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May 13, 2002
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Bob Arum has been negotiating with Lou DiBella/Andre Berto for the past two days so nothing is a done deal.

Something new...

Who would you guys rather see:

MIGUEL COTTO VS ANTONIO MARGARITO II

OR

MIGUEL COTTO VS SERGIO MARTINEZ?

Both are being discussed for March.

BTW, I think Cotto deserves more credit then he gets he truly fights anyone, a true warrior.
 
May 13, 2002
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you think cotto has a shot?

I don't like cotto at 154 tbh, I think he's just a blown up welter. I think I would like to see him get his revenge first, then the winner can fight martinez (martinez got KO'd by Margarito so either way would be good for him).

Either fight though is great for boxing, Cotto's ratings are always very high. This year his fight against Yuri Foreman was the highest rated HBO fight I believe.
 
Feb 3, 2006
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I have to say that Cotto has balls of steel. I will not disrespect Cotto anymore. Shot or not dude is no punk. Martinez will KO him in 9 rounds. Margarito - the hand wraps vs Cotto will be a good fight for him.
 
Mar 24, 2006
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you think cotto has a shot?

I don't like cotto at 154 tbh, I think he's just a blown up welter. I think I would like to see him get his revenge first, then the winner can fight martinez (martinez got KO'd by Margarito so either way would be good for him).

Either fight though is great for boxing, Cotto's ratings are always very high. This year his fight against Yuri Foreman was the highest rated HBO fight I believe.
I just want to see an offensive fight is all. Two fighters that are willing to exchange the leather is always a plus in my eyes.

Either way...both fights would be right up my alley regardless...lol
 
Jul 24, 2005
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Jeff Lacy's Ring Return Lost In Pre-Holiday Shuffle

By Jake Donovan

You know it’s a busy night of boxing when the most obscure fight listing of the night surrounds the ring return of a former champion and U.S. Olympic boxer.

Yet lost on all news pertaining to fights scheduled for December 11 is the comeback of former super middleweight titlist Jeff Lacy, who for the first time in his career headlines a show in his hometown when he faces Dhafir Smith in a 12-round bout at the Jannus Landing in St. Petersburg, Florida.

The bout marks Lacy’s first fight back since suffering the lone stoppage loss of his career, a 10-round beating at the hands of faded former pound-for-pound king Roy Jones Jr last August.

Lacy insisted afterward that he was done with the sport, having fallen on hard luck in recent years. It has been surmised that his career was never the same ever since the beating he caught at the hands of Joe Calzaghe in 2006. Not helping matters was the torn rotator cuff he suffered one fight later in his rematch with Vitali Tsypko.

Prior to running into Calzaghe, Lacy (25-3, 17KO) was regarded as one of the exciting fighters in the sport. The chiseled Floridian became the first member of the 2000 U.S. Olympic boxing squad to capture a major title, stopping Syd Vanderpool in the 8th round of their October ’04 vacant title fight.

His reign lasted 17 months, which included a celebrated homecoming of sorts when he became the first to drop (four times, no less) and eventually stop iron-chinned Robin Reid in their August 2005 bout at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Florida.

That win was followed up by a two-round thrashing of Scott Pemberton three months later, marking the last time that Lacy has managed a win inside the distance.

The loss to Calzaghe marked a string of six consecutive fights going to the scorecards, including a 2008 points loss to former Olympic teammate and fellow ex-champion Jermain Taylor.

His December 11 return will end a 15-month exodus from the ring, his longest stretch of inactivity, whereas his opponent, Smith (23-19-7, 4KO) will be fighting for the third time this year.

Smith enters the fight riding a four-bout unbeaten streak, albeit against lesser competition.

Lacy fights in his birth town for the first time in his pro career, having fought three times in neighboring Tampa.

ELSEWHERE ON DECEMBER 11

As is commonplace to avoid scheduling events too close to Christmas, there are several events occurring around the world on this particular date.

HBO and Showtime once again go head-to-head, both featuring thematic doubleheaders.

Amir Khan tops the HBO broadcast as he faces Marcos Maidana in their highly anticipated junior welterweight showdown, on a card that features another bout significant to their weight division as Victor Ortiz takes on comebacking Lamont Peterson. The bout airs live from the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Showtime presents the opening leg of their bantamweight tournament, live from the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, Washington. Abner Mares squares off against Vic Darchinyan in a major crossroads bout, while Yonnhy Perez defends his alphabet title against Joseph Agbeko. The bout is a rematch to their October ’09 thriller, in which Perez scored a late-round knockdown to win the fight and the title.

Lineal heavyweight king Wladimir Klitschko defends for the third time this year, as he faces unheralded Derek Chisora in Mannheim, Germany.

Chisora is promoted by Frank Warren, who will be home in jolly old England that evening, celebrating his 30th year as a boxing promoter with a huge 12-fight event at the Echo Arena in Liverpool.

Included on the show is: a super middleweight scrap between 2008 Olympic Gold medalist James Degale and house favorite Paul Smith; Kell Brook versus Philip Kotey in a welterweight bout with major implication on the shape of the division in 2011; and separate appearances by middleweight contender Matthew Macklin and rising light heavyweight Nathan Cleverly
 
Jul 24, 2005
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Holyfield-Nielsen Big in Denmark; Abraham; More Bits

By Per Ake Persson

Sauerland Event will hold a press conference tomorrow in Copenhagen for Evander Holyfield vs. Brian Nielsen, with both the 48-year old Holyfield and the 45-year old Nielsen, on hand. Nielsen is still on the mend after knee surgery. According to sporten.dk, Holyfield vs Nielsen is on for March 5 of next year in Copenhagen. While the fight has been called a freak show it´s obvious that the interest is big at least in Denmark. However, Nielsen has not yet begun serious boxing training or sparring and his bad knees may still let him down. How well Holyfield is doing is also an open question, but at least he´s been active and his decline has been there for all to see while Nielsen retired in 2002 and hasn´t fought since.

Russian heavyweight Alexander Povetkin is currently training in Red Bank, NJ, under trainer Teddy Atlas and spars with, among others, Monte Barrett. He continues his way back to title contention on December 18 in Berlin on the undercard to Huck vs Lebedev and faces American Nicolai Firtha.

The undercard to Lukas Konecny vs Hamlet Petrosyan (EBU 154) on December 3 in Prague features WBFed middleweight champ Kreshniq Quato defending the title against unknown Tanzanian Karama Nyilawila. Light heavyweight Haxhi Krasniqi faces Czech Jindrich Velecky on this SES promoted show.

Arthur Abraham was right on the money when he stated in Bild that he was smaller than the other super middleweightss in the Super Six Tournament, but the problem isn´t that he's too small. It´s rather that he never developed the talent he could have, because he found out that he was stronger than almost any other middleweight and could take out most of them with his big hooks. Add to that a somewhat lazy attitude towards training and the result is a fighter who just never learned how to fight taller, bigger opponents.

According to Bild, "King" Arthur has earned 10 million EUR during his career so feel free to avoid shedding any tears. His chances of beating Andre Ward in the semi-finals of the Super Six are very small and the question is whether or not he goes through with the fight.

Universum sticks with the big boys on the undercard to Dimitrenko vs Sosnowski on December 4 in Schwerin. Heavyweights Manuel Charr, Christian Hammer and Juan Carlos Gomez are on the bill along with cruiserweight Rachim Chakiev. Hammer faces former WBA I/C champ Taras Bidenko, a former Universum fighter at one time highly ranked, Gomez marks time against Harold Sconiers, Charr face tricky spoiler Zack Page while Chakiev is in against Lukasz Rusiewicz. Polish lightweight veteran Matt Zegan rounds out the bill with a fight against Eduard Trojanovski.

Heavyweights Timur Ibragimov and Jean Marc Mormeck are ready for battle at Halle Carpentier in Halle. Ibragimov has been training in Stockholm with Attila Levin for the fight. Attila was stopped in two against Robert Helenius in Helsinki Saturday night and trainer Luis Lagermann left Helsinki Sunday morning to travel to Paris to handle Ibragimov. Mormeck also promotes the show that features unbeaten featherweights Khedafi Djelkhir and Anthony Arimany in a fight for the vacant French title.
 
Jul 24, 2005
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Wolak's Manager Rips Chavez Jr: "He's Afraid, No Heart"

By Lem Satterfield

Ivan Edwards, manager of junior middleweight Pawel Wolak, is furious with the recent withdrawal of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. The fight was scheduled to take place this Saturday at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. According to Top Rank CEO Bob Arum, Chavez withdrew after waking up on Tuesday with a "a 103-degree fever." Chavez (40-0-1, 30 KOs) had twice been scheduled to face Wolak (27-1, 17 KOs), and both times the contest never came off.

Edwards is not convinced that Chavez is ill. He believes the 24-year-old Mexican fighter is running scared.

"To me, it's obvious that Chavez is afraid of Wolak. He's pulled out of fights with us twice, which is ridiculous," said Edwards. "I mean, he's waisted our time. He obviously doesn't have the heart to fight Wolak."

Top Rank is trying to save Wolak's participation on the card. They offered him an undercard fight with Jose Pinzon (18-1-1, 12 KOs) of Mexico. Edwards and Wolak are still debating on whether to take the fight.

"We're debating right now. We're considering it. We have not decided yet. Wolak is ready for Chavez, and he's been preparing for Chavez, and we've been thinking Chavez. We studied Chavez's style, you know, his pace and his technique," said Edwards. "Pinzon is a totally different style. So I'll talk to Wolak. We'll have to sit down and think about it, and, I mean, really give it some thought, it's as simple as that."
 
Jul 24, 2005
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Bradley vs Alexander Heading to Detroit, Says Shaw

By Michael Marley

You might that think that economically depressed Motown is no town to host a major boxing event.

Evidently, Big Gary Shaw and Don King, the Oddfellas co-promoters behind the Devon Alexander-Timothy Bradley junior welterweight unification bout set for Jan. 29, don't share the widespread pessimism about the Greater Detroit market.

Obviously, had a Las Vegas or Atlantic City casino-hotel stepped forward with an enticing bid, the stimulating matchup between the undefeated St. Louis boxer and the unbeaten fighter from the Palm Springs area would have been held within the ring-a-ding sound of slot machines.

Alexander, age 23, owns a 21-0, 13 knockouts pro record and is known as "Alexander The Great" while "Desert Storm" Bradley, age 27, is also perfect at 26-0 with 11 KOs to his credit. The WBC and WBO 140 pound belts will be on the line.

Instead, Shaw confirmed to me moments ago, press conferences are being planned for Detroit on Tuesday and New York City on Wednesday with the site being the Silverdome in Pontiac, Mich.

The huge stadium will be set up for a 15,000 seating capacity.

"We wanted a neutral site," Shaw said. "so we did not want (the Scottstrade Center) St. Louis. But, more importantly, King and I felt it was vital to go to a market with a big African American population and so we looked at Atlanta and Detroit. I was talking to people at Georgia Tech as the Atlanta location.

"We just agreed that the Detroit area was a natural for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is the area's very rich boxing history," Shaw said. "I think you have to reach back maybe as far as Thomas Hearns (from Detroit) and Sugar Ray Leonard to find such a significant bout in the lower weight classes between two black American boxers. You had Mike Tyson-Evander Holyfield and George Foreman-Michael Moorer but those were heavyweight fights."

See detailed feature story penned by my old friend/colleague in TV sports, Bryan Burwell, about Alexander.

Alexander manager-trainer and ex-St. Louis cop Kevin Cunningham publicly griped about the site not being firmed up the other day but Shaw said there was really no behind the scenes dispute between he and King.

"You had a lot of smoke, a lot of noise but I feel we picked the right venue for this key fight."

HBO will televise the fight which might produce a new candidate for the Manny Pacquiao Sweepstakes.

I neglected to ask Shaw but I'm sure he and King will seek some participation in the promotion from some of the area casinos.
 
Jul 24, 2005
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Pacquiao vs Mosley is Next, Says Marquez's Trainer

By Jhonny Gonzalez

Nacho Beristain, trainer and manager of WBO/WBA lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez, doesn't have much hope that Manny Pacquiao will select his boxer as the opponent for April 16 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Marquez is under consideration for the date, but ex-champion "Sugar" Shane Mosley is the recognized favorite to get selected by Pacquiao and his promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank.

Arum is going to arrive in the Philippines by December 14. He hopes to finalize an opponent by the time he returns to the United States. Beristain sounds confident that Pacquiao will choose Mosley for April.

"I think the next fight is going be Pacquiao vs. Mosley, but Arum could make himself a great asset to our sport if he were to give Juan Manuel a third fight at super lightweight [140-pounds]," Beristain said.
 
Jul 24, 2005
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Manny Pacquiao's Return Eyed For April 16 at MGM Grand

By Mark Vester

After back to back fights at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao is ready to return to Las Vegas. Top Rank CEO Bob Arum advised the Las Vegas Review Journal that he secured the date of April 16 at the MGM Grand. The fight is sure to be televised on HBO pay-per-view. Arum has to finalize the date with Pacquiao when they meet in the next few weeks in the Philippines.

''I have to meet with Manny and make sure he's OK with it,'' Arum said. ''It's an ideal date, right after the Final Four and at the start of the baseball season and right around the beginning of the NBA playoffs. As long as it doesn't interfere with his duties in Congress (in the Philippines), I think we'll be in good shape. I'm flying to Manila on the 12th ... we should know more then.''

The three fighters being considered to face Pacquiao are Andre Berto, Shane Mosley and Juan Manuel Marquez. Arum has the monetary terms from Berto's side and Mosley's side, but has yet to receive the monetary demands of Marquez. If Floyd Mayweather Jr. comes calling, Arum is likley going to push Pacquiao's return to a date in May. Mosley appears to be the frontrunner to get the fight.

''I have Berto's position. I have Mosley's position,'' Arum said. ''I'm waiting on Marquez's position. If we don't get one (from Marquez), we'll move on.''
 
Jul 24, 2005
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Victor Ortiz vs. Lamont Peterson on December 11th

By Jim Dower: Light welterweight contender Victor Ortiz (28-2-1, 22 KO’s) has an important bout against Lamont Peterson (28-1, 14 KO’s) on the undercard of the Amir Khan vs. Marcos Maidana fight on December 11th at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ortiz, 23, needs to win this fight and look good for him to stay in the running for the prospects of facing Khan, Maidana, Bradley or Alexander in the future.


Although Ortiz, ranked #1 WBA, WBO and #5 WBC, is looking to get a fight against the eventual winner of all those fights, he’s going to have to wait until the dust has cleared before he gets to take on the eventual winner of the tournament-like series of bouts. But this is actually a good thing, because Ortiz will likely continue to have the benefit of fighting on the undercard of the Khan-Maidana winner’s fight cards in the future, and boxing fans will get more of an opportunity to see him in action before he finally faces off with the eventual winner of all these fights. Ortiz has a four fight winning streak after losing to Maidana by a 6th round knockout last year.

Ortiz has improved a lot since the Maidana fight and is showing more ring smarts. In the Maindana fight, Ortiz made the mistake of trying to slug it out with Maidana and eventually Ortiz’s chin couldn’t stand up to the rugged and powerful Maidana’s big shots.

Peterson has good skills, fast hands and decent power. However, he doesn’t have the same kind of power that the southpaw Ortiz possesses. This could be the telling point of the fight. Peterson, 26, looked good in being matched against fringe contenders but when he was put in with Bradley last year in December, Peterson was beaten by a lopsided 12 round decision. Peterson was hurt several times in the fight by Bradley.

It’s not a good sign that Peterson was being staggered by a non-puncher like Bradley, because he doesn’t hit nearly as hard as Ortiz. Peterson might have big problems with Ortiz’ s power on December 11th unless he can box more and stay on the outside. Peterson likes to fight in close where he tends to throw a lot of body shots. He’ll have to avoid getting near Ortiz if he wants to make it to the final bell. Ortiz is one of the biggest punchers in the division and if he connects with something big, Peterson won’t make it to the final bell.
 
May 13, 2002
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"Martinez should fight a real middlweight, like me"


Russia's WBO middle king talks to Danny Flexen
Boxing News



WBO middleweight champion Dmitriy Pirog has slammed WBC counterpart Sergio Martinez for considering a showdown with far smaller Filipino Manny Pacquiao and told the Argentine he should meet him in a unification clash instead.

“It’s definitely not a really fair fight,” Pirog said regarding Martinez-Pacquiao. “Manny Pacquiao fought Antonio Margarito and it was a good fight but when one guy is a lot bigger, it’s not very professional. A great fight for Martinez would be against someone in his own weight category, like me. Boxing was not created for catchweight contests, Pacquiao can’t make middleweight ever. A better fight for him would be against Juan Manuel Marquez.”

Pirog came to prominence for many in the western world when he upset touted Golden Boy prospect Danny Jacobs to win the vacant WBO crown in July. The man from Gelendzhik, who is building a gym in his hometown, highlights two key factors behind that fifth-round victory: his humble background and both the promoter and media neglecting him in the fight’s build-up.

“I grew up with working class parents,” Pirog revealed. “My dad worked in a factory like most people at that time. My upbringing was definitely a factor – I was not starving or anything but I always wanted to be better off and that made me more determined.

“The attention being on Jacobs didn’t really affect me except it made me a little angrier than normal and I wanted to prove myself. That I was also sure I have fought much better and more experienced opponents, that was a big advantage too.”

Pirog controlled the fight in July before a big right hand ended Jacobs’ chances. Dmitriy admitted he did not expect his triumph to be quite so easy although his preparation had gone superbly.

“The only thing that I was a little worried about was whether I would acclimate completely,” the 30-year-old explained. “But we planned everything as it should be; it was just another fight for me. There was no special nervousness.

“I didn’t think it would be this easy. I thought Jacobs would run a lot and that would cause me problems. He did that a little bit but he did come forward too and I got more opportunities than I’d thought. That made it a better fight for the fans.

“My finishing punch was not something special. If you look at the stats I have around the same amount of knockouts with my left as my right. That fight I happened to reach him with my right but it was not necessarily the hardest punch of my career.”

Pirog is suddenly, if not hot property, then certainly warming up. He is looking only for big fights now, although the immedfiate target is building that gym.

“Progress is good, but it’s not finished yet,” Pirog related. “I want the gym to be free to all kids, especially the kids with no ability to pay so I need investors and administrators to help with that.

“As for the ring, I want the right fights, I want to continue to fight people who have reached my level. I don’t want to take just any fights. I’m not looking at financially interesting fights, more difficult opponents; I’m ready for anyone now.”
 
Jul 24, 2005
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Cotto vs. Sergio Martinez a possibility in early 2011

By Jason Kim: A fight between Miguel Cotto (35-2, 28 KO’s) and WBC middleweight champion Sergio Martinez (46-2-2, 25 Ko’s) is being kicked around for early 2011, according to boxing news from Dan Rafael of ESPN. Martinez’s promoter Lou Dibella is in conversations with Cotto’s promoter Bob Arum for a bout that would take place at a 155 pound catch weight for Martinez’s World Boxing Council middleweight title in possibly April.


However, Arum prefers that Cotto fight a rematch with his Top Rank stable fighter Antonio Margarito, but that fight won’t likely be able to happen until at least June, if at all, because Margarito is still recovering from the severe beat down he received in the loss to Manny Pacquiao last month. Cotto isn’t thrilled at facing Margarito again, so even if Margarito is healed by April, which is when Cotto wants to fight again, he still might not get the fight with him. Margarito gave Cotto a severe beating in a 11th round TKO win in July 2008. Cotto hasn’t been the same fighter since that fight.

Besides Margarito, Cotto was supposed to be facing Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in April next year, but with Chavez Jr. pulling out of Saturday’s fight with Pawel Wolak, that pretty much wipes out any chance that Chavez has of facing Cotto early next year. Chavez Jr. needs to fight another 1st tier opponent before fighting Cotto, because up to now, Chavez has fought only one fringe A level fighter during his career with his win over fellow Top Rank fighter John Duddy last June. Few boxing fans see Duddy as a top tier heavyweight, and it would be good for Chavez to be in a lot tougher than Duddy before taking on the likes of Cotto next year.

Dibella said “Cotto wouldn’t be risking his 154 pound belt and would be getting a shot at the middleweight title. If Cotto loses, he goes back and defends his title in other big fights, like against Antonio Margarito or Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. If Cotto beats Martinez, it’s a huge accomplishment. If he didn’t win, he’s still 154 champion and Chavez and Margarito bouts are still there for him. It’s like the Martinez fight is a free pass. Like he gets two bites at the same apple.”

Dibella is right. Cotto won’t take heat for losing to a fighter as good as Martinez, and will still be able to move on and take his big money fights against Margarito and Chavez Jr. afterwards if things don’t work out for him in the Martinez fight. It’s a win-win situation for Cotto, because it gives him another big named opponent to fight among his two other options. It’s unknown whether Cotto will get a second chance at a fight with Manny Pacquiao, and if not, he could face limited options for big named opponents in the future. The Martinez fight may be his best bet if he wants to add to the short list of names that he can fight for good money.
 
Jul 24, 2005
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Malignaggi vs. Lozada on December 18th

By Jason Kim: Former International Boxing Federation (IBF) light welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi (27-4, 5 KO’s) will be facing 27-year-old little known Michael Lozada (36-6-1, 29 KO’s) on December 18th at the Pepsi Coliseum, in Quebeck City, Quebec, Canada. Malignaggi, 30, hasn’t fought since being stopped by WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan in the 11th round on May 15th in a one-sided loss.


Lozado has been in with a number of recognizable fighters during his career, losing to Edwin Valero, Jose Armando Santa Cruz, Jorge Luis Teron and Jorge Rodrigo Barrios by knockout defeat. Lozado may have a small chance against Malignaggi because he lacks any real power and Lozado mostly has problems against punchers.

It was Malignaggi’s third loss in his last five fights. Malignaggi recently signed with Golden Boy Promotions, who will likely use Malignaggi for specific bouts against name fighters on some of their cards. There’s talk of Malignaggi possibly fighting EBU welterweight champion Matthew Hatton in the near future. Malignaggi likely would have problems against Hatton, because the younger brother of former Malignaggi conqueror Ricky Hatton can pop a little, especially to the body.

Other than putting Malignaggi in fights to attract attention due to his name recognition value, it’s hard to imagine Malignaggi being a factor at light welterweight or welterweight at this point in time. It’s not that Malignaggi has lost anything since he last held a major title in 2008, it’s that the light welterweight division is so much better now than when Malignaggi was a champion and it’s probably possible for the light hitting Malignaggi to compete with the likes of Marcos Maidana, Khan, Devon Alexander, Victor Ortiz, and Timothy Bradley. The same goes for the welterweight division, although that division hasn’t gotten better but it’s still too tough for the weak punching Malignaggi to compete.