Now that amateur boxing is on the brink of extinction (check out “The Prince and the Pauper” article), we might take a look back at it before amateur boxers turn into free lance Olympic semi-professionals. Amateur and professional styles have their specific flavors but it is still boxing and the two styles (in fact there are many) may not be as different as they seem to the naked eye.
The amateur code provides a platform where a boxer has to fight whoever comes his way with no choice or advance knowledge of his opponents. As long as he is winning he advances forward and can be a champion. No negotiations and hype are necessary to set up a championship fight. That means no promoters either, only one sanctioning body which acts as a promoter for all national federations. Politics and the suspect computer scoring system have been a problem but basically it’s very difficult to keep a good man down in the amateur circuit. The best have to fight the best all the time and there are no prima donnas who can come up with excuses for avoiding a strong opponent. Rocky Marciano and Floyd Mayweather lost several times as amateurs.
(Photo credit: Tom Casino/Showtime) BROOKLYN, N.Y. (December 8, 2013) – Two weeks after his 33rd birthday, Paulie “The Magic Man” Malignaggi (33-5, 7 KO’s) picks up his 33rd win in a unanimous decision victory over Zab “Super” Judah (42-9, 29 KO’s) in front of his hometown crowd at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. The fight, promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, headlined a four-fight SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING event.
In a fight that should have never been made, WBA/WBO super bantamweight champion (13-0, 8 KO’s) easily beat a ring-rusty veteran Joseph Agbeko (29-5m 22 KO’s) in winning a ridiculously easy 12 round unanimous decision on Saturday night at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Rigondeaux was too fast for Agbeko, and was able to hit him cleanly with left hands all night long. Agbeko tried hard to land his shots, but he was too slow and way out of out of his class. 
(Photo credit: Tom Casino/Showtime) Zab Judah (42-9, 29 KO’s) scored a knockdown in the 2nd round, and then pretty much disappeared in the fight in losing by a 12 round unanimous to Paulie Malignaggi (33-5, 7 KO’s) at the Barclays Center, in Brooklyn, New York. Following a knockdown of Malignaggi in the 2nd, Judah seemed to shift his offense into neutral for the remainder of the fight, as he focused entirely on defense. 
In a surprise upset, former WBA midleweight champion Felix Sturm (39-3-2, 18 KO’s) came out fast and knocked IBF middleweight champion Darren Barker (26-2, 16 KO’s) out in the 2nd round tonight at the Porsche Arena, in Stuttgart, Germany. Barker was knocked down twice in the 2nd round from clubbing right hands to the head from Sturm. 
WBC Cruiserweight Champion Krzysztof Wlodarczyk successfully defended his title last night at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois. This victory completed his trilogy of fights with Italian former champion Giacobbe Fragomeni and was also his sixth defense of the WBC belt. Wlodarczyk displayed a true veteran’s poise in the ring tonight and put on a flawless performance. Fragomeni was giving up several inches in height and reach but sometimes it felt like a foot. Wlodarczyk’s footwork was also put on display as he rarely if ever let Fragomeni get inside, the only place the challenger could get any solid work in.
Boxing superstar Floyd Mayweather’s “Money Team’’ fighters went 4-0 in fights Friday on ShoBox: The New Generation live on SHOWTIME® from Little Creek Casino Resort.
This weekend fight fans will get the whole kit and caboodle when it comes to the variety of fights and the style in which these combatants will fight with. 