Danny Green sees red on fight -- Herald Sun

By Tony Sheahan, Sunday Herald Sun

DANNY Green has come out swinging ahead of his bout with Puerto Rican Manny Siaca.

Green took a swipe at the sport's governing body as well as former trainer Jeff Fenech, and fired another shot at arch-enemy Anthony Mundine.

Green fights for the IBO cruiserweight title on Wednesday week in front of a home crowd at Perth's Challenge Stadium.

Opponent Siaca is the boxer who knocked down Green's great rival Mundine in 2004.

Green said he faced a formidable fighter.

"He has 22 victories, 18 KOs and is a former world champion," Green said.

The Australian public, however, is more interested in a rematch with Mundine.

"I don't want to look past my next fight, but why would the public want to wait any longer? You can't hype it up any more. It's ready to pop," Green said.

"His confidence is gone, his power has gone and I think he is well past his best. Mundine is going to try and cash in and milk the public of their money."

Green is desperate for revenge following his loss to Mundine in 2006 in front of 32,000 fans in Sydney.

There may be a new threat to Green's crown as the country's best boxer.

Dandenong fighter Jamie Bogovic is destined for stardom according to his new trainer, former world champion Fenech.

"He is Australia's next big thing," Fenech predicted.

"One day he will be world champion. And he will beat Danny Green in 12-18 months."

Green, 37, was more than happy to counter his former trainer's sparring.

"I'm glad Jeff is not coming out of retirement to fight again, because obviously boxing has affected his health," Green said.

Bogovic next fights on April 19, in Keysborough.

Green's camp turned to 34-year-old Siaca for his title defence after US veteran Bernard Hopkins turned down a deal to fight Green to instead stage a re-match with Jones in Las Vegas today.

Siaca has not fought since March last year.

Source: heraldsun.com.au

Adam Carolla Rant on Manny Pacquiao Draws Filipinos' Ire -- FanHouse

By Michael David Smith, FanHouse

Adam Carolla, the comedian and radio personality who now hosts The Adam Carolla Podcast, is being heavily criticized on some Filipino web sites for a rant directed at the Philippines and its biggest celebrity, boxer Manny Pacquiao.

Taking a call from a listener on his podcast, Carolla was asked about Pacquiao's refusal to agree to the drug-testing terms that Floyd Mayweather Jr. requested. Carolla called it a "cultural thing" because "he's from the Philippines" and then said Pacquiao's religion consisted of "praying to chicken bones."

Carolla then started discussing the Philippines and said, "Here's how you know when your country doesn't have a lot going for it: When everything is about Manny Pacquiao."

Noting that Pacquiao is the Philippines' biggest celebrity and may be popular enough to be elected president, Carolla advised the Philippines to "Get a fu**ing life as a country."

"Really?" Carolla asked incredulously. "You want some guy with brain damage running your country? Why don't you get your s**t together?"

Carolla also said the Philippines is known for "sex stores."

Among the Filipino web sites criticizing Carolla is Pinoy Gossip Boy, who writes that Carolla, "faces big trouble as he bashes Filipino pride Manny Pacquiao and the entire Filipino people."

Source: boxing.fanhouse.com

Jones-Hopkins bout 'terrible' for boxing -- New York Post

By George Willis, New York Post

Whatever happened to having respect for your elders? Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr. face each other tonight in Las Vegas in a rematch of a bout held 17 years ago. Jones won by decision and tonight Hopkins seeks revenge, though it's debatable whether anyone really cares.

Hopkins is 45 years old; Jones is 41. And though both are future Hall of Famers, the match-up is generating plenty of negative feedback.

"I don't care who they are," said boxing promoter Lou DiBella. "Two 40-something-year old guys with a crappy undercard on pay-per-view is exactly why we have the problems we have right now in boxing. We need to start thinking outside the box, and a fight like Saturday night is putting us in the box."

Gary Shaw, another promoter, added: "This is our industry, and this is terrible for our sport. They've got to move aside for younger fighters."

Jones-Hopkins II never was universally embraced. HBO will distribute the fight through its pay-per-view channels, but did not buy rights to a replay and won't supply its announcers. The fight also is being overshadowed by the NCAA Final Four. Golden Boy Promotions of which Hopkins is a partner is providing most of the financial backing and the legwork.

Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer thinks the fight has plenty of merit.

"They're two legends. They're two of the most recognized fighters of the last 20 years," he said. "At this point to finally settle the score, I'm happy for them."

Jones (54-6, 40 KOs) was once the pound-for-pound king of boxing and became the first middleweight champion in 100 years to capture a heavyweight title by beating John Ruiz in 2003. But he is just 5-5 since 2004 and has been stopped three times, including a first-round TKO to Danny Green last December in Australia.

"The only reason [Hopkins] is fighting me now is because he feels like I'm done," Jones said. "He feels like I'm washed up. He feels like I'm old goods. He feels like there's no way I can survive 12 rounds with him now, but he's wrong. I was smarter and slicker than him 17 years ago, and I'm still smarter and slicker than him now. "

Hopkins, a long-time middleweight champion, remains among the top 10 on most pound-for-pound lists, but has fought just once in almost 18 months. His quest to avenge his loss to Jones is almost an obsession.

"To me, it's the big payback," Hopkins (50-5-1, 32 KOs) said. "This to me is personal."

The two blame each other for the rematch taking so long. It would have been a huge bout six or seven years ago, but pride and greed kept them from coming to terms. Asked why fans should have any interest now, both say the careers they've forged are worthy of fans' interest and pay-per-view dollars.

"We've laid down our hard-earned lives to put on two stellar careers over that 17-year period," Jones said. "So why not lay down your hard-earned money to watch two guys who put their hard-earned lives on the line to entertain you people for 17, 18 years."

**

Ruiz fights for another heavyweight title today in Manchester, England, when he faces WBA champion David Haye of England. It will be Haye's first defense of a title he won by defeating Nikolay Valuev in November. Ruiz, a two-time holder of the WBA title, is 3-3 in his last six fights. He has a new trainer in veteran Miguel Diaz.

"You're seeing more of the Ruiz from the past -- boxing and punching, not holding," Ruiz said. "How many guys can say they've fought and won two world heavyweight championships?"

george.willis@nypost.com

Source: nypost.com

Hopkins seeks vindication vs. Jones -- Las Vegas Review-Journal

By STEVE CARP, Las Vegas Review-Journal

Seventeen years is a long time to hold a grudge.

But Bernard Hopkins knows all about keeping something locked up.

He hopes to finally vindicate himself against Roy Jones Jr. in tonight's 12-round light heavyweight bout at Mandalay Bay Events Center.

"This is personal," Hopkins said of his long-awaited rematch. "This isn't promotional talk. It's someone's fault we didn't get together in 17 years. Roy may have had the leverage, but it's flipped. He needs me more than I need him."

Perhaps. But Hopkins (50-5-1, 32 knockouts) has been the one clamoring for another shot ever since his 12-round unanimous-decision loss to Jones at Washington's RFK Stadium in 1993 when both were middleweights. The two former champions have exchanged plenty of angry words between then and now.

"We had a deal to fight (in 2006), but he sort of played me and he made a deal on the side," Hopkins said. "He made me wait, and I got a lot of anger built up inside me because of it."

It's the kind of rage that can build up when one is locked away, as Hopkins was from 1983 to 1988 in Pennsylvania's Grateford Prison for a series of felonies.

Now the 45-year-old Hopkins plans to use that anger in a constructive fashion to exact his revenge.

"Right now, he's one up," Hopkins said. "It's my job to even that up. I'll be two up on him when I knock him out. That counts for two."

Hopkins said the difference between tonight's fight and their first meeting will be skill and smarts.

"The fact is, I've gotten better, and Roy hasn't," Hopkins said. "He's still stuck back in time, some twilight zone. Me? I'm getting better. People keep reminding me that I'm 45, and it's like a death sentence. But have I given you any evidence that I fight like I'm 45?"

Hopkins, a minus-500 betting favorite at MGM Mirage's sports books to win tonight, isn't thinking knockout. His plan is to punish Jones (54-6, 40 KOs) over the course of the fight.

"I'm not a first-round knockout puncher," Hopkins said. "I have to beat you up. That's what I do. Roy? He's going to get a beating."

Hopkins has kept himself in amazing shape over the years. It's why, he said, he's still able to compete at a high level when others his age are watching film of their glory days.

"I've always tried to take care of myself," he said. "It's all about a person's style, lifestyle, the way he takes care of himself and, last but not least, genetics. Genetics plays a lot in people's lives, just the way they age quicker than others."

Hopkins has had to share trainer Naazim Richardson with Shane Mosley as Mosley prepares for his May 1 welterweight showdown with Floyd Mayweather Jr. at the MGM Grand Garden.

But Hopkins said it hasn't been a problem and that he talked daily with Richardson, who was in Big Bear, Calif., with Mosley while Hopkins trained in Miami Beach.

"I'm a veteran," Hopkins said. "I don't have any bad habits. I don't need anyone to hold my hand."

Richardson, who arrived in Las Vegas this week to finalize Hopkins' fight preparations, predicted things will be different in the rematch with Jones.

"I'm very confident it won't be like the first fight because there's a whole different approach behind Bernard and it encompasses Bernard's thought process preparing for this fight," Richardson said. "This Bernard Hopkins is better than the Bernard Hopkins of 17 years ago. This Bernard Hopkins will take Roy Jones to school."

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913.

Source: lvrj.com

Hopkins-Jones weigh-in -- Philadelphia Daily News

By BERNARD FERNANDEZ, Philadelphia Daily News

LAS VEGAS - As ancillary sporting events go, the boxing weigh-in is as exciting as watching paint dry. Two guys strip down to their skivvies and step on the scales to have their poundage officially determined. Usually, that's all there is to it.

Usually, but not always.

There have been some memorable moments in weigh-in history, generally involving emotionally wired fighters who feel an intrinsic need to add a touch of drama to even the dullest of formalities. Who can forget when the young Cassius Clay (you know him better as Muhammad Ali) was so manic during the weigh-in for his first bout with then-heavyweight champion Sonny Liston in Miami Beach that a ring physician checked his pulse on the spot and found it to be racing to such an extent that the challenger's health was said to be in the danger zone?

"This boy is scared to death," the good doctor told reporters. Not one of his better diagnoses.

The weigh-in for the Hector Camacho-Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini fight in Reno, Nev. - held at the ungodly local time of 2 a.m. as a compromise because the two men couldn't agree on the date - saw the exhibitionistic Camacho, on the pretext that he might be a couple of ounces over the limit, literally drop his drawers as he simultaneously advised the women in attendance to look away if they might be offended. In most settings, someone exposing himself like that might result in an arrest. The Macho Man got away with flashing as security personnel stood idly by. It was boxing, after all.

Then there was the time when Bernard "The Executioner" Hopkins decided to spice his weigh-in the day before his fight with Winky Wright in Las Vegas by shoving Wright in the face, nearly precipitating a brawl on the stage. Hopkins drew a fine from the Nevada State Athletic Commission for that breach of conduct. Maybe he'd have fared better in the wee hours in Reno.

Perhaps because it was Hopkins (50-5-1, 32 KOs) and Roy Jones Jr. (54-6, 40 KOs), each prone to posturing, preening and occasionally pushing, a couple of thousand spectators showed up in the Mandalay Bay Events Center yesterday afternoon to see tonight's main-event fighters show off their impressive abs and talk the obligatory smack.

Before the principals arrived from separate directions, ring announcer Michael Buffer did an impromptu entrance poll.

"How many of you are for Roy Jones Jr.?" Buffer asked, with a majority of those in attendance sounding their approval on the applause meter for the Pensacola, Fla., native.

"How many are for Bernard Hopkins?" Buffer then asked, which drew a somewhat less enthusiastic response for the pride of North Philadelphia. In a town where sports gambling is legal, that can mean only one thing: More people had placed wagers on Jones, a 4-1 underdog.

The actual weigh-in wasn't as noteworthy as some have been involving the unfriendly fortysomethings. Hopkins hit the light-heavyweight limit of 175 pounds on the nose; Jones, wearing nothing but gray underwear and a multicolored watch cap, came in at 175 1/2.

"A half-pound over. No problem," Buffer told the crowd. "Usually a trip to the men's room takes care of that."

Jones thanked spectators for coming out, saying, "I took this chump a long time ago [in 1993], but now he got it coming again."

Hopkins declined the opportunity to speak, but, in keeping with his history for gag gifts, presented Jones with an Easter basket full of goodies. Jones gave it right back, peeking inside and saying, "It got Viagra, arthritis [medication] . . . old man stuff," which drew a few chuckles.

Jones had an hour to pare the disallowable half-pound, but he didn't need it. Off came the underwear and the watch cap, followed by another mounting of the scales before most fans had exited the arena. Buffer excitedly declared, "One seventy-five! We have a fight!"

In case you're wondering, members of Jones' support crew held up a towel in front of him so no one could see him in the altogether.

Who knew he was so modest? *

fernanb@phillynews.com

Source: philly.com

David Haye is an accident waiting to happen in the heavyweight division -- Mirror

By Derek McGovern, Mirror.co.uk

John Ruiz reckons he was robbed twice when he lost on points to 7ft tall Nikolai Valuev. Unfortunately he couldn't pick him out in the identity parade afterwards.

David Haye took all the plaudits for seeing off Valuev after 12 inactive rounds last time out. The Jolly Green Giant would have put up a better fight.

When Ruiz, nicknamed The Quiet Man, was asked if he thought he would beat Haye he nodded before mumbling something inaudible.

Haye is an accident waiting to happen in the heavyweight division.

He has been ko'd by a 40-year-old cruiserweight. There's no disgrace in that for most blokes - it's happened to me with the wife - but Haye is the heavyweight champion of the world, or at least one of them.

He has a knockout punch, yes, but there are serious question marks about his stamina, chin and hairstyle.

Whether Ruiz, a 38-year-old ring-worn veteran, is the man to cause that accident is open to debate. Ruiz has neither speed nor an explosive punch, and someone really ought to tell him these attributes are rather handy when your chosen profession is boxing.

He does have a certain measure of durability, though and that might be enough. Haye will either blast Ruiz out early or get nailed himself late on.

Haye went the distance against Valuev without expending too much energy, mainly because it's relatively easy to get out of the way of plodding giants, except in B movies.

Value-seekers should look closely at the groupround betting. I wouldn't put anyone off backing Ruiz to win between rounds 9-12, a 25-1 poke with Stan James.

Source: mirror.co.uk

Hopkins, Jones execute better in ring than in brackets -- Philadelphia Daily News

By BERNARD FERNANDEZ, Philadelphia Daily News

LAS VEGAS - It's a good thing Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr. are better at boxing than filling out NCAA Tournament brackets.

Like millions of Americans, the fighters made their picks for the Big Dance before the first game was played. Hopkins, from North Philadelphia, went with one of his hometown teams, Villanova, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the school's 1985 national championship by going with the Wildcats, the second seed in the South Regional. But having "The Executioner" in its corner didn't get 'Nova past the second round, a 75-68 upset victim of 10th-seeded Saint Mary's.

Jones, who - you might remember - once played a few games as a point guard for the Jacksonville Barracudas of the summertime USBL and fancied himself to be of NBA quality, went with No. 1 overall seed Kansas. Oops! The heavily favored Jayhawks fell, 69-67, to ninth-seeded Northern Iowa in the second round of the Midwest Region.

Hopkins-Jones II should begin sometime around 11 o'clock EDT, tonight, after the Final Four semifinals that pair Butler against Michigan State followed by Duke against West Virginia.

Jones a sore loser?

It has been 4 months since Roy Jones went to Melbourne, Australia, and was stopped in one round by Danny Green, but Jones is still contesting the outcome and hopes to have it changed to a no-decision.

Jones claims that, after he was knocked down, he arose and was clear-headed when referee John Foster stopped the fight prematurely. Jones and his trainer, Alton Merkerson, also charged that Green fought with loaded and illegal hand wraps and did not undergo a mandatory postfight urinalysis test.

"Prior to the fight, I had a young man go over to check out Danny Green's hand wraps," Merkerson said. "I told him exactly what to look for. He complained to the commissioner. They had something that once it gets wet, and you put it on, it gets hard afterwards.

"If I had known that prior to the fight actually taking place, I would have told them there was going to be no fight. I didn't know about this until the fight was over."

Doctored hand wraps are no laughing matter. Antonio Margarito is just coming off a year's suspension after getting caught with a hard substance in his wraps (his hands were then rewrapped to specifications) before his ninth-round stoppage by Shane Mosley on Jan. 24, 2009. But why didn't the young man Merkerson sent to Green's dressing room pass along what he supposedly saw before the opening bell rang?

Green recently wrote an "open letter" to Jones in which he advised Jones to man-up to his defeat rather than make an "endless series of excuses and false allegations."

Cross-country Naz

Bernard Hopkins' trainer, Naazim Richardson, has been up in the air a lot recently. He worked with Hopkins at his Miami Beach, Fla., training camp before flying cross country to Big Bear, Calif., to help another of his fighters, Shane Mosley, prepare for his May 1 showdown with Floyd Mayweather Jr. Then it was back to Miami Beach for more work with Hopkins.

Richardson, who will work B-Hop's corner tonight, will head back to Big Bear after the fight.

Odds and ends

For thrifty types accustomed to watching delayed broadcasts of pay-per-view fights the week after they happen, this will come as a disappointment: Hopkins-Jones II, as is the case with losing teams in the NCAA Tournament, is a one-and-done . . . Hall of Famer Sugar Ray Leonard will do color commentary along with Doug Fischer, with Joe Tessitore handing blow-by-blow. *

fernanb@phillynews.com

Source: philly.com

Haye on a one-man crusade to jazz up Heavies -- Mirror

By Barry Mcguigan, Mirror.co.uk

John Ruiz is David Haye's ticket to the stars, a perfect opportunity to electrify the heavyweight division.

Ruiz is one of the good guys in boxing. He appreciates what boxing has given him and treats the game with respect.

Given the limited history of Puerto Rican heavyweights, Ruiz has had a remarkable career, twice winning the world title.

But any idea he would be mentioned in the same breath as Muhammad Ali and Evander Holyfield were he to beat David Haye tonight is ridiculous.

As much as I like Ruiz he has never impressed me as a fighter. He is underpowered and ponderous.

His principal strength has been to make others look awful. And that was when he was at his peak. Now, with his famed durability waning, he looks ready to go.

He has been stopped only once in his career, a crushing 19-second KO 14 years back by David Tua.

Haye does not have Tua's outright power but he has enough and he is a million times quicker. I can see this ending early. Haye needs an early check-out to enhance his box-office standing.

Haye is engaged in a one-man crusade to jazz up boxing's shop window. The trash talk he rattles off at the Klitschko brothers is calculated to spike interest.

Every Ali needs a Joe Frazier, every George Foreman a Ken Norton. Haye knows he needs the Klitschkos to make his name and his fortune.

The brothers also know they need Haye. The idea both might fight him is a gift for the big American broadcasters desperate for a new story to tell. The division is as flat as a pancake, or in the case of Eddie Chambers, as fat as a pat-a-cake. There is no future in world title bouts featuring the likes of him.

Wladimir Klitschko finally put him away in the last round with a terrific shot. That the fight lasted that long says more about Klitschko than Chambers.

Haye is a throwback to the old tradition of the 220lbs heavyweight. At 15st 10lbs he would have been perfect for the Seventies golden era.

Ali, Frazier, Mike Tyson and even George Foreman in his early days campaigned around that weight, allowing them to combine speed and power to best effect.

The super heavy period begun by Riddick Bowe and Lennox Lewis ran aground in the shape of Nikolai Valuev.

Don King knew what he was doing praising Haye to the skies after his victory over the big Russian.

He saw the future there and then, the East v West shootout. The looming battle with the Klitschkos can be seen as a battle for the future of the sport; the 21st Century super tanker heavy versus the traditional heavy of the division's Seventies heyday.

Haye seems well suited to the heavier weight since moving up from cruiser.

He does not look as ripped but the extra pounds have enhanced the resistance lacking when having to make weight.

Manny Pacquiao was dropped plenty at super bantam and featherweight, but none can budge him at welterweight.

Haye has yet to answer all the questions about his stamina, but rocking Valuev late on will have given him a lot of confidence.

I'm taking Haye to get after Ruiz early and look great doing so. Watch out for that big KO and with it take-off for the next British boxing superstar.

Source: mirror.co.uk

Lara has no trouble with Perez -- The Ring

The Ring

Erislandy Lara remained undefeated in his young career by easily outpointing veteran Danny Perez in a 10-round middleweight fight Friday in Las Vegas.

The former Cuban amateur star, who boxes carefully but very well, didn’t thrill the crowd but was too quick and too good for his game, but overmatched opponent from beginning to end to win 99-91, 99-91 and 99-91.

Lara (11-0, 6 knockouts) probably isn’t far from his first opportunity to fight for a professional title.

Perez (34-7, 17 KOs) once gave Antonio Margarito all he could handle in a split-decision loss in 1999 and then lost a one-sided decision to the Mexican in 2002 in his only title shot.

In an earlier bout, another prospect, Carlos Velazquez (12-0, 10 KOs) stopped Ira Terry (24-3, 14 KOs) 20 seconds into the fourth round of a scheduled eight-round junior lightweight bout.

Source: ringtv.com

John Ruiz fit for heavyweight history -- Boston Herald

By Ron Borges, Boston Herald

MANCHESTER, England - The curiously respectful love fest that has gone on all week between bombastic WBA heavyweight champion David Haye and his Calvin Coolidge-like challenger, John Ruiz, continued at the weigh-in yesterday in The Great Hall of Manchester’s 123-year-old Victorian Town Hall building, whose spire towers 283 feet above Albert Square.

What added to the oddness of the moment was, by the time both men got off the scales, there were more questions to be asked than answers given.

The 38-year-old Ruiz weighed in at 231 pounds with a T-shirt, sweatpants and sneakers on, meaning he was actually more like 228-229. That is the lightest he’s been for a title fight in seven years, and only 4-5 pounds above what he weighed when he beat Evander Holyfield for his WBA title 10 years ago.

All one can conclude from that is Ruiz is taking quite seriously what could be either his final moment as a factor in the heavyweight division, or his breakthrough moment.

The Chelsea native has trained for three months, importing strength and conditioning coach Keith McGrath from Boston to work with him throughout his camp alongside his boxing overseer, veteran Las Vegas trainer Miguel Diaz. Whether that converts into a victory tonight no one can know, but his fitness indicates a level of preparedness absent in Ruiz’ recent throw-downs.

In contrast, Haye came in at 222 pounds (or “15 stone, 12” as they say here), the heaviest of his career and five pounds above his weight when he won the title just four months ago. He remains an impressive physical specimen, but several British journalists familiar with him wondered aloud whether the extra tonnage was an effort to improve his power - which would seem ridiculous considering the knockout punch he carries in his right hand - or a case of not working as hard as he claims he has.

Whatever the case, the MEN Arena is expected to be packed with more than 20,000 British fight fans that have come to watch only the fifth British-born heavyweight champion make his first title defense. As one might expect, Haye is the heavy favorite - 7-1 to win, 7-2 by knockout, even though Ruiz has been stopped only once in his career, when he was caught cold by a David Tua hook seconds after the opening bell.

At 29, Haye is nine years younger than Ruiz (44-8-1, 30 KOs) and carries with him what promoter Don King would term “double shock power.” He has knocked out 21 of his 23 victims with only one defeat. To say he can punch is an understatement, which is something young Haye is not prone to. Yet this week, he admitted unhinging Ruiz from his senses will be a daunting task.

“He’s only been stopped once and that was 14 years ago,” Haye said. “If I stop him, it will be a great indicator of how hard I punch.”

Until Ruiz showed up, “if” was never in Haye’s vocabulary. He has threatened to end the lives of both Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko, who hold the other three heavyweight titles, and promised decapitation to nearly everyone he’s ever faced. Haye may still feel that way, but his commentary has been tempered this time by the realization Ruiz has survived 322 rounds of heavyweight boxing, including 162 in championship fights.

Meanwhile, Haye has boxed only 18 rounds in the division, and during that brief time been dropped by Monte Barrett, who is the very definition of a trial horse, as well as by both Jean-Marc Mormeck and Carl Thompson (his only loss) during his time as cruiserweight champion.

Even Haye’s trainer/manager Adam Booth conceded, “(David) admits he’s not the most durable heavyweight in the world, but he says ‘I’m one of the quickest and most dangerous, and I’m going to get you before you get me.’ His ability to take a shot has improved dramatically but, listen, anything can happen. One punch and it could all be over.”

Booth was speaking a generalized truth not specific to facing Ruiz. But when you box in the hardest hitting division in the sport, a suspect mandible is clearly not an asset. Perhaps that is part of the reason Haye and Booth have threatened to jump on Ruiz from the opening bell, seeking to bring a quick end to the first heavyweight title fight in England in nearly a decade.

Ruiz claims to favor that approach under the theory if a brawl breaks out, it enhances his chances of leaving England with one more belt.

“We both have our little agendas,” said Ruiz. “He likes to toot his own horn. Now he has to back it up. People think I’m over the hill. I don’t think so, actually. If I did, I wouldn’t be here. Now I have to prove I’m not. We’ll see.”

When the two of them are left standing alone and half naked in the loneliest place in sports tonight, indeed we will.

rborges@bostonherald.com

Source: bostonherald.com

Rodriguez outpoints Arnaoutis -- The Ring

The Ring

Delvin Rodriguez bounced back from a disappointing 2009 to easily outpoint former junior welterweight contender Mike Arnaoutis on Friday night in Uncasville, Conn.

Rodriguez, who lost a split decision to Issac Hlatshwayo for a vacant welterweight title and then a controversial decision to Rafal Jackiewic in Jackiewic’s native Poland last year, controlled the fight with his left jab and power rights to win 117-110, 118-109 and 119-108.

Neither fighter went down or was seriously hurt, although Arnaoutis lost a point for low blows and suffered a cut over his eye late in the fight.

The victory keeps Rodriguez (25-4-2, 14 knockouts) in the hunt for a 147-pound title.

Arnaoutis (22-5-2, 10 KOs) has now lost three of his past four fights and will have a difficult time reclaiming contender status.

Rodriguez was born in the Dominican Republic but lives in Danbury, Conn. Arnaoutis was born in Greece but lives in Queens, N.Y.

Also, 2008 U.S. Olympian Demetrius Andrade (10-0, 7 KOs) shut out journeyman Geoffery Spruiell (8-9, 2 KOs) in a six-round junior middleweight bout.

Source: ringtv.com

If Haye Tries To Make A Statement, Ruiz Might Make Off With His Belt -- The Sweet Science

By Ron Borges, The Sweet Science

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – Haye Fever is in the air despite gloomy skies and rain-spattered streets in England’s second largest city this weekend. The reason is that the first British heavyweight champion to fight in the British Isles in nearly 10 years is coming to the MEN Arena Saturday night to do more than defend the WBA title he won four months ago. He’s here to make a statement about himself and about British boxing.

The trajectory of British heavyweights prior to Lennox Lewis was far more horizontal than vertical. Once they ventured from their island home the majority of them quickly found themselves outgunned and out cold. Lewis changed that during his time as one of the two dominant heavyweights of his era but he’s been retired for seven years and since then there has been a thirst here to find a British successor.

Olympic gold medalist Audley Harrison was not that man. Neither was Danny Williams, who faded into oblivion not long after he conquered a faded Mike Tyson. Whether David Haye is remains to be seen, but he won the WBA version of the title four months ago by taking a decidedly careful approach to seven-foot champion Nikolai Valuev and now will make his first defense against two-time WBA title holder John Ruiz.

Many would argue it is Haye’s first real exposure to a true heavyweight, Valuev being more of a circus act than a boxer and Haye’s previous two heavyweight opponents since abandoning the undisputed cruiserweight title (Monte Barrett and Tomasz Bonin) were one step below journeyman status.

Ruiz, on the other hand, has fought 322 rounds as a heavyweight, including 162 championship rounds. He’s twice won the WBA title and this will be his 11th title fight (5-4-1, 1 no contest). To say he is Joe Louis would be wrong. To say he knows his way around heavyweight boxing would be correct. Whether Haye does remains a mystery unsolved.

Haye is nine years younger than the 38-year-old former champion. He is faster of hand and foot and a more powerful puncher, having knocked out 21 of his 23 victims. But whether or not he’s truly a heavyweight remains a point open to discussion because his chin is suspect and his stamina debatable.

Haye (23-1, 21 KO) was dropped by Barrett but got up and stopped him. He was dropped by Jean-Marc Mormeck and Carl Thompson and wobbled by Giacobbe Fragomeni during his time as a cruiserweight as well. He rose to knock out Mormeck and Giacobbe but was stopped by Thompson and so, when taken in totality, those fights raise a question about his fitness to survive for long among the redwoods of boxing. That is why Haye is looking at the Ruiz fight as more than a way to get at the Klitschko brothers on an even promotional plain.

“I’m looking to make a statement in this fight,’’ Haye said this week. “I’m looking to do something dramatic. Ruiz looks good. He looks as good as I’ve ever seen him but I am prepared for that.

“I’m expecting a hard fight. He was stopped 14 years ago (by David Tua) when he got caught cold early but since then he’s never shown any signs of a weak punch defense so if I stop him it will be a great indication of how hard I can punch.’’

The British press have called Haye “the flag-bearer of British boxing’’ and claimed he needs to do more than simply win, insisting this needs to be a spectacular declaration of divisional domination. Although he has tried to downplay all that, which is not his normal way of handling such matters, in the end he conceded wining is not enough if he is to make the kind of statement about himself he believes needs to be made.

“Nothing matters unless I win this fight,’’ Haye said. “I feel like the challenger, not the champion. I feel like I have to take something from Ruiz.

“He’ll be rendered unconscious at some point. Maybe late. I don’t believe he can take my power for 12 rounds. I know he’ll try to smother my punches but the longer the fight goes the better the chance I’ve got (of stopping Ruiz).

“By the end of the fight he will have taken a lot of punishment. He’ll have to take a hell of a shellacking to get there (the 12th round).’’

Haye is a 7-1 betting favorite for a reason. He has superior quickness, athleticism and hand speed. Even Ruiz conceded, “My talent is just so-so. I make up for what I don’t have in determination,’’ which is far from a ringing endorsement of himself.

Yet nothing could be worse for a young champion with a sometimes disloyal chin than to seek a spectacular victory. Haye’s obligation is not to produce drama, for if he pursues that he could produce disaster instead, a moment he experienced six years ago in a similar situation with Thompson.

At that time Haye was considered the future of the cruiserweight division while the 40-year-old Thompson was yesterday’s news. The issue was not whether Haye would defeat him but rather how fashionably he would do it. Five rounds into his night’s work, Haye was a beaten young man, knocked into submission by a fighter who understood his craft and, more importantly, understood that the boxing ring is a place where a script can be re-written with one fist.

Haye’s problem in this regard is that he already took the conservative approach when he won the title by staying away from the hulking Valuev and pot-shotting his way to a championship. It worked beautifully but it seemed to raise the hackles of British fight fans, who this time are demanding much more of him.

Perhaps Haye will be wise enough to screen out their demands and focus on his job by using his quickness to create the right punching distance, winning the territorial battle first with judicious use of pressure, wearing Ruiz down with a relentless pounding before trying anything bolder. That would be the wise course but young fighters are often unwise.

“I have half his experience,’’ Haye said. “He is a seasoned, successful heavyweight. I have to respect him. But I have the skill set to deal with him. I believe I’m the hardest puncher, pound-for-pound, in the world. I look to make a statement, to do something dramatic with him.

“Others didn’t study and they underestimated him. I won’t fall into that trap. I don’t underestimate John Ruiz. A few people think he’ll come over here and upset me. I can’t allow that.’’

To avoid it, David Haye will have to avoid being sucked into the kind of mauling wrestling match Ruiz sometimes looks to create. He does it to use his 230 pounds as a battering ram that wears you down, breaking your spirit and unsettling your plans. Once done, he then forces you to submit, which is what he did particularly to Hasim Rahman, Kirk Johnson and Andrew Golota.

To avoid their fate, David Haye has to avoid the trap of trying to make a statement instead of trying to win a fight.

Source: thesweetscience.com

John Ruiz ready to battle his instincts and brawl past David Haye -- The Guardian

By Kevin Mitchell, Guardian.co.uk

The word here this week has been that John Ruiz, at 38, will abandon the hugging habits that have made him a pariah among heavyweights and throw punches freely at David Haye to win back the WBA title he has held twice before. We will see.

The theory springs from a friendship between the champion and BJ Flores, an unbeaten American cruiserweight, who, until recently, was a $1,200-a-week sparring partner for Ruiz in Las Vegas.

When that gig was terminated, Flores unburdened himself to Haye, who has adjusted his strategy accordingly. "I've got my spies," is the way Haye put it, "so I know what he's doing. If he lets his hands go, it will suit me. You can't hit someone if they're holding on to you. If he's standing there trying to exchange with me, as soon as his hands come away from his face, it gives me a target to hit. I will be able to land my shots quicker than he will."

Ruiz confirmed the Flores story, maintaining he was always a slugger at heart. "You're going to see the old Ruiz, boxing and punching," he said, "not like recently where I was leaning in too much and got into a holding situation. We're not going to see much of that. Yes, David Haye being a smaller guy, leaning on him could count as a plus. I've got to play it by ear when I step into that ring."

That is the moment when his fine intentions of making the fight an all-out brawl will come under intense pressure, when he will have to force himself to ignore the tics and shrugs picked up in 54 fights over 18 years.

Ruiz, although he has deceptively nimble footwork, is not going to turn into Fred Astaire for the evening. He will do what all fighters do: trust his instincts. Those instincts have helped him in 44 wins, 30 early, and cost him dearly a couple of times when it mattered, such as the night Roy Jones Jr embarrassed him by moving up from light-heavyweight to take his title away in 2003. Ruiz admits it was "the worst night of my life".

Haye, a keen student of his business, has watched that tape many times. He is not as quick as Jones, but there is not much in it. Speed will determine the course of this bout, as it did that one. Apart from the night in Nuremberg last November, when he out-foxtrotted Nikolai Valuev over 12 surreal rounds to win the belt, dynamic punching is at the core of Haye's method.

If Haye unloads on him in the first round, Ruiz will go back to his corner, and Miguel Diaz, the 78-year-old Argentinian who has just joined Team Ruiz, will tell him again to "let the punches go". If he does, it will not be often or for very long because he will find Haye's booming right hand descending on him.

No doubt Ruiz and Diaz figure Haye is susceptible because he has been stopped and dropped. They might think also that his stamina is suspect because he tired badly as an amateur in losing the light-heavyweight final at the 2001 world championships against the Cuban Odlanier Solis, then collapsed against Carl Thompson as a pro in 2004.

But those were at times when Haye's dedication slipped. His chin is not as fragile as people imagine and his training regime is so finely tuned he could probably go 20 rounds.

So, it is difficult to imagine any trainer worth his fee – and Diaz has trained 13 world champions – would advise a fighter to take unnecessary risks against such a heavy-handed opponent for longer than he has to, especially when predicated on an dubious diagnosis.

For boxing purists this is an intriguing contest. Whether it will live up to Adam Booth's billing as "one of the most exciting fights in years" will depend largely on the champion. Haye's trainer and confidant visualises an early finish, partly because if the fight goes the distance his man will be struggling against an opponent who has been operating at the weight all his professional career. Haye weighed in at 15st 12lb, and Ruiz was 16st 7lb.

I expect Ruiz's 12th world title fight to be his last. Haye should stop him about midway and keep a cursed belt that nobody in recent times has seemed capable of retaining for more than a couple of defences.

Source: guardian.co.uk

Bernard Hopkins: Reflections on the Jones Rematch and Life -- Huffington Post

By Gordon Marino, The Huffington Post

Seventeen years ago, Bernard Hopkins (50-5-1, 32KOs) lost a unanimous decision to Roy Jones Jr. (54-6, 40KOs). That victory helped catapult Jones into super stardom. On Saturday, the two future Hall of Famers will face off again in a pay per view bout to be held at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Hopkins is five years off the half-century mark and Jones is forty-one.

I asked Hopkins why he keeps fighting. He was quick to explain, "Because I still love it. And I'm going to keep going until my body tells me to stop!" Further on in the conversation it became clear that the history conscious ex-champ is enthralled by the idea of being a onetime middleweight who goes up to contest for the heavyweight crown. The Executioner is hoping for a shot at David Haye's WBA heavyweight title, which Haye is also defending Saturday against John Ruiz.

Hopkins noted,"Ninety-nine percent of fighters go on because they need the money. I don't know whether that is it with Roy. But I do know that he has an ego that is even bigger than mine. And that is big! Roy can't believe what happened to him in his last few fights and he wants to save his legacy by beating me."

Hopkins, who had just finished his last hard day of training, continued, "It's ironic. Roy's victory over me made him a super star and now I'm going to be the one to end his career on Saturday night."

When I asked about the first fight, Hopkins recalled, "It was like going on a first date. You're so caught up in trying to be perfect and you can't quite be yourself. That was me. That was my first huge fight. I took a big lesson from it. It improved my focus 100 percent. Every time I went in the ring after that I was always thinking -- a chance like this may never come again. I learned from my defeat. But Roy was always protected from guys who would really challenge him and he has had to pay for that."

Hopkins elaborated, "Boxing has to be more like mma in one sense. In mma they don't make a big deal about a loss. They come right back and are at it again. That's how it used to be in boxing. Look at Sugar Ray Robinson. He lost. But Roy was always terrified of losing that zero and, for that reason, he didn't develop the way he would have if he had been tested."

Though it was but a few days before his bout, Hopkins was generous enough to share some tips with me about coaching amateurs. Some were quite specific. For example, "Don't let them throw a hook unless they are leaning to their left, because they'll square up and get nailed." But Hopkins had more than hints about technique to pass on.

"Do you know what is going to be on my shirt at the press conference?," he asked.
I didn't.
"CDR," he said. "Do you know what that stands for?" I didn't.

He explained: " 'C' because you have to have courage to lead a good life and be successful. But courage is not enough. You have to have the discipline to make the sacrifices you need to develop your abilities. I got that discipline in the penitentiary and through boxing. But the R is also important. It stands for rest. Everyone needs rest. Everyone has to re-charge."

The professor of pugilism is right. But I can't help but hope that both of these legendary fighters give boxing a rest after tonight. I know it's cold outside the klieg lights and torture to leave behind a skill that you have been honing for most of your life, but these men have nothing left to prove in the ring, and much to offer from outside the squared circle.

Gordon Marino is a boxing trainer and writes on boxing for the WALL STREET JOURNAL

Source: huffingtonpost.com

David Haye plans stylish victory over Ruiz -- AFP

AFP

MANCHESTER — David Haye plans a big statement victory when he defends the WBA world heavyweight title against John Ruiz on Saturday.

Haye took the title by defeating Nikolai Valuev with a disciplined display that went the full 12 rounds in November, but he wants to provide a more entertaining bout when meets Ruiz at Manchester's MEN Arena.

The 29-year-old Londoner has recorded 21 knockouts in 23 victories and he believes it is time to get back to his more flamboyant style.

"After what happened against Valuev I definitely feel pressure to put on something special," he said. "I'm fighting someone my own size, so that should be easier.

"Everyone knows the reason I fought like that against Valuev - it was because of his sheer size. I had used to my advantages which were speed, timing and accuracy.

"It will be completely different this time around - you'll see what I can do against someone who's my own size.

"It will be something different to what people are used to seeing. Ruiz will be tough but the plan is still to render him unconscious.

"I want to make a big statement in this fight by showing how a heavyweight champion deals with John Ruiz.

"I'll throw everything at him. It will be all guns blazing and I'm expecting to sizzle."

Haye's ambition of producing an electrifying first defence may be thwarted by Ruiz, whose spoiling style has increased his longevity while limiting his box-office appeal.

The 38-year-old American, who battled Evander Holyfield across three fights and 36 rounds a decade ago, could be troubled by Haye's speed but is in impressive shape.

Haye admits Ruiz has the look of an obdurate opponent.

"There doesn't seem to be an ounce of fear in Ruiz," he said. "Sometimes you can see in their eyes that they're nervous - they might pump their chest out and you can see their heart beating - but he's looked cool, calm and collected.

"I wouldn't go as far as to say I admire him but I respect him and what's he done.

"I respect that's he's been around for so long, always giving a great account of himself.

"He's always been the underdog but has usually found a way to win.

"He's not the most exciting of fighters, but this time round he's in great shape so I'm expecting fireworks."

Should Haye make Ruiz his 24th victim, he will target a lucrative showdown against either Vitali or Wladimir Klitschko.

"After this the plan is the Klitschko brothers. But nothing matters if this doesn't go the way we want it to," Haye added.

"I've got to beat Ruiz first. If I do then there are some superfights out there for me.

"I believe I'm a born winner and all I do is aspire to win. That's all I think about in anything I do in life."

Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved.

Source: google.com

Bernard Hopkins, Roy Jones Jr. face off after 17 years and 70 fights -- Las Vegas Sun

By Robin Leach, Las Vegas Sun

It’s taken 17 years, but boxers Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr. will finally meet again in the ring. In May 1993, they fought over the IBF middleweight belt, and Roy won by unanimous decision. Their paths never crossed again until now.

Bernard and Roy will slug it out tomorrow night at Mandalay Bay Events Center. Call it revenge to settle a score, but it’s more like vindication for Bernard to end his sports career on a high note.

Roy dominated the light heavyweight categories for 11 years and lost only twice -- in 1997 to Montell Griffin and in 2004 when Antonio Tarver knocked him out in a rematch from six months earlier when Roy had defeated him.

Bernard enjoyed a 10-year reign as IBF middleweight champion, including a win over Oscar De La Hoya. He successfully defended his belt 20 times, which stands as a record to this day.

Bernard said in a press release: “I’ve accomplished a lot in my career since that 1993 fight, but I am going to end this thing between us once and for all.” Roy is just as confident and said that he will prove what he did 17 years ago he is capable of doing one more time.

Our contributing photographer Tom Donoghue will be on hand to chronicle the matchup from today’s weigh-in through to the winner tomorrow night, and we’ll have it all here for you in one fabulous photo gallery Monday morning.

Roy goes into the ring with a record of 54 victories(40 by knockout) and six losses, and Bernard’s stats stand at 50-5-1, with 32 knockouts. Between them, they have fought 70 fights waiting for this one!

Now this is Bernard’s chance to beat the man who ruined that first world title shot way back when. He told our colleagues at the Las Vegas Sun: “To me, in 17 years, you learn to get immune to it. It doesn’t get my blood pressure up high or anything like that. But that’s because I'm a true veteran, and I’m not trying to waste energy answering questions on whether I like him or not in the days before the fight.

“When you’ve been around the game, everything is controlled until that bell rings. But around Friday after the weigh-in, you’ll start to see it bubbling up.”

Follow Robin Leach on Twitter at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.

Source: lasvegassun.com

Believe it or not: Hopkins-Jones will be worth the wait -- Miami Herald

By Sports Network

OK folks, I've heard all the commentary about Saturday night.

How they're far too old to be relevant. How one's seriously jeopardizing his legacy. How nobody will buy the premise of two men settling a 17-year-old score that could have been erased in half that.

Forget "The Rivals."

It'd more accurately be promoted as "The Colossal Waste of Time," sponsored by Geritol.

And it's come both from voices I respect and the requisite contrarian blowhards.

Make no mistake, I hear it all.

But I still don't care.

Because when Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr. at last head toward a Mandalay Bay ring with designs on hitting each other with something besides insults, the event will have two very important attributes no other fight this century has been able to boast.

Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr., to be exact.

And if you're of a certain age bracket like me, that's all that really matters.

Needless to say, I concede to the younger set that neither man is what he used to be.

The Hopkins of today might struggle with the truly elite in his weight class -- particularly one Chad Dawson. And the Jones of today has already been exposed as subordinate to several once beneath him -- specifically Danny Green, Glen Johnson and Antonio Tarver.

But that hardly means their get-together is unworthy of attention.

In fact, while neither remains the single worthiest commodity in any one division, both have proven nothing if not still superior to a significant percentage of the muck and mire heralded as contenders by various alphabet sanctioning bodies.

Even at 43, Hopkins manhandled a consensus middleweight kingpin along the Jersey shore, then pitched a near shutout over a top 20 light heavy in an overdue return to Philly roots a year later.

Meanwhile -- since the end of a well-documented three-fight skid -- a 40-ish Jones has managed five decisive victories, including a pair of stoppages, over a quintet who'd entered those frays with 140 wins, 98 knockouts and world titles in four weight classes.

If Saturday's names were Hobson and Sloan, that acumen would warrant at least middling consideration.

And given their previous Canastota accomplishments...it becomes must-see TV.

Hopkins stated the case for respect in a media conference call last week.

"If Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan were playing a one-on-one and you're a basketball fan, you're going to show up," he said. "Age cannot compete with accomplishments and names and what those individuals have done in the boxing game. The word respect is very important in this fight.

"This is not some clown reality show where you have two wrestlers, two boxers, two old entertainers or two old singers squared off in some reality show. This is the real deal. This is the real deal and I'm pretty sure you're going to be watching, too."

Count me in, Bernard.

Oh well, I guess I'm no longer a mandatory challenger.

After dueling to a tight decision against Chevelle Hallback in our Fight Factory spar match six weeks ago in Tampa, I was awaiting a spotlight rematch after my foe took care of business and gathered up the WIBA 140-pound title belt in a second crack at Holly Holm last week in Albuquerque.

Problem is...Ms. Holm wasn't in on our big plans.

Instead of graciously surrendering both her title and status as the sport's most dominant female, the comely New Mexico native employed a script similar to their own 2007 go-round and scored two important knockdowns on the way to a unanimous 10-round verdict.

Scores were 98-92, 98-92 and 98-93.

The first fight's cards, incidentally, read 100-90, 100-90 and 98-92.

"Chevelle lost by unanimous decision, but the scores ringside were deceiving to the damage she did inflict on Holly," said Amy Green, Team Hallback's publicist and a behind-the-scenes catalyst for my in-ring star turn in February. "Her goals remain the same, and she and (trainer) Sherman (Henson) are back to the drawing board for some fine tuning."

So much for perfection as a 41-year-old.

Going into last weekend's six championship fights, I knew maintaining my seven-bout run without missing a pick was in some degree of jeopardy.

But I wasn't expecting a complete collapse.

As it turned out, a slew of miscast upsets and wrongly guessed toss-ups left me correct just twice over the three-day punch-fest, nudging my overall percentage down a pair of points from 74.3 to 72.2.

I was right on target on Friday night's IBF mini-flyweight match in South Africa and Saturday's junior featherweight duel -- correctly picking Nkosinathi Joyi and Steve Molitor to emerge with title belts.

Things weren't so good the rest of the way, however, as I somehow managed to narrowly miss the boat on Guzman-Funeka in Las Vegas, Moreno-Cermeno in Venezuela and both Sithsamerchai-Kuroki and Wonjongkam-Kameda in Tokyo.

Two split decisions, a unanimous nod with an overall four-point spread and a majority verdict.

As they say in the business...it's back to the drawing board.

This week's title-fight schedule:

WBA heavyweight title -- Manchester, England David Haye (champion) vs. John Ruiz (No. 1 contender) Haye (23-1, 21 KO): First title defense; Fifth title fight (3-1, 2 KO) Ruiz (44-8-1, 30 KO): Twelfth title fight (4-5-1, 1 no-contest); Two reigns as WBA champion

Fitzbitz says: "Everyone's mapping Haye's itinerary with the Klitschkos, but he's got a significant hurdle left in a still relevant and still dangerous Ruiz. I'm feeling the upset vibe again." -- Ruiz in 10

Last week's picks: 2-4 Overall picks record: 179-65 (73.3 percent)

Source: miamiherald.com

John Ruiz's lack of ego makes him the perfect cartoon heavyweight -- The Guardian

By Kevin Mitchell, Guardian.co.uk

John Ruiz is too nice a guy to be true. No doubt, after so long in the fight game, he has a cynical and hard side to him, but you wouldn't know it listening to him do his Mr Nice Guy routine in Manchester this week. He has earned his nickname, The Quiet Man.

Ruiz ditched Don King recently and took up with Oscar De La Hoya. He has changed trainers, his private life is tranquil and, at 38, he knows his limitations in the ring. He has even taken the sting out of David Haye's pre-fight trash talk.

A whole raft of fighters have tried to wind Ruiz up, but he flat-bats every insult. He is so self-deprecating he is almost a cartoon heavyweight from the old days, a lucky pug who just turns up and does his best. If every fighter was like Ruiz it might be a dull old game – but it would be a more pleasant environment.

His new trainer, Miguel Diaz, is a nice guy too – but smart. He has trained 13 world champions and is Freddie Roach's chief assistant. The cagey old Argentinian also trains Marcos Maidana, though, who looked terrific knocking out Victor Cayo in Las Vegas last weekend to retain his interim WBA light-welterweight title.

Maidana should be Amir Khan's next challenger for the world title if the Bolton kid beats Paulie Malignaggi in New York on 15 May. Don't bet on Khan fighting Maidana, though. Diaz, a loyal Roach assistant, only smiled when asked who'd win that one.

Boycott this one

If you care about boxing, you will not care about who wins between Roy Jones Jr and Bernard Hopkins in Las Vegas tomorrow night.

How sad does it get? These are two of the finest fighters of the post-war era, but they are trying to kid voyeurs that a rematch they should have had at their peak is worth paying for 17 years after they first met. It's a bad joke.

Both of them were arrogant champions, which is often the way with great fighters. But they did not give fans the rematch they wanted when they wanted it. They chose instead to fight lesser fighters for easy money. Good business, bad karma.

Just wish them well, especially Jones who could be badly knocked out again.

Anders Eklund, 1957-2010

The careers of the big boys, more than in any other division, can thrive or perish in a single punch. But some guys don't take the hint.

Anders Eklund, who died in Sweden yesterday aged 52, was well acquainted with the vagaries of his calling. He first fought in the UK in 1983, knocking out the Birmingham-based Dubliner Paddy Finn in a round. It was Paddy's first loss and he would retire the following year after being stopped by Horace Notice.

Eklund returned to England and was knocked out himself in a round, by the rising scouser Noel Quarless. Quarless (who had been knocked out in a round by Finn in 1982) soldiered on with mixed success.

But the 6ft 8in Eklund kept plugging away. Joe Bugner beat him on points and Frank Bruno knocked him out in four rounds, but he wouldn't go away. He beat Glenn McCrory and Jesse Ferguson before Francesco Damiani knocked him out in six and Tim Witherspoon put him away in round one.

Lillen, "The Little One", at least went out with a win, beating Garing Lane on points over six rounds in a place called Aars in Denmark in 1990.

Source: guardian.co.uk

Ruiz fires David Haye warning -- ESPN Star

ESPNStar.com

John Ruiz has warned David Haye that he is perfectly placed to regain his WBA world heavyweight title.

Victory over Haye at the MEN Arena on Saturday night would see Ruiz join all-time greats Muhammad Ali and Evander Holyfield in winning a portion of the title for a third time.

The 38-year-old American, who has held the WBA belt twice before, is ranked as the underdog but refuses to consider anything other than beginning a new reign as world champion.

"My family are always there for me - my brothers, my mother," he said.

"With support like that and my personal life going as beautifully as ever, I feel like I'm complete.

"I feel like I'm on top of the world and that no one can knock me down. That's what I'm here to prove.

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't think I could win. There's no point thinking any other way, if I did then I'd go home.

"That's my personality. My personality is to go out and try and win every fight."

Ruiz, known as the 'Quietman', has earned respect this week for his professionalism and hopes his legacy to boxing will be his dignified conduct.

"Boxing is a business...maybe if I did more talking when I started I'd be a billionaire by now. Who knows? But that's who I am and I don't want to change it," he said.

"At the end of my career I want people to describe me as a proud fighter who brought honour to the sport.

"I've fought everyone in the world and take pride in that. I never stepped aside."

Source: espnstar.com

This Weekend Will Not Stand As Promoter De La Hoya's Proudest Moment -- The Sweet Science

By Ron Borges, The Sweet Science

When Oscar De La Hoya first decided to go into the promotional business he said he did it for the boxers. He claimed he was going to be different, someone who would not adopt the same abusive practices of so many of his predecessors. So how did this weekend happen?

On the same day De La Hoya is promoting a fight he said only a few months ago should not happen, when he wheels in the well-shot Roy Jones, Jr. to face semi-retired Bernard Hopkins at Mandalay Bay, he is also co-promoting a fight in Manchester, England between WBA heavyweight champion David Haye and former champion John Ruiz. He has contractual agreements with both. In other words, he’s become (Don) King For A Day.

Although De La Hoya has done many great things for boxing, this is not his proudest moment. It is a shameful one, in fact, because it is another example of how the corrupting nature of the sport seems to eventually infect everyone who enters it, even someone with all the good intentions De La Hoya once talked about.

The Roy Jones who will enter the ring at Mandalay Bay under the banner of Golden Boy Promotions is a 45-year-old fighter who is 5-5 in his last 10 fights and suffered three brutal knockouts during that span, including one only four months ago in Australia against former light heavyweight champion Danny Green in what was supposed to have been a tune-up for the Hopkins fight. Some fear it may have been, after Green knocked Jones out two minutes into the fight.

Immediately after it was over, De La Hoya blogged the following: “This is one of those cases you see all the time, a great fighter who doesn’t know when to call it a day…You can see that he’s not the same.’’

Yet De La Hoya is adding and abetting Jones by allowing him to fight under his promotional banner against one of his business partners, the 41-year-old Hopkins. It is a rematch of a 17-year-old fight, one Jones won to help propel himself to stardom. For years Hopkins sought a rematch but terms could never be agreed upon until, frankly, both had no one else to turn to and so they will be facing each other in what Jones all but admitted is more like a benefit retirement dinner than a competitive boxing match.

Several days ago Jones was asked why anyone should spend $49.95 of their hard-earned money to buy this fight on pay-per-view. The proper answer was they shouldn’t but instead Jones unknowingly revealed what this exercise is about – greed and self-delusion.

“Because we've laid down our hard-earned lives to put on two stellar careers over that 17-year period [since the first fight]," Jones said. "So why not lay down your hard-earned money to watch two guys who put their hard-earned lives on the line to entertain you people for 17 years. They understand who we are. They know who we are. They've watched us for years. We've entertained them for years, so why not give back to us and let us go at it one more time for the ages?"

For the aged would have been more accurate.

Hopkins (50-5, 32 KO) can at least argue he’s been active and successful the past seven years but Jones can say no such thing. He has not won a meaningful fight since he beat John Ruiz seven years ago to claim the WBA heavyweight title. It was a proper moment to walk away but the guy who never wanted to fight when he was capable of it now finds himself unable to stop when he can’t.

That is the dangerous trap Jones has put himself in and De La Hoya has helped make it possible. Perhaps Jones and Hopkins would have found a way to square off anyway but the fact is no one is interested, barely anyone is covering it and unless insanity rules the earth on Final Four weekend, no one is going to buy it. So unless you enjoy seeing a shot fighter take shots, what’s the point?

Hopkins is far from heavy handed but the way Jones has looked the past few years you don’t need heavy hands to knock him out now. You just need hands, which Hopkins still possesses.

Joe Calzaghe didn’t have the power to do that so instead he beat Jones like a rug hanging on a fence for spring cleaning. He cut him up, slapped him around and by the end thoroughly embarrassed him. It was sad to watch and leads you to wonder if they still have a boxing commission in the state of Nevada since Mark Ratner left, if they’ll approve a match like this one.

Antonio Tarver beat Jones from pillar to post before knocking him out. Glen Johnson would have but he knocked him stiff before he had time to. Then came Green, who blew on Jones and he went down like a building made of straw. Does the Nevada Commission not have a videotape machine?

Jones (54-6, 40 KO) made obvious he knows what he is these days when he was asked why he thought Hopkins was willing to fight him now, so long after a rematch has any meaning. His reply was sadly accurate.

“I can’t regret that man not wanting to get into the ring with me until my career is over,’’ Jones said, incredibly. “The only reason he’s fighting me now is because he feels like I’m done. He feels like I’m washed up.’’

Who doesn’t feel that way? Not even his long-time trainer, Alton Merkerson, who has repeatedly admitted the past few years that Jones is in decline while reminding everyone that he knows when to stop a fight.

He may, but when you’re getting knocked out two minutes after it starts there’s no time to stop it. All you can do is pick up what’s left when it’s over.

Unlike Jones, Hopkins has retained a measure of his skills, although not as much as he once had. He remains smart, tactical and able to avoid being hit flush very often. Jones has none of those attributes anymore. He is simply an empty vessel, one who once feared ending up blind and nearly mute, like his friend of long ago, Gerald McClellan, but now seems to have forgotten that possibility exists every time you step into a boxing ring. Maybe that’s the most damning sign of his decline. He no longer remembers what can happen to you inside those ropes.

McClellan has been unable to function since the night he went to war with Nigel Benn, trapped in a mist from which he will never emerge. Jones always refused to go visit him until he was done boxing, saying it would unhinge him. It’s time to visit before he ends up unhinged himself.

Perhaps the saddest part of this is that the entire idea of the two of them fighting is pointless. It leads neither anywhere, except closer to a place no one wants to think about.

Neither is going to come out of this with a win that will increase their marketability. As it is, no one is buying tickets, no one wanted to buy the fight and no one can understand why De La Hoya got his company involved in this fiasco.

At least the fact De La Hoya has both sides of the Haye-Ruiz fight is understandable. Haye is the WBA heavyweight champion and perhaps a fighter on the rise. If he wins he’s a cinch to get a big unification fight with one of the Klitschkos, which means many millions for all involved. Ruiz is the first and only Latino to win the heavyweight championship and a natural for De La Hoya’s company. If he wins, there’s another big fight for him out there because he will have the only belt not worn by the brothers Klitschko and they want it.

So one can at least understand the business side of Golden Boy’s involvement in Haye-Ruiz even though people used to scream bloody murder when King did this kind of stuff. In the end, that Golden Boy Promotions is involved in such promotions though, says more about what the business of boxing is doing to Oscar De La Hoya than what De La Hoya has done for boxing.

What it says about Roy Jones, Jr. is that he’s reached the stage in his boxing life that they all do – he needs someone to protect him from himself. Too bad in boxing nobody like that exists.

Source: thesweetscience.com