Mark Ortega
In perhaps the biggest in a string of upsets, Shane Mosley pulled off a ninth round knockout over Antonio Margarito to capture the WBA welterweight title in front of a record crowd at Los Angeles' Staples Center.
In what will be known as "The Battle for LA", Margarito surprisingly lost nearly every second of the fight. His defeat is further spurned by accusations that Margarito had plaster in his glove. The threat was serious enough that before the fight, Margarito's hands were rewrapped three times. Mosley trainer Nazim Richardson spotted the fallacy and asked that it be checked out. Once it was further investigated something was found and an investigation should be launched.
Margarito was slowed by Mosley's surprising onslaught of body work in the early rounds. Margarito would tag Mosley good a few times a round but was never able to follow up on it. Mosley was landing mostly in combination, although early on you could not tell that Margarito was stunned.
Margarito went out in a way that most champions today do not opt for, the going out on one's shield. Margarito went down violently to end the eighth round, and if anybody was Antonio Margarito's friend the fight should have been stopped there. Margarito made it through the round, and when his corner threatened to stop the fight he demanded they allow him to continue. Still on wobbly legs, Margarito walked into some incredible shots from Mosley, stunning the "Tijuana Tornado" badly enough to stagger him and force him to rest a hand on the ropes to keep his balance. A dozen or so clean power shots or so later and the referee finally calls mercy to the bout.
Talks of a Mosley-Mayweather bout that has been intriguing for decades have begun, and if that bout came to fruition then 2009 may be the best year of the century. Margarito was said to be headed for a Cotto rematch win, lose, or draw but after such a one-sided beating he may need a soft touch or should just hang up the gloves for good. And that is the opinion of this writer, one of Margarito's biggest supporters.
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Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Margarito-Mosley Pre-Fight Preview
Mark Ortega
Tonight's fight between Antonio Margarito and "Sugar" Shane Mosley is an interesting one for a number of reasons. Each fighter enters the ring with a chance to answer many questions that have been raised about them. For Margarito, will he be a different fighter now that he is on top? How much did the war with Miguel Cotto take out of him? For Shane Mosley, how will personal issues, namely with his wife and manager Jin as well as the surrounding aura of BALCO, affect him in the ring?
Margarito is a 4-to-1 favorite for this bout but has many questions that need answering. For one, will the inactivity since his war with Miguel Cotto help or hurt him? Margarito's most sluggish performances have come in fights that came off of a long layoff. Also, Margarito has absorbed all sorts of punishment over the years but never in the way that he was abused by Miguel Cotto in that brilliant fight last July. Cotto landed at will but was unable to hurt Margarito, but who knows how all that punishment will affect him in the ring tonight. Also, a rematch with Cotto is on the table regardless of the outcome of tonight's bout, as long as Cotto gets by Michael Jennings next month. Could Margarito be looking past Mosley? Those in Antonio's camp say that there is no way that is possible and that he worked as hard as he ever had in training camp, and judging by his weight (under 146 pounds), it would be hard to deny that. You have to remember that when Margarito opted to defend his title against mandatory challenger Paul Williams two years ago, a fight with Cotto was on the table should he win. He lost a close fight and many thought that was going to be his last chance. Margarito got his shot and didn't waste it, so it is my opinion that Margarito comes ready tonight.
With Mosley, there is the question of when will Shane Mosley finally turn old? He showed glimpses of being a shot fighter in his last bout against Ricardo Mayorga, but many gave him some slack due to the awkwardness of his opponent. In his bout against Cotto a little over a year ago he looked fantastic in defeat, and nearly closed the gap on Cotto's lead in the second half of the bout. Shane is going to need that second wind against Margarito, who also picks up his game in the second half of bouts. Will all of the outside annoyances, some of which had Mosley directing questions at press conferences to a lawyer, keep him off of his game? This is highly doubtful as well, as there are very few people who prepare for a fight as good as Shane Mosley, and with Bernard Hopkins' trainer Nazim Richardson in his corner for this one it would be hard to imagine Shane coming into the fight with anything but his best. The biggest question will be, at this stage of his career, is the best Sugar Shane Mosley better than this Antonio Margarito?
Either way, it should be a helluva fight, an early Fight of the Year candidate that could either send one man on the way to superstardom or enhance the legacy of another.
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Solo Boxeo returns!
Mark Ortega
Boxing is still absent from Telefutura, but it has recently been announced that the new boxing series that will be promoted exclusively by Bob Arum's Top Rank as well as Fernando Beltran's Zanfer Promotions will also be called "Solo Boxeo" but will be aired on Azteca America.
The first card has been announced for February 6th and will be headlined by Jesus Soto Karass against Carson Jones in a ten-round contest. A bout that has been proposed for a future card is bout between Cesar Canchila and Giovanni Segura, a rematch pf a fight that was the highlight of the Cotto-Margarito undercard last July. Read more!
Boxing is still absent from Telefutura, but it has recently been announced that the new boxing series that will be promoted exclusively by Bob Arum's Top Rank as well as Fernando Beltran's Zanfer Promotions will also be called "Solo Boxeo" but will be aired on Azteca America.
The first card has been announced for February 6th and will be headlined by Jesus Soto Karass against Carson Jones in a ten-round contest. A bout that has been proposed for a future card is bout between Cesar Canchila and Giovanni Segura, a rematch pf a fight that was the highlight of the Cotto-Margarito undercard last July. Read more!
Friday, January 23, 2009
Boxing Betting Special: Margarito-Mosley
With Saturday night's welterweight clash between Antonio Margarito and "Sugar" Shane Mosley less than days away, let's take a look at what the betting odds are for all the possible outcomes of this fantastic bout. Also included is a favorable wager on the off-television bout between Robert Guerrero and Edel Ruiz.Odds:
Antonio Margarito: -400
"Sugar" Shane Mosley: +275
Draw: +2000
Over 10.5 rounds: -140
Under 10.5 rounds: even
Additional odds:
Margarito via decision: +110
Margarito via KO/TKO/DQ: +140
Mosley via decision: +500
Mosley via KO/TKO/DQ: +1000
Official pick(s): In my opinion, there is no value in taking either fighter straight up. If you are leaning towards Mosley, you might as well take him by decision at +500 and get nearly twice as much value as just picking Shane to win. I don't see Shane winning this fight, although I see it being competitive through the first six rounds or so.
There is an interesting dynamic to this fight if you take a look at past performances. In Mosley's past two fights, he has turned it on in the second half of fights. Against Miguel Cotto, he fell behind early but rallied in the mid-to-late rounds to make it a close loss on the scorecards. In his fight against Ricardo Mayorga, it took Mosley many rounds to adjust to Mayorga's awkward style before he finally figured it out and gutted out a last-second knockout to win the fight. In that fight he also started to take over in the middle of the fight and was ahead on two scorecards heading into the final round. There are very few fighters in the world that can make adjustments mid-fight the way that Mosley has done throughout his career. In his two fights against Oscar De la Hoya, he likely won all four of the championship rounds. Also note that Mosley has a class-A level chin, so the likelihood of a clean knockout from Margarito is very unlikely. Couple that with Mosley's heart, and the only way he is getting stopped is if the referee or Mosley's corner steps in to hault the bout.
On the other side of things, you have another stupendous second-half fighter in Antonio Margarito. When Margarito doesn't score an early knockout, he usually grinds his opponents down with a high volume of punches once they start to show signs of slowing down. Although Margarito does not have the one-punch knockout power that you would imagine someone with his reputation would have, it's hard to think of anyone that Mosley has faced in the past that is a better all-around puncher.
Margarito may also be one of the best finishers in the sport, as he is good at recognizing when his opponent is hurt so he can then swarm them with a high volume of power shots. This will be the second bout in a row where Margarito is fighting a man who gives him a run for his money in the body punching department. In his fight against Cotto, his opponent did not go to the body enough to try and slow Margarito down. It's hard to give Cotto much grief for that considering he was landing at will upstairs through the duration of the bout, but when your attack is having no effect on the opposition you should probably try something new. If Mosley attacks Margarito's body early on, it will be interesting to see the effect that could have on him in the late rounds, where he usually goes to another level.
At this point in Shane's career, I just cannot see him getting past the late surge that Margarito will undoubtedly stage in the latter part of the fight. I will be risking 5 units on Margarito by KO/TKO/DQ, with my official prediction being Margarito TKO11 Mosley on a corner or referee stoppage. I don't think it is likely that we see Mosley taste the canvas, but I do expect him to take a very bad beating in a fight that he is very much in at the point of the stoppage.
Also will be risking 3 units on the over (5.5 rounds) in the untelevised undercard bout between Robert Guerrero and Edel Ruiz to win 6.9 units. My basis for this pick: Guerrero has been off for nearly a year and he will also be moving into the super featherweight class for the first time. Guerrero was never known as a big puncher before, compiling 15 of his 22 wins by knockout. He has only stopped two of his last eight opponent inside of five rounds, and although Ruiz has been stopped early before (KO3 by Jhonny Gonzalez, KO1 by Mario Santiago, KO3 by Eduardo Escobedo), I expect Guerrero to try and get some rounds before thinking about finishing his opponent.
Bets for this weekend:
5x to win 7x on Margarito by KO/TKO/DQ
3x to win 6.9x on O5.5 in Guerrero-Ruiz
Photo by Chris Farina/Top Rank.
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Merchantism - January 23, 2009
Larry Merchant has said some unforgettable things over the years in his many decades of experience as a ringside analyst for HBO Boxing. Each weekday we will post one of his quotes. It may be a quote that is insightful, it may be a quote that is hilarious, it may be a quote that is just plain odd.The following Merchant quote comes from one of the better HBO Boxing After Dark telecasts. It was one that was headlined by Hasim Rahman being knocked out of the ring by Oleg Maskaev. Somehow, that wasn't even the best knockout of the night as Derrick Jefferson brutally finished Maurice Harris in the opening bout of the televised portion of the card. And with that, came one of Larry Merchant's funnier phrases.
"Derrick Jefferson...I LOVE YOU!"
Interesting note: When "Sugar" Shane Mosley finished Ricardo Mayorga with no time left in their September bout last year on HBO World Championship Boxing, Merchant said, "Shane Mosley...I LOVE YOU!"
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Thursday, January 22, 2009
Hatton-Pacquiao is back on!
Mark OrtegaPhilboxing.com is reporting that Manny Pacquiao has agreed to a deal to fight Ricky Hatton that would guarantee him twelve million dollars as well as a 52/48 PPV share favor. How the deal came together is peculiar.
Pacquiao, who was insisting on a 60/40 split for the past few weeks, agreed to the new deal after friend Rex Salud helped convince him. Pacquiao agreed to do it only if Salud, who doesn't drink, agreed to quickly drink three bottles of beer. Salud held up his end of the bargain, and with that Pacquiao will likely be fighting Hatton May 2nd as originally planned.
Bob Arum, head of Top Rank and Pacquiao's promoter, has said that a contract has yet to be signed.
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"Ghost" to headline HBO card in March?
Mark OrtegaIt cannot be any more blatantly obvious than it is now how much pull Golden Boy Promotions has with HBO. With Robert Guerrero not even one fight into his new life under Golden Boy, it has been widely reported he will be headlining a HBO Boxing After Dark telecast from San Jose, California.
Guerrero, who had never even appeared on HBO television except once on an HBO-PPV undercard against Orlando Salido, a fight he lost, would go from fighting mainly on ShoBox and in co-featured bouts on Showtime Championship Boxing telecasts to getting a big fight on HBO in the Bay Area, where he is originally from.
Also mentioned was that the show would be a triple-header, featuring other Golden Boy prospects James Kirkland and Victor Ortiz in separate bouts. This proposed card would be the biggest in the Bay Area since Floyd Mayweather, Jr. fought Jesus Chavez and Manny Pacquiao fought Agapito Sanchez on an HBO Boxing After Dark telecast back in 2001.
There are many possible opponents should Guerrero get past Edel Ruiz this Saturday off-television in the main supporting bout to Antonio Margarito's clash with Shane Mosley in Los Angeles at the Staples Center on HBO World Championship Boxing. None were specifically mentioned, but these are the main fights that could be put together and be an exciting one to watch:
vs. Humberto Soto [46-7-2, 29 KOs] - This bout makes sense for both sides. It is a respectable headlining bout, Soto has a world title at super featherweight. Even though Soto is promoted by Top Rank, I don't think either side would have problems coming to an agreement for this fight. Soto fought in December in a tough rematch against Francisco Lorenzo and would be available in March. He is at a point in his career where he needs to be fighting these kinds of fights. Even though he is only 28 years old, Soto has boxed 364 rounds over 55 professional bouts and hasn't always been the hardest guy to hit. For Guerrero, its a bout that would be a dangerous one but one he could definitely win. Stylistically, this bout favors Guerrero because he has a tremendous chin (never knocked down in a professional bout) and superior boxing skills to the plodding Soto. It's more of a question of whether Soto could wear down Guerrero much the way Antonio Margarito wore down Miguel Cotto back in July.
vs. Jorge Linares [26-0, 17 KOs] - Linares is an intriguing matchup but not one that would have a lot of recognizition with the casual fans. Linares has only made one appearance on HBO, in a bout against Oscar Larios (which he won by 10th round TKO) on the HBO-PPV undercard of Antonio Tarver against Bernard Hopkins. That undercard also featured a great fight between Michael Katsidis and Czar Amonsot. Linares, like Soto, is a world champion at super featherweight. This bout also guarantees exciting two-way action. It would be a bout for the hardcore fans, but if HBO is going to deliver on giving us the best matchups instead of the biggest names, this would be a step in the right direction.
vs. Jorge Rodrigo Barrios [47-4-1, 34 KOs] - Many considered Barrios to likely have been a shot fighter heading into his September bout with Rocky Juarez. But Barrios gave Juarez everything he could handle and was ahead on many observers' scorecards before Juarez badly busted up Barrios' lip and scored an 11th round TKO. Barrios doesn't have a belt, but this is a decent test for Guerrero in his first serious fight at 130 and another one that would promise good moments of action. Guerrero could score a fantastic knockout over a decent name as well.
vs. Urbano Antillon [25-0, 18 KOs] - Not a big name yet but he has made many appearances on SoloBoxeo over the course of his career and is from Maywood, California, which is a little over 300 miles away from San Jose. It would be a decent-sized bout for California and Antillon is undefeated, albeit a bit green. A risk for both fighters, but a good bout.
If Guerrero would be willing to go back down to featherweight again for a big fight, throw in the names of Steven Luevano [36-1, 15 KOs] of La Puente, California, Mario Santiago [19-1-1, 14 KOs], and Oscar Larios [63-6-1, 39 KOs] into the mix.
To contact Mark Ortega, e-mail mark@ultimateboxingresults.com
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Merchantism - January 22, 2009
Larry Merchant has said some unforgettable things over the years in his many decades of experience as a ringside analyst for HBO Boxing. Each weekday we will post one of his quotes. It may be a quote that is insightful, it may be a quote that is hilarious, it may be a quote that is just plain odd.
The following quote was from the HBO World Championship Boxing broadcast headlined by "Sugar" Shane Mosley against Antonio Diaz from November 2000. The undercard was a bout between Hector Camacho, Jr. and Joe Hutchinson. It was Junior's first appearance on HBO, and his entrance was a bit delayed. Merchant had this gem to offer:
Can you tell me what's going on here, is this some kind of long distance dance? What are we waiting for? Junior time runs very slowly...
Junior was pretty well-hyped by HBO at this point even though this was his first appearance. He never reached the next level and has since been a huge disappointment. A fight between Camacho, Jr. and Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr., which was being discussed last year, would still draw a helluva crowd and should be put together still.
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Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Hatton-Pacquiao is off!
Mark Ortega
Almost as soon as Manny Pacquiao stopped Oscar De la Hoya on his stool last month a proposed fight between Pacquiao and 140-pound king Ricky Hatton was agreed to on both sides of the deal. Unfortunately, it looks as though the fight is indefinitely off due to the money not being right, and it surprisingly is coming from Pacquiao's side of things.
A 50/50 deal was supposedly agreed to by all parties involved, but it has been discovered that Manny Pacquiao has insisted on a 60/40 split in his favor. Pacquiao was guaranteed twelve million from promoter Bob Arum for the proposed bout, easily the biggest purse of his career. There is even more money to be made considering the buys that will be done in the United Kingdom as well as the Hatton faithful willing to travel to Vegas for the bout.
Most people don't understand what Pacquiao is thinking, as there is only one fight that could potentially be bigger, one against the currently retired but probably soon-to-return Floyd Mayweather, Jr. Even fights with 147-pound champion Antonio Margarito or a third fight with heated rival Juan Manuel Marquez could not match what Pacquiao stands to make off of the Hatton fight. Even Pacquiao's own promoter Bob Arum does not understand where Pacquiao's head is, calling the move "bizarre".
Where Pacquiao goes from here is anyone's guess. There are many bouts out there that would please the fans that could be put together quickly. Bouts against Edwin Valero or Humberto Soto could be put together in a flash with both fighters also having worked with Top Rank.
Hatton is another story. A rematch with Mayweather, Jr. would only be interesting if it is at the 140-pound limit where Hatton has more of an advantage, and even more interesting if the bout was held in Manchester this time. Hatton's ineffectiveness at 147 in his previous attempt leaves him pidgeon-holed into fighting at junior welterweight for the remainder of his career. A bout against Timothy Bradley or Kendall Holt would be acceptable routes. The main difference with Hatton is that he could get big money for nearly any fight he takes, especially if its at home.
Either way, there are very few fights that could be made that would have excited the general public more than a bout between these two pound-for-pound fighters. It is unlikely that the mess will be resolved.
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Almost as soon as Manny Pacquiao stopped Oscar De la Hoya on his stool last month a proposed fight between Pacquiao and 140-pound king Ricky Hatton was agreed to on both sides of the deal. Unfortunately, it looks as though the fight is indefinitely off due to the money not being right, and it surprisingly is coming from Pacquiao's side of things. A 50/50 deal was supposedly agreed to by all parties involved, but it has been discovered that Manny Pacquiao has insisted on a 60/40 split in his favor. Pacquiao was guaranteed twelve million from promoter Bob Arum for the proposed bout, easily the biggest purse of his career. There is even more money to be made considering the buys that will be done in the United Kingdom as well as the Hatton faithful willing to travel to Vegas for the bout.
Most people don't understand what Pacquiao is thinking, as there is only one fight that could potentially be bigger, one against the currently retired but probably soon-to-return Floyd Mayweather, Jr. Even fights with 147-pound champion Antonio Margarito or a third fight with heated rival Juan Manuel Marquez could not match what Pacquiao stands to make off of the Hatton fight. Even Pacquiao's own promoter Bob Arum does not understand where Pacquiao's head is, calling the move "bizarre".
Where Pacquiao goes from here is anyone's guess. There are many bouts out there that would please the fans that could be put together quickly. Bouts against Edwin Valero or Humberto Soto could be put together in a flash with both fighters also having worked with Top Rank.
Hatton is another story. A rematch with Mayweather, Jr. would only be interesting if it is at the 140-pound limit where Hatton has more of an advantage, and even more interesting if the bout was held in Manchester this time. Hatton's ineffectiveness at 147 in his previous attempt leaves him pidgeon-holed into fighting at junior welterweight for the remainder of his career. A bout against Timothy Bradley or Kendall Holt would be acceptable routes. The main difference with Hatton is that he could get big money for nearly any fight he takes, especially if its at home.
Either way, there are very few fights that could be made that would have excited the general public more than a bout between these two pound-for-pound fighters. It is unlikely that the mess will be resolved.
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Merchantism - January 21, 2009
Larry Merchant has said some unforgettable things over the years in his many decades of experience as a ringside analyst for HBO Boxing. Each weekday we will post one of his quotes. It may be a quote that is insightful, it may be a quote that is hilarious, it may be a quote that is just plain odd.From the 1986 Berbick-Tyson HBO World Championship Boxing card:
"Angelo Dundee, a famous trainer, once said of a Muhammad Ali opponent, 'He's human, my guy ain't.' In the land of boxing, not being considered human is the sincerest form of flattery. And I think tonight we found out which fighter was human, and in boxing terms, which fighter wasn't human."
This basically sums up what I think is going to occur this Saturday night on HBO World Championship Boxing. Shane is one of the greatest fighters of the past few decades, but I just think the timing of this bout for him is all wrong and I expect him to be stopped in the late rounds by the man who is not human, Antonio Margarito. I fully expect Shane will make it a battle and he might be ahead going into the last portion of the fight, but at this stage of his career I cannot see him making it the distance against the volume of Margarito.
Official prediction: Margarito TKO11 Mosley, via corner stoppage or referee stoppage.
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Zuniga headlines All Star Boxing card January 23rd!
Mark OrtegaOn the night before the welterweight super-fight between Antonio Margarito and “Sugar” Shane Mosley, All-Star Boxing will present its first show of 2009 at the Quiet Cannon in Montebello, California.
Headlining the card is an eight-round super middleweight bout between Fernando Zuniga [27-9, 20 KOs] of Downey, California and originally from Esmeraldas, Ecuador taking on Daniel “Danny Zee” Jevic [8-14-3, 4 KOs].
This will be Zuniga’s first fight since scoring his biggest win to date in an upset split-decision victory over prospect Carlos De Leon, Jr. in February of last year. Over his thirteen-year career, Zuniga has been in the ring against the likes of William Joppy (L10), David Lopez (TKOby6), Sam Soliman (L10), and Ricardo Cortes (LDQ3). In his win over De Leon, Jr., Zuniga gutted out a late-rally which included a seventh round knockdown to seal a split decision victory over eight rounds. Zuniga’s ability to build off the win was hampered when he injured his elbow, prompting him to opt for surgery and finish him for the rest of the year. He is getting an early start in 2009 with this bout, his second at the Quiet Cannon.
Danny Zee’s record does not look intimidating on paper, but if you look closer at his résumé you will see that he has taken on very tough opposition since returning to the ring following a more than six-year layoff in 2004. Danny Zee has proven to be a great test for many prospects including James McGirt, Jr., Alfredo Angulo, Gabriel Martinez, Francisco Santana, Tarvis Simms, and Brandon Gonzales. Zee has also held his own against veterans such as Marco Antonio Rubio (L12), Juan Valenzuela (D8), and Saul Roman (TKO4). In his last fight against the undefeated Brandon Gonzales on Telefutura’s SoloBoxeo, Zee suffered an awful cut near the top of his forehead early in the first round. The cut prompted Zee to open up, and seconds later he caught Gonzales with a huge right hook that forced him back. Zee was unable to finish the job and the fight was stopped at the end of the first round when the cut could not be cleaned up.
The undercard bouts that have been matched look to support the main event nicely. Ten boxing bouts are featured with more than a handful of young undefeated fighters appearing.
The main supporting bout is one between Jesus “Pollo” Hernandez [7-0, 2 KOs], of Los Mochis, Mexico now fighting out of East Los Angeles, in a six-round featherweight bout against the experienced Manuel Sarabia [16-27-9, 10 KOs] , also of Los Mochis, Mexico. After going the distance five straight fights to begin his career, Hernandez has stopped his last two opponents. Hernandez last fought an eight-rounder against Noe Inzunza, stopping him in five rounds. Sarabia last fought in September against another promising prospect from East Los Angeles, Rico Ramos. A fight down the line between Hernandez and Ramos would be an exciting one for the area. This is the third appearance from Hernandez at the Quiet Cannon.
Undefeated heavyweight Joe Hanks [4-0, 3 KOs] of Orange, New Jersey will meet Shidevin Brown [2-4, KO] of Denver, Colorado in a bout scheduled for four rounds. Hanks’ last victory came at the last Quiet Cannon card of 2008, where he stopped Leo Bersier in the first round.
Former #2 amateur lightweight and current undefeated prospect Stan Martyniouk [4-0, KO] of Antelope, California, is set to appear in a four-round bout against an opponent still to be determined. Martyniouk was a highly regarded amateur that has flown under the radar as a professional so far. Since a rocky performance in his professional debut against Gerardo Robles (W SD4), Martyniouk has not lost a single round in his past three bouts.
Local Los Angeles light heavyweight Tyrell Hendrix [1-0, KO] looks to stay undefeated in a scheduled four-round bout against Lancaster, California’s Ryan Davis [0-2].
Adura Olalehin [1-0] of Nigeria, now fighting out of California, will meet Alex Conte [2-3-1] in a four-round cruiserweight bout. Olalehin gave a good account of himself in representation of his home country of Nigeria in the 2006 Commonwealth Games when he lost a close fight 23-19 to Kenny Anderson of Scotland in the finals.
Two fighters search for their first victory in a four-round middleweight contest between Elliot Seymour [0-1] of Pasadena, California and John Dunham [0-2] of Stockton, California.
Mixed martial artist Natu Visinia of Carbondale, Illinois makes his professional boxing debut in a four-round heavyweight bout against Mike Goins [1-2, 1 KO] of Las Vegas, Nevada.
Hugo Ramos of Palm Springs, California will make his professional debut in a scheduled four-round super bantamweight fight against Jose Pacheco [0-4-5] of Cudahy, California, originally out of Guanajuato, Mexico.
Also making their professional debut is Seth Colebrook of Bakersfield, California against Mike Finney [1-3, KO] of San Jacinto, California in a heavyweight contest. Finney began his career with a victory but has since been stopped three consecutive times.
Doors open at the Quiet Cannon at 6PM, with the first bell scheduled at 7:30PM. Tickets are still on sale. For information, contact All Star Boxing at (323) 816-6200 or (323) 781-4871.
The Quiet Cannon is located on the grounds of the Montebello Country Club, off the Garfield Avenue exit, south of the 60 Freeway. The address is 901 Via San Clemente in Montebello.
Official order of bouts:
6 rounds – featherweights
Jesus Hernandez [7-0] vs. Manuel Sarabia [16-27-9]
4 rounds – super middleweights
Tyrell Hendrix [1-0] vs. Ryan Davis [0-2]
4 rounds – middleweights
Elliot Seymour [0-1] vs. John Dunham [0-3]
4 rounds – cruiserweights
Adura Olalehin [1-0] vs. Alex Conte [2-3-1]
MAIN EVENT
8 rounds – super middleweights
Fernando Zuniga [27-9] vs. Danny “Danny Zee” Jevic [8-14-3]
SWING BOUT (may go before the main event if bouts 1-4 go too quickly)
4 rounds – heavyweights
Joe Hanks [4-0] vs. Shidevin Brown [2-4]
4 rounds – lightweights
Stan Martyniouk [4-0] vs. TBA
4 rounds – heavyweights
Natu Visinia [pro debut] vs. Mike Goins [1-2]
4 rounds – super bantamweights
Hugo Ramos [pro debut] vs. Jose Pacheco [0-4-5]
4 rounds – heavyweights
Seth Colebrook [pro debut] vs. Mike Finney [1-3]
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Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Margarito-Mosley Conference Call Transcript
Here is a transcript of the conference call for this Saturday's mega-fight between Antonio Margarito and Shane Mosley for Margarito's WBA 147-pound title. The bout will be aired live on HBO World Championship Boxing. Monica Sears: Thank you. I’d like to welcome everyone today to the Margarito and Mosley conference call. We have a great site lined up for next week and at this time I’d like to turn it over to Chief Operating Officer of Golden Boy Promotions, Dave Itskowitch.David Itskowitch: Thanks a lot Monica. Thank you everyone for joining us. Again, January 24 at Staple Center we’ve got a great fight which will be live on HBO is World Championship Boxing, 10 pm Eastern Time, 7 pm Pacific. If fan interest is any indication of what kind of a fight this is going to be, it’s going to be a great one, tickets are going fast. I urge you all if you’re going to write about the fight to tell everyone to get their tickets as soon as possible because they’re moving quickly and they start just at $25.
It’s great again to be working with Bob Arum and Top Rank and of course Cerveza Tecate, our title sponsor for the show. Without any further ado I’d like to turn it over to Nazim Richardson, trainer of Shane Mosley to say a few words about how things are going in camp. Nazim?
Nazim Richardson: How’s everybody doing? I’d like to thank everybody for having Shane and again I’d just like to point out from early ongoing that working with Shane there have been no surprises. It’s just been a pleasant confirmation on the fact that the things I assumed about him turned out to be true. That his work ethic is exceptional and his knowledge of the sport is staggering.
It’s just been pleasant working with this guy because everything you ask of him he produces or he makes his best attempt at it until he gets it the way you want it and you have to appreciate that from an athlete. And for a guy to have such a world of experience and knowledge, for him to still be so open he just made camp a pleasant experience and I look forward to the fight next week.
David Itskowitch: Thanks a lot Nazim. As Nazim alluded to Shane Mosley is a champions champion, he’s a people’s champion, one of the great fighters of our era and without any further ado I’d like to turn it over to the four time world champion in three different weight divisions, Sugar Shane Mosley. Shane?
Shane Mosley: I’m definitely excited for the fight; ready to go in great condition. My camp has been great. Nazim has been great. Everybody, the sparring partners are great, everything is running according to plan, according to schedule and the only thing left now is to get in the ring and fight. So I’m ready to go and I’m excited and let’s get it on.
Q: I’ve noticed that guys either forget to or they’re unable to attack Margarito’s body. Now from you we haven’t seen quite as much bodywork over the years. How will you address this on fight night?
Shane Mosley: If Margarito’s body is open and he’s giving it to me then I’m going to take it. We definitely worked on that, and when you fight guys like Margarito you have to work on everything, you can’t just work on boxing and movement, you have to work on punching as well, and targeting different spots of the body, different parts of the head, different parts positioning. I think that’s what Nazim is very good at — pinpointing different spots of the body and (giving me shots). So I think it’s going to be, well I know it’s going to be, a great night.
Q: You ended the Mayorga fight quite spectacularly. I’m sure even you’d admit to maybe looking a little sluggish prior to the knockout. My question is, why were you sluggish in that fight and what can you do to prevent that in the Margarito fight?
Shane Mosley: Well the first thing I’ll do is make sure that I have the proper shoes on and I won’t have blood blisters on the bottom of my feet. That’s what happened in the Mayorga fight, from about the fifth round on I was swishing around and my blister on my right foot. And also you know, when Mayorga, he’s kind of a great to have a fighter where you don’t know where the punches are coming from.
He was like ten pounds heavier than me and I was basically fighting him out of my weight class — I’m 147 pounder –, kind of gave him the advantage to kind of wrestle me a little bit and I wrestled back with him so, it will have to put a stop, a lot more snappier, more crisper, a lot more like the the old Sugar Shane that everybody used to see.
Shane Mosley: I’m great man.
Q At this stage of your career to bring a new trainer in, and you’ve got the fundamentals down, what does Nazim bring or what could he do in just lone training camp to help you?
Shane Mosley: Well, he’s not trying to change me or trying to switch up, just recreating all the stuff that I already know. You know with Nazim, he trains fighters that are amateurs and professionals. So he has both backgrounds and sometimes when we turn pro we start forgetting different things about some of the things that got us to where we were at as the champions, to start lagging on different things.
And I think that with his knowledge of training fighters on both sides of the spectrum he has a broad view of everything. He sees a lot of different things, he watches a lot of films, watches a lot of fighters fight, like I said amateur and professionally. So I think that kind of rejuvenated me, bringing me back to life.
Q: And speaking of changing trainers, obviously you went with Nazim and you left your dad as the trainer in terms of the training and you went with Nazim and then you, I know you’re not going to talk about this, but you have the steroids thing and maybe some other personal things. It seems like that there are a lot of distractions right now from the outside. Is that the case? And if so, how are you dealing with that?
Shane Mosley: I don’t really pay attention to what’s going on outside of boxing, you know, if you do what I’m doing right now as far as my fight’s concerned then that’s what I’m going to do. The other stuff I’m not really paying attention to it until after the fight and I just block it out. (Unintelligible) it’s all about training and winning the fight and being the best.
Q: Nazim. what can you bring…you come in for one fight, what is it that you try to do in such a short period of time?
Nazim Richardson: My thing is I stay in my lane and I understand the fact that our job is not to teach Sugar Shane Mosley how to fight. He already knows how to fight, he’s known how to fight at an exceptional level for years.
My job is to point out flaws in Antonio Margarito’s arsenal and to help Shane to devise a plan to exploit those flaws in the fight. I stay in my lane and I focus on that task at hand. I help him break down Antonio Margarito and hope to exploit those small mistakes that he makes.
And Shane being a student of the game he adjusts, he adjusts so quickly so it’s not about trying to change him or have him do a bunch of different things.
Q: Did you see the Cotto fight and what did you think of the way he fought Margarito.
Shane Mosley: Yes. I (unintelligible) pretty good, I mean the first was (unintelligible) he fought pretty good and he was landing shots and stuff and actually was leading in the fight he just I think had a little mental break down the fight and Margarito caught up to him. He was dinging him with some body shots, caught up to him and sealed the deal in the last two rounds, so I mean he fought all right. He was winning up until that point.
Q: What is it about you and your style that makes you think you’ll be more successful in surviving his constant pressure than Cotto was?
Shane Mosley: Cotto was not familiar with what Margarito brings to the table and I’m familiar with it because I’ve been brought up in California where I fought a lot of Mexican fighters and I know that type of style. I know how to pace myself, how to win rounds. I’m basically a California fighter myself, I’m basically a California fighter, I know how to go to the body as well.
So you know, Margarito (unintelligible) get body shots itself, so you know, maybe if he’s (unintelligible) myself then we’ll both (unintelligible) first, perhaps with a thick coat I know how to fight, you know, I don’t just box I can fight too.
Q: Would you say that’s the number one challenge, being able to stay away from his constant pressure?
Shane Mosley: I’m not particularly trying to run away from his pressure, I’m trying to get my shots in too. But when I want to get them down, not when he says oh, you know, we want to fight now. Maybe I don’t want to fight in that second, maybe I want to turn the corner and then fight again.
Q: I was talking to your father not too long ago and you know, your dad is still as you know, one of your biggest fans.
Shane Mosley: Yeah. And I talked to him yesterday.
TK Stewart: Do you talk to him much about the fight and about strategy, about strengths and weaknesses that Margarito has, I mean you guys have those conversations, or have you had them?
Shane Mosley: Yeah I mean you know, we’ll say a few things here and there about the fight and what he believes I should do and some of the things, I mean a lot of things that, you know, what’s great is that Nazim and my father both have the same type of philosophy basically, in the training. So it’s not far off…using jabs, controlling with the jab, I mean just different stuff that Nazim says and my father probably says pretty much the same thing and they’re not even in the same room.
Q: And then in terms of your future boxing career, do you have the sort of long-range plan as to what you’re going to do or are you just kind of taking it on a fight by fight basis right now?
Shane Mosley: Yeah, I kind of take it on a fight by fight basis, but I can see myself going for another four, maybe five years….2013, 2014, something like that.
Q: So you’d be 40-41 years old.
Shane Mosley: Around 40 years old, 39, 40, somewhere in there.
Q: I was surprised to hear the answer to that last question, kind of caught me a little off guard. You want to fight another four or five years?
Shane Mosley: Yeah, I feel great right now. I feel good and I’m ready to go. And if I’m feeling like this from my fights, you know, the way I feel right today for my fights then I can go on for more.
Q: Wow. Okay. I just remember earlier in your career I heard you say many times you wanted to have a long career and a hall of fame career, accomplish all kinds of different things, which you have done certainly, but that you would maybe not want to hang around into your 40s.
But you hang out with Bernard Hopkins and you see how he fights and now you’re working with Nazim, his trainer and you see the old guy Bernard, who’s going to turn 44 I think in a few days still at it and fighting in a very high level. Does that enter your mindset when you think about where you are in your career and how much longer you may be able to go?
Shane Mosley: Well you know first of all Bernard’s I think birthday was maybe two weeks (unintelligible) he was 44 but…
Q: Actually you know, what, today is Bernard Hopkins’ birthday, January 15.
Shane Mosley: January 15, yeah. So yeah you know, he’s 44 but that really has not crossed my mind, it’s the way I feel. Everybody’s different, everybody fights different. Bernard’s different. I’m different (unintelligible) I mean everybody feels a different way. Fernando Vargas is barely 30 and he’s retired because his body just doesn’t feel good anymore and you have to feel good when you get in the ring.
When I start feeling good I felt something, oh my god this is a chore, I can’t really do it. When (counts) start entering my mind then that’s when I’ll start thinking about retiring. I don’t really like to, because a lot of people a lot of times you know, you start listening to, you know, the media and different people around, oh man when he get like 31, 32, oh you know, you’re getting oh, you need to start retiring.
I’m listening to I’m watching some of these Sportscenter games and you know, down in that, (unintelligible) now says he’s 32 years old and he’s talking about he’s getting old and there’s another guy that’s 37 that’s the quarterback for the Falcons or no for the Cardinals and you know, they’re saying that he’s getting old, you know like wow. But they’re still playing, they’re still both getting ready to go to the Super Bowl.
Q: Exactly. The other thing I wanted to ask you about if you take a look at the records of Antonio Margarito, here you have a guy who beat Cotto and knocked him out, stopped him. Cotto has a win over you. I’m sure he’s aware of that obviously.
And there’s the fact that maybe he’s celebrating that huge victory that he had, that really big, that you know, his victory against Cotto sort of did for Antonio kind of like what your first victory against Oscar did, you know, even though we all knew that he was a good fighter and won titles, put him on the map so maybe he’s a little bit been celebrating about that. And then of course it took him a little bit of time to finally come around and make the deal for this fight. A lot of people thought maybe he didn’t really want to fight you.
I wonder do you think that there’s a chance that because of all the things I just said, you know, plus you know, it was mentioned earlier you look a little bit sluggish even though you scored a spectacular knock out against Mayorga, that maybe Margarito for whatever reason might be just taking it a little bit lightly?
Shane Mosley: That could be the case, I mean that could be the case. I don’t know. I don’t really take it for granted. I don’t, I’m not training where I think oh he’s just taking me for granted and I’m going get a victory. If he does that’s his problem, that’s his loss and maybe he might just get hurt in there if he takes it lightly so you got to be totally prepared, I’m ready to go.
But you know, a lot of times, you know I really don’t worry about what the other fighters thinking or what the trainers are thinking and what they’re thinking about doing or what I’m going to do and I’m going to execute. So whatever he’s thinking that’s totally on his side.
Q: This fight is going to be at Staples Center. It is the site of your greatest victory in your career. I don’t think anyone would argue with that. You have a lot of good memories I bet going back to that arena to have this big fight. You are the underdog here but do you feel, how comfortable do you feel about going back to a place where you had the greatest win of your professional career?
Shane Mosley: You know I probably even feel more confident and comfortable than I did when I fought Oscar the first time. I feel comfortable and I’m confident that I’m going to do my job. I’m confident that I’m going to look spectacular. I’m confident that I’m going to be at my best. I’m confident that the fans around the world are going to be surprised and they’ll be shocked. So I’m just very confident and I’m trying not to be too confident and trying to keep my level head before I get into the ring.
Q: There’s a lot of talk that Margarito can face Miguel Cotto in the summer in a rematch. Do you feel that’s disrespectful to you? If you win would you like another chance at Miguel in the future?
Shane Mosley: I don’t think it’s disrespectful to me because it just lets me know how great of a fighter I am where people just really don’t want to fight me. And Margarito thank God he stepped up, I can get this victory on Margarito and then after, you know, after we fight then if Miguel Cotto and Margarito want to fight that’s fine with me, maybe I, you know I stepped too, you know, Pacquiao and you know, Ricky Hatton, I mean see what happens with them.
So there’ll be somebody out there to fight and I just want to keep myself busy. I want to have a terrific year in 2009 so I consistently train and keep myself in great shape until the next victim comes along.
Q: You would like another chance at Miguel?
Shane Mosley: Of course. Yeah after the fight when I fought him the first time I wanted a rematch but it didn’t happen so maybe the rematch will happen sometime in the future. But like I said, I’ll be the one victorious when I fight Margarito but if they want to fight each other first and (unintelligible) the two fights next that’ll be great too.
Q: I was just wondering why you decided to make the change switching, trainers, why you decided to switch from your father to Nazim?
Shane Mosley: Oh I just needed a different look and me and my father were butting heads a little bit. I just needed a different change of pace and stuff and I think that has worked out very well.
Q: Do you feel that you’re sort of refreshed with a different trainer, that you hear maybe a different sounding voice and the information sort of sinks in a little bit better?
Shane Mosley: Oh, I mean that could be the case. (Unintelligible) it’s just a little, it’s a different twist, different change and I think it’s refreshing. I believe that it’s working out very well. I’m looking good, looking sharp.
Q: I was just also wondering, you said that with all the distractions and everything you just sort of put them aside and for, you know, for most of us that’s just sort of difficult to do. How do you do, I mean how do you put that aside? How do you put all the stuff that’s going on aside and just concentrate on boxing because it’s a 24-hour day, you’re not, you know, you’re not involved in boxing 24 hours a day?
Shane Mosley: I’m in Big Bear 24 hours a day so I keep myself away from all the drama.
Tim Smith: Yeah but the drama sort of also invades you though…
Shane Mosley: No.
Q: I mean you’re getting phone calls from people you’re…
Shane Mosley: No. I don’t get phone calls from people. I don’t do that. I put them in the box and shut them out and that’s it. I don’t mess, I don’t think about that, yeah. I’m that type of person where I don’t really you know, the calls they have something that’s on the Internet or something that’s going on, I don’t look at the Internet, I look at (unintelligible) fight post and stuff, I don’t do that. When I’m focusing (unintelligible) on the boxing it’s strictly boxing. I’m in, I watch fight films, I sit and stretch, you know, everything is about the fight and I kind of put everything else aside.
Q: So all this stuff with steroids you haven’t, you haven’t…?
Shane Mosley: No. Actually I put that stuff aside since 2004. People want to bring it up and I don’t even listen, I don’t listen to it I put it all aside. Judd [Burstein] doesn’t even call me about any of that stuff. You know if I have to sign something on that that’s it, but I put that in my shelf, that’s somewhere in another field. I don’t even, actually I don’t even know nothing about what’s going on right now about that, I don’t even listen to it. My whole thing is Margarito, I don’t even care.
Q: Nazim, one of the things that I’ve looked at, looking back at Margarito and his fight with Joshua Clottey and one of the things that really stood out for me was watching Clottey’s speed be a factor in that fight, even, well obviously before he injured his hands. Is that something that you think will play out in this fight or can play out in this fight?
Nazim Richardson: Well one thing you have to take into account is that when you’re dealing with Shane Mosley speed is always going to be a factor. You know I don’t care who you face is they’re going to have to deal with the speed of Shane Mosley. But the other thing is that people have a tendency to be fast but it’s how you use your speed and where you use your speed at what times. So that’s some of the things we had to concentrate on, but yeah I think Shane Mosley brings several weapons to the table and he’s going to be (unintelligible) to find an answer to deal with all of those weapons whether he’s using them properly.
Q: Margarito has pretty good height for a welterweight. Are you prepared to deal with that and having, and what other fighter can you say hey they had that kind of height advantage and how will you be able to deal with that?
Shane Mosley: Well Margarito I think (unintelligible), when we did the first press conference if you’ll notice we’re both looking eye to eye and that’s not just the picture, that’s really us being the same height. My arms are well, they say on the record that they’re a little longer than his so (unintelligible) think we’re pretty much maybe the same height.
He’s going to come in there you know, he is a little taller, maybe I think an inch and a half taller but that’s not very much. Oscar de la Hoya is the same way, he’s like an inch and a half taller than me too. So I don’t see any problems with that.
Q: One of the things that he seems to have problems with is hand speed, especially guys with fast hands who are busy. Is that something that you think you can make him have to deal with and adjust to?
Shane Mosley: I definitely can exploit him on that. Some people have good hand speed and don’t have good foot speed. I do have good foot speed. So I’m going to exploit him with the hand speed and the foot speed, I’m not saying I’m moving away from him and running and trying to get away from him, I’m not trying to really get away from him, I’m trying to you know, like I always do, I try to get my shots in.
Q: When you’ve broken down Margarito, I mean was it something that you saw immediately that let you know that you were going to match up well against this guy or is it something that has happened during the course of training?
Shane Mosley: Oh man, I’ve seen him fight many times and I knew his style, I know it’s a difficult style and you have to be in great shape, in tremendous shape to fight him and you have to be on top of your game to fight him but it’s a style that my style can beat, you know, be on top of my game. Go ahead.
Q: And obviously it sounds like you’ve got great plans for a long career, but you know, as you’ve seen, I guess you’ve seen it from both ends with Bernard, you know, at 44 it looks like he’s got a couple fights left in him at least. With Oscar after his loss it looks like he may be finished. If you lose, worse case scenario, have you thought about, has that entered your mind and what you would do if that scenario plays out?
Shane Mosley: Actually I haven’t thought about losing, so I don’t know. But it could happen.
Q: Shane if we compare Paul Williams and Margarito’s fight, Margarito’s fight with Cotto, we can analyze that (unintelligible) two different fights you know, because certainly we look at Margarito’s more nice shots against Cotto, more briefly that Williams fight so definitely I think it’s obvious that the fight body to body to Margarito is not the way to win a fight against (unintelligible). What has been about that two fights Williams and Cotto fights against Margarito?
Shane Mosley: Well honestly (I haven’t) seen the Paul Williams, Margarito fight. I’ve see seen the Cotto, Margarito fight. But I would think that you know, with Paul Williams I can’t really equate that to me that he’s 6’4”, 3”, whatever, arm span of a heavyweight and it’s just a different type a fight.
With Cotto, I mean he did very well. He just broke down the last couple rounds and he let Margarito accumulate too many body shots early on in the fight where he couldn’t sustain it and (unintelligible) to fight to 12, but before then I think Cotto was ahead, but even watching the first couple of rounds I felt in my head that Margarito was going to get him because of the way Cotto was fighting him, he was rushing the shots and he was throwing a lot of punches and he was on his heels a lot giving Margarito (unintelligible).
With Paul Williams you know, he’s tall so he’s probably was sticking his jab and you know, keeping Margarito at bay and turn twist and turn them some. That’s probably why he got the victory.
Q: Can we expect the same style from you in terms of boxing in your fight (unintelligible) with Margarito?
Shane Mosley: Well I mean I’m not going to stand around in front of (unintelligible) basically expect me to be throwing a lot of fast shots, snappy and fast shots and you know, I definitely will have you know, I have good punching power so there’s going to be some fire on some of those shots too as well.
Q: Since 2001 you’ve had two bouts every year. If Margarito had signed any earlier do you think this bout would’ve taken last year? And since you only did have a single bout last year are you okay with that going into this one?
Shane Mosley: I’m definitely okay going into this one because what happened was I was getting ready to fight Zab Judah before and it fell through like in May, so I was in training camp for a long time and then I fought, and then I went back to training camp to fight Mayorga and now I’m back in training camp. So I was actually training all the time. I wasn’t really laid off.
Q: Do you have anything good to say basically about Margarito going into this?
Shane Mosley: Oh yeah, I mean Margarito he’s definitely a tough fighter, he’s a warrior and everything that he’s got he’s earned. He’s fought very hard all through his career to get this type of respect and to get this type of claim and finally he achieved it. He took the long road up, the hard road up. He fought everybody he could and battled everybody. But he’s definitely a tough competitor.
Q: Yeah, you just mentioned that you think you have the right style for
Margarito. Could you maybe get a little bit more specific? What is it about your style that you think makes this a good match up?
Shane Mosley: Well it makes a good match up because I have good hand speed, good power, hand speed, power and I’m very durable. I take good shots and I can go, I can stay in the fight when it’s tough. I don’t have to move around, move away and be afraid of being in an exchange. I think some fighters, they’re just fast.
Some fighters are just strong and some fighters are fast and strong but they can’t take a punch, they can’t take it in the inside. They just can punch hard.
I have experience, I have everything. I’ve got the total package for somebody like Margarito. Margarito is one dimensional where he comes right at you and he throws all these shots and punches but he throws them hard and he breaks a lot of guys down with his heart and his will, but I have a big heart and big will too so you’ve got two guys with a big heart and big will, but one’s a little faster and one hits probably a little bit harder and can move better.
Q: What was Cotto lacking then? What was the missing ingredient for Cotto?
Shane Mosley: The grit, I mean what happened with Cotto I think, and maybe that’s why Cotto wants to fight Margarito again is for all his career, the whole career, he’s been used to going forward and walking guys down and for somebody to come and do the same thing to him it kind of rattled him I think a little bit in the later rounds, it rattled him and he started getting hit with shots and he just couldn’t take the pressure then, but I think that him being in the ring with Margarito he knows what to do so it might be a different fight the next time they fight.
David Itskowitch: All right. Thank you everybody for joining the Mosley portion of the call. Thank you Nazim. Thank you Shane. I’m going to turn things over now to Lee Samuels of Top Rank so he can continue on with the Margarito portion of the call. Lee?
Lee Samuels: Great call. Thank you Shane. Thank you Dave and Monica from Golden Boy, really appreciate it.
Lee Samuels: We have the champion on the line with us. He’s been training in California for weeks getting ready for this big fight at the Staples Center and my boss, the Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum is on the line as is Sergio Diaz, the co-manager of Tony and we have Ricardo Jimenez with us also.
So I’m going to turn it over to Bob and he has some remarks and we’ll introduce Tony. Bob?
Bob Arum: Welcome all to the call today. I’m not needed at this point to really sell anything because the fight has been sold out for about a week now. We’ve opened the balcony and those tickets are going extremely fast and they’ll be sold out probably by the end of the week, beginning of next week.
So essentially this fight is a huge, huge box office success and demonstrates how vital and alive boxing is. If you give the public the right kind of matches at the right prices and this championship match between Antonio Margarito and Sugar Shane Mosley is something that has piqued everybody’s imagination. The celebrity turn out is going to be enormous being of course Los Angeles, and everybody is excited including myself.
And I think it’s a tribute to the champion, Antonio Margarito that coming off this great victory against Miguel Cotto he has cemented his status as now being a big box office attraction which is wonderful for Antonio and it’s a real tribute to him. He’s a great fighter and it’s really an honor and pleasure for Top Rank to be promoting him.
Lee Samuels: Okay. Sergio, some remarks about Tony and his training and getting ready for Shane?
Sergio Diaz: Well first I’d like to thank Bob Arum for putting us in this position. The other day I was speaking to my partner Francisco on which promoter has sold out the Staple Center and the only one, Bob Arum. Bob Arum has done a tremendous job with Antonio’s career and we are happy, happy to be part of this Top Rank family and Antonio is proud to be defending his title here in Los Angeles and we’re looking forward to making Top Rank happier and looking forward to continue work with them in the future.
Antonio Margarito: I’m ready to get up into the ring. I trained very hard for this fight. I expect a difficult fight. He’s a very experienced fighter but I put in the work and I’m ready to go in there and put on a good show.
Lee Samuels: Great. And thank you Antonio and (Felicia) we’re ready for our first call. Would you give instructions please?
Q: We saw Manny Pacquiao defeat Oscar recently and he’s become kind of the talk of boxing, I just wondered if Antonio wins this would he like to fight Manny?
Antonio Margarito: I heard about the fights that may be out there for me but I’m not really that interested right now. All I’m thinking about is Mosley, beating Mosley and then Bob will tell me what’s out there for me. I’ll put my hands on what they decide for me to do.
If they think that’s a fight I should do then I’ll do it but right now my mind is just on Mosley and getting over that fight and winning.
Q: I wanted you to talk about what you believe is your ultimate advantage in this fight against Mosley. Where do you match up best? And then secondly do you see any signs that his skills are deteriorating through age or whatever?
Antonio Margarito: I really don’t see that I have any advantages anywhere against him, I just think that my preparation, the way I work, the way I always come prepared for fights, that will carry me over. I know what I need to do to win fights and I always come to do that. They say Mosley is old and all of this I really don’t see it. I think he’s a great champion, I think he’s a great fighter and I’m not going to underestimate him. I know what he’s done and I’m coming in prepared because I believe this is my moment, this is my time to shine.
Q: Antonio you were already a very popular fighter before you beat Cotto but I’m wondering in what way has your life changed just as far as your popularity, that kind of stuff because any time you come into a fight, like at the Home Depot Center, nobody even pays attention to the fight, everybody starts mobbing you and I’m just wondering if you have become even that much more popular since beating Cotto, especially with the Puerto Rican and Mexican rivalry.
Antonio Margarito: Without a doubt, you know everywhere I go now it seems like I’m coming up to people everybody wants my autograph, everybody wants to take a picture with me. I think it is more people coming up to me and I think you can see that reflection on my popularity with the way the tickets are selling. I think without a doubt I’ve taken another step in my career.
Q: Would you like to fight in Mexico, you really have done all your career in the United States. Would you be interested in fighting in Mexico some day due to your popularity, the way you are right now?
Antonio Margarito: If there’s an opportunity to fight in Mexico, it’d be great.I haven’t fought in Mexico in a long, long time so that would be something that I would like to do. if it comes up it’s great, if it doesn’t, you know, it doesn’t.
Q: There’s already talk about maybe you fighting Cotto after this.
Antonio Margarito: Right now I’m not thinking about anyone. I’m happy that people are talking about me, about big fights, but I’m just concentrating on Mosley right now and winning this fight.
Q: You fought Cotto when everybody thought he was invincible and now you’re fighting a future Hall of Fame fighter, how do you feel about that at this point in your career?
Antonio Margarito: I have always wanted to fight the best fighters in the world and I have the opportunity now to fight them and the important thing is to do well and beat Mosley. I know how important this fight would be to my career if I do win.
Q: Mosley has never lost to a Mexican fighter. His quickness, his speed is that something that concerns you?
Antonio Margarito I’m always going to fight the same way, I’m always going to try. I’m always going to depend on my training the way I train, the way I get prepared for fights, that’s what wins me fights.
Q: For this fight they said that you didn’t want to fight him, there was a release put out that you said that they said that you were afraid to fight Mosley and that you really didn’t want to fight Mosley that’s why you didn’t sign. What did you think when you saw something like that or you heard about it?
Antonio margarita: I just laugh. I knew that I’ve been waiting to fight Mosley for the last three years. The opportunity never came up, it just never happened but now that it’s here I’m going to take advantage of it and like I said, I’ve wanted to fight him for a long time.
Q: Some people think that the way that you beat Cotto and the way that Cotto beat Mosley that maybe you’re not taking this as seriously as you should. A challenge from Mosley they think that maybe you’re not going to be up for it.
Antonio Margarito: No. That will never happen to me. I’m not going to say it’s going to be an easy fight, I just know that how difficult it is. He’s got a lot of experience and I’m not going to underestimate him at any time. In the ring anything can happen and I’m going to be ready for anything and everything.
Q: Do you consider the Cotto victory the biggest of your career? And obviously you’ve had trouble with tall fighters, guys that can box. Do you think that that’s the problem you might have with Mosley like you had with Paul Williams and Santos fought you?
Antonio Margarito: I don’t think so. Without a doubt the Cotto fight was the best win of my career because he was at the time probably the best welterweight in the world. So my beating him obviously was the biggest fight because now I’m the best one. The other thing about boxing and speed and all that, that’s why we get ready for a fight. We get ready to fight. You prepare for all styles and the preparation is what will make you a winner.
Q: With your new found fame, new found popularity since the Cotto fight, has that forced you to adjust your lifestyle and are there any potential distractions because before the Cotto fight you were always one of the most accessible guys. I’m just wondering how much of a difference that has been for you and how much have you had to adjust to that?
Antonio Margarito: Obviously between fights there have been a lot of things to do, a lot of people wanting me to do things. But I always take two months for every fight, I’ve always done that. I stay away from everything for those two months and I just concentrate on fighting. That’s not going to change. When it’s my time to train that’s all I’m going to do, train.
Q: You have one of the greatest chins that I’ve ever seen quite possibly the best chin of this particular era. Is that just your belief that you can’t be hurt? Where does that come from?
Antonio Margarito: You know I think it’s something I was born with. I really don’t have any other answer other than the fact that I get prepared very well for every fight, that my preparation allows me to take some punches, not that I like to take punches. I’d rather not take as many …in every fight I really would like to take less but you know, I think that I do have a good chin and do prepare myself.
Q: Awhile back there was a I think it was on HBO on the 24/7 episodes they showed a picture of you and Julio Cesar Chavez and I was wondering if when you were a kid and now that you’ve grown up, so as a kid is being a champion everything that you thought it would be and is this life that you’re living the life that you always thought it would be?
Antonio Margarito: You know when I was eight years old when I started fighting, that photo that you saw was when I was nine years old and I never thought about that, you know, about being a champion, getting into boxing, I mean at that level I never thought about it. It wasn’t until I turned into professional and I started winning some fights that I even thought, you know, maybe my dream would be to win a championship but you know, the way I obtain and the ways things have developed I think it’s been great for me.
Q: Usually everyone figures that Mosley’s going to depend on his speed to beat you, would it surprise you if he came in and changed and was looking for a fight?
Antonio Margarito: I don’t know what his strategy is going to be, if he fights, boxes me, I’ll box with him, I’ll figure him out and I’ll get him. If he comes to fight well, that’s what we’ll do, we’ll just fight.
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Remaining tickets, priced at $300, $150, $75, $50, and $25, are on sale now at all TicketMaster outlets, by phone at 213-480-3232 and online at www.ticketmaster.com, and at STAPLES Center Box Office.
Margarito vs. Mosley is promoted by Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Cerveza Tecate. The 12-round world championship fight for Margarito’s World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight title takes place on Saturday, January 24 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles and will be televised live on HBO’s World Championship Boxing beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT. Read more!
Thursday, January 1, 2009
2008 Year in Review: Rating HBO Boxing
Mark Ortega
HBO, whose moniker is “Building legends one round at a time”, has been under heavy scrutiny by a large portion of the boxing press and demographic for at least the past few years. What better way to give an honest assessment of how good or bad of a job they did than to look back at each telecast they offered up to their subscribers (and with PPV, non-subscribers) the previous year?
Breakdown:
The year will be broken down into four quarters with each quarter being given a certain number of *s up to five. Each telecast will also be rated on a scale of 1-10 on the basis of a number of things. The most important factor will obviously be the level of competition presented in each fight as well as how equal the level of competition (both on paper and in the ring). Each fight will also be assessed on a * rating from one to five. Telecasts that were distributed by HBO but not covered by them will not be included (such as the Casamayor-Marquez PPV that was run by Golden Boy Promotions).
Without further to do, here is the analysis on HBO’s boxing programming in 2008. First Quarter (January to March) *** ½
January 19th, 2008
HBO-PPV – over 500,000 buys
Don King Productions
Roy Jones, Jr. UD12 Felix Trinidad ***
Andrew Golota UD12 Mike Mollo ***
Devon Alexander UD12 DeMarcus Corley **
Luis Collazo TKO10 Alex Bunema *
7.5 rating
As a fight fan I remember sighing after reading the announcement of this proposed fight. The main event featured a guy who had not fought in almost three years against a guy who had not fought an opponent with a pulse in that same amount of time. It turned out to be a huge success and one of the better PPV cards of the year. The main event was one-sided but a decently entertaining fight. The crowd was into the fight, and I remember people talking about it the next day at work which is something that doesn’t happen in boxing too many times a year. The undercard was far from bad, with an entertaining heavyweight scrap between Golota and Mollo leading into the main event. Putting an up-and-comer like Alexander in with a recognizable name like Corley was smart matchmaking by Don King. Collazo-Bunema was forgettable, but still a better matchup than some of the fights that were co-featured on many of HBO’s telecasts later in the year. The card was a good start for HBO that many feel wasn’t followed up very well. Don King deserves some credit for using his limited HBO time incredibly, as King is not a favorite of HBO’s to deal with.
January 26th, 2008
HBO Boxing After Dark
Goossen-Tutor/Sauerland
Alexander Povetkin UD12 Eddie Chambers ** ¾
6.5 rating
Televised from Germany was this great heavyweight matchup that is a throwback to the good ol’ Boxing After Dark days. Two young undefeated heavyweights fighting each other rather than taking easy opposition all the way to the top was something that we have missed over the past few years. I don’t feel that Chambers is given enough credit as a solid heavyweight considering how closely he fought Povetkin. Povetkin was only fourteen fights deep into his professional career when he made his premium cable debut on this broadcast. Also televised was a replay of Jones Jr.-Trinidad, but when HBO does this they need to limit only airing one live bout like they have done so many times. Ten years ago, HBO would air two live bouts and then replay the previous week’s PPV main event. More slots for fighters on live shows would be a big plus to HBO’s boxing programming.
February 9, 2008
HBO Boxing After Dark
Goossen-Tutor
Carlos Quintana UD12 Paul Williams ***
Andre Berto TKO6 Michel Trabant *
4.0 rating
The main event was an unintentionally good fight that was one-sided on paper. Quintana had only fought once since being brutalized by Miguel Cotto over a year earlier, and that was an eight-round bout against a non-descript opponent off-TV. Quintana was a more than 3-to-1 betting dog leading into the fight, but fought exactly the right fight to get a close decision over the undefeated Williams. Andre Berto’s fight was absolute garbage, and I personally would have rather seen the untelevised Chris Arreola-Cliff Couser bout instead, because at least that fight only lasted about a round. In Trabant’s only fight since losing to Berto, he dropped every round to a 7-7 fighter.
February 16, 2008
HBO-PPV – 250,000 buys
Top Rank
Kelly Pavlik UD12 Jermain Taylor II *** ½
Cristian Mijares SD12 Jose Navarro ** ¾
Fernando Montiel KO4 Martin Castillo ***
Ronald Hearns TKO8 Juan Astorga * ¾
7.0 rating
This PPV was not terrible by any means, but was a bit of a letdown. This time it is hard to lay blame to anyone involved in the matchmaking, as it featured three well matched bouts on paper as well as an up-and-comer in a showcase bout. Many people feel that showcasing prospects in big-time television spots is incorrect, but in certain instances I think it is great. A four bout card can get away with a mismatch in an eight rounder, especially when the rest of the undercard is superb and has enough rounds. What isn’t right is co-featuring a showcase bout where one fighter stands no chance of winning (think Juarez-Hernandez from the De la Hoya-Mayweather debacle). So for what it was, Hearns-Astorga was alright. Montiel-Castillo was a great bout on paper that had die-hard fans excited. Nobody could know that Martin Castillo just didn’t have much left. Mijares-Navarro was a world championship bout that was fairly one-sided despite the split decision verdict. The judge who scored it for Navarro, Doug Tucker, had it 120-108 in his favor and for that should be banned from judging professional fights for life. Pavlik-Taylor II was a good fight, but it did not come close to matching the excitement of the first fight from the previous year. Either way, it was a solid matchup that helped establish Pavlik as a new star in the sport.
February 23, 2008
HBO World Championship Boxing
Wladimir Klitschko UD12 Sultan Ibragimov *
3.0 rating
It was the first heavyweight unification bout since 1999, but other than that the fight was a total joke. I don’t know if there has been a more boring unification bout in heavyweight history. Klitschko failed to throw a right hand for long stretches of time, yet still easily won this fight. For the first WCB card of the year, it was a huge failure. The only good thing that came from it was eliminating a heavyweight champion from the picture, and even better, we likely will never have to see Sultan Ibragimov on HBO or premium cable ever again. The fight was held at Madison Square Garden, and is the second time Wladimir has blown a guy out or stunk out the joint in the historic venue in less than two years. The fight was paired with the replay of Pavlik-Taylor II, but it would have been cool to see HBO air John Duddy-Walid Smichet which turned out to be a good fight.
March 8, 2008
HBO World Championship Boxing
Don King Productions
Samuel Peter KO6 Oleg Maskaev ** ¾
Nate Campbell SD12 Juan Diaz *** ½
8.5 rating
This was easily HBO’s best free show of the first quarter, and that may have been unintentional. The opening bout was a candidate for Upset of the Year with Campbell coming into the fight as a more than 3-to-1 underdog against the undefeated Diaz. Diaz was coming off the best wins of his career, stopping both Acelino Freitas and Julio Diaz to pick up two more alphabet belts. The fight was fought on even terms early on, but once a bad cut was opened up by Campbell, he dominated the second half of the fight. Maskaev-Peter was a fight that had been postponed many times before, forcing Peter to pick up an interim title by barely getting by Jameel McCline at the end of 2007. It was a competitive fight until Peter caught Maskaev in the sixth and picked up a world heavyweight title.
March 15, 2008
HBO-PPV – 400,000 buys
Top Rank/Golden Boy Promotions
Manny Pacquiao SD12 Juan Manuel Marquez II **** ½
Steven Luevano UD12 Terdsak Jandaeng **
Abner Mares TKO2 Diosdado Gabi **
David Diaz MD10 Ramon Montano *
6.5 rating
The main event definitely delivered, with Pacquiao’s narrow decision over Marquez being one of the best fights of the year. It was as highly anticipated a rematch as any in reent memory, with Pacquiao trying to avenge a draw he got against Marquez after dropping him three times in the opening round years earlier. It lived up to the hype and delivered a close and controversial decision, as many experts thought Marquez did enough to win. The undercard was not quite at that same level. Luevano fought a guy that had never beaten anyone in the Top 20 let alone the Top 10. Mares-Gabi was a decent fight on paper, as Gabi gave a good account of himself in a loss to Vic Darchinyan earlier in his career. Diaz-Montano was a pointless bout, especially since Diaz was a lightweight champion at the time and this was a non-title bout. The only thing that came out of that matchup was getting some exposure for Diaz before feeding him to Pacquiao later on in the year. The PPV did more than 400k buys and was a record for PPV cards headlined by a bout in a weight class lower than welterweight.
March 22, 2008
HBO Boxing After Dark
Golden Boy Promotions
Joel Casamayor TKO10 Michael Katsidis **** ½
Librado Andrade TKO8 Robert Stieglitz ** ½
8.0 rating
Yes, I gave Casamayor-Katsidis a higher rating than JMM-Pacquiao II, only because it had more ups and downs throughout the fight. Casamayor dropped Katsidis twice in the opening round with straight left hands, but Katsidis brawled his way back into the bout. Katsidis scored a knockdown in the sixth that put Casamayor out of the ring, and many thought that was the end of it. Casamayor got to his feet (this was the first time since Benn-McClellan that I saw someone get knocked out of the ring and continue in the fight) but fell behind on points. He was deducted a point for a low blow in the ninth, then caught Katsidis with a picture perfect shot to finish him and pull off the dramatic victory. Andrade is a guy I would like to see on TV more. He is the light heavyweight version of Antonio Margarito, being able to absorb unreal amounts of punishment until he wears you down later on. I had never heard of Stieglitz before this bout, but he had a solid win over Alejandro Berrio in an eliminator. There was good action in the fight, but Andrade was obviously highly superior to Stieglitz, scoringa late knockout. It was a good way to close out the first quarter. March 2008 was one of the best months in boxing history, so it serves correct that HBO should have one of its best months in recent memory.
Second Quarter (April to June) * ¾
April 12, 2008
HBO World Championship Boxing
Top Rank
Miguel Cotto TKO5 Alfonso Gomez *
Antonio Margarito KO6 Kermit Cintron II ** ½
5.0 rating
Unfortunately, HBO’s first show following their great March was a WCB featuring two huge mismatches. Leading into the Cotto-Gomez fight, everyone was talking about how one-sided it would be. Saying that, it somehow was more than a mismatch than anyone could have thought. Cintron-Margarito II was a great action bout that ended much the same way the first encounter did. Cintron was in the fight the whole way, but everyone watching was just waiting for the moment that Margarito would land that perfect shot to the body, and in the sixth he landed as brutal of a shot to the body as you will ever see. Although the two fights were hgue mismatches, it did build towards the Cotto-Margarito slam-dunk for the middle of the year. Unfortunately, not many saw this card as it did a 1.1 Nielsen rating, the worst any HBO WCB has ever done.
April 19, 2008
HBO World Championship Boxing
Golden Boy Promotions
Joe Calzaghe SD12 Bernard Hopkins ** ¾
6.0 rating
Hopkins-Calzaghe did not fare much better than Cotto-Gomez in the ratings, but it was a much more competitive matchup. It was a big fight, but both fighters stunk it out after an interesting opening stanza that saw Hopkins drop Calzaghe. It was also nice to see them stick this fight on regular HBO rather than make a dozen or so people pay $49.95 for it.
May 3, 2008
HBO World Championship Boxing
Golden Boy Promotions
Oscar De la Hoya UD12 Steve Forbes * ½
4.0 rating
If there was any fight not deserving of a Countdown show, it was De la Hoya-Forbes. For HBO to almost not make a Countdown for Cotto-Margarito, it makes you wonder why this fight got one. Look, I am glad that Forbes got the fight, he is as nice of a guy as you will encounter in boxing. This fight had no business being as hyped as it was. I know that it was to build towards Mayweather-De la Hoya II (why?), but what a waste of a premium cable date.
May 17, 2008
HBO Boxing After Dark
Gary Shaw
Yuriorkis Gamboa UD10 Darling Jimenez ** ½
Alfredo Angulo TKO5 Richard Gutierrez *** ¼
James Kirkland KO1 Eromosele Albert ** ½
6.5 rating
This was a great BAD card in my opinion. It featured three young prospects in against experienced fighters. Angulo-Gutierrez was very exciting, with both fighters having their guy hurt and nearly out. Kirkland’s one-round KO was fantastic, and Gamboa was in tough with an experience veteran and simply outclassed him. It was a good coming-out party for all three fighters and big things are expected from all in ’09.
June 7, 2008
HBO World Championship Boxing
Top Rank
Kelly Pavlik TKO3 Gary Lockett ¾
Juan Manuel Lopez TKO1 Daniel Ponce de Leon ***
5.0 rating
It was not a terrible plan to give Pavlik a soft touch after his fantastic 2007 (wins over Zertuche, Miranda, Taylor), but picking someone who had fought on American television or someone with a pulse would have been a good idea. Lockett was outgunned from the start, and that fight went pretty much as expected. Lopez burst onto the scene with his surprising vanquishing of Ponce de Leon, much the way the Ponce de Leon knocked off Rey Bautista. On paper, it was an evenly matched fight.
June 21, 2008
HBO Boxing After Dark
DiBella Entertainment
Andre Berto TKO7 Miki Rodriguez *
Chris Arreola DQ3 Chazz Witherspoon ***
4.0 rating
Berto continued much the way he started the year, getting an easy opponent. Only this time, it was for a vacant world championship. Does anyone recall an easier road to a world championship than the one Berto has taken? Arreola-Witherspoon was a fun fight for how long it lasted, and it helped establish Arreola as potentially the best American heavyweight in the world, which isn’t saying much these days.
June 28, 2008
HBO-PPV – less than 200,000 buys
Top Rank
Manny Pacquiao TKO9 David Diaz ***
Francisco Lorenzo DQ4 Humberto Soto * ¼
Monte Barrett KO1 Ty Fields *
Steven Luevano D12 Mario Santiago *** ¼
6.0 rating
Pacquiao’s win over Diaz was another step towards all-time greatness for Pacquiao, as he easily picked up a world title at yet another weight class with his one-sided demolition of Diaz. Luevano-Santiago was one of the best PPV undercard fights of the year. Barrett-Fields started out earning zero stars since nobody likes watching Ty Fields, but it quickly earned a star after Barrett knocked him silly early in the first round. Soto-Lorenzo was an action-packed bout that loses a star for the terrible decision made by referee Joe Cortez on disqualifying Soto for hitting Lorenzo after the bell. Lorenzo’s display of sportsmanship when he acted like those blows did serious damage was disgusting. Overall, it was not as bad of a PPV as expected.
Third Quarter (July to September) ***
July 12, 2008
HBO World Championship Boxing
Wladimir Klitschko TKO11 Tony Thompson **
4.0 rating
Thompson was in the fight early on, but it soon became apparent that he was no match for Klitschko. Wladimir again refused to open up and try and finish his guy early and continued with his cautious approach and took care of Thompson at the end of the bout. It was another one bout card for HBO, and another stinker on WCB. HBO needs to eliminate the idea that they need to televise the #1 heavyweight’s bouts, especially when the #1 heavyweight in the world doesn’t like to fight.
July 26, 2008
HBO-PPV – 450,000 buys
Top Rank
Antonio Margarito TKO11 Miguel Cotto *****
Cesar Canchila UD12 Giovanni Segura *** ½
Mike Alvarado KO4 Cesar Bazan ** ½
Bernabe Concepcion TKO3 Adam Carrera **
9.5 rating
Easily the best PPV of the year, Cotto-Margarito delivered on all fronts. The main event was HBO’s best televised fight of the year, and one they nearly did not even do a Countdown show for. Cotto showed brilliance early on, but he could not survive the late onslaught from Margarito and suffered his first career loss. The supporting bouts were all decent to great. Concepcion and Alvarado got some big-time exposure in showcase bouts. Alvarado-Bazan was fun while it lasted. Canchila-Segura was very exciting and will be getting a rematch in February of this year. It will be interesting to see what Cotto-Margarito took out of both fighters, and we will find that out in the opening months of 2009 before they are set to fight each other again mid-year.
August 2, 2008
HBO Boxing After Dark
Top Rank
Joshua Clottey TD9 Zab Judah ***
6.5 rating
This was a good even matchup for a vacant welterweight title. Another one-bout card, HBO could have televised Anthony Peterson’s fight against former world champion Javier Jauregui and I would not have complained. A decent matchup on paper that translated to a close competitive fight that was unfortunately stopped early due to a headbutt. This fight was paired with a replay of Cotto-Margarito and would be HBO’s last effort until the end of the Olympics.
September 6, 2008
HBO Boxing After Dark
Golden Boy Promotions
Juan Diaz SD12 Michael Katsidis ***
Rocky Juarez TKO11 Jorge Rodrigo Barrios *** ½
7.5 rating
After a long layoff from boxing because of the Olympics, HBO returned with a great card from the Toyota Center in Houston where two hometown favorites took on tough opposition. Diaz was a 3-to-1 favorite over Katsidis and lit him up with five and six punch combinations all night. Katsidis’ trainer deserves to be fired for his performance in the corner as well as his postfight comments, telling his fighter he was doing well when he was getting dominated and then crying robbery after a loss. The only robbery was one judge somehow scoring the fight for Katsidis. Juarez-Barrios started out as another typical Juarez fight where he failed to throw punches. The end of the fight was fantastic as Juarez busted up Barrios’ mouth terribly before flooring him in the 11th and scoring a comeback victory.
September 27, 2008
HBO World Championship Boxing
Golden Boy Promotions
Shane Mosley KO12 Ricardo Mayorga ** ¾
Andre Berto UD12 Steve Forbes **
6.5 rating
Mosley-Mayorga was a fun but pointless matchup. Mosley didn’t look very good against the incredibly awkward Mayorga, but scored a knockout after the final bell to come away victorious. Berto again fought an overmatched opponent in Steve Forbes, who fought his second straight fight in a weight class that he is not at his best in. Not the worst that HBO had offered all year, especially on WCB.
Fourth Quarter (October to December) ** ½
October 4, 2008
HBO Boxing After Dark
Gary Shaw
Yuriorkis Gamboa KO2 Marcos Ramirez **
Alfredo Angulo TKO10 Andrey Tsurkan **
Sergio Gabriel Martinez TKO8 Alex Bunema **
5.5 rating
Another excellent idea putting these three young fighters on the same card, but the fights weren’t matched as well as the first time around. Martinez took the spot of Kirkland, picking up an interim junior middleweight title against a guy that does not belong on HBO. Angulo was in against a similarly overmatched opponent in Tsurkan, and that fight went on much too long. In fact, the HBO announce team was concerned for his health and was calling for the fight to be stopped. Gamboa easily dispatched his opponent as well.
October 11, 2008
HBO-PPV – less than 200,000 buys
Top Rank/Golden Boy Promotions
Bernard Hopkins UD12 Kelly Pavlik *** ½
Steven Luevano UD12 Billy Dib * ¾
Marco Antonio Rubio SD12 Enrique Ornelas ** ¼
Daniel Jacobs KO1 Tyrone Watson * ½
6.0 rating
The main event was an unexpectedly exciting fight, with Hopkins turning back the clock to easily beat the much younger fighter. Hopkins even threw many more punches than before and vowed to fight this way the rest of his career (will believe it when I see it). To this point it is the most amazing thing I have seen in the sport, as I thought Pavlik would likely brutally beat Hopkins. The undercard left much to be desired. I think I am in the majority when I say I never want to see Billy Dib on television of any sort. Rubio-Ornelas was a decent scrap, and putting Daniel Jacobs on television wasn’t a terrible move.
November 8, 2008
HBO-PPV – less than 225,000 buys
Joe Calzaghe UD12 Roy Jones, Jr. ** ½
Zab Judah UD10 Ernest Johnson * ¾
Francisco Figueroa SD8 Emanuel Augustus **
Dmitriy Salita UD12 Derrick Campos *
5.0 rating
I won’t lie, I was pretty excited for this fight. Likely it was because I grew up on Roy Jones, Jr., as well as I bought into the 24/7 hype hook, line and sinker. Roy deserves credit for finishing the fight like a man after suffering a terrible cut that could have been grounds for an mid-round stoppage. The undercard stunk except for the Augustus fight, and that lost a star for seeing him once again get a well-deserved victory taken away from him. I don’t ever want to see Salita again taking a valuable PPV slot unless it is against someone in the Top 5 or 10.
November 15, 2008
HBO World Championship Boxing
DiBella Entertainment
Jermain Taylor UD12 Jeff Lacy ** ¾
6.0 rating
A decent matchup on paper, but Lacy was a huge underdog as he had not looked good since before he was blown out by Joe Calzaghe. Both fighters were on the rebound and this was a make or break fight for each. Also interesting was the storyline that developed into this fight, with these guys being roommates on the Olympic squad. This was paired with a replay of Jones, Jr.-Calzaghe, but it easily could have featured a supporting bout as well. Deontay Wilder made his professional debut off television, and that was something many would have liked to see.
November 22, 2008
HBO World Championship Boxing
Golden Boy Promotions
Ricky Hatton TKO11 Paulie Malignaggi ***
James Kirkland TKO8 Brian Vera *
5.5 rating
Hatton-Malignaggi was a good matchup since many considered it the two best 140-pound fighters going against each other. I gave Malignaggi a fair chance at winning this fight heading in, but early on in the fight it was obvious that he did not have much of a chance. A guy like Brian Vera should never appear on a WCB card, there was no excuse for that.
November 29, 2008
HBO Boxing After Dark
Goossen-Tutor Promotions
Paul Williams TKO8 Verno Phillips **
Chris Arreola TKO3 Travis Walker ***
6.0 rating
Both opponents were sizable underdogs, but there was intrigue involved in both bouts. In Arreola-Walker, you had two heavyweights who could crack, so at the very least it was going to be over early. Walker was in the best shape of his career while Arreola came in a little heavy, so you knew there was a chance Walker was going to catch Arreola unexpectedly, and he did that in the second round. Walker was unfortunate in that it sparked Arreola and he went on to knock him out. The second round was one of the best rounds of the year. Williams was moving into yet another weight class by fighting Phillips, and was the first guy in almost twenty years to stop him. An unexpectedly good BAD card.
December 6, 2008
HBO-PPV – 1.25 million buys
Golden Boy Promotions/Top Rank
Manny Pacquiao TKO8 Oscar De la Hoya ***
Juan Manuel Lopez TKO1 Sergio Manuel Medina ¾
Victor Ortiz TKO2 Jeffrey Resto *
Daniel Jacobs TKO2 Victor Lares ¾
4.5 rating
Pacquiao-De la Hoya was a circus attraction that actually delivered. For the first time in his career, Oscar De la Hoya was at no point in the fight he was in. Manny Pacquiao established himself as the next star to carry the sport after Oscar hangs them up. The undercard was as atrocious as it gets, featuring less than ten minutes of actual boxing. Lares and Medina have no business being licensed professional fighters. Medina cried that he was told to take a dive or something was going to happen to him, but it looked like he just wanted out of there.
December 13, 2008
HBO World Championship Boxing
Wladimir Klitschko TKO7 Hasim Rahman ½
2.0 rating
This fight earns half a star on the basis that I will hopefully never have to see Hasim Rahman on television ever again. This may have been the worst main event televised by HBO all year.
A look at the final numbers:
HBO-PPV: 8
WCB: 11
BAD: 9
Number of bouts televised by HBO: 66
Number of bouts televised on HBO-PPV: 32
Number of bouts televised on WCB: 16
Number of bouts televised on BAD: 18
Number of undercard bouts televised on HBO-PPV: 24
Number of one-bout live cards shown on HBO: 7
Klitschko headlined WCB cards: 3
Number of stars combined for the 3 Klitschko headlined cards: *** ½
Number of stars for Cotto-Margarito: *****
Number of stars combined for three supporting bouts to De la Hoya-Pacquiao: ** ½
Shows that were assigned a 5.0/10.0 rating or less: 10
Number of headlining bouts that received less than three stars: 14
By lead promoter:
Golden Boy Promotions: 7.5
Top Rank Boxing: 7.5
Goossen-Tutor: 2.5
Don King: 2
Gary Shaw: 2
DiBella Entertainment: 2
Sauerland: 0.5
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HBO, whose moniker is “Building legends one round at a time”, has been under heavy scrutiny by a large portion of the boxing press and demographic for at least the past few years. What better way to give an honest assessment of how good or bad of a job they did than to look back at each telecast they offered up to their subscribers (and with PPV, non-subscribers) the previous year?Breakdown:
The year will be broken down into four quarters with each quarter being given a certain number of *s up to five. Each telecast will also be rated on a scale of 1-10 on the basis of a number of things. The most important factor will obviously be the level of competition presented in each fight as well as how equal the level of competition (both on paper and in the ring). Each fight will also be assessed on a * rating from one to five. Telecasts that were distributed by HBO but not covered by them will not be included (such as the Casamayor-Marquez PPV that was run by Golden Boy Promotions).
Without further to do, here is the analysis on HBO’s boxing programming in 2008. First Quarter (January to March) *** ½
January 19th, 2008
HBO-PPV – over 500,000 buys
Don King Productions
Roy Jones, Jr. UD12 Felix Trinidad ***
Andrew Golota UD12 Mike Mollo ***
Devon Alexander UD12 DeMarcus Corley **
Luis Collazo TKO10 Alex Bunema *
7.5 rating
As a fight fan I remember sighing after reading the announcement of this proposed fight. The main event featured a guy who had not fought in almost three years against a guy who had not fought an opponent with a pulse in that same amount of time. It turned out to be a huge success and one of the better PPV cards of the year. The main event was one-sided but a decently entertaining fight. The crowd was into the fight, and I remember people talking about it the next day at work which is something that doesn’t happen in boxing too many times a year. The undercard was far from bad, with an entertaining heavyweight scrap between Golota and Mollo leading into the main event. Putting an up-and-comer like Alexander in with a recognizable name like Corley was smart matchmaking by Don King. Collazo-Bunema was forgettable, but still a better matchup than some of the fights that were co-featured on many of HBO’s telecasts later in the year. The card was a good start for HBO that many feel wasn’t followed up very well. Don King deserves some credit for using his limited HBO time incredibly, as King is not a favorite of HBO’s to deal with.
January 26th, 2008
HBO Boxing After Dark
Goossen-Tutor/Sauerland
Alexander Povetkin UD12 Eddie Chambers ** ¾
6.5 rating
Televised from Germany was this great heavyweight matchup that is a throwback to the good ol’ Boxing After Dark days. Two young undefeated heavyweights fighting each other rather than taking easy opposition all the way to the top was something that we have missed over the past few years. I don’t feel that Chambers is given enough credit as a solid heavyweight considering how closely he fought Povetkin. Povetkin was only fourteen fights deep into his professional career when he made his premium cable debut on this broadcast. Also televised was a replay of Jones Jr.-Trinidad, but when HBO does this they need to limit only airing one live bout like they have done so many times. Ten years ago, HBO would air two live bouts and then replay the previous week’s PPV main event. More slots for fighters on live shows would be a big plus to HBO’s boxing programming.
February 9, 2008
HBO Boxing After Dark
Goossen-Tutor
Carlos Quintana UD12 Paul Williams ***
Andre Berto TKO6 Michel Trabant *
4.0 rating
The main event was an unintentionally good fight that was one-sided on paper. Quintana had only fought once since being brutalized by Miguel Cotto over a year earlier, and that was an eight-round bout against a non-descript opponent off-TV. Quintana was a more than 3-to-1 betting dog leading into the fight, but fought exactly the right fight to get a close decision over the undefeated Williams. Andre Berto’s fight was absolute garbage, and I personally would have rather seen the untelevised Chris Arreola-Cliff Couser bout instead, because at least that fight only lasted about a round. In Trabant’s only fight since losing to Berto, he dropped every round to a 7-7 fighter.
February 16, 2008
HBO-PPV – 250,000 buys
Top Rank
Kelly Pavlik UD12 Jermain Taylor II *** ½
Cristian Mijares SD12 Jose Navarro ** ¾
Fernando Montiel KO4 Martin Castillo ***
Ronald Hearns TKO8 Juan Astorga * ¾
7.0 rating
This PPV was not terrible by any means, but was a bit of a letdown. This time it is hard to lay blame to anyone involved in the matchmaking, as it featured three well matched bouts on paper as well as an up-and-comer in a showcase bout. Many people feel that showcasing prospects in big-time television spots is incorrect, but in certain instances I think it is great. A four bout card can get away with a mismatch in an eight rounder, especially when the rest of the undercard is superb and has enough rounds. What isn’t right is co-featuring a showcase bout where one fighter stands no chance of winning (think Juarez-Hernandez from the De la Hoya-Mayweather debacle). So for what it was, Hearns-Astorga was alright. Montiel-Castillo was a great bout on paper that had die-hard fans excited. Nobody could know that Martin Castillo just didn’t have much left. Mijares-Navarro was a world championship bout that was fairly one-sided despite the split decision verdict. The judge who scored it for Navarro, Doug Tucker, had it 120-108 in his favor and for that should be banned from judging professional fights for life. Pavlik-Taylor II was a good fight, but it did not come close to matching the excitement of the first fight from the previous year. Either way, it was a solid matchup that helped establish Pavlik as a new star in the sport.
February 23, 2008
HBO World Championship Boxing
Wladimir Klitschko UD12 Sultan Ibragimov *
3.0 rating
It was the first heavyweight unification bout since 1999, but other than that the fight was a total joke. I don’t know if there has been a more boring unification bout in heavyweight history. Klitschko failed to throw a right hand for long stretches of time, yet still easily won this fight. For the first WCB card of the year, it was a huge failure. The only good thing that came from it was eliminating a heavyweight champion from the picture, and even better, we likely will never have to see Sultan Ibragimov on HBO or premium cable ever again. The fight was held at Madison Square Garden, and is the second time Wladimir has blown a guy out or stunk out the joint in the historic venue in less than two years. The fight was paired with the replay of Pavlik-Taylor II, but it would have been cool to see HBO air John Duddy-Walid Smichet which turned out to be a good fight.
March 8, 2008
HBO World Championship Boxing
Don King Productions
Samuel Peter KO6 Oleg Maskaev ** ¾
Nate Campbell SD12 Juan Diaz *** ½
8.5 rating
This was easily HBO’s best free show of the first quarter, and that may have been unintentional. The opening bout was a candidate for Upset of the Year with Campbell coming into the fight as a more than 3-to-1 underdog against the undefeated Diaz. Diaz was coming off the best wins of his career, stopping both Acelino Freitas and Julio Diaz to pick up two more alphabet belts. The fight was fought on even terms early on, but once a bad cut was opened up by Campbell, he dominated the second half of the fight. Maskaev-Peter was a fight that had been postponed many times before, forcing Peter to pick up an interim title by barely getting by Jameel McCline at the end of 2007. It was a competitive fight until Peter caught Maskaev in the sixth and picked up a world heavyweight title.
March 15, 2008
HBO-PPV – 400,000 buys
Top Rank/Golden Boy Promotions
Manny Pacquiao SD12 Juan Manuel Marquez II **** ½
Steven Luevano UD12 Terdsak Jandaeng **
Abner Mares TKO2 Diosdado Gabi **
David Diaz MD10 Ramon Montano *
6.5 rating
The main event definitely delivered, with Pacquiao’s narrow decision over Marquez being one of the best fights of the year. It was as highly anticipated a rematch as any in reent memory, with Pacquiao trying to avenge a draw he got against Marquez after dropping him three times in the opening round years earlier. It lived up to the hype and delivered a close and controversial decision, as many experts thought Marquez did enough to win. The undercard was not quite at that same level. Luevano fought a guy that had never beaten anyone in the Top 20 let alone the Top 10. Mares-Gabi was a decent fight on paper, as Gabi gave a good account of himself in a loss to Vic Darchinyan earlier in his career. Diaz-Montano was a pointless bout, especially since Diaz was a lightweight champion at the time and this was a non-title bout. The only thing that came out of that matchup was getting some exposure for Diaz before feeding him to Pacquiao later on in the year. The PPV did more than 400k buys and was a record for PPV cards headlined by a bout in a weight class lower than welterweight.
March 22, 2008
HBO Boxing After Dark
Golden Boy Promotions
Joel Casamayor TKO10 Michael Katsidis **** ½
Librado Andrade TKO8 Robert Stieglitz ** ½
8.0 rating
Yes, I gave Casamayor-Katsidis a higher rating than JMM-Pacquiao II, only because it had more ups and downs throughout the fight. Casamayor dropped Katsidis twice in the opening round with straight left hands, but Katsidis brawled his way back into the bout. Katsidis scored a knockdown in the sixth that put Casamayor out of the ring, and many thought that was the end of it. Casamayor got to his feet (this was the first time since Benn-McClellan that I saw someone get knocked out of the ring and continue in the fight) but fell behind on points. He was deducted a point for a low blow in the ninth, then caught Katsidis with a picture perfect shot to finish him and pull off the dramatic victory. Andrade is a guy I would like to see on TV more. He is the light heavyweight version of Antonio Margarito, being able to absorb unreal amounts of punishment until he wears you down later on. I had never heard of Stieglitz before this bout, but he had a solid win over Alejandro Berrio in an eliminator. There was good action in the fight, but Andrade was obviously highly superior to Stieglitz, scoringa late knockout. It was a good way to close out the first quarter. March 2008 was one of the best months in boxing history, so it serves correct that HBO should have one of its best months in recent memory.
Second Quarter (April to June) * ¾
April 12, 2008
HBO World Championship Boxing
Top Rank
Miguel Cotto TKO5 Alfonso Gomez *
Antonio Margarito KO6 Kermit Cintron II ** ½
5.0 rating
Unfortunately, HBO’s first show following their great March was a WCB featuring two huge mismatches. Leading into the Cotto-Gomez fight, everyone was talking about how one-sided it would be. Saying that, it somehow was more than a mismatch than anyone could have thought. Cintron-Margarito II was a great action bout that ended much the same way the first encounter did. Cintron was in the fight the whole way, but everyone watching was just waiting for the moment that Margarito would land that perfect shot to the body, and in the sixth he landed as brutal of a shot to the body as you will ever see. Although the two fights were hgue mismatches, it did build towards the Cotto-Margarito slam-dunk for the middle of the year. Unfortunately, not many saw this card as it did a 1.1 Nielsen rating, the worst any HBO WCB has ever done.
April 19, 2008
HBO World Championship Boxing
Golden Boy Promotions
Joe Calzaghe SD12 Bernard Hopkins ** ¾
6.0 rating
Hopkins-Calzaghe did not fare much better than Cotto-Gomez in the ratings, but it was a much more competitive matchup. It was a big fight, but both fighters stunk it out after an interesting opening stanza that saw Hopkins drop Calzaghe. It was also nice to see them stick this fight on regular HBO rather than make a dozen or so people pay $49.95 for it.
May 3, 2008
HBO World Championship Boxing
Golden Boy Promotions
Oscar De la Hoya UD12 Steve Forbes * ½
4.0 rating
If there was any fight not deserving of a Countdown show, it was De la Hoya-Forbes. For HBO to almost not make a Countdown for Cotto-Margarito, it makes you wonder why this fight got one. Look, I am glad that Forbes got the fight, he is as nice of a guy as you will encounter in boxing. This fight had no business being as hyped as it was. I know that it was to build towards Mayweather-De la Hoya II (why?), but what a waste of a premium cable date.
May 17, 2008
HBO Boxing After Dark
Gary Shaw
Yuriorkis Gamboa UD10 Darling Jimenez ** ½
Alfredo Angulo TKO5 Richard Gutierrez *** ¼
James Kirkland KO1 Eromosele Albert ** ½
6.5 rating
This was a great BAD card in my opinion. It featured three young prospects in against experienced fighters. Angulo-Gutierrez was very exciting, with both fighters having their guy hurt and nearly out. Kirkland’s one-round KO was fantastic, and Gamboa was in tough with an experience veteran and simply outclassed him. It was a good coming-out party for all three fighters and big things are expected from all in ’09.
June 7, 2008
HBO World Championship Boxing
Top Rank
Kelly Pavlik TKO3 Gary Lockett ¾
Juan Manuel Lopez TKO1 Daniel Ponce de Leon ***
5.0 rating
It was not a terrible plan to give Pavlik a soft touch after his fantastic 2007 (wins over Zertuche, Miranda, Taylor), but picking someone who had fought on American television or someone with a pulse would have been a good idea. Lockett was outgunned from the start, and that fight went pretty much as expected. Lopez burst onto the scene with his surprising vanquishing of Ponce de Leon, much the way the Ponce de Leon knocked off Rey Bautista. On paper, it was an evenly matched fight.
June 21, 2008
HBO Boxing After Dark
DiBella Entertainment
Andre Berto TKO7 Miki Rodriguez *
Chris Arreola DQ3 Chazz Witherspoon ***
4.0 rating
Berto continued much the way he started the year, getting an easy opponent. Only this time, it was for a vacant world championship. Does anyone recall an easier road to a world championship than the one Berto has taken? Arreola-Witherspoon was a fun fight for how long it lasted, and it helped establish Arreola as potentially the best American heavyweight in the world, which isn’t saying much these days.
June 28, 2008
HBO-PPV – less than 200,000 buys
Top Rank
Manny Pacquiao TKO9 David Diaz ***
Francisco Lorenzo DQ4 Humberto Soto * ¼
Monte Barrett KO1 Ty Fields *
Steven Luevano D12 Mario Santiago *** ¼
6.0 rating
Pacquiao’s win over Diaz was another step towards all-time greatness for Pacquiao, as he easily picked up a world title at yet another weight class with his one-sided demolition of Diaz. Luevano-Santiago was one of the best PPV undercard fights of the year. Barrett-Fields started out earning zero stars since nobody likes watching Ty Fields, but it quickly earned a star after Barrett knocked him silly early in the first round. Soto-Lorenzo was an action-packed bout that loses a star for the terrible decision made by referee Joe Cortez on disqualifying Soto for hitting Lorenzo after the bell. Lorenzo’s display of sportsmanship when he acted like those blows did serious damage was disgusting. Overall, it was not as bad of a PPV as expected.
Third Quarter (July to September) ***
July 12, 2008
HBO World Championship Boxing
Wladimir Klitschko TKO11 Tony Thompson **
4.0 rating
Thompson was in the fight early on, but it soon became apparent that he was no match for Klitschko. Wladimir again refused to open up and try and finish his guy early and continued with his cautious approach and took care of Thompson at the end of the bout. It was another one bout card for HBO, and another stinker on WCB. HBO needs to eliminate the idea that they need to televise the #1 heavyweight’s bouts, especially when the #1 heavyweight in the world doesn’t like to fight.
July 26, 2008
HBO-PPV – 450,000 buys
Top Rank
Antonio Margarito TKO11 Miguel Cotto *****
Cesar Canchila UD12 Giovanni Segura *** ½
Mike Alvarado KO4 Cesar Bazan ** ½
Bernabe Concepcion TKO3 Adam Carrera **
9.5 rating
Easily the best PPV of the year, Cotto-Margarito delivered on all fronts. The main event was HBO’s best televised fight of the year, and one they nearly did not even do a Countdown show for. Cotto showed brilliance early on, but he could not survive the late onslaught from Margarito and suffered his first career loss. The supporting bouts were all decent to great. Concepcion and Alvarado got some big-time exposure in showcase bouts. Alvarado-Bazan was fun while it lasted. Canchila-Segura was very exciting and will be getting a rematch in February of this year. It will be interesting to see what Cotto-Margarito took out of both fighters, and we will find that out in the opening months of 2009 before they are set to fight each other again mid-year.
August 2, 2008
HBO Boxing After Dark
Top Rank
Joshua Clottey TD9 Zab Judah ***
6.5 rating
This was a good even matchup for a vacant welterweight title. Another one-bout card, HBO could have televised Anthony Peterson’s fight against former world champion Javier Jauregui and I would not have complained. A decent matchup on paper that translated to a close competitive fight that was unfortunately stopped early due to a headbutt. This fight was paired with a replay of Cotto-Margarito and would be HBO’s last effort until the end of the Olympics.
September 6, 2008
HBO Boxing After Dark
Golden Boy Promotions
Juan Diaz SD12 Michael Katsidis ***
Rocky Juarez TKO11 Jorge Rodrigo Barrios *** ½
7.5 rating
After a long layoff from boxing because of the Olympics, HBO returned with a great card from the Toyota Center in Houston where two hometown favorites took on tough opposition. Diaz was a 3-to-1 favorite over Katsidis and lit him up with five and six punch combinations all night. Katsidis’ trainer deserves to be fired for his performance in the corner as well as his postfight comments, telling his fighter he was doing well when he was getting dominated and then crying robbery after a loss. The only robbery was one judge somehow scoring the fight for Katsidis. Juarez-Barrios started out as another typical Juarez fight where he failed to throw punches. The end of the fight was fantastic as Juarez busted up Barrios’ mouth terribly before flooring him in the 11th and scoring a comeback victory.
September 27, 2008
HBO World Championship Boxing
Golden Boy Promotions
Shane Mosley KO12 Ricardo Mayorga ** ¾
Andre Berto UD12 Steve Forbes **
6.5 rating
Mosley-Mayorga was a fun but pointless matchup. Mosley didn’t look very good against the incredibly awkward Mayorga, but scored a knockout after the final bell to come away victorious. Berto again fought an overmatched opponent in Steve Forbes, who fought his second straight fight in a weight class that he is not at his best in. Not the worst that HBO had offered all year, especially on WCB.
Fourth Quarter (October to December) ** ½
October 4, 2008
HBO Boxing After Dark
Gary Shaw
Yuriorkis Gamboa KO2 Marcos Ramirez **
Alfredo Angulo TKO10 Andrey Tsurkan **
Sergio Gabriel Martinez TKO8 Alex Bunema **
5.5 rating
Another excellent idea putting these three young fighters on the same card, but the fights weren’t matched as well as the first time around. Martinez took the spot of Kirkland, picking up an interim junior middleweight title against a guy that does not belong on HBO. Angulo was in against a similarly overmatched opponent in Tsurkan, and that fight went on much too long. In fact, the HBO announce team was concerned for his health and was calling for the fight to be stopped. Gamboa easily dispatched his opponent as well.
October 11, 2008
HBO-PPV – less than 200,000 buys
Top Rank/Golden Boy Promotions
Bernard Hopkins UD12 Kelly Pavlik *** ½
Steven Luevano UD12 Billy Dib * ¾
Marco Antonio Rubio SD12 Enrique Ornelas ** ¼
Daniel Jacobs KO1 Tyrone Watson * ½
6.0 rating
The main event was an unexpectedly exciting fight, with Hopkins turning back the clock to easily beat the much younger fighter. Hopkins even threw many more punches than before and vowed to fight this way the rest of his career (will believe it when I see it). To this point it is the most amazing thing I have seen in the sport, as I thought Pavlik would likely brutally beat Hopkins. The undercard left much to be desired. I think I am in the majority when I say I never want to see Billy Dib on television of any sort. Rubio-Ornelas was a decent scrap, and putting Daniel Jacobs on television wasn’t a terrible move.
November 8, 2008
HBO-PPV – less than 225,000 buys
Joe Calzaghe UD12 Roy Jones, Jr. ** ½
Zab Judah UD10 Ernest Johnson * ¾
Francisco Figueroa SD8 Emanuel Augustus **
Dmitriy Salita UD12 Derrick Campos *
5.0 rating
I won’t lie, I was pretty excited for this fight. Likely it was because I grew up on Roy Jones, Jr., as well as I bought into the 24/7 hype hook, line and sinker. Roy deserves credit for finishing the fight like a man after suffering a terrible cut that could have been grounds for an mid-round stoppage. The undercard stunk except for the Augustus fight, and that lost a star for seeing him once again get a well-deserved victory taken away from him. I don’t ever want to see Salita again taking a valuable PPV slot unless it is against someone in the Top 5 or 10.
November 15, 2008
HBO World Championship Boxing
DiBella Entertainment
Jermain Taylor UD12 Jeff Lacy ** ¾
6.0 rating
A decent matchup on paper, but Lacy was a huge underdog as he had not looked good since before he was blown out by Joe Calzaghe. Both fighters were on the rebound and this was a make or break fight for each. Also interesting was the storyline that developed into this fight, with these guys being roommates on the Olympic squad. This was paired with a replay of Jones, Jr.-Calzaghe, but it easily could have featured a supporting bout as well. Deontay Wilder made his professional debut off television, and that was something many would have liked to see.
November 22, 2008
HBO World Championship Boxing
Golden Boy Promotions
Ricky Hatton TKO11 Paulie Malignaggi ***
James Kirkland TKO8 Brian Vera *
5.5 rating
Hatton-Malignaggi was a good matchup since many considered it the two best 140-pound fighters going against each other. I gave Malignaggi a fair chance at winning this fight heading in, but early on in the fight it was obvious that he did not have much of a chance. A guy like Brian Vera should never appear on a WCB card, there was no excuse for that.
November 29, 2008
HBO Boxing After Dark
Goossen-Tutor Promotions
Paul Williams TKO8 Verno Phillips **
Chris Arreola TKO3 Travis Walker ***
6.0 rating
Both opponents were sizable underdogs, but there was intrigue involved in both bouts. In Arreola-Walker, you had two heavyweights who could crack, so at the very least it was going to be over early. Walker was in the best shape of his career while Arreola came in a little heavy, so you knew there was a chance Walker was going to catch Arreola unexpectedly, and he did that in the second round. Walker was unfortunate in that it sparked Arreola and he went on to knock him out. The second round was one of the best rounds of the year. Williams was moving into yet another weight class by fighting Phillips, and was the first guy in almost twenty years to stop him. An unexpectedly good BAD card.
December 6, 2008
HBO-PPV – 1.25 million buys
Golden Boy Promotions/Top Rank
Manny Pacquiao TKO8 Oscar De la Hoya ***
Juan Manuel Lopez TKO1 Sergio Manuel Medina ¾
Victor Ortiz TKO2 Jeffrey Resto *
Daniel Jacobs TKO2 Victor Lares ¾
4.5 rating
Pacquiao-De la Hoya was a circus attraction that actually delivered. For the first time in his career, Oscar De la Hoya was at no point in the fight he was in. Manny Pacquiao established himself as the next star to carry the sport after Oscar hangs them up. The undercard was as atrocious as it gets, featuring less than ten minutes of actual boxing. Lares and Medina have no business being licensed professional fighters. Medina cried that he was told to take a dive or something was going to happen to him, but it looked like he just wanted out of there.
December 13, 2008
HBO World Championship Boxing
Wladimir Klitschko TKO7 Hasim Rahman ½
2.0 rating
This fight earns half a star on the basis that I will hopefully never have to see Hasim Rahman on television ever again. This may have been the worst main event televised by HBO all year.
A look at the final numbers:
HBO-PPV: 8
WCB: 11
BAD: 9
Number of bouts televised by HBO: 66
Number of bouts televised on HBO-PPV: 32
Number of bouts televised on WCB: 16
Number of bouts televised on BAD: 18
Number of undercard bouts televised on HBO-PPV: 24
Number of one-bout live cards shown on HBO: 7
Klitschko headlined WCB cards: 3
Number of stars combined for the 3 Klitschko headlined cards: *** ½
Number of stars for Cotto-Margarito: *****
Number of stars combined for three supporting bouts to De la Hoya-Pacquiao: ** ½
Shows that were assigned a 5.0/10.0 rating or less: 10
Number of headlining bouts that received less than three stars: 14
By lead promoter:
Golden Boy Promotions: 7.5
Top Rank Boxing: 7.5
Goossen-Tutor: 2.5
Don King: 2
Gary Shaw: 2
DiBella Entertainment: 2
Sauerland: 0.5
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