Iron Fist Boxing: 2011-02-06

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Dougie's Monday Mailbag

MARGARITO'S SPARRINGHey Dougie,There's a lot of press out there on Manny Pacquiao's sparing right now, but since he's way less rusty, I'm more interested in Antonio Margarito's preparation. I feel like the amount of rust he's got to have built up rests a huge responsibility on the quality of his sparing leading up to the fight. I've read they're shooting for 150 rnds, but I haven't heard anything about with whom, or how the sessions have looked. Have you heard anything on this? Thanks. -- T-SmithI wrote a <a href="http://www.ringtv.com/blog/2406/gym_notes_i_havent_seen_it_yet_but_word_is_margaritos_looking_good/">Gym Notes</a> column on almost watching an Antonio Margarito sparring session last week. LOL. The not-so-unexpected breakdown of my 16-year-old Toyota on the way to Robert Garcia's gym in Oxnard, Calif., prevented me from providing an eye-witness account of Margarito's sparring session, but word from a couple unattached insiders (Max and Sam Garcia -- no relation to Robert) was that the former welterweight titleholder looked solid in his second week of sparring. I mentioned his sparring partners in that article but I'll list their names again: Austin Trout (a junior middleweight prospect from New Mexico), Cleotis "Mookie" Pendarvis (a quick and talented junior welterweight spoiler from L.A.), and Ricardo Williams (a 2000 Olympic silver medalist from Ohio who was once a ring savvy 140-pound standout).I sat in on an eight-round mitt session on Saturday and from that workout I can tell you that Margarito's very close to fighting weight, his mood is good and he definitely has his legs under him.I plan to watch him spar this week (God willing) for another Gym Notes column.DIRRELL PULLOUT BENEFITS JOHNSONHi Dougie,I don't want to spend much time debating in my own head (much less in email) the validity of Andre Dirrell pulling out of the Super Six. Am I skeptical? Somewhat... and I feel a little guilty about that. But either way it's a moot point because whether valid or not he's out. And truth be told I thought he was a bit of a bitch and it irritated me watching him and his whiny ass nature on the fight broadcasts and Fight Camp 360s documentaries. My therapist tells me I need to work on having empathy for others... is that what she's talking about?Anyhoo, let me put it like this: I'm disappointed in not getting to see a Ward-Dirrell fight as it delivered a dramatic story line, maybe (big maybe) a decent fight (although my gut tells me Ward mentally dominates Dirrell, wins a decision, and then we are left having to hear bitch ass Dirrell and troll-ass Gary Shaw whine and harumph about it) and an opportunity for Ward (who I am becoming a big fan of) to cement himself as top 1 or 2 in the division.So that fight is lost for now but what I find an interesting wrinkle is now the Johnson vs. Green fight is about 100 times more meaningful because the winner (hopefully Glen) most likely moves on and we are left with a four-man tourney of Abraham, Froch, Ward and Johnson. That's not too shabby and would be awesome for Gentleman Glen.Maybe I'm jumping the gun slightly on Glen being the guy... but still, to see this turn into that kind of opportunity for Glen really makes me happy.So I'm not gonna hang my head very much at all if this turn of events leaves me with Dirrell (who annoyed the f___ out of me anyway) out, Glen Johnson in, and those four (none of whom I think have any whiny ass bitch in them) left to duke it out.I'm still on board with the Super Six and excited.If there are others looking to focus on the negative then they are morons and can all go F themselves. -- ToddYou're starting to sound like your daddy, Todd. This is Todd duBoef, isn't it? Whoever you may be, I agree that a four-man single-elimination semifinal with Ward, Abraham, Froch and Johnson is worth watching. However, given Johnson's age, ring wear, and the fact that he will be fighting at his lightest weight in TEN years, I can't count Allan Green completely out the way most fans and media have. And I disagree that a victory over his buddy Dirrell would have "cemented" Ward's status as the "top 1 or 2" super middleweight. For starters, Ward already has that status (ESPN.com ranks him No. 1; THE RING rates him No. 2) depending on who you talk to. If the Bay Area Badass wants to be the division's undisputed numero uno he must not only best Abraham, Froch or Johnson, but he's got to beat Lucian Bute (provided the Quebec-based Romanian remains undefeated through the conclusion of the Super Six).Lastly, for her own safety, I sincerely hope your therapist never administers to you a Rorschach test with inkblots that resemble Andre Dirrell or Gary Shaw. You might go all Edwin Valero on the poor lady.RANDOM QUESTIONSTwo quick, late questions. What's up with Brandon Rios calling out Victor Ortiz at a catchweight of 138 pounds when he weighed in as a welterweight on the day of his DQ win vs Anthony Peterson?And what ever happened to Ricardo Torres? In his only two defeats he lost a great slugfest with Miguel Cotto, got headbutted and hooked vs Kendall Holt. Two acceptable losses vs world champions. Why hasn't he fought since '09? -- JabreI have no idea what happened to Torres. Last time I wrote about him was during the build up to his rubber match with Holt that was scheduled for December of 2008. Torres pulled out of that fight with a week or two to go, claiming an injury but the rumor was that he was way overweight in his camp in Colombia. Bob Arum, who promoted both fighters at the time, said "he can stay in Colombia as far as I'm concerned" during the conference call for Holt vs. Demetrius Hopkins (who served as a late sub for Torres in the Showtime-televised bout). I respectfully disagree with Obi-Bob Kenobi. I'd like Torres to venture out of Colombia if he can get down to 140 pounds and regain his form. I think the gutsy hard-punching former beltholder would make for some fun fights in the deep and talented junior welterweight division. Imagine Torres vs. Bradley, Alexander, Khan, Maidana and Ortiz. Imagine the seasoned slugger testing young up-and-comers like Danny Garcia (who looked good whacking out Mike Arnaoutis on Friday) and in the not-too-distant future prospects such as Jessie Vargas and Frankie Gomez. Torres is a welcome What's up with Rios and his catchweight challenge to Ortiz? Nothing really. It's just a good old-fashioned grudge. He doesn't like Victor and he wants to try to beat up on his former stablemate. Rios, who weighed over the welterweight limit the day of the Peterson fight, can make 135 pounds easy and he knows that Ortiz has to work hard to make 140, so he'd love to set a 138-pound catchweight for a future fight in the hopes that Vic drains himself making that weight (Bam Bam's not as dumb as he looks or sounds -- not quite, anyway). Ortiz isn't as spacey as he looks (not quite, anyway) and would never agree to weigh under 140 pounds for a fight. He has way too many options at 140 pounds to mess around with Rios at the present time, but I think those two Kansas kids will make for a hell of grudge match in about a year or two if they continue to win and impress. And don't forget that Rios said he'd be willing to fight at 140 pounds if Ortiz didn't take the catch-weight bait.DOES BRIGGS HAVE A PUNCHER'S CHANCE?hell no. he has the same chance as all of vitali's other opponents do - a 2% chance that vitali twists a knee or ruptures a disk in his back or some weird sh__ like that and loses by injury tko. i was worried about briggs and thought people were underrating him when the fight was signed because he is a huge puncher.however i watched a training video and realized he is the slowest thing going and can't move his feet at all around the ring. especially if vitali has a big ring (and im sure he will) there is no chance in hell briggs and his juiced up body (ya i'm accusing him of taking steroids a few years ago when he came back much heavier and ko'd 10 bums and ray mercer in a row) can keep up with vitali who will circle for two rounds and then beat the piss out of briggs. -- Matt in CanadaMatt, I'm shocked that it took a video of Briggs training for you realize that he has about a 2-percent chance of winning Saturday's fight with Vitali.I figured the only people who were "worried" about Briggs were those who were concerned for his health (and no, I'm not talking about fears that the Brooklyn native suffers an asthma attack, I mean being fretting that Klitschko knocks him clear out of the damn ring).WHAT ABOUT THESE TOP FIVES?good day mr. fischer!i'm wondering if you can answer these top fives... i thought this would be unique because i notice that some of your top fives were the "best." i hope this will appear in your mailbag.top 5 worst match-ups you've ever seen/covered/watched on tv (and why).top 5 boring boxing fights you've witnessed (and why)top 5 boxing events you wish never happened (and why)top 5 upsets you've watched/covered/watched on tv and you can't believe it (and why)Good job. God bless. -- Jarvis, PhilippinesThe five worst match-ups that immediately come to my mind are high-profile bouts where one guy obviously shouldn't have been in the ring with the opponent he was matched with:Lewis-Tyson (I know this event did record box-office and PPV numbers, but Tyson had nothing left and no business challenging a heavyweight champ as good as Lewis... the only people who thought Tyson had a shot were clueless casual fans, Tyson nut-huggers and Lewis haters... I thought Mike took an unnecessary beating in that fight)Tyson-McNeely (it was Tyson's first fight after spending almost 4 years in prison but McNeely, who had only faced old journeymen and rank ham-n-eggers, still had no prayer of even making it out of the first round... the "fight," which resembled a gang member beating up on a mentally challenged kid from the "special" class, did huge PPV numbers)Corrales-Clottey (the not-long-for-this-world Corrales, who was clearly a spent bullet going into this fight, shouldn't have been fighting anyone at 147 pounds much less a hard-nosed contender like Clottey)Lewis-Grant (poor Grant, who had been exposed in winning a tough fight with Andrew Golota in his previous fight, was practically hyperventilating on his way to the ring)Gatti-Gamache (Gamache beat a bunch of third-tier guys going into this fight, the HBO-televised co-feature to De La Hoya-Coley, but he was worn down by an aging Julio Cesar Chavez in his last loss... the Mexican legend put on a lot of weight after the weigh-in for that fight, which I attended in Anaheim, Calif., as a fan... if an old guy who put on a lot of weight after the weighin beat up on Gamache, what was going to happen to poor Joey when he fought a young guy who was notorious for putting on a ridiculous amount of weight after weighing in?)Top five boring boxing fight I've witnessed (and why):Why would anyone be interested a list of boring fights and want reasons why certain bouts made the list? You're not going to try to find these bouts and watch them are you? If so, you're a very strange individual. LOL. Ruiz-Oquendo immediately comes to mind. I watched most of it in fast forward and it still sucked. Lots of heavyweight bouts come to mind: Byrd-Williamson, Moorer-Bean, Klitschko-Ibragimov. Chavez Jr.-Rowland, which was sadly the main undercard support for Cotto-Pacquiao, was crap. It got so monotonous I left press row for a bathroom break and took my sweet time. My heart sank when I returned to the arena and saw that they were only in the sixth round. Is that five? Yeah, that's a enough; this is a pointless Top Five.Top five boxing events I wish never happened (and why):I wish any bout that resulted in a fatality or a serious head injury never happened. I'll just stick to those tragic bouts that occurred during my tenure as a boxing writer and on my beat (the U.S.).Levander Johnson-Jesus Chavez sticks in my mind and conscience. I had a horrible feeling about the matchup prior to the fight, which I didn't cover, but I didn't speak out enough against it apart from saying some stuff on The Next Round with Steve Kim. There's a Levander Johnson T-shirt in my dresser that members of MaxBoxing's message board created and sold to raise money for Johnson's family. I've never worn it and I have a hard time looking at it but I won't throw it out. Obviously the subject still bothers me.Montiel-Alcazar (fatality). Jones-Scottland (fatality). Viloria-Contreras (serious brain injury). Darchinyan-Burgos (serious brain injury).This has been a very depressing topic, Jarvis.Top five upsets I couldn't believe (and why):Brewster over Klitschko. (I believed in Brewster going into the fight -- and yes, he was my official pick by a fourth-round KO -- but after taking a frightful beating and going down late in the fourth round, I thought it was over for my man Lamon. Then he teed off on a bone-tired Wladdy in that surreal fifth round and forced a stoppage. I nearly lost my mind watching at home.)Douglas-Tyson. (I was rooting for Douglas because he was from Columbus, Ohio where I grew up. His TKO of Tyson was so shocking it probably saved me from being jumped on the train ride back to where I was staying in Boston during a college internship at the Boston Globe. A bunch a hoods surrounded me not long after I got on the "T" from my friend's house in Roxbury where I watched the fight. But they froze when I told them Tyson got knocked out and demanded the blow-by-blow account, which I delivered along with pretty darn good imitation of Iron Mike getting decked by my Ohio homeboy.)Honeyghan-Curry (I thought Curry was the pound-for-pound best in the sport and unbeatable at 147 pounds. I didn't think anyone but middleweight champ Marvin Hagler could beat the talented Texas technician -- and that showdown was supposedly in the works -- so you can imagine my shock when some unknown British dude with a what I thought was a quirky style served his ass. Honeyghan didn't just force Curry to stay on his stool after six, he hurt the American star in the fifth round and made him look ordinary.) Barkley-Hearns. (The disparity in talent was almost sickening. Barkley was a legit contender but I thought the Hitman would make him look like a club fighter and peel the Bronx bomber's head like an overripe orange with his jab and accurate power punches... that's just what the Detroit legend did -- as well as land numerous debilitating body shots -- for 2 rounds until BOOM! That monster right hand crashed upside Tommy's head. I don't know how Hearns peeled himself off the canvas but there was no way the fight should have continued -- it did, of course -- and the Blade chopped the Hitman down with a follow-up barrage.)Nunn over Kalambay. (It wasn't shocking that Nunn, an awesome talent, beat Kalambay but I couldn't conceive of the manner in which he won -- a one-punch KO in the first round... I liked Kalambay in that fight. I was just starting to become a hardcore fan around the time of this bout, so I didn't know that much about the finer points of boxing and how styles match up but from what I'd seen and read about the Italy-based Congo native I thought he had the ability to off-set and out-maneuver the 6-foot-2 southpaw. I thought Kalambay had the footwork of a 160-pound Muhammad Ali. Too bad he didn't possess Ali's iron chin.)TOP 5 AUSTRALIAN FIGHTERSHey Doug,Just interested in getting your top 5 all time Australian fighters? There have been so many great fighters coming out of Australia for years who either next to no-one outside of Australia know about, or simply aren't given their due (in my opinion anyway). Here are mine in no particular order:Dave Sands: This guy was so badass that neither Robinson nor Randy Turpin would go near him. Turpin wouldn't fight him after seeing his brother Dick iced in 2 rounds. Bobo Olson was another high profile victim. Unfortunately Sands passed away at a young age from a car accident and sadly there is nowhere near enough footage of his fights to do him any justice.Johnny Famechon: This guy was a killer who if not for an ill advised comeback would have retired as an undefeated legend.Les Darcy: A somewhat forgotten Australian icon, which is a damn shame considering his talent and tragic life.Lionel Rose: Another great Indigenous fighter whose fights with Fighting Harada were epic.Vic Patrick: An absolute pocket rocket who gets nowhere near the credit he deserves.Thanks for your thoughts. -- G., AustraliaThanks for your Top Five list. I'll have to research Patrick and Sands as I'm not familiar with either fighter. Anyway, here's my list:Young Griffo (won world featherweight title when there was only one to win and fought hall of famers Kid Lavine, George Dixon and Joe Gans to draws in a series of bouts from 1894 to 1897), Les Darcy (won Australia's welterweight, middleweight and heavyweight titles on way to compiling excellent 45-4 record before tragic, premature death), Lionel Rose (traveled to Japan and beat that nation's greatest fighter Fighting Harada to win world bantamweight title, which he defended against undefeated Japanese challenger Takao Sakurai in Japan before traveling to the U.S. to beat underrated Mexican badass Chucho Castillo at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif., which might as well have been Mexico... no shame in losing to the unbeaten prime version of Ruben Olivares that KO'd him), Johnny Famechon (beat underrated Jose Legra for the WBC featherweight title and defended it twice against Harada -- the first win by controversial decision but the rematch by 14-round TKO in Tokyo -- and there's no shame in losing the title to underrated Mexican southpaw Vicente Saldivar), and Jeff Fenech (won titles at bantamweight, junior featherweight and featherweight in first 20 bouts and defeated aging future hall of famer Carlos Zarate, young future hall of famer Daniel Zaragoza, 1984 Olympic gold medalist Steve McCrory, as well as solid titleholders Samart Payakaroon, Greg Richardson, and Marcos Villasana... held the great Azumah Nelson to a draw that most observers thought he deserved to win.) FIVE BEST PERFORMANCES OF ALL TIMEDougie,How about top 5 performances of all time? Those who on the biggest occasions produced their best and executed a perfect gameplan. I'm thinking about the likes of Whitaker vs Chavez, Ali vs Liston, etc.Keep up the great work. - Ben, UKMy man, I'm 40! I can't tell you about the best performances of all-freaking- time. I haven't seen or studied enough to begin to even have an inkling of who's deserving of mention and why.This is a question for Bert Sugar or a bona fide boxing historian like Mike Silver. Or you can break out your Ouija board and try to reach the spirit of Hank Kaplan. Given your criteria, "on the biggest occasions produced their best and executed a perfect gameplan," I think the examples you gave are on-point. Clay over Liston featured a not yet mature 7-to-1 underdog, who had been dropped hard in his previous bout, outclassing a truly feared heavyweight champ that most of the media of the time rated as the most formidable since Joe Louis.Frazier over Ali in their first bout, Sanchez over Gomez, Leonard over Hearns in first bout, Leonard over Hagler, Duran over Leonard, and Duran over Barkley are some examples that occurred in my lifetime.Whitaker's "draw" with Chavez resonates with me because it occurred shortly after I'd become an official "boxing nutcase."I don't know if Whitaker was an underdog but Chavez held an 87-0 record at the time and Sweet Pea was willing to face the Mexican icon on his terms. It was a Don King-promoted event (that was carried by Chavez's network, Showtime) in San Antonio in front of 60,000 Mexican and Mexican-American fans. Like most observers, I thought he took Chavez to school.I'll give you my Top Five "best performances" since the Whitaker-Chavez fight:Jones over Toney, Barrera over Hamed, Hopkins over Trinidad, Mayweather over Corrales, and Mosley over De La Hoya (first fight).

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Tight decision, not a robbery: Hopkins settles for draw with Pascal

Against a fighter 17 years younger, Bernard Hopkins turned in another age-defying performance Saturday in Quebec City. The 45-year-old looked fresh into the final round and outlanded Jean Pascal, but he didn't do enough in the eyes of the judges to walk away with the WBC light heavyweight title.

Hopkins' (51-5-2, 32 KOs) chances were hurt severely at the start of the fight when he hit the deck in the first and third rounds. In a spirited scrap, the knockdowns gave Pascal just enough cushion to retain his belt via majority draw, 114-114, 113-113 and 112-114.

Hopkins was effective to the body in Rounds 5-12 and scored with leaping left hooks on numerous occasions, but he landed his heaviest shots after the fight.

"I dominated the fight. I threw a lot of combinations. I had a lot of energy. He was holding," Hopkins told Showtime announcer Jim Gray. "Look at his face and look at mine. I threw the more crisper shots. He threw more bolo shots."

Steve Morrow, an American judge, gave the win to Hopkins, while Daniel Van de Wiele, a Belgian, scored it 113-113. Canadian Claude Paquette had it 114-114.

The Haitian-born Pascal, who lives in Laval, Quebec, walked away with his belt, while Hopkins was denied the chance to become the oldest world champion in the history of boxing.

"I put on a helluva performance for a 45-year-old man. It's going to be controversy and talks about this. This was a sure enough robbery," Hopkins said. "And this is what hurts the sport. I'm not going to cry over spilt milk. The fans seen it. The fans know what it is."

Hopkins won over the 16,500 in attendance at the Pepsi Coliseum, who booed the decision.

As far as a robbery, Hopkins' passion is understandable, but it was far from a ripoff.

Showtime's crew, Al Bernstein and Antonio Tarver, were split on the fight. Bernstein scored it 114-112 for Hopkins while Tarver had the same score for Pascal. Showtime's press row scorers -- Bernard Fernandez, Albert Ladouceur and Herb Zurkowsky -- gave a split decision to Hopkins.

Yahoo! Sports' lead boxing writer Kevin Iole had it 114-112 for Hopkins. SI.com's Chris Mannix scored it 113-113, while Tim Smith from the N.Y. Daily News had Hopkins 114-112. The Yahoo! boxing blog scored it 114-112 for Pascal.

Showtime's Gray had his mind made up that Hopkins won the fight and aggressively confronted Pascal, asking him how he earned a draw.

"I do believe I won the fight," said Pascal, 28. "That wasn't my best fight but Bernard likes to fight ugly, dirty. It's not that he's that good. He's a tough guy to box. He's always coming with his head."

Hopkins led with his noggin throughout the fight and often ducked. It cost him in the first and third rounds, when Pascal put him down.

The first knockdown punch appeared to be borderline. Hopkins wasn't hurt badly. In the third, Pascal landed a left hook and a left to the chest, while B-Hop was on the ropes. His momentum took him to the ground.

"I don't think [the first-round knockdown] was legitimate; I ain't [going to beef] about it. I'm a warrior. I ain't complaining about it. I got up and fought like a champion," Hopkins said.

"For a 45-year-old, soon to be 46 next month, to put on the kind of performance? I did it after a back-of-the-head knockdown, which was really a slip, but you didn't hear me complain. I got up and fought, and won that last round."

Hopkins has every right to complain, but then he entered silly territory by saying this is why he rarely fights outside the U.S.

"Just because it's a small city in a small poll doesn't mean the votes can't be counted correctly, right? This is the reason that most [American] fighters don't like fighting out of the country. It's because of this," Hopkins said.

Pascal (26-1-1, 16 KOs) scoffed at the assertion that the judges were slanted toward him.

"We got fair judges in Canada," said Pascal.

"One thing about fans, they hear and they watch everything. You don't see Pascal jumping around. You don't see Pascal jumping around joyful," Hopkins said.

Hopkins did outland Pascal 171-105. According to Compubox, he also landed more power shots.

It was a very good performance by a guy who turns 46 on Jan. 15. Hopefully, Hopkins continues to fight and calls out someone like Lucian Bute or the best fighters from the Showtime Super Six, Carl Froch and Andre Ward.

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Travellers; Brotherhood ? review

Both of these promising, low-budget melodramas, one British, the other American, are set over a period of a few hours and start with pranks that lead to lethal consequences. In Travellers, a socially mixed quartet of thirtysomething London bikers sets off for an adventurous weekend in the country. One of their number, a racist ex-soldier, sprays the words "pikey scum" on a caravan they see in a field, and they find themselves running for their lives from a party of Irish travellers. It's close in aspiration, though not in achievement, to the Walter Hill classic Southern Comfort, and reminiscent of Deliverance, to which an admiring nod is made by giving John Boorman's son Charley a walk-on role.

Fifty six years ago, Alfred McClung Lee wrote a devastating attack on the exclusive and excluding fraternities in American universities with the resonant title Fraternities Without Brotherhood. In the 1970s, it seemed they were on the wane, but Animal House helped make them fashionable once more. Will Canon's brisk thriller Brotherhood shows how a misconceived initiation ceremony leads to violence and mayhem one night at a Texas college and, along the way, it exposes the snobbery, racism and macho idiocy encouraged by fraternities.

Philip French

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Ward-Dirrell, Froch-Abraham rescheduled for Nov. 27

The postponed Super Six World Boxing Classic matchups between Andre Ward and Andre Dirrell and Carl Froch and Arthur Abraham have been rescheduled for November 27, it was announced by Showtime, the U.S. cable network that created the innovative but troubled 168-pound tournament.Ward-Dirrell was supposed to take place on Saturday but was held up for reasons undisclosed by the network as well as the management and promoters of the fighters. It is rumored that the former 2004 U.S. Olympic teammates, who are friends, wanted more money than the network could offer to face each other on September 25.Froch-Abraham was to take place on October 2 but had to be pushed to a later date when Froch injured his back in training.Ward-Dirrell, which has yet to secure a venue, will headline the Nov. 27 Showtime telecast, live at 9 p.m. ET/PT, and will be contested for Ward's WBA title and the newly vacated WBC belt. On the same night, Froch will face Abraham at Hartwall Areena in Helsinki, Finland, in a bout that may or may not be televised by Showtime on a tape-delay basis depending on what the promoters of the fighters can work out with the venue.The vacant title up for grabs in the Ward-Dirrell fight was held by Mikkel Kessler, who won the belt in a heated 12-round decision over Froch in April. The bout, which took place in Kessler's home country of Denmark was part of the Super Six tournament. However, the Danish star had to withdraw from the tournament and abdicate his title when he revealed that he suffered from vision problems that need time to heal.Kessler's withdraw cut the Super Six down to five participants (Ward, Froch, Dirrell, Abraham and Allan Green, who replaced Jermain Taylor when the former middleweight champ withdrew following a brutal KO loss to Abraham in Group Stage 1 of the tournament) and left Green without an opponent for Group Stage 3.Fans and media speculated that Showtime would solve the dilemma by dropping Green, who was dominated by Ward in his only bout of the tournament, and moving directly to the four-man single-elimination semifinals. However, the network is proceeding with Group Stage 3, which Froch-Abraham and Ward-Dirrell are part of.A decision on Green's Group Stage 3 bout is expected in the coming days, according to Showtime.The third and final Group Stage will complete the round-robin portion of the tournament and determine the four fighters who will advance to the semifinals. Through the first two Stages, Ward is the only fighter to have secured a berth in the Semis. No fighter has been eliminated from contention creating a virtual win-or-go-home scenario for each of the men.

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Weigh-ins: Day-before vs. same-day

Brandon Rios and Anthony Peterson both made the 135-pound limit for their lightweight matchup on Sept. 11 in Las Vegas. On fight night, they weighed 151 and 139, respectively, meaning a junior middleweight fought a junior welterweight.Rios overwhelmed Peterson and won by a seventh-round disqualification, which might've occurred even if the weights were reversed. We don't know. However, we must ask the question: Did Rios have an unfair advantage over Peterson? If so, that leads us to a question that has been asked untold times over the years: Are day-before weigh-ins preferable to weighing in on the day of the fight?The reality is that there is no easy answer.Some are convinced the best option is the day-before weigh-in, ostensibly instituted in the 1980s to minimize dehydration by allowing fighters drained of liquids and other nutrients time to replenish. The problem is that the participants often fight at vastly different weights, as Rios-Peterson illustrates.Others prefer same-day weigh-ins, which don't allow as much time for replenishment but send two fighters of roughly equal weight into the ring."This is a question that has always been asked in boxing and will continue to be," said Greg Sirb, executive director of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission.Sirb and his counterpart in Nevada, Keith Kizer, don't see eye to eye on the issue.Pennsylvania uses same-day weigh-ins except in title fights, for which fighters are weighed both the day before and day of and are not allowed to gain more than 10 pounds from the first weigh-in to the second.Sirb hasn't seen a significant problem with dehydration in regard to the same-day weigh-ins. He said those who fight in Pennsylvania know what the rules are and adjust, which he believes all fighters would do if they had to.He plans to propose to all boxing organizations that the following system be universally employed: a weigh-in seven days before the fight in which a fighter must be within a designated number of pounds of the contracted weight, the official weigh-in the day before the fight and a final weigh-in the day of the fight which limits the amount of weight a fighter may gain."A lot of them say they can't make (weight) the day of," Sirb said. "Then they have no alternative but to move up. They'll change their mind set. I might think differently if we had the old eight weight divisions. Now, though, we have so many weight classes. It's nothing to move up one division. That way the fighters can focus less on making weight and more on honing their skills."... The gaining of so much weight is almost ridiculous. Why have weight limits if you don't know what anybody is going to weigh for the fight."Dr. Margaret Goodman, former Medical Advisory Board Chairman and Chief Ringside Physician for the Nevada State Athletic Commission, leans toward same-day weigh-ins but acknowledges the complexity of the issue.She said dehydration, in the cases it is a factor, probably wouldn't raise the danger of brain damage unless it was acute but would affect reflexes and balance. She said "it would slow everything down," which obviously would be a problem for a fighter about to engage in battle.The principal issue in day-before weigh-ins, she said, is that fighters sometimes do whatever it takes to get down to weight -- sometimes abusing the body by starving or by using diuretics -- because they think they'll gain a competitive edge by fighting below their natural weight.That can either harm that fighter or give him an unfair advantage over an opponent who might be in his natural weight class, as stated earlier."It's a very complicated issue," Goodman said. "I think we should have uniformity instead of one state doing one thing and another state doing another. The best thing might be to do what they do in Pennsylvania, allowing fighters to gain only so much weight after the (day-before) weigh-in."At least that would be a huge start. At least then the fighters couldn't put on so much weight and wouldn't be dehydrated to begin with."Kizer would prefer to err on the side of caution, pointing out that no fool-proof means of determining whether a fighter is overly dehydrated exists.Thus, if a fighter's reflexes and balance are affected by dehydration, the last thing he should do is get into the ring.And the fighters will have incentive to dehydrate themselves and/or use diuretics in certain circumstances. If a fighter can make $1 million against a star at 147 pounds or $100,000 fighting a journeyman at his natural weight of 154, for example, which do you think he would choose?Kizer isn't even convinced that fighters who add more weight than their opponents during the time between the weigh-in and fight have an advantage. He cited an informal study in the 1990s that demonstrated that the heavier fighter won only 50 percent of the time.A concrete example: Orlando Salido was stripped of his featherweight belt before his fight against Yuriorkis Gamboa on the Rios-Peterson card because he gained more than 10 pounds between the weigh-in and the fight, which violated an IBF regulation. "Rios won his fight handily," Kizer said, "but Yuriorkis Gamboa weighed less than Orlando Salido and it didn't put him at a disadvantage. Gamboa won the fight."Kizer also is uneasy about Sirb's proposal.He fears some fighters will take extreme measures to make weight each time they weigh in. For example, a fighter might dry out to make weight at the week-before weigh-in, gain several pounds back, and then dry out again for the official weigh-in the day before the fight.That, Kizer suggested, could be more harmful than having to make weight one time."I just don't know if reality would mirror (Sirb's) theory," he said. "... That said, there's a very good reason we have weight classes. We do want to have reasonable disparity of weights in our fights. We don't want it to be great. We're dealing with competitive advantages and health issues, too."... It's something in the front of our minds. We post information on our Web site about how to properly cut weight, how to rehydrate. We want fighters and trainers to make the right decisions."That could be the ultimate solution.Trainer Freddie Roach can't understand why fighters torture themselves to make weight in a lower division when they can fight more comfortably at their natural weight. His prize pupil, Manny Pacquiao, is an example of someone who fights slightly above his natural weight class. Weight is never an issue and the results are obvious.The health issues and competitive advantages central to the timing of weigh-ins wouldn't be nearly as pressing if fighters would just fight at their natural weights."That would be the solution," Goodman said. "Trainers and fighters need to understand what the dangers are and do the smart thing. We need people like Freddie Roach to speak up about such things as this. People will listen to him."<a href="mailto:ringtveditor@yahoo.com">Michael Rosenthal can be reached at RingTVeditor@yahoo.com</a>

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The Ring All-Star Report Cards: Wladimir Klitschko

Mike Tyson fight night

Quick Jabs: Bob Arum And Floyd Mayweather Are Buddies Again; Golden Boy Losing Another Top Boxer?; Fighter Vs. Bull; More

Never thought I'd see those two with their arms around each other. (Jamie Foxx is a throw-in on the deal; he serenaded them with some Marvin Gaye, some Luther Vandross and a little Anita. The idea was to set the party off right.)

By all accounts the reunion of Bob Arum and the boxer he once promoted, Floyd Mayweather, Jr., was a one-time thing at the Super Bowl where boxing didn't even come up in their chat. But if you're holding out hope that Mayweather will eventually fight the Arum-promoted Manny Pacquiao, then this is certainly a good sign rather than a bad one, since some nastiness between Arum and Mayweather stood to inhibit it, among other barriers.

Welcome to Quick Jabs, where all the subjects in the headline are on the table for discussion, as well as the weekend's schedule; some promoter and trainer switcheroos; whether a couple boxers are pigging out too much, a remark with a double meaning; and more.

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Weekend Review: Three great KOs and a boring Mosley-Mora fight

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Friday, February 11, 2011

November was a blockbuster boxing month, where were the fans?

Boxing went through a rough summer with a light schedule. November was suppose to revive things before the end of 2010. Manny Pacquaio brought in a huge crowd of 41,000 to Cowboy Stadium, but four other solid U.S. fight cards featuring high-level fighters did horribly at the gate. What's the problem?

Five of the top 10 fighters in Yahoo! Sports' boxing Top 10 were featured on four cards and they only combined to draw just over 19,000 fans. The next UFC pay-per-view card in Montreal is expected to draw over 21,000.

At 4,100, the Andre Ward-Sakio Bika fight in Oakland was least attended. In the scaled-down Convention Hall in Atlantic City, only 5,500 witnessed Sergio Martinez's spectacular knockout of Paul Williams.

And in Las Vegas, the "Fight Capital of the World," 4,818 watched Juan Manuel Lopez down Rafael Marquez. Two weeks later, 4,920 showed up to see Juan Manuel Marquez rumble with Michael Katsidis in Sin City.

I attended both Las Vegas boxing cards and the fans in attendance got their money's worth.

The Lopez-Marquez fight was outstanding. Lopez had to fight back from being rocked in the fourth round. Marquez, 35, fought like a warrior before packing it in because of an injured shoulder. That card also featured Glen Johnson's inspirational victory over Allan Green. The 41-year-old outworked Green and eventually put him on the deck.

The Marquez-Katsidis card was even better. Juan Manuel showed once again why he's a Hall of Famer. He was put on his rear end in the third round by a sweet Katsidis' counter left hook. JMM survived the round and then sat in the pocket, banging away with the younger Aussie. After landing 300-plus punches in 8 1/2 rounds, Marquez finally got the referee to stop the fight.

Andre Berto's one-punch knockout of Freddy Hernandez thrilled the crowd at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. In a rough fight, Jason Litzau also pulled the upset on the highly touted Celestino Caballero.

So why were the numbers so low in Vegas, Oakland and A.C.?

Has boxing done too much damage over the years to be repaired? Is it a matter of poor promotion? Does the sport only care about its television audience? In the case of Las Vegas, have the casinos spoiled promoters with overblown site fees?

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Gym Notes: I haven't seen it yet, but word is Margarito's looking good

Antonio Margarito (left) shares a laugh with new gym mate Brandon Rios, who is also trained by Robert Garcia. Margarito has been in a good mood during his camp for Manny Pacquiao, an indication that he's working well with Garcia. Photo / Crhis Cozzone-Fightwireimages.comThis column is usually a first-person account of what happens in one or more of the many professional boxing gyms of Southern California.For reasons that I'll detail later, this Gym Notes does not contain first-hand accounts of what I consider the "good stuff" of a gym visit, the sparring sessions that veterans and up-and-comers alike use to prepare themselves for high-profile bouts.Few bouts that take place this year will equal the attention that Manny Pacquiao's Texas showdown with Antonio Margarito on Nov. 13 will garner, which is why I was excited to watch Margarito go rounds in his new trainer Robert Garcia's gym in Oxnard, Calif.We all know the event will be driven in part by the controversy surrounding Margarito's hand-wrap scandal and the national backgrounds of the combatants, which promises to bring in droves of loyal Mexican and Filipino fans to Cowboys Stadium. Whether we get an actual fight -- for however long it lasts -- depends on the legs of the former welterweight titleholder-turned-boxing pariah.Margarito's legs were not under him the last time I watched him spar, which was during his camp for the Shane Mosley fight. The emerging Mexican star was easily pushed back on his heels by undersized prospects and rank journeymen in the sessions I witnessed. And we all know what happened once he got into the ring with Mosley. Did 15 years of training like an animal and catching hard shots with his chin like a human PEZ dispenser take its toll on Margarito? Is he spent bullet?I don't know. His comeback fight against Roberto Garcia (no relation to his trainer) in May was inconclusive. Margarito, who was understandably rusty after sitting out more than a year following his knockout loss to Mosley and license revocation, dominated his opponent. However, he didn't look like his old self in doing so. Margarito didn't try to walk down Garcia and beat the tough fringe contender into submission as he did all of his pre-Mosley opponents, which makes me wonder whether that fighter still exists. I thought the nine rounds of sparring I planned to watch on Wednesday would answer that question. If Margarito looked as sharp as he did during his camp for Miguel Cotto, I would go against the opinion of most boxing writers -- who dismiss the Mexican's chances to even compete with Pacquiao -- and maybe even give the underdog a shot at upsetting the reigning pound-for-pound king. However, if Margarito looked the way he did during the Mosley camp, I would seriously reconsider traveling to cover this event. Why bother to be ringside for a slaughter?I still don't know whether I'm booking that flight to Dallas because my 1994 Toyota Corolla stalled quite suddenly in the middle of the Ventura Freeway, just 10 miles outside of Oxnard. Margarito went three rounds apiece with Austin Trout, Cleotis "Mookie" Pendarvis and Ricardo Williams as I waited for a tow truck to transport my 16-year-old vehicle to a nearby auto shop. I thought about putting the column off for another day, but I'd come too far (in the pouring rain no less) to give up. After calling Garcia, my wife and AAA (in that order), I sent a text out to Sam Garcia (no relation to Robert).Sam and his father, Max, co-train junior lightweight prospect Eloy Perez, who has set up camp at Garcia's gym for his Oct. 15 Telefutura headliner against Dominic Salcido. I figured if they were at the gym, they could serve as my "eyes" as I tried to make my way there before Margarito left.Sam replied to my text immediately. I was in luck."We're next door eating lunch," the text read, "we are going back after we eat to watch a little sparring."I informed Sam of my plight and asked if Margarito had begun sparring."Oh damn, he is just warming up," was the reply. "He usually starts close to 2:15 and is done by 3, then begins (his) floor workout(s). I'll let you know."As my car was being towed to the auto shop, Sam shot me this tantalizing text:"He's looking good. We can't wait until the fight."I briefly considered asking the tow truck driver if he knew the location of Robert Garcia's Boxing Academy and talking him into dropping me off there if he did. I hate missing good sparring.Sam and his father are disciples of the most-astute boxing mind I've ever encountered, that of the late "Coach" Don Familton, so I trust their opinion of what they were watching. But I wanted to see it for myself.That will have to wait for another day, but thanks to the Garcias, I would catch the tail end of Margarito's workout and have the opportunity to talk to his trainer about the seemingly Herculean task they face on Nov. 13. Shortly after arriving at Airport Auto Repair on Oxnard Boulevard, Sam shot me the text I was hoping for:"My dad can go pick (you) up if (you) want."Twenty minutes later I was talking boxing in the back of Max Garcia's SUV while we waited in the parking lot for another tow truck to take my car to a transmission specialist in Ventura."Looks like it's time to buy a new car, Dougie," Sam said. "There's no excuse not to now that you've sold out for all that Golden Boy money."Funny guy. He reads my mailbags.Enough jokes. "How does Margarito look?" I asked."He doesn't look shopworn," Sam said."He's ripped," said Max. "He looks very strong, and he's big. They say he's only eight pounds over the contracted weight, but he looks like a light heavyweight. "Of course, it takes more than size and strength to beat Manny. You can tell Margarito is working on walking Manny down and hurting him with uppercuts and body shots, but he's so slow in comparison to Pacquiao, and man, he telegraphs those uppercuts. He lets you know when those body shots are coming."He doesn't have an easy time tracking down the fast guys who move on him like Mookie and Ricardo""True," Sam interjected, "but he does eventually slow them down. It takes him a few rounds but when he catches them, they have to fight for their lives. He does damage. Last Monday he hit Ricardo Williams with a body shot that shook the gym. Ricardo made a loud retching noise when he got hit with it. It looked so painful I almost took a knee. If Pacquiao is not on his A-game, he's going to be fighting for his life."Margarito was on the speed bag when we arrived at the gym. He sported a big, toothy grin as he loudly dribbled the bag. It was strange seeing Margarito smile as he trained. He didn't do much of that during workouts with his former-and-now-estranged trainer Javier Capetillo.I asked Margarito's co-manager Sergio Diaz whether this camp reminds him of any from the past."It's much different from his old camps," Diaz said. "It's not as -- how do I put it? -- it's not as military as Capetillo had it. It's work, but it's a relaxed atmosphere and he has fun. He likes it here in Oxnard. He likes being away from the city."I noticed Margarito's wife, Michelle, sitting on the ring apron, watching her husband train, even conversing with him a little. I don't recall ever seeing her around during any serious camps in the past."No, she never used to sit in workouts when Tony trained with Capetillo," Diaz said. "Capetillo believed the wives of fighters belonged at home getting dinner ready for their husbands."I think it goes without saying that Garcia has a different training philosophy than "General Cappy."Garcia marvels at Margarito's work ethic, but he says he keeps a close eye on him in order to ensure that the relentless fighter doesn't burn himself out.I'm glad Garcia is wary of Margarito overdoing it. I believe the Tijuana slugger was over-trained for many of his fights, including underwhelming performances against Daniel Santos, Joshua Clottey and Paul Williams. "Tony's like Brandon (Rios), he'll spar every day if you let him," said Garcia, comparing Margarito to the rough-and-tumble young lightweight contender he also trains. "You have to hold those guys back for their own good."Garcia says he's tracking every mile Margarito runs and every round of sparring, making adjustments to his meticulous training schedule as they go along."Last week was his first week of sparring, he went eight rounds with Mookie, Austin and K.C. (Karim Martinez) on Monday, Wednesday and Friday," Garcia said. "Today was the first day he went nine rounds. He'll eventually build up to 10 rounds, but he'll only go 12 rounds twice in this camp. We have six weeks until the fight, plenty of time to build up and taper down. We'll probably do 170 rounds of sparring in this camp, but we could do less."Last week his weight was good and he looked sharp in sparring, so I told him to take Thursday off."I still need to watch Margarito spar to gauge the sturdiness of his legs and the speed of his reflexes, but his body is every bit as ripped as Max Garcia said it was. Following traditional abdominal work in the center of the ring, Margarito's washboard stomach was put to the test during a bizarre stick routine that consisted of Garcia systematically whacking away at the fighter's midsection with a baton for three minutes. Rios, who tried the torturous exercise once, said it's more painful than it looks. It must be. Margarito, whose face turned beet red after about a minute, was in obvious agony. He let out a "Whooo!" and dropped into a squat near a corner the moment the three minutes were up.This was the only time he wasn't smiling while I was there. "I'll never do that again," Rios said. "It stung too much after only a few seconds. I was like, 'Hell no, that's enough!'"Eloy Perez gave it a try and quickly found out what Rios was talking about."How long did I last?" a winded Perez asked Garcia."Twelve seconds," Garcia said."This isn't one of my exercises," Garcia told me. "Tony was doing this in Tijuana before camp started. He brought this up with him."Margarito is a tough S.O.B., but I had to ask Garcia whether he seriously thought his fighter has a realistic shot at beating Pacquiao."I've been watching video of Pacquiao's fights every day since the last time you came by the gym (one month ago), and I'm telling you I see things," he said. "Every time I watch him the job we have seems a little bit easier. That sounds crazy to anyone who watched what Pacquiao did to Hatton and Cotto and Clottey. When you watch Pacquiao fight live, it's easy to get caught up in the excitement, because his speed and power is so unbelievable that you don't notice what he's doing. "He seems unbeatable. But if you really study him -- somebody that really knows boxing -- you see a lot of mistakes. And you see that his opponents, who didn't have it or didn't try like they should have, should get some credit in how incredible he looked. That's not going to be the case with Tony. "I think Tony is going to do what lately nobody's been able to do," Garcia continued. "The last one to do it was Erik Morales -- he beat Pacquiao when he did it -- and that's not show him any respect. He can be backed up. He backs up easy. When you do that, you put him on the defensive and there's a lot of things he does instinctively, like cover up as he goes to the ropes, that a strong fighter like Tony can take advantage of."I got really excited about Nov. 13 for the first time since the bout was announced as Garcia talked about his fighter's confidence and Pacquiao's perceived weaknesses.Perhaps it was just wishful thinking. I want to see a fight when Pacquiao and Margarito meet in that giant stadium, not a slaughter. Perhaps I'm subconsciously rooting for Garcia, a former fighter and a good man who seems to have found his true calling as a trainer.Or maybe I just have a soft spot for Margarito, as blasphemous as that notion is after the heinous crime he and his former trainer almost committed. I'll try to stuff that anticipation for now and be as cynical as the next internet boxing writer -- at least until I watch Margarito spar sometime next week.

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HBO video: Alexander fighting for jailed brother and deceased father

Boxing heats up big time at the end of the month in Detroit as Timothy Bradley and Devon Alexander square off at the Silverdome. Alexander's career is off to a great start at 21-0, but his story away the ring is even better.

The 23-year-old survived a tough upbringing, his father dying and his older brother Vaughn going to jail, to put himself on the verge of superstardom.

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Boxing In Germany: IBF Champ Cunningham Defends Against Licina Saturday

On Saturday Steve ?USS? Cunningham, will make his first defense, of his second reign, as the IBF Cruiserweight Champion of World against the tough Serbian born Enad Licina at the RWE Rhein-Ruhr Sporthalle in Muelheim, Germany.
During his career Cunningham has proven to be one of the few World Champions who is unfazed by fighting on [...]

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Ring Ratings Update: Mosley dropped from pound for pound

Whether Shane Mosley deserved to win his fight against Sergio Mora on Saturday in Los Angeles is a matter of debate. But everyone can agree that the former three-division champ did not look like an elite fighter during the dreary 12-round junior middleweight bout, which was scored a draw.Mosley (46-6-1, 39 knockouts) pressed the fight from start to finish, throwing and landing more punches than Mora (22-1-2, 6 KOs), but he lacked the ability to inflict damage on his younger, elusive opponent, who is not rated by THE RING at junior middleweight.Although most observers believed Mosley won the fight by varying scores, the 39-year-old veteran didn't look like one of the best fighters in the world in the opinion of THE RING's Editorial Board. Thus, Mosley has been dropped from the magazine's pound-for-pound ratings.His departure allows Timothy Bradley, who is THE RING's top-rated junior welterweight and also ranked at 147 pounds, to debut in the pound-for-pound ratings at No. 10. "Mosley has not looked good in his last two fights, and he had problems dealing with Mora in the latter part of their fight," THE RING's managing editor Joseph Santoliquito said. "Pound-for-pound fighters are not finishing with 12-round draws against Sergio Mora. They're dominating Mora."Mosley-Mora was the least entertaining major bout on a busy weekend of boxing. Featherweight contender Daniel Ponce de Leon, junior welterweight standout Victor Ortiz and Saul Alvarez, an emerging Mexican star who fights in the 154-pound division, all scored impressive KO victories on the Molsey-Mora undercard. Lightweight titleholder Humberto Soto successfully defended his 135-pound strap in Mexico, and RING-rated light heavyweight star Nathan Cleverly defeated fellow RING contender Karo Murat in a title-elimination bout Saturday in Birmingham, England.To see whether this ring action created any movement in magazine's divisional rankings, check out this week's RING Ratings Update:LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS:Cleverly (No. 8 last week) advances to No. 5 after his ninth-round TKO over Murat, who drops from No. 6 to No. 7. Cleverly's ascension also bumps down Beibut Shumenov (No. 7 last week) a notch to No. 8. MIDDLEWEIGHTS: Anthony Mundine (No. 6 last week) departs after deciding to campaign at junior middleweight. Mundine's exit allows everyone rated No. 6 and below to advance one place each and allows veteran David Lopez to re-enter the ratings at No. 10. "The middleweight division is a dessert of talent, and Lopez has certainly shown more in the division against anyone else out there who could occupy the 10th slot," Santoliquito said.JUNIOR MIDDLEWEIGHT: "Some could be clamoring for Saul Alvarez or Sergio Mora's insertion into the Top 10 after last weekend, but to add them would be to drop one of the current Top-10 group," Santoliquito said. "Right now, 154 looks like a pretty stable division, and neither Alvarez's blowout of shopworn Carlos Baldomir or Mora's draw against Shane Mosley measures up to Cornelius Bundrage's stoppage over Cory Spinks." WELTERWEIGHTS: Mosley (No. 4 last week) didn't help himself with the draw against Mora, so Mosley, 0-1-1 in his last two fights, switches places with Miguel Cotto (No. 5 last week). "This decision was a no-brainer, since Cotto does own a victory over Mosley, who was sucking wind near the end of the Mora fight," Santoliquito said. LIGHTWEIGHTS: Soto (No. 4 last week) made an easy title defense in out-pointing Fidel Monterrosa over the weekend. The decision victory was enough to push Soto to No. 3. He exchanges places with Ali Funeka (No. 3 last week), who falls to No. 4 after going 0-2-1 over his last three fights. Soto has a nine-fight winning streak over two years. FEATHERWEIGHTS: Ponce de Leon (No. 7 last week) surges to No. 5 after making easy work of Antonio Escalante (No. 10 last week), who drops out of the ratings. Escalante is replaced at No. 10 by veteran Jhonny Gonzalez, who's on a five-fight winning streak. De Leon's move pushes down Cristobal Cruz (No. 5 last week) and Elio Rojas (No. 6 last week) one place each. JUNIOR BANTAMWEIGHT: Tomas Rojas debuts at No. 5 after beating Kohei Kono (No. 5 last week), who sinks to No. 6. Kono's bump down forces out Daigo Nakahiro (No. 6 last week), which also is the result of inactivity. "Nakahiro hasn't fought since December 2009, and in his last outing, he fought to a draw against an undefeated fighter who built his record against dubious opposition," Santoliquito said.

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Manny Pacquiao vs Shane Mosley: LA Press Conf Quotes

More than 300 members of the mainstream sports and boxing media converged into a jam-packed standing-room only ballroom at the Beverly Hills Hotel on Thursday for the kickoff press conference featuring global superstar and Philippine Congressman Manny Pacquiao and three-division world champion ?Sugar? Shane Mosley. Showtime Networks Inc. and CBS have joined forces with Top [...]

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When should five legends who stuck around too long have retired?

Evander Holyfield (left) probably should've retired more than a decade ago. Photo / Mary Ann Owen-FightWireImages.comWho ever thought we'd see a day when Roy Jones' record would include seven defeats? Or, perhaps more accurately, and certainly more depressingly, seven defeats and counting?The news last week that Jones' fight with Danny Santiago was postponed because of a hand injury does nothing but delay the inevitable. Jones will fight again. And the smart money says he will lose again - probably not against Santiago, but against someone eventually. Jones once was nearly unbeatable. Now he's beatable even to a fringe contender like Danny Green.Whether you loved or hated Jones in his prime, you have to feel sad for him now, as he nears his 42nd birthday and still insists on making his living as a professional boxer. For fight fans, this brand of emotional distress is nothing new. With rare exceptions, our pugilistic heroes always hang on longer than we'd like them to.Maybe once or twice in a generation, a superstar fighter makes a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpUyb37CFT4">Costanza-like exit</a>: Rocky Marciano. Marvin Hagler. Lennox Lewis. Ricardo Lopez, if you could call him a superstar.The vast majority hang on far too long. But who says we have to settle for the unhappy endings they give us? Why can't we re-write the endings so that the fight game's finest retire at the absolute perfect moment?What follows is a look at what would have been the perfect note on which to go out for the five biggest stars of Jones' era: Jones himself, Oscar De La Hoya, Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield and Julio Cesar Chavez. (Note: George Foreman probably belongs on that list in terms of star power, but you could make a strong case that his second retirement actually was well timed, so I've chosen to exclude him from this discussion.)ROY JONESThis one is easy: Jones' perfect time to retire was after he beat John Ruiz to claim a heavyweight belt. It would have seemed ludicrous at the time for Jones to quit after one fight at heavyweight and with several options for eight-figure paydays out there. But in hindsight, we know he never fought again at heavyweight anyway, missed out on those eight-figure fights (against the likes of Tyson, Lewis or Holyfield) and hit the wall with maximum force when he tried to cut back down from an all-muscle 193 pounds to 175.If Jones had quit in '03 after dominating Ruiz, he would have been 48-1 and would have had a decent case that he belonged in boxing's all-time pound-for-pound Top Five, near names like Robinson and Armstrong. Sure, detractors would have held his opposition against him, but the case could have at least been made on Jones' behalf. Not anymore. When the greatest fighters of all-time saw their physical abilities decline, they found other ways to win at least some of their major fights. Who's the best opponent Jones defeated after his controversial decision victory over Antonio Tarver in '03? A washed-up, blown-up and rusty Felix Trinidad? The decaying remains of Jeff Lacy? Anthony Hanshaw?Had Jones quit on top at age 34 after the Ruiz fight, sure, there would have been unanswered questions, but is that such a bad thing? Maybe if Marciano hadn't retired when he did, he would have lost four of his next six fights and ended up rated on par with Max Baer or Floyd Patterson or Ken Norton, somewhere on the borderline of the all-time heavyweight Top 25. Unanswered questions are sometimes preferable to the answers we end up getting.OSCAR DE LA HOYAThere are two very different questions to consider here: When would retirement have best served De La Hoya? And when would De La Hoya's retirement have best served the sport of boxing?I wrote a column the day after De La Hoya knocked out Ricardo Mayorga, taking the unpopular stance that "The Golden Boy" should retire immediately because he was never going to get another opportunity so perfect, against another opponent who could make him look so sensational, to go out on top. I took heat from some other writers for suggesting that De La Hoya walk away at age 33. But we now know that moment was indeed his last opportunity to go out with people buzzing primarily about his talent.However, De La Hoya did benefit financially by fighting on, and the sport benefited enormously because he passed the torch of superstardom, to varying to degrees, to Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. But this article is about the fighters themselves and what's best for them. And when all factors are considered, I think De La Hoya retired just one fight too late.The money he made against Mayweather was well worth any punishment he took, and his reputation wasn't damaged at all by a razor-close loss to the then pound-for-pound king. If he'd come out after that and announced that his next fight, in the Los Angeles area against Steve Forbes, was a hometown farewell fight, it would have provided the perfect ending. We all know it would have been tough to quit at that point, without Pacquiao having dished out that beating most fighters need in order to be convinced the hourglass is bottom-heavy, but in retrospect, that's when Oscar should have gotten out.MIKE TYSONThere's plenty to chew on here. If Tyson had quit all the way back in 1988, right after destroying Michael Spinks, some would have considered him the greatest heavyweight who ever lived. If he'd retired after the Bruce Seldon fight in '96 - fueled by some sort of "I can't fight in a world without Tupac" sentiment - he'd have been spared most of his lowest moments in the ring. If he'd faded into Bolivian after falling to Lewis in '02, it would have been a sad but fitting ending and he wouldn't have had to lose to any ham-and-eggers. And if he'd hung around for exactly one more fight after that, he could have gone out on a high note, with a one-punch KO of Clifford Etienne.While the first couple of scenarios are perfect from a legacy standpoint, they're just too absurdly unrealistic. We can all agree Tyson should have quit sometime before losing to Danny Williams and Kevin McBride. But what would have been preferable: ending with the Lewis loss or the Etienne win?It's a tough call, but on the off chance he might never have gotten a tattoo on his face, I'll go with the Lewis loss. From the defeat itself to his seemingly-at-peace postfight interviews and the image of him cradling his baby in the dressing room afterward, it would have been a sweetly poetic ending to a turbulent ride.EVANDER HOLYFIELDI got Holyfield on the phone last week and asked him when the perfect time to retire would have been, and he said, "In 2018, after I defeat Wladimir Klitschko to re-unify the heavyweight championship of the world."(Note to all those without senses of humor: This is not a real quote. I did not really interview Holyfield last week. Please do not post this quote on your Twitter feeds as some sort of exclusive scoop.)It's hard to believe it, but Holyfield is still fighting more than a decade after the perfect time for his retirement. That time was at the end of 1999, after he lost his rematch to Lewis. It was a fight that could have gone either way (I scored it a draw from ringside), which was good news for Holyfield's reputation since it furthered the belief that he would have beaten Lewis in his prime, having nearly done so on what we assumed were his last legs.Holyfield did score one impressive win after that, upsetting Hasim Rahman in Atlantic City, N.J., but we can live with that stricken from his record because it was more than compensated for by his six post-Lewis defeats and, most importantly, his trilogy with John Ruiz. For the record, the horror of that trilogy is frequently overstated by those with short memories. The first and second fights were decent and packed some drama; only the third was truly awful. But the three fights launched Ruiz into the heavyweight elite, so in order to erase from existence Ruiz vs. Kirk Johnson and Ruiz vs. Fres Oquendo, Holyfield retiring in '99 becomes a must for fight fans.JULIO CESAR CHAVEZThe great Chavez getting abused by the ordinary Willy Wise remains one of the saddest sights of the last couple of decades in boxing. And the WBC leaving Chavez ranked No. 1 after that so he could get clubbed into submission by a prime Kostya Tszyu remains one of the strongest arguments for the abolition of Jose Sulaiman's band of merry scumbags.Even though Chavez was on the decline from his 1993 "draw" against Pernell Whitaker on, he remained a championship-caliber fighter for a few more years and it wouldn't have been reasonable to expect him to retire after his first official defeat (against Frankie Randall) or his second (against De La Hoya).The right time probably would have been after defeat No. 3, also against De La Hoya. Chavez got more business done than he did in the first fight with Oscar, made what amounted to a gutsy last stand at age 36, then undid some of the gutsiness by surrendering on his stool after the eighth round. Maybe that wouldn't have been the perfect image to leave on. But it was the perfect sign that the fight had been beaten out of Chavez and, in hindsight, the perfect way to spare Chavez the humiliating experiences that followed.RASKIN'S RANTS- A penny's worth of free public relations advice for boxers: If you've ever made a million dollars in a single night, don't complain about being in a "slave contract."- A penny's worth of free public relations advice for ex-boxers-turned-promoters: Just don't talk to the press. Ever.- Hey, I didn't fall asleep during ShoBox last Friday night! No, not because the fights were over so quickly; because I fell asleep more than two hours before the show started. A penny's worth of free advice to rapidly aging semi-narcoleptic boxing writers with little kids who get up at 5 o'clock every morning: Don't even bother trying.- I did catch ShoBox on my DVR Saturday morning, and that definitely goes down as one of the best cards in the history of the show. I don't know where a guy with four knockouts in 19 prior fights gets off throwing an uppercut like the one Tim Coleman used to wreck Patrick Lopez, but I'm glad he threw it.- Boxing may be dead this October, but <a href="http://ringtheory.podbean.com/">Ring Theory</a> isn't. Check out a new episode later this week. Who knows, Bill Dettloff and I might even come up with something to talk about.<a href="mailto:raskinboxing@yahoo.com">Eric Raskin can be reached at RaskinBoxing@yahoo.com.</a> You can read his articles each month in THE RING magazine and follow him on Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/EricRaskin">@EricRaskin</a>

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Alvarez takes another step toward stardom

LOS ANGELES -- Victor Ortiz scored an impressive knockout of Vivian Harris, putting the veteran down four times in less than three rounds, on Saturday at Staples Center. Daniel Ponce de Leon looked positively scary in his KO of Antonio Escalante. And Shane Mosley's listless performance in his draw with Sergio Mora was further evidence that he is in decline.Saul "Canelo" Alvarez was the talk of this card, though.Alvarez (34-0-1, 26 knockouts) was nothing short of sensational, becoming the first to knock out Carlos Baldomir since very early in the Argentine's career as 13,591 mostly Mexican and Mexican-American fans roared their approval.And it wasn't just the result, which wasn't terribly surprising given Baldomir's age (39) and the fact he has lost whatever hand speed he once had. It was how Alvarez did it.The 20-year-old from Guadalajara demonstrated maturity beyond his years, patiently outboxing a clever, awkward opponent with far more experience than he has. He displayed a world-class jab to set up powerful, well-timed rights.Baldomir (45-13-6, 14 KOs), reputed to have one of the best chins in boxing, took many of Alvarez's best shots early in the fight but gradually broke down as his baby-faced foe landed more and more telling blows.Then Alvarez gave the crowd exactly what it wanted - a thrilling finish in the third round. He landed one hellacious shot ... then another ... then another and Baldomir started to wilt. Finally, a straight left put the Argentine on his face and ended the fight two seconds before the end of the round as the crowd erupted."I'm very happy, I'm full of emotions to be the first to knock out Baldomir in a big fight," he said through a translator.Again, we shouldn't read too much into a victory over a faded opponent who was never particularly good to begin with. Baldomir was a good test, though, a tough, veteran fighter who was desperately trying to hang on as a contender. And he aced the test.It's becoming more and more obvious that he'll be the next Mexican star, among fans both south of the border and in the United States. He's good looking, he's well-spoken, he's humble, he mixes well with the masses ... and it is becoming more and more clear that he's very talented.Of course, he must continue to win. And one person with considerable knowledge of boxing is fairly certain he will."He hits really hard," Baldomir said through a translator. "I was surprised by his power. No one has hit me like he did. He's definitely going to be a real champion. He's the real deal."<a href="mailto:ringtveditor@yahoo.com">Michael Rosenthal can be reached at RingTVeditor@yahoo.com</a>

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Thursday, February 10, 2011

Buddy McGirt Discusses Sergei Dzinziruk Against Sergio Martinez

Filed under: WBC, WBO, Boxing Video, Boxing Rumors, HBO, FanHouse Exclusive

Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.

Former world champion turned trainer Buddy McGirt will be part of an HBO televised, March 12 clash, working the corner of southpaw WBO junior middleweight (154 pounds) king Sergei Dzinziruk (37-0, 23 knockouts), who will rise to middleweight (160 pounds) to face southpaw former WBC titlist Sergio Martinez (46-2-2, 25 KOs) at the MGM Grand Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Conn.

Martinez was named the FanHouse Fighter of the Year for 2010, this, following an April, HBO televised decision over Top Rank Promotions Kelly Pavlik (36-2, 32 KOs), and, November's second-round stoppage of southpaw Paul Williams (39-2, 27 KOs).

FanHouse spoke to McGirt and Dzinziruk recently during training.

Read more: Sergei Dzinziruk in Training for Sergio Martinez.

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Dougie's Friday mailbag

WILLIAMS-MARTINEZ IIHey Dougie,It's great that we all finally will get the chance to see possibly the most eagerly awaited rematch in boxing at the moment with Sergio Martinez expected to put his middleweight titles on the line against Paul Williams on November 20th. What I was wondering is, how much different is this fight going to be than the one last December? The reason I ask this is because both fighters actually have the chance to go through the entire training camps preparing for each other, rather than when Williams was preparing for Kelly Pavlik. I think it's such a tough one to call, I give Martinez the edge in technique and craft, however Williams has the edge in stamina, athletic ability, and hell be on top of Martinez the whole fight throwing 80 to 100 punches a round. I'm gonna go for Williams, partially because I love his style, by knockout in the championship rounds. What you think D?Much Respect. -- Eoin Casey, DublinI'm not sure I have a favorite in this fan-friendly matchup. I agree that Williams knows what to expect from Martinez this time and will try his best to be more prepared for the newly minted middleweight champ, but a possibility to consider is that 'the Punisher' may be one of those fighters who are always troubled by southpaws (which I know sounds strange given that he's a lefty himself).I think I'm feeling Martinez in this rematch. I scored the first fight a draw but if I had to pick a winner I would have gone with the gutsy Argentine because I thought he landed the harder, more damaging punches. I don't think Williams has the edge in athletic ability and I believe Martinez will be physically stronger for this fight than he was for the first bout, which was his first one above 154 pounds (against a world-class opponent). I think Martinez put on some lean, functional muscle during his camp for the Kelly fight and by the time the Williams fight comes around he will have had six months to further acclimate to the heavier weight (even at a 157-pound catch weight). So, my guess is that Martinez might be punching harder in this rematch than he was in December. We'll see. I'm expecting another good tussle because you can never count out the fighting heart of Williams.UNFAIR TO MOSLEY?Hey Doug,Long time reader, first time writer. I just wanted to say that I am somewhat baffled by the lack of agreement on the outcome of the Mosley-Mora fight. I didn't score it round by round, but to me (and the HBO broadcasters apparently) it looked like Mosley was winning comfortably. The CompuBox numbers kinda support that. Mosley outlanded Mora by 70 to 80 shots and was the aggressor for the entire fight... And I know, CompuBox numbers and work rate don't necessarily always determine the winner, but if one were to claim that Mora won on the basis that the fewer shots that he landed were more effective, then I don't know how that same person could also claim that Devon Alexander won his fight against Andreas Kotelnik. That fight to me was a far greater example of effective punching triumphing over work rate, but people were somehow OK with Alexander getting the nod... And now the same people won't give Sugar props for winning in the same way (more convincingly to me), and are calling for him to hang it up? Seems unfair. Your thoughts? (P.S. - And when I say "people" I am not talking about you specifically, it seems like this sentiment is somewhat common among journalists and forum posters) -- Nick, Austin, TXFor the record, I thought Kotelnik beat Alexander by a score of 116-112, and I seem to recall getting a lot of angry emails from fans who thought the Ukrainian veteran was robbed.I didn't see the fight that Lederman saw that night in St. Louis and I didn't see the fight the HBO crew saw this past Saturday in Los Angeles.What fight did I see? I think I saw the same thing that Naazim Richardson and Jack Mosley saw. I saw a listless, frustrated fighter go through the motions for nine rounds against a constantly moving but sharper-punching opponent.Because if "it looked like Mosley was winning comfortably" as you and others claim then why was there so much concern in Mosley's corner? If a fighter is "outlanding" his opponent "by 70 to 80 shots" and is "the aggressor for the entire fight" shouldn't that fighter's corner be happy -- or at the very least content -- with his work?Why was Richardson constantly pleading with his fighter to follow their basic strategy and then going over alternative plans if his guy was winning comfortably? Why would Richardson have to remind Mosley that he was in shape and try to convince him that he wasn't gassed out if everything was going his fighter's way? Why did Mosley's father get out of his seat, run halfway around the ring, position himself behind his son's corner and shout instructions over Richardson's shoulder? What were Richardson and Jack Mosley yelling about if everything was going well for Shane?Maybe I'm wrong -- and I seriously doubt either man will admit it now that the fight is over -- but I don't believe that Richardson and Mosley's father thought Shane was as effective as HBO's broadcast team and the majority of the ringside media did.Having said that, I have no problem with anyone who thinks Mosley won the fight. In fact, I'm fine with people who think Mosley won nine or 10 rounds. If there's someone out there who thinks Mosley won all 12 rounds easily and believes that Mora should be banned from boxing for life for the manner in which he fought, I'm happy for you. Folks, sometimes we get fights like this in boxing. De La Hoya-Mosley II, Forrest-Mayorga II, and many of Paulie Ayala's fights (most notably the first Bones Adams fight and the rematch with Johnny Tapia) come to mind. As for the calls for Mosley's retirement, I think it has more to do with his age and his many years in the sport than it does with his performance on Saturday. The way he looked as he fought Mora is part of the reason there are calls for Mosley to hand up the gloves but if he was Alexander's age I think most would jut chalk it up to him having a bad night. STEPPING STONE?You know you are my man, I read you think that Cotto and Shane would be stepping stones for Alvarez and Chavez? Are you f___ing kidding me? Now, I must say, I did not see Chavez's last fight or watch the Alvarez fight (got in late watched the DVR of all fights but Alvarez, but did watch the KO).I've not paid attention to more and more fights as the kid count mounts and been tired as hell and not paid close attention to fights. But groggily I saw Shane beating Mora, but you had it 117-111 for Mora, wow. Anyway, do you think Alvarez and Chavez are that much the goods or that Cotto and Mosley are just that shot?Speaking of shot, Harris makes RJJ look like Jake f___ing Lamotta!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Laughing my ass off. -- JBI wasn't saying that I, personally, think Mosley and Cotto would be stepping stones in those matchups. I believe that's the role the promoters of the two veterans would see for them if those bouts were to be made (Cotto vs. Chavez Jr., which Top Rank was trying to make for December of this year, and Mosley vs. Alvarez, which I'm sure Golden Boy has in mind for the not-so-distant future). If those fights were made this year I'd pick Cotto over Chavez and I'd make Mosley a slight favorite over Canelo. (I'm not going to get overexcited about Alvarez's performance against the shopworn Baldomir. If Mosley fought "Boulder-head" he would looked like the 29-year-old version of Sugar Shane.)However, I won't be mad at Bob Arum or Richard Schaefer if they view Cotto and Mosley as eventual stepping stones for the younger fighters in their promotional companies. A good promoter is always looking at the future and what promoter doesn't want a young Mexican superstar on his roster?Regarding my scorecard for the Mosley-Mora bout, hey, it's not like I didn't want to score any of those close early rounds for the "old man." Shane's the first major boxer I ever wrote about. He'll always be a sentimental favorite of mine. However, despite his willingness to fight (I'd call it "aggression," but Mosley had about the same intensity he has when he spars with his son in those opening rounds), he did absolutely NO damage to Mora over the first half of the bout. I looked at it like this -- and by the way, I wasn't groggy; I had a few cups of coffee in me and I was seated right by the ring (same table as the official time keepers and HBO's crew) -- if Mosley, the stronger man and the harder puncher, was truly being effective in those early rounds that many observers (including the official judges) scored for him, Mora would have been beat f___ up. In my opinion, if Mosley was really doing all the work people are giving him credit for, Mora would have been a battered mess by the sixth round. He would have been knocked out or his corner would have thrown in the towel to spare him any more punishment by the eighth round if Mosley was really doing his thing.But he wasn't. He didn't hurt Mora at all.Mora didn't do any damage either, but he NEVER does damage! He can't punch. What I thought he did for the first nine rounds of the bout was absolutely contain a veteran fighter who had more experience and power than he did; and he did the best way he knew how -- with feints and footwork. I wish you could get a copy of the international broadcast, because Dave Bontempo noted on air during the fight that when a fighter has to rely purely on ring generalship to compete in a fight he seldom gets credit. I agreed with him and stated that without a hard consistent jab (like we see from the sport's best pure boxers of the past 10 years Floyd Mayweather Jr., Winky Wright and Ivan Calderon) it's difficult to rack up points while shutting down their opponent's offense. See B-hop's fights with Jermain Taylor for a high-profile example of this theory.Even with a consistent jab, a defensive fighter with almost no power is seldom going to be appreciated by all three official judges in a bout where he technically outboxes his opponent. See Taylor's title defense against Cory Spinks for a good example of this. Jim Lamply stated on air immediately after that fight that the one judge who scored it 117-111 for Spinks should have been banned from the sport, but I thought that judge's scorecard was the closest thing to what really occurred in the ring that night. I had it 116-112 for Spinks. Oh well. Like I stated earlier in the bag, fights like Mosley-Mora are part of boxing. If the fight in question wasn't compelling in some way we should all move on to discussing bouts that we know will deliver excitement, like this one: WILLIAMS-MARTINEZ IIDear Doug,Glad it's signed. I'll go with Sergio Martinez to get his revenge by close decision. If it's as good as #1, we've got the 2010 FOTY. And no, I could care less about the "catch-weight" issue, though I will say that those who've complained about Pacquiao's having fought at catch-weights should be infinitely more upset about this. They claim that "title" fights should be fought not at catch-weights. Well, Sergio Martinez is THE middleweight champion of the world. Paul Williams isn't, say, fighting Pirog or Sturm--unlike Pacquiao, who fought beltholder Cotto and is now fighting MargaCheato for a vacant belt. (Why Marg's got that shot is beyond me; more WBC stupidity.)Most writers have vociferously praised Williams as the avoided guy who just wants to fight anybody in that weight range. I (in the interest of intellectual honesty) hope that they're just as vociferous in their criticism of him as they have been of Pacquiao. Again, I could care less, as I'm generally a freedom of contract guy. Martinez agreed to it, and he'd have every right to do it on his own, so I see no reason why he can't contract to weigh in at 157. (P.S. I'll go with Maidana in a rematch with Ortiz. You don't grow heart. Chino has it. Ortiz proved to me that he doesn't.) Take care. -- PatrickI think Ortiz does have heart. He got it beat out of him last June because his mind wasn't right, but I believe he's matured since that setback and he will have his head screwed on straight for a Maidana rematch. Being the more technically sound boxer and the better athlete, I think Ortiz will have his revenge.I'm also leaning towards Martinez to gain some "get-back" in November. I don't think 157-pound catchweight will detract from his performance. Who knows? The lighter weight might make him lighter on his feet will which will help him outmaneuver Williams and set up his power shots. Does Pacquiao really get that much criticism? I'm not that aware of any serious anti-Pacquiao sentiment that may be out there. I guess I need to make time for message boards so I can keep up on this kind of s___. But seriously, are fans that bored? Are they really getting up in arms about a guy who fought at 130 pounds in early 2008 asking Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito to shed a few extra pounds before their fights?Whatever. If Cotto, Margarito and Martinez are OK with the catch-weight bouts, so am I.

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