The "Witton Lane" Boxing Chat Thread

[Witton_Lane]

Klitschko

Adamek

Harrison

Rahman

Briggs

Are all being talked to by Haye. Heavyweight Saviour? Do me a favour

Wouldn't complain about the top 2...and lets face it all the Klitschko lovers jumped for joy when Wlad beat Rahman a while back. I wouldn't want Haye to fight the guy but if Wlad can get away with it then so can Haye.

Harrison and Briggs would be awful though.

[Gabby15]

Klitschko

Adamek

Harrison

Rahman

Briggs

Are all being talked to by Haye. Heavyweight Saviour? Do me a favour

Wouldn't complain about the top 2...and lets face it all the Klitschko lovers jumped for joy when Wlad beat Rahman a while back. I wouldn't want Haye to fight the guy but if Wlad can get away with it then so can Haye.

Harrison and Briggs would be awful though.

Wlad got a load of shit for the Rahman fight & it'd be even worse for Haye to face him now considering he was well over 300 lbs before his 'comeback' and looked horrible in his fight against a nobody.

In the immediate aftermath of his lopsided 11th-round TKO loss to junior welterweight titlist Amir Khan on May 15, Paulie Malignaggi considered retirement, but now he's decided to fight on.

Although only 29, the former titleholder has been in some tough fights, he admitted after the loss to Khan that he wasn't as quick as he once was. Considering Malignaggi relies on his speed and reflexes because he has almost no prayer of a knockout, and the fact he has a persistent nerve problem in his neck, the retirement talk wasn't a surprise.

Nor is it a surprise that Malignaggi decided to carry on with his career, but he will do it by moving up to the welterweight division.

Malignaggi (27-4, 5 KOs) and promoter Lou DiBella are constructing a plan for Malignaggi to fight in Italy. Malignaggi is a dual citizen of the United States and Italy, where his family is from and where he lived from the time he was a few months old until he was 6.

"Now that I need a fight for my comeback, why not do it in Italy? I know a lot of people want to see me fight in Italy," Malignaggi said. "This would be a chance for people there to see me live. Maybe I can get the Italian welterweight title, make it interesting.

"Financially, I don't have to fight again. I've done well for myself. I don't have to fight, but you wonder what will you do with yourself? I'm a fighter. That's what I do. I am a fighter to the core. It's something you miss if you stay away from it, so while I still have the option, let's see what I can do. It might be fun to go the European route."

"He's not ready to hang 'em up and he's never fought in Italy and he always wanted to fight there," DiBella said. "There is interest in him fighting in his hometown, Siracusa. He said, 'I don't want to end on that note.' He would like to go out better than he did in the Khan fight. Paulie wouldn't mind spending a little bit of time fighting over in Italy, going for the Italian title, maybe the European title."

DiBella said he has been in touch with Salvatore and Christian Cherchi of OPI 2000, the leading promoter in Italy. He said the Cherchis are interested in putting something together.

Malignaggi said he'd like to fight as soon as late summer or early fall. Eventually, Malignaggi said he wants to fight for the European title, which is held by Matthew Hatton, the brother of Ricky Hatton, who stopped Malignaggi in the 11th round in 2008 in defense of the junior welterweight championship.

[Gabby15]

224 A.S

247 V.K

At least he's in good shape...

[TheWalletInspector]

WBO/IBO/IBF heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko is not against the possibilty of taking additional drug tests for a fight with mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin. The camp of Povetkin have requested the involvment of WADA [World Anti-Doping Agency] and their drug testing procedures in a fight with Klitschko.

Klitschko's manager Bernd Boente, trainer Emanuel Steward, and older brother Vitali Klitschko, have called the drug test demands ridiculous. Vitali says Wladimir will only take tests but only if they are ordered by the local boxing federation in either Germany or Russia [depending on where it takes place]. Wladimir himself says the WADA tests are not an issue. The main concern for Klitschko is to get Povetkin in the ring.

Klitschko told Sportbox that he refuses to deal or even respond to Povetkin's manager Vladimir Hryunov, the man pushing for the WADA tests. Right now Klitschko's camp is negotiating to make a fight with David Haye and they are also discussing a fight with Povetkin.

"Honestly I have to say it's very funny because we've had no cases of doping and there have been no problems. If I need to pass tests based on the rules of WADA, okay - I'll pass them. The main thing is that Sasha comes to the ring and fight happens," Klitschko said to Russian reporter Alexander Pavlov.

[Witton_Lane]

Wlad got a load of shit for the Rahman fight & it'd be even worse for Haye to face him now considering he was well over 300 lbs before his 'comeback' and looked horrible in his fight against a nobody.

He rightly got a load of shit for taking the Rahman fight and that's my point - Rahman is no more shot now than he was when he lost to Wlad. Klitschko really did himself no favours whatsoever by taking so long to finish the ghost of Hasim, Haye would have had him out of there in 2 rounds.

Rahman was shot to shit a few years before he fought Wlad, I think the Ruiz fight was the one where he first looked truly awful, think McGuigan called on him to retire after that one.

[Gabby15]

[TheWalletInspector]

"Looks like the referee's going to be the most important man in the ring other than the fighters."

And the Larry Holmes one

[Witton_Lane]

Love any James Toney post fight interview....the mans an ATG legend, a true iron-chinned warrior.

The interview after the Holyfield fight was the best though, he really gave it to the interviewer, I thought he was going to hit the guy - the interviewer shat himself big time :shock:

[TheWalletInspector]

[Gabby15]

The thread 'Pac man vs pernell whitaker' is pretty interesting to say the least, 90% of people have their head screwed on right but the other 10%.....

[Witton_Lane]

The thread 'Pac man vs pernell whitaker' is pretty interesting to say the least, 90% of people have their head screwed on right but the other 10%.....

Haven't seen that one, I wouldn't have said that fight would be 90-10 in anyones favour to be fair, but I'd favour Whittaker - one of the best fighters I've ever seen. Pac is special but has he beaten better guys than Whittaker did? I don't think he's done anything that matches beating Chavez who was 87 and 0 when they fought (**** what the judges say, Whittaker won that fight)

He also beat a prime De La Hoya when he was ageing, got **** robbed in that one too :x

[Gabby15]

According to Fernando Beltran, president of Zanfer Promotions, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. is being positioned to fight the winner of this Saturday's fight beween WBA junior middleweight champion Yuri Foreman and challenger Miguel Cotto. Chavez would fight the winner in September and possible sites include Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Antonio.

Beltran promotes Chavez Jr. along with Top Rank, who also promote both Cotto and Foreman. Chavez Jr. has a very tough task ahead on June 26, when he faces the toughest test of his young career in John Duddy. If Chavez Jr. comes out on top, Beltran will put him in against the Cotto-Foreman winner.

"Julio is preparing to fight Duddy on June 26 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, and if the fight ends with Julio's arm being raised, he will face Cotto or Foreman in a title fight. Without question, a Chavez Jr. fight against Foreman or Cotto will be an attractive fight in Mexico and in the United States and the only thing we need to do is wait for the results of their fights," said Beltran.

Chavez **** sucks. Duddy is **** then as he's got no chance of a decision against him in their upcoming fight

[Gabby15]

Middleweight champion Sergio Martinez was feted in a ceremony at the WBO's Puerto Rican headquarters on May 11, when he was presented with his new title belt. Those good feelings did not last long.

Martinez, who took apart Kelly Pavlik to win a unanimous decision and the lineal championship on April 17, has been stripped of his WBO version of the 160-pound title.

In a letter Saturday to Martinez and his handlers, WBO president Francisco "Paco" Valcárcel informed him of the sanctioning organization's decision.

"I learned a while ago that these organizations don't give you a belt," Martinez said. "They loan it to you. When they elect to take it back, they take it back. I thank them for the opportunity to win it and to hold it, but there is nothing I can do about it if they want to take it back. They can match whoever they want below me (for the vacant belt), but in my view, that winner can't truly call himself a champion."

Lou DiBella, Martinez's outspoken promoter, wasn't as diplomatic as his fighter about the decision.

"My attitude is f--- 'em. F--- 'em. He is the people's champion at 160 pounds," DiBella said. "He is the lineal and only legitimate champion."

Martinez still holds the Ring magazine middleweight title and WBC belt at middleweight, as well as the WBC's version of the 154-pound junior middleweight title. He has not yet determined in which weight class he will fight.

However, the WBO said it would no longer wait for him to decide and cited its rule governing the situation: "A WBO champion who wins a non-WBO championship in a weight class that is different than the weight class in which he holds his WBO championship must decide within 10 days of the non-WBO championship which title in which weight class he will retain. No WBO champion may hold a non-WBO championship in a weight class that is different from the weight class of his WBO championship."

"We have so many bad decisions in the ring and now we have another bad one outside the ring," said Sampson Lewkowicz, Martinez's adviser. "I understand they have bylaws, but there must be an exception for an exceptional champion like Sergio 'Maravilla' Martinez."

The rule in section 15 of the WBO's bylaws is one for which there has typically been an exception made when a fighter asks for one in order to allow more time to decide which title he will keep.

"What's troubling is that they have a rule that gives them the right to make an exception, but here, for whatever reason, they elected to strip Sergio even though there is no contender who has been sitting there waiting and waiting for his chance," DiBella said. "A lot of the guys in their top 10 aren't even available to fight for the title. I don't know what their rush was.

"Look at their ratings and try to rationalize their behavior. All you can do is conclude that this is another ratings organization who doesn't give a s--- about boxing and shoots itself in the foot."

Lewkowicz said the WBC has not forced the issue yet. He added that Martinez's decision about which weight class title to keep will depend on his next opponent and HBO, which has backed Martinez's recent fights, although the network has not made his next fight a priority.

Martinez (45-2-2, 24 KOs), who is from Argentina and lives in California, has been mentioned as a possible opponent for Floyd Mayweather Jr. in the event that he does not fight Manny Pacquiao.

[TheWalletInspector]

Middleweight champion Sergio Martinez was feted in a ceremony at the WBO's Puerto Rican headquarters on May 11, when he was presented with his new title belt. Those good feelings did not last long.

Martinez, who took apart Kelly Pavlik to win a unanimous decision and the lineal championship on April 17, has been stripped of his WBO version of the 160-pound title.

I was fearing the worst after reading that. Phew.

[Witton_Lane]

Khan V Casamayor is going to happen, according to The Sun...

When I read it I thought "I thought Casamayor retired years ago, didn't he?"

Which tells you all you need to know, another joke Khan fight.

[TheWalletInspector]

^ :? I'd rather see him fight Katsidis.

It’s been more than 30 years since a boxing has been staged at Yankee Stadium, but this weekend’s featured attraction between Yuri Foreman and Miguel Cotto could potentially represent something else that hasn’t been seen in quite some time on HBO – a bout that’s both competitive and entertaining.

You have to go back to the end of April to find a telecast that fits such a criteria. The month of May proved to be a lucrative one, thanks to the boatloads of cash generated in Floyd Mayweather’s landslide win over Shane Mosley. But from a competitive standpoint, there wasn’t a single bout for which HBO paid that even came close to delivering.

When the majority of the fights staged in a particular month have fans calling for a participant’s immediate retirement, it’s hardly a good thing.

There stands the chance that the same chatter could come out of this weekend’s headliner, which airs live from the House That Jeter and A-Rod Built (Saturday, 10:15PM ET/7:15PM PT).

That people are expecting a competitive fight perhaps speaks volumes of how far along Cotto is – or perceived to be in his career. It never helps when you enter a major fight on the heels of the worst beating of your career, which is what occurred in last November’s stoppage loss to Manny Pacquiao.

Cotto (34-2. 27KO) looked worse as the fight wore on, getting little to no help from his inexperienced corner and being sent out round after round merely for the sake of attempting to go the full twelve. He fell just over two minutes short of accomplishing that feat, but the effects of the additional punishment he absorbed along the way could very well be on display this weekend.

There also comes the challenge of fighting in a new weight class, as he ventures up to the 154 lb. division after having campaigned as a welterweight for the previous three years.

Still, Cotto comes in well-rested and also well-prepared. Saturday will mark one week shy of seven months since his last ring appearance, and also his first fight under the tutelage of legendary trainer Emanuel Steward.

Add to the mix that his 154 lb. debut comes against a titlist with a modest resume and even less overwhelming knockout percentage, and it all should all come out to yet another showcase night for an HBO house fighter, right?

Certainly, the network’s subscribers are hoping Cotto’s opponent has something to say about that.

It sometimes serves as a red flag when more is said of the backdrop than of the actual fight itself. In the weeks since this matchup was announced, we’ve heard countless tales of memories from Ali-Norton III, about Foreman’s rabbinical aspirations and fighting just hours after the end of Sabbath, about New York City serving as Cotto’s home away from home, and whether or not he has enough in the tank to extend his career beyond Saturday evening.

What’s not being told is what makes this fight somewhat of a pick-‘em on paper.

That’s the part where Yuri Foreman will have his say in what happens in the ring.

An undefeated Belurasian Jew who calls Brooklyn home, Foreman (20-0, 8KO) has faced an uphill battle in earning the respect of the boxing world. Part of the resistance had to do with the hard sell that came with his career, where his nationality and religious beliefs were often cited before his actual boxing ability.

Once given the opportunity to perform, Foreman proved he can fight a little.

What he hasn’t always provided is the entertainment, earning the dubious nickname “Yuri Boreman” in reference to his knack for allowing most of his bouts to go to the scorecards. Eight straight wins have been by decision, with a three-round no-decision against Cornelius Bundrage mixed in between.

Foreman’s last stoppage win came more than four years ago, which isn’t saying much since his competition had hardly been stellar leading up to his first crack at a major title, which came on the same night that Cotto conceded his welterweight strap to Pacquiao last year.

There wasn’t much of a frame of reference to gauge Foreman’s chances against Daniel Santos. Though undefeated and the top-rated contender, Foreman hadn’t beaten anyone close to the level of Santos to suggest that he belonged on the championship level, even in the era of splintered titles.

Conversely, Santos hadn’t fought in 16 months and didn’t exactly enter last November’s fight in the best condition, accepting the fight on relatively short notice and training accordingly.

All a fighter can do is deal with what’s placed in front of them. Foreman handled his own very well, dropping Santos twice and dominating him throughout, looking like a watchable fighter en route a landslide decision and his first major championship.

The win was a big one for a 154 lb. weight class that has struggled to maintain an identity ever since Oscar de la Hoya departed from the division. Not that it transformed Foreman into an overnight star, although his name makes the papers more than most other fighters due to his strong faith in the Jewish religion and his looking to become a rabbi.

It also gave promoter Bob Arum a horse in the division’s race, providing the perfect opportunity to give an older thoroughbred one more test run.

Had the fight been made even a year ago, few would have given Foreman any sort of chance of winning the bout, and it’s debatable whether or not HBO would’ve approved the bout for its airwaves.

Given how 2009 ended for both fighters, the fight makes sense now more than ever. Not just for the fighters or the event’s handlers, but also for the very network funding the fight.

Let’s hope for their sake that Foreman is as good as was suggested in last year’s win over Santos and that Cotto is still close to the fighter who has spent most of the past few years hovering around the pound-for-pound rankings.

Because after watching Shane Mosley, Nate Campbell and Paul Malignaggi scrambling for fans to have them pen retirement speeches after last month’s respective fights, the last thing HBO needs is another night spent wondering when the next competitive bout will appear in front of its cameras.

Odds:

Cotto 4/9

Foreman 7/4

Draw 28

Cotto UD

[Gabby15]

Foreman UD for me at the minute

[Gabby15]

Former two division champion Joel Casamayor (37-4, 22KOs) and co-manager Luis DeCubas Jr. reached out to BoxingScene.com to set the record straight on all of the rumors pertaining to a possible fight with WBA junior welterweight champion Amir Khan (23-1, 17KOs).

According to DeCubas, the fight between Khan and Casamayor is very close to being finalized for July 31 in England. Casamayor has accepted the fight, although the money being negotiated is lower than the amount of £400000 being reported by some of the UK papers.

DeCubas and co-manager Walter Kane are in the process of finalizing the details with Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer. Khan-Casamayor will indeed be packaged, likely on a delayed basis, with the Juan Manuel Marquez-Juan Diaz HBO pay-per-view, which takes place on July 31 in Las Vegas.

Casamayor has vowed to emulate Breidis Prescott, who scored a brutal 54-second knockout over Khan in 2008. The 1992 Olympic gold medal winner is irritated with some of comments being put out there in the press where people are underestimating his chances based on age.

"July 31 is a go. Come July 31 lightning is going to strike twice because I'm going to knock Amir Khan out dead," Casamayor said. "I want to let the people know that I'm up for this fight."

"A lot of people are putting bad things out there. Timothy Bradley, [Marcos] Maidana and [Devon] Alexander, these guys have done nothing for this sport. What have they done for this sport? I'm a four-time world champ in two weight classes. Amir Khan has done nothing either and come July 31st I'm going to prove that he's a nobody."

DeCubas tells BoxingScene that Casamayor has already begun to train for the big opportunity.

"July 31st is basically the date that we're fighting Amir Khan. They money hasn't really been squared away 100%. We're working on that now. But Joel is going. Joel is training and he's ready to go," DeCubas said. "Joel has put his time in the game and he's going to prove it on July 31st."

During Khan's pre-fight hype for last month's bout with Paulie Malignaggi, there was a lot of trash talking going on. DeCubas is not concerned about any of the pre-fight antics coming from Khan or his team.

"Do you think Amir Khan can play head games with Casamayor? Casamayor played head games with [Diego] Corrales and real fighters. Not made up stars," DeCubas said.

[Witton_Lane]

Has either of you seen the "Vitalys career defining moment" thread on ESB?

:crylaugh:

[TheWalletInspector]

...Neither. The Kevin Johnson weigh-in is what I'll always remember the most.

'safetypin' put up more of a fight in the weigh-in as in the actual bout.

But at least he got the guts to get into the ring with him.

I'm guessing you were referring to "Vitali scared Lewis into retirement" though?