Hopkins -vs- Calzaghe only weeks away: Pound for pound, where should the winner be placed?

Over the course of the past year, the race for the position of best pound for pound fighter in the world seems to be narrowing. Floyd Mayweather, with his wins over Arturo Gatti, Zab Judah, Carlos Baldomir, Oscar De la hoya, and Ricky Hatton rightfully earned him the position at the top of Pound for Pound lists.

However, Bernard Hopkins, having lost controversial decisions to Jermain Taylor in 2005, returned in 2006 and 2007 to defeat betting favorites Antonio Tarver and Winky Wright. Tarver and Wright were both respectively top five pound for pounders at the time that Hopkins beat them.

Should Hopkins prevail against reigning undefeated Super Middleweight king Joe Calzaghe in their light heavyweight showdown on April 19, that will mark the third top five pounder for pounder he has defeated. That would mark the third consecutive time the 43 year old, a betting underdog, has defied logic and beaten one of boxing's outstanding performers.

Where does Calzaghe rank if does what's expected on paper and beats Hopkins? However, if Hopkins upsets Calzaghe and gives him his first loss, does he deserve to replace Mayweather as the Pound for Pound best fighter in world?

In terms of the fight on April 19, I've been back and forth quite a bit on who I'm picking to win. Watching Calzaghe in his performance against Kessler last November, and Hopkins less than inspiring victory over Wright last July, I was initially picking Calzaghe. But after weighing experience and their history, Hopkins has so much more experience over Calzaghe in every facet of the game. He's fought in America, he's fought overseas, and I can name five great fighters (win or lose) that Hopkins has been in the ring with. I can't name one on Joe's record. Calzaghe is an excellent fighter, don't get me wrong. The man can fight, but he's shown that how well he fights against the quality of opposition that he's faced up to this point, in the comfort of his home town and country.

Calzaghe is going to throw a lot of punches, which will leave him OPEN for many shots in return. Hopkins throws more punches than people give him credit for (he outworked Wright, when many felt it would be the other way around), and his defense is underrated as well. Look for Calzaghe to take the first few rounds or so, as Hopkins adjusts to his activity level, but as the fight progresses, Calzaghe will get sloppier and sloppier, as Hopkins (who will actually be the puncher in this fight) begins to counter with crisper and more accurate shots that will take their toll on the Welshmen.

As this happens, you will see 43 year old begin to outwork the workman-line Welshmen in the championship rounds (similar to Nate Campbell vs Juan Diaz). Hopkins won't stop Calzaghe, but it is my belief at this time that he will whoop him over 12 rounds.

Calzaghe is an excellent fighter - with potential for greatness.
Hopkins is an excellent great fighter - with potential for all-time greatness and is a guaranteed Hall of Famer.
Hopkins is going to take Calzaghe to Hell and back.

While Hopkins is the ripe old age of 43, Calzaghe is no spring chicken himself at 36 and he doesn't have the punching power to hurt Hopkins. Calzaghe is just going to be latest of a series of southpaws that Hopkins feasts on. Might not necessarily be the cleanest, prettiest or most pleasing thing to watch, but Hopkins will get the job done. Welcome to America, Joe.

Just weeks away from the fight, I like Hopkins by unanimous decision.
116-112 on all three cards.

Read More

Boxing Chronicles online store

In association with Amazon

BOOKS

DVDs
(An abundant collection of documentaries and motion pictures)

BOXING GEAR

Read More

Differences between Mosley and Judah: Why Mosley should emerge victorious come May 31!

Throughout the week, Shane Mosley and Zab Judah have been promoting their fight on their press tour. This fight is a 12 round welterweight bout (but no title on the line!?) and it's being televised on HBO PPV.

Both fighters are coming off losses to Miguel Cotto in the last big fight that they have had. Each combatant is fully capable of selling a PPV fight against a bigger name or superstar in the sport (such as Oscar De la hoya, Floyd Mayweather, or Miguel Cotto), but it remains questionable as to how well they'll do at the box office in a PPV against one another in the absence of those bigger names.

HBO World Championship Boxing or even Boxing After Dark may very well have been the better looks for the telecast of this event, as it is definitely not a PPV quality fight, but I won't complain either way due to the fact that I rarely pay to watch PPV boxing matches. I usually watch them for free at my local sportsbar, which is by far the best sportsbar in my state and probably one of the top sportsbars in the country.

I view this fight as an opportunity for Mosley to make one last great stand for a run at greater opportunities, as the clock is ticking on the career of the 35 year old Hame of Famer. He wants another run at a championship or a big money fight, so he knows he has to beat Judah impressively. I believe he is going to do just that. Mosley is on another level from Judah in almost every facet of the game except for age and power.

Judah's power might be be neutralized by Shane's toughness and how well Shane can take a punch. Cotto hit Mosley with some murderous shots both to the head and body and he still couldn't break Mosley's will. With the shots that Cotto did land on Mosley in the first seven rounds, he still found himself hurt, on the receiving end of some fire that was coming back at him, and he was in retreat the last four rounds trying to run out the clock and finish the fight.

With Judah, it was just the opposite against Cotto. Judah had a good first round when he rocked Cotto with an uppercut and was hit with a low blow shortly thereafter, but after that Cotto pretty much assumed full command of the fight. By the 6th round, Judah's will was broken, he was taking a beating, and had the look of a discouraged and defeated fighter by round 9. When the going was getting rougher and rougher, the tough certainly did not get going. Instead, it crumbled to the canvas in the eleventh round.

I'm not just using the Cotto fight as my basis for picking the winner here either. History does not tell lies. Look at Judah's recent big fights. From Baldomir, to Mayweather, to Cotto, they all have the same pattern. Judah gets off to a good start, the opponent adjusts to what Judah has done in order to start so well, and Judah doesn't have a plan B, C, or D after that. He then loses focus and is broken down as the fight goes progresses.

Mosley is the exact opposite. If what he is doing is not working for him in a tough fight, he will move to other plans to get himself back into the fight. He did it against De la hoya both times, coming on in the 2nd half of those fights. Particularly in the first fight with Oscar, Mosley switched to southpaw in the eighth round and confused Oscar for the remainder of that fight by fighting from a new position and switching up. Against Cotto as well, he was taking a beating in the middle rounds, but got up on his toes at about the 7th round, moved around a little bit, and started setting Cotto up for the power shots that hurt Cotto in rounds 9 and 10.Judah is more skilled and more athletically gifted than most fighters who are active in the game today.

Judah can talk to Vernon Forrest and Winky Wright all he wants in order to get tips on how to beat Mosley, but skills are one thing and intelligence is another. Judah has some tools to work with, but we've seen what happens when his opponents take away his toolbox. What happens? He can't work and doesn't know what to do, and in essence, slips into survival mode and gets broken down. Judah's weaker mindset and limited ability to adapt in a challenging fight are made to order for Mosley in this case.

My impression early on is that Mosley should knock Judah out in about eight rounds or so.

Read More

Bundrage outpoints Ouma; gives former champion third straight loss!

SALAMANCA, N.Y. (AP)—Cornelius Bundrage unanimously outpointed Kassim Ouma in a 10-round light middleweight bout Friday night.

Bundrage had winning scores of 96-93, 95-94 and 96-93 from the judges.

After three rounds of relative inactivity, save for a low-blow warning on Bundrage (28-3), the action intensified when Ouma (25-5-1-1), born in Uganda and living in West Palm Beach, Fla., opened up a large cut above Bundrage’s left eye with an inadvertent head butt. Ouma tried to work the cut but could not force a technical knockout.

Bundrage, from Detroit, took control of the fight in the seventh round with a big right hook and several more direct punches to Ouma’s face. Bundrage’s victory appeared in jeopardy after he received a point deduction for holding in the eighth round, but he continued to land big punches until the fight’s end.

Sources: AP, Yahoo

____________________________________________________________

My two cents worth:

For K9 Bundrage, this marks the biggest win of his career to date. Coming off the KO loss to Joel Julio, Bundrage needed a signature win to keep him in contention. Coming off two straight losses, perhaps it was the former IBF Jr Middleweight Champion, Ouma, who needed to come out victorious even more so than his opponent. The loss puts Ouma's career in serious jeopardy, as he must now go back to the drawing board. Bundrage, on the other hand, may be able to capitalize on this win and get himself a big fight (by his standards) down the road in this 154lb wasteland division. The fight was televised live on ESPN Friday night fights.

Read More

Verno Phillips dethrones Cory Spinks for IBF Jr Middleweight Title!

Phillips regains title, in a jr middleweight division that has become a wasteland.

I didn't actually see the fight, but it remains shocking that Verno Phillips went into defending IBF Jr Middleweight Champion Cory Spinks' backyard and left the Scottrade Center in St Louis with the title by a split decision. Live feed of this title fight was broadcast on Don King's website. If Phillips won a split decision in Spinks' backyard, then there's a chance he won the fight convincingly. Spinks' fight against Karmazin in 2006 was debatable in some people's eyes, but I would have to see last night's fight for myself before I make any assumptions.

Spinks may have seen better days, as he's been an inactive fighter as of late who has gone 0-2 in his last couple of fights. He labored in obscurity for months waiting for guys like Vernon Forrest (WBC champion) and Joachine Alcine (WBA) to unify, believing that they should be doing all of the work to unify the division. Spinks had basically been looking for reasons NOT to fight.

Add to the fact that he previously fought the defending Undisputed Middleweight Champion Jermain Taylor in May of 2007 at 160lbs, remained inactive for nearly a year following the split decision loss he suffered to Taylor, and then probably had to work extra hard to shred the accumulated weight gain to come back down to 154lbs to defend his title there. It's not exactly an appropriate formula for victory.

Having said that, the 154lb division has really become a wasteland - it's what the cruiserweight division used to be. Cruiserweight, 200lbs, was either a wasteland to stop off at on fighter's treks from 175lbs to heavyweight, or a wasteland that was to be skipped all together. Recently, the cruiserweight division has seen some good action from its champions and top contenders such as Steve Cunningham, David Haye, Jean Mormeck, and O'Neil Bell. What the cruiserweight division used to be, prior to the comeuppance of the names mentioned, is exactly what the jr middleweight division has become.

At welterweight, we have Floyd Mayweather, Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley, Zab Judah, Carlos Quintana, Paul Williams, Antonio Margarito, and Kermit Cintron. Middleweight does not have nearly as much of an adundance, with Kelly Pavlik, Arthur Abraham, Felix Sturm, Winky Wright (coming back down) and Giovanni Lorenzo, but there's more there than there is at 154lbs, which is a division that has practically nothing.

At this time, the titleholders are Forrest (WBC), Phillips (IBF), and Alcine (WBA). That combination does not make for lucrative mega fights by any means. Perhaps when Cotto grows out of the welterweight division and moves up to 154lbs, and he'll have those three guys waiting for him.

In any case, congratulations to Verno Phillips.

Read More

Boxing Chronicles Q/A: Roy Jones, Jr!

Thanks to Boxingtalk having him as a guest in the chatroom, Boxing Chronicles had the chance to get share a few words with Former Pound for Pound King Roy Jones, Jr. The following is what he had to say about his proposed UFC battle with Anderson Silva, Hopkins vs Calzaghe, the upcoming light heavyweight fights on Showtime, and more!

Bryan Bradley: Roy, welcome to the chatroom. Great to see you in here with us. I’ve been a fan of yours since I was in high school. Obviously you have interest in a proposed UFC fight with Anderson Silva. In boxing, however, we got the Showtime light heavyweight tournament coming up. We got Hopkins/Calzaghe. You’ve mounted a nice little winning streak since the third Tarver fight. What are your goals for the remainder of the year? Where do you want to be, lets say mid 2009? Light Heavyweight Champ of the world?

Roy Jones, Jr: My main goal is to first fight Silva, then move on to fight the winner of the Hopkins-Calzaghe fight. If it's Calzaghe I could make the fight, if it's Hopkins he don't really fight me. And then maybe I'll fight the winner of the Showtime light heavyweight tournament next year. I also heard Danny Green gave up his title and I might be in the running for that right now too.

BB: Roy, in the Showtime light heavyweight round robbin, I recall you saying that the result of that could be a big mess, because we could potentially get Woods/Johnson IV or Tarver/Johnson III which is are fights that the people don’t necessarily care to see. Who do you believe comes out of that on top? Who do you want to come out of that on top, because Johnson is probably a rematch you really want from a revenge standpoint. Thanks!

RJ: Not just for revenge, I just want the rematch with him. If you look at the big picture none of those guys are the former heavyweight champion of the world.

Read More

Boxing Chronicles Scorecard: Casamayor -vs- Katsidis

Round 1: 10-7 Casamayor
Round 2: 10-9 Casamayor Total: 20-16 Casamayor
Round 3: 10-9 Katsidis Total: 29-26 Casamayor
Round 4: 10-9 Katsidis Total: 38-36 Casamayor
Round 5: 10-9 Katsidis Total: 47-46 Casamayor
Round 6: 10-8 Katsidis Total: 56-55 Katsidis
Round 7: 10-9 Katsidis Total: 66-64 Katsidis
Round 8: 10-9 Casamayor Total: 75-74 Katsidis
Round 9: 9-9 Total: 84-83 Katsidis
Round 10:

Casamayor wins by KO.

Officials:
84-83 Katsidis
84-83 Katsidis
85-82 Casamayor

Read More

Casamayor stops Katsidis in an exciting war!

Joel Casamayor turned back clock a bit tonight against Michael Katsidis, stopping the younger fighter in the 10th round of what was a sensational crowdpleasing affair. In the first round, Casamayor stunned Katsidis with straight left hands and managed to drop him twice. A brave Katsidis rose from both of the flash knockdowns and managed to finish the round.

Casamayor displayed his cageyness in dealing with the incoming rushes of Katsidis by settling down into more of a counterpuncher's role in round two and catching Katsidis as he would attempt to close the distance. Katsidis showed more effort in rounds three through five, as he applied constant pressure and fired hooks to Casamayor's body. His style, the way he applied pressure and threw shots in this fight, somewhat reminded me of Ricky Hatton. Casamayor looked to be gradually slowing down (due to the body shots, from my view) by the 6th round, when Katsidis stunned and off balance Casamayor, hurt him with a body shot, and knocked him through ropes!

Casamayor made his way back into the ring by the count of the nine and made it out of the round. In rounds eight and nine, experience and skill became major factors in the fight as Casamayor began to turn the tide back into his favor by utilizing the space in the ring and outboxing Katsidis. Referee Jon Schorle docked Casamayor a point for low blows in round nine. In round 10, Casamayor dropped Katsidis and had him in on wobbly legs when Schorle opted to rescue Katsidis from taking any further punishment and declared Casamayor the winner by TKO. As it turns out, I was wrong in my analysis. I was very very very wrong.

Official scores prior to the knockout were 84-83, 84-83 Katsidis and 85-82 Casamayor. Boxing Chronicles had it 84-83 Katsidis at the time of the stoppage. The scoring was irrelevant, however, as Casamayor retained his linear lightweight championship. The only fight that matters at lightweight right now is Casamayor vs Campbell II for all of the marbles!

On the undercard, former world title challenger and television favorite Librado Andrade stopped Michael Stieglitz in the eighth round of a twelve round IBF super middleweight elimination fight.

Read More

Casamayor, Katsidis square off tonight for linear lightweight title

Greetings, fight fans. We are faced with yet another lightweight fight of significance this month. Two weeks ago in Cancun Mexico, we saw Nate Campbell upset previously undefeated lightweight titleholder Juan Diaz for three of the lightweight titles in a fight that is already a candidate for fight of the year. Coming off such a big win, Campbell is now widely regarded as the best lightweight in the world. Who exactly holds the title as the people's lightweight champion of the world is still up for debate at this moment. Tonight, the linear lightweight championship is on the line in a fight between Champion Joel Casamayor and Michael Katsidis.

Casamayor looked horrifically faded when he fought Santa Cruz this past November. He clearly lost that fight, but was awarded a gift split decision (you may recall I put this in the highway robbery category and rightfully so). It may have been an off night, but I don't think that's the reason for his performance. Casamayor is a mere shell of his old self. Lately when I look at Casamayor, I see an old fighter whose skills have erroded considerably. If it was the younger Casamayor, who beat the likes of Roberto Garcia and Diego Corrales, the result of tonight's showdown might indeed be a different story. But against Santa Cruz, Casamayor looked like an amateur who was fighting on spaghetti legs. He couldn't pull the trigger, either, and those are the signs of an aged fighter.

Dating back to his fight against Lamont Pearson in July of 2006 on an edition of ESPN Friday Night Fights, in what was supposed to be a tune up for a proposed title fight against Corrales, Casamayor looked very ordinary and flat. Pearson was actually winning rounds early. Casamayor stopped him late. Prior to his fight with Pearson, Casamayor was probably fortunate to get a draw with Almazbek Raiymkulov in a fight that he probably should've lost. That was the same guy whom current lightweight titlist Campbell smacked around, dominated, and stopped on the Tarver/Jones III undercard. Against Corrales in October 2006, Casamayor barely won their third fight on a split decision and looked flat doing so. Corrales, rest in peace, had not the been same since he fought Castillo in their first fight in May of 2005.

Katsidis, the younger and stronger fighter, will put an exclamation point on what Santa Cruz previously exposed. The jury is still out as to whether Katsidis is the next big thing in the lightweight division. He might be just a bit overrated, so I don't know he's the next special fighter to emerge on the scene, but he could very possibly be the next big attraction in the lightweight division!

Maybe Katsidis is the next Arturo Gatti??? He cuts and bleeds like Gatti, and he's fun to watch, but he's also won all of his fights up to this fight (even if it's been against somewhat limited opposition) and he can punch. Hopefully we get just as exciting of a fight tomorrow night as we got 12 years ago when Gatti fought for and won his first world title against Tracy Harris Patterson.

Surely Casamayor will come into this fight more motivated than he was for Santa Cruz, knowing that Katsidis is a strong relentless brawler who is young, undefeated, and hungry to win a world title. Motivation only does so much to strengthen the mind, but when the flesh is weak and worn down at the end of a long career, the mind has limited capabilities. Casamayor did handle a skilled slugger in Corrales in three fights (taking two of the three in their memorable trilogy), but unfortunately for him, he's all the more shop worn as a result of those tough fights and it was painfully obvious in his fight against Santa Cruz.

Lets face it. Santa Cruz, who was such a substantial underdog in a fight of that magnitude, practically shut out Casamayor! Casamayor was tripping all over himself as he ran aimless around the ring, and mostly importantly... NOT throwing punches. Casamayor's only chance, in my honest opinion, is to stop Katsidis on cuts.

Prediction: I have to pick Katsidis by split decision is an excellent fight, that should probably be unanimous. In this case, will beats skill being that the will is greater and the skill is substantially diminished.

Read More

Mosley -vs- Judah done deal for May 31 in Las Vegas!

On Saturday May 31, former welterweight champions Shane Mosley and Zab Judah will meet in a 12 round welterweight contest that will be televised live on HBO PPV. Both fighters are coming off failed title challenges to undefeated WBA welterweight champion Miguel Cotto. Judah stunned Cotto in the first round of their title fight in June of last year, but was twice hit below the belt, and was gradually punished as the fight wore on. Eventually Cotto dropped Judah and stopped him with a barrage of punches in the eleventh round. Mosley was the next opponent for Cotto in November, in a fight in which Mosley was much more competitive against Cotto than Judah was. In what was a great welterweight championship battle that provided fireworks and high volume contact, Cotto won a close unanimous decision. Some viewers scored the fight a draw (such as yours truly) while others even believed that Mosley did enough to win the fight. For now, Cotto is in the past for both Mosley and Judah, as the two former champions prepare to square off against each other in hopes of landing another big mega fight of significance.

Read More

Boxing Chronicles Scorecard: Pacquiao -vs- Marquez II

Tonight on HBO Boxing After Dark, linear lightweight champion Joel Casamayor will meet undefeated WBO interim champion Michael Katsidis in lightweight fight scheduled for 12 rounds. Prior to the live telecast, however, those who did not see the rematch on HBO PPV from last week between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez will have a chance to see the replay on HBO tonight. As we all know, Pacquiao emerged victorious by a razor thin split decision victory that has been debated amongst boxing experts, media, and fans all week. The three official judges scored the fight 115-112 Marquez, 115-112 and 114-113 for Pacquiao. If you are watching the fight for the first time and would like to score it for yourself, feel free to compare your score to mine. Here is how I scored Pacquiao/Marquez II, round by round, in what was a see saw battle with a number of hotly contested close rounds.

Round 1: 10-9 Marquez
Round 2: 10-9 Marquez Total: 20-18 Marquez
Round 3: 10-8 Pacquiao Total: 28-28
Round 4: 10-9 Pacquiao Total: 38-37 Pacquiao
Round 5: 10-9 Marquez Total: 47-47
Round 6: 10-9 Marquez Total: 57-56 Marquez
Round 7: 10-9 Pacquiao Total: 66-66
Round 8: 10-9 Marquez Total: 76-75 Marquez
Round 9: 10-9 Pacquiao Total: 85-85
Round 10: 10-9 Pacquiao Total: 95-94 Pacquiao
Round 11: 10-9 Marquez Total: 104-104
Round 12: 10-9 Marquez

Total: 114-113 (7-5) Juan Manuel Marquez

Read More

Pacquiao edges out Marquez for Super Featherweight Championship

Pacquiao says no to third fight with Marquez!

Last night at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, NV Manny Pacquiao won a disputed split decision over Juan Manuel Marquez for the WBC Super Featherweight Championship.

Pacquiao scored a knockdown of Marquez in the third round, which is what made the difference in the decision for the Philipino superstar. The judges scored the fight 115-112 Marquez, 115-112 and 114-113 Pacquiao. Boxing Chronicles gave Marquez a slight edge, scoring the fight 114-113.

This fight was a rematch of their classic battle from May 2004, which ended in a questionable draw. Following their first fight, it was my belief that Pacquiao deserved the decision based on the three knockdowns he scored in the first round. In the rematch, however, I felt as though Marquez was the one who had done enough to win the fight. You won't hear me cry robbery, though, as this was fight was extremely close and the decision could have gone to either fighter.

In reality, this fight was a one point, two points at the most, win for either fighter. It all depends on what style you preferred. You either liked Pacquiao's clearer power shots and Marquez's counterpunching style. In any case, this was a terrific seesaw battle that will surely be a fight of the year candidate for 2008. The fight was televised on HBO Pay Per View.

Pacquiao made it clear in the post fight interview and press conference that he will not give Marquez a rematch. His business with Marquez is finished and he looks forward to moving up to 135lbs. Pacquiao is tentatively scheduled to face Lightweight titlist David Diaz on June 28 later this year.

Read More

Playing catchup: Results from Cancun, Mexico last weekend!

Sam Peter KO6 Oleg Maskaev
Wins WBC Heavyweight Championship.

Decent win for Peter, who firmly and confidently chanted after the fight, "Who's next" to Max Kellerman. The WBC will probably push for a fight between the newly crowned Peter and WBC Champion Emeritus Vitali Klitschko. In my opinion, that is the wrong Klitschko. I don't see Vitali coming back any time soon. If he does, I want to see him make it through a training camp injury free. Give us Wladimir Klitschko vs Sam Peter, the rematch, for all the marbles at heavyweight. That's the only heavyweight fight that matters at this moment. Although Peter lost a unanimous decision to Wladimir over two years ago, in a fight in which Peter dropped Wladimir three times in the fifth round, Peter created a mandate for a rematch by twice defeating James Toney for the WBC mandatory spot and knocking out Maskaev for the title. With the win, Peter becomes the first Nigerian to win a heavyweight title belt.

Nate Campbell WSplit12 Juan Diaz
Wins IBF/WBA/WBO Lightweight Championship

What a career defining performance and upset title-winning victory by Nate Campbell. This man came to Mexico on a mission, which had been documented months leading up to the fight in interviews with a bunch of journalists. He appeared to be super confident going into the fight and did everything he said he would do. He threw more punches than Juan Diaz, worked Diaz body from the outset, and virtually took Diaz out of his element over the course of the last six rounds. After five give and take rounds, Campbell pretty much dominated the fight from the sixth round on. Campbell was deducted a point in round six for a headbutt. In the end, the point deduction was immaterial as the judges awarded Campbell a close split decision. Scores: 114-113 Diaz, 116-111, 115-112 Campbell. While I failed to score the fight round by round, it appeared to me as though Campbell won the fight handily. I probably agree most with the score of 116-111 for Campbell.

Both fights were televised on HBO World Championship boxing.

Next weekend, on HBO Boxing After Dark, linear and WBC Lightweight Champion Joel Casamayor is scheduled to defend his title against Michael Katsidis. Whoever wins that fight should be mandated to face Campbell. While Casamayor is the linear champion, Campbell is clearly the number one guy in the division based on his win over Diaz last weekend. Give us the winner of Casamayor and Katsidis against Campbell. That's the only fight that matters in the lightweight division.

Read More

Duddy's chances (or no chance) of victory against Pavlik?

On the undercard of Klitschko/Ibragimov, middleweight contender John Duddy fought Walid Smichet (I had to check fightnews to get his exact name right, which indicates just how unknown he is) and was lucky to escape Madison Square Garden with a W according to many of the journalists and viewers at ringside. During the telecast of Klitschko/Ibragimov, HBO showed some highlights of Duddy's fight and it appeared as though he was taking a really bad beating. He had suffered a number of lacerations on his face and had a really badly busted up left eye.

However, being the a NY fighter and knowing that a potential title fight with middleweight king Kelly Pavlik could potentially be on the horizon for June in that very same ring, the official judges awarded Duddy with a majority decision. The official scores were 95-95, 98-92 (twice). A fight between Pavlik and Duddy will draw the masses from the metropolitan area, possibly Ireland (knowing that Duddy is an Irishman who resides in the NY), and Youngstown OH, but judging from the highlights of Duddy's performance last night, that match up is also going to produce a one-sided massacre!

Kelly Pavlik is a world champion and the jury is still out as to whether Duddy is even world class. He's a hype job who has been carefully protected throughout his career, and taking on Pavlik would be going from a small mud puddle to the ocean. Such a move can almost be classified as career suicide. Based on the cuts on the Duddy's face, and the time it will take for them to heal, a June showdown with Pavlik is likely in jeopardy for the time being.

Read More

Klitschko outclasses and outpoints Ibragimov!

Wladimir Klitschko retained his IBF/IBO heavyweight titles and won the WBO belt by defeating Sultan Ibragimov with an extremely cautious, yet dominant unanimous decision win at Madison Square Garden.

Klitschko's primary weapon was the left land; he couldn't miss Ibragimov with that shot. So much for Ibragimov taking Klitschko's height away. As I said before the fight, Wladimir Klitschko is a tall man with amateur experience. Paul Williams is a tall man with no amateur experience and gave his height away when he lost to Carlos Quintana. Ibragimov was not as fortunate to accomplish the same feat tonight.

Occasionally Klitschko would fire his signature right hand that has put so many previous victims to sleep, but rarely did he fire that punch tonight. Even trainer Manny Steward expressed his disenchantment, implying, "you shouldn't even be going twelve rounds with this guy." Had Klitschko thrown as many right hands at Ibragimov as he did against Chris Byrd two years ago, my prediction of a 9th round knockout may have very well come true. Yet, Klitschko elected to fight a safety first fight and won on points instead.

Official scores were 119-110, 117-111, and 118-110. Boxing Chronicles scored it 119-109, giving Ibragimov round 1.

Read More

Heavy weight house cleaning Part I: Klitschko, Ibragimov meet tonight to unify two titles!

First heavyweight title unification fight since 1999!

Tonight at Madison Square Garden in New York City, the universally recognized #1 heavyweight in the world, Wladimir Klitschko, will put his IBF/IBO belts on the line in a unification match with undefeated WBO titlist Sultan Ibragimov. Ibragimov is coming off two back to back wins over Shannon Briggs and Evander Holyfield. Klitschko has beaten the likes of Samuel Peter (who is challenging WBC champion Oleg Maskaev on March 8 in Cancun), Chris Byrd, Calvin Brock, and Lamon Brewster.

This fight marks the first heavyweight unification in nine years, the last one taking in 1999 between Holyfield and Lennox Lewis. For Klitschko, this is an opportunity to advance his status as the best heavyweight in the world on his march to the legitimate world heavyweight title. Ibragimov, on the other hand, hopes to use his amateur experience as well as his awkward southpaw style to derail the Dr Ironfist Express and make his own noble climb to the championship. Maskaev and Peter might have something to say about this, but first they must handle their own business on March 8.

Take the Klitschko/Ibragimov winner and put him against the winner of Maskaev/Peter and that, ladies and gentlemen and boxing fans, will give you the Universally recognized heavyweight champion of the world. First thing is first, Klitschko and Ibragimov must settle their business tonight at Madison Square Garden. Let's call it chapter one in what is so far two part saga to attempt to clean up the heavyweight division.

On ESPN Friday Night Fights last night, Teddy Atlas shockingly picked Ibragimov to win this fight. The reasons behind his prediction were his beliefs that Ibragimov would take away Klitschko's height and reach and force him to fight a little man's fight, using the method and strategy of the Carlos Quintana's upset win over Paul Williams a couple weeks ago as his analogy.
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, that is not always going to happen in fights between tall and short fighters. I would remind you that Williams also had no amateur experience, whereas Klitschko was a 1996 Olympic Gold Medalist. Ibragimov had an extensive amateur background as well, so that truly makes this a case of good big man against good smaller man.

As I look at the one common opponent both of tonight's combatants share on their respective professional records, Ray Austin, I recall Ibragimov struggling to a split decision draw against Austin in July of 2006, while Klitschko virtually crushed Austin and made him look like an over matched sparring partner in less than two rounds. That is one of the many reasons why Klitschko is the favorite going into this fight. Not only for that reason, but also for the fact that he's faced the better quality of opposition and he has more professional experience than his opponent.

When two pugilists have extensive amateur experience, it can sometimes come down to size and professional experience. That is where Klitschko has an edge over Ibragimov. Klitschko is the bigger man. Bigger man, bigger punch.

Prediction: Klitschko by KO9.

Read More

Boxing Chronicles Scorecard: Pavlik/Taylor II

Here is how I scored the fight Pavlik/Taylor fight last weekend, round by round. If you have not yet seen the fight, be sure to tune in to HBO tomorrow night. The fight will be rebroadcast as part of a doubleheader with the live heavyweight title unification fight between Wladimir Klitschko and Sultan Ibragimov. While watching, feel free to compare your score with that of the official judges, unofficial ringside score keeper Harold Lederman (who scored the fight 115-113 for Pavlik), and yours truly who scored the fight a draw:

Round 1: 10-9 Pavlik
Round 2: 10-9 Taylor Total: 19-19
Round 3: 10-9 Taylor Total: 29-28 Taylor
Round 4: 10-9 Pavlik Total: 38-38
Round 5: 10-9 Taylor Total: 48-47 Taylor
Round 6: 10-9 Taylor Total: 58-56 Taylor
Round 7: 10-9 Pavlik Total: 67-66 Taylor
Round 8: 10-9 Taylor Total: 77-75 Taylor
Round 9: 10-9 Pavlik Total: 86-85 Taylor
Round 10: 10-9 Taylor Total: 96-94 Taylor
Round 11: 10-9 Pavlik Total: 105-104 Taylor
Round 12: 10-9 Pavlik Total: 114-114

TOTAL: 114-114 (6-6)

Read More

Back from a long hiatus: Pavlik/Taylor II post fight wrap up!

Boxing fans, I have been away from this site for a while, but a new year has been upon for a month and a half now. Guess what? This year is picking up where 2007 left off in terms of big intriguing fights.

Kelly Pavlik and Jermain Taylor fought their rematch at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas last weekend. The fight, which will be shown on HBO tomorrow night, was televised live on HBO PPV.

Let me start off by saying that I knew this fight was going 12 rounds. Very rarely do you see a great fight, which ended in a KO, end within the distance a 2nd time in a row. Usually, a rematch of a crowdpleasing fight that ended in a brutal stoppage is not as exciting and it goes the distance based on the improvements of both combatant's defense (especially Taylor is this case). As it turned out, Pavlik defeated Taylor for the second consecutive time. This time, however, it was by means of unanimous decision. The official scores were 117-111, 116-112, and 115-113. Watching this fight at my favorite local Sports bar Miami Mike's, I thought the fight was closely contested. Boxing Chronicles scored the fight a draw at 114-114. This fight was pretty much witin the neighborhood of 7-5 for either guy or a draw.

While Pavlik virtually outworked Taylor down the stretch in the final two rounds, Taylor boxed better the first nine rounds than he has in the last three years of his career. Scoring of the fight depends on whether the viewers liked Pavlik's sheer activity or Taylor's cleaner punching. I liked both respective attributes on the part of two world class pugilists. Hence, the draw on my scorecard. The official judges obviously went with the busier fighter. No argument on my end, nor should there be any argument from any of the fans or media. Even though he lost two in a row, the effort Taylor put forth to exact revenge did nothing to dampen or reduce his credibity.

I thought both guys fought a tremendous fight. In terms of a rematch living up to an original classic, that is about as close as it gets to matching the intensity, drama, and action as the fight. While it didn't quite match the brawl that they staged in Atlantic City last September, it was a highly entertaining and crowd pleasing rematch from my stand point.

Taylor's chin was never as weak as some people wanted to believe it was. It was not as though Taylor lost the first fight to Pavlik by stoppage because he had a weak chin. That's completely inaccurate. He lost because he was worn down by an accumulation of punches. Anybody who gets hit with about 20 right hands, clean on the noggin, is inevitably going to collapse. If Taylor's chin was ever as weak some people suggested, he would've been blown out by one punch. Pavlik landed a lot of punches over the course of the 19 rounds he fought with Taylor. Taylor would not have gone 19 rounds with a puncher like Pavlik if his chin was made of glass.

Where do both boxers go from here?

For Pavlik, it's a return to middleweight. His 166lb tussle with Taylor was merely a one night stand. According to Pavlik's promoter Bob Arum, Pavlik's next outing will be a defense of Middleweight Championship that will likely take place at Madison Square Garden in NY in June, either against John Duddy or Felix Trinidad. Pavlik vs Trinidad for the Middleweight Championship? So soon after Trinidad lost a fight to Roy Jones Jr at 170lbs last month? Knowing that Trinidad has fought three times in the last six years? We'll see if the governing bodies are willing to sanction that contest as a championship fight under those circumstances.

As for Taylor, he could find himself in the ring with Jones later this year. Either way, we can all be assured that Taylor's days at 160lbs are long gone. Look for him to campaign as a super middleweight when he does return to the ring again. After two grueling fights with Pavlik, Taylor is probably served taking some time off. From 2005 up until last weekend, Taylor has fought Hopkins twice, Winky Wright, Kasim Ouma, Cory Spinks, and Pavlik back to back. A rest is long over due for Taylor.

Read More

Mayweather vs Hatton: The preview and prediction!

Boxing has had an amazing year in 2007, with a number of super fights taking place. Fights such as Barrera vs. Marquez, De la hoya vs. Mayweather, Hopkins vs. Wright, Taylor vs. Pavlik, Pacquiao vs. Barrera II and Calzaghe vs. Kessler all happened much to the pleasure of boxing fans and experts.

The conclusion of this magnificent year is no exception, as Pound for Pound King and World Welterweight Champion “Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather and Jr Welterweight Champion Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton square off in a twelve round championship battle tomorrow night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The fight will be contested for Mayweather’s World Welterweight Championship, as Hatton is coming up in weight for this fight.

Two years ago, Hatton sprung to the top of the boxing ladder with his upset win of defending Jr Welterweight Champion Kostya Tszyu in Manchester, England in June of 2005. Hatton stopped Tszyu inside eleven grueling and punishing rounds when the defending elected not to come out of his corner for the twelfth and final round. Later that year, he unified the IBF and WBA Jr Welterweight belts by stopping defending WBA titlist Carlos Maussa.

Hatton previously made a trip up to 147lbs to face defending WBA Champion Luis Collazo in Boston back in May of 2006. Hatton out pointed Collazo for the title via a controversial decision. Following that victory, Hatton moved back down to 140lbs where he felt more comfortable and beat previously undefeated Juan Urango this past January.

Hatton followed up on the Urango win with an impressive fourth round stoppage for Former Two Time Lightweight Champion Jose Luis Castillo. In the ring immediately after his victory, Hatton called out Mayweather, siting that his fight with Castillo was more exciting than any performance or showing Mayweather had ever produced in his ten year career.

While watching the fight at home, Mayweather was provoked to instruct his advisor Leonard Ellerbe to, “make the f&*$ing fight.” Considered to be the consensus Pound for Pound best fighter in the world, Mayweather has won six different titles in five different weight classes in less than a nine year span and remained undefeated in doing so. Rather impressive, to say the very least. From 130lbs to 154lbs, Mayweather has defeated a who’s who of champion pugilists, such as Genaro Hernandez, Angel Manfredy, the late Diego Corrales, Jesus Chavez, Jose Luis Castillo, Arturo Gatti, Zab Judah, Carlos Baldomir, Oscar De la hoya, and the list goes on and on.

Acknowledging a fighter with such credentials, Hatton is fueled to rise to the occasion and pin the first loss on the record of his reputable opponent. Hatton himself is no push over, as he has won four titles in two weight divisions and has remained undefeated throughout his professional career. Together, Mayweather and Hatton boast a combined professional record of 81-0. The match up features a contrast of styles, pairing a boxer with speed of hand and foot against a relentless body punching brawler.

With over 50 million dollars in prize fight money banked away, does Mayweather still have that motivation and determination to give 110% of himself? Will his hands and body hold up, amidst the surgery he's gone through as seen on HBO's reality show 24/7? Is Mayweather just to fast and skilled for Hatton to deal with? Will Hatton's relentless aggression and grappling style frustrate and eventually shut down Mayweather as it did to Tszyu over two years ago? Will Hatton be susceptible to cuts?

Both men have promised a toe to toe battle. Both men have promised to emerge victorious inside the twelve round distance. The fight will be pretty even through the first eight rounds, with Mayweather and Hatton going back and forth taking rounds from each other. In some rounds, Hatton will be pressuring Floyd on the ropes and winning rounds by throwing more punches and keeping him on the defensive. In other rounds, Mayweather's defensive prowess, ring generalship, and accurate counterpunching will seize the momentum for him.

The championship rounds will tell the tale here in my opinion, and Mayweather, who has been in championship fights for almost ten years in various weight classes, will begin to showcase his experience. He may even have to dig down deep to put the fight out. Hatton throws those wide winging shots. That will keep Mayweather on his heels in the first half of the fight, and the British fans will be going "ahhhhhhhhhhh", but as the fight wears on, I see Hatton getting sloppier with that style and Mayweather coming down the middle with straighter and crisper shots catching Hatton coming in. Hatton, motivated and urged on by thousands of his countrymen in the crowd, will surely be putting forth his greatest effort, but technique, experience, and for once, being the bigger man, win this contest for Mayweather down the stretch.

Prediction: Mayweather by split decision.

Tune in to see "Undefeated" Mayweather vs Hatton live on HBO PPV at 9pm ET/6pm PT tomorrow night.

Read More

Guzman defeats Soto, but will he get a crack at Pacquiao?

Guzman wants Pacquiao, but he might have to wait in a line for that one. The whole world from 122lbs to 140lbs wants Pacquiao, but some challengers in that world command more money and attention than others!

Last night at the Borgota in Atlantic City, NJ, WBO Super Featherweight Champion Joan Guzman retained his title and kept his undefeated record in tact with a unanimous decision over Humberto Soto. Guzman utilized beautiful ring generalship at times to outbox and offset the powerful Mexican challenger. Soto had his moments when he would trap Guzman on the ropes and fire combinations and flurries to Guzman's body.

Guzman controlled the fight in the middle rounds for the most part, but seemed to coast down the stretch when Soto mounted a late round comeback out of desperation. In the eyes of the official ringside judges, it was simply too little too late for Soto. The judges awarded the fight to Guzman by scores of 117-111 (twice) and 118-110 (twice). I didn't score the fight round by round, but HBO's unofficial ringside scorer Harold Lederman scored the fighter closer at 115-113 for Guzman. The Associated Press scored the fight a draw, which may have been stretching it by just a little. Had I scored it round by round, I probably would've had it somewhere in the middle. Not as wide as the three judges, but maybe not as close as the unofficial scorers. The fight was probably 7-5, maybe 8-4 for Guzman.

In any case, this was a very good win for Guzman. Not only his best win at 130lbs, but also his career-best win to this date. Guzman would love to fight Manny Pacquiao, and he made a strong case with this win last night, but who doesn't want to fight Manny Pacquiao right now? The man brings money and a monster-sized fan base. He's helped to turn the public's attention from the heavyweights to the featherweights. Would I like to see Pacquiao/Guzman? Absolutely! I'd also like to see J.M.Marquez/Pacquiao II. In all fairness, Marquez should be Pacquiao's next fight, due to their unfinished business from three and a half years ago.

Marquez is the legitimate world champion at 130lbs, and being one of the two top pound for pound fighters in the world, that's a title that Pacquiao would probably love to take. The winner of Marquez/Pacquiao should face Guzman, who is respectably the number three guy at 130lbs right now. In all likelihood, Pacquiao will either face Marquez or move up to lightweight to face Juan Diaz in his next fight, or face Marquez and then face Juan Diaz. Those matches are where the money is at. Guzman, as good as he is, will probably have to play the waiting game - much like Winky Wright had to do for a number of years when he labored in obscurity.

Read More

Updated Pound for Pound rankings!!!

It has been a while since you saw an update of the Boxing Chronicles Pound for Pound List. With all of the significant matchups that have taken place throughout this fall, I wanted to wait until just about all of them happened. And guess what? There are some changes.

Significant changes, following middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik's title winning knockout victory of Jermain Taylor and Joe Calzaghe's successful quest to unify the super middleweight championship with a unanimous decision over Mikkell Kessler.

Where do they rank now? Click here to check out the new rankings. Feel free to comment!

Read More

Boxing Chronicles Scorecard: Cotto -vs- Mosley

Round 1: Cotto 10 Mosley 9
Round 2: Mosley Total: Cotto 19 Mosley 19
Round 3: Mosley Total: Cotto 28 Mosley 29
Round 4: Cotto Total: Cotto 38 Mosley 38
Round 5: Cotto Total: Cotto 48 Mosley 47
Round 6: Cotto Total: Cotto 58 Mosley 56
Round 7: Cotto Total: Cotto 68 Mosley 65
Round 8: Mosley Total: Cotto 77 Mosley 75
Round 9: Mosley Total: Cotto 86 Mosley 85
Round 10: Mosley Total: Cotto 95 Mosley 95
Round 11: Cotto Total: Cotto 105 Mosley 104
Round 12: Mosley

Total: 114-114 (6-6)

Read More

Cotto edges Mosley in a tremendous battle of wills!

Last night at Madison Square Garden in NYC, WBA Welterweight Champion Miguel Cotto retained his title with a unanimous decision over Shane Mosley. Cotto raised his record to 31-0, while Mosley's record fell to 44-5.

For the third time in a span of a month, I was wrong about a prediction in a big fight. First I picked Holyfield over Ibragimov. Dead wrong. Last weekend, I picked Kessler over Calzaghe. Dead wrong again. This weekend, I picked Mosley over Cotto. Wrong three times. Perhaps I can make some really good money by picking a fighter to win a fight, and then betting money the other way. Worth a try, maybe?

Back to the fight - I felt the fight was close as hell. I, for one give, credit to both fighters for giving such terrific accounts of themselves. These are two excellent fighters, fighting at an elite world class level, who tested each other wills in a fight that pretty much went back and forth. That was some truly great stuff to watch in the eyes of this observer.

In rounds one through four, the fight was pretty even and each guy took two rounds. Round one was Cotto's on the account of his cleaner punches and strong jab that was finding its target. Mosley began to loosen up a bit in rounds two and three, finding his bounce and outboxing Cotto. Cotto would begin to turn the tide in round four, however, as he applied pressure and began to nail Mosley with some hard shots to body and chin. To his credit, Mosley hit Cotto with some really good body shots as well. Mosley may very well have underestimated Cotto's hand speed, as so many other opponents have done in the past prior to entering the ring against the Puerto Rican sensation.

Rounds five through seven, it appeared as though Cotto was wearing Mosley down. At one point, I even said, "good thing I didn't put money on this one." Mosley, however, readjusted by getting up on his toes and began to bounce and throw right hands. Mosley hurt Cotto in round nine as well as in the first half of the tenth round. Cotto came back in round 11. Shane finished strong in round 12. It was an terrific fight that featured some toe to toe fighting as well as some boxing and counter punching. Could've gone either way. Both fighters gave as good as the received, but in the end, the three official ringside judges awarded the fight to Cotto by scores of 115-113 (twice) and 116-113. Boxing Chronicles scored the fight a draw, 114-114.

As many of you already know, I'm a Mosley fan. I wanted to see him win. It would've done wonders for his already brilliant career at the ripe old age of 36. Remember, this is a fighter, whom after the first fight with Winky Wright in 2004, many fans and experts believed was shot and had seen better days. Many felt it was the end of Shane's career, but not I. He proved it by fighting 12 hotly contested rounds with a young champion approaching his prime and may one day be great. Mosley had nothing to be ashamed of.

As a fan of his, I'm also an objective viewer who will tell you the fight could've gone either way and I'm content with the decision just as Mosley was after the fight. Props to Miguel Cotto for the big win.

Other results on the undercard:

Joel Casamayor rose from the canvas after an illegitimate first round knockdown to retain his Lightweight Championship with a highly controversial split decision over the game Jose Armando Santa Cruz. There is no way Casamayor won that fight. No way in hell! Santa Cruz was not only the aggressor, but he was the effective aggressor. He was throwing punches and landing some of his punches. Although his accuracy was nothing to write home about, he was landing more shots that Casamayor. Certainly, he was landing more power shots. Casamayor showed the effects of an older champion who had been out of the ring for over a year. He looked off balance. His upper body motion was sloppy. He avoided exchanges with Santa Cruz and looked bad doing it. Official scores were 114-113 Santa Cruz, 114-113 (twice) Casamayor. I scored the fight 118-109 for Santa Cruz, as did unofficial ringside scorer Harold Lederman as well as some other respectful fans and writers. Absolutely dreadful decision. Horrendous showing on the part of Casamayor! Let's call it the robbery of the year. Biggest robbery I've seen in at least a few years.

Joel Casamayor, you need to stop calling Juan Diaz a pussy. Looking like that, you need to stay away from Juan Diaz period. Diaz would appear to be the goods in the lightweight division and he'll eat your ass up like pacman!

Antonio Margarito looked impressive stopping Golden Johnson in less than a round. I didn't expect much from Johnson, but it was nice to see Margarito make such a big statement following the loss to Williams this past summer. He started quickly and wasted no time. Good job, Antonio Margarito. Onto a top five contender now, please.

Victor Ortiz, young 140lb contender from Oxnard, CA, made a tremendous statement in the opening televised bout of the evening with a first round knockout of his own against Carlos Maussa. Maussa, once a world champion, had been in the ring with the likes of Miguel Cotto, Vivian Harris, and Ricky Hatton. He stopped Harris in their title fight in Atlantic City in 2005 to win his world title, but lost it to Hatton in their unification match later that year. The guys who have beaten Maussa did not to him what Ortiz managed to do last night. That was an impressive showing on the part of this young fighter. The Jr welterweight division is wide open. Let's see Ortiz against one of the titleholders; possibly starting with WBO Champion Ricardo Torres being that he is the weakest of the titleholders.

Read More

Fast and Furious prediction!

Tonight, at Madison Square Garden, WBA Welterweight Champion Miguel Cotto is getting ready to defend his title against former three division champion Sugar Shane Mosley. In his last fight, Cotto beat up and stopped former welterweight champion Zab Judah in 11 grueling rounds in front of a sold out MSG crowd. Mosley was last seen outworking and outclassing the Luis Collazo at the Mandalay Bay back in February.

This fight is being titled Fast and Furious. Mosley is seen as the faster the fighter, while Cotto represents the furious. Cotto has made his mark by winning the welterweight championship with a stoppage of previously undefeated Carlos Quintana. He beat up Quintana and flat out made him quite last December. The whooping he handed Judah was very good. If he can defeat Mosley, that would be great. Mosley has revived his career, after consecutive losses to Winky Wright in 2004. At the time, he was fighting in a division where he appeared to be too small. His confidence also appeared to be at an all time low. Afterall, he had also been defeated twice by Vernon Forrest in 2002.

Since the losses to Wright, Mosley moved back down to welterweight and won some fights against David Estrada and Jose Luis Cruz. Mosley's back to back stoppages, particularly the 2nd one, of Fernando Vargas really signaled the return of the Sugar of old. Against Collazo last February, Mosley pitched a practically perfect fight against Collazo.

In this fight tonight, we have a matchup between a young undefeated tenacious slugger who is on the way up and a former champion, with blazing hand and foot speed, who has the potential to be an all-time great. Can Cotto, once again in front of his countrymen in a packed house at MSG, put an exclamation point on his so-far flawless career? Or can Mosley continue his resurrgence by upsetting the young champion?

My prediction: Mosley TKO 12

Read More

Calzaghe vs Kessler Boxing Chronicles Scorecard

Round 1: 10-9 Calzaghe
Round 2: 10-9 Kessler Total: 19-19
Round 3: 10-9 Calzaghe Total: 29-28 Calzaghe
Round 4: 10-9 Kessler Total: 38-38
Round 5: 10-9 Calzaghe Total: 48-47 Calzaghe
Round 6: 10-9 Calzaghe Total: 58-56 Calzaghe
Round 7: 10-9 Kessler Total: 67-66 Calzaghe
Round 8: 10-9 Calzaghe Total: 77-75 Calzaghe
Round 9: 10-9 Calzaghe Total: 87-84 Calzaghe
Round 10: 10-9 Calzaghe Total: 97-93 Calzaghe
Round 11: 10-9 Calzaghe Total: 107-102 Calzaghe
Round 12: 10-9 Kessler

Total: 116-112 (8-4) Joe Calzaghe


Official judges scorecards:

Massimo Barrovecchio scores it 116-112
Raul Caiz Jr. scores it 117-111
John Stewart scores it 116-112

Compubox numbers:

Calzaghe total punches: 285/1010
Kessler total punches: 173/585

Calzaghe total jabs: 137/550
Kessler total jabs: 52/326

Calzaghe total power punches: 148/460
Kessler total power punches: 121/259

Read More

Calzaghe decisions Kessler: becomes Undisputed Champion at 168lbs!

At 35 years of age, in this boxing fan's eyes, this was Calzaghe's break through fight. Anybody who wasn't particularly impressed prior to that performacne last night, should be now!

While celebrating my birthday at a local nightclub last night, one of the sports most anticipated showdowns was taking place. In the first big super fight at 168lbs since Roy Jones, Jr and James Toney fought in 1994, WBO and Ring Magazine Super Middleweight Champion Joe Calzaghe and WBC/WBA titlist Mikkell Kessler squared off in a battle of undefeated champions in Cardiff Wales. Thankfully, I was way too drunk last night to search for the result of the fight or even comprehend throughout the evening who the victor was. Therefore, the fight and the result were unknown to me when I popped the tape into the VCR this afternoon.

Let me admit to you that I picked Kessler to win by unanimous decision. Once again, I was dead wrong. In this instance, though, I was not the only one to pick Kessler. I thought Kessler would win the fight with his calculated counter punching style, but Calzaghe had other plans in store for us. Raising his professional record to 44-0, Calzaghe won a unanimous decision by scores of 117-111 and 116-112 (twice). Boxing Chronicles agreed with two of the three judges in terms of the score, giving Calzaghe the fight 116-112. Calzaghe did exactly what Jim Lampley described at ringside. He spoiled Kessler's boxing style. The fight started off with Kessler circling and trying to outbox Calzaghe, and Calzaghe coming forward throwing fast flurries behind his jab.

As the fight wore on, it was Calzaghe who became the boxer and Kessler who ended up trying to chase him down out of desperation when he realized that the boxing style wasn't working. This may have been Calzaghe's best performance to date; even more impressive than his win over Jeff Lacy. In my eyes, this was Calzaghe's career defining fight. He broke through with this performance. You come to box, he'll hunt you down and take that style away. You come to brawl and try to knock him out, he'll shoot crisp straight shots down the middle, as he did to Lacy, and punish you all night long.

Brilliant performance on Calzaghe's part. Kessler, who lost decisively, gave a fine account of himself as well. He did everything right, but it just wasn't enough to unseat a man who's been champion in that division for ten years and, between his professional and amateur careers, has been undefeated for seventeen years! Kessler landed some bombs throughout the fight and had some moments in the fight, but Calzaghe proved to have a cast-iron chin. The man can take a punch!

Next up for Calzaghe should be a move to 175lbs. He admitted that after Kessler, there's no other business to tend to at 168lbs. Expect to see Calzaghe at 175lbs, against either IBF titlist Clinton Woods or Ring Magazine Champion Bernard Hopkins. Hopkins is the bigger fight in the US. Woods, no question about it, is the bigger fight overseas. Given that Calzaghe is terribly interested in crossing the pond, and he doesn't exactly see Hopkins as major draw here in the states, the Woods fight is likely to be the more probable option for the Undisputed Super Middleweight Champion to exercise.

Read More

Sports comeback of the year - no question it's the sweet science!

LOS ANGELES, October 30—For a sport that has taken more than its share of slings and arrows over the last few years, boxing has proven to be as resilient as its greatest champions, rising from the canvas in 2007 to again take its place among the most popular and relevant sports in the world.

The latest sign that boxing is back came this week, when HBO revealed that the record-shattering May 5th super fight between Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather did even better than initially thought, with final numbers now clocking in at 2.4 million pay-per-view buys and $134.4 million in domestic revenue. These numbers have established De La Hoya as the all-time leader in pay-per-view sales with 12.8 million buys. Not only did his fight with Mayweather shatter existing records for most PPV buys for a non-heavyweight fight, it sailed past the previous leader for overall PPV buys (1.9 million, which was set by the rematch between Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson in 1997). “This is amazing news and the strongest possible sign that boxing is not only alive, but that it is thriving,” said De La Hoya, President of Golden Boy Promotions, the promoters of De La Hoya-Mayweather.

“There is no proof like cold, hard facts, and the response of fight fans to these events has given me hope that this sport will soon be back on the front pages of daily newspapers and in the mainstream’s consciousness like it was in its heyday.” “I’m happy that my fight with Oscar did so well, but I’m not surprised because this is what happens when you give the people what they want,” said Mayweather, who fights Ricky Hatton on December 8. “I am going to keep bringing that to the people and that’s what they will see when I fight Hatton. Plus, being a competitive person, I want to go past 2.4 million buys and show the world what boxing is all about.”

What’s even more impressive is that in this record-breaking overall year for the boxing business, there are still two PPV super fights left – the November 10th battle between Sugar Shane Mosley and Miguel Cotto, and the grand pay-per-view finale December 8th between Mayweather and Hatton. Added Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, “I’ve always said that if you brought great fights and great fighters to the people and promoted it properly that every fight fan would respond, and the success we’ve had this year proves it. This is the dawning of a new age for boxing, and we are proud to be part of its renaissance.”

Read More

Other Boxing Chronicles Results

Jose Luis Castillo TKO6 Adan Castillas.

Jose Luis Castillo made a successful return to the ring, following his 4th round knockout loss at the hands of Ricky Hatton this past June, with a 6th round stoppage of Adan Castillas in Mexico. This fight was fought at the welterweight limit. Castillo posts another win, but I'm not sure what his future brings after the showing against Hatton. Against Hatton, he looked rather slow and his legs looked shot. We'll see where Castillo goes from here. You have to figure at 140lbs that boxers like Paulie Malignaggi and Junior Witter are going to take advantage of the Former two time lightweight champion's diminished reflexes.

Steve Molitor UD12 Fahsan 3K Battery

In a division that is heavily overshadowed by champions the likes of Israel Vasquez and Rafael Marquez, undefeated Steve Molitor retained his fraction of the Super Bantamweight Championship, IBF version, with a lopsided unanimous decision over 3K Battery in Ontario, Canada. Molitor controlled the action for the most part, with the exception of a brief moment in the seventh round when Battery seemed to stunned Molitor. Other than that, it was pretty much a flawless victory, with Molitor pinning the first loss on Battery since Battery's loss to Pound for Pound elite Manny Pacquiao back in December of 2004. Molitor, who is said to be a good boxer with little punching power, raised his record to 25-0 with 10 knockouts. The Super Bantamweight division is pretty hot right now.

As I stated, the two top guys in the division are Vasquez and Marquez. There are also a couple of other pretty good titlists. Daniel Ponce De leon, whom HBO viewers saw blowing out Rey Boom Boom Bautista this past August, is the WBO Champion. Cellestino Caballero is the undefeated WBA champion, who is still the only fighter to have pinned a loss on De leon's record. They fought a few years ago, and fans are still waiting to see that rematch happen. So it looks like Molitor is definitely the dark horse of one of boxing's hottest divisions. I'd definitely like to see Molitor make some more appearances in the US - I believe he's only made two thus far in NJ and Michigan - and work his way towards a unification match with any of the champions I have mentioned.

Read More

Povetkin stops Byrd in eleven.

Okay, so I am wrong again. How nice of it to happen again. Oh well. 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist Alexander Povetkin raised his record to 14-0 with 11 KOs by stopping Former Heavyweight Champion Chris Byrd in the eleventh round of their IBF Title Elimination match. Byrd's corner threw in the towel, when it appeared that Byrd was taking too much punishment. Povetkin will now wait to face the winner of the fight between Calvin Brock and Eddie Chambers. That fight is a really close fight on paper, but I probably pick Povetkin to defeat whoever it is. Lets see how the winner of that fight looks.

Read More

Povetkin and Byrd square off tonight!

Tomorrow night in Erfurt Germany, off American TV, undefeated 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist Alexander Povetkin and Former Heavyweight Champion Chris Byrd will do battle in an IBF eliminator match tomorrow.

Povetkin, who won the gold medal in the super heavyweight division in 2004, is a young up and comer who had an excellent amateur career, and although he is undefeated as professional, he is still relatively unproven with just 13 professional fights. His best win as a professional is a unanimous decision over Larry Donald in his last fight.

Byrd is viewed as an aging former champion who fights in a weight classes controlled by fighters who outweigh the smaller heavyweight. Even though Byrd has probably seen better days, he's the more established as well as experienced fighter going into this bout. Byrd has wins over Vitali Klitschko, David Tua, and Evander Holyfield. He's also a pretty big underdog for tomorrow night's fight against Povetkin. This is certainly your run of the mill crossroads fight between a young contender coming up and former champion on his way down as he tries to land one more title shot.

Many respectable fans and experts are picking Povetkin to knock Byrd out. I've been wrong with my picks before, and it will not the last time I am ever wrong, but in this case I am picking Byrd. I think his experience and elusiveness (although not nearly as apparent as it was five years ago) will get him across the finish line first against a Povetkin who is still somewhat raw.

Byrd by decision. Unanimous? Majority? Split? I don't know. Take your pick.

Read More