Antonio Margarito’s application refusal, 25 August 2010

Learning that the Californian Commission had refused Antonio Margarito’s application to be re-licensed almost restored my faith in boxing administrators. I say almost because even as I write it is probable that the Texas Commission will enthusiastically greet Margarito and not even hesitate before licensing him. For the State it opens the door for a Manny Pacquiao vs Margarito fight to take place at the Dallas Cowboys stadium. For observers of boxing is again stresses that money does not just talk in boxing, it shouts loud enough to drone out anything else.

The Nevada Commission took the correct stance of refusing to consider a licence application from Margarito until he had gone in front of the California Commission for his licence hearing with the State that placed the original ban on him. The Californian Commission quite rightly took into account Margarito flaunting of their ban by fighting in Mexico, and his refusal countenance the thought that he done anything wrong, and they refused to lift the ban by a 4-1 vote, with the Commission Chairman being the dissenting vote. Chairmen should not vote, at least that is what I was told recently.

It was disappointing that even after the Californian Commission had refused to re-instate Margarito, the Associations of Boxing Commissions (ABC) issued a comment that other Commissions were now free to consider granting Margarito a licence, which was almost an invitation to other Commissions to take no account of the decision by California. The ABC may have felt it was okay to do this as it was not a medical suspension, only a case of a intent to commit criminal assault!

This, together with the certainty that Texas will issue Margarito with a licence-and let’s not forget that Texas also licensed Edwin Valero whilst he was under suspension in New York and California-highlights the lack of any real commitment to working together or any semblance of national control of boxing in the USA, and also why there will never be a national Commission. For there to be a national Governing body with real power, the individual States would have to relinquish their power, and that will never happen.

The Pacquiao vs Margarito fight will be a big draw wherever it takes place, but it is a sign of changed times that the only fighter with a stature anywhere close to that of the little Filipino is Floyd Mayweather Jr. America still has some champions such as Steve Cunningham, Tavoris Cloud, Andre Ward, Tim Bradley and Devon Alexander, and names such as Bernard Hopkins and Shane Mosley, but apart from Mayweather none of them are big enough names to carry a show on their own. More and more the USA is filling the role of cash cow for overseas fighters. The USA no longer has the fighters, but because of the huge TV revenue they have the fights.

Super Six Cruiserweight – A shift in power, 25 August 2010

As if to demonstrate the shift in power, Team Saureland are planning to stage a cruiserweight version of Super Six. This series is to have as its protagonists Marco Huck, Steve Cunningham, Kris Wlodarczyk, Denis Lebedev, Yoan Pablo Hernandez and one other top fighter. All five of those named have strong promotional ties with Germany and if it flies it will be a good series.

The Sauerland team suffered a blow with Mikkel Kessler having to pull out of his next bout against Allan Green in the Super Six. Kessler has stated that he has had a long term eye problem which affected him during both of his previous Super Six fights against Andre Ward and Carl Froch and thatDoctors have advised him to take a break from boxing until it heals. This means that the SHOWTIME will need to find a replacement, to fight Green, who is himself a replacement for Jermain Taylor. The best laid plans……………

One fighter who will be missing is WBA cruiserweight champion Guillermo Jones. After not having yet defended the WBA title since beating Firat Arslan in September 2008, Jones was finally warned to defend or be stripped. He is now in training for a defence against Russian Valery Brudov on October 2 in Panama. Even if Jones was not tied into this defence I have serious doubts as to whether Don King would have allowed him to enter the Super Six at cruiserweight, as King would then stand to lose control of that WBA title.

Mike Dokes’ most important fight, 25 August 2010

It was sad to read of the current condition of former WBA heavyweight champion Mike Dokes. After he beat Mike Weaver for the WBA title in 1982 Mike literally bathed in Champaign. However, he only held the title for nine months and during his reign had already started down a very slippery path outside the ring. In 1986 he spent some time in jail for trafficking in cocaine. In 1998 he was arrested in Nevada for assault on his girl friend. He pleaded guilty to attempted murder and second degree kidnapping and was given a ten year sentence, being paroled in 2008. Now 53, but looking at least ten years older. Mike was in his home State for inauguration into the local Hall Of fame. He is battling liver cancer, which is a more important fight than any he had as a pro.

Tszyu returns, 25 August 2010

There may soon be another Tszyu on the pro boxing scene. Kostya’s son was due to defend his local Golden Gloves title down in Australia. Only 15, young Tszyu is unbeaten in his 15 junior fights. The former world light welterweight champion has said that he does not want his son to box in the seniors as an amateur, so presumably he is going to let him turn pro when he is 16.

Fony Sony, 25 August 2010

Some nicknames are pretty silly, but how about the Indonesian who recently fought for the IBF Pan Pacific super featherweight title, his name was Fony Sony. It sounds like a knocked off TV set.

Erik Morales, 25 August 2010

When Willie Limond faces Erik Morales he will part of the centre piece to a big show at the Plaza Mexico, Mexico City. Apart from Willie’s fight the show will also feature five other title fights with former WBC light fly champ Edgar Sosa, Juan Carlos Burgos, Daniel Estrada, Ramon Ayala and Carlos Cuadras all vying for various minor titles. I don’t have the names of all of their opponents just yet, but then that is what they will be-opponents-or for that read victims.

The Mexican papers have been full of how hard Morales has been training and his ambition to win another world title, and he seems to have studied a lot of films of Willie in action so he is giving my fellow Scot plenty of respect, but who knows what will happen when the bell rings.

The WBA Convention, 25 August 2010

The WBA Convention in November will feature a big tribute to the great Alexis Arguello, one of the truly great fighters who was a gentleman out of the ring. It was announced that both David Haye and George Foreman were going to attend. It suddenly had me thinking of an alternative to David Haye vs Audley Harrison, why not David Haye vs George Foreman, and then luckily I awoke from my nightmare, to find I was left with only David Haye vs Audley Harrison. I guess a bad dream is better than a nightmare.

Russian giant Nikolay Valuev is one opponent who will not be on David Haye’s immediate agenda. The former WBA champion, who was outpointed by David for the title last November, needs an operation on his shoulder, and will be out for six months.

Alex Povetkin denial, 25 August 2010

Still on heavyweights, the camp of Russian Alex Povetkin have strenuously denied claims by Teddy Atlas that he withdrew Povetkin from the proposed IBF mandatory title challenge to Wlad Klitschko because he did not feel Povetkin was ready yet to face Klitschko. The Russian’s management team have stated that circumstances, including a death in the family meant that Povetkin would find it hard to get in the required condition for the challenge and this is why they allowed the deadline for signing the fight contracts to lapse.

New African sanctioning body, 25 August 2010

More sanctioning bodies seem to pop up every week. The latest is one calling itself African Golden Gloves Warriors (AGGW). They are scheduled to have their title inauguration on a show in Ghana soon. The place the show was going to be held was the "Prison Canteen". It is probably the name of an event hall, but I did feel it was appropriate considering how some sanctioning bodies operate.

Acosta vs Dominguez, 25 August 2010

Panamanian Miguel Acosta is scheduled to defend his WBA secondary title against Mexican Ricardo Dominguez in Chetumal on September 25. It is not a bad fight on paper, but as usual Dominguez qualified by the standard route, he lost his last fight. He challenged Humberto Soto for the WBC title in May and lost by eight points on two of the judges cards, but that’s boxing for you. To the loser goes the rewards.

Vazquez and Linares favourites, 25 August 2010

A couple of other matches announced will see Wilfredo Vazquez defend his WBA super bantam title against Mexican Ivan "Choko" Hernandez in Kissimmee on October 11 and Jorge Linares face the former WBC lightweight champion Jesus Chavez in Tokyo on October 24. Both Latino’s are appearing it what might be described as home away from home. Puerto Rican Vazquez had had 16 of his 20 fights in Florida, 13 in Kissimmee, and Venezuelan Linares, a former WBC featherweight and WBA super featherweight champion, has had 20 of his 30 fights in Japan. Hernandez is a former WBO super fly champion who has had two previous shots at winning a version of the super bantamweight title. Both Vazquez and Linares should win comfortably.

SHOWTIME Super Six tournament, 10 August 2010

Plans are being put into place by SHOWTIME for another Super Six tournament. This open will feature bantamweights. The names being suggested are Fernando Montiel, Vic Darchinyan, Abner Mares, Jhonny Perez, Joseph Agbeko and Chris Martin (thanks to his win over Chris Avalos). Certainly any tournament that includes such diverse talents would provide great entertainment, probably every bit as good as the super middleweights. Whilst we might look forward to it, there will a collective groan of disappointment from many rated fighter left out. Effectively it could mean a couple of years before you get a title shot as the champions will all be tied-up in the tournament.

At the same time as the tournament started taking shape boxing suffered a big blow with the passing from brain cancer of former SHOWTIME Executive Jay Larkin. It was Larkin who in 1986 really launched SHOWTIME into boxing in a big way. Almost every star name in boxing from Mike Tyson to Julio Cesar Chavez was featured and Jay played a large part in the careers of all of them. His impact and influence was great and boxing owes him a huge debt. My sympathies go to the family of a great servant of boxing.

Who’s “Iron Mike”? , 10 August 2010

What's in a name? Well if you are Mike Landrum a nickname is worth $115 million. Landrum fought as a pro in California in the early/mid 1980's and managed to accumulate a 6-4 record. He claims that his nickname was “Iron Mike”. Just as he was bowing out some punk kid from New York turns pro. The guy is knocking fighters over and before you know it he is nicknamed “Iron Mike”. This obviously escaped the notice of Mr Landrum at the time. Suddenly, after more than 20 years of this imposter using his nickname Mike Landrum has had enough and he has started a suit against the other “Iron Mike”, Mr Tyson, claiming that due to the nickname confusion he was unable to get big fights or sponsorship. He estimates the infringement of the use of the name he coined cost him income of $115 million in lost earnings. It is no joke, but it is a joke. He may be serious about his suit. However if you are generous and say that he was being paid $1000 each for his fights in 1985 then his claim is based on him having over 115,000 fights in 25 years, or over 4600 fights a year. Somewhat of an exaggerated claim. I also pity any promoter who could not tell which “Iron Mike” he was calling. Could you imagine a promoter offering Mike Tyson $1000 for a six round bout down the card when what he meant to do was offer Landrum $10,000,000 to fight Lennox Lewis. Easy to see how he could get those mixed up.

Floyd Mayweather Jr flirting with Don King, 10 August 2010

Could you also imagine the claim the family of Sugar Ray Robinson could file. They could probably sue about 1000 boxers. Just give them the keys to Fort Knox. My first reaction when I read that Floyd Mayweather Jr was flirting with Don King I buried my head in my hands and hoped it would have gone away by the time I re-emerged. No, it was still there. The curious thing is that most observers feel that King is one man who could smooth the way for the fight we all want to see between Floyd and Manny Pacquiao. King and Arum have done business before and money talks their language. If King can help get this fight on then the sport will be richer, and so will King, but Floyd Jr-please read the small print in the handshake.

Paying the price for testing positive, 10 August 2010

It seems that South African Ali Funeka is still paying the price for testing positive for a banned diuretic in his losing effort against Joan Guzman in March. The Nevada Commission gave him a nine month ban and a heavy fine and the IBF threw him out of their ratings. Now after two belated attempts to win the IBF title he finds himself with his face pressed up against the window whilst Miguel Vazquez and Korean JiHoon Kim contest the vacant title. I don't really feel sorry for him, if you cheat there is always the chance you are going to get caught and the tougher the penalty the bigger the deterrent.

Alex Povetkin fails to sign contract, 10 August 2010

The IBF have been very harsh on Russian Alex Povetkin. He was their mandatory challenger to Wlad Klitschko, but failed to sign and return the contracts for his challenge to Klitschko. His punishment has been to be demoted to No 11 in their ratings. However, he is still No1 in the most recent WBO ratings I saw, so he is still the mandatory challenger to the title holder-Wlad Klitschko!

In a similar vein, Audley Harrison relinquished the European title and has been hanging around hoping David Haye will look kindly upon him. The mandatory challenger when he was champion was Alex Dimitrenko. The big Ukrainian duly won the vacant title, and his mandatory challenger is-Audley Harrison!

Unregulated regulations, 10 August 2010

Boxing has been described as the wild west of sport in the way that anything goes and laws are there to be broken, and if you have trouble in one State or Country or body, then you just find another State/Country/body who do not recognise or care about what another authority says. Suspensions such as the one handed out to Funeka only mean something if they can be enforced. Take the case of former WBO middleweight champion Hector Velazco. After just over two years out of the ring he turned up on July 31 in Ghana where he was stopped in ten rounds by Braimah Kamoko for the vacant World Professional Boxing Council light heavyweight title. The only problem with this is that Velazco's name appears on the FAB (Argentinian Boxing Federation) list of boxers under the heading “Cancelacion definitive”, which means that his licence was cancelled on July 3, 2010 and under the relevant article the suspension would only be lifted by appeal. No such appeal was made and instead he reportedly fought under a licence issued by the World Boxing Commission (not Council). Many years ago we had a similar case where Akio Kameda came to Britain to challenge Terry Marsh for the IBF light welterweight title. The Japanese Boxing Commission (JBC) had suspended him, but he had a licence from IBF Japan which consisted of Kameda and his manager. Admittedly the suspension was a political one and not a medical one as the JBC had decreed that none of their licensees was to have anything to do with the IBF, and so Kameda's manager set up his own body. However it shows how unregulated the regulations can be, which in a sport as dangerous as boxing is madness.

Carlos Monzon and Luis Firpo remembered, 10 August 2010

On the subject of Argentina down they have been marking the anniversaries relating to two of their greatest fighters. Carlos Monzon was born on August 7, 1942, and Luis Firpo died on August 7, 1960. If you count Sugar Ray Robinson as a welterweight, and he was unbeatable in that division, then for me Monzon has a claim to be the best middleweight of all time. He lost only three of his 100 fights and was unbeaten from 1964 until he retired in 1977 after 14 world title defences against the best fighters around. His story had a tragic end as he was imprisoned for killing his common-law wife and was actually out of prison on a temporary release when he died. Firpo became a huge , national hero after his dramatic fight with Jack Dempsey and remained so throughout his life, with only the Peron's being more popular. “The Wild Bull” was a clever and careful man with his money and he was multi-millionaire when he died. Hero's come in all shapes and forms and these two show how diverse they can be.

Joe Gans 100th anniversary, 10 August 2010

Still on the subject of anniversaries as I write this on August 10 in Baltimore they are marking the 100th anniversary of the death of former world lightweight champion Joe Gans. Joe holds a unique place in the history of African-American sports as the first one of his race to win a world title-in any sport. In a 16 year career he had close to 200 fights and lost only ten. He was rumoured to have been suffering from tuberculosis for the last two years of his career and eventually died of TB in 1910 at the age of 35. Some have described him as the greatest lightweight who ever lived, but it is impossible to compare fighters from different eras. The plan is to name a street after Joe.

Olusegun vs Chebah, 10 August 2010

For those interested in money my understanding is that the winning bid for the Ajose Olusegun vs Ali Chebah WBC light welterweight eliminator was $112,000. The fight is scheduled for November 1, in Algeria and it will be good to see Olusegun finally get a sniff of a world title fight. Chebah turned pro at 16, which meant that he could not fight in France, and he has been carefully guided without a single WBC rated fighter on his record so don't pay too much attention to his statistics of 33 wins in 34 fights as the man who beat him, Reyes Sanchez was kayoed in two rounds in the Azteca lightweight tournament last year.

WBA Super Champions, 10 August 2010

What a tangled web they weave. The WBA have this ruling where if one of their champions wins the title of another body he is elevated to the status of Super Champion. In the featherweight division they have a Super Champion in Chris John (even though the WBA title is the only one he holds!), and they have a WBA champion in Yuriorkis Gamboa. Well on September 11 their “secondary” champion Gamboa, fights IBF champion Orlando Salido in a unification match. Three questions arise, firstly, if a secondary champion wins the title of another body, does he become a WBA Super Champion even though he is not the full WBA champion? Secondly, if Salido wins does he become WBA Super Champion as he holds two titles? A third question if either of them wins what does the WBA do with two Super Champions in the same division (John and the winner of Gamboa-Salido). Last question-are we all past caring about the WBA stupidity?

Evander Holyfield vs Sherman Williams, 10 August 2010

On the subject of stupid titles Evander Holyfield is scheduled to defend his WBF (can't remember if it is Federation or Foundation and don't really care, actually it is a lie that I don't know, as it is the Federation, but it is true that I don't care) against 37-year-old Sherman Williams. Sherman qualified by losing his last fight ten months ago to Manuel Charr. It was a unanimous decision with one judge having Charr ahead by eight points. And the point of this fight is?????

The proliferation of titles, 27 July 2010

I have always been against the proliferation of titles and over the past 18 months my stance has brought me all sorts of grief, which I won’t go into. However, there are many people whose opinion I respect; who say it has been good for the sport. The main argument is that it has given many fighters the chance to fight for a world title who would have been frozen out in the old days. They also argue that it has brought more money into the sport as TV, promoters and sponsors have been attracted to the idea of being associated with a world title fight. That is probably all true, although you could argue that many who are being given the opportunity to fight for a world title in these modern times would not have been good enough to even fight for a national title back in the 40’s and 50’s. Arguable but not relevant.

For me the real harm that the proliferation of titles brings is not the fights it gives us so much as the fights it denies us. The Mayweather-Pacquao situation is a classic example. Here we have two great fighters who are quite happy to not to fight each other. Money does not tempt them, as they are both already rich. They are both content to fall out over minute differences to suggested drug testing regimes and both quite happy to face lesser opponents or even go over old ground.

It is understandable when you have as much money as Mayweather and Pacquiao have earned that yet more money is not a huge incentive. However, if there was only one world champion, and for arguments sake let’s say it was Pacquiao, you can be sure that Mayweather would move heaven and earth no matter what the money, to get Pacquiao in the ring because the title world champion then would have real meaning and a true value unlike the IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO and myriad other titles do today. I may not be able to change the boxing world as it is today, but I don’t have to like it either.

So the wicked get their reward. As Pacquiao is not going to fight Mayweather, in steps disgraced cheat Antonio Margarito. The date appears to be set at November 13 and, although Monterrey in Mexico has been mentioned, no venue has been announced at this time. Compare that to athletics where after a long suspension for drug taking Dwayne Chambers is still not allowed to take his place on the lucrative racing circuit. Athletics still has some pride, sometimes all boxing seems to have is greed.

Another poor fight on the horizon is the proposed title defence for Wladimir Klitschko against Samuel Peter. Klitschko was to have faced a genuine challenge in the shape of Alex Povetkin. However, Povetkin appears to have failed to meet a deadline set by the Klitschko's promotional group for signing the contract, and the IBF are allowing Wladimir to face Peter. The Nigerian lost to Wlad on points in 2005, was destroyed in eight rounds by brother Vitali in 2008 and was then beaten by Eddie Chambers. For those that are interested in this heavyweight roundabout it is scheduled for September 11.

Lopez vs Martinez, 27 July 2010

A much better match has been made for September 18 at the MGM in Las Vegas between Puerto Rican Juan Manuel Lopez and Rafael Martinez. Lopez will be putting up his WBO featherweight belt and Martinez his WBC Silver belt (boy I bet that really excites Juanma). There's no way I can see this going the distance as Juanma has won 26 of his 29 fights by KO/TKO and Martinez has won 35 of his 44 that way. The two factors that favour the Puerto Rican are age-Martinez is 35-and times to the well-Martinez may have been their too often after those three great fights against Israel Vazquez.

Ratings, 27 July 2010

Boxers should only be rated on ability and achievements, well that's the theory. What also tends to get a boxer a rating is going for one of the many minor titles that the sanctioning bodies want to push. It is a shame, but the EBU, for my money easily one of the best sanctioning bodies, also falls into this trap because they want to increase the prestige of the European Union title. The result is that for winning a European Union title you can get a rating with the EBU which bears no resemblance to your real achievements. This situation has reared its head in the case of the vacant European heavyweight title. First of all Audley Harrison comes up with a sick note, then Denis Bakhtov does the same. Now the EBU have approved a match between Alex Dimitrenko and fellow-Ukrainian Yaroslav Zavorotny. Dimitrenko is fine, but Zavorotny qualifies because he is rated No 10, and he is only rated No 10 because he is EU champion. With his 14-4 record he is above Robert Helenius, who beat him in October, Ondrey Pala, Vlad Virchis, Oleg Platov etc. who all have better records. It's a pity to see their otherwise so high standards dragged down by this policy.

Nicknames, 27 July 2010

Nicknames are all over boxing like a disease and very few have any real relevance to the ability or style of the fighter concerned. I had great fun in years past with Mike “Dynamite” Dokes and Tony “TNT” Tubbs, who seemed to go out of their way to disown their nicknames. Usually the nickname is an attempt to boost the standing of a fighter and you feel that you could ask for a bit more honesty. Something along the lines of the supposed audition notes for a young Fred Astaire “can’t sing, can dance a little”. Just once it would be nice to hear the announcer say “Johnny “ will be lucky to last two rounds” Smith, or Fred “fat, unfit and falls over” McCool or Henry “Baby Face, who is he trying to kid” Jones.

However, sometimes it can seem to go the other way. Take the case of unbeaten Ran Nakash. Ran enjoys the nickname of “ Sweet Dreams”. This is a guy who in his real job teaches unarmed combat to the Israeli army. Just try saying “hello Sweetie” to him.

Tragic death in South Korea, 27 July 2010

It is always as well to remember how dangerous boxing is and we received another nudge over this subject last week when 23-year-old South Korean Ki-Suk Bae died after his match with Jin-Ki Jung. Boxing in South Korea is existing on a slender thread as the popularity of the sport there is at an all-time low with very few shows and no really big names left. The only South Korean in the world ratings at this time is lightweight Ji-Hoon Kim, and he is based in America. Seeing Jung-Koo Chang inaugurated in the International Boxing Hall Of Fame this year just served as a reminder of how much of a force South Korea was in world boxing, and how dominant in the Far East, but now they are a bit player, and this tragedy is yet another blow.

Two former boxers have also passed away since I did my last column two weeks ago. They came from the opposite ends of the weight spectrum, but I enjoyed following their careers.

Big Mac Foster, 27 July 2010

Big Mac Foster died at the age of 68 from congestive heart failure, although there is some mention that he suffered also from post-traumatic-stress from two tours in Vietnam. MacArthur, named after General Douglas MacArthur, at one time was a home town hero in Fresno. He started boxing in the Marines and won the All-Services and National AAU title at light heavyweight. Ken Norton was one of his team mates. He turned pro in November 1966 and won his first 24 fights by KO/TKO with guys such as Cleveland Williams, Thad Spencer and Roger Rischer in his list of victims. A world title shot was his for the taking if he could beat Jerry Quarry in their June 1970 bout. It looked likely as Quarry had been kayoed by George Chuvalo in 1969, and it looked likely for the first three rounds, but then Mac seemed to lose the plot and was kayoed by Quarry in the sixth. Mac was never the same boxer again. He stopped a washed-up Zora Foley and beat Italian Bepi Ros and earned his biggest pay day, reportedly $80,000, for fighting Muhammad Ali in Tokyo in 1972. It was a one-sides rout and Mac retired in 1976 after four straight losses, including one to Joe Bugner at the Empire Pool in 1973. His record was 30-6 and all of his wins came inside the distance. He donated some of his purses to local youth clubs, but quickly became yesterdays hero until his death brought him back into the news.

Lorenzo Gutierrez, 27 July 2010

The other fighter was Lorenzo Gutierrez a Mexican flyweight who died recently of a heart attack. “Halimi” fought from 1966 to 1979 when there were some tough flyweights around. In over 80 bouts he faced guys such as Filipino Erbito Salavarria, Alberto Sandoval, Olympic gold medallist Ric Delgado, Alberto Morales, Tarcisio Gomez and many others. A good fighter in any era.

Morales vs Kameda clans, 27 July 2010

There is nothing unusual in brothers in boxing, and there are some instances of two brothers both winning world titles. However, there may be an interesting race on between the Morales clan and the Kameda clan to see which family can produce three world champions. Erik and Diego have dome it for the Morales family and Koki and Daiki for the Kamedas. The third of the bunch for the Morales clan is Ivan “Terrible II” (nicknames again!)Morales a flyweight who has won his six fights, and for the Kamedas there is Tomoki “El Mexicanito” a super bantamweight with 15 wins. I am not sure there has ever been a case of three brothers all winning world titles and my money is on the Kamedas to do it if anyone can.

Gabe and Rafael Ruelas film, 27 July 2010

Still on brothers a film is being produced in Mexico about the lives of Gabe and Rafael Ruelas, two brothers who rose from poverty in Mexico to both win world titles. Gabe was WBC super featherweight champion and Rafael IBF lightweight champion. It is titled “The Ghost In The Ring”. This refers to Gabe who when he was born was not breathing but suddenly came to life when his mother was rushing to get him baptised before burial. Quite a family story.

Velazco comeback? 27 July 2010

  Former WBO middleweight champion Hector Velazco is reputedly making a comeback after two years out of the ring. He is reported to be going to Ghana fight unbeaten Brahim Kamoko this weekend. There has been some controversy over Kamoko's fitness to fight. A year or so ago a newspaper in Ghana carried a report from a Doctor in Ghana alleging that Kamoko had serious eye defects and should not be boxing. There were threats to sue both the newspaper and the Doctor, but I am not aware of any action being taken or of the situation being resolved.

Larry Holmes to fight Azumah Nelson, 20 July 2010

Larry Holmes to fight Azumah Nelson. No, don’t panic. It is not yet another worrying case of two old fighters not knowing when to stay away from the ring. Larry, under the banner of “Larry Holmes Enterprises” is reported to be scheduled to visit Ghana from July 30 to August 5 to celebrate African boxing and promote tourism. One of the events being arranged is a sparring session between the two great Hall OF Fame fighters. In addition Larry will tour some of the historic sites in Ghana and launch the Larry Holmes Museum of Boxing.

Tinteyi Mharidzo - Sparring with his wife, 20 July 2010

Still on African boxing, Zimbabwean Tinteyi Mharidzo has twice torn up the script on visits to South Africa. His record was at best modest when he was brought in as a victim for prospect Mike Schultz but against the odds, he has scored two stunning kayos. Although the facilities he has to put up with in Zimbabwe are very basic, he puts part of his success down to sparring with his wife. Schultz had a big reputation, in the ring and out, as he had previously been found guilty of killing a man in 2005, but any man who trains by sparring with his wife probably has very little to fear from anyone else.

No luck for Danny Green, 20 July 2010

Danny Green does not seem to be having much luck. After his first round demolition of Roy Jones you might have thought he was on his way to bigger and better things. Instead it was Jones who went on to get the big payday against Bernard Hopkins whilst Danny had to settle for an IBO cruiserweight title defence against Manny Siaca, and even then he had trouble getting sponsorship. A chance to get revenge in a return with Tony Mundine Jr would have been a money spinner, but Mundine has gone down in weight, and as Tony is the mandatory challenger to WBA middleweight champion Felix Sturm, that is no longer an option. Danny’s next fight is scheduled for July 21 against Paul Briggs. However, that has been plagued with problems as Briggs has had trouble getting a licence. Briggs, the former WBC light heavyweight contender, he twice lost majority decisions to Tomasz Adamek, has been inactive since February 2007. This will be a big fight for Australia, but a small one in a world context and it is difficult to see where Danny goes from here.

Margarito – relicense refusal, 20 July 2010

On the subject of licences, and refusals. It was good to hear that the Nevada Commission have refused to relicense Antonio Margarito. They have told Margarito that he must first apply to the Californian Commission, which suspended him for attempting to use an illegal substance on his gloves prior to the fight with Shane Mosley. Since he has served his suspension it is difficult to see how he can be refused by the Californians, but the original suspension should have been much more severe.

I guess at the back of his mind Miguel Cotto feels that he may have been an undiscovered victim of Margarito’s tampering, but the win over Yuri Foreman for the WBA light middleweight title has given Miguel a new lease of life. He originally talked about retiring on his 30th birthday in October, but now he feels he has another two or three years in him. He runs his own promotions group and has a couple of good youngsters signed-up, but like everyone around his weight he would love another shot at Manny Pacquiao-or a revenge opportunity against Margarito.

Revenge fights, 20 July 2010

On the subject of revenge fights there are a couple of very good ones on the horizon. In Slovenia in September IBF welterweight champion Jan Zaveck puts his title on the line and faces his only conqueror, Pole Rafal Jackiewicz, and is looking for revenge for a split decision loss for Rafal’s European title in 2008. On August 14 in Panama WBA bantamweight champion Anselmo Moreno gives former interim champion Neohmar Cermeno a chance for revenge. Moreno made a successful defence against the Venezuelan in March, but only won on a split verdict, which would have been a draw but for a points deduction against Cermeno in then eleventh round, Cermeno’s only defeat.

By far the most intriguing one being mooted is a return between Paul Williams and Sergio Martinez. Williams beat the classy Argentinian in a non-title bout in December, but since then Sergio has beaten Kelly Pavlik for the WBC and WBO titles, so that is one to look forward to. In their last fight they traded first round knockdowns and one judge actually managed to score it 119-110 for Williams and one judge had it a draw at 114-114, which shows just how stupid it can get when you judge a fight as if it were a beauty contest.

On the subject of Pavlik, he has been named as a possible future opponent for Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, which shows how far down Kelly’s star has gone and that of Julio Cesar Junior’s has risen, but beating John Duddy hardly make him a world class fighter. Journeyman Billy Lyell achieved that in 2009 and by just as wide a margin. Another opponent being considered for Chavez is the former WBA and WBC welterweight champion. Ricardo has been inactive since 2008 and recently lost out on a venture into MMA due to an injunction gained by Don King who claims promotional rights to the 36-year-old Nicaraguan.

Mezzache – A unique double-treble, 20 July 2010

French lightweight Anthony Mezzache is hoping to land a unique double-treble. Okay, that might need a bit of explaining. Mezzache was an expert at savate, and under that martial arts banner he was French, European and World champion. As a boxer he is already a former French champion and a former European champion and in currently No 2 in the WBC ratings so is close to a shot at a world title, which would give him a double-treble-ok all understood? Mezzache is part of the Team Mormeck along with Olympian Khedari Djelkif and is hoping to get exposure in the USA soon.

Maidana’s next opponents, 20 July 2010

Joan Guzman is still trying to fight a weight division in which he can actually make the weight. The former undefeated WBO super bantamweight and super featherweight champion, now 34, has given up trying to make it at lightweight and says he is now aiming for a shot at the WBA interim light welterweight title against Marcos Maidana. I find it strange that someone wants to fight for the interim title and not the real title. It could be that Joan thinks national pride is at stake after Maidana so convincingly beat Joan’s fellow Dominican Victor Cayo.

Maidana’s next opponent is said to be DeMarcus Corley, which, if it is approved, is another piece of WBA chicanery as at the last time of reading Corley was not rated in their top 15. “Chop Chop” is now 36, and in the last 18 months has lost to such luminaries as Fariz Kazimov and Freddy Hernandez. However he did beat Damian Fuller in his last fight and even though it was loss No 4 in a row for Fuller, any excuse is a good excuse where a sanctioning fee is concerned, so don’t be surprised to see De Marcus “do a Lazarus” and suddenly be resurrected.

Marcos Barrera’s shot at world title, 20 July 2010

When Marcos Barrera walked away from his loss to Amir Khan in March 2009 some may have thought that it was the end of the line for the great little Mexican. However, a year can be a short time in boxing, and now Marco is in sight of a shot at yet another world title. In September he is scheduled to face former WBC lightweight champion David Diaz, and victory there would practically guarantee him a fight with WBC champion Humberto Soto and a chance to win a world title in four different divisions. Of course as they are both active again, there is always a chance of yet another Barrera vs. Erik Morales fight, although that is something that has had it’s time and another version would be one too many. Marco has already taken part in 25 world title fights, but another title would cap a truly great career.

Mexican Young Boxers, 20 July 2010

We in Britain take great care with our young boxers to ensure they are not rushed, but they don’t do things that way in Mexico. The WBC No 3 welterweight Saul Alvarez is just 19 and has already had 34 fights; he turned pro at 15 and was fighting scheduled twelve round fights from the age of 17. Another coming through is Antonio Lozada Jr. He turned 20 in April, turned pro at the age of 16 and has had 22 fights with 19 wins by KO/TKO, twelve in the3 first round. He has been more protected than Alvarez with just one scheduled twelve round fight, but he is still very young by any standards

Only in America, 16 June 2010

I am sitting in a McDonalds over the road from the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Sitting two tables from me is Ron Lyle. The door opens and in walks Buster Douglas! Not “Only In America”-only in Canastota during inauguration weekend. The good thing is that both of them were customers-neither of them was reduced to working there. Also in Canastota it was touching to see the respect and care Nino Benvenuti showed for his old adversary Emile Griffith. Emile is in poor health, and Nino was never far from his side supporting and helping him. That sort of respect for past opponents gives the game dignity. Next year both Mike Tyson and Julio Cesar Chavez will be on the ballot and are sure to get elected, so book early, for that will be some occasion.

I have never seen before the tone of press previews such as those regarding the fourth fight between Rafael Marquez and Israel Vazquez. The universal view was it will be another great fight, but I just wish it was not going to happen, as they have both taken enough punishment already. The only other fight that comes close to this for generating such a pre-viewpoint was the Thriller In Manila.

I loved a note about one of the seminars for judges at the IBF Convention which would address “moral character and appearance of impropriety”. I guess you could sum it up as don’t take bribes and if you do don’t get caught. The ghost of Bobby Lee stands in the wings. Boxing would be better if spent more time sorting out a scoring system and getting rid of judges such as the one who scored a recent fight in Mexico involving the former WBC featherweight champion Cesar Soto 120-111 when the other two scored it 116-114 and 116-116. As long as scoring is a beauty contests these idiots will find a spot round the ring.

The good side of boxing, 16 June 2010

So much of what goes on in the politics of boxing can leave a bad taste in the mouth, so it is important now and then to focus on the good side, and there are good things in boxing. The Daniel Geale vs Kariz Kariuki show on June 2 was a benefit show for a young girl suffering from a brain tumor and through the Make-A-Wish Foundation Floyd Mayweather Jr paid a visit to one of his biggest fans, 17-year-old Armando Carral who is suffering from Hodgkin’s disease, and posed for photos and signed autographs for the family.

In a different, but related cause, a charity baseball tournament was held in the Philippines to provide funds to help defray the costs associated with the rehabilitation program for boxer Z Gorres who suffered a brain injury incurred in his winning fight against Colombian Luis Melendez last November.

The Boxing Writers of America held there annual awards dinner recently with Joe Frazier, George Chuvalo, Joey Gamache, Tomasz Adamek, and Iran Barkley in attendance. Amongst the awards Manny Pacquiao was named Fighter of the Decade; the Fight of the Year Award went to Juan Manuel Marquez vs Juan Diaz. Alexis Arguello was given a posthumous Good Guy Award. Jack Hirsch and his staff did sterling work in staging the event.

Miguel Cotto changes his mind, 16 June 2010

No surprise in the news from Puerto Rico that Miguel Cotto has changed his mind about retiring on his 30th birthday in October. Now he is a champion again the song has changed from Happy Birthday to Money, Money Money. Cotto’s win over Yuri Foreman made him the sixth Puerto Rican to win titles in three divisions after Wilfredo Gomez, Felix Trinidad, Wilfredo Benitez, Wilfredo Vazquez Snr. and Hector Camacho. Must be something in the holy water when they christen a baby “Wilfredo”.

Jonathan Cuba justified, 16 June 2010

I did not get a fair deal! How often we hear that from a beaten fighter. However New York light welterweight Jonathan Cuba may be justified in complaining. In his June fight against Chris Martinez Cuba was floored near the end of the third round. Martinez was so sure of victory he was up on the turnbuckle celebrating his win. Cuba just made it to his feet as the bell sounded. However for some inexplicable reason the referee allowed the round to continue and Martinez landed more punches on the poor Cuba. Finally the referee broke in and ended the round. However, for the one minute interval the timekeeper was working on the basis of when he first rang the bell, and about 20 seconds after Cuba returned to his corner the bell rang for the fourth round. Still badly dazed, He was promptly flattened by a left hook. Somehow he got up, aimed an obscene gesture at the fans and was floored again by a right and stopped-and this was in his own home town!

The WBA are at it again, 16 June 2010

It was announced that Gennady Golovkin will fight Colombian Milton Nunez for the “secondary” WBA middleweight title, as they have designated their current WBA champion Felix Sturm as a super champion. The usual rubbish you might say. However they only have a secondary title in a division where they have designated their champion as a “super” champion for also winning one of the other sanctioning bodies titles in the same division. Only problem is that champion Felix Sturm has not fought for over a year and has not won one of the other division titles, but then you can’t let the rules ruin a good sanctioning fee.

The WBC are not much better when it comes to spreading confusion. I had some vague understanding of the meaning of an interim champion (although it is obvious that none of the sanctioning bodies do), but what is a World Silver Belt champion? That is totally meaningless excuse for a sanctioning fee. Poor old Andre Berto, the WBC give Manny Pacquiao a Diamond Belt for winning the WBO title, give Justin Savi a Silver belt for winning-um-eh-um the Silver Belt welterweight title, and for actually being the WBC champion Andre gets-a plastic belt!

There is still super middleweight life outside the Super Six. Golden Boy Promotions have announced an eliminator between unbeaten Frenchman Jean Paul Mendy and the reality show winner Sakio Bika with the winner to challenge Lucien Bute. It is a good, even match, but again it leaves me wondering who, apart from Bute, will be around to challenge the winner when the Super Six finishes. The piece I did on losers getting title shots is still in vogue. Hugo Cazares will defend his WBA super flyweight title against Everardo Morales. Morales has lost in challenges for the WBO and WBC flyweight titles and for the interim WBC super flyweight title, but he has won his last two fights-against opponents with combined records of 9-11-4. Just right for the WBA.

I have seen various comments with regard to the WBA strongly pushing their version of the European title (EABA). On one hand the quality of their title fights has so far been abysmal, with good fighters being matched with second rate prelim fighters, that there is very little chance that anyone will take them seriously. However, over time that may change, just as the WBO went from a second rate sanctioning body to be accepted as one of the “big four”. However the EBU will always have more respect because they have been the accepted authority in Europe for more than 50 years, have active participation of all of the European national bodies and the quality of their title fights has been, and remains high.

On the other hand the EBU has brought this situation on themselves. They have always been in the WBC fold and at best paid lip service to the WBA, so you reap as you sow. It just remains to be seen how happy Jose Sulaiman is to watch sanctioning fees for the EABA flowing into the WBA coffers whilst he collects nothing from EBU title fights, but then the WBC have Mediterranean titles and could bring in North Sea South Basin, South Sea North Basin, Up Channel, Down Channel, North Irish Sea and Loch Ness ( a monster one that) titles and award tin, copper, brass, lead belts etc.

Going nowhere, 16 June 2010

Strange how a fighter’s record can suddenly be turned upside down and how some fighters seem happy to spend a long time getting nowhere. Take the case of Nigerian heavyweight Gbenga Oloukun. Between 2005 and 2008 he won his first 16 fights, ten by KO/TKO and looked a real prospect. Since then he has lost five of his last six fights and looks to be on his way to an early end to his career.

In the other category you have Hungarian Vilmos Balog (h). He was an outstanding amateur competing in the World championships and the Olympics and beat fighters such as Paul McCloskey, Willie Blain, Nigel Wright, Ricardo Williams and others. He left it until he was 30 to turn pro, so you would think he would be in a hurry. He now has a 29-0 record but only five of his opponents have had positive records and he is still unknown and at 35 going nowhere, and seems content to be doing just that. Another is German light heavyweight Guido Fiedler. Since turning pro in 2006 Fiedler has run up a record of 21 straight wins but only three of those fights have been scheduled for more than four rounds and only one opponent has had a positive record (2-0). Now 37, he is again not interested in going anywhere. They will never know if they “coudda been a contender”.

Manny and Politics, 26 May 2010

The news that Manny Pacquiao has been elected to the Philippines Congress has to be good for boxing. Come on Floyd, forget the money, forget the blood tests, what sort of man would turn up the chance of beating-up a politician!

On the downside I am not so sure Manny now needs to fight Floyd for the money. He is a politician-think of the expenses he will be able to claim.

Seriously there is a feeling that having been elected to Congress will make Manny want to continue to fight, as he is determined to better the lot of the poor people in his district, and will use a lot of his own money to do this. Also, he may have his sets even higher than Congressman, and running for a higher office would be very costly.

Bob Arum has indicated that Pacquiao will fight again on November 13, but whether that will be against Mayweather will depend on purse negotiations, the stance on blood testing and the status of defamation law suits taken out by Pacquiao against Mayweather and Golden Boy promotions. There is a long way to go yet.

One decision Manny has made is that his Congressional duties will prevent him attending the “Night of Champions” in Cardiff in July. The Mayweather vs. Mosley fight was a huge financial success. HBO reported 1.4 million buys for the fight giving an income of $78.3 million from TV alone. Mayweather reportedly was on a purse of $40 million plus a percentage of the gate. This is second only to the Mayweather vs. Oscar de La Hoya fight which had 2.45 million buys and $137 million income from TV.

On that basis if Mayweather decided he wanted to enter politics he would not have to contest a seat in the US Congress-he could buy himself a country somewhere.

Don King and Martial Arts, 26 May 2010

Still on money. Don King was upset that the former double division world champion Ricardo Mayorga was going to fight on a Mixed Martial Arts show. Don contended that he had Mayorga under contract and wanted to get an injunction to have the show stopped. The judge stated that a bond of $1 million would have to be posted by King. As it was a Saturday you might think that it would be a problem for Don to get the money from a bank. However, Don promptly left the court and returned a short while later with some heavily stuffed bags and posted the $1 million bond in cash! Hopefully next time he asks a fighter to take a cut in their purse they will remember this story.

Amir – Hot Property, 26 May 2010

Amir Khan made a huge impression on his fighting debut in the USA. The reviews were all positive with Amir now a very hot property over the other side of the Atlantic. Malignaggi was not on a steep downward slope, as he was coming off a win over former WBA, WBO & IBF lightweight champion Juan Diaz, a guy who had beaten Michael Katsidis.

There are plenty of choices open to Amir with Tim Bradley, Devon Alexander and Marcos Maidana the obvious choices at light welterweight and Juan Manuel Marquez a possibility- or even Erik Morales. The thing that has changed since the weekend is that Khan looks capable of beating any of them on a good night.

Morales is scheduled to fight the former WBO super featherweight champion Jorge Barrios on July 17 in Tijuana. This will be at light welterweight. The only question mark is whether Barrios will be allowed to leave Argentina as he still has charges against him arising from him leaving the scene after he was involved in a car crash in which a woman died. On the undercard to the Tijuana show Nicaraguan Roman Gonzalez is to defend his WBA strawweight title against Mexican Jesus Silvestre. Silvestre is not currently in the latest WBA top 15 in the division, and yet somehow you just know he will miraculous appearance in the next ones.

Humberto Soto is another who might figure in the future plans for Amir. The WBC lightweight champion has said he will make two more defences at lightweight and then move up to light welter and try to become the first Mexican four division champion.

WBO – Ratings Down, 26 May 2010

The WBO were caught with their ratings down. When Daniel Dawson challenged Sergey Dzindziruk for their light middleweight title Dawson had been inactive for 15 month so was not rated in their top 15. However, the show must go on otherwise there is no sanctioning fee, so the regulations get parked.

In a similar vein the fight between Jhonny Gonzalez and Jean Javier Soto was described as being a final eliminator for the WBC featherweight title. Somehow I just don’t think so. Gonzalez was rated No3 and Soto was not in the top 40!

Another announced final eliminator, this one for the IBF strawweight title, is to be between No 4 Tshepo Lefele and No 12 Katsunari Takayama. It’s magic, as the guys from No 5 to No 11 just disappear from sight.

Gatti – Suicide?, 26 May 2010

Just a short while ago there were questions asked over the death by suicide of Arturo Gatti and the questions rumble on. Well now the same thing is happening over Edwin Valero. His family refuse to believe that he committed suicide and the body of the former double world champion has now been exhumed. No new autopsy report yet, but the actions of the Police-or inaction-is being questioned.

Sanctioning fees not paid, 26 May 2010

When Mayweather fought Mosley, Floyd refused to pay the sanctioning fee to the WBA, so he could not win the WBA title. The same thing happened in the Fernando Montiel vs. Hozumi Hasegawa “unification” fight. Montiel was WBO champion and Hasegawa was the WBC champion. However, the Japanese Commission does not allow WBO title fights in Japan (or IBF or any other body, only the WBA and WBC). Therefore no sanctioning fee was paid to the WBO because if Hasegawa had won it would have been meaningless. The problem now may be that a Japanese promoter has options on Montiel. But if he wants him to fight in Japan, then again it can only be for the WBC title. The madness that assaults us!

David Tua’s aging opponents, 26 May 2010

David Tua’s comeback is going slowly, but with the age of his latest potential opposition you have to move slowly. He did have Bruce Selden (or should that be Seldom now) in his sights, but that fell through. The latest name in the frame is Monte Barrett, who is a mere 38. David, only 37, is serious about his comeback but he is tied into a TV contract with Maori TV, which has two more fight to go. David’s aim is to finish that commitment with a fight against Barrett in the USA, and then take a not too tasking fight back home so that he can then head out as a free agent for the USA for a big money match. Since losing to Chris Byrd back in 2001 David has won twelve fights and has a draw with Hasim Rahman in 2003. With the way that the Klitschko’s have gone through the heavyweight ranks, one good win could see David fighting for the title again and hoping to do better than when he lost on points to Lennox Lewis for the IBF and WBC titles in 2000.

Lionel Rose, 26 May 2010, 26 May 2010

On June 2 in Warragul, Australia, the town will be paying homage to Lionel Rose. The centre piece will be the unveiling of a statue in the town where he was born. The great little Aborigine battler won the world bantamweight title from “Fighting” Harada in Japan in February 1968 and made successful defences against Takao Sakurai, Chucho Castillo and Alan Rudkin, before losing the title to Ruben Olivares in August 1969. He also beat Rocky Gattellari, Joe Medel and Tommaso Galli, went on to win the Australian lightweight title and to challenge for the WBC super-featherweight title. Lionel, who will be 62 in June, was beyond doubt one of the greatest fighters ever produced in Australia.

Vernon Forrest trial latest, 26 May 2010

The trial of the three men accused of involvement in the murder of former double world champion Vernon Forrest is nearing its end. In July last year Vernon stopped at a convenience store just at a time when it was being robbed. The three men were armed, but Vernon pulled out a gun of his own and gave chase to them. Some distance from the store, one of the men, Charman Sinkfield, fired seven or eight times into the back of the champion. Sinkfield has been sentenced to death, and the other two involved are now facing life without parole.