By Rob Smith: Bernard Hopkins came out tonight on the Jim Rome show and gave his thoughts on whether Manny Pacquiao will be the same fighter after being knocked out viciously in the 6th round last Saturday night by Juan Manuel Marquez. Hopkins doesn’t see Pacquiao being the same fighter after that knockout. Pacquiao was unconscious for close to two minutes, face down on the canvas from Marquez’s right hand.
Cotto could be back in the ring on June 8th
By Steve Mabbott: Former three division world champion Miguel Cotto (37-4, 30 KO’s) could be back in the ring on June 8th at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, according to RingTV. Cotto, 32, lost his last fight against WBA World junior middleweight champion Austin Trout in a failed attempt to capture his title at Madison Square Garden earlier this month on December 1.
Cotto was beaten pretty badly in this one-sided fight, and the loss removed any hope of Cotto facing WBC junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in a unification bout. Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer still didn’t rule out a Cotto-Alvarez fight taking place on May 4th, but then Alvarez came out and said he was no longer really interested in facing Cotto, so this leaves Cotto looking for a fight on June 8th.
Schaefer told RingTV “We’re definitely going to be working with Miguel Cotto on that date [June 8th] as a fighter.”
Brook-Alexander moved to March 2nd; Matthysse-Lundy still good for January 19th
By Jeff Sorby: The fight between IBF welterweight champion Devon Alexander (24-1, 13 KO’s) and challenger Kell Brook (29-0, 19 KO’s) has been moved from January 19th to March 2nd due to Brook injuring one of his ankles and needing more time for it to heal. The January 19th fight card will still go ahead, but it will be now headlined by WBC interim light welterweight champion Lucas Matthysse (32-2, 30 KO’s) defending his title against lightweight Hank Lundy (22-2-1, 11 KO’s) at the Nokia Theater, in Los Angeles, California, USA.
Abraham defends WBO 168 lb title against Bouadla on Saturday
Photo: Udo Dreier — By Bill Phanco: WBO super middleweight champion Arthur Abraham (35-3, 27 KO’s) isn’t taking any chances that he might get beaten in his first title defense of his newly won World Boxing Organization 168 pound title, so he’s dipped down low in the WBO rankings to find Frances’ Mehdi Bouadla (26-4, 11 KO’s) for a nice easy win this Saturday night at the Arena Nürnberger Versicherung, Nuremberg (Nürnberg), Bayern, Germany. Abraham considers a strong test, and it’s hard to understand what he’s talking about because Bouadla didn’t look good in getting destroyed last year by Mikkel Kessler in a 6th round knockout defeat.
Abraham must have felt like he was in a meat grinder when he tested his skills against the very best in the super middleweight division in the Super Six tournament. Abraham was beaten left and right by almost every fighter he faced, and when the tournament was over Abraham left licking his wounds and was dismissed by a lot of boxing fans as a finished fighter. However, his promoters have rejuvenated him by matching him against a couple of fringe level contenders and then arguably the weakest of the champions Robert Stieglitz, and presto, Abraham’s career has been turned around.
It’s hard to see it that way, though. It just looks like one paper champion has been switched for another, although Abraham still has talent to give a lot of fighter problems on any given day. It’s just that he doesn’t have the size or the talent to beat the really good fighters at super middleweight.
Arce tailor-made for Donaire
By Rob Smith: If you’re a big fan of 5’4” Jorge Arce (61-6-2, 46 KO’s), you might not want to tune in to watch him fight on Showtime this Saturday night against WBO super bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire (30-1, 19 KO’s) because he’s going to probably get beaten pretty badly in this fight at the Toyota Center, in Houston, Texas, USA. Most boxing experts are picking Donaire to win, and they’re unanimously picking him to win by a knockout.
Deontay Wilder battles Kelvin Price on Saturday night
That says a lot about Wilder because there are a lot of good young heavyweights out there like David Price and Tyson Fury, and Wilder has been kind of hidden away compared to those press and the hype those guys have received.
Wilder is facing a tall fighter on Saturday in 6’7” Price. Wilder has been accustomed to being the much bigger guy in his fights, but that won’t be the case when he faces Price. He’ll have someone looking him straight in the eye and it’s going to be a real test of Wilder to see how he responds in a fight like this.
Let’s Get Ready For Donaire-Arce: Media Workout In Houston, TX
On Tuesday, both fighters were scheduled to take part in media/public workouts to begin the fight week festivities. Although neither fighter partook on mitt work or shadow boxing to say the least, both were open to answer many questions from the media. I had the privilege to be part of the workout, capture visuals and ‘Q & A’ transcripts from the day.
Wednesday will be the official Final Press Conference. Coverage and visuals will be provided as well.
Jorge “Travieso” Arce was beaming with Mexican confidence. Here are his answers to some of the questions posed to him by media members and fans:
Bernard Hopkins to fight on March 9th in Brooklyn, Cleverly, Shumenov and Cloud possible opponents
By Bill Phanco: Former two division world champion Bernard Hopkins (52-6-2, 32 KO’s) will be fighting on March 9th at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The possible opponent will be picked from one of these fighters: Nathan Cleverly, Beibut Shumenov and Tavoris Cloud.
It’s safe to say that Cleverly won’t be the one getting the fight because he has a mandatory title defense coming up against his mandatory challenger Robin Krasniqi in February, and he’s got to take that fight if he doesn’t want to risk getting stripped by the World Boxing Organization for failure to defend against his mandatory.
Hopkins will be turning 48 in January, and that’s pretty old for a fighter still looking to compete at the world class level. Hopkins looked like he’d lost something from his last two fights with Chad Dawson. He was beaten by Dawson last April by a 12 round majority decision, and before that Hopkins had fought to a 2nd round no contest with him in October last year.
Pacquiao a Fallen Hero – Sadness and Disappointment
By Paul Strauss: For fear of being maudlin, there are plenty of us out there with feelings of sadness and regret. It’s the kind of feeling we get when one of our hero’s does something we thought impossible. They lose. It’s often unexpected and painful. We knew all along it was possible, but still we refused to believe it. It’s the kind of feeling that overwhelmed people when Gene Tunney beat Jack Dempsey, or when Rocky Marciano beat Joe Louis. “It can’t be!” That is the thought that flashes across our mind’s eye. It won’t go away. It like the image is stuck on “play”! We want to awaken from the nightmare, but reality has just given us another smack up side the head.. There’s no way to shake it off. Our hero is human after all.
Saturday night at the MGM Grand, Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, NV, Manny Pacquiao was the victim of a sensational kayo at the hands of Juan Manuel Marquez (JMM). It was a decisive finishing blow that ended a sensational fight. Referee Kenny Bayless saw no need to administer a count. Some so called experts thought the fight shouldn’t occur. They boo hoo’d it, fearing it might prove to be less than thrilling. What foolishness. We can only hope they’re ashamed of themselves for even thinking such thoughts…
The fourth and greatest of their fights was action packed from beginning to its dramatic conclusion. The end was in doubt right up until JMM’s final punch landed. It was a powerful short right landing flush on the nose and chin of Pacman.
As it Unfolded, As it Evolved: Pacquiao vs. Marquez 4
By Phenyo Molefe: We all bore witness to what transpired on Saturday evening, to that which shook boxing and those who grace its pastures. I took account of the fight as it unfolded before us but have decided to treat the bout to further review and flee from any hurried assumptions, unveiling how it truly unfolded. Having watched all three previous meetings between these combatants just hours before their fourth encounter, I was further shocked by that which has evolved.
Seldom have I heard an audience voice itself as charged as what the masses did, Marquez has found favour with those seeking his redemption.
Round 1:
Although respect is abound Pacquiao and Marquez both have something to prove. The bout begins with some jousting and notable movement by both fighters as they size each other up. Manny throws the jab and quickly follows through with his left, seeking Marquez’s head. Marquez looks to counter Manny as he has done in previous contests and has already begun paying attention to Manny’s body. It looks like this is going to be a better start than what we saw in their second encounter and may very well surpass their third meeting.