Chavez Jr. receives small fine from WBC for positive drug test

09/14/201609/26/2012 ESB

Chavez Jr. receives small fine from WBC for positive drug test By Rob Smith: Former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (46-1-1, 32 KO’s) is getting off without much punishment from the World Boxing Council for having tested positive for marijuana for his last fight against Sergio Martinez on September 15th. Chavez Jr. will receive a $10,000 fine and will be asked to attend a rehabilitation treatment class by the WBC.

As far as suspensions go, the WBC won’t be suspending Chavez Jr. at all despite this being his second drug offense in addition to a DUI incident earlier this year.

WBC president Jose Sulaiman said on the World Boxing Council website “As president of the WBC, I have got in touch with the Board of Governors, and we have decided to fine him $10,000 USD. That money will be donated to an institution for children who suffer from cancer. We also are asking Julio to attend a rehabilitation center and want official confirmation that he’s so doing…The WBC won’t suspend Julio Cesar for an undefined time, because that is not going to help him.”

Mayweather-Pacquiao settle defamation lawsuit out of court

09/14/201609/25/2012 ESB

By Rob Smith: Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao have reach an undisclosed out of court settlement to resolve Pacquiao’s defamation lawsuit against Mayweather. The terms are confidential, according to AP. Each party will pay for their own attorney fees for the case.

The lawsuit came about from alleged comments made by Mayweather and his father Floyd Mayweather Sr. that Pacquiao had used banned substances to accomplish his feats. Last week, Mayweather was ordered to pay $114,000 after failing to show up for the Pacquiao case.

With this case behind them this could be the last impediment to putting together a Mayweather-Pacquiao blockbuster pay per view bout in early 2013. Mayweather wants the fight, Pacquiao wants the fight, and the boxing public badly wants to see them fight. Although it might be a little late in the game for the fight to be put together, it’s better late than never.

Pacquiao can’t afford to wait because he’s clearly lost a step and isn’t the same fighter he was three years ago. He lost his last fight to Tim Bradley, and he perhaps should have lost his fight before that against Juan Manuel Marquez.

Sergio Martinez: A 7 Year Old, a World Champion and the Observer

09/14/201609/25/2012 ESB

By Padraig Ivory: When the hand was dealt for the young Sergio Martinez it was immediately evident that no picture cards had come to the table. From the outset a tough and challenging life lay ahead for the Argentinean native. Now 37 years removed from those humble beginnings that same boy has not only established himself as a picture card of the boxing deck, but rather emphatically as the undisputed poster boy of the middleweight division.

Imagine a scene 30 years ago in the city of Quilmes, Buenos Aires in which a successful, cigar wielding businessman, smartly clad in an expensive fitted suit is chauffeured through the working class city streets. Passing through a back laneway, safe in the comfort of his leather upholstered world, the small figure of a 7 year old Sergio Martinez momentarily reflects across the irises of his daydreaming gaze. Through the tinted glass the struggling city outside appears back and white, the colorless surroundings concealing the raw talent while simultaneously harvesting a determination deep within the undiscovered superstar.

Today the acclaimed ‘Maravilla’ is the gospel of them very streets that threatened to ignore him. The balance of the hard work expended and the fame that followed has combined to distance Sergio from the province of Buenos Aires.

Q&A Session with Raul ‘El Tigre’ Casarez

09/14/201609/25/2012 ESB

(Photo credit Adrian Hernandez) By Robert Jackson: In the Rio Grande Valley, Texas, middleweight/Jr middleweight pro Raul ‘El Tigre’ Casarez is a local legend. His amateur exploits that began at age 12 are well known to locals from Rio Grande City to Brownsville and throughout South Texas. El Tigre who sports a 19-2, 9 KO’s professional record has been tabbed to face Alfredo ‘El Perro’ Angulo for his comeback fight scheduled for November 10, 2012 in California. In Marines gym on the eastside of Edinburg, Texas this writer got a chance to observe Casarez’ training for his BIG fight and was granted a rare interview afterwards.

RJ: Hello El Tigre, How’s it going? You’re coming off of your biggest win over JC Candelo, what did winning that fight do for your career?

ET: Having fun, that fight was just another day at the office, something I love to do, having fun doing it.

RJ: Tell me about the name “El Tigre”, where it came from.

ET: I was 12 years old at the time I fought at Brownsville Texas regional golden gloves, at that time Octavio Saenz who worked for Univison was there and there was a world champion Nestor “El Tigre” Garza who fought out of Reynosa, Mexico and they (Saenz) said I fought like him and reminded them of him and they started calling me tigre and tigre grew up now I’m El Tigre.

Robert Garcia: “Nonito Donaire is a real Champion who doesn’t duck anyone”

09/14/201609/25/2012 ESB

By Joseph Herron: With the big Super Bantamweight showdown between IBF and WBO Champion Nonito Donaire (29-1, 18 KOs) and WBC Champion Emeritus Toshiaki Nishioka (39-4-3, 24 KOs) less than three weeks away, suspense is building among fight fans around the world for this terrific match-up.

The highly anticipated 12 round fight will not only determine the number one fighter in the packed 122 pound weight division, but will also crown a new WBC Diamond Champion.

Elite level trainer Robert Garcia expects to see the best version of “The Filipino Flash” at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California on October 13th.

“Nonito is a professional and always performs at the highest level when faced with a tough fighter like Nishioka,” insists the Ring magazine’s “2011 Trainer of the Year” award recipient. “This is a challenging fight, but that’s what Nonito wants. He wants to fight the best fighters in boxing and I think that’s what everyone expects from him.”

Buddy McGirt: “The fight with Sergio Martinez took Matthew Macklin to another level”

09/14/201609/24/2012 ESB

By Joseph Herron: After his one round blow out of former Junior Middleweight title holder Joachim Alcine on September 15th at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, Matthew Macklin is considered once again to be among the best of the Middleweight division.

Despite losing his second world title opportunity to universally recognized Middleweight Champion Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez earlier this year, the Irish puncher wasn’t discouraged as a result of the knock-out loss.

Renowned trainer Buddy McGirt is convinced that Matthew was actually encouraged by his gritty performance against the best fighter at 160 pounds.

Trainer Ronnie Shields: “Boxing needs Emanuel Steward”

09/14/201609/24/2012 ESB

By Joseph Herron: Boxing is a symbiant industry and is very much like a family, in which everyone involved depends on each other. Currently, one of the sport’s most prominent figures is in need of prayer from the entire boxing community.

According to sources close to Hall of Fame trainer Emanuel Steward, the boxing icon underwent surgery last week to repair an undisclosed stomach ailment and is currently in recovery at an unnamed location.

While ambiguity encases the 68 year old boxing legend’s condition, everyone associated with the beloved trainer is absolutely certain that the world of boxing is a much better place when Emanuel Steward is involved.

Vitali Klitschko: Corrie Sanders was my toughest fight

04/06/202009/24/2012 Michael Collins

WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko has a great deal of respect for former WBO heavyweight champion Corrie Sanders (42-4, 31 KO’s), who was murdered in South Africa this past weekend by three unknown thugs that robbed the restaurant where Sanders was celebrating a party.

Vitali said to the German news site Bild Plus “Corrie Sanders was the most difficult opponent I ever fought. Corrie was fast, could give and take a punch. His style was dangerous and did not suit me. I was very pleased to be able to win this fight.”

Vitali stopped Sanders by an 8th round TKO to avenge his brother Wladimir Klitschko’s 2nd round knockout loss to Sanders a year earlier in 2003. Wladimir never fought Sanders again after the loss and it’s perhaps wise that he didn’t. Sanders seemed to really have Wladimir’s number, and it might have been a bad idea for Wladimir to fight him again. Sanders almost knocked Vitali down at one point after connecting with a big left hand when Vitali tried to slug with him.

Pacquiao has to beat Marquez impressively this time

09/14/201609/24/2012 ESB

By Rob Smith: With Manny Pacquiao’s performances looking less and less impressive with each fight, Pacquiao now has to look especially good for him to be still considered as one of the best fighters in boxing. Getting beaten and/or winning controversial decisions isn’t helping him. You can’t look at Pacquiao’s last three performances against Shane Mosley, Juan Manuel Marquez and Tim Bradley and Pacquiao as a superstar type fighter. He lost to Bradley and should have to Marquez.

That’s two defeats in his last three fights. That’s terrible. While some boxing fans feel that Pacquiao deserved a win over Bradley last June, Pacquiao’s performance in that fight wasn’t superstar type material. Pacquiao just looked like an old guy that could no longer fight hard for three minutes of every round, and who also couldn’t cut off the ring to save his life.

If for no other reason that they can’t find another big money opponent to put him in with, Pacquiao will be fighting Juan Manuel Marquez on December 8th. With the Top Rank – Golden Boy rivalry limiting the number of options Pacquiao has in terms of opponents, sadly he’s reduced to fighting the same guys over and over again.

Ricky Burns: Pride of Scotland

09/24/201209/23/2012 ESB

By JOHN WIGHT: After his most recent devastating performance against London’s Kevin Mitchell in front of 10,000 fans at the SECC in Glasgow, it would be a great disservice to Ricky Burns to continue to describe or refer to him as a great ‘Scottish’ fighter. He has now proved beyond doubt that he is a great fighter, period, deserving of being considered elite level and more than a match for any lightweight anywhere.

His fourth round stoppage of the hard punching Mitchell, who in the run up to the fight had appeared confident of taking Burns’ WBO title, would have come as a godsend to the bookmakers, what with the bulk of the smart money opting for a points win for the Coatbridge fighter, with perhaps a sneaky wager on Mitchell by KO. This writer asserts the right to boast of betting on the stoppage by Burns. However, this does not so much reflect any great talent to pick bets on my part as it does the fact that Burns is one of the few champions in the sport who improves year on year and relishes fighting the best that’s out there, rather than remain content to stay in any kind of comfort zone in order to hang on to his belt as long as possible.