for just one fight -- his lone appearance in the United States, when last October he turned in a disgraceful performance against then-bantamweight titlist Nonito Donaire. Narvaez, a southpaw who moved up in weight for the shot, spent the entire 12 rounds running from Donaire, refusing to engage and being booed by the crowd in a horrible performance. Narvaez, 37, took his check and went home to Argentina to continue defending his junior bantamweight belt.
The Garcia fight was originally scheduled for Wednesday, but it was delayed after Narvaez's father died last week. Still in mourning, Narvaez decided to go through with his fifth title defense on Saturday. Garcia, 23, of Mexico was taking a major step up in competition, but he was competitive during the first half of the fight. Narvaez, far more aggressive than he was against Donaire, began to separate himself in the seventh round with a knockdown on a flurry of punches. In the eighth round, referee Roberto Ramirez Jr. took a point from Garcia for a low blow. In the 11th, Narvaez scored three more knockdowns -- mainly because Garcia was simply exhausted -- prompting Ramirez to halt the fight at 2 minutes, 55 seconds.
Saturday at Pasay City, Philippines
Pungluang Sor Singyu TKO9 A.J. Banal
Wins a vacant bantamweight title
Records: Sor Singyu (43-1, 28 KOs); Banal (28-2-1, 20 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: The first time Sor Singyu, 24, left his home country of Thailand to fight came on a 2009 trip to Belgium that resulted in his only loss. In his second trip for a fight outside of his home country, Sor Singyu traveled to Banal's home turf of the Philippines and pulled off the mild upset to claim the 118-pound world title that Mexican star Jorge Arce had vacated to move up in weight. Although Sor Singyu has a tremendous record, he had never fought a quality contender until facing Banal, 23, and he proved his mettle.
Although slower than Banal, Sor Singyu was physical and plowed forward throughout the fight. An accidental head-butt in the third round left Banal with a bad cut over his right eye. American referee Tony Weeks docked a point from Banal for a low blow in the sixth round. Going into the ninth round, Sor Singyu led on two scorecards and Banal was ahead on the third when Sor Singyu drove Banal into the ropes and then connected with a right-left combination that dropped him to his knees. Banal beat the count but was wobbly, walking away from Weeks and appearing completely out of it, forcing Weeks to waive it off at 1 minute, 45 seconds. Both of Banal's losses have come in title bouts, including a 10th-round knockout to Rafael Conception in a 2008 interim junior bantamweight title bout.
Friday at Kissimmee, Fla.
Orlando Cruz W12 Jorge Pazos
Featherweight
Scores: 118-110 (twice), 116-111
Records: Cruz (19-2-1, 9 KOs); Pazos (20-5, 13 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: The monthly fight on Spanish-language network Telemundo doesn't usually attract much attention, but this run-of-the-mill bout between fighters whom most had never heard of generated headlines around the world. It became significant when Cruz, 31, a 2000 Puerto Rican Olympian who hadn't done much in 12 years as a pro, did something no other active fighter had ever done -- announce that he is gay.
In the ring, Cruz turned in a fairly pedestrian performance against Pazos, 31, a journeyman from Mexico who lost his second fight in a row and third in his past four. Although Pazos -- who said before the fight that Cruz's announcement was of no particular interest to him -- was tough, Cruz controlled the fight. He outboxed Pazos, pot-shotting him and staying away from any serious return fire, to win his third fight in a row (following back-to-back losses) and keep alive his hopes of a possible title opportunity.
Saturday at Brooklyn, N.Y.
Danny Garcia KO4 Erik Morales
Retains unified junior welterweight title
Records: Garcia (25-0, 16 KOs); Morales (52-9, 36 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Most of the drama surrounding this rematch had nothing to do with the actual fight. It was mainly focused on Morales' two failed U.S. Anti-Doping Agency drug tests, which showed that he had traces of the banned weight loss aid clenbuterol in his system. Garcia asked for the random testing leading up to the fight, and when Morales' tests came back positive, he claimed he had eaten tainted beef at his Mexican training camp. Morales passed a third drug test after he arrived in New York, but the fight was still in limbo for a couple of days. Eventually, it went on with the blessing of the New York State Athletic Commission and Garcia, who decided the night before not to fight but woke up Saturday and decided to go through with it after a talk with his mother (not to mention considering the prospect of losing out on a career-high $1 million payday).
In March in Houston, Garcia scored a clean decision win against Morales, dropping him in the 11th round to win a vacant title. It had become vacant because Morales failed to make the 140-pound limit and was stripped, leaving it available for only Garcia to win. So when Garcia was deciding whether to go through with the second fight, it had to have crossed his mind that he would be facing a guy whom he had already beaten quite convincingly. The rematch was set because Morales had a rematch clause -- one that allowed Garcia an interim bout, which he took in July and knocked out Amir Khan in the fourth round of an upset to unify belts.
The question for many going into the rematch with Morales was not whether Garcia would win, but instead would he be able to beat Morales, the 36-year-old faded legend and former four-division titleholder, even more decisively the second time around? You bet.
Garcia, 24, of Philadelphia, blitzed Morales in maybe the best performance of his career on the card that opened the new $1 billion Barclays Center for boxing and headlined a Showtime quadrupleheader that returned world title boxing to Brooklyn for the first time in 81 years. Garcia overpowered the slower Morales. He won the first two rounds with ease and then badly hurt Morales in the third round, first with a right hand that Morales acknowledged with a nod and then with another brutal right hand to the chin at the end of the round. It shook Morales so badly that he almost went down, and then he walked to the wrong corner after the round ended.
Then came the crusher in the fourth round -- a picture-perfect, full-force left hook that Joe Frazier, the ultimate Philly fighter, would have been proud of. It landed so cleanly that Morales nearly spun all the way around before dropping like a rock. He came to rest with his body hanging over the bottom ring rope, half in the ring and half on the apron. Referee Benji Esteves didn't bother to count and called it off at 1 minute, 23 seconds. Garcia may never throw a better punch for the rest of his career.
Morales was down for a couple of minutes. His obvious Hall of Fame career is clearly finished in terms of major fights, and Morales seemed to realize that. He said he planned to take a farewell fight in his hometown of Tijuana, Mexico, where he will probably be matched with a tomato can. But after so many years in the spotlight and so many major fights -- including his memorable trilogies with Marco Antonio Barrera and Manny Pacquiao -- it's time for him to exit the stage and await his Hall of Fame call.
Garcia, meanwhile, put the finishing touches on a campaign that puts him in the running for a fighter of the year award. In 2012, he has the two wins against Morales (including a knockout of the year candidate) and the upset knockout of Khan. Helluva year for a top young fighter who continues to improve and who probably isn't yet in his prime.
Paulie Malignaggi W12 Pablo Cesar Cano
Retains a welterweight title
Scores: 114-113 (twice) Malignaggi, 118-109 Cano
Records: Malignaggi (32-4, 7 KOs); Cano (25-2-1, 19 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: After Amir Khan stopped Malignaggi in the 11th round in their May 2011 junior welterweight title bout, many left Malignaggi's career for dead. He was in a 2-3 rut and moving up in weight to tangle with bigger fighters. But Malignaggi, who never gave up on himself, won three fights in a row to earn a shot at welterweight titlist Vyacheslav Senchenko of Ukraine. In April, Malignaggi went to Ukraine as the mandatory challenger -- and as a considerable underdog -- and pulled the upset by stopping Senchenko on cuts in the ninth round. That set the stage for his first title defense in his hometown of Brooklyn on the inaugural card at the new Barclays Center.
Malignaggi, 31, hadn't fought in Brooklyn since his 2001 pro debut. He was matched with Cano, 23, a rugged fighter from Mexico with an ultra-aggressive style. Cano turned in a spirited effort in a 10th-round TKO loss to Erik Morales in a 2011 vacant junior welterweight title bout and claimed an interim belt in July. But the weight was a problem, so Cano moved up to 147 pounds to challenge Malignaggi. But Cano then failed to make the welterweight limit, coming in at 147.8, meaning he couldn't win the title. He also had to pay Malignaggi $50,000 out of his $150,000 purse as further punishment. But because of the WBA's bizarre rule, Malignaggi couldn't lose the title. So it would go down as a defense in a win, but he would keep the belt in a loss, instead of it going vacant.
Rulebook aside, Malignaggi and Cano put on a fun fight. Cano plowed ahead for all 12 rounds while throwing heavy shots. The flashy Malignaggi played to the crowd and peppered Cano with a lot of shots that had little steam on them. Still, one of them managed to open a bad cut over Cano's left eyebrow in the second round. Cano has been cut before, so this was nothing new, and his corner did a good job to keep it under control and avoid a stoppage.
Malignaggi started well, but Cano came on very strong in the middle and late rounds. In the 11th, Cano landed a nice right hand to knock Malignaggi down. Another big right hand badly rocked Malignaggi at the end of the round. Power shots were the name of the game for Cano, who was credited by CompuBox with landing 165 of his 378 power shots (44 percent; CompuBox defines a power shot as anything other than a jab) while Malignaggi's landed only 57 of 179 power shots (32 percent). Cano's punches were cleaner and more effective, but two of the judges liked Malignaggi's greater activity and gave him the decision. Although many thought Cano did enough to merit the decision, judge Glenn Feldman's lopsided scorecard for Cano seemed out of line.
Malignaggi should consider himself lucky to escape with the split decision victory, even though his title wasn't in danger. Now he will sit back and see how former champ Ricky Hatton performs in his return. Hatton, who stopped Malignaggi in the 10th round of a 2008 junior welterweight championship fight, is coming out of a 3½-year retirement to face Senchenko on Nov. 24. If Hatton wins, it's likely that he will next challenge Malignaggi for his belt. Although the first fight was a one-sided Hatton victory, the rematch would be a big fight, with England's extremely popular Hatton going for another title.
Peter Quillin W12 Hassan N'Dam
Wins a middleweight title
Scores: 115-107 (three times)
Records: Quillin (28-0, 20 KOs); N'Dam (27-1, 17 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: There were four world title bouts on the card, but this excellent battle stole the show as Quillin and N'Dam slugged it out, to the delight of the crowd. N'Dam, 28, a native of Cameroon who lives in France, got a career-high $400,000 to come to the United States to make his first title defense against Quillin. N'Dam won an interim title in May and was supposed to face full titleholder Dmitriy Pirog. But Pirog accepted another fight and was stripped of the belt, and N'Dam was elevated to full titlist. Gotta give him credit for going on the road for such a tough fight in his first defense against Quillin, whose profile has grown thanks to his two previous wins -- a June domination of former undisputed junior middleweight champ Winky Wright, whom he sent into retirement, and a sixth-round knockout of Craig McEwan last November.
Quillin, 29, who is Cuban, was born in Grand Rapids, Mich., but moved to New York as a teen and has lived in Brooklyn and Manhattan, so he had the crowd on his side. He wound up giving them something to cheer. Although Quillin knocked down N'Dam six times, this had to be the toughest fight ever in which a guy scored six knockdowns, because N'Dam never gave up. He went down twice in the fourth round (and it could have been four times in the round, but referee Eddie Claudio ruled two of them slips), twice more in the sixth round and, finally, twice more in the final moments of the 12th round. N'Dam was hurt and shaky, but Quillin couldn't finish him off. It almost came back to haunt him, because N'Dam had success in the middle rounds and put some punishment on Quillin. But Quillin took the shots and, thanks to his knockdowns, had the clear edge on the scorecards to win the world title he had dreamed of.
N'Dam has a rematch clause in his contract, but Quillin will be allowed an interim defense first. When the rematch happens, it will be worth watching because it's hard to imagine it not being another exciting fight.
Devon Alexander W12 Randall Bailey
Wins a welterweight title
Scores: 117-109, 116-110, 115-111
Records: Alexander (24-1, 13 KOs); Bailey (43-8, 37 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Bailey and Alexander were originally supposed to have fought Sept. 8 in the main event of a Showtime card, but Bailey sprained his back and the fight was postponed for six weeks and added to the Barclays undercard. Considering how the fight played out, we might have been better off had Bailey-Alexander never been rescheduled. The fight was truly awful and had the crowd booing early and often.
Bailey, 38, of Miami, was making the first defense of the vacant title he won in June with a booming 11th-round knockout of Mike Jones. In that fight, Bailey, who can barely move in the ring anymore, landed only two punches of any significance, a right hand in the 10th round to drop Jones and another right hand in the 11th to knock him out. Other than that, Bailey did absolutely nothing and was way behind before the knockout.
Against Alexander, Bailey, a former junior welterweight titlist and perhaps boxing's best one-punch knockout artist, was even worse, turning in another absolute stinker of a performance that, this time, his massive right hand couldn't save. Alexander was content to box, move, jab and hold -- basically do anything to avoid the right hand, Bailey's only prayer to win. Alexander, 25, of St. Louis, took a few decent rights but never the big one, enabling him to cruise to the win. The fight was so bad that even referee Arthur Mercante Jr. seemed irritated by the lack of action, calling timeout in the sixth round to deduct a point from both fighters for excessive holding. Just how bad was it? CompuBox has tracked punch statistics for 27 years, covering thousands of fights. Bailey made it into the record book for landing only 45 punches (out of 198 thrown), the fewest ever landed in a 12-round fight that CompuBox has tracked.
Alexander, a former junior welterweight titlist, won his third belt in two weight classes and set himself up for bigger business. Bailey, at his age and given his recent unwatchable fights, may retire. Big opportunities are unlikely to come his way considering his fights stink and he is so dangerous when he lands.
Daniel Jacobs KO1 Josh Luteran
Middleweights
Records: Jacobs (23-1, 20 KOs); Luteran (13-2, 9 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: If you can't root for a guy like Jacobs, you must have no heart. The 2009 ESPN.com prospect of the year is a former standout amateur who looked like a rising pro star. In July 2010, he got a shot at a vacant middleweight title on the Juan Manuel Marquez-Juan Diaz II undercard against Russia's previously unknown Dmitry Pirog. Jacobs was a big favorite but got knocked out in the fifth round. Still, it was a setback Jacobs might have learned from, and he returned to score a pair of easy knockout wins.
But then came the news that he had a large cancerous tumor wrapped around his spine. He was rushed into surgery and, for a time, was paralyzed. He nearly died, and doctors told him he might never walk, much less box, again. But Jacobs, 25, fought as hard as he could and survived. Not only did he walk again, he returned to the gym and was able to make a triumphant comeback after 19 months out of the ring. And when Jacobs came back, he was able to do so in front of his cheering home crowd in Brooklyn as a major part of the opening of the new Barclays Center, where Jacobs figures to fight regularly (his promoter, Golden Boy, has a deal with the arena to put on regular shows).
Sure, Jacobs was matched softly against Luteran, 26, a club fighter from Blue Springs, Mo., so a win was expected. But just the mere fact that Jacobs made it into the ring, be it against a club fighter or a champion, is an inspirational story. Jacobs, looking fit and strong, seemed to soak in the entire experience before crushing Luteran. Jacobs connected with a right hand to the head followed by a left hook to the chin that sent Luteran crashing to the mat, where he hit his head hard, for the clean knockout. Referee Eddie Cotton immediately stopped the fight at 1 minute, 13 seconds. Jacobs dropped to his knees in brief prayer and then jumped on the ring ropes and shouted to the crowd, "I'm back." It was enough to make a grown man cry.
Luis Collazo W8 Steve Upsher
Welterweights
Scores: 80-72, 79-73, 77-75
Records: Collazo (32-5, 16 KOs); Upsher (24-2-1, 6 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: The Brooklyn-born Collazo held a welterweight belt in 2005 and 2006 before losing it on a controversial decision to Ricky Hatton. Collazo also lost a highly controversial decision to Andre Berto in a 2009 title fight. After a long layoff, Collazo then won two fights in a row before being upset by Freddy Hernandez last October, getting knocked down and losing a decision on the Bernard Hopkins-Chad Dawson I undercard.
Collazo returned Saturday after another long layoff, which included shoulder surgery, as one of several New York fighters helping to open the Barclays Center for boxing. He and Upsher, 27, of Philadelphia, treated fans to an excellent scrap. They fought toe-to-toe for long stretches and mixed in some nice boxing that seemed quite competitive. The judge who scored it a shutout in favor of Collazo was very generous, although Collazo clearly deserved the victory. If he can be a little more active, there's no reason why Collazo wouldn't belong in the mix for another title opportunity in the weight class, perhaps in an all-New York showdown with his buddy, titlist Paulie Malignaggi.
Saturday at Sheffield, England
Kell Brook TKO3 Hector David Saldivia
Welterweight title eliminator
Records: Brook (29-0, 19 KOs); Saldivia (41-3, 32 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: With his hometown crowd roaring for him, Brook turned in an excellent performance, albeit against a second-rate opponent, to put himself in position for a shot at a world title. By dominating Saldivia and dropping him twice, Brook, 29, became the mandatory challenger for Devon Alexander, who claimed one of the 147-pound titles hours after this fight took place by easily outpointing Randall Bailey.
Brook's star has been on the ascent for the past couple of years as he has racked up wins against several second-tier opponents, including Matthew Hatton, Carson Jones and now Saldivia. Saldivia, 28, of Argentina, was a decent enough opponent. He has a great record but had never beaten anyone of note and has an awfully questionable chin after being stopped for the third time in three losses inside five rounds.
Brook was quicker and more physical than Saldivia, who went down in the first round after Brook landed a crisp right uppercut on his chin. Saldivia went sprawling to the mat but rose quickly. Brook continued to dominate the action until ending the fight in the third round. He landed a powerful left jab to the center of Saldivia's face, dropping the Argentine. Saldivia got to a knee to try to collect himself, but when he rose, he was wobbly and all over the place, forcing referee Howard John Foster to stop the fight 28 seconds into the round.
Now Brook, whose popularity continues to grow in England, is a mandatory challenger, but there are other major fights for him besides a bout with Alexander. There have been calls for a fight with countryman and former junior welterweight titlist Amir Khan, who will fight Carlos Molina on Dec. 15 in a junior welterweight bout but who figures to move up to welterweight before too long. Another potentially huge fight would be one against countryman Ricky Hatton, the former junior welterweight champ and welterweight titlist who is coming out of retirement on Nov. 24. If Hatton wins, that's another potential fight that would generate enormous interest in Great Britain.
Also on the card, bantamweight Jamie McDonnell (20-2-1, 9 KOs), 26, of England, stopped southpaw Darwin Zamora (21-7-1, 18 KOs), 24, of Nicaragua, at the end of the eighth round in a final eliminator to become the mandatory challenger for titleholder Leo Santa Cruz. Zamora was a late substitute for South Africa's Vusi Malinga, who suffered a training injury and withdrew from the bout.
Saturday at Buenos Aires, Argentina
Omar Narvaez KO11 Johnny Garcia
Retains a junior bantamweight title
Records: Narvaez (37-1-2, 20 KOs); Garcia (16-4-1, 8 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Most American fight fans know Narvaez for just one fight -- his lone appearance in the United States, when last October he turned in a disgraceful performance against then-bantamweight titlist Nonito Donaire. Narvaez, a southpaw who moved up in weight for the shot, spent the entire 12 rounds running from Donaire, refusing to engage and being booed by the crowd in a horrible performance. Narvaez, 37, took his check and went home to Argentina to continue defending his junior bantamweight belt.
The Garcia fight was originally scheduled for Wednesday, but it was delayed after Narvaez's father died last week. Still in mourning, Narvaez decided to go through with his fifth title defense on Saturday. Garcia, 23, of Mexico was taking a major step up in competition, but he was competitive during the first half of the fight. Narvaez, far more aggressive than he was against Donaire, began to separate himself in the seventh round with a knockdown on a flurry of punches. In the eighth round, referee Roberto Ramirez Jr. took a point from Garcia for a low blow. In the 11th, Narvaez scored three more knockdowns -- mainly because Garcia was simply exhausted -- prompting Ramirez to halt the fight at 2 minutes, 55 seconds.
Saturday at Pasay City, Philippines
Pungluang Sor Singyu TKO9 A.J. Banal
Wins a vacant bantamweight title
Records: Sor Singyu (43-1, 28 KOs); Banal (28-2-1, 20 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: The first time Sor Singyu, 24, left his home country of Thailand to fight came on a 2009 trip to Belgium that resulted in his only loss. In his second trip for a fight outside of his home country, Sor Singyu traveled to Banal's home turf of the Philippines and pulled off the mild upset to claim the 118-pound world title that Mexican star Jorge Arce had vacated to move up in weight. Although Sor Singyu has a tremendous record, he had never fought a quality contender until facing Banal, 23, and he proved his mettle.
Although slower than Banal, Sor Singyu was physical and plowed forward throughout the fight. An accidental head-butt in the third round left Banal with a bad cut over his right eye. American referee Tony Weeks docked a point from Banal for a low blow in the sixth round. Going into the ninth round, Sor Singyu led on two scorecards and Banal was ahead on the third when Sor Singyu drove Banal into the ropes and then connected with a right-left combination that dropped him to his knees. Banal beat the count but was wobbly, walking away from Weeks and appearing completely out of it, forcing Weeks to waive it off at 1 minute, 45 seconds. Both of Banal's losses have come in title bouts, including a 10th-round knockout to Rafael Conception in a 2008 interim junior bantamweight title bout.
Friday at Kissimmee, Fla.
Orlando Cruz W12 Jorge Pazos
Featherweight
Scores: 118-110 (twice), 116-111
Records: Cruz (19-2-1, 9 KOs); Pazos (20-5, 13 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: The monthly fight on Spanish-language network Telemundo doesn't usually attract much attention, but this run-of-the-mill bout between fighters whom most had never heard of generated headlines around the world. It became significant when Cruz, 31, a 2000 Puerto Rican Olympian who hadn't done much in 12 years as a pro, did something no other active fighter had ever done -- announce that he is gay.
In the ring, Cruz turned in a fairly pedestrian performance against Pazos, 31, a journeyman from Mexico who lost his second fight in a row and third in his past four. Although Pazos -- who said before the fight that Cruz's announcement was of no particular interest to him -- was tough, Cruz controlled the fight. He outboxed Pazos, pot-shotting him and staying away from any serious return fire, to win his third fight in a row (following back-to-back losses) and keep alive his hopes of a possible title opportunity.
- Nov 4, 2003
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I thought cano may have won it was a toss up. Finally saw the Garcia fight. Damn he rocked him
- Sep 28, 2003
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Wonder where Quillin and N'jkim go from here
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- Nov 8, 2004
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Did Manny Steward pass away?
- Sep 4, 2006
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Just read this.
