Mandatory Eight Count: Cristian Mijares retires, Tony Thornton and Dennis Dueltgen pass away

Cristian Mijares retires from boxing | ESPN
I haven't read anything about it anywhere else and am surprised it hasn't been a bigger deal, and amid the opening NFL weekend (plus Michigan 38, Notre Dame 34, yeah!), I hadn't even seen it until just now, or maybe I had and just brain-farted. ANYHOO, Cristian Mijares announced his retirement from boxing after losing for a second time -- this time with no arguments from anyone -- to Nehomar Cermeno. It's the very last line of Dan Rafael's long weekend recap. (One more article that I can find mentions it, and also says Mijares called it his third loss. It was his sixth.)

'Punching Postman' Tony Thornton dead at 49, after 'cycle crash | Philadelphia Daily News
Tony Thornton, the "Punching Postman," died at the age of 49 after a motorcycle crash. He ended his career in 1995, after being knocked out by Roy Jones Jr., with a record of 37-7-1 (26). He also fought and lost to James Toney and Chris Eubank. He turned pro in 1983, went to work with the United States Postal Service in 1984, made some money in boxing, and became a supervisor with the USPS in 1997. He made the most money of his career in that final fight with Jones. Rest in peace, Tony.

Main Events staple Dennis Dueltgen dies of heart attack | ESPN
Dennis Dueltgen, longtime operations manager at Main Events, died on Sunday night. He had been with the company for over 20 years. He was 58 years old. Rest in peace, Dennis.

Cotto Still Believes In Cotto | TheSweetScience.com
"I heard Bob Arum saying, 'The guy stopped Oscar de la Hoya, the guy stopped Ricky Hatton.' I'm not Oscar de la Hoya. I'm not Ricky Hatton. I'm Miguel Cotto."

Boxing News magazine turns 100
Congratulations to Britain's boxing bible.

Flyers get a visit from a real fighter | Philadelphia Inquirer
Joe Frazier visited the Philadelphia Flyers. Flyers goalie Ray Emery -- big boxing fan -- was very excited.

Rodney King beats cop in boxing match - BostonHerald.com
Just in case you missed it, Rodney King fought an ex-police officer in a moronic "celebrity" boxing match, and he won.

Arum's bigoted uppercut at MMA undercuts boxing's appeal - CBSSports.com
A horribly misguided column by Mike Freeman, who's so wrong all over the place it almost makes me want to agree with Bob Arum's desperate, idiotic, anti-MMA rant from last week. Among the problems I had while reading:

1. Freeman says Arum made his comments "during a publicity junket for the upcoming Floyd Mayweather fight," which Arum has absolutely no part in promoting. The comments, of course, were made at Yankee Stadium, where he was promoting Cotto-Pacquiao.

2. Freeman insists that Mayweather is the potential savior of boxing, not a horrible or wrong thought (since it's an opinion), but it ignores the overwhelming apathy (relatively speaking) that has been the center of the Mayweather-Marquez lead-in for everyone but HBO's "24/7."

3. I just don't think he knows who Manny Pacquiao is.