I thought the fight was a bit of a let down. When Malignaggi took the first round i thought it might be a decent scrap but he hardly troubled Hatton after that. Very disappointing.
Sons of Peter McNeeley- Boxing Thread
- Thread starter BGrif21125
- Start date
I'm not sure what you were expecting from these two fighters. They have both always been incredibly boring to watch and Paulie may be the lightest puncher in the sport.
It seemed like Mayweather is helping Hatton. He looked a little better overall and boxed and moved better. I'm not sure if it's too late to turn him into a good fighter and undo all the years of Billy Graham's shitty training.
I stopped watching around the 8th round since I was falling asleep, which is pretty much what I expected going in.
The Kirkland-Vera fight was fun though. Vera is one of the toughest/craziest fighters around. He probably could have gone 50 rounds with Kirkland without getting KO'd which can be pretty dangerous. The ref did the right thing in stopping the fight.
Kirkland's left hand was incredibly accurate all fight. he just needs to work on his jab.
Looks like Margarito-Mosley may be back on after all. Jan. 24 on HBO.
Sounds like HBO upped their original $4 million license fee offer. This will be a good fight, but given the inevitable budget constraints at HBO, I'd rather not see such a huge chunk of the budget poured into one fight. The result is usually an increase in unworthy PPVs and a weak second-half schedule. I'd rather have more, solid fights than one or two big ones, no matter how good, and a bunch of dreck.
Still, I'm looking forward to this matchup.
UPDATE 11/25: The fight is now a a done deal. January 24 at Mandalay Bay on HBO.
Sounds like HBO upped their original $4 million license fee offer. This will be a good fight, but given the inevitable budget constraints at HBO, I'd rather not see such a huge chunk of the budget poured into one fight. The result is usually an increase in unworthy PPVs and a weak second-half schedule. I'd rather have more, solid fights than one or two big ones, no matter how good, and a bunch of dreck.
Still, I'm looking forward to this matchup.
UPDATE 11/25: The fight is now a a done deal. January 24 at Mandalay Bay on HBO.
Well at the very least, we can predict how some of 2009 will play out now.
Margarito and Mosley will fight in January. Around the same time, Cotto will fight a relatively safe opponent in a bounceback fight. It seems logical that Cotto will fight the Margarito-Mosley winner in the summer.
The Pacquiao-DLH winner will likely fight Hatton, I'm guessing around May or so.
I wouldn't rule out the possibility of a Mayweather comeback in late 2009 to fight one of the two guys who emerges from the above matchups.
Margarito and Mosley will fight in January. Around the same time, Cotto will fight a relatively safe opponent in a bounceback fight. It seems logical that Cotto will fight the Margarito-Mosley winner in the summer.
The Pacquiao-DLH winner will likely fight Hatton, I'm guessing around May or so.
I wouldn't rule out the possibility of a Mayweather comeback in late 2009 to fight one of the two guys who emerges from the above matchups.
Winky's comeback fight, which was supposed to be on Versus, has been cancelled beacause he injured his hand. Daniel Jacobs was supposed to be the undercard fight on that show, but with the card cancelled, his fight might now get moved to the DLH-Pac card.
I have to say, as of right now, the DLH-Pac undercard actually looks pretty decent. If the Jacobs thing goes thru, then the undercard will have his fight, then Victor Ortiz, then Juan Manuel Lopez. Sure, the matchups might all be blowouts, but at least those are 3 blue chip prospects on the same undercard.
There have been some really really horrible undercards lately, with the Calzaghe-Jones one being the worst of all. I actually brewed a pot of coffee during that one because I was literally falling asleep during the Zab fight. Undercards don't really mean much to the casual PPV viewer (who generally orders just for the main event), but for the hardcore crowd that orders every PPV, it's nice to get 2 or 3 decent fights for our $50 instead of just the main event.
I have to say, as of right now, the DLH-Pac undercard actually looks pretty decent. If the Jacobs thing goes thru, then the undercard will have his fight, then Victor Ortiz, then Juan Manuel Lopez. Sure, the matchups might all be blowouts, but at least those are 3 blue chip prospects on the same undercard.
There have been some really really horrible undercards lately, with the Calzaghe-Jones one being the worst of all. I actually brewed a pot of coffee during that one because I was literally falling asleep during the Zab fight. Undercards don't really mean much to the casual PPV viewer (who generally orders just for the main event), but for the hardcore crowd that orders every PPV, it's nice to get 2 or 3 decent fights for our $50 instead of just the main event.
For those who missed B.A.D. last night, there was a very entertaining heavyweight scrap with a Round of the Year Contender.
Also, Paul Williams looks very sharp and I hope he can get bigger fights in 2009. Where does he belong on a Top 10 P4P list?
Also, Paul Williams looks very sharp and I hope he can get bigger fights in 2009. Where does he belong on a Top 10 P4P list?
Postfight Interview of the Year contender as well. I'd like to see what Arreola can do if he's actually in shape. He looks like he's been on the James Toney Conditioning Program for his last few fights.
There are several guys who are bunched together in the 8-15 range right now. I'd put Williams in that group somewhere. The key for Williams will be finding a notable opponent who is willing to fight him.
Onto De La Hoya-Pacquiao!
What should have been a good night for British fight fans on Saturday has been obliterated by pull-outs. Yes, we're still getting DLH-Pacqiao on PPV, but Nicky Cook's 1st defence is off as Cook has the flu and Jonathan Banks has pulled out of his Vacant Title fight against Enzo Macarinelli, ankle sprain, and we're faced with the prospect of the corpse of Herbie Hyde replacing him. So what's left? Amir Khan's return to the ring, against another no-name, with no corner man, as Freddie Roach is with Pacqiao and Stitch is not allowed into the Country. Great...
Here's a youtube link to a good fight from the UK this past weekend:
Carl Froch vs. Jean Pascal
Also, Cunningham-Adamek (for the Ring Cruiserweight Title) is live on Versus tonight. I hope it pulls a decent rating, because it's the type of quality under-the-radar matchup that I'd like to see Versus commit to on a regular basis.
Carl Froch vs. Jean Pascal
Also, Cunningham-Adamek (for the Ring Cruiserweight Title) is live on Versus tonight. I hope it pulls a decent rating, because it's the type of quality under-the-radar matchup that I'd like to see Versus commit to on a regular basis.
I hope everybody caught the fight on Versus tonight. I love the Cruiserweight division and this title fight certainly lived up to the hype. It's good to get a fight like this on cable, but I think more of the promoters should also strive to get a fight like this 2nd from the top on a blockbuster PPV like Calzaghe-Jones or Pacquiao-De La Hoya. I think we will definitely see Adamek and Cunningham matched up again at some point in 2009.
That card last night was an absolute home run. I hope Versus gives us more cards like that in the future. The cruiserweight division has been the most underrated division for quite some time. The top guys always take risks and fight each other, and the fights are almost always wars.
Versus has another live fight on Saturday, James Toney vs. Fres Oquendo. I realize that's not the most thrilling matchup, but Toney is one of my all-time favorites, so I'll be checking it out.
That is recommended viewing. Either Cunningham has no power or Adamek has a granite chin. Probably somewhere in between.
in other news. Wlad Klitchko TKOs Hasim Rahman and we have a Riddick Bowe sighting, in a ring, boxing
Klitschko-Rahman wasn't much of a fight. Not that I was expecting much. Toney-Oquendo wasn't great either. Toney looked old and sloppy, but got a gift decision. He should call it quits. He won't, though.
Well, 2008 is over for all intents and purposes. (I'm pretending that next weekend's Valuev-Holyfield fight does not exist.)
Fighter of the Year:
1. Manny Pacquiao
Distant 2nd: Antonio Margarito
Fight of the Year:
1. Marquez-Vazquez III
2. Cotto-Margarito
3. Cunningham-Adamek
4. Pacquiao-Marquez II
5. Holt-Torres II
Worst Fight of the Year:
Klitschko-Ibragimov (I almost bought tickets to this one... thank god I didn't go thru with it)
Comedy of the Year:
Titsworth-Vargas
Wish List for 2009:
1. Mayweather-Pacquiao
2. Cotto-Margarito II
3. Klitschko (either one)-Haye
4. Vazquez-Lopez
5. Kessler-Taylor
6. Pavlik-Abraham
7. PPV undercards that are worth watching
Well, 2008 is over for all intents and purposes. (I'm pretending that next weekend's Valuev-Holyfield fight does not exist.)
Fighter of the Year:
1. Manny Pacquiao
Distant 2nd: Antonio Margarito
Fight of the Year:
1. Marquez-Vazquez III
2. Cotto-Margarito
3. Cunningham-Adamek
4. Pacquiao-Marquez II
5. Holt-Torres II
Worst Fight of the Year:
Klitschko-Ibragimov (I almost bought tickets to this one... thank god I didn't go thru with it)
Comedy of the Year:
Titsworth-Vargas
Wish List for 2009:
1. Mayweather-Pacquiao
2. Cotto-Margarito II
3. Klitschko (either one)-Haye
4. Vazquez-Lopez
5. Kessler-Taylor
6. Pavlik-Abraham
7. PPV undercards that are worth watching
I agree with your first three lists as they are, BGrif. For comedy, I gotta go with Monte Barret's ring entrance for the Haye fight. I think he may have actually knocked himself out before the opening bell.
As for the wish list, how come no love for Paul Williams vs one of the big names that seem to be ducking him? Other than the Mayweather/Pacquiao superfight, what I'd like to see most is The Punisher break through that glass ceiling and get himself a truly big fight.
As for the wish list, how come no love for Paul Williams vs one of the big names that seem to be ducking him? Other than the Mayweather/Pacquiao superfight, what I'd like to see most is The Punisher break through that glass ceiling and get himself a truly big fight.
Ya, that's a good one. I knew I was forgetting something. I also liked the Cancun ring announcer from the Peter-Maskaev card, and Gary Lockett's prefight gameface.
I would love to see Williams fight Pavlik (if the Pavlik-Abraham thing doesn't work out). Or Williams-Margarito II, assuming Margarito can beat Mosley and then Cotto. I also read somewhere (espn.com, maybe?) that Williams vs. Winky is a possibility.
Haye is far from a proven commodity at heavyweight, but I'm legitimately interested in this fight, which is something I haven't been able to say about a heavyweight fight in a long time.
And I'll definitely be rooting for Haye. Nothing against Vitali (who will be the betting favorite), but a Haye win would be much better for the sport.
P.S. Of course, for this fight to come off, Vitali has to make it thru training camp again without getting hurt. And that's always an adventure with him.
And I'll definitely be rooting for Haye. Nothing against Vitali (who will be the betting favorite), but a Haye win would be much better for the sport.
P.S. Of course, for this fight to come off, Vitali has to make it thru training camp again without getting hurt. And that's always an adventure with him.
I'm mildly surprised Haye went this rout. Vitali is actually bigger and tougher than Wladimir and will be much harder to KO, which is Haye's only real chance in the fight.
Wlad has learned to compensate for his chinniness with, frankly, a lot of holding and tentative, keep-'em-at-a-distance style. He is a better boxer than Vitali. But Haye has obvious power and if one of those big "Hayemakers" catches Wlad, the fight could be over.
Vitali, on the other hand, can probably take Haye's shots while neutralizing whatever else Haye brings by jabbing him to death. I just don't see this as a good matchup for Haye. Of course he wants to fight one Klitschko then the other, but he's a big underdog with only a "puncher's chance" against either, so I think he's going about it backwards.
Ya, I agree completely.
I wonder if it was a situation where Wlad still had a mandatory to fight (Povetkin), and the Haye fight is a moneymaker, so he threw his older brother a bone and said "Haye is yours if you want him." At which point maybe Haye decided to fight Vitali now instead of having to wait longer for Wlad.
Because, like you said, it doesn't make much sense for Haye to like his chances against Vitali more than Wlad.
Sketchy decision in Switzerland as Valuev "earns" a highly suspect decision over a game Evander Holyfield. Horrible fight, but at least Holyfield showed up. Valuev didn't bother, but walks away a champion.
Scorecard:
114-114
116-112
115-114
Too bad for Holyfield. He's broke, and winning the title could have earned him a few decent paydays. Not that he's going to retire, or anything. Pity.
Scorecard:
114-114
116-112
115-114
Too bad for Holyfield. He's broke, and winning the title could have earned him a few decent paydays. Not that he's going to retire, or anything. Pity.
What network showed that fight? Was it Versus or does Holyfield have some type of deal with ESPN Classic? I remember Classic showing his fight with Sultan Ibragimov on tape delay after it was on PPV.
It was a PPV today, though I admit, I watched some of it on line. I actually fell asleep in the middle -- first time that's ever happened to me during a live fight. This was truly one of the worst fights EVAH! This made Klitschko-Ibgragimov look like Vasquez-Marquez III.
Valuev did, and this is barely an exaggeration, nothing. He basically lumbered around the ring looking bored. And that was about it. Holyfield didn't do much more, though for a 46 year-old guy who hadn't fought in more than a year, I guess he handled himself OK. He landed some shots here and there and certainly controlled the tempo of the fight.
Unfortunately, he then got absolutely jobbed on the decision. Worst decision of the year, at the very least. Admittedly, I slept through the last three rounds. But Valuev by then hadn't won a single round, or even come close, that I could see.
I sincerely hope this fight never turns up on American TV. Its just more ammo for the "boxing is a dying sport" crowd. I'm damn glad I didn't shell out the $24.95 for this one. What a travesty in every way.
I didn't watch this one. Judging from the recaps, it sounds like I made the right choice.
The whole Holyfield thing makes me sad. Ya, if he won, maybe that would get him a nice payday or two to help him with his debt, but maybe a victory would have also led him to a future fight with a legit opponent who could seriously hurt him.
What I want to know is... what the hell are these European commissions thinking? Holyfield was allowed to fight in Russia last year and in Switzerland last night. Even worse, Riddick Bowe was allowed to fight last week in Germany, and he suffers from obvious signs of pugilistic dementia. I'd like to think that any reputable US commission would refuse to license these guys.
P.S. On a positive note, I do like what I'm seeing/hearing about the HBO and Showtime schedules for the first half of 2009.
The whole Holyfield thing makes me sad. Ya, if he won, maybe that would get him a nice payday or two to help him with his debt, but maybe a victory would have also led him to a future fight with a legit opponent who could seriously hurt him.
What I want to know is... what the hell are these European commissions thinking? Holyfield was allowed to fight in Russia last year and in Switzerland last night. Even worse, Riddick Bowe was allowed to fight last week in Germany, and he suffers from obvious signs of pugilistic dementia. I'd like to think that any reputable US commission would refuse to license these guys.
P.S. On a positive note, I do like what I'm seeing/hearing about the HBO and Showtime schedules for the first half of 2009.
The one other possible scenario that I see is:
If Mosley beats Margarito, I wouldn't be shocked to see Floyd push for a fight with Mosley. I could see that having some appeal to him.
If Margarito beats Mosley, then I think Floyd definitely looks to the Pac/Hatton winner. Floyd will be rooting for Hatton to beat Pacquiao, since he already knows that he can beat Hatton and that he can make a ton of money doing it. Pacquiao would bring him a ton of money as well, but also much greater risk.
Anyway, Floyd or no Floyd, I'm looking forward to 2009. A lot of quality matchups are already official, with some other big ones likely to happen, and virtually all of them so far are scheduled for non-PPV.
Thomas Hauser has a new article up on the MaxBoxing site. Anyone inerested in boxing, particularly the business side, should check out Hauser on a regular basis. This piece is about the topic he's written about so incisively over the past year or so -- HBO. Check it out.
Thanks for that link. Rather scathing article, and it's hard to argue with most of his points.
I do like what I see with HBO's 2009 schedule so far, but there's still plenty of time for them to screw it up.
The only thing I semi-disagree with in that article is that Hauser seems to really not like Kellerman at all, and I think Max has grown into the job rather nicely, after a rough start. Which is important, since Merchant has begun to show his age IMO.
It's looking more and more likely that Floyd Mayweather Jr. may end his year-long "retirement," and when he does, presumably to fight the Pacquiao-Hatton winner, he'll say that he just had to fight again to reclaim his pound-for-pound status, the burning desire to fight was back etc. etc.
In fact, the real reason is this:
Meanwhile, press reports in the Philippines say that Pacquiao is refusing to tak a 50-50 split for the scheduled May 2 Hatton fight, demanding 60-40. If he doesn't get his way, he may fight Mayweather instead.
Hard to believe Mayweather would accept the short end of a 60-40, or even a 50-50 from anyone. But given his problems with Uncle Sam, he may be forced to eat a little financial humble pie.
In fact, the real reason is this:
Little Floyd may think twice about tossing hundred-dollar bills into the crowd next time he throws a party for himself, as he reportedly did at his "retirement" party last year.
Meanwhile, press reports in the Philippines say that Pacquiao is refusing to tak a 50-50 split for the scheduled May 2 Hatton fight, demanding 60-40. If he doesn't get his way, he may fight Mayweather instead.
Hard to believe Mayweather would accept the short end of a 60-40, or even a 50-50 from anyone. But given his problems with Uncle Sam, he may be forced to eat a little financial humble pie.
Vitali-Haye is not happening after all. Vitali is fighting some mandatory challenger named Gomez instead to avoid being stripped of his belt, so word is that Haye could end up fighting Wlad instead. Although I also read that Wlad might fight Arreola.
Paul Williams vs. Winky at 160 is likely to happen in April.
A couple interesting welterweight fights over the next 2 weekends. I view Berto-Collazo next weekend as a pseudo-undercard fight, with Margarito-Mosley on the 24th being the main event.
Paul Williams vs. Winky at 160 is likely to happen in April.
A couple interesting welterweight fights over the next 2 weekends. I view Berto-Collazo next weekend as a pseudo-undercard fight, with Margarito-Mosley on the 24th being the main event.
Berto is an exciting young fighter... got a chance to see him live against stepping stone Cosimo Rivera a couple years ago in Saratoga. Very hard puncher and very fast. As it happens, Cosimo gave Berto his first career knock down, a short left hook that caught Berto crispy clean on the point of the jaw. Collazo should be a stern test for Berto and that could wind up being a terrific fight.
I hope Arreola gets himself into terrific shape and takes another tune-up before getting in with Wlad. He's got a ton of promise but I don't think he's ready for the Klitschko boys just yet... would be a shame to kill the confidence of the one of the two fighters (the other being Haye) who could make the heavyweight division worth watching again.
I hope Arreola gets himself into terrific shape and takes another tune-up before getting in with Wlad. He's got a ton of promise but I don't think he's ready for the Klitschko boys just yet... would be a shame to kill the confidence of the one of the two fighters (the other being Haye) who could make the heavyweight division worth watching again.
Collazo won't test Berto's chin, which I think is a little suspect -- and I think that Berto's handlers might agree, which is why they're matching him against fighters like Steve Forbes and Collazo, who will give Berto a boxing workout with no worry of a sudden KO. As he proved against Ricky Hatton, Collazo is a very good fighter. He's been in there with the likes of Hatton and Shane Mosely, and he's held a belt briefly. So he'll have a big advantage in experience. In the end, however, I don't think that will be nearly enough and this will mainly be an educational experience for Berto that will end in a late TKO or clear decision for the up-and-comer.
I'm not sure what to think about Arreola. He's an exciting fighter and obviously hits hard. But is he really much more than a glorified club fighter? I'm just not sure yet, because he's never fought anyone who wasn't a club fighter (glorified or not) himself. If he gets the date with Wlad, he will definitely pressure Klitschko more than Klitschko's been pressured since getting knocked out by Corey Sanders. But again, will it be enough to get past Klitschko's jab? And how long can Arreola, who's no defensive genius, avoid that piston-like straight right hand from Klitschko? I think the fight depends mainly on Wlad? Does he let Arreola intimidate him, causing him to go into his shell, where he paws with the left then grabs? Or does he take a risk against Arreola, and go for the KO? In which case, it could be an exciting brawl for as long as it lasts.
My take on Arreola so far is that he's an American fighter who is very lucky to be fighting at a point in time when HBO is desperate to find an American heavyweight to market. If he were from Eastern Europe, we wouldn't have even heard of him. I certainly hope I'm wrong though. I'm not rooting for Wlad to lose necessarily, but I am rooting for someone to at least give him a decent challenge. Klitschko-Rahman was painful to watch.
If Arreola's handlers match him up with Wlad without first having him fight a decent top 10 guy (Maskaev, Ibragimov, someone like that...), the cynical side of me will think that they realize he's not that good and are trying to get one big payday out of him before he gets exposed.
If Arreola's handlers match him up with Wlad without first having him fight a decent top 10 guy (Maskaev, Ibragimov, someone like that...), the cynical side of me will think that they realize he's not that good and are trying to get one big payday out of him before he gets exposed.
I certainly think he'll go into the fight planning to pressure Wlad, but I don't see him getting past the jab. I think there is a reason that Wlad hasn't been really pressured since Sanders, and it's that he has improved tremendously under Steward. It's easy to say he'll be pressured but once they step in the ring, I don't see it happening. I think it will be another dominant win for Wlad, similar to most of his fights, eventually leading to a KO in the mid rounds.
I really don't see anything exciting in Arreola. Rahman is probably a better fighter than him.
The Floyd Mayweather Jr. Schadenfreude-fest continues:
Seems like Little Floyd may return to the sport that "bored" him a lot sooner than anyone expected.
Amir Khan v Marco Antonio Barrera - UK, March 14th
Venue to still be confirmed but I'd guess at the MEN Arena in Manchester. Sky Sports should recoup some of their investment in Khan via a PPV but I'll leave better boxing brains than mine to discuss whether this is too big a gamble by Frank Warren.
CJD
Venue to still be confirmed but I'd guess at the MEN Arena in Manchester. Sky Sports should recoup some of their investment in Khan via a PPV but I'll leave better boxing brains than mine to discuss whether this is too big a gamble by Frank Warren.
CJD
Wow, that's a very interesting decision, by both sides. I had read that Barrera had been made Nate Campbell's #1 mandatory, so he was looking at a title shot at lightweight later this year. I figured he'd just wait for that.
And considering how badly Khan got knocked out, one would think that Warren would treat him with kid gloves for the next several fights.
I'm kind of stating the obvious here... but it will all come down to whether Barrera still has anything left in the tank. He's forgotten more about boxing than Khan will ever know, but if he's a shot fighter, it might not matter.
Wow! Terrific welterweight fight on HBO tonight. Berto gets the unanimous decision over Collazo 166-11 (WTF?!?!?), 114-113, 114-113. I had it 114-113 as well.
Terrible job by the new BAD crew in missing the huge Berto right to Collazo's left ribcage early in round 7 -- that dictated the rest of the fight. Collazo dropped his hands and basically gave Berto the rest of 7 and all of 8 after that big shot. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt, though and accuse them of watching the fight in the ring rather than on the TV feed. Bob Papa should stick with Jets games, though... he continually repeated that Collazo "floored" Berto in round 1 when there was never actually a knockdown.
Despite the big body shot, an extremely game performance by the new welterweight stepping-stone, Luis Collazo. I'd love to see the rematch of this one but something tells me it'll have to wait a few more Berto fights/defenses.
Anyway -- nice way to start the new year, HBO. Keep up the good work.
Terrible job by the new BAD crew in missing the huge Berto right to Collazo's left ribcage early in round 7 -- that dictated the rest of the fight. Collazo dropped his hands and basically gave Berto the rest of 7 and all of 8 after that big shot. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt, though and accuse them of watching the fight in the ring rather than on the TV feed. Bob Papa should stick with Jets games, though... he continually repeated that Collazo "floored" Berto in round 1 when there was never actually a knockdown.
Despite the big body shot, an extremely game performance by the new welterweight stepping-stone, Luis Collazo. I'd love to see the rematch of this one but something tells me it'll have to wait a few more Berto fights/defenses.
Anyway -- nice way to start the new year, HBO. Keep up the good work.
I also had it even going into the 12th. Collazo is a tough kid but he tired badly. Both of them got hit with a ton of body shots and tired but Collazo took the worst of it. He also threw a million punches. That had to bite him eventually.
I like Lennox Lewis as an announcer and could not understand why he didn't correct Papa on the "1st round knockdown". It was a 10-9 round for chrissakes.
Right around the time that I was thinking that losing this fight would not hurt Berto's career too badly Lewis made the exact same point. It was only Collazo who couldn't afford to lost this fight.
Lastly, what is the "Fight Doctor's" drink of choice? Musta got hold of some shine down there in Mississippi. Colazzo by 3?
How about Berto - Williams next?
After a lackluster 2nd half of 2008 that was a huge breath of fresh air. What a great fight. Initial I thought Collazo won the fight but I can live with Berto winning it, although not 116-111.
Berto showed a ton of heart but he tired really badly in this fight and was hurt because of it. Collazo is not known for his power but damn near got him out just by outworking him. I don't know where Berto goes from here. Definately not a rematch, too risky. But every fight at welterweight right now is gonna be a war.
Great start to 2009.
Berto showed a ton of heart but he tired really badly in this fight and was hurt because of it. Collazo is not known for his power but damn near got him out just by outworking him. I don't know where Berto goes from here. Definately not a rematch, too risky. But every fight at welterweight right now is gonna be a war.
Great start to 2009.
What a great fight. If that doesn't win Fight of the Year, then I can't wait to see the fight that's going to trump it. I thought Collazo narrowly won, but I wasn't scoring round-by-round, so I'll have to go back and watch it again to come up with an exact score. I'm assuming when I rewatch it, I'll have it something like 114-113 for Collazo, but with enough close rounds that a 114-113 Berto card will be reasonable. As others have said, that 116-111 card was ridiculous. There were at least 3 rounds that Collazo dominated, meaning that judge gave every round that was remotely close to Berto. Kudos to Max for calling the judge out to everyone during the postfight interview.
It's admirable of Berto to say that he wanted to give Collazo a rematch, but I'm assuming his handlers will steer him to a different fight with a better risk/reward ratio. I'd love to be wrong though. In terms of talent/skill, the welterweights are head and shoulders above every other weight class right now.
It's admirable of Berto to say that he wanted to give Collazo a rematch, but I'm assuming his handlers will steer him to a different fight with a better risk/reward ratio. I'd love to be wrong though. In terms of talent/skill, the welterweights are head and shoulders above every other weight class right now.
Word is that the Staples Center will be soldout on Saturday night for Margarito-Mosley. The promoters were smart for once and made ticket prices reasonable ($25-$300). Should be a great crowd.... a real boxing crowd as opposed to a VIP one.
One of my pet peeves has always been that too many fights are held in Vegas, and not enough are held in "hometown" arenas. It's nice to see that in the next few months, we've got Margarito-Mosley (both based in SoCal) fighting in LA, Pavlik fighting in his hometown (Youngstown), Cotto in his psuedo-hometown (NYC), Marquez-Diaz in Diaz's hometown (Houston), etc. Should make for some lively crowds.
And then of course, there's the exciting Roy Jones' corpse vs. Omar Sheika matchup in Pensacola!
One of my pet peeves has always been that too many fights are held in Vegas, and not enough are held in "hometown" arenas. It's nice to see that in the next few months, we've got Margarito-Mosley (both based in SoCal) fighting in LA, Pavlik fighting in his hometown (Youngstown), Cotto in his psuedo-hometown (NYC), Marquez-Diaz in Diaz's hometown (Houston), etc. Should make for some lively crowds.
And then of course, there's the exciting Roy Jones' corpse vs. Omar Sheika matchup in Pensacola!
Looks like the Hatton-Pacquiao fight is officially off, for now at least.
http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/ne...tory?id=3849386
Can't really understand Pacquiao's thinking on this one. Holding the line on your negotiations is one thing, but he just gave up $10-20 mil with no other real options for a big pay day.
http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/ne...tory?id=3849386
Can't really understand Pacquiao's thinking on this one. Holding the line on your negotiations is one thing, but he just gave up $10-20 mil with no other real options for a big pay day.
Bizarre turn of events. I guess Pacquiao feels that because he's the legit pound-for-pound #1 , he should get the majority split. But the hard, cold economic fact is that the bulk of the revenue for this fight will be generated by Hatton. I wonder if Pacquiao thinks a fight with Mayweather will now materialize, which it might. But if Floyd is going to come out of his retirement/hiatus to help with his tax problems, why wouldn't he fight Hatton who he knows he can beat rather easily, instead of Pacquiao who will provide a much tougher test?
From a boxing purist's standpoint, the best fight for Pacquiao would be to complete his trilogy with Juan Manuel Marquez, assuming (as I do) that Marquez gets by Juan Diaz in February. But that's a hardcore fan's fight that probably does 350-400K PPV buys, whereas the Hatton match gets in the 800K range plus who-knows-how-many in the UK. A lot, anyway.
I have to say, I'm only mildly disappointed since I'm never that excited to see Hatton fight anybody. Still, it always sucks when a big fight drops out, especially for highly puzzling reasons, like this one.
Did you see Berto-Collazo? I'd be interested to hear how you scored it...
Regarding Pac-Hatton, I wouldn't be surprised to see this fight become official again a few days from now. The same thing happened with Pac-Oscar. Fight fell apart, both sides said they were going in different directions... then a couple days later they came to their senses and got it done.
Pacquiao just seems to be a bit of a whackjob when it comes to negotiations, whether it be the whole GB/Top Rank lawsuit situation, the Oscar negotiations, the Marquez negotiations, now this Hatton stuff, etc. But at the end of the day, I'd like to think that he's smart enough to realize that 50% of a huge purse is better than 80% of a small one.