The Official Boxing Thread

[Blame Rasho]

Yuri gained alot of macho points...


Vanes is blah...

KO for Cotto... but he would get killed by Martinez or Williams.

[GS Warriors 1]

Yup, props to Yuri Foreman for continuing to hang in there with a bad knee injury but Cotto was too much for him, even before the knee injury.

"blah" is the word I'd use for Martirosyan/Greene too.

Roy Jones FTW, clear upgrade from Lennox Lewis. Please retire and go on B.A.D. broadcasts.

[Dry_Fish]

I know I said fights should be stop when the other fighter has no chance but I was glad the ref let Foreman continue.

[Rich Rane]

Cotto looks comfortable at 154, but not good enough to defeat Martinez or Williams. If he wants to compete for another title, he needs to get his speed up.

Foreman...stupid, but courageous. He should've taken the five minutes at least once of the two times he was asked.

Roy Jones FTW, clear upgrade from Lennox Lewis. Please retire and go on B.A.D. broadcasts.

Holy crap I agree. Roy Jones is perfect for that spot. Tarver wasn't that bad last time either, but I'd rather have Jones there.

I know I said fights should be stop when the other fighter has no chance but I was glad the ref let Foreman continue.

Arthur Mercante Jr. seems to take a lot of his great ref skills from his father. Just top notch officiating last night.

[Blame Rasho]

By Mark Vester

According to an interview with Japan Today, former flyweight champion Koki Kameda is moving up in weight to target the super flyweights. Kameda is looking for his third divisional title. He won belts at junior flyweight and flyweight. He will make his super flyweight debut at the Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium on July 25.

Kameda lost his flyweight title to interim champion Pongsaklek Wonjogkam of Thailand this past March. He wants to target the big names at the weight, like WBA-interim champion Nonito Doniare, WBO champion Jorge Arce and WBC/WBA champiuon Vic Darchinyan [although he recently moved up to capture the IBO bantamweight title].

‘‘It’s getting harder to lose weight,’’ Koki said. ‘‘I think it’s time to move up.’’

I would love to see these two real jackasses fight each other...lol.

[cowboyronnie]

I was going to get on here to bash RJJ. I can't stand his commentary. What was he going on about, Foreman's rally in the 3rd and 4th being out of desperation? Gibberish and stupid. I don't like Lewis any better, mind you. Steward is ideal.

It was a beautiful fight to watch up until the injury, a dramatic fight after that. Real good stuff. I haven't seen a boxer move that well all the while engaging in ages. Foreman's footwork was beautiful. Cotto kept up too.

Foreman never got a chance to use the hand speed advantage. And that was really his only chance. There was a few combos and a few single shots, but not much more.

Rallying through that knee injury was crazy. You could tell that was a bad sprain. Respect. Count me among the new fans.

Taking 5 minutes would have probably only worsened it, maybe.

Mercante not only resolved the towel issue but there was that time he deliberately (we assume) took Yuri's mouthpiece to Cotto's corner to be washed off. That's smooth. It needs to be used by other refs. It means that the guy spitting his mouthpiece out can't then have his corner further delay the fight. Think about Corrales-Castillo 1. And then, like Lampley explained, there can be no coaching the fighter in the neutral corner.

[Entengtot]

is it true that gayweather is really retiring again>?

blah for our hopes of a pcquiao mayweather mega fight.

what a pussy.

[KNICKS1970]

is it true that gayweather is really retiring again>?

blah for our hopes of a pcquiao mayweather mega fight.

what a pussy.

Roger Mayweather did an interview where he says only a fool would walk away from a $100 million payday.

I'd have to call BS, just because retiring before facing Pacquiao would be seen as a clear duck and unless Floyd is delusional (which is possible) he has to know this. At least with the blood testing BS he could hide behind a "I just want to clean up the sport" statement.

[Blame Rasho]

Dear boxing fans and press members,

The last time you have seen me I was celebrating my first victory in Las Vegas, as I knocked out Victor Cayo last March 27 on HBO and thus I proudly retained the WBA Interim Super Lightweight title for the second time. I can`t tell you how happy I was as my career seemed to go the right direction. That night I thought I was establishing a name for myself in the US and new great opportunities were coming for me after that.

However, a series of unexpected events have unfolded ever since affecting me to the point that even retirement crossed my mind. However, I consider myself a true warrior, so I will fight for my rights until the end. I know most of you may be surprised to hear that. Surely, not as much surprised as I am myself, of course.

First of all, let me make it clear that I am in perfect health condition, so nothing of this has anything to do with injuries or any medical problems. I only have very serious managerial problems that have led me to a huge disappointment and uncertainty regarding my future.

For the last two months and to this date I remained in silence as I was trusting that certain people would deliver their promises to straighten things up. They did not.

A few days after the Cayo fight I was resting in Buenos Aires and suddenly I learned through boxing web sites that I was scheduled to fight Timothy Bradley on June 19 in Aguacaliente, California. Then I called my now former manager Mario Margossian and he confirmed that he had in fact agreed that fight with both Golden Boy Promotions and HBO.

I was pissed as I had never been informed about any previous negotiations in that regard.

On the other hand, I turned the offer down as Margossian offered me little money for a fight of this magnitude. Then, the next day I again learned from boxing web sites that the date has been moved (without my approval, once again), this time for July 17 mentioning that I was recovering from a back injury, which was a lie.

I talked with Margossian again and he tried to convince me by offering me little more money, but at that point I became suspicious and I told him I would not take the fight, which it was always far from being formally accepted from me as I have never signed a contract, whatsoever.

I want to make it clear, however, that Golden Boy Promotions and HBO have both acted in good faith all along on this matter as I never had any direct contact with them or any other promoters involved in the Bradley fight at that point.

Now I know that they had made a reasonable offer for me to face Bradley, but that offer was significantly different when it came to me.

From that point on I started to find out that many other things regarding my career were not right so I put the case in the hands of my lawyers. Last May 12 I have notified Margossian about my irreversible decision to terminate the contract that we had, for which I had designated him as my manager.

On the other hand, there seems to be a huge mystery and confusion regarding possible existent contracts between myself and Golden Boy Promotions and or Universum Box Promotions, which happen to have a partnership. Both claim that they have contracts with me. Unfortunately, my former manager has never given me any originals or even copies of the contracts that I have signed or of those which he may have signed on my behalf during the last few years, so I have no way to verify what my situation is right now.

That is why early on last May I went directly to Golden Boy Promotions, and through phone conversations they promised me they would send me every alleged contract that they have. This was ratified during a personal meeting with Eric Gomez that took place last May 27 in Santa Fe, Argentina. They promised me to be perfectly clear and transparent, but they did not deliver as they finally decided not to reveal the contracts. I have not received anything from them.

Therefore, if Golden Boy Promotions or Universum Box Promotions have any contracts that link me with them, I publicly ask them to urgently show them to me and my team as my former manager Margossian would not for sure. If everything if perfectly clear and legal as they claim, what is the problem with showing all the papers to me?

I am sure that Oscar de la Hoya himself will totally understand me as a fellow colleague. I have a team in Argentina that is supporting me and giving me the right advice now, so I ask Oscar to take the matter in his own hands and meet with us to clarify the whole thing along with Universum. Otherwise, if they do not have any contracts that link me with them or if they are not interested in me, let me know it for real and I will continue with my career. I would be hugely disappointed if Oscar allows for my career to be interrupted or damaged whatsoever. I know he will not.

In all, I want to tell everybody that I would be delighted to face Bradley or any other world champions – especially, Amir Khan who is my mandatory as per WBA rules – as long as I get fair conditions (the right money and time to prepare myself).

Every one in boxing knows that I had to go the hard way to become the WBA Super Lightweight champion. First, by going to Germany to face local Andreas Kotelnik and then by going to Los Angeles to fight Victor Ortiz. That speaks for itself about me not ducking anyone, doesn’t it? I’m not scared to square off in the ring with anybody. I’m proud of being the WBA world champion and I’m hungry to face the best out there. But give me a fair treatment to do so, just as they do with other champions.

I want my fans to keep their faith in me and thank them for all the support that I am receiving, for which I’ll be grateful forever. God bless you all and see you in my next fight.

Marcos René Maidana
June 7, 2010

Honestly.... Maidana could be my favorite fighter right now.

[Blame Rasho]

The first fight at Yankee Stadium in more than three decades generated the highest rating of the year for HBO, which broadcast the ballpark doubleheader.

The main event that saw Miguel Cotto defeat Yuri Foreman for the junior middleweight title, along with Vanes Martirosyan's victory over Joe Greene on the undercard, generated a 3.9 rating for the premium cable network.

That equates to about 1.9 million viewers between the live telecast Saturday night and the replay Sunday morning.

It all paid off for HBO, which announced that the fight generated a 3.9 rating, its best boxing rating of the year (and I am also told the highest in about two years). The live broadcast, combined with a Sunday morning replay, was seen by approximately 1.9 million viewers. Considering that HBO paid a license fee of $2.85 million, it got some serious bang for its buck, and Top Rank added another historic fight to its long list of memorable promotions.

Impressive number considering that HBO is in only like 20 million homes.

[cowboyronnie]

Excellent. Very cool. And it was a good night for them to be tuned-in. Great fight.

No comments about Williams vs Cintron from weeks ago? I just had a chance to watch it myself. WTF? That's crazy. I didn't know that had happened. What a bummer.

[Blame Rasho]

Excellent. Very cool. And it was a good night for them to be tuned-in. Great fight.

No comments about Williams vs Cintron from weeks ago? I just had a chance to watch it myself. WTF? That's crazy. I didn't know that had happened. What a bummer.

Eh...it was a blah fight.

Cintron is perhaps the one fighter who has a glass will at least from my estimation compared to his peers.

[TheBigBoss]

Cotto-Foreman coming up...I'm going to go with Cotto at the new weight by decision. Hopefully Steward does ten times the job of Cotto's last corner (which Steward should).

Haha...look what my friend e-mailed me.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KFD3ux0vTE[/youtube]

LMAO! This is hilarious. On another note I miss those USA Tuesday Night Fights. I wish they still had that.

[Mike Hunt]

I enjoyed watching David Lemieux fight on FNF. He absolutely destroyed Elvin Ayala. I hate Lemieux' style (too much earmuffing) but his power and hand speed is impressive. Quebec tends to make these slightly better than average guys sound like superstars.

[GS Warriors 1]

Updating some boxing news...

Sergio Martinez has decided to stay at 160
http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=5294834

Promoter Gary Shaw, one of the brains behind Showtime's 168 tournament, proposed a 140 lb tournament to HBO, which HBO had interest in but GBP declined to take part.
http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=5299050

[Blame Rasho]

Updating some boxing news...

Sergio Martinez has decided to stay at 160
http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=5294834

Promoter Gary Shaw, one of the brains behind Showtime's 168 tournament, proposed a 140 lb tournament to HBO, which HBO had interest in but GBP declined to take part.
http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=5299050

Shaw isn't one of the brains...

The Super Six was all Ken Hershman....

Martinez should say **** it... and fight Bute. He has nothing to lose and everything to gain.

I do like the idea of fighting at 160... he is indeed the lineal and ring champ at that weight... and after two fights at 160... it wouldn't be wise to down know 6 lbs.

[GS Warriors 1]

Forgot to post Dan Rafael's notebook but a Rafael Marquez/Juanma Lopez 126 lb title fight is in the works for September 18th on Showtime, given that Lopez doesn't lose or get a bad cut against Bernabe Concepcion(July 10th on Showtime). GBP is trying to put together a split-site PPV on September 18th from Mexico City and LA or Vegas, likely to be headlined by welterweight Saul "Canelo" Alvarez.

Also, Joel Casamayor will face Robert Guerrero at 139 lbs. on the Diaz-Marquez II undercard July 31st. Other fights: Rocky Juarez vs. Jorge Linares and Daniel Jacobs vs. Dmitry Pirog.

[GS Warriors 1]

Dan Rafael Notebook, June 25:

Shane Mosley, coming off a lopsided May loss to Floyd Mayweather, will meet with Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer on Friday to discuss his next fight, Schaefer told ESPN.com. Schaefer said there are at least three viable options he'll discuss with the former two-division champ: middleweight champ Sergio Martinez, welterweight titlist Andre Berto and ex-junior middleweight titleholder Sergio Mora. Schaefer said Lou DiBella, who promotes Martinez and Berto, called him about Martinez, who is hunting for a fall HBO fight. "There's an offer for Berto to fight Mosley and Mosley is also thinking about Mora, so I wanted to throw Martinez into the mix. I let Richard know we'd take a split in favor of Mosley and do the fight at 155 for Martinez's title," DiBella said. The Berto fight might not be easy to make because, according to Schaefer, "Lou thinks it would have to be 50-50, which I don't think Shane would be willing to give." Schaefer said the fight against Mora, who has a July 23 tune-up to get through, would be Sept. 18 on a pay-per-view card Schaefer is putting together at the Staples Center as part of a Mexican Independence Day celebration. Weight is an issue for Mosley-Mora because Mosley has never fought above junior middleweight and Mora fights at middleweight, because he says he can't make 154. "I know Mora is interested in the fight and I want to get direction on which way to go from Shane," Schaefer said.

DiBella is trying to put together a fall HBO fight for Berto. HBO wants Berto-Mosley for Sept. 25, a fight it had scheduled in January. However, it was canceled after Berto lost eight family members in the Haiti earthquake a couple of weeks before the fight. Berto returned in April, beating Carlos Quintana, and Mosley lost to Mayweather. But with Mosley looking at other potential fall fights, DiBella is looking for a backup, so he called Top Rank's Carl Moretti about former title challenger Alfonso Gomez. But Moretti said it wasn't a fight HBO would buy and suggested rising contender Mike Jones, who Top Rank works with through a close relationship his promoter, Russell Peltz. DiBella liked the idea and Moretti said he called Peltz, who was also interested, assuming Jones wins a July 9 "ShoBox" fight with Irving Garcia. So if Berto-Mosley isn't put back together, Berto-Jones could be possible for the fall, if HBO would buy it.

Schaefer said Golden Boy and interim junior welterweight titlist Marcos Maidana, whose aborted July 17 fight with Timothy Bradley stemmed from managerial problems and miscommunication, have signed a new promotional contract. "It's a long-term deal," Schaefer said. "The deal is with us and [German promtoer] Universum is our partner. We'll be more involved now and Maidana is very happy to be with us and now he knows he can deal with us directly." Maidana may return later this summer to fight in his native Argentina before a possible HBO fight in the fall in the U.S. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Also, tomorrow is the Top Rank PPV from the Alamodome in San Antonio, where Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.(40-0-1, 30 KO's) faces John Duddy(29-1, 18 KO's) for a vacant middleweight title. It will be Chavez Jr's first fight under new trainer Freddie Roach. Marco Antonio Barrera is on the undercard.

[Dry_Fish]

I don't remember what the unofficial weight in was but Juanma/Donito looked huge compare to their opponents. Anything less than a TKO would be a disappointment in my book.

[GS Warriors 1]

Hernan Marquez fights at 112 and he was giving up a few inches as well. I think Concepcion fights at 126 but Juanma still has good size at that weight class. He could move up a couple weight classes later on.

Donaire started off as a southpaw and didn't look very good, Marquez landed some shots but the last couple rounds, he switched back and took over. He admitted after the fight that he needed rounds. Looks like he's fighting Montiel next, which looks to be a very good fight and the toughest test he's faced in 3 years. Lopez/Concepcion was fun to watch, both hit the floor in round 1 and Lopez finished him in round 2.

Can't wait for Lopez/R. Marquez on September 18th, thats a much better fight than GBP PPV main event of Mora/Mosley.