2010 Official Boxing Thread: Soto/Antillon, 2010 Fight of the Year.

[dako akong otin]

Bernabe 

Nonito 

He'll be fine in 118.  He walks around at 140 plus lbs...  He probably won't stick around that division that long

 

[shaunhillftw49]

saul alvarez with another ko

 

[gunna get it]

Originally Posted by CAFinest23

Lopez doesn't want it with Gamboa. I'm curious to see how Lopez does against Marquez.

huge advantage in  speed for Gamboa. If he doesnt have any mental lapses he should KO JuanMa.

Rafa got too much for JML. I predict a Knock out

  

 

[pistol maravich]

Filipino fighters are way overrated!

 

[eagle 0n]

Supposedly Donaire vs. Montiel in November.

 

[proshares]

Nice. If Donaire wins, that's two more belts. Big fight.

 

[gunna get it]

Donaire looks like he would be really strong at around 125 ...

what do u think dako?

 

[maddog345]

Good fights last night. I had never seen Donaire fight before. I must say I was impressed with him. I know he was fighting southpaw for the first time. But when he switched to his regular stance, the fight was done. He really took control & made easy work of Marquez.

Lopez took care of Concepcion without even breaking a sweat. He got a little careless at the end of the 1st round but rebounded nicely. The Lopez vs. Marquez fight should make a great fight. Marquez can take a punch & dish some out.

Entertaining night of boxing.

 

[proshares]

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Saturday at San Juan ​

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Featherweight
Juan Manuel Lopez TKO2 Bernabe Concepcion
Retains a featherweight title​

[/td][/tr][tr][td]Records: Lopez, 29-0, 26 KOs; Concepcion, 30-3-1, 17 KOs
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Well that was fun wasn't it? Well except, of course, if you are Concepcion, the 22-year-old Filipino contender and Manny Pacquiao protégé. Lopez, a southpaw, is an outstanding fighter, but a vulnerable one because he doesn't take the best punch in the world and he is sloppy on defense. So just when the popular Puerto Rican star looked like he was about to take out Concepcion with a bruising attack in the first round of their Showtime main event, suddenly Concepcion rallied. It was a wild round and obviously a round of the year candidate. Lopez, 27, was hammering Concepcion and had sent him staggering into the ropes courtesy of a big straight left hand about a minute into the fight. Thirty seconds later, Lopez knocked him down to all fours with a right hook as the crowd went absolutely wild (and Showtime announcer Gus Johnson sounding as if his head might burst). Concepcion was able to continue and Lopez kept on blistering him with straight left hands. He was firing punches in bunches and seemingly on the verge of a stoppage when Concepcion threw a hail Mary overhand left and dropped Lopez to his backside with 13 seconds left in a shocking turn of events. Whoa!





Lopez got himself together during the rest period and came out firing again in the second round, dropping Concepcion with -- you guessed it -- a straight left hand 20 seconds into the round. Late in the round, Lopez sent Concepcion reeling with a right hook and followed up with a left hand to the head that knocked him down for the second time. As Concepcion struggled to his feet, referee Luis Pabon called off the exciting shootout at 2 minutes, 37 seconds.

Lopez, a former junior featherweight titlist, had moved up to featherweight and knocked out Steven Luevano to claim a title in January before making his first defense against Concepcion, who is now 0-2 in title fights. He had previously been disqualified for knocking out Luevano with a punch well after the bell ended the seventh round of their August 2009 title bout. Lopez came into the fight knowing that a deal for his next fight was already set, so there had to be a little bit of pressure on him, even if he wouldn't admit it. But now that Lopez is through the fight and came away uninjured, we can all look forward to what should be an explosive fight on Sept. 18. With Showtime on board again, Lopez will defend his title at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas against Mexican star and former junior featherweight and bantamweight champ Rafael Marquez on Mexican Independence Day weekend. It should be a bombs away fight and add another chapter to the Puerto Rico versus Mexico rivalry, which is one of boxing's best.




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Junior bantamweight
Nonito Donaire TKO8 Hernan "Tyson" Marquez
Scores: 99-91, 98-92, 97-93
Retains an interim junior bantamweight title ​

[tr][td]Records: Donaire, 24-1, 16 KOs; Marquez, 25-2, 18 KOs
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Rafael's remark: Donaire is one of the best fighters in the world and on most pound-for-pound lists, but he has been spinning his wheels with pointless fights for most of the past three years. This was another classic example, as Donaire, 27, a native of the Philippines based in San Mateo, Calif., utterly dominated the smaller Marquez en route to an inevitable knockout in a fight Marquez never belonged in in the first place. The only thing that made it interesting was that Donaire used the fight to practice fighting as a southpaw. He normally fights right-handed, but he spent the first four-plus rounds fighting as a lefty, which made him a tad easier to hit. He was in total command when he switched back to orthodox in the fifth round and stayed that way until pounding Mexico's Marquez out. Donaire dropped Marquez in the fifth round on a left hand. And stopped him with a tremendous left uppercut at 2 minutes, 59 seconds of the eighth round.





Marquez, 21, lost his second fight in a row. He had been soundly outpointed by Richie Mepranum in March, which, this being a WBA interim title bout, naturally made him the perfect opponent to fight for the low-rent belt. Donaire, as outstanding a fighter as he is, is but one of three fighters in the division who claim a WBA 115-pound belt. Besides Donaire's interim trinket, Vic Darchinyan reigns as the so-called "super champion" and Hugo Cazares is called the "regular champion." Just another day at the dirty WBA office. Thankfully, Donaire, who is tired of waiting around for Darchinyan to agree to a rematch of the fight in which Donaire knocked him stiff in 2007, is going to give up his trinket and move up to bantamweight. Top Rank, which promotes him and unified bantamweight titlist Fernando Montiel, is talking about matching them in the fall in what would be a really good fight worthy of attention from Showtime or HBO. Montiel defends his title Saturday against Rafael Concepcion and would have to win to make the showdown with Donaire possible.
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Saturday at Guadalajara, Mexico​

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Junior middleweight
Saul "Canelo" Alvarez TKO6 Luciano Cuello 26-2, 12 KOs
Wins a vacant interim junior middleweight title​

[/td][/tr][tr][td]Records: Alvarez; 33-0; 25 KOs; Cuello, 26-2, 12 KOs)
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Rafael's remark: Alvarez, the rising Mexican star who turns 20 on July 18, packed in a big crowd as he hammered Cuello, 26, a native of Argentina living in Spain, with relative ease in an excellent performance as Golden Boy promoter Oscar De La Hoya joined in Televisa's ringside commentary. In Mexico, one of the brewing rivalries is between Alvarez and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., another popular attraction. By comparison, Alvarez destroyed Cuello. Chavez faced him in March 2009 and toughed out a highly competitive decision. Alvarez had no such problems. He dropped Cuello in the first round and again in the second round. In the fourth round, Cuello's nose began to bleed heavily. In the fifth round, Alvarez floored him again with a tremendous body shot, but it was ruled a low blow and Cuello was given time to recover. The fight had been all Alvarez and in the sixth round, he hurt Cuello with yet another left hand to the body. Cuello backed into the ropes and Alvarez landed a couple of more blows before the referee stopped the fight. With the victory, Alvarez claimed the nonsensical WBC "silver" title, the organization's way of dressing up the name of its interim belt. Regardless of any silly title, Alvarez is one of the more exciting and interesting up-and-comers. Now that he is safely and impressively through the fight with Cuello, Alvarez is expected to be added to Golden Boy's Sept. 18 Shane Mosley-Sergio Mora pay-per-view card at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
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Saturday at Manila ​

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Flyweight
Brian Viloria W10 Omar Soto
Scores: 97-93 (twice) Viloria, 97-93 Soto​

[/td][/tr][tr][td]Records: Viloria, 27-3, 15 KOs; Soto, 19-7-2, 13 KOs
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Rafael's remark: In January, Viloria, fighting in front of a supportive crowd in the Philippines, ran out of gas and was knocked out in the 12th round by Carlos Tamara in a stunning upset. Viloria, 29, not only lost his 108-pound title, but there were questions about whether he would even continue his career after he collapsed in the dressing room following the fight. But the 2000 U.S. Olympian and two-time titleholder decided to go on by moving up to flyweight. Making his return, again in the Philippines, Viloria faced Soto, 30, of Mexico, a former strawweight and flyweight title challenger, who put up a good fight as pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao sat ringside. But Soto didn't have enough to turn back Viloria, despite the odd scorecard that was rendered in his favor. Viloria was clearly the winner even though it was competitive. He dominated early, including buckling Soto with a right hand in the fourth round. Soto went to a knee, but the referee ruled it a slip. Soto got back into the fight in the later rounds as he picked up the pace and began landing more solid shots, but Viloria remained steady, closed strong and should have won via unanimous decision. Although it wasn't Viloria's greatest performance, all in all, it was the perfect sort of comeback fight for him. Viloria looked strong at the new weight, showed no ill effects of what happened to him in January and undoubtedly regained a measure of confidence as he starts his run toward a third title.
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Saturday at Poughkeepsie, N.Y.​

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Heavyweight
Zack Page W8 Kevin McBride
Scores: 80-72 (twice), 78-74​

[/td][/tr][tr][td]Records: Page, 21-29-2, 7 KOs; McBride, 34-7-1, 29 KOs
[/td][/tr][tr][td]
Rafael's remark: McBride ended the career of Mike Tyson when he made the former heavyweight champ quit in a sixth-round knockout in 2005. Now, Page, the journeyman of journeyman, probably ended McBride's career with a lopsided decision. The 6-foot-6, 282-pound McBride, 37, had a massive size advantage against Page, 37, who is 6-foot and 205 pounds. But Page, of Warren, Ohio, was simply busier against the plodding McBride and easily outboxed him. After McBride, a native of Ireland based in Massachusetts, beat Tyson he was knocked out in his next two fights by Mike Mollo and Andrew Golota. Then McBride headed into a nearly three-year layoff. He was attempting to make a comeback against Page, but that is obviously going nowhere.
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Friday at Atlantic City, N.J. ​

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Welterweight
Mike Jones KO5 Irving Garcia
​

[/td][/tr][tr][td]Records: Jones, 22-0, 18 KOs; Garcia, 17-5-3, 8 KOs
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Rafael's remark: Philadelphia's Jones is right on the cusp of a major fight, so getting through a step-up fight against Puerto Rico's Garcia and looking good was pivotal. Jones, 27, who learned to box in the gym of legendary heavyweight champ Joe Frazier, accomplished both tasks, taking Garcia out and setting himself up for potentially big business. With the crowd at Boardwalk Hall's ballroom firmly behind him, Jones started a little bit slowly. Garcia showed a nice jab in the first round, but Jones became much more aggressive in the second round and stayed that way. It was a good, hard-hitting fight, but Jones' power and speed eventually were too much for Garcia. Although Garcia raised a welt under Jones' right eye in the third round, it did not hamper his attack. In the fifth round, Jones unloaded a massive flurry with both hands. He fired more than a dozen blows and had Garcia in major trouble. The last shot of Jones' attack, a left hand, strayed well south of the border -- clearly not a purposeful low blow -- and Garcia went down to all fours. Referee Randy Neumann blew the call and ruled it a knockdown before counting Garcia out. Although Neumann should have called the obvious low blow, Garcia was in very bad shape before the punch and Jones seemingly was on his way to a clean knockout victory.





Garcia, 31, of Puerto Rico, lost his second fight in a row, although the previous loss, which came 14 months ago, was a fourth-round knockout loss to Luis Carlos Abregu in a sensational brawl that rates as one of the best "ShoBox" fights in the Showtime series' nine-year history. He posed a legitimate test for Jones, who has a bright future. The possibility of a showdown with fellow prospect Antwone Smith went down the tubes when Smith was stopped by Lanardo Tyner in the "ShoBox" co-feature. However, Jones has a bigger fight in mind. He wants to challenge titleholder Andre Berto in the fall. That is a most intriguing fight. Sure, Jones is not a big name yet and HBO, which has been doing Berto's fight, wants to see Berto in something bigger, but a showdown with Jones would be an exciting and worthy fight.
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Welterweight
Lanardo Tyner TKO9 Antwone Smith
​

[tr][td]Records: Tyner, 24-3, 15 KOs; Smith, 18-2-1, 10 KOs
[/td][/tr][tr][td]
Rafael's remark: What a nice early birthday present for Houston's Tyner, who turns 35 on Aug. 2. Each previous time Tyner had stepped up in competition he had been beaten, losing decisions to Saul Alvarez, Lamont Peterson and Mike Arnaoutis. So while he was expected to hang in with rising prospect Smith, he wasn't supposed to win. But that's why they fight the fights. It was a tough, hard-fought battle that was competitive, but Tyner seemed to be just a bit more energetic. Smith looked good through the first four rounds, but Tyner got going after that and seemed to have the edge over the next four rounds. He was landing a lot of left hands, which raised major swelling over Smith's right eye. Smith's eye was nearly closed in the ninth round and he was fading. Tyner was abusing him to the body and finally took him out when he dug a brutal left hook to Smith's gut. Smith went down to a knee and was in bad shape when he got up, and referee Earl Morton called it off, giving Tyner an upset he earned every bit of. Lou DiBella, Smith's promoter, had big plans for him, including a possible fight with Mike Jones, the victor in the main event. But that's all out the window. Smith, 23, of Miami, will need a rest and DiBella said he won't rush him back. DiBella was mad at himself for allowing the fight to through. DiBella said Smith was ill and had thrown up several times in the couple of days leading to the fight but that he didn't know about it until the day of the fight. He said if had he known earlier, he would not have not let Smith fight. The loss is a tough one because Smith was just starting to gain a lot of attention. For Tyner, it's the biggest win of his career.
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Friday at Lincoln, R.I. ​

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Lightweight
John Molina TKO11 Hank Lundy
​

[/td][/tr][tr][td]Records: Molina, 21-1, 17 KOs; Lundy, 18-1-1, 10 KOs
[/td][/tr][tr][td]
Rafael's remark: Loudmouth Lundy probably isn't so loud today. Lundy, 26, of Philadelphia, came into the fight completely downgrading Molina. He insulted Molina repeatedly and called him a "dumb" fighter. Molina, 27, a classy guy from Covina, Calif., ignored it and didn't take the bait. And when the "Friday Night Fights" main event was over, it was Molina who looked a lot smarter than Lundy. Although Lundy, the slicker boxer of the two, was in control for the most of the fight, "most" is not "all." Lundy was easily outboxing Molina, who prefers to slug and brawl, when Molina slammed home a huge right hand that floored him with about a minute to go in the eighth round. Lundy survived, but Molina never stopped trying to get him out of there even though he was down on all three scorecards (98-91, 98-91 and 97-92) as they went to the 11th round, a round neither man had ever seen before. Lundy had been taunting Molina by sticking out his tongue at him after rounds had ended and acting like he already had won the fight. That was, to use Lundy's own word, "dumb." The arrogance cost him. Calm and poised, Molina hurt Lundy in the 11th round and was pounding him along the ropes when referee Ricky Gonzalves stepped in to call it off to give Molina an excellent victory. It was Molina's third win in a row since veteran Martin Honorio outpointed him in November. Lundy claimed it was a premature stoppage, but that's just, to use his own word again, a "dumb" comment.
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Friday at Denver ​

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Junior middleweight
Erislandy Lara TKO1 William Correa
​

[/td][/tr][tr][td]Records: Lara, 12-0, 7 KOs; Correa, 8-4, 8 KOs
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Rafael's remark: Lara, 27, won a 2005 world amateur championship and would have been a medal favorite in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but he defected from Cuba, signed with Golden Boy and is now one of the top prospects in professional boxing. The southpaw is an excellent technical boxer, but he also has a bit of power, which he flashed against Puerto Rico's Correa, 24, in the main event of Telefutura's "Solo Boxeo Tecate." The fight was made on short notice when the original junior lightweight main event between Vicente Escobedo and Raymundo Beltran was called off about a week before the fight because Escobedo came down with a virus. Lara made the most of his unexpected opportunity on national television as he crushed Correa. Lara was connecting with hard shots with both hands and backing Correa up when he unleashed a straight left hand that dropped Correa in a corner. Correa made it to his feet, but he had nothing. Lara ripped him with more shots, including a couple of nice body shots, and knocked him down again. Correa barely beat the count, but referee Curtis Thrasher properly stopped the fight at 2 minutes, 34 seconds. Lara is going places.
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[eagle 0n]

Originally Posted by GUNNA GET IT

Donaire looks like he would be really strong at around 125 ...

I think Donaire will be iite as he moves up in weight. His boxing skill is pretty damn good.

I am a lil concerned about his defense tho.

[h3]

7/16 FNF (Zab's return)

[/h3]Oh snap, didn't realize the fight was on ESPN.

 

[proshares]

The thing with Donaire, he has a sleight height advantage over the 118 lbers but they pack a good punch and can take some punches too. Agbeko, Perez, Mares and Montiel all proved they are great boxers and can hit hard so if Nontio does that southpaw stance (even conventional) and gets hit with the same shots Marquez was landing, it'll be a long night. That height advantage is gone at 126 outside of Gamboa (with who I don't think it matters much).

 

[ThaxbyChamblis]

[h3]

7/16 FNF (Zab's return)

[/h3]

Wassup Pro

 

[proshares]

 

[bigmike23]

BoxingScene.com has spoken to sources close to the situation that have confirmed that Top Rank is indeed working on a super fight between middleweight Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and former middleweight lineal champion Kelly Pavlik. Various reports have been circulating around the internet. The fight would take place at Dallas Cowboys stadium on December 4th.

My sources believe that Top Rank promoter Bob Arum and Freddie Roach (Chavez' trainer) believe Pavlik may be finished and this is a chance for Chavez Jr. to elevate himself to superstar status. Chavez has a fight scheduled for September 25 in Mexico.

 

The days are counting down. Floyd Mayweather Jr. has until the end of the week to accept a proposal to fight WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao on November 13 in Las Vegas. Top Rank CEO Bob Arum, and Team Pacquiao, gave Mayweather until mid-July to accept a forwarded proposal for a November super-fight.

If Mayweather fails to respond or rejects the deal, Pacquiao's next fight could take place overseas. Arum currently has two solid offers on the table from Monterrey, Mexico and an unidentified country in the Middle East.

"I don't want to start naming the country until we're further along. But it's a Middle Eastern country, and it's not going to be in Dubai. We have a real, live offer from [the country] for them to take a fight with Pacquiao," Arum said "It's fair to say that the other place is Monterrey. That is other live offer on the table."

While Arum would not disclose the country, he told BoxingScene.com back in June that he received very big offers from Qatar and Abu Dhabi. Arum said the offer from Qatar was "way bigger" than the $25 million dollar guarantee that was offered earlier this year by Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to stage Pacquiao-Mayweather in Cowboys Stadium in Texas.

"There's a tremendous appeal for Manny Pacquiao in the Middle East. All of his fights are shown throughout the Middle East. And there's large numbers of Filipinos who work in the Middle East," said Arum. "All of his fights are shown all over in those countries. Manny's very, very popular and famous over there."

Arum didn't rule out the possibility of trying to come back to Las Vegas with a Pacquiao-Margarito fight in hand. Margarito, unable to fight in the United States applied for license in the state of Nevada. Last Friday the Nevada State Athletic Commission turned down his application and directed him to re-apply for a license in the state of California, where Margarito originally lost his license last February.

"We expect that, once the fight was definite with Pacquiao and Margarito -- if that's what we're going to do -- is we would go back to the Nevada to see if he can get a license," said Arum, "because all that they did was to table their decision."

 

[night marcher01]

The days are counting down. Floyd Mayweather Jr. has until the endof the week to accept a proposal to fight WBO welterweight championManny Pacquiao on November 13 in Las Vegas. Top Rank CEO Bob Arum, andTeam Pacquiao, gave Mayweather until mid-July to accept a forwardedproposal for a November super-fight.

If Mayweather fails to respond or rejects the deal, Pacquiao's nextfight could take place overseas. Arum currently has two solid offers onthe table from Monterrey, Mexico and an unidentified country in theMiddle East.

"I don't want to start naming the country until we're further along.But it's a Middle Eastern country, and it's not going to be in Dubai.We have a real, live offer from [the country] for them to take a fightwith Pacquiao," Arum said "It's fair to say that the other place isMonterrey. That is other live offer on the table."

While Arum would not disclose the country, he told BoxingScene.comback in June that he received very big offers from Qatar and Abu Dhabi.Arum said the offer from Qatar was "way bigger" than the $25 milliondollar guarantee that was offered earlier this year by Cowboys ownerJerry Jones to stage Pacquiao-Mayweather in Cowboys Stadium in Texas.

"There's a tremendous appeal for Manny Pacquiao in the Middle East.All of his fights are shown throughout the Middle East. And there'slarge numbers of Filipinos who work in the Middle East," said Arum."All of his fights are shown all over in those countries. Manny's very,very popular and famous over there."

Arum didn't rule out the possibility of trying to come back to LasVegas with a Pacquiao-Margarito fight in hand. Margarito, unable tofight in the United States applied for license in the state of Nevada.Last Friday the Nevada State Athletic Commission turned down hisapplication and directed him to re-apply for a license in the state ofCalifornia, where Margarito originally lost his license last February.

"We expect that, once the fight was definite with Pacquiao andMargarito -- if that's what we're going to do -- is we would go back tothe Nevada to see if he can get a license," said Arum, "because allthat they did was to table their decision."

 

[scott frost]

The Ghost..........

 

[proshares]

Come on Pavlik...

They really gonna take Manny/Margs overseas?  I doubt it.  It'd be pretty cool to see a Manny fight in Dallas in November and another there in December but I really hope it's not Pavlik/JCC Jr.  Bute's promoter offered him a spot on Bute's next undercard to try and build up an eventual fight, why not take that?

Paul needs to stop chasing this Manny fight, he ain't getting it.  Man up and take the HBO deal to fight Sergio in October.

 

[bigmike23]

PW and his people need to get a clue like Berto and His people did and see that they will not get any big fights at 147 right now. so berto is moving down and PW needs to fight at 154 or 160 for now

 

[proshares]

By Mark Vester

The venue and the fight date are not finalized, but super middleweight Carl Froch is planning to test the chin of Arthur Abraham when they face off in the third stage of Showtime's Super Six tournament. Froch isn't confident that Abraham is able to take the monster shots of a true super middleweight. Abraham moved up to the weight last fall after spending most of his career at 160-pounds.

In the first stage of the tournament he knocked out Jermain Taylor. The second stage saw Abraham get disqualified for hitting Andre Dirrell while he was down. Neither Taylor or Dirrell are big punchers at the weight. Froch is known for his size and power and plans to use those advantages in the fight.

"Abraham is a class act with a decent dig on him and I won't be taking him lightly at all. But the truth is, Abraham will sit behind a tight guard for the lion's share of the rounds, exploding into life here and there occasionally. If he opens up then sure it could end up being a shoot-out, but whilst he can hit himself....what big punchers has he faced to date at the weight?" questioned Froch during an interview with livefight.com.

Froch would later go after Abraham's promoter Kalle Saulerland of Sauerland Event. He is upset over Kalle's recent comments regarding Abraham-Froch being the type of fight where the judges are not a factor, so the location of where the fight takes place should not be a huge issue. Froch and Abraham have yet to finalize their date because the two camps are fighting over where the fight should take place. Froch is made over what he claims was handshake deal with Kalle, to stage the fight with Abraham in the UK.

"But with regards Kalle talking about venues and judges, he should leave the fighting talk down to the fighters. Kalle don't look like he could knock the skin of a rice pudding. The fake shaker." said Froch. "That guy is not qualified to talk about what may unfold in our fight. He should get permission from daddy before he ever discusses another boxing match again. His birth certificate is an apology from the condom factory. He is the monkey and Wilfried is the organ.... grinder."

 

By Lem Satterfield

Last Saturday in Puerto Rico, WBA interim super flyweight champion Nonito Donaire made his final appearance at 115-pounds, when he knocked out challenger Hernan "Tyson" Marquez in eight rounds. Donaire is now moving up to bantamweight and his promoter, Top Rank CEO Bob Arum, wants to match him in some very big fights.

The first fight on the table if a title fight against WBO/WBC bantamweight champion Fernando Montiel in November on Showtime. If Donaire can get past Montiel, Arum would like to put him up against WBO super bantamweight champion Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. Donaire has indicated his desire to move quickly throught the weight divisions while taking big title fights along way.

"We're hoping and we believe that, thanks to Showtime, Nonito's next fight will be for the bantamweight title against the legendary champion Montiel, and we'll be putting that together in the next couple of weeks," said Arum.

"You could see his great skills that he has, and what a tremendous boxer and fighter that he is. Hopefully, if he gets beyond Montiel, then his next goal is to fight Vazquez, the Puerto Rican 122-pound champion. And so, there's a lot of big fights for him in the months and the years ahead."

"Nonito has one weakness, and that's that he likes to eat. He's been starving himself fighting at 115. So at least he'll be able to eat a little bit more while he gets ready for his fights."

 

[proshares]

By Mark Vester

The venue and the fight date are not finalized, but super middleweight Carl Froch is planning to test the chin of Arthur Abraham when they face off in the third stage of Showtime's Super Six tournament. Froch isn't confident that Abraham is able to take the monster shots of a true super middleweight. Abraham moved up to the weight last fall after spending most of his career at 160-pounds.

In the first stage of the tournament he knocked out Jermain Taylor. The second stage saw Abraham get disqualified for hitting Andre Dirrell while he was down. Neither Taylor or Dirrell are big punchers at the weight. Froch is known for his size and power and plans to use those advantages in the fight.

"Abraham is a class act with a decent dig on him and I won't be taking him lightly at all. But the truth is, Abraham will sit behind a tight guard for the lion's share of the rounds, exploding into life here and there occasionally. If he opens up then sure it could end up being a shoot-out, but whilst he can hit himself....what big punchers has he faced to date at the weight?" questioned Froch during an interview with livefight.com.

Froch would later go after Abraham's promoter Kalle Saulerland of Sauerland Event. He is upset over Kalle's recent comments regarding Abraham-Froch being the type of fight where the judges are not a factor, so the location of where the fight takes place should not be a huge issue. Froch and Abraham have yet to finalize their date because the two camps are fighting over where the fight should take place. Froch is made over what he claims was handshake deal with Kalle, to stage the fight with Abraham in the UK.

"But with regards Kalle talking about venues and judges, he should leave the fighting talk down to the fighters. Kalle don't look like he could knock the skin of a rice pudding. The fake shaker." said Froch. "That guy is not qualified to talk about what may unfold in our fight. He should get permission from daddy before he ever discusses another boxing match again. His birth certificate is an apology from the condom factory. He is the monkey and Wilfried is the organ.... grinder."

 

By Lem Satterfield

Last Saturday in Puerto Rico, WBA interim super flyweight champion Nonito Donaire made his final appearance at 115-pounds, when he knocked out challenger Hernan "Tyson" Marquez in eight rounds. Donaire is now moving up to bantamweight and his promoter, Top Rank CEO Bob Arum, wants to match him in some very big fights.

The first fight on the table if a title fight against WBO/WBC bantamweight champion Fernando Montiel in November on Showtime. If Donaire can get past Montiel, Arum would like to put him up against WBO super bantamweight champion Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. Donaire has indicated his desire to move quickly throught the weight divisions while taking big title fights along way.

"We're hoping and we believe that, thanks to Showtime, Nonito's next fight will be for the bantamweight title against the legendary champion Montiel, and we'll be putting that together in the next couple of weeks," said Arum.

"You could see his great skills that he has, and what a tremendous boxer and fighter that he is. Hopefully, if he gets beyond Montiel, then his next goal is to fight Vazquez, the Puerto Rican 122-pound champion. And so, there's a lot of big fights for him in the months and the years ahead."

"Nonito has one weakness, and that's that he likes to eat. He's been starving himself fighting at 115. So at least he'll be able to eat a little bit more while he gets ready for his fights."

 

[proshares]

Chris John's featherweight title defense against Fernando Saucedo was postponed for the second time on Tuesday after John suffered a rib injury while training, John's adviser told ESPN.com.

John was sparring in preparation for the fight, which was scheduled to take place July 26 in his native Indonesia, when he suffered bruised ribs, Sampson Lewkowicz said.

Lewkowicz said John saw a doctor, but was waiting for a more detailed prognosis before he would know when the fight could be rescheduled.

"He got an injury sparring in the ribs, so the fight won't happen on the 26th," Lewkowicz said. "We'll look for another date, but we won't know when because it depends on what the doctor says."

The fight was originally scheduled to take place on May 22 in Bali, but John suffered a shoulder injury in April, forcing the bout to be delayed until July 26.

Now it's off for a second time.

"It's very, very disappointing, but s--- happens in boxing," Lewkowicz said. "He'll follow up with the doctor and see how long he will need to rest and then we'll reschedule the fight with the same opponent."

John (43-0-2, 22 KOs), who hasn't fought in his home country since 2008, was due to make his 13th defense against Argentina's Saucedo (38-4-3, 1 KO).

John has not fought since he outpointed Rocky Juarez in their rematch in Las Vegas in September.

This is the third health-related issue since then that has kept John sidelined. He came down with dengue fever, which landed him in the hospital in October. Then he suffered a shoulder injury.

Bracing for the increasing likelihood that Floyd Mayweather Jr. will not fight Manny Pacquiao in November, Pacquiao's adviser has met with Top Rank promoter Bob Arum in Las Vegas to look over alternative plans.

“
Mayweather has until the end of the week. He could wait until the last minute. If it's Friday and it's 11 p.m., and he says we have a deal, we have a deal.

 

[proshares]

4. Carl Froch (26-1)

Although he lost a tight fight and his belt to Kessler on Kessler's Danish turf in the Super Six on April 24, Froch fought like a warrior and has nothing to be ashamed of. Next up will be a tough Group Stage 3 bout against Arthur Abraham, which will take place in Monaco after the camps finally agreed to fight on neutral territory.
Next: Oct. 2 vs. Abraham.


9. Sakio Bika (28-3-2)

For the right to become Bute's next mandatory challenger, Bika will face Jean Paul Mendy (28-0-1) in a fight that has been added to the already loaded Juan Manuel Marquez-Juan Diaz II undercard.
Next: July 31 vs. Mendy.


3. Kermit Cintron (32-3-1)

With virtually no opportunities of note in the U.S. following his apparent quit job against Paul Williams on May 8, Cintron was offered a shot at middleweight titlist Felix Sturm in Germany in September. Cintron, however, is unlikely to accept the weak financial offer.
Next: TBA.


3. Andre Berto (26-0)

By demanding a 50-50 split to face Shane Mosley in September, Berto and his team blew the fight, leaving the talented titleholder without a major fight and HBO considering not giving him a date this fall. If that happens, the Berto camp brought it on itself.
Next: TBA


1. Juan Manuel Marquez (50-5-1)

Marquez will defend the legitimate lightweight crown in a rematch of the 2009 fight of the year against former titlist Juan Diaz on HBO PPV. Marquez, of course, knocked Diaz out in the ninth round of their classic fight last year. The rematch ought to be another fun one, and if Marquez wins, he's likely to move up to junior welterweight to challenge titleholder Amir Khan in December.
Next: July 31 vs. DiaZ 

   And I've heard HBO is not buying Mosley/Mora for PPV...

 

[proshares]

Who is the world's best fighter regardless of weight class? See my top 20 below.







And don't forget to check out the divisional rankings, which are updated weekly.





For a list of the current champions in all weight classes, click here.





Note: Results are through July 13.








[table][tr][td]1[/td][td]

Manny Pacquiao

Welterweight titlist
Age: 31 | Record: 51-3-2, 38 KOs
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Hits: Pacquiao has agreed to a deal to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr., but Mayweather has not signed off on his side of it yet. But with or without Mayweather, Pacquiao plans to fight Nov. 13. Any time the pound-for-pound king and most exciting fighter in the world steps between the ropes, it commands significant worldwide attention.

Misses: Obviously it would be best for the sport (and Pacquiao's bank account) for the Mayweather fight to be finalized, but Pacquiao can't make him fight. So if the fight doesn't happen, Pacquiao will face either Miguel Cotto in a rematch or Antonio Margarito. Either would be a decent enough fight, but would pale in comparison to a Mayweather fight.
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[table][tr][td]2[/td][td]

Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Welterweight
Age: 33 | Record: 41-0, 25 KOs
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Hits: For those who have been critical of Mayweather for not fighting top welterweights, he answered those critics (including a certain ESPN.com boxing writer) in resounding style in May when he scored a near shutout of Shane Mosley. Mayweather looked fantastic and, at long last, not only talked the talk but walked the walk against a man his own size.

Misses: Maybe Mayweather will surprise us all before the July 16 deadline and agree to fight Pacquiao this fall, but after reading the tea leaves, it doesn't look good. If Mayweather declines the fight, what could possibly be a reasonable explanation? Like the man who calls himself "Money" doesn't want to make $40 million?
[/td][/tr][/table]




[table][tr][td]3[/td][td]

Paul Williams

Middleweight
Age: 28 | Record: 39-1, 27 KOs
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Hits: Although Williams and promoter Dan Goossen know there is zero chance of Williams getting a fight with Pacquiao in the event the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight doesn't come off, they are still out there calling for it. They argue that the only reason Williams has fought at junior middleweight and middleweight over the past couple of years is because none of the top welterweights will fight him. That isn't about to change, but you can't blame Williams and Goossen for trying, can you?

Misses: As much as Williams would like to fight Pacquiao (or any other top welterweight), the fight HBO and many fans and media want to see is a rematch with middleweight champ Sergio Martinez, whom Williams owns a tight decision win against in a sensational fight. But Williams and his team have steadfastly refused to entertain overtures to make the fight.
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[table][tr][td]4[/td][td]

Chad Dawson

Interim light heavyweight titlist
Age: 28 | Record: 29-0, 17 KOs
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Hits: Dawson isn't the most talkative or flashiest of fighters, but his résumé speaks for itself: wins against Tomasz Adamek (now a top heavyweight contender), two wins against Antonio Tarver and two more against Glen Johnson in the past three years. Next up, Dawson is going into the Montreal lion's den of titleholder Jean Pascal to face him on Aug. 14 in the best fight that can be made in the 175-pound weight class.

Misses: The wait between fights has been interminable, although it is not Dawson's fault. He has not fought since November, but the nine-month layoff is because Pascal was recovering from a shoulder injury he suffered in his last fight.
[/td][/tr][/table]




[table][tr][td]5[/td][td]

Sergio Martinez

Middleweight champion
Age: 35 | Record: 45-2-2, 24 KOs
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Hits: After Martinez unseated Kelly Pavlik as middleweight champ in April, he and his team said they were not interested in a rematch with Paul Williams, who had barely outpointed him in December in one of the most action-packed fights of 2009. Martinez and his handlers provided HBO with a long list of credible opponents he was willing to fight. However, with HBO having eyes for the rematch and willing to pay handsomely for it, Martinez and Co. decided they would take the fight, which is what many fans want to see anyway.

Misses: Martinez is on board, but it takes two to tango; Williams and his handlers are still not interested in the rematch. So where that leaves Martinez for the fall remains up in the air.
[/td][/tr][/table]




[table][tr][td]6[/td][td]

Juan Manuel Marquez

Lightweight champion
Age: 36 | Record: 50-5-1, 37 KOs
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Hits: It took Marquez awhile to break out of the shadow of his more famous Mexican countrymen, Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera, but he has and is the last man standing with a résumé that stacks up just as impressively as theirs. Marquez is a three-division champion with several outstanding victories to his credit, including a ninth-round knockout of former unified titlist Juan Diaz in the 2009 fight of the year. Marquez will face Diaz again in a much-anticipated rematch July 31, knowing that a victory could propel him into yet another big challenge: a December fight against junior welterweight titlist Amir Khan.

Misses: As entertaining as the rematch between Marquez and Diaz figures to be, it's a shame that it is on HBO PPV for $49.95 instead of regular HBO like the first fight. But at least Golden Boy has put in place a tremendous undercard to give fans value for their money.
[/td][/tr][/table]




[table][tr][td]7[/td][td]

Miguel Cotto

Junior middleweight titlist
Age: 29 | Record: 35-2, 28 KOs
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Hits: Although some had written Cotto off as a shot fighter after his brutal knockout loss to Manny Pacquiao last fall (not to mention his rough knockout loss to Antonio Margarito in July 200, he showed he had an awful lot of fight left in him with an excellent performance against Yuri Foreman on June 5. Cotto, with new trainer Emanuel Steward in his corner, looked sharp and accurate with his punches en route to a ninth-round knockout that gave him a title in a third weight class.

Misses: It's a shame that what should have been a big night for Cotto to bask in the glow of an important victory -- set against the incredible backdrop of Yankee Stadium hosting a fight for the first time in 34 years -- was partially overshadowed by controversy. In this case, it was referee Arthur Mercante calling to continue the fight after the corner of Foreman, who had suffered a knee injury in the seventh round, threw in the towel during the eighth round.
[/td][/tr][/table]




[table][tr][td]8[/td][td]

Bernard Hopkins

Light heavyweight
Age: 45 | Record: 51-5-1, 32 KOs
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Hits: Although Hopkins has essentially run out of opponents and might not fight again after gaining revenge against a faded Roy Jones Jr. in April, he will be an automatic first-ballot Hall of Famer. Hopkins' career has been incredible. He made a record 20 middleweight title defenses and later won the lineal light heavyweight championship while facing a who's who of boxing stars.

Misses: Now that Joe Calzaghe has said he doesn't plan to end his retirement for a rematch with Hopkins -- a sequel that wasn't all that interesting anyway -- there really isn't anything notable on the horizon for the Executioner, especially now that super middleweight titlist Lucian Bute has made other plans for the fall.
[/td][/tr][/table]




[table][tr][td]9[/td][td]

Nonito Donaire

Interim junior bantamweight titlist
Age: 27 | Record: 24-1, 16 KOs
[/td][/tr][tr][td]
Hits: Although Donaire has not gotten a marquee fight since he knocked Vic Darchinyan stiff to win a flyweight belt in 2007, he has taken care of business in impressive fashion when he has fought, including a dominant eighth-round knockout of Hernan "Tyson" Marquez on July 10. Now, Donaire is poised to move up to bantamweight, where at long last a major fight looms with unified titleholder Fernando Montiel in the fall. That's a big one for the smaller weight classes.

Misses: You wonder how much of Donaire's prime has been wasted the past few years by fighting lesser fights that drew little interest.
[/td][/tr][/table]




[table][tr][td]10[/td][td]

Timothy Bradley Jr.

Junior welterweight titlist
Age: 26 | Record: 25-0, 11 KOs
[/td][/tr][tr][td]
Hits: Bradley, the No. 1 junior welterweight in the world, will try out the welterweight division against dangerous puncher Luis Carlos Abregu (29-0, 23 KOs) on July 17. A victory could set him up for huge business in either weight class, although the biggest fight would be against unified titleholder Devon Alexander at junior welterweight. We seem likely to get that fight as long as Bradley beats Abregu and Alexander wins his Aug. 7 bout. HBO has not been shy about its desire for Bradley-Alexander early next year.

Misses: Ideally, Bradley would have stayed at 140 pounds for a significant fight in July, although you can't blame him because the original opponent, powerful Marcos Maidana, pulled out of the bout.
[/td][/tr][/table]







The next 10





11. Ivan "Iron Boy" Calderon
12. Sugar Shane Mosley
13. Chris John
14. Celestino Caballero
15. Andre Ward
16. Lucian Bute
17. Juan Manuel Lopez
18. Andre Dirrell
19. Fernando Montiel
20. Arthur Abraham

  

Former middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik's return to the ring could come against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in the main event of a Dec. 4 pay-per-view card, and if Top Rank promoter Bob Arum has his way, it will take place at Cowboys Stadium, he told ESPN.com on Tuesday.

"That's the fight we are looking to do," Arum said.

Chavez (41-0-1, 30 KOs), the son of all-time great Julio Cesar Chavez, is coming off the most notable victory of his career, a strong performance in a 12-round unanimous decision against John Duddy on June 26 in San Antonio. Arum said his plan is to bring Chavez back in September against an opponent to be determined and then to match him with Pavlik.

Arum said the idea for the fight came up late last week when he was in San Juan promoting the Juan Manuel Lopez-Bernabe Concepcion featherweight title bout that took place on Saturday.

Arum said he was at the hotel bar with Cameron Dunkin, Pavlik's co-manager, who had Nonito Donaire on the San Juan undercard, and Mexican promoter Fernando Beltran, Arum's partner on Chavez who had Hernan Marquez facing Donaire.

"We were sitting around having drinks and we came up with it," Arum said. "We checked with [Chavez trainer] Freddie Roach and he loves the fight. Cameron checked with the Pavliks and they love the fight, so let's get it on."

It would be Pavlik's first fight since Sergio Martinez severely cut him and outpointed him to win the middleweight championship on April 17 in Atlantic City. After the fight, Pavlik and his team said he would move up in weight, either to the 168-pound super middleweight or 175-pound light heavyweight division because he had struggled so severely to make 160 pounds in recent fights.

However, when Dunkin mentioned to Arum in San Juan that Pavlik (36-2, 32 KOs) did not really want to move up and that he thought he could still make 160 pounds by working with a nutritionist, the idea for the fight with Chavez was hatched.

"When I got back [to Las Vegas] from San Juan, I checked with both sides again and everybody was on board," Arum said. "We're going to move ahead in the next couple of weeks and get the deal done. I think we can do a lot of business with that fight."

Dunkin said the key would be Pavlik working with a nutritionist in order to safely make weight. He said despite Pavlik's weight struggles he has never worked with one.

"The fight will be at 160 and he'll get a nutritionist, a dietitian, whatever he has to do," Dunkin said. "He's fired up about this fight. He is fully committed to the fight. He's even willing to leave [his hometown of Youngstown, Ohio] to train."

Arum said he has not spoken yet about the fight with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones yet, but "I spoke with his guy in general about the date and this is the kind of fight that is right up their alley -- a white guy from the Midwest fighting the son of the Mexican legend in Cowboys Stadium with reasonable ticket prices. I think we can do 40,000 or 50,000 people."

The Cowboys play at Indianapolis on Dec. 5, so there would not be a football conflict at the stadium.

Arum and Jones became fast friends when they teamed to open Cowboys Stadium to boxing on March 13, when Manny Pacquiao defended his welterweight title in front of more than 50,000 in a fight that generated 700,000 pay-per-view buys. They vowed to bring more fights to the stadium in the future. Jones was particularly interested in appealing to the region's large Hispanic population, and Chavez is one of the most popular active Mexican fighters.

"We want the fight, we absolutely want the fight," Dunkin told ESPN.com. "We were told by Bob that it was going to happen."

Dunkin said Pavlik, Mike Pavlik, the fighter's father and co-manager, and trainer Jack Loew all were interested in getting the deal done.

"After we got back from Puerto Rico, Bob called me again to talk about the fight and I told him. 'Everybody was on board so let's make the fight happen,' " Dunkin said.

There is a caveat, however.

"I still need to know the money," Dunkin said. "Bob said he'd give us a guarantee and a really good upside and everyone will make a lot of money. He said, 'I can't promise you a lot of guaranteed money, but if the fight does well everybody will make money.' We're fine with that. We're willing to earn our way. I think it's a very sellable fight. I think people would like to see it. I'll tell you one thing -- it's a fun fight and it will be an action fight. Both of these guys can hit and both of them get hit.

"We're ready to go. We're just waiting for Bob to let us know what exactly he's talking about financially. Other than that my guy is itching to go. When he heard it might be at Cowboys Stadium, he got really excited. He said that would be a lot of fun."

Dan Rafael is the boxing writer for ESPN.com.

 

[proshares]

When Ross Greenburg, the president of HBO Sports, said in a recent interview with me that he would not buy heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko's September fight against Alexander Povetkin, it came as quite a surprise to the Klitschko camp.

The reason: Klitschko and his team, namely manager Bernd Boente and adviser Shelly Finkel, say HBO promised it would air the fight on Sept. 11 and that they had agreed on a price ($250,000 to show the bout on same-day tape delay).

Frankly, I absolutely believe them, because long before Greenburg said HBO wouldn't air the fight, Finkel told me several times that he had made a deal for the bout with Kery Davis, the HBO Sports senior vice president whose job it is to make such deals and who wanted to do the fight.

Obviously, Davis' boss cut his legs out and trumped his decision after the fact, leaving Klitschko angry about the broken promise from HBO, which has generally done good ratings for Klitschko fights.

"We are really frustrated. Shelly is furious. Wladimir, too," Boente said Wednesday. "We were counting on it. This cost us a quarter of a million dollars. If they had told us this at the beginning, we would have had the fight on Showtime. Now we have neither. Not only is HBO screwing us, they are screwing American boxing fans. I am not only surprised, I am shocked."

So without HBO or Showtime as a U.S. platform, Klitschko will fight Povetkin on Sept. 11 at the 55,000-seat Commerzbank Arena in Frankfurt, Germany. The deal was finalized this week after Klitschko's K2 Promotions won a recent purse bid for the fight, one of the best you can make in the division -- which is, granted, not exactly loaded with big fights. Povetkin is at least a deserving mandatory challenger and universally regarded as the No. 4 heavyweight in the world behind Klitschko, brother and fellow titleholder Vitali Klitschko and titlist David Haye, who is ducking the brothers.

Boente contends that HBO breaking its promise cost him the chance to make the same deal for $250,000 with Showtime, which was interested in the fight. However, Boente said Showtime could only accommodate it on Sept. 18, when it would have aired as a lead-in to its live featherweight title fight from Las Vegas featuring Juan Manuel Lopez defending against Rafael Marquez.

By the way, Boente understands the TV fight-buying business because, before working with the Klitschkos, he had a job similar to Davis' with a German network.

"When I promised a promoter I would do a fight, that promise stood," he said. "There were no excuses."

The only reason Boente even made a deal for Sept. 11 instead of Sept. 18 is because that is when Davis told him HBO was available. Boente had been dealing through the German soccer league, which was putting together its upcoming schedule, and one of those dates was going to be a home game for the Frankfurt team. Boente said he worked with German soccer officials to clear one of the dates for the fight. It gave him Sept. 11, which he requested because of HBO. Then HBO bailed, leaving him unable to move back to Sept. 18 to accommodate Showtime because the soccer schedule was already set.

"What HBO did to us is absolutely disgusting," Boente said. "Kery promised me and also Shelly on the telephone that he will do the fight. We had agreed. The worst thing is that Kery said, 'We can do the fight on the 11th but not on the 18th.' Showtime could do it on the 18th but not on the 11th. We made a deal with HBO for the 11th and we said to the German soccer league before they planned their schedule to please make sure that on the 11th there is no home game for Frankfurt because we have an American TV station on board. They said OK. And then HBO screwed us and now we lose $250,000."

The Klitschkos are so upset with HBO that Boente said they will never again fight on the network, which has had a long association with them. He said they'll go so far as to ask HBO to remove their photos and bios from its website.

"If we knew HBO wouldn't do the fight, we would have asked for [the stadium on] Sept. 18 and Showtime would have shown the fight," he said. "Now we lose all that money completely, and it's HBO's fault.

"[Davis] should have talked to his boss first before you promise something. You can't promise me and Shelly and then not do it. Showtime played it very straight with us about their situation. HBO did not. I'll tell you one thing: If either brother ever fights David Haye, I will make sure and the brothers will make sure that HBO doesn't cover the fight and that it will go to Showtime.

"HBO's lie cost us $250,000. It's not like Wladimir is fighting a bum. Povetkin is undefeated, he's an Olympic champion and everyone ranks him very highly. A lot of people want to see the fight.

"Wladimir is totally pissed and really disappointed. He thought a promise is a promise, and if you promise someone, you have to stand by your promise. We have been on HBO for 23 fights [between the brothers], but I guess that doesn't mean anything. Maybe Ross has something against Germany or Ukrainians. I don't know what it is. You'd think maybe he would call Wladimir and Vitali and say he's sorry."

Greenburg made the point in our interview, as well as in interviews he did with other outlets afterward, that HBO was no longer interested in doing heavyweight fights unless it involved a Klitschko brother facing Haye or perhaps Tomasz Adamek.

Based on the way Boente spoke, even if those fights are put together, HBO won't get them under any circumstance.

"Whether Wladimir or Vitali fight Haye eventually, we will make sure the fight is not on HBO," he said. "HBO will not cover anymore Klitschko fights. On the Haye fight, Wladimir said to me that HBO thinks that they will have it 100 percent because they always overpay if they want something. But for him it is not about the money, it's about fair play."

When I asked Boente directly if that meant they would take less money from Showtime for a Haye fight, he said, "Yes, absolutely."

As for the Povetkin fight, Boente said he's looking for a U.S. partner and has been in touch with ESPN, which confirmed they were having conversations. However, that deal appears unlikely given the limited boxing budget and the fact the ESPN networks are loaded with college football on Saturdays in the fall.

"If it's not ESPN, we'll do it pay-per-view," Boente said.

HBO refused to address Boente's assertion that it promised to buy the fight, but spokesman Ray Stallone said this in a statement to ESPN.com: "HBO's goal, as always, is to televise the biggest fights in the sport. We recognize that both Wladimir and Vitali are among the sport's most accomplished performers. With a combined total of 23 appearances on HBO, it's reasonable to say that the relationship has been productive for all parties. Going forward, our position is clear: If a heavyweight title fight between Wladimir or Vitali and David Haye can be made, regardless of the site, we will be first in line to make an offer to televise it in the U.S. In addition, if any other opponent emerges that we think will get the U.S. market excited about a prospective title fight, we will surely be in line to try and buy the fight for the U.S. market.

"HBO wants the heavyweight division to thrive, and when Wladimir or Vitali fight in the U.S. or take on any opponent that we think will register in this country, we are prepared to discuss those fights."

By the sound of it, that's going to be a one-way conversation.

 

[bigmike23]

lets ban PTI from talking boxing