Bad Left Hook

Saturday Global Boxing Results: Odlanier Solis, Jhonny Gonzalez win big

2010-03-21T10:08:38Z

Action star Jhonny Gonzalez was back in the ring last night, beating Antonio Davis in Mexico. (Photo by Ethan Miller / Getty Images)

View full size photo »

Cancun, Mexico

Jhonny Gonzalez KO-2 Antonio Davis. Every single one of Jhonny Gonzalez's last nine fights have ended by stoppage, and all have ended within four rounds. Every one of them. This one was no different. Gonzalez (43-7, 37 KO) just keeps plugging along. He's really an old 28 at this point, but the former bantamweight titlist has shown his power goes up to featherweight. He's really a heck of a fighter, one of those guys that people witnessing his career will remember, but who likely winds up forgotten by time a bit. The same will happen, probably, with his countryman Oscar Larios. Davis (26-6, 13 KO) isn't a major feather in the cap, but this was a WBC title eliminator, and now Gonzalez has his spot in line. Davis, 37, has badly lost to the last three good fighters he's faced, being stopped by Humberto Soto in his last fight (TKO-4) and getting widely outpointed by Steven Luevano in 2007. He's at the end of his line, knocked down four times in the second round by Gonzalez in this fight.
Marco Antonio Rubio TKO-2 Jaison Palomeque. Not a credible win, and not even a rebound win. Rubio (46-5-1, 40 KO) had already won two bounce-back fights since freezing like a deer in the headlights against Kelly Pavlik. This is more of a "hey, look, I'm still fighting!" win. Palomeque (12-4-1, 7 KO) is a Colombian with no legitimate wins and all bad losses.

Key West, Florida

Odlanier Solis RTD-4 Carl Davis Drumond. Solis (16-0, 12 KO) forced Drumond (26-3, 20 KO) to quit after four rounds in the Top Rank Live main event from Mallory Square. Solis raises some interesting questions. He's sort of like the best and worst things about both Alexander Povetkin and Cristobal Arreola. There's no getting around the fact that for a professional athlete, and for a top-tier boxer, he keeps himself in piss poor shape. That's a question of dedication. But he's also extremely talented, an accomplished amateur with power whose skills have translated to the pro game almost effortlessly. I don't want to overrate wins over shot Monte Barrett and Drumond, but if you put Solis and Povetkin head-to-head next weekend, I'm taking Solis. I'd probably take him over Arreola, too, although I hope it would be about as fun as Dan Dority v. Captain Turner from "Deadwood."
Jorge Diaz UD-8 Alejandro Lopez. A couple of unbeaten, young featherweights. Well, one of them isn't unbeaten now. Diaz (13-0, 8 KO) kept his flawless mark on scores of 76-74 across the board, with the difference in the fight being two knockdowns, one in the first and another in the second. Lopez is now 13-1 (2 KO).

Le Cannet, France

Jamie McDonnell TKO-10 Jerome Arnould. You may recall that McDonnell won a very controversial decision over Ian Napa in January, while Napa was set up for a shot at the vacant European bantamweight title. Once the scores came back in McDonnell's favor, it was the 23-year-old from Doncaster that moved into the title picture. And now, he's done it, winning the European belt with a 10th round TKO of Jerome Arnould in France. McDonnell (14-2-1, 6 KO) may not ever make it to the world stage at 118 -- in fact, color me very surprised if he does, because anyone in the top ten at 118 right now would eat his lunch -- but if nothing else he's got this little run. Arnould (22-4-1, 14 KO) doesn't have a record that screams quality, and really Napa was probably a better win, but no one can take McDonnell's European title from him, except of course someone who may beat him for the European title. He better hope Wladimir Sidorenko or someone doesn't get any ideas.

Cunningham-Godfrey appears completely off the table

2010-03-21T01:05:44Z

Matt Godfrey was preparing to fight for a cruiserweight title, but that looks like it's off for now.

View full size photo »

Fights don't go through this much drama too often. The IBF cruiserweight title fight between Steve Cunningham and Matt Godfrey looks as though it's totally off now, just days after being supposedly moved to a new venue after the original plan also fell through.

Cunningham and Godfrey were set to meet on March 26, headlining Friday Night Fights alongside a Cory Spinks-Cornelius Bundrage fight for a 154-pound title. Don King, obviously, was the show's promoter. But that show went under, with almost everyone who's talking blaming King for it, while King himself is blaming ESPN.

Meanwhile, Main Events swooped in and put in a bid for the fight. They paid a little less than King did, but the fight would go ahead on March 26, still on Friday Night Fights, and now at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, where promoter Dominic Pesoli had a show scheduled.

But there was a problem: Main Events didn't tell Godfrey or his trainer, "Iceman" John Scully. They were told the fight was canceled, and at that time Godfrey stopped training.

"If they had told us, 'Look, the Vegas fight is off but keep focused, keep training, and let us go to work and we will see if we can find a new venue,' then no problem, we would have sucked it up and stayed on course.

"But this was not the case. We were told the fight is off. Period. There is a huge difference there."

In other words, since he'd stopped training, Godfrey won't fight Cunningham on March 26, and frankly he shouldn't. Cunningham is too good and the fight too great an opportunity for Godfrey to go in at anything less than 100%.

End of the day, it's a botched communication, but what stinks for Godfrey is that he'll lose his spot in the IBF rankings, and thus, lose his place in line for a title shot. Main Events president Kathy Duva told BoxingScene.com's Rick Reeno that the fight is not officially off just yet, meaning there's a chance it can be saved:

"We did everything we needed to do. We sent letters to everyone, including Burchfield and the IBF. The IBF spoke with Burchfield a few days ago. I know Main Events is ready to go forward. I know ESPN is ready to go forward and I know Steve Cunningham is ready to go forward," Duva said.

Let's hope the fight can be salvaged, but it sounds like a situation where the fighter is not to blame. If Godfrey doesn't feel prepared to fight -- that being a result of poor communication between fighter and promoter -- then it's hard to say he should just go do it. This is a chance to fight arguably the best cruiserweight in the world. It's not something to take lightly.

A five-minute PPV pre-show feature on the returning Erik Morales, who steps back into boxing on...

2010-03-20T23:23:50Z

A five-minute PPV pre-show feature on the returning Erik Morales, who steps back into boxing on March 27 against Jose Alfaro.

Wladimir Klitschko knocks out Eddie Chambers in final seconds

2010-03-20T23:14:47Z

Though he fought his best, the highlight of Eddie Chambers' day might have been lifting Wladimir Klitschko. (AP Photo)

View full size photo »

Though he mostly cruised for 12 rounds before landing a vicious left hand that knocked Eddie Chambers through the ropes and out in the waning seconds of the bout, Wladimir Klitschko got the best test he's had in years today in Germany.

Klitschko (54-3, 48 KO) was leading 109-100 on the Bad Left Hook card, and probably was up by that score or 110-99 on most cards. Before the 11th and 12th rounds, he was berated by trainer Emanuel Steward for not being aggressive enough. Steward referred to it as "another Ibragimov," meaning that because Wladimir wasn't aggressive, he would have to "settle" for a dominant decision, rather than something for the highlight reels.

Steward was being a bit dramatic, as this was nowhere near the stinker of Klitschko-Ibragimov or Klitschko-Chagaev, but before the 12th, Klitschko snapped back that he would do it. And do it he did. The official time of the stoppage was 2:55 of the 12th round.

Chambers (35-2, 18 KO) had a great gameplan early, but he just wasn't good enough to beat Klitschko. Not big enough, not good enough, not powerful enough, and really, not quite fast enough, despite that being his chief strength. He couldn't outbox Wladimir.

Early in the bout, Chambers attempted to get into Klitschko's head first by picking him up off of his feet, and then in the next round by actually picking him up and slamming him to the mat. But Klitschko rattled only a bit, and quickly got past it. After that, he put on his usual clinic.

Overall, it was a more aggressive performance than usual for the world heavyweight champion. He dealt with Chambers very well, disposing of yet another challenger. Who's next? Who knows? But whoever it is, Wladimir Klitschko reigns clearly as the king of the heavyweights at this point, at least for my money.

On the dreadful undercard:

Johnathon Banks KO-6 Travis Walker. Walker went down pretty much as soon as he was hit on the chin. It was quite a finish. Banks actually fell down throwing the punch that landed on Walker, who fell just after Banks did. Awful fight, with neither guy looking too interested in fighting. Banks is now 24-1 (17 KO), while Walker dips to 34-4-1 (28 KO).
Alexander Ustinov TKO-4 Ed Mahone. Mahone hasn't done anything in a decade, and at his peak was demolished in three by Vitali Klitschko. Before today he hadn't even fought in about two years. Lumbering Ustinov was his usual self, and Mahone wasn't really keen on being punched. Mahone's corner threw in the towel early in the fourth. It should have been thrown in the second after the bell rang. Ustinov is now 20-0 (16 KO).
Michael Sprott TKO-1 Werner Kreiskott. Swing fight, and completely useless. Sprott (32-14, 17 KO) now moves on to a fight with Audley Harrison for the vacant European heavyweight title.
Nenad Borovcanin TKO-2 Jonathan Pasi. Commentator tried to sell Borovcanin, 30, as a prospect, but no. He's never fought so much as a remotely warm body. He's now 25-0 (18 KO).
In the only non-heavyweight fight of the show, Domonique Dolton beat Omar Siala via TKO-3. Dolton is a Detroit product and a Sugar Hill fighter. Siala (11-11-2) has never beaten someone who had won a fight coming in. This was another odd stoppage, as suddenly Siala winced, seemed to acknowledge body pain, and was given a standing count. Then, the referee told him to box on, which Siala didn't want to do, so it was called off.

Bad Left Hook Live Boxing Results and Commentary: Wladimir Klitschko v. Eddie Chambers

2010-03-20T16:53:41Z

In the USA, Canada and Puerto Rico, you can order this fight for $14.95 at Klitschko.com. The card begins at 4pm EDT.

WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO		EDDIE CHAMBERS
	Main Event

Record:	53-3 (47 KO)	Record:	35-1 (18 KO)
Age:	33	Age:	27
Hometown:	Kiev, Ukraine	Hometown:	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Height:	6'6 1/2"	Height:	6'1"
Reach:	81"	Reach:	75"
Ranks/Titles:	Ring Magazine World Champion, IBF, WBO, Bad Left Hook #1, ESPN #1, BoxRec #1	Ranks/Titles:	Bad Left Hook #3, Ring #3 Contender, ESPN #4, BoxRec #8
TV:	Klitschko.com - 4:00pm ET	Venue:	ESPIRIT Arena - Düsseldorf, Germany

Randall Bailey TKO1 "Sugar" Jackson Bonsu. The first knockdown is at about 1:04, and the crippling...

2010-03-20T18:05:42Z

Randall Bailey TKO1 "Sugar" Jackson Bonsu. The first knockdown is at about 1:04, and the crippling knockout comes at about 1:25. Bailey is now the IBF #2 at welterweight.

Fight Preview: Wladimir Klitschko v. Eddie Chambers

2010-03-20T16:08:29Z

Wladimir Klitschko and Eddie Chambers meet today in Germany. (Photo via www.klitschko.com)

View full size photo »

When American contender Eddie Chambers scored a career-best win last year over the previously-unbeaten Alexander Dimitrenko, he earned a shot at the WBO heavyweight title held by Wladimir Klitschko, and by association, earned a shot at Klitschko's IBF belt, and the real belt, the Ring Magazine world heavyweight championship. Today from Germany, we find out if there just might be a genuine American hope for knocking off a Klitschko brother.

Chambers (35-1, 18 KO) has been a different animal since his first career loss to Alexander Povetkin in 2008. He's gone 5-0 since then, first adjusting his game against three fairly soft opponents, and then scoring wins last year over former titlist Samuel Peter and Dimitrenko.

But the task at hand now is easily the most daunting he's faced to date. Klitschko (53-3, 47 KO) has not just been a dominant champion since carving up Chris Byrd in 2006 to regain a heavyweight title, he's been nearly untouchable. Calvin Brock, his first defense, came the closest to beating him, opening up a pretty good cut on Kiltschko. And then, Wladimir brought the pain, and Brock was disposed.

Pitiful mandatory challenger Ray Austin was next. Klitschko got him out in two rounds, never even unleashing his right hand. In a rematch, previous Wlad conqueror Lamon Brewster (now damaged by time and some hard battles) quit after six rounds, never looking as though he was particularly interested in fighting. Sultan Ibragimov was shut out over 12 despicably dull rounds, and never fought again. Tony Thompson was knocked out in 11. Hasim Rahman (a late replacement for Povetkin) never got out of the blocks and was stopped in seven. And last June, Ruslan Chagaev quit on his stool after nine rounds of domination.

The greatest test for Wladimir in that run was probably Thompson, a 6'5" southpaw with an awkward style and an 81" reach. Eddie Chambers is a 6'1" right with a 75" reach, and looks, frankly, like a dwarf next to Klitschko.

The big x-factor for this fight is Klitschko's right arm. He had pretty major surgery last year, which has kept him out since that June fight with Chagaev. It's the longest layoff of his professional career, and at 33, neither he nor his body are getting any younger. Even though Klitschko has always kept himself in great shape and looks just fine right now, age, the injury and rust could play a part.

And for Chambers' sake, those things better hinder Klitschko. As much as I like Eddie Chambers, who is a good boxer with well above average speed and movement for a heavyweight, it's hard to envision a scenario where his hand is raised at the end of this fight. He's small, doesn't have the power, and is eventually going to have to deal with Klitschko's right hand -- if he gets past that heavy jab, anyway, which has been a major problem for everyone who has fought Wladimir in recent times.

Ideally, Chambers is going to want to go in and out, which should seem obvious enough. He'll want to sting Klitschko to the body as much as he can, and avoid getting hit much at all. Though Dimitrenko was similar in size to Wladimir, the similarities really end there. Klitschko is no speed merchant, but he's good with his timing. He's not slick, but very intelligent. And he hits like hell. (There's no "but" for that one.) Comparatively, Dimitrenko is sloppy and amateurish, which is not so much a shot at Dimitrenko as it is meaning to say that Klitschko is simply his superior in every way.

I do believe we'll see Eddie Chambers give Wladimir a few problems, but at the end of the day I just don't think he has the right body type to be the man who dethrones a Klitschko. He's just too small. Klitschko UD-12

Fight Preview - Wladimir Klitschko versus Eddie Chambers

2010-03-20T15:43:14Z

Wladimir Klitschko should be able to drive through Eddie Chambers to a wide unanimous decision. (Photo by Miguel Villagran / Getty Images)

View full size photo »

This afternoon in Germany, Wladimir Klitschko will be making the first defense of his Ring Magazine heavyweight championship against Philadelphia native Eddie Chambers, who is getting his first title shot.

If you look at pictures of the two fighters, the first thing that strikes you is the incredible size difference between the two fighters. Wladimir is listed at 6'6 1/2" with an 81" reach, and weighed in at a chiseled 244 pounds, while Chambers is generously listed at 6'1" with a 75" reach, and weighed in close to his career low at 209 pounds.

Unfortunately for Chambers, Klitschko probably uses his height better than any current fighter in the sport. With hall of fame trainer Emmanuel Steward in his corner, Klitschko has been transformed over time into someone who uses his height to his full advantage, pushing out robotic piston-like jabs with regularity to keep opposition away from the inside, and following up with the huge right hand just enough to keep his opponents from trying that method of access. If someone does manage to get inside, he'll clinch, and his powerful grasp prevents his opponent from throwing many punches before the referee resets the action.

Over the course of his last seven fights, Klitschko has used this strategy to win just about every round against six top 10 opponents and three beltholders to become the champion. His methods have become so predictable and boring that Klitschko couldn't get an American TV network to pick up this fight against the top American heavyweight contender.

Klitschko has historically had two weaknesses. All three of his losses came by way of knockout, with his poor chin playing a role in all three and mediocre stamina playing a role in two of the three. Klitschko appears to have cured the stamina issue by lowering his workrate, and relying much more on a low-energy jab and grab style rather than the combination punching he used to exhibit earlier in his career. The chin issues have been solved by simply keeping his opponents away - nobody has been able to touch him cleanly since he fought Sam Peter nearly five years ago.

Chambers, on the other hand, is about as deserving of an opponent as there is out there at the moment, having defeated two top 10 contenders in a row in Alexander Dimitrenko and Sam Peter in order to earn the title shot. Chambers has two massive strikes working against him in this fight - he's predictable, and he's small.

The size has become even more of an issue recently. Historically, Chambers would weigh arounf 220 on fight night, but he would often have problems with conditioning. His only loss, to Alexander Povetkin, came in a fight where he won the early rounds but Povetkin simply outworked Chambers for most of the fight to earn the decision. After he was unable to knock out a prone and exhausted Sam Peter, he realized there were issues, and decided to get more serious about conditioning. For the past year and a half, he's been on a much more strict training regimen, and he retained the services of disgraced supplement supplier Victor Conte to provide him with stamina-boosting help. The end result is that Chambers' stamina is indeed much better - against Dimitrenko, he was able to throw 70 to 80 punches a round the entire fight - but that he's also much smaller, looking more and more like the natural light heavyweight that he is.

Exacerbating the size issue, Chambers fights with a style that won't help him get on the inside, and won't help him outbox Klitschko from the outside. Chambers himself is a jabber who has shown some hesitancy to actually use his right hand. Unfortunately, Chambers' jab isn't as long or strong as Klitschko's. Defensively, he's a slicker fighter than most who Klitschko has faced recently, but he sometimes gets a little bit of James Toney syndrome, where he'll use upper body movement to avoid shots, but not take advantage by using his feet, stepping in, or countering. Furthermore, his favorite defensive move of leaning back to avoid a shot may not work against someone with a six inch reach advantage.

Chambers' last fight against Dimitrenko was against someone with similar dimensions to Klitschko, and Chambers thoroughly routed Dimitrenko. Unfortunately, Dimitrenko doesn't fight as well or as tall as Wladimir Klitschko. Unless Chambers suddenly learns to move his feet to get inside, he'll have problems getting close enough to land punches on Klitschko. On the other hand, Chambers has a good chin, and should be pumping out his own jab with regularity, keeping Wlad just far enough away that he can't get full extension on his punches. For this reason, I'm thinking it looks a lot like Wlad's fights against Chagaev or Ibragimov, and ends with a wide Klitschko UD.

Martin Lindsay decisions Jamie Arthur and other Friday results

2010-03-19T23:15:20Z

Martin Lindsay won a convincing decision over Jamie Arthur. (Photo via FrankMaloney.com)

View full size photo »

In Lancashire, Martin Lindsay scored a decision over Jamie Arthur in a fight for the British featherweight title. The final scores were 118-108, 117-110, 119-108, all in favor of Lindsay.

Overall, the fight was entertaining. While Lindsay was the more accurate puncher and landed the more telling shots, Arthur never stopped coming forward and kept throwing punches. Lindsay used his superior defensive ability to block or avoid most of the shots, and land a number of hard counter shots.

In the second round, Lindsay knocked down Arthur twice. Undeterred, he came forward and quite possibly won a few of the next few rounds by putting constant pressure on the sturdy Belfast fighter. However, as the fight wore on, Lindsay's conditioning, together with harder and more accurate punching, prevailed.

This was the first defense of Lindsay's title and he would need two more wins to keep his Lonsdale belt; however, I'd be very interested in seeing him on a wider stage. With his accurate punching and tricky defensive style, I could see him giving problems to a number of fighters on the fringes of the featherweight top 10, even if he probably doesn't have the sheer talent to take on someone like Yuriorkis Gamboa or Chris John. In the post-fight interview, new promoter Frank Maloney stated that they would eye the European title, but that first and foremost they want to keep Lindsay busy. This was only Lindsay's 16th fight as a professional in six years, and at 27 years old, he's no kid.

On the undercard, Gary Davies knocked down Andy Bell twice en route to a first round knockout over Bell, in a bantamweight bout between two former British titlists. Also on the undercard, 6'8" U.K. Olympian David Price scored a first round TKO over Martyn Grainger in a farce of a fight where Grainger didn't even try. Price landed three punches. The first body shot knocked Grainger down. After the second one, he took a knee, and the referee stopped the fight. It was an absolutely pathetic display, and Price gets an official win to move to 6-0.
In Belgium, Randall Bailey knocked Jackson Bonsu out in the first round, winning the #2 position in the IBF welterweight rankings. After the fight, promoter Lou DiBella stated that Bailey would be looking for the biggest money fight possible.
On Friday Night Fights, Sechew Powell won a majority decision over Deandre Latimore in a revenge match. Powell is now the IBF mandatory in the light middleweight division.
Thursday morning, Shane Cameron bounced back from his destruction at the hands of David Tua by defeating John Hopoate. Hopoate, a former rugby player mostly known for his dirty tactics, let those tactics carry over, and lost by disqualification after he made it apparent that he'd rather fight in a wrestling match than a boxing match.

Mandatory Eight Count - Chambers in Shape

2010-03-19T21:29:43Z

Wladimir Klitschko looks ripped as usual. Eddie Chambers looks...well...not pudgy. (Photo by Lars Baron / Getty Images)

View full size photo »

Weights from Germany | Klitschko.com

Klitschko pretty much looks as usual and weighed in at 244. Eddie Chambers weighed in at 209, which is basically where he was when he upset Alexander Dimitrenko. Chambers looks about as close to ripped as I've seen him, but the size difference between the two is still staggering.

Cunningham-Godfrey being salvaged | Dan Rafael's Blog

The fight between Steve Cunningham and Matt Godfrey, which is as good of a cruiserweight bout as you'll get stateside these days, may be salvaged on next week's Friday Night Fights. Since Don King defaulted on his purse bid, Main Events is now the promoter, and they're looking for this to headline a previously untelevised card next week to take the place of the failed card that was to be headlined by Spinks-Bundrage.

Chambers Facing a Tall Order in Klitschko | Philadelphia Inquirer

Eddie Chambers and his trainer think they have a plan to beat Klitschko tomorrow. Chambers has sparred with Wlad before (in his preparations for the second Byrd fight), and thinks his jab and upper body movement will allow him to outbox Wlad. I feel like I heard this pretty recently from a competitor of Wladimir's brother.

Chambers promises he won't pull a Clottey | Don Steinberg's blog

Chambers and his trainer realize that keeping up the earmuffs is no way to beat Wladimir. The money quote from Chambers: "I'm gonna have to find a way to kick the door in. Obviously, there are times I'm going to pick up the aggression, and other times I'm going to have to wait. This is a chess match, not checkers. You have to be patient or else you might get checkmated."

Puerto Rican fight before the parade | ESPN

Per Dan Rafael's notebook, Bob Arum still intends to have a Puerto Rican card in Madison Square Garden the weekend of the Puerto Rican Day Parade. Typically, Cotto would fight there, but he's facing Yuri Foreman a week earlier in Yankee Stadium. Instead, he's hoping to put on a card headlined by Ivan Calderon against Johnriel Casimero. The card would air on FSN's Top Rank Live.

Ronnie Shields drops Omar Henry | Boxing Scene

In a dispute over sparring, Houston trainer Ronnie Shields has dumped top prospect Omar Henry from his roster. There are rumors going around that this has to do with managers Shelley Finkel and Cameron Dunkin, but Shields says it's because he didn't want Henry sparring fellow prospect Erislandy Lara. In this day of Youtube and the like, it's pretty easy to earn a good or bad reputation in sparring, where a fighter may or may not be going all out, depending on the intent of the sparring session. Henry also previously declined sparring Manny Pacquiao to prepare for Miguel Cotto.

Vazquez-Marquez IV is official | Ring Magazine

The promotion has the awfully punny title "Once and Four All." As much as I'm hoping this bout doesn't ruin the magic of the trilogy between Rafael Marquez and Israel Vazquez, it's still must-see TV on the basis of what great fights the first three were. On the undercard, there's another bout with sleeper fight of the year potential, as Abner Mares will be challenging Yohnny Perez for his title.

Drug testing for Mayweather-Mosley detailed | LA Times

According to Lance Pugmire, Travis Tygart and the USADA will be administering the testing, which will include random blood testing "through and after the fight." The big bombshell here is that the fighters have agreed that if either fighter fails the drug test, he would be suspended for two years. By way of comparison, James Toney was only suspended for six months when he failed his second blood test, and Tony Margarito was suspended indefinitely with the opportunity to reapply for a license after only one year.

Darchinyan-Donaire Rematch Almost Final

2010-03-19T16:28:22Z

Vic Darchinyan will be preparing to rematch Nonito Donaire in August. via www.vicdarchinyan.com

View full size photo »

According to Dan Rafael, a rematch between Nonito Donaire and Vic Darchinyan is close to being finalized. The bout would likely take place on Showtime in August.

This one has been a long time coming. When the original fight took place, both Donaire and Darchinyan were on Gary Shaw's roster. Shortly after Nonito's stunning upset, he left Gary Shaw for Top Rank, where his career appears to have been stagnating. Shaw initially made a vow that Donaire would never get another match against a Gary Shaw fighter, but with Darchinyan's options dwindling, and with Darchinyan himself screaming at every opportunity that he wants the rematch, Shaw's hand has been forced and the fight will be made.

Despite less than overwhelming opposition since fighting Darchinyan (Luis Maldonado, Moruti Mthlane, Raul Martinez, Rafael Concepcion and Manuel Vargas), Donaire's stock remains high. He's rated the #6 pound for pound fighter in the world by Ring Magazine. In addition, since their first fight, Darchinyan made a brief appearance in the Ring Magazine pound for pound list, after beating Dmitry Kirilov, Cristian Mijares and Jorge Arce to unify three of the 115 pound belts.

If the match does occur, it presents many of the same stylistic issues that were present when the two first fought. While both of them are much higher profile now, each of them is essentially the same fighter he was a few years ago. Darchinyan is still a huge puncher who telegraphs his shots and who can be countered, but who can turn a fight around with one left hand. Donaire is still a quick fighter who can dart in and out and take advantage of those flaws by counterpunching. Either way, it's one of the best fights that can be made south of bantamweight, and kudos to the promoters for getting together and finally making the bout.

British Scene: Martin Lindsay vs Jamie Arthur Preview

2010-03-19T02:29:31Z

British Scene: Martin Lindsay vs Jamie Arthur Preview

Dave Oakes of The Boxing Bulletin previews Friday night's British featherweight title match-up between champion Martin Lindsay and challenger Jamie Arthur.

Martin Lindsay makes the long awaited first defence of his British featherweight title on Friday night when he faces former top class amateur, Jamie Arthur.

Lindsay, 15-0 (6KO’s), won the title in sensational fashion last April when he stopped the unbeaten champion Paul Appleby in the sixth round. The normally composed Lindsay was dragged into a war by Appleby and responded by bettering the Scot at his own game. Read the rest here...

Pacquiao-Clottey buys estimated at 650-700,000

2010-03-18T22:17:23Z

Manny Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey's fight sold well, but wasn't the smash success of Pacquiao's last three fights. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn / Getty Images)

View full size photo »

With no HBO "24/7" dedicated to the event, an unknown B-side fighter in the main event, and an undercard that while not notably weak certainly didn't help matters, industry chatter is that the Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey fight last weekend did around 650,000 pay-per-view buys in the United States, with the final number likely to be near 700,000.

Even the highest end number there (700K) would put it well below recent numbers for major "event" fights. Last year, Hatton-Pacquiao did around 825K, followed by Mayweather-Marquez at 1 million and Cotto-Pacquiao at 1.25 million. But I'd also say that this shouldn't have been unexpected, and it should be considered a success and testament to Pacquiao's drawing power.

Perhaps most importantly, this could prove to be roadblock No. 732 in making Mayweather-Pacquiao ever happen. Without any question, the buys for Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s fight with Shane Mosley on May 1 will obliterate this number. If all really goes well, Mosley-Mayweather could triple the buys for Pacquiao-Clottey, which would mean there is absolutely no way in hell that the Mayweather camp will acquiesce to a 50/50 split with Pacquiao if they ever get back to the negotiating table. I think Pacquiao-Mosley could've done great numbers, too, but the fact of the matter is that Mayweather was able to line up the better fight commercially, and it's also the better fight in terms of challenge. It may have been more happenstance than anything, but to the victor goes the spoils and all that.

Mayweather, should he beat Mosley and negotiate with Pacquiao, will probably look for at least a 60/40 split at this point. If he and Mosley do really mega numbers, around two million buys or so (which is not as out of the question as it might seem to some, I believe), then he might even open with something absurd like 70/30.

To get back to the Pacquiao-Clottey number itself, though, it's really pretty incredible when you think about it. The man has grown into a serious superstar. I'm sure there will be the dullards that laugh about this number as though it's some sort of "proof" of something heinous or disastrous, but think back to March 2008, when Pacquiao rematched Juan Manuel Marquez. In boxing circles, that fight was just about 100 times more highly anticipated than Pacquiao-Clottey, at least as I remember it. That fight sold to about 400,000 homes, which was an incredible number, and still a record for a main event fight with boxers that size (they were at 130 for that fight).

Now, with Clottey, who not only isn't a mainstream fighter by any stretch, but also doesn't have the incredible Mexican boxing fan following, Pacquiao has sold at least 650,000 or so PPVs. We're talking about at least a quarter million more people buying Pacquiao-Clottey than the highly-anticipated Marquez-Pacquiao II. Not bad.

Khoren Gevor declared a free agent; Gevor-Macklin canceled

2010-03-18T19:02:01Z

Two-time middleweight title challenger and top 10 contender Khoren Gevor has been granted free agency from Universum. via www.boxing.de

View full size photo »

In Germany today, a court handed down a decision that could have wide-ranging implications among the German boxing elite. According to Per Ake Persson, the German court has ruled that Khoren Gevor's contract with promotional powerhouse Universum violates civil rights law, and thus is null and void. This makes Gevor a free agent.

If Gevor signed Universum's standard form of promotional contract, this may have a major effect on the German boxing scene. Gevor is not the only Universum fighter who was trying to get out of his contract - Felix Sturm, Sergiy Dzinzurik and Gennady Golovkin have all filed similar cases against Universum, and some of their other major fighters, such as Zsolt Erdei, have grumbled loudly about their lack of satisfaction with the promoter. Sturm and Dzinziruk have already signed with other promoters, pending the results of their litigation. Expect a litany of similar suits to follow from other fighters who are unhappy with the promoter.

This is starting to look like the beginning of the end for Universum, which has had a long line of problems. Historically, they have been the biggest promoter in Germany for the last quarter century. I have previously lambasted them for their poor matchmaking, and it looks like people are finally starting to take notice. Not long ago, their TV contract with German television station ZDF lapsed, and ZDF declined to renew the contract. In an effort to get their contract renewed, they started having their top prospects fight each other, which resulted in them putting most of their eggs in a few baskets. Some of these fighters, such as Alexander Dimitrenko and Dmitri Sartison, have subsequently lost, lowering their stock. In addition, two of their other fighters, Juergen Braehmer and recently gifted titlist Vitali Tajbert, have had legal issues of their own that are being sorted out. Without the potential free agents and jailbirds, their roster is seriously depleted, with fighters like Erdei, Denis Boytsov, Ruslan Chagaev and Alexander Alexeev serving as their biggest remaining draws.

As for Gevor, this means that his scheduled fight with Matthew Macklin for a European middleweight title is off for now. Macklin's team didn't offer Gevor enough of a deal, so he's stepping aside for a fight. The winner of Macklin against TBA, scheduled to take place on April 9, will then need to face Gevor within 90 days.

Katsidis-Mitchell official for May 15 at Upton Park

2010-03-18T15:13:00Z

Upton Park, the home of West Ham United, will serve as the host for the May 15 fight between Michael Katsidis and Kevin Mitchell. (Photo via Daily Mail)

View full size photo »

Frank Warren still has some final touches to put on a massive May 15 card, the but British promoter is thinking big with his May 15 main event. Kevin Mitchell will get a chance at a dream when he fights Michael Katsidis at Upton Park, on the home grounds of the West Ham United football club.

Katsidis (26-2, 21 KO) and Mitchell (31-0, 23 KO) will fight for the interim WBO lightweight title. Warren is stacking an undercard, too, with his Olympic prospects and some heavyweight action.

Sam Sexton (13-1, 6 KO) v. Danny Williams (41-8, 31 KO)
Derek Chisora (12-0, 7 KO) v. TBA
James DeGale (6-0, 4 KO) v. TBA for a minor WBA trinket at 168, which of course will be hyped as if it's meaningful
Frankie Gavin (6-0, 5 KO) and Billy Joe Saunders (5-0, 3 KO) will also be in action once again
BoxRec has Matthew Hall (22-2, 15 KO) listed for action, too

The Scary Clown: Remembering Jorge Paez

2010-03-18T15:10:15Z

Boxing is many things, and a playground for extreme personalities is one of them. While plenty of normal people climb into the profession, it also attracts more than its fair share of attention-seekers, fringe characters and loveable weirdos. Jorge Paez was all of the above.

Paez once wore a dress to a fight. This was in 1992, against Rafael Ruelas, in his adopted hometown of L.A. Imagine showing up for a bout in a black sequin gown, on your home turf. It sounds like the sort of nightmare you might have after snacking on the old pizza your fridge. But for Paez, it was just business as usual.

That's because - as the commentators unfailingly mentioned before, and often during, every fight - Paez was a professional circus clown. A native of Mexicali, Jorge spent a good part his youth working in his grandmother's show, learning how to do the sorts of tumbles, goony dancing and acrobatic backflips that he'd showcase before and after every victory. According to him he never fully left the circus, and would return to clowning for short stretches in between fights. It wasn't hard to imagine, either. He had a wide easy grin, and whenever he flashed it you got the sense the only thing he enjoyed more then hitting people was cracking them up.

But in the ring, at his best, Paez was a sly and vicious court jester, ripping out gut-busting bodywork in between his crouching, bobbing advances and jelly-legged taunts. El Maromero was a fairly limited and inconsistent slugger, but he also had a nerve-jangling ability to turn the tables and a Roman gladiator’s deference to the crowd. You could tell by looking that he loved being in the ring. And in between antics, he could occasionally churn out a sudden, sinister left hook. If he was a linesman for Ma Bell, he would’ve been the weird, unpredictably evil linesmen. And if he was a Notary Public, he’d be the weird, unpredictably evil Notary Public. Jorge Paez was basically the definition of a "scary clown."

On the comeback trail from a hard-fought loss to Sweet Pea Whitaker, Paez wanted to make more than a fashion statement that night in California. In a busy year, Ruelas was the first truly dangerous opponent he'd faced aside from a downsliding De la Rosa. The fight looked like it would be a barnburner from the first bell, with a volley of big exchanges that saw Paez floored by a thunderous hook. Gutsy as always, he rose – in a dress, mind you – to finish the round by throwing and catching a lot of leather.

Paez was roundly outfought, if not outclassed that night. Gabriel’s brother was a very focused and fit guy; if not a born killer then a born wounder-and-bleeder. The gap in preparedness was clear for the majority of the bout, with Ruelas often unloading at will on an increasingly available chin. But early in the fourth round, something interesting happened. Jorge pulled one of those ripping one-two combinations down from orbit and nearly mugged Rafael. In the blink of an eye, the smartass in the dress suddenly looked dressed to kill, vandalizing Ruelas in the corner with heavy lefts and rights. I had Paez under, and I thought I was going to feel smart.

Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. In the middle of his furious assault, Paez accidentally spit out his mouthpiece, providing Rafael a much needed breather. It was the turning point for both guys, and the remainder of the bout was mostly a matter of Ruelas' tenacious combinations gradually overwhelming the clown’s desparate antics. El Maromero was stopped by the referee in the 10th from a very ugly and academic barrage that would’ve popped the balloons of many decent fighters over the years. But he lost bravely, and took the loss well. Despite getting savagely beaten in front of a large crowd of people while wearing a dress, he had his moments. And, at the end of the day, I suppose getting beat up in a dress is preferable to getting beat up by the guy wearing the dress.

Paez would fight for another ten years, losing mostly to good and great fighters over that talent-rich period. He was a hard-slugging showboat, which in the upper tiers of the sport can be a recipe for disaster. But his confidence was outstanding compared to most "normal" people, the role of which is hard to overestimate in Boxing. I’d bet every dollar in the bank that he was un-trainable in some very fatal and very admirable way, and that this factor played just as large a part in his victories as it did in his defeats.

Thinking about him now, I guess it’s possible he was nuts. Jorge’s glory days came before self-promotion was just a Youtube video away, so it’s hard to explain some of the weirder stuff. But I like to think he was a throwback with an eccentric streak. The guy who runs off to join the circus seems to share some old, quixotic DNA with the guy who embarks on a career in professional boxing. As for all of the accessories: the cryptic slogans emblazoned on his trunks, the "Batman" paraphenalia, the crossdressing, the wild hairdos - in almost any other guy this stuff would have seemed like a paint job to market an otherwise boring pug. But Paez had a brave, fan-friendly style. He didn't really need that stuff, even though it's probably the reason he is so memorable. I've never seen him perform as a circus clown, but I think he probably must have been fun to watch there too. Center ring is center ring, after all. Win or lose he was fun to watch, and, like height, that's something you can't ever teach.

Somewhat overshadowed by last week's big fight, on Friday Sam Peter scored a TKO2 over Nagy...

2010-03-18T13:02:58Z

Somewhat overshadowed by last week's big fight, on Friday Sam Peter scored a TKO2 over Nagy Aguilera to earn a mandatory title shot.

Spinks-Bundrage, Cunningham-Godfrey postponed

2010-03-18T12:49:54Z

Spinks-Bundrage, Cunningham-Godfrey postponed

Next week's Friday Night Fights card, which would have included two title fights, between Cory Spinks and Cornelius Bundrage and between Steve Cunningham and Matt Godfrey, has been postponed. While the original ESPN article had to toe the party line and state that the postponement was due to contractual disputes between Don King and ESPN, Boxing Scene has the inside scoop on what actually caused the problems.

NYSAC looking to update drug testing policies

2010-03-17T17:23:29Z

NYSAC Chair Melvina Lathan, here at the International Boxing Hall of Fame, is looking into updating the state's boxing drug testing policies. via www.ibhof.com

View full size photo »

According to the New York Post, the New York State Athletic Commission may be taking steps to upgrade its drug testing policies to blood testing. Presently, the NYSAC only tests pre- and post-fight urine samples, which is in line with most major American athletic commissions.

"We're in the process of doing the research now," Lathan said. "We have been for several weeks. We're going to upgrade our testing policies. As soon as my medical advisory board gets back to me with their findings, we're going to look over their recommendations."

"We're tossing around a lot of policies," Lathan said. "We're trying to find out which ones work better for our state, for our boxers and for boxing. We're trying to get what works, and once we get all of those things together, then we'll come out with a statement about our policies."

This has been a hot button issue recently in the sport, ever since a proposed superfight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao fell apart due to Mayweather's insistence on Olympic-style drug testing for the fight. Since then, there has been some discussion and movement in the subject, particularly with Sauerland's new TV deal reportedly including a rider that all of its fights would need to include Olympic-style drug testing.

It will probably be a while before any actual changes are made - these are beaurocracies we're dealing with, and the government needs to perform its diligence and analyze whether the benefits outweigh the obvious costs - but it's nice to see that the commissions are taking a step in the right direction.

IBF Action - Bika-Brinkley, Sylvester-Karmazin and Andrade-Lucas

2010-03-17T14:52:12Z

Roman Karmazin will be fighting in home territory for his title shot against Sebastian Sylvester.

View full size photo »

Montreal promoter Interbox won a purse bid for a title eliminator between Sakio Bika and Jesse Brinkley. Brinkley recently defeated Curtis Stevens to win the #2 position in the IBF's super middleweight rankings. Bika has kept a relatively low profile since obliterating Peter Manfredo, waiting for a big fight that never came. He had been scheduled to face Allan Green for the right to fight in the Super Six, but he pulled out for unspecified reasons. The winner will be the mandatory to fight Lucian Bute.

Interbox has also arranged another fight, likely to be on the same card, with IBF super middleweight implications. Librado Andrade will fight former titlist Eric Lucas, who has recently started a comeback. This could be an exciting fight between two relatively crude fighters who have been able to make the most of their careers by having a ton of heart. In addition, it has the side effect of getting Andrade back in front of the Montreal crowds, where he has started to develop a good fan base, against one of Montreal's favorite boxing sons. It seems relatively likely that this is a set up for a match up between Andrade and Adrian Diaconu somewhere down the line.

Elsewhere, Russian promoter Bash Boxing surprisingly won the purse bid for the title fight between Roman Karmazin and IBF middleweight titlist Sebastian Sylvester, meaning that bout will take place in Russia. The fight will likely be in St. Petersburg on June 5. Karmazin knocked out Dionisio Miranda in a fight where it looked like he had run out of gas to earn the title shot. This will be Sylvester's first fight outside of Germany.