Boxing News, MMA, UFC, Manny Pacquiao, Mayweather
Boxing News, MMA, UFC, Manny Pacquiao, Mayweather
HARASSMENT
The charge has been made by more than a few people that Armando Garcia operates a hostile work environment. His angry, profanity laced outbursts have been displayed in front of subordinates. Further, several have come forward to complain about favoritism of event officials. Here are some examples:
MEMO TO:
June Collison
Dr. Christopher Giza
Peter Lopez
Tim Noonan
Julio Ramirez
Mario Rodriguez
Howard Rose
It’s not unusual for a fighter and trainer to rip each other after they have parted ways. But that hasn’t been the case with Jermain Taylor and Emanuel Steward, who split in the aftermath of Taylor’s seventh-round technical knockout loss to Kelly Pavlik in September.
2004 Olympic super heavyweight gold medallist Alexander “The White Lion” Povetkin, now 15-0 (11), convincingly defeated previously unbeaten “Fast” Eddie Chambers, 30-1 (16), in Berlin Saturday by scores of 117-111, 119-109, and 116-112. (We saw it here at 116-112.) The fight was billed as an IBF title eliminator for the winner of the IBF belt holder Wladimir Klitschko vs. WBO titlist Sultan Ibragimov title unification match on February 23.
Cue the festivities. Super Bowl XLII has come to Arizona. Major prizefights are set to happen. Arizona’s senior senator is front page news. A former heavyweight champion is off the Super Bowl-week marquee. Bernard Hopkins ridicules his next opponent. And parties in Scottsdale will be off the hook!
Haven’t we been here before? No way. This is new. We’re taking it to the next level. Y’all ain’t ready for this!
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Finally, 35 year old WBO/WBA/WBC/Ring Magazine Super Middleweight Champion Joe Calzaghe, 44-0 (32), gets his shot at a career defining fight on April 19 when he faces the legendary 43 year old Bernard Hopkins, 48-4 (32). Both men are ranked in Ring’s pound for pound list, Hopkins #4 and Calzaghe #5.
It was just past 9 p.m. in Germany on Tuesday, and promoter Dan Goossen was breaking bread with a variety of people involved in Saturday’s event from Berlin featuring “Fast” Eddie Chambers and Alexander Povetkin in a heavyweight title elimination fight.
An excellent source advised me on Wednesday that Oscar De La Hoya would be fighting Steve “Two Pounds” Forbes on HBO World Championship Boxing on May 3, although a spokesman for the cable giant declined to comment, calling it “premature” at this point. My source added that not only would the fight be shown on HBO WCB rather than HBO PPV, but that it would occur during the “Free HBO Weekend.”
It was not the year 2001, the combatants were not the world’s two best prizefighters, Madison Square Garden was not filled and the crowd was not feral. But for all the irony writers showed the fight after its announcement, and for all the cynicism Don King showed the public during its promotion, Roy Jones versus Felix Trinidad was good theater.
Last week I wrote that the Roy Jones Jr. – Felix “Tito” Trinidad event was a fight about nothing. Now after viewing the HBO PPV card from top to bottom, I’m prepared to admit that I might have been a tad too harsh in my assessment. The main event was still the mismatch that I predicted, but not as much so as I thought. Mainly it served as good entertainment with some decent action, and sometimes as a fight fan, that’s enough to make you happy.
Eight years too late? Without a doubt. Never late than never? Maybe, maybe not… This coming Saturday, even if you’re not tuning in, your inevitable habit of checking the message boards will resume when Roy Jones takes on Felix Trinidad at the famous Madison Square Garden in the city that never sleeps.
A couple of months ago I compared the Fernando Vargas-Ricardo Mayorga fight to the boxing equivalent of the TV show, “Seinfeld.” It was a show about nothing, just as was the classic 90’s comedy. Well don’t look now but a double barrel of has beens are poised to deliver another episode this Saturday. Roy Jones Jr., 51-4 (35) and Felix “Tito” Trinidad, 42-2 (35), both future Hall of Famers but five years removed from relevance, square off then in Madison Square Garden for God knows what reason aside from a big purse.
Promoter Bob Arum practically anointed Manny Pacquiao a saint during Tuesday’s news conference at the Beverly Hills Hotel formally announcing Pacquiao’s rematch with Juan Manuel Marquez on March 15 in Las Vegas.
On January 10, 2008, WBA bantamweight titlist Wladimir Sidorenko, a Ukrainian now based in Germany retained his title against Japanese challenger Nobuto Ikehara in what was reportedly a hard fought 12 round decision in Osaka, Japan. Judge Michael Lee of Korea saw it 119-110, Erkki Meronen of Finland scored it 116-112 and Sergio Caiz from the United States had it 118-110.
In professional wrestling there’s a thing called a retirement match. In such an event, both combatants agree beforehand the loser will stop practicing the craft. Guaranteeing one man will be barred for life from his profession raises the promotional stakes for an event that can’t sell tickets by itself.
Wouldn’t you think that given the ongoing strike by the Writer’s Guild of America there would be a network out there that would consider broadcasting some good, competitive boxing on prime time? I mean after all, if we can be subjected to “American Gladiator” certainly there must be a place for a sport so rich in history with so many potentially good matches to be made.
I never realized that Larry Hazzard Sr., the former commissioner of the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board was considered such a polarizing figure to certain people until he was fired and safely out the door. Then a few journalists suddenly became emboldened to take a free shot at him at that point, no longer reluctant to fire away.
I never realized that Larry Hazzard Sr., the former commissioner of the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board was considered such a polarizing figure to certain people until he was fired and safely out the door. Then a few journalists suddenly became emboldened to take a free shot at him at that point, no longer reluctant to fire away.
Here we are, 10 days from the Jan. 19 fight between Roy Jones Jr. and Felix Trinidad Jr. at Madison Square Garden in New York City. It’s going to be televised on HBO pay-per-view, so that would make one think that this is a high-profile fight. That’s more than a little debatable.
It seems that English darling Ricky Hatton can’t avoid getting his name in the news, professionally and otherwise. As a fighter, though he quite literally took it on the chin from Floyd Mayweather Jr. in their December 8 bout, he remains as much in demand as ever. One prospective opponent mentioned frequently of late is a certain Filipino ring icon now residing in the super featherweight division, Manny Pacquiao. A match between the two superstars is considered a viable possibility by the end of the year.
There’s a certain kind of casual boxing fan who makes serious fans wild. He imagines himself the final arbiter of what’s important in our sport though he’s usually too busy with the Patriots’ undefeated season or the Yankees’ resigning of A-Rod to watch prizefighting. He loves spectacle. And he likes to reminisce about Muhammad Ali – even if he was born in 1980.
Anymore, this guy makes derisive comparisons of boxing to mixed martial arts. He says, “I used to watch boxing all the time, but when I saw MMA, man, it was like a first taste of filet mignon after being raised on hamburger!”
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Admittedly, from the moment that the Floyd Mayweather-Oscar De La Hoya fight was set to be held at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas last May, I’ve been obsessed by what appears to me to be a blatant disregard for the rights of the average fan.
Lamont and Anthony Peterson are the big attraction on Friday’s ShoBox card on Showtime at 11 p.m. ET/PT. Most cards promote the individual participants or a particular matchup. Since the date for this event was set, Showtime advertised this one as “January 4 –The Peterson Brothers.”
The New Year had just started and promoter Bob Arum was already having a happy one. Speaking by telephone from Cabo San Lucas in Mexico on Tuesday, Arum was thrilled that his recently concluded trip to the Philippines ended up bearing fruit. Arum may have been there to help Manny Pacquiao celebrate his 29th birthday, which fell on Dec. 17, but Arum admittedly had an ulterior motive when he accepted Pacquiao’s invitation.
Happy New Year! Since it is my great good fortune to have the calendar supplying topic sentences this year – Christmas and New Year’s falling on Mondays – I won’t squander such fortune with undue mechanics. Let’s simply look forward, then, at four fights, three fighters, and four ideas for 2007.
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