There’s been plenty of speculation about whom Floyd Mayweather Jr. could or should fight in the wake of abortive talks for a showdown with Manny Pacquiao, yet no talk about whether Mayweather will continue to demand Olympic-style blood-testing.

Let’s just say that the demand is a mandatory defense.

Without it, Pacquiao, Bob Arum, Freddie Roach and a gallery full of critics have a compelling reason to say that blood-testing was a just a ruse that allowed Mayweather to sidestep a threat to his unbeaten record from the Filipino, who now faces a dangerous date against Joshua Clottey on March 13 in Dallas. With it, Mayweather can claim a measure of consistency that says the demand was not just a convenient feint.

It’s fair to argue that Mayweather and Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer asked for comprehensive blood-testing at the wrong time and in the wrong venue. First, they should have introduced the idea to the Nevada State Athletic Commission, the regulatory agency for a fight that had been planned for March 13 at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand.

Pacquiao, Arum and Roach still might have said no-no-no, but they would have had to scream their complaints to a body that is supposed to regulate and not negotiate.

At the very least, the demand was confrontational in talks ruled, first and foremost, by egos easily insulted, usually suspicious and always seeking an edge. If Mayweather doesn’t stand by the demand in possible negotiations for a fight with Timothy Bradley or Paulie Malignaggi or Paul Williams, then it looks as if he were singling out Pacquiao despite the Filipino’s clean record of tests in Nevada, California and Texas.

Drug tests for a boxing license in Nevada or any other state are as outdated as a pay-phone. Then again, so are other tests, which always seems to be a split-second late or a home run short of the latest in performance-enhancing technology.

Mark McGwire finally admitted the obvious a few days ago when he said he used steroids. Gee, ya think. The biggest headline in that news story should have been McGwire’s stated belief that he thinks the performance-enhancers didn’t help him hit those record-setting 70 homers in 1998. Maybe, he thinks that only the ball was juiced. Dick Pound, a former president of the World Anti- Doping Agency, ripped major-league baseball. Arum had suggested that baseball oversee testing for Pacquiao-Mayweather instead of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

“What has emerged in the whole baseball mess is that drug use is widespread and that even the best players are involved – and still MLB is whistling past the graveyard,’’ Pound said in an e-mail quoted by the Associated Press. “If you notice, McGwire talks about steroids and HGH (and many other doping substances). These MLB positions are not indicators of a real attempt to solve the drug use problem in baseball.’’

Pound didn’t mention boxing. Then again, he also didn’t mention Marion Jones, who went to jail for lying under oath about performance-enhancers, yet never tested positive for one after the sprinter won five medals at the Sydney Olympics.

There is no reliable test. But there is consistency and that’s the only way for Mayweather to defend himself, no matter who he fights. If he and Bradley or Malignaggi or Williams or whoever take the blood-tests, it will be that much harder for Pacquiao to just say no. Without that consistency, Mayweather will be left with only a hidden agenda.

A month for champs

Muhammad Ali turns 68 Sunday. Ali plans to celebrate in his hometown, Louisville, before returning next week to his residence in Phoenix.

Speaking of birthdays, there are many to celebrate in January. Ali’s old bitter rival, Joe Frazier, turned 66 on Tuesday, Jan. 12. Another Ali rival, George Foreman, turned 61 last Sunday, Jan. 10. Bernard Hopkins is 45 today, Friday, Jan. 15.

Notes, quotes, anecdotes

· A potential prospect, Jose Benavidez, a 17-year-old junior-welterweight from Phoenix, gets his first pro tests Saturday night in Las Vegas against Steve Cox (1-0) of Independence, Mo., on a Top Rank card featuring junior-middleweight Vanes Martiroysan versus Kassim Ouma at the Hard Rock. Benavidez, a national Golden Gloves champion, got some YouTube attention for the way he handled himself against Amir Kahn in sparring a couple of months ago at Roach’s Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles.

· News item: James Toney, a former quarterback, is trying to talk his way into a UFC bout and former NFL running back, Herschel Walker has been training for mixed-martial arts. Reaction: A Toney-Walker date in a cage can’t be too far away.

Macon, GA is in for a treat this Saturday night with the M.L.K Champion Classic. This great card will feature rising super middleweight star Dyah “Ali” Davis, undefeated heavy handed heavyweight Milton “Big Wynn, Middleweight Jonathon Cepeda, and a female bout which will showcase former 3 time NYC Golden Glove champ Patricia “Boom Boom” Alcivar.

Super Middleweight Dyah “Ali” Davis 16-1 (7KO) will be back in action in the main event vs dangerous Jose “El Macho” Medina 15-16 (11KO). Davis is the son of Olympic Gold medalist Howard Davis.

Undefeated Heavyweight Milton “Big Wynn 8-0 (5KO), GA, will face Derrick Allen 1-5, NC.

Middleweight Jonathan “The Conquistador” Cepeda 6-0 (5KO) will return to the ring facing Chris Govan 2-5(2KO). As an amateur, Cepeda was a three-time Golden Gloves and PAL champion was 35-3 with 27 knockouts.

Former Olympic athlete of the year and national amateur champion Patricia “Boom Boom” Alcivar 1-0 (1KO) will be facing Shanna Allan from SC.

Featherweight Danny Aquino 2-0 vs. David Cano who will be making his debut.

Jr welterweight, Alex Paracha, 3-0(2KO) from Afghanistan is mixing it up with Jacksonvilles’ Darrell Jones 2-2(1KO).

Cruiserweight’s Nate Lovelace and Tobais Rice will be making their debuts in opposite corners.

Lamar Ross will be facing Sean Atkins, both making their debuts.

This event will be held at the Macon City Auditorium, 415 1st Street Macon, GA. Get your tickets at TicketMaster by phone, www.TicketMaster.com, or the Macon Coliseum Box office.

JSIzzle.

Main Events’ February 6th card at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ featuring Tomasz Adamek vs. Jason Estrada is undoubtedly a local boxing fan’s best buy. Not only does the main event feature an adopted son of Jersey City, but the undercard is filling up with local talent like Morganville’s Denis “Mama’s Boy” Douglin and Jersey City’s Patrick Farrell, both of whom are making their second appearance at the arena best known as The Rock.

The card also features a top flight super middleweight contest showcasing Brooklyn, NY’s Petey “ Kid Chocolate” Quillin 20-0 (15 KO’s) for the first time in The Garden State. I. Petey has an electrifying ring presence and a level of athleticism not often seen in boxing today. His training routines include back flips in the ring and leaping over parked cars. If that doesn’t impress you enough, I advise you to be ringside for his post fight ritual, where he toss chocolate kisses to fans. I had the opportunity to catch up with Petey at New York’s Trinity Boxing Club, just prior to moving his training camp to Ohio.

John: Petey you keep yourself in great shape between bouts. You walk around at your fighting weight. What motivates you to get into the gym?

Petey: Mainly my Manager John Seip. He stays on me makes sure I train and eat like I’m supposed to.

John: Your next opponent is your most experienced to date in Fernando Zuniga 28-9 (20 KO’s). What do you know about him?

Petey: Not a lot he’s is a former belt holder (IBA Continental Super Middleweight). Not long ago he upset Carlos DeLeon Jr. I don’t know much else.

John: They call him “Little Ali”. What do you think about that?

Petey: The only Ali I know is the real Ali. He can call himself whatever he wants I don’t care.

John: No fighter is to be taken lightly, especially not one with 20 KOs, I’m sure you’re not looking past Mr. Zuniga, but what do you hope to accomplish in 2010 ?

Petey: I don’t take any fighter for granted. For 2010 I want to be bigger and better. To go into the ring with a stable mind and showcase my talents for my fans.

John: Who is on your wish list for your next fight?

Petey: Paul Williams. I’m still too small a fish for Kelly Pavlik.

John: Thanks Petey. Good Luck

MARTIN LINDSAY will make the first defence of his British featherweight title against in-form Jamie Arthur.

Their 12 rounder takes place at Leigh Indoor Sports Centre on March 19 and will be televised live by the home of boxing Sky Sports.

Belfast’s Lindsay (15-0) won the title last April with a sixth round stoppage of Scot Martin Lindsay in one the best domestic fights of 2009.

And now the 27-yerar-old is determined to make if a Celtic double when he tackles Welshman Jamie Arthur (16-2) in a clash that promises to be an all out war.

Lindsay is already in training camp and added: “Everything is going well except that is about -12 in the gym.

“You are training harder just to stay warm. The weather does have a bit of an effect on your roadwork but there are a few treadmills in the gym so you can still go in and tick away on them.”

Cwmbran’s Arthur is a 2002 Commonwealth Games gold medallist, but retired from boxing in July 2005.

He returned almost three years later and has won seven fights on the bounce.

The 30-year-old earned himself the mandatory position for Lindsay’s Lonsdale belt after outpointing Akaash Bhatia in June.

He said: “The reason I came back was to win the British title and I think my challenge will be a helluva fight.”

The undercard is stacked with talent from Maloney’s and Steve Wood’s impressive VIP stable.

Among those fighting are Olympic bronze medallist David Price, former British super-middleweight champion Tony Quigley, British flyweight king Shinny Bayaar, Paul Edwards, Mark Moran, Karl Place, Rick Goddins and Kieran Farrell.

Tickets for are available for £40 and £80 ringside from 0871 226 1508 or www.frankmaloney.com

When North Bergen, NJ resident Carlos Tamara was informed that IBF junior flyweight champion Brian Viloria agreed to an April unification with Ivan Calderon, he immediately went to the history books.

In 1990, James “Buster” Douglas pulled off the biggest upset in boxing history by stopping unified heavyweight champion Mike Tyson in Tokyo, spoiling his mega-showdown with Evander Holyfield at a time when both would have been undefeated. Tyson did not meet Holyfield until six years later, when he was nowhere near the fighter he once was.

With a bout against pound for pound king Floyd Mayweather agreed to for April 8 2006, WBC Welterweight champion Zab Judah first took a stay busy fight at Madison Square Garden against Carlos Baldomir. Showtime was on tap to air the fight, further building up to Mayweather-Judah. Ultimately, Judah’s homecoming turned out to be a nightmare.

In arguably the worst performance of his career, Judah lacked focus and dropped a decision to the unheralded Argentinean. Judah, like Tyson, reportedly undertrained and lost focus with a more lucrative bout ahead of him. Although Judah-Mayweather still took place in April, the fans and media were infuriated and the fight did not receive the large-scale attention it likely would have received if Judah handled Baldomir.

Tamara, who is less than two weeks away from his second crack at a world title, is confident Calderon will have to find a new opponent.

“Viloria shouldn’t count his chickens before they hatch”, said Tamara, a 2004 Olympian. “I am dedicated and hungry to ruin his plans and become Colombia’s latest world champion.”

Tamara, 20-4 (14 KO’s), and Viloria, 26-2 (15 KO’s) meet January 23 at the Cuneta Astrodome in the Pasay City, Philippines. The card will be available in the US on pay per view.

PHOTO BY REUTERS/Maxi Jonas (ARGENTINA)

For more New Jersey boxing info click www.gardenstatefightscene.com

Although Roy Jones Jr. did not last a round when he was stopped by Danny Green in Australia, Jones will get his (at one time) much anticipated rematch with fellow legend Bernard Hopkins according to espn.com

The fight likely will be April 17 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer, Hopkins’ promoter, said.

“We worked very hard to keep this fight alive and we got it signed on Wednesday,” said John Wirt, the CEO of Square Ring, Jones’ promotional company. “We’re ecstatic that the fight was made and we’re looking forward to a great event. There’s been a long-standing rivalry between two of the preeminent boxers of our generation. This fight will establish once and for all who is the better fighter between Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr. This is the fight Roy always wanted.”

“The interesting thing is the conversations never died down,” Schaefer said. “Even after Bernard won and Roy lost, the talks continued and different options were evaluated. But I just felt from talking to Bernard and from the conversations I had with John that they really wanted to fight each other.

“I think there is so much at stake for these guys. This is an event they have been waiting for for 17 years. They would not let anything get in the way of getting this fight finally done. I believe very strongly that at this point in their careers, after everything they have accomplished, I think this is a well-deserved fight for these two guys to finally get it on April 17. Love ‘em or hate em, they are two of the most recognized names in the sport of boxing.”

“The only thing I can say about the structure of the deal is that there is still a substantial financial benefit to the guy who wins by knockout,” Schaefer said.

“Those who write Roy Jones off are making a mistake because he will come in motivated more than ever because this is a personal showdown between these guys,” Schaefer said. “They were waiting a long time for this fight and here it is. Bernard, at this point in his career, keeps on defying mother time. For Bernard, after all the accomplishments, for him to get up for a fight, he also needs that personal motivation, and he will have it against Roy Jones.

“Those two guys, after all the talking and the build up, and the ups and downs and the cheers and disappointments, finally, they are going to meet again. Bernard won’t be judging Roy on his last performance. He knows that would be a big mistake. I think they will both come at their best because of how important this is to both of them.”

When people think of pioneers in the sport of MMA, Frank Shamrock’s name is not usually mentioned. The names Royce Gracie, Randy Couture, Ken Shamrock (Frank’s brother via adoption), and Chuck Liddell—just to name a few—are much more prominent.

Plus, if it was up to the UFC, Shamrock’s name would be forgotten entirely, and as a result, a big part of the sport’s history would go unnoticed.

For the two year time period from Dec 97 to Sep 99, Shamrock was the most dominant fighter in the promotion. In his very first fight with the UFC, Shamrock submitted Kevin Jackson in just 14 seconds to win the light heavyweight title (then named the middleweight championship).

Following the Jackson win, Shamrock defeated Igor Zinoviev, Jeremy Horn, and John Lober in successive fights. After a one-fight sabbatical in Japan (a draw with Kiyoshi Tamura for the Rings promotion), Shamrock returned to the UFC for what his most memorable fight.

In a twenty-minute war, Shamrock outlasted Tito Ortiz to keep hold of the title. Ortiz finally gave in as he tapped out due to strikes at the end of the fourth round.

The epic fight with Ortiz would be the last time Shamrock would ever fight in the UFC.

“I was in the era of the beginning of free agency,” Shamrock said, when asked why he never fought again in the UFC. “That really went against the whole beginning of the company. It went against their model—the whole corporate control it all thing.”

When the UFC rolled out their list of the top 100 fights in the history of the company, Shamrock vs. Ortiz was suspiciously left off. Or maybe it was not too surprising. UFC President Dana White is definitely not Shamrock’s biggest fan.

White has often referred to Shamrock as both a “moron” and a “jackass”.

“I thought it was small-minded and silly,” Shamrock said about his exclusion from the top 100 list. “It is what it is.”

Rather than sit back and allow the UFC remove him from the sport’s history, Shamrock has done the one thing that he probably still does better than anyone else in the sport —talk.

“It’s been a blessing,” Shamrock said about not being with Zuffa. “I get more media, more press and more opportunity because of it.”

Since departing from the UFC, Shamrock has become one of the top stars for two different promotions. First, he was the face of the ill-fated EliteXC, and now, he is a top draw for Scott Coker’s Strikeforce.

Recently though, Shamrock has not had a great deal of success inside the cage. He has lost three of his last four fights (Nick Diaz, Cung Le, and Renzo Gracie), and the only win was an exciting victory against an overmatched Phil Baroni.

Nevertheless, Shamrock is not ready to call it a career just yet.

“I was looking at a March time,” Shamrock said about a possible return. “We’re still trying to see if we have a reserved March date for Showtime. Or May if we don’t get March together.”

As far as a possible opponent, Shamrock is not sure who he will be facing in the early part of 2010, but he did drop a famous name for a future opponent.

“I’d love to fight Dan Henderson,” Shamrock said. “We did a submission wrestling match a few years ago, and I got him real quick. We’ve sparred together and kind of circled each other for years.”

Shamrock believes his next fight will be on cable television instead of the larger platform offered by CBS.

“I don’t know if I have what CBS is looking for right now,” Shamrock said. “There are other guys fighting for titles. I don’t know if I can mess with the (Ronaldo) Jacare’s of the world.”

What CBS does want to televise is the man generally regarded as the sport’s top heavyweight, Fedor Emelianenko.

Even though Strikeforce is building its own core of stars with fighters like Robbie Lawler, Jake Shields, and Gilbert Melendez, Emelianenko is clearly the guy everyone wants to see above all others.

EliteXC was not able to have a successful show on CBS without the drawing power of Kimbo Slice. Could Strikeforce be falling into the same problem with Emelianenko as EliteXC did with Slice?

Shamrock was non-committal when asked if CBS could broadcast a card without the prized Russian.

“I think so,” Shamrock said, “ but I don’t think it would have the same excitement.”

Emelianenko made his successful debut for the company last Nov on CBS. Another man set to start with Strikeforce at the end of the month is former NFL running back Herschel Walker.

“The question has always been—‘what would happen if you take a super athlete and plug him into MMA?’” Shamrock said about Walker’s debut. “I guess now we’ll know.”

Shamrock is excited by the prospects of Walker starting with Strikeforce even if it at the age of 47.

“I think it’s awesome, crazy and amazing,” Shamrock said. “He knows Taw Kwon Do and striking. He knows little about fighting, but he’s really knuckled down.”

Seeing Walker train mixed martial arts seriously has convinced Shamrock that Walker’s debut will not be a freak show. Unfortunately, athletes like Jose Canseco and Johnnie Morton tried making the transition in the past with disastrous results.

Shamrock believes people now have a better understanding of the severity of the sport.

“The thing that scared me from the beginning was the reality of men fighting,” Shamrock said. “It’s just so dangerous. I like that it is really a sport now, and I’m happy with the rules and regulations of the game.”

On the other hand, Shamrock is very clear with what he does not like about MMA, and it comes straight back to the UFC.

“I don’t like that it’s not always promoted as a sport and some promotions gloss over it for brand positioning,” Shamrock said.

Still, as mixed martial arts makes its way into the new decade, Shamrock will be one of the guys who will play a big role in continuing to build the mainstream acceptance. Whether it is through announcing, the media, or inside the cage, Shamrock will be on the frontline for Strikeforce.

With all the changes that have come with developing the sport, Shamrock is very happy to have been around through the whole evolution. He believes he should be mentioned in the same breath as Gracie, Couture, Liddell, and his brother.

“I consider myself one of the true pioneers. For certain.”

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Jan. 13, 2010) – Exciting Philadelphia junior welterweight “Hammerin’” Hank Lundy has predicted an impressive win by 3rd-round knockout against fellow hot prospect, Richard “El Tigre” Abril, in the 10-round “Boston Pop” headliner Jan. 22 at The Roxy in Boston’s famed Theater District.

The fight will be broadcast on a tape delayed basis on www.gofightlive.tv

Lundy, one of the brightest prospects in boxing, stunned Mexican veteran Aldo Valtierra (25-12), who boasts a win against world-rated Jorge Teron, with a first-round knockout in his last fight on Halloween night. The entertaining, highly-revved Philly boxer also stopped previously-unbeaten Jason Cintron (11-1) in the fifth round last year.

Abril (12-1, 6 KOs), a former Cuban amateur standout now fighting out of Miami, replaced Brad Solomon. Abril’s lone loss was by a 10-round split decision to Breidis Prescott, who in his following fight knocked out rising star Amir Khan in the opening round.

“The change of opponents doesn’t bother me because they’re almost the same height,” Lundy explained. “This guy (Abril) doesn’t get off as well as Solomon and I think this is an easier fight for me. He isn’t as active as Solomon. He’s slow and doesn’t use his jab. I’m going to take care of business. Abril is a good fighter. He’s coming to fight and I think it’ll be a great fight while it lasts. I’m going to use my jab, work the body, break him down and I should take him out by the third round. I’m excited to be fighting in Boston for the first time and I’m bringing a Philly style of fighting there.”

The 6-round co-feature matches intra-state rivals Chris Traietti (8-1, 5 KOs), an Iraq War veteran from Quincy, and dangerous Lawrence super middleweight Eddie “Thunder” Caminero (5-3, 5 KOs).

Two former New England amateur standouts, Peabody (MA) welterweight Simeon Dunwell (10-1, 3 KOs) and Josh “Bam Bam” Beeman (4-5-3, 2 KOs), of Providence, go at it in a 6-round match.

CES Ring of Honor Induction

CES president Jimmy Burchfield has announced that Carlos Garcia will be inducted into the prestigious CES Ring of Honor during a special ceremony at “Boston Pop.” Inductees are honored for their contributions or achievement to New England boxing. “Carlos has helped countless kids for years as boxing coach at the Worcester Boys & Girls Club,” Burchfield remarked. “He’s started out and trained former 3-time world champion Jose Antonio Rivera, multiple national amateur champion Bobby Harris and unbeaten middleweight prospect Edwin Rodriguez. Carlos embodies everything we believe in at CES and we’re very happy to be inducting him into the CES Ring of Honor. We’re also presenting Dr. Edgar Ballenas with a special achievement award for all he’s done to help promoters, managers, trainers and fighters over the years in New England.”

Boston light heavyweight Maceo Crowder (1-0, 1 KO), whose brother is 2008 U.S. Olympian Demetrius Andrade, faces New Haven’s pro-debuting Greg McCoy. Quincy junior lightweight Ryan “The Polish Prince” Kielczewski (6-0, 2 KOs) faces Francisco Palacios (4-9-5, 1 KO) and Hartford middleweight David Bauza (3-0, 3 KOs) meets Erix Quinteros (2-3) in separate 4-round bouts.

Ticket prices for “Boston Pop” are $40.00, $50.00 and $75.00 and available to purchase by calling CES (401.724.2253/2254) or going online at www.cesboxing.com.

Contact CES (401.724.2253/2254/www.cesboxing.com) for more information. Doors open at 6:30 PM/ET, first bout at 8 PM/ET.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, former WBA Heavyweight champion John Ruiz has signed a promotional contract with Golden Boy Promotions and should pave the way for a mandatory title shot with currant champio David Haye in the spring.

Ruiz, whose contract with Don King expired, is due to challenge England’s David Haye for a version of the heavyweight title, probably on April 3 in London. Golden Boy also promotes Haye.

“I’m excited to become a member of the Golden Boy Promotions family and know that I have a great future ahead of me. I’m going to continue to make history and break records one fight at a time, starting with David Haye this spring,” said Ruiz, who became the first Hispanic heavyweight titleholder when he outpointed Evander Holyfield for a belt in 2001. “I know Golden Boy will help get me back to the top of the heavyweight division and to secure my place in the boxing history books.”

“John Ruiz is a very skilled and talented heavyweight and we are very excited to add him to our elite stable of fighters,” Golden Boy president Oscar De La Hoya said. “He has proven time and time again that he has what it takes to battle with the top guys in the division and will continue to do so in 2010 and beyond.”

“I saw him fight in Germany and everyone had told me how boring he was,”Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer said. “But I thought it was an entertaining fight. Ruiz was the first Hispanic heavyweight champion and we are very involved in the Hispanic marketplace and we think John Ruiz hasn’t been properly exposed in that market. We want to increase his profile in the Hispanic market. That’s really the idea.

“He’s been more fan friendly in his recent fights and I think his new trainer, Miguel Diaz, is part of that.”

With Ruiz due to face Haye, Schaefer said that also played into the decision to sign him, because whatever happens in the fight, Golden Boy will have the winner under contract.

“That certainly didn’t hurt,” Schaefer said. “I’d be lying if I would say something different. But I discussed this with Adam Booth, David Haye’s manager and trainer. I informed him before we signed Ruiz and he was OK with it. Numerous promoters were after Ruiz after it became known he was no longer under contract with Don King. Frank Warren from England pursued him. If Hayemaker [Haye’s company] and Golden Boy were doing the Ruiz fight together it made sense for us to also work with Ruiz.”

The recent update we received on Z Gorres is nothing less than amazing and remarkable and most of all – inspiring.

We are constantly in touch with Datches the wife of Gorres and Tony “The Good Samaritan” Martin and his wife, Yvonne. They all keep us posted almost every other day on the progress of Gorres.
The brain surgery of Z has not affected his memory. He recognizes everyone who visits him in the hospital.

Z is no longer in the respiratory and breathes on his own and is now eating solid food and has started to talk but in whispers.

It is only his left side that still needs to recover fully. He can now move his left arm but very slowly so with his left leg. Those are the part of his body that needs to be monitored closely as he progresses to recover.

ALA Promtoions President, Michael Aldeguer is in close touch with Tamara Greene the new Medical Social Worker at University Medical Center and is the one coordinating Z’s discharge planning.

Since the time Z has been admitted several people have visited him. Among the visitors were Wakee Salud, Boboy Fernandex, Gerry Penalosa and Rodel Mayol, cutman Miguel Diaz and the Top Rank people headed by Bruce Tampler, Brad Goodman, Sean Gibbons, Dan Pancher and Richie Sandoval, Cornelius “Boza” Edward and Dr. Allan Recto.

Promoter and matchmaker non-pariel Sampson Lewkowicz with his wife and maybe a few more others who have also visited Z but without our knowledge.

We are sending the most recent photos of Z with his wife Datches and ALA trainer Tony Martin and his wife Yvonne.

Vic Darchinyan will be back in action on 6 March on Showtime in what is likely to amount to a keep busy fight while Nonito Donaire will stop Gerson Guerrero in February to set up the rematch sometime over the summer. Donaire will repeat his win then head for a fall fight in The Philippines with Jorge Arce who will KO Angky Angkota first. Nobau Nashiro will most likely rematch Hugo Cazares this time Cazares will take the title to make him a two weight world champion. Though he may not see the year through especially if he has to take the title on the road. South African Simphiwe Nongqayi is in his mid 30’s surprised everyone when he won the IBF title. He may have enough to see his way through the year as the IBF top 15 isn’t particularly threatening with the exception of Alexander Munoz who may be campaigning at Bantamweight anyway.

In a mega fight in Japan Koki Kameda’s youth prevailed as he overcame Daisuke Naito to take the WBC crown last year. I expect a big year from Kameda with him outpointing battle tested former champ Pongsaklek Wongjongkam in a close maybe controversial fight. I’d not be surprised to see Naito get another shot if he doesn’t retire. Kameda will also beat make a third defence. Thailand’s Denkaosan Kaowitchit fights Daiki Kameda in another rematch after narrowly winning last time. It wont happen this time and Daiki will claim the title making it the second weight class where two brothers hold world titles at the same time. At some point the WBA will make Daiki square off with Interim WBA champion Luis Concepcion in what should be very interesting. IBF ruler is another South African Moruti Mthalane who will successfully defend his title at home but will lose it in the second half of the year when he’s comes to Mexico to fight Herman “Tyson” Marquez. Long standing WBO ruler Omar Narvaez has been champion since 2002 and made 16 successful defence’s and at 34 you wouldn’t think he could last to much longer but he hasn’t looked like losing and will see the year through fighting twice at home.

Puerto Rican mighty mite Ivan Calderon fought twice in 09 and suffered from bad cuts in both he’ll enjoy more luck this year. He’ll fight twice more both successful defence’s which will take place in the cosy confines of his homeland. Brian Viloria finally came good on his promise last year and will keep his crown with three wins first up will be tough but limited Carlos Tamara which takes place in The Philippines. He’ll be back then in America where he’ll get a place on one of Top Ranks cards in the spring/summer. By the end of the year Viloria will be mentioned as a possible counterpart for Koki Kameda & Calderon. Power punching Giovanni Segura will continue to fight on Latin Fury cards with a stoppage over Wisanu Pornobnum an excellent fight with Francisco Rosas beckons. Rosas is teak tough and should provide a really intriguing fight for Segura but will yield late on or on points. Another possible fight is Ulises Solis who would fend off Segura’s early charge to pick apart his fellow Mexican in an excellent fight to become a two time champ. Rodel Mayol finally got over the hump to win a world title thanks to his head when he stopped Edgar Sosa. I don’t see him keeping the title with tough fights against the likes of Omar Nino & Adrian Hernandez his top contenders.

Roman Gonzalez will continue to reign supreme, first fighting in Mexico on 30 January though no opponent is know don’t expect it to be anyone to tough while Gonzalez scores a KO. Expect 2 other challengers to go the same way one of them being in Japan. Oleydong Sithsamerchai is a little to slick for anyone at Strawweight. He turned back Juan Palacios who was his toughest opponent so don’t expect any of his coming challengers to be able to take his title. Two more defence’s beckon which both go the distance. Raul Garcia will leave Baja California Sur, Mexico for the first time when he travels to South America face his toughest fight to date in mandatory challenger Nkosinathi Joyi. Joyi is also unbeaten and poses a major threat to Garcia 2 year and 5 successful defence’s. It’s one that i think will pose to much for him with Joyi taking the title via lopsided points decision. Don’t expect anyone to unseat him either as he’ll develop further and score a couple of KO victories. WBO ruler is Donnie Nietes who gets the year off to a good start when he stops Jesus Silvestre on 23 January. He’ll follow that with maybe a road trip but he’ll be good enough to keep the title.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, Jermain Taylor has pulled out of Showtime’s Super Six Super Middleweight World Boxing Classic.

Taylor was due to face super middleweight titleholder Andre Ward in the second stage of the modified round-robin tournament on April 17.

“I’m going to take some time off from the sport of boxing and take myself out of [the] Showtime Sports World Boxing Classic tournament,” Taylor said in a statement. “It’s important that I give my body and mind some much-needed rest, because I have been boxing for nearly 20 years. I plan on keeping myself in shape and making a return to the sport sometime in the future.”

Taylor’s promoter Lou DiBella was pleased that Taylor took his advice and withdrew from the tournament.

“I know it must have been a difficult decision for Jermain and I’m very happy for him and his family that he decided to give himself a much-needed break,” DiBella told ESPN.com.

Behind the scenes Taylor’s manager, Al Haymon, had been working with Showtime on a buyout of Taylor’s remaining tournament fights. It is unclear what sort of deal they reached, if any, before Taylor’s announcement.

“This was not an easy decision for me, having discussed it with my family, trainer [Ozell Nelson], friends and my adviser, Al Haymon, because I’m a very competitive person. But I know this is the smart road for me to take,” Taylor said. “I want to thank Showtime Sports for everything and I wish the best for my five counterparts who will continue on in the Super Six tournament. Most of all, I want to thank the many fans for their continued support.”

Taylor’s replacement is likely to be the winner of a fight between Sakio Bika (28-3-2, 19 KOs), champion of the 2007 “Contender” tournament, and Allan Green (29-1, 20 KOs). Their handlers are working to finalize a fight between the two for Feb. 5 on Showtime’s “ShoBox” series. DiBella promotes Green and Haymon manages Bika.

Late last week, DiBella told ESPN.com that “Allan has agreed to the fight and Bika and Al Haymon are working on their side.”

If Bika and Green fight to a draw, DiBella said the winner of a coin flip would become the alternate. If an injury forced the fight to be called off, the healthy fighter would get the open spot in the field.

PHILADELPHIA (January 9, 2010)—On Friday night February 5th, Vernoca L. Michael and Blue Horizon Boxing Inc. presents the first big show at The world’s number-one boxing venue as a big show is planned for a the annual “Valentine’s Day Special” that will feature some of the best boxers from not only Philadelphia but from Europe as well.

In the main event, Maks Liminov of Prokopyevsk, Russia will risk his undefeated record of 11-0 against new Blue Horizon crowd favorite Loren Myers in an eight round Middleweight bout.

Liminov has a record of 11-0 with seven knockouts and will be making his second appearncde on American soil after fighting his first town bouts in his native Russia.

In that American debut, Limonov stopped Skyler Thompson (11-4) in three rounds on November 7th in Tacoma, Washington.

Myers quickly became a fan favorite at The Legendary Blue Horizon after his last outing on December 4th when he battled Gee Cullmer (16-1) to one of the most controversial draws in recent memory. It was a fight where most ringsiders thought Myers dominated and should have had his hand raised and the out of towner received a standing ovation from The Blue Horizon crowd.

Myers of Fresno, California has a record of 7-7-1 with two knockouts and is coming off that disputed draw on December 4th at The Legendary Blue Horizon.

In one co-feature, exciting Featherweight prospect Eric “The Outlaw” Hunter will see action in an eight round bout against an opponent to be named.

Hunter, just twenty-three years old of Philadelphia has a record of 11-1 with four knockouts and has won six straight since his lone pro defeat in 2007.

This will be Hunter’s third appearance at The Legendary Blue Horizon (2-0, 2 KO’s) and first since his third round knockout over Jules Blackwell on June 6, 2008.

In a special four round Heavyweight bout, Joe Dawejko will make his hometown debut as the nineteen year old former world Jr. Champion will take on Damon Clement.

Dawejko will be looking to thrill his hometown fans much like he did in the fall of 2008 when he was crowned the winner of the AIBA Youth World Championships.

Dawejko won his pro debut on September 26th when he scored a six round unanimous decision over Royphy Solieau.

Clement of Ohio is 0-2.

In a four round Heavyweight bout, Tim Johnson (4-1, 2 KO’s) of Philadelphia battles Patrick Budd (2-1, 1 KO) of Dumfries, VA

Fresh off his knockout win on December 4th over Nathan Perrott, John Bolden (1-0, 1 KO) of New York City takes on Ricardo Johnson (1-0) of Cincinnati, OH. In a heavyweight bout scheduled for four rounds.

Jackie Davis (3-0, 1 KO) of Philadelphia will participate in a Ladies Welterweight four round fight against an opponent to be named.

Andres Gustafson of Norrkoping, Sweden will trek across the Atlantic to risk his undefeated mark (3-0, 1 KO) to take on Levay King in a four round Heavyweight bout.

In a four round welterweight bout, Ronald Cruz (7-0, 4 KO’s) and debuting Jr. Welterweight Clemente Bethea of Philadelphia will see action in separate four round bouts against opponents to be named.

Tickets are going fast for this exciting boxing event. The perfect pre-Valentine gift for your boxing enthusiast.

Ticket prices for this great night of boxing are $200 for Queen Seating, $125 for Presidential Seats, $65 for VIP Seating, $55 for Ringside Seating and $45 for General Admission Seating. Tickets can be purchased by calling 215-763-0500 or through PayPal by clicking www.legendarybluehorizon.com/html/tickets.html Doors open at 6:30 PM / First Bout begins at 7:30 P.M.

The Legendary Blue Horizon™

1314 North Broad Street in Philadelphia, PA

Gray Maynard scored a three round split decision over Nate Diaz in the Lightweight main event of UFC Fight Night at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, VA

Scores were 30-37 and 29-28 for Maynard, 155 lbs of Las Vegas and is now 10-0. Diaz, 155 lbs of Stockton, CA is now 11-6

Evan Dunham scored athird round tapout submission over Efarin Escudero in a three round Lightweight bout between undefeated fighters.

Dunham, 155 lbs of Las Vegas is 10-0. Escudero, 155 lbs of Tempe, AZ is 13-1

Aaron Simpson was almost knocked out in the first round but came back to win a close split decision over Tom Lawlor in a three round Light Heavyweight bout.

Scores were 29-28 on two cards for Simpson and 29-28 Lawlor. Simpson, 185 lbs of Phoenix, AZ is now 7-0. Lawlor, 185 lbs of Orlando, FL is 6-2-1.

Amir Sadollah scored a three round unanimous decision over Brad Blackburn in a Middelweight bout.

Scores were 30-27 on all cards for Sadollah, 170 lbs of Richmond, VA and is now 4-1. Blackburn, 170 lbs of Olympia, WA is now 15-10-1.

Minneapolis, MN- Minnesota’s middleweight champion is slated to make his return to the ring this February. Andy “Kaos” Kolle(19-2 14 ko’s) will take on Pat “The Cat” Coleman (29-15 20 ko’s) on February 5 at First Avenue in Minneapolis, MN.

Kolle is coming off of a highlight reel knockout of Anthony Bonsante in March, and an impressive stoppage of Anthony Shuler in June. Although Kolle has been inactive for six months he insists that February 5th presents an opportunity to not only get back into action, but turn some heads in the Twin Cities.

“I am really looking forward to getting back into the ring, it has been too long! It has been a few years since I have fought in the Twin Cities so I can’t wait to come and show the boxing fans there what I got. I don’t know much about my opponent but that is nothing new to me so I will be ready for whatever he brings to the table”

Kolle vs Coleman will be promoted by Midwest Sports Council in association with RDS Company and will bring boxing to the venue made famous by Prince in the mid 80’s. In addition to the anticipated return of Andy Kolle heralded prospect Javontae Starks(2-0 2 ko’s) will do battle for the first time in his native Minneapolis when he takes on Matt Ellis(2-1) in the co-feature. Starks’ MSC stablemate Jeremy McLaurin(6-0 4 ko’s) will also be in action against Brandon Quintana (2-4).

Decorated amateur Tony Lee(1-0) is slated to fight Javier Segura, while fellow prospect Jose Hilario takes on Hector Orozco. Rounding out the card will be Donny Tierney (1-1) taking on Andrew Kato, and Zach Schumach(1-2-1) taking on Lenny McQuen in his professional debut.

The Event will be 18+ and Tickets are available at www.first-avenue.com

PHILADELPHIA (JANUARY 11th, 2010)—THIS Friday night, the first big boxing of the new decade in Philadelphia will take place as USBA Jr. Middleweight champion, Derek “Pooh” Ennis will take on Edwin Vazquez in an eight round non-title bout that will highlight an eight bout card at The Arena in South Philadelphia.

The card is promoted by Greg Robinson’s Power Productions in association with River Edge Beverage Company.

Ennis of Philadelphia will be looking to improve upon his record that currently stands at 19-2-1 with twelve knockouts and will be looking to carry the momentum of a seven fight win streak. In that streak, Ennis has scored three knockouts and is coming off a career best win when he scored an exciting twelve round unanimous decision over Eromosele Albert on October 16th at The Legendary Blue Horizon to capture the USBA Jr. Middleweight title.

A win over Vazquez will pave the way for Ennis’ first title defense that is tentatively penciled in for April 9th.

Vazquez of Santurce, Puerto Rico has a record of 22-14-2 with eight knockouts and is looking for a win in the worst way as he has dropped five straight contests.

Those losses have come to some of the top Welterweights and Jr. Middleweights as Vazquez has lost to Matthew Hatton (30-3-1); Zab Judah (34-5); Eric Mitchell (20-4-1); Euri Gonzalez (16-0-1) and his most recent outing, Vazquez was stopped in four rounds to Cuban super prospect Erislandy Lara (5-0) on May 22nd in Miami.

Ironically Ennis and Vazquez were scheduled to meet on February 15th, 2008 but Ennis failed to make weight and Mitchell stepped in on less then twenty-four hours notice to score a very close unanimous decision.

An exciting undercard has been put together that will feature of the area’s most popular and top prospects.

In a six round co-feature, popular Victor Vasquez (10-3, 5 KO’s) takes on Gustavo Dailey (4-7, 1 KO) in a battle of Philadelphia lightweight’s.

Vasquez is riding a two fight win streak and the always crowd pleasing fighter, who is a licensed barber will look to cut down Dailey.

Vasquez is coming off a six round unanimous decision over Tyric Robinson (9-4-1) on October 16th at The Legendary Blue Horizon.

Dailey has been matched very tough throughout his career and he has been very active as this will be his thirteenth fight in just under two years of pro experience.

Dailey is coming off the third fight of his trilogy with Maryland prospect, Tyrell Samuel.

Dailey scored a major upset when scored a six round split decision over Samuel last July in Samuel’s backyard in Maryland. The two engaged in a return bout two months later that saw Samuel win by an eight round unanimous decision. The two fought a rubber match in November and once again Samuel scored a five round technical decision after a cut opened up over Samuel’s right eye.

In a second six round co-feature, Northeast Philadelphian, Tony “Boom Boom” Ferrante battles Andre Hemphill in a Light Heavyweight bout.

Ferrante, 8-0 with four knockouts an eight round majority decision over Billy Bailey at The Arena on July 10th.

Ferrante recently came off a six week stint as the main sparring partner for the legendary Bernard Hopkins as Hopkins prepared for his December 2nd win over Enrique Ornelas

Hemphill, also of Philadelphia has a record of 8-13-2 with five wins coming by knockout has been in with top competition and this will be the THIRTEENTH undefeated opponent that he has stepped into the ring with which includes his last fight where he took a fight with Jeremiah Graziano on less then twenty-four hours notice and Hemphill was stopped in the first round of the October 2nd bout at The Legendary Blue Horizon.

Good looking Super Featherweight prospect, Coy Evans of Philadelphia risks his undefeated mark that stands at 5-0-1 when he takes on Vinesh Rungea of the United Kingdom.

Evans is coming off an impressive victory over thirty-five fight veteran Carlos Diaz on October 16th at The Legendary Blue Horizon

Rungea is much like Hemphill as his record, 2-14-3, looks deceiving due to his high level opposition. He has faced seven undefeated fighters which includes his most recent outing which was a first round knockout defeat to highly regarded Rances Barthelemy on August 28th in Hollywood, Florida.

In a four round Light Heavyweight bout, Tommie “Big Poppa” Speller, 4-3 with three knockouts of Philadelphia takes on Dave Cook, 3-3 with two knockouts in a four round bout.

6’4” Middleweight, Derrick Webster, 3-0 with two knockouts of Glassboro, New Jersey will battle Antonio Walls, 2-2 with one knockout of Washington, DC

Wahid Raheem, who is the brother of Lightweight contender and former U.S. Olympian Zahir Raheem, 3-0 with one stoppage of Philadelphia will square off with Eilud Torres (2-1-2, 1 KO) of Allentown, PA in a four round Lightweight bout.

Rounding out the bill will be Cruiserweight, Charles Heyward (2-2,1 KO) of Philadelphia seeing action in a four round Cruiserweight tussle.

Tickets for this outstanding night of boxing are priced at $75, $65 and $40 and can be purchased by calling Power Productions at 215-240-9987; Ticketmaster at 215-336-2000 or The Arena at 267-687-7560

By 2005 Arizona was very much the Helpdesk State, whatever hold the Grand Canyon still had on tourists’ imaginations, and a few wiseasses in a Tempe call center said we should change the state bird from a Cactus Wren to a Head Set. One such chap was Bob Benedetti. He started a local sports portal, named it Bob44.com and asked me to write for him.

So began my tenure as an Arizona boxing writer – a journey rife with pleasant surprises. The boxing-writing part of that journey continues so long as you read me. The Arizona part, though, concludes Feb. 1, the day I move to San Antonio, Tex.

What follows, then, is a meandering tour of the last five years of Grand Canyon State boxing. Please join me.

In March of my first year, Arizona boxing had attached its fortunes to a former U.S. amateur champion readying for his 15th professional fight under Top Rank’s banner. Jesus “El Martillo” Gonzales was 14-0 (9 KOs) and expected someday to approach the fame and accomplishments of Michael Carbajal – whose shadow always looms over local prizefighting.

I visited Central Boxing Gym, learned Gonzales’ training schedule and returned the next day to interview both Jesus and his father and trainer, Ernie Sr. A week later MaxBoxing.com’s Thomas Gerbasi wrote a Tuesday profile of “El Terrible” Esdrick Isaac Morales, and I sent him an email inquiring about boxing writing. He replied quickly and generously, even encouraging me to pursue a credential for Gonzales’ next fight. A month later Top Rank’s Lee Samuels introduced me to local rep Phil Soto who gave me that credential.

That year there were 23 fight cards in Arizona. Top Rank – doing business with local promoter Peter McKinn – staged about a dozen. Startup outfit Golden Boy Promotions did six of their own in Tucson.

But Top Rank’s interest in Arizona boxing crashed Sept. 17, 2005. That night, the last of the “Adiós” cards featuring Julio Cesar Chavez, saw Jesus Gonzales ruined by Jose Luis Zertuche – just before Ernie Sr. punched McKinn – then Chavez blame a broken hand for his fifth-round surrender to Grover Wiley, and finally Michael Carbajal escorted from the premises by security. Bob Arum was ringside. “¡Adiós Phoenix!” indeed.

Along the way, though, I met John Raygoza – the owner of 15rounds.com and author of the first piece I read about “El Martillo.” John invited me to Tucson where I met Desert Diamond Casino’s excellent staff. Six weeks after Top Rank said adiós, Golden Boy returned to Tucson to make its most ambitious desert show, “Boxing World Cup” – a 50-round monster between Mexico and Thailand.

The following March, with Bob Benedetti’s encouragement, I started writing for 15rounds.com. Two months later undefeated cruiserweight BJ Flores rented Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum, home of the Arizona State Fair, and made a card the late Norman Mailer might have called “Advertisements for Himself.” Phil Soto, who handled seating for Flores, put me on the canvas next to The Arizona Republic’s scribe – some guy named Frauenheim. I spent the next 150 minutes laughing at 30 years’ worth of stories.

That month, the median value of a Phoenix home was $330,320.

Towards the end of 2006, the end of Arizona as a boxing destination became apparent. Don King made his last visit in the fall, staging “Red November: The Hunt for the White Wolf” on the pitcher’s mound at Chase Field. Liakhovich-Briggs, the main event, followed the worst 35:30 of heavyweight championship boxing with perhaps its most suspenseful conclusion when Shannon Briggs knocked Sergei Liakhovich onto the scorer’s table at 2:59 of the last round.

Golden Boy Promotions used Desert Diamond as a Plan-B venue 364 days later, bringing Juan Manuel Marquez and Rocky Juarez to the southern desert after lagging ticket sales, er, an injury to Marquez’s knuckle, knocked the fight out of Las Vegas.

But by then Arizona’s economy was in free-fall. Frightened Arizonans did what frightened Americans always do in bad economic times: Blame the immigrants. A novel law got passed, work visas became mandatory for Mexican fighters, and one year later matchmaker Eric Gomez called Arizona the hardest place to put a boxing card.

Showdown Promotions made a noble effort to resurrect prizefighting with a Gila River Casino card in the fall of 2008. Ivaylo Gotzev promised a rising Phoenix 13 months later. Fact remained, though, that in the four years since 2005, Arizona boxing had gone from 23 cards to eight – with only half comprising more than four fights.

This month the median value of a Phoenix home is $177,000. That’s 46 percent less than it was in 2006. You can imagine what such a reversal has done to the mortgage offices, restaurants, car dealerships and banks that employed Arizona fight fans.

Golden Boy Promotions’ last Tucson card was possibly the worst in “Friday Night Fights” history. Peter McKinn spent some of his fall in Fourth Avenue Jail. And BoxingTalk.com reports Ivaylo Gotzev filed for bankruptcy two months after “Phoenix Rising.” Arizona boxing deserved better.

As I leave for the Lone Star State, though, let me acknowledge some friends.

All the best to my three favorite local fighters – two of whom try never to fight locally – Donnie Orr, BJ Flores and Juanito Garcia. Many thanks to the good folks at SIMG in Tucson. Thanks for the good chats to Showdown’s Gerry Truax. And for providing my first credential, and being a first-rate person, Phil Soto, especially, has my gratitude.

Finally, the writers: Keep your eye on Albert Alvarez at DiamondBoxing.com. Know that there isn’t a finer, or funnier, baseball writer on the wire than the AP’s Andy Bagnato. If ever you’re in southern Arizona, get a copy of the Green Valley News; Nick Prevenas is Arizona sportswriting’s best-kept secret. And that guy named Frauenheim? Turns out he’s a legend of sorts. You can find him here every Friday.

See you guys at the Alamodome.

Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter.com/bartbarry

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, the saga that is or was a proposed bout between pound for pound kings, Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather took even a stranger turn on Sunday night as just hours after it was announced that Pacquiao would fight Joshua Clottey on that date on Pay- Per-view, Golden Boy Promotions announced that Mayweather would be fighting on March 13th on a seperate Pay Per View in Las Vegas

“It’s a date Golden Boy has had for a long time and nothing has changed,” Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer said. “We have been talking to Team Mayweather to see who the opponent will be. I hope to have something to announce in the next few days.”

According to sources, Mayweather’s list of potential opponents includes former junior welterweight titlist Paulie Malignaggi and Golden Boy-promoted former lightweight titlist Nate Campbell, both smaller men than Mayweather, as well as former welterweight titlist Kermit Cintron, who is a similar kind of opponent as Clottey is for Pacquiao. There is also a more remote possibility of Mayweather facing junior welterweight titlist Timothy Bradley Jr., who has ties to Showtime, which may not want to let him walk away for a possible fight on rival HBO PPV.

One opponent Mayweather will not be facing is Matthew Hatton, the brother of former junior welterweight champ Ricky Hatton, whom Mayweather knocked out in a 2007 welterweight title fight. Reports in Matthew Hatton’s native England indicate that he is under consideration.

However, Schaefer that is not the case.

“There is absolutely no truth to the rumors about Matthew Hatton. I can’t tell you for sure who Floyd will fight, but I can tell you for sure it won’t be Matthew Hatton,” Schaefer said.

“It is unusual, but what can I do,” Schaefer said. “It wasn’t Floyd who walked away from the Pacquiao fight. There is nothing I can really say about it. I’ve had the date [March 13] for a long time. Initially it was for the Bernard Hopkins-Roy Jones fight [which won’t come off because Jones was knocked out in a Dec. 2 interim bout]. You know what? It is what it is. I’m not getting excited about it anymore. I am sitting outside having a cigar and [expletive] it. It is what it is.

“It’s not good. Its not good for Pacquiao to go on that date, which we had for a long time. We had that date, end of story. So it’s not good. How can it be good? It’s not good for boxing. It’s not good for boxing that Pacquiao and Mayweather are not fighting each other. I worked really hard to make that happen and it’s not. And I am not belittling Pacquiao’s fight with Clottey. It’s OK. Hey, we have a piece of [the promotional contract of] Pacquiao. But is it ideal? No it’s not. Is it the end of boxing? Is the world collapsing? No it is not. We all have to look to March 14. March 13 will pass and on March 14 boxing will still be there and there will be exciting fights, and nothing will change that.”

“Nobody wants competing fights. HBO doesn’t want it,” he said. “Nobody in their clear mind can be happy about Mayweather fighting somebody else or Pacquiao fighting somebody else. But we all have to live with it and accept. I’m a boxing fan too and I am pissed off about what happened. Anyone who says anything different is lying. I wish there had been something I could do about it, so I am very frustrated and disappointed, but Floyd Mayweather will still fight

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, the WBO Welterweight championship bout between Manny Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey is officially set for March 13 in Dallas at the 100,000 seat Cowboy Stadium.

Jones and Top Rank’s Bob Arum and Todd duBoef, who toured the facility and were Jones’ guests at Saturday night’s Cowboys playoff victory against the Philadelphia Eagles, closed the deal for the bout on Sunday afternoon.

“Bob was persistent in keeping this alive as a place for Manny’s fight,” Jones told ESPN.com, while celebrating the deal with Arum and duBoef. “I’m so glad Bob came back to us. We are so excited about this event and that we will be able to bring a big fight here for the Hispanic boxing fans, and all boxing fans in this area, who are also Dallas Cowboys fans. It’s important for us. Manny is such an exemplary athlete.”

“I never got into the NFL or bought the Cowboys for the money. I was lucky enough to already have some,” he said. “This is about having a fighter like Manny and an event like this in our venue. When we finished the deal, I was shaking as much as I was when we beat the Eagles. I’m just as excited.”

Jones said the stadium won’t be set for the full 100,000 seating capacity as was planned for a Pacquiao-Mayweather bout. Instead, they’ll start in the 40,000-seat range.

“But that’s one of the great things about the stadium — we can expand the seating capacity as it warrants,” Jones said.

“This is going to be one of the biggest events in the history of boxing,” Arum said. “This is the most incredible stadium setting I have ever seen. It is absolutely unbelievable. This is going to be much, much more than just a boxing match. A lot of things that happen are ordained by God. We weren’t going to go here for Pacquiao-Mayweather fight because [Golden Boy CEO Richard] Schaefer wouldn’t get on a plane and come down here and see the place. So that didn’t happen. And now that fight isn’t happening. And now we are here with Manny for another fight. When people see this event and how it will be presented, nothing in the past will ever compare to it.”

Photo By Chris Farina / Top Rank

Dyah Davis, Marc Abrams, Gato Figueroa LIVE!! Weekly Sunday Morning Open Line with 15rounds.com’s Johnny Schulz writer presents: Talking BOXING with JSizzle and New York Dan NYD – A weekly Sunday Morning boxing show covering Boxing from all angles. Alongside and boxing aficionado Danny “NYD” Stasiukiewicz, Marc Abrams.

Cleveland, OH – “ESPN Friday Night Fights” invades Cleveland, OH on February 19th live from the Wolstein Center on the campus of Cleveland State University. The star studded night of boxing will feature the homecoming of 2008 United States Olympic Team member and undefeated professional Shawn “Showtime” Porter in a twelve round main event against Russell Jordan of Rochester, NY for the NABO Jr. Middleweight Title. Cleveland’s Porter 12-0 (10 KO’s), recently named as one of ESPN’s top 20 prospects in the world today, will bring his exciting all action style to the bout against Jordan 15-6 (10 KO’s) in the Jr. Middleweight clash. The bout will feature an interesting clash of styles as Porter, who stands 5’7″ and is orthodox, will try to impose his will on the taller southpaw Jordan, who stands 6’2″.

Also featured on the ESPN broadcast will be rising Welterweight prospect Lanard Lane 10-0 (7 KO’s) from Houston, TX as he squares off with Martin Tucker 7-4 (3 KO’s) from nearby Toledo, OH in an 8 round Jr. Welterweight clash.

The ESPN broadcast will open up with one of the hardest punching prospects in boxing today as Dominic Wade 5-0 (5 KO’s) goes toe to toe with Omar Bell 6-1 (4 KO’s) of Atlanta, GA in a 6 round Middleweight contest. The heavy fisted Wade, from Largo, MD, will look to keep his knockout streak alive in a bout that promises to be action packed from the opening bell.

This value packed 9 bout card will also feature some of Cleveland and Ohio’s greatest boxing prospects. Cleveland’s Dante Moore 6-0 (4 KO’s) will battle Allentown, PA’s Marvin Rivera 4-4-2 (1 KO) in a 6 round Jr. Middleweight bout. Cleveland’s amateur standout Wilkins Santiago will also be highlighted as he makes his professional debut Columbus, OH’s Troy Nelson in 4 round Middleweight match. Another Cleveland prospect will do battle as Julius Leegrand 2-0 will square off with Toledo’s Eric Ricker in a 4 round battle of Lightweights. Youngstown’s finest will also be on display as Jake Giuriceo 5-0-1 (2 KO’s) will face Elkhart, IN’s Sam Gibson in a 6 round clash of Jr. Welterweights. Also, Youngstown’s Chris Hazimihalis 1-0 (1 KO) will be pitted against Independence, MO’s Steven Cox 1-0 (1 KO) in a rare battle of young undefeated Lightweights. Last but not least on this card will be Shawn Porter’s undefeated United States Olympic teammate Gary Russell Jr. 6-0 (3 KO’s) from Capitol Heights, MD in a 6 round Featherweight bout.

Tickets for ESPN’s Friday Night Fights will go on sale Monday, January 11 at 10 AM and start at just $25. Tickets can be purchased at the Wolstein Center’s box office, through any Ticketmaster outlet, or the Ticketmaster charge-by-phone. For more information, call 216.687.9292.

Humberto Soto carries the WBC laurels at 130 but last time out fought up at Lightweight. He hasn’t decided yet if he’s going to 135 full time yet. I suspect he’ll flit back and for until either he gets one of the top guys at Lightweight or can’t make 130 anymore. Nobody except possibly Robert Guerrero is capable of being Soto at Super Featherweight. Guerrero will be impressive in the coming year fighting 3 times one being against Mzonke Fana. Such wins along with Soto abdicating his thrown could see Guerrero becoming top dog here.

Roman Martinez has to defend his WBO crown against mandatory Ricky Burns. That fight is at purse bids currently and while Burns is a good fighter it’s unlikely he’ll unseat Martinez. Juan Carlos Salgado burst into the limelight with a huge KO over Jorge Linares he’ll make his first defense against Takashi Uchiyama. That should let us know where Salgado is. I suspect Salgado will stop Uchiyama and then fight in America & Mexico before the years out. Linares will use 2010 as a rebuilding exercise fighting on a few Golden Boy undercards.

When Chris John came onto the world scene in 2003 he wasn’t very well known but slowly year after year he’s chipped away and got the begrudging respect of his peers and fans alike. The first sign that he maybe more than just a belt holder came in March 06 when he surprised everyone beating Juan Manuel Marquez. Unfortunetely he wasn’t able to capitalise on that, taking nearly 3 years to get a big fight. Then he made his much anticipated American debut when he fought Rocky Juarez only to be awarded a draw, 7 months later righted that wrong again in America. He’ll not fight until April/May as he has been ill with no obvious opponent. Yordan will fight Ponce De Leon in January if Ponce De Leon wins that will be one foe though look for Yordan to go a different way is he’s victorious. Elio “Kid” Rojas went to Japan and performed very well to snare the WBC crown and he’ll be back on the road this time to Mexico where he’ll meet veteran former champ Guty Espades who he should stop. Hopefully Rojas will be busier than most Don King fighters and fight a few times though he may have to be a road warrior to do so. JuanMa Lopez will break down Steve Luevano for an 8th round stoppage. On the same show Cuban Dynamo Yuriorkis Gamboa will fair better with Rogers Mtagwa than Lopez did and score a late KO. Both guys have been on a collision course for months before finally getting down to business in June. That looks like a bombs away fight that will see someone’s star assend even higher. I see it ending inside 5 rounds possibly with both guys hitting the canvas, though i’ll go with Lopez to get the win. After a few months off to recuperate Lopez gets back to action against Mario Santiago after Santiago beat Bernabe Concepcion. Expect a big year from Mikee Garcia who’s currently 18-0(15) at 22 he’s mature for his age physically. He’ll be let off the leash starting against another young gun Joksan Hernandez in January. All being well look for Garcia to be moved onto bigger promotions and into the publics eye in the coming year. He’s well backed with Cameron Dunkin as his manager, Robert Garcia his elder brother as his trainer and promoted by Top Rank.

In 2009 the Super Bantamweight division was pretty packed but over the coarse of the year some of the top dogs have moved up to Featherweight. Israel Vazquez took most of the year off but when he did comeback in October it was up at 126 the same can be said for his dance partner Rafael Marquez who fought in May before being involved in a road accident. When a deal couldn’t be worked out for them to fight in the fall of 09 it was pushed back until 22 May 10. After that fight hopefully with them both making a well deserved fortune they’ll decide to enjoy there money and retire though don’t bank on it a title fight at Featherweight would loom for the winner. JuanMa Lopez looks likely to be next. The vacant title will be contested between Wilfredo Vazquez Jnr who’s father of the same name won world titles in 3 weight classes and the emerging Marvin Sonsona who is jumping from 115 to 122. There are many intangibles in this fight but i’ll take Vazquez who’s gotten better and better in 09 to take the title with a late stoppage, however id Sonsona does win it’ll be his second world title before he’s 20. Look for the winner to stick around a while. Top dog will be Celestino Caballero who owns the WBA & IBF crowns, he’ll turn 34 in 2010 so doesn’t have time to waste. Caballero is the 122 version of Paul Williams at 147 at 5’11’ he’s a tough night for anyone and he’ll continue this trend with 2 defence’s, most likely on the road. It would be interesting to see Caballero tangle with Poonsawat Kratchingdaengym who went to Ireland and demolished Bernard Dunne. The battle hardened WBC holder is Toshiaki Nishioka who may have to face Hozumi Hasegawa if Hasegawa goes through with his wish to move up from Bantamweight. If that happens look for Hasegawa to win the title either via late stoppage or on points then fight the winner of Rendall Munroe-Victor Terrazas which again Hasegawa will win. Hopefully some combination of Caballero, Poonsawat & Hasegawa will happen in 2010. The best of the rest will be Ricardo Cordoba who’ll remain busy, Antonio Escalante who will have a good year but wont be good enough to beat any of the afore mentioned quartet at the top of the division and in Europe Zsolt Bedak will continue to develop.

With Hasegawa moving up to 122 Abner Mares will win the vacant title maybe as soon as the end of January when he may get a chance to fight Simpiwe Vetyeka. He’ll grow with the title and defend on a few big bills and become the first home grown talent Golden Boy has taken from the amateurs to a professional world title. The WBA champion Anselmo Moreno will fight the ridiculous interim champion Nehomar Cermeno in the first half of the year in what looks a 50-50 the winner would have a justifiable claim to be the top man with Hasegawa at 122. Look for Moreno to eke out an close decision in Panama. He’ll follow that with another defence or two. Look for one of them to possibly be against former 115 champion Alexander Munoz. Yonnhy Perez won a barnstormer in October when he took the title from Joseph Agbeko look for Perez to fight twice with one of them a rematch with Agbeko on Showtime. Fernando Montiel didn’t look so good last time out and escaped with a no contest he’ll fight Ciso Morales in February 13, Montiel will be expected to retain his title before fighting the winner of Eric Morel-Gerry Penalosa in the summer. Either should be interesting, i’ll look for Montiel to keep the title again possible fighting Nonito Donaire late in the year. If so, Donaire will win a chess match over the distance. The best of the new breed is 20 year old Californian Chris Avalos 14-0(11) look for him to step upto 10 rounder’s against increasingly tough opposition.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, the fallout from the failed negotiations between pound for pound kings Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather has likely produced a showdown between Pacquiao and former IBF Welterweight champion Joshua Clottey on March 13th possibly in Cowboys Stadium in Dallas.

“Josh is ecstatic about it,” Clotteys manager,Vinny Scolpino told ESPN.com. “I think we can get this done in a couple of days. He’s coming home [to New York from Ghana] on Monday.”

“It’s the biggest payday he ever made in his life,” Scolpino told ESPN.com. “He should be doing flips. It’s a huge opportunity.”

Todd duBoef, president of Top Rank, which promotes Pacquiao, told Rafael on Friday night the bout would take place at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

DuBoef said he and Top Rank chairman Bob Arum would fly to Dallas on Saturday to meet with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones for a tour of the facility and to finalize the deal before being Jones’ guests at the Cowboys-Philadelphia Eagles playoff game on Saturday night.

DuBoef also said former welterweight titleholder Antonio Margarito would fight on the pay-per-view card in the co-feature if he is relicensed at a hearing later this month or in February. Margarito had his license revoked in California for attempting to load his gloves with an illegal substance before facing Shane Mosley last January. Margarito is eligible to ask for his license back after a year, although there is no guarantee he will get it.

Photo by Chris Farina / Top Rank

Popular junior middleweight Pawel “Raging Bull” Wolak of Wallington will look to move further up the ranks when he takes Baltimorean Ishmail “The Arsenal” Arvin January 23 at Madison Square Garden. Known for his all-action style, Wolak, 25-1 (17 KO’s), demolished former title challenger Carlos Nascimento last time out, and is fighting at MSG for the third time in four fights.

Arvin, 15-1-4 (7 KO’s), has been out of the ring since August 2008 when he controversially defeated once promising prospect Anthony Thompson. Arvin was decked twice and thoroughly dominated, but an accidental headbutt incorrectly ruled a punch busted up Thompson and shockingly gave Arvin a TKO victory. Arvin has only two other fights since 2007 – both ending in a draw – but will not be taken lightly.

“Arvin is no walk over”, said Wolak’s Assistant Trainer Aroz “Terrific” Gist. “He is going to be the toughest guy Pawel fought (outside of) Ishe Smith.”

Even though Wolak hasn’t necessarily altered his style since his lone defeat against Smith, Gist is far from concerned.

“Pawel’s defense has got a lot better we have worked a ton on moving his head and he hasn’t cut during his last three fights”. “Pawel goes only in one direction and he is going to be ready since there is no easy sparring in my gym”!

According to Gist, Wolak’s training partners include former world champion Kendall Holt, rising contender Henry Crawford, hot prospect Jeremy Bryan and gritty veteran Ossie Duran.

Wolak-Arvin is part of the untelevised portion of the HBO double header featuring Juan Manuel Lopez and Yuriorkis Gamboa in separate bouts.

Harris looking to get back on track vs unbeaten Matthysse January 30

The last two plus years simply haven’t gone Vivian Harris’ way.

The Guyanese native was on the wrong end of a 2007 knockout against Junior Witter, a bout where he had difficulty adjusting to his unconventional opponent’s style from the get go.

The former WBA Junior Welterweight champion’s return bout came 13 months later just minutes from his Carlstadt residence and was expected to be a tune up. Harris’ supposed tune up fight turned out to be a dog fight, as he was decked twice and almost stopped the opening round against 7-4-1 Octavio Narvaez before scoring a TKO in the sixth. Even with the victory against Narvaez, it was widely believed that the man once considered gem of the 140 lb division was all but finished.

Harris’ most recent fight vs Noe Bolanos last August on ESPN ended in a scary no contest. Harris got off to a slow start and was looking to outbox the durable Bolanos, but was victimized by a vicious clash of heads. The ill-effects of the hard headbutt caused him to collapse and he was rushed out of the ring on a stretcher.

Harris was assumed by many to be done for good after the frightening fight with Bolanos not helping his already slumping stock. But like most former champions, he was not so quick to hang em’ up.

Harris, 29-3-2 (19 KO’s), returns to the ring January 30 to face 25-0 Lucas Matthysse on the off-TV undercard of the Andre Berto-Shane Mosley welterweight title unification in Las Vegas. Matthyse, the brother of fringe contender Walter, has an impressive 23 knockouts, but has manufactured it against inferior opposition.

“Matthysse is a puncher, so is Vivian, but (the difference is) Vivian has skills”, said Gist, who also serves as Harris’ assistant trainer. “Vivian fought all the top guys and this is a big step up for Matthysse. Vivian has looked very in the gym and he is out there to prove that at 31 years old, he is still a threat in the division.”

Harris meets Matthyse at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino over ten rounds. The bout will not be televised.

Zambrano and Zegarra return home February 25

Featherweight Carlos “Mina” Zambrano and junior welterweight Juan “JZ” Zegarra of North Bergen are set to fight in their native Peru February 25.

Zambrano, 9-0 (3 KO’s), will fight an opponent to be announced in an eight rounder, while Zegarra risks his perfect 4-0 record against TBA over six rounds. According to manager Nelson Fernandez, their opponents are likely to come from Colombia.

Zambrano and Zegarra, two of the most storied amateurs in their nation’s history, will fight at Coliseo Nino Heroe Manuel Bonilla in Lima. Fernandez said a sell out crowd is expected.

For more New Jersey boxing news, go to www.gardenstatefightscene.com

Former IBF Jr. Middleweight champion pulled a rabbit out of his has as he came back from being knocked down and rocked on several occasions to come back to stop Dionisio Miranda in round ten of their scheduled twelve round IBF Middleweight elimination bout at the Glendale Auditorium in Glendale, California.

The first couple rounds were fought evenly until Miranda rocked Karmazin with a huge right hand that had the former champion in serious trouble in round three. Karmazin showed his veteran grit by being able to box and hold on until he gained his senses to survive the round. In round four, the two combatants clashed heads and a cut developed around the left eye of Miranda.

Karmazin got back in the fight as he boxed well and put some nice combination’s together to pull close on the cards. In round nine, Miranda landed a huge right that was followed up by a lesser right that sent Karmazin to the canvas. Miranda had over two minutes to finish the fight but Karmazin ducked and held and took some decent body shots and got out of the round.

In round ten, Karmazin landed a big right of his own and stunningly put Miranda on his back. Karmazin showed the experience that Miranda couldn’t as he was able to land some hard shots and drop Miranda for a second time that forced referee James Jen-Kin to stop the fight at 2:37.

With the win, Karmazin, 158 1/2 lbs of St. Petersburg, Russia will now stand to face IBF Middleweight champion Sebastian Sylvester as he notched his fortieth victory against three losses and one draw with twenty-six knockouts. Miranda, 155 1/2 lbs of Barranquilla, Colombia is now 20-5-2.

Anatoliy Dudchenko scored three knockdown en route to an easy six round unanimous decision over Isaac Atencio in a Light Heavyweight bout.

Dudchenko scored knockdowns on right hands in both rounds one and two and again dropped that over matched Atencio again in round five with a left.

All cards read 60-51.

Dudchenko, 175 3/4 lbs is now 7-2. Atencio, 174 1/2 lbs of Denver, CO is now 2-2-1.

Heavyweight Andrey Fedosov stopped faded journeyman Lionel Butler in round two of a scheduled eight round bout.

The two exchanged some solid shots in round one. In round two, Fedosov dropped Butler with a short right hand. Seconds later Fedosov rocked Butler with another right on the inside he than followed up with a another right hand that sent Butler to the canvas for a second time that forced referee Lou Moret to stop the bout at 2:37 of round two.

Fedosov, 223 lbs of St. Petersburg, Russia is now 21-1 with seventeen knockouts. Butler, 276 3/4 lbs of Valencia, CA is now 32-16-1.

Sources have told 15rounds.com that a proposed bout between former WBO Jr. Welterweight champion, Kendall Holt and Tim Coleman is close to being finalized for February 20th.

Holt, 25-3 of Paterson, New Jersey hasnt fought since dropping his belt to Tomothy Bradley last April and will look to get in position to fight for his second world title.

Coleman of Baltimore, Maryland has a record of 17-1-1 with four knockouts is coming off his best win of his career when he scored a controversial split decision over Mike Arnaoutis on December 3rd in New York City.

The winner would be a mandatory challenger for champion Juan Urango, who has been rumored to be fighting a unification bout with WBC champion Devon Alexander on March 6th.

No venue was mentioned for the fight.

Each week, we will be providing a brief overview of the weekend boxing, kind of like a viewers guide so the fans can see what to look for as they sit on their couch (or even a seat at the arena) and down their favorite cold beverage.

The first weekend of the New Year doesn’t provide much but it’s a start and we need to start thawing out after about a month of very little activity.

ESPN 2 Friday Night Fights kicks off the season with a IBF Middleweight Elimination bout between former Jr. Middleweight champion Roman Karmazin and Dionso Miranda.

ROMAN KARMAZIN (39-3-1, 25 KO’s) vs DIONSIO MIRANDA (20-4-2, 18 KO’S)-12 ROUNDS—IBF MIDDLEWEIGHT ELIMINATION BOUT—10PM EASTERN TIME—ESPN 2 WILL TELEVISE

The first televised bout of the New Year has some significance as Karmazin will look to get back into the title picture in his new division, that being 160 lbs.

Karmazin was considered one of the top Jr. Middleweights in the world after he won the IBF crown with a very impressive two knockdown performance when he scored a unanimous decision over Kassim Ouma in 2005.

The only thing that great performance got Karmazin was a year layoff as he got stuck in promoter Don King’s long list of fighters who seem to disappear once they receive some sort of accolade (see Devon Alexander, Steve Cunningham just to name two off the bat).

Karmazin started slowly in his first defense against Cory Spinks and dropped a debatable majority decision in that fight in St. Louis. (My ringside score card actually gave the nod to Karmazin, but unfortunately for Karmazin my card was of no help to him that night).

Since then he has gone 5-1 with four knockouts with that one defeat a knockout loss to Alex Bunema on the Roy Jones – Felix Trinidad undercard in January, 2008. In that bout, Karmazin was dominating until he seemingly ran out of gas and got caught in the tenth round as was knocked out in what was considered a big upset at the time.

Since that fight, Karmazin has been perfect at middleweight; going 3-0 with two knockouts and capturing the NABF title with a decision over Bronco McKart and once defense over shop worn Antwun Echols.

Just looking at Miranda’s record, he seems like a typical South/Central American puncher who racked up a bunch of knockouts fighting no-hopers at home in Colombia.

When he came to America, he gave a good account of himself, giving undefeated prospect Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin all that he wanted and even rocking the New Yorker on several occasions before Quillin held on for a unanimous decision in 2008.

Miranda then went up to Canada and scored a solid majority decision victory over home standing Sebastian DeMers just two months later.

Miranda has been in this position once before as on February 27, 2009 he had the opportunity to fight in an IBF Elimination bout when he was brutally stopped in two rounds by then Giovanni Lorenzo
Miranda went back to Colombia to get healthy and feasted on an opponent who sported a record of 2-19.

I like Karmazin in this bout as though he is 37 years old (ten years older then Miranda) as he has stayed busy against warm bodies and he hasn’t been in many wars so I believe he still has something left. Miranda defiantly has a punchers chance and he showed in the fights with Quillin DeMers that he can be a decent boxer.

It’s Karmazin’s class that wins out here as he scores a unanimous decision that will put him in line for Sebastian Sylvester’s IBF Middleweight crown

Relief might be best thing about the apparent end Wednesday of the Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather negotiations. Maybe, we won’t have to hear about them, any of them, for at least a while.

If interest is measured by hits that rank daily stories on internet sites, readership of blow-by-blow accounts of the talks was crashing faster than Arizona real estate anyway. It looked as if a potential pay-per-view audience or two full of casual fans got sick of the dizzy on-again, off-again silliness and had moved on sometime before the legal suits and mediators arrived like ambulances too late to an accident. No telling when those fans will be back, if ever.

Meanwhile, the battered game also has to move on and sustain itself until another opportunity can be squandered. Despite the doom-and-gloom, it can. It always has. Resiliency was really the story of 2009. Alexis Arguello, Vernon Forrest and Arturo Gatti died. Oscar De La Hoya retired amid predictions that the business was finally finished. Still, there was a resurrection in November with talk of the good old days before and after Pacquiao’s victory over Miguel Cotto

Now, that boxing begins a New Year in the same old place – which is to say nowhere at all, it is also back with a chance to do what it always does. It survives. That well-practiced habit could resume with anyone. From here to Kelly Pavlik, Brian Viloria looks as if he is a good beginning. Viloria (26-2, 15 KOs) is in the right place, right time, against Colombian Carlos Tamara (20-4, 14 KOs) in Manila Saturday (January 23rd), Friday (January 22nd) in the United States. He also has been on a path that personifies the dependable resiliency in a craft so fragile, yet so durable.

Not so long ago, Viloria also thought he was done.

“It took a lot of soul-searching,’’ said Viloria, who will defend the International Boxing Federation’s junior-flyweight title on Solar Entertainment, a Filipino-based company, in a pay-per-view card scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Friday in Los Angeles (10 p.m. in New York).

Viloria’s soul began to become conflicted after he put Ruben Contreras in critical condition with a head injury in 2005 at Los Angeles’ Staples Center.

“I don’t want to say that it was just one event,’’ said Viloria, who visited Contreras at the hospital and saw him later at ringside for one of his subsequent bouts. “There were a lot of things happening within my life.’’

So many that Viloria didn’t recognize himself, or at least the fighter who seemed to be on the express elevator to ring riches and renown not long after the 2000 Games in Sydney. But boxing isn’t supposed to be easy. Real conflict, in a ring and within the soul, never is. Know that, and you’ll understand that unbeaten might be just another way of saying untested. Viloria is neither. He has been beaten, first by Omar Romero in 2006 and then by Edgar Sosa in 2007, and then tested by his own doubts.

“To be great, I think you just have to battle with yourself a lot more,’’ said Viloria, a Filipino-American who grew up near Pearl Harbor on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. “I think it is more of an issue with yourself than it is an opponent. With those fights, I found myself as more of an enemy, an obstacle to conquer, than my opponent.

“I know my talents, my abilities. It was me, battling me.’’

It is battle that never quite ends. But Viloria understands it now more than ever, first because of some long talks with friends and family in Hawaii and in Los Angeles with manager Gary Gittelsohn.

“To be frank, I was pushing him to make a decision to go in a different direction,’’ said Gittelsohn, who calls Viloria “a Renaissance Man,’’ for his many interests, which includes everything from broadcasting to music. “I knew he had God-given skills as a fighter. But we know this business and we know that economic opportunities for a 108-pound fighter, even a world champ, are limited. So, if you don’t bank it early and fast and efficiently, I didn’t want this kid just knocking around. There are too many of those stories in this sport.’’

The heart-to-heart, Gittelsohn said, came at a time when Viloria had been dismissed, “written off..” During a nine-month hiatus after the Sosa loss, however, Viloria said he just felt incomplete.

“I felt like I needed some closure, some things that I still had to do as a fighter,’’ he said.

But that meant a tough price. Gittelsohn told Viloria that he had to start over. In January of 2008, he did in a scheduled eight-rounder in an outdoor ring on grounds in Alameda, Calif., that usually were occupied by shoppers at a swap meet. The booths were closed. Had they been open, Viloria could have bought an umbrella, if not a boat. He could have used one, maybe both. It rained enough to fill a spit bucket.

“He had to be carried to the ring so he wouldn’t get his shoes soaked,’’ Gittelsohn said. “It was surreal.’’

By then, however, Viloria was ready for any kind of storm.

“Gary warned me that I had to take a step back, that it wasn’t going to be easy,’’ said Viloria, who won a decision over Jose Garcia Bernal. “He told me I had to get out of the comfort zone. Sure enough, I walked out into the pouring rain. It was 45, 50 degrees in January. But I just said: ‘OK, if this is what I have to do. I’ll do it.’

“I just threw all of my accomplishments and ego out of the window and went back to Square One.’’

The rain fell like a baptism, washing away the doubts and leaving only the commitment that Viloria always knew was there. Since then, he has won seven straight fights, including perhaps his finest victory, a knockout of Ulises Solis. The 11th-round stoppage last April resurrected the possibility that maybe Viloria could be the next Michael Carbajal, the former junior-flyweight champion from Phoenix and a Hall of Famer who is the biggest American name in the history of boxing’s little guys.

“Carbajal is the first big name in my weight class,’’ said Viloria, who worked as a ringside analyst for Solar during Pacquiao’s victory over Cotto. “When I think of Michael, I think of really big shoes to fill.’’

Carbajal emerged because he had rival, a business partner, in Chiquita Gonzalez. Gonzalez, a popular junior-flyweight from Mexico City fighter, won two narrow decisions in rematches of a trilogy that started in 1993 with a dramatic knockout delivered by Carbajal, who was the first in the lightest weight classes to collect a $1 million purse.

Viloria still has to win in Manila next weekend. If he does, Gittelsohn foresees a similar rivalry with Puerto Rican Ivan Calderon. There already were preliminary discussions last June after Calderon suffered a cut in head butt that led to a draw with Rodel Mayol on the undercard of Cotto’s victory over Joshua Clottey in New York.

With damage left in the wake of the failed Pacquiao-Mayweather negotiations, the Carbajal parallel is intriguing on another level. Carbajal has often been called a pioneer, because he created opportunities for fighters in forgotten weight classes. More significant, he awakened promoters to an untapped market. Carbajal’s emergence, unlikely as it was timely, coincided with ex-heavyweight champ Mike Tyson’s 3-year prison sentence on a 1992 rape conviction.

Boxing then, like now, was reeling. But it survived and eventually recreated itself with fans and fighters once ignored. That story is more than just familiar. It might be repeating itself in Viloria’s resiliency.

Morganville’s Denis Douglin is one of New Jersey’s hottest prospects. Known as “Da Momma’s Boy”, he is currently 6-0 with 3 KOs and is getting ready for a fight on February 6th on Main Events’ “Heavy Artillery” card at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. His mother and trainer, Saphya, is always pushing Douglin to the max, so I think it’s safe to expect big things from the 21-year-old southpaw in 2010 and beyond.

Justin Caggiano: I figure I should start from the beginning; what was it that first got you interested and started in boxing and training? Was it your mother being a trainer and just being around it or something else?

Denis Douglin: My mother, at the time, was a trainer and a boxer. She used to box and did a little amateur boxing so she was always in the gym. I hated boxing so I never used to go but I got into a school fight and got beat up. She figured she had to teach me to defend myself so she brought me to the gym. Like I said, I hated boxing, didn’t want to box at all but I’m really competitive. There were other little kids in there and I just wanted to beat them up and that got me training seriously and I took it from there.

JC: Did you watch boxing at all when you were younger?

DD: Not really. My parents used to watch boxing all the time and I’d go in and sit down for a little while and watch it a bit. For the most part though, no, not when I was younger.

JC: What about these days? Are there any guys that really stand out as some of your favorites?

DD: Yeah, definitely. Mayweather, of course, is one. Andre Berto, Shane Mosley; I can’t wait to see (Berto and Mosley) fight. There’s a bunch of others, too. Danny Jacobs, who’s coming up now. So yeah, there are a lot of guys these days that I like to watch.

JC: When you were 16 you won the New York Golden Gloves, making you the youngest ever win at Madison Square Garden. What was that like?

DD: It was an overwhelming experience. They told me I was actually the youngest person by about a week, I think. And it was just a great experience. I was nervous but I love a crowd so I enjoyed it. I’m a crowd pleaser!

JC: What do you think are some of your favorite moments from your time as an amateur boxer?

DD: Definitely the national trips: going to national tournaments and being out there with a lot of other young fighters. It was great getting to fight every day. It was all just a fun experience getting to just hang out with no school or anything.

JC: You went on to continue with an impressive amateur career until it was cut short by a car accident that took you out of competition for a year. Did you ever contemplate hanging up the gloves or did it just make you more motivated to get back in the ring?

DD: It made me more driven. I think I needed that break because I was going hard in the gym all the time and that break gave me a chance to do things that other kids were doing. I was able to focus more on schoolwork and I got a job for a little while so that was cool. I never wanted to quit boxing, though. As soon as I was able to get back in the gym I was back in the gym.

JC: In 2008, you and your mother were inducted into the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame as the Amateur Boxer and Coach of the year. What was it like for “Da Momma’s Boy” to be inducted with his mom?

DD: It was a great feeling. I think more than anything I was just happy that my mother won the award because I know it’s hard for a female trainer to be established in this type of business. For people to recognize that she’s a great trainer, that was what really had me excited. Of course, I was happy to win the award for Amateur Boxer of the Year, but her winning coach really set everything off.

JC: Now a little under a year ago you made your pro debut against Roberto Irizarry and you earned a TKO victory in less than 2 minutes, trapping him in and corner and hitting him with a huge flurry of punches. What was going on in your head going into that fight, it being your debut?

DD: I was nervous and I was scared. I’m not even going to lie to you, when I went into the back and I saw everybody warming up I was like, “Wow, there’s no headgear back here so I better not get hit in the face.” But, once I started walking to the ring and the lights hit me and I saw the audience, I felt at home. I just went in the ring and let my hands go.

JC: What was it like after that fight, knowing you won your first pro match?

DD: It was great. I ran out to my family and I was greeted like I just won a world title. It was a great feeling; I loved it.

JC: Was it the game plan to make a good first impression by showing dominance in the ring in that match or did you just exploit his mistakes and let it happen?

DD: Actually, I really didn’t have a game plan going into my first fight. My mother wanted me to go in and feel him out the first round and just work from there. When I went in there though, I hurt him and my natural instinct is just attack and keep attacking. I saw he was hurt and I just kept punching.

JC: Now probably your toughest and biggest fight thus far was against Lamar Harris on the undercard of Adamek/Gunn at the Prudential Center and it was a pretty close fight. How did you prepare for that fight and what was your strategy against what was surely not an ideal opponent that early in your career?

DD: Well, we trained for that fight the same way we train for every fight. I worked out hard for two or three hours a day. I ran two times a day. I was ready for the fight. I got the opponent at the last minute and they told me he was a tough fighter. Actually, they gave me the fight the day before the actual show happened so I wasn’t really prepared to fight him specifically but I was ready for anybody. It really didn’t make a difference to me. He was tough but I thought I handled myself pretty well.

JC: Your last fight was all the way back in September which is a pretty long layoff. Is there a reason for that?

DD: It’s just been a string of misunderstandings. I had a couple of fights lined up but opponents pulled out. Then, I had another fight lined up and something happened with the medicals. It’s just been a bunch of various mishaps. I’m still in the gym, though. I never left the gym. So, it’s been a layoff fight-wise but not in the gym and my training so I’m ready.

JC: With an impressive record starting to pile up, have you been contacted or signed with any promoters as of yet?

DD: A few promoters have contacted us but we haven’t signed anything yet. We’re just lying back, seeing what people are offering me and what they think I’m worth. I think I’m worth a lot so I’m trying to see what everybody else thinks.

JC: Have you been invited to any training camps with any big name fighters yet?

DD: Yes, I actually got invited to the Miguel Cotto camp when he was getting ready for Pacquiao. I ended up staying in New Jersey though. (I did work with) Yuri Foreman before his fight with Daniel Santos. I decided to do that instead because it was at home so I would still be able to workout at my own gym and I like Yuri so it seemed like the right decision for me.

JC: Let’s move on to your upcoming fight on the undercard of Adamek/Estrada. Do you have an opponent signed yet for the fight?

DD: No, they’re still looking. Finding an opponent seems to always be a problem for me. I’m confident Main Events will get me an opponent, though. They’re really good with that stuff so I’m not worried about that.

JC: Are you just training as usual for the fight? Are you doing anything different or working on anything in particular?

DD: We stepped up the training a lot because I’m moving up to six rounds AND moving down in weight. I’ve been working out three times a day: 5 o’clock in the morning, 3 o’clock in the afternoon, and 7 o’clock at night. We’re getting ready.

JC: Do you think it will be a struggle going from four rounds to six?

DD: No, not at all. I’ve been sparring eight to ten rounds and I feel fine so six rounds shouldn’t really be a problem.

JC: Are you excited to go back to the Prudential Center? I mean, it has to be a different feeling with the big, rabid crowd.

DD: Oh definitely, it’s a great venue. I love fighting in the Prudential Center. I’m more than ready and extra excited and I can’t wait for it to get here.

JC: Finally, what do you see for yourself in 2010 and what are you hoping to accomplish before the year is out?

DD: I want to be a big prospect. I want to be ESPN’s prospect of the year. That’s what I’m going for. Also, I would like to get a good ten fights in this year hopefully and I just want to become a household name. I want everybody to know “Da Momma’s Boy”.

Thanks for taking the time to join me for this interview Denis. Anything you’d like to say in closing?

DD: I just want to say thank you to the fans that I have now and hopefully I’ll be getting a lot more this year. Just look out for me.

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So Floyd Mayweather is going to fight Manny Pacquiao? Awesome. Finally, there is a fight that the sports world and beyond could really get into.

As a displaced boxing fan, I was extremely excited by the prospects of the match-up. The two best boxers in the world were going to fight. In a world where people love to argue the merits of each expert’s “pound-for-pound lists”, the public unanimously views Pacquiao and Mayweather as the numbers one and two fighters respectively.

Their ranking at the top is no longer opinion. It is fact.

Plus, Mayweather is the unquestioned star of HBO’s 24/7 series. Seeing weeks of build-up for the fight would make the anticipation grow to levels never before seen. Every sports fan in America (and beyond) would have to be excited for the fight.

The match-up would have been the biggest fight since Mike Tyson defeated Michael Spinks on June 27, 1988. Boxing had a chance to deliver the biggest fight of the past three decades.

Then, we learned far too much about drug testing.

Immediately, the cynic in me thought one of two things was happening. The first was that Mayweather and Pacquiao were just trying to build interest in the fight. To really be arguing about drug testing is just illogical.

The second was that this fight truly has no chance of happening. One of the fighters does not want to face the other. Or maybe neither of them wants to fight. I do not care who the culprit is. To me, that does not matter. As a fan, the only thing I cared about was the fact the biggest fight boxing has to offer would not get made.

Unfortunately for the entire sports world, the second scenario was correct. The biggest fight boxing can make will not take place.

We can debate for hours why the fight will not happen. We can blame Mayweather for requesting blood tests. We can blame Pacquiao for refusing to take them. We can blame Bob Arum, Oscar De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather Sr., or Richard Schaefer for allowing this to spiral out of control.

None of that really matters. The fight is over.

In a few months, Pacquiao will be facing Yuri Foreman, and Mayweather will be taking on Paulie Malignaggi. Both are completely useless match-ups to the sport. No one outside of the hardcore fans will really care about the results.

After finally being excited about a boxing match then having it ripped away, I hope both boxers lose. If Mayweather and Pacquiao both win, the bickering will all start over. Maybe next time, we’d have to hear about the size of the gloves or the location of the fight or some detail that never should make it to the public.

Instead of gaining boatloads of new fans, boxing turned them away as they were banging on the cabin door. Well done. Maybe the NFL can counter and cancel the Super Bowl. That would never happen.

Boxing just set itself back twenty-one years. At least we can still fondly think back to the excitement and anticipation of when Mike Tyson stood in the ring with Michael Spinks.

The fight did not deliver, but at least the sport did.