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.
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.
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.For those who missed B.A.D. last night, there was a very entertaining heavyweight scrap with a Round of the Year Contender.
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.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?
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.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 is recommended viewing. Either Cunningham has no power or Adamek has a granite chin. Probably somewhere in between.
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.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.
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.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.
Klischko camp confirm Haye fight BBC Report.Word is that Haye will fight Vitali this summer in London.
David Haye will fight Vitali Klitschko in London next summer, the Ukranian's manager Bernd Boente has confirmed.
"We agreed to do the fight next summer in London," Boente told BBC Sport.
"It could take place at Wembley, but maybe it's too big. I'd personally prefer Chelsea. I've been there a couple of times and I'm a fan."
Apparently, Big Brother Klitschko tried to strangle Haye in a restaurant this past weekend.Klischko camp confirm Haye fight BBC Report.
It all began when Haye decided to flaunt a photo that was shot for the UK version of Men’s Health Magazine, with Haye dressed in a suit and holding the decapitated head of Vitali’s younger brother, Wladimir. Vitali lost his temper when he saw the photo, and according to Haye’s manager Adam Booth - grabbed the British fighter by the throat and a near brawl broke out with both men wrestling around.
“[It was]a photo shoot I did for Men's Health. A Reservoir Dogs thing I did in a suit, holding Wlaidmir Klitschko's head, his decapitated head, with blood ripping everywhere. Just a sign of what's coming in 2009,” Haye told BBC Sport.
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.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.
Ya, I agree completely.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.
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.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.
Link"Floyd has given Team Mayweather the green light to go out there and evaluate the biggest fights for him, to come back to him and present it to him. Then he will consider it," Leonard Ellerbe, Mayweather's best friend and adviser, told ESPN.com on Saturday.
Floyd Mayweather Jr., 31, hasn't fought since a 10th-round KO of Ricky Hatton last December.
"If what we present him is something he's interested in doing, he will do it."
When asked if that meant Mayweather would fight again, Ellerbe said, "I think what I just said speaks for itself."
The one other possible scenario that I see is:I can't see Floyd fighting a tune up so I think he'll fight late summer/early fall vs. the winner of Pac/Hatton.
Thanks for that link. Rather scathing article, and it's hard to argue with most of his points.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.
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.Retired World Boxing Council champion and Grand Rapids native Floyd Mayweather Jr. owes $6.2 million in federal income taxes, according to public records.
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The IRS filed a $6,165,735 lien against Mayweather for unpaid incomes taxes on Oct. 9 in Clark County, Nev. He owes the money from 2007, according to the Clark County Recorder's office.
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.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.
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.
Seems like Little Floyd may return to the sport that "bored" him a lot sooner than anyone expected.In September, the former pound-for-pound champ was sued by a Florida real estate developer for backing out of a deal to purchase an $8.5 million dollar home in the state. Mayweather reneged on the initial agreement to pay the developer $1.7 million that resulted in the lawsuit.
In August, in a story that made headlines on newscasts around the world, one of Mayweather's Las Vegas homes was robbed of what was reported to have been $7.1 million worth of jewelry. He later offered a $100,000 reward for information in the case that would lead to an arrest or conviction, but the crime has yet to be solved.
October brought a worldwide meltdown in stock markets as well as continued plunging home values in the United States. The markets crashed between 30% and 40%. Few investors escaped the bloodletting. For Mayweather, who in 2008 claimed that he was on his way to becoming a billionaire, it would certainly seem the crisis would have significantly altered his grandiose business plans.
Mayweather also owns several properties in the state of Nevada. The Las Vegas area in which he resides has been what some have called "ground zero" in the U.S. foreclosure quagmire. The situation has caused Las Vegas home values to plummet more than 30% and homeowners who once had millions of dollars worth of equity in their homes have watched it blow away like dust in the desert wind. Mayweather told many of us boxing writers in 2007 that he paid "$11 million" for his most recent home in Las Vegas. But even using conservative figures, that same pad would now be worth about $7.5 million.
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.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
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 had it 114-113 as well.
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.
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?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.
Did you see Berto-Collazo? I'd be interested to hear how you scored it...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.