Is Floyd Mayweather One of the Greatest Boxers of All Time?

004 Mayweather vv Canelo IMG_9669After Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr.`s (45-0, 26KOs) twelve round domination against Saul “Canalo” Alvarez last month, garnering the World Boxing Association and the World Boxing Council`s Light Middleweight Belts, his claim of being the best pound for pound pugilist of all time, gained even more credence.

He demonstrated in his last fight that it appears that there is no one in the world that can defeat him. The last 45 opponents tried and failed and none of them besides Jose Castillo, in their first fight, even came close to conquering Mayweather. Mayweather beat him in the rematch, leaving no doubt as to who was the better boxer. Money doesn`t just win bouts, he dominates them and takes the fight to his opponents, which is made all the more impressive when considering that he`s 36 years old, has been fighting for the last 17 years and often times is facing a younger and stronger opponent, as was the case with Alvarez.

continue

Schaefer wants Deontay-Stiverne for WBC heavyweight title

deontay5698Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer expects WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko to vacate his WBC title at any moment now that he’s announced that he plans on running to become the president of Ukraine. Once Vitali’s title becomes vacant, Schaefer’s plans are to match Golden Boy fighter #3 WBC Deontay Wilder (30-0, 30 KO’s) to face #1 WBC Bermane Stiverne (23-1-1, 20 KO’s) for the vacant WBC heavyweight title in early 2014.

Schaefer said this at the post-fight press conference last Saturday following Deontay’s 4th round TKO win over Nicolai Firtha “Deontay is right there at the top 2 or 3 ratings with the WBC. With the news we got last week that Vitali Klitschko is going to be running for the president of the Ukraine, I anticipate that the [WBC] title will become vacant.

continue

24/7 Pacquiao/Rios debuts November 9 on HBO, Face Off: Pacquiao/Rios Video

YouTube video
NEW YORK, Oct. 28, 2013 – HBO Sports’ groundbreaking “24/7” reality franchise, which has captured 17 Sports Emmy® Awards, returns in November for its 18th boxing installment with 24/7 PACQUIAO/RIOS, it was announced by Rick Bernstein, executive producer, HBO Sports. Debuting SATURDAY, NOV. 9 (12:15-12:45 a.m. ET/PT), the all-access series follows two elite fighters as they prepare for their intriguing welterweight showdown Nov. 23 from the Venetian Macao’s CotaiArena in Macau, China.

“The intensity and significance of the fight will be a great launching point for this all-new edition of ‘24/7’,” noted Bernstein. “We are eager to follow both teams, since there is so much new ground to cover, especially as both sides prepare for a fight taking place at an exciting international destination.”

continue

Left-Hook Lounge: Hopkins/Mayweather Legacy, Why We Won’t See Quillin/Rosado II, & Deontay Wilder’s Next Step!!!

hopkins-murat-results2Thomas W. (Conyers, GA): So many have buzzed about the legacy of Floyd Mayweather, but few in the sport give Hopkins the same respect. How would you compare the two legacies?

Vivek W. (ESB): Rather than comparing the legacies of these two men, I’d like to lay out the importance of why both legacies should be celebrated. In Floyd Mayweather, you have a man who managed to put together a level of dominance that remains unparalleled in nearly any sport. His bitter breakup with Top Rank promoter Bob Arum put him in an unfortunate situation where he wasn’t able to face certain fighters at the time; but there wasn’t a man outside of the Top Rank stable in his path who he didn’t face, and those he couldn’t face under Top Rank, he later faced away from Top Rank (Cotto & ODH). The only wildcard is Paul Williams, who decided to go north in weight when Mayweather took time off after facing Dela Hoya and Hatton. When you look at those he did face, you have a tally of close to 20 champions, and more than 10 bona fide Hall of Famer’s.

continue

Hopkins, Klitschko: When Dirty Fighters Play by their own set of Rules!

wlad793All of you know that in the past I have always praised both Wladimir Klitschko, and Bernard Hopkins for their work ethic, fighting skills, and accomplishments. In the past they were somewhat deserving of said praise even if it was interspersed with shades of holding, rabbit punching, pushing on the head, and just generally speaking dirty fighting. Hopkins had always employed this as part of his style, while Klitschko only began doing so post-Sanders knockout while working with Emanuel Steward.

For a time both showed less of these illegal maneuvers and more pure skill in some of their more brilliant victories.
However, with Klitschko’s win over Alexander Povetkin, and Bernard Hopkins victory over Karo Murat it has become clear that both of these superstar fighters are now simply ignoring the rules of boxing completely.

continue

How a Mayweather/Hopkins fight will go down…

hopkins-vs-murat-resultsNow before you all think I’m crazy or some rhetorical shill, hear me out. I’m not saying that Mayweather/Hopkins will be made…I still think GGG will be the GUY should he KO Curtis Stevens.

But…if Hopkins does get to fight Mayweather, and he says he can get down to 160lbs for this fight, he’ll regret losing the weight and will be severely drained most likely losing to Mayweather and maybe even stopped considering his age along with the weight loss. A hypothetical account follows.

Round 1:
Hopkins weighing in at 165lbs (as contracted) on fight night comes out on a mission to impose his will on the much smaller Mayweather who weighs 152lbs.

continue

Hopkins wants Mayweather next’; No Stevenson or Kovalev for him

hopkins804While boxing fans would like to see IBF light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins to step it up from the likes of Karo Murat and Tavoris Cloud to fight the best in the division in Adonis Stevenson and Sergey Kovalev, Hopkins said that he’s interested in moving down in weight to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. next.

Hopkins feels he can get down to 160 by next May to fight Mayweather in Cinco de Mayo if they can negotiate the fight. As for fighting Kovalev or Stevenson, Hopkins feels that the fights can’t get made due to him fighting on Showtime and Kovalev and Stevenson fighting on HBO.

Hopkins said “You give me until May of next year to make 160, that fight is on. I don’t think too many reporters would count me out.”

continue

Bernard Hopkins defeats Karo Murat

hopkins200IBF Light Heavyweight Champion Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins (54-6-2, 32 KO’s) became the oldest fighter in history to defend a world title, breaking his own record by defeating European challenger Karo Murat (25-2-1, 15 KO’s). The 48-year-old “Executioner” turned “Alien” out-worked and out-brawled his 30-year-old challenger and won via clear unanimous decision in front of his hometown crowd at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. The fight, promoted by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Caesars Atlantic City, headlined an entertaining three-fight SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING event.

Hopkins appeared to start the night slow, but Hopkins’ combinations, speed and power grew each round. By the seventh, Hopkins and Murat exchanged wild power shots in spurts for the rest of the bout. Amidst these exchanges, Hopkins used his signature defense, angles and gamesmanship to mentally and physically deflate Murat. The judges scored the fight 117-110 and 119-108, twice for the champion.

continue

Peter Quillin Defeats Gabriel Rosado

quillin-rosado-resultsPeter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin (30-0, 21 KO’s) remained undefeated and retained his WBO Middleweight title by defeating “King”Gabriel Rosado via technical knockout. The fight was stopped at 40 seconds of the tenth round by the referee on the advice of the doctor due to a deep cut on Rosado’s left eyelid.

Quillin came out of the gate as the more confident and powerful of the two, dropping Rosado in the second. But by the fourth, Rosado found rhythm and confidence of his own. Rosado pressed forward and took the momentum away for virtually the rest of the fight.

But Quillin was counter punching and keeping each round close. In the ninth, with less than a minute left, Quillin landed a snap jab that sliced open Rosado’s eyelid which began to pour blood.

continue

Alien B-Hop displays familiar weapons to conquer Karo Murat

hopkins-murat-resultsShowtime’s festivities at the Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, NJ started with Deontay Wilder’s ugly destruction of Nicolai “Stone Man” Firtha. Neither man deserves much attention. How Deontay can be viewed as a legitimate heavyweight contender is a mystery to me. Showtime’s Al Bernstein tried hard to describe Firtha as a real threat to Deontay. Al struggled to try and make viewers believe because he fought pretty well against Tyson Fury and that he could do the same against Wilder. It’s doubtful viewers bought Al’s efforts. His announcing partners, Mauro Ranallo and Paulie Malignaggi were probably holding their hands over their mouths to suppress laughter.

continue