- The biggest news in the boxing world right is coming from the 1983 Resto-Collins scandal. Luis Resto, the fighter who was sent to prison and blackballed from the sport, admitted that the crime was even more vicious than had been previously suspected. He wasn't beating on Collins with bare knuckles that night; his wraps were soaked in plaster.
Resto told Collins' widow of this last year.
"I should have said something. I lived with it for 24 years. I had to let it go. I'm sorry I kept my mouth shut," Resto said, according to The Tennessean. "I went to see Collins' ex-wife. She accepted my apology. I went to the cemetery, too, to show my respect to Billy Collins. I told Billy, 'I'm sorry for what I did to you.' "People do terrible things. Some regret it. Some genuinely aren't bad people. I don't know Luis Resto, and I can't judge him further than the fact that what he and Panama Lewis did that night in 1983 was a disgusting, heinous act. There is no arguing that. The two of them are both criminals.
But it's nice to finally get an admission out of Resto, as awful an admission as it is. Rest in peace, Billy Collins.
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Ivan Calderon retained his WBO junior flyweight title with a clean sweep on all three cards over challenger Nelson Dieppa, 120-108 on all cards. Calderon (31-0, 6 KO) really needs that fight with Ulises Solis to happen -- it's the only "must-see" fight at 108 pounds. Let's get it done, for God's sake. - As expected, WBA middleweight champion Felix Sturm pounded on undeserving, unknown challenger Jamie Pittman, stopping him in the seventh round. This matchup was ludicrous, and that's about all that deserves to be said.
- So Carlos Quintana wants the winner of Mosley-Judah, huh? That would work for me. He could (and would, I think) beat Judah, but since I think the winner will be Mosley, I have to admit I don't like Quintana's chances against Sugar Shane.
- When will we see 122-pound titlist Steve Molitor get into the mix against the division's best? I'd love to see the exciting, highly-skilled Canadian against any of Vazquez, Marquez, Ponce de Leon or Caballero. Who wouldn't? Molitor (27-0, 10 KO) isn't a big puncher, but he fights.
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Golden Boy is talking up a Joel Casamayor-Juan Diaz lightweight title fight, which is good news, really. Sure, Nate Campbell deserves a fight with Casamayor more than Diaz does right now, but Casamayor-Campbell II simply isn't happening. Joel doesn't want to do it. Casamayor-Diaz could be a hell of a fight, but I'll tell you what, I favor Casamayor big right now. When Joel is motivated, he is a tough, tough guy to beat. And he's also a king of playing mind games with his opponents. Diaz didn't respond well to pressure against Campbell. -
Amir Khan (17-0, 13 KO) beat the hell out of Denmark's Martin Kristjansen (19-2-3, 5 KO), winning via seventh round TKO. Khan is now the WBO's mandatory challenger. The WBO lightweight title is currently held by Nate Campbell, and as much as I really like Amir Khan, that is a horrible matchup for someone at his level. Campbell hits hard, puts pressure on, and knows his way around the ring. Khan's not going to overwhelm him, and his questionable beard would be tested by Campbell. Khan and his team should really be smart, take at least two more fights, and then maybe think about Campbell. It's a bad, bad matchup. -
On the subject of our friends across the pond, the Ricky Hatton-Junior Witter trash talk is now getting to the level that I really think we're going to see that fight in the first quarter of 2009. Mayweather-Hatton II won't happen before Hatton-Witter does. Witter's verbal jabs are getting to the point that Hatton absolutely has to respond by fighting this guy and shutting him up, or he's going to look like a coward. This isn't a Mayweather-Cotto thing, where the fight is what the fans want, but Cotto isn't letting himself get caught up in the hoopla. Witter is taking shot after shot after shot at Hatton. Ricky can fight Lazcano and Malignaggi and still fight Witter after that, should he win both, or even if he doesn't. - Dan Rafael's Notebook, as always, has the goods. Of particular note is Ricardo Torres and Kendall Holt finally coming to terms on a rematch of their controverial fight from 2007, which will take place on Showtime on July 5. Kudos to Top Rank for signing the talented if somewhat inconsistent Holt and making the fight happen.
- No kudos to Top Rank for trying and failing to put a Hasim Rahman-Tye Fields on the undercard of Diaz-Pacquiao, which will be on PPV in June. Not only is that main event hardly worth the money, but Tye Fields? On pay-per-view? You can't even get people to watch this guy for free. Since Rahman decided he didn't want the fight, Fields will fight Monte "Two Gunz" Barrett, a personal favorite. I do get the feeling that Fields' height will just be a little too much for Monte in what should be a dreadful fight.
- Dan also reports that it looks like Kelly Pavlik's schedule could be Gary Lockett, Ricardo Mayorga and then Arthur Abraham in early 2009. A possible Mayorga fight would come in the fall. Ricardo has no hope of beating Pavlik, but damn, would that be fun or what?
I hate when there's not a big fight every weekend, don't you?