Bad Left Hook

DiBella wins purse bid for Berto-Collazo

2008-12-02T03:44:45Z

Promoter Lou DiBella has won a World Boxing Council purse bid for the right to stage welterweight champion Andre Berto's next title defense against New York's Luis Collazo, the WBC announced on Monday.
DiBella, who promotes Berto, told The Times the bout will occur on Jan. 17 at a site to be determined. The fight will be televised by HBO.

DiBella won the bid for $675,000. Collazo's promoter, Don King, came in second at $427,000.

Berto (23-0, 19 KO) is facing what should be a final "ladder step" opponent before he starts taking on the best in the 147-pound division, or at least that's how I see it. Collazo (29-3, 14 KO) has come up short in his two biggest fights, against Hatton and Mosley, and hasn't beaten anyone worth a crap since 2005.

This would be a BIG upset for Collazo, even though he is a step up from the likes of Michel Trabant, Miki Rodriguez, David Estrada and probably even the undersized Stevie Forbes. And it's a fine welterweight lead-in night for January 24's Margarito-Mosley fight, too. Glad it's done, glad it's going down.

Oscar de la Hoya and the seven-foot tall bronze statue of himself outside of Los Angeles' Staples...

2008-12-02T02:51:41Z

Oscar de la Hoya and the seven-foot tall bronze statue of himself outside of Los Angeles' Staples Center. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

I'm going to swat that Spanish Fly. How do you take a guy like Arce seriously? He sucks on...

2008-12-01T20:08:42Z

I'm going to swat that Spanish Fly. How do you take a guy like Arce seriously? He sucks on lollipops and wears a cowboy hat from a toy store. He looks like "Woody" from the movie "Toy Story." I can picture him running around his house on a broom pretending he's riding a horse. He's a regular Schlepalong Cassidy. When I finally meet him at the press conference do I say "Hola Jorge" or "Howdy, Doody?" Arce is going to be my human piñata. Our fight will be like a Chihuahua against a bull...a raging bull!"

Vic Darchinyan. Two major league trash talkers going at it - it should be fun watching the lead up to this one.

ESPN Sunday Conversation: Oscar de la Hoya

2008-12-01T17:04:28Z

Nothing terribly interesting, but it's nice that ESPN is bothering to talk boxing, and another feather in Oscar's cap, as he's apparently the only guy that can actually get himself on the network for more than a 10-second blip.

Pavlik/Cotto pay-per-view looks like a go for Feb. 21

2008-12-01T17:00:52Z

Source: El Nuevo Dia via BoxingScene.com

Following their first career losses, middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik and welterweight contender Miguel Cotto look as though they'll return to the ring in a co-main evented pay-per-view from Atlantic City (Cotto's fight) and Ohio (Pavlik's fight), if we are to believe the rumors.

Cotto (32-1, 26 KO) will be facing the UK's Michael Jennings (34-1, 16 KO) for the WBO welterweight title that Paul Williams recently vacated. Jennings has been the WBO mandatory for a good while now, and though he's barely a blip on the international radar, he...um...hmm. Nah, I can't really try to hype this up. On paper, Cotto-Jennings is a mismatch.

In the other headliner, Pavlik (34-1, 30 KO) will look to come back from his one-sided loss to Bernard Hopkins when he makes the second defense of his middleweight crown against mandatory challenger Marco Antonio Rubio (43-4-1, 37 KO), who impressed with a rugged win over Enrique Ornelas on the Pavlik-Hopkins undercard.

HBO passed on the doubleheader, which is kind of surprising given the fact that it's a legit world championship fight and then a star feature co-main event, but it probably just didn't fit into the budget. If the El Nuevo Dia report is to be believed, Cotto will make about $3 million to fight Jennings. Given the current economy and the two disappointing pay-per-view buyrates Pavlik has done in 2007, this just might not have made financial sense.

Arum's pretty much doing the only thing he can with the show, which is take it to self-produced PPV. Hopefully, he'll not overshoot and try to charge 50 bucks for this, because if he does, it'll crap out and hard. It's not a bad double-header, but it's also pretty much for diehard fans only.

HBO's Greatest Hits: Manny Pacquiao and Oscar de la Hoya

2008-12-01T16:14:06Z

In case you're new to the sport and drawn in by the curiosity of this Saturday's big pay-per-view matchup, or if you just want to relive some of the finer moments in the careers of Manny Pacquiao and Oscar de la Hoya, HBO has made available via YouTube their "Greatest Hits" features on both fighters.

If you've been here a while, you know I started off against this fight. Many here did, many around the glove did. As its drawn closer, I've accepted it as a reality and as a great attraction, one boxing needs to close out 2008. And now that we're in fight week, it has really hit me: Manny Pacquiao is going to fight Oscar de la Hoya on Saturday night, and it's a big deal. Consider me having done a 150º, if not a total 180º. I'm pretty stoked to see it play out.

We've also got a new poll up on the right sidebar, because the time is here. Pick the winner, gang. You have until Saturday at 9:45 ET.

Pacquiao's Greatest Hits:

Can't argue with the lineup, though I do find it somewhat humorous and applaudable that HBO was able to and decided to boil down Pacquiao-Barrera II into mostly the moments where Barrera decided to trade. Those moments were few and far between and mostly contained within the first six rounds, after which he barely touched Pacquiao save for a cheapshot. Of 2007 fights, that one was really high on the list of most disappointing.

De la Hoya's Greatest Hits:

This one's a little more oddly compiled. Really, the Steve Forbes win? It's rough enough to show him going 3-3 in these clips, and then you realize he beat Fernando Vargas, Ricardo Mayorga and Forbes, and the losses came to top fighters Tito Trinidad, Shane Mosley and Floyd Mayweather.

I guess you don't want to go all the way back to 1997 against Sweet Pea Whitaker, which is irrelevant at this point, and neither of the Chavez wins ever sat right with a whole lot of people, whether that's unfair or not. No point in showing the Hopkins loss, either, since 160 pounds is irrelevant, too. So I suppose if you decide to start with Trinidad...yeah, this is about as good as it gets. But still, Steve Forbes? Could've shown the dismantling of the ever-popular Gatti, or edited the Sturm win down to make it look like Oscar won even on an off-night. Hey, they made Pacquiao-Barrera II look good...

This is all just a sampling, of course. Both have had other big fights, big wins, and big moments. But for whetting your appetite for this big money showdown, hard to argue.

Williams punishes Phillips, Arreola-Walker fireworks steal the show

2008-11-30T04:29:03Z

Paul Williams won his third straight fight in his third straight different weight class, beating Verno Phillips by doctor/referee stoppage after eight rounds of body bashing, and Chris Arreola won a three-round barroom brawl over Travis Walker on tonight's Boxing After Dark from Ontario, California.

The opening heavyweight slugfest stole the show, with an again out-of-shape Arreola catching hell from Walker in the first round and getting dropped in the second, only to rebound by knocking Walker down twice in that same second frame, and then a third and final time 13 seconds into the third round. Walker threw 106 punches in the opening round, which he dominated, but it may have helped Arreola more than it did Walker. Arreola wisely took the full eight count when knocked down, then took advantage of a throwing, open, and tiring Walker with power shots that sent the big man reeling.

For Arreola, this was a big win, but it's now becoming critical time for his team to get on his ass about the training. He was doughy, the same as he was in September, again weighing in over 250 pounds. Against Walker, it almost got him beaten. Against Wladimir Klitschko, who he's now in line to face next year, it will get him destroyed. I like Arreola a lot, but his disregard for discipline is No. 1 on the list of things that could be his downfall.

Arreola is now 26-0 (23), with Walker falling to 28-2-1 (22).

In the main event, a nasty cut opened on the outside and just above Paul Williams' right eye thanks to an accidental headbutt in the second round, but the former welterweight titlist still picked up an interim 154-pound strap in impressive fashion, beating Verno Phillips down with a focused and wicked body attack that took all the spring from the veteran's step.

Phillips, who turned 39 today, was game and tough, as we knew he would be. But he was also completely outgunned by the younger, bigger, stronger Williams. Williams even did it without using his gross reach advantage, as he relished the chance to fight inside with Verno, who kept trying to load up on big punches. He did occasionally land one, but way too few, way too far between.

Williams said if a big fight comes at 147, he'll go back down. I assume he'll take any fight between 147 and at least 160, which is what he's been saying.

We now officially start the mega hype for next Saturday's showdown between Oscar de la Hoya and Manny Pacquiao. Be with us this week, as we'll examine the fight from as many angles as we can, and then we'll be live on Saturday night with round-by-round coverage and scoring.

Bad Left Hook Fight Night: Paul Williams v. Verno Phillips

2008-11-29T23:11:59Z

The show starts at 10pm ET on HBO, and we'll be here with live, round-by-round coverage and scoring. The holiday weekend is winding down, and what better way to relieve yourself the stress of wanting to tackle family members than watch grown men paid to punch one another?

If you're new to the site, the round-by-round takes place in the comments of this post, with no refreshing whatsoever needed.

via www.hbo.com


PAUL WILLIAMS Ring Magazine No. 2 Welterweight		VERNO PHILLIPS Ring Magazine No. 2 Jr. Middleweight
	Interim WBO Jr. Middleweight Title
35-1	Record	42-10-1
26	KO	21
Augusta, GA	Hometown	Denver, CO
27	Age	39
6'1"	Height	5'7 1/2"
Carlos Quintana (TKO-1) Antonio Margarito (UD-12) Sharmba Mitchell (KO-4)	Notable Wins	Cory Spinks (SD-12) Carlos Bojorquez (TKO-6) Bronco McKart (UD-10)
Carlos Quintana (UD-12)	Notable Losses	Ike Quartey (UD-10) Kassim Ouma (UD-12, UD-10) Silvio Branco (UD-12)


CRISTOBAL ARREOLA		TRAVIS WALKER
25-0	Record	28-1-1
22	KO	22
Riverside, CA	Hometown	Houston, TX
27	Age	29
6'4"	Height	6'4 1/2"
Israel Garcia (TKO-3) Chazz Witherspoon (DQ-3) Thomas Hayes (KO-3)	Notable Wins	TJ Wilson (TKO-2)
	Notable Losses	TJ Wilson (TKO-1)

Jorge Linares (left) defeated Whyber Garcia via fifth round knockout to capture the vacant WBA...

2008-11-29T23:09:23Z

Jorge Linares (left) defeated Whyber Garcia via fifth round knockout to capture the vacant WBA junior lightweight title. (AP Photo/EPASA)

Mike Post dead at 28

2008-11-29T23:00:05Z

via media.halton.topscms.com

Original article:

North Oakville Today has received word that boxer Mike 'Prime Time' Post died this morning.
Police are unable at this time to verify any information surrounding his death.

Post was a champion boxer and most recently worked as the sparing partner of WBA welterweight champion Miguel Cotto.

Post had a record of 17-1-1 with 13 knockouts. His last fight came on May 31, when he won a six-round decision over veteran club fighter Ruben Galvan in Brantford, Ontario.

Bad Left Hook sends our best wishes and condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Post.

The History of Mike Tyson's Punch Out

2008-11-28T23:47:38Z

The History of Mike Tyson's Punch Out

Not from the article, but the Wii version of Punch Out is supposed to be coming out soon. Hopefully they can make the controls somewhat like real boxing. Wii boxing was horribly inconsistent to control, and Prizefighter doesn't make use of the Wii motion controls at all from what I've heard.

Money Talks: Williams-Phillips and more

2008-11-28T22:07:15Z

Personally, I don't think Ted wore the white outfit nearly enough.

As always, odds are taken from Bodog.

Paul Williams is a MASSIVE favorite (-1100) against Verno Phillips (+600) in the HBO Boxing After Dark main event tomorrow night, which probably went without saying. Williams (35-1, 26 KO) looks like he's relocated the fire and hunger that made him such a dangerous fighter in the first place. In his last two fights, Carlos Quintana and Andy Kolle have lasted 2:15 and 1:37, respectively, against Williams' big power shots. I think he's going to come out storming against the way undersized, 38-year old Phillips (42-10-1, 21 KO), too, and I don't know if Verno can last. Phillips also hasn't fought since March, when he outpointed Cory Spinks. And I still say that was a robbery.

In the televised opener, heavyweight sluggers Cristobal Arreola and Travis Walker will go head-to-head, and their fight has the exact same odds as the main event, with Arreola the heavy favorite. I don't see it with this one -- Arreola is a big sucker's bet.

Arreola (25-0, 22 KO) came in fat and slow against Israel Garcia in September, but since Garcia lacks any real skill and was just a can with a decent-looking record for Arreola to run over, Chris got away with that. He knew he was out of shape. He's a big dude at 6'4", but if he could keep himself in the 230s, which he's done before, he'll be way better off. The question is whether he has the discipline to do that. Weighing in at a hair under 260 pounds in September was inexcusable. He didn't carry it well, and he's not such a good boxer or so powerful that he can get away with that sort of laziness.

I don't really see why Walker is such a huge underdog, because I think he has a very good chance. "Freight Train" (28-1-1, 22 KO) has only lost one fight, and it was a horrible referee stoppage in the first round against T.J. Wilson, a loss that Walker emphatically wiped away when he beat Wilson down in the second round of their rematch. It's not that I think Walker is all that good, really. He's willing to trade, and so is Arreola, and it should make for a good fight. And even though Walker has little in the way of legit competition so far, guess what? Neither does Arreola, the American heavy people are starting to pin their hopes on.

If Walker catches Arreola, it could go bad for Cristobal. If Arreola isn't in shape, Walker might drill him. If you take yourself away from how much fun Arreola is to watch, the flaws are so clear that it's impossible for me to put anything big on the guy's shoulders. He's a good fighter, an entertaining fighter, but I don't know that he's a world-class fighter. He's 27 and isn't developing anything new; instead, only new questions about his career arise after several fights.

In Panama, former WBA featherweight titlist Jorge Linares (-3000) moves up in weight to face Whyber Garcia (+1500) for the WBA's vacant junior lightweight strap. Chances are it'll be easy work for the 23-year old Linares, one of my favorite young fighters. One of everybody's favorite young fighters, actually.

Tomato Cans: November 26, 2008

2008-11-27T01:32:47Z

Hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday weekend, and that if you go out on Black Friday, you remember to wear steel-toed boots. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

The big news in Oscar-Manny Land this week is Oscar's rotator cuff, which you may recall he mentioned after his fight with Ricardo Mayorga a couple years ago. The word is that it's still bothering him, and hampering his training significantly. The linked article by Ronnie Nathanielsz even indicates that this may be the secret Freddie Roach was talking about as to why Oscar can't pull the trigger anymore on his left hook, which used to be his best punch. It also implies that the injury caused Oscar to abandon an effective jab when fighting Floyd Mayweather, Jr., in 2007.

We'll just kind of have to wait until fight night to get any real judgment, since I doubt HBO's cameras for 24/7 will be focusing much on Oscar's injuries. That's no way to sell a fight. And even if his arm was falling off, Oscar and his team would downplay the injury as much as possible.

There are also ten thousand hysterical articles out there about Manny Pacquiao fighting Ricky Hatton next, and here's one of them. It's a great fight, and I love the idea. There may be no two fighters in the world who have the dedicated, rabid fanbases of Hatton and Pacquiao. Stick that baby in Wembley Stadium and watch the place sell out. It would be wonderful for boxing, and it'd also be a good fight even if you put it in the Thomas & Mack Center -- and let's hope they don't.

In other Ricky Hatton news, word is starting to simmer a bit about a Mayweather-Hatton rematch in 2009, according to David Mayo. I still think Mayweather has his way with Hatton, but of the two big-money rematches that will be out there for Floyd until he finally stands on top of a mountain and firmly declares that he will never fight again and then chops off one of his hands, it's a fight with Hatton I prefer over another fight with Oscar.

Mayweather-Hatton was the better fight, had the better atmosphere, and is the one I still like to watch every now and again. You'd also get the Mayweather Family Saga that was the selling point of Floyd-Oscar II (since you couldn't promise much of a fight), and plus you throw in Ricky Hatton's verbal jabbing skills. It would sell. You have to remember there are still those who felt Hatton was robbed to some degree by referee Joe Cortez, and that there are a lot of folks that would love to see that rematch.

Bob Arum told Primera Hora (linked from BoxingScene.com) that he's sent Miguel Cotto's team an offer to fight Michael Jennings in February, and that he'll either have to take that fight or likely sit out until a summer 2009 rematch with Antonio Margarito, which is coming whether Margarito beats Shane Mosley on January 24 or not. Cotto-Jennings has been rumored to be paired with a middleweight championship fight between Kelly Pavlik and Marco Antonio Rubio in a split site affair that HBO has turned down but could still wind up as a Top Rank-produced pay-per-view.

I don't really get why they want to do two venues; save money and stick them both at Boardwalk Hall. Pavlik and Cotto both have fans on the East Coast, and one loss isn't making either of them less desirable to see. Neither one matchup is a big seller, but putting both stars on the same card should do a fine house in Atlantic City, wouldn't you think? There's got to be more to it than just that. Cotto-Jennings doesn't excite me, but Pavlik-Rubio sounds like a hell of a fight.

Two great stories, one link: Rick Reeno of BoxingScene.com says that Andre Berto's mandatory defense against Luis Collazo is likely headed to HBO for January 17 or January 31, and that's good news. Collazo may not be a truly top-tier fighter, but he'll present Berto with a stiff challenge; at the very least, a lot stiffer than Michel Trabant, Miki Rodriguez, and Stevie Forbes. Collazo is a natural 147-pounder with good skills, and he's a southpaw. He is a tough nut to crack. Ask Ricky Hatton.

The second story in that link is the better one, though. Sampson Lewkowivz, adviser to 154-pound contender Sergio Martinez, absolutely ripped Sergio Mora, the brief WBC junior middleweight titleholder, for turning down a $250,000 offer to be in the co-feature against his fighter. Lewkowicz and promoter Lou DiBella were said to be "shocked" by Mora turning the fight down.

Said Lewkowicz:

"He is no longer Sergio Mora, he is Sergio Moron. He will never be on HBO or Showtime again. The only thing he can do is continue fighting on 'The Contender.' He is a pussy, not a champion."

...tell us how you really feel, Sampson.

Rumor is also going around that Marco Antonio Barrera will fight for a 135-pound title in April, either against Nate Campbell in a WBO mandatory -- unlikely since Campbell is due to fight Ali Funeka in February, his IBF mandatory -- or for an interim title, likely against some schlub that Barrera can handle without much trouble. The last part of that was my own editorial feeling. I am a huge Marco Antonio Barrera fan, but I just don't care.

In a final, very sad note, Bad Left Hook sends our best wishes to the family and friends of longtime referee Toby Gibson, who was found dead at his home in Las Vegas on Monday. Mr. Gibson was 61 years old, and had been working the fight game for a quarter of a century. His final fights were in Vegas on Saturday, as he was the third man in the ring for two fights on the Hatton-Malignaggi undercard, including Ricky's brother, Matthew, beating Ben Tackie. Rest in peace, Toby.

Darchinyan-Arce on for February

2008-11-27T00:58:53Z

Source: Dan Rafael

After a couple of years of trash talking, both sides saying they wanted the fight, and a couple of losses on either side delaying anything serious moving forward or getting signed, the long-awaited guaranteed slugfest between Vic Darchinyan and Jorge Arce has been signed.

The bout will take place on February 7 on Showtime.

Darchinyan will defend his unified junior bantamweight titles against Arce at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., on Feb. 7 in the season premiere of "Showtime Championship Boxing."

"I think it's a spectacular fight," Darchinyan promoter Gary Shaw said. "The press conferences may be as good as the fight. I can't wait for both the press conferences and the fight."

Darchinyan, an Armenian living in Australia, and Mexico's Arce had been building toward a match last year as they trash-talked each other and stoked fan interest.

There are some fighters and some matchups that cannot be less than absolutely excellent TV. These two guys always bring action, and they seem to genuinely dislike one another, to boot. Darchinyan's destruction of favored Cristian Mijares has thrown him back into the spotlight, and the popular and flamboyant Arce has done nothing but win since beating Mijares, though anyone but Arce will tell you he's certainly slowed a bit.

Still, the slowing of Arce has not removed him from his spot on the sport's ten biggest action stars, a list for which Darchinyan is a staple, too. Arce, for me, regained his action stardom for sure during his wicked slugfest with Rafael Concepcion in September.

It should be a hell of a fight, for as long as it lasts. And I wouldn't expect it to last too long. These guys are going to throw bombs.

The flier going around promoting the Cunningham-Adamek cruiserweight championship fight on December...

2008-11-26T21:21:35Z

The flier going around promoting the Cunningham-Adamek cruiserweight championship fight on December 11 from Newark, shown live on Versus.

Margarito-Mosley official for Jan. 24

2008-11-26T07:48:06Z

Source: ESPN.com

A week after the fight was left for dead, the Antonio Margarito-Shane Mosley welterweight title match was resurrected on Monday.
"It's back together. Everybody got satisfied. Everybody was sensible," Top Rank's Bob Arum, Margarito's promoter, told ESPN.com. "We adjusted the purses as far as HBO putting more money in and it got solved." They'll meet Jan. 24 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Arum said. "The fight is done," said Richard Schaefer, CEO of Mosley promoter Golden Boy.

So after all the wrangling, complaining, verbal potshots and negotiation, the Antonio Margarito-Shane Mosley welterweight title fight is on and official for January 24, which I think pleases most everybody.

We've discussed it to death, really, so I'll just say I'm happy the fight's on. It's a good challenge for Margarito, and seeing Shane back in the ring after less than a year or more is nice, too.

Schaefer said the fight will be officially announced on December 6, the morning before Oscar-Manny. Arum said that win or lose, Margarito-Cotto II will come next summer.

Winky Wright's comeback canceled

2008-11-25T15:40:20Z

The search might have to be redone.

According to ESPN's Dan Rafael, Wright injured his left hand sparing about a week ago. This forced him to withdraw from the fight and the televised Versus fight has been cancelled. Dan Rafael also added that he [Wright] thought he could lay off it for a few days and let it rest, but he saw a hand specialist and told him that he was unable to fight next month.

"He injured his left hand near the base of the hand near his wrist," Itskowitch said. "He hit someone on top of the head while he was sparring and the hand started swelling up. He had an MRI but I was told he has a 33 percent decrease of strength in his hand."

So it looks like there will be another leave of absence from Wright, yet again. Will the wring rust begin to show, however? That's the question.

[Note by SC, 11/25/08 2:54 PM EST ]

SURPRISE SURPRISE SURPRISE

Points of Interest: Hatton-Malignaggi

2008-11-25T02:19:17Z

There's only one Ricky Hatton!

I'm going to have to simply agree with Dan Rafael and many others -- Saturday night was the best that Ricky Hatton has looked since his 2005 win over Kostya Tszyu. Not only did Hatton charge and rush more effectively than he has in recent years, but he did show some change, too -- change that was nothing but good.

Will Hatton ever lose his 140-pound championship? If he keeps fighting like he did last night, it doesn't seem too likely. Hatton is 44-0 at 140 pounds (1-1 at welterweight), and is likely to fight the de la Hoya-Pacquiao winner next. If it's Pacquiao, one assumes Hatton's 140-pound championship would be on the line, and I think Pacquiao has the best shot of guys who do or could fight at 140. If it's Oscar, Ricky will go back up to 147 and risk the weight for his payday and the chance to again be in THE fight.

There are good young fighters at 140, but I don't see them beating this Hatton in the next year or two. He threw Malignaggi out of his rhythm in the second round, hurt him badly (and Paulie's beard is stronger than that of Holt or Torres, and the jury remains out on Bradley), and dominated from that point on.

So far, so good for Floyd Sr. and the Hitman

As much as I think Billy Graham seems like a solid guy and would probably be fun to drink with, Ricky Hatton needed a new trainer. Graham's inability to really give Hatton any advice during the loss to Mayweather was apparent; Hatton underperformed against Lazcano again in July.

With Floyd, you have a professional trainer that isn't Ricky's friend, isn't amused by the big weight gains, and will, for lack of better words, ride his ass and make him the best he can be. And Hatton looks like a very willing student at 30 and having achieved just about all there is to really achieve in boxing. With Floyd in his corner, I don't know that we'll be hearing the constant talk of retirement anymore. OK, we probably will.

Where does Malignaggi go now?

For one thing, I won't be shocked if that was it for Paulie and trainer Buddy McGirt, even though he says there are no hard feelings. Rafael also says that McGirt's decision to throw the towel was done with "encouragement from promoter Lou DiBella and attorney John Hornewer," so it wasn't a one-man thought.

But really, Paulie Malignaggi has more about his career to examine than most 27-year old contenders do. His hands are glass, he can't punch a lick, and that's always going to have him losing to truly top-tier guys. He can shuffle and use his defensive skills and jab against guys like Ngoudjo, N'dou, Cherry, etc., but the two times he's fought truly world class fighters, he met a horrible beating at the hands of Miguel Cotto and got smacked around pretty good by Hatton, too.

These guys who aren't overwhelmed with what Paulie's good at will always beat him. He can have a damn nice career, hold world titles, defend them, and outbox folks. But he's never going to be the guy. He's a tough customer and if his hands were "normal," he'd probably be able to ride the rocket a little higher. Paulie is fully aware that his career can only last so long, and he's making the most of it. This was probably the most he'll be able to make. He got a shot at the champion, did his best, and that's that.

Keep smiling, Brian

It was a butt ugly fight, really, but the TV opener between James Kirkland and Brian Vera was certainly fun to watch. Kirkland won every round en route to an eighth round stoppage after Vera was knocked down for a third time, but we certainly got to see Kirkland pressed more than most times out, and certainly more than his other 2008 fights where he met almost no resistance.

Vera is sloppy, badly-balanced and leaves himself wide open. He's also very slow-handed and not an especially heavy puncher, in part because he throws such looping, swooping punches. But he did catch Kirkland time and again with a loaded-up right hand, and at one point caught him with three of them in a row before Kirkland finally blocked one. That'll be a problem for Kirkland. A better puncher definitely rocks Kirkland with some of those shots, and might have him in real trouble.

Kirkland's vulnerability, we always say, is part of what makes him so interesting. But he's going to have to be more willing to actually defend himself when he steps up and fights the next rung of opposition, and then higher. Vera showed exactly how easy Kirkland can be to hit.

During the fight Larry Merchant mentioned that it's rare for a Kirkland-like fighter to reach the highest echelon of the sport, because he meets a boxer that can take a shot and run circles around him at some point. As much as I like JK, I'm pretty sure that's where we're headed with him. It'll be damn fun along the way, though, because he comes to fight and he can punch.

But hats off to both of the Austin natives, who put on the show everyone expected. Kirkland remains a load of fun to watch, and Vera is tougher than leather.

Does perception of Hatton change?

I think even Hatton's biggest fans with brains wouldn't have argued that Ricky was looking a little bit faded post-Mayweather. There were concerns in so many rumors and reports and all that about his psyche, how the loss had effected him, what it had done to him as a person and as a competitor. Struggling somewhat with Juan Lazcano did him no favors; the somewhat nasty split with Billy Graham added fuel to the fire.

But showing up and fighting three minutes a round all the way against Paulie Malignaggi made him look like the no-doubt best 140-pounder, and may have even brought him back some of the shine that Mayweather check hoooked off his face last year.

Ricky will kick back, hopefully enjoy the holiday season, and await the result of Oscar-Manny to find out what he's most likely doing next.

Reports: Margarito-Mosley back on

2008-11-25T01:30:07Z

Notifight reported earlier that HBO came back with a bigger offer on Friday, and now the previously propsed and shot down Antonio Margarito-Shane Mosley fight could be back on for January 24. Margarito and team are said to be agreeable to the new terms.

Now, well-known scribe Robert Morales says at BoxingScene.com that Top Rank promoter Bob Arum has told him that it's a done deal. Morales reports that Shane Mosley and Golden Boy have signed off on the deal, and we're only awaiting Antonio Margarito's signature now, which will come soon. Problem is, we were only awaiting Margarito's signature before, so not to say I'm doubting, buuuut...well, I'll believe it when he's signed it.

It's still a good fight, a good way to start 2009, and as much as I was OK with Mosley-Berto as a replacement, I think this is the better, bigger fight.

There is one thing I did agree with in Margarito's thought process during this whole thing, and that's that he probably deserved a bit better than a 50/50 split of the purse. He was bringing the trinket that allows Michael Buffer to say "champion of the world," and he's the guy that's going to bring in the majority of the crowd, too. Shane's never been a draw. As great a fighter as he is, he has never been a draw.

Let's hope we get a confirmation before the week is over.

Spinks-Latimore to decide vacant IBF title

2008-11-24T20:39:19Z

The IBF has decided to fill its 154-pound title vacancy with a fight between ex-titlist Cory Spinks and young Deandre Latimore, who upset Sechew Powell this past summer on ESPN2.

The title was given up by Verno Phillips, who beat Spinks via debated decision in March. Phillips is taking a fight with Paul Williams this Saturday, for another vacant 154-pound title.

The 30-year old Spinks (36-5, 11 KO) is also a former welterweight world champion, but is probably best known by most boxing fans as one of the most loathed talented fighters of his era. There aren't many outside of St. Louis that I think would honestly say that they like watching Cory fight. He's very good, but he is generally a bore. The March fight with Phillips not only couldn't find a home on American TV, which necessitated Don King to stream it online, but it was a very disappointing live draw in St. Louis, too.

The 23-year old Latimore (19-1, 16 KO) looked very good upsetting Powell in June, but the fact of the matter is that Powell just did not compete, and I'm not sure how much we learned from that fight about Latimore, who has not faced a top opponent otherwise, if you choose to consider Powell a top fighter. He was booked as an opponent, but Powell didn't show up and he lost. Sechew also tested positive for marijuana after the fight.

I'd guarantee he's never fought anyone as slick or smart or frustrating as Cory Spinks, but Latimore is a southpaw mirror for Spinks, and he has real skills. Also like Spinks, Latimore was born in St. Louis, though he now resides in Las Vegas.

It's nothing against Spinks, but I am rooting for Latimore to beat him. He's got a lot of future left. That said, I have to favor Spinks.