Saturday, May 28, 2011
AGBEKO VS. MARES RESCHEDULED FOR AUGUST 13
UK Boxing: Big Hitting Adams
Solis suffered nasty knee injury in wacky first-round loss to Klitschko
So much for the cries of impropriety. After just three minutes of action, heavyweight title challenger Odlanier Solis had to retire from his fight against WBC champ Vitali Klitschko. His doctor says in spite of people claiming something was fishy, Solis suffered a severe knee injury towards the end of the first round.
"I haven't seen a knee torn apart like this in a long time," senior physician Dr. Joern Michael stated after doing an arthroscopy.
The diagnosis included an ACL rupture, articular cartilage damage and meniscal tear in Solis' right knee.
With 19,000 in attendance in Cologne, Germany, a huge build up to the fight and a large audience viewing on EpixHD.com, there was a lot of frustration about the surreal ending to the fight.� Former champ Lennox Lewis thought there had to be a pre-existing injury and said Solis was afraid to pull out before the fight.
According to Solis, his manager and the doctor the injury was suffered during the fight.
"I was just unlucky," says Solis. "I didn't even feel the shot that he landed on me and it certainly did not take me out. I felt that there was something wrong with my leg and I lost my balance. When I went down I knew immediately that there was something wrong. I promise that I will be back soon and even stronger ? if I get a second chance I will win the title."
Solis and his promoter Ahmet Oner want a rematch.
"Vitali knows exactly what it means to lose a fight due to an injury," Oner said. "He has been asking Lennox Lewis for a re-match for years and years and it didn't materialize. We hope that Vitali will not put Solis in a similar situation like he has been in. Solis has earned a second chance."
Solis is now 17-1. It's unlikely the 39-year-old Klitschko will find an opening to face Solis again in the future.
Tip via Fight News
De La Hoya’s rehab stint shocks some in the boxing world
Several boxing legends of the last 15 years were in the news this weekend, but it was a mixed bag for Bernard Hopkins, Roy Jones Jr. and Oscar De La Hoya.
Hopkins, 46, became the oldest man in boxing history to win a legitimate world title while Jones, 42, was knocked out badly in Russia. The youngest of the three, De La Hoya, retired and struggling with issues away from the ring, checked himself into rehab. It's still unknown what sort of addiction De La Hoya, 38, is battling.
He issued this statement through Golden Boy Promotions:
"After doing an honest evaluation of myself, I recognize that there are certain issues that I need to work on. Like everyone, I have my flaws, and I do not want to be one of those people that is afraid to admit and address those flaws.
"Throughout my career and my life, I have always met all challenges head-on, and this is no different. I am confident that with the support of my family and friends, I will become a stronger, healthier person.
"I ask for respect and privacy as my family and I go through this process."
The six-time world champion did not attend Golden Boy's Hopkins-Jean Pascal fight card in Montreal.
His former promoter Todd duBoef with Top Rank Promotions was caught off guard.
"I had no idea," duBoef told the Las Vegas-Review Journal.� "When I heard the news, I was stunned. Obviously, you hope he can get through whatever it is he's dealing with and that he comes out of it well."
Freddie Roach, a former De La Hoya trainer, was also stunned.
"I was kind of shocked," Roach said. "But people go through things in life. I hope he gets well soon."
De La Hoya retired in April of 2009 and last fought in Dec. of 2008. He lost badly in that final bout against Manny Pacquaio. Pacman's conditioning coach Alex Ariza pointed to the way he went out as a possible reason for De La Hoya's struggles.
"I think it does because you think back on it and probably said, `I should have done things this way. I should have done things differently," Ariza told GMANews. "I'm sure, there was a lot of doubt and questions, being the athlete that he was. I'm sure he is such a competitor. I think it's one of those things that he is probably questioning himself. There are a lot of variables, and I think the competitor in him is always going to be like that."
Dougie's MASSIVE Monday mailbag
Ray Lewis says he’d beat his teammate Tom Zbikowski in the boxing ring
With the NFL in labor lockdown, Baltimore Ravens safety Tom Zbikowski has shown some stones by entering the world of professional boxing and winning two fights with relative ease. His teammate Ray Lewis isn't impressed. The veteran NFL linebacker was asked how he would fare against Zbikowski in a boxing match.
"Zbikowski would lose," Lewis said as a guest on NFL Network. "We've already talked about that. Zbikowski is a realist when it comes to the sport. The locker room talk is always that about who can beat who. He'll be the first to tell you he's not going to get in the ring with a 250-pound person. That's crazy!"
That's big talk from a guy who'd be facing a 25-year-old with a lengthy amateur boxing background. And it sounds like Zbikowski missed out on that talk. Tommy Z told Dan Patrick last month that he'd beat anyone in the NFL (5:00 mark), including his teammate Lewis.
"I'd be nervous [facing the 250-pound Ray Lewis]," Zbikowski said. "But there's a lot more than having power and being a scary fella. I signed up for this. There's not gonna be much that's gonna scare me."
The 195-pound Zbikowski is confident in his skills and knowledge of the sweet science. He said if he sticks with boxing full-time, he could be a cruiserweight world champion in two years. He also said that he could teach an athlete like his teammate Ravens defensive tackle Haloti Ngata (6-foot-4, 350) the skills necessary to be a heavyweight champion in a year (2:25 mark).
Zbikowski is reaching on both counts in saying he and his teammate would win world titles in less than two years, but he's probably correct about his ability to tear up Lewis even giving away 50-plus pounds.
Assuming Lewis would be willing to go through the customary eight-week training camp to get in shape, there's still no way he'd survive against a guy with 90 amateur fights, who was a legitimate contender to compete for a spot on the 2004 U.S. Olympic team. It's pretty easy for Lewis to talk tough when he knows he'll never actually step into the ring.
Zbikowski's next fight is scheduled in less than two weeks against Blake Warner in Thackerville, Oklahoma.
Tip via Pro Football Talk
Pacquiao involved in minor fender bender, but will still fight tonight
Manny Pacquiao's a guy who thrives on chaos, but even he didn't enjoy this morning's wild ride in Las Vegas just hours before his showdown with Shane Mosley.
"Sources close to Pacquiao tell TMZ he was traveling in a fleet of cars after church today, when one of Manny's security vehicles collided with the car carrying Manny.
We're told Pacquiao is back at his hotel now, where his trainer, Freddie Roach, checked him out. According to our source, Pacquiao is just a little shaken up … but he's okay to go for tonight."
The L.A. Times said a Pacman publicist called the accident a tap.
Las Vegas is fired up for the Pacquiao-Mosley fight. Over 6,000 attended the weigh-in at the MGM Grand Garden arena, with several hundred more fans turned away.
Pacman can't go anywhere without being noticed. Freddie Roach told ESPN1100 in Las Vegas that Pacquiao went for a secret run on Thursday at a track on the campus of UNLV and a few hundred fans showed up.
Friday, May 27, 2011
GBP inks Paul Malignaggi
Weekend Review: The return of Kirkland
Video analysis: Is Margarito really getting a Cotto rematch?
Antonio Margarito is slowly being welcomed back into the boxing world. That doesn't mean everyone is greeting him with open arms.
During last week's Miguel Cotto-Ricardo Mayorga fight in Las Vegas, Margarito's picture was flashed on the massive scoreboard at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. The crowd didn't exactly greet him with a standing ovation. Quite the opposite. The 7,000-plus showered the disgraced fighter with catcalls.
His California suspension for using loaded gloves during his fight with Shane Mosley is still fresh in the minds of many. It probably didn't help that the Mexican's picture was shown to a large gathering of Puerto Rican fight fans either. Margarito was caught using plaster on his hand wraps versus Mosley, but many people believe he did the same thing in his fight against Cotto too.
Funny enough, less than an hour after Cotto finished off Mayorga, his promoter Bob Arum was introducing Margarito during the postfight press conference and strongly hinting at the fact that he'll be fighting the Puerto Rican next.
Yahoo!'s lead boxing writer Kevin Iole joined us to talk about why Margarito's getting the first crack at Cotto.
Can new 5th Street Gym rekindle excitement of years past?
Roy Jones Jr suffers brutal knockout against Denis Lebedev
? 42-year-old loses consciousness for over a minute
? American will not confirm if he will retire after defeat
There were fears for the health of Roy Jones Jr after the 42-year-old was knocked out cold by Russia's Denis Lebedev in the 10th and final round of their light-heavyweight non-title bout in Moscow.
With only seconds remaining before the final bell on Saturday, Lebedev caught Jones with a flurry of punches to send the American to the canvas. Jones, who has won eight world titles in four weight classes ranging from middleweight to heavyweight, lost consciousness for more than a minute and needed help to get back on his feet when he eventually came round.
Lebedev, 31, improved his record to 22 wins with 17 knockouts and one defeat, which was suffered against the German Marco Huck in his previous fight for the WBO cruiserweight title in December. "I was prepared for a long fight," said Lebedev, who was trained for this fight by the former undisputed welterweight champion Kostya Tszyu.
"I knew it would be a tough fight because Roy is a legend. People, who had said it would be easy, just don't know anything about boxing."
Jones would not say if he was ready to retire after losing for the seventh time in his last 12 fights. "It was a great fight. I love Moscow and hope to come back here again," he said. "Denis is a good fighter but I think overall, it was a close fight. I just lost concentration near the end and didn't see his punch coming."
The American began the fight at Moscow's Krylatskoye arena in his usual showboating style, dropping his hands and challenging Lebedev to hit him. The Russian southpaw first connected with a straight left near the end of round four, then dominated the majority of the later rounds, forcing his opponent against the ropes.
Jones briefly countered with a right-left combination in the ninth but ran out of steam in the final round. Lebedev, known for his devastating left hook, waited for his opponent to tire before unleashing a flurry of punches that knocked out Jones with about 12 seconds remaining.
Weekend Preview: Slim pickings
El Maachi Confident About Prizefighter Light Middle Opportunity
El Maachi, and his promoter Steve Goodwin, believe the tournament format would be the perfect platform to showcase El Maachi, and his sensational all action fighting [...]
Alvarez takes another step toward stardom
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Kirkland not going to waste third chance
Unbeaten James Kirkland is 27 years old with a ton of knockouts. He's been devastating in boxing yet he's missing one thing. Where's the world title? It's tough to grab a strap when you've spent half of your career behind bars.
You'll get no excuses from Kirkland. He knows he's blown it to this point in his life. Kirkland has run with the wrong people and made stupid mistakes on two occasions, spending nearly four years in prison.
The latest stint was ridiculous. His first jail stay was for a 2003 robbery. The most recent came after he was nailed for possession of a firearm while on probation. There was no slap on wrist. He went to the pen for 17 months and hit a halfway house in September.
On the verge of huge things in the junior middleweight division, Kirkland's arrest and conviction tore him apart.
"Basically, man, your dreams are all shattered," said Kirkland. "You're hurting physically, you're hurting mentally, spiritually. You're all down; everything is just like a sore thumb. Everything about you is just gone.
Kirkland let down a lot of people around him.
"You lose, not just access to the boxing, you lose access to your family. Your key is your loved ones, people that really care about you, people that have been backing you up for many years, staying behind you and people that wish the best for you. And then you make a dumb and a careless decision."
Kirkland has been fortunate to be able to jump start his boxing career again with two tuneup fights. Time is of the essence, so Kirkland is fighting again this weekend. He faces Nobuhiro Ishida (22-6-2, 7 KOs) on the Marcos Maidana-Erik Morales card (HBO ppv).
Kirkland sounds like most ex-felons who get another chance, saying he's learned his lesson. Only time will tell. If he can keep it together there are some potential mega-fights in the 154 and 160 pound weight classes. Kirkland's style and power would make for great fights against guys like Sergio Martinez, Kelly Pavlik, Paul Williams, Alfredo Angulo, Antonio Margarito, Miguel Cotto, Pawel Wolak and Saul Alvarez.
Avoiding the munchies, slimmer Arreola looks to get career back on track
Chris Arreola simply hasn't treated his boxing career as a profession in recent years. The heavy-handed heavyweight has failed to monitor his diet and too often entered big fights carrying way too much extra weight.
The 30-year-old's career is far from over, but his spot as a solid draw is in jeopardy with a loss this weekend against Nagy Aguilera Arreola faces Aguilera on the undercard of the Andre Ward-Arthur Abraham fight this weekend at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Ca.
As an athlete, Arreola (30-2, 26 KOs) is far from a regular guy , but he does carry the fast food gene most of us average Joes battle on a daily basis.
"I'm not eating out as much as I used to. I make my own meals at home. At the most, I eat out once a week where I used to eat out every day. Eating out is horrible," Arreola told FightNews.com. "I would watch food commercials on T.V. and I would go and eat. I would even eat at midnight, one, or two in the morning. It makes a huge difference."
In era of increased knowledge about nutrition and training, that's ridiculous to hear from a former world title contender. Arreola says he's learned his lesson and this week, appears to be trimmer.
The Mexican-American, born just minutes away from the Home Depot Center in East L.A. and currently residing in Riverside, says he'll weigh between 234 and 239. That's down from 249 in his last fight and a high of 263 in Dec. of 2009 against Brian Minto.
A word of caution, we've heard this before about Arreola showing a new dedication to his conditioning. The true story will be told on the scale today and then in the ring tomorrow when his gas tank is tested.
Mayorga tough, but finished by Cotto via 12th round TKO
LAS VEGAS _ Ricardo Mayorga was never the most technical fighter but he's always brought the fight. Tonight, his age showed against Miguel Cotto. Cotto fought at a controlled pace, peppering Mayorga with jabs throughout before turning it on in the final round to score a TKO finish at 0:53 of the 12th round in front 7,247 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
There were some decent exchanges along with way, but most were highlighted by Mayorga missing and Cotto landing good shots on the counter. The judges, Duane Ford, Jerry Roth and Chris Wilson, had it 107-102 for Cotto. Yahoo!'s lead boxing writer Kevin Iole also had it 107-102.. I scored it 108-101.
The Nicaraguan, knowing he was down big on the cards, went for broke in the opening seconds of the final round. Cotto (36-2, 29 KOs) took advantage of Mayorga's wild shots by landing a massive left hook. Mayorga (29-8-1, 23 KOs) froze for a second, began to look in the direction of his left arm and went down. He was hurt badly. Reports from ringside also say that he suffered a dislocated left thumb.on the exchange. Mayorga rose late in the count and began fumbling with his glove.
Once it was re-started, Mayorga tried to throw back and missed badly. His movement was solid for the next few seconds before settling on the ropes where Cotto landed another big left. The stunned Mayorga backed into a corner and put his hands at his side. Cotto backed off and referee Robert Byrd intervened to ask Mayorga if he wanted to continue. Mayorga waved him off and nodded that he was done.
Cotto retained his WBC 154-pound title. He outlanded Mayorga 249-176. Cotto was good on 49 percent of his punches and 55 percent of his power punches. Mayorga was game. In different combinations, the judges awarded him rounds four, seven, nine, 10 and 11. I gave the seventh and ninth to Mayorga.
Wladimir Klitschko leads David Haye after round two in heavyweight hype
? Klitschko upset with T-shirt showing him decapitated
? 'Gentleman must behave like gentleman,' he says
So much conflict has preceded the David Haye-Wladimir Klitschko world heavyweight showdown that you wonder whether they need to bother with the actual fight. This week's launch of 2 July's bout has featured spectacular condescension by Klitschko towards Haye and now a potential row over the appointment of officials, who will be nominated by three sanctioning bodies who would struggle to agree which is night and which is day.
The protagonists in what Sky are calling the biggest heavyweight dust-up since Lennox Lewis versus Mike Tyson nearly 10 years ago have argued over money, the venue, doctors and who should jog into the ring first.
"A year and a half ago we all wanted to go to Chelsea ? Stamford Bridge, " Klitschko's manager, Bernd B�nte, said on Tuesday. "Wladimir knows [Roman] Abramovich and was invited by him. That was the first plan. But the other side couldn't deliver."
Chelsea became Gelsenkirchen, then the Imtech Arena in Hamburg, where a 50,000 crowd is expected in Klitschko's adopted home town. It took two and a half years in total to settle the differences between the camps and another still looms. With three belts at stake, Haye's manager, Adam Booth said: "The governing bodies will choose the officials and we have agreed to allow them."
Given the sensitivities on both sides this remains a formula for chaos.
The Stamford Bridge idea collapsed because Klitschko harboured unhappy memories of his brother, Vitali, being stopped on cuts against Lewis in Los Angeles. "Wladimir wants to have a German doctor in the corner and that's something the British Boxing Board of Control wouldn't allow," B�nte said. "They insist that one of their own doctors must be in the corner. That's why the fight won't be happening in the UK."
Under German rules Haye will be allowed a British doctor while Klitschko is overseen by a local. "In this case we had our experience in Los Angeles with the Lewis fight. We had to make sure someone objectively watches it, so it's fair and square."
While these labyrinthine negotiations continue the fighters have been denigrating one another in contrasting styles. On Tuesday's London leg of the promotional tour after the opening spat in Hamburg the previous day, Klitschko, for instance, wanted to know: "Would your mother like to see a picture of you with your head off?" Haye's severed-head T-shirt showing the Klitschko brothers post-decapitation still grates with the younger of the champion brothers.
He said this after Haye had renewed his mantra about Klitschko being dull and a curse on boxing. "His personality is exactly how he fights ? boring ? and that's why he needs eradicating from the heavyweight division," Haye said. "We're two animals. I'm just a dog, you can't control me. When you get two dogs in a fight the tougher one wins, the one who's tougher mentally and physically. That's me. I'm a prime fighting machine.
"He's manufactured, look at his style. Boring. Jab-jab-grab, jab-jab-grab. That's what he does. He wants to control everybody but he can't control me. I won't do what all his opponents have done in the past, which is take his stupid jab and allow him to hold me. It's not going to happen."
Klitschko is regarded as an intellectual among fighting men but his trash talk forced Sky Sports News into an apology after some dubious remarks about Haye's sexuality. "Your speech was a little weak. I was expecting you to do a little more because you want to be an actor in Hollywood and it takes a little more to get there. I opened the Hayemaker magazine [the British fighter's in-house mag] and it's 'me, me and more me'. If they change the H to G it would be funnier and maybe help sales."
Haye, who spent much of the press conference labelling his opponent a control freak, countered: "It's time for the Klitschkos to fade into boxing history like the big robots they are."
So far, so predictable, but after the severed-head stunt Klitschko has seized his chance to lecture his opponent about conduct. "I think he feels sorry for it, deep inside I think he knows he made a mistake. With certain things you don't cross the line. You can promote, you can talk garbage, but there are certain things you cannot touch."
Reminded that Muhammad Ali and others were practical jokers who employed freak-show comedy to shift tickets, Klitschko said: "Muhammad Ali supported the black movement in the United States, he refused to go to Vietnam, he made hostages free in Iraq. He was big outside the ring. He was funny. I can laugh about Muhammad Ali and the way he promoted fights. I cannot laugh about T-shirts showing people with their heads off." After round two, Klitschko is agreed to be ahead in the psychological sparring.
A reluctant fighter in his early years, Klitschko represents the biggest test of Haye's 26-fight pro career, which took flight with his victory over the gargantuan Nikolai Valuev in Nuremberg, for the World Boxing Association belt in November 2009. "I never loved boxing, to be honest with you. I was never a fan of boxing," Klitschko said. "I started by accident, because my brother started. I wanted to be a doctor, actually, but my brother was a born fighter, so I became a fighter, at the sports school. I have learned in boxing so much that I couldn't learn at Cambridge or anywhere else.
"Boxing is such a beautiful sport. The history of boxing started here in England. It is a sport for gentlemen. Gentlemen must behave as gentlemen."
When he tried for the second day to shake his opponent's hand, though, Haye refused and said: "I don't do what you want me to do. What part of that don't you understand?"
Dougie's Friday mailbag
Mayweather audio: ‘Money’ doesn’t understand why Americans root for Pacquiao
Floyd Mayweather is dealing with legal woes and apparently embarking on a career as a professional sports gambler, so we're no closer to to seeing him step in the ring against Manny Pacquiao.
Mayweather appeared on the Afternoon Saloon radio show on ESPN1000 in Chicago to talk about some recent sports betting tickets he posted on Twitter. The "Pac-Man" fight came up and Mayweather said he can't figure out why so many Americans are Manny fans.
"The thing is this I'm an American citizen and I represent this country with the red, white, and blue. The only thing I want is the people in my country to stand behind me. I'm in my own country and I have a lot of people against me," Mayweather said (6:10 mark). "Our country is a great country, it's a clean country, and all I ask him to do is take the test, that's it. He takes the test and we got a fight."
At the end of the Mayweather again expressed his frustrations with Americans who side with Pacquiao (8:40 mark).
Quotes via Sports Radio Interviews