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[cthoaa]

At yesterday's NY presser, Cotto gave Mosley (36) a birthday cake shaped as a boxing ring... with a picture of himself standing (temporarily) over a floored Sugar Shane.

Mosley on Mayweather-Hatton + DWTS:

Initially, I thought Mayweather would have an easy time with Hatton, but seeing that Mayweather is into other activities, I don't know how serious he is taking this fight with Ricky Hatton. He could get surprised. Normally I would say Mayweather all the way, but it's kind of hard to judge. Ricky Hatton comes in very fast and strong and sometimes he fights very aggressive and if Mayweather is not ready for that type of fight, he could have problems.

A ticket crisis in the UK for said fight:

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/boxing/s/1015/1015411_hatton_fight_ticket_storm.html

RICKY Hatton says he is "gutted" that 10,000 of his fans could be left ticketless in Las Vegas for his showdown with Floyd Mayweather Junior.

American promoters Golden Boy have indicated that they will only release 3,900 tickets for British fight fans, and the Hitman has urged his handlers to do everything in their power to land an increased allocation.

Hatton's own company Punch Promotions estimates that as many as 13,000 fight fans may already have booked flights and accommodation to the desert city for the December 8 clash, and there are fears that the size of the allocation could lead to a black market bonanza.

There is already talk of the £500 seats which make up 70 per cent of the arena going for up to £10,000 for a fight which could cement Hatton as a genuine boxing legend, as he takes on a fighter regarded by many as one of the best pound-for-pound boxers in history.

Hatton learned of the allocation during a brief business trip to Spain, and urged his dad and agent Ray Hatton to do all he could to secure more tickets. In his last appearance in Vegas, in June, Hatton was supported by around 9,000 British fight fans in a crowd of 13,000.

"I have never seen Ricky more gutted than he is about this," said Ray, who is still hoping to get Golden Boy to reconsider the allocation. "We have already asked them if we can send some of the more expensive $1,000 tickets back in exchange for more of the cheaper tickets, but we are still awaiting an answer.

Ticket allocation works out to something like:

5000 MGM Grand
3900 Hatton
3900 Mayweather
2350 Golden Boy Promotions

 

[Tom_Cody]

That is just terrible. Why couldn't they have just picked a larger venue? I don't see how this could make sense financially if so many people are going to be left without seats. They are throwing away money.

 

[cthoaa]

Yup, it's definitely bad. It'd really suck if some of the already-made arrangements couldn't be canceled. Should all these people be wandering the streets on fight night, the scalpers and ticket brokers are going to come away very rich.

Why couldn't they have just picked a larger venue? I don't see how this could make sense financially if so many people are going to be left without seats. They are throwing away money.

MGM Grand won the bidding war, beating out bigger venues such as Staples Center. The casinos make more per seat by using the tickets to attract high-rollers, celebrities, and such clients to their tables and hotel rooms. Their bids to host the "big-ticket" events reflect their ability to collect more revenue despite the fewer seats.

It's good for the promoters, fighters, and the casinos in that it all adds up to more $$$ for them. It's just the economics of superfights in the US, where PPV is so prominent; average fan has to "settle" for 40-50 USD to look.

 

[cthoaa]

Saturday's all messed up w/o Mayorga-Vargas. But there is some interesting stuff later tonight.

Junior Witter (35-1-2, 20 KOs) defends the WBC super lightweight title against Vivian Harris (28-2-1, 18 KOs) in England. W/ Hatton moving up (and most likely staying @ welter for at least the next two fights), this one is pretty much the fight for the best active junior welterweight. (Ring ranks Witter and Harris 1 and 2 in the division, respectively, w/ Hatton the champ.)

Pre-fight, Witter is claiming a small victory over Harris. On MySpace!

He found my website on MySpace and left a couple messages for me through it. His messages weren't that original or funny. I didn't go on MySpace to do that sort of thing, but I sent replies back in the end and I've not heard anything since from him...

I got the better of him!

Oh, geez! :lol

Also, on the season finale of Friday Night Fights, Zab Judah returns to the ring, his first fight since his loss to Miguel Cotto. Judah main events against Edwin Vazquez. Also, a Peterson brother fights. (I think Anthony.) And Cotto and Mosley are both in-studio sharing co-hosting duties.

 

[Dark Octave]

Saturday's all messed up w/o Mayorga-Vargas. But there is some interesting stuff later tonight.

Junior Witter (35-1-2, 20 KOs) defends the WBC super lightweight title against Vivian Harris (28-2-1, 18 KOs) in England. W/ Hatton moving up (and most likely staying @ welter for at least the next two fights), this one is pretty much the fight for the best active junior welterweight. (Ring ranks Witter and Harris 1 and 2 in the division, respectively, w/ Hatton the champ.)

Pre-fight, Witter is claiming a small victory over Harris. On MySpace!


Oh, geez! :lol

Also, on the season finale of Friday Night Fights, Zab Judah returns to the ring, his first fight since his loss to Miguel Cotto. Judah main events against Edwin Vazquez. Also, a Peterson brother fights. (I think Anthony.) And Cotto and Mosley are both in-studio sharing co-hosting duties.

I love boxing but I've never heard of (LOL) Vivan Harris before.

 

[Tom_Cody]

I love boxing but I've never heard of (LOL) Vivan Harris before.

He's a talented fighter, but he has a habit of melting down in TV fights. At times he can look like a superstar, at others he looks like trash. Fighters usually settle down as they age, so it should be interesting to see which fighter shows up against Witter. This should be an interesting fight.

 

[cthoaa]

I love boxing but I've never heard of (LOL) Vivan Harris before.

Round 7: J.Witter(c)-V.Harris, WBC s.lightweight title fight (YouTube)

Well, that's him getting stopped :/

"Vivian" is kind of an unfortunate name (I automatically think of the mom on "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air"), but I just love the moniker "Vicious". I mean... "Vicious Vivian"? Alliteration and an oxymoron at the same time? C'mon!

He's a talented fighter, but he has a habit of melting down in TV fights. At times he can look like a superstar, at others he looks like trash. Fighters usually settle down as they age, so it should be interesting to see which fighter shows up against Witter. This should be an interesting fight.

A great assessment of what Harris brings, as his fluctuation not just b/w fights, but even round-by-round makes for very uneven performances.

Here, he was getting outclassed from pretty much the opening bell. He staged a short comeback after getting knocked down, but seemed to concede and didn't really try to beat the count in the seventh. (Would likely have been futile gesture, anyway.)

For Witter, this sets up a unification bout sometime down the line w/ Paulie Malignaggi at MSG. Both have already made statements to this effect, though Paulie was openly rooting for Harris to win.

The victory also makes a case for a possible jr. welterweight showdown w/ Hatton, a fight that Witter has long been wanting to make. (That is, if Hatton ever makes his way back down.)

 

[cthoaa]

And the hits keep coming...

http://sports.yahoo.com/box/news;_y...WUxLYF?slug=txmarquezjuarez&prov=st&type=lgns

LOS ANGELES (TICKER) -- Due to an injury suffered in training camp by WBC super featherweight world champion Juan Manuel Marquez, the September 15 scheduled bout with challenger Rocky Juarez at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas has been cancelled.

The Marquez/Juarez fight was to be the main event of four battles that night.

Also cancelled were a match featuring middleweights Kassim Ouma against Sergio Mora, an IBF world featherweight title bout between Robert Guerrero and Martin Honorio and a fight pairing light welterweights Francisco Bojado against Steve Forbes.

"The safety of our fighters comes first and it's too bad that Juan Manuel got hurt after training so hard for this fight," president of Golden Boy promotions Oscar De La Hoya said. "We are having him fly to Los Angeles this weekend for further evaluation and treatment by a specialist."

Marquez suffered the cut on his right hand which developed into an infection resulting in severe swelling that forced him to withdraw from the bout.

"We are committed to bringing excellent shows to our fans and with the unfortunate injury to Marquez at this late stage, our only option was to cancel the show," De La Hoya added.

Ugh...

Off the top of my head, not much on Saturdays, really, until the end of the month.

This sucks for Juarez, who was going to have his biggest payday ever (500000 USD), but now will probably never again fight in a similar position on the card of a PPV. (Well... barring another injury, which seems more likely than not as of late.)

And the Mora-Ouma fight could have been a good one, too -- very much a "win-and-you're-in" fight for Mora and a chance for Ouma to get back into title contention.

EDIT: Steve Forbes, too, who was looking to start over after getting "unlucky" against D.Hopkins.

 

[cthoaa]

For the third time in as many weeks, a major boxing match is off due to a fighter's health problems. Former heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko is the latest to pull out, joining Fernando Vargas and Juan Manuel Marquez respectively. Klitschko has suffered a "serious" back injury during a training session at his camp in Kitzbuhel, Austria, which has required immediate surgery. As a result, his September 22 comeback fight billed as "Oktoberfist" in Munich, Germany, against Jameel McCline has been cancelled. The fight was to have been televised by Showtime.

This makes five consecutive scheduled fight dates that the 36-year-old Vitali has pulled out of due to injury. A mandatory defense against Hasim Rahman was postponed twice for a thigh injury, then again for a back injury, and finally for a knee injury. Due to the string of injuries, Klitschko retired in November 2005, but was enticed back to the ring earlier this year using his "champion emeritus" status to claim an immediate title shot according to WBC rules. Mandatory challenger Samuel Peter was unwilling to step aside, however, so after a tense battle outside the ring Klitschko agreed to accept a fight against the winner of the October 6 Oleg Maskaev vs Samuel Peter clash. Vitali will announce his future plans in the coming days. His last fight was in December 2004.

Enough of all this! It's like nobody wants to fight this month. :lol

But this one's not at all surprising given Vitali's history. Still, he needs to stop all this in-and-out, yes-then-no, b/c he's been tying up title shots and costing people time & money for a while now. I feel pretty bad for McCline who has taken paycuts to draw the right opponents so that this fight could be made.

Ex-heavyweight champ Riddick Bowe have pulled out of his planned comeback fight in Karlstad, Sweden, September 15, citing the negative publicity he has received in the Swedish media in regards of his medical status.

Good for the Swedish media! The ring is the last place Bowe needs to be.

 

[cthoaa]

http://www.tmz.com/2007/09/09/fifty-cent-saves-lives/

Fifty Cent's poolside performance at the Hard Rock Hotel on Saturday almost turned deadly.

During the show, guest Floyd Mayweather Jr. started tossin' money in the air, causing the crowd to dive into the stage-side pool to collect the soggy dollars. As fans pushed in, the stage nearly gave way -- where stacks of electronics lay in wait to electrocute the whole lot! Get rich or die tryin'!

Fifty tried to warn the crowd, and when the warnings went unheeded, he ended the show by walking offstage.

Video: "Fifty Cent Saves Lives" (TMZ.com, open new window)
...

 

[cthoaa]

Following Junior Witter's KO victory over Vivian Harris in the UK last week:

Witter: "I want big recognition in America" (link)

Harris' excuses/complaints:
- "They didn't give us (my team) any food money"
- "(They didn't) have anybody to bring us to the gym"
- "I didn't even know I was training at his gym until after the fight"
- "They didn't start paying for the hotel until Wednesday"
- "There was nobody allowed from my corner to make sure that his hands were getting wrapped properly"
- "England is not a fair place to fight"
- "He should have been disqualified when his people jumped into the ring early"
- "I don't know if they injected him with stuff..."
- "They did what they had to make him win that fight by injecting him with whatever they had to"
- "I had no protection over there, everything was in his favor and I got set up for the loss" (link)

 

[cthoaa]

Dan Rafael of ESPN.com updates that site's division rankings as well as the pound-for-pound rankings on the second Wednesday of each month.

ESPN's P4P rankings for September:

01. Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
02. Manny Pacquiao
03. Bernard Hopkins
04. Juan Manuel Marquez
05. Winky Wright
06. Joe Calzaghe
07. Israel Vazquez
08. Rafael Marquez
09. Jermain Taylor
10. Marco Antonio Barrera
11. Shane Mosley
12. Ricky Hatton
13. Miguel Cotto
14. Oscar De La Hoya
15. Ivan Calderon
16. Joel Casamayor
17. Chris John
18. Cory Spinks
19. Mikkel Kessler
20. Juan Diaz


EDIT: pics of JMM's hand

Also, the JMM-Rocky Juarez fight, originally scheduled for this Saturday and then cancelled due to Marquez's injury, has been re-scheduled.

Originally: Sept. 15 @ MGM Grand, Las Vegas, NV, HBO PPV
Now: Nov. 3, location undetermined (possibly Mexico), Showtime Cable

Another title fight from the cancelled card, Robert Guerrero v. Martin Honorio, was also re-scheduled for Showtime. The Steve Forbes-Francisco Bojado fight had already been moved to the Pacquiao-Barrera PPV, leaving the Mora-Ouma fight as the only one from the four-fight card w/o a new date.

 

[cthoaa]

The whirlwind 5-day, 5-city promotional tour for Mayweather-Hatton starts today. The schedule:

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17 — LOS ANGELES, CityWalk at Universal Studios Hollywood

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 — GRAND RAPIDS, Ottawa Hills High School

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19 — NEW YORK CITY, Rockefeller Plaza, Center Garden

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20 — LONDON, ENGLAND, O2 Arena, Vue Theater

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 — MANCHESTER, ENGLAND, Town Hall






A short promo on Sky Sports prior Hatton's departure (YouTube)

Some newsbits:
-his preparations + training have started three weeks early
-29,000+ applications for 3,900 tickets
-and... that's it really :/ (it's short! not much new...)

 

[Tom_Cody]

Thanks for keeping this thread alive cthoaa.

I am going crazy now that FnF is over for the year. They really provide something for the sport that you can't get anywhere else. Oh well, there are plenty of good fights for the rest of the year to keep everyone happy.

I'd be interested to hear picks for Mosley-Cotto. I take Mosley by KO.

 

[cthoaa]

Yah, definitely. I believe ESPN is trying to use "The Contender: Uncut" as a Friday placeholder, but the time and channel have been shifting. Have to check. It's supposed to start this week, though.

 

[cthoaa]

YouTube user WOODDDDDDDYA has been putting up lots of UK media clips that cover Ricky Hatton, the fight, and the events surrounding. Most recently:

"Ricky Hatton Heads for L.A." (YT)
"Ricky Hatton Arrives in America" (YT)


Some pics from the LA presser:

 

[mrmrec2]

The whirlwind 5-day, 5-city promotional tour for Mayweather-Hatton starts today. The schedule:

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17 — LOS ANGELES, CityWalk at Universal Studios Hollywood

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 — GRAND RAPIDS, Ottawa Hills High School

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19 — NEW YORK CITY, Rockefeller Plaza, Center Garden

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20 — LONDON, ENGLAND, O2 Arena, Vue Theater

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 — MANCHESTER, ENGLAND, Town Hall






A short promo on Sky Sports prior Hatton's departure (YouTube)

Some newsbits:
-his preparations + training have started three weeks early
-29,000+ applications for 3,900 tickets
-and... that's it really :/ (it's short! not much new...)

To me this smells a lot like Mayweather-Balderon PPV fight.
Hopefully Hatton is the real deal.

 

[cthoaa]

Rounds 5+6: J.Arce vs. T.Rojas, 2007-09-16 (YouTube)

Some notes on El Travieso's drawing power in Mexico + Pacquiao-MAB II:

-Arce's last fight vs. Cristian Mijares on the Pacquiao-Solis undercard in April drew 40 million viewers for TV Azteca
-the numbers for Sunday's fight vs. Tomas Rojas are expected to equal or surpass 40 million (not yet posted)
-the Manny Pacquiao-Marco Antonio Barrera rematch in October is expected to draw more viewers than either
-b/w Mexican and Filipino TV (TV Azteca and ABS-CBN, respectively), viewership for Pacquiao-MAB II is expected to be ~100 million

 

[cthoaa]

W/ 30,000 tickets sold and some seven weeks to go, promoter Frank Warren was expecting the Calzaghe-Kessler super-middleweight unification bout in the Millennium Stadium to break the indoor attendance record for a boxing event. (63350 - Ali-Spinks II, New Orleans Superdome)

However, a time change may affect sales. Fight time has been changed from 10:00 pm Wales local to 1:00 am (8:00 pm US) b/c of pre$$ure from HBO.

In a MySpace bulletin a few weeks ago, Calzaghe expressed difficulty w/ late starts. He also commented on his meetings face-to-face w/ Kessler face-to-face and his experiences in the US on their promotional tour.

Topic: Kessler fight time great for me – Joe Calzaghe


Bulletin:


I have just returned from New York after an exhausting couple of days doing the rounds with the US media.

What I should tell you is that I have had some really great news about the Mikkel Kessler fight at the Millennium Stadium on November 3.

It was confirmed to me on Tuesday and to my promoter Frank Warren that my fight will be taking place to suit UK television audiences, not US, even though it will be screened live in the States as well.

That means we will probably hit the ring at about 10pm, rather than at 2am or later like when I fought Jeff Lacy in Manchester.

This is great news for me.

It might not have seemed like it from the way I boxed, but I really struggled with the late (or early I suppose) start.

Trying to get the adrenaline pumping when you are ready to go to sleep is pretty difficult!

Obviously I tried to change my routine and sleep pattern to get ready for the fight, but it is easier said than done when you are training.

Speaking of which, I got back yesterday afternoon and sad man that I am, the first thing I did was to hit the gym to do a few rounds of circuit exercises.

Obviously I haven't done much exercise for a few days and don't want to lose any momentum.

Also, in terms of weight, America really isn't the place to be before a fight.

The portions are absolutely huge and that combined with a lot of sitting around isn't going to help me hit the super middleweight limit!

All in all though, it was a great experience going to America and it was interesting to see Kessler a few times.

He's a bit like me I suppose, he's not too brash and is more confident in his ability than arrogant.

He thinks he will win and isn't afraid to say so and obviously the feeling is mutual.

I understand that the comments I made about this being the biggest fight of my career are the ones which got turned into a news story over here, which is fair enough.

I did say it, I do believe it but I have already told MySpace readers the same thing in my column numerous times.

Kessler is a better fighter than Jeff Lacy is because he is more of a thinker, he'll have the ability to adapt and change his plan of attack on the night, and Lacy couldn't do that.

It is going to be a fantastic challenge and a brilliant night of boxing, but before that I have one more press engagement, a head-to-head with Kessler at the Millennium Stadium on Monday.

All of the British boxing press will be there and it'll be interesting to see what Kessler makes of a huge stadium where 50,000 people are going to be cheering against him.

He says he's not nervous. I guess only time will tell.

 

[mrmrec2]

 

[cthoaa]

:lol

Although the soft look of his eye kinda make it seem like Oscar's thinking about it...

 

[cthoaa]

ESPN put up the full version of last week's fight, Jaidon Codrington vs. Brian Vera. Not sure if they're going to be doing this for the rest of the season, but here's hoping -- it's very convenient.



The Contender Uncut: Codrington vs. Vera (ESPN Video)

 

[cthoaa]

Countdown to Taylor vs. Pavlik (YouTube):
- Part 1
- Part 2
- Part 3

Aired last night. Replays on HBO @ odd hours throughout the week.

Pretty good, although overall it kinda felt a little flatter than the other countdowns -- like it's missing something. (Animosity?)

Anyway, both are pretty likable guys. I think Merchant's comment re: this fight was best:

"In the boxing sky, this is the birth or re-birth of a star."

Pictures/impressions from Steward's facilities/Taylor's camp in the Poconos (link)

Kermit Cintron also shows up for some work.

Acc. to "Countdown", no Steward-trained fighter has ever lost a fight when the training camp was held here.





Emmanuel Steward Angry at Jermain Taylor (YouTube)

Video of Manny's cornering in the Taylor-Spinks fight. Too good. :lol

But I think he (unwittingly) reveals too much about his fighters on camera. In the Juan Manuel Marquez-Marco Antonio Barrera fight, he pretty much said that when he was w/ Naz, they purposely stayed away from JMM. Here, Manny says that he wanted the fight w/ Miranda, implying that it was Taylor who did not.

 

[cthoaa]

Floyd Mayweather & Karina Smirnoff, Cha Cha Cha - DWTS S05E02 (YouTube)

I watched Dancing with the Stars last night w/ my mom and sister who are regular viewers. Apparently, Floyd's partner, Karina Smirnoff, is not really popular as she is volatile and arrogant and sometimes argues with the judges.

Anyway, it was pretty fun. The female professionals are all really attractive and of the male contestants, I was already interested in Mayweather and Mark Cuban and now Helio Castroneves (racecar driver). It was also funny watching people shadowbox when they were near Floyd.

There was a bit of ass cleavage in their performance and Karina kept having to pull up her "gown". Mayweather seemed to do alright, and the crowd seemed to love him. but he wound up with the lowest score of the night. The judges comments (critical, but also positive) didn't really match their scores (6,6,6), especially in light of other performances.

Josie Maran (who I love) got the lowest score of the women and looks to be the most likely to go home this week. When the hosts were talking about the elimination show, the camera kinda zoomed on her. They (mom & sister) don't think she has a big enough fanbase to make up for her score.


Contender was really good; maybe my favorite episode this season. Jaidon dealing w/ the death of his father was pretty heartbreaking. SRL was very kind in relating the Olympics story to console him.

The clipped version of the fight was fun and still very long -- it took up like half the show. Favorite part: "What are you doing??? Stop looking at Ray Leonard!" :lol

Gold team got the first two wins, but now it seems like Blue's gonna take the rest of the opening round.

re: the full fights, I don't think "The Contender: Uncut" is ever gonna air now that the first two episodes have been pre-empted.

 

[cthoaa]

re: the full fights, I don't think "The Contender: Uncut" is ever gonna air now that the first two episodes have been pre-empted.

Ha! I'm an idiot.

Or maybe I reverse jinxed it...

The Contender Uncut debuted on ESPN television. The first two fights were shown.


Codrington-Vera was already available on ESPN Video. It was fun to watch. Vera is sloppy.


I hated the Soliman-Alexander fight. So much nonsense. Headbutting, holding and hitting, hitting on the break, Alexander intentionally spitting out his mouthpiece twice, Soliman doing spinning jump kicks (seriously...) out of the neutral corner. All this coupled w/ Sam's awkward style made for a pretty ugly five rounds.

(The edited fight was so deceiving!!!

)

After hiding his natural southpaw stance all throughout the competition, Alexander had a pretty interesting trick up his sleeve to go w/ his height and reach advantage, but he really clammed up. Doesn't really matter how you stand or how long you are if you aren't going to throw.

 

[cthoaa]

To hype the Pacquiao-Barrera rematch, HBO is replaying Barrera-Hamed and making it available on HBO On Demand.

There's clipped, low-quality video of the HBO broadcast on YouTube along w/ some British perspective on Hamed, this fight, and his career. (Almost everything from WOODDDDDDDYA.)

"Little Prince, Big Fight" is a documentary on events prior, during, and immediately after the fight.

Trailer of Barrera vs Hamed
Marco Antonio Barrera Is Ready For Naz
Prince Naseem Hamed Is Ready For Barrera
Is Naz Considered A Featherweight Great?
Will The Vegas Curse Haunt The Prince?

Naseem Hamed Entrance
Marco Antonio Barrera vs Naseem Hamed [Part 1]
Marco Antonio Barrera vs Naseem Hamed [Part 2]
Marco Antonio Barrera vs Naseem Hamed [Part 3]
Marco Antonio Barrera vs Naseem Hamed [Part 4]
Marco Antonio Barrera vs Naseem Hamed [Part 5]
Marco Antonio Barrera vs Naseem Hamed [Part 6]

Trailer of Naz: The Little Prince, The Big Fight
The Little Prince, The Big Fight 1/7
The Little Prince, The Big Fight 2/7
The Little Prince, The Big Fight 3/7
The Little Prince, The Big Fight 4/7
The Little Prince, The Big Fight 5/7
The Little Prince, The Big Fight 6/7
The Little Prince, The Big Fight 7/7

Barrera Shows Off His WWE Moves (12th round footage + Sky Sports post-fight analysis)

 

[XiaNaphryz]

Shane Mosley accused of doping

According to multiple sources who attended an international anti-doping conference in Colorado Springs last November, Jeff Novitzky, a lead investigator in the BALCO case, alleged that boxer Shane Mosley started an elaborate doping regimen in the months prior to a Sept. 13, 2003, fight against Oscar de la Hoya.

As Novitzky explained in painstaking detail, two months before the light middleweight championship fight, Mosley, a client of the BALCO lab, began using "the clear" [THG] and "the cream" [testosterone], the designer substances that Barry Bonds, among other athletes, stands accused of using. Novitzky said that Mosley supplemented this with doses of the blood-doping drug Erythropoietin (EPO), a hormone that artificially increases red blood cell production. Mosley did not respond to messages left with his publicist seeking comment.

Mosley's alleged prescribed regimen bore striking similarities to that of former world champion sprinter Michelle Collins, who was implicated in the BALCO investigation and was served with a four-year suspension, despite never having tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug.

 

[cthoaa]

Shane Mosley accused of doping

The numbers given are, to my understanding, pretty significant -- his red blood cell voume went up some 20 percent from 44 (low 40's is normal) to 52.2 ("off the charts") after just two weeks of "treatment".

I don't know how cost-prohibitive a test for EPO is, but the NSAC to this day turning a blind eye towards this form of doping is troubling. From the article:

Mosley was subpoenaed in the BALCO investigation and testified to law enforcement officials in the fall of 2003, though he has denied ever taking banned substances and has never tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs, including EPO. Wadler asserts that there is an accurate urine test for EPO, but the Nevada State Athletic Commission does not administer it.

Keith Kizer, executive director of the commission, claims that "about five years ago there were discussions about EPO... but it seemed like something that probably wasn't going to be used by boxers." Kizer says that, faced with so-called "non-analytical" evidence of a boxer taking an EPO regimen leading up to a fight, the commission would consider disciplinary action and possibly deny the athlete a request for a future license.

Increased lung capacity and muscle strength? Advantageous to boxers? Naaaaaah....



EDIT:

Mosley did an interview w/ ESPN.com today. He talked about how he got involved w/ BALCO, what he was using, how he thinks it hurt his performance, stuff like that.

Mosley admits he unknowingly took BALCO steroids

In an interview with ESPN.com Friday, the former three-division world champion said: "Unknowingly, yes, some of the substances they are talking about, were being used as part of the workouts. I didn't know what the hell it was."
...

"I had no intentions of trying to cheat or do anything crazy," Mosley said. "My thing is live healthy, eat healthy. That's how I live. I'm not afraid what people will think. I know the truth."
...

"They called the commission, found out what was legal and what was illegal, and from there they did the program. ... And then, after I fought, I took my [drug test, which were clean] and I thought everything was alright. Everything to my knowledge was on the up and up."
...

"I definitely regret not being more involved and studying it and putting my trust in other people," Mosley said. "When it's all boiled down, it's not those guys being discredited, it is myself. I regret not following up and not knowing what it was. I didn't do much background check on (Conte). When I went (in front of the grand jury), I gave my testimony. It was truthful. I told them everything I took. But you wouldn't think rubbing anything on me is really going to do too much of anything."

 

[cthoaa]

The Kristal Hart Show, September 27, 2007 (YouTube)

One-on-one interviews w/ Pavlik, Taylor + footage from the final pre-fight press conference in NYC.

JT @ the presser: "I had a great tramp... uh... training camp." :lol A bit of nervous energy there.

 

[cthoaa]

Countdown to Pacquiao-Barrera (YouTube):

- Part 1
- Part 2
- Part 3

 

[SSGMUN10000]

Thanx for the links cthooa. I didnt get to see it last night after the fight. After watching last nights fight and the countdown to Pac-Barrera 2 im on a boxing high. Cant wait for next saturday.

 

[cthoaa]

Unfortunately, I think that of the remaining 'big' fights (Mayweather-Hatton, Cotto-Mosley, Calzaghe-Kessler, etc.), this one's gonna be overlooked for a couple reasons: they've already fought before, the result was definitive, Barrera's coming off a loss and has been talking of winding down his career.

But I think MAB still has a great performance in him and will be game; he always does better in the rematch. (Well... almost always. )

I am enjoying some of the hype, tho.

"We have had a mole inside the Barrera camp for the past month, secretly video taping Barrera's workouts. We call the mission Patriot Games," confessed Roach, a native of Dedham, Mass., now living in Los Angeles. "Barrera has been looking phenomenal, the best he has looked in years. After seeing what his game plan would be we developed a new weapon for Manny to counter anything Barrera throws at Manny. It's called 'The Marco Bolo.' It's the perfect complement to Manny's vaunted left hook and the infamous 'Manila Ice.'"

 

[cthoaa]

End of Round 7: J.Taylor(c)-K.Pavlik, WBC/WBO/Ring middleweight title fight (YouTube)

Joe says hello.

Calzaghe congratulates Pavlik

CARDIFF, WALES (September 29, 2007) -- Undefeated WBO/The Ring super middleweight champion JOE CALZAGHE, boxing's current longest-reigning titleist, congratulates new middleweight kingpin Kelly Pavlik on his victory tonight in Atlantic City. "Good show, Kelly," said Calzaghe from his Cardiff-based training camp. "There is no doubt who the real middleweight champion is after tonight. The true world champion met the true No. 1 contender, and that's the way it should be. Now that Kelly has conquered his division, I would like to invite him to Cardiff for my fight against Mikkel Kessler, which will also serve as my formal coronation as king of the super middleweights. If Kelly is a true champion in search of new territories to conquer, he need look no further than Millennium Stadium on November 3, where the crown heads can meet to discuss the terms of battle."

 

[cthoaa]

Red tape has been cut and Amir Khan's fight this Saturday against Scott Lawton will be sanctioned and in defense of his British Commonwealth Title. As he has been fasting for Ramadan while training, it will be interesting to see if it affects his performance. (Though I must assume he has some experience in preparing for fights under such restrictions.)

Inside Sport segment on Khan re: the gym he is building, his lifestyle, his career (BBC.co.uk)

Here, he talks about his intentions to win a world title in five more fights and also become a champion at multiple weights.

 

[Quazar]

I'll have to read through this thread later. Just got internet back on few days ago, lots to catch up on. Thanks for updates!

 

[HokieJoe]

Wow, I just went back and watched the Pavlik vs. Miranda fight. Geez, what a slugfest. Both guys were landing bombs, but Pavlik has a lot of power.

 

[cthoaa]

Wow, I just went back and watched the Pavlik vs. Miranda fight. Geez, what a slugfest. Both guys were landing bombs, but Pavlik has a lot of power.

Last night's fight was more competitive w/ more intrigue and drama, and Taylor is a better boxer than Miranda.

But from a purely visceral point of view, I liked Pavlik-Miranda more than Pavlik-Taylor. The desctruction was more complete; the beating so thorough and drawn out. It'll be interesting to watch Miranda's next fight and see how different he is if at all.

 

[cthoaa]

Marco Antonio Barrera v. Manny Pacquiao I, 2003-11-15 (Stage6)

Marco Antonio Barrera v. Manny Pacquiao I, 2003-11-15 (YouTube)

Round One
Round Two
Round Three
Round Four
Round Five
Round Six
Round Seven
Round Eight
Round Nine
Round Ten
Round Eleven
Post-fight

 

[mrmrec2]

I was waiting for this fight all month long. It did not dissapoint. A pay per view level event on HBO for free*. Great fight pavlik has a tremendous chin and a killer right hand.
Never judge a book by it's cover.

 

[cthoaa]

The Ring updated their ratings for the week.

Kelly Pavlik won the Ring Middleweight Championship after stopping Jermain Taylor; Taylor is now ranked third.

Wayne Elcock debuts on the chart after decisioning former #10, Howard Eastman.

The pound-for-pound list is unchanged.


The Ring's Middleweight Ratings for period ending September 30

C. Kelly Pavlik USA 32-0 (29)
1. Winky Wright USA 51-4-1 (25)
2. Arthur Abraham GER2 24-0 (19)
3. Jermain Taylor USA 27-1-1 (17)
4. Edison Miranda COL 28-2 (24)
5. Felix Sturm GER 28-2 (12)
6. Javier Castillejo ESP 61-7 (41)
7. Sebastian Sylvester GER 26-2 (12)
8. Amin Asikainen FIN 22-1 (15)
9. Mariano Carrera ARG 31-4 (22)
10. Wayne Elcock GBR 18-2 (8)



The Ring's Pound for Pound Ratings for period ending September 30

1. Floyd Mayweather USA, welterweight
2. Manny Pacquiao PHI, jr. lightweight
3. Juan Manuel Marquez MEX, jr. lightweight
4. Bernard Hopkins USA, light heavyweight
5. Israel Vazquez MEX, jr. featherweight
6. Winky Wright USA, middleweight
7. Rafael Marquez MEX, jr. featherweight
8. Joe Calzaghe GBR, super middleweight
9. Ricky Hatton GBR, jr. welterweight
10. Miguel Cotto PUR, welterweight



Still not sure if I'd have Cotto as Top Ten P4P, but I'd at least have Pavlik above him as I rate Pavlik's big win (KO Taylor) over Cotto's (KO Judah). Also, I think Pavlik's career at middleweight, now as the undisputed champion of the division is better than the sum of Cotto's campaigns at junior weltwerweight and welterweight.

 

[cthoaa]

http://www.boxingtalk.com/pag/article13621.html

BOB ARUM: DON'T EXPECT PAVLIK-TAYLOR II NEXT


GL: Everybody knows about the rematch clause, when can we expect that to be enforced?

BA: "I think everybody has to talk. I talked to Lou and I think it very well may be that everybody is better off to set a date for the rematch and have them each take one or two different fights to really build the rematch."

GL: Do you think a rematch would be much different?

BA: "I like our guys chances. But I want to cast a doubt in peoples minds so we can capitalize on the money in the rematch."

GL: If not Taylor, what other lucrative fights are out there at middleweight for Kelly Pavlik?

BA: "Mora, John Duddy and Arthur Abraham are all possibilities."

I bet it's gonna be Duddy on St. Patrick's Day @ MSG and it's gonna be way ugly for him.



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2007/09/30/sohatt130.xml

Ricky Hatton lined up for Wembley showdown

Ricky Hatton will come back home to fight Oscar De la Hoya if he beats Floyd Mayweather Jr in Las Vegas and becomes boxing's undisputed No 1 on Dec 8.

De la Hoya is promoting the multi-million dollar Mayweather-Hatton clash for the World Boxing Council welterweight title and admits he wants the Mancunian to prevail. That would pave the way for De la Hoya, beaten by Mayweather in his last contest, to take on the new "pound for pound best in the world" and realise his dream of putting on the ultimate spectacle in this country.

De la Hoya is exploring the possibility of staging the fight at Wembley early next summer. Hatton's trainer, Billy Graham, said: "I'm sure that if Ricky beats Mayweather, the fight with De la Hoya will happen. That's what Oscar is looking for and he's already told us he wants to fight in England.

"A fight at Wembley would be the perfect way for Ricky to say farewell to his British fans and a fairytale end to his career. He would have nothing left to prove after that."

 

[mrmrec2]

Kelly Pavlik is supposed to be on the Jim Rome radio show today. I'd like to hear what he thought about his ko win over taylor.

G00gle "stream jim rome" to hear the interview from your computer.

 

[cthoaa]

TY. I hadn't listened to this show in a long time, but was able to catch a funny phone call/song and two interviews before Pavlik came on.

I don't think there was anything really new here as he has covered most everything in post-fight conference and other interviews. He did talk about how when he was put down, it was his legs that were gone and his mind was mostly clear. Also, w/ a little bit of time in between, he offered some perspective on his recent accomplishments vs. his struggles early in his career.

Still, it's good to hear he was on a nationally syndicated show getting exposure for himself as he really comes across as a good guy.


K.Pavlik Interview, The Jim Rome Show 2007-10-04 (MU)

 

[cthoaa]

New champ Pavlik leaves paycheck at hotel

All of it went the way he planned, except for one fairly significant detail: Pavlik and his father, Mike Pavlik Sr., left Atlantic City without their paychecks.

Pavlik earned a gross purse of $1.05 million Saturday. After the fight, the New Jersey Athletic Board of Control presented Pavlik with a check for $666,750, which represented his share of the earnings after his managers, trainers and all fees were paid.

Pavlik's father, who along with Cameron Dunkin serves as his co-manager, received $105,000 for his services.

As the co-manager, the elder Pavlik took his check and his son's on Saturday night after the title-winning effort over Taylor.

The Pavliks had checked out of the Bally's Hotel in Atlantic City on Sunday morning and were halfway to Philadelphia for their flight to Pittsburgh when Mike Pavlik was suddenly stricken.

"It's about an hour from Atlantic City to Philadelphia and we were literally halfway there when out of nowhere, it just hit me," Mike Pavlik said. "My heart stopped and I just knew I had made a big mistake."

That mistake was leaving checks totally more than three-quarters of a million dollars on a countertop leaning against the coffee pot in their hotel room. In his excitement to get home, Mike Pavlik forgot to pick up the checks.

"I think I gave that maid probably the best tip she ever got," he said, forcing a laugh. The new champion took the news as he takes pretty much everything else: Calmly and without a lot of excitement.

He rarely gets nervous or upset, even with some of boxing's hardest punchers coming after him, and he didn't seem particularly bothered that the largest payday of his seven-year pro career had been misplaced.

"A check that big, it was going to be pretty difficult for someone to be able to cash it," he said. "I figured that somehow or other, we'd manage to either get it back or get a new one. My Dad might have been a little worried, but I wasn't too upset."

 

[SSGMUN10000]

Ive seen Duddy fight once and he didnt look to good. I would expect Pavlik to finish him early. Sounds like a fight set-up for promotional and money purposes.

I cant believe DLH wants to fight Hatton. He is bigger than Hatton see it as a mis-match. Hatton didnt look to good against Collazo. I guess I can make a better judgement after the Mayweather fight.

 

[cthoaa]

Ive seen Duddy fight once and he didnt look to good. I would expect Pavlik to finish him early. Sounds like a fight set-up for promotional and money purposes.

Yah, definitely. Old Man Campas whooped him good (I had Yori Boy winning, I think) in their St. Patrick's Day bout last year. It was a great war, one of the best fights that year, but Duddy went to the absolute end w/ an aging fighter and almost got stopped, too. Pavlik would end him.

Duddy's still rated highly by the organizations, though. (WBC #4, WBO #5, WBA #6, IBF #10) It would be up to him and his management, but he might keep fighting in front of filled seats in Europe and wait for Taylor and Pavlik to move up so he can swoop in for some belts. (Miranada's already gone and fighting at super-middle later this month.)



EDIT:

Hopkins in a recent interview (link) says the Duddy fight is Arum's retaliation to DiBella's hard negotiations for the Taylor-Pavlik fight.

Mike Cassell
What do you think of Bob Arum hinting that Pavlik may fight John Duddy in Madison Square Garden next. Is that fight good for boxing?

Bernard Hopkins
No. Its bad. That is just Bob Arum sticking it to Lou Dibella, because Dibella threatened to take the belts off the table if the rematch clause wasn’t in there on the Sept 29th fight.. So Lou Dibella strong armed Bob Arum originally, saying we want the rematch over 160lbs. That’s why Arum wants the Duddy fight in NY. It doesn’t matter though, I think Pavlik would beat him up even worse at 168.

 

[cthoaa]

'Sugar' Shane Mosley Sparring with Leon Green (YouTube)

Recently posted video of Shane Mosley sparring @ Atlantic Vets Boxing Gym w/ his nephew of a sort, Leon Green. It can't be too recent as he's been in Big Bear as of a few weeks ago, and the work displayed here is pretty light. The low-to-low jabs are fun, though, and in general, his workout footage on YouTube is worth a watch.




Pic of Miguel Cotto training. (link)

He looks huge -- an absolute monster.

 

[mrmrec2]

Pic of Miguel Cotto training. (link)

He looks huge -- an absolute monster.

I wouldn't want to be in Shanes shoes right now.

 

[mrmrec2]

TY. I hadn't listened to this show in a long time, but was able to catch a funny phone call/song and two interviews before Pavlik came on.

I don't think there was anything really new here as he has covered most everything in post-fight conference and other interviews. He did talk about how when he was put down, it was his legs that were gone and his mind was mostly clear. Also, w/ a little bit of time in between, he offered some perspective on his recent accomplishments vs. his struggles early in his career.

Still, it's good to hear he was on a nationally syndicated show getting exposure for himself as he really comes across as a good guy.


K.Pavlik Interview, The Jim Rome Show 2007-10-04 (MU)

I was affraid they were going to push the pavlik interview to a later date b/c of the Agent Zero, and Tony Romo surprise interview.

It's good that they were able to squeeze him in. I like how he metioned how he was able to read physical signs that Taylor was hurt, like the twitching in his chest and the breathing. I couldn't see those types of things from TV. Awesome fight and interview.

 

[ElectricBlue187]

I watched a lot of boxing in college and the most amazing boxer was Mayweather I think. The guy is just so lighting quick it was hard to pick up on where his hands were going even as a spectator!