MAY & JUNE
Boxing 2007: The Mid-Year Review
THU, June 28, CLIFF ROLD - Baseball has the all-star break. Boxing has July 1st. For each sport, it marks the same landmark: the passage of mid-season. There is no off-season because the boxing season never really ends, or begins for that matter. It’s one of the places boxing will always have America’s pastime beat. This dynamic doesn’t stop fans and pundits from marking the passing of time with the movement of the calendar.
At the end of each year, fighters and fights are anointed as the best of the last twelve months. Thus, it makes sense in the middle of each year to gauge where the sport is and where it’s headed. [Links Take You To BoxingScene.com]
"Hitman" Hatton KO’s Castillo In Four
SUN June 24, FRANK GONZALEZ - Saturday night in Las Vegas, Ricky Hatton (43-0, 31 KO’s) entered the
ring at the Thomas and Mack Center wearing a blue Mexican Sombrero; to face
one of Mexico’s highly rated, former Champions, Jose Luis Castillo
(55-8-1, 47 KO’s). Castillo is best remembered for his two fights against another fan favorite, (and now legendary) Diego Corrales, who was lost to us all
after a motorcycle accident took him recently. Castillo also fought Floyd
Mayweather twice, beating him the first time but losing the decision, then choking in the rematch, where Floyd dominated him.
Hatton-Castillo: Legitimacy vs. Legacy
THU, June 21, CLIFF ROLD - How will they be remembered? Whether they admit it or not, that question has to cross the minds of World jr. welterweight champion Ricky Hatton (42-0) of Manchester, England and former World lightweight champion Jose Luis Castillo (55-7-1, Ring Magazine #1 contender at 140) of Mexicali, Mexico.
Two issues seek immediate resolution in the search for answers. [Links Take You To BoxingScene.com]
Talking Boxing with CARL "THE COBRA" FROCH
WED June 20, LUKE CHANCE - Carl ‘The Cobra’ Froch 21(17)-0-0 has been known to British boxing fans for sometime, and has made his presence felt on a world level by rising through the rankings to European mandatory contender WBC No. 1 ranked contender and WBO No. 4 ranked contender, IBF No. 4 ranked contender (1 and 2 not rated). In March he really announced his arrival on the world scene demolishing fellow contender teak tough Sergey Tatevosyan 26(14)-8-0.
Lucien Bute: A Gem in a Gold Rush
THU, June 7, CLIFF ROLD - I don’t know what’s in the water over at the “Worldwide Leader,” but ESPN2
should share. They are serving up yet another in what is becoming a trend
of excellent match-ups Friday night, and it’s a fight that could have ramifications for the next couple of years. Casual viewers might not know
it going in, but the 168 lb. battle between 27-year old Ring Magazine #6
contender Lucien Bute, a Romanian fighting out of Montreal, and #10 Sakio Bika, a Cameroon native by way of Sydney, Australia, is boxing at its best. [Links Take You To BoxingScene.com]
Cotto Judah – Blood, Guts, Heart and Class
TUE June 12, BUSTER PARIS - The blood streams out of a pinhole cut from Miguel’s chin, as if a piercing had gone horribly wrong, but the expression on his face hasn’t changed, it’s an emotionless mask of nothing.
He and Zab are locked in, head to head, and as Cotto slides his head gently, but firmly over to Judah’s shoulder, it looks like the crowning ceremonial slow dance from some bizarre Pugilistic Prom...
Cotto-Judah: An Old Fashioned Garden Show
THU, June 7, CLIFF ROLD - In the moments leading up to the second Arturo Gatti-Mickey Ward fight, HBO went old school. They showed you the fighters in black and white, invoking the shadows of the 1950’s. This Saturday’s welterweight bout between Ring Magazine #3 Miguel Cotto (29-0, 24 KO) of Puerto Rico and former World welterweight champion Zab Judah (34-4, 25 KO, #5) of Brooklyn belong to even earlier technologies. To give fans the flavor of what Cotto-Judah is really all about, one would need to gather with their friends around the radio live... [Links Take You To BoxingScene.com]
Malignaggi and DiBella Impress at the Hoboken International Film Festival
WED June 6, CHRIS ROCHE, BrickCityBoxing.com - Back in the 1980’s, the State of New Jersey’s slogan was: “New Jersey and You, Perfect Together”. That slogan can also be applied to the marriage of boxing and film. There is no other sport that lends itself so gracefully to the silver screen, and that is one reason why I attended the premiere of Magic Man, a documentary starring Paulie “The Magic Man” Malignaggi, at the Hoboken International Film Festival.
The Disrespecting of Shannon Briggs
THU, May 31, CLIFF ROLD - Magazine covers, a couch spot places like the Tonight Show…these are just some of the things that seemingly have been the purview of the king of boxing over the years. From November 11, 1997 to March 28, 1998, it should have been the purview of Shannon Briggs. Those were the dates during
which he, and he alone, was the true World heavyweight champion and yet when he walks into a room today not enough call him champ.
As Brooklyn’s Briggs (48-4-1, 42 KO) prepares to defend his WBO belt against Sultan Ibragimov (20-0-1, 17 KO) of Russia this Saturday night in Atlantic City... [Links Take You To BoxingScene.com]
Cory Spinks: A Victim Forgotten
THU, May 23, CLIFF ROLD - Tommy Ryan…Mickey Walker…Sugar Ray Robinson...Carmen Basilio…Emile Griffith…Sugar Ray Leonard…Cory Spinks. One of these names seems out of place. In one important way it shouldn’t. The first six are the names of the men who legitimately won the World welterweight and World
middleweight crowns in their careers. Last Saturday in Memphis, Cory Spinks (36-4, 11 KO) of St. Louis, Missouri was robbed of an earned victory that would have made him the seventh.
The support for Spinks cause has largely been a gulf of silence. [Links Take You To BoxingScene.com]
An Argument in Favor of Boxing, Does HBO Share Our Resolve?
MON May 21, ANDRES ANTONIO CARRIEDO - Three weekends into May of 2007, fight fans can now see that the sport of boxing is in the midst of its own crossroads fight. Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), most notably the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), are surging in popularity, which places them in stark contrast to the sport of boxing. Oscar De la Hoya-Floyd Mayweather and Jermain Taylor-Cory Spinks gave us a glimpse at what the sport is up against. Both bouts were well fought and technically sound boxing matches...
Kelly Pavlik Dispenses With Edison Miranda In Seven
Sun May 20, FRANK GONZALEZ - The REAL Main Event was disguised as the under-card at the Fed Ex Forum in Memphis Tennessee, where in a WBC eliminator bout, Kelly “The Ghost” Pavlik (31-0, 28 KO’s) hunted down the ever-dangerous Edison “Pantera” Miranda (28-2, 24 KO’s) with constant pressure and solid boxing skills in a highly
anticipated match up Saturday night. This is the kind of fight that fans want to see, two guys on top of their game, taking the big risk of fighting each other.
Taylor-Spinks and Miranda-Pavlik: The Real Fights to “Save” Boxing
THU, May 17, CLIFF ROLD - Take a deep breath…let it out. That’s the feeling the whole sport of boxing is going through right now in the wake of the Oscar De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather show. After nearly six months of incessant hype, advertising, media coverage and utter nonsense about the saving of boxing, boxing gets back to everything it should be. Boxing gets back to being sport. [Links Take You To BoxingScene.com]
Did HBO Squander a Pretty Golden Opportunity?
THU, May 10, CLIFF ROLD - A record 2.1 million pay-per-view buyers to see the bout doesn’t change what
happened during Floyd Mayweather-Oscar De la Hoya. If you loved boxing before last Saturday night, you still love it. If you were a casual fan, you didn’t see anything that would stop you from watching again but also didn’t see anything that demanded an immediate return of your attentions. That’s too bad because there are some imminent excellent fights that some may not see on the horizon. In that sense, regardless of a single night box office success, the brain trust at HBO dropped the ball. [Links Take You To BoxingScene.com]
Floyd Mayweather Jr – Nothing Left To Prove
WED May 9, BUSTER PARIS - There’s 30 seconds left in the 11th round, the boos and uneasiness emanate from the crowd. Once again the “Pretty Boy” gets no respect even though a few moments ago he smirkingly stood his ground, stood toe to toe with the naturally bigger and stronger man and was able to take Oscar’s biggest punches and while receiving an onslaught of mad Mexican leather, Floyd was able to surgically pick any spot that he wanted to hit, and with laser like accuracy he would hit it....
>>> POST FIGHT: Mayweather Beats De la Hoya for WBC Crown
Diego "Chico" Corrales Dies In Motorcycle Accident
TUE May 8, BUSTER PARIS - "He fought recklessly and he lived recklessly, that was his style." - Promoter Gary Shaw to the media. The details are still being worked out, but Diego “Chico” Corrales has died as a result of a motorcycle accident.
A spokesman at the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department did confirm that there was an accident at the intersection of Fort Apache and Russell Roads in southwest Las Vegas, but did not provide any further details on the accident.
Diego Corrales was 29 years old and is survived by his wife Michelle, and their daughter, Daylia. The couple also has another child on the way. Corrales was a great Champion, a true warrior and an incredibly likable human being. We here at TalkingBoxing.com send our deepest condolences to all those that loved him. He will absolutely be missed.
The Fight That Could Have Saved Boxing? Mayweather Beats De la Hoya for WBC Crown
SUN May 6, FRANK GONZALEZ - WBC Super Welterweight Champion, Oscar de la Hoya (38-5, 30 KO’s) lost a Split Decision and his Title to WBC Welterweight Champion, Floyd Mayweather Jr. (38-0, 24 KO’s) Saturday night in Las Vegas. It was a good, close fight and the two under card bouts were competitive and entertaining. Was it worth
$55 bucks? That’s for you to decide.
Floyd’s hand speed, accuracy and defense proved a winning formula over Oscar’s inspired, yet at times, inconsistent performance. When Oscar used his jab, he was effective and able to keep Floyd on the defensive. But for whatever reason, DLH did not use his jab enough. In some rounds, he rarely threw it.
De La Hoya-Mayweather: The History That Matters
FRI, May 4, CLIFF ROLD - We’re days away from the biggest fight in boxing in almost five years: Oscar de la Hoya (38-4, 30 KO) versus Floyd Mayweather (37-0, 23 KO). How big is this fight? Oscar finally made the cover of SI. ESPN the Magazine went with a Floyd cover. Even Time Magazine did a feature on it. It didn’t make the cover, leaving the two combatants still a hair behind Gerry Cooney in cultural relevance…but given the general interest in boxing in 2007 it’s still pretty damn good.
Over the last six months, boxing fans have heard or read about every conceivable angle... [Links Take You To BoxingScene.com]
Reflections on the International Boxing Hall of Fame Induction Weekend ’06: Celebrating Little Big Men, Saluting the U.S. Olympic Class of ‘76
WED May 2, ERIC B. THOMPSON - “A sportswriter is entombed in a prolonged boyhood” (Jimmy Cannon, sportswriter, 2002 Hall of Fame Inductee)
“I wanna thank the Hall of Fame and all those people who’ve endured and put up with all my crap, not the least of whom is my beautiful bride, Suzy—forty-four years my bride and I’ve given her the best ten minutes of my life” (Bert Randolph Sugar, sportswriter, colorful fight game personality and 2005 Hall of Fame Inductee)
Established in 1990, Induction Weekend in Canastota, N.Y. is an opportunity for the fan to meet his favorite fighter or fight game personality...
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