Boxing News Thread

[heyzel]

JULIO CESAR CHAVEZ A FRAUD, OR A GOOD FIGHTER LIVING IN DADDY’S SHADOW?

June 15th, 2012 By Kevin Perry

“LITTLE” JULIO CESAR CHAVEZ IMPROVING AS A PRIZEFIGHTER

LOS ANGELES-CA- Overshadowed by Saturday’s perceived controversial decision victory for Timothy Bradley over Manny “The Congressman” Pacquiao, is this Satuday’s WBC middleweight (160 lb) clash between belt holder Julio Ceasar “Son of a Legend” Chavez Jr. (45-0-1, 31 KOs)
Julio "The Cheat" Chavez Jr.

Can Chavez Remove Himself From Dad's Shadow?
and 2004 Irish Olympian Andy Lee (28-1,20 KOs). Chavez, a much improved fighter in the last couple of years who now works with famed trainer Freddie Roach, takes on his toughest test in Lee, a prized pupil of Hall of Fame trainer Emmanuel Steward on HBO in the main event live from the Sun Bowl in EL Paso Texas. The bout looks to be an entertaining contrast of styles on paper.

CHAVEZ HAS BEEN “LEARNING ON THE JOB”

Criticized by being babied by his promoter Top Rank in his early days, the son of Hall of Fame Mexican superstar Julio Ceasar Chavez Jr., who had no amateur career, has racked up some solid wins within the last two years. Defeating solid top middleweights in Sebastian Zbik (30-2, 10 KOs) in his title winning effort, and Marco Antonio Rubio (53-6-1,46 KOs) in a mandatory title defense in February, has added a decent outside game to the brawling inside style of his well known father.

ONCE BEATEN LEE IS UPSET MINDED

Lee, a talented boxer who fights out of the southpaw stance (left-handed), has good power and great tutelage. In his only defeat he was stopped on his feet in the seventh round against Brian Vera (15-1 at the time) in a bout he was winning handily up until that point on the scorecards. Since that setback in 2008 he’s won 13 straight, also avenging the loss in one-sided fashion last November.

WINNER TO FACE “TRUE” MIDDLEWEIGHT KING SERGIO MARTINEZ

 

[heyzel]

Larry Merchant feels Tim Bradley got too much credit for his brave effort


Chris Robinson
Las Vegas Boxing Examiner


While he wasn’t ringside for last weekend’s Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley duel, HBO color analyst Larry Merchant still had his share of opinions coming away from boxing’s latest pay-per-view showcase.

Inside of the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, Bradley would come away with a controversial split-decision victory over Pacquiao that many felt he didn’t rightfully earn. The boxing world hasn’t stopped chiming in with their thoughts and Merchant was able to offer up some sound bites to me during a recent conversation.


“I thought it was a very good, interesting fight,” Merchant would state. “I thought Pacquiao clearly won the fight. Maybe 8-4, 9-3 I had it. I think Bradley got too much credit for a brave effort.”
Advertisement

While not pointing to a specific round, Merchant recalled seeing a change in Bradley’s fortitude halfway through the contest.

“My general impressions were Pacquiao landed virtually all of the meaningful punches and that Bradley, in the middle of the fight, started to back off and decided he better just be a little bit more resourceful and defensive. It turned out to be a winning strategy to most everyone’s surprise, I think including Bradley,” Merchant quipped.

According to Merchant, who is always unabashedly honest with his delivery, he simply feels that Bradley found himself in with a completely different kind of prizefighter on Saturday night.

“Whatever ideas Bradley had that he was going to engage Pacquiao in some fashion, he was persuaded by Pacquiao’s left hand, that he better go to plan B,” Merchant added. “I think he found out that once you’re in the ring with Pacquiao, it’s not like being in the ring with anyone else. Pacquiao’s sudden power, his quickness, made him change plans.”

Judges Duane Ford and C.J. Ross both had 115-113 scorecards favoring Bradley and the two officials have been under fire since offering up their verdicts. Merchant can’t explain their reasoning behind their tallies yet discounts anything shady taking place behind the scenes.

“First of all, the notion that there was some kind of conspiracy is crazy,” said Merchant. “Because whether Manny would fight Bradley again or somebody else in the fall, he’s make similar money. It’s obviously up to Pacquiao and it’s obvious that he wants it. But there are other guys out there.

“Boxing invites that kind of conspiracy-mongering, always has,” Merchant added. “But I don’t get the point. Why would they? There was no gambling coo. Pacquiao is the guy who fills the arena and the town. Why would that be? I don’t see the point and I don’t know if anybody’s made the point.”

 

[heyzel]

Timothy Bradley Receives Death Threats Following Manny Pacquiao Bout

Timothy Bradley’s victory celebration after defeating Manny Pacquiao was cut short this week after the new champion began receiving death threats from Manny fans who believed their favorite boxer was robbed of the title.

The death threats began just before Bradley went on ESPN Radio Chicago to talk about his victory. Bradley essentially told Waddle and Silvy that he deserved the victory despite Manny Pacquioa’s far superior fight numbers which were highly publicized after the fight.

Bradly also told the talk show hosts that his corner believes he won the fight.

Speaking about the threats against his life Bradley said:

“Definitely on Facebook and Twitter, reading people’s comments, e-mails and people are sending me like death threats, telling me to die, telling me to give the belt back, ‘if you’re a man’ and all this hate mail. Just people being really rude like I’m the one to blame. ‘If you’re a real champion and want any respect from me then you’d give the belt back.’ I’m like ‘dude I earned the belt and I’m not giving the belt back.’ Anybody out there that thinks I should give the belt back, the belt is not going back. I deserve the belt. I won the fight regardless of what anyone thinks. The judges thought I won the fight and that is that. I’m not the one to blame here. Don’t be pointing the finger at me, don’t be sending me crazy e-mails and things like that because I really don’t care.”

In the meantime Bradley may soon be able to prove that he is the better boxer since Manny Pacquiao’s contract specifically gives him the right to a rematch.

In talking about the fight Bradley proclaimed:

“I fought my fight. I fought the best I could that night given my injuries but I’m not the one to blame. I’m not the one to blame for the results. The judges saw the fight the way they saw the fight and that is that. They had some really professional judges out there and some really good judges out there and Duane Ford is one of the best judges out there and he picked me. What do you want me to do? I thought the fight was close after the fight. I wasn’t sure if I won it or not. I was like ‘I’m in Vegas and never know how the judges are going to judge it. I know the fight’s really close.’

Like we said earlier, it’s not surprising that Bradley is now saying he felt he won the fight. But we all know this isn’t going away anytime time soon. Bradley may have to prove it again in the ring before people even think about considering that he really beat Pacquiao that night.

 

[heyzel]

Andy Lee: I want to knock Chavez out


Andy Lee's professional career, thus far, has been clearly rivaled by his success in the amateur ranks. As a former Olympian for Ireland, Lee (28-1, 20 KO) defeated younger and unpaid versions of current contenders such as Ismail Sillakh, Alfredo Angulo and Gennady Golovkin, grabbing medals and other honors in the process. His glossy record belies his relatively limited success as a pro, but Lee will have a chance to beef up his résumé on Saturday at Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso, Texas, against middleweight titlist Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (45-0-1, 31 KO).

In a rare faceoff between premier young fighters, Chavez, 26, and Lee, 28, will begin their similar quests to clear the middleweight landscape currently populated by several titlists scattered across the globe. Lee plans to make the most of his outstanding boxing skills against Chavez, and he shared it with ESPN Deportes during a recent exclusive interview from his training camp in the final days of preparation for his first title opportunity.

Tell us a little bit about your training for this fight.
I had a very good training camp. Emmanuel Steward was there every day; he is my head trainer. I boxed a lot of rounds with Edwin Rodriguez, Brian Vera, Mike Jimenez -- all good, aggressive fighters, most of them super middleweights. So it was a very good training, very hard work in the gym. Everything came together; I am coming in injury-free and in great shape and ready for the fight. This week, we've been just staying sharp, working on some things on the pads, just getting ready for Saturday night.

What do you know about Chavez as a fighter?
I studied him a lot, even before I was scheduled to fight him. I watched his fights a lot. He is a good fighter, strong and aggressive. He can box, too, when he wants to. He seems to be a good puncher and seems to have a good chin, as well. I believe both of us are very offensive fighters and this will make for a very interesting fight on Saturday evening. Both of us come to fight and come to win, and I think it's going to be a good show on Saturday.

Do you see any obvious weaknesses in his style?
I believe he does have a lot of weaknesses. Defensively, he is not that good, and he gives his opponents a lot of opportunities to land clean punches. And I'll be looking to take those opportunities when I see them.

ESPN.com Boxing on Twitter

Don't miss any of the latest boxing coverage from around the world. Follow us on Twitter and stay informed. Join »

Are you concerned about his sustained body attack?
It's not really a concern for me. Nobody likes to get hit in the body, and I am sure he doesn't like it either. I am a good body puncher; I like to go to the body, too. He has a good way to get to the body, but I can take it; I am conditioned for it. I am ready to see what he has. When he goes to my body, that means he will be open in the head, so I will be looking to counter him when he goes to the body.

What other assets do you see in him as a fighter?
Not much, really. He is a good fighter, he throws a high rate of punches, but that's about it. He is basic enough and predictable enough. He likes to throw a good shot and come forward. He fought a lot of smaller people, guys in the light middleweight division who came up to fight him, and he never really fought anybody with any serious intention of winning. The guys he fights are just opponents who are just happy to be there and happy to get a payday. But this is not just a payday for me. I am coming to win this fight, and I think he is in for a surprise.

How much of an advantage will your southpaw stance be?
Well, he never fought a southpaw before. In me, he is going to be seeing something new. He sparred with a lot of southpaws in preparation for this fight, but it's a different thing when you get nailed by a sparring partner compared to a real fight. I think it will be a great advantage for me, because he's never seen anybody like me before in the ring. He's going to have to deal with some new stuff.

There have been a string of bad scorecards in Texas recently. Is this a concern for you? Do you think you need to be extra impressive to wrestle the title away from Chavez?
Yeah, Chavez is the favorite here in Texas, and there have been some bad decisions here lately. But there have been a lot of bad decisions in boxing lately, and I don't think boxing can afford any more bad decisions. I think the officials need to be more responsible and see the fight fairly, because boxing is getting so much bad publicity from all these bad decisions that it's turning people off boxing. I will go in and box to win every round, but if I have the chance to knock him out, I will be going for the knockout because I don't want to leave this fight to anybody, to any judge. I want to knock him out.

What's your opinion of the current middleweight landscape?
I think the division is starting to heat up a lot. It's an exciting division right now. Sergio Martinez is there, and I hope to fight him. There's Dmitry Pirog, Gennady Golovkin, Felix Sturm, and they are all facing each other. In the next three months, there are going to be great fights in the middleweight division.

So Martinez is a target for you? Do you believe beating him is the only way to gain legitimacy in the middleweight division?
Chavez is the one with the belt, so he is the one to beat. He is a champion, so if I beat Chavez, then I will be the champion. But Martinez is a great fighter, and I would love to fight him. If I beat Chavez, I will fight Sergio.

There's a notion that Chavez has the most to prove in this fight. Do you have something to prove, as well?
I think we both have something to prove. People question him about the guys he fought and how he won the title, and I have something to prove because I believe I am one of the best middleweights in the world, and I want to beat Chavez and show that. So yeah, we both have something to prove in this fight.

What's next for you after this fight? Who do you have in mind as a future opponent?
I want to win the fight and become one of the best fighters in the world. After I become a champion, a great champion, I want to defend this title against the best. This is my dream, to be in big fights and be a great champion for Ireland. I don't think about losing at all.

How do you envision the fight playing out in your mind?
I see myself boxing well through the middle rounds, and then Chavez coming on and being aggressive. I think he'll be frustrated by the midrounds, and he may tire towards the end of the fight, when I can take him out.

 

[heyzel]

Andy Lee: I want to knock Chavez out


Andy Lee's professional career, thus far, has been clearly rivaled by his success in the amateur ranks. As a former Olympian for Ireland, Lee (28-1, 20 KO) defeated younger and unpaid versions of current contenders such as Ismail Sillakh, Alfredo Angulo and Gennady Golovkin, grabbing medals and other honors in the process. His glossy record belies his relatively limited success as a pro, but Lee will have a chance to beef up his résumé on Saturday at Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso, Texas, against middleweight titlist Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (45-0-1, 31 KO).

In a rare faceoff between premier young fighters, Chavez, 26, and Lee, 28, will begin their similar quests to clear the middleweight landscape currently populated by several titlists scattered across the globe. Lee plans to make the most of his outstanding boxing skills against Chavez, and he shared it with ESPN Deportes during a recent exclusive interview from his training camp in the final days of preparation for his first title opportunity.

Tell us a little bit about your training for this fight.
I had a very good training camp. Emmanuel Steward was there every day; he is my head trainer. I boxed a lot of rounds with Edwin Rodriguez, Brian Vera, Mike Jimenez -- all good, aggressive fighters, most of them super middleweights. So it was a very good training, very hard work in the gym. Everything came together; I am coming in injury-free and in great shape and ready for the fight. This week, we've been just staying sharp, working on some things on the pads, just getting ready for Saturday night.

What do you know about Chavez as a fighter?
I studied him a lot, even before I was scheduled to fight him. I watched his fights a lot. He is a good fighter, strong and aggressive. He can box, too, when he wants to. He seems to be a good puncher and seems to have a good chin, as well. I believe both of us are very offensive fighters and this will make for a very interesting fight on Saturday evening. Both of us come to fight and come to win, and I think it's going to be a good show on Saturday.

Do you see any obvious weaknesses in his style?
I believe he does have a lot of weaknesses. Defensively, he is not that good, and he gives his opponents a lot of opportunities to land clean punches. And I'll be looking to take those opportunities when I see them.

ESPN.com Boxing on Twitter

Don't miss any of the latest boxing coverage from around the world. Follow us on Twitter and stay informed. Join »

Are you concerned about his sustained body attack?
It's not really a concern for me. Nobody likes to get hit in the body, and I am sure he doesn't like it either. I am a good body puncher; I like to go to the body, too. He has a good way to get to the body, but I can take it; I am conditioned for it. I am ready to see what he has. When he goes to my body, that means he will be open in the head, so I will be looking to counter him when he goes to the body.

What other assets do you see in him as a fighter?
Not much, really. He is a good fighter, he throws a high rate of punches, but that's about it. He is basic enough and predictable enough. He likes to throw a good shot and come forward. He fought a lot of smaller people, guys in the light middleweight division who came up to fight him, and he never really fought anybody with any serious intention of winning. The guys he fights are just opponents who are just happy to be there and happy to get a payday. But this is not just a payday for me. I am coming to win this fight, and I think he is in for a surprise.

How much of an advantage will your southpaw stance be?
Well, he never fought a southpaw before. In me, he is going to be seeing something new. He sparred with a lot of southpaws in preparation for this fight, but it's a different thing when you get nailed by a sparring partner compared to a real fight. I think it will be a great advantage for me, because he's never seen anybody like me before in the ring. He's going to have to deal with some new stuff.

There have been a string of bad scorecards in Texas recently. Is this a concern for you? Do you think you need to be extra impressive to wrestle the title away from Chavez?
Yeah, Chavez is the favorite here in Texas, and there have been some bad decisions here lately. But there have been a lot of bad decisions in boxing lately, and I don't think boxing can afford any more bad decisions. I think the officials need to be more responsible and see the fight fairly, because boxing is getting so much bad publicity from all these bad decisions that it's turning people off boxing. I will go in and box to win every round, but if I have the chance to knock him out, I will be going for the knockout because I don't want to leave this fight to anybody, to any judge. I want to knock him out.

What's your opinion of the current middleweight landscape?
I think the division is starting to heat up a lot. It's an exciting division right now. Sergio Martinez is there, and I hope to fight him. There's Dmitry Pirog, Gennady Golovkin, Felix Sturm, and they are all facing each other. In the next three months, there are going to be great fights in the middleweight division.

So Martinez is a target for you? Do you believe beating him is the only way to gain legitimacy in the middleweight division?
Chavez is the one with the belt, so he is the one to beat. He is a champion, so if I beat Chavez, then I will be the champion. But Martinez is a great fighter, and I would love to fight him. If I beat Chavez, I will fight Sergio.

There's a notion that Chavez has the most to prove in this fight. Do you have something to prove, as well?
I think we both have something to prove. People question him about the guys he fought and how he won the title, and I have something to prove because I believe I am one of the best middleweights in the world, and I want to beat Chavez and show that. So yeah, we both have something to prove in this fight.

What's next for you after this fight? Who do you have in mind as a future opponent?
I want to win the fight and become one of the best fighters in the world. After I become a champion, a great champion, I want to defend this title against the best. This is my dream, to be in big fights and be a great champion for Ireland. I don't think about losing at all.

How do you envision the fight playing out in your mind?
I see myself boxing well through the middle rounds, and then Chavez coming on and being aggressive. I think he'll be frustrated by the midrounds, and he may tire towards the end of the fight, when I can take him out.

 

[heyzel]

Pavlik vs. Rosinsky to replace Rios-Herrera on July 7th card in Carson, California
June 15th, 2012

By Dan Ambrose: Former WBC/WBO Kelly Pavlik (39-2, 34 KO’s) will be facing super middleweight prospect Will Rosinsky (16-1, 9 KO’s) in a 10 round bout to replace the Brandon Rios vs. Maurcio Herrera fight on July 7th at the Home Depot Center, in Carson, California. Rios injured his left arm and had to pull out of the Herrera fight. The headliner on the card will be WBO super bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire facing IBF champion Jeffrey Mathebula.

Pavlik, #8 WBO, #8 IBF, #9 WBA, recently defeated Scott Sigmon in an unimpressive 7th round TKO win last Friday night in Las Vegas, Nevada. Pavlik, 30, said after the fight that he wanted one more tune-up bout before he goes after he big names in the division, preferably a title shot or a bout against someone like former IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute.

Rosinsky, 27, is a decent fighter. He doesn’t have much hand speed or power, and will no doubt get destroyed by Pavlik, but he’s definitely a step up from Pavlik’s last two opponents Aaron Jaco and Scott Sigmon. Rosinsky defeated Aaron Pryor Jr. by an 8 round unanimous decision last Thursday night in New York.

Rosinsky looked good against an opponent with little power to speak of. It’s doubtful that Rosinsky will look good against Pavlik. Rosinsky was soundly beaten by super middleweight contender Edwin Rodriguez in a 10 round unanimous decision loss in October of last year when Rosinsky tried to step up the level of competition and was smacked back down. Against Pavlik, you can expect a similar result, if not worse. Rosinsky would appear to be made to order for Pavlik.

Pavlik didn’t look any better in the Sigmon fight than he did in losing to Bernard Hopkins and Sergio Martinez. He looked like the same slow plodder that he’s always been, and it’s difficult to imagine he’ll be able to improve enough to compete against the top fighters in the super middleweight division

 

[heyzel]

Naazim Richardson feels Pacquiao and Bradley should head in separate directions


By Chris Robinson, Examiner

It’s been fairly interesting hearing the feedback from boxing insiders on the controversy surrounding last weekend’s Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley bout. Inside of the MGM Grand, Pacquiao would lose a split-decision to Bradley over twelve rounds after appearing to have done more than enough to warrant the victory.

Recently I reached out to respected trainer Naazim Richardson to get his take on the whole ordeal. Known best for his work with Bernard Hopkins and Shane Mosley over the years, you can always count on Richardson for some interesting insight.

Continue reading for Naazim’s thoughts on how HBO’s 24/7 may have affected the public’s view of the fight, how Bradley’s body language during the contest told a different story than what was actually happening, why he doesn’t think a rematch may be the best move at this point, and much more.

This is what Richardson had to say…

The effect of 24/7 and the commentating during Pacquiao-Bradley…

“The Manny Pacquiao-Tim Bradley fight, I really believe is the first time that we saw 24/7 influence a fight. We saw what we believe is politics. One is, the fight was closer than the commenters were [commentating on]; Timmy was in the fight. But Timmy’s body language and his corner’s response, his corner was urging him. But the body language on Timmy made us think Manny was that much more ahead.”

Team Bradley’s possible concern with the judges’ scores…

“I understand his corner was urging him because they’ve seen [Pacquiao] win close fights before. The Marquez fights were closer and Manny got the decision in each one of those and nobody was hooting or hollering about it.”

Giving Bradley a break…

“Bradley is such a great dude, such a great personality and great human being, that it’s almost like there isn’t too much hell to be raised from the public’s point of view. I’m a Bradley fan and I’ve known him since he was about ten years old and if anybody deserves a break that kid deserves a break. He’s the story of hard work.”

Tim Bradley’s body language…

“I think Pacquiao took the edge but he never took control. Like I said, if Tim Bradley’s body language would have been different, the fight would have been more competitive. Tim shrugged his shoulders and started walking to his corner in a lackadaisical state like ‘Oh, I lost’. His body language more than actually happened. Then the commentators chimed in.

Opinion on the judging in the fight…

“I still got an axe to grind with the way Ford scored the Jermain Taylor fight. But I will give this to the judges from the judging I have done as an amateur. You can watch a fight on a different side of the ring and see a whole different fight, I’m telling ya. I’ve watched them fight from one side of the ring judging it and I went and watched it on tape and saw a whole different fight. It can happen.”

Not feeling a rematch completely…

“I think the rematch can be beneficial to either guy. From a business standpoint, if you have both of these guys you don’t need a rematch. Because Pacquiao is going to be Pacquiao and you can still sell him. Pacquiao could fight me tomorrow and you could sell it. And now that you have Bradley with a win over Pacquiao, you can move him in another direction and sell him too. From a business standpoint it doesn’t make sense to put them back together.”

 

[CZAR]

Naazim Richardson feels Pacquiao and Bradley should head in separate directions


By Chris Robinson, Examiner

It’s been fairly interesting hearing the feedback from boxing insiders on the controversy surrounding last weekend’s Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley bout. Inside of the MGM Grand, Pacquiao would lose a split-decision to Bradley over twelve rounds after appearing to have done more than enough to warrant the victory.

Recently I reached out to respected trainer Naazim Richardson to get his take on the whole ordeal. Known best for his work with Bernard Hopkins and Shane Mosley over the years, you can always count on Richardson for some interesting insight.

Continue reading for Naazim’s thoughts on how HBO’s 24/7 may have affected the public’s view of the fight, how Bradley’s body language during the contest told a different story than what was actually happening, why he doesn’t think a rematch may be the best move at this point, and much more.

This is what Richardson had to say…

The effect of 24/7 and the commentating during Pacquiao-Bradley…

“The Manny Pacquiao-Tim Bradley fight, I really believe is the first time that we saw 24/7 influence a fight. We saw what we believe is politics. One is, the fight was closer than the commenters were [commentating on]; Timmy was in the fight. But Timmy’s body language and his corner’s response, his corner was urging him. But the body language on Timmy made us think Manny was that much more ahead.”

Team Bradley’s possible concern with the judges’ scores…

“I understand his corner was urging him because they’ve seen [Pacquiao] win close fights before. The Marquez fights were closer and Manny got the decision in each one of those and nobody was hooting or hollering about it.”

Giving Bradley a break…

“Bradley is such a great dude, such a great personality and great human being, that it’s almost like there isn’t too much hell to be raised from the public’s point of view. I’m a Bradley fan and I’ve known him since he was about ten years old and if anybody deserves a break that kid deserves a break. He’s the story of hard work.”

Tim Bradley’s body language…

“I think Pacquiao took the edge but he never took control. Like I said, if Tim Bradley’s body language would have been different, the fight would have been more competitive. Tim shrugged his shoulders and started walking to his corner in a lackadaisical state like ‘Oh, I lost’. His body language more than actually happened. Then the commentators chimed in.

Opinion on the judging in the fight…

“I still got an axe to grind with the way Ford scored the Jermain Taylor fight. But I will give this to the judges from the judging I have done as an amateur. You can watch a fight on a different side of the ring and see a whole different fight, I’m telling ya. I’ve watched them fight from one side of the ring judging it and I went and watched it on tape and saw a whole different fight. It can happen.”

Not feeling a rematch completely…

“I think the rematch can be beneficial to either guy. From a business standpoint, if you have both of these guys you don’t need a rematch. Because Pacquiao is going to be Pacquiao and you can still sell him. Pacquiao could fight me tomorrow and you could sell it. And now that you have Bradley with a win over Pacquiao, you can move him in another direction and sell him too. From a business standpoint it doesn’t make sense to put them back together.”

That is actually a good read and dude make some great points regarding the Pac/Bradley fight. Got Em!!

 

[heyzel]

agreed this was a great read and nazim is kinda bias and he's is missing the point here. It's not always just about what you can sell. It's about doing right by the fighter as well as the fans.

 

[CZAR]

agreed this was a great read and nazim is kinda bias and he's is missing the point here. It's not always just about what you can sell. It's about doing right by the fighter as well as the fans.

I like the part where he was talking about Bradley's body language. That was a very good point. Got Em!!

 

[heyzel]

Orlando Salido to face Oscar Bravo in stay busy fight on July 28th
June 16th, 2012

By Dan Ambrose: WBO featherweight champion Orlando Salido (38-11-2, 26 KO’s) will be facing little known 24-year-old Oscar Bravo (30-3, 9 KO’s) in a non-title fight next month on July 28th in Cudad Obregon, Mexico.

The fight will take place at super featherweight and it will be a warm-up bout for the 31-year-old Salido go get ready for a fight against #1 WBO featherweight contender Miguel Angle “Mikey” Garcia.

Salido hasn’t fought since stopping former WBO featherweight champion Juan Manuel Lopez in the 10th round last March. This was the second time that Salido has stopped Lopez.

Salido is interested in facing WBO super bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire. However, there hasn’t been much interest on Donaire’s part as of yet. Hopefully, Donaire moves up in weight while both fighters are still in their prime because this would be a huge fight if Donaire’s promoter Bob Arum would allow it to be made. I kind of doubt Arum will let Donaire anywhere near Salido. He’s probably too dangerous for Donaire, because of his strong chin and nonstop attacking style of fighting. Salido would likely be able to take Donaire’s shots, but it’s doubtful that Donaire could handle getting pounded on for 12 rounds by Salido.

Bravo has only been tested a few times in his four-year pro career, losing to Will Tomlinson, Matias Daniel Ferreyra and Emmanuel Tagoe. He does a good job when facing lesser opposition but struggles when he steps it up.

 

[heyzel]

Martirosyan vs. Davis mismatch moved to July 7th
June 15th, 2012

By Dan Ambrose: For the huge Vanes Martirosyan (32-0, 20 KO’s) fans out there, they might not be happy to learn that Top Rank has decided to move his fight against a badly overmatched Ryan Davis (24-9-3, 9 KO’s), which was previously scheduled for tomorrow night on the undercard of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. vs. Andy Lee, to July 7th on the undercard of the Nonito Donaire vs. Jeffrey Mathebula super bantamweight unification bout.

The July 7th card needs a lot of beefing up after former WBA World lightweight champion Brandon Rios had to pull out of his scheduled fight against Maurcio Herrera due to an arm injury. The Donaire-Mathebula fight will be lucky if it draws any fans, because few people are interested in seeing Donaire face the little known Mathebula.

Boxing fans want to see Donaire face high quality fighters like WBA World super bantamweight champion Guillero Rigondeaux, Juan Manuel Lopez and Orlando Salido. The Mathebula-Donaire fight isn’t drawing any interest whatsoever, so Top Rank is probably going to need to make additional moves beyond just putting the Martirosyan-Davis mismatch on the card.

Earlier today, Top Rank put together a fight between former WBC/WBO middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik and Will Rosinsky for the card. However, Rosinksy is a complete unknown and Pavlik has lost a lot of fans, and he won’t be a big enough name to get many fans interested in his fight against the little known Rosinsky. If this was Sergio Martinez-Pavlik, then there wouldn’t be any problems because boxing fans would flock to see that fight. But not Pavlik-Rosinsky.

Martirosyan is taking a real go slow approach to working his way up to an eventual title shot by facing pretty much nothing but weak opponents while turning down big offers to face quality guys like Erislandy Lara and Alfredo Angulo.

 

[heyzel]

De La Hoya: Danny Garcia has awoken the beast in Khan from their press conference
June 15th, 2012

By William Mackay: Golden Boy Promotions president Oscar De La Hoya is really looking forward to next months’ bout between former IBF/WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan (26-2, 18 KO’s) and current WBC light welterweight champion Danny Garcia (23-0, 14 KO’s) in their battle at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada.

De La Hoya, who sees Khan as a future super star despite him having lost his last fight to Lamont Peterson and having been blown out in one round by Breidis Prescott, said to esnewsporting.com “Garcia has awoken the beast in Khan from that press conference.”

Garcia merely talked a little trash at the press conference. It was his father Angel Garcia who really told Khan off, calling him “Overrated”, and that seemed to bug Khan to no end. But you can’t blame Angel from saying that, because Khan hasn’t really beaten anyone. His win over Marcos Maidana was highly controversial because when Khan was badly hurt, Maidana was having problems getting to him because the referee Joe Cortez kept separating him from pounding on Khan on the inside. I think Khan would have been knocked out had there been a referee in there just let Maidana work on the inside. Other than the Maidana win, Khan hasn’t really beaten anyone. He hasn’t fought Mike Alvarado, Humberto Soto, Lucas Matthsse or Tim Bradley. And we already saw what happened to Khan when he took on Lamont Peterson.

 

[heyzel]

Why wasn’t Chavez Jr’s weight figures released last night?
June 17th, 2012

By Dan Ambrose: Last night, HBO analyst Jim Lampley said that they didn’t have the fight weight for WBC middleweight champion Julio Chavez Jr. for when he stepped in the ring against Andy Lee. I find that kind of strange, because in recent bouts, Chavez Jr. has ballooned up to 180 lbs after rehydrating after the weigh-in.

A 180 pound fighter is technically a cruiserweight. That’s not even a light heavyweight, which ends at 175lbs.

I wonder what happened with Chavez Jr’s weight and why HBO didn’t have the figures. HBO analyst Roy Jones Jr. commented that Chavez Jr. looked to be around 180 pounds last night. Against the tall rail thin Lee that had to be a huge advantage, because Chavez Jr. was able to walk through Lee’s shots all night. After the fight when asked why he couldn’t beat Chavez Jr., Lee said that he’s a big fighter.

In looking at Chavez Jr. last night, my estimate of his weight was right around 180lbs if not slightly more. He looked more muscular than he’s been in past fights and I wouldn’t be surprised if he weighed 185lbs. He was a lot more solid than Lee and the extra weight likely helped him a lot in winning this fight.

 

[heyzel]

Sergio Martinez vs. Chavez Jr. is a done deal, says Sergio’s adviser
June 17th, 2012

By Jason Kim: Sampson Lewkowicz, the adviser for WBC Diamond middleweight champion Sergio Martinez (49-2-2, 28 KO’s), says that a fight between the 37-year-old Martinez and Chavez Jr. is completed for September 15th in a fight that will take place at the Thomas & Mack Center, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Lewkowicz said on his twitter today “I have received a call from Lou Dibella confirming Chavez Jr-Martinez is a done deal.”

Chavez Jr. will finally get the chance to prove if he truly belongs in the top 5 in the middleweight division if he can beat Martinez. Right now, Chavez Jr. is still considered a fringe player because of his mostly weak opposition he’s beaten during his 9-year career. Last night, Chavez Jr. took a small step forward with a 7th round TKO win over (28-2, 20 KO&#8217 at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas.

However, the win wasn’t as big of a deal as Chavez Jr. and his management would have you believe, because Lee had already been stopped by 2nd tier fighter Brian Vera in the past, and almost beaten by the light hitting fringe contender Craig McEwan last year. Lee always could punch a little, but he his chin, stamina, inability to handle pressure and lack of an inside game were always going to hold him back when it came time for him to try and get to the next level.

The things that Chavez Jr. did with Lee last night are things that have already been done with him. Chavez Jr. has to prove that he can beat a fighter that can really punch, can move and who has a better chin. Chavez Jr. didn’t throw a lot of punches last night and he didn’t look all that fast. Martinez would be a much more difficult opponent because he wouldn’t have sat on the ropes letting Chavez Jr. tee off like he last night. Lee’s trainer Emanuel Steward was practically begging him to stop slugging with Chavez Jr. and focus more on boxing. He also told him to stay off the ropes, which Lee promptly ignored.

I’m sure he regrets not listening to Steward now, but that’s his lesson. Martinez wouldn’t have to be told these things, because he’s not going to fight Chavez Jr’s fight by standing in close and letting him fight an inside bout, and he’s not going to work off the ropes like Lee did.

Martinez will use movement to befuddle Chavez Jr. and punish him with huge left hands to the head. I see this fight going badly for Chavez Jr. with him either getting knocked out or badly beaten up. It’s good that the fight will be held in Las Vegas, because I’d hate to see Martinez in a position where he might need to knock Chavez Jr. out in order to win in Texas

 

[heyzel]

Adamek defeats Chambers by a questionable decision
June 16th, 2012

By Jim Dower: In a decision that reminds one of last Saturday’s questionable decision in the Manny Pacquiao vs. Timothy Bradley fight, former two time world champion Tomasz Adamek (46-2, 29 KO’s) defeated Eddie Chambers (36-3, 18 KO’s) by a controversial 12 round unanimous decision at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The final judges’ scores were 116-112, 116-112 and 119-109.

I personally saw a much different fight with Chambers basically schooling a slow Adamek and beating him by 9 rounds to 3. I didn’t see this as a close fight at all and I certainly didn’t see Adamek winning the fight. Chambers out-boxed Adamek with his right hand alone after injuring his left hand earlier in the fight.

This was a home fight for Adamek, which is why I’m not surprised that he was given the win. But this was another sickening decision where one guy gets dominated and yet he’s still given the win.

 

[heyzel]

Arum Says Sergio Martinez-Chavez Junior Will Fight Sept 15th: Suddenly A Tough Fight To Pick?

By James Slater: After turning in his most impressive display so far in his ever improving pro career, WBC middleweight champ Julio Cesar Chavez Junior now looks ahead to a big, big fight against “universally accepted best middleweight in the world” Sergio Gabriel Martinez.

After proving way too strong, too vicious and too powerful for a game Andy Lee, 26-year-old Chavez Jr felt confident enough to predict a KO win over “Maravilla.” And you know what? For the first time, I’m looking at Martinez-Chavez as a competitive, tough-to-pick fight. I’m not saying the Mexican star will win; but I wouldn’t in any way call the fight (according to Arum, set for The Thomas and Mack in Vegas on Sept 15th - the same night Canelo Alvarez is to face Victor Ortiz, also in Las Vegas) a predictable win for the Argentine southpaw. I would have done a year or so ago, though.

Chavez, in scoring that ultra-impressive 7th-round stoppage over Lee, looked an absolute beast. Massive for the weight, possessing a good chin, having genuine power (Chavez’s body shots in particular looking heavy last night) and showing his constantly improving talent for infighting, Chavez Junior looked a million miles away from the fighter who struggled with the likes of Matt Vanda and, more recently, Sebastain Zbik. Since those fights, Chavez has been polished by Freddie Roach and he is now approaching his peak. This could be bad news for 37-year-old Martinez.

For if Chavez, 46-0-1(32) is reaching his physical peak, Martinez, 49-2-2(28) might be a ways past his - even if he is in amazing shape and has awesome reflexes for a man in his mid to late-30s. Martinez may have looked sensational in blowing away Paul Williams in a couple of rounds in late 2010 (and he did indeed look special that night) but against Darren Barker and, last time out, Matthew Macklin, Martinez looked at least a little ordinary. And, begging the pardon of both British middleweights, I’d rank Chavez Jr. above the pair of them.

Chavez certainly had no trouble with Lee’s southpaw stance, therefore the stance of Martinez looks unlikely to bother the Mexican “Son of A Legend.” Of course, Martinez is a far superior, more proven fighter than the Emanuel Steward-trained Lee, yet a number of good judges felt the Irishman would give Chavez a hard night, probably taking him the distance. Instead, in silencing a few more of his fast diminishing critics, Chavez Jr. turned it on and turned in his best performance yet.

Something tells me Chavez will surprise and impress a lot more people if and when the Martinez fight takes place. I’d still make “Maravilla” the favourite, but Chavez is far, far, far from a hyped no-hoper who is where he is simply because of his surname.

 

[Johnny Truelove]

ortiz vs canelo & chavez jr vs martinez on the same night? horrible for boxing.

 

[2-0-Sixx]

Why wasn’t Chavez Jr’s weight figures released last night?
June 17th, 2012

By Dan Ambrose: Last night, HBO analyst Jim Lampley said that they didn’t have the fight weight for WBC middleweight champion Julio Chavez Jr. for when he stepped in the ring against Andy Lee. I find that kind of strange, because in recent bouts, Chavez Jr. has ballooned up to 180 lbs after rehydrating after the weigh-in.

A 180 pound fighter is technically a cruiserweight. That’s not even a light heavyweight, which ends at 175lbs.

I wonder what happened with Chavez Jr’s weight and why HBO didn’t have the figures. HBO analyst Roy Jones Jr. commented that Chavez Jr. looked to be around 180 pounds last night. Against the tall rail thin Lee that had to be a huge advantage, because Chavez Jr. was able to walk through Lee’s shots all night. After the fight when asked why he couldn’t beat Chavez Jr., Lee said that he’s a big fighter.

In looking at Chavez Jr. last night, my estimate of his weight was right around 180lbs if not slightly more. He looked more muscular than he’s been in past fights and I wouldn’t be surprised if he weighed 185lbs. He was a lot more solid than Lee and the extra weight likely helped him a lot in winning this fight.

the unofficial weigh in's the day of the fight are optional, not mandatory. Lot's of fighters opt not to weigh in again for HBO, mayweather for example has done it in a couple of his fights.

If he can make weight he can make weight, that's the name of the game.

Also silly statement to say "180 is technically a cruiserweight" because cruiswerweights rehydrate typically above 200 pounds. For example tarver vs kayode both were over 200 pounds by fightnight. This is true for any weight class. Most guys who fight at 140 pounds rehydrate to 150+ pounds, etc. Victor Ortiz weighed 164 pounds against Floyd at welterweight. Is Ortiz a middleweight? Of course not. Not many guys fight in their actual walking around weight - pacquiao is one of them and a few other guys.

 

[heyzel]

Chavez Jr. won’t be able to walk through Sergio Martinez’s shots like he did with Lee
June 17th, 2012

By Dan Ambrose: Andy Lee (28-2, 20 KO’s) remarked after his 7th round TKO loss to WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (46-0-1, 32 KO’s) that Chavez Jr. was walking right through every shot he thew last Saturday night, and that he couldn’t keep him off.

What Chavez Jr. accomplished against Lee, he likely won’t be able to do the same thing against WBC Diamond middleweight champion (49-2-2, 28 KO’s) in their fight coming up on September 15th at the Thomas & Mack Center, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Chavez Jr. will have a real problem trying to walk through Martinez’s scorching left hand bombs, right hooks and stiff jabs.

He’s a much bigger puncher than Lee with either hand and he’s also got a lot better jab. Lee was mostly pawing with his jab last night, and naturally Chavez Jr. was able to walk through it. The only thing Lee had was his straight left hand. He didn’t throw many right hooks that landed with big power. But what really may have sunk Lee’s ship was his ability to move around the ring. He needed to use movement against Chavez Jr. instead of just standing right in front of him making it easy.

Martinez, 37, moves constantly and he won’t be a stationary target for Chavez Jr. land his big body shots against. That’s not going to happen. If Chavez Jr. wants to beat Martinez, he’ll have to change his game completely by becoming more mobile. He’s going to need to cut off the ring over and over again against Martinez. That’s going to be dangerous because Martinez likes to set traps against guys that chase him around by stopping and landing big left hand shots.

If Chavez Jr. runs into one of Martinez’s big left hands, I don’t care how good Chavez Jr’s chin is – he’ll be hurt. John Duddy staggered Chavez Jr. in their fight in June 2010, and he’s not even close to being the puncher that Martinez is. If Duddy can hurt Chavez Jr., then Martinez will as well.