VICTORY!!! Vitali Klitschko channels Tarvold. (MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images)

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Like it or not, Klitschko best in show - Yahoo! Sports
Kevin Iole says no one will beat Vitali Klitschko without a weapon.

Defeated Cris Arreola vows to get back into the ring quickly -- latimes.com
Arreola says he wants to fight as soon as possible, in December or January. This is a kid to get behind. He wants to get right back on the horse.

Cris Arreola offers little threat to Klitschkos - Times Online
Ron Lewis looks at Arreola's one-sided loss, and wonders where the threats to the Klitschkos are going to come from.

CompuBox Punch Stats: Klitschko Wipes Arreola Out (BoxingScene.com)
I actually didn't run this because of the line, "The only heavyweight championship fight that matters right now is Klitschko v. Klitschko, a fight that would hopefully put both (and boxing fans) out of their misery!" Strangely biased. Maybe instead of continuing to complain about the Klitschkos and the clinics they put on, people should be more concerned about the fact that there literally isn't anyone in the sport that is going to give them a real test.

Klitschko turns in another dominating (but boring) performance - The Ring
Michael Rosenthal joins the "boring" choir. I honestly thought it was a fairly entertaining fight, a great performance by Klitschko, and it was almost heartbreaking to watch Arreola keep coming forward, walking into shots, and just not being able to get anything done. People really don't like the Klitschkos. Where are their protectors? Floyd has an army of people running 'round, yelling about his lack of respect.

So why is Klitschko the bad guy? - LA Daily News
Ramona Shelburne wonders, as the title indicates, why Vitali Klitschko (and his brother Wladimir) just haven't gotten more popular in the States. It's probably not his posture...

The Associated Press: Klitschko just can't get any respect
Tim Dahlberg loves on Vitali Klitschko, and compares the fight to Mayweather-Marquez. "This one was an HBO freebie, put on almost as an afterthought to fill space after the replay of Mayweather-Marquez," says Dahlberg. Yes, there wasn't plenty of hype for this fight, good call. Way to pay attention. Otherwise, good article.

On The Fly: Jones, Hopkins Schedule Senior Boxing Rematch -- Courant.com
Hartford Courant remarks, "Sixteen years after Roy Jones Jr. scored a unanimous decision over Bernard Hopkins, the boxers will meet again early next year. Together, these legends have 109 wins. They're also a combined 94 years old. This will not be the event that saves boxing." Ha! Totally. One million people just ordered Mayweather-Marquez. Save us, please, something! Also, 44 plus 40 is not 94.

Do you read Bad Left Hook, but aren't a member?  No problem, that's cool.  But there's more to being a member than commenting, and it's surprisingly easy to sign up, since we accept already-existing Yahoo IDs and Open IDs.  What are those additional benefits?

• We have the fastest round by round coverage on the internet, but you won't be able to take advantage of it unless you log in.  If you're logged in and in the round by round thread, you will get real-time updates of the status of the fight, with summaries of the rounds automatically appearing on your screen mere seconds after the round ends.
• The number of new comments for front page Stories (and Fanshots and Fanposts) is listed next to the number of total comments on the front page.  You'll always know when there's something added to the discussion without having to remember how many total comments there were last time you visited.
• When you're on a post page, new comments have a slightly yellow background and you can easily jump to new comments by hitting the "z" key.  You'll never have to scroll looking for new comments again.  Plus, new comments are added live, so there's no reason to refresh pages.This is especially helpful during our round by round coverage.
  
• If you are a member of multiple SBN blogs, there is a drop-down menu at the top of the screen that lists all your blogs and how many new Stories, FanPosts, and FanShots have been posted since the last time you visited each blog.  You can even select some blogs as favorites and they'll show up at the top of your list.
• Obviously, you can post comments and interact with the other members of our community.  Since comments appear in real-time, and responses appear in a tiered format, you can have live discussions with other members, and know exactly what thread of discussion the comments pertain to.

If you do decide to create an account and post a few comments, there are some additional nifty tools to help keep you organized.

• By going to your profile page (click on your name at the top of the screen) you can see the last fifty or so comments you've left across all SBN blogs and how many replies there to your comment.  It's a great way to keep track of conversations you've recently been a part of.
• Also on your profile page, you can click on Blog to see all the Stories, FanShots, and FanPosts you've posted across all SBN blogs.  This is handy for looking at other users' Blogs as well, if you're a fan of their work.  You can even RSS their stuff across all blogs in one feed.  This feature is useful even if you're not a member.

(Hat tip to Sky Kalkman, who originally wrote this for our sabermetrics affiliate, Beyond the Boxscore.) [Reposted for Mayweather-Marquez]

Camacho Jr. on El Feroz: "But for him to come looking like a super heavyweight and say he’s looking for a fight, that’s a slap in the face. I see it as straight disrespect like I’m easy pickings."

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He got tits and a double chin, I ain't losing to no guy with tits. He’s got a belly too.  When it comes down to it he looks like a fat Mexican. I’m not sugar coating s**t.

- Hector Camacho Jr., responding to Fernando Vargas calling him out.

The only thing we have been focused on is Rocky Juarez.  If we don’t win, Chris will be back fighting for Daniel Bahari on an Indonesian TV Station at one o’clock in the morning for 500 Thousand Rupiah, about 100 bucks a fight, so there’s no next until we win this.

- Craig Christian, Chris John's trainer, on the Rocky Juarez fight.  Christian says they're training to win by KO, because he thinks the crowd will influence the judges again on Mexican Independence Day.

I'm bringing that fear factor back into boxing like Mike Tyson did.  I'm looking at my opponents in their corner and they're scared of me before I even fight.  Watch McDermott and see if he's not scared. I think he'll be in a shell for five rounds before he even wakes up. But he'll wake up on the floor. I've got a 100 per cent knockout record and I don't want to lose that.

- Tyson Fury, on his fight with John McDermott tomorrow.

According to all the internet websites, I’m weighing upwards of 280 or something like that.  You know what; right now I weigh in the low 260's.  Come fight time, I’m probably going to be 200 pounds.

- Cris Arreola, joking around in his open workout. 

I have come to fight a champion in his hometown and I know that many have failed to win against Calderon, who fights like an amateur boxer as he seldom engages in a toe-to-toe battle, always running away on his bicycle.  I have come to fight a man, who I hope will fight like a man by showing his people that he is ready to take the challenge by not always running away. If he runs away from me, I might just have to run away from him, too. I expect to find a ring that will be too huge for both of us, so if he decides to play hide-and-seek, I might also play that game and the fight will become boring and people will boo us.

- Rodel Mayol, half-joking about his expectations of his rematch with Ivan Calderon. 

Brian Viloria hopes to bring boxing back to the main stage in Hawaii. The island state's combat fight scene has been overtaken by mixed martial arts, but Viloria is confident he can help re-build the sweet science at home.

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Viloria hopes to lure fans back - INQUIRER.net
Brian Viloria is confident the fight card he is headlining opposite Mexican Jesus "El Azul" Iribe will not end up in the red this coming weekend at the Blaisdell Center in Hawaii.

Mike Birmingham, who trained St. Pete boxers Winky Wright and Jeff Lacy, dies at 49 - St. Petersburg Times
Mike Birmingham, who with his brother Dan at the St. Petersburg Boxing Club trained Winky Wright, Jeff Lacy and hundreds of fighters over more than 20 years died Sunday at 49.

Abner Mares' life has been a fight from the start -- latimes.com
When Abner Mares was in second grade, his breakfast came from a can. Well, it was more a series of dumpsters really, just behind the neighborhood Wal-Mart. "We would go there every morning, around 3 or 4, just looking for food," he remembers. "They throw out the milk, bread and all that. So we used to go pick all that up. That was our grocery shopping."

Chinese boxers come to U.S. to train with Duva team - USATODAY.com
Chinese boxers have long been one of the great rarities of professional sports, certainly since the cultural revolution of the '60s, when prizefighting was banned in China for being too capitalistic. But after Muhammad Ali visited China in 1979, the the communist country re-embraced amateur boxing, and it culminated in a show of strength at the Beijing Olympics when China won two gold medals — including its first — plus a silver and a bronze.

Will Dan Goossen Finally Lay That Golden Egg? | TheSweetScience.com
Trying to analyze the up-and-down career of promoter Dan Goossen presents a challenge to those whose only recourse is to draw analogies ... lots and lots of analogies.

Gilbert will take new tack in Saturday's Rural Rumble | rgj.com | Reno Gazette-Journal
Joey Gilbert knows he had the wrong game plan when he fought Jesse Brinkley at the Reno Events Center in February.

For Thrashers, boxing has lots of benefits | ajc.com
You’ve heard the one about the guy that went to a boxing match and a hockey game broke out. For Thrashers, Eric Boulton and Chris Thorburn, it’s not just a joke.

Billy Bob Thornton in the Ring for Boxing Movie - ABC News
Billy Bob Thornton is attached to star in "Pound for Pound," a boxing drama based on a novel by F.X. Toole, the author of the book that was the source for "Million Dollar Baby."

An undersized Arthur Abraham may find the going a bit rough in the Super Six. (Photo via www.sportgate.de)

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August is generally a pretty thin month for boxing news and events, so here's an open thread. Talk about whatever you like. Just keep it clean and civil.

Also, some "random thoughts"!

• Arthur Abraham might well find the going a bit tougher at 168 than he did at 160. Not only does the Super Six feature some major league talent the likes of which, frankly, he has not yet faced, but he's going to be the small guy against everyone. I like his first matchup with Jermain Taylor, but that's more that I'm unsure if we'll ever see the "old" JT ever again; in fact, I'm almost positive we won't. But Abraham against Kessler? A quick guy like Dirrell? A tricky guy like Ward? They're interesting fights, and hard fights for Arthur.
• Juan Manuel Marquez is having trouble finding sparring partners to prepare him for Floyd Mayweather Jr. on September 19. Golden Boy should probably send Shane Mosley down to give Marquez a hand. Mosley is famous for being able to imitate styles, and while he doesn't fight like Mayweather, he offers a fair approximation of Floyd's hand speed. Plus Mosley and Marquez work together. Plus it'd be good for 24/7. Recent Golden Boy signee Joan Guzman might be a good choice, too, though Guzman is busy himself.
  
• I think I've had enough Cotto-Pacquiao hemming and hawing for the time being. Just fight, guys. The Bobfather is 100% right: Nobody gives a damn about the belt. It turns out that Pacquiao picked the wrong guy to fight a catchweight against and seek his seventh weight class world title. Too bad. Should've fought Mosley, I guess.
• Alfredo Angulo's domination of Gabriel Rosado on Friday Night Fights was good to see, no offense to Rosado. I really think too much was made of his loss to Kermit Cintron, who boxed the best he ever has that night and I still had it a draw. Angulo may not ever be a P4P contender or anything (in fact, I'd bet a set of tires he won't be), but there have been some raw, rugged, slow-handed dudes that have made fine careers in the sport. Angulo will be fine.
• As much as I love guys taking risks, you can't help but question the matchmaking decisions for Daniel Jacobs-Ishe Smith. Who thought that was a good idea for Jacobs? Smith is damn near impossible to look good against, and is no gimme. I'm glad Jacobs is taking an actual challenge and everything, but if I were his business manager or whatever, no way I'd have booked that one. No way.
• Another thing I've had enough of: Shaquille O'Neal. Laziness prevented him from being the most dominant player in the history of the NBA, and now I have to put up with some dopey reality show where he'll fight Oscar de la Hoya? Not to mention every time I call Comcast, there he is with Ben Stein on the phone. I do like that Oscar is trying to sell this "fight," though. I don't know what I want to happen there. Double KO?
• I want to say this again, because credit is due: Roy Jones Jr. and Jeff Lacy have done an outstanding job of promoting their August 15 PPV. It's a minor show, it's not an important fight, most of us don't really care at all, but the two of them really got this fight out there as well as you could possibly expect. Kudos, guys. I'd be ordering if I wasn't getting married that night.
• Jones was also at UFC 101 last night to "scout" or whatever. Blah blah blah, Roy Jones, blah blah blah, Anderson Silva. Jones-Silva is another thing I've had enough of. I thought UFC 101 was a pretty weak show, for what it's worth, but then I hear that UFC never has bad shows, so I'm probably wrong. The WEC show today on Vs. is worth checking out, too. Miguel Torres is my favorite MMA fighter and always a treat to watch.
• Golden Boy's "Fight Night Club" needs to be re-designed or something. That show is absolutely atrocious. I don't care how much you like boxing; you do not enjoy that show. Don't even tell me you do.
• I thought Assault in the Ring was a fine documentary. Nothing mind-blowing. It was heartbreaking watching Resto come to terms with things, and it was infuriating watching Panama Lewis continue to be such a despicable fraud. I wish there had been more time devoted to the Collins side of the story, particularly the idea that he could have fought again, but that his father wanted the lawsuit money.
• Doug Fischer wonders if Filipino interest in boxing will remain after Pacquiao retires. I figure, "Yeah, probably."

This made me laugh so hard I just had to post it. Their parody of hyperbolic boxing promotions is spot-on wicked.

Evander Holyfield To Box Horse For Heavyweight Title

Even after Wladimir Klitschko beat Ruslan Chagaev, the heavyweight picture isn't entirely clear - who do YOU think is heavyweight champion?

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So, who really IS heavyweight champion of the world?  The Ring Magazine has crowned Wladimir Klitschko as the champion of the world.  Some people say it's really Vitali Klitschko who is champion, since he was champion when he retired, and nobody else became champion before he unretired.  Then there's the argument that there is no champion at all, because #1 has never faced #2, and you need that to happen to crown a new champion.  Finally, I've heard some arguments that people should consider the Klitschkos as "co-champions" of the heavyweight division, since together they've cleaned out the weight class, and they're brothers who shouldn't reasonably be expected to face off in a sport where the goal is to hurt your opponent.

So who ya got?

Plaintiffs Bad Left Hook and boxing fans around the world hereby apply for a temporary restraining order restraining B.J. Flores, Robert Flores, and pretty much anyone else named Flores, defendants, and their respective agents and employees from setting foot within 500 feet of any boxing ring, announcer's microphone, or other instrument for trying to bring the joy and excitement of boxing to the world and an order requiring defendant to show cause why a preliminary injunction should not issue to restrain defendants and their agents and employees from going anywhere near a boxing ring or microphone while this action is pending. This application is based on the grounds that Robert Flores knows jack squat about boxing and conveys excitement as if he's calling an intramural badminton match, that B.J. Flores completely stinks up the ring every time he tries to box, and that they both have about as much personality as a rotten tomato.  These asshats do not deserve to be able to make a living perpetrating the crimes on our eyes and ears that they they have been committing for far too long.  Since, on or about the beginning of time, Messrs. Flores have done an extreme disservice to the sport of boxing by going anywhere near it, and plaintiffs respectfully request that these incompetent blowhards not be allowed to sully our sport any longer.  Irreparable injury would result to plaintiffs before the matter can be heard on notice, as shown by the declaration of Badlefthook.com attached to this application.

This application is based on the declarations of Brickhaus and SC, and the memorandum of points and authorities filed concurrently.

Dated June 20, 2009.

_/s/ Brickhaus                                       _
[Signature of attorney for Plaintiffs]