Bringing Shane Mosley 'to the table' not enough for Naazim Richardson vs. Floyd Mayweather -- Grand Rapids Press

By David Mayo, The Grand Rapids Press

Naazim Richardson, a veteran boxing trainer, left a veteran boxing writer completely baffled this week. In two weeks, Richardson will send Shane Mosley into the ring against Floyd Mayweather, the perimeter-dancing paragon of pugilistic perfection, so it presumably is the trainer’s job to instruct Mosley how to trap the Grand Rapids native and stop the pussy-footing -- cutting off the ring, in fistic parlance -- so as to turn the boxing match into a rumble.

Richardson refused to acknowledge as much.

We have to believe, at this point, that Mosley’s trainer knew he was talking to Mayweather’s hometown newspaper, and somehow extrapolated that out to consider it unwise to make even the most obvious concession in such a publication, as if any of that malarkey matters in the Internet era, when everybody’s local newspaper is an international publication. Just point and click.

Anyhow, when asked point-blank how to cut off the ring against Mayweather, in a question predicated on the predilection that Mosley’s best option is a fight rather than a jabbing competition in their May 1 welterweight showdown, Richardson balked.

Balked may be putting it mildly.

"First of all, I haven't read the passage that says you have to cut the ring off,” Richardson said. “Nobody's gotten that documentation to me yet. The gameplan I have is I'm bringing Sugar Shane Mosley to the table. I'm not bringing those other 40 guys that he (Mayweather) fought. I'm bringing Sugar Shane Mosley -- I'm bringing another decorated, documented legend to the table. So some of the questions are going to have be asked of Floyd Mayweather, and what he's going to have to do to deal with Sugar Shane Mosley."

Wait. What?

Let’s get this straight: We’re supposed to buy into the concept that Mosley can defeat Mayweather without the time-honored tactic of cutting off the ring?

"You cut off the ring if that's your purpose, to engage in that battle -- you cut off the ring,” Richardson said. “If you don't choose to cut off the ring, you don't have to cut off the ring. You can't document too many fights where Muhammad Ali had to cut off the ring. Cutting off the ring is a procedure you take when you're trying to apply a certain tactic. We may not be applying that tactic, so cutting off the ring may not fall under the umbrella of what we're doing."

Ali at his best wasn’t generally the stalker, by the way. He was the mover, the dancer, in much the same method Mayweather prefers, and the only time he absolutely fought anyone better at it was against Larry Holmes, when he was too old and shopworn to do anything but pass the torch.

Mayweather, at 33, given the choice between passing the torch and burning down his “Big Boy Mansion,” might just flame it and call the insurance company.

Mayweather-Mosley isn’t a pure matador vs. bull matchup, as Sugar Ray Robinson dubbed his historic six-pack of bouts against rugged Jake LaMotta, because Mosley can box plenty, and Mayweather has blasted out some top-shelf opponents.

But generally speaking, Mayweather is the purer boxer, and more likely to employ ring movement, while Mosley is the purer banger, and more likely to stalk.

Mosley and Richardson are relatively new to each other, although they already share a unique niche. In their only fight together, Richardson found plaster concealed in Antonio Margarito’s handwraps just minutes before Mosley blew him out, a wise disclosure for Mosley and fraudulent exposure for Margarito, who remains suspended more than a year later.

Yet Richardson’s response to something as simple as cutting off the ring against a master boxer seemed bizarre.

"Nobody said we're going to come in and fall into the same cookie-cutter ideology as these other athletes, and the approach they've taken, when dealing with Floyd Mayweather,” he said. “We're bringing Sugar Shane to the table."

And if Sugar Shane does nothing but follow Mayweather around the table, you’ll be sweeping him up with the crumbs.

E-mail David Mayo: dmayo@grpress.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/David_Mayo

Source: mlive.com

Kelly Pavlik has risen from the dead and now waits for Matt Macklin -- The Guardian

By Kevin Mitchell, Guardian.co.uk

Matthew Macklin is at that stage of his career where he could stick or twist. The soft option is to hunt down John Duddy in America for what would be a lucrative Irish gig, in Boston or New York, and which he would surely win – although the Belfast man first has a fight against ulio César Chávez at the Alamodome in Texas in June.

Macklin, meanwhile, is aiming higher. He wants Kelly Pavlik. This is a high-risk option, but one I hope he goes for. The European middleweight champion might be just the sort of boxer-fighter who could replicate what Bernard Hopkins did to Pavlik one weight up.

A couple of years ago, the Americans were telling us Pavlik was the next big thing in boxing. I didn't buy it then and I'd have to be a bona fide idiot to buy it now. In 2007 and 2008, he was, according to the fight game's self-regulating publicity machine, the king of the middleweights. He was so bursting with confidence, power and ambition he was calling out Joe Calzaghe at 12 stones. It would have been a massacre.

So Kelly stayed at 160lb, where he thrashed Gary Lockett in three rounds, convincing the smart Welshman to retire for good – and the cheerleaders continued to paint Pavlik as the original throwback, blue-collar hero.

He was just that, too, a personable and open young man who stayed close to his roots in struggling Youngstown, Pennsylvania. Who couldn't warm to a fighter like that? He had a loud army of supporters ready to follow him anywhere – well, to Atlantic City, at least – in their many thousands. Pavlik was going to save boxing, said the optimists.

Their guy hit hard and often, he'd twice beaten a reasonably live Jermain Taylor and anybody else they put in front of him. Before that, he'd stopped the tough Edison Miranda in seven. For a while, Pavlik was The Man.

But what the cheerleaders refused to acknowledge (and still fail to see) was that he is a straight-backed, unsubtle slugger, a thousand-mile-an-hour beast with clear technical flaws. He fights with his head in the air and his fists cocked, throwing punches in volume but without a lot of craft or thought. The guy in the bar could see them coming, but the opponents, none of them exactly Sugar Ray Robinson, couldn't get out of the way. So the myth persisted.

The one pure boxer who could expose his deficiencies was Hopkins, and the old boy did it on the Boardwalk in October 2008, in what turned out to be his last great fight. He'd just lost to Calzaghe and he was desperate to take his frustrations out on someone.

It was a pretty ordinary piece of match-making. On a night when Pavlik put on 9lbs to take on the bigger Hopkins but was clearly out of sorts, B-Hop beat him up like a cop giving a kid a slap around the ears. The Pavlik Express crashed.

There were reports of subsequent drinking and wild nights. He had injuries and infections. Twice he pulled out of fights with "the man nobody wants to fight", Paul Williams. The love affair with the fans he grew up with went sour. How familiar is this story?

But Pavlik, "The Youngstown Ghost", is back. He's sobered up and he's fit, they say. Tomorrow night in Atlantic City (where else?) he fights tough, awkward Sergio Martinez. This is another piece of brave match-making. It won't be easy against Martinez, a tricky southpaw who gave Williams hell just before Christmas and drew with Kermit Cintron last year when good judges reckon he might have won.

But if Pavlik can find something from the past, if he is still as good as his friends are hoping, he will come through. If he doesn't, it's a long drive home, where he might just take a phone call from Matt Macklin.

WHERE NEXT FOR THE GHOST?

Edison Miranda, meanwhile, has gone another route since losing to Pavlik three years ago. He's won five and lost two (against Arthur Abraham, TKO 4, and Andre Ward, points 12) in that time, and tomorrow night gets one last shot.

The willing Colombian is 29 but getting old fast. How old and how fast we will discover when he gets in the ring with Lucian Bute in Montreal tomorrow night to challenge for the Canadian's IBF super-middleweight title.

Bute, many say, would win the Showtime Super Six 12-stone tournament (which is wheezing a bit even before the half stage), except he's a HBO fighter. They could be right. I've not seen enough of him to say. But his 25-0 (20 stoppages) record has some decent names on it: Sakio Bika, who gave Calzaghe a tough night, and William Joppy, who was too good for Howard Eastman. But Bute has only twice ventured abroad, for learning fights against nobodies.

The evidence of his pedigree will be in the performance rather than the result, because he surely will win. If he doesn't look a lot better against a fading Miranda than Pavlik did in 2007, however, all talk of him taking on the Super Six winner next year some time will evaporate.

Pavlik would probably fancy his chances of moving up in weight again to take on Bute. That could be why they are on the same two-city bill on HBO, as a pre-fight sell. There's plenty of activity around this weight right now. It's all about being in the right place at the right time.

HEY, HAYE, GET IT ON

So, the wheels are turning for David Haye and Wladimir Klitschko. Let's hope they don't come off like they did last year. Adam Booth is talking to the Germans a lot lately. "Viel Glück!" as they say – or will it be Auf Wiedersehen, pet, and hello Audley?

Source: guardian.co.uk

Zbik vs Spada II This Saturday In Germany -- Eastside Boxing

Eastside Boxing

WBC #2 rated middleweight Domenico “Vulcano” Spada (30-2, 15 KOs) says he can’t wait to tear into WBC interim champion Sebastian Zbik (28-0, 10 KOs) on Saturday night in Magdeburg. Last July, in a fight for the vacant WBC belt, Zbik narrowly won by scores of 115-114 on all cards. Spada told boxing.de that this time he won’t leave it in the judges’ hands.

The Domenico Spada-Sebastian Zbik rematch is Saturday. Are you happy about it?

“Of course. I very much hope that Sebastian will fight me. Last time, he only clinched and didn’t fight. He boxed like a woman. Be a man, Sebastian! I won last year at the Nurburgring. Not him. This is my belt. I’ll take it on Saturday to Italy! Sebastian, that’s my belt! .”

Why are you so agitated?

“Because it’s almost impossible to win on points in Germany. I must and will win by KO. My last fight in February, I won by first round knockout, so I can visualize it. We’ve seen what happens when Germans box abroad. In Italy I was the Italian television commentator for the Super Six tournament. Abraham clearly lost the fight against Dirrell and not only because of the disqualification. In Germany, he wouldn’t have been disqualified. That says everything. I’m very angry about my last fight against Sebastian. I deserved to win. He will feel this anger.”

Is it good to be angry in the ring?

“I am very angry, but still clear in my head. I’m not without rhyme or reason. I have been waiting much for my new opportunity. I don’t want to mess up. ”

Sebastian Zbik wasn’t at full strength due to an eardrum operation before the fight. Do you expect to see another Zbik in the ring?

“Each boxer has his ailments while preparing. Me too. Even in his last fight against De La Rosa, Zbik didn’t fight well in my eyes. He still held back. And he had nothing in his ear, or did he? He’s a good boxer, but that’s not enough. For me, it’s all just a big excuse. ”

You seem very motivated – what motivates you?

“The last fight against Zbik. And my family. I am happily married and have three sons. Angelo, Alessandro and Anthony. Anthony was born only a month ago. I’ll give them the WBA belt as a present when I see him on Saturday.”

WBC Interim champ Zbik fires back: "We’ll see on Saturday what his words are worth"

You and Domenico Spada were standing face to face for a while and exchanged some heated words during the public work out. What was this all about?

“He wanted to tell me he’s winning the fight and the belt is his. But it was very difficult to understand him and I had to correct his English once. In the end he can say what he wants. We’ll see on Saturday what his words are worth. Then I’ll show him his place. That he made a scene is a sign of insecurity.”

What will you make different in this fight?

“This is a completely different fight. I’m physically in a very different condition. I had an injury-free preparation without health problems. This is already a huge difference from the first fight. I’m assuming that I’ll go into the fight as a different fighter and produce a very different performance."

Is it a good or bad thing thing that you have already faced each other in the ring? Are you a fan of rematch fights?

“I have every reason to be optimistic, because previously I was in really disastrous shape and probably should have canceled the fight. But it was my first world title chance after five years and he couldn’t even beat me in that form. Now I’m in top shape and can go confidently into the fight."

Will you surprise Spada? Have you trained with something specific?

“I’ll stay true to my style and we have a very good plan. I must, of course, get through the early rounds, then the fight will go well for me I’m sure.”

WBC/WBO middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik is also in action on Saturday, boxing against WBC jr middleweight champion Sergio Martinez. What are your thoughts about it?

“There should finally be clarity here. The boxing fans want to know who the best middleweight is. I want to finally get in there with Pavlik, and not be interim champion forever. I hope that after my fight with Spada the WBC or Pavlik finally takes the responsibility to make a mandatory defense. I’m ready in any case. I would also fight [IBF champion] Sebastian Sylvester or [WBA champion] Felix Sturm. Sebastian is already booked. Felix’ plans are unclear. I want to be the best in the division. I won’t duck anyone. But first I have Spada waiting on Saturday. This is the most important, for now.”

Source: eastsideboxing.com

Healthy Pavlik is ready to fight -- Philadelphia Daily News

By BERNARD FERNANDEZ, Philadelphia Daily News

A staph infection can be a nasty thing, but especially so for a boxer when the affected area is a knuckle that won't heal. Boxing is a sport that's difficult enough for those with two good hands, but it's all but impossible for someone who has only one operative fist.

When WBC/WBO middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik looks at his left hand now, he sees a repaired tool that will allow him to jab and hook his way back to his former level of prominence. Just a few short months ago, though, the knuckle area of that hand was a toxic mix of pus and pain that threatened to end his career, or at least put it on hold for a long time.

"It started in February 2009," Pavlik said, recalling his ninth-round stoppage of challenger Marco Antonio Rubio. "Throughout training camp I had a little cut on my knuckle. No big deal, right? We didn't think anything of it. It was just a tiny cut, certainly nothing to be worried about."

But Pavlik (36-1, 32 KOs ) - who fights for only the second time in 14 months when he takes on Argentine southpaw Sergio Martinez (44-2-1, 24 KOs) in the HBO-televised main event tomorrow night in Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall - soon had plenty to be worried about. The tiny cut became infected, and the infection was as persistent and difficult to defeat as any human opponent Pavlik has faced.

"A couple of weeks after the Rubio fight, I was playing basketball and I felt a pinch in the knuckle of my left index finger," Pavlik recalled. "I looked down and there was no blood, but pus was oozing out. I kind of knew then that something wasn't right.

"I had surgery to make sure it didn't get into the bone and tendon. About a week after the surgery, the cut opened back up again. I went back, had another culture done on it. At that point I was beginning to get frustrated because I'd had the surgery and was doing everything I was supposed to, but it was getting worse instead of better.

"I was taking antibiotics and was pretty much bedridden. I believed I would fight again, but you can't help but wonder when the thing was ever going to heal. It made for a pretty bad year in 2009."

Pavlik, whose express lane to superstardom was derailed when he was easily outpointed by savvy veteran Bernard Hopkins in a 170-pound catchweight bout on Oct. 18, 2008, figured he had recovered enough to sign for an Oct. 3 title defense against former WBO welterweight champ Paul Williams. But the staph infection wasn't dead, only dormant, and its re-emergence KOd what would have been an attractive matchup.

Fortunately, this flare-up responded to medication and Pavlik moved on to a Dec. 19 defense against Miguel Espino, whom he stopped in five rounds before the standing adoring throngs in Pavlik's hometown of Youngstown, Ohio.

Martinez, who lost a controversial, 12-round majority decision to Williams on Dec. 5, represents not only the toughest test Pavlik has faced since being schooled by Hopkins, but an opportunity to reassert himself as one of boxing's can't-miss attractions. It'll be his fourth appearance in Boardwalk Hall, where he had been developing the sort of following reminiscent of the late Arturo Gatti.

"I wanted to fight Williams," Pavlik stressed. "His people said I was lying about the staph infection. I wasn't lying. I don't avoid big fights. I went up two weight classes to fight Hopkins. I don't hide from anybody."

Of his image-deflating performance against the ageless B-Hop, Pavlik shrugs. Bad nights happen, and he doesn't deny he had one against someone with a history of making ring rivals appear foolish. He was stung, however, by the criticism that followed that defeat.

"People pegged me as a one-dimensional power puncher coming up," he said. "I think I showed I'm more than that. But one bad night . . . I don't know. All you can do is go back out there, keep fighting and keep winning. That's the only way to silence the critics."

In the top undercard bout, North Philadelphia welterweight contender Mike Jones (20-0, 16 KOs) squares off against Hecor Munoz (18-2-1, 11 KOs) in a scheduled 10-rounder.

fernanb@phillynews.com

Source: philly.com

Pavlik looks to rekindle career in A.C. -- Philadelphia Inquirer

By Don Steinberg, The Philadelphia Inquirer

The last time we saw middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik in these parts, he was in Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall being schooled for 12 rounds by the ageless tactician Bernard Hopkins, who handed Pavlik the only loss of his pro career.

That was in October 2008. On Saturday, Pavlik will return to the Boardwalk Hall ring, hoping to remind the local boxing crowd how much they loved him after he got up off the canvas there to knock out Jermain Taylor in 2007.

Pavlik will defend his World Boxing Council and World Boxing Organization middleweight (160-pound) titles against Sergio Martinez, the best boxer he has faced besides Hopkins.

Pavlik remains middleweight king - he fought Hopkins at a higher weight, 170, so he didn't lose his belts - but he has something to prove.

He is Ring magazine's champion and the "lineal" titleholder, meaning he beat the guy who beat the guy, all the way back to boxing's early days: Pavlik bested Taylor (twice actually), and Taylor twice had outpointed Hopkins, who was unified champ until 2005.

But the months since October 2008 have been lost ones for Pavlik, even though he won two low-profile fights in 2009, in his hometown of Youngstown, Ohio. A planned 2009 superfight against Paul Williams was canceled twice, in large part because Pavlik spent much of last year with a bizarre staph infection, the kind that can put a life at risk.

"It was a frustrating 2009," Pavlik said. During training camp in February 2009, Pavlik explained, "I had a little cut on my knuckle and didn't think anything of it. Two weeks later, I was playing basketball and I felt a little pinch on my knuckle. I looked down and saw no blood, just pus."

Pavlik, a big puncher (36-1 with 32 knockouts) from the same hometown as Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini - and known for bringing a similar blue-collar grit into the ring - became bedridden.

Matches were scheduled and canceled versus Williams, a dangerous southpaw from Georgia who is a contender in three divisions, from welterweight to middleweight.

"It was a little upsetting to hear what people were saying" about the cancellations, Pavlik said. "I wanted to fight Williams, and they said I was lying. The doctors had to prove that I wasn't lying, and we couldn't make the fight happen."

So Plan B is Martinez (44-2-2, 24 KOs), a cagey southpaw who fought even with Williams but lost an arguable decision in December.

"People know that he's a dangerous fighter, and when I go in there and dominate and win, I'll be right back on track," Pavlik said.

Also on the Atlantic City card are fights featuring Mike Jones (20-0, 16 KOs), an exciting welterweight prospect from Philadelphia, and junior middleweight Ronald Hearns (24-1), son of Thomas Hearns.

Back on track for Pavlik probably will mean moving out of the weak middleweight division and up to 168 pounds, where there's such an excess of talent - including Andre Ward, Arthur Abraham, and Andre Dirrell - that Showtime has been running a six-man round-robin to determine world supremacy.

Saturday's Pavlik fight will be on HBO, in a two-venue telecast that also will include a super-middleweight title fight from Montreal between champion Lucian Bute and wild-swinging Colombian Edison Miranda, whom Pavlik knocked out in early 2007 to earn his first title shot.

So there's a lot of business for Pavlik a few pounds higher. You can't even count out a rematch with Hopkins, who insists he's not done fighting yet.

Source: philly.com

Lucian Bute, One Of Boxing's Most Dominant Fighters -- FanHouse

By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse

Romanian-born left-handed IBF super middleweight (168 pounds) champion, Lucian Bute, may not only be the most dominant fighter in his weight class, but also, among the most dominant boxers in the sport, overall.

For if Bute isn't stopping fighters with his vicious body shots, as he did during fourth-round stoppage of his past two rivals, Fulgencio Zuniga, and, Librado Andrade, then the Canadian resident is simply completely outclassing them on points.

"Bute is in a different league. Bute, who is not a huge puncher, was able to knock out both Librado Andrade and Fulgencio Zuniga -- two extremely rugged and durable fighters," said Scott Crouse, co-host Ballroom Boxing Report, Baltimore's ESPN Radio 1300AM. "Those two knockouts happened because Bute is smart and surgically precise with his punches."

On Saturday night, Bute will put his record of 25-0, with 20 knockouts, on the line against hard hard-hitting, Colombian, Edison Miranda (33-4, 29 KOs) before Bute's partisan fans at the Bell Center in Montreal.

HBO has paired Bute-Miranda as a double-header with Kelly Pavlik (36-1, 32 KOs) defending his WBC and WBO middleweight (160 pounds) crowns against Spain's southpaw, WBC junior middleweight (154 pounds) champion, Sergio Martinez (44-2-2, 24 KOs).

"It will certainly be a pleasure for me to box again at the Bell Centre and to defend my title for the fifth time in front of my fans," said the 29-year-old Bute,in an earlier statement. "I am taking Miranda very seriously. He demolished many good fighters and is a notorious puncher. I will have to keep my concentration level on high to stay champion."

In November, Bute twice dropped the steel-chinned, Andrade (28-3, 21 KOs), a native of Mexico who lives in La Habra, Calif., who was knocked out for the first time in his career.

Bute had dropped the 31-year-old Andrade with a short left hand to the chin early in the round before finishing him with a hard, left to the rib cage from which left Andrade being counted out on all fours.

Bute-Andrade was a rematch of the champion's unanimous decision victory over Andrade in October of 2008, which ended in controversy at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

In that fight, Bute had to bravely survive a near-final round knockout against Andrade, who entered the bout at 24-1 with 18 stoppages and with his lone defeat having come by decision against Denmark's former WBA super middleweight king Mikkel Kessler (42-2, 32 KOs).

"We found out a few things about Bute after he stopped Librado Andrade," said, Joe Santoliquito, managing editor Ring Magazine, "and one of those things is that Bute can punch."

But he can also box.

Bute's last bout with Andrade notwithstanding -- he won by the scores of 117-109, 115-111, and, 115-110 -- the southpaw's resume has been one of dominance, whether stopping or widely out-pointing his opponents.

Before rematching Andrade, Bute was coming off of the March, 2009, stoppage of Zuniga.

But during two fights in 2006, Andre Thysse lost 120-107, 120-108, and, 120-109, and, Loleng Mock, 120-109, 120-108, and, 118-111.

In February and June of 2007, respectively, Bute dominated Sergey Tatevosyan, 119-108, on two judges' cards, and, 120-108, on the third; as well as Sakio Bika, 118-109, on two cards, and, 116-111, on the third.

During some of his most recent knockouts, the Canadian was ahead 98-92, twice, and, 97-93 on the third card before stopping Berrio, and he was pitching a shutout, 90-80, on all three cards before scoring a 10th-round knockout over former world champion, William Joppy.

Joppy had gone the distance with Bernard Hopkins and Jermain Taylor, and was stopped for only the second time in his career. The other time Joppy was knocked out was against Felix Trinidad in the fifth round in May of 2001.

"Bute uses the ring well," said Steve Farhood, Showtime boxing analyst. "Bute is very good defensively, has excellent, excellent balance, and everything you need against a pressure fighter."

The 33-year-old Miranda is coming off of October's first-round knockout of Francisco Sierra, of Mexico, who slipped to 20-3 with 19 knockouts, ending a winning streak of nine straight KOs since being stopped in the 10th round by Rigoberto Alverez in December of 2006.

In victory, Miranda rebounded from May's unanimous decision loss to former Olympic gold medalist Andrew Ward (21-0, 13 KOs), who dethroned Kessler as WBA king in November of Showtime's Super Six Super Middleweight World Boxing Classic.

Miranda's win over Sierra marked his first time working with trainer Joe Goossen, brother of Miranda's promoter, Dan Goossen. Miranda won his first 26 fights, with the initial 21 coming by way of knockout, and an incredible 16 of those being in the first round.

Among Miranda's biggest victories was a March, 2007 unanimous decision over Allan Green (29-1, 20 KOs) of Tulsa, Oklahoma, whom he out-pointed over 10 rounds, 96-91, on two cards, and, 97-90, on the third.

Green, who dropped Miranda in the eighth round, has since won six consecutive fights, four of them by knockout, and has been inserted into the Super Six to face Ward in June.

Green replaced former world champion, Jermain Taylor, who pulled out of the Super Six after being knocked out by Germany's Arthur Abraham (31-0, 25 KOs).

Nicknamed "Pantera," or "Panther," Miranda had lost four of his previous 10 fights heading into the matchup against Sierra. But Miranda began working in June with Joe Goossen, who has complimented the fighter's punching power with improved boxing skills and dietary habits.

Including Ward, Miranda's losses have all been to world champions.

Miranda has lost twice, by decision, and, knockout respectively, to Abraham, in September of 2006, and, June of 2008, and he was stopped in the seventh round in May of 2007 by Pavlik, who went on to dethrone Taylor as WBO and WBC middleweight (160 pounds) titlist.

In his first bout against Abraham, in Germany, Miranda broke the then IBF middleweight champ's jaw in the fourth round. Abraham, nevertheless, fought on in a bout that appeared dangerously close to being stopped.

Source: boxing.fanhouse.com

Cotto wants revenge vs Pacquiao -- Manila Bulletin

By NICK GIONGCO, Manila Bulletin

Miguel Cotto wants revenge against Manny Pacquiao.

This was the statement made by Emanuel Steward, who has assumed the role of Cotto's trainer in a story that appeared in the Puerto Rican newspaper El Vocero (The Voice).

Steward, whose Kronk Boxing Club in Detroit spawned Thomas Hearns, said Cotto wants another crack at Pacquiao, who won by 12th round knockout in their November 2009 welterweight (147 lbs) duel at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Steward and Cotto are now paired together in preparation for Cotto's June showdown with Yuri Foreman for the latter's world super-welterweight crown.

"He feels that his defeat to Pacquiao was humiliating and that he wants to face him again," said Steward, who believes that his ward still has what it takes to make waves in the big stage.

Considering the hardship of making a megabuck matchup between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, Steward said promotional outfit Top Rank can easily pair Pacquiao against Cotto at 154 lbs, a weight class that Cotto has found comfortable.

Steward said the reason why Cotto lost to Pacquiao was the fact that Cotto had poor balance and that he knows how to remedy the flaw and also rekindle the fire in Cotto's belly.

Although Cotto is not among those being eyed to face Pacquiao when the Filipino returns to the ring in September or November, he could end up being on the same ring with the world's No. 1 fighter this year since they’re are both promoted by Top Rank.

Source: mb.com.ph

Heavyweight Excitement: No longer an Oxymoron? -- Ringside Report

By Jeff Stoyanoff, RingsideReport.com

When David Haye stopped John Ruiz on April 3rd in Manchester it was both expected and an upset. Most observers expected Haye to win the fight, but quite a few also figured that the experienced and cagey Ruiz would make it a most competitive fight. That Haye won was expected. That Haye dominated Ruiz and became the first man in over a decade to earn a stoppage against him? That can accurately be characterized as somewhat of an upset.

Naturally, with the spectacular nature of Haye’s win there will be the all too predictable suggestion that Ruiz was old and shot or perhaps simply overrated as a top fighter. Ruiz has never been blessed with fantastic gifts in the ring. He is not extraordinarily fast nor does he have tremendous power. Yet, Ruiz is an intelligent fighter, an excellent tactician, and he knows how to use those qualities in the ring. If there is a legacy to the career of John Ruiz it is that he was possessed of a special ability to be competitive in fights; a level of competitiveness that belied his natural gifts. For one of the rarest and most glaring times in a long and distinguished career, John Ruiz was overmatched in a fight and David Haye deserves all the credit in the world for that.

Yet, now the conversation will turn to David Haye and the brothers Klitschko. Haye has already made no bones about the fact that he can’t wait to get either (and eventually both) of them in the ring. And, for their part, the Klitschkos seem pretty keen on the idea as well. While it may be wrong to dismiss Haye’s win over Ruiz as merely what should have taken place, it would also be wrong to overlook the fact that either Klitschko is anything less than a giant step up for Haye. And speaking of giants…

Images of Valuev

We certainly got a glimpse of how dangerous it can be to follow David Haye around in the ring. In fact, we got that glimpse about fifteen seconds into the fight when John Ruiz was caught flat footed by a lightning fast right hand from Haye and was promptly deposited on the canvas. It was a shocking display of just how talented Haye can be. From that point on, Haye demonstrated repeated flashes of brilliance as he methodically, yet inexorably dismantled Ruiz over nine one sided rounds. Ruiz gamely continued to take the fight to Haye and was not without some offensive success, but ultimately the speed mismatch was too much to overcome. However, one must wonder if the same active and utterly destructive Haye that decimated Ruiz would be the one that shows up for either Klitschko. The genesis of this question lay not in the conjecture of a potential matchup, but in the certitude of history. Haye often looked befuddled in his fight with former WBA Champion, Nikolay Valuev.

In the first six rounds of the Haye-Valuev fight, Haye threw only 84 punches. The fact of the matter is, Haye was clearly unsure of how to proceed against the taller and longer Valuev. Both Klitschko brothers are far more in line with Valuev than Ruiz in terms of a matchup of styles. It is undoubtedly true that Haye won against Valuev and even staggered him badly in the twelfth and final round. On the other hand, it is also true that both Klitschkos are better fighters than Valuev and present a much greater challenge both offensively and defensively as potential opponents for Haye.

So, David Haye will probably be considered a rightful underdog when he eventually squares off with Wlad or Vitali. The ring records and fighting styles will dictate that. However, this is still a hugely exciting and intriguing potential matchup. There is something in this potential bout that differs greatly from the previous fights involving either Kltischko. David Haye is not just good, he is live; he has something. He has speed, he has power, and he has a big mouth…

The Talking Game

The Klitschko’s are avid chess players; and it shows. They are both cerebral tacticians in and out of the ring. In the ring, both are remarkably disciplined as they patiently set up their opponent before often brutally taking them out sometime in the mid to later stages of a fight. Quite often, the end comes quite awhile after the competitive aspects of the fight have long since been decided. In other words, they don’t feel any urgency to finish a guy as soon as they sense their advantage. Why rush in and run into a checkmate? Or, in boxing parlance, run into a huge shot that can turn a fight. Recently, nobody has been able to avoid their inevitable doom in a match with the Klitschko’s as both of them seem to come out set up their shots and eventually destroy their often beleaguered opponent; the disciplined attack wreaking havoc on overmatched fighters.

But, David Haye is going about things in a different way. Haye has already angered both Klitschkos. The talking seems to be a ploy designed to enrage them and throw them off their deliberate yet devastating game. In a recent interview, Freddie Roach said that the feud between Pacquiao and Mayweather wasn’t simply hype and that Pacquiao really does hate Mayweather. However, Roach quickly cautioned that he needed to steer Manny away from that because fighting angry would severely undermine his chances for success in that fight. Pacquiao being angry would be exactly what Mayweather would want as it would greatly increase the chances that Pacquiao would make mistakes in the ring.

David Haye would no doubt love for the Klitschkos to be angry and make those same mistakes. Haye is the smaller man. He needs the Klitschkos to take chances. He needs them to want to fight not simply box. Haye can’t afford for them to be too disciplined. For all his talent, Haye struggled at times to get going against Valuev and that doesn’t bode well when a Klitschko is throwing punches at you. But, if that discipline slips; if the opponent reaches just a little; leans in and fights a little less tall; opens himself up too early, perhaps the explosive talent of Haye can produce the seismic upset.

The Valero Effect

Much is made of the loss David Haye suffered to Carl Thompson. While it is true that Haye was in fact knocked out in the fight, the loss nevertheless occurred nearly six years ago. Haye is a different fighter now; a decidedly better fighter. Similarly, much is made of perceived defensive lapses by Haye, specifically a tendency to have his hands down even while in the punching range of his opponents. Admittedly, the lack of discipline can get him in some trouble. Haye has been down in two of his last five fights. However, fighters are certainly aware of who they are fighting in the ring on a given night.

A rudimentary search on youtube will yield several rounds against different opponents in the career of Edwin Valero. In the video, Valero is often wild on his punches, his hands are often down, he is regularly squared up to his opponent, and he is routinely off balance. In short, based on those rounds, Valero’s vaunted record to that point looked like a strong case of padding; a case of a talented, but thoroughly undisciplined fighter feasting on inferior opposition. Then, Valero took on Antonio Demarco. Demarco, another rising star, presented a more formidable challenge. Somewhat surprisingly, Valero fought extraordinarily well demonstrating an as yet unseen level of fundamental discipline as he systematically took apart a solid young fighter in Demarco. Valero undoubtedly knew of Demarco’s acumen in the ring and he had an innate understanding of what he could not afford to do in the ring that night. Valero had it in him all along. He just brought it out when he needed it. Despite Haye’s bluster, it seems inconceivable that he would not recognize the abilities of the Klitschkos. Haye will be sharp; he can’t afford not to be. Unfortunately for either brother, they will almost certainly be getting the best version of David Haye they could possibly meet.

Beyond the Wins and Losses

In the end, it really doesn’t matter what happens in a fight between one of the Klitschkos and Haye. The result is secondary because the significance of this fight lay not in the result so much as in the perception of the fans. People are going to wonder just how Haye might fare. They will wonder if the movement will be problematic. There will be a curiosity about how the brothers will deal with the speed and power. And, curiosity will abound about just how much damage Haye can do with his awkward, darting style.

Much has been made of the lack of talent in the heavyweight division. Last year, most of the writers on this site for instance couldn’t even nominate a heavyweight fight of the year. Are the Klitschko’s overrated because they fight in such a weak division? Or, is it that the Klitschko’s are underrated in an all time sense as they have the misfortune of dominating what is only apparently a weak division? Those are hard questions to answer definitively, but, beyond the questions of talent and the dearth of quality fights, what is missing most of all in the heavyweight division in recent years, is wonder.

Haye’s scintillating performance may not prove to be the opening salvo in an ascent that will eventually take him passed the Kltischko’s and to the top of the division, but it doesn’t necessarily have to. The most exciting thing about Haye’s performance is that any boxing fan has to be just a little bit curious. Chris Arreola, Eddie Chambers, Ruslan Chagaev, Kevin Johnson, Ray Austin, Tony Thompson, Sam Peter, and really every Klitschko opponent in the past several years, they all have had a similar feel. They have all been good, solid fighters who earned their chance and deserve our respect. But, none of them made us wonder. The reality is, one way or another they were simply not capable of beating the Klitschko’s and we all knew it. But, Haye is a little bit different. Maybe it’s the speed, or maybe it’s just the brash talking, but the energy he brings is different. There remains ample reason to think he may be in over his head when he steps in against either Wlad or Vitali. But, with the speed and the style and the ego, he does bring one more thing that none of the others could, excitement. One can’t help but wonder and it’s been awhile since we could say that.

Source: ringsidereport.com

Kelly Pavlik: 'I Want To Leave My Stamp On This Division' -- FanHouse

By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse

ATLANTIC CITY -- It was Thursday -- two days before the scheduled, fifth defense of his WBO and WBC middleweight (160 pounds) titles against rising, southpaw, WBC junior middleweight (154 pounds) champion, Sergio Martinez, of Argentina at Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall.

As he sat in the Casesar's Palace Paladium Ballroom, smiling and patiently answering a reporter's questions, Youngstown, Ohio, native, Kelly Pavlik, appeared, nevertheless, to be simmering with an underlying intensity that is about to boil over.

Maybe it was because with Friday's 3 p.m. weigh-in only a little more than 24 hours away, Pavlik still was five pounds over the weight limit.

"Right now, we're right where we want to be. We're probably about five pounds over, and it's still early. We've still got tonight, and I'm still going to eat today. We've got until 3 p.m. tomorrow, so, therre's no reason to kill ourselves and dry out and have nothing left," said Pavlik, who is 36-1, with 32 knockouts.

"I've fought some big middleweights. Jermain Taylor was in his last fight at middleweight, and Edison Miranda was a big middleweight," said Pavlik, referring to two of his knockout victims. "And now, they're both fighting at super middleweight (168 pounds), so, the middleweights seem to be getting bigger."

Or maybe it was because the 27-year-old undisputed champion was simply tired of answering the same old questions.

Questions like, "Do you believe that too much is being made of Sergio Martinez, coming off of a narrow, split decision in a middleweight, non-title, loss to another junior middleweight, Paul Williams?"

Or, "Do you believe that Martinez is going to be surprised at your power, given that you are one of the few middleweights that he has faced, and, perhaps, by far, the biggest?"

Or, "Do you believe that because of the criticism you've received from some observers that you need to make a statement against Martinez, leaving a stamp on this division before perhaps rising into the super middleweight class?"

Or, finally, "Do you believe that he can duplicate the great Bernard Hopkins, who out boxed you in your only loss two weight classes higher at 170 or 175 pounds?"

"Sergio did fight one fight at middleweight, but that was against another junior middleweight in Williams," said Pavlik. "Sergio does punch at different angles, and he's elusive, and that's a lot that can help him against most middleweights. But the one thing is that they under estimate my hand speed. And then, of course, there's my power."

Pavlik won the crown with a September, 2007, seventh-round knockout of previously undefeated Jermain Taylor, then defended it with a decision over Taylor five months later.

"Everybody's going off of Sergio's fight with Paul Williams and our loss to Bernard Hopkins. First of all, I think that all Sergio did was expose the fact that Paul Williams wasn't the big monster that they said he was. And second of all, if they want to go off of the Bernard Hopkins fight, it just wasn't our night," said Pavlik's trainer, Jack Loew.

"They can go off of that, and then, they'll be in for a world of trouble. What this guy thinks is that Kelly's not relentless, but we average 85 punches around and Sergio averaged 43, 44 punches a round," said Loew. "I just think that the size, and the power, it's all going to catch up to this kid later in the fight, mid-rounds, and then, that's when it's going to all come crushing in on him."

Pavlik's power is such that, boxers like Taylor and Miranda, each of whom were stopped for the first time by him, appeared to be different fighters in subsequent bouts.

Taylor was stopped twice more, respectively, by Carl Froch, and, Arthur Abraham. Miranda was knocked out in the fourth round by Abraham, this, after having gone the 12-round distance in a loss to Abraham before facing Pavlik.

"Look what Miranda did with Abraham. And then, I beat him. It wasn't so much that I knocked him out cold, but it was a grueling fight for the seven rounds that we went, and he took a beating in that fight, and he hasn't been the same. He fought Abraham after that, and he was still hitting Abraham, and he got caught and he was done," said Pavlik.

"Taylor, I don't know. He has been knocked out twice since my fight, but he was winning that fight against Froch. But I think that his mentality was that he went into survival mode. Same thing with Abraham. Taylor was doing very good against Abraham, and then, after sixth round, it was like survival mode," said Pavlik.

"I don't know if it had anything to do with being knocked out in the seventh round by me, or not, because he looked so dominant," said Pavlik. "But mentally, maybe because of my knockout being in the seventh round, he's worried in the middle to later rounds."

Pavlik's last three defenses have been knockouts of Gary Lockett, Marco Antonio Rubio, and, Miguel Espino, respectively, in the third, ninth, and, fifth rounds.

He'll be looking to do similar damage against Martinez.

"First or second round, we'll see how Sergio adapts. He might move, or he might come out and bang. But what happens once he feels that power? What game plan is he going to change his route to? Right now, that's definitely a plus for me, and I think that my boxing ability is a plus," said Pavlik.

"But there is no underestimating this guy. he can fight, and I'm definitely treating him like he's the biggest threat in the world. I've watched films on this guy, and he can fight. First of all, he's a southpaw. Second of all, he punches from different angles and he can move," said Pavlik.

"He can go 12 rounds, but I've seen weaknesses in his fights where he peters out during the middle and later rounds. And at the end of fights, I've seen where he does get hit a lot, even though he's slick," said Pavlik. "He's not one of those guys that rolls punches and then fires off or slips a lot of punches. He gets hit with punches flush. This is a big fight for me, this is a meaningful fight for me. This is it. This is to silence the critics. I have to go out there and take care of business."

So much is on the line against the 35-year-old, Argentinian-born Martinez (44-2-2, 24 KOs), who was 28-0-1, with 18 knockouts since being stopped in the seventh round by Antonio Margarito in February of 2000 before losing to Williams (38-1, 27 KOs) in a clash of southpaws during which each fighter was floored in the first round.

Dallas Cowboys' owner, Jerry Jones, has taken a liking to Kelly Pavlik -- so much so that, if Pavlik defeats Martinez, the fighter could be a main event at the stadium in the fall.

Pavlik met Jones in Arlington on March 13, the day that he and Top Rank Promotions' CEO, Bob Arum, watched seven-division titlist, Manny Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 KOs), score a lopsided, 12-round unanimous decision over Joshua Clottey (35-4, 20 KOs) in defense of his WBO welterweight (147 pounds) title at The Dallas Cowboys' Stadium.

"If he is able to beat Martinez and headline Cowboys' Stadium, then we're going to look for him to fight the best possible name," said Arum. "That's it. Kelly's got a tough fight ahead of him, but he's got a big incentive to win that fight, and, to headline Cowboys' Stadium in the fall."

One of Pavlik's incentives will be fighting as part of HBO's televised, split-site coverage on Saturday, featuring Romanian-born left-handed IBF super middleweight (168 pounds) champion, Lucian Bute (25-0, 20 knockouts) defending his title against hard-hitting, Colombian, Edison Miranda (33-4, 29 KOs) in front of Bute's partisan fans at the Bell Center in Montreal.

"I definitely want to leave my stamp on this division, especially after having the night that I had in losing against Bernard Hopkins. I wanted to fight a guy like Williams or someone with a bigger name, but that fight just wasn't being made. So I went to the person who people thought beat Williams, the next most dangerous fighter, and that's Martinez," said Pavlik.

"But it's going to be one fight at a time at middleweight," said Pavlik. "I'm not goinig to put my body through grueling damage or take a chance of hurting myself to make weight just to make that name. I'll go right up to super middleweight."

Showtime's Super Six Middleweight Classic is comprised of WBA king, Andre Ward (21-0, 13 KOs), WBC titlist Carl Froch (26-0, 20 KOs), former middleweight king, Arthur Abraham (31-1, 25 KOs), former Olympic bronze medalist, Andre Dirrell (19-1, 13 KOs), former WBA titlist, Mikkel Kessler (42-2, 32 KOs), and, Allan Green (29-1, 20 KOs).

"There's a lot of opportunities at super middleweight. No matter which way you look, you can't go wrong. I mean, outside of the Super Six, you've got Bute, you've still got Miranda, and all the fighters up at that weight class.

Taylor will be back in that weight class. I don't think that he's done for good," said Pavlik. "You've got Williams and [WBA middleweight champion] Felix Sturm, and then, at 168, maybe the winner of the Super Six. And if we can't get the winner of the Super Six, probably the next best person in line, because, all of those guys are top fighters."

Source: boxing.fanhouse.com

Middleweight champion Pavlik looks to restore reputation vs. Martinez -- USA Today

By Bob Velin, USA TODAY

After Kelly Pavlik lost to aging legend Bernard Hopkins in Atlantic City in October 2008, his life began a downward spiral.

So thoroughly was the Pride of Youngstown, Ohio, beaten by Hopkins, then 44, that many, including Pavlik's fans, questioned The Ghost's rapid rise through the middleweight ranks.

Since then, Pavlik has addressed questions about excessive partying, injuries and inferior opponents. Pavlik's camp said a staph infection in his right hand in 2009 caused him to twice pull out of fights against Paul Williams, who ended up fighting, and barely beating, veteran Argentine light middleweight Sergio Martinez in December.

On Saturday, back in Atlantic City, Pavlik, 28, will get a chance to help rehabilitate his image when the middleweight champ puts his WBC and WBO belts on the line against smaller but quicker Martinez (HBO, 10 p.m. ET) at Boardwalk Hall.

Pavlik (36-1, 32 KOs) and his longtime trainer, Jack Loew, are well aware of what this fight means for his career.

"It's the most important fight of our life," Loew said Thursday. "He's taking it extremely serious. It's probably the hardest I've ever seen him work. And he knows what's at stake."

So what is at stake?

"Proving to everyone we just had a bad 2009," Loew says, "and that we're still a top-echelon fighter. We had a bad 2009 and a bad performance against Hopkins. So a lot of people have written us off. We've got a lot to prove, and we're ready to do it."

As for the excessive partying, Pavlik says, "There were hundreds of rumors going around: I was lazy; I was sick; I wanted to retire; I was broke; I lost everything. There's nothing you can do. If I go have a beer or two and people want to call me names and say I'm an alcoholic, well, that's going to happen."

Says Loew: " He's no different than any other 27-year-old kid. He likes to have fun outside of the ring and he deserves it, as hard as he works. He likes to play darts, and if they don't see him in church every day, then they feel he's doing the wrong thing.

"The outside world complaining what he's done outside of the ring, nobody's ever seen it, or witnessed it. They just assume, or they hear.

"Me knowing Kelly since he's 8-9 years old, like a father figure to him, it hurt because I know the truth. If he was out screwing around, I would've just shut my mouth. But he wasn't."

Pavlik says there was more to the Hopkins loss — a non-title bout at a catchweight of 170 pounds — than meets the eye, including an injured elbow.

"It was one of those nights I couldn't get moving," he says. "If it was a fight where I was 100% and I got beat up like that, I'd say, 'Man, we've got to change something.' But that wasn't the case."

Pavlik has fought twice since, beating little known Marco Antonio Rubio (retired in ninth round) in February 2009 and Miguel Espino (5th-round TKO) in December. Both title fights were held in his hometown.

"(People) asked, why did you take the Espino fight and not the Paul Williams fight? But you don't fight Williams at 75-80%," Loew says. "I was a lot more comfortable (fighting) Espino at 80% than with Paul Williams."

Loew and Pavlik say he is completely healed. "This is probably the best camp we've ever had, and he's completely healthy, no hand injuries or issues. There are no excuses," Loew says."It's fight time and we are 100, 120% ready to go physically."

Lou DiBella, who promotes the 35-year-old Martinez says his fighter is supremely confident

"I'd be 100% positive my guy would win if he weren't so much smaller," DiBella says. "He's a much better fighter. He's more defensive, more agile. He's faster. He can punch and he can box."

DiBella says Pavlik is a 168-pounder shrinking himself down to 160. "I don't believe Sergio's capable of a one-punch knockout against Pavlik, but Pavlik's capable of a one-punch knockout against anybody. And that's Pavlik's innate advantage in the fight. He can turn the fight on one punch," DiBella says.

"That being said, if he can't catch Sergio, he's going to be in for a very long night."

Pavlik has no plans to play cat and mouse with Martinez.

"Right now it's stick to our gameplan, using our size, speed, power," he says. "You can't go and chase Martinez around the ring. We have to stick to our gameplan and keep him busy.

"If he decides to go toe-to-toe it's, definitely my advantage. He does get hit a lot.. .. he moves a lot but as far as defense, he does get hit."

Bute hopes to defend title:

The first half of HBO's telecast Saturday is another championship fight — Canada's undefeated Lucian Bute (25-0, 20 KOs) puts his IBF super middleweight title belt on the line against Edison Miranda (33-4, 29 KOs) of Colombia.

The bout will be held at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Bute's adopted hometown. He is originally from Romania.

Miranda, meanwhile, is fighting for the first time under the direction of new trainer Joe Goossen.

"I'm really impressed by the capacity of Edison to follow my directives," says Goossen. "When I saw him lose the decision against Andre Ward in 2009, he only had a heavy right hand to rely on. I've asked him to try new things, and he did them all with extreme precision.

"I've seen see a lot of fighters in my career and Edison has the abilities and capacities of a great athlete. He's one of the best athlete I've see in my gym. If Team Bute thinks that my fighter will be tired after the sixth round, they are in for a bad surprise."

Source: usatoday.com

HBO likes 'charismatic' Bute -- The Montreal Gazette

By Herb Zurkowsky , The Gazette

MONTREAL -­­ The possibilities are endless for International Boxing Federation super-middleweight champion Lucian Bute – provided he continues winning.

And should he succeed, there’s a good chance HBO will be there for every punch and round of action.

“Lucian Bute is charismatic. Even with the language barrier, he comes across really well on TV, and you can’t underestimate that power,” said Luis Barragan, the director of programming for HBO Sports. “Guys who become stars have that charisma, and it comes across on the screen.

“And he’s a really talented fighter and a really good boxer.”

HBO, the specialty channel available to more than 30-million homes in the U.S. – and the one considered the leader in boxing – will televise Bute’s title defence against Edison Miranda Saturday night at the Bell Centre.

The card, which begins at 7, will be picked up by the cable giant at 10, and will precede HBO’s coverage of Kelly Pavlik defending his World Boxing Council and World Boxing Organization middleweight titles against Sergio Gabriel Martinez in Atlantic City. Pavlik’s bout will be available at the Bell Centre.

The possibility exists of Pavlik moving to 168 pounds and eventually fighting Bute. It’s no coincidence HBO decided on the doubleheader, nor that it had a say in Miranda as the opponent. This marks Miranda’s fourth appearance on HBO.

While Bute was training in Miami for nine weeks his trainer, Stéphan Larouche, said they were preparing for HBO as much as for Miranda.

“You do it unconsciously,” Larouche said this week, upon their return to Montreal. “You’re in show business and you’ve got to deliver. You better get used to this forum and close the show if you can. The fans of HBO, you want them to be awake. If they fall asleep, they won’t want you back. And you won’t make money.”

It was likely no coincidence this week when Barragan, just hours following his arrival to the city, had lunch with Jean Bédard, the CEO of the Sportscene Group Inc., which oversees promoter InterBox and guides Bute’s career.

This marks Bute’s second consecutive appearance on the cable channel, virtually unheard of for a Canadian boxer. HBO came to Quebec last November, when Bute dispatched Librado Andrade in their rematch, requiring only four rounds to knock him out. With the victory, Bute improved to 25-0 with 20 KOs.

Barragan said his company was skeptical of Bute prior to the bout, but ended the evening convinced he was for real.

“That fight opened our eyes,” Barragan said. “As fight people, we’re suspicious of undefeated records – especially from places like Canada, which doesn’t produce a lot of great fighters. The Andrade performance was a measuring tape.”

Bute won a unanimous decision against Andrade in their first fight, but Bute also was knocked down near the end of the final round and appeared to benefit from a long count. HBO was curious how he would fare, without controversy.

“He showed good lateral movement. He hits guys with punches they don’t see coming,” Barragan said.

Considering it was Bute’s first exposure to American audiences, and the bout coincided with U.S. Thanksgiving weekend, it served as a reasonable barometer. “This fight’s more high profile,” Barragan said. “And you have Pavlik following on a good boxing night.

“Bute’s going to have a lot more eyes on him.”

HBO wanted Miranda due to his one-punch knockout potential, giving him entertainment value. Miranda, 33-4 (29 KOs) is no stranger to marquee matchups, having faced Pavlik, Arthur Abraham and Andre Ward.

“Let’s not kid ourselves. This night isn’t about Miranda. It’s about Bute, and how he reacts to Miranda,” Barragan said. “This will give Bute the opportunity to add another element.”

hzurkowsky@thegazette.canwest.com

© Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette

Source: montrealgazette.com

Shane Mosley-Victor Conte dispute heats up again -- Los Angeles Times

By Lance Pugmire, Los Angeles Times

A settlement conference in New York on Thursday settled nothing between Pomona's world welterweight champion boxer Shane Mosley and his former performance-enhancing drugs supplier, Victor Conte.

Mosley is suing Conte, arguing that the founder of the notorious Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative tricked him by instructing him to use designer steroids "the cream" and "the clear" and the energy-boosting substance EPO. Mosley acknowledges taking the substances in advance of his 2003 mega-fight versus Oscar De La Hoya (Mosley won by decision) but denies knowing the substances were steroids and banned in Olympic sports.

Conte says Mosley knew exactly what he was taking: dangerous performance-enhancing substances that were used to resurrect his career after losses to Vernon Forrest.

So, after Thursday's hearing disintegrated into a heated exchange between the Conte camp and Mosley's New York attorney, Judd Burstein, Conte went to his computer and posted portions of Mosley's videotaped deposition onto YouTube, portions in which he acknowledges using EPO.

"The world of boxing deserves to know the truth," Conte told The Times on Thursday as Mosley, 38, continues training in Big Bear for his May 1 pay-per-view welterweight bout against unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr. "He knew he was taking EPO. He knew the benefits of enhancing his performance, he knew the dangers and risks, and he knew we were factoring in a taper time of five days before his drug test so it'd clear his system.

"He knew it was a banned substance and illegal."

The dispute was first reported by the New York Daily News.

Reached by telephone Thursday, Burstein said "the video is another example of Victor Conte's dishonesty, because it's plainly an edited portion of the entire deposition."

Burstein said he's planning to publicly release the entire videotaped deposition later. He e-mailed The Times a letter in which he advises Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Director Keith Kizer that Mosley has remained true to his word that he believed he was taking products and injections with this assurance from Conte: "I promise you there's nothing -- you won't have a bad drug test."

"Shane did not know [the products were steroids or banned substances]," Burstein told The Times. "Conte assured him it was all appropriate."

In a later e-mail to The Times, Burstein wrote:

In yet another example of Victor Conte’s complete dishonesty, he posted an edited portion of Shane’s deposition which left out Shane’s explicit testimony that Victor Conte assured Shane that EPO was not a banned substance or otherwise illegal. I look forward to cross-examining him on it at trial.

In contrast to Conte’s dirty tricks, we are going to make all of Shane’s deposition, as well as Mr. Conte’s deposition, available on YouTube in the next day or so. People should ask: why was Conte afraid to post the whole deposition? The answer will be obvious, as it shows that Shane is entirely credible.

In contrast, Conte’s deposition shows him to be just what he is: a convicted felon who would not know the truth if it slapped him in his face. There is nothing new about the story; all that Shane was saying is the same thing he said in 2003 – a claim that was supported by a lie-detector test.

We are also hereby making available a submission that we made to the Nevada Athletic Commission which shows (a) how consistent Shane has been on all of these issues, and (b) that Victor Conte is a stone-cold liar.

Source: latimesblogs.latimes.com

Pavlik-Martinez: Questions and Questions

By Frank Lotierzo, The Sweet Science

When Kelly Pavlik 36-1 (32) meets Sergio Martinez 44-2-2 (24) this Saturday night, a lot more than just his WBC/WBO middleweight titles will be on the line. Pavlik needs to show that he's fully recovered from the schooling he adsorbed from Bernard Hopkins back in October of 2008. Since the Hopkins fight Pavlik has defeated Marco Antonio Rubio and Miguel Angel Espino in what were two uninspiring showings. After that Kelly had to pull out of fights against Paul Williams and Sergio Mora due to a staph infection on his hand that lingered longer than it was anticipated.

During that time Pavlik's heart and courage were questioned by many writers and fans, something that's hard to take seriously by anyone who has followed Pavlik's career. Perhaps questioning his heart invokes better conversation than the fact that the guy really was afflicted. What's even crazier is - those who questioned his character were also the ones making excuses for his loss to Hopkins. So let's clear them both up.

For starters I implicitly believe Pavlik and the only reason he didn't fight Williams was because he wasn't healed and physically fit to go ahead with the bout, not because he was afraid or feared losing to him. Secondly, I don't buy the excuse that he looked so bad against Hopkins because they fought at 170. Hopkins and Pavlik could fight 10-times weighing in between 160-170 and the only way Pavlik wins once is if he lands a lottery punch and knocks Hopkins out. How many times are you willing to bet that happens? From a style vantage-point Hopkins is Pavlik's superior. However, Hopkins at his best would never beat up and stop Jermain Taylor the way Pavlik did. Styles make fights and Hopkins - although greater than both Pavlik and Taylor, matches up better with Pavlik where as Taylor matches up better with Hopkins than does Pavlik.

Hopefully, Pavlik has accepted that it was Hopkins that cost him the bout instead of it being him just having a bad night. Sure, it was a bad night, but it was Hopkins who made it a bad night. Pavlik says he's focused on Martinez and that we'll see the best of him at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City this weekend. The last time Martinez fought he gave Paul Williams life and death for the better part of twelve rounds before losing a majority decision. In fact Martinez was so competitive against Williams that some observers thought Sergio may have even pulled the fight out. And that's why many believe this is an extremely dangerous fight for Pavlik.

Pavlik said, “I thought he won the (Williams) fight too, to be honest with you. I had him by a round or two and if he had finished strong it might have been a different decision. I was impressed, but at the same time I wasn’t impressed. He got hit — took a lot of punches. If Williams had a little more pop, that would have been a different fight.”

Since the fight with Williams, Martinez has probably become a little overrated. I don't like elevating guys off a great loss. And Pavlik is right, Paul Williams is no life-taker as a middleweight and that along with Martinez's southpaw style really bothered him. But Martinez is no joke and has improved with each fight. He was stopped by the tough Antonio Margarito early in his career, but since then the only blemishes on his record are a draw to Kermit Cintron (which should've been a decision win) and the decision that went against him in his last outing against Williams. So only the best of the best have handled or stayed with Martinez.

Sergio's speed and awkward punching angles will trouble Pavlik, but Martinez is not the hardest guy around to find or hit. And that's what makes the fight interesting. Remember, with the exception of Hopkins, Pavlik has hurt every fighter he's hit. Martinez has never faced a puncher like Pavlik, and Kelly is the type of fighter who applies both mental and physical pressure. Even when he's not connecting, he wears fighters down as they try to fight and hold him off.

If Martinez isn't bothered by Pavlik's power and doesn't have to break off the exchange when Pavlik gets close or crowds him, he has a good chance to win a decision. On the other hand - if Pavlik can move Sergio around the ring and force him to rush his shots just to stabilize the fight, Pavlik should win and be seen as the fighter to beat again at 160.

This Saturday night we'll find out if Pavlik is on his way back or if Martinez is a fighter that is best known for losing tough fights when matched against elite opposition.

Frank Lotierzo can be contacted at GlovedFist@Gmail.com

Source: thesweetscience.com

Martinez ready to seize chance against Pavlik -- AFP

AFP

ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey — Argentina's Sergio Martinez plans to make the most of his opportunity against middleweight king Kelly Pavlik on Saturday.

Martinez, the World Boxing Council super-welterweight champion, earned his shot at Pavlik, the WBC and World Boxing Organization middleweight champ, when he dropped a close decision to power-puncher Paul Williams in December.

Despite suffering the second defeat of his career, Martinez delivered a fight that was entertaining enough to put him back in the spotlight.

"You will see a great fight and definitely I will take my championship back to Argentina," Martinez said. "All this year I was praying for this particular fight and everybody knows I'm ready for a war."

Pavlik (36-1, 32 KOs) is coming off a fifth round win over Miguel Espino three months ago.

The charismatic Martinez, a former cyclist and footballer, boasts tremendous speed, great movement and ring management skills that delight boxing purists.

"He's got tremendous athleticism and conditioning, he's always in shape, he's always quick," said promoter Lou DiBella. "He fights in a style all his own, and that's why he's one of the best 154-pounders in the world."

But Martinez (44-2-2, 24 KOs) has been on the losing end of some doubtful decisions in his biggest bouts.

He fought Kermit Cintron last February in Sunrise, Florida, earning a draw even though many ringside observers thought he won easily.

He returned to the ring against Williams, losing a majority decision in one of the best fight sof the year.

"If they're worried about the referees and the judges, you won't even need to bring the judges that night. They won't be needed," Pavlik's trainer, Jack Loew, said. "They can stay home that night, because it won't go the distance."

Negotiations for a possible Pavlik fight with Williams fell apart, but in opting for Martinez, Pavlik will face his toughest opponent in more than a year.

"He wasn't that known in the States, but that Williams fight put him on the map," Pavlik said.

"He's a tough fighter, he's slick, pretty good hand speed. But I've seen him do a lot of things wrong in his fights. There's goods and bads."

Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved.

Source: google.com

Freddie Roach says "Scottish" Craig McEwan could beat World Champ Pavlik -- Eastside Boxing

Eastside Boxing

Unbeaten Scottish Middleweight Craig McEwan has been given a huge vote of confidence by his coach Freddie Roach. Roach, who has schooled numerous world champions such as Oscar dela Hoya, Mike Tyson and Manny Pacquiao, this week told Boxing News that his stylish, Edinburgh born prospect could beat the current World Middleweight Champion, Ohio`s Kelly Pavlik. Speaking after McEwan`s 8th round stoppage of Canadian Champion Kris Andrews in Las Vegas last week, Roach indicated that he was looking to step McEwan up sooner rather than later. "I`d like a World Title shot at the end of the year.."

McEwan was flattered by his mentor`s confidence but was typically modest about such high praise. "I am confident that I will win a world title some day soon and a bout against a legend like Kelly Pavlik would be a dream come true. But there are many good fighters ahead of me in the queue and I expect to have at least a couple of victories against top prospects before I get a shot at a title.

Asked about who his first choice opponent for his next bout would be, Craig replied " I would like Golden Boy Promotions to put me in with someone of the stature of England`s Matthew Macklin. He has recently expressed interest in fighting in America. If that fight was to happen, there would be massive interest in Britain especially with the Scotland v England thing."

Source: eastsideboxing.com