The "Witton Lane" Boxing Chat Thread

[kkr]

Cotto vs Margarito

Bit late but... Cotto's yankee apparel

I concur!

[TheWalletInspector]

**** awesome.

[Gabby15]

“WHADYA like?” says Anthony Cantanzaro, owner of Portobello’s Pizzeria and Sicilian Kitchen in Manhattan and also Paulie Malignaggi’s manager. Feeling like I had to rush, I panicked and said, “Meat, I like meat” and, as an afterthought, “Jalapenos”. He swiftly returns with two of the biggest pizza slices I have ever seen, one a spicy chicken behemoth and the other a sausage edifice that defied belief.

Portobello’s, situated on Murray Street, is small but popular, especially at lunchtime, and as Cantanzarro’s most decorated client walks in, Paulie is almost immediately accosted by a fan asking for a picture. Ever obliging, Malignaggi accedes to the request and then joins me. He orders a light starter and a mammoth plate of pasta that, even before he tells me, I know he could never eat during a training camp.

He is hungry, he admits to being around 170lbs but the former IBF light-welterweight champion is happy. After four weeks of soul-searching following his stoppage loss to WBA king Amir Khan, Malignaggi is ready to begin the new phase of his career, at welter, and is full of praise for his most recent conqueror, having watched the tape of their fight.

“I saw it once, I saw a couple of things,” he revealed, for the first of many times delaying the flight of his pasta-laden fork from the plate to his mouth. “Amir fought a very disciplined fight, stuck to the gameplan and never really got carried away. I don’t think they ever tried to knock me out, it just happened – all that talk of ‘We’re gonna’ stop Malignaggi inside three rounds’, I never got the sense that he tried to knock me out. He just took what he had and got out. You see a lot of guys getting sucked in when they land punches and end up getting caught themselves so for a 23-year-old I was impressed with his maturity.”

Malignaggi’s lunch will go cold long before he is finished – the portion may be large but he likes to talk and we are working on a rate of a mouthful every five minutes. Not only that, but Paulie’s beloved Italy – for whom he will soon have citizenship – are playing Mexico in a pre-World Cup friendly on at least two TVs at Portobello’s. Mexico are winning 1-0 and if not for some Mexican profligacy in front of goal, it could be four or five. “At least the [mostly Mexican] staff will be happy,” quips Cantanzarro, as dismayed as Malignaggi at the Azzurri’s lacklustre performance.

“You know what really took me out of my gameplan?,” Malignaggi continues, warming to his topic now. “I saw a quote from Freddie [Roach] saying, ‘Paulie pulls out a lot but he won’t be able to use the pull against a guy like Amir, who’s tall with speed’. I knew that going into the fight – my line of defence is rolling the shoulder and countering. If you’re tall and quick, even if I have him missing it’s hard to get back with my shots.

“So I had to get under his shots and the problem we had was every time I got underneath him, Amir would hold me down. That’s part of boxing but I had Steve Smoger for the [Miguel] Cotto fight and this fight and he’s a nice guy but the worst referee I’ve ever had. If you don’t give a fighter a strong warning he’s gonna’ keep doing it and as the fight went on, Amir started hitting me when he was holding me. I don’t fault Amir for that, I do fault Smoger. Not the reason I lost though – main reason I lost is that Amir’s a very good fighter.”

Malignaggi is happy to give Khan credit for most things but, as Mexico waste another gilt-edged chance and after Paulie laughably says he’s picked England to win the big one in South Africa, the Brooklynite focuses on Amir’s power – or lack thereof.

“He’s not a big puncher – he scuffs you basically,” Malignaggi states. “I had a lot of scuff marks on me, a lot of scrapes and stuff. He might have power if he sits down on his punches a little bit more but that could take away from his speed.

“But Amir Khan should change nothing about himself. He has a very difficult style to deal with. He knows how to win rounds and when he takes control of rounds, he knows not to give it back to you. Against bangers like Cotto or Juan Diaz you can go toe-to-toe if you have to and you know that you can just go across the ring and find them. With Amir, you go across the ring, he might not even be there. He’s a very complete fighter – he and Cotto are the best I’ve fought.”

Paulie, who listens to Italy’s malaise being accompanied by Spanish – one of three languages he speaks – commentary, is not focusing solely on the past. His future could involve Matthew Hatton and the European title but IBF kingpin Jan Zavec is another target.

“I saw highlights of Jan Zavec’s last fight on ESPN against Delvin Rodriguez and Rodriguez dropped him twice,” Paulie recalls. “From the highlights Delvin beat the s*** out of the guy but they robbed him and gave it to Zavec. But from that, I’m not too impressed with Zavec.”

Italy lost 2-1, but Malignaggi, with his virtually unmarked features, slur-free speech and sharp intellect, is still ahead of the game.

WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao returned back home to the Philippines after vacationing with his family in the United States and Mexico. Upon his return, Pacquiao told reporters that he was ready to fight anyone in November, whether it's Floyd Mayweather Jr. or a rematch with Miguel Cotto, who recently won the WBA junior middleweight title.

Pacquiao even mentioned a rematch with Ricky Hatton, which drew laughter from reporters. The Filipino champion himself began laughing to let everyone knew that he was joking around. The date of November 13 has been set aside by Top Rank for Pacquiao's next fight.

"There's negotiations ongoing with Mayweather, and Cotto also said that he wants a rematch," Pacquiao said to ABS-CBN News.

Cotto has asked for a rematch with Pacquiao, who might be tempted to move up for an eight divisional belt. If the Mayweather fight falls apart, Antonio Margarito is waiting in the background as the next in line to fight Pacquiao in November.

A rematch with Cotto is about a pointless as Floyd having a rematch with Hatton (For which you know he'd get ripped apart by Pactards should that ever happen)

[Gabby15]

Promoter Gary Shaw had a recent meeting with HBO and pitched the idea of a big 140-pound tournament. Based on Shaw's idea, the tournament would include champions Timothy Bradley, Devon Alexander, Amir Khan, and Juan Manuel Marquez - if he beats Juan Diaz next month.

As part of Shaw's idea, he wanted HBO to hold a big press conference where the fighters, or at least two of them, would pick their first round opponent from a hat in a lottery style selection.

According to Shaw, Khan and his promoters Golden Boy Promotions were not interested in being involved.

"If we pulled [the name of] Devon Alexander, then we would fight Devon Alexander. Golden Boy said no. Amir Khan doesn't want to fight anybody. Bradley will fight anybody and to Devon Alexander's credit, he will fight anybody," Shaw said. "We would do it and Devon Alexander would do it."

"As a bonus, I said for the winner of the tournament should get $500,000. A check direct to the fighter."

Shocker.

[colleh]

Justice for Sergio!

Martinez said he thinks he lost the Williams fight.

[TheWalletInspector]

The tournament is a great idea. No surprise about Con.

[TheWalletInspector]

Justice for Sergio!

Martinez said he thinks he lost the Williams fight.

Yeah I read that. Personally I think he won and given full preparation I think he would beat him in a rematch.

[Gabby15]

Trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr. is very upset with Manny Pacquiao being honored with the BWAA's [boxing Writers Association of America] award for fighter of the decade. Mayweather felt that his son, Floyd Mayweather Jr., should have been the recipient.

Speaking with Percy Crawford of fighthype.com, Mayweather Sr. went after Pacquiao's record, and attacked him as a person.

"What award they gonna give my son when he whoops Pacquiao," Mayweather Sr. said. "Pacquiao ain't no f**king fighter of the decade. He is a p*ssy. Pacquiao has two draws and a loss in this decade. Lil' Floyd is undefeated in this decade and in his career."

"On top of that, Pacquiao beat two guys Lil' Floyd already beat and struggled twice with a guy Floyd blanked out twelve rounds to nothing."

Mayweather Sr. is adding some fuel to the fire. Pacquiao currently has a defamation suit pending in Las Vegas against Mayweather Sr., Mayweather Jr., Roger Mayweather and Golden Boy Promotions heads Oscar De La Hoya and Richard Schaefer. Pacquiao claims the parties damaged his credibility by making allegations that he is using performance enhancing drugs.

Floyd Sr. is a legend 8)

Shah Khan, the father of WBA junior welterweight champion Amir Khan, says lightweights Michael Katsidis and John Murray are asking for too much money to fight his son. Shah confirms to hometown paper, The Bolton News, that his son will fight the winner of the Juan Manuel Marquez-Juan Diaz rematch, taking place on July 31 in Las Vegas.

Murray and Katsidis have been attacking Khan in the press. Shah says they approached their team for a fight and now attack Amir for fighting smaller boxers.

“They approached us and now they are saying these things,” Shah said. “Murray and Katsidis want silly money for the fights and their demands are just not feasible.”

Amir will return in November or December against the Marquez-Diaz winner. The fight will take place in either the UK or the United States. Shah hopes a deal is struck fast with the Marquez-Diaz winner, after their fight is over.

“We are hoping that a deal will be struck shortly for Amir to fight the winner,” Shah added. “It will be a tough fight for Amir but a really good test against boxers who have been former world champions.”

I don't think Marquez has that much left in the tank tbh, probably enough to get by Diaz but I don't think he's on the level he once was

[Gabby15]

World title boxing is coming to Wearside.

The passion of Sunderland fight fans, through their support of Tony Jeffries, has persuaded promoter Frank Maloney to put the city on the world stage next month.

His man Jason Booth challenges Canadian champion Steve Molitor for the IBF world super-bantamweight title on July 23 at Rainton Meadows Arena.

Jeffries's eighth professional contest will also feature prominently on the bill, which will be screened live in north America and across Europe, as well as in the UK by Sky Sports.

The night will bring a fresh landmark for Jeffries, who steps into the ring for his first eight-round contest.

It will be only the second world title fight ever staged on Wearside. Local hero Billy Hardy had the first when he lost by a split decision to Texan Orlando Canizales for the IBF world bantamweight crown at Crowtree Leisure Centre in January 1990.

Molitor, 31, won the IBF crown for the second time when he outpointed Takalani Ndlovu in March.

His first reign as champion started in November 2006 when he knocked out Hartlepool's Michael Hunter in five rounds.

The 30-year-old from Ontario has lost only one of his 33 pro contests in a career stretching back 10 years.

Fighting for a world title is the latest step in a remarkable personal journey for Nottingham's Booth, 32, who is a recovering alcoholic and has also overcome drug problems to turn his career around.

Booth said: "The world title fight is such a bonus for me and now I want to win it so much.

"I am so lucky to have the things I do in life now – if I hadn't had boxing, I'd be dead; the drink would've beaten me."

Maloney said he always wanted to bring the scrap to the North East after winning the right to stage it in Britain, but he feared he might have to take it elsewhere due to a clash with the Sunderland Airshow.

Maloney said: "I'm delighted we've found a solution and I'm grateful for the help of Rainton Meadows Arena and Sunderland Council to ensure I can bring world title boxing to the North East for the first time since the great Billy Hardy was at his peak.

"This is going to be a huge weekend for Sunderland with the airshow and the city getting worldwide exposure as a result of the Booth-Molitor showdown.

"Since I started promoting Tony Jeffries, boxing fans in Sunderland have responded with passionate support and Sky TV love that because it adds to the spectacle.

"Tony will have his first eight-round fight on the same bill and I'm hoping to add a British title fight to the card as well."

Ticket details are likely to be released later this week.

Jeffries has had four fights in the North East since turning pro after claiming a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics. He is unbeaten in seven pro contests, stopping Derby's Matt Hainy in the second round at Peterlee Leisure Centre last time out on June 4.

During a 14-year career, Booth has won British and Commonwealth flyweight titles, the IBO super-flyweight crown, Commonwealth bantamweight championship plus British and Commonwealth belts at super-bantamweight.

He will hope Wearside is a lucky venue, having stopped Hartlepool's Hunter at the Seaburn Centre last October.

[Gabby15]

The former WBA heavyweight champion Nikolai Valuev is losing interest in a fight with undefeated Olympic gold medal winner Odlanier Solis. The "Russian Giant" would rather fight WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko right now. They were negotiating the fight earlier this year but no deal was reached. Klitschko's camp said Valuev and his co-promoter Don King were not being reasonable by demanding a guaranteed purse of $4 million dollars.

When they could not reach a deal and mandatory challenger Ray Austin began to have problems with his management, the WBC ordered a fight between Valuev and Solis. The winner will get a shot at Klitschko. Negotiations to make a fight with Solis have been taking too long for Valuev's liking. To make matters worse, the German television networks are not very interested in a fight between Valuev and Solis.

"I do not want to fight Solis. I've gotten tired of always facing these up and coming boxers. The Cuban is not interesting to me. I want the fight with Vitali, which will be a real mega-fight," Valuev said.

"My promoters Wilfried Sauerland and Don King assure me that they are keeping in contact with Shelly Finkel, adviser of the Klitschko brothers. But I don't have any news or details on it. Nevertheless, I am confident that our fight with Vitali will take place. This fight has so much interest that the financial differences betweenour two sides will be settled."

Realised that he has no better options & has come crawling back to Vitali. FAIL.

[Gabby15]

According to a report in Daily Mail, Audley Harrison has agreed to a £1million offer to challenge David Haye for the WBA heavyweight title on November 13. The fight would be carried on Sky pay-per-view. Harrison's promoter, Matchroom Boxing, is waiting for Haye's side to finalize the deal. If the deal has indeed been reached, it means heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko will be moving forward with his mandatory WBO title fight against Alexander Povetkin.

The fight everyone wants to see on November 13th is done!!

[TheWalletInspector]

C'mon Audrey! Haye's going to lose a lot of respect if this is true.

Sources close to the situation have advised BoxingScene.com that Sergio Martinez (45-2, 24KOs) notified the WBC on Wednesday that he plans to vacate their title at 154-pounds. Martinez will remain in the middleweight division as the WBC champion.

Martinez moved up to middleweight in April to win the WBC middleweight crown with a twelve round unanimous decision over Kelly Pavlik. The sanctioning body handed him a 24-hour deadline on Tuesday to vacate their title at 154, or at 160. After reviewing the ratings and some possible opportunities, Martinez and his team made a decision to remain at middleweight.

As part of his decision to remain at 160, Martinez will have to make a mandatory defense of the title against German fighter Sebastian Zbik (29-0, 10KOs), who is the interim-champion.

[Gabby15]

C'mon Audrey! Haye's going to lose a lot of respect if this is true.

Sources close to the situation have advised BoxingScene.com that Sergio Martinez (45-2, 24KOs) notified the WBC on Wednesday that he plans to vacate their title at 154-pounds. Martinez will remain in the middleweight division as the WBC champion.

Martinez moved up to middleweight in April to win the WBC middleweight crown with a twelve round unanimous decision over Kelly Pavlik. The sanctioning body handed him a 24-hour deadline on Tuesday to vacate their title at 154, or at 160. After reviewing the ratings and some possible opportunities, Martinez and his team made a decision to remain at middleweight.

As part of his decision to remain at 160, Martinez will have to make a mandatory defense of the title against German fighter Sebastian Zbik (29-0, 10KOs), who is the interim-champion.

Zbik sucks.

Audley KO 1 False Prophet Haye

[rjw63]

Audley KO 1 False Prophet Haye

You don't seriously believe that do you?

[Gabby15]

Audley KO 1 False Prophet Haye

You don't seriously believe that do you?

When the A-Bomb is unleashed, no-one stands up to it. Not Haye, not Wlad (even without being poisoned by Lamon Brewster) and not Vitali. It's Audley's destiny to become the world heavyweight champion and destiny cannot be prevented. Certainly not by a false prophet.

Yes

He

Can

[rjw63]

No chance :-)

Fraudly is hopeless and you know it

[TheWalletInspector]

Promoter Gary Shaw is not one to mince words. It was no different this week when he took a shot at Golden Boy Promotions and some of its fighters regarding a junior welterweight tournament Shaw said he recently pitched to HBO executives. The tournament could feature the likes of champions Timothy Bradley, Devon Alexander, Amir Khan and, perhaps, Juan Manuel Marquez should Marquez beat Juan Diaz in a July 31 rematch. Shaw - who promotes Bradley - said HBO big-shots like his idea, but that Khan and Golden Boy - which promotes Khan and Marquez - are not interested.

Shaw said he was in New York last week continuing a month-long sales job to HBO.

"The problem is, Amir Khan obviously doesn't like the idea and I would assume Golden Boy doesn't like the idea, too," Shaw said. "But we would do it and Devon Alexander would do it. And you can confirm it. It's just a call. I'll give you Richard Schaefer's number if you want it.

"You call him and ask him if Amir Khan will fight Tim Bradley, or (Marcos) Maidana will fight Tim Bradley. Or Marquez will fight Tim Bradley. You'll get your answers direct."

(Maidana, also under the Golden Boy banner, was not mentioned specifically by Shaw for the tournament. Maidana is an interim champion. His addition would require a sixth fighter. But Shaw's biggest concern was that Bradley, Khan and Alexander be in the tournament).

We had Schaefer's number, no thanks to Shaw, and he was not thrilled about Shaw's comments. Schaefer spoke in detail about his thinking regarding Khan, and basically suggested Shaw should not be advising him how to handle the Golden Boy stable.

First off, Schaefer told BoxingScene.com that Khan will be in attendance at Mandalay Bay when Marquez and Diaz tangle and that a decision will be made after that fight as to which direction they are going to go.

"I'm saying that is a possibility," Schaefer said of a fight between Khan and the winner of Marquez-Diaz. "Right now, I don't know who he (Khan) is going to fight. That is a possibility, and Maidana is a possibility. Maybe (Michael) Katsidis is a possibility."

Secondly, Schaefer said that in his mind a fight between Khan and the winner of Marquez and Diaz is more attractive than what Bradley and Alexander would bring to the table.

"We are basically making plans with our fighters and, I'm sorry, I think Bradley and Alexander are great fighters, but a potential fight between the winner of Diaz and Marquez is a bigger fight than fighting Bradley or Alexander," Schaefer said. "I think down the road a fight with Alexander and Bradley are going to be big fights, but that time is not now."

Finally, Schaefer suggested Shaw should keep his nose out of Golden Boy business.

"If someone wants to criticize Amir," Schaefer said, "let's be honest, if Amir is going to continue to fight the big names and the exciting fights, then it is our decision. It's between Khan and Golden Boy and (Khan trainer) Freddie Roach who the opponents are. I'm not telling Gary Shaw about (Alfredo) Angulo, who he should fight. I'm not going to criticize Gary.

"For example, we wanted to do a fight between Angulo and (Erislandy) Lara. They didn't want to do it. It doesn't mean one has to get all nasty. He should go have Bradley fight Alexander and I think the winner of that fight is going to come out a bigger name. I understand Alexander would love that fight, so what is Gary Shaw waiting for?"

Bradley, who owns one of the 140-pound belts, will fight at 147 pounds against Luis Carlos Abregu on July 17. Alexander is defending his two 140-pound titles against Andriy Kotelnik on Aug. 7.

Schaefer on Maidana Episode

Shaw also wasn't crazy about the way Maidana pulled out of two fights with Bradley. He blasted Maidana, his manager Mario Margossian and Golden Boy, saying Maidana should be punished for lying about having a bad back. It has been well-publicized that Maidana never had a bad back. Rather, Maidana said, he had a falling out with his manager.

Schaefer said no one outside Maidana's camp knew the real story.

"We talked to his manager, Margossian, and even HBO's Kery Davis had a conversation with Margossian and his manager confirmed to us we had the fight," Schaefer said. "And then somehow their story changed, we don't have the fight, that he had some back issues. We were told that by Margossian. We weren't told that by Maidana.

"All along we didn't know there was something between fighter and manager."

Schaefer said Maidana should not be taking any heat for this because all of the dealings were between Margossian and Golden Boy and that Golden Boy was never told of an outside-the-ring battle.

"He has an issue with his manager," Schaefer said. "We expressed that to him and told him he is going to have to sort out the managerial dispute. Maidana wasn't the one who lied. We decided to stay out of this. It's not a promoter's dispute."

How Long Will Arum Wait?

Arum and Schaefer continued to refuse to say anything of substance regarding a fight between Manny Pacquiao and Mayweather for November. When asked if he had anything at all he could offer about negotiations, Schaefer answered, "No." He wouldn't even confirm there are actual talks taking place.

Arum - Pacquiao's promoter - was asked how long he will wait before going in a different direction, which presumably would go the way of Antonio Margarito.

"I'm not going to answer that because I don't want to put anyone under that kind of pressure," Arum said to BoxingScene. "But Manny Pacquiao is going to fight in November, whether it's against Mayweather or somebody else."

Which means Arum will have to get something done with someone by late next month.

Would Bradley Be a Good Option?

Miguel Cotto is another fighter who could face Pacquiao in a rematch should something not get made for either Mayweather or Margarito. One thing's for sure, Arum is not interested in a fight between Pacquiao and Bradley. When asked if there was any real money in that fight, Arum responded quickly.

"No," Arum told BoxingScene. "Bradley is an excellent fighter, but nobody's ever heard of him. Very few people have heard of him. It has nothing to do with his abilities. He's a very able guy. But he hasn't been promoted so that he's like a household name where he could be a viable pay-per-view opponent."

"Schaefer told BoxingScene.com that Khan will be in attendance at Mandalay Bay when Marquez and Diaz tangle and that a decision will be made after that fight as to which direction they are going to go."

Just to make sure in case Marquez has something left in the tank. Maybe he's waiting to see if Marquez gets any cuts he can fight him with.

Cotto rematch :x

No money in a fight with Bradley but there was in a fight with Clottey? :?

[Witton_Lane]

No chance :-)

Fraudly is hopeless and you know it

I get the feeling our Gabby is on the ESB "Audley Harrison Express" and is bringing his posting habits over here for our amusement

I hope to Christ this fight doesn't happen as I like Haye and don't want to see the ridicule he'll deservedly get if it does. Having said that if it does happen it'll be over inside 2 minutes, and Harrison will still be counting stars on the canvas when the cleaners arrive.

[Gabby15]

No chance :-)

Fraudly is hopeless and you know it

I get the feeling our Gabby is on the ESB "Audley Harrison Express" and is bringing his posting habits over here for our amusement

I hope to Christ this fight doesn't happen as I like Haye and don't want to see the ridicule he'll deservedly get if it does. Having said that if it does happen it'll be over inside 2 minutes, and Harrison will still be counting stars on the canvas when the cleaners arrive.

One star on the canvas will be counted.

That star will be David Haye once the A-bomb lands on his fragile British mandible

[rjw63]

No chance :-)

Fraudly is hopeless and you know it

I get the feeling our Gabby is on the ESB "Audley Harrison Express" and is bringing his posting habits over here for our amusement

I hope to Christ this fight doesn't happen as I like Haye and don't want to see the ridicule he'll deservedly get if it does. Having said that if it does happen it'll be over inside 2 minutes, and Harrison will still be counting stars on the canvas when the cleaners arrive.

One star on the canvas will be counted.

That star will be David Haye once the A-bomb lands on his fragile British mandible

Quoted for future hilarity