The 2007 edition of Showtime Championship Boxing, plagued by some bizarre curse that cancelled and/or postponed fights due to untimely injuries, last minute pullouts, and other problems, slipped to the #2 spot of premium boxing programming. It didn’t help that HBO, mired in mediocrity for quite some time for a variety of reasons, not the least of which was matchmaking, suddenly awakened from their slumber in the second half of the year and provided one blockbuster after another.
A FOOD FOR THOUGHT DAY
November 30, 2007 By Leave a Comment
I recently read an article on www.braggingrightscorner.com, written by Keith Terceira that was harshly critical of the reign of Larry Hazzard Sr. as New Jersey boxing commissioner. The vitriolic tone of the piece made its points but in general was obviously slanted to question Hazzard’s motives, painting him as an extreme egotist, drunken with power who “nearly destroyed boxing in the state of New Jersey by instituting medical testing and other requirements that exceeded all others but Nevada’s in scope.”
THE LOST WEEKEND
November 28, 2007 By 42 Comments
the Washington Redskins safety who died on Tuesday due to gunshot wounds apparently suffered in a robbery of his home in Miami.
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Creeping out of the shadow
November 27, 2007 By Leave a Comment
Promoter Bob Arum has never shied away from boasting about one of his fighters.
That’s his job, and he does it well. Arum, however, seems genuinely impressed with the way Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. has dealt with being the son of the legendary Julio Cesar Chavez, who is not only one of the greatest fighters in Mexico’s history, but one of the all-time best anywhere.
Garcia/Vargas, Local/National, Positive/Negative
November 25, 2007 By 42 Comments
Those of us who write regularly about prizefighting are advocates of the sport. Gone are the days of boxing beat reporters on newspaper staffs round the country. There’s little routine coverage of prizefighting in the mainstream press. And if a newspaper writer still publishes weekly pieces on pugilism, he does so largely against his editor’s wishes.
PACQUIAO’S CHOICE
November 24, 2007 By Leave a Comment
According to published reports, Filipino icon Manny Pacquiao is in Los Angeles for a meeting with Top Rank Chairman Bob Arum to decide on his next opponent. The top contenders have been narrowed down to WBC lightweight title holder David Diaz and WBC super featherweight belt holder Juan Manuel Marquez. And, in the past few days, the Manila Times, the Manila Bulletin, and a number of websites have been reporting that Diaz, a Top Rank fighter, has the inside track.
THE TURKEY
November 21, 2007 By Leave a Comment
Fernando Vargas and Ricardo Mayorga finally meet on Friday night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The show begins at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on Showtime PPV for $44.95. If this seems to be an outrageous amount to spend for a totally irrelevant fight, well it is.
Kermit Cintron: Impressive in and out of the ring
November 20, 2007 By Leave a Comment
Kermit Cintron on Tuesday was about to sit down with reporters at the Sheraton Hotel in Los Angeles to discuss his world welterweight title defense against Jesse Feliciano on Friday at Staples Center. (Showtime pay-per-view will televise).
GUZMAN, MARES, DOMINATE ON BAD
November 19, 2007 By Leave a Comment
The Dominican from Brooklyn, New York, Joan Guzman, defended his WBO junior lightweight title with a unanimous decision over Mexican Humberto Soto last Saturday night by scores of 117-111 (twice) and 118-110. The fight was held at the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and televised on HBO as part of the “Boxing After Dark” series.
Anemia, gangsta rap and suspense
November 18, 2007 By Leave a Comment
In an effort to lose 100 pounds and make weight for his retirement match with Ricardo Mayorga in September, Fernando Vargas caused himself anemia enough to postpone the fight. We know Vargas once weighed as much as 260 pounds because he happily told us so. Vargas is accustomed to massive pre-fight weight loss. Which is why he sometimes fights in an anemic way.
SHAMEFUL, SHADY, AND SUSPICIOUS
November 16, 2007 By Leave a Comment
I don’t generally care for stories that embarrass celebrities by putting their dirty laundry out for all to see. I wonder how well most of us could stand up to the scrutiny that even a “D” lister has to endure. Nevertheless that’s the America that we live in today, with tabloid magazines accepted as if they were the Gospel. If only as many people paid attention to current events as the driving ability of a pop princess in need of a manicure, our Founding Fathers could stop spinning in their graves.
FIVE EASY PIECES
November 16, 2007 By 47 Comments
IT’S A BAD WEEK
HBO’s Boxing After Dark series this week features a highly competitive WBO junior lightweight title fight between the belt holder Joan Guzman, 27-0 (17), and Humberto Soto, 43-5-2 (27). The fight will be held at the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa in Atlantic City. The telecast begins at 9:45 p.m. ET/PT with a replay of the Miguel Cotto – “Sugar” Shane Mosley instant classic, so it’s highly recommended viewing. If you’re holding tickets for Hannah Montana or the Viva Viagra Band, you might want to unload them so that you can settle in for a big night of boxing.
THREE BLIND MICE
November 14, 2007 By 1 Comment
The lightweight championship fight between Ring Magazine and WBC interim champion Joel Casamayor and Jose Armando Santa Cruz that took place on the undercard of the Cotto-Mosley card last Saturday night in Madison Square Garden is destined to be remembered for all of the wrong reasons. By acclamation, it will be immediately inducted into the Boxing Hall of Shame.
ROY& TITO: LOOKING FOR REDEMPTION
November 13, 2007 By Leave a Comment
There was Don King, on the dais inside a ballroom at the New Yorker hotel in New York City. He was dressed as Santa Claus, and, after saying “Ho, ho, ho,” he told us why.
AUTUMN IN NEW YORK
November 12, 2007 By Leave a Comment
This won’t be a sour grapes column. I had picked “Sugar” Shane Mosley to beat Miguel Cotto last Saturday in Madison Square Garden and though I personally thought that he did have the edge, 115-113, I respect the fact that the judges saw it the other way, 115-113 (twice) and 116-113 for Cotto because the fight was much too close to dispute over such a small difference.
Jabbing and Ringing: Cotto’s the top welterweight
November 11, 2007 By Leave a Comment
Miguel Cotto is the world’s best welterweight. From now until Cotto is beaten, all other welterweights are guilty of losing hypothetical fights to him till they’re proven innocent. Yes, even Floyd Mayweather.
MOSLEY OVER COTTO BY A HANGING CHAD
November 9, 2007 By Leave a Comment
The last time that there was a contest this close to call, it was settled by the Supreme Court, 5-4. I have to confess that I’ve stayed on the fence with this one until the very last minute for that very reason. It’s Miguel Cotto vs. “Sugar” Shane Mosley, the young lion (27), hungry and ready to feast in his first real mega-fight with a record of 30-0 (25), trading leather with the proud 36 year old former #1 pound for pound best, now 44-4, 1 NC (37) after fighting a list of “A” fighters as long as your arm.
FIGHT OF THE YEAR
November 8, 2007 By Leave a Comment
Mark it down – unless some pretty wonderful things happen this Saturday in the Miguel Cotto-Shane Mosley fight or on December 8 when Floyd Mayweather Jr. meets Ricky Hatton, the Sakio Bika – Jaidon Codrington slugfest this past Tuesday in The Contender finals will be The Fight of the Year. Those two guys are a living testimony to just what makes this sport, at its best, still the most exciting, compelling athletic competition in the world today. You had two men, without the benefit of teammates to obscure their failings, letting it all hang out in a courageous display of strength, heart and conditioning. Before over 6,000 fans at the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston, Bika and Codrington wasted no time in getting down to business and going to war.
VIKING FUNERAL
November 7, 2007 By Leave a Comment
After much anticipation, (and bargaining), Joe Calzaghe and Mikkel “The Viking Warrior” Kessler finally got it on last Saturday night for super middleweight supremacy at Millennium Stadium in Wales before 50,150 enthusiastic fans. Calzaghe won the unanimous decision, 117-111 and 116-112 (twice), primarily based on his hand speed and work rate.
Psychological Warfare before the fight
November 7, 2007 By Leave a Comment
Jack Mosley is no dummy. He has learned a thing or two during his many years as trainer for his son, “Sugar” Shane Mosley. Psychological warfare is one of them, according to Bob Arum.
MARQUEZ: “I WANT MANNY PACQUIAO!”
November 5, 2007 By Leave a Comment
Moments after being officially announced as the winner in the WBC super featherweight title bout with the courageous Rocky Juarez, Juan Manuel Marquez told Showtime roving reporter Jim Gray that, “I want Manny Pacquiao!” The two men had fought to a draw in 2004, when Manny dropped Marquez three times in the first round only to have Marquez mount a big comeback. Then Marquez appeared to tactically blunder his way out of a lucrative rematch by overpricing his services.
Marquez’s intangible class
November 4, 2007 By 42 Comments
In an era with 85 “major” championship belts stretched across 17 weight classes, the old riddle of what separates a champion from a perennial contender has lost some of its snap. But it’s an idea whose importance is not diminished by its technical irrelevance.
COTTO-MOSLEY CONTEST FIRST STEP TO WELTERWEIGHT CLARITY
November 2, 2007 By Leave a Comment
The welterweight division not only boasts the pound for pound best fighter today, Floyd Mayweather Jr., as its standard bearer, the weight class is so strong that you can make a case that as many as 10 men in its ranks are of championship caliber. In addition to Mayweather, the division boasts names such as Miguel Cotto, Paul Williams, Shane Mosley, Antonio Margarito, Kermit Cintron, Zab Judah, Joshua Clottey, Luis Collazo, and at least for one fight, Ricky Hatton.
THE IBF HEAVYWEIGHT TOURNAMENT: PART TWO, BROCK VS. CHAMBERS
November 1, 2007 By Leave a Comment
Before we get to the meat of today’s story, allow me a moment for some shameless self promotion. Starting today, we will be doing additional columns for Friday and Saturday, in addition to the Tuesday and Thursday articles previously published here on 15 Rounds.com.