Boxing (June 3 through 9)

[H2O Man]

There are some interesting fights this week, including the Cotto vs Judah match on Saturday. Also, ShowTime has a couple of good lightheavyweight fights, featuring Chad Dawson and Antonio Tarver against potentially competitive opponents.

Also this is induction weekend at the IBHF in Canastota, NY. We have at least four vehicles full of boxing fans meeting here and heading up for the ceremonies.


June 3, 2007

(All bouts subject to change)

MONDAY - at Yokohama, Japan - 12 rounds, WBC
minimumweight title: Eagle Kyowa (17-1, 6 KOs)
vs. Akira Yaegashi (6-0, 5 KOs).

FRIDAY - at Montreal (ESPN2) - 12 rounds, super
middleweights: Jean Pascal (16-0, 12 KOs) vs.
Rubin Williams (29-2-1, 16 KOs); 12 rounds,
light welterweights: Herman Ngoudjo (15-1, 9 KOs)
vs. Randall Bailey (35-5, 32 KOs); 10 rounds,
super middleweights: Adonis Stevenson (7-0, 6 KOs)
vs. Mark Woolnough (14-5-1, 4 KOs).

FRIDAY - at Gary, Indiana (Telefutura) - 12 rounds,
light flyweights: Giovanni Segura (17-0-1, 13 KOs) vs.
Daniel Reyes (32-4-1, 20 KOs); 8 rounds, welterweights:
Mike Alvarado (16-0, 10 KOs) vs. Francisco Campos
(20-9-1, 11 KOs).

FRIDAY - at Sacramento, California - 12 rounds,
middleweights: Eric Regan (27-3, 18 KOs) vs.
Donnie McCrary (22-5-2, 12 KOs).

SATURDAY - at Katowice, Poland - 12 rounds, vacant
IBF bantamweight title: Luis Alberto Perez
(24-1, 15 KOs) vs. Genaro Garcia (35-5, 20 KOs);
12 rounds, cruiserweights: Tomasz Adamek (31-1, 21 KOs)
vs. Luis Andres Pineda (21-5, 18 KOs); 10 rounds,
heavyweights: Andrew Golota (38-6-1, 31 KOs) vs.
Jeremy Bates (21-13-1, 18 KOs).

SATURDAY - at Halifax, Nova Scotia - 10 rounds,
light heavyweights: Jason Naugler (16-6-1, 11 KOs)
vs. David Whittom (8-3-1, 5 KOs).

SATURDAY - at New York (HBO PPV) - 12 rounds, WBA
welterweight title: Miguel Cotto (29-0, 24 KOs) vs.
Zab Judah (34-4, 25 KOs); 12 rounds, super featherweights:
Humberto Soto (41-5-2, 25 KOs) vs. Bobby Pacquiao
(27-12-3, 12 KOs); 10 rounds, light middleweights:
Anthony Thompson (23-1, 17 KOs) vs. Yuri Foreman
(22-0, 8 KOs); 10 rounds, welterweights:
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (31-0-1, 24 KOs) vs. Grover Wiley
(30-9-1, 14 KOs); 8 rounds, middleweights: Peter Quillin
(12-0, 11 KOs) vs. Jamal Davis (7-1, 6 KOs).

SATURDAY - at Hartford, Connecticut (Showtime) -
12 rounds, WBC light heavyweight title: Chad Dawson
(23-0, 15 KOs) vs. Jesus Ruiz (19-4, 17 KOs); 12 rounds,
light heavyweights: Antonio Tarver (24-4, 18 KOs) vs.
Elvir Muriqi (34-3, 21 KOs).




Boxing Hall of Fame Induction
Weekend of Champions
June 7-8-9-10, 2007
A Championship Weekend:


Thursday, June 7
1-3 p.m. 1 Ringside Lectures, Opening Bell - Museum Grounds
3:00 p.m. 2 Celebrity Workout Session - Museum Grounds
4-5 p.m. 3 Ringside Lectures - Museum Grounds
5-7 p.m. 4 Hall of Fame Cookout - Museum Grounds

Friday, June 8
10 a.m.-3 p.m. 5 Ringside Lectures - Museum Grounds
1:00 p.m. 6 Celebrity Workout Session - Museum Grounds
3:00 p.m. 7 Celebrity Fist Casting - Museum Grounds
7:30 p.m. 8 A Night of Middleweights - Rusty Rail Party House

Saturday, June 9
7 a.m.- 3 p.m. 9 Golf Tournament of Boxing Champions - Casolwood Golf Course
8:30 a.m. 10 5k Race, Fun Run
10 a.m.- 4 p.m. 11 Boxing Autograph Card Show - Canastota High School
11 a.m.-5 p.m. 12 Ringside Lectures - Museum Grounds
1:00 p.m. 13 Celebrity Workout Session - Museum Grounds
5:30-6:30 p.m. 14 VIP "Gala" Cocktail Reception - Greystone
8:00 p.m. 15 Banquet of Champions - Syracuse Oncenter Complex

Sunday, June 10
9:30 a.m. 16 U.S Postal Service Tribute - Museum Grounds
10-11 a.m. 17 Ringside Lectures - Museum Grounds
1:00 p.m. 18 Parade of Champions - Downtown District
2:30 p.m. 19 Hall of Fame Induction & Enshrinement - Museum Grounds
3:30 p.m. 20 Farewell Celebration - Museum Grounds

[H2O Man]

1. HBO's Countdown

to Cotto v Judah is interesting. Both guys are apparently very well prepared for their fight.

Judah must realize this is a "must win" fight for him. They noted that he beat a heck of a body-puncher, Mickey Ward, as a young contender. Judah commented that Ward's punches really hurt.

Cotto is an intense figure. Watching him talk reminded me of something I saw, many years ago, on an afternoon program that wasn't about boxing. However, there was a psychiatrist who was discussing personality types. He said that he was fascinated by boxers, because the ones he had met were all quiet, introspective men who were usually gentle outside of the ring. He noted that they had some experience that resulted in their boxing, as a means of saying, "Do not mess with me." Even those who appear to be extroverts, after they find fame and riches, are often shy and introverted when the camera is not there. I have never met Cotto, but from the interviews I have seen on tv, I think that he is the type of man that this psychiatrist was describing.

[Wetzelbill]

2. I believe I just had an Andrew Golota sighting

Wow, wonders never cease. Maybe I should come out of retirement after all. I figure if Andrew Golota and Ray Mercer can still fight, well, I might as well be able to grapple a little here and there. :)

The big one of course is Zab and Cotto. I tired of Zab long ago. I actually have the clip of Kostya Tszyu making him do the chicken dance on my myspace page. The guy is talented of course, no denying that, but I'm pulling for Cotto on this one. Not only pulling, but I sincerely believe at this point, Miguel Cotto is the better fighter.

[H2O Man]

3. Cotto

has to be favored. And I think that a lot of boxing fans share your feelings about Zab .... he has been one of the least disciplined fighters of this generation -- at least at the top -- and it is really hard to imagine how good he might have been, had he been as dedicated as a Floyd Mayweather Jr.

[H2O Man]

7. Golota ....

MSG just (re)played his fight against the punching bag.

[H2O Man]

4. Cotto vs Margarito

"Promoter Bob Arum says that if welterweight world titleholders Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito win their upcoming fights, it is likely that they will meet in a 147lbs battle for supremacy before the end of the year.

“Antonio has agreed that if he beats Paul Williams and if Miguel defeats Zab Judah that he will face Miguel in the fall,” he said. “So hopefully we now have the benefit of seeing a whole group of welterweight fights. Antonio will fight Paul Williams on July 14 on HBO. If Miguel and Antonio win their fights, sometime November, maybe early December, they will go at each other. So, it’s just a plus, the way it’s turned out for boxing fans.”

26 year-old Cotto 29-0 (24) from Puerto Rico defends his WBA world title this Saturday night against 29 year-old Zab Judah 34-4 (25) from Brooklyn, New York in front of what is expected to be a sold out Madison Square Garden in New York on HBO Pay-Per-View. 29 year-old Margarito 34-4 (24) from Mexico, who holds the WBO world title, will face 25 year-old No.1 contender Paul Williams 32-0 (24) from Augusta, Georgia at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California. ...."


More at:





http://secondsout.com/news/index.cfm?ccs=534&cs=22128

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

12. Is a Miguel Cotto - Paul Williams fight out of the question?

If Williams pulls an upset and beats Margarito, could we possibly see a Cotto-Williams fight? Or would Cotto's people not agree to that match, as Williams is not a big box office name yet? I kind of like Williams. He's a bit awkward and has shown some problems in his defense, but he has power in both hands and a great jab. And he's also mobile. I think Margarito has a lot of defensive problems himself and we could very well see an upset.

If Williams were to face Cotto, we'd see one of the shorter fighters in his division, the thick, muscular 5' 7" relentless fireplug Cotto going against a quick, mobile fighter who stands at 6' 1" in height. He would offer a very large amount of body for the expert body puncher Cotto, if Cotto can pay the price by coming inside. But Williams, with his tremendous reach advantage might take away Cotto's good jab. Cotto's improved jab I think is one of the keys to his success, but would it even be able to reach Williams, who is so much taller than Cotto? I think it might make for an interesting fight if Williams uses his jab and his mobility. Williams would absolutely tower over the short Cotto with 6 inches more in height. And Williams would have an astounding 15" reach advantage. I'm sitting here with a tape measure, measuring 15" beyond my fist. It's a tremendous difference. And I think Williams can really bring it himself with his long, lanky build.

[H2O Man]

13. Interesting.

I know that Bob Arum is hoping for Cotto vs Margarito. I see Margarito as being more vulnerable than Cotto. Also, if he is looking past this fight and thinking more about a future Cotto match, he could be upset.

[H2O Man]

5. Hall of Fame information:

From "SecondsOut":

All Roads Lead to Canastota

CANASTOTA, NY - The opening bell will soon ring for the 18th Annual Hall of Fame Induction Weekend, June 7-10th. A huge gathering of boxing legends of yesterday and today has been assembled to participate in festivities in Canastota. Among the over 50 boxing stars slated to participate in the June 7-10th festivities include Hall of Famers Carmen Basilio, Carlos Ortiz, "Fighting" Harada, Jose Torres, Emile Griffith, Ruben Olivares, Gene Fullmer, Ken Norton, Alexis Arguello, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Lou Duva, Ken Buchanan, Michael Carbajal, Arthur Mercante, Stanley Christodoulou, Bert Sugar, Pipino Cuevas and Bob Arum. Joining the Hall of Famers will be special guests Lupe Pintor, Raul "Raton" Macias, Christy Martin, Vito Antuofermo, George Chuvalo, James "Buster" Douglas, Vinny Paz, Alan Minter, Iran Barkley, Marlon Starling, Virgil Hill, John H. Stracey, Oscar Diaz and Billy Backus among others.

The four-day Hall of Fame Weekend features over twenty events including a banquet, golf tournament, 5K Race / Fun Run, the Parade of Champions with world famous ring announcer Michael Buffer serving as grand marshal, and the Official Induction Ceremony on Sunday, June 10th at 2:30 pm.

New inductees to be honored are four-division world champions Roberto "Hands of Stone" Duran and Pernell "Sweet Pea" Whitaker, two-division world champion Ricardo "Finito" Lopez, trainer Amilcar Brusa, administrator Jose Sulaiman, and artist LeRoy Neiman. Posthumous inductees will also be honored.

"The Hall of Fame Weekend is boxing’s highlight weekend of the year. In Canastota, boxing fans can mingle with an incredible roster of boxing legends and celebrate the great sport," said Hall of Fame director Edward Brophy. "The Hall of Fame Weekend is for anyone who loves the sport of boxing."

Note: Any other DUers going to be there?

[H2O Man]

8. It was

a lot of fun today. I'll post some pictures later. But boxing fans had a blast today .... one of the things that I respect about the top boxers is their eagerness to mingle with the public. The nicest group of athletes, in my opinion.

[H2O Man]

6. The Enigmatic Shannon Briggs

By:Thomas Hauser
(from: SecondsOut)

".... Meanwhile, before condemning Briggs, one should keep in mind the thoughts of James Baldwin, who, decades ago, wrote, “Life is far from being as simple as most sportswriters would like to have it.”

"Boxing is the toughest sport in the world, and Shannon is the one who has to get in the ring and fight. He’s the one who traded blows with Lennox Lewis and George Foreman and was punched countless times by men trained in the art of hurting. There are those who say that he failed to live up to his potential as a fighter; that he went from young to old without ever having had a prime. But Shannon is content with where his life is today." ....

More at:

http://secondsout.com/USA/news.cfm?ccs=229&cs=22141

Friend Tom wrote another absolutely on-target essay for boxing fans who were frustrated by Shannon Briggs' non-fight last weekend. While it doesn't make the hit to the wallet any less painful, Tom does a heck of a job summing up the strange and contradictory man who handed the title away.

[H2O Man]

9. Saturday's results:

{1} Chad Dawson won by 6th round TKO over Jesus "Chuy" Ruiz. Dawson looked good, against an outclassed opponent who had not been active in recent years. I think it is okay for top fighters to have an easy opponent in between real fights. Dawson has real talent, and is beginning to mature in the ring. He is a nice young man outside of the ring, and he adds a lot of excitement to the sport.

{2} Antonio Tarver won a majority decision over tough Elvir Muiqi. Tarver looked his age in the ring, and his opponent showed that he has the ability to give anyone in his division a tough fight. Tarver was booed by the crowd as he entered the ring, and the decision was unpopular with the fans. I thought Tarver won by a very slim margin.

If Dawson and Tarver meet, I think that Dawson would have a very good chance of winning. Dawson had some problems with his left hand in last night's fight; he said that it went numb when he landed a hard shot in the second round. He noted that his glove was put on "in a hurry" to get him into the ring. That is a sure sign of poor work on the part of his corner. A glove can't be put on too tightly, or you increase the risk of your fighter hurting his hand in the area of the wrist. It doesn't take any more time, or attention, to put a glove on correctly.

{3} Miguel Cotto scored a TKO in round 11 over Zab "Super" Judah. I did not see the fight (it should be on HBO next weekend), but it sounds like it was a war. Both men showed the results of the fight on their faces. However, one factor had to have been Cotto's hitting Judah with two very hard punches below the belt. Zab was reportedly knocked down in the 1st and 3rd, and I think that anyone who is familiar with the sport knows that while Cotto won, it cheapens the victory.

Usually, if your opponent fouls you more than once, you simply have to respond in kind. But because of his past, Zab Judah can't respond with a foul. He is -- by his own fault -- always going to be held to a different standard, because of his antics in two big fights.

Years ago, Chicago heavyweight Ernie Terrell would frequently lose a point early in a fight for low blows. But he knew that those low blows were "money in the bank" in a long fight. It's a cheap tactic, and one I have no respect for.

[TSIAS]

17. My thoughts

I've stayed away from this forum for a few days, waiting for the Showtime bout to be replayed tonight. I totally forgot about the Tarver/Muriqi fight in the midst of the Cotto/Judah PPV.

Cotto/Judah was a solid fight. I'm not so sure it was the "classic" that some are characterizing it as. Judah came out really strong and had Cotto hurt twice in the first 3 rounds. I wouldn't say Cotto was hurt badly, but Judah was stopped with an egregious low blow in the 1st. It reminded me a lot of the Trinidad/Vargas fight, where Vargas was doing damage but ultimately was debilitated by the low blow. I'm not sure if they were intentional or not on Cotto's part. But the one in the 3rd Round was painful to watch. I literally cringed watching the slow-motion footage. It was at that point where Cotto took control of the fight.

After that point, I was pretty certain that Cotto would pull ahead. Cotto typically does well in late rounds, while Judah's best work is early on. I didn't think Judah won more than 1 (Max 2) rounds after the 3rd. Judah had fewer and fewer flurries. It was evident that Cotto's aggression had totally worn down Judah.

The HBO guys, particularly Steward, downplayed the significance of the low blows. I know that Cotto is their next big star, and don't want to tarnish the glow from an exciting 11th Round KO. Still, I thought Judah was winning clearly and it's not possible to totallly determine the cumulative effect of the low blow.

In the end, Judah did put up a good effort. He kept his composure and fouhght competitively for the first 6 rounds. However, Cotto's constant power punching and the effect of the low blows proved too much for Judah to overcome.

The undercard was hit and miss. The 1st bout was awful. Anthony Thompson vs. Yuri Foreman, on paper, was an entertaining scrap between two prospects. In the ring, the matchup ended up being dreadful to watch. I thought Thompson had a slight edge, winning 96-94 on my card. Still, I can't complain too much with Foreman winning a split decision.

Soto/Bobby Pacquiao was an entertaining 2nd fight. Pacquiao was game and fought his heart out. Sadly, he doesn't have the firepower of his brother and was totally destroyed in the 7th.

In the last fight before the main event, Chavez Jr fought a Omaha journeyman named Grover Wiley. For the fight preceding the featured attraction, the matchup was awful. Chavez KO3. HBO is now looking to put Chavez vs. Gatti on later this year, providing Gatti gets by Contender alum Alfonso Gomez. It will be a huge test for Chavez. He has a lot of pro fights, but Chavez has never fought anyone decent. If Gatti has anything left, it'll make for an intriguing contest.

Obviously, Showtime was trying to build up a Tarver/Dawson matchup down the road. The rest of the division's champs are European, and Dawson is the most marketable of the bunch at 175. Also, I'd like to see more of Glen Johnson. Nevertheless, the Dawson/Ruiz fight was pretty bad. I hadn't realized coming in how inactive Ruiz had been recently. I can't illuminate much more than what you wrote. Complete domination of an overmatched challenger.

Tarver/Muriqi was at least a close fight. Interestingly enough, Tarver is upset at the Majority Decision (Steve Weisfeld had it 114-114). Unlike in Nevada where the master scorecard is readily available to the media, no Round-by-Round card has been released. I had the fight a lot closer than Bernstein had it. I had a feeling it would be a tight verdict. I felt Tarver clearly won the fight, on the basis of dominating Rounds 5 through around Round 9 and 10. Muriqi's best came during the first 4 rounds, where he conceivably could have won 3 of them; and the last 3, when Muriqi made a mini-comeback and Tarver slowed down.

When I totalled up my card, I had it 116-112 for Tarver. He had his moments in the middle rounds, where he was effective from the outside with clean punches to the head. To Muriqi's credit, he did a lot of good work to the body and certainly increased his standing in the division.

Honestly, I thought Muriqi had dropped off the face of the planet. I remember Muriqi was trained by Teddy Atlas way back in 2000. Atlas touted him as a big prospect. Unfortunately for Muriqi, a bad performance at the Blue Horizon on ESPN2's FNF dropped him off the radar. I'll give the kid credit -- he was tough and fought through a lot of adversity. I doubt, though, that he's ascended to the top of the LH division.

Finally, good news in that Larry Merchant has signed part time to work fights on HBO. Max Kellerman will handle the majority of the calls, including Hatton/Castillo and the Hopkins/Wright PPV. I thought Merchant was at his best in the last two telecasts, particularly Taylor/Spinks. I've heard for years of Merchant's impending release from HBO, but he always manages to come back for more.

[TroubleMan]

18. Judah definitely did not look the same after the 2nd low blow (video included)

I thought it did affect the fight. I don't know if Judah would have won or not, but it definitely hurt him. The first one slowed him down a little and wasn't that bad, but the second one was absolutely brutal.

Here's the a clip of the fight starting at the beginning of RD 3. Watch the replay of the low blow that they show after rd 3....brutal.

%3F20070610064747&autoStart=0&playerURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailymotion.com%2Fvideo%2Fx27znt_bx03&statEnabled=1&allowZoom=2

[H2O Man]

19. I thought

that both were ugly, intentional fouls. And no fighter who is the victim of those shots early in the fight will have much strength in the later rounds.

If Zab Judah was one of the sport's "golden boys," the fight would be treated very different than it is. But Zab is one of the sport's "bad boys," and is thus held to a different standard.

[TroubleMan]

20. He also would not be allowed to retaliate like a lot of guys would.

In fact the ref said several times "don't retaliate."

[H2O Man]

21. Right.

In post #9, I had mentioned that .... his past errors in judgement have resulted in his beingwatched closely for any violations of the rules.

[TSIAS]

23. The main problem with the low blows

I'm sure that Judah, if he retaliated with a single low blow, would have had a point taken away and threatened with disqualification.

It doesn't matter that the ref took a point away from Cotto. Hell, Mercante could have taken 2 points away. It doesn't change the fact that Cotto was allowed to pull away with the fight, likely because of the early damage inflicted b/c of the low blows.

On a related side note, the referee always says that the fighter has 5 minutes to recover, but it always seems like the fighter is pressured to return after 1 minutes. Mercante, Jr. kept saying "shake it off". If I were Judah in that 3rd Round, I would have sat and taken the full 5.

[TroubleMan]

10. Ouch!! Zab gets busted in the nuts hard - twice!!

That was an entertaining, but messy fight: two low blows and two unintentional head butts. The 2nd time Judah received a low blow was a bad one....square on the nuts and on the end of a power punch. I think that the second one really did affect him. He wasn't the same after that.

Despite that, I'm still puzzled why Judah didn't let the right hand go more often. The only times that he was winning the fight is when he unleashed the straight right, and it was extremely effective. However, he seemed unwilling to use it often, so he got overwhelmed by Cotto's constant pressure.

[H2O Man]

11. I just saw

the film clips on ESPN. Those were ugly punches.

[bigwillq]

14. Bad Chad wins again!

:bounce:

[H2O Man]

15. He looked good.

He brings excitement and class to the sport.

[bigwillq]

16. I like him.

Since he's a Connecticut guy, well he moved to New Haven when he was young.

[TSIAS]

22. Sad news

The AP is reporting that Diego Corrales had a .25 % BAC at the time of his death last month, and that his license had been revoked for a prior DUI.

I'm almost sad that this news had to come to light. It doesn't make his passing any less tragic.

[H2O Man]

24. The prior DUI

had made me wonder, especially with the other circumstances reported. Very sad, and as you say, it doesn't make it less tragic. What a waste.