Greg Cohen of Greg Cohen Promotions is proud to announce the signing of one of Canada’s top rated prospects, Tony “Lightning” Luis (14-0, 6 KOs) to a promotional agreement.

24-year-old Luis is a native of Cornwall, Ontario, who first caught the eye of many boxing observers with an impressive TKO 5 over Adrian Valdez on ESPN Friday Night Fights in June of 2010.

Gifted with blazing hand speed and a vicious left hook to the body, Luis has already won the WBC Continental Americas Junior Welterweight Championship via KO1 over former NABA Champion Alejandro Barrera in October 2011 and was named a Goodwill Ambassador by the WBC.

As an amateur, Luis was a seven-time Ontario Champion, a 2006 Eastern NY Golden Gloves Champion, won three National silver medals and defeated 10 Canadian National Champions.

During the day, he works as a counselor on an Indian reserve near his Cornwall, Ontario home. He is trained by his father Jorge.

“Tony Luis makes an excellent addition to our stable and we’re very proud to be working with him,” said Greg Cohen. “He has made the jump from excellent amateur to outstanding professional and we predict big things will happen in his future.”

Keith Terceira

Former Heavyweight Champion Lennox Lewis has officially come out in support of the British Boxing Board of Control and their attempts to end the bout between Haye and Chisora in Luxembourg.

BBBC has threatened to de-license any fighter, manager, etc that takes part in the card.

“We are going through a disciplinary process right now and the British Boxing Board of Control is handling that. Should they be allowed to fight? Sure – but only when the time is right, when the disciplinary process has run its course. Chisora did a couple of bad things which, in football terms, brought the game into disrepute, and although he has apologized, that is not enough. Maybe he needs anger management therapy, some outside help, to draw a line under what happened in Germany,” Lewis told The Mirror.

“I don’t think there can ever be justification for going behind the British board’s back. We all know the board is there for a reason, and they made a decision to suspend Chisora’s license in good faith, so to go around their jurisdiction is pretty poor, it’s in poor taste. And for two boxers from England to go abroad and behave in that manner was damaging for the country’s image. Slapping your opponent at the weigh-in, spitting in another champion’s face in the ring, throwing a punch while holding a bottle and threatening to shoot a fellow boxer was all way over the top.”

Top Rank announced today the signing of amateur sensation Toka Kahn-Clary, from Providence, Rhode Island. Kahn-Clary, 20, who boasts speed, power and a “pro style of fighting” is trained by Peter Manfredo Sr. and managed by Mike Criscio, who discovered and managed light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson. Kahn-Cary will make his pro debut, as a junior lightweight, on Friday, June 8, at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, on a card headlined by the Kelly Pavlik vs. Scott Sigmon super middleweight bout.

“Everyone at Top Rank is excited and what a great way for Toka to start, fighting on the Kelly Pavlik card at the Hard Rock,” said Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum.

“Toka is a top prospect who is the real deal. He throws a lot of punches and hits hard,” said Bruce Trampler, Top Rank’s Hall of Fame matchmaker.

Manfredo added, “Toka is the best I’ve seen at our gym in 35 years – and I’ve seen a lot of fighters. He has speed, skill, tremendous combinations and a big heart.”

A native of Liberia, Kahn-Cary moved to Philadelphia when he was six, where he was soon orphaned, losing his father in a shooting that same year. He made his way to Pawtucket, RI, where life was not any easier, but eventually he was taken under the wings of Andrea Watson, her husband Ron Clary and Manfredo. Those three and boxing proved to be Kahn-Clary’s salvation. As an amateur, Toka was a Gold medalist at the National Golden Gloves (2010), a Silver medalist at the U.S. Championships (2011), and a Bronze medalist at the U.S. National Championships (2012, 2010.)

Less than three weeks before Antonio Tarver steps into the ring to continue his campaign at cruiserweight by taking on the unbeaten power puncher Lateef Kayode, the “Magic Man” held an open workout on Tuesday before a packed house of his hometown media at Calta’s 24/7 Fitness. “This guy is predicting he’ll knock me out in the fifth round. If Kayode comes in with that type of recklessness, he can be out before that because he has never been hit by someone who can punch as hard as me,” said Tarver.

“And not just punching hard, I’m a sharpshooter. I punch organs. I target organs: liver, kidney, heart. I don’t just punch mass, I punch organs and I punch that chin. Remember that the chin is not a muscle so you can have all the muscles surrounding your neck and body, chest and abs, because if I touch that chin the right way, it’s lights out, baby. There are no more guys like myself. Shane Mosley lost. Bernard Hopkins lost. I’m the last Mohican. I’m the last guy who is 40-plus.”

“We have a storyline here: A young guy who took offense to what I was saying as a commentator. I was just doing my job. I think the youth, the inexperience got the best of him. He’s got his handlers saying that he’s ready to roll the dice. But you’ve got to respect his position. He’s a young fighter coming up that has nothing to lose. So Kayode is in a beautiful position and if he loses to me, what has it done? It’s going to set him back a little bit but he can regroup. I can’t regroup if I lose to Lateef Kayode. There would be an asterisk and a question mark by my name and we can’t have that.

“He’s only got two hands and he can’t throw them but one at a time. We’re going to simplify it. I’ve fought a lot of strong guys that didn’t get lucky, that couldn’t hit me, couldn’t find me. So he’s coming in here trying to get lucky. I’m coming in here to rely on my skills, my experience and my conditioning to win this fight. I’ll take Kayode places he’s never been. And that’s in deep waters. He’s never been in there with a fighter like me and I’m going to show him what it’s all about.

“This is what sparring is all about. I’ve got young guys in here. I don’t have any old punching bags in here. Because if I can’t get it done in the gym, I can’t get it done June 2.

“We’re putting everyone on notice. Expect the unexpected. Kayode said the fight is going to end, that he’s going to knock me out in the fifth round. He might have a good prediction in the fifth round but I think he’s got the storyline a little twisted.

“We’re in a phone booth in camp. That’s definitely what we think the fight will represent, a phone booth. We like it in close quarters. I’m too old to run.

“I had a chance to commentate a few of his fights and he didn’t like the things I was saying. But as a young fighter, you can’t always feed them cake and ice cream. Sometimes you’ve got to put something in the back of his head so he could say, ‘You know what? Maybe there is something I can go back and work on.

“It’s about skill and I got it. We’re not going to wait for anyone to tell us how great we are because if you wait for someone to give you a compliment, you’ll be waiting forever and a day. We know who we are and we are going to continue to display it. We’re going to kill our critics with success. We got the skill, us throwback fighters. And I’m a throwback fighter because I’m older now, I’m sitting down [on my punches] more and I’m a fan friendly fighter.

“What keeps the fire burning? Critics, naysayers and my own personal achievement. People can laugh now when I tell them I’m going to become heavyweight champion. They don’t want to buy into it but they will because at 210 pounds, I’m elusive. I’m powerful. I’m strong and they can’t hit what they can’t see. I’m not a big, robotic fighter that can’t move. So those are they’re advantages. The only hope they got is to hit me on the chin and knock me out. And that’s never been done before. .

“I’m going to get that heavyweight title. Wladimir Klitschko, here I come. I’m going to get that heavyweight title. That’s coming back to America, baby. Trust it. Stamp it. Write it down.”

Joining Tarver at the workout on Tuesday was his good friend Ronald “Winky” Wright, who will fight in the co-main event, making his return to the ring against rising star “Kid Chocolate” Peter Quillin. “Young guys, young guys,” said Winky. “Inexperience and all of that. The nervousness is getting to them and they want to prove this and prove that. The only time you’ve got to prove something is in the ring. Fans cans expect a great fight. They can come to see Winky Wright knock Kid Chocolate’s head off – not knock him out – knock his head off. He thinks I’m going to run? We’ll see. I’m going to show him a fight.”

Antonio Tarver (29-6, 20 KOs) vs. Lateef Kayode (18-0, 14 KOs) will headline a Showtime Championship Boxing telecast on June 2 from The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.

Tom Donelson

Can Tim Bradley defeat Manny Pacquaio?

Bradley is a rough and tough fighter who can turn this fight into a brawl. There are two things that his record shows, an undefeated record against quality fighters but a fighter who is most likely going the distance against quality fighters.

He defeated Devon Alexander in a rough fight that saw an accidental head butt prematurely ending the fight. Bradley imposed his will on a slick boxer and he won a decision against a knock out power puncher in Luis Abregu. The only knockout victory over the past five years was against an aging Joel Casamayor for the WBO light welterweight title in his last fight.

Against Manny Pacquaio, he will be facing a fighter with fast hands and knockout power and the PACMAN is one of the greatest pound for pound fighter of his generation. There is one factor in Bradley’s favor rarely discussed and that is the age factor. Bradley is coming into his prime at 28 and Pacquaio is now 33, so we can assume that Pacquaio is traveling on the down side of his career.

No one can out run father’s time and we don’t know when a fighter looks old in the ring, in particular a fighter who has his share of tough fights against quality opponent like Pacquaio.

For the PACMAN, his advantage lies in two areas that often prove decisive in a fight of this nature, power and speed. Pacquaio has become a more flexible fighter over the years as he learned to box when he needs to and he has become a two handed fighter.

Earlier in his career, he was a one punch fighter, going for broke with his powerful left hand but now, he throws combinations so he have flexibility when dealing with Bradley.

Unlike Marquez, Bradley doesn’t exhibit a lot of movement so Pacquaio will not be chasing Bradley but on some occasion being the matador to Bradley bull like rushes. Against Alexander, Bradley made the Saint Louis boxer uncomfortable but can he repeat this with Pacquaio, by sticking close to Pacquaio and making him uncomfortable with his inside tactics?

I don’t see Pacquaio losing this fight for the simple reason, Bradley style may be perfect for Pacquaio since the PACMAN will be able to hit Bradley at will but then Bradley will be able to strike back since Pacquaio does not have the same defensive skills as Mayweather and his offense often prove to be his defense as Pacquaio launches punches in bunches.

Pacquaio can play offense against Bradley and his hand speed will allow him to prevail in the most exchanges. Bradley is a tough fighter and this could go the decision with Pacquaio winning a unanimous decision. If there is a stoppage, it will be the PACMAN doing the stoppage.

Keith Terceira

Willie “The Great” Nelson (18-1-1, 11 KOs) shocked  previously unbeaten Yudel Jhonson (12-1, 8 KOs) on Friday night at the Texas Station Gambling Hall in Las Vegas. Nelson dropped Jhonson with a big  right hand in round two. Jhonson floored Nelson hard in the fourth with a left. Nelson in turn staggered Jhonson in round five and took control of the fight from that point. Scores were 95-94, 97-92, 97-92.

Nelson, who is trained by Jack Loew, took the fight on less than two weeks notice after original foe Freddy Hernandez withdrew with an injury.

In a clash of unbeaten super middleweights, WBC #9 Badou Jack “The Ripper” (11-0, 8 KOs) sqeeked out a controversial eight round split decision over Alexander Brand (17-1, 15 KOs). The windmilling attacks of Brand frustrated Jack , but Badou won on two cards 77-75, 77-75. Brand was up 77-75 on the third card.

In other results: Cuban super featherweight Rances Barthelemy (16-0, 11 KOs) remained undefeated with an eight-round unanimous decision over Las Vegas’ Robert Osiobe (11-5-4, 6 KOs). Scores were 79-72 and 78-73 twice. Las Vegas super feather Jesus Gutierrez (4-0, 2 KOs) brought the crowd to watch him batter crosstown debuter Jimmy Jones (0-1) around, knocking him down twice en route to a TKO win at 2:34 of round three.

Cuban light-heavy Yunieski Gonzalez (8-0, 5 KOs) took out Phoenix’ Carlos Reyes (5-4-1, 3 KOs) at 1:39 of the first; Michigan cruiser William Mitch Williams (4-2-1, 4 KOs) stopped Carlos Gaytan (3-1-1, 3 KOs), of Reno, at 1:20 of the first; and Puerto Rican super middleweight Roberto Acevedo (4-0, 3 KOs) TKO’d Milwaukee’s Martinez Porter (1-2) at 2:19 of round two. Stay tuned for a full report and gallery tomorrow.

Keith Terceira

Shortly after the Saturday night event ended, my old trainer’s mindset took over, as pieces of the fight began to materialize and Miguel Cotto’s game plan was super imposed over a Manny Pacquiao skillset and style, I realized why this fight has not yet been made.

Cotto, who gave Mayweather all he could handle and who was on the way to the gate holding the keys to victory before Floyd’s conditioning trumped a fading Cotto after round nine, showed to the world that Mayweather can be beat and if he is, finally defeated, it will be by a southpaw.

The infamous Mayweather shoulder roll, worked very well with the right hands that Miguel tried to connect with, but often it was the left hooks that caught the “Money Man”  on the button of his nose, along with the jab that Cotto threw while boxing and creating angles,  unless Mayweather turns southpaw that shoulder roll will only be effective against Pacquiao’s jab or straight rights during a combination.

Arum and Top Rank will prove pivotal by the way they handle working with whichever commission that the eventual mega fight takes place under because Mayweather will need to return to his clinching style versus Pacquiao as the shoulder roll is less effective.

If Arum can force the commission to use a referee that is less likely to allow clinching without a point deduction then the fight swings in favor of Manny by a wider margin.

One combination that will work well against Floyd will be a lead right hand followed by a left hook as Mayweather tucks his chin into his shoulder after rolling his shoulder in defense of the right. After a few attempts at this combination Floyd will begin to use his right hand to protect his face from the follow up left hook and that’s when his body well be exposed to the hook downstairs.  The double left hook up and downstairs will prove an effective weapon, especially when it’s reversed downstairs upstairs later in the fight

Taking Mayweather’s range away and keeping close as did Cotto will be important, should the two fighters meet but unlike Cotto Pacquiao can create angles and step around Floyd which Miguel did not do often –or at least often enough.

Cotto definitely gave Freddie Roach a blueprint, a basic game plan to defeat Mayweather but that of course will depend on the fight ever happening.

One reason Mayweather may never meet Pacquiao isn’t fear, it’s intelligence.

Mayweather is intelligent enough to realize that styles make the fight, just as Pacquiao knows that a counter punching Marquez will always have a hard time defeating the aggressor in  Pacquiao, Floyd must know that Manny has the style, being an energetic, combination throwing , southpaw that would not mesh with the style that Mayweather displayed on Saturday evening.

Cotto who caught Floyd often, while bigger than Pacquiao, is a shade slower and less accurate. One confusing aspect of the fight was that when Cotto boxed and created angles to hit Mayweather he was much more effective with the jab, as well as with the left hook but only really went that direction sparingly, rather when action got heavy stood directly in front of Floyd and fought more like a straight at him mauler most of the fight.

That is not a mistake I feel Roach will allow for Pacquiao.

The blueprint is there, now all that is needed, is a contract, and a fight night, to see if I’m correct.

Ciao!

Keith Terceira

The suicide of Hall of Fame NFL player Junior Seau, as well as the review of other NFL greats like Mike Weaver and Dave Duerson, are causing a troubling conversation in the world of professional football that is nothing new to Boxing fans.

What is interesting is that NFL fans are finally getting the point from doctors that having your bell rung is not just a right of passage on the football field to be laughed off and “walked off” as coaches for decades have done at all levels.

An interesting comment made by NFL player Gary Plummer stating in his career he must have had 1500 concussions is being laughed off and ridiculed by NFL fanatics as over done, and every guy that ever donned a helmet suddenly knows that Plummer is lying. What those armchair ball players don’t tell you is that their position was left end of the bench next to the water cooler, passing towels to the starters.  What these same fans don’t understand is NFL players have been forced to sit through seminars that tell them that there are stages and levels of concussions beginning with “bell ringing ” or “seeing stars”, being the lowest level of injury, but have no doubt , it’s brain trauma.

Any high school player that has run the gauntlet  on the training field can tell you about having his bell rung and any boxer from age eight and up can describe the same the same feeling from sparring even with head gear.

If having your bell rung is the symptom of a light concussion to the head then I can confess to having hundreds if not over a thousand concussions in my lifetime of sparring up until a couple of decades ago. In three- four rounds of sparring there were times that I spent the entire round with Notre Dame cathedral ringing in my ears and seeing more stars than the Hubbel telescope.

What is even more interesting is that NFL players are tweeting that they would never wish for their children to be involved in the sport of football, unlike myself who encourages his children to train and learn the basics of boxing and feel the effects of having to defend themselves in the face of pain and adversity. That is what they will need in real life,.

The difference is that I don’t desire my children to compete because of the business of boxing and the way amateur boxing is run at a national level. Education is more important because that is a talent that gives for a lifetime instead of a sport that churns and burns you until your body gives out, like football, and you have to spend whatever money you do make if you are fortunate on doctors to extend your life, or the sacrifice of your body so your quarterback can advance to the next level and you can go work in the factory telling your buddies at the bar how great you were in high school.

Playing football has no value in this day and age and teaches no skill that will remain with you in your adult life. The day and age of football teaching team effort and all that garbage was from a day and age that businesses acted like teams and supported a team effort. The average time on a job nowadays is what 5 years, wheres that team spirit when your company moves that job to India or Thailand and you get the pink slip.

In this era of revolving door human resources divisions and companies who care more about investors than employees only an idiot goes into the business world as a zombie believing that a company will care for them and taking one for the team until they retire.

Boxing teaches you, your individual limits, self awareness, self confidence, and self discipline. Football teaches you what, take one for the team, do your job and your mate will do his to create a team effort. THat does not transfer to the real world where, your mate at the next cubicle is gonna sacrifice your ass if he can get that promotion because frankly you don’t pay his bills but the boss does and baby needs a new pair of shoes.

Kurt Warner may not want his children playing football and I agree with him, but my children including my girls learn to defend themselves against an attack by a nut, and they learn that they have the strength within themselves to push past adversity, to push past exhaustion and find the strength inside that God gave them, to be more than just a team player taking it up the wazoo for the owners, they learn to be a strong individual prepared for the trials of life and to be the owner of their own destiny, because when you are in the trenches of life very few people are better at having your back then you are.

At one point in my life I believed that the military taught the right principals for young people, then the truth about how our veterans are treated by citizens and our government was brought to light after Vietnam, vets take better care of each other than do the people that are paid to.

I feel football players at all levels should finally turn to boxing because frankly if I’m gonna take a risk getting my bell rung , I might as well do it to make myself rich and not some corporate fat-cat watching from the box-seats.  I would rather compete in a sport where people get to know me and I can sell myself versus one that attempts to create a wall where fans never see my face and won’t recognize my name after ten brutal years if I last that long.

The truth about football will someday come out, where coaches play favorites and sacrifice your kids, so that the QB can get a scholarship or that great running back can get your coach promoted up a level. At least in the boxing gym you know in a short period of time that your kids may not have a future in sports but can at least learn to defend against the bullies in their school. Anyone throwing a nice straight combination usually forces a bully to seek easier prey.

Knowing, how to spot a  4-3 defense or a quarterback sneak doesn’t.

Keith Terceira

Round by Round coverage coming in a few minutes of Canelo Alvarez and Sugar Shane Mosley …

Mosley enters the ring smiling and showing a ripped body which he will need against Canelo’s body attack. Alvarez ready to walk to ring and he is focused. Mosley is 164 pounds and Alvarez weighing 167 at fight time.

Tail of tape shows Mosley with a one inch advantage in height but seeing fighters in ring appears that Canelo is taller. Trowbridge and Ross are two of the judges from the Abril – Rios fight and Reyes the other judge is from Texas.

Round one; Canelo and Shane exchanged jabs and body shots during the round with Canelo making the most damage with a left hook but mostly a feeling out round. Alvarez is definately the taller and bigger fighter. Round is fairly even. mosley gets edge.

Round two; Canelo letting hands go a bit more but Mosley is the busier fighter ,, Alvarez is beginning to move forward instead of reacting to Mosley’s jabs , Canelo beginning to open up landing big body shot and nice left hook. Mosley feeling those punches. Body of Mosley taking some huge shots. Better round for Canelo and we give him that round.

Round Three; Alvarez landing the stiffer shots , even his jab showing good pop, Alvarez landing a big right hand to the face of Mosley. Canelo digs to the body with a right and Shane backs away. Big right lands by Canelo. Cut opens up on Canelo’s left eye from a headbutt , bleeding is bad. Canelo picking up the pace and Mosley is trying to hit the eye with a jab but round ends and the cut was from a headbutt for sure.

Round four:

Cut is not bleeding at moment corner has done good job, Canelo0 takes last round, and Mosley appears to know it and comes out landing jabs and forcing the fight putting on the pressure. Mosley lands a right and alvarez returns fire with more pop. Alvarez taking control with the harder shots but not as busy as Shane. Nice left -right combo lands for Canelo. Mosley working jab but Alvarez is landing as well. Canelo seems to be looking for the bigger punches and Mosley is scoring on lighter more volume of punches. We give round to Mosley on activity but could go either way.

Round five;

Mosley is still trying to control flow of fight Alvarez is taking control back so the flow is back and forth.  Alvarez is landing the harder shots but Mosley is sneaking in good right hands as well. Left hook by Canelo wobbles Shane for a second but Shane right back at Canelo. Both fighter landing well that round with Canelo doing more damage with his punches . Canelo more effective with his economy of his punches, not wasting his energy.

Round six;

Mosley chasing Canelo and Alvarez stops and catches Mosley coming in often. Mosley is a smart fighter but Alvarez is slowly catching Mosley with big shots. Left -right lands for Canelo and another.  Canelo is teeing off with his punches and while Mosley continue s to throw you can see the punches taking effect with Mosley breathing through his mouth and end of round.

Round seven; Again Mosley comes out the aggressor and Canelo allows it because he has Mosley walking into his punches as he counters. Alvarez still landing bombs and Shane is standing right in front and taking the punishment. Shane’s face is showing the swelling from the big shots , Shane landing lighter quicker shots then getting hit with big stuff. Round ends with Mosley having the edge but I see the fight five rounds to two Alvarez.

Round eight;

Mosley coming forward landing well throwing and landing a few but taking one big one . Alvarez lands right  to body then right over top. Alvarez lands again with big shot then Mosley lands with his own right. Good action and both fighters giving and taking shots , Alvarez landing a couple of upper cuts then a left hook when time expires. Round to Alvarez

Round nine;Mosley’s eyes are swelling from power shots. Both fighters land inside with upper cuts now exchange rights and are broken at the ropes. more leaning and exchanging of jabs now. Alvarez lands short right inside jabbing again. Alvarez is landing to the body and good straight right hands. Mosley appears to be slowing from the body work of Canelo. Alvarez taking good right hands from Mosley but shows no respect going right back at Shane walking through Mosley’s best power shots ..round ends

Round ten; Alvarez is landing fifty percent of his punches and they are hard clean shots. Mosley is taking very hard punishment but is game and returns fire but slowing. lands a low shot and Canelo doesn’t blink. Mosley throwing jab and Canelo is not slowed , hard right knocks Mosley back and Alvarez throws a four punch combo and Mosley is taking punishment from a sharpshooting Caneloas round ends. Mosley only lands 5 power shots that round.

Round eleven;

Mosley comes out strong but alvarez stands him up with a jab. Canelo lands four -five shots and Mosley keeps coming forward. Mosley landing but alvarez awakes and lands a few heavy hands. Big right lands by Canelo , eye is bleeding again from jab by Mosley. Mosley backs Alvarez to corner and Canelo lands flush with right. Back and forth but Alvarez landing bigger again. round ends, Mosley fighting like a champ but appears to be way behind.

Twelfth and final round;

Mosley attacking well, but getting caught coming in , Alvarez lands big right and Mosley keeps coming. Three punch combo by Canelo and Mosley comes forward working the body. Big left lands from Canelo, Fighters are exchanging well and crowd is cheering them both. Mosley letting it all hang out …This was a great fight for both fighters. Mosley trying to win the fight, he is an amazing warrior. Canelo is the real deal and we have seen a warrior going out and a warrior being born. Alvarez has won this fight big but Mosley was game as always and Canelo had to earn this win.

Scores in a moment

Judges scores 119- 109, 118- 110, 119- 109 for Alvarez

Canelo wins by UD!

Manny Pacquiao, trainer Freddie Roach and the rest of Team Pacquiao are scheduled to land tonight at LAX International on Philippine Airlines Flight 102 at 8:05PM PT. Pacquiao (54-3-2, 38 KOs), boxing’s only eight-division world champion and the lone congressional representative from the Sarangani province in the Philippines, will begin his four-week U.S. training camp, on Monday, May 7, at Roach’s Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, Calif. Pacman will be defending his WBO welterweight championship crown against undefeated WBO junior welterweight champion Timothy Bradley (28-0, 12 KOs).

It remains to be seen whether Alex Ariza will be welcomed to the Wild Card with open arms when Pacquiao begins training on Monday or whether there will be residual effects from Ariza’s departure from Baguio.

The Pacquiao vs. Bradley welterweight championship collision will take place Saturday, June 9, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, in Las Vegas, Nev., and will be produced and distributed Live by HBO Pay-Per-View®, beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

By Edgar Solorzano

We are just one day away from the Pay-Per-View mega-fight the world has been talking about. Yes, the Mayweather-Cotto battle that will take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. Both fighters have something to prove this Saturday night, but only one corner will end up victorious.

The majority of the boxing experts are picking Floyd Mayweather to dominate Miguel Cotto tomorrow night. As much as I want to disagree, I have to say that I completely agree with the majority of the boxing experts. Miguel Cotto is a smart-talented warrior, but he does not have the right tools to dominate a defensive genius like Floyd Mayweather.

I would have given Cotto a good chance if he had great speed, however; Cotto is quite slow in the ring, and being slow is never an advantage. If you do not want to agree, go watch the Ali-Foreman battle, were Ali’s speed ended up dominating the powerful George Foreman by a fascinating 8^th round Knockout.  Foreman couldn’t match Ali’s speed and it showed on the day of the fight.

I believe the same thing may happen to Cotto if he is planning to slowly break down Mayweather with his strong body punches. One weapon Cotto has that may help him make the fight interesting is his strong jab. Cotto has a great jab. He uses it to create distance or cut off his opponents in the ring.  If Cotto can create a good distance to avoid Mayweather’s counter-punches, he could end up making history. Since nothing is impossible in the sport of boxing.

Saturday night should be a great night of boxing for the fight- fans. Floyd Mayweather’s speed, sharp jab, and stamina will help him stop Miguel Cotto in the later rounds, perhaps round 11 or 12. Even though the fight will take place at 154-pounds, people should be aware that extra weight does not win fights; talent does. Therefore Floyd should not have a problem dominating the Puerto Rican super-star on Cinco De Mayo at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nev.

By Lou Eisen

Is Miguel Cotto the right man to upset Floyd Mayweather Jr.? Most boxing experts believe the answer to that question is no. They may be right. They also may be jaded by Mayweather’s  42-0 unbeaten streak.

If Puerto Rican native Cotto is to succeed, he must remember to follow Oscar De La Hoya’s example and jab his way inside Mayweather’s superior defense. Once there, Cotto must aggressively attack Mayweather’s midsection with unbridled fury, concentrating on the left hook to the liver, in order to slow the Money Man down.

Mayweather is the best defensive fighter in boxing today. Cotto will have a difficult time touching Mayweather.  Cotto possesses knockout power and better than average hand speed. Although Cotto excels at cutting the ring off, he must avoid going head hunting against his quicker foe.

Floyd’s mastery of the shoulder roll, along with his tremendous head movement and sizzling hand and foot speed, make it nearly impossible to drop him with one good head shot. Cotto’s defense is better than it’s often given credit for.  Yes Cotto can be hit but he also takes a good rap on the chin.

This fight comes down to the success or failure of Cotto’s body attack. It is his best chance for victory. In fact, it may be his only chance for success. The fight will be broadcast on HBO which means, if Cotto does indeed lose, then Larry Merchant will finally get his chance to hand Mayweather his first defeat.

Keith Terceira

Timothy Bradley has made the statement, that after he defeats the eight time champion Manny Pacquiao, he feels that Mayweather as well is beatable, and he will set his sights on Floyd.

With the headlines and media swirling around this weekend’s bout between Floyd Mayweather and Miguel Cotto, it stands to reason that both Bradley and Pacquiao will issue statements about fighting Mayweather. Realistically, seems like everyone is coming out of the woodwork to issue challenges to Mayweather for his next fight including Canelo Alvarez.

Not one statement has come out in regards to a bout against Cotto or Mosely, for either champion, they’re immediately overlooked and practically guaranteed a loss this weekend.

It is just this sort of hype that gives boxing a tone of disgrace and shadiness, with the majority of writers and fighters assuming that they already know the outcome of these boxing events, then when it comes true, the casual fan, can’t help but think that the fix was in.

Let’s start with Canelo Alvarez (39-0-1, 29KO) looking past Sugar Shane Mosely (46-7-1, 39KO);

This is a do or die fight for Mosley, who is one of the top champions of the past 15 years, he has power, speed, and while slowed by age and possible injury in his last couple of big events, he is not someone the 21 year old Alvarez can dismiss as a walkover opponent and start contemplating Mayweather.

Alvarez may have a firm belief in himself, and the confidence needed to win this bout, the experience is on the side of the veteran, who has already faced both Pacquiao and Mayweather, with neither being able to finish Mosley inside the 12 rounds.

Mosley may be on the tail end of his career but this is still a step up for Canelo, and being on the undercard of Mayweather – Cotto may be the prep for Mayweather’s next bout.

Two of the world’s greatest boxers in the prime of their careers, out boxed Sugar Shane but what they didn’t do is stop the aged Hall of Famer and they definitely didn’t overlook his skills, Alvarez to even consider anyone after Mosley could be a serious distraction from the job that lies ahead.

Canelo Alvarez will not out box Mosley if Sugar can get his 40 year old body returned to form, and unless Alvarez can loosen up a bit and not just count on his amazing power, he may just walk away this weekend with nothing more than a boxing lesson.

In fairness to Saul, his power may be his answer to Mosley’s craftiness and experience, you can’t make them all miss and if Shane lets the wrong punch slip through then out of all the young welterweights Alvarez is the one that could end this fight early.

Timothy Bradley (28-0-0, 12KO) versus Manny Pacquiao (54-3-2, 38KO) ;

For Bradley to be looking past Pacman to Floyd kind of like the guy who gets his first job and starts talking about how after he makes his first million, he is going to be a billionaire, not quite so easy as talking about it. Timothy Bradley has been skillfully moved along in his career fighting some of the best fighters a couple of rungs on the ladder below Pacquiao.

His toughest opponent Devon Alexander his defeated on a clash of heads in the tenth round and the fight was close enough to be in doubt prior to the stoppage. Devon Alexander is a solid fighter who will, if allowed, be a solid champion one day, but only after the likes of Manny and Floyd finished their careers.

Bradley had a very difficult time getting past Junior Witter, let alone having the likes of Cotto , Margarito, Juan Manual Marquez, Mosely, and Ricky Hatton on his recent resume.

Twelve knockouts in his career against lesser quality fighters doesn’t encourage many to believe that he will suddenly develop the tremendous power needed to stop the Filipino star. Frankly I can’t imagine Bob Arum putting his cash cow in the ring with a fighter that could prevent the future payday that Manny brings to Top Rank.

Looking past Manny Pacquiao a month before the fight is not only comical to fight fans but could very well be an unhealthy proposition for Bradley. Saying things in the press, that may solidify Manny’s determination in training, give him ammunition to further motivate him to be in deadly shape, is the sign of Bradley’s inexperience at this level.

Freddie Roach is a master at finding the holes in a fighter’s defense and creating the combinations and arsenal needed to capitalize on the gaps he locates. Quiet confidence combined with a great performance the night of the event will better serve Bradley in the long run, instead of promises of great performances after this opportunity. Seeing weaknesses in a fighters style is easy at times , it’s the getting in the ring and creating the offense needed to take advantage of those weaknesses that is the part that opponents of both Pacquiao and Mayweather have found difficult.

I agree that Bradley could be dangerous for Manny, as does Emanuel Steward but could be, is not will be.

At the end of the night, Manny Pacquiao will add the WBO title to his trophy cabinet, and all the talk will be back on to Mayweather vs. Pacquiao, as soon as Floyd exchanges his orange jump suit for his boxing trunks again.

Frankly when comparing all the upcoming bouts , it appears to me that if Mayweather – Pacquiao doesn’t occur Pacquiao stands a better chance of either facing Sergio Martinez or Canelo Alvarvez in the future than does Mayweather, who seems to avoid difficult challenges until the odds are swung in his favor. Mayweather may decide though that getting Alvarez in the ring before he has a chance to develop further will be his best move.

It’s all in the numbers fight fans and those numbers begin with dollar signs.

By Keith Terceira
During a short exclusive conversation with MP8.ph , Hall of Fame trainer Emanuel Steward discussed the upcoming fights this weekend and beyond.
“Pacquiao has a tough fight ahead with a sharpshooter, skill wise it is an even money fight, this is a good fight for Manny, I don’t like it myself, if I was protecting Manny but who knows”
This coming weekend Steward will be working the Pay Per View for Mayweather-Cotto bout and expressed his opinion on Cotto’s chances.
“Cotto is a good boxer, and he can win this fight” according to Steward “Better than a punchers chance he is a good fighter”
While discussing the tendency of Miguel Cotto fading in the later rounds ,Steward, was sure that it was something that has been worked on in training.
“He did have that problem in the past but we shall see”
MP8.ph will bring you exclusive news and interviews this week with both Steward and Champion Andy Lee, who will face Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. ,on June 16th in El Paso Texas, and the venue at the moment remains the Sun Bowl.

By Keith Terceira

Newly crowned WBA Welterweight Champion Paul Malignaggi, displayed the stuff dreams are made of in boxing this past weekend, when he boarded a plane and flew into enemy territory to fight a war, that was statistically against him from the onset.

The odds of going into a foreign land , the motherland of your opponent and coming out the victor are great in this sport and always have been, fact is the norm in boxing from the late 1800’s until about the 1950’s were;

“You never beat the hometown favorite in his hometown” it was a taboo in boxing and often fighters exchanged wins tit for tat in hometowns during their careers.

Malignaggi and his camp had to have known that if this fight went to the scorecards it would have been difficult to walk away with the decision.

Leaving nothing to chance Paulie worked a perfect game plan in his destruction of previously undefeated,   Vyacheslav Senchenko (32-1, 21KOs) and left no opportunity for controversy. It also left little doubt in the minds of boxing fans that even if Paulie can’t match up well with Pacquiao or Mayweather at this time he is one of the top five in the division, if not number three.

The Brooklyn born native has often been a road warrior traveling anywhere needed to remain in the top ratings of sanctioning bodies and often discounted when fans talk about the division.

Reading today, one writer suggests that Malignaggi , may be best served fighting Zab Judah at Madison Square Gardens , and I disagree completely as that fight will only best serve promoters involved and Zab Judah, not so much Paulie.

Judah , who is campaigning at 140 needs to stay there and not come up in weight to be exposed again by a bigger, better,  fighter. Frankly after the last mega bout with Judah against Amir Khan I’m inclined not to allow Zab into my mindset until he stops with the tricks and hype and just fights as he is capable.

I get totally confused by writers who out of one side of the pen say Judah was exposed by a better Khan then out of the other side say Khan was exposed as a fraud against Peterson.

These are just losses nothing to expose, simple day when one fighter was better than another, one set of judges saw things different than another set would have, one camp failed in their preparation, where another succeeded. Fighters with the stats and credentials of a Judah or a Khan don’t get exposed they just reach a point where we can see the ultimate level they will reach without changes.

In the case of Zab it may be his changes need to be done in the lifestyle department and outside of ring area, and make them stick for good and not just fight to fight. Don’t talk about changes, just make them ,and show the results in the ring.  Let the fans and scribes figure out what changes were made.

There are much better opponents for Paulie in Devon Alexander, Mike Jones , and Kell Brook that would entertain New Yorkers as much and not have as many distractions for fans. Frankly, I don’t want the hype to exceed the fight which is often the case with Judah.

Working as number three just behind Pacquiao and Mayweather isn’t the worst thing that could happen here as it would place him in a position to be the gate keeper to the two top guys and even earn him a shot at a huge gate.

By fighting guys like Brooks and Alexander and winning, Paulie places himself as a roadblock on a journey to a title fight against Manny and Floyd. Of course that’s in a perfect world, where their is one sanctioning body or one top ten listing. Fun about writing is often you can mix fantasy with reality.

Becoming the number three guy in the division this year and going into next should set-up Malignaggi for one final big payday at the end of an entertaining career with Mayweather or Pacquiao

Younger  than both these Hall of Famers, one can’t help but think, that in 18 months or so,  what the outcome could be for the talented New Yorker. Though the odds would be once again against him, Malignaggi is getting used to preforming well and prevailing against the tide.

Ciao!

Keith Terceira

Paulie Malignaggi (31-4, 7KOs) became a two division world champion , stopping previously undefeated  Vyacheslav Senchenko (32-1, 21KOs) in the ninth round to capture the WBA’s welterweight championship.

Malignaggi  used sharp punches to continuously  damage  Senchenko’s face. By the ninth round, the champion could barely see out of his left eye and was taking a lot of punishment. Referee Steve Smoger had seen enough and stopped the fight.

WBA Inter-Continental cruiserweight title fight, Iago Kiladze (19-0, 13 KOs) scored a second round knockout over Julien Perriaux (15-9, 8 KOs). Kiladze rocked Perriaux in the first round and sent him down with a huge right in the second. Perriaux made it  to his feet, but appeared to be unsteady and the fight was stopped.

In a bout for the WBA Inter-Continental featherweight championship, Oleg Yefimovych (22-2, 11 KOs) used his boxing skill to win a dominating twelve round unanimous decision over Sergio Santillan (29-12-3, 14 KOs).

Tom Donelson

Bernard Hopkins faced a possible final battle against the younger Chad Dawson, a light heavyweight coming into his peak. Hopkins and Dawson engaged in a controversial two round bout that ended up in a no-contest.

Hopkins has continued to surprise as he continues to be one of the best light heavyweights in the world at the age of 47 and over the years, he has managed to upset younger fighters including Jean Pascal, Antonio Tarver, and Kelly Pavlik. It seems whenever pundits bury Hopkins’ career, Hopkins comes back to pull off an improbable victory.

Like Archie Moore, the Old Mongoose, Hopkins has managed to keep fighting at high levels late in his career. Moore depended upon his knowledge of the sweet science, an inner toughness and a knockout punch.

Hopkins doesn’t have Moore power but he has Moore ring smarts and his knowledge of the ring has allowed him to control the action and fight at his pace plus he can still adjust to the situation. Dawson wanted to show Hopkins that he was the master of light heavyweights and the master of Hopkins.

In the opening bout, rising, undefeated Heavyweight prospect Seth Mitchell faced veteran Chazz Witherspoon, who came in the fight with a 30-2 with 22 knockouts. Witherspoon started jabbing and controlling the real estate before Mitchell hit Witherspoon with two wicked body shots. Witherspoon shot a right hand that shook Mitchell and followed with several short rights that put Mitchell on wobbling legs. Mitchell barely made it through the first round and it took will just keep standing.

In the second round, Mitchell pounded the body and got inside of Witherspoon with occasional right hand body shots to get back in the fight after being pounded over the last minute of the first round.

In the opening seconds of the third round, a Mitchell right followed by left hook to the chin sent Witherspoon down. After Witherspoon wobbled back up, Mitchell pounded Witherspoon to the body with vicious left hooks and right hands before going up stairs. With the forty seconds left, he nailed Witherspoon with a right hand that sent Witherspoon to the rope and followed up a left hook and yet another right hand before the referee Randy Neuman determined the rope held Witherspoon.

As the referee began his count, he looked into Witherspoon eyes and determined Witherspoon had enough.

Mitchell is inexperienced fighter but he is also quick learner as he learned to move his body and avoid Witherspoon’s punches in the second and third rounds.

In the first round, he got nailed by short right hands but he found ways to avoid those right hands as the fight progressed.

DAWSON – HOPKINS

Dawson moved forward with jabs in the opening round as Hopkins moved side to side while avoiding the jabs by forcing Dawson to come up short with his punches while looking for counter punches. The first round was more tactical as Hopkins forced the pace to slow down slightly over the second half of the round.

Hopkins played the boxing version of four corners as he moved away from Dawson in the second round. Hopkins would occasionally charge Dawson to force the action and then go back to movement as he got Dawson to fight his pace.

The third round was similar to the first two rounds as Dawson was the busier fighter and had a nice rally in the beginning but Hopkins let his hands go at the end of the round.

In the fourth round, Dawson got head butted and it open up a cut. Dawson looked mad and he allowed Hopkins to carry the fight as Hopkins connected with two solid right hands. With the fight third of the way done, it was a Hopkins style of a fight.

In the opening minutes of the fifth round, Dawson landed a volley of punches and while Hopkins landed two solid rights but Dawson connected on two left hands that hit Hopkins flushed.

The sixth round was one of those typical rounds you see in a latter day Hopkins fight when one or two punches can make the difference. Dawson may have won that round by landing two lefts over the last minute.

In the seventh and eighth rounds, Dawson started to find a home for his left and added a right hook plus an occasional left uppercut. Hopkins started to hold more and punch less, not able to get his right hand to Dawson face like he did in the early rounds but he did manage to open a cut over right eye with left jabs.

Dawson continued to connect with his left and Hopkins charges missed their mark as Dawson simply moved out of his way but HBO Emanuel Steward noted that each round was often decided by one or two clean punches most often by Dawson. The eleventh round was close that could have gone either direction as both fighters connected on double digit punches.

With a minute left, Dawson managed to connect on a left hand in an exchange in which he got the best of in the only real volley of the round.

Dawson won a majority decision in a fight that hardly will make it among the classics but he simply found a way to win rounds by being busier and connecting on one or two punches a round more than Hopkins.

Keith Terceira

Another ugly bout, has finally ended the long standing feud between the now former light heavyweight champion, Bernard Hopkins (52-6-2, 32 KOs) and newly crowned king “Bad” Chad Dawson (31-1, 17 KOs) youth and finesse, finally prevailed over experience and tricks.

Wrestling, clinching, headbutts,  and tackles, the entire arsenal of the tricks by the once great “Executioner” all came to play in this rematch of “Fugly” Championship boxing.

Hopkins of course had a ready excuse for his less than stellar or legal performance citing “ political odds” being stacked against him as well as feeling that Dawson didn’t do enough to defeat him.

“What did he do to win that fight?” Hopkins said. “The only way I knew I would win is if I knocked him out. Let the public judge for themselves.”

What Dawson did do was box in the manner of a champion versus pull out all the stops, an aged fighter could think of to retain the title, Dawson used his calm and intelligence, Hopkins just used his head in this fight.

With scorecards of 117-110 twice and a “what the heck was that guy watching ” 114-114, Dawson put an end to the long  run of Bernard Hopkins in fine fashion.

Hopkins gave us short glimpses of his former greatness during the fight, working the right,  some good body shots, but reverted back to the  less honorable trade-craft of a past the prime champion.

“My head is hurting from all of the head butts,” Dawson said afterward. “I got to give him credit — he’s a future Hall of Famer. He’s a hell of a fighter. He’s a dirty fighter. But if you can get through 12 rounds with him, you can get through anything.”

Constantly the aggressor, Chad maintained his cool, keeping a level head in spite of the tactics,  and from the fifth to the twelfth round forced the champ into survival mode rather than allow him to take control of the fight.

The twelfth and final round was more wrestling and clinching rather than boxing.

History has proven that in time people will remember the younger Hopkins that earned his way into the Boxing Hall of Fame, and not the Bernard of the last several years, but it will take time due to the ugly bouts where Hopkins used ugly to extend his career. Even in the ugly era of Hopkins he gave us the Pavlik and Pascal wins.

Dawson immediately after his hand was raised as victor,  wasted no time on talks of a rematch,  instead went directly to putting Bernard Hopkins in his rear view mirror and issued a challenge to  Andre Ward!

Hopefully, this puts an end to the era, of Bernard Hopkins which was dying a slow , ugly death, and tarnishing a brilliant, illustrious legacy.

By Tom Donelson

Two undefeated talent started the ESPN Friday Night Fights and the first round saw fireworks begin immediately as Javier Fortuna caught Yuandale Evans with a left hand and right hand that forced Evans hand to hit the canvas but the referee did not catch the hands hitting the canvas. Fortuna moved forward with several power punches and as Evans attempted to fight back, Fortuna nailed Evans with a straight left that sent Evans down. Evans barely got up and Fortuna finished the job as he nailed Evans with a second left that turned Evans head 180 degrees and sent him crashing to the canvas. The referee stopped the fight but there was no way that Evans was getting up.
The second bout featured Ismayhl Sillakh challenging Denis Grachev in another battle of undefeated. Sillakh jab and occasionally left hook connected while Grachev moved awkwardly forward and unable to avoid the punches. Sillakh continued to fight defensively in the second round as he showed caution as he simply jab while maintaining distance. Grachev had problems reaching his opponent as his punches kept coming up short and missing, so Sillakh cruised to easy round.
In the third round, Grachev moved right into a Sillakh right hand but Sillakh continued to play it safe after knocking Grachev down. Sillakh nailed Grachev with an uppercut and left hook in the fourth round but Grachev continued to come and continued to be a target for Sillakh’s punches. Throughout fifth and sixth rounds, fans started to get impatient while Sillakh never seem to fight with any urgency. Grachev landed his best punch, a right with time running in the sixth round, but there was nothing indicated that it hurt or even bother Sillakh. In the seventh round, Grachev close the gap against Sillakh and near the end of the round, Grachev threw a left jab to the body before landing a beautiful right that seem to bother Sillakh for the first time in the fight.
Grachev began the round by pursuing as he did the previous rounds but after closing the gap in the seventh round, he continued to close the gap even further. He was now close enough to land right hands consistently and halfway through the round, Grachev landed a right hand that sent Sillakh into the corner and followed with three rights hand that sent Sillakh to the canvas. As Sillakh’s eyes rolled up, the referee stopped the fight. This was a fight that saw Sillakh controlling the fight but as Ted Atlas noted, he was vulnerable to a right. For the first 20 minutes and 50 seconds, Grachev could not connect on a right hand. At the end of the seventh round, he landed his first right that showed damage. Grachev right hand erased a seven round deficit with one punch.
On Shobox the Next Generation, Christ Martin started the fireworks as he fought Luis Del Valle in a battle of 122 pound fighters. Del Valle attacked in the first round and put Martin on the defensive as Martin retreated and looked for places to counter. Martin did very little countering as Del Valle did a good job of pressuring Martin. Del Valle continued to move forward in the second round without much fear of retaliation from Martin as Martin never could effectively jab or counter with his right as he was too busy keeping his hands up in defending himself from De Valle punches.
Martin started to stand and fight in the fourth round as he looked to be more engaged as he retreated less. De Valle landed two good left hooks to body but Martin countered right hand that nailed De Valle and as the round ended, Del Valle retreated for the first time in the fight.
Del Valle came out with a sense of urgency next round as he attacked Martin but Martin landed two left hooks in the corner. Martin right hand started to land effectively against the hard charging Del Valle but Del Valle managed to land some body shots. In the sixth round, Martin allowed his hands to go but De Valle was more active but his nose was bloody and right eye started to swell.
Del Valle took control of the fight as he landed some body shots and he landed a solid left hook to Martin chin that sent Martin down for an eight count. Martin got back up but De Valle continued to pursue Martin as he took an easy 10-8 round.
Del Valle continued to be aggressive as he scored with upper cuts to the body followed by hooks while slowing down Martin comeback but in the ninth round, Martin came forward as he feared that he was behind. Martin landed some solid rights and over the final minute, he added some lefts that forced De Valle to retreat as the bell rang ended the round. Both fighters fought with determination for the first two minutes and thirty seconds of the final round, it was even as both fighters exchanged blows. Over the final thirty seconds, Martin landed three solid lefts that pushed Del Valle back.
Del Valle won the decision but it was a brutal fight and while the scorecard had it for Del Valle in wide numbers, the fight was closer in the ring than on the scorecard but Del Valle was the winner.
Tom Oosthuizen fought Marcus Johnson in a battle of Super Middleweights in the main event. Oosthuizen came out in a southpaw stance and Johnson unleashed some rights against the southpaw. Johnson strategy was to attack and Oosthuizen volley with some solid body shots while both fighters unloaded at close range. In the second round Tommy “Gun” Oosthuizen unleashed barrages of punches to begin the round as Johnson trapped Oosthuizen on the rope but Oosthuizen landed multiple punches on the inside.
The third and fourth round were fought along the rope as both fighters exchanged punches and making it difficult for judges to really determine who was winning the round. At the opening of the fifth round, Oosthuizen attempted to keep the fight in the middle of the ring while Johnson did managed to get Oosthuizen on the rope for brief moments. In the sixth round saw Oosthuizen maneuver Johnson in the middle of the ring but over the last minute of the round, Johnson scored on two effective rights and a left hook that shook Oosthuizen.
Oosthuizen was the busier fighter between the fourth and seventh round as Johnson was often throwing one punch at a time wheareas, Oosthuizen threw in combinations. With two minutes in the eighth round, a body shot from Oosthuizen followed by a straight left sent Johnson down. Oosthuizen nailed Johnson with three body shots followed by an upper cut. Johnson managed to land some solid rights in the ninth round but the round may have belonged to Oosthuizen as he continued to outpunch Johnson. While Johnson attacked in the final round but not effectively as he was getting nailed two punches for every one he threw in Oosthuizen direction. Oosthuizen won the easy decision and the deciding factor was his ability to out punch Johnson while showing will to survive the early rounds. Oosthuizen showed boxing skills as he could jab from distance but he also showed that he could fight inside as he wore Johnson down.

Keith Terceira

Weights for the Hopkins – Dawson bout this weekend have just come in.

Both fighters are below the 175 pound limit and both Mitchell and Witherspoon look to be in good shape as well.

Bernard Hopkins 173.5 vs. Chad Dawson 174.5
Seth Mitchell 241.5 vs. Chazz Withersp0on 231.5
Shawn Porter 153.5 vs. Patrick Thompson 153.5
Mike Faragon 137.5 vs. Sergio Rivera 139.6
Lavarn Harvell 174.5 vs. Tony Pietrantonio 175.4
Julian Williams 154.5 vs. Hector Rosario 155.5
Phil Lo Greco 149 vs. Hector Orozco 149

Venue: Boardwalk Hall
Promoter: Golden Boy/Gary Shaw
TV: HBO

PIROG MAKES 3RD DEFENSE OF WBO MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLE

Kirill Pchelnikov’s KP Boxing Promotion and Art Pelullo’s Banner Promotions will present a sensational world championship fight card on Tuesday, May 1, at Sport Complex Krylatskoe in Moscow, Russia. The fights will be televised in Russia on Channel 2. Check local listings for times.

May 1 is “Spring and Labor Day” in Russia, an official holiday.

In the main event scheduled for 12 rounds, World Boxing Organization middleweight world champion Dmitry Pirog, 19-0 with 15 knockouts, of Gelendzhik, Russia, will make his third defense of the title against WBO No. 11-ranked middleweight contender Nobuhiro Ishida, 24-7-2 with 9 knockouts, of Osaka, Japan.

Pirog, 31 years old, is coming off a 10th-round TKO win against Gennady Martirosyan in his last fight on September 25. He won the vacant WBO world title with a fifth-round knockout against previously undefeated Danny Jacobs in July, 2010, and defended it for the first time with a 12-round unanimous decision win against Javier Francisco Maciel in March, 2011.

The 36 year-old Ishida, promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, is a former WBA interim super welterweight world champion – he won the title in August, 2009, and made one successful title defense. Ishida shocked the boxing world in April, 2011 – he scored three knockdowns and stopped previously undefeated James Kirkland in the first round.

Dmitry told RIA Novosti, “He’s a really tricky boxer – tall, really unorthodox, throws a lot of punches, but not using his maximum strength. It’s good that I’ll have an opponent like that. It’ll give me important and necessary experience that I didn’t have before.”

Golden Boy Promotion’s Eric Gomez said, “We are very thankful for this great opportunity. Ishida has had a great training camp. He is looking to upset Dmitry Pirog in his home country, as he did when he defeated James Kirkland. It has been a pleasure dealing with Artie Pelullo of Banner Promotions and Kirill Pchelnikov. Everything went great, and we are looking forward to great event in Moscow on May 1.”

By Edgar Solorzano

On June 9, the world of boxing will have a horrific battle that will end up in the history books.  Top Rank’s new warrior, Timothy Bradley (28-0, 12 KO’s) will try to finish what Juan Manuel Marquez couldn’t, to conquer the eight-division world champion Manny  Pacquiao (54-3-2, 38 KO’s).

The majority of the fans know that Pacquiao’s last battle was not his greatest performance compared to his other victories. Some may even wonder if Pacquiao still has what it takes to keep embarrassing the big strong welterweights.

However, do not let Pacquiao’s last performance fool you. Juan Manuel Marquez is a smart fighter and knows the Pac-Man better than any other fighter.  Always remember that any student can get a math problem correct if he keeps trying over and over again; but there is always a great possibility that others may struggle when trying to solve that problem for the first time.

So can Timothy Bradley defeat Manny Pacquiao on June 9? Sure, anything can happen in the ring. You never know what you may witness when watching two fighters trade punches inside those ropes. Bradley is a dangerous fighter with explosive combinations. Although his fight against Casamayor was not his most exciting victory, he did enough to prove the world he has a chance against the Filipino super-star. Bradley is the type of fighter that creates fire-works against active fighters; he is a brawler that does not know how to give up.

When watching Timothy Bradley fight I always end up asking myself the same two questions. Firstly, can Bradley take a punch from an elite fighter? And secondly, can Bradley’s head dent a metal trash-can? Now, you may be scratching your head after reading my second question. You may even be asking yourself, “why does it matter if Bradleys’ head can dent a metal trash-can?!”  Well, think about it. If Bradleys’ head can dent a metal trash-can then could that possibly affect Pacquiao’s performance if there happens to be a head-butt during the early or late rounds?

Anyways, enough with the philosophy junk; let’s talk a little more about the young Timothy Bradley.

The majority of the fight-fans do not give Timothy Bradley enough credit for beating a fighter like Devon Alexander. Before Alexander lost his first fight against Bradley, the world was ready to crown him and treat him like a king. Some people even began to question if Alexander could beat a fighter like Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather. Thanks to Bradley, the majority of the fight-fans now know that Alexander does not have a chance against a Mayweather or a Pacquiao.

There are three simple reasons why a fighter like Timothy Bradley could give Pacquiao some great rounds.

First of all, Bradley likes to be the aggressor. He is always coming forward and never seems to back down. That is always a good thing; a fight with two aggressors is always exciting. Since boxing has been like the Discovery Channel lately, televising lions hunting deer; when there are other dangerous competition. Whenever there are two aggressors in the same ring, there is always a high possibility that both fighters will look like they ran into a storm of tomatoes by the end of the fight.

Secondly, Bradley is a brawler. Only problem is that his punches are a little too wide, and that will not work against a fighter like Manny Pacquiao.  If Bradley improves his punches, timing and foot-work, he may have a decent chance against the Filipino champ. Yes, Bradley has a lot to improve before he steps in the ring against Manny Pacquiao, however; that does not mean he won’t make it exciting.

Last but not least, Bradley is a young hungry fighter ready to prove the world wrong. He has never tasted defeat, and is planning to keep it that way. Undefeated fighters like Bradley are always confident. Confidence is one of the golden elements in the sport of boxing. Without confidence, a fighter is just a machine without a brain. Confident fighters are never too shy to mix it up in the ring. They love to give the fans what they want, and that always creates great energy in the sport.  A great example of a fighter without confidence is a fighter like Joshua Clottey. Clottey forgot how to throw punches on fight night against Pacquiao; the fans did not seem to like it. Many people claimed Joshua Clottey was a punching bag for twelve-straight rounds, I can’t blame them.

On the opposite corner, Manny Pacquiao is a punching machine that likes to annoy welterweights. The Pac-Man never seems to get tired of coloring people’s faces with Cleto Reyes leather, and the fans love it. But once again, how can a fighter avoid bruises when his opponent is throwing 100-punches per round? Trying to avoid Pacquiao’s punches is like trying to walk on water… Not happening.

Any fighter that steps in the ring against Pacquiao has to be prepared to taste leather. June 9 should be an interesting night of boxing for the fight fans.  Expect another explosive victory by Manny Pacquiao if Timothy Bradley does not fix his errors. The chances of Bradley shocking the world are not that great. So if he wins, yes, it will shock the world.

It has long been understood that if you are a Mexican superstar fighter, you will be fighting on Cinco de Mayo weekend, which has traditionally become the date and stage for boxing’s biggest mega-events. Thanks to precocious 21-year-old WBC Super Welterweight World Champion Canelo Alvarez, it’s clear that this fistic holiday tradition will continue well into the future.

In that vein, Canelo will be defending his title against Six-Time and Three-Division World Champion Sugar Shane Mosley as the co-main event of “Ring Kings: Mayweather vs. Cotto,”on Saturday, May 5 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. which will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View®.

Canelo will be making his second Cinco de Mayo appearance, with his first being on May 1, 2010, when he defeated Jose Miguel Cotto on the undercard of Floyd Mayweather’s win over Mosley. This year’s Cinco de Mayo celebration will also mark the 150thanniversary of the famous Mexican military victory over the French in 1862.

Along with Cinco de Mayo weekend, Mexico’s Independence Day weekend has also long been a traditional weekend for Mexico’s most celebrated fighters to step into the ring. Canelo has been in the spotlight for three straight Mexican Independence Day weekends, knocking out Carlos Herrera in Puebla, Mexico on Sept. 15, 2009, knocking out Carlos Baldomir on Sept. 18, 2010 in Los Angeles at STAPLES Center and stopping Alfonso Gomez on Sept. 17 of last year, also in Los Angeles at STAPLES Center.

Canelo’s ascent to holiday headliner is something that’s been important to his promoter, Golden Boy Promotions, and its president, Oscar de la Hoya, who long fought on these holidays himself.

“It has become a rite of passage, as well as a sign of greatness, when a Mexican or Mexican-American fighter is given the opportunity to fight on either Cinco de Mayo weekend or Mexican Independence Day weekend,” said De La Hoya. “Those weekends mean a great deal to our Hispanic fans. It also means that a fighter is a tremendous box office draw. Canelo is heir to the throne. His popularity and appeal among sports fans, both Hispanic and non-Hispanics, has led him to his prominent place on the May 5 card.”

Canelo’s fight with Mosley is the biggest of his career. A win over the future Hall of Famer will launch the undefeated Canelo (39-0-1, 29 KO’s) to an even higher level of stardom. He could take ownership of these nights, joining the ranks of other popular Mexican fighters who have participated in Cinco de Mayo weekend and Mexican Independence Day weekend events.

Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. took on Terrance Alli and Frankie Randall on Cinco de Mayo weekends in 1993 and 1994 respectively. He also went to battle on five consecutive Mexican Independence Day weekends in the early 1990s, defeating Lonnie Smith and Hector Camacho Sr., drawing with Pernell Whitaker and beating Meldrick Taylor and David Kamau. He passed the holiday torch to De La Hoya on Sept. 18, 1998, and his last bout before retiring was on Sept. 17, 2005.

De La Hoya headlined Cinco de Mayo events in 2003, 2006, 2007 and 2008, knocking out Yory Boy Campas and Ricardo Mayorga, losing to Mayweather and defeating Steve Forbes respectively. The Golden Boy was also a familiar face on Mexican Independence Day weekend, facing Camacho Sr. in 1997, Chavez Sr. in 1998, Felix Trinidad in 1999, Fernando Vargas in 2002, Mosley in 2003 and Bernard Hopkins in 2004.

The epic battle between Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo took place on May 7, 2005. On that undercard was Juan Manuel Marquez, no stranger himself to fighting on the Mexican holiday weekends with his first bout against Manny Pacquiao coming on May 8, 2004 and having fought on Mexican Independence Day weekend cards in 2004, 2008 and 2009 against Orlando Salido, Joel Casamayor and Mayweather.

Marquez’s compatriots, Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales, both fought on several occasions around Independence Day with Barrera defeating Robbie Peden in 2005 and Rocky Juarez in 2006, and Morales beating Junior Jones in 1998 and Pablo Cesar Cano last year.

These two holiday weekends and the legendary fighters who have fought on them have given Mexicans and Mexican-Americans many reasons to celebrate. Canelo Alvarez has the talent and charisma to give them one more reason for several more years to come.

“Ring Kings: Mayweather vs. Cotto,” a 12-round fight for Cotto’s WBA Super Welterweight World Championship and the vacant WBC Super Welterweight Diamond belt, is promoted by Mayweather Promotions, Golden Boy Promotions and Miguel Cotto Promotions. Also featured will be Canelo Alvarez vs. Sugar Shane Mosley, a 12-round fight for Canelo’s WBC Super Welterweight World Championship which is presented in association with Canelo Promotions and Sugar Shane Mosley Promotions and a 10-round welterweight fight featuring undefeated rising star Jessie Vargas and former World Champion Steve Forbes. Opening the pay-per-view broadcast will be a 10-round bout between super welterweight contender DeAndre Latimore and former World Champion Carlos Quintana which is presented in association with DiBella Entertainment. The mega event is sponsored by Corona, Hatfields & McCoys on HISTORY™, DeWalt Tools, AT&T, O’Reilly Auto Parts and Puebla – Cinco De Mayo and will take place Saturday, May 5 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.

Star Boxing’s undefeated heavyweight contender Joe “The Future” Hanks will return to action in a non-televised bout against veteran Marcus Rhode on Friday, April 27th at the Buffalo Run Casino and Resort in Miami, Oklahoma.

Later that night on ShoBox: The New Generation, (live on SHOWTIME, 11p ET/PT) super middleweights will be featured as Thomas Oosthuizen battles Marcus Johnson in a ten round bout and junior featherweights clash with Orlando Del Valle facing Chris Martin in a scheduled ten rounder along with an eight round junior lightweight bout between Jose Pedraza and Gil Garcia.

A native of Newark, New Jersey, now training out of Los Angeles, California, the 29-year-old Hanks kicked off his 2012 campaign on February 4th with a second round knockout of monstrous Cuban, Rafael Pedro.

The stoppage over Pedro at the Times Union Center in Albany, New York raised Hanks’ record to 19-0-0 with thirteen knockouts as he defended his IBA Americas Heavyweight Title.

In addition to his training regimen, Hanks has also kept busy with former world title challenger Jameel “Big Time” McCline in the production of a new DVD for the BBC series, Frozen Planet. More information can be found at www.FrozenPlanetDvd.com

The Buffalo Run Casino is located at 1000 Buffalo Run Road, Miami, Oklahoma, 74354. For more information please visit their website at www.buffalorun.com

Floyd Mayweather, Seven-Time and Five-Division World Champion

“I can’t overlook a guy like Miguel Cotto.

“I’m always looking to give the fans what they want to see.

“Uncle Roger said this is the hardest he’s ever seen me train. This is the hardest he’s ever seen me work for a fight.

“It’s been a roller coaster ride throughout my whole career, but I’m blessed to be where I am and I want to continue to go out there and dominate.

“The hard work has been done. During fight week, we will focus on shadow boxing, mental work and light training.

“The fans should watch this [fight] because in my eyes Miguel Cotto is an undefeated fighter. He fought one guy at a catch weight and another guy who got in trouble for cheating. He’s strong a knockout puncher and he always comes out and fights in a pleasing way.

“I’m always happy to go out there and put on a pleasing performance for the fans, the media and the people that have been supporting me for years.

“Rafael [Garcia] is the godfather of boxing. He has done a great job. He is a hand and eye specialist and a guy I wouldn’t trade in for anything in the world.

“I have been in boxing for 16 years and I haven’t stretched at all. I don’t stretch when I run. I’ve never stretched.

“Last time I checked, all 42 [of my opponents] have been dangerous, but they all ended up in the same place.

“I think I can look into a guy’s eyes and I can see the body language. I know when he’s a beaten fighter.

“The nick name ‘Money’ came from when I was joking and throwing money into the camera, so it stuck with me. You can’t be a 35-year-old man calling yourself ‘Pretty Boy.’

“The key to me winning is being in control like always, keeping my composure like always and never going out of character.

“I don’t think I have changed, maybe I don’t move as much. I’m going much more toe-to-toe these days.

“I haven’t taken any abuse in the sport of boxing. I think I’m done before 38.”

Roger Mayweather, Floyd Mayweather’s Trainer and Uncle

“All fighters are dangerous. Anybody who can punch is dangerous.

“Floyd fights for his own legacy.

“Fighters don’t have to fight that much these days to determine how good they are.

“I don’t have to tell you who the best fighter is out there. We already know who the best fighter is out there.”

Leonard Ellerbe, CEO of Mayweather Promotions

“This is a fight that everywhere you go, people are talking about.

“Cotto is a very dangerous opponent and anybody who’s thinking otherwise is foolish.

“Miguel is a tremendous fighter who has had a tremendous amount of success. He’s fought every fighter in this era.

“Floyd is one of the most despised athletes in the world, but he’s also the most talented athlete in the entire world. What other athlete do you know who has dominated his sport for 16 years?

“Over the last 12 months, Floyd Mayweather has earned more money than any athlete in the entire world.”

Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions

“This fight has two A-side fighters fighting each other. This is not like one guy having to carry the fight, but two A-side guys who can make the promotion as big as it is.

“I am being asked ‘how many pay-per-views will this fight do?’ That is always a crystal ball question. What I will say, and I will even take bets on this, is that this fight is going to be the biggest pay-per-view since De La Hoya and Mayweather. Now, is it going to break the record that De La Hoya and Mayweather set? I am not going to predict that but, I do think it will be the biggest pay-per-view since then, absolutely.

“With Floyd Mayweather, you have the king, the pay-per-view king and the number one attraction in the sport. Whenever Floyd Mayweather is involved, it is always considered a Super Bowl for boxing.

“With Miguel Cotto, you have an amazing fighter with a large fan base not only from Puerto Rico but Puerto Ricans everywhere and fight fans too. He has a very crowd pleasing style and is coming off such a big performance and win over Margarito. He is a star himself and can carry his own pay-per-view. When you add one and one together and it doesn’t equal two, three or four. What it equals is millions of pay-per-views and millions of fans for this May 5 card.

“Then you have Canelo fighting the most dangerous fight of his career against Sugar Shane Mosley. Mosley is going to bring his A game too as I know when Shane hears people saying he is not the fighter he used to be, he proves even more that he still has the will to win. He is going to teach the young Canelo a lesson and we will see what happens on May 5.

“There is so much support for this fight. Our sponsors, Corona, Hatfields & McCoys on HISTORY™ AT&T, DeWalt Tools, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Puebla-Cinco De Mayo, COSTCO stores and movie theaters NCM Fathom, have so many levels of activation happening it is going to be hard for people not to know Mayweather vs. Cotto is happening on May 5.

“Clearly another huge night for boxing. “Ring Kings: Mayweather vs. Cotto” on May 5 is as good as it gets.”

Jessie Vargas, Undefeated Welterweight Rising Star

“[On Gomez pulling out of the fight] I don’t know anyone who has been in this position as much as me.

“I’ve been around the sport for a while. I have a massive amateur background and I’m not scared of anyone.

“There are different types of fighters – those that try to beat you physically and those that try to beat you mentally. Whoever they put in front of me can try, but it isn’t going to happen.

“Robert [Alcazar] has been teaching me a lot and I’m looking forward to learning more.

“Robert is a great trainer and he’s teaching me a style that I want to learn and build on.

“I’m a very confident fighter and whoever they have in front of me, I’ll be ready.

“After people see me on pay-per-view, I think they’ll begin to recognize me and get to know who I am.”

DeAndre Latimore, Super Welterweight Contender

“It’s been great working with Jeff [Mayweather]. I actually have someone who’s bringing out the best in me.

“I know May 5 is going to be a tough fight, but people can expect to see fireworks.

“Now that I’m with a promotional company that cares about me, my family and what’s best for my career, the hard work and dedication is paying off.

“When I was working with Floyd, it wasn’t easy at all. It was tough, but it was the best thing that could happen to me. He took me under his wing and now I’m going to take care of him by getting that victory on May 5.

“On May,, I expected to have my hand raised when it’s all said and done.”

Keith Terceira

Tomoki Kameda makes his return in the main event ,Kameda (22-0, 14 KOs) will defend his unbeaten record and fight for the WBC bantamweight silver World Championship against Javier “Chispa” Chacón from Argentina.

Kameda of the sensational Kameda Brothers recently stated;

“I’m very motivated for this fight, and that’s why I prepared 100%, as it is a pretty big commitment to fight in the city where I did my debut in this country, which has treated me very well”

Tomoki Kameda has a Spanish nickname El Mexicanito which translates to (“The Little Mexican”), he also trains and fights out of Mexico. He has started to earn the respect of Mexican boxing fans, due to his very aggressive style of fighting.

The youngest of the three brothers (Koki, Daiki)  Koki Kameda was chosen as Rookie of the Year 2005 as well as Japan “Noqueador of the Year” in 2005 Japan. In 2006, Koki Kameda was awarded the “fighting spirit of the Year” in Japan by the Commissioner of Boxing in Japan.

Former IBF light welterweight champion Juan Urango returns to action Thursday in Mexico when he faces journeyman boxer Christian Chavez (24-18, 12ko) in what may prove to be  very work  for the Columbian strongman.

Urango returns after a  two year layoff, since the loss of his title to Devon Alexander in Connecticut in March of 2010.

At 32 years of age Urango may still have the ability to return to contention in the 140 or 147 pound divisions and this bout signals the start of his comeback run.

Also headlining the card that will appear on United States Televisa, undefeated Roberto Ortiz (23-0-1, 20ko) will make his 4th defense of the WBC Silver light welterweight title against Javier Prieto (16-6,11ko).

Keith Terceira

St Thomas, Virgin Islands will be the site Wednesday of two WBC Youth Title fights with John Jackson (12-0,11kos) facing Jesus Selig (14-0-1, 9KO) for the Light Middleweight belt and Julius Jackson (12-0,8ko) meeting Wilson Theophile (5-3,4ko) for the super middleweight version.

Promoted by Sampson Boxing LLC and 340 Promotions , the card features some of the best upcoming Caribbean boxers in three ten round bouts that headline the show.

John Jackson defends the crown he won, when he stopped previously undefeated  Keandre Leatherwood (9-1-6ko) of Alabama in december of last year in the sixth round.

Julius Jackson will also compete for a Youth belt facing Theophile , added to that he competes for the USNBC Super Middleweight crown.

Both young brothers are making a steady climb into contention for serious talks for major titles and this event could propel them further into the limelight.

23-year-old John Jackson was a 2008 USVI Olympic representative. He and his brother, undefeated super middleweight contender Julius (also a 2008 Olympian) are the sons of former world middleweight champion and one of the hardest punchers in boxing history, Julian “The Hawk” Jackson.

Topping the undercard another Jackson family member, Samuel Rogers (11-0 9 KOs), nephew of Julian, will make the first defense of his WBC FECARBOX Title against Durrell Richardson (13-4, 5 KOs) of Youngstown, Ohio.

Super Middleweight Clarence Joseph will be looking for his first victory (after being involved in two No Contest fights) against Eric Clinton 1-6 of Tallahassee, Florida, while super middleweight Austin Joseph will make his pro debut against Adam Schwartz (1-3) of Pembroke Pines, Florida.

Emanuel Steward, and his famed Kronk Boxing, return on May 11 to Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, California. In the main event, unbeaten jr middleweight Tony “Super Bad” Harrison (6-0, 6 KOs) takes on Ishwar Amador (11-9, 7 KOs). Harrison is considered Kronk’s next big star and has won all six of his fights by KO.

“The fans are in for a special treat with Tony Harrison,” said Steward, “He’s very similar to Thomas Hearns. He comes to fight, he is fearless in the ring, he doesn’t fight in reverse like many young fighters of today, he has a lot of poise and confidence, and he has a crowd-pleasing fighting style that Southern Californian fans will appreciate.”

Also featured on the card is featherweight Walter “Schoolboy” Sarnoi (10-2, 5 KOs) against Jonathan Alcantara (5-7-2, 1 KO). Tickets available at Pechanga Resort & Casino Box Office, by telephone at 1-877-711-2946, and at www.pechanga.com.

The Associated Press

Brandon Rios barely remained unbeaten with a split-decision victory over Richard Abril on Saturday night after failing to make weight for the lightweight bout.

Juan Manuel Marquez also won the WBO interim 140-pound title with a unanimous decision over Sergey Fedchenko in Mexico City on the split-site pay-per-view card.

Rios (30-0-1, 22 KOs) seemed sluggish and wooden for long stretches of his bout after the former lightweight champion came in two pounds over the 135-pound limit Friday.

The decision appeared to upset many fans at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. Although Abril (17-3-1) fights in an unattractive style, he appeared to control several rounds with superior precision and strategic clinches.

Judge Jerry Roth scored the fight 116-112 for Rios, and Glenn Trowbridge favoured Rios 115-113. Adalaide Byrd scored it 117-111 for Abril.

The mercurial Rios, a rising star in the Top Rank stable of fighters, lost his shot at a $50,000 winner’s bonus and the chance to reclaim his title when he failed to make weight in his second straight fight. Rios also lost his belt on the scales last December, missing weight in New York before stopping Britain’s John Murray.

Abril, a Cuban who fights out of Miami, was a replacement opponent for Rios after fellow Cuban Yuriorkis Gamboa dropped out of the matchup last month in a contract dispute, turning down what promoters said was a seven-figure payday. Abril won the interim WBA belt last October by beating Miguel Acosta, but this decision ended his five-fight winning streak.

By Edwin Espejo

Rep. Manny Pacquiao is not the first, nor will he be the last, athlete to use his popularity in promoting his religious belief – turning to the bible to profess his spiritual transformation.

But others are simply born and raised into it.

Among them is Philippine-born Timothy Richard ‘Tim’ Tebow – current toast of American sports.

Tebow or Timmy, as he is called by fellow Filipino members of the Baptist Church, even has a pre-game ritual named after him which the American press now calls ‘Tebowing.’ Tebowing (with no pun intended to ‘Noynoying’) has been defined as getting down on a knee and start praying (also known as genuflecting), “even if everyone else around you is doing something completely different.”

Now America’s most popular quarterback, Timmy starts every game he played and plays with his famous genuflect on the field.

Timmy extends his religiosity inside the locker room where he reads passages from the Bible. He is however unlike Manny, a recent convert of the Bible. Timmy’s devotion to the Bible extended way back to his father Bob who served as a missionary and an evangelist in the Philippines in 1985. Bob’s evangelical mission took him to many places in the country but he found home in General Santos City and eventually settled for many years in Surallah, South Cotabato.

Timmy however did not grow up in the country as his parents went back to the US when he was three years old (Timmy was born in a Makati hospital).

By Roderick Osis

ARRIVING during the weekend, Sarangani representative and eight weight division champion Manny Pacquiao starts the tough four week grind in the Summer Capital for his upcoming bout.

With Freddie Roach already touching down Baguio City as early as Wednesday, Pacquiao together with conditioning coach Alex Ariza and other members of the team has formally opened training camp as he prepares against junior welterweight champion Timothy Bradley.

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Pacquiao’s WBO welterweight belt will be on the line come June 9 at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Roach arrived in the Philippines last week and has already started training British boxer Amir Khan, who has an upcoming bout of his own on May 19 against Lamont Peterson.

Meanwhile, the Baguio City Police office has earlier assured the People’s champ and his entourage security as soon as they arrive in the Summer Capital who will have their high altitude training for at least four weeks.

This will be the fourth time Pacquiao will train here in Baguio City since opening camp in 2009 where he fought Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto, returned for training for Antonio Margarito in 2010 and prepared for three weeks against arch nemesis Juan Manuel Marquez.

BY TIM STARKS

How many months have gone by since Floyd Mayweather, Jr. has said anything dickish or run afoul of the law? Like, months? It feels like forever, especially in contrast with how often these days arch-rival is facing allegations of this or that, the latest such thing being his charity being sued (followed by recent allegations of wrongdoing with his taxes and harboring a fugitive). As with Mayweather, Pacquiao is innocent until proven guilty, and Pacquiao hasn’t been convicted of stuff in his past the way Mayweather has, so the Pacman deserves a little more benefit of the doubt than Floyd.

But it’s clear what’s happening here. Mayweather is going “face,” as they say in wrestling, and Pacquiao is making a “heel turn.” Why, Mayweather is so vanilla these days that he hardly says anything at all that keeps me awake — you find a single angering or funny or otherwise non-bland moment in the above promo. Suddenly, the failure of these two men to fight one another looks like an elaborate ruse, one engineered based on decades and decades of proven interest from combat sports fans in seeing role reversals. Good job, Mayweather, Pacquiao and affiliated collaborators! Now I’ve been hooked anew on this welterweight megafight that I’d lost enthusiasm for, and am willing to pay double for it when it finally happens!

In this short, bullet-point edition of Quick Jabs, we explore the other subject in the headline, plus boxing advisor Al Haymon shoring up his team, plus a couple other modest developments in the wide world of boxing.

Read more:

By Chris Williams

Floyd Mayweather Sr. sees his son Floyd Jr. having a lot of problems trying to beat WBA junior middleweight champion Miguel Cotto in their fight next month on May 5th, according to the latest boxing news. Mayweather Sr. doesn’t think Cotto will win, but he believes that it’s going to be a really hard fight for Floyd Jr. because he’s older now and more vulnerable than he was in the past.

Mayweather Sr. said to eastsideboxing.com’s On the Ropes Boxing Radio program “I think Cotto will probably give little Floyd a better fight than any of the other guys in quite awhile. I’m not saying Cotto’s going to win.”
Mayweather Sr. added that he believes Floyd Jr. will have a problem eventually when he’s matched against a fighter that throws a lot of punches, someone younger. He said “His [Mayweather] trouble is going to be with a guy that’s consistently throwing punches…When he’s got someone that’s real, real busy, and that will more or less probably be a younger guy.”

By Chris Williams

Juan Manuel Marquez isn’t counting out unbeaten challenger Timothy Bradley (28-0, 12 KO’s) in his fight in June against Manny Pacquiao. Marquez thinks Bradley’s hand speed gives him a really good chance of beating the 33-year-old Pacquiao on June 9th.

Marquez said to Yahoo Sports News “Bradley is a very difficult fight for Manny Pacquiao. Very difficult. Bradley is a very fast fighter. He’s a good boxer who can take a punch. If Pacquiao loses that, and he could, it would take a lot of interest off a bout with me and him.”
You can say that again. Not only would it take off interest in a fourth fight between Pacquiao and Marquez, it would likely delay it into 2013, if the ever does take place. The thing is Pacquiao personally picked out the 28-year-old Bradley over Marquez, because he felt that boxing fans wouldn’t be interested in seeing a fourth fight between them so soon after their last fight. It sounds like a good excuse except that many boxing fans thought Pacquiao should have lost his last fight against Marquez last November, and by Pacquiao saying he doesn’t think fans are interested in the fight, it just comes off like an excuse to save him from facing what would likely be a very, very tough fight that could go the other way around.

By Chris Williams

If your interested in seeing a pair of likely huge mismatches tonight on HBO and have an extra $44.95 laying doing nothing then you might want to purchase the HBO per-per-view card between Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Sergio Fedchenko and Brandon Rios vs. Richard Abril fights. It should be interesting if you like Marquez pound on a guy who probably has no business being in the same ring with him.

Marquez has the skills, the experience and the power. Fedchenko has the youth and that’s about it. It’s a mismatch. I’m still trying to figure out why Fedchenko, #5 WBO, is being given the shot against Marquez for the interim WBO light welterweight title. I mean, Mike Alvarado, who will be fighting on the same card tonight against Mauricio Herrera, is ranked #3 WBO. It would seem to me that Alvarado would be a much better choice than to be putting in the light hitting Fedchenko for the fight.

AFP News agency

Fighting legend Mike Tyson has swapped the boxing ring for the cabaret stage, in a new one-man show which pulls few punches in recounting the ups and downs of his roller-coaster life.

In a stand-up act he hopes to take to Broadway and beyond, the ex-world champion tackles head on the most controversial episodes, including his jailing for rape — he insists he was wrongly convicted — and his struggle with drugs.

Talking in sometimes frenetic bursts for almost non stop for two hours — and showing some nifty footwork to musical numbers from a jazz-rock ensemble — he also recalls the good times when his talent brought him fortune and fame.

“Welcome to my living room,” said the 45-year-old, opening the first night Friday in an intimate 740-seater theater in the back of the MGM Grand casino complex in Las Vegas, where the show runs through until Wednesday.

“Many of you are wondering what the hell am I going to do up on the stage tonight,” he joked at the start of “Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth, Live on Stage. “To be honest I’m wondering the same thing too.”

The answer is a blow-by-blow run through his life story, starting with his birth in Brooklyn and not knowing who his real father was, his early brushes with the law, and how his mother died when he was 16.

It was then that his boxing mentor, Cus d’Amato, helped him turn his back on crime and detention centers and refocus his life around his awesome fighting talent.

“I had a lot of emotional problems,” he said, evoking a theme of show, in which Tyson uses an array of expletives — including the “N’ word, repeatedly — to describe stupid things he has done over the years.

His bad behavior didn’t prevent him from becoming the youngest ever heavyweight champion of the world at the age of 20, after winning his first 19 professional bouts by knockouts.

By Allan Fox

Floyd Mayweather Sr. sees WBC junior middleweight champion Saul Alvarez (39-0-1, 29 KO’s) beating the 40-year-old Shane Mosley (46-7-1, 39 KO’s) on May 5th and possibly sending him into retirement.

Mayweather Sr. said to Eastsideboxing.com’s On the Ropes Boxing Radio “I see Alvarez coming out on top. I see Alvarez beating Shane Mosley…Right now man it’s near the end for Shane Mosley…I think this will be his last hurrah. I think after this fight, Shane fights no more.”
I wish I could agree with Mayweather Sr. seeing Mosley retiring because I don’t see that happening. Mosley is still too much in demand by the younger lions not willing to face any real threats in trying to build their names up. I can see Mosley still fighting after he gets beaten by Alvarez next month on May 5th on the undercard of the Miguel Cotto vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

By Gerardo Granados

Tonight at the New Mexico City Arena, Mexico City; former three division champion Juan Manuel Marquez will engage against Serihy Fedchenko # 4 WBO ranked contender. According to a statement made by Francisco Valcarcel president of the World Boxing Organization in an interview made yesterday at ESPN Golpe a Golpe, the fight could be sanctioned to dispute the regular light welterweight championship instead of the interim belt.

There is a good possibility and it is probable that the negotiations between promoters and the current champion Tim Bradley who will fight for the WBO welterweight belt against Manny Pacquiao could lead to authorize Marquez and Fedchenko to dispute the regular belt.
Marquez was interviewed and he stated that the interim belt was just a step towards to win the world title and be recognized as a legit four weight division champion. Juan Manuel believes that the interim championships are not as valuable as a world title but gave merit to the achievement.

By Jake Donovan

Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer first planted the seed more than two years ago for the possibility of Saul “Canelo” Alvarez one day getting a crack at pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather. At the time, the move was viewed as means to simply build the name of a young fighter still on the way up.

What sounded preposterous at the time is now dangerously close to becoming a reality.

Alvarez has appeared in the chief supporting slot for Mayweather’s last two pay-per-view events and plays the same role on May 5 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. An hour or so before Mayweather moves up in weight to challenge for Miguel Cotto’s 154 lb. title, Alvarez – a titlist in the same weight class – puts his own belt on the line as he faces former three-division champ “Sugar” Shane Mosley.

For the moment, Golden Boy is doing its best to not tip its hand as to the desired outcome for each bout. However, it stands to reason that an Alvarez win does much better future business regardless of the outcome of the main event. Mosley has already lost to both acts in the headliner, dropping a decision to Cotto in Nov. ’07 and was soundly outpointed by Mayweather two years ago.

A world of possibilities still exist for Alvarez (39-0-1, 29KO), who makes the fourth defense of the alphabet belt he acquired last March. Of course, how lucrative of a future he can enjoy depends on how well he perfoms on May 5.

“The (Alvarez-Mosley) winner goes on to bigger and better things. That’s a given,” states Oscar de la Hoya, president of Golden Boy Promotions, who serves as lead promoter for the May 5 event. “They can face the winner of Andre Berto-Victor Ortiz, or the winner of Floyd Mayweather-Miguel Cotto.

By Osman Rodriguez

Former three division world champion “Sugar” Shane Mosley is probably one of the best experts to give an opinion on the May 5th mega-bout between Miguel Cotto and Floyd Mayweather Jr. Mosley fought, and lost, to both boxers. Mosley lost a twelve round unanimous decision to Cotto in November 2007 and nearly three years later, in May 2010, he lost a twelve round unanimous decision to Mayweather.

Next month at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Mayweather (42-0, 26KOs) challenges Cotto (37-2, 30KOs) for the WBA’s 154-pound title. Mosley faces WBC junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in the co-feature.

FURY VS ROGAN:

WEIGHTS & FINAL VIDEO ROUNDUP!

http://youtu.be/efkdaHAgfpw

FURY vs ROGAN: UNFINISHED BUSINESS

FROM THE ODYSSEY ARENA IN BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND

LIVE in Canada TODAY at 5 p.m. ET, Only On

SUPER CHANNEL FIGHTS

Yesterday’s Official Weights
from the Titanic Belfast

Irish Heavyweight Championship
12 x 3 min rounds

Tyson Fury (Nutts Corner / Manchester) 245lbs 12 oz

Martin Rogan (Belfast) 228lbs 4oz

Middleweight Contest
6 x 3 min rounds
Chris Eubank Jr (Brighton) 163lbs
Paul Allison (Stranaer) 162lbs

Light Middleweight Contest
8 x 3 min rounds
John O’Donnell (Galway / Shepherd’s Bush) 154lbs 8oz
Martin Walsh (Swanley) 155lbs 4oz

FINAL FIGHT WEEK VIDEO ROUND UP

AL BERNSTEIN ON FURY vs ROGAN

CHRIS EUBANK JR INTERVIEW

CHRIS EUBANK JR WEIGHS IN

JOHN O’DONNELL WEIGHS IN

OFFICIAL CHANNEL 5 FIGHT PROMO

By Felix Strunk

In a recent interview, three-division world champion Shane Mosley was surprised to hear that undefeated jr. welterweight champion Timothy Bradley was weighing just as much as him prior to the start of his training camp for his showdown with WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao. Mosley, who is in the middle of training for his own showdown with WBC jr. middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, revealed that he’s currently weighing about 165 pounds with just 3 weeks to go before 154-pound title clash. Knowing a thing or two about moving up and down in weight, Mosley acknowledged that Bradley may find it more difficult to shed the extra weight in order to make 147-pound weight limit, however, he does think the extra size will be a benefit come fight night.

By Allan Fox

Eddie Chambers (36-2, 18 KO’s) will be coming off a long 16-month layoff when he steps into the ring to face former two division world champion Tomasz Adamek (45-2, 28 KO’s) on June 16th for a 10 round fight at the Prudential center in Newark, New Jersey.

Both the venue and the number of rounds would appear to favor Adamek, as this will be a home fight for him and he won’t have to deal with any big stamina problems by having the fight only 10 rounds instead of 12.

Adamek told Fightnews.com “Eddie decided to fight me after his 16 month break from actually being in the ring…I like to fight against desperate opponents.”

I guess that’s why Adamek fought 42-year-old Andre Golota, 37-year-old Kevin McBride, 38-year-old Michael Grant, 36-year-old Vinny Maddalone, as well as soft fights against Nagy Aguilera and Bobby Gunn. If you get them when they’re desperate or when they’re career is on the downside, you can do well. However, I’d much prefer to see Adamek facing contenders rather than guys coming off of long 16 month breaks like Chambers; not that I see this as a bad fight for Adamek. Compared to his fights against the aforementioned fighters above, Chambers is a huge improvement. I just wish Adamek would face live threats that are fighting consistently and doing well in the ring, like Denis Boytsov, Kubrat Pulev, Robert Helenius, Alexander Dimitrenko, and some of the younger heavyweights like David Price and Tyson Fury.

By Allan Fox

At this point there’s really not much of the Top Rank stable of fighters for WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao to obliterate. He’s already beaten Joshua Clottey, Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito. Pacquiao is facing new Top Rank signee Tim Bradley next month on May 5th, and Pacquiao is expected to win that fight without too many problems.

So where does Pacquiao go next? Bob Arum of Top Rank doesn’t have too much left for Pacquiao in his stable. Does Arum keep Pacquiao in a fight against someone like the towering unbeaten 6-foot welterweight contender Mike Jones or lightweight Brandon Rios or does Arum look to match Pacquiao against an outside fighter like the winner of the June 23rd fight between Andre Berto and Victor Ortiz.

The winner of that fight would make for a good opponent for Pacquiao, because those guys can punch unlike Bradley. They would give Pacquiao some problems while the fight lasts. However, neither of those guys are Top Rank fighters and that could get in the way of the fight being made.

HOBOKEN, NJ (April 12, 2012) – Five-time Trainer of the Year Freddie Roach predicts the jab of World Boxing Association (“WBA”) Welterweight Champion Vyacheslav Senchenko will be the difference in hisApril 29 world title defense against challenger Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi, airing live on pay per viewfrom Donboss Arena in Donetsk, Ukraine ..

Undefeated Senchenko (32-0, 21 KOs), rated No. 5 in the world by The Ring Magazine, has been training at Roach’s famed Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, California. The 2000 Ukraine Olympian captured the WBA title in 2009, winning a 12-round decision from previously undefeated Yuriy Nuzhnenko, and Vyacheslav has successfully defended his world title belt three times: Motoki Sasaki (DEC12), Charlie Jose Navarro (DEC12) and more recently Marco Antonio Avendano (TKO6) last August in his last fight.

“Senchenko is a very, very good boxer with good technique,” Roach recently said from the Wild Card Gym. “He has good height and a good punch. He had a great amateur background. The Ukraine has the No. 1 program in the world this year. It has a very good program and Senchenko is very well schooled. His jab is his best weapon and I think that will be the difference in this fight. He has a faster jab than Malignaggi and it should control the fight.

“I think Senchenko’s boxing ability will enable him to out-score Paulie to win a decision. Paulie is very game. He’ll bring the fight and make it exciting. Going to the Ukraine is not like going into hostile territory. The promoter (Yuri Ruban, Union Boxing) over there is very fair. One time I had a fighter from there – I thought he won – but he lost a decision at home. There will be neutral judges and the winner will be the real winner.”

Senchenko vs. Malignaggi,” presented by Union Boxing Promotion, is being distributed in the United States by Integrated Sports Media for live viewing at 1:00 PM/ET – 10:00 AM/PT on both cable and satellite pay-per-view via iN Demand, DIRECTV, DISH Network and Avail-TVNfor a suggested retail price of only $29.95.

The brash Malignaggi (30-4, 6 KOs)a former International Boxing Federation (“IBF”) junior welterweight champion, is unbeaten since moving up to welterweight with impressive wins against Michael Lozada (TKO6), Jose Miguel Cotto (DEC10) and Orlando Lora (DEC10).

“Paulie has a lot of heart,” Roach noted. “He always tries to win and gives 100 percent. He came to my gym after he lost to Amir Khan – my fighter – but I didn’t have time to work with him. One of my best trainers, Eric Brown, is training Paulie. It wouldn’t have been fair for me to watch Paulie train here to a fight a guy I train. A decision was made by all of is that it would be better if Paulie didn’t train here. Paulie’s getting ready for this fight at home (New York City but he recently shifted training camp to Milan, Italy). There were no bad words or feelings. Paulie’s a nice kid. He speaks his mind and I like people like that.”

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/boxing/wires/04/13/2080.ap.box.rios.abril.3rd.ld.writethru.0708/index.html#ixzz1rykfLhUa

Brandon Rios has packed more drama into the past few years than many boxers manage in their entire careers.
He added even more Friday when he failed to make weight for his lightweight title fight with Richard Abril.
Rios stepped on the scales at Mandalay Bay Events Center at 137 pounds, two over the lightweight limit. He weighed even more on his second try, which means he won’t be allowed to fight for the vacant WBA belt he lost last year – also for missing weight.

Top Rank Vice President Carl Moretti said the promoters still will stage the fight, but a $50,000 bonus that would have been paid to the winner now will only be available to Abril.

With a victory, Rios (29-0-1, 21 KOs) expected to earn a shot at Juan Manuel Marquez, who will fight Sergey Fedchenko in Mexico City on Saturday in a split-site pay-per-view doubleheader. Top Rank already had discussed putting Rios and Marquez together in a 140-pound bout at Cowboys Stadium on July 14.

But given Rios’ unpredictability, nobody is looking too far past his current bout, even though Abril (17-2-1, 8 KOs) is a fill-in opponent for fellow Cuban Yuriorkis Gamboa, who bailed out of the matchup last month in a contract dispute.

“I’m not letting this unknown coming in and ruining eight years of hard work I put into building my professional boxing career,” Rios said before harming his own career considerably by missing weight again.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/boxing/wires/04/13/2080.ap.box.rios.abril.3rd.ld.writethru.0708/index.html

ABS-CBNnews.com

MANILA, Philippines – Team Cotto is confident they could pull off a surprise against Floyd Mayweather Jr. on May 5.

Bryan Perez, Miguel Cotto’s best friend, said the Puerto Rican star is “mentally ready” to take on the undefeated American boxer.

“Miguel has always said that he wants to fight the best names out there… [Floyd] has an undefeated record and he’s known as the best pound-for-pound, so it means a lot and it’s a big challenge,” said Perez in Fight Hype.

Read more: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/sports/04/13/12/team-cotto-has-blueprint-beat-floyd

By Keith Idec

The eventual showdown is quite an obvious possibility, but neither Saul Alvarez nor promoter Oscar De La Hoya wanted to talk much about it on a conference call Thursday.

Nevertheless, if Alvarez can overcome former three-division champion Shane Mosley on May 5 in Las Vegas, and undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr. beats Miguel Cotto later that night at MGM Grand, Alvarez-Mayweather would be an intriguing fight for later this year or in the first half of 2013.

“It’s definitely something we have to sit down and talk about, after the fact, after May 5,” De La Hoya said. “But those would be the plans in the near future.”

Alvarez (39-0-1, 29 KOs) would love to challenge Mayweather (42-0, 26 KOs), but he knows the past-his-prime Mosley’s motivation is to pull off an upset and get back toward the top of boxing’s food chain. Mosley (46-7-1, 39 KOs, 1 NC) is 0-2-1 since his unforeseen domination of Mexico’s Antonio Margarito three years ago in Los Angeles, yet still dangerous.

Read more: http://www.boxingscene.com/de-la-hoya-mayweather-canelo-plans-near-future–51732

by gerakis100 in Boxing

Manny Pacquiao, after his fight with Timothy Bradley this June, will look across thoe boxing world and look for a new opponent. Unfortunately, with Floyd Mayweather probably not giving Pacquiao the kind of money he’s looking for, we might have to settle for yet another, fourth, Pacquiao – Juan Manuel Marquez fight.

While the first three fights between the two fighters, especially the second one, have been highly entertaining and close. That doesn’t mean that boxing needs another fight. Especially Pacquiao doesn’t, having everything to lose against the 38 year old Mexican fighter, the eight time world champion in six different weight classes.

Read more: http://sportige.com/manny-pacquiao-needs-mayweather-not-juan-manuel-marquez/

By Chris Mannix

Brandon Rios, like many athletes, is involved in charity work. Recently Rios was named an Ambassador of Hope for PADRES, an organization that seeks to improve the quality of life for Latino children and their families. He is sponsoring a 5K fundraising run in June and when he fights will wear a PADRES patch on his trunks to help raise awareness.

It’s admirable work. For Rios, it’s also necessary.

Flash back to November 2010. Rios, a stablemate of Antonio Margarito, was fighting on the undercard of Margarito’s showdown with Manny Pacquiao. Days before the fight a video leaked of Margarito and Rios mocking the tremors Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach suffers from as a result of his Parkinson’s disease. Both Margarito and Rios were publicly condemned for their behavior and though both apologized, the damage was already done.

It was bad for Margarito, who was already dealing with accusations that he fought with loaded gloves. But for Rios, it was worse. At the time, Rios was a relative unknown. The video created a first impression that Rios has still been unable to shake.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/chris_mannix/04/13/brandon-rios/

By Glyn Evans

After counterpunching Manny Pacquiao silly in November, only to be denied by a decision that appeared to be based more on commerce than sport, Mexican ring master Juan Manuel Marquez resurfaces at the New Mexico City Arena, Mexico on tomorrow night.

And BoxNation subscribers (Sky Ch.456 and Virgin Ch.546) will be able to witness the 38 year old ‘Dinamita’s’ attempt to become the third Mexican (behind Erik Morales and Jorge Arce) and only the 13th fighter in boxing history, to hold versions of world titles in four separate weight categories, when he squares off with Serhiy Fedchenko of the Ukraine for the vacant ‘interim’ World Boxing Organization (WBO) light-welter crown.

Having won six world titles from featherweight (126lbs) through to lightweight (135lbs) in a 19 year 53-6-1 career, the Mexican magician shall unquestionably be a first year entrant to the Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota as soon as he is eligible, five years after retirement. We should savour his sublime skills whilst he remains active.

His impressive scalp list includes Manuel Medina, Orlando Salido, Marco Antonio Barrera, Rocky Juarez, Joel Casamayor, Juan ‘Baby Bull’ Diaz (twice) and Michael Katsidis. Add that several impartial and qualified observers are steadfast that he was sufficiently masterful to have merited victory in all three spats with Pacquiao (officially a draw and two contentious points losses). Let’s not forget, Prince Naseem Hamed rapidly crossed to the other side of the street whenever Marquez loomed large as a mandatory challenger to his featherweight belts.

It isn’t simply what Marquez has accomplished but the majestic manner in which it was achieved. He has proved more times than is healthy that he can war with the most savage contemporaries of his age. However, though thirty nine of his victims were sent for an early shower, he could equally be a cerebral technician, the smoothest of counter punchers, when he required or desired. Appreciated rather than revered in the manner compatriots Barrera and Morales are, Marquez is nevertheless one of the most complete all-rounders of his era, a permanent feature in those mythical pound for pound listings.

He seemingly has an ideal foil against which to showcase his considerable wares this weekend, in the form of Comrade Fedchenko, a 30 year old Ukrainian who sports a statistically impressive 30-1 slate but, in truth, is yet to confront the division’s elite.

A 5ft 6in orthodox fighter, managed by Alexander Krasyuk and coached by Viktor Demchenko, ‘The Professor’ turned pro in the Ukraine whilst just 20 in March 2002. He gathered an Inter Continental title en route to knocking up 23 consecutive wins, prior to incurring his sole setback.

In September 2009, South Africa’s Kaiser ‘Hammer’ Mabuza, a future IBF challenger and the reigning IBO czar, bested Demchenko on a 12 round majority decision in the Ukraine. Mabuza remains his most credible opponent by some distance.

Demchenko is sure to turn up overloaded with desire and determination but, despite rebounding with seven wins, most notably over DeMarcus Corley and Willie Blain (both points 12), it is doubtful that the East European possesses the skills, experience or power (just 13 stoppage wins) to halt Marquez’s assault on history and a possible future assignment with Amir Khan.

Nevertheless, it is always a privilege to observe the great Mexican executing his craft and Fedchenko should certainly have the nous and resilience to take the fight late, possibly even the full trip. Definitely worth tuning in for.

Read more: http://www.eastsideboxing.com/news.php?p=31585&more=1

by James E. King III

When fight fans think of the best defensive technicians of this or possibly any era in boxing, the names most frequently mentioned among enthusiasts of the sweet science are the names Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Pernell “Sweet Pea” Whitaker.
Although both pugilists are masters of the craft and absolutely impossible to hit cleanly, it’s seemingly unfeasible to figure out which fighter possesses the better protective skills?
Because the two combatants fought in very different eras, this question is impossible to answer. But by examining respective opponents and resumes, fight fans for years have debated this issue and have participated in various threads of internet disputes.

To help shed some light on the “friendly” discussion, FightSaga.com asked expert trainer Ronnie Shields to help shed some light on the mythical contest.
“I have to be honest…I have to say Pernell Whitaker was the better defensive fighter of the two just for the simple reason that Pernell has fought the better competition,” claims the world renowned fight trainer.

Read more: http://www.fightsaga.com/news/item/2123-Elite-Trainer-Pernell-Whitaker-was-a-better-defensive-fighter-than-Mayweather-Jr

By David King

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is one of the most promising young fighters in boxing right now. And he feels he’s ready to challenge the very best boxers the sport has to offer. Alvarez is currently set to face former three-division champion, Shane Mosley, on May 5. And he’s already setting his sights on the winner of the Floyd Mayweather-Miguel Cotto bout (the main event of the same fight card).

“Yes, definitely, that’s what I’m looking for; those types of fights” Alvarez said when asked about a potential fight against the winner of the Mayweather-Cotto bout. “Obviously I first have this important fight [with Mosley]. We have to get passed this fight and God willing we’ll see what’s next. But right now we are 100% focused on Mosley.”

Alvarez will be a huge favorite going into his bout against Mosley, but he will be in for one of the toughest tests of his boxing career when the two collide at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, NV. Mosley is as experienced as it gets in boxing, and he’s certainly still dangerous enough to pull off an upset.
Alvarez’ performance against Mosley will help fans assess just how good the 21 year old is, and he’ll probably have a big-payday fight in his future if he walks away victorious.

In terms of a potential fight against Mayweather later on in the year, Alvarez will have a lot of competition, as other fighters like Sergio Martinez have also indicated a desire to face the pound-for-pound king. However, a Mayweather-Alvarez bout will certainly bring boxing fans out in droves, and it does make business-sense for both fighters..

Read more: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/alvarez-wants-mayweather-cotto-winner-fan-reaction-055100122–boxing.html

by Colin Linneweber

The uncle and trainer of WBC welterweight champion “Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather told the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday that WBO world welterweight king Manny “Pac-Man” Pacquiao wouldn’t survive five rounds throwing fists with his nephew.

Unfortunately, despite an estimated purse that could pay both boxers in excess of $50 million apiece, the uncompromising and insatiable camps for both Pacquiao (54-3-2, 38 KOs) and Mayweather (42-0, 26 KOs) have seemingly forever prevented the hyped tussle from occurring.

Although Pacquiao is an equally large box office attraction to Mayweather, the particularly greedy “Pretty Boy” reportedly had the audacity to offer “Pac-Man” millions of dollars less than him to fight and absolutely zero proceeds from the pay-per-view showing.

Nevertheless, Roger “Black Mamba” Mayweather, a former titleholder in two different weight classes, had the pearls to place the onus for the negotiating squabbles squarely on Pacquiao and his promoter, Bob Arum.

Continue reading on Examiner.com ‘Black Mamba’ claims Pacquiao couldn’t last five rounds with Floyd Mayweather – Boston Boxing | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/boxing-in-boston/black-mamba-claims-pacquiao-couldn-t-last-five-rounds-with-floyd-mayweather#ixzz1rwFwHOHu

By Vivek Wallace

In this weeks EastSideBoxing Countdown to Boxing scribe Vivek “Vito” Wallace takes a look at what fight fans can expect as we tune in to the premiere of HBO’s “24/7: Mayweather vs Cotto”. If the past is any indication, prepare for a wide range of emotions. Some will laugh, some will pout, a few may even cry……but all will tune-in…..here’s a few reasons why:

HBO’s 24/7 has become a staple of the boxing world when it comes to mega fights. Since its inception, the powerhouse network has slowly perfected the show using an element of entertainment that effectively bridges the gap between avid fans of the sport and those not always so fond of it. Through the years we’ve seen everyone from Oscar De la Hoya, to Manny Pacquiao, to Shane Mosley, and beyond…..but one name in particular seems to have a natural nitch when it comes to keeping fans of the sport home on Saturday nights when the rest of the world chooses to party!

When the camera’s roll this time around, the world will first hone in on Puerto Rico’s Miguel Cotto. A man of few words, and at times, even fewer smiles. One may read this excerpt and question where’s the entertainment value in that? Well, when it comes to Cotto perhaps the entertainment angle is best kept in the ring; but for those who can appreciate closeness of family, a little salsa y merengue, and every Puerto Rican dish from arroz gundules to Mofongo, this particular segment sells.

For those out there who need a little more of that “Hollywood’ element, filled with the type of drama that breeds street cred, look no further, as boxing’s ‘prettyboy’ turned ‘money-man’ is always eager to taxi the runway!

Past episodes of HBO’s 24/7 has seen Mayweather do everything from hit the casino’s to the tune of $100K bets, to skating with his kids and fighting with his Dad. Literally anything goes in the Mayweather camp, and in an era of reality TV, most quickly note that despite his showmanship, there’s nothing fake about Floyd’s antics.

In HBO’s “Face-Off” between the two fighters with commentator Max Kellerman, most took note of the fact that Mayweather seemed awfully tamed, as some fans even noted his non-typical “Ortiz-isms”, extending his hand to shake unnecessarily on multiple occasions. At first glimpse one would think we’re on the brink of seeing a kinder, softer, more gentle Floyd Mayweather as we gear up for this epic night. To those who feel that way, to quote my fellow Latino’s “No Tan Rapido”! In other words…..”not so fast”! What we’ve seen thus far is simply the calm before the storm. When the true camera’s get rollin’, prepare to see the antics come out!.
Read more: http://www.eastsideboxing.com/news.php?p=31582&more=1

By Vitali Shaposhnikov

I assume that if not all of you, then most of you have already heard of what Floyd Mayweather Jr. had said in an interview with the LA Times, but if you had missed it, here is his direct quote regarding his potential future bout against Manny Pacquiao: “No, I don’t think it’s going to happen. It’s because of Bob Arum. It’s not my fault.”

The question is this: is Mayweather Jr. planning ahead with full intention of fighting again as soon as possible against an opponent already in mind? Or is he yet again trying to divert some blame towards camp Pacquiao in an effort to put more pressure on Arum and possibly convince everyone that it is Floyd who is putting in all the effort in tying to make the fight a reality?

Read more: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1144404-mayweather-jr-its-not-my-fault-what-does-this-statement-really-mean

by Waldo Rastel

It seems that we always complain about Jim Lampley when he interjects his feelings into his play-by-play calls. The best example of this phenomenon is when Lampley tried to interject some excitement into a boring Manny Pacquiao fight and just started spouting absolute nonsense. Yet, he is getting his own boxing show on HBO, which will only make me miss BLH radio. Before his show airs, Michael Woods had a chance to ask him a couple questions about the potential Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather megafight.

Read more: http://www.badlefthook.com/2012/4/13/2945362/pacquiao-vs-mayweather-jim-lampley-is-pessimistic-that-the-fight-happens

By Nick Walshaw The Daily Telegraph

MICHAEL Katsidis was being interviewed in Las Vegas this week when, suddenly, he stopped the journalist midsentence.

“Are you suggesting I’m shot?” the gritty Toowoomba fighter asked, leaning forward.

“Obviously you’ve seen plenty of boxing, so I wanna know if you think I’m a shot fighter? If I look gone? You’re questioning me about being 31, but Manny Pacquiao is 33, Juan Manuel Marquez 38 … so exactly what do you think?”

If ever you needed someone to revive your faith in Australian boxing, a fighter who, no matter the opponent, keeps coming it has to be this Queenslander.

A two-time world champion who, just 16 months ago, battled Marquez in the HBO Fight of the Year. And yet still like The Riddler with a flattened nose, Katsidis finds himself covered in question marks.

Read more: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/boxing/katsidis-fighting-back-fromt-the-depths/story-e6freygr-1226326199582

By Mike Chiari

Several months ago, it looked as if Juan Manuel Marquez had shocked the world by beating Manny Pacquiao. What was even more shocking, however, was the fact that “Pac Man” was given the majority-decision victory.

With that fresh in his mind, “Dinamita” will outclass Sergey Fedchenko on Saturday night.

Although Fedchenko holds a 30-1 record, the 31-year-old Ukrainian is still a relative unknown in the boxing world, as he has yet to score a marquee win. Defeating the 38-year-old Marquez would certainly qualify, as he is likely headed for the Hall of Fame when it’s all said and done.

The bout, which will have the interim WBO Junior Welterweight Title on the line, represents a big opportunity for both men. Beating Marquez would open many doors for Fedchenko in terms of future opponents, but a win for Marquez would keep alive the possibility of a fourth fight with Pacquiao.

Marquez is 0-2-1 in his career against Pacquiao, but he has gone on record as saying that he believes he rightfully won every fight. It’s especially tough to argue against his case for the last fight, as there were few who believed Pacquiao was the better fighter. Marquez controlled the pace of the fight and befuddled Pacquiao, but because Pac Man was the aggressor, he was wrongfully awarded the win.

JMM has done a lot over the course of his career, but it appears as though officially beating Pacquiao is the one thing he still has to cross off of his list. If he beats Fedchenko, then it is still a possibility, but if he loses, then that could be all she wrote for Marquez’s fantastic career.

Read more: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1144010-marquez-vs-fedchenko-loss-to-manny-pacquiao-will-spur-dinamita-to-big-title-win

ABS-CBNnews.com

MANILA, Philippines – Mexican champion Juan Manuel Marquez said he refuses to look past his next opponent even as he admitted hoping for a fourth fight against Manny Pacquiao.

Marquez will be fighting Ukrainian boxer Sergey Fedchenko in a super lightweight bout in Mexico City on Saturday.

The gutsy Mexican vowed not to underestimate the unheralded Fedchenko.

“All fights are risky, no matter what,” Marquez said in Yahoo! Sports. “You know what, there is no such thing as a sure thing. I need to do the same things to win a fight like this that I would if I were fighting Pacquiao or [Floyd] Mayweather.”

After his controversial loss to Pacquiao last November, Marquez said he thought he will be given an immediate rematch.

Read more: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/sports/04/13/12/marquez-keeps-focus-next-foe-instead-pacquiao