As Tomasz Adamek 40-1, (27) entered the ring at his adopted Newark, New Jersey, it was visible this was now a true heavyweight. Not only did he appear bigger but good news for Goral’s fans, he seemed to have added the extra pounds in all the right places, his calf’s and thighs looked bigger a sure sign he has been taking the transition seriously and there is little chance of him moving back down to compete at cruiserweight.   Continue 

Valero – DeMarco, The Raging Bull forces the Matador to Retire on his Stool Making the second defence of his WBC lightweight title Edwin Valero of Venezuela stopped Tijuana’s Antonio DeMarco to keep his 100 percent knockout ratio intact at Arena Monterrey, Monterrey, Mexico.  Continue

I For One Can’t Wait Till Amir Khan Shuts Up The Critics

By Mark Leroy:  Over the past few weeks I have been reading many articles on Amir Khan and how he is supposedly “ducking opponents”. Sheer ignorance or desperation for an eye-catching title has been the main objective of these ludicrous articles.    Being from the UK myself I have watched Amir Khan develop from a wet behind the ears kid to a world champion, under the guidance of trainer of the year Freddie Roach.   

Promoter Gary Shaw has been flapping his gums again, “I tried to make a fight between Amir Khan and Timothy Bradley” said Shaw, Bradleys promoter. “His Promoters Golden Boy Promotions said ‘absolutely no chance, no way.’ Mouthy Shaw went on to say “The reason why Amir Khan refuses to fight [WBA light welterweight interim champion Marcos Maidana] is he’s scared.   Continue

With the debate still raging, did the decade end at the beginning of 2010 or must we await the end.  Regardless I am seeing more and more hand out their pick for the decade.  SO here is my round of the decade.

Diego Corrales vs. Jose Luis Castillo I, Round 10

This round had every ingredient required to make a scintillating round of boxing.  Multiple knockdowns, points deducted and swings in momentum you could not believe even although your eyes were assuring you what you where witnessing was actually happening.

You won’t be surprised this fight was my pick for fight of the decade.  You really know you have witnessed something special when the old timers who have been in and around the game for an eternity are as impressed with the action as you.  I always consult with those whom lived through some of the Golden eras of the sport, these guys are tough to please, “Oh’ they don’t make them like they used to” you may be familiar with the quote from your grandfather.  So when they eulogize a fighter, fight or commend anything in today’s game, you must take heed and listen to the wise.  Continue

Rigondeaux donating Friday night’s purse to the Children of Haiti Fund

LOS ANGELES (Feb. 4, 2010) – Two-time Olympic champion Guillermo “El Chacal” Rigondeaux, arguably the greatest amateur boxer of all-time, is showing more of his personal side with an announcement that he is donating his entire purse from this Friday night’s fight to the Children of Haiti Fund.

Rigondeaux (4-0, 3 KOs), fighting as a super bantamweight, now lives in Los Angeles after defecting from Cuba, where he was a 7-time national champion. The 28-year-old southpaw also won multiple World Championships titles, as well as a gold medal at the 2003 Pan-Am Games, during his incredible 243-4 amateur career.  Continue

Floyd Mayweather vs Shane Mosley Let the games begin

By Mike Samuels:   Circumstances in boxing arise at the drop of a dime – fighters get sick, injured, come up on personal issues, or are flat out given ‘step-a-side’ money until a later date – so it should come as no surprise Floyd Mayweather and Shane Mosley have yet to make their proposed May 1st bout official.

Whether it’s official this week or next and whether it happens in May or September – or ever, for that matter— there’s no reason to let speculation ruin the possibility of a great fight for our sport. So without further adieu, I’m going to start the trendy ‘pre fight break down’ analysis that is sure to be flooding message boards around the world as soon as the ink is dry on the fight contracts.

I will use the follow criteria to break down both Floyd Mayweather and Shane Mosley’s intangibles: Experience, Speed, Power, Boxing IQ, Chin and Defense.   You can feel free to drop me a line after reading this piece (if you, in fact, make it all the way through without falling asleep or deathly ill) by clicking the e-mail link at the bottom of the page.  I’m always in favor for adoring fan mail proclaiming me as a true prophet to the highest pugilistic degree.   But I’m more accustomed to the free spewing venom of hate mail thrown together by most boxing know-it-alls.   Either way, I don’t discriminate and I look forward to hearing something, negative or positive.  Continue

Boxing Prizefighter Light-Middleweight Contestants confirmed

PRIZEFIGHTER returns with the first ever light-middleweights competition.

The event, which will be staged at the York Hall in Bethnal Green, east London, will be held on Friday, February 26. “Once again it’s a mix of former champions trying to reignite their careers and young guns looking to make a big name for themselves but, as always, there can only be only one winner.”

This will be the tenth Prizefighter event where four quarter-finals, two semi-finals and the final, each lasting a maximum of three rounds, take place in one thrilling evening.

A successful night at Prizefighter can transform a boxer’s career with many of the previous winners going on to fight for major titles.   Continue

by Mark Leroy:   Did Floyd Mayweather’s temporary retirement cost him the fighter of the Decade?    Did anyone tell Floyd he was en-route to equalling a record held by “Marvellous” Marvin Hagler. The long reigning middleweight champion was ring magazine pound for pond fighter for four consecutive years, (1983, 1984, 1985 and 1986). Three consecutive year winners include Mike Tyson, Pernell Whitaker and Floyd Mayweather.

Floyd Mayweather was undefeated when he entered temporary retirement after his tenth round stoppage of England’s Ricky Hatton on December of 2007. Mayweather stated he had nothing left to prove. The American was born in to a boxing family and had been competing for many years, it was time for a rest and to let the body breakdown and regenerate. Probably a sensible choice, no one knows their body better than the fighter themselves.   Continue

Pacquiao looking Tremendous in Training.   Pacquiao started training for his showdown with Ghanaian Joshua Clottey on Monday, conditioning coach Alex Ariza reported the Filipino started training camp weighing 149 pounds, only 2 pounds over the agreed upon weight limit for the March 13th date at the $1.2 billion Cowboy’s stadium, Arlington, Texas.   The current pound for pound king looks to have filled his 5' 6½″frame, and will most likely continue to compete in the welterweight division as a true welterweight and not a blown up lightweight.   Continue

By Mark Leroy: Manny Pacquiao Joins the Elite Fighter of the year club.   Manny Pacquiao has been named 2009 fighter of the year by The Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). The Filipino sensation joins an exclusive club of five men who have been awarded the trophy.

Other three time winners, Muhammad Ali (1965, 1974 and 1975), Joe Frazier (1969, 1971 and 1975), Sugar Ray Leonard (1976, 1979 and 1981), Evander Holyfield (1990, 1996 and 1997).

The Filipino sensation wrapped up the previous year of 2008 with a win over Oscar De La Hoya at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, on December.    In May of 2009 Pacquiao squared off against Ricky Hatton in a fight many believed would be a possible fight of the year candidate.    This was Pacquiao’s first fight in the Light Welterweight division, Hatton was undefeated as a light welterweight, his solitary loss came in 2007 when he stepped up to the welterweight division to challenge Floyd Mayweather Jr.   Continue

By George Napier   David Haye will Boss Ruiz in Manchester.  WBA heavyweight champion David Haye, 29, will face former two time champion John Ruiz when he defends the title for the first time in April at the M.E.N Arena, Manchester.

Now it's time to showcase my skills again in front of the great British public and I'm delighted to have the fight at Manchester's MEN Arena” said the Brit.  "I've been there on many nights to watch Ricky Hatton, Joe Calzaghe, even Mike Tyson, and the atmosphere was always tremendous.   Fans are sure to pack the 23, 000 capacity venue to witness the first heavyweight title fight to be contested on these shores for over a decade. Lennox Lewis second round knockout of Francois Botha in 2000.  Continue

At last we have a fight, Mayweather vs Mosley is signed for May 1st.   At long last Floyd Mayweather has a dance partner for his date with the MGM Grand, Las Vegas on May 1st. "All of the deal points have been agreed to," Mayweather adviser Leonard Ellerbe said.  "We still have to put pen to paper, but everything is agreed to.” Both camps looked to have agreed upon drug testing protocol, the issue that plagued the Pacquiao mega fight for what seemed like weeks.

Initially after the collapse of the Mayweather – Pacquiao mega fight both camps stood steadfast with regards to their proposed date of March 13th. This was the final slap in the face to all boxing fans, not only where we deprived the fight we all wanted; we witnessed both camps squabbling over a date.  Ultimately the fan would be the biggest looser; yet again, having to dig deep into their pockets to pay for two PPV cards on the same night.  Continue

What if Clottey beats Pacquiao, What Then?

What are the ramifications for Manny Pacquiao if Ghanian Joshua Clottey defeats him at the Cowboy’s stadium on March 13th.   Will Pacquiao’s world come tumbling down around him like Tysons did in 1990, When massive underdog James Buster Dougles knocked him out in the Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan.

What will happen with the much anticipated Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather mega-fight?   A sure matchup between Tyson and Holyfield was in tatters after Iron Mike’s defeat in Tokyo.   The bout did take place six years later, but Tyson’s antics outside the ring had a huge part to play.   Nevertheless had Mike Tyson not been sent to Prison a Holyfield bout would have been somewhat in the distance, as he was already rebuilding his career after the Dougles defeat.   Continue

by Rafael Garcia Quinones
(The Road to the Welterweight Crown runs through Shane Mosley)

As 2010 begins, the Welterweight division is in disarray.  This is in sharp contrast to the way things were a year ago.   Back then, we were looking forward to the Margarito-Mosley fight.  Most people expected Margo to win.  If he had, he would've most likely been crowned the guy to beat at 147 pounds, or at least he would've been as close as anyone in a long time to become that.

Paul Williams was still hanging around welterweight though, so Margo would've have had to deal with him sooner or later to clear all doubts.  But even that situation would've been much easier to disentangle when compared to the way things stand today.   However, things not always happen as expected in boxing.   2009 saw a lot of surprises happen at welterweight: plastergate, the arrival of Pacquiao, the return of Mayweather, and the involuntary idleness of Mosley after dismantling Margarito, to name a few.

In the last weeks of 2009 we came close to seeing a fight agreed upon by what most people see as the top two guys in the division.  It would've made an easy job of finally finding the undisputed welterweight champion, right?

Wrong.  Continue

by Gorilla Productions:  Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather - The Fight That never was.  Like many boxing fans around the world I find it hard to explain just how much I was looking forward to the Pacquiao – Mayweather fight. Not since Bernard Hopkins vs. Felix Trinidad in 2001 had I anticipated such a fight, Pacquiao had the P4P crown, a crown relinquished by undefeated Floyd Mayweather when he entered temporary retirement in 2007   Continue

The Birth of a Boxing Featherweight Dreamland:   Since the demise of the heavyweight division most outsiders have focused their attention on the lower divisions.   In truth it’s the lower divisions that produce the many titanic battles we have witnessed over the years, this is evident in the coveted ring magazine fight of the year, not since Holyfield – Tyson II, in 1996 has the division captured that particular award.   Of recent years the welterweight division has been rich in talent, and with the birth of the Showtime super six classics tournament, the super middleweight division is sure to thrill. However things are taking shape in the featherweight division, until now it’s been cruising below the boxing radar, but this weekend that radar intercepted another two legitimate champions who are sure to thrill as the boxing world gazes on.   Continue