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	<pubDate>Wed, 07 Mar 2012 14:21:42 EST</pubDate>
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	<item>
		<title>Fres Oquendo Launches Comeback by Stopping Travis Fulton in Two Rounds, by Pavel Yakovlev</title>
		<link>http://www.boxingforecast.com/blog/index.cfm?CommentID=348</link>
		<description><![CDATA[

(3/4/12) - Heavyweight Fres Oquendo  returned to the ring for the first time in 15 months last night, stopping Travis  Fulton in two rounds in Davenport, Iowa. Oquendo floored Fulton with a left  uppercut to the jaw after dominating the bout with rapid fire left jabs. Oquendo  is now 33-7 (22 KO&amp;rsquo;s). Fulton drops to 15-27 (15 KO&amp;rsquo;s).


 
The fight was Oquendo&amp;rsquo;s first outing  since December, 2010, when he lost a controversial split-decision to Oliver  McCall in the latter&amp;rsquo;s hometown of Hollywood, Florida. Earlier in 2010, Oquendo  dropped another questionable verdict, this time in a Paris match against  France&amp;rsquo;s Jean-Marc Mormeck. The Mormeck loss, regarded as an outrage  internationally by the boxing community, was dubbed as &amp;ldquo;a candidate for robbery  of the year&amp;rdquo; by ESPN&amp;rsquo;s Dan Rafael.
 


At the time of the Mormeck fight,  Oquendo was rated WBA #10 and IBF #11, and appeared to be on the short list of  contenders eligible to fight for the world championship, or partake in an  elimination bout to determine a mandatory title challenger. Oquendo, as unjustly  as it seems, was dropped from the WBA and IBF ratings as a result of the Mormeck  fiasco. The dubious loss to McCall (this reporter observed the match from  ringside, and could easily have scored between seven and nine rounds for  Oquendo) set back Oquendo that much more.


 
Regarding the Fulton win, Oquendo  remarked, &amp;ldquo;The guy was a tough cookie, but I was a little too fast and too  strong. I busted him up, hurt him, and stopped him with the uppercut. He tried  to hold, but my speed and power just overwhelmed him. I felt no ring rust. I  came out calm, collected, and established my jab off the top. He had no chance  to get going.&amp;rdquo;


 
Tom Tsatas, Oquendo&amp;rsquo;s manager, was  pleased with his fighter&amp;rsquo;s performance. &amp;ldquo;I gotta tell you, Fres looked fast and  strong,&amp;rdquo; said Tsatas. &amp;ldquo;Obviously the fans liked the fight. There was really good  energy for this fight in the arena. We&amp;rsquo;re going to try to keep Fres fighting at  least every month now, so hopefully by summertime, he&amp;rsquo;ll have three straight  wins on his record. After that, it&amp;rsquo;s time for a big fight. By then promoter  Bobby Hitz will have something coming up.&amp;rdquo;


 
Oquendo&amp;rsquo;s official weight was 229 lbs,  but he was quick to point out, &amp;ldquo;My real weight was about 225 lbs. The 229 lbs.  was inaccurate because I had my shoes and clothes on.&amp;rdquo;


 
The Puerto Rican born Oquendo, now  38-years-old, has lived in Chicago for most of his life. He was ranked in the  worldwide top-10 by most organizations for much of the &amp;lsquo;00s, and fought twice  for world championship belts. Most of Oquendo&amp;rsquo;s career defeats have been by  controversial decisions. The 34-year-old Fulton is from Cedar Falls, Iowa, and  has been fighting professionally since 1999.




Also,  join      BoxingForecast for free and get a 1 free pick a week and full  use of   our    unique &amp;quot;Fight Predictor&amp;quot; which allow the fan to pick  winners.&amp;nbsp;   All  you   need is a valid email address and a password that  you   create. You can follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/boxingforecast and reach me by email at evan@boxingforecast.com


]]></description>
		
		
		<category><![CDATA[Boxing Commentary]]></category>
		
			
		<author> (Evan Young)</author>
		<pubDate>Wed, 07 Mar 2012 00:00:00 EST</pubDate>
		<comments>http://www.boxingforecast.com/blog/index.cfm?CommentID=348&#35;comments</comments>
		
		
		
	</item>
 
	<item>
		<title>Sergio Martinez and todayâ¬"s middleweight landscape</title>
		<link>http://www.boxingforecast.com/blog/index.cfm?CommentID=347</link>
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The middleweight division is one of the most storied divisions in boxing. The middleweights have been appealing to many for numerous reasons. The average guy, at least a few decades ago, was about the size of a middleweight at 160 pounds.&amp;nbsp; With fast food and sloth taking over in the United States, perhaps 160 pounds is not average any more but the middleweights carry the appeal of being able to hit hard like the big boys and move fast and have the&amp;nbsp; technical skills of the smaller fighters
Anyway, let&amp;rsquo;s get down to it. As I look over the division, things get very confusing with the belts and words attached to them such as interim, super and diamond designations that some of the alphabet soup groups tend to use. &amp;nbsp;So I don&amp;rsquo;t want to talk too much about who has what belt. As I see it, there is one champion in the division. And that distinction goes to Sergio Martinez. He beat the then consensus middleweight champion, Kelly Pavlik, to become champion &amp;ndash; simple as that.
Martinez is only days away from his 37th birthday but he is a phenomenal athlete and is at his peak as a fighter in terms in terms of ability, experience and his physicality. How long he will stay at this high level we can&amp;rsquo;t be sure.&amp;nbsp; But from what I see, he is a dedicated worker in the gym and uses some modern methods which help the older fighters stay at the top of their game longer than they used to.
I happen to really like Martinez and as a fan, I&amp;rsquo;d like to see him face the very best possible fighters.&amp;nbsp; I understand about cashing out and making the most money for the least risk. That makes sense. But I think a champion, maybe not every fight, needs to step up and take on the best possible opponents.&amp;nbsp; That type of action will draw more interest to the sport and it makes the contest exponentially better when you are not 99% certain of the outcome.
Martinez&amp;rsquo;s promoter Lou DiBella is beating the drums loudly for current WBC belt holder Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. to fight his charge. And actually, with Chavez&amp;rsquo;s improvement and massive middleweight frame I think that is a decent fight that I would like to see.&amp;nbsp; But what Martinez does soon after that, should that bout happen, is what I&amp;rsquo;m interested in.
3 Eastern European Dudes
To me, Gzreggors Proska, Gennady Golovkin and Dimitry Pirog represent legitimate threats to Sergio Martinez&amp;rsquo;s reign should they deign to meet. &amp;nbsp;All were excellent amateur fighters with Golovkin winning an Olympic Silver medal and amateur world title. &amp;nbsp;All these fighters are undefeated as professionals and are seriously closing in on Martinez. &amp;nbsp;Pirog and Golovkin hold world title straps while Proska is the European champion. 
I&amp;rsquo;m not looking to see these guys defend their titles against lesser opposition for the foreseeable future. As I see it, a Martinez fight wouldn&amp;rsquo;t take too long to marinate and get it ready to present to the world.&amp;nbsp; These 3 Eastern Europeans are good enough and exciting enough to build up and then get one of them, for starters, in with Martinez.&amp;nbsp; Of the three, I see the shortest man, Proska as the most talented. He&amp;rsquo;s only 5&amp;rsquo;8 but the southpaw has rapier reflexes, an excellent defense and damaging punches. Golovkin and Pirog, while excellent, are a bit more of the grinding type than Proska.&amp;nbsp; I see all three men as giving Martinez all kinds of hell, like he hasn&amp;rsquo;t seen since his only loss, to Antonio Margarito over a decade ago, when he was still a relative newby.
Other middles of note
We have the longtime title holder Felix Sturm, who has had recent struggles to retain his title but he hasn&amp;rsquo;t been beaten in a while and has a good name. Daniel Geale is a new title holder on the scene. He&amp;rsquo;s an excellent boxer but without big power or imposing physical strength. Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam is a talented fighter that while undefeated has had a few scares. He is certainly a top 10 contender that I&amp;rsquo;d like to see in top bouts. Irishman Andy Lee is a long time contender and looking for a title fight. The only belt holder I see Lee possibly beating in Felix Sturm, which would be a good fight. Brit Mathew Macklin, who many say was robbed against Sturm, gets a shot at Martinez on St. Patrick&amp;rsquo;s Day.&amp;nbsp; He&amp;rsquo;s a competent, rugged fighter and in the bottom end of my top 10 middleweights. And rounding things out is specimen Peter Quillen. He&amp;rsquo;s green but big, strong, hard hitting and improving.&amp;nbsp; Quillen is someone to keep an eye on that will get some very big fights over the next few years.
My List of the top Middleweights in the world
Martinez is the Champion now so he is designated as such even if I don&amp;rsquo;t think he could get by all the contenders should they square off. My top 10 contenders is simply my view on who are the best middleweights in current time even if others seem more &amp;ldquo;deserving&amp;rdquo; of a title shot. &amp;nbsp;In addition, I&amp;rsquo;m going to throw in a fictitious betting line with Martinez versus all the contenders based on who I see as more likely to win. NOTE: Actual betting lines are based on the handicappers take on how the public will bet the fight as they are looking create action on both sides so the &amp;ldquo;house&amp;rdquo; will profit no matter what the outcome is.
Champion: Sergio Martinez &amp;ndash; Great athlete, fast, excellent movement, underrated power
Top 10 Contenders
1. Gzeggors Proska &amp;ndash;Gifted. Sharpshooter with difficult style, southpaw style, hits &amp;amp; doesn&amp;rsquo;t get hit
2. Gennady Golovkin &amp;ndash; Skilled, strong, hard puncher. 
3. Dimitri Pirog &amp;ndash; Good power, chin. Tenacious
4. Peter Quillen &amp;ndash; Strong, tall, fast and learning. Good puncher
5. Hassan N&amp;rsquo;Dam N&amp;rsquo;Jikam &amp;ndash; Very fast. Moves a lot, &amp;nbsp;Been dropped several times
6. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. &amp;ndash; Big middleweight, chin, good body puncher, improving
7. Daniel Geale &amp;ndash; Very good technician. Won&amp;rsquo;t blow guys away.
8. Mathew Macklin &amp;ndash; Grizzled veteran, work rate, some power.
9. Felix Sturm &amp;ndash; Great jab, defense, knows how to win, maybe winding down
10. Andy Lee &amp;ndash; Defense is a big liability, legs not the sturdiest, tall, decent power
Money Line for Martinez against all contenders
1. Proska &amp;ndash; 160 Martinez +120
2. Golovkin -140 Martinez +100
3. Martinez Pick&amp;rsquo;Em Pirog
4. Martinez -260 Quillen +200
5. Martinez -300 N&amp;rsquo;Dam N&amp;rsquo;Jikam +240
6. Martinez -350 Chavez +300
7. Martinez -400 Geale +320
8. Martinez -450 Macklin +380
9. Martinez -500 Sturm +420
10.Martinez -600 Lee +500


Also,  join     BoxingForecast for free and get a 1 free pick a week and full  use of  our    unique &amp;quot;Fight Predictor&amp;quot; which allow the fan to pick  winners.&amp;nbsp;  All  you   need is a valid email address and a password that  you  create. You can follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/boxingforecast and reach me by email at evan@boxingforecast.com


&amp;nbsp;
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		<category><![CDATA[Boxing Commentary]]></category>
		
			
		<author> (Evan Young)</author>
		<pubDate>Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST</pubDate>
		<comments>http://www.boxingforecast.com/blog/index.cfm?CommentID=347&#35;comments</comments>
		
		
		
	</item>
 
	<item>
		<title> Robert &amp;quot;the Ghost&amp;quot; Guerrero Interview</title>
		<link>http://www.boxingforecast.com/blog/index.cfm?CommentID=346</link>
		<description><![CDATA[
Robert Guerrero: &amp;quot;There's No Doubt In My Mind That I'd Beat Floyd Mayweather&amp;quot;

    Posted by Rope A Dope Radio on January 20, 2012 at 12:00am
    View Blog








Rope  A Dope Radio&amp;rsquo;s own Samaarah Choubak recently sat down with the former  IBF Super Featherweight Champion and former two-time IBF Featherweight  Champion of the world Robert &amp;ldquo;The Ghost&amp;rdquo; Guerrero. Among the topics that  were discussed was the much talked about rumored potential showdown  with Floyd Mayweather Jr. Here&amp;rsquo;s what &amp;ldquo;The Ghost&amp;rdquo; had to say:
&amp;nbsp;
SC -. Hi Robert how you doing
RG &amp;ndash; I&amp;rsquo;m doing good thanks how about yourself?
SC - Firstly tell us about why they call you &amp;quot;The Ghost&amp;quot; and about  the beginning of your professional career and also your latest win over  Michael Katsidis?
RG - It all started when I was about nine years old, because I was so  quick with my hands and quick with my feet and I was learning to be  just so quick in the ring. I'd be here, I'd be there and the kids  weren't able to see where I was at. Then one kid said this guy&amp;rsquo;s like a  ghost. It&amp;rsquo;s like his hands aren't there and I don't see his punches  coming. I kind of got that name when I was nine. The last fight with  Michael Katsidis was a tremendous fight. I was super ready and I had a  tremendous training camp out in Las Vegas. I put in a good seven - eight  weeks of preparing just for Michael Katsidis. Everybody knows what kind  of fighter he is. He's a tremendous pressure fighter and he throws a  lot of punches. You know you have to take some to get some. You know we  had to really prepare for Michael Katsidis. He's probably the best  pressure fighters in the game and you know he comes to fight. My game  plan was to fight behind the jab and throw combinations. I let him  pressure his way in and got him to run into my punches. The game plan  worked out very well. One of the keys to the fight was to not allow him  to gain control the fight. One thing with Michael Katsidis is he's a  game changer. As soon as you allow him to force you back and apply  pressure, he can take you out of your game plan. One of the things that I  did was to keep him at bay and stay focused and not let him get me out  of my game plan.
SC - That's great. So we know that you have 29 wins and only one loss  with 18 knockouts. You&amp;rsquo;re undefeated in 6 world title fights. You are a  5 time champion in 3 different weight classes. We know what kind of  damage you can do to your opponents and your boxing skills are immense.  How did you develop the skill set of being and inside and outside  fighter and also a counterpuncher?
RG - Well I picked up a bit of everything from sparring in places  like the Wildcard and other gyms. I worked under different trainers. I  worked with Freddie Roach a bit and also my father. My father is a  tremendous trainer. He's taught me everything. One thing that he taught  me was to keep my hands up, move your head, and work on the inside. I  pretty much worked on all different aspects of fighting. I got the right  sparring and I learned from other trainers who taught me so many  different things. I picked up stuff from so many different fighters  which helped me to develop a tremendous style that makes it hard to beat  me in a fight.
SC - You've been talking about wanting to fight Floyd Mayweather, and  reports have stated that he was considering you for the May 5th fight.  Reports also said that the deal was in the final stages. Tell us the  recent developments about that if any, as we know that you want to fight  the best out there?
RG - Yeah there was a report that it was in the final stages and you  know I leave that to my promoter and manager to handle all that.  Definitely I want to fight the best and you know Floyd Mayweather is  scheduled to fight on May 5. Like I said I want to fight the best, and  to be the best you have to fight the best. Floyd Mayweather is the best  fighter out there right now pound for pound and I'll be more than happy  to participate in that fight with him. It's an opportunity of a lifetime  for a young fighter like me to get in the ring with Floyd Mayweather,  and if it comes my way I'm just excited.
SC - We all know that May 5th &amp;quot;Cinco De Mayo&amp;quot; is a Mexican holiday,  and it would be perfect for Mexican fans to get behind you. Being a  Mexican American yourself you sort of cover the market for good  pay-per-view sales. Why do you think that worldwide fans would want you  to be Floyd Mayweather's next opponent and not Many Pacquiao? He also  has a great Filipino American fan base and worldwide fans have been  longing for this fight for a couple of years now?
RG - I mean for one, Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquaio, everyone  wants to see that. They're both incredible fighters and that's the most  talked about fight out there right now. That's a tremendous fight. With  myself, if that fight could be made it will be a honor for me to  represent the Mexican people on Cinco De Mayo, which is a huge heritage  day for us Mexicans and Mexican Americans. It all comes down to that.  I&amp;rsquo;m a five time world champion in three different weight classes. I've  fought overseas in one world championship. It would be amazing to be  able to put a fight together against Floyd Mayweather if it can be made  and also to represent the Mexicans. Like I said, it does come down to  the Mexican holiday, and it's a very celebrated holiday. It's a about  war. It's about 4,000 Mexican troops going against 8,000 French troops.  It's a younger wilder fighter going against a bigger pound for pound  number one guy in the world. If I get that fight, there's no doubt in my  mind that I'm going to defeat Floyd Mayweather just like the Mexican  army did against the bigger army of the French.
SC - Lastly what do you think of Floyd Mayweather's recent comments  of him not really knowing who you are as a fighter? How are you going to  convince him and his camp to take this fight with you? You will have to  move up a few weight classes, and if this happens what will this mean  to you?
RG - You know that's a lot of nonsense hearing those comments what  Floyd Mayweather said that he doesn't know who I am. I mean, I've been  on co features with Floyd Mayweather and my name appears in newspapers.  Floyd Mayweather is pound for pound the best fighter in the world. He's  undefeated 42-0, and the reason he's undefeated is that he knows  everyone. He does his homework. Nothing gets by him. He sticks to his  game plan and that's the reason why he's undefeated. I mean all the  credentials are there to make a mega fight. I have a tremendous story  outside the ring with my wife. I want to capture the world championship  to protect her and also for the Mexican Americans. It could be a mega  fight and if HBO 24/7 get&amp;rsquo;s hold of it, it's going to be an incredible  event. So it comes down to whether Floyd Mayweather wants to fight me or  not.
SC - Thanks Robert and good luck. We wish you the best from Rope A  Dope Radio. Lastly, is there any message to fans and what's your twitter  address so fans can follow your updates?
RG - Yes I want to thank the fans. They have been really been good  supporting me all the way through as well as my wife outside of the  ring. I think I have more fans in the UKthan I have back home. My  Twitter is @GhostBoxing. Thank you and have a good day.
Samaarah Choubak
Also,  join    BoxingForecast for free and get a 1 free pick a week and full  use of our    unique &amp;quot;Fight Predictor&amp;quot; which allow the fan to pick  winners.&amp;nbsp; All  you   need is a valid email address and a password that  you create. You can follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/boxingforecast and reach me by email at evan@boxingforecast.com
&amp;nbsp;



]]></description>
		
		
		<category><![CDATA[Fighter Profiles]]></category>
		
			
		<author> (Evan Young)</author>
		<pubDate>Sat, 21 Jan 2012 00:00:00 EST</pubDate>
		<comments>http://www.boxingforecast.com/blog/index.cfm?CommentID=346&#35;comments</comments>
		
		
		
	</item>
 
	<item>
		<title>Vitali Klitschko: the Greatest Heavyweight Champion of all Time, by Roman Kolaczek Part 2</title>
		<link>http://www.boxingforecast.com/blog/index.cfm?CommentID=345</link>
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Klitschko is not just a heavyweight boxing champion; he is also heavyweight
scholar. In 1996, he graduated from the Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky Pedagogical
Institute and was accepted into the postgraduate study program at Kiev
University. On 29 February 2000, he presented his doctoral thesis on
&amp;quot;Talent and Sponsorship in Sports&amp;rdquo; at the Kiev University of Physical
Science and Sports, and his Ph.D in Sports Science was conferred. Klitschko
is the first heavyweight champion in history to hold a Ph.D. Obviously, as
a role model to youth internationally, Klitschko stands for educational
accomplishment as much as he represents dominance in boxing.
&amp;nbsp;


In business, too, Klitschko&amp;rsquo;s championship character is known and
respected. Together with his brother and co-heavyweight champion Wladimir,
and with KMG CEO Bernd Boente, Klitschko is staging boxing events of the
finest and most competitive caliber. KMG also signed a multimillion-dollar
deal with German television network RTL, an arrangement recently extended
to include the Klitschko brothers&amp;rsquo; next five fights. Vitali Klitschko is
not just a great, dominant champion, student, and politician: he is a huge
success as a boxing promoter as well.
&amp;nbsp;
&amp;nbsp;
Charity has not escaped the champion&amp;rsquo;s attention. Klitschko and his brother
Wladimir are involved in many charity events and organizations worldwide.
Both brothers are members of Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, including
Laureus&amp;rsquo;s charity committee. They have worked for UNESCO&amp;rsquo;s Programme for
the Education of Children in Need. Vitali and Wladimir have also sponsored
charity and community outreach projects of their own, including the
Klitschko Brother Foundation.
&amp;nbsp;
&amp;nbsp;
Admirable, also, is that Klitschko is a genuine family man. Together with
his beautiful wife Natalie, he has three children: Yegor-Daniel,
Elizabeth-Victoria, and Max (named after the former world heavyweight
champion Max Schmeling). It is a credit to the champion&amp;rsquo;s character that
his marriage is free of scandal, which is unusual for famous athletes and
entertainers today.
&amp;nbsp;
As a caring father, husband, and son, Vitali always takes time out from his
busy schedule to be with loved ones. He stayed by his father&amp;rsquo;s bedside at
all moments earlier this year, when the elder Klitschko was dying of
cancer. The champion&amp;rsquo;s noble character that is evident to everyone,
including those who are not part of his family. Klitschko is welcoming of
all people, and is extremely tolerant and patient with everyone he meets.
&amp;nbsp;
I have often seen Vitali at public events, training camps, and at parties
after his fights. Treating people with respect is his priority. It comes
naturally to him. At Klitschko&amp;rsquo;s training camp in Austria this summer, for
instance, I was amazed that he finished almost every gym session by sitting
down, together with his long-term coach Fritz Sdunek, to converse with the
throngs of fans who sought his attention. He came as a truly magnanimous
human being who has respect for all who approached him.
&amp;nbsp;


Vitali Klitschko, the world heavyweight champion, is an impressive person.
As a fighter, he never needs to use big words or to burn $100 bills to get
attention. His actions in the ring speak more than words could say. In
every respect, Klitschko, as champion, has conducted himself in exemplary
fashion, inside and outside the ring. The time has come to consider that
Klitschko may indeed be the greatest heavyweight champion that boxing has
yet seen.
&amp;nbsp;
Sure, there have been champions who were humble people, who had great
careers and characters, who did charity work, and who were active as
politicians. But none of them did all of this at the same time&amp;hellip;while they
were still champions.
&amp;nbsp;
But now we have a great heavyweight champion who does it all. Vitali
Klitschko, The Greatest of All Time!
&amp;nbsp;

Also, join    BoxingForecast for free and get a 1 free pick a week and full use of our    unique &amp;quot;Fight Predictor&amp;quot; which allow the fan to pick winners.&amp;nbsp; All  you   need is a valid email address and a password that you create. You can follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/boxingforecast and reach me by email at evan@boxingforecast.com

&amp;nbsp;
&amp;nbsp;
&amp;nbsp;]]></description>
		
		
		<category><![CDATA[Fighter Profiles]]></category>
		
			
		<author> (Evan Young)</author>
		<pubDate>Wed, 09 Nov 2011 09:53:00 EST</pubDate>
		<comments>http://www.boxingforecast.com/blog/index.cfm?CommentID=345&#35;comments</comments>
		
		
		
	</item>
 
	<item>
		<title>Vitali Klitschko: the Greatest Heavyweight Champion of all Time, by Roman Kolaczek Part 1</title>
		<link>http://www.boxingforecast.com/blog/index.cfm?CommentID=344</link>
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Boxing has been a mainstream sport for over a century. Many generations
  
have had great heavyweight champions, many of them household names all over
  
the world. Anytime a major fight between two outstanding heavyweights
  
occurs, the same question arises: who is the greatest of all time? Today,
  
most are saying that this extraordinary heavyweight is Muhammad Ali.
  
&amp;nbsp;
  
&amp;nbsp;



  
However, if you asked fans in the 1910s, you would get a different answer.
  
They would probably have said Jack Johnson. A decade later, they would
  
likely have said Jack Dempsey. By the 1940s, the answer would be Joe
  
Louis, the great &amp;ldquo;Brown Bomber.&amp;rdquo; Later still, in the 1950s, many fans would
  
have picked Rocky Marciano as the greatest. And of course, by the
  
mid-1970s, most regarded Muhammad Ali as the greatest of all time. Since
  
then, Ali has remained &amp;ldquo;The Greatest,&amp;rdquo; even in spite of many great
  
champions following him, such as Larry Holmes in the 1980s, Mike Tyson in
  
the 1980s and 1990s, Lennox Lewis in the 1990s, Evander Holyfield in the
  
1990s, and now, the Klitschko brothers.
  
&amp;nbsp;
  
As they say, Muhammad Ali could &amp;ldquo;float like a butterfly and sting like a
  
bee.&amp;rdquo; However, without insulting Ali, it may be time to ask whether his
  
qualities are still enough to define history&amp;rsquo;s greatest heavyweight
  
champion. It may now be time to consider another warrior as the heavyweight
  
division&amp;rsquo;s new &amp;ldquo;greatest.&amp;rdquo;
  
&amp;nbsp;
  
I propose that it is time to honor Vitali Klitschko as history&amp;rsquo;s all-time
  
greatest heavyweight champion. No doubt, many will consider this
  
suggestion bold. But let us look at the facts. Klitschko has fought most of
  
the leading contenders, and after 15 years of boxing and 44 fights, he has
  
an incredible 90% knockout percentage. Not only has Klitschko won most of
  
his fights, but, incredibly, he has rarely lost a single round in any of
  
his bouts. His only two career losses were due to injuries suffered in
  
fights that he was handily winning. The two fighters who beat Klitschko &amp;ndash;
  
Chris Byrd and Lennox Lewis &amp;ndash; were behind on the scorecards and on their
  
way defeat when Klitschko was compelled to retire because of injuries, and
  
only because of injuries.
  
&amp;nbsp;

  
&amp;nbsp;
  
In 2008, after four years of retirement, Klitschko launched a comeback,
  
regaining the heavyweight title and demolishing all eight opponents he
  
fought. Dangerous, highly rated fighters such as Samuel Peter, Chris
  
Arreola, Juan Carlos Gomez, and Odlanier Solis, among others, have faced
  
Klitschko, only to be pounded into TKO or KO defeat. That Klitschko could
  
be so dominant after coming back from four years of inactivity is amazing.
  
At the age of 40, Klitschko is still in perfect shape and continues to
  
deliver the high quality athletic performances that are normally expected
  
only from men ten years younger.
  
&amp;nbsp;
  
As champion, Klitschko ducks nobody. His opponents are limited only to
  
those contenders who are at the very top of the WBC rankings. Remarkably,
  
Klitschko is a champion that is willing to fight on the road, to defend in
  
his challenger&amp;rsquo;s hometown. He recently defended his title against Polish
  
hero Tomasz Adamek in Wroclaw, in an arena filled by 44,000 pro-Adamek
  
fans. As usual, Klitschko demolished his challenger in dominant fashion.
  
&amp;nbsp;
  
Klitschko&amp;rsquo;s performances in the ring are more than sufficiently impressive
  
to rank him alongside history&amp;rsquo;s greatest heavyweight champions, and to
  
argue that he could have beaten anyone who ever fought. Equally striking,
  
however, are Klitschko&amp;rsquo;s accomplishments and behavior outside of the ring.
  
It is very rare, perhaps even unprecedented, that a heavyweight champion
  
has matched Klitschko&amp;rsquo;s achievements in the public arena.
  
&amp;nbsp;
  
The champion is not focused just on athletic achievement. He is also a
  
concerned citizen, determined to give back to his community as much as
  
nature gave him in athletic talent. Klitschko&amp;rsquo;s record as a politician
  
serves as an example. In his homeland of Ukraine, Klitschko is fighting
  
for civil rights, democracy, freedom of speech, and the rule of law. He is
  
an outspoken critic of corrupt politicians and those who abuse government
  
power. In this battle, Klitschko does not use his fists. Rather, he fights
  
through the activity of the political party he founded: the Ukrainian
  
Democratic Alliance for Reform.
  
&amp;nbsp;
  
Next year, Klitschko will run again for the position of mayor of Kiev. He
  
knows that the odds are against him: twice so far he has run and lost. But
  
still, Klitschko refuses to take a passive position against the corrupt and
  
anti-democratic powerbrokers who continue to influence politics in Ukraine.
  
Klitschko&amp;rsquo;s commitment to democracy and the rule of law are obvious from
  
his actions. Just last summer, for example, he left his training camp in
  
Austria to make an emergency trip to Ukraine in order to protest against
  
the unjust imprisonment of former premier Yulia Tymoshenko. Given that the
  
Adamek fight was only weeks away, it is amazing that Klitschko was willing
  
to suspend his training at that time. Even more impressive is that, in
  
publicly defending Tymoshenko, Klitschko knowingly risked being imprisoned
  
himself on political charges. But just as Klitschko never runs from any
  
boxing challenger, he does not shirk from threats in the political arena.
  
&amp;nbsp;
  
Klitschko&amp;rsquo;s courage in supporting Tymoshenko gave hope and confidence to
  
those Ukrainians who are determined to promote political change in their
  
country. They know that among their ranks is a fearless fighter: Dr. Iron
  
Fist, Vitali Klitschko.

Also, join      BoxingForecast for free and get a 1 free pick a week and full use of our      unique &amp;quot;Fight Predictor&amp;quot; which allow the fan to pick winners.&amp;nbsp; All    you   need is a valid email address and a password that you create. You can follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/boxingforecast and reach me by email at evan@boxingforecast.com












  






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		<category><![CDATA[Fighter Profiles]]></category>
		
			
		<author> (Evan Young)</author>
		<pubDate>Wed, 09 Nov 2011 00:00:00 EST</pubDate>
		<comments>http://www.boxingforecast.com/blog/index.cfm?CommentID=344&#35;comments</comments>
		
		
		
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	<item>
		<title>Monte Barrett Discusses David Tua, High-Tech Training, Cedric Kushner, and Internet Fans, by Pavel Yakovlev</title>
		<link>http://www.boxingforecast.com/blog/index.cfm?CommentID=342</link>
		<description><![CDATA[

(September 25, 2011) - Monte Barrett has had an up-and-down career in recent 
years, winning some fights and losing others. But Barrett&amp;rsquo;s prospects are 
definitely on the upside these days. Last month Barrett soundly outboxed 
David Tua to capture the WBO Oriental and Asia Pacific regional titles. The 
victory establishes Barrett as the WBO&amp;rsquo;s #12 contender, making him eligible 
for a world title fight. Now, years after being written-off by boxing 
pundits, the 40-year-old Barrett is positioned to make some noise in the 
heavyweight division once again. 

The win over Tua represented Barrett&amp;rsquo;s second straight upset against the 
power-punching New Zealander. Last year, fighting as a heavy underdog, 
Barrett held Tua to a draw in Atlantic City. The fight&amp;rsquo;s outcome shocked the 
public and spoiled promoters&amp;rsquo; plans to move Tua into a big money bout with 
one of the Klitschkos. In order to restore Tua&amp;rsquo;s credibility, a rematch was 
scheduled, to be held in New Zealand. But this time Barrett did even better, 
and emerged as a unanimous decision winner by scores of 115-112 (twice) and 
114-113. 

Now 35-9 (20 KO&amp;rsquo;s), Barrett has again proven that when he is in top shape, 
he is a formidable challenge to most heavyweights. Recently Barrett granted 
an exclusive interview to ESB. 



Yakovlev: Monte, congratulations on your win over Tua. Are you going back to  New Zealand to fight Shane Cameron? Recent Internet reports indicate that  this fight is in development. Interestingly, Cameron&amp;rsquo;s manager alleged  stated that you priced yourself out of the negotiations by requesting a  $200,000 purse. 

Barrett: That&amp;rsquo;s not true. There are no negotiations between Shane and I. 
Shane&amp;rsquo;s people are just trying to create a media buzz. Ced (Cedric Kushner) 
and I spoke a couple of weeks ago and he showed me one corresponding email 
he had from Shane&amp;rsquo;s manger. Don&amp;rsquo;t believe what you are reading in the media. 

Yakovlev: Tua was ranked WBO #3 going into this bout, and by beating him,  you have elevated yourself to the WBO&amp;rsquo;s #12 slot. Any comments on your new  ranking? 

Barrett: I thought I would be higher, to be honest with you. I&amp;rsquo;m grateful to 
be #12 though. 

Yakovlev: Since beating Tua, have you received any big offers from promoters  internationally? I would expect this to be the case, given that you have a  recognizable name, a world ranking, two WBO titles, and a high profile win  on your recent resume. 

Barrett: To be honest, no&amp;hellip;at least I haven&amp;rsquo;t heard it from Ced. My rule of 
thumb is, if an offer doesn&amp;rsquo;t have  better than a 50% chance of 
materializing into an actual fight, then don&amp;rsquo;t make the offer to me. 
 Yakovlev: Tell us about the bout in New Zealand. How did it compare to the  first fight? 

Barrett: I thought I won the first nine rounds. I was in my zone. Most of 
the time when you have a rematch, it turns out the same way. I cut him in 
the fourth or fifth round. He didn&amp;rsquo;t know what to do, he was confused. I 
thought the first fight was tougher for me, but every fight is mentally and 
physically hard. I really applaud myself for winning this one. I made a 
commitment to myself that I was going to through the whole process in 
preparing, doing things I never did before, running, and training with a gas 
mask. 

Yakovlev: You trained with a gas mask? That&amp;rsquo;s a new one for me. I have never  heard of that. Tell us about it. 

Barrett: My conditioning trainer, Luis Ruiz, put a gas mask on me in the 
gym. It makes it harder to breath because it has less oxygen in it. You&amp;rsquo;re 
supposed to perform the best you can with it. Using the mask was one of the 
hardest things I have ever done in training. We would train in intervals of 
twenty minutes with the mask. We wanted to simulate higher altitude 
conditions. It also helps a great deal with being under distress, practicing 
keeping calm and not panicking when things go south. I just wanted to be in 
the best shape of my life, so we focused on my condition. I know winning 
goes with the word &amp;ldquo;preparation,&amp;rdquo; just like in business when they say &amp;ldquo;the 
early bird gets the worm.&amp;rdquo; I knew David Tua would be at his best and I felt 
I  needed to be two steps ahead of him considering that I was going to his 
country, into the Lion&amp;rsquo;s Den. 
 Yakovlev: So Luis Ruiz really made a big difference for you in this fight? 

Barrett: Luis worked the dog piss out of me. I was hating him then, in the 
gym, but then I was thanking him after the fight. The funny thing is, when I 
was scheduled for gym sessions, I would try to make all these excuses not to 
go, and my lady Shanequa would encourage me to go. Thanks Shanequa, I love 
you for that. Also, I had good trainers in Azor Gist &amp;ndash; who is also known as 
&amp;ldquo;Terrific&amp;rdquo; &amp;ndash; and James Ali Bashir, who developed a game plan that we 
believed in and stuck to. I just wanted to be in the best shape of my life, 
so we focused on my condition. I knew people were going to judge me from the 
Charles Davis fight, and that worked in my favor. 

Yakovlev: What happened in the Davis fight? I found it shocking that he held  you to a draw, given how well you boxed both times against Tua. 

Barrett:* * I was sick as a dog for the fight. I drove down there (from New 
Jersey to West Virginia) in a snow blizzard and my trainer somehow jammed 
the window. It wouldn&amp;rsquo;t role back up and everyone who was in my truck got 
sick. But I had to fight. I was thinking, &amp;lsquo;I can beat him even if I&amp;rsquo;m sick.&amp;rsquo; 
I was wrong. I should&amp;rsquo;ve realized that I shouldn&amp;rsquo;t have fought him when I&amp;rsquo;m 
sick. I didn&amp;rsquo;t underestimate Davis, I overestimated myself. 

Yakovlev:  Getting back to Tua, I noticed that he was heavier for the  rematch. He weighed 244 &amp;frac12; lbs. That&amp;rsquo;s seven pounds more than he weighed a  year ago in Atlantic City. Do you think that conditioning might have been an  issue for him this time?  
Barrett: Him being heavier didn&amp;rsquo;t make any difference. This time he was 
stronger, and he trained harder. He was healthier. In the first fight, he 
looked like he was dehydrated. I know he was trying to look good on the 
scales then. This time, he didn't feel pressure to have a good number for 
the scale. I think with him having a conditioning trainer, they worked more 
on his power instead of worrying about what he weighed on the scale. 

Yakovlev: So it sounds like Tua was stronger for the rematch. Could you feel  it in his punches? Also, how do you rate Tua&amp;rsquo;s power?  
Barrett:* *People ask me that question all the time, and it&amp;rsquo;s one of the 
craziest questions I ever hear. Every heavyweight has punching power. Even 
Kevin Johnson, who is supposed to be a light puncher, has power if hits you 
the right way. Tua broke my jaw, what more do I need to say? To be honest, 
all heavyweights are strong in their own way. 
 Yakovlev: Tua broke your jaw in the final round, so certainly you must have  felt that punch. Can you tell us about that? 

Barrett: In the 11th round, David hit me with some great shots, and I don&amp;rsquo;t 
think I was fully recovered when round 12 started. I knew I had the fight 
bagged, so I just had to survive the final round. But then he caught me with 
a good combination, and as I was going down, he pivoted his body position, 
and hit me on the right side of the jaw with his right hand. It was like he 
added insult to injury: I was already going down, and then he breaks my jaw. 
It took me a while to realize my jaw was broken. Afterwards, at the press 
conference, I knew my jaw hurt, but I didn&amp;rsquo;t know it was broken. 

Yakovlev: Getting back to your training camp, who did you spar with for the  rematch? Do you have any comments regarding what you worked on in sparring  sessions?  
Barrett: In sparring, I worked on speed especially. I noticed that David had 
good hand speed when he stopped Shane Cameron, so I had to go to work on my 
own speed. For the first month, I sparred with small, aggressive guys, and 
worked on using my jab and left hand. I practiced slipping and countering 
and things like that. I worked with middleweights, including Pawel Wolak. 
Working with these  lighter guys built up my speed, and helped me to let my 
hands go. I also worked with light heavyweights and heavyweights. 

Yakovlev: You mentioned that you prepared for Tua by studying films. 

Barrett: I studied Ali-Frazier III and Douglas-Tyson, to see how the jab is 
used to control a puncher, and how to stay busy without wasting punches. I 
also studied David&amp;rsquo;s fights against Ike Ibeabuchi and Leonnox Lewis. I got 
the most out of watching Lewis. I focused on how he kept the wedge 
(distance), and how he kept the jab working. I knew David had no chance of 
winning if he couldn&amp;rsquo;t get inside. Also, I saw that a good, hard jab will 
back David up. 

Yakovlev: Studying Tua&amp;rsquo;s films gave you and your trainer insight into how to  handle Tua&amp;rsquo;s dangerous left-hook. Tell us about that. 

Barrett: We noticed that most guys move to their left against David, to 
circle away from his left hook. But we saw that David throws that hook wide, 
and he can catch guys at the end of it as they&amp;rsquo;re moving to their own left. 
That&amp;rsquo;s especially if guys drop their hands as they&amp;rsquo;re moving out of David&amp;rsquo;s 
range. So, in the fight, I stayed on my right, toward David&amp;rsquo;s left hook, so 
I could smother the punch. I wanted to be on his left shoulder, going to my 
right side. I think he was surprised by that, me moving to my right. Also, 
with me moving to my right, I also had a better angle for throwing my right 
hand. 
 Yakovlev: You explained that legwork was an important part of beating Tua.  How are your legs holding out at age 40? Did you find it hard or challenging  to condition your legs for this fight, considering your age? Also,  historically, it's been said in boxing that &amp;quot;the legs&amp;quot; are the first thing  that fail a fighter as he gets older. Supposedly, after a guy passes 35  years old or so, the legs aren't there anymore. Do you agree? 

Barrett: No, I didn't find it hard to condition my legs for this fight. The 
first thing I did is make a commitment not to have sex while training. I 
have been fortunate to have always had good legs throughout my career. I 
think the belief about boxers&amp;rsquo; legs being the first thing to go is a myth. 
The reason why I say that is because in this day in age we have more 
information than the past about conditioning and the history of boxing. 

Yakovlev: Today there are lots of leading heavyweights who are close to, or  older than, 40 years of age. This is really surprising. Years ago, when I  started following boxing, fighters were generally &amp;quot;old&amp;quot; at age 30, and by  age 35, they were usually retired. Back then, there were no professional  boxers over the age of 40. But now it's different. Why is this...what's  changed? 

Barrett: Now, 40 is the new 30, because today we have supplements, medicine, 
trainers, diets, healthy living, no smoking, and technology. As boxers, 
we&amp;rsquo;re living in a different age, totally different than from yesterday&amp;rsquo;s 
fighters. They say that you get out of your body what you put into it, and 
if you take care of yourself, you should get good results. Also, today we 
work more on using both sides of the brain when he box. Boxers take punches 
to the head a lot, and their equilibrium can get damaged. So, they need to 
rest and play challenging games, or word puzzles, or do exercises to restore 
that mental edge. Also, let&amp;rsquo;s not leave out that there are more rules and 
regulations in place than in the past, including different gloves, and more 
rest periods in between fights. 

Yakovlev: To be honest, I didn&amp;rsquo;t think you would be able to win a decision  against Tua in New Zealand. My expectation is that the judges would lean  heavily in his favor. Are you surprised at the fairness of the officials? 

Barrett: I wasn&amp;rsquo;t worried because I had the right things written in my 
contract up front. The three important things that concerned me were the 
officials, the gloves, and the size of the ring. The three officials had to 
iclude one from the United States and one from a neutral country. The 
gloves had to be Everlast extra large ten ounces, and I had to have a 20 
foot ring. Once it was in my contract, there was no way they could get 
around that. When I got to New Zealand, I found out that for David&amp;rsquo;s last 
fight, against Demetrice King, they used a 16 foot ring. I reminded them 
that I had a contract for a big ring, so they couldn&amp;rsquo;t use that little ring 
with me. 

Yakovlev: I understand that you took issue with Cedric Kushner concerning  something that happened during your fight, at ringside. 

Barrett: Yeah. In the 12th round, when I got dropped by Tua, I looked up. 
Who&amp;rsquo;s the first person I see jumping and cheering? It&amp;rsquo;s Cedric Kushner. He 
jumped up so high that he looked like he was fixing the lights hanging from 
the arena ceiling. Think about it: he&amp;rsquo;s got to be 350 lbs, easy, but he was 
so excited that he jumped right into the sky with joy. That pissed me off so 
much. Just seeing Ced jump like that, all excited&amp;hellip;that really motivated me 
to get up. After the fight I told him, &amp;ldquo;you lost a lot of respect from me.&amp;rdquo; 
 Yakovlev: So seeing Kushner cheer for Tua really angered you. He represents  both of you, but obviously he had big promotional hopes for Tua. 

Barrett: I understand that Kushner had a big contract for Tua, but he should 
have acted like a businessman, there at ringside. I mean, I never saw Don 
King do something like that at ringside. If you beat King&amp;rsquo;s fighter, even 
when he doesn&amp;rsquo;t want you to win, he&amp;rsquo;ll take it like a businessman. But Ced 
didn&amp;rsquo;t do that at ringside. I was so pissed. Let me tell you something. A 
while back, Ced was in the hospital for two months. He&amp;rsquo;d had five operations 
in three weeks. He was really messed up. Me and my girlfriend, we&amp;rsquo;d visit 
him, and bring him fruitcakes. I visited him five or six times when he was 
in the hospital. It had nothing to do with boxing, I was just being a 
friend. As a human being, you try to be nice. We all struggle. After all 
that, to see him jump for joy when Tua floored me&amp;hellip;that made me so angry. 

Yakovlev: But you and Kushner talked it over later? 

Barrett: Later I told him that what he did was absolutely wrong. He admitted 
it. He told me that he was in the  wrong. If a man does that, I have respect 
for him. Later, after he watched the films, he even told me, &amp;ldquo;you have some 
kahoonas.&amp;rdquo; 
 Yakovlev: I trust that you and Kushner are on good terms now. I know he&amp;rsquo;s  representing you. 

Barrett: The relationship I have with Ced is a functional relationship where 
we understand one another and we are business partners. That&amp;rsquo;s the way 
fighter-promoter relationships should be. My advice to younger fighters is 
that they should realize that their promoters are their business partners, 
and not their bosses. When a fighter realizes that, he puts himself in a 
better position to understand things from the business side. 

Yakovlev: I am told that Kushner inquired about matching you with Tyson  Fury, but that Fury&amp;rsquo;s people had no interest. I think you against Fury would  be an excellent fight. Any comments?  
Barrett: Ced called Fury&amp;rsquo;s people, but they said they&amp;rsquo;re not interested. If 
they&amp;rsquo;re not interested, then they not interested. A little while ago my 
trainer told me that Fury would be a good opponent for me. I said all right. 

Yakovlev: On Facebook you get a lot of messages from fans suggesting that  you fight Arreola. 

Barrett: Facebook fans ask me if I would like to fight Arreola. Yes, I 
would, but the money would have to be right. It would have to be an 
eliminator for the mandatory too, with the winner getting a title shot. 

Yakovlev: ESB has done a lot of articles about you in the past. As you  aware, ESB&amp;rsquo;s branding is that fans can post almost anything they want in the  comments section accompanying each story. I understand that some of 
our more outspoken members have caught your attention.  
Barrett:  It just bothers me when these guys who post comments &amp;ndash; who have no 
credentials, no authority &amp;ndash; say the things they do. These guys, who insult 
fighters, they&amp;rsquo;ve never thrown a punch. They are stupid with a capital &amp;ldquo;S.&amp;rdquo; 
They probably have beer bellies&amp;hellip;a girl could probably beat them. Some of the 
stuff they say here, under cover in the comments section, I&amp;rsquo;d like them to 
say that to me in person in New York City. Then I&amp;rsquo;d ask the Lord to forgive 
me. 
 Yakovlev: I&amp;rsquo;ve talked to several other well-known pro fighters who have  expressed annoyance with some of posters. I also know that Shannon Briggs  sometimes posts here and gives the less respectful fans a piece of his mind. 

Barrett: When I think about some of these ESB posters, or bloggers, I wish I 
could get just three minutes with one of them. They talk so much crap, but 
everyone knows they are just gangster bloggers. These guys couldn&amp;rsquo;t bust a 
grape in a food fight. Give me five minutes with them, no gloves, no ring, 
and no ref&amp;hellip;or even in a back alley or something. Just set it for me! 


Also, join    BoxingForecast for free and get a 1 free pick a week and full use of our    unique &amp;quot;Fight Predictor&amp;quot; which allow the fan to pick winners.&amp;nbsp; All  you   need is a valid email address and a password that you create. You can follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/boxingforecast and reach me by email at evan@boxingforecast.com

	&amp;amp;lt;ilayer  src=&amp;quot;http://www.mail2web.com/cgi-bin/banner/ad.asp?zone=110&amp;quot;&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;a  href=&amp;quot;http://myhosting.com/&amp;quot; target=&amp;quot;_blank&amp;quot;&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;img  src=&amp;quot;http://www.mail2web.com/images/banners/defaults/zone110.gif&amp;quot;  width=&amp;quot;160&amp;quot; height=&amp;amp;]]></description>
		
		
		<category><![CDATA[Fighter Profiles]]></category>
		
			
		<author> (Evan Young)</author>
		<pubDate>Mon, 26 Sep 2011 00:00:00 EST</pubDate>
		<comments>http://www.boxingforecast.com/blog/index.cfm?CommentID=342&#35;comments</comments>
		
		
		
	</item>
 
	<item>
		<title>Team Oquendo Nixes Banks Fight in Poland; Issues a Counter-Offer to Meet in Chicago, by Pavel Yakovlev</title>
		<link>http://www.boxingforecast.com/blog/index.cfm?CommentID=340</link>
		<description><![CDATA[


(September 4, 2011) - Next week&amp;rsquo;s bout between Johnathon Banks and Fres 
Oquendo is cancelled. The fight, scheduled for the undercard of WBC 
heavyweight champ Vitali Klitschko&amp;rsquo;s title defense against Tomasz Adamek in 
Wroclaw, Poland, has been rejected by Oquendo&amp;rsquo;s camp. Tom Tsatas, Oquendo&amp;rsquo;s 
manager, explained, &amp;ldquo;The circumstances weren&amp;rsquo;t right. We appreciate the 
offer to fight Banks, but we weren&amp;rsquo;t comfortable with certain things about 
the fight.&amp;rdquo; 



Interestingly, Tsatas issued a counter-offer for Banks to meet Oquendo in 
the United States.  &amp;ldquo;I will offer Johnathon Banks the same amount of money &amp;ndash; 
the equivalent of what they offered us for the Poland match &amp;ndash; for him to 
fight Fres in Chicago,&amp;rdquo; said Tsatas.  &amp;ldquo;They gave us a gift by offering Fres 
this fight, and we appreciate it. We would like to return the gift by 
offering Banks the same amount to fight here. In fact, if Fres does not 
knock out Banks in Chicago, I will double Banks&amp;rsquo;s purse. I am willing to put 
the money in escrow before the fight.&amp;rdquo; 

The chance to fight Banks, who is rated WBC #5 and IBF #10, was offered to 
Oquendo two weeks ago. Oquendo has spent the past month sparring with Vitali 
Klitschko at the latter&amp;rsquo;s training camp in Austria, and Banks is a long-term 
sparring partner for Vitali and his brother, IBF and WBO champion Wladimir. 
But Banks is handled by K2 Promotions, one of the promoters of the Wroclaw 
event. Thus, Oquendo and his team were leery of fighting as &amp;ldquo;the opponent&amp;rdquo; 
under circumstances controlled by Banks&amp;rsquo;s handlers. 

For Oquendo, the upside to the Banks fight was considerable, and the 
decision to reject the match was made only after careful deliberation. The 
bout appeared entirely winnable for the Puerto Rican slickster. He is every 
bit as quick as Banks, possesses a better defense, and exhibits superior 
footwork. Also, Banks is vulnerable to right-lead leads to the head, and one 
of Oquendo&amp;rsquo;s most dangerous weapons is his fast and crackling overhand 
right. Winning the bout would have yielded big rewards. By beating Banks, 
who holds the NABF title, Oquendo could have regained his place in the world 
world-ratings, a position he forfeited last year when he dropped a highly 
controversial decision Jean Marc Mormeck in the latter&amp;rsquo;s hometown of Paris. 

Ultimately, however, logic outweighed temptation in determining Oquendo&amp;rsquo;s 
decision. Tsatas explained, &amp;ldquo;We didn&amp;rsquo;t have a lot of time to make a decision 
here. Generally these fights get worked out months in advance. We didn&amp;rsquo;t 
want to pass up the opportunity to fight Banks, and I think Fres would knock 
him out. But the big issues for us were not having the proper training camp, 
and me not being there in Europe to help him prepare. For a fight like this, 
Fres usually has about 100 rounds of sparring, and that wasn&amp;rsquo;t even close to 
happening this time. Fres was in Austria primarily to help Vitali, and he 
wasn&amp;rsquo;t training for his own fight. After careful consideration, we decided 
that the circumstances weren&amp;rsquo;t right. We had to think logically about this.&amp;rdquo; 

Another problem for Team Oquendo was the bout&amp;rsquo;s length: only ten rounds. &amp;ldquo;We 
wanted it to be for 12 rounds, but that wasn&amp;rsquo;t a possibility. Banks&amp;rsquo;s title 
was on the line, but it was only scheduled for ten, which we didn&amp;rsquo;t like,&amp;rdquo; 
said Tsatas. 

&amp;ldquo;There&amp;rsquo;s no reason for two guys from the American Midwest to be fighting in 
Poland,&amp;rdquo; continued Tsatas. &amp;ldquo;These two should fight in Chicago. I think Fres 
probably knocks him out. I don&amp;rsquo;t think Banks can hold a candle to Fres. We&amp;rsquo;d 
love to get this fight set-up in Chicago.&amp;rdquo; 

Given Oquendo&amp;rsquo;s history of losing controversial decisions on cards staged by 
his opponents&amp;rsquo; promoters, he and his team can hardly be faulted for 
rejecting the bout. The possibility of Oquendo losing a &amp;ldquo;home arena&amp;rdquo; 
decision to Banks was not overlooked by experts. Evan Young, handicapper at 
www.boxingforecast.com, for one, raised this possibility last week while 
analyzing the bout. 

According to Young, &amp;quot;Fres Oquendo has excellent experience and even though 
he is a hard luck fighter, with many questionable decisions against him, no 
one has ever run right through him. He's athletic and awkward and if he's 
there physically, even in his late 30's, he will certainly not be 
overwhelmed by Johnathan Banks.  Banks is a decent fighter, with perhaps 
some vulnerabilities - i.e. chin, stamina. He wasn't awe inspiring with a 
draw against journeyman Jason Gavern a few fights ago. Knowing Oquendo's 
history, it will probably be another close and perhaps controversial bout, 
but one he is capable of winning, provided he is well prepared.&amp;quot;



Also, join   BoxingForecast for free and get a 1 free pick a week and full use of our   unique &amp;quot;Fight Predictor&amp;quot; which allow the fan to pick winners.&amp;nbsp; All you   need is a valid email address and a password that you create. You can follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/boxingforecast and reach me by email at evan@boxingforecast.com]]></description>
		
		
		<category><![CDATA[Boxing Commentary]]></category>
		
			
		<author> (Evan Young)</author>
		<pubDate>Mon, 05 Sep 2011 00:00:00 EST</pubDate>
		<comments>http://www.boxingforecast.com/blog/index.cfm?CommentID=340&#35;comments</comments>
		
		
		
	</item>
 
	<item>
		<title>Oliver McCall Wins Big Over Damian Wills in Houston Tonight; Will Face Kali Meehan Next, by Pavel Yakovlev</title>
		<link>http://www.boxingforecast.com/blog/index.cfm?CommentID=339</link>
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(August 20, 2010) - Oliver McCall pounded out a unanimous decision over
hometown favorite Damian Wills in Houston tonight. The scores were 97-93,
97-93, and 96-94. The victory earns McCall the World Boxing Foundation
International heavyweight title, and improves his record to 56-11 (37 KO&amp;rsquo;s).
McCall is now slated to face WBA #12 and IBF #9 ranked contender Kali Meehan
in an important eliminator in Australia two months from now. Wills falls to
30-3-1 (23 KO&amp;rsquo;s) as a result of the loss.



&amp;nbsp;

The 31-year-old Wills was widely expected to use his advantages in youth (15
years younger) and speed to outhustle McCall, who had lost two of his last
three bouts. After a few competitive opening rounds, however, McCall used
his superior punching power, physical strength, and greater ring savvy to
assume the upper hand.
&amp;nbsp;
McCall&amp;rsquo;s strong left jab was a key weapon tonight. &amp;ldquo;In the middle rounds, I
took control of the fight. I started hitting him with my jabs then. I busted
him up. He was cut under his left eye, and he was cut over and under the
right eye. He was also bleeding badly from inside the mouth,&amp;rdquo; said McCall.
&amp;ldquo;Basically, he started off pretty aggressive, but I knew he wears down in
the late rounds.&amp;rdquo;
&amp;nbsp;
According to McCall, &amp;ldquo;We traded&amp;hellip;there were a lot of punches landed. But I
could take his punches, and he couldn&amp;rsquo;t take mine. When I hit him, he got
cut and swollen, and he had to retreat. If he didn&amp;rsquo;t retreat, I would have
knocked him out. I had him severely hurt at least twice in the fight. He
also underestimated my defense.&amp;rdquo;
&amp;nbsp;
&amp;ldquo;He could punch a little bit, but I didn&amp;rsquo;t get hit with a lot of solid
punches,&amp;rdquo; McCall continued. &amp;ldquo;He doesn&amp;rsquo;t like pressure. When I came on and
hit him with power shots, he had to retreat and hold on.&amp;rdquo;
&amp;nbsp;
Ricky Fisler, McCall&amp;rsquo;s manager, stated that Wills was hurt in the seventh,
eighth, and tenth rounds. &amp;ldquo;Overall, I was confident, because Oliver got in a
lot of power shots,&amp;rdquo; said Fisler. &amp;ldquo;We had him going in two or three rounds.
Oliver won seven rounds out of it. I was a little worried about a robbery,
but it didn&amp;rsquo;t happen.&amp;rdquo;
&amp;nbsp;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;ldquo;I think Oliver was robbed against Cedric Boswell recently at the Hard Rock
in Hollywood, and I was afraid of a hometown decision happening again,&amp;rdquo;
explained Fisler.&amp;rdquo;Oliver did enough to beat Boswell. He hurt Boswell a
couple of times, and blocked most of Boswell&amp;rsquo;s punches on his arms and
gloves. So, if it happened in Hollywood, I thought it could happen here,
too. But it didn&amp;rsquo;t. We won.&amp;rdquo;
&amp;nbsp;
Interestingly, McCall himself was not worried about a hometown decision. &amp;ldquo;It
did not cross my mind that I would get robbed by the judges,&amp;rdquo; he stated. &amp;ldquo;I
had a feeling that they were going to be fair here. That&amp;rsquo;s a good thing. In
between rounds, my corner was a little worried about a robbery, but I told
them, &amp;lsquo;Look, I&amp;rsquo;m clearly winning the rounds. I&amp;rsquo;m busting him up.&amp;rsquo;&amp;rdquo;
&amp;nbsp;
Wills&amp;rsquo;s gutty performance won praise from McCall and Fisler. &amp;ldquo;I got nothing
negative to say about Wills,&amp;rdquo; said Fisler.&amp;rdquo;Oliver outclassed him, but he
hung in there. Wills was game; he had a lot of heart. I respect him.&amp;rdquo;
&amp;nbsp;
In recent fights, McCall had entered the ring weighing well above 250 lbs,
looking inadequately conditioned. Thus, many presumed that he lacked the
motivation to prepare to tonight&amp;rsquo;s match. But the naysayers were proven
wrong: McCall weighed 248 &amp;frac34; lbs tonight, more than ten pounds less than he
weighed last March for Boswell.
&amp;nbsp;
&amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;m pretty happy,&amp;rdquo; continued Fisler. &amp;ldquo;Recently Oliver had a little strain
in his back from playing basketball, so he couldn&amp;rsquo;t run for two or two and
half weeks. But he did well tonight. Now, we&amp;rsquo;re flying to Australia next and
that fight will put Oliver back in the top ten. Kali Meehan will not be able
to withstand Oliver&amp;rsquo;s pressure.&amp;rdquo;
&amp;nbsp;
Fisler is also interested in matching the rejuvenated McCall with other
leading heavyweights. He stated, &amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;d like to put a challenge out for anyone
in the top ten, including Odlanier Solis and Chris Arreola. Personally, I
believe Wills would have given both of those guys are really tough fight
tonight.&amp;rdquo;
&amp;nbsp;
Regarding his future plans, McCall sounded focused. &amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;m going to take two
days off, then get back in the gym. I&amp;lsquo;ll probably start my training on
Wednesday,&amp;rdquo; he explained. &amp;ldquo;I&amp;rsquo;m going to be getting my weight down to the
230&amp;rsquo;s. I&amp;rsquo;m also going to focus on getting more sparring. I didn&amp;rsquo;t have too
much sparring for this fight. I did have great sessions with Eric Molina in
the week before the fight, but that&amp;rsquo;s all I had. Now, I&amp;rsquo;m going to get
quality sparring consistently, and my training camp is going to be better
structured. We got a fight eliminator against Meehan in sixty days in
Australia. I&amp;rsquo;m going to be ready.&amp;rdquo;
&amp;nbsp;
McCall was the WBC world heavyweight champion in 1994-95. He won the
championship in London, famously stopping Lennox Lewis with a single
devastating right to the jaw. A year later, McCall lost the championship to
Frank Bruno via decision. McCall has been boxing professionally since 1985.  
&amp;nbsp;
&amp;nbsp;






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		<category><![CDATA[Lastest Boxing Sports News]]></category>
		
			
		<author> (Evan Young)</author>
		<pubDate>Sun, 21 Aug 2011 00:00:00 EST</pubDate>
		<comments>http://www.boxingforecast.com/blog/index.cfm?CommentID=339&#35;comments</comments>
		
		
		
	</item>
 
	<item>
		<title>Eric â¬SDrummer Boyâ¬ý Molina Ready to Make an Impact on the Heavyweight Division, by Pavel Yakovlev</title>
		<link>http://www.boxingforecast.com/blog/index.cfm?CommentID=337</link>
		<description><![CDATA[
Heavyweight Eric Molina is going places in boxing. Already rated 12th in the 
world by the WBC, Molina is expected to fight for a major regional title 
next month in Las Vegas. Should he win, as expected, Molina will likely 
enter the WBC&amp;rsquo;s top ten ratings. By any measure, this represents quick 
upward mobility. According to boxing insiders, there is good reason for 
Molina&amp;rsquo;s rapid advancement: he can fight. Currently 17-1 (13 KO&amp;rsquo;s) since 
turning professional in 2007, Molina shows poise and skill in the ring that 
is  more developed than would expected for a fighter of his experience 
level. 



Standing 6&amp;rsquo;5&amp;rdquo;, 225 lbs and packing considerable power in both mitts, Molina 
is known for his combination punching. Working behind a long, persistent 
left jab (his reach is 84&amp;rdquo;), Molina tends to throw punches in bundles, 
constantly complimenting his right handed powerpunching with hurtful left 
hooks to his opponents&amp;rsquo; ribs. 



Recently, Molina and his trainer Ricky Fisler took some time to answer 
questions. 

* * 
 *How did you get involved in boxing?* 

Eric Molina: I started boxing when I was 22 years old. My reason for 
starting boxing was to stay in shape. I was always an athlete, and I did 
sports in high school and college. I played a lot of football, baseball, and 
basketball. I had four amateur fights and then turned professional because I 
couldn&amp;rsquo;t be paired for many amateur fights. In Texas, there aren&amp;rsquo;t many 
amateur heavyweights. I had to drive all over the state looking for fights. 
My first fight as a professional was a loss on a Golden Boy card, but since 
then I have gone on to a 17 fight winning streak. 



Ricky Fisler: Where Eric comes from he is one of the tallest fighters, 
standing 6&amp;rsquo;5&amp;rdquo; and now weighting 235 lbs.The resources for a heavyweight in southern 
Texas are very limited, and we are now in the process of giving him all the 
resources he needs to compete in the heavyweight division. 



*I understand you grew up in Texas, and have a college background?* 

Eric Molina: I grew up in Lyford, which is about 25 minutes from the Mexican 
border. I am a third generation America. I graduated this year from South 
Texas University at Brownsville, and have a bachelor&amp;rsquo;s degree in 
interdisciplinary studies. 


 *What can you tell us about your fighting style?* 

 
Eric Molina: My style, I&amp;rsquo;d have to say, is very awkward. I take advantage of 
mistakes and look for openings. I am still developing every day. I&amp;rsquo;m a 
strong puncher, and my emphasis is on combination punching and pressure. 
Five punch combinations. But my best asset is using my mind to win, looking 
for openings, exploiting that that. Right now, I&amp;rsquo;m a young fighter in the 
heavyweight division. We&amp;rsquo;re developing a style to master, trying to keep it 
simple. 



Ricky Fisler: He&amp;rsquo;s very heavy handed, has long arms and great leverage. He&amp;rsquo;s 
got a lot of natural ability, great skills, and he has the potential to 
become a future champion. We are working with him to develop his ring 
generalship and to get him to utilize his 84&amp;rdquo; reach. 

  *Tell us about your management and training team.* 

 
Eric Molina: My conditioning coach from back home in Texas is Moe Cuellar, 
and I am trained by Al Bonanni and Ricky Fisler. I call them &amp;ldquo;Team Drummer 
Boy.&amp;rdquo; My manager is Jerry Attardi, who is from south Florida and has had 
several world champions. They are working together to help me get the 
resources I need to pursue a world title. 


 *Last year you signed a promotional contract with Don King. Any comments?* 

 
Eric Molina: I first met Don King when I went to Panama last year to spar 
with Guillermo Jones for his fight against Valeri Brudov. I am very proud to 
be signed with the number one promoter in the world, Don King. I know he has 
a plan for me and I trust that he will move me in the right direction. 


 *How did you get &amp;ldquo;Drummer Boy&amp;rdquo; as a ring name?* 

 
Eric Molina: I like the image of the drummer boy because of the courage they 
had as they led soldiers into a fight. The drummer boys were some of the 
most courageous guys ever to enter battle. They advanced against the enemy 
without weapons, armed with only their drumsticks. 



*Making the transition from high school and college athlete to boxer must  have been challenging. What kinds of obstacles, physically and  psychologically, did you have to overcome to successfully make the  transition?* 


Eric Molina: Well, it has never been easy for me. School and work were my 
priorities for a long time. I had to work to survive, and school is 
something I always knew I needed. Boxing started off as something that I 
just loved to do but didn&amp;rsquo;t pursue full time, at first, because I didn&amp;rsquo;t 
make enough money from it to survive. Combining all three, boxing, work, and 
school, was hard but I finally graduated and put myself in a position now to 
pursue my dream of winning a world title. 



*Can you tell us more about the combination punching you are working on in  the gym? * 


Eric Molina: Yeah, we&amp;rsquo;re just working on throwing combinations and moving, 
using my entire height and length, staying mobile and finishing defensive 
after combinations. I&amp;rsquo;m working on this in my second training camp, here in 
Florida, under Al Bonanni. Al brings a style of boxing that has proven to 
work and is successful. 



*How important is body punching to your style?* 


Eric Molina: Body punching is very important. I think heavyweights don&amp;rsquo;t do 
it enough. I try and keep a balance of head and body attacking as best as I 
can. 



*Tell us about your appreciation of Mexican and Mexican-American boxing  history. I understand that you watched many of the greats on television  before you took the sport up.* 

 
Eric Molina: I grew up watching Julio Cesar Chavez and Salvador Sanchez. I 
would watch the old fights, the replays. I&amp;rsquo;m proud of being a 
Mexican-American fighter without a doubt. We have some of the most diehard 
fans back at home in the Rio Grande Valley, hands down. In a weight class 
that has few Mexican-Americans, I can assure the people that I will 
represent myself with respect, class, courage, and dignity in everything I 
do. 



*You started out as a cruiserweight, and moved up to the unlimited division.  Only recently have you acquired the body mass necessary to function as a  full-blown heavyweight, in that your weight increased from the 195 lbs range  to over 220 lbs. Was that an easy physical transition to make? * 


Eric Molina: I didn&amp;rsquo;t really have to put on the weight. When I was a 
cruiserweight, I was walking around at 225 lbs. In training, we had to work 
on getting my weight down more than working on tactics, and it was a drain. 
Moving up was the best thing I could do. I don&amp;rsquo;t think it was good, 
health-wise, to try to keep making the 200 lbs weight limit. 



Ricky Fisler: Yeah, it was an easy transition for him to make. As a 
cruiserweight, Eric always struggled to make 200 lbs. He stands 6&amp;rsquo;5&amp;rdquo;, and 
that weight limit would be hard to make for anyone that height. He had to 
spend more time working on losing weight than working on the fundamentals 
and technique. Now, at heavyweight, he has finally grown into his body. He 
weighs 235 lbs now, and is still growing into his frame as a heavyweight. 
   
]]></description>
		
		
		<category><![CDATA[Fighter Profiles]]></category>
		
			
		<author> (Evan Young)</author>
		<pubDate>Sat, 06 Aug 2011 00:00:00 EST</pubDate>
		<comments>http://www.boxingforecast.com/blog/index.cfm?CommentID=337&#35;comments</comments>
		
		
		
	</item>
 
	<item>
		<title>Ready for Battle, Sergei Liakhovich Heads to Germany to Bruise Robert Helenius Later This Month, by Pavel Yakovlev</title>
		<link>http://www.boxingforecast.com/blog/index.cfm?CommentID=338</link>
		<description><![CDATA[
Sergei Liakhovich is making big moves in boxing again. On August 27th, he
faces top contender Robert Helenius for the WBA and WBO Inter-Continental
heavyweight title belts. In the event of a victory, Liakhovich will catapult
to the top of the heavyweight rankings, returning close to the position he
held several years ago when he reigned as the WBO world champion. Although
Helenius will enjoy the advantage of fighting in his home arena in Germany,
there are reasons he may be in for a surprise. 



Currently 25-3 (16 KO&amp;rsquo;s) as a professional, Liakhovich is probably the best 
in-fighter that Helenius has ever met. If Liakhovich can get past his 
opponent&amp;rsquo;s long left jab and powerful left-hook, he stands an excellent 
chance of winning. Liakhovich is known for his punishing left-hook to the 
body, a blow he used to dominate Lamon Brewster to win the WBO world title 
in 2006. The towering Helenius (he&amp;rsquo;s 6&amp;rsquo;7&amp;rdquo;) likes to keep his opponents on 
the outside, and has yet to prove that he can hold his own in a grueling 
close quarters contest. 



Recently, Liakhovich shared his views about his career, training, and 
Helenius in an interview. 

* * 
*What are your thoughts about your next opponent, Robert Helenius?* 


Liakhovich: He is a good fighter, but he has never been tested. 

*How do you expect this fight to play out in the ring? Obviously, Helenius
has a height and reach advantage, and he can jab. I imagine a big part of
your strategy involves slipping and getting past Helenius's jab? * 


Liakhovich: I will beat him in what he does not-so-well and take away what 
he does well 
*What are your impressions of Helenius's power? He is known to have a heavy left hook. *  

Liakhovich: He has good one-two and he has decent left hook. Of course, he 
will use it if you let him use it. 
*One criticism of Helenius, among some boxing people at least, is that he doesn't like to deal with pressure. Have you noticed anything like this in Helenius's films?* 

 
Liakhovich: We will see how he responds to what I bring in the ring; he 
never fought a guy with my skills. 

*In fight like this (Helenius) durability, stamina, and infighting ability will be important, obviously. To beat someone like Helenius, you will need to fight very much as you did against Lamon Brewster, and to dominate Helenius on the inside. Any comments? * 

 
Liakhovich: Helenius and Brewster are two different fighters. I have to 
prepare for Helenius differently. I will be ready for this fight 100%. 


*It will be helpful also, in this fight, to be able to stop Helenius with any single power punch, particularly if the fight turns into a brawl and it goes into the later rounds. What are your thoughts about your capacity to end a fight with a single, powerful punch, if necessary?* 

 
Liakhovich: I will be prepared for 12 hard rounds, but I will be ready to 
take him out any time. 

* * 

*Tell us about growing up in Vitebsk.* 


Liakhovich: First of all, it&amp;rsquo;s a beautiful city, on a big river, the West 
Dwina. Very nice, pretty city&amp;hellip;immense woods around, and it&amp;rsquo;s pretty humid 
too. Sometimes, in the summer, it&amp;rsquo;s 95 percent humidity. I spent my entire 
life there when I was young. 


*How did you get into boxing?* 


Liakhovich: Before boxing, I was a wrestler for three years. One year Greco 
roman, and two years free style. My father and I watched boxing on 
television, in 1988 we watched the Olympics on television. The welterweight 
gold medal was won by Vyacheslav Yanovsky&amp;hellip;he is from my city. That was the 
last Olympic gold medal won by the Soviet Union. After this, I became a 
boxer. 


*You were inactive for a long-time following the Valuev fight. Any comments?* 


Liakhovich: I waited for the Valuev fight for so damned long; the fight was 
scheduled and rescheduled, back and forth. Then what happened, when I fought 
him, two and a half weeks before the fight, I got an injury in my shoulder. 
This is not an excuse. I did what I did. At the same time, I was not the 
same Sergei Liakhovich who fought Brewster. For Valuev, I was just a shadow 
of that fighter. After the fight, I took a long time off to let the shoulder 
hell. The doctor told me that the injury required plenty of rest, and that I 
needed to take time off, and then go through strength therapy. I consulted 
several doctors. One said I needed surgery, and another said no surgery was 
needed. A third doctor said something else. I didn&amp;rsquo;t know, so I just took 
time off. 


*Who is training you now, and what are you working on in the gym?* 


Liakhovich: My trainer is Kenny Weldon. He was in my corner when I won the 
world title. I studied with Kenny for five or six years before I began 
working with Tommy Brooks. Kenny and I work on so many specific things&amp;hellip;great 
leg movements. It&amp;rsquo;s looking better and better every day. I&amp;rsquo;m sparring with 
lots of different guys too. 
  *Your best career performance was in 2006 against Lamon Brewster, whom you&amp;nbsp; beat in an action packed slugfest. You won the WBO world heavyweight championship that night, and some of the industry&amp;rsquo;s leading analysts were sufficiently impressed that they speculated you might be the world&amp;rsquo;s best heavyweight at the time. What are your memories of this fight?* 


Liakhovich: Oh man (laughs)&amp;hellip;so many guys are talking about this fight, and 
what a great fight it was. They say they want to see it again (laughs). 
Lamon, at the time, was the best guy out there. He fought everyone, 
overseas, too. He had a great weapon in his left hook. We beat him by taking 
his left hook away&amp;hellip;that was our strategy. His left hook is different from 
everybody&amp;rsquo;s left hook, it is an inside punch. To neutralize this, we decided 
I would stay on my right leg and move to my right really fast. He would move 
forward throw the left hook, and I would move to my right and throw a body 
punch. 

 *I find it amazing that you neutralized Brewster&amp;rsquo;s left hook by moving to your right. I would have thought that moving to your right would make you more vulnerable to the left hook. * 


Liakhovich: People would say &amp;ldquo;you are crazy to move to your right, into his 
left hook,&amp;rdquo; but you need to watch how he throws his left hook, and you will 
see how to neutralize it. We watched his fights before my fight. He caught 
Krasniqi with a great left hook and finished him; that was a great fight. We 
watched this fight many times and figured out how he did this. 


*An early important win for you was against Friday Ahunanya. Although Ahunanya is not rated, he is a very tough fringe contender, and beating him carries value. That win put your name on the map as an up-and-coming pro. Any comments?*  

Liakhovich: At that time, I sparred so many rounds with Friday, we knew each 
other so well. I made a lot of mistakes in that fight, but won anyway. At 
that time, I didn&amp;rsquo;t have much professional experience. I was pretty green at 
the time. 



*In 2004, you beat Dominick Guinn, who was world-rated at the time. That victory established you as a legitimate contender. What are you memories of this fight?*  

Liakhovich: Dominick is a good fighter, too. He has a pretty good left hook. 
We neutralized this punch, and had a pretty good strategy, too. We put 
everything into the fight and I thank god for the win. 


*Who is promoting you now?* 

Liakhovich: I&amp;rsquo;m with Main Events now, with Kathy Duva. 


*What are your strengths in the ring?* 


Liakhovich: Everything, the whole package. I can punch, I can box, and I can 
move, everything. 


*What are your weaknesses, especially flaws that you are fixing?* 


Liakhovich: Every fighter has weaknesses. I don&amp;rsquo;t know what to say about 
this (laughs)&amp;hellip;we&amp;rsquo;re working on this. 


*Do you have any other comments for the fans?* 


Liakhovich: I appreciate everyone's support. I am very grateful to god for
this opportunity and everything in my life. We are working on my new website
www.whitewolfboxing.com , it will be up and running soon and I would like
for everyone to visit it. I will have a lot great information on it and
updates.
   
]]></description>
		
		
		<category><![CDATA[Fighter Profiles]]></category>
		
			
		<author> (Evan Young)</author>
		<pubDate>Sat, 06 Aug 2011 00:00:00 EST</pubDate>
		<comments>http://www.boxingforecast.com/blog/index.cfm?CommentID=338&#35;comments</comments>
		
		
		
	</item>
 
	<item>
		<title>Boricua prospects shine in New York!  by Evan Young</title>
		<link>http://www.boxingforecast.com/blog/index.cfm?CommentID=336</link>
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June 11, 2011. Roseland   Ballroom, New York. New York City has a strong Puerto Rican fan base and the ones that came out to the Roseland Ballroom on West 52rd were treated to a slew of promising young hopefuls who all passed their respective tests, some easier than others.&amp;nbsp; The shows were appropriately named Boricua Invasion I &amp;amp; II. &amp;nbsp;Friday nights Boricua card was televised on ESPN2 while Showtime picked up Saturday&amp;rsquo;s event.
Boricua Invasion I &amp;nbsp;- Friday, June 10, 2011  
In the main event Kenny Galarza won a 10 round split decision over grizzled veteran Irving Garcia. And truth be told, the decision went to the wrong guy. Galarza was heavy handed as advertised, with all 14 of his previous wins coming inside the distance, landing some telling body shots early in the fight. But Garcia, who has mixed with top opposition, was able to utilize his jab and as the fight went on, his right hand began to find the mark with regularity. Galarza appeared the stronger guy early on and was probably ahead after 5 rounds but he simply had no answer to Garcia&amp;rsquo;s boxing ability as the fight went on. 
Galarza began to fade badly after the 6th round and the subsequent rounds become more one sided in Garcia&amp;rsquo;s favor. By the fights end, Galarza was lumped up around the eyes and was well worn out. Garcia was coming into the fight off of three consecutive defeats but the veteran always comes to fight and unfortunately, the obviously nonessential Garcia was given the shaft. And sadly, not many will notice or care. While I felt the decision was poor, the bout was decent with both men giving their best in a spirited contest.
In the co-main event Thomas Dulorme was too young and good for former title holder DeMarcus Corley as he won going away via wide unanimous decision. Many figured Dulorme to add another KO to his 11-0 (10 KO&amp;rsquo;s) ledger but Corley, while past his best, is a good survivor and will usually make it to the finish line. Corley tried to box but he wasn&amp;rsquo;t busy enough to really trouble Dulorme. Dulorme did drop and hurt Corley hard in the 3rd round, but for the most part he gave the veteran respect and was content to pick his spots and put some rounds of experience on his ledger. Corley was also content to keep the fight safe and never went on an all out assault during the bout. It was a contest where neither man wanted to make a mistake but at this stage of the game, Dulorme was simply better in every way and easily cruised home for the win in a fairly slow paced bout. 
Boricua Invasion II &amp;ndash; Saturday, June 11. 2011
In the main event talented Luis Orlando Del Valle passed a demanding test in dead game Dat Nguyen in a grueling 10 round decision win. It was obvious early that Del Valle was the faster and more talented fighter. But Nyugen tried with all his might to overcome Del Valle&amp;rsquo;s skill with an iron will. And Nyugen did some good work by imposing his will when he could. And if Del Valle took a moments rest Nyugen was right there forcing the fight. But Del Valle showed great skill and intensity himself. He simply wouldn&amp;rsquo;t allow the determined Nyugen to take the play away from him. After battling hard for 6 rounds, Del Valle was finally able to hurt the granite chinned Nyugen in the 7th round. Nyugen finally seemed to hit a wall and the last 3 rounds were quite one sided. At that point Nyugen almost seemed too tough for his own good but he was able to hang in there and fight back just enough to avoid getting stopped.This was an excellent action fight. 

In the co-main event puncher Jonathan Gonzalez was forced to go the distance for the 1st time as&amp;nbsp; a pro as crafty, and experienced Richard Gutierrez gave Gonzalez excellent work in their bout. Gonzalez won the decision by scores of 99-91 and 98-92 twice but the bout seemed more competitive than that. The judges had the rightful winner but I thought Gutierrez won 3, perhaps 4 rounds. But this was good work for Gonzalez. He didn&amp;rsquo;t have a guy he could run over and learned a lot in the fight. Gutierrez was able to cover up and counter off the ropes and landed his jab with regularity. But Gonzalez was the heavier handed guy and closed well, landing some of his better punches late in the fight. These guys both put forth a solid effort. 

I thought that the matchup&amp;rsquo;s were all decent. All the prospects had live bodies in front of them and had to work hard and go more rounds than they have been used to. Galarza was the only fighter with a&amp;nbsp; previous loss, (Brad Solomon) and it&amp;rsquo;s clear he will struggle with competent boxers. But all of these young fighters will be better from their experiences in these bouts.&amp;nbsp; Of the 4 featured prospects that fought on Friday and Saturday, I was most impressed with Luis Orlando Del Valle. He clearly had the most dogged opponent in front of him and he displayed skill, power and fought very hard for a full 10 rounds. And I&amp;rsquo;d have to say they all have bright futures and I am looking forward to tracking their development over the next few years. You will be seeing them again. 

Also, join   BoxingForecast for free and get a 1 free pick a week and full use of our   unique &amp;quot;Fight Predictor&amp;quot; which allow the fan to pick winners.&amp;nbsp; All you   need is a valid email address and a password that you create. You can follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/boxingforecast and reach me by email at evan@boxingforecast.com
 
&amp;nbsp;
&amp;nbsp;]]></description>
		
		
		<category><![CDATA[Latest Boxing Results]]></category>
		
			
		<author> (Evan Young)</author>
		<pubDate>Mon, 13 Jun 2011 00:00:00 EST</pubDate>
		<comments>http://www.boxingforecast.com/blog/index.cfm?CommentID=336&#35;comments</comments>
		
		
		
	</item>
 
	<item>
		<title>Can Mosley derail the Pacquiao express?  By Evan Young</title>
		<link>http://www.boxingforecast.com/blog/index.cfm?CommentID=335</link>
		<description><![CDATA[Every time Pacquiao fights it is an event as he is not only boxing&amp;rsquo;s  best fighter, he is also the sports most popular boxer. You couldn&amp;rsquo;t  write Pacquiao&amp;rsquo;s script any better than the way it has played out.
  A poor, skinny Filipino kid with nothing, leaving home as a preteen for  the big city of Manila to navigate his life through the brutal prize  rings in hopes of something better. No one could have imagined that when  the 106 pound Pacquiao turned pro at 16 he would win titles in 8  different divisions, become a Congressman and essentially become a brand  name.
  Mosley has cultivated a hall of fame boxing career in his own right.  Raised in middle class surroundings, Mosley became a quick study on the  Southern California boxing scene as an amateur. He won major titles,  nearly made the Olympic team and become somewhat of a legend as a kid by  getting the better of many hardened Mexican fighters while only a  teenager in legendary gym wars that are prevalent in many So. Cal boxing  gyms.
  Mosley has had a hugely successful pro career and has only lost to  excellent world champions and was arguably, when he was a lightweight,  one of the best at the weight in recent years. His best career moments  were 2 wins over then Golden Boy, Oscar de la Hoya and a surprising win  over Antonio Margarito when no one gave him a chance.
  When Mosley won the lightweight title in 1997, Pacquiao was still a  flyweight and had lost the previous year by KO to 110 pound Rustico  Torrecampo.  If anyone said at that time that Pacquiao and Mosley would  meet in 2011 and that Pacquiao would be a prohibitive favorite, that  person would have been deemed certifiable. But here we are in 2011 and  that is the case.
  By the time Pacquiao was KO&amp;rsquo;d a 2nd time in 1999 as a 113 pound fighter,  Mosley was making his welterweight debut against rugged contender  Wilfredo Rivera. Mosley would go on to upset undefeated Oscar de la Hoya  in 2000 to become king of the sport while Pacquiao had moved up to 122  after that KO loss and winning the flyweight title along the way.
  Pacquiao came into American prominence when he upset Lehlohonolo Ledwaba  in 2001 to win a super bantamweight title. Two years later Pacquiao&amp;rsquo;s  legend was beginning to forge when he stopped Mexican standout Marco  Antonio Barrera.
  Mosley beat de la Hoya in a rematch in 2003 after losing his title to  Vernon Forrest, who was an excellent fighter. Mosley dropped 2 fights to  much larger Winky Wright in 2004 and many thought Mosley was done at  that point.
  In 2004, Pacquiao had entered the sweepstakes to compete for top billing  in the 126-130 pound divisions with the likes of Eric Morales, Juan  Manuel Marquez and Barrera.  Pacquiao ended up drawing and beating the  great Juan Manuel Marquez in 2 razor thin bouts. Pacquiao&amp;rsquo;s last loss  came against the great Eric Morales in 2005 which Pacquiao avenged with 2  emphatic KO victories. With his final wins at that weight over Barrera  again and Marquez, Pacquiao was the last man standing at 130 pounds and  became known as the Mexicutioner.
  Meanwhile, Mosley worked himself back to a welterweight title against  tricky Luis Collazo in 2007 and looked good in losing a narrow decision  to then best welterweight Miguel Cotto. Mosley reached the boxing  pinnacle again when he utterly dismantled Antonio Margarito in early  2009 after Margarito had given Cotto a bad beating 6 months previous.
  But Mosley was brought back to earth when, expect for one fleeting  moment, he was dominated on all fronts against Floyd Mayweather in 2010.  Subsequently, Mosley drew with Sergio Mora in a tepid bout where no one  really distinguished themselves.
  After Pacquiao left the 130 pound division in 2008, this is where his  quest at the implausible began. He moved to 135 and KO&amp;rsquo;d lightweight  title holder David Diaz. Then moved up 2 more division&amp;rsquo;s and challenged  the much bigger Oscar de la Hoya. People were scared for Pacquiao&amp;rsquo;s  health. Turned out to be an epic mismatch in Pacquiao&amp;rsquo;s favor. Pacquiao  then starches the world best 140 pounder Ricky Hatton in 2 rounds, then  dominates 3 huge and strong welterweights in succession; Miguel Cotto,  Joshua Clottey and Antonio Margarito.
  The fact that Pacquiao become a top shelf 126-130 pound fighter is not a  surprise but what he has done since then is virtually unparalleled.  It&amp;rsquo;s amazing to think that a former minimumweight fighter, boxing&amp;rsquo;s  lightest division, Pacquiao has become the best 147 pound fighter on the  planet (and boxing&amp;rsquo;s pound for pound best) is almost beyond the realm  of possibility.
  So after my long winded history lesson, how will this fight shake out?  Well, I think Pacquiao holds all the cards in this fight. I think he&amp;rsquo;s  better in every way.  I believe he has better skills, is the faster man  and is the harder puncher.
  I believe his conditioning is better than Mosley&amp;rsquo;s. Mosley tends to  labor late in fights and simply cannot bring the work rate that Pacquiao  does. He fatigued badly against Mayweather in a moderately paced fight  and in his last bout against Sergio Mora, he fought in spots and got hit  quite a bit.
  They have 3 common opponents in Oscar de la hoya, Miguel Cotto and  Antonio Margarito. Mosley beat de la Hoya in 2 close bouts. Pacquiao  annihilated de la Hoya. Cotto and Mosley fought to virtual draw while  Pacquiao took Cotto apart piece by piece. Mosley stopped Margarito in 9  one sided rounds while Pacquiao badly punished Margarito for 12 rounds,  literally breaking his face.
  De la Hoya was probably past his best when he fought Pacquiao but he  claimed he was well prepared and had lost a split decision to Floyd  Mayweather only a year earlier. The Cotto that each man faced was  comparable but the most glaring common foe to me was Margarito.
  The Margarito that Mosley faced was a weight depleted shell after  indulging in a 6 month party after defeating Cotto and having to drop  nearly 40 pounds in less than a month to face Mosley. On the other hand,  the Margarito that Pacquiao faced was primed and in incredible shape.  He was in training, had an excellent camp and was as well prepared for  Pacquiao.
  And yet, even though Pacquiao didn&amp;rsquo;t stop Margarito, his performance was  more impressive because of what Margarito brought to that fight. And  through a few rough patches, Pacquiao laid a beating on Margarito that  most couldn&amp;rsquo;t have endured except a teak tough, supremely trained  fighter, which Margarito was that night. That Margarito, I believe,  would have beaten the Mosley that had beaten him 2 years earlier.
  I think Mosley&amp;rsquo;s lack of a tight defense and Pacquiao&amp;rsquo;s speed and volume  are going to make this a very tough night for Mosley. And as an aside,  people think of Pacquiao as little and quick, but make no mistake, he is  physically incredibly strong at this weight, even stronger than Mosley.  Pacquiao carries a good deal of weight in his thick trunk and those  legs are fully functional with an uncanny ability to move in and out and  side to side.
  Mosley does have a good chin and has never been stopped but I think he  has a difficult task to make to go the route in this bout. Even the best  chins will break after repeated punishment. Margarito, who is as tough  as they come, was nearly stopped early in his fight with Pacquiao and  perhaps should have been stopped later but for some mercy on Pacquiao&amp;rsquo;s  part coupled with an apparently sadistic referee.
  But barring extreme generosity on Pacquiao&amp;rsquo;s part late in the fight, I  do not think Mosley can make it the route. He is tough and determined  enough to do some rounds but I think he&amp;rsquo;s going to be taking heavy,  punishing shots from the outset and over time will be broken down.  Couple that with Pacquiao getting stronger and Mosley fading in the 2nd  half of the bout and I think we are looking at about 10 rounds of  fighting. I&amp;rsquo;m going for a comprehensive Pacquiao victory by KO somewhere  around the 9th or the 10th round.
Caveat: It must be stated that Pacquiao, despite being a monster in the ring, is  a genuinely nice guy and does not want to really hurt anyone badly  which completely belies this sport and his physicality. I&amp;rsquo;m only  pointing this out because if Mosley does manage to limp into the 11th  round, the possibility does exist that Pacquiao will take his foot off  the gas pedal. But I still lean towards the stoppage win for Pacquiao  because of the style match up and qualities that Pacquiao brings to the  dance. And Pacquiao&amp;rsquo;s coach Freddie Roach wants the KO as a tool to say  to potential Pacquiao opponent Floyd Mayweather, &amp;ldquo;Hey, look, I did this  better than you.&amp;rdquo; And truth be told, sometimes a KO saves a fighter from  a protracted beating and excess damage. Freddie needs to tell Manny  that.
Also, join   BoxingForecast for free and get a 1 free pick a week and full use of our   unique &amp;quot;Fight Predictor&amp;quot; which allow the fan to pick winners.&amp;nbsp; All you   need is a valid email address and a password that you create. 

  Other picks out right now:
 Diego Magdaleno vs. Gilberto Sanchez Leon
Sebastian Sylvester vs. Daniel Geale
Ray Narh vs. Mike Alvarado
Librado Andrade vs. Aaron Pryor Jr.
 You can follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/boxingforecast and reach me by email at evan@boxingforecast.com]]></description>
		
		
		<category><![CDATA[Boxing Review]]></category>
		
			
		<author> (Evan Young)</author>
		<pubDate>Thu, 05 May 2011 00:00:00 EST</pubDate>
		<comments>http://www.boxingforecast.com/blog/index.cfm?CommentID=335&#35;comments</comments>
		
		
		
	</item>
 
	<item>
		<title>Timur Ibragimov: â¬SYou Got to Take Risks Sometimes, or You Never Achieve Anything,â¬ý by Pavel Yakovlev</title>
		<link>http://www.boxingforecast.com/blog/index.cfm?CommentID=334</link>
		<description><![CDATA[



(April 27, 2010) &amp;ndash; Timur Ibragimov had a big year in 2010. He fought five times,  winning four, including an impressive victory over Oliver McCall for the NABA  heavyweight championship. Positioned on the fringe of the world rankings at the  start of the year, Ibragimov rose as high as seventh worldwide in the WBA  ratings, and is currently rated 12th by the same organization. Ibragimov&amp;rsquo;s lone  defeat &amp;ndash; a close split decision against world rated Jean-Marc Mormeck in the  latter&amp;rsquo;s hometown of Paris &amp;ndash; only marginally undercut the value of his  accomplishments in 2010. Still in the mix because of his high WBA rating,  Ibragimov is hoping to meet a top contender in an elimination bout later this  year.
&amp;nbsp;

Recently, this correspondent held an interview with Ibragimov.  Among the subjects discussed was the Mormeck fight. Unbeknownst to the public,  Ibragimov entered the bout nursing a strained achilles heel, a recurring injury  that dated back to the summer of 2010. This correspondent had access to  Ibragimov&amp;rsquo;s camp prior to his Gurcharan Singh and Luis Andres Pineda fights (in  August and October respectively), and can attest to the reality of the injury.  Ibragimov&amp;rsquo;s trainer Lou Lagerman, in fact, nearly cancelled the Pineda bout due  to concern about whether the injury had healed. Ibragimov&amp;rsquo;s attitude, however,  was that he could fight as long as the achilles problem was not too severe.  Hence, he accepted a chance to fight Mormeck on short notice when Hasid Raman  withdrew from a scheduled match against the Frenchman. Unfortunately for  Ibragimov, bad luck intervened: his heel popped in the fifth round, and he was  compelled to abandon his fight plan of using his legs.
&amp;nbsp;
In the fight film, Ibragimov can be seen leaning back on his right  foot excessively starting in the fifth round. The injury afflicted Ibragimov&amp;rsquo;s  left ankle, and undermined his ability to move laterally and box at long range.  Unable to stick and move, Ibragimov was compelled to maul with Mormeck, with  disappointing results. The Uzbekistani fought far below the form he showed last  summer against McCall, whom he beat by using fleet-footed lateral movement and  long range boxing skill. Nonetheless, the Mormeck fight was very closely  contested. In spite of his handicap, Ibragimov connected consistently enough  with rights to the body that most of the rounds could legitimately have gone to  either boxer.
&amp;nbsp;
Ibragimov&amp;rsquo;s record currently stands at 30-3-1 (16 KO&amp;rsquo;s). At age 36,  he is still within his peak fighting years as a heavyweight (note that the  average age of BOXREC&amp;rsquo;s top 25 heavyweights is 34). Ibragimov possesses the  tricky boxing style, durability (he has never been off of his feet as a pro),  and experience to rate a serious chance of upsetting many of the leading names  in his division.
&amp;nbsp;
2010 was a  big year for you. At the beginning of the year, you were unranked, basically  regarded as a top 25 fighter on the fringe of the ratings. Now you are ranked  WBA #12 and are eligible for a title shot. What are your thoughts about your  progress?
IBRAGIMOV: I am very happy with my accomplishments last year. I had  some of the toughest fights of my career, and I fought five times. I don&amp;rsquo;t think  heavyweight contenders have that many fights in one year anymore.
&amp;nbsp;
Promotionally, you have undergone several changes this past year,  and are now a free agent. Any comments?
IBRAGIMOV: I had a contract with Yuri Fedorov at the beginning of  2010 and fought for the International Boxing Association title. Later on I had a  contract with Heavyweight Factory, they gave me an opportunity to fight Oliver  McCall, and I won the NABA title. I requested to be released from the contract  after the Mormeck fight.
&amp;nbsp;
So  Heavyweight Factory did not drop you. They wanted to keep you, but you asked  them to give you a release?
IBRAGIMOV: Yes, that is correct. We had good work together with  Heavyweight Factory, but I decided that it&amp;rsquo;s time for a bigger promoter or be a  free agent.
&amp;nbsp;
Your big  win in 2010 was over Oliver McCall for the NABA title. McCall was definitely in  shape for that fight. What are your thoughts about the McCall  win?
IBRAGIMOV:&amp;nbsp; He was really  strong&amp;hellip;he has tremendous power. He was very well prepared for the fight and  really came to destroy me; he weighed 244 lbs, his best weight in a long  time.&amp;nbsp; It was a good performance; I  showed I had everything&amp;hellip;the chin, boxing ability, and the punch. I think that  was my best fight. I showed that I could take punches and throw punches at the  same time&amp;hellip;that I could slug and exchange punches. McCall was a very tough  contender and an important fight for me.
&amp;nbsp;



Against  McCall, you won the first five rounds, and the final four rounds. However,  McCall came on strong in the middle rounds, and appeared to have taken control  of the fight. Were you concerned at all during the middle  rounds?
IBRAGIMOV: Not really, I knew I was winning most of the rounds and  I was not worried, even when I started &amp;ldquo;fighting&amp;rdquo; with him in the middle rounds.  But as soon as I went back to my corner after the eighth, Lou told me to stop  fighting, and to start moving again. So I stayed disciplined and boxed McCall  after that. That was the strategy for that fight&amp;hellip;to know when to defend, know  when to punch and attack, and not go crazy.
&amp;nbsp;
In the  ninth, you got back on your feet and regained control of the fight. In the final  rounds, you landed many right hands on McCall. Were you tempted to go after him  to try to get a knockout?
IBRAGIMOV: Yes, but we know what happens when you start landing  punches&amp;hellip;you lose your discipline. With guys like Oliver, you have to be careful  knowing that one big punch can get you destroyed. Look what he did to Lennox  Lewis. Oliver destroyed him with one punch. Our plan was to beat Oliver by  decision. If his legs were weak, then I would go for the knockout. But Oliver  had an incredible chin, and his legs never wobbled. This is why I stayed  disciplined with him. Sometimes when you are landing punches you don&amp;rsquo;t think  about punches coming back at you, and you get in trouble. I punched a couple  times with hard punches, but he took it well, so it was not a good idea to try  to knock him out. With Oliver, it&amp;rsquo;s very dangerous to get close&amp;hellip;he can knock you  out with one punch.
&amp;nbsp;



After  beating McCall, you fought Gurcharan Singh, who turned out to be a very tough  and much underrated opponent. How tough was the Singh fight, and what are your  impressions of Gurcharan?
IBRAGIMOV: He was really tough; I could see that he really wanted  to win. But before the fight they told me that he was an easy opponent, and that  I would knock him out easily because he was not active. But that did not sound  right&amp;hellip;I knew Gurcharan was better than that. He almost won the Olympics, and had  a 20-0 record. He ended up being a tough contender.
&amp;nbsp;
In  December, you accepted a bout against Jean-Marc Mormeck with only three weeks to  prepare. The fight took place in Mormeck&amp;rsquo;s hometown, Paris, and was promoted by  Mormeck&amp;rsquo;s promotional company. You lost a very close, very hard fought split  decision. Any comments?
IBRAGIMOV: The fight was a big opportunity for me; I was told that  it would be for WBA #3 ranking. At the time, I was in Sweden sparring with  Attila Levin, to help him get ready for Helenius. Attila is a different kind of  fighter than Mormeck; Attila is bigger, has a different style, and is different  physically. If I was home in Florida, I would have prepared for Mormeck by  sparring with Darnell Wilson, who is like Mormeck physically and stylistically.  That would have been great preparation. Unfortunately I didn&amp;rsquo;t have a chance to  spar with Darnell when I was training for Mormeck. Too bad.
&amp;nbsp;
You also  had recurring problems with your achilles heel in the months before the Mormeck  fight. Despite this, you took the fight anyway. Any  comments?
IBRAGIMOV: I made a bad decision in taking the fight with my hurt  achilles, but I had this opportunity, so I took it. We Russians say:&amp;nbsp; &amp;ldquo;You have to take risks sometimes, if you  don&amp;rsquo;t, you never achieve anything.&amp;rdquo; But the fight was at the wrong time for me,  with the achilles problem.
&amp;nbsp;
Many  observers believe the fight was so close that the decision could legitimately  have been given to either fighter (note: in rounds, this correspondent scored  the match 6-5-1 for Ibragimov, and 5-5-1 after the point deduction). Yet you  have never claimed you were robbed, even though the fight took place in  Mormeck&amp;rsquo;s hometown. Why have you been so modest?
IBRAGIMOV: Because I learned this attitude from my amateur career.  As soon as the fight&amp;rsquo;s over and they raise the hand of the opponent, that&amp;rsquo;s it.  What can you do? What is done is done. Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose.  Also, the way I see it, I go to Mormeck&amp;rsquo;s city, so I know I have to drop him to  win. In a fight like this, you have to drop the other guy. I knew that before I  went to Paris. I went there and I did not drop him, so that&amp;rsquo;s it. No complaints.  If I lost the fight, I lost the fight.
&amp;nbsp;
After  getting off to a strong start against Mormeck, you lost most of the middle  rounds. I thought Mormeck won the fifth through the ninth. But you turned the  tide in the tenth, connecting with hurtful rights to the ribs, which appeared to  slow Mormeck down. I gave the final three rounds to you. Any  comments?
IBRAGIMOV: Yeah, when I started hitting him to the body with my  right, I could see the changes; he stopped moving and started grabbing. But I  could not really move because of my achilles. I had to lean back all the time  because of that.
&amp;nbsp;
You went to  Paris reasonably confident that the achilles injury was under control, that it  would not be an issue. Then the injury flared up during the middle rounds. The  symptoms were clear: I watched the fight with a boxing trainer, and he was able  to notice the injury because of your foot movement. Any  comments?
IBRAGIMOV: If you watch the fight, you can see that I could not  move after six rounds. I could not bounce on my feet anymore because of my  heel.&amp;nbsp; My plan to win was to move and  keep him at the distance, if I did that then the win would be easy. But after  five rounds, I stopped moving. I started dragging my foot. The achilles injury  was on the left leg, so I had to lean back on my right ankle all the time. That  meant I could not use my right foot either, because I had to drag that foot all  the time. It was not smart for me to take this fight with that problem. But that  is one hundred percent my mistake.
&amp;nbsp;
In the  final rounds, Mormeck looked broken down, and he clinched repeatedly, especially  after taking body punches. That Mormeck initiated the majority of the clinches  in the later rounds can be seen in the films: he constantly hooks his arm around  yours. Even before that, Mormeck consistently used his elbows and forearms on  the inside. Not once was Mormeck cautioned for these tactics by the French  referee. By contrast, the referee harassed you in every round for anything you  did that resembled clinching or pushing. What are your thoughts  here?
IBRAGIMOV: (laughs as he answers) I think the referee was one of  Mormeck&amp;rsquo;s cornermen. He would not let me fight. It was funny. From the beginning  of the fight, he would not let me clinch, or allow me push Mormeck away. That  was part of my strategy&amp;hellip;to tie him up and push him away when he would get  close.&amp;nbsp; If that&amp;rsquo;s illegal, then we would  not have Vladimir Klitschko as champion, or lots of other guys as champions. But  always the referee was jumping in, pushing me backwards. Then later, as soon as  I hurt Mormeck, the referee stopped the fight and took a point away from me. And  when Mormeck got hurt again, the referee decided that it&amp;rsquo;s okay for him to  clinch&amp;hellip;that him hugging me is okay.
&amp;nbsp;
I  understand that you took the Mormeck fight on short notice because of financial  pressures. Any comments?
IBRAGIMOV: 2009 was a tough year, I was promised at least three  fights that never materialized. I could not work because I had to prepare for a  virtual fights that never happened, accumulated some debt and that is the main  reason why I was agreeing to any available fights in 2010.
&amp;nbsp;
Can you  tell us about your new training and conditioning work? I understand that you are  using MMA style training now. What exactly are you doing, and can you feel the  results?
IBRAGIMOV: I tried something new during the last rounds with  Mormeck and I found it successful, I am definitely moving in new direction and I  am very happy about that. I think it&amp;rsquo;s better done than said.
&amp;nbsp;
What are  you doing to insure that the achilles heel isn&amp;rsquo;t a problem for you in the  future?
IBRAGIMOV: I am following doctor&amp;rsquo;s and Lou&amp;rsquo;s recommendations and I  am sure that my achilles problem will be minimized.
&amp;nbsp;
I  understand that you sparred with David Haye many years ago. What are your  impressions of Haye based on that sparring?
IBRAGIMOV: He is a very good fighter, not very predictable, and  works really hard in the ring.
&amp;nbsp;
Haye is  supposed to fight Vladimir Klitschko this summer. Do you have a prediction about  who will win the upcoming match?
IBRAGIMOV: They are both very good boxers; I wish them both luck. I  am sure it&amp;rsquo;s going to be a very good show.
&amp;nbsp;
What is  your schedule now, in terms of how much longer you intend to box  professionally?
IBRAGIMOV: With my new training strategy I am learning a lot about  how far the human body can advance.&amp;nbsp; I am  getting to the best shape of my career and have no time to think about anything  else.]]></description>
		
		
		<category><![CDATA[Fighter Profiles]]></category>
		
			
		<author> (Evan Young)</author>
		<pubDate>Wed, 27 Apr 2011 00:00:00 EST</pubDate>
		<comments>http://www.boxingforecast.com/blog/index.cfm?CommentID=334&#35;comments</comments>
		
		
		
	</item>
 
	<item>
		<title>Adamek Clears final hurdle to title challenge.  By Evan Young</title>
		<link>http://www.boxingforecast.com/blog/index.cfm?CommentID=333</link>
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April 9, 2011. Newark, New Jersey. Tomasz Adamek entertained a wild throng of fans with a unanimous decision win over the &amp;quot;Clones Colossus&amp;rdquo; Kevin McBride at the Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey on Saturday night. &amp;nbsp;Scores were 120-107, 119-108, and 119-108. McBride was the last obstacle Adamek (44-1, 28 KO&amp;rsquo;s) had to climb before reaching his dream of fighting for the heavyweight championship against either Vitali or Wladimir Klitschko later in the year.&amp;nbsp; 

The raucous contingent of 7653, many draped in red and white garb &amp;nbsp;in recognition of Adamek&amp;rsquo;s Polish heritage, and nearly all were on hand to support their idol, appreciated watching their charge pound McBride at will. McBride, to his credit never stopped coming forward and gave the native Pole a vigorous 12 round workout. McBride 6&amp;rsquo;7 285 made every effort to use his 5 inch height and 70 pound weight edge as an advantage as round after round, he dutifully trudged after Adamek and attempted to lean, push and maul him into a position of vulnerability.
But speed, movement and punches in bunches carried the day and kept McBride off balance and lunging awkwardly for most of fight. McBride had trivial successes in the clinches with body blows and clubbing hits to the back of the head but for the most part they were largely ineffective. But Adamek seemed to understand that he was in for a long night as he didn&amp;rsquo;t stand in front of McBride (35-9-1) for too long and employed an effective body attack throughout the evening. 

McBride, with his high guard and slow forward gait couldn&amp;rsquo;t evade taking body blows as Adamek would easily slip to the side and unleash thudding shots to flank of the Irishman. And when McBride dropped his hands, Adamek would often take his attack upstairs with fast flurries to the head. McBride would shrug them off and willfully march forward again looking to maul, grab and punch. &amp;nbsp;You could rinse and repeat that scenario for 12 rounds. If you saw the 1st round, you saw the last. 
Adamek never seemed to really set down on his punches to the head as he understood that by digging in and throwing bombs, he would be giving McBride a sliver of hope as the Clones Colossus does have a heavy right hand that can do great damage if he lands directly on a stationary target. But on this night, Adamek was going to play it safe and not to do anything to jeopardize his forthcoming title challenge.&amp;nbsp; The fans seemed ok with that as they got to see a full 36 minutes of Adamek domination which is much longer than many expected.
Were Adamek and his supporters concerned that he was unable to stop a 39 year old man who has been stopped 6 times and appeared to be out of shape?&amp;nbsp; Did they wonder how Adamek can contend with a Klitschko, both brothers are light years superior to McBride in every way, when he had to labor a bit to keep the corpulent McBride at bay for 12 frames? It didn&amp;rsquo;t appear so. This was Ademek&amp;rsquo;s night and they enjoyed this celebration with him.&amp;nbsp; Adamek, a consummate pro and cerebral fighter, is someone that takes things one step at a time. He will cross that Klitschko bridge when he gets to it. He has now arrived. 
Undercard bouts
Light heavyweight Andrzej Fonfara (17-2, 8 KOs) scored an outstanding fourth round KO over Ray Smith (9-6, 3 KOs). Smith seemed to be in the fight until a fusillade of clean right hands from Fonfara sent Smith to the deck for the count at&amp;nbsp; 1:04 of the 4th.

Olympian welterweight Sadam Ali (12-0, 7 KOs) scored a third round KO over Javier Perez (8-5, 5 KOs). Ali knocked Perez down in round one and dropped him cold with a hook in the 3rd. Time was 2:40.
Super featherweight Joselito Collado (12-0, 3 KOs) won a six round split decision over Rafael Lora (11-4, 5 KOs) in an uneventful bout by scores of 59-54, 57-56 on two cards. The other card was 57-56 Lora.
Junior welterweight Jose Peralta (6-1, 4 KO&amp;rsquo;s) scored a 3rd round KO over Eber Luis Perez in round 3. Time was 2:24. Peralta was dominant, simply too young and fast. 
Welterweight Vinny O&amp;rsquo;Brien (2-0, 2 Ko&amp;rsquo;s) stopped debuting Shakir Aquel Dunn (0-1) at 2:51 of round 4 in a scheduled 4 rounder.&amp;nbsp; The action was spirited between these young hopefuls but O&amp;rsquo;Brien overwhelmed Dunn with volume and finally put him away late in the 4th. 

 
Also, join  BoxingForecast for free and get a 1 free pick a week and full use of our  unique &amp;quot;Fight Predictor&amp;quot; which allow the fan to pick winners.&amp;nbsp; All you  need is a valid email address and a password that you create. You can follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/boxingforecast and reach me by email at evan@boxingforecast.com
 
 


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]]></description>
		
		
		<category><![CDATA[Latest Boxing Results]]></category>
		
			
		<author> (Evan Young)</author>
		<pubDate>Sun, 10 Apr 2011 00:00:00 EST</pubDate>
		<comments>http://www.boxingforecast.com/blog/index.cfm?CommentID=333&#35;comments</comments>
		
		
		
	</item>
 
	<item>
		<title>Kevin McBride: â¬SNobody Has Yet Tested Adamekâ¬"s Chin,â¬ý by Pavel Yakovlev </title>
		<link>http://www.boxingforecast.com/blog/index.cfm?CommentID=332</link>
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(March 29, 2011) - Kevin McBride will be the opponent when he fights Tomasz 
Adamek two weeks from now at the Prudential Center in Newark. Adamek has won 
all but one of his 44 career bouts, and is being groomed for a big money 
fight against one of the Klitschko brothers. By contrast, McBride enters the 
bout having lost four of his last five fights. Truth be told, the 6&amp;rsquo;6&amp;rdquo;, 280 
lbs McBride has been hand-picked for the fight so that Adamek can get 
comfortable hitting big men. At 6&amp;rsquo;1&amp;rdquo;, the Pole is a smallish heavyweight who 
is still perfecting tactics to be used against the giant Klitschkos. Thus, 
at first glance, the upcoming bout looks like batting practice for Adamek: 
another easy win en route to his showdown with the Klitschkos. 

However, there is another perspective to take on this fight; it concerns the 
possibility of an upset, as remote as that chance may be. The hulking 
McBride has a puncher&amp;rsquo;s chance against Adamek. Known as the Clones Collosus 
because of his immense size and strength, McBride carries devastating power 
in his right hand. The Irishman has sent 29 opponents home early as knockout 
victims after catching them with this punch. The most dramatic display of 
McBride&amp;rsquo;s punching power, of course, came in 2005 when he smashed Mike Tyson 
into a sixth round kayo defeat. McBride entered the Tyson fight as a massive 
underdog, yet pulled off the upset. Naturally, McBride is hoping to stun the 
world again at the Prudential Center in two weeks. 

McBride&amp;rsquo;s pulverizing right will definitely be a wildcard in the upcoming 
fight. Adamek is known for lunging at his opponents, and at those moments he 
is vulnerable to the right, especially the uppercut. If McBride brandishes 
his power punch at just the right moment, then the seemingly impossible &amp;ndash; an 
Adamek defeat &amp;ndash; just might materialize. 

In this interview, McBride discusses his career and his preparation for the 
Adamek bout. 

*What are your thoughts about the upcoming fight? How do you see matters 
unfolding once the bell rings?* 

McBride: I don&amp;rsquo;t think the fight will go the distance. He&amp;rsquo;s the classier 
fighter, but he&amp;rsquo;s sixty or seventy pounds lighter than me. His people are 
underestimating my strength and power. It&amp;rsquo;ll be a good fight because he 
comes to fight. I&amp;rsquo;m the bigger, stronger man, and hopefully I&amp;rsquo;ll catch him 
on the chin. When I hit him, I&amp;rsquo;ll send him back to Poland. The Polish kids 
in his area are going to be there, and they&amp;rsquo;ll witness it. 

*Tell us about your preparation for this fight*. 

McBride: I&amp;rsquo;ve been sparring with different guys, fast kinds of guys. The 
other day I was doing four rounds with one guy who runs a lot, then another 
four rounds with another guy stands but boxes a lot, and who gets on his 
bike. The sparring is improving my timing and my speed. I can feel it; I 
have that feeling of getting closer, getting fitter. Getting that feeling 
reminds me of how much I love boxing. I&amp;rsquo;ve been boxing since I was nine 
years old, and I know that feeling. Also my mental preparation for this 
fight has been excellent. I&amp;rsquo;ve been seeing a hypnotist to help focus. I know 
that nobody gets anywhere if they give up on their dreams. No matter how 
many doors get shut, a person has to find a way to keep trying. I&amp;rsquo;ve been 
very focused on realizing my dream of being the first Irish born heavyweight 
champion of the world. The Irish abstract painter Sean Scully has been a 
tremendous inspiration to me, when we talk. It is so important to keep goals 
in focus. This chance against Adamek is an opportunity to make my dream come 
true. 

*What have you been doing to condition yourself for this bout?* 

McBride: I&amp;rsquo;m working a lot on strength. I&amp;rsquo;ve gotten stronger since starting 
training. Right now I&amp;rsquo;m bench-pressing 425 pounds, ten presses at a time. I 
run five miles every day, and I&amp;rsquo;m doing lots of sprints. To work on speed 
and timing, I do a lot of fast punching on the bag and mitts, and in 
sparring, I punch with higher intensity. I can feel the improvement and I 
love the feeling of getting closer. This is the biggest fight of my life. 

*Who is training you for this fight?* 

McBride: Goody Petronelli, Radavan Serbula, and Ermo Norrick. I&amp;rsquo;ve been with 
Goody a long time. Ermo is really good on the pads. Radavan is doing 
strength and conditioning. My manager Johnny Quinn will also be helping in 
my corner. 

*What do you know about Adamek? Can you tell us what you and your team have 
determined to be Adamek&amp;rsquo;s strengths and weaknesses?* 

McBride: I&amp;rsquo;ve seen some of Adamek&amp;rsquo;s fights. He&amp;rsquo;s a good fighter, definitely 
a world-class fighter, fast. As far weaknesses go, everyone has their 
weaknesses. I don&amp;rsquo;t really have anything to say about that. Adamek is a 
good, strong fighter, but I don&amp;rsquo;t know if anyone really has tested his chin. 
One thing he&amp;rsquo;s dealing with is pressure, because he&amp;rsquo;s going to have to look 
good against me. He&amp;rsquo;s facing that pressure. 

*I agree that the pressure is on Adamek to look good. For that reason, it&amp;rsquo;s 
an important fight for him. But for you, the fight is even more important 
because it represents a chance to gatecrash boxing&amp;rsquo;s big-time again. 

McBride: I&amp;rsquo;m a big underdog, but I was the same for Mike Tyson. I beat 
Tyson, and I&amp;rsquo;ll do the same for Adamek. This fight is even bigger than the 
Tyson fight because Adamek&amp;rsquo;s rated up there in the top five right now. When 
I win this fight, I&amp;rsquo;ll be in a position to be the first heavyweight champion 
from Ireland. I&amp;rsquo;ll be the new Cinderella Man. I say you can run, but you 
can&amp;rsquo;t hide from McBride. All it takes is one punch to the chin. I have that 
punch, the ability to stop him with one punch. I&amp;rsquo;ve got 29 knockouts, so you 
know I can hit. I can hit as hard as any heavyweight in the world, including 
the Klitschkos. Years ago, Axel Schulz told me I hit him harder than anyone 
he ever fought, including George Foreman. The power is there. 

*One punch that Adamek may be vulnerable to is the right uppercut. Because 
he&amp;rsquo;s so much shorter than big guys like you, Adamek lunges while unleashing 
his left hooks and rights to the head. Against Michael Grant, Adamek took 
some heavy rights during these moments. What are your thoughts about using 
your right uppercut against Adamek? * 

McBride: I know when he&amp;rsquo;s hitting me, he&amp;rsquo;ll be pretty close. When he hits me 
anywhere on the body, arms, shoulders, whatever, he&amp;rsquo;ll be there to get hit. 
I&amp;rsquo;m going to throw plenty of punches, and I&amp;rsquo;ll mix them up. I have a good 
uppercut, I hit Mike Tyson with some good uppercuts. So hopefully I&amp;rsquo;ll catch 
Adamek and end the fight. 


*What are your memories of the experience of fighting and beating Mike 
Tyson? * 

McBride: The experience of fighting Mike Tyson was unbelievable. Growing up, 
I idolized him. I also idolized Muhammad Ali. After I beat Tyson, Muhammad 
Ali gave me a big hug. It was unbelievable. The experience of beating Tyson 
was sad in one sense, because I ended a guy&amp;rsquo;s career. But it was incredible 
because I shocked the world. Remember, that fight reminds me of how I love 
boxing so much, and how I always wanted to be the fist Irish born 
heavyweight champion of the world. Against Adamek, I have a chance to get 
there. 

*You are a native of Ireland, but you have lived in Boston since relocating 
to America. Is it fair to say that you are now one of the Boston Irish?* 

McBride: Yes, Boston is my home now. I have a lovely wife and two kids here. 
My daughter Grainne and my son Caoinhin were born in Boston. The Adamek 
fight is for two titles, and it would be nice to give one of the belts each 
to my daughter and my son. I&amp;rsquo;m fighting for my kids, for my life. I love 
this sport so much. I&amp;rsquo;m just so glad to get a second chance. 


*The Adamek-McBride bout is scheduled for 12 rounds, and will be held April  9th, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Tickets are available  via www.ticketmaster.com. The event is promoted Main Events and Ziggy  Promotions.* 



]]></description>
		
		
		<category><![CDATA[Fighter Profiles]]></category>
		
			
		<author> (Evan Young)</author>
		<pubDate>Tue, 29 Mar 2011 00:00:00 EST</pubDate>
		<comments>http://www.boxingforecast.com/blog/index.cfm?CommentID=332&#35;comments</comments>
		
		
		
	</item>
 
	<item>
		<title>PIROG WINS EASILY BUT UNSPECTACULARLY IN HIS FIRST WBO TITLE DEFENSE, by Pavel Yakovlev</title>
		<link>http://www.boxingforecast.com/blog/index.cfm?CommentID=331</link>
		<description><![CDATA[



(March  26, 2011) Dmitry Pirog retained his WBO world middleweight title in  Ekaterinburg, Russia, today with a dominant but unimpressive decision  over Javier Francisco Maciel. Pirog controlled the action throughout  with probing left jabs, well-placed body punches, sneaky uppercuts to  the head, and by using airtight defense. Nonetheless, Pirog&amp;rsquo;s  performance was inferior to that he displayed last summer, when he won  his title with a spectacular knockout over Danny Jacobs. The Russian  champion&amp;rsquo;s timing seemed slightly off, and his punches lacked their  usual snap. Most likely Pirog was ring rusty from not having fought in  the eight months since beating Jacobs, and thus did not display his full  ability against Maciel.
&amp;nbsp;
This  correspondent scored the bout 118-110 for Pirog, who was deducted a  point in the tenth for illegally pushing with his shoulder at close  quarters. The judges&amp;rsquo; cards seemed inappropriately close, favoring the  champion by margins of 115-112, 117-112, and 115-111. Maciel did very  little today, aside from unleashing a few spirited offensives in which  he generally missed with heavy punches. Indeed, the challenger&amp;rsquo;s  objective seemed to be surviving, not winning. An explanation for  Maciel&amp;rsquo;s reticence may lay in the fact that today&amp;rsquo;s bout marked his  first on the world stage. Quite possibly Maciel and his handlers  regarded the fight as just a chance to develop self-confidence and  experience, and to show the world that the Argentine can survive until  the final bell against the world&amp;rsquo;s best middleweights.
&amp;nbsp;
The  opening rounds were slow, with both fighters feeling each other out. The  difference between the pair, however, was that Pirog was sensing how to  land punches, while Maciel was figuring out how to avoid action. The  tempo unfolded as if predetermined by a script. Pirog jabbed to the  head, followed by straight rights to the body. Maciel danced away and  kept his guard high. Patiently, Pirog stalked the challenger, trying to  provoke a response. Maciel, for his part, was unwavering in playing  defense. Pirog won rounds one and two with his steady jab. The only  significant punch landed by either fighter occurred in the second, when  Maciel took a sharp left hook to the ribs. 
&amp;nbsp;
Maciel  finally opened up late in the third, winging a series of fast, hard  lefts and rights at the champion&amp;rsquo;s head. Pirog had no problem slipping  all the punches, however, and easily took the round by dint of his  accurate jabs and body punching. In the fourth, Pirog punctuated his  dominance by landing a sharp, solid right to the head, which seemed to  shake the Argentine. Maciel reacted by accelerating his retreat,  occasionally changing gears by throwing huge, roundhouse punches that  missed their target. It looked as if Maciel had no real answer to  Pirog&amp;rsquo;s tactical mastery and superior seasoning. All Maciel could  accomplish was to run, and to exude an air of psychological defiance by  intensifying his dancing at long range and sometimes tossing bombs that  only fanned the air. 
&amp;nbsp;
Rounds  five and six were won easily by Pirog, who continued to connect with  casual jabs, occasional body punches, and cleverly placed uppercuts.  Interestingly though, in the sixth Pirog&amp;rsquo;s attack slowed and his body  movement seemed less intense. This correspondent wondered if perhaps  Pirog was playing possum, in a calculated effort to bait Maciel into  fighting back. Maciel, for his part, continued to run and block punches.
&amp;nbsp;
The  challenger finally came alive in round seven. After being shaken by the  best punch of the fight yet -- a crackling right to the head -- Maciel  accelerated his retreat. Once satisfied that he was safely out of  Pirog&amp;rsquo;s reach, Maciel made another defiant gesture, dropping his hands  to waist as if to suggest that he was not hurt. This time, however,  Maciel followed up by unleashing his most effective offensive of the  bout. The Argentine found his target when he threw a quick left and  right to the head, and then sprang to the attack and connected with  several hard, thudding body punches. Pirog shifted into full retreat,  dodging most of the challenger&amp;rsquo;s blows. Nonetheless, Maciel&amp;rsquo;s surprising  display of aggression, for the first time, broke Pirog&amp;rsquo;s tactical  dominance of the fight. The challenger&amp;rsquo;s spirited punching display  enabled him to share points in this round on this correspondent&amp;rsquo;s  scorecard.
&amp;nbsp;
Maciel  had an even stronger round in the eighth. After taking a few hard whacks  in the ribcage, Maciel assumed the offensive. Swinging hard shots to  the head and the body, Maciel forced the champion onto the defensive.  Pirog dodged most of the challenger&amp;rsquo;s blows, but did absorb several  hurtful punches to the ribs. Maciel was now the hunter, and Pirog was  focused on safety, keeping his guard high and stepping back to avoid  getting hit. Pirog was never in trouble, but he was conceding ground and  initiative to Maciel. The eighth was unquestionably won by the  Argentine.
&amp;nbsp;
Pirog  returned to form in the ninth, though, leaving no doubt as to who was  the boss in the ring. Moving forward and pecking away with his jab,  Pirog soon forced Maciel to revert to survival mode. A crackling right  to the head snapped Maciel&amp;rsquo;s head back, and a few well-placed, hurtful  body punches gave this round to the champion. In each of the final  rounds, Maciel stayed on the run, occasionally fighting back with  roundhouse punches that missed the Russian&amp;rsquo;s head. Pirog continued to  pile up points with his jab, uppercuts, and bodypunches until the final  bell.
&amp;nbsp;
Curiously,  in the tenth Pirog was deducted a point by the referee for  roughhousing. Apparently the referee disapproved of Pirog&amp;rsquo;s aggressive  use of his shoulder while forcing the action on the inside. This  correspondent, however, believes that the referee&amp;rsquo;s point deduction was  unnecessary. Pirog&amp;rsquo;s shouldering was no worse than that often seen in  world-class ring competition. In fact, given Maciel&amp;rsquo;s general reluctance  to fight, Pirog may have been justified in playing rough on in the  inside in an effort to force some exchanges.
&amp;nbsp;
No doubt  Pirog will take some flack from scribes and fans for failing to  dispatch his obviously inferior challenger. Some observers may even  claim that Pirog had a tough fight today, which is hogwash as far as  this correspondent is concerned. Truth be told, Pirog did not look great  today. But to be fair, almost anyone would have had difficulty  performing brilliantly against a defensive-minded opponent like Maciel.  It must not be overlooked that the champion&amp;rsquo;s tactical dominance was  almost never broken during the match. That Pirog would win was never in  doubt. The champion&amp;rsquo;s only real problem was finding a way to unlock  Maciel&amp;rsquo;s guard, in order to snatch an impressive kayo victory in a fight  that was otherwise destined to be an easy but unspectacular points win.  Perhaps the world&amp;rsquo;s expectations were unreasonably high for Pirog  today. Whatever the case, his record now stands at 18-0 (14 KO&amp;rsquo;s). 
&amp;nbsp;
For  Maciel, today&amp;rsquo;s result must taste sweet: a moral victory obtained  because he heard the final bell against the formidable champion. In  watching Maciel survive round after round, this writer sensed that the  Argentine grew in self-confidence as the fight progressed, even though  he stood no chance of winning. Maciel seemed to be proving something to  himself: that he could share the ring with a much better fighter and not  get knocked out. A professional since 2007, Maciel falls to 18-2 (12  KO&amp;rsquo;s), and can take pride in having fought competently against the first  world-class foe he has ever met. ]]></description>
		
		
		<category><![CDATA[Latest Boxing Results]]></category>
		
			
		<author> (Evan Young)</author>
		<pubDate>Sat, 26 Mar 2011 00:00:00 EST</pubDate>
		<comments>http://www.boxingforecast.com/blog/index.cfm?CommentID=331&#35;comments</comments>
		
		
		
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	<item>
		<title>The Junior Middleweights. Imagine the possibilities!</title>
		<link>http://www.boxingforecast.com/blog/index.cfm?CommentID=330</link>
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The junior middleweights have a&amp;nbsp; slew of very good and compelling fighters hovering in the neighborhood. Exciting former welterweight title holders Paul Williams, Antonio Margarito and Miguel Cotto are now all here, looking for action. You have streaking Saul Alvarez and top Cuban prospect Erislandy Lara. And you have surprising&amp;nbsp; title holder Cornelius Bundrage and newly crowned Austin Trout looking for battles. James Kirkland, who is 2 fights into his comeback, is paring back down to 154. You could match Pawel Wolak with practically anyone and you are likely to get a brutal slugfest that would be fan friendly. Vanes Martirosyan is young and keeps winning.&amp;nbsp; 
While it&amp;rsquo;s unlikely all the great potential matches get made for various reasons, I believe there is a good possibility some of these &amp;nbsp;potential excellent contests can happen in this division. It looks like Cotto and Margarito are in talks about a possible rematch. That figures to be another good fight. But there are so many intriguing possibilities with this mix of former champions, contenders and hot prospects. And the possibilities are numerous as there are brutal pressure fighters, skilled technicians and boxer/punchers. 
You could plug in almost anyone here and make a great match up. It will be interesting to see how guys like Lara and Martirosyan do when they step to fight the &amp;lsquo;iron&amp;rdquo; in the division like Margarito, Angulo and Kirkland. 
Can Wolak step up and hang with the more established pressure fighters? Can he force a boxer type into his type of fight? Can Kirkland regain his old form and live up to previous expectations? How will the skilled Trout do when he steps up? Can Williams return to the most feared fighter in the world? Will Cotto and Margarito battle? What will the winner do? Cintron seems like he&amp;rsquo;s got more in the tank, where&amp;rsquo;s he been? Will Alvarez live up to the hype bestowed upon him? He&amp;rsquo;s got a lot of tough fights down the line. Can Bundrage secure a big fight and pull a surprise? 
Who will eventually be considered the number one junior middleweight in the world? We have a lot of unanswered questions in this division. I just hope that we get these great potential match-ups and this fun, exciting division sorts itself out over the next 2 or 3 years. 
Below are my top 12 in no particular order
Alfredo Angulo &amp;ndash; He&amp;rsquo;s an unforgiving fighter with great accuracy and pressure. Since his loss to Cintron, he had been looking great and a mission to the title but he has been derailed by Visa problems and hasn&amp;rsquo;t fought in 8 months. I hope things can be resolved because he is a top player in the division and makes for great fights. 

Antonio Margarito &amp;ndash; a brutal pressure fighter has been marred in controversy since the &amp;ldquo;glove&amp;rdquo; incident. But after a losing but game effort against Pacquiao, he is back on the map and the venom against him is waning. A rematch with Cotto is being discussed and appears likely.If he wins, Kirkland and the like await.

Paul Williams &amp;ndash; he has some redeeming himself to do after his brutal loss to Sergio Martinez (KO2) he has plenty of possibilities here Williams is a lanky pressure fighter that was once an avoided fighter before his rematch loss to Martinez. Can eh get back to a top level? Me thinks he&amp;rsquo;s hit his ceiling already.

Pawel Wolak &amp;ndash; he is a walk in pressure fighter that has a way of making a ring very small in a hurry. He&amp;rsquo;s a guy not afraid to get hit to land his own. He looked great against former champ Yuri Foreman a few weeks back. I want to see him against a more formidable challenge to see how he holds up. 
Kermit Cintron &amp;ndash; he has been off a year since his strange bout with Paul Williams where he propelled out of the ring and lost a technical decision. He&amp;rsquo;s beat Angulo, drew with Sergio Martinez (highly disputed) and lost to Margarito twice. He&amp;rsquo;s still one of the divisions top guys. Perhaps after a warm-up he could step in against anyone.
Miguel Cotto &amp;ndash; Cotto is the WBA super champion. Everyone knows Cotto&amp;rsquo;s resume. Good boxer, skilled and a good puncher. Has only lost to the best, Margarito and Pacquiao. Coming off win over Ricardo Mayorga. He&amp;rsquo;s had so&amp;nbsp; many grueling fights, how long will he go on? Talks of rematch with Margarito in the works.
Erislandy Lara &amp;ndash; Cuban prospect has scored four 1 round KO&amp;rsquo;s in a row. Hard to forget his struggle with Grady Brewer. But he is a talent and is being groomed properly. He fight&amp;rsquo;s spoiler Carlos Molina on March 25, 2011.
Vanes Martirosyan &amp;ndash; a skilled boxer/puncher with good speed and amateur pedigree. He&amp;rsquo;s a sharp hitter that still needs a bit more seasoning before he fights a dangerous foe. He was fortunate to get past former champ Kassim Ouma a few fights back. But he's right back at it and is improving. 

James Kirkland &amp;ndash; a bruising destroyer, that looks to cut down anyone in his path, no matter what&amp;rsquo;s in his way. Before he went to prison, he looked to be the best in the division with his hiding of Joel Julio. He looked, understandably, a bit rusty in his comeback but is likely to regain old form. But he does need several more fights to see where he is.
Cornelius Bundrage &amp;ndash; an older fighter that picked up the title against an out of shape Cory Spinks. But it&amp;rsquo;s good to see him doing well later in his career. I don&amp;rsquo;t see at his age is looking for paydays. And with a&amp;nbsp; title to offer, he may just get it.
Austin Trout &amp;ndash; Trout is a fast technician and not well known which he would like to change. He was impressive in his last outing when he won the title from Rigoberto Alvarez (Saul&amp;rsquo;s brother) in Mexico. He&amp;rsquo;s looking for respect and names. 
Saul Alvarez &amp;ndash; highly touted prospect, and now WBC champ, is coming off wide win over game Mathew Hatton. Alvarez still needs more work before he fights better guys. But at only 20, he&amp;rsquo;s got time on his side. Takes another step up, but not too big, in Ryan Rhodes in his next bout. 
Honorable mention: Cory Spinks, Deandre Latimore, Sechew Powell
No Pacman or Mayweather?
I didn&amp;rsquo;t talk about superstars Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao because, well, Mayweather has disappeared again from the scene and Pacquiao, after he takes care of Mosley, probably only has eyes for Mayweather and if its a no go there, maybe in typical Pacquiao style, he could go for one more great challenge in Sergio Martinez as that&amp;rsquo;s what the great ones do, take on the unimaginable. 

Also, join BoxingForecast for free and get a 1 free pick a week and full use of our unique &amp;quot;Fight Predictor&amp;quot; which allow the fan to pick winners.&amp;nbsp; All you need is a valid email address and a password that you create. You can follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/boxingforecast and reach me by email at evan@boxingforecast.com
 
 


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		<category><![CDATA[Boxing Commentary]]></category>
		
			
		<author> (Evan Young)</author>
		<pubDate>Wed, 23 Mar 2011 00:00:00 EST</pubDate>
		<comments>http://www.boxingforecast.com/blog/index.cfm?CommentID=330&#35;comments</comments>
		
		
		
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	<item>
		<title>Solis wins title eliminator in bizarre ending; Cloud defends title over determined Zuniga</title>
		<link>http://www.boxingforecast.com/blog/index.cfm?CommentID=329</link>
		<description><![CDATA[&amp;nbsp;

Miami , Florida, American Airlines Arena&amp;nbsp; -&amp;nbsp; Odlanier  Solis, 260, won his heavyweight title eliminator against Ray Austin,  239 3/4 last night by 10th round disqualification last night at American  Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida. The strange end came with with only 1  second left in the 10th, when both men nearly toppled over the top rope  at press row and upon the break by the ref, Austin clocked Solis with a right hand. 

The  foul came after Austin was trying &amp;nbsp;to survive for his fistic life as  Solis was on verge of a stoppage win. Austin was hurt and down in the  round and was looking stay a float in any manner possible. The tackle by  Austin that nearly landed both men outside the ring coupled with the  egregious late hit was enough for referee Tommy Kimmons to halt the  proceedings.

It  seems to this writer that a stoppage win was inevitable prior to the  disqualification as Austin seemed to have run out of everything at that  point in the fight. Strangely, the judges believed Austin was still in  the fight after nine rounds.Judge &amp;nbsp;Rocky Young has Austin up by 2 points  at 86-84. Ged O&amp;rsquo;Connor had it even at 85-85 and Mike Ross seemed to be  watching the same fight I was, had it scored 88-82 for Solis. 

Solis  was in control most of the way and never bothered by Austin. He came  perilously close to Stopping Austin in the 5th round, who was down and  badly hurt for much of the round. Austin won two, maybe three rounds  when Solis seemed to take a breather. Other than that, Solis slowly  stalked his prey looking to land heavy power shots. And every time he  exploded on Austin it had a clear effect. With the win Solis has now  earned the right to face Vitali Klitschko for the WBC heavyweight title. 



Tavoris  Cloud successfully defended his title against Fulgencia Zuniga by  unanimous decision in a much tougher than expected title defense.  Zuniga, looking slow and fighting over his natural weight appeared to be over  matched. Cloud jumped on him from the opening bell and an early stoppage seemed imminent. But Zuniga, who has a history of toughness,  always fought back and found a way to land. Just when it appeared, on many occasions, that  the referee would step in, Zuniga would fight back. 

And  in the fourth round, Zuniga hit pay dirt. He caught Cloud with a big  left hook and had him teetering. And Zuniga went after him with full  force. There was no doubt Cloud was under some some distress. Cloud  would fight his way out of it but he sustained a bad cut for his  troubles. And the fight hit fever pitch in the fifth round as they were  engaging in a full fledged war that saw several momentum shifts in the  round. With that exertion, both men took a breather in the sixth.

From  the 7th round on, Cloud began to take over and the fight slowly became  more one sided. Zuniga while still fighting hard, had less steam on his  punches and appeared to be wearing down. Notably, Zuniga was hurt in the  9th and badly rocked in the last round. Zuniga, who was dropped hard in the  12th, &amp;nbsp;somehow fought back just enough to make it to the final bell.  Cloud won by wide unanimous decision in a tougher fight than the scores  indicated. The judges scored it 117-108, 118-108 and 116-109. With the  win, Cloud is looking for big name fights with the likes of Chad Dawson  or the winner of tonight's bout between Jean Pascal vs. Bernard Hopkins.


In  an entertaining slugfest, Ricardo Mayorga overcame game Michael Walker  for a 9th round KO. Mayorga came out with bad intentions form the  beginning. He fought like a man that was in a hurry and as he landed  sizzling power shots thrown from the floor, and an early ending seemed like a  possibility. But Walker was determined and as rounds passed it was  clear Mayorga was going to be fighting in spurts. That's when Walker was  able to do some business. And while Mayorga landed the harder shots,  Walker was getting back into the fight by the 5th round. But Mayorga,  when he felt the need, was able to land hurtful power shots that clearly  bothered Walker. 

Mayorga  did his usual clowning on the ropes, while letting Walker unload. It  was vintage Mayorga in that regard. At one point with Walker with head  down and throwing, Mayorga was actually looking out in the crowd and talking.  Hilarious. Things unraveled for Walker in the 9th. He was dropped early  and badly hurt. And Mayorga pasted him several times while he was down.  The ref docked Mayorga 2 points for the infraction but it was moot  point, no pun intended, as Mayorga pounced and forced a referee intervention moments  later. I don&amp;rsquo;t know where my Mayorga goes from here but he is a colorful  character with a sold fan base. He'll be back.



New  York-based heavyweight Darrel &amp;ldquo;King&amp;rdquo; Madison &amp;nbsp;had things mostly his own  way against &amp;nbsp;Michael Marrone as he was able to out box and out speed  Marrone for most of the rounds. Marrone had some modest successes but he  struggled with the quicker man and had no solution. Judges scores were  100-90, 98-92 and 99-91 for &amp;ldquo;King David&amp;rdquo; Madison.


Eileen  Olszewski won the WIBA/GBU female flyweight belt with a unanimous  decision victory over Anastasia Toktoulova Olszewski wass imply the better  technician and appeared to out box the game Toktoulova. Scores for the  bout 80-72, all &amp;nbsp;for Olszewski.


Cuban  cruiserweight Pedro Rodriguez stopped over matched &amp;nbsp;TJ Cook in the 2nd  round of an entertaining fight while it lasted. Cook was game but simply  over matched by the better fighter. 


The  evening concluded with two quick walkout bouts with prospect Erkan Tepe  destroying Donato DeMartiis by TKO in the very first round. And Cuban  lightweight Angelo Santana finished &amp;nbsp;John David Charles with a fusillade  of punches late in the 3rd round. 


]]></description>
		
		
		<category><![CDATA[Latest Boxing Results]]></category>
		
			
		<author> (Evan Young)</author>
		<pubDate>Sat, 18 Dec 2010 00:00:00 EST</pubDate>
		<comments>http://www.boxingforecast.com/blog/index.cfm?CommentID=329&#35;comments</comments>
		
		
		
	</item>
 
	<item>
		<title>Bernard Hopkins vs. Jean Pascal fight preview</title>
		<link>http://www.boxingforecast.com/blog/index.cfm?CommentID=328</link>
		<description><![CDATA[Bernard  Hopkins challenges Jean Pascal for his WBC light heavyweight title in  Montreal on Saturday night. Hopkins is a marvel at nearly 46, fighting  at a high level. He&amp;rsquo;s had a tremendous career recording a record 20  title defenses as middleweight champ. While he will be remembered as a  great fighter, I think he deserves credit as one of the greatest self  managed fighters. 

He  has navigated his career like a well an astute business man while  giving everyone his ghetto rhetoric which has captivated many. I could  get into a soliloquy of how Hopkins has maneuvered himself and taken all  the &amp;ldquo;right&amp;rdquo; fights but that is another story for another day.

The  thing is, Hopkins won&amp;rsquo;t fight someone he doesn&amp;rsquo;t think he can beat. He  seemed to forget Chad Dawson&amp;rsquo;s name but once Dawson lost to Pascal  Hopkins was right there. As I said Hopkins is astute. But is he right  this time?

I  don&amp;rsquo;t think he is. Yes, he has won all the press conference with his  sharp wit and ghetto inclinations. But I don&amp;rsquo;t think it will be enough  to con Pascal on fight night. Pascal has a blend of youth, speed and  toughness that should be enough to carry the day. 

Hopkins  is savvy and has the ability to slow down a fight but Pascal is quick  and unorthodox. I expect that the he will be able to jump in with his  punches and use angles and movement to score points. 

For  all of Hopkins's bad ass act, he has tried to pull the big con in  recent years. Against Joe Calzaghe he writhed around the canvas for a  lengthy spell after a borderline, glancing low blow. And in his rematch  with Roy Jones, Hopkins took it to new levels with him getting dropped  by ordinary shots to the back of the head during a clinch. And Jones was  just retaliating to Hopkins's tactics. It looked to me like Hopkins  &amp;nbsp;wanted a disqualification and those moments stunk like fish.

So  don&amp;rsquo;t be surprised if we see some &amp;ldquo;big con&amp;rdquo; moments by Hopkins. He will  cry foul and look for edge if he needs a breather or a moment to gather  himself. 

While  Hopkins is still highly competent as a fighter, he has diminished. He&amp;rsquo;s  like a fast ball pitcher that turns to junk to get a few more years on  the odometer. Hopkins is a junk-ball fighter that can get a win but it  ain&amp;rsquo;t pretty anymore. It&amp;rsquo;s ugly and almost taxing to watch. 

Pascal  is the younger man by 17 years and has faced some competent fighters  such as Dawson, Carl Froch and Adrian Diaconu. I believe Pascal the the  ability and speed to dictate the terms of the battle. Hopkins will try  to hold a lot and slow things down but Pascal is fast of hand and foot.  And Hopkins is simply not a busy fighter. And if Pascal isn&amp;rsquo;t drawn into  the muck where Hopkins wants him, he&amp;rsquo;ll be okay. I&amp;rsquo;m going with  Pascal's youth, speed and awkwardness to carry the day for a successful  title defense against the old lion, probably by decision.

There are 3 picks in the subscribers section with plays on Huck vs. Lebedev, Mayorga vs. Walker and Cloud vs. Zuniga.]]></description>
		
		
		<category><![CDATA[Upcoming Boxing Fights]]></category>
		
			
		<author> (Evan Young)</author>
		<pubDate>Fri, 17 Dec 2010 00:00:00 EST</pubDate>
		<comments>http://www.boxingforecast.com/blog/index.cfm?CommentID=328&#35;comments</comments>
		
		
		
	</item>
 
	<item>
		<title>Manny Pacquiao vs. Antonio Margarito; what should we expect?</title>
		<link>http://www.boxingforecast.com/blog/index.cfm?CommentID=327</link>
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Well, we couldn&amp;rsquo;t have Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather this year, which was a major disappointment to many but there is no doubt that a buzz has been building for Pacquiao&amp;rsquo;s contest against former welterweight champion Antonio Margarito in the house that Jerry Jones built in Dallas, Texas on Saturday, November 13. 
There are many things about this contest that make it compelling. For one, Manny Pacquiao is one of the fighters. That alone, will draw millions to this event. But fortunately there is more than that. I think some people are acknowledging that Antonio Margarito may be a more formidable challenge than most initially believed when this fight was announced.
Once Margarito was flying high on top of the boxing world after his brutal destruction of then undefeated Miguel Cotto in Las Vegas 2 years ago. He was well respected as a guy without perhaps the natural gifts of some fighters but with grit, strength and fortitude difficult to equal.
But all of that was shot to hell when prior to his contest with Shane Mosley in January, 2009, a plaster type material was found in his gloves prior to a career worst performance against Mosley in which he suffered his first stoppage loss. Speculations arose from many that questioned Margarito&amp;rsquo;s knowledge of those events and any previous use of loaded gloves. 
He become a pariah in one night. He was suspended from boxing and the fistic world threw him on the scrap heap &amp;ndash; and many still hate him. But with time and a repeated mantra by Margarito that he had no knowledge of the illegal shenanigans, and with enough credibility as a fighter, he managed to land the biggest and highest paying fight he could get. 
The fact is Margarito is a real opponent and to me, represents the biggest threat the Pacquiao has seen recently. I say there is a strong possibility that Margarito never had loaded gloves prior to his fight with Mosley. I&amp;rsquo;m giving Margarito the benefit of the doubt.&amp;nbsp; Even though Margarito destroyed Cotto and Cintron in recent bouts, those victims never expressed that anything seemed strange in those bouts. Those fighters were there first hand, I would think that if they felt something &amp;ldquo;different&amp;rdquo; they would have expressed such at that time.
My belief on the Mosley situation is that Margarito&amp;rsquo;s former trainer, Javier Capetillo, panicked because he knew he had an under trained and weight depleted Margarito and he did what he could get his guy a win in an adverse situation. But he screwed up, he got caught. 
As for Pacquiao, he&amp;rsquo;s always been a hugely talented fighter but he reached the stratosphere when he moved up from 130 pounds, to destroy Oscar de la Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto and Joshua Clottey in succession.&amp;nbsp; Pacquiao emerged as the best 130 pound fighter but not without a furious few years of fighting Mexico&amp;rsquo;s toughest guys. He actually lost his first outing at 130 to Eric Morales in 2005 by close decision. But Pacquiao was still shoring up his craft at that time and went on to savage Morales in 2 subsequent bouts. He beat Marco Antonio Barrera in a rematch at 130 and then squeaked past Juan Manuel Marquez in their rematch at 130 pounds. 
At that point not many could have envisioned Pacquiao climbing 3 divisions to wreak the kind of havoc he has done. But I think there are a few reasons why he jettisoned so much from mere champion at 130 to boxing&amp;rsquo;s number one fighter.
For one thing, Pacquiao simply added more tools and skills to his explosive southpaw style. He was a raw talent but he became an excellent fighter as well. Talent and ability are a tough combination to beat. Also, his growing body was screaming to move up in weight. Making 130 was killing him. By moving up in weight his body added lean tissue that it desperately craved. 
Pacquiao added a strength and conditioning coach, Alex Arizza, &amp;nbsp;which has paid huge dividends. He&amp;rsquo;s an extremely hard worker. And another thing that surprises people is his actual physical strength. He&amp;rsquo;s looks diminutive but he is deceptively strong, he has an amazing trunk and is simply hard to out muscle. 
He has kept his trademark speed and power with the move up in weight.&amp;nbsp; All of this is why he had such a phenomenal run since leaving 130 pounds.&amp;nbsp; Basically, you can&amp;rsquo;t outbox him, out work him, out tough him or out muscle him. How the hell do you compete with someone that holds ALL the cards. That&amp;rsquo;s been the problem for Pacquiao&amp;rsquo;s last 4 opponents.
Usually a trainer will devise a strategy to exploit someone&amp;rsquo;s weaknesses but when the fighters best attributes can&amp;rsquo;t match up to an opponent&amp;rsquo;s weaknesses, it spells disaster. That&amp;rsquo;s been the case with Pacquiao&amp;rsquo;s recent fights.
But we have a few wrinkles here that might just make this a more competitive fight than the odds makers suggest. It is known by many that this hasn&amp;rsquo;t been the best Manny Pacquiao training camp. Yes, he&amp;rsquo;s training hard but he may have entered camp in lesser shape than he usually does. And, this camp has been shorter than most, coupled with various distractions that accompany a newly sworn in Congressman in his native Philippines, among being pulled in many directions by so many people. 
And Margarito, not overly impressive in his comeback fight against Roberto Garcia, has done nothing but live, breathe and eat training for quite some time. Margarito is a big, tall guy and he has seemingly pared his weight down over time and not in a hasty manner. He is giving training his all like this is the most important thing in his life - and it is. He didn&amp;rsquo;t break too much after the &amp;nbsp;Garcia fight and has been in the gym. When the fight was made many months ago Margarito was already in quite good shape while Pacquiao was literally out of gym, campaigning for his election &amp;ndash; behaving like boxing was not his first priority - and it wasn&amp;rsquo;t. Pacquiao has been forced to squeeze a lot of training into a short period of time.
I&amp;rsquo;ve never picked against Pacquiao before but if there was ever a chance he could lose, this fight is it. If even the very best are not at their very best they are quite capable of losing to lesser fighters. Sometimes boxing is about timing and if one guy has a let down they can definitely pay the price. Many people are dismissing Pacquiao&amp;rsquo;s alleged training troubles as hyperbole to sell a mismatch of a fight. But while Pacquiao&amp;rsquo;s trainer Freddie Roach is a great quote machine, I think in essence he speaks freely and honestly. I have to believe he has some concern about this fight and his charge.
It is quite possible that we will see a much better Margarito than we saw against Mosley and perhaps a less well prepared Pacquiao than we have seen over the past 2 years. And as some will remember before Margarito&amp;rsquo;s fall from grace, he ain&amp;rsquo;t exactly chopped liver. 
Many questions surround this fight. Is Margarito shot like many seem to believe? Is Pacquiao under prepared?&amp;nbsp; Is the timing of this fight just right for Margarito? Is Pacquiao simply too talented and speedy to slip up against the rugged but speed challenged Margarito? Is Margarito simply too big and strong with a likely 15-20 pound weight advantage on fight night? And what if Margarito had cheated in other fights besides his attempt to do so with Mosley and all his great wins were a mirage? That question has to be considered, as much I want to look away from that. As you can see, there is a lot to look at here.
I will have a wagering recommendation for subscribers on Pacquiao vs. Margarito shortly after the weigh in on Friday as well as several other bouts for this upcoming weekend.]]></description>
		
		
		<category><![CDATA[Upcoming Boxing Fights]]></category>
		
			
		<author> (Evan Young)</author>
		<pubDate>Mon, 08 Nov 2010 00:00:00 EST</pubDate>
		<comments>http://www.boxingforecast.com/blog/index.cfm?CommentID=327&#35;comments</comments>
		
		
		
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