Breaking News!

It has been reported by reliable sources that the much anticipated match between the 2 old bags of bones, Evander Holyfield and Francois Botha, is now off. Reportedly Holyfield pulled out of the bout citing "money issues" with the contract. Botha is now said to fight on Feb. 27th at the same venue in Uganda. This fight was not going to be a blockbuster, and was dangerous for a man at Holyfield's age, but I was still interested to see how it turned out. When confirmation is 100% it will be reported.

Update:
The "Battle for the Room Closer to the Bathroom in the Retirement Home" is not lost according to ESPN. They are now planning to move the fight to the good old USofA...great. So instead of a packed 80,000 seat stadium in Uganda they will probably fight at Dover Downs or the Mohegan Sun. Here is a link to the article because I am sick of writing about this fight...AARP.

David Haye vs John Ruiz....oh Dear God.

Well, it is official that David Haye will be taking on John Ruiz, the WBA's #1 Contender, in his first title defense. I don't think even Haye's family is excited for this one. The fight will be held at the MEN Arena in Manchester(according to ESPN) on April 3rd.

After all of Haye's talk about wanting to unify the division, and take on the Brothers Klitschko, he turns around and fights Ruiz. Now, to his defense, I understand that Ruiz is the mandatory for him according to the WBA. But...I do recall Vitali Klitschko getting a defense against Oleg Maskaev waived by the WBC because the fight had no significance...just like this one. I don't want to sound like a hater, because Ruiz was a fine boxer in his day, but he is just so boring to watch that it will be Haye vs Valuev all over again. If Ruiz fights his fight, lots of clinching and holding, all it is going to do is hurt Haye's name as a big puncher in the division, which is not good for marketability. Granted, Ruiz has been KO'd by big punchers before....click on the link...soak that up for a little.

Ruiz has had a fine career, having a 1-1-1 trilogy with Evander Holyfield, and defeating Golota, Rahman, and McCline. You could also attribute his 10 career losses to fighting foreign fighters in foreign countries (SD against Valuev and a debatable DEC., also a debatable DEC. against Ruslan Chagaev). The bottom line with Ruiz is that his fighting style is a very affective but unpleasant one to watch. It is not crowd pleasing, it doesn't sell tickets, and he is no longer a big name. In a sport that is desperate need to excitment, from it heavy punchers, John Ruiz is just not the man to get it done.

What does the heavyweight division need? A flashy, big puncher, trash talking youngster to stir the pot. Insert David Haye. Haye is a brash young fighter who knows that he can knock you out and is not affraid to tell you before the fight. By today's heavyweight standards he is a spring chicken, 29 years old, and has bargaining power with the WBA title. As of late he has been best known for his war of words with the Klitschko Brothers, pulling out of a fight with Wlad, and even showing up to a press conference with a t-shirt depicting Haye holding up the decapitated heads of the K Bros(below)...classy. Like I stated in a previous post, the division needs a big puncher, youth, and some bad blood. If the WBA, and Golden Boy(Haye's handlers), would get their act together maybe he could help with the Renaissance of the historic division.

"This is the end of Western Civilization"-Larry Merchant

Dug up this old gem from Prince Naseem Hamed for everyone...

An entrance for the ages...

Breaking News!

Antonio "Hows that Brick Taste?" Margarito is expected to be given a Boxing license by the state of Texas soon, according to promoter Bob Arum. The Tijuana Tornado is penciled in on the Pacquiao/Clottey undercard to fight Carson Jones, 24(15)-7(2), who's most notable fight was a TKO loss to Alfonso Gomez. More to come on this travesty soon.

There's Only One Ricky Hatton...but is that good or bad?

"There's only One Ricky Hatton
One Ricky Hatton.
Walking along.
Singing this song.
Walking in a Hatton Wonderland."
(Sang to the tune of Winter Wonderland)

Ricky Hatton, Manchester's beloved brawler, is not quite ready to hang 'em up after his vicious KO loss to Manny Pacquiao. Hatton, says he plans on having a return bout against "a top 10 pound for pound fighter, or a champion of some sort." There is no doubt that Richards punch resistance is not what it used to be after the Mayweather/Pacquiao knockouts but, he is still young at only 31 years old, may have one last hurrah left in him.

If Hatton makes his full return to the ring this year as planned, it needs to be very well thought out by his keepers. You cant go throwing him in the ring with a vicious puncher in the first fight. You have to find a feather fisted fighter who can't hurt him but still has a name, problem is he already used Malignaggi once. Also, Hatton being known for throwing on around 40 extra pounds after fights(Ricky Fatton), you want to make sure he sheds the weight slowly so hes not gassed out come fight night. Finally, they have to make sure Ricky is confident in himself with whoever he is entering the ring with and against. I believe that Hatton's former trainer, Billy Graham, knew how to prepare Ricky for a fight mentally.

Hatton has bean speaking of a rematch with Juan Urango. I don't know how smart of a idea this really is for The Hitman. If Urango can do anything, he can punch, it would be winning by knockout (17 of his 22 wins came before the final bell). Hatton outpointed Urango in the previous bout between the 2, but I feel like this is a different Hatton then before.

If I were handling this for Ricky I would be looking at 2 different fighters for the comeback, Juan Diaz, or Hatton's countryman Paul McCloskey. Hatton vs. Diaz could get a nice crowd in the States and possibly be a lower priced PPV. I think McCloskey would be a great choice for a fight in his homeland. McCloskey is undefeated 20-0(with 10 KO's against lesser opposition), and the fight could be billed up very well in England. It could be promoted as a changing of the guard type of fight. McCloskey the hungry young fighter with the undefeated record going, up against the most beloved British boxer ever in a comeback attempt. That could definitely put some butts in seats in England.

Hatton has beaten Kosta Tszyu, Luis Collazo(debatable), Juan Urango, Jose Luis Castillo, Paul Malignaggi, and of course, Delawares own Micheal "No Joke" Stewart. Outside of Stewart, all B+ or A level fighters, those are quality wins that any Welter or Light Welterweight would like to have on their record. Are the other 39 wins on his record against lesser competition? Yeah, sure they are, but name any fighter who doesn't have a padded record up to his 20-25th fight?

This is where I want to take a look at whether or not it is good that there is only 1 Ricky Hatton. A lot of fans are saying "he is boring", "hes overrated", "he is shot, his chin is cracked", or "he was never that good, a glorified club fighter". Ya know what? That all may be very true and I agree with some of it...BUT, how many other fighters would have 25,000 people travel 5,000+ miles to watch him fight? None. Vegas was flooded with Brits for his fights with Mayweather and Pac-Man. If you saw the weigh-in you know that 4,500 of them attended just to see him stand on a scale! During the fight with Floyd, the MGM Grand Garden Arena sounded like a soccer stadium in Europe with constant chanting. He even has a band that follows him from fight to fight that are never without a tune. It is amazing the way his fans support him come hell or high water....or airplane. (Below is a picture from the Hatton vs Pac weigh-in of the Hatton supporter section)


Though with his recent losses he did lose a smaller amount of drawing power, he still is the most faithfully followed fighter in the game outside of Pacquiao. He has the drawing power that a sport that is struggling to stay relevant in the public eye needs to help its cause. Before we all write Hatton off on his comeback, let us remember what he can do financially and publicly for the sport. So until someone else comes along with the same kind of fan base and revenue generating power...

There's only one Ricky Hatton....

Pacquiao vs. Clottey: The Event

The upcoming clash between Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey has been dubbed "The Event", and thats exactly what Bob Arum and Jerry Jones are hoping it ends up being. Arum himself is estimating that 40,000 butts will be in the seats come fight night. I have to agree with him...IF, the fight is marketed properly, priced accordingly, and has a good undercard. The undercard can not be another snoozer like it was for Pac vs Cotto. Big events should have big undercards. I really like the idea of Antonio "Hands of Plaster" Margarito making his comeback on the card, I think that will get a lot of attention. The one feature I like the most about the fight being in Jerry World is that if the ticket sales are going very well, and they are closing in on 40,000 quickly, they can just keep opening more seats. 50,000? Fine 75,000? No Problem.

The main event has potential to be a fantastic fight, Clottey is not a mainstream name but he is a very good, strong, fearless fighter. Some talking heads believed that Clottey had gotten the best of Miguel Cotto in the bout they had last year. I was up in the air, leaning a round or 2 toward Cotto, but none the less Clottey fought very well and did a lot of damage to Miguel.
One thing about Clottey is that he can be drug into a firefight by the other fighter if they bait him, and he can get rough at times (DQ against Baldomir for headbutts). This is no picnic for Pacquiao if he takes it lightly. Clottey can bang. But...can Clottey catch Pacquiao? We will have to wait and see.

Juan Manuel Marquez, Erik Morales, Marco Antonia Barrera, Oscar De La Hoya, David Diaz, Ricky Hatton, and Miguel Cotto all have one thing in common, they lost to Manny. That list of fighters is pretty impressive, and not having anything worse than a Draw after fighting all of them, and speaks for itself. Now I know what some of you will say "He got lucky against JMM", "Barrera was old", "ODLH was weight drained", "Hatton is not the same fighter", "When he fought Morales the Earth turned .0001 miles per hour faster during the fight, and it made Morales dizzy", yada yada yada. Here is the deal, Manny Pacquiao is a bad mudda. Whether you like him or not, the little dude can scrap. His unorthodox style makes it all that much better, jumping in on punches leaving his chin wide open, but hes so fast about it that not many can catch him. His training is sometimes different, but always ends up affective and with a purpose. He also has, arguably, one of the best trainers in the world in his corner, Freddie Roach.
The Pacquiao/Roach tandem have proven to be one that cannot be stopped yet, and aren't looking to be stopped anytime soon. They mesh well together, Roach instructs and Pacquiao listens. Its a very simple relationship they share, one of business first. I think Roach will employ a similar game plan to the Cotto fight for the one with Clottey. A plan where Manny circles his opponent, jumping in and out with quick combos and hooks.

I hope this fight turns into the event that promoters are hoping it will. It will help Boxing a great deal if "The Event" is as spectacular as it could be. The only problem is, that at the end of the night, will the result be any different for Clottey than it was for Miguel? In my opinion, Clottey is heavy handed, just like Miguel. Clottey is not the swiftest of foot on his toes, just like Miguel. Clottey likes to engage in firefights, just like Miguel. Clottey fights like Miguel and is going to end up just like Miguel.

Breaking News!

Due to the horrid events that have struck his homeland, Andre Berto has pulled out of the Jan. 30th fight with Sugar Shane Mosley. A fight with Floyd Mayweather is said to be in the works for Mosley.

New Features and Haiti

I have been working on making the page more interactive, for the 2 or 3 people who read it, so I have added a new poll, some videos(Quick Jabs) and made the links in the posts more user friendly. Enjoy. Any suggestions are always welcomed.

I'd also like to send out support to Andre Berto and his family members that have either passed away or been reported missing during the earthquakes in Haiti. Also, for all the other people who these events have affected.

Breaking.....and Disturbing News!

Even though Roy Jones Jr. was beaten like he stole something by Danny Green, the rematch between RJJ and Bernard Hopkins is still going to happen. A contract was signed late last night for the 2 old-timers (Jones 41, Hopkins 45) to meet April 17th (happy birthday to my brother) at Mandalay Bay in Vegas. The rematch, 17 years in the making, will be fought at the Light Heavyweight limit of 175lbs. To be honest all I see is Bernard making Jones Jr. look like a fool in this fight, just like Calzaghe, Tarver x2, Glen Johnson (thought Roy was dead), and Green have done. Oh and one last thing...it is going to be on PPV...maybe 10-12 years ago I would have forked over the $ for it, but now? Not so much.

Here is why this fight doesn't need to happen for Roy...
Roy Jones getting crushed.
Roy Jones getting crushed Part Deux

The Battle of the Ages and AARP Supremacy.

Do you remember when? When Evander Holyfield was a strapping young Cruiserweight who unified his division and made the jump to Heavyweight? When he outpointed Buster Douglas, Larry Holmes, George Foreman, and Ray Mercer in the 90's? Or how about when he knocked out Michael Dokes, Quick Tillis, Bert Cooper, Mike Tyson, and Michael Moorer? Not bad resume at all, especially for a man who was undersized in nearly every fight he had at Heavyweight.

Now, do you remember when...Evander Holyfield Lost to John Ruiz, Chris Byrd, Larry Donald, Sultan Ibragimov, and Nikolai Valuev? Or when James Toney knocked him out in the 2000's?
Evander Holyfield always fought like a true warrior (as his trunks often read) in the ring and was a great champion. But his out of the ring activities, said to have at least 11 children with multiple women, and his lavish living style have caught up with him. In June 2008 a legal notice was placed by Washington Mutual Bank stating that Holyfield's $10 million, 54,000 square foot, 109 room, 17 bathroom suburban Atlanta home would be auctioned off due to foreclosure. Toi Irvin, mother of his 10 year old son, filed a lawsuit for skipping two months of child support (he coughs up $3,000 per month for this little mistake). Also a landscaping company also has gone to court seeking $550,000 in unpaid debt for services.

When you owe that kind of cabbage to people you're going to have to pay for it somehow, and the days of retired Boxers greeting people at casinos in Vegas are long gone. What else does Evander Holyfield know how to do other then fight? Well, he did try to take on Big George in the grill market, with the "Real Deal Grill" if anyone remembers that bust. Some, myself included, would agree that Big George won that rematch with a big KO. Seriously though, Holyfield is a warrior, its what he does. We all go to work and do our jobs, some maybe lawyers, writers, accountants, engineers, waiters or waitresses but what does Holyfield do? He punches people in the face, and at one time was really damn good at it.

Do I feel bad for Evander? I'd say I'am at about 80% No and 20% Yes. Here's why....
80%- All of his debts are his own fault. All of his out of the ring choices and decisions were made by him and executed by him. No one held a gun to his head and told him to have 11 children with different women. No one told him to have a $10,000,000 home and not pay the bills either. People need to be held accountable for their actions and its good that he is.
20%-I only feel bad because Evander never took the time to think past Boxing. With the seven figure pay days coming in left and right for his fights, why would he ever need anything else? Because he didnt know how to spend within his means and save. Believe it or not, it is possible for Boxers to retire and not go broke. Take Geroge Foreman for example. Big George has the infamous grill and also a clothing line for the bigger fellas.(and let me tell you that George makes a comfortable pair of slacks) Larry Holmes also invested his money, buying commercial real estate in his adopted hometown of Easton, Pennsylvania.

With all that being said, "The Real Deal" will once again lace up the mitts and do battle in the squared circle. This time he will be facing, the also aging(42), Francois Botha (The White Buffalo) of South Africa in Uganda Feb 20th. Botha is best known to the American public for being iced by Mike Tyson back in '99. Holyfield should not take Botha lightly, he has been in there (most of the time on the wrong end) with some of the recent Princes of Pugilism. Being KO'd by Tyson, Lewis, Moorer, and Klitschko is nothing to be too ashamed of. Botha's last win of any sort of significance was against journeyman Timo Hoffman back in May of 2009.

No self respecting Boxing organization on the planet should give a 48 year old man a license to compete. But the lightly regarded alphabet organization known as the WBF, has decided to be "that guy" and grant Holyfield clearance to fight. One of the mainstays of Holyfield's career has been the fact that he always shows up to fight in superb physical condition so it will be interesting as to how he will look come fight night and pushing 50 years old.

Both of these fighters are grasping at straws in either the twilight or apocalypse of their careers. Botha still trying to find his youth again and Holyfield trying to pay off the mistakes he made during his.

Breaking News!

Jermain "Bad Intentions" Taylor has pulled out of the Showtime Super Six Super Middleweight Tournament. I think it was a good decision by Taylor to take the time to look at his career. 2 of the possible replacements are Allan Green and the much avoided Sakio Bika, who are going to be exchanging hands on Feb. 5th. Best of luck to Jermain.

From Thriving Metropolis to “Ghost” Town; The Middleweight Division.

Can Pavlik bring himself and the division back?





Marvin Hagler, Tommy Hearns, Harry Greb, Sugar Ray Robinson, Dick Tiger, Carlos Monzon, Jake Lamotta, Gene Fullmer, Iran Barkley, Joey Giardello, Mike McCallum, Randy Turpin, Tony Zale, Rocky Graziano, Stanley Ketchel and Bennie Briscoe. It is hard to believe that one single division produced all of these truly great champions. It is also hard to believe how one of the glory divisions of boxing has fallen from grace. In the 1980’s, with Hagler, Hearns, and Leonard and Duran making appearances, the Middleweight division saw memorable battles between 4 first ballot Hall of Famers.

Now in the late 2000’s and early 2010’s, with the departure of Bernard Hopkins to higher weight divisions, we have hit a dull spot in the division. De La Hoya made a brief appearance, and Tito Trinidad had his moment in the sun (until he faced Hopkins), with above average boxers like Winky Wright, and puncher Ricardo Mayorga also having glory resembling that of a shooting star. Outside of those few brief moments we haven’t had the sustained success from the Middleweight crop that we did in the past decades. Jermain Taylor was supposed to be that star after he twice outpointed Hopkins (debated by some) and beat division gatekeepers like Kassim Ouma, and underrated Cory Spinks. Taylor’s short reign as the face of Middleweight division was ended when he ran across a Ghost. Taylor stepped into the ring with a Ghost, from a ghost town, fighting him in a place that sometimes resembles a ghost city. Spooky stuff, I know.

“This Rise of The Ghost”

Kelly “The Ghost” Pavlik stormed onto the scene after a vicious KO of feared puncher Edison Miranda in an eliminator fight on the undercard of Taylor vs. Spinks back in 2007. With Miranda wasting the whole press conference talking about KO’ing Taylor he forgot about the Ghost lurking in the ring.


After the KO of Miranda, Pavik was setup to face Taylor in a boardwalk brawl in the ghost town on the shore in Jersey, Atlantic City. Thousands of his native folk from Youngstown, Ohio made the trek to the coast to see their hometown pride fight for himself, fight for them, and fight for the Middleweight Championship of the World. The fight did not start as planned as Pavlik was rocked in the 2nd round and dropped by Taylor. Smelling blood, Taylor went in for the kill but somehow Pavlik survived to fight another round. In the 7th Pavlik trapped Taylor in the corner and unloaded a barrage of right hands and uppercuts that left the champion slumped over in the corner. The Youngstown faithful roared with applause, fueled by the beer from Boardwalk Hall (The first and only night that Boardwalk Hall ran out of beer, those Y-Town boys can drink). A star had been born and another had burnt out. Taylor has had a string of truly devastating KO’s, given out by Arthur Abraham and Carl Froch, since the one he suffered at the fists of Pavlik. Many analysts and fans (including myself) are calling for his retirement, while hes still physically able to do so.

After outpointing Taylor in a rematch at a catch weight, above the Middleweight limit, Pavlik won the normal mandatory title defense back down at 160lbs against unheralded Gary “I look constipated during the staredown” Lockett.(Lockett is on the right during 0:04-0:16) With only 2 meaningful fight options at Middleweight, (Felix Sturm or Arthur Abraham, both German based with little exposure in the U.S.A.) Pavlik was lured up 10 pounds to fight the Wily Old Fox, Bernard Hopkins. Hopkins has made a living in his career by taming young lions that are coming up in the ranks. Going into the fight with a perfect record and devastating KO ratio, The Ghost was a heavy favorite. But once the bell sounded Hopkins put on a display of boxing and turned back the clock yet again to dominate the youngster. It was a disaster.

Rumors flooded that Kelly was running a terrible fever and was in no condition to fight, but went on with it anyway. In my mind, whether true or not, nothing would have saved him from B-Hop on that night in AC. After this, rumors of alcoholism began to stain Kelly’s name. Now I am sure, that a blue collar Rust Belt mid-20’s guy like Kelly does go out with the guys for a few beers and maybe sometimes has too many, but its no need to scream alcoholism. There was no doubt that he’d been affected by the first loss of his career. In Feb. 2009 he took a bounce back fight against Marco Antonio Rubio, in his hometown of Youngstown, scoring a 9th Round TKO, in front of a rabid hometown crowd.

After this Kelly truly became a Ghost. Pavlik signed to fight Contender star, Sergio Mora, and then pulled out reporting a staph infection in his left hand. After that he reached a deal in a highly anticipated showdown with Paul Williams (had tickets to this one), then pushed it back, then cancelled again. This brought out the skeptics that Pavlik was a bum, a “ducker”, a “paper champ”, who just wanted to fight Gary Lockett’s and keep his belts. Pavlik was the new face of the Middleweight Division. A likeable, personable, middle class kid, who got to the top the old fashioned way fighting every few weeks wherever he had to. Was this “to good to be true” champion already on the way out?

After proper treatment, and a near death experience in the hospital, the Ghost got back into the ring after a ten month layoff in December. He fought Miguel Espino who, if nothing else, was brave. KP got the 5th Round TKO and shook off the Rust.


“Get busy fightin’ or get busy dyin’.”

Now it is time for Pav to get busy. I am a fan of Kelly Pavlik, I like his straight forward style, willingness to trade punches with his opponents, the charity work he’s known to do, (While training in Y-Town for his last fight with Espino, Pavlik broke his busy training schedule and visited a sick child who was a big fan and had even dressed up as Kelly for Halloween this year) and the fact that he seems like a good person. All these things can go to waste if Pavlik doesn’t fight a well known top Middleweight in his next outing. Options…

1)His best option is still having Paul Williams come up to Middleweight in a fight matching 2 big punchers in what is sure to be a thriller. Problem here is that Williams was just in a dog fight with Sergio Martinez and will most likely have a rematch.
2)Felix Sturm has fought in the states, most notably his robbery of a point’s loss to Oscar De La Hoya, but still is not a big draw.
3)With the Showtime Super Six Middleweight Tournament in progress it hurts Pavlik from luring Abraham back to 160 for what would be a shootout of big punchers. That fight fought in America or in Germany would be a big draw.
4)Lucian Bute. A Romanian, based in Canada, fighting currently at 168lbs and not in the tournament is also an option. Bute though is a very dangerous option. He is lightning quick and holds serious power in both hands, as he proved by knocking out Librado Andrade with a vicious body shot.
5)There is always Matthew Macklin, or Anthony Mundine but these fights will have to take place overseas where they will be able to generate more money. Winky Wright could….actually no…bad idea.

By making this list it just shows what poor shape the division is in currently. The fact that the champion has to look for a fight that will be competitive and possibly have to go overseas spells trouble. If you throw it back just a couple years, people would be chomping at the bit to get a shot at Pavlik, young contenders, and people in other divisions would be trying to make it happen. The problem is, even if people make the jump in weight to take a shot at KP, no one in America cares. The new wave of Middleweights is almost all strictly European.

Kelly Pavlik and Paul Williams need to step up to the plate and make the fight happen. End of story. Regardless of the "he said she said" of Williams pulling out the first time or Pavlik backing out the second time, it needs to be squashed so the fight can be signed. The fight could breathe life into the struggling division (most fighters are cutting weight to fight at 154 or gaining to stay at 168. 160 is an awkward natural weight for a 6ft person). Bob Arum, and Pavlik’s handlers need to get him in the big fights now. If not, then Kelly may have to find greener pastures, and take a bigger risk, in the Super Middleweight division.

Bottom line for Kelly Pavlik, and the Middleweight division, you either have to get busy fighting (top notch competition) or people will keep caring less and less about you and your weight class. If the latter happens, well, you might as well consider yourself a ghost.

Breaking News!

Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao has agreed to fight Joshua Clottey in Dallas at JerryWorld on March 13th. Clottey holds wins over Zab Judah and Diego "Chico" Corrales(RIP). And his only 3 loses came to Antonio "Margocheato" Margarito, Carlos Baldomir, and a highly debatable decision to Miguel Cotto. Speaking of Margarito, it is in the works that he will make his return to Boxing on the undercard.

"There's that word again; "heavy". Why are things so heavy in the future? Is there a problem with the earth's gravitational pull?" -Dr. Emmett Brown

The Heavyweight Championship of the World.

(John. L. Sullivans Heavyweight Championship Belt which is now in the Smithsonian in D.C.)


Many moons ago this was the most sought after and highly regarded title an athlete could have on this earth. Now? Not so much. But why the change? There are a few different ways to look at the mess in, what once was, Boxing's most popular weight class.
First, and foremost, what I believe to be one of the major problems in all of Boxing today is that we have about 6 different Heavyweight Champions (WBA, WBC, WBO, IBF, IBO, and The Ring..not to mention the "lightly thought of" IBU, NABF, NABO, and the XYZ....kidding). Boxing over the years has shot itself in the foot by chasing the almighty dollar. Boxing, in America, pre "Alphabet Organizations"(the governing bodies listed above) was a sport that when the average Joe walking down the street was asked "who is the heavyweight champion of the world?" they could simply replay without missing a beat "Joe Frazier", "Ali", "Marciano", "Joe Louis", "Foreman". Today if I am asked who the heavyweight champion is, my response always begins with "well.....there is 4 of them..."(I only recognize the The Ring at this point), which losses the persons interest right away. Who wants to have 4 champions? Does every team who makes it to the NCAA Final Four get a National Championship trophy? Nope.

There needs to be (insert Michael Buffer voice) one Unpisduted Heavyweight Champion of the World(and every weight class for that matter). Not only would this give more clarity to the sport, it would make it easier for a novice fan to follow it. The Alphabet Organizations, and their Mafioso type ways, prevent the chance of clarity from essentially ever happening. The organizations can determine who the #1 contender is for that particular organization, thus Ray Austin is currently a #1 contender in the WBC...sickening, I know. With this type of cooperation between organizations we will most likely never again have an Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World, unless some of them start to fold due to current economic states.



"Are you not entertained?!"-Maximus. Gladiator

Second. We live in America. We love to be entertained and wowed during our sporting contests. We love watching Big George Foreman knock someone into next week with a single punch, or to watch Ali dance and, watch Rocky Marciano take a 14 round beating only to knock out his opponent with one single, devistating sledgehammer right hand with a minute to go in the 15th. The European heavies that currently dominate the division can sometimes be "boring" to some American viewers. I once heard someone so eloquently put it "I'd rather hug Magic Johnson after hes rolled around in barbed wire then watch boxing." The people who say this about the current champions most likely grew up watching Mike Tyson crush tomato cans in 15 seconds every fight. These new champions actually box. They use jabs to set up crosses and body shots, the use movement to keep opponents off balance, and they use ring generalship to win. Some don't find Wladimir Klitchko or Vitali jabbing and circling an opponent, throwing some rights in there, and meticulously picking apart his opponent until hes ready to be dropped, to be very entertaining. I on the other hand call it boxing...ya know "hit without being hit"..."The Sweet Science"...Boxing. The K Brothers both have higher KO percentages then Ali, yet are considered boring by most folks who watch them...weird.

We also enjoy a certain degree of trash talk and ruffled feathers before the fight, maybe not as far as "I am going to eat his children"-(Mike Tyson before fighting Lennox Lewis), but some stuff to gain interest. Ali was the king of pre-fight antics. (though he did go too far with Frazier) One of my all time favorites from him was...

"I'm experienced now, professional. Jaws been broke, been knocked down a couple of times, I'm bad! Been chopping trees. I done something new for this fight. I done wrestled with an alligator. That's right. I have wrestled with an alligator. I done tussled with a whale. I done handcuffed lightning, thrown thunder in jail. That's bad! Only last week I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalized a brick! I'm so mean I make medicine sick!"-Ali

..don't hear much of that anymore.

Majority of our European champions(outisde of David Haye) are very respectful in the press conferences and pre-fight build ups (which there is something to be said for and I respect very much, after all, they are sportsmen). But, with Boxing in a decline, maybe throwing a little gas on the small fires would help out the sport a little. Stage it for all I care.

Example: Wladimir Klitchko will be fighting American hopeful Eddie Chambers on March 20, 2010...how much of the American sports watching public ever cares?...10-15% maybe. Now imagine watching Sportscenter and all of a sudden it flashes to a clip of Wlad and Eddie getting in each others faces with a little shoving involved, some intense pointing, entourages, yelling, and you're going to gain yourself some serious interest from the general public. I respect the demeanor that the current champions carry themselves in, which is the proper way a champion should. Although, in Boxings current economic climate, I think they (and the promoters) may want to... "kick it up a notch....Bam!... "(Emeril Lagasse).

Since most of the champions in Boxing's former glamor division are from Europe, most of America stopped caring about it. Who was America's last true Heavyweight Champion? Evander Holyfield? There is no sense of national pride in that division anymore for us. We are more interested in Welter-Light Heavyweights, where we still have some stars. No boxers are coming home from the Olympics exclaiming...

"To make America the greatest is my goal,
So I beat the Russians, and I beat the Pole,
and for the USA won the medal of gold.
Italians said: "You're Greater than the Cassius of old´´.
We like your name, we like your game,
So make Rome your home if you will.
I said I appreciate your kind hospitality,
But the USA is my country still,
'Cause they're waiting to welcome me in Louisville."-Ali

With the introduction and explosion of UFC, and MMA as a whole worlwide, Boxing needs to get itself back in the international forefront somehow. A good start would be right here at home, with the American media.


"Let's Get Physical"- Olivia Newton John

"It's hard to wake up at 6 a.m. and do roadwork when you're wearing silk pajamas."-Riddick Bowe

Thirdly. We love seeing athletes in great shape (unless its John Daly....why did he have to go and lose 130lbs?) making amazing physical maneuvers. In this heavyweight division today the athletes aren't quite as...well...athletic. The ones that are (David Haye,and Brothers Klitschko), are the ones who have all the titles. Heavyweights today are just that, heavy. The division today is out of shape. Even the biggest heavies in the 70's, 80's, even the 90's were in great shape (Foreman, Ali, Holmes, Lewis,) compared to most today.

Today, outside of the K Bros, Haye, and a few fringe contenders, the division is a little... lumpy. Guys like Sam Peter, and Chris Arreola are getting title shots and Nikolai Valuev having a reign of boredom as champion....
































(above from Top to Bottom- Right to Left are pictures from the Nikolai Valuev(Left) vs David Haye(Right) Fight and the Chris Arreola(Left) vs Vitali Klitschko(Right)...guess who won each fight?)


All in all I think the problem with our once beloved division is that there is no clarity. Also, our current contenders are sub-par, and since our champions are very good boxers, it creates a larger disparity between contender and champion.

A lot of changes can be made to the Boxing world to help it get back into the spotlight and I really think that having the title "Unified Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World" would help the cause a great deal....


...that or nude Round Card Girls.

A LOW BLOW THAT BOXING DID NOT NEED

$40,000,000.......$40,000,000....a lot of us would do some things we would never want to do for that amount of money. All that Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao had to do was sign the dotted line and missed, in a big way. This blow to Boxing is serious. Pacquiao, recently on the cover of Time Magazine, is a worldwide figure and Mayweather is well known in the States and UK for his fights with De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton. This fight was going to be huge, I mean Godzilla huge, a media monster that would have destroyed all other things in its path on March 13th.

The dispute that was the eventual undoing of the Mega Fight of all Mega Fights was a commonly talked about item in sports today, steroids. The Mayweather Camp, after Pacquiao's destruction of former Welterweight Champion Miguel Cotto, began blindly accusing Pacquiao of steroid use, with no cause or proof. Not cool. Pacquiao is a proud fighter who wont stand for BS with Mayweather, and filed a defamation suit soon following the accusation. Mayweather wanted, during training camp, for both fighters to be blood tested randomly with Olympic style testing, Pacquiao disagreed. Many say that shows Pacquiao is guilty, but I am going to play Al Pacino (Devil's Advocate) here and say hes not guilty...hes proud. He doesn't want Mayweather to be making the decisions and considers himself to be the top biller. Pac-Man eventually, during the negotiations agreed to 3 blood tests(1 during the press week kick off, 1 24 days before the fight, and 1 directly after the fight in his dressing room) ,along with the urine tests and other test that the Nevada State Athletic Commission would put each fighter through. Even after this Mayweather and Golden Boy Promotions found it to be easier to walk away from the biggest pay-day in Boxing history...simply astonishing...and awfully stupid(financially, and for the sport).

These types of problems are what is hurting Boxing today. The 2 very best Pound for Pound combatants on the planet and we cant get them in the ring, not even for $40,000,000....how?!?! The things I would do for $40,000,000 would make my great-great-great-great-great-great grandparents spin in their graves. I certainly, without hesitation, would fight someone of equal size and ability.

If this fight never happens it will be one of the biggest loses to boxing and its fans.......but lets go over some options for each of these knuckleheads since this fight is, for the time being, on the back burner.....

Pacquiao's Options:
1)Wait, and fight the winner of the Sugar Shane Mosley vs. Andre Berto fight at the end of the month. But since this fight is so soon, both fighters will want at least 7-8 months before stepping in with the Pacman which would leave Pacquiao being inactive for 10 months...not a good idea.
2) Take on either Timothy Bradley, Amir Khan, or Paul Malignaggi. Bradley would be the most dangerous of the 3. Undefeated, strong chin, and good boxing skills. Khan packs a big punch and is a star in the UK which would help with the $ aspect. He also has a chin made of china. Paul "never at a loss for words" Malignaggi is a very crafty boxer excellent speed, footwork, and defense. Paulie's problem is he is very feather fisted and couldn't crack and egg.(Also Mayweathers probable opponent.)
3)The Rubber Match-Juan Manuel "I drink my own piss" Marquez. These 2 battled in 2 bloody wars, which when the scorecards are combined are decided by just 1 point in the favor of Pacquiao. Problem, and trap here, is that since Mayweather made JMM look like a fool when they fought in September, Pacquiao would have to destroy him and look good doing it to warrant the thought of the fight being put back on.

Mayweather's Options:
1)Drop Leonard Ellerbe
2)Tie up loose ends with I.R.S.
3)Paul "Hair Extensions" Malignaggi at MSG. With Paul's strong NYC following, and the fact that everyone in the boxing world wants both of these guys to get punched in the mouth, this would be an easy sell.
4) Insert the #1 option for Pacquiao, except make it 1 year of inactivity.
5) Fight Antonio "Hands of Stone....seriously I have plaster in here" Margarito when he is reinstated and put on a clinic against the straight forward punching plodder.
6) Retire....again.

Both of these little warriors of the squared circle have plenty of options...but the best one is each other.

Here is what we are missing out on........(my views of both boxers are not reflected by the comments added by the creator of the video)......

What could have been...