Antonio Margarito, Floyd Mayweather's greatest threat??? Why?

WBO Welterweight Champion Antonio Margarito has made some rather frivolous claims in the recent weeks that he is "the most feared man in boxing." He claims that nobody will take a fight with him. Based on what? What makes him the most feared man in boxing??? Better yet, what legitimate prize fighter or threat has Margarito defeated to place himself on such a lofty pedestal???

He knocked out Andrew "Sixheads" Lewis, Kermit Cintron, and Manuel Gomez. Okay. But none of those names are up at the level of top-notch championship competition that surrounds Margarito in the 147-154lb neighborhood. Mayweather. Baldomir. Hatton. Collazo. Spinks. Rivera. Let's not forget that Margarito also lost a fight to then-WBO Jr Middleweight Champion Daniel Santos in September of 2004, who later went on to relinquish his title to some unknown challenger by the name of Sergiy Dzinziruk in Germany last December.

Other than that, what has Margarito done to be considered the biggest threat to "Pretty Boy" Floyd Mayweather's Pound For Pound throne???? Mayweather has a November 4 HBO PPV date open for a fight. The opponent who will be in the opposing corner from Mayweather has yet to be determined. Margarito keeps making these claims about being "the most feared man in boxing."

Ishe Smith, who is coming back down to 147lbs, wants to face Margarito. Winky Wright, who would come down to 154lbs strictly for the occasion, has also expressed an interest in facing Margarito. Kassim Ouma would love to get the chance to fight Margarito. Perhaps somebody should shut Margarito up and convince him that he is not the most feared man in boxing. With a proposed September 9 fight upcoming for Margarito against Cosme Rivera (Zab Judah's three round leftovers), it is difficult to forecast when exactly we will see Margarito in the ring with a top notch champion or competitor.

Since Shane Mosley has declined to face Floyd Mayweather in November of this year, in what could be the biggest payday of Mosley's career to this point, perhaps Margarito can enlighten the boxing public, do away with facing somebody who Judah made mince meat of last year, and step up to face the Pound for Pound King on November 4. If Mayweather finds another opponent, maybe Mosley and Margarito can lock horns, to prove who is the most worthy challenger for Mayweather. Back to back knockouts of Fernando Vargas and then a knock out of Margarito, at the hands of Mosley, could make a Mayweather vs Mosley fight bigger than ever, should it eventually happen in 2007.

At this time, Mayweather vs Mosley is the fight I want to see at 147lbs. At 147lbs, I believe Mosley is Mayweather's greatest threat. Before Hatton struggled against Luis Collazo, and looked out of his element at 147lbs, I felt as though Hatton might be Mayweather's greatest test. Maybe not. After seeing Mosley dominate a physically bigger Vargas, and look better than he has looked in the ring in many years, I believe Mosley could be Mayweather's stiffest test. Maybe the stiffest test of Mayweather has yet to face up until this point of his flawless career.

Mosley still has exceptional handspeed for a fighter in the 147-154lb neighborhood and he's capable of switching to southpaw. He is a tremendous switch hitter. Judah's handspeed and southpaw stance troubled Mayweather in the early rounds of their fight last April. Mosley possibly has equal speed to Judah, can also fight effectively as a southpaw, and will not crack under pressure the way Judah has on several occasions in the late rounds of his most difficult fights (Pineda, Baldomir, Mayweather, etc).

Shane should step up, accept the greatest payday of his career, and challenge Floyd Mayweather. It may in fact be Mosley's last opportunity to accomplish something spectacular in the sport; something that could potentially once again catapult him to the top of the boxing world and boxing's Pound for Pound lists. Sugar Shane, opportunity is knocking at your door.

Antonio Margarito, on the other hand, should face AND defeat a legitimate threat before he proclaims himself as the most feared man in boxing. Less talking and more fighting. There are plenty of worthy and capable challenges out there for the so-called most feared man in boxing, and the so-called greatest threat to Mayweather. Greatest threat to Mayweather??? Based on WHAT?????

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Baldomir stops Gatti in nine... hopefully he sent him into retirement!

Last weekend at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ, World Welterweight Champion Carlos Balomdir stopped Arturo Gatti in nine rounds.

After a rather successful opening round for Gatti, a slow feeling out round in which Gatti was able to move around and box with Baldomir, Baldomir's natural welterweight strength and accurate right hand managed to tell the tale for the rest of the evening. As the rounds progressed, Baldomir's right hand appeared to find its target with increasing frequency.

In the fifth round, Gatti seemed to hurt his hand, which added to the jeopardy that Baldomir was placing him in round by round. As Larry Merchant eluded to at ringside, the silence of the pro-Gatti cult-like crowd, packed tight inside Boardwalk Hall, was not unlike that of a funeral. In the ninth round, Baldomir trapped Gatti on the ropes, unleashing a series of sledgehammer shots and knocking Gatti down with a monster left hook.

Gatti got up at the count of six, but Baldomir jumped on him, attacked him, and knocked him down once again. Referee Wayne Hedgepath had seen enough and mercifully called a halt to the bout. Hopefully, this was the final appearance of Arturo Gatti entering a ring for a prize fight. Arturo has clearly seen better days, and should retire while he is still healthy, perhaps even taking Fernando Vargas along with him.

After all is said and done, Baldomir is still the recognized Welterweight Champion of the world. With this big victory over Gatti, Baldomir has successfully made his first title defense. Gatti is the 2nd opponent whom Baldomir went to his hometown and achieved victory, the first being his well-deserved title winning victory over Zab Judah last January.

Baldomir is a tremendously strong welterweight who can punch and take a punch. He is not the fastest guy in the world, but he is quite solid in his attack and his durability. Santa Fay, Argentina, Baldomir's home country, also produced Carlos Monzon, one of the greatest middleweight champions of all time. In this day and age, Santa Fay says hello to their biggest star champion fighting at the present time, Welterweight Champion Carlos Baldomir.

Would anybody be interested in seeing Baldomir, the hometown striker, defend his Welterweight Championship against Pound 4 Pound Picasso Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas, NV or Grand Rapids Michigan???

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Mosley stops Vargas!

Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Sugar Shane Mosley once again managed to stop Fernando Vargas, but with considerably less controversy.

Speed kills, and it was the speed of Mosley that befuddled a listless Vargas, who this time around, did not look like he belonged in the same ring with his vastly superior opponent. Vargas, both of hands of feet, looked exceptionally slow. He just could not pull the trigger or even manage to put Mosley in any type of jeopardy. Mosley's right hand seemed to fight its target rather easily, but it may have been the left hand that did most of the damage this time around. After five one sided rounds won by Mosley, Mosley managed to cut Vargas right eye with a left hook, and dropped him later in the round. Vargas barely beat the count, was seriously hurt. Referee Kenny Bayless let the fight continue, but Mosley immediately reigned a series of a devastating combination punches on his battered opponent, prompting Bayless to stop the carnage just seconds later.

Where do both fighters go from here? Hopefully last night's one-sided loss signals retirement from the square ring for El Feroz. The man appears to have seen better days. This was a case of a young kid, years ago, spending himself way to early by fighting dangerous and more experienced opponents too soon in his career. Spending himself before he even reached his prime, Vargas fought all of the top notch champions and skilled boxers one after the other. From Winky Wright, to Ike Quartey, to Felix Trinidad, and on to Oscar De la hoya, he has provided fans with memorable wars that were crowdpleasing affairs, but he also sustained a great deal of accumulated punishment over the years. Best of luck to Fernando Vargas, a fellow who I have always had a great deal of admiration for. Great heart, but I would tell him to retire while he still has his wits about him.

As for Sugar Shane Mosley, he may have performed better in this fight, than he did in his previous engagement with Vargas. This fight, too, was fought at 154lbs, which was out of Mosley's natural element. Back down to 147lbs? Could well be. After seeing what Mosley did last night at 154lbs, I would love to see him move back down to 147lbs for a showdown with Pound for King King Floyd Mayweather Jr. Taking note of Zab Judah's success in the first five rounds against Mayweather, it would be interesting to see what type of challenge Mosley puts forth against the sweet science's modern day picasso.

Mosley, unlike Judah, is not a natural southpaw, but he's been known to fight from the southpaw stance rather effectively [you may recall that he changed the tide of his first fight against Oscar De la hoya by switching to southpaw]. Mosley is a switch hitter, with perhaps greater speed than Judah.

Yes, Mayweather vs Mosley is an intriguing matchup at 147lbs. Let's see it happen, hopefully early in 2007.

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Mosley,Vargas meet again tonight in rematch!

After having fought each other at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, NV approximately five months ago, former world champions Sugar Shane Mosley and Fernando Vargas return for a second engagement, once again in Las Vegas, but this time at the MGM Grand Garden. In their previous bout, the fight had shifting tides of fortune, but was stopped due to severe swelling around Vargas' left eye.

Swelling, the product of Mosley's repeated right hands landed in the first few rounds, influenced the ring side doctor to stop the fight. After Mosley experienced success in the first three rounds, Vargas did come back to win rounds four through seven with affective aggressiveness. When the eye became too much of a handicap, Mosley began to regain command and win rounds eight and nine, enroute to the stoppage in the tenth round. Tonight is the eagerly anticipated rematch, which is probably happening at just the right time.

Too many rematches over the years have happened years too late. Sugar Ray Leonard and Tommy Hearns fought their legendary welterweight battle in 1981, in which Leonard stopped Hearns in the fourth round. They did not have a rematch until eight years later, in June of 1989. Julio Cesar Chavez and Meldrick Taylor fought in what many considered to be the fight of that decade [and perhaps the most controversial]. They did not rematch until four years later, 1994.

How refreshing it is to see two fighters, two former champions, who had staged one hell of a fight for boxing fans, having their rematch within a reasonable time frame. Let us hope it is every bit as thrilling as their original encounter.

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