Trout needs to give Cotto a real pounding to ensure he gets the decision

Trout needs to give Cotto a real pounding to ensure he gets the decisionBy Paul Grunich, photo by Robert Tibuni – WBA World junior middleweight champion Austin Trout (25-0, 14 KO’s) may be the champion as he enters his fight this Saturday night against former three division world champion Miguel Cotto (37-3, 30 KO’s), but Trout is going to be fighting in front of pretty much mostly Cotto’s fans at the Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, USA.

What this means is that the fans will be cheering every punch that Cotto throws, even the ones where he misses his target. The judges will no doubt be influenced by the pro-Cotto fans, and this could lead to Trout losing a lot of rounds where he appears to win them. This could be big problem for Trout int his fight. He’s also starting off as the much less popular fighter of the two, and that’s a potential problem as well.

Cotto is the recognizable name, the star if you will, whereas Trout is just a young, slick fighter with a ton of athletic skills going for him. Think of Trout as the future of the junior middleweight division, along with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. Even if Cotto wins this fight on Saturday, he’s not going to be fighting for too much longer because the competition is catching up to him, and he mainly wants to fight just the big names in the sport.

It’s surprising that he’s taking the Trout fight, because Trout isn’t well know. But the likely reason that Cotto is taking this fight is so that he can try and pick up a title, and then use that title to get a bigger cut of the financial pie in a unification bout against the WBC junior middleweight champion Saul Alvarez in 2013. Cotto may need a title in his possession to get a bigger cut against Alvarez.

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Juan Manuel Márquez / Nacho Béristain Interview Transcript

Juan Manuel Márquez / Nacho Béristain Interview TranscriptTODD duBOEF: Welcome everybody. Welcome champion Juan Manuel Márquez, Fernando Beltran and Hall of Fame trainer Ignacio “Nacho” Béristain. Juan Manuel’s media day was in México last week and the reports say that Juan Manuel has never looked this good. We all know what has happened over the years and how this is a legendary match-up and I think it’s really important for everyone to speak to Juan Manuel and Nacho about their strategy and before I do that I would like to introduce Fernando the co-promoter of Juan Manuel

FERNANDO BELTRAN: Welcome and I think what Todd says is absolutely true. This is a unique rivalry and the most important match of the year without a doubt. We are going to close the year on the right foot. Juan Manuel is world champion in four weight classes and has never looked this good. Everybody knows about the controversy in the last fight. It was good for Manny Pacquaio to take this fight to clear everything up and let’s see who the best man is on December 8.

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Robert Guerrero: Could “The Ghost” Be “The Great”?

Robert Guerrero: Could “The Ghost” Be “The Great”?By Marc Livitz: Some called it a battle while some called it a brawl. Some complained that they don’t like their sweet science so sour, while others hailed this past Saturday’s meeting between Robert Guerrero and Andre Berto as a masterful production within a phone booth.

The bottom line should be all that really counts. Each fighter showed the utmost amount of grit and determination, yet the detractors didn’t wait to start dissecting the bout staged for the interim WBC welterweight title.

Additionally, much scrutiny was thrown in the way of Berto due to the fact that he hadn’t fought in over a year for reasons within and beyond and his control. In contrast, the stories of family, pain and triumph, which Guerrero brought with him to the broadcast, made some forget all about the fact that he had been able to amazingly jump two weight classes after a year plus break from the ring of his own.

They met and they clashed. Win ugly, but get it done.

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Guerrero stands no chance against Mayweather

Guerrero stands no chance against MayweatherBy Bill Phanco: WBC interim welterweight champion Robert Guerrero (31-1-1, 18 KO’s) will stand little chance of beating WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. (43-0, 26 KO’s) if this fight gets made in early 2013. Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer is in the beginning stages of trying to put this fight together, but it’s not going to be a good fight unless you like mismatches.

This is really lowering the bar for Mayweather. He’s going from fighting the likes of Miguel Cotto and Victor Ortiz to the slow-handed Guerrero and it’s going to be a huge drop off. Guerrero doesn’t have the speed or power that those guys possess and he’s going to be way out of his league Mayweather. I didn’t see much from Guerrero that I was impressed with in his win over Andre Berto last weekend.

I saw Guerrero get away with holding and hitting for one of his knockdowns in the the 1st round that should resulted in Guerrero being penalized. Guerrero also did a lot of shoving, holding and throwing punches after the bell. I felt those things should have been penalized as well.

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IRON JAWS – Pick 10

By Paul Strauss: It makes sense to hold off on this list until early next year, and then limit it to fighters currently active in 2012, but the hell with that. Live a little and have some fun doing it now. Step up and give us your list of fighters who you believe have the best jaws. Think of it as being boxing’s version of Madden’s Team.

As you’re making picks, think about what makes for an iron jawed hero or better yet the ability to remain conscious when struck? Does it have something to do with the way the jaw looks or is structured? In other words, does the jaw have to be chiseled and strong looking, such as a comic book character? Does it require a thick neck? Are tough guys smarter or less smart? Are their brains wired differently? The answers have always been debatable and somewhat of a mystery, at least for the general public. It’s kind of like trying to figure out why someone gets air sick or suffers from motion sickness when others don’t? Can you explain why a fighter pilot can withstand tremendous amounts of “G Force” when the rest of us pass out? Is it an inner ear problem? Is the ability contained in part of the brain or bone structure? Some unfortunate folks actually suffer from a medical condition called a “rock slide”, which is a type of vertigo problem. Most of us don’t. Why? Can the reverse of problems like that be related to “good chins”?

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Schaefer: Mayweather is interested in Robert Guerrero fight

Schaefer: Mayweather is interested in Robert Guerrero fightBy Rob Smith: Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer says that WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. is interested in facing WBC interim welterweight champion Robert Guerrero in 2013. Schaefer said to LA Times writer Lance Pugmire “Interest is there. It’s a process, one that has begun. I have a site and date in mind.”

If Mayweather takes the fight this will finally end Guerrero’s constant calling Mayweather out. He’s been wanting a fight with Mayweather for well over a year, and it’s been a source of comedy to some boxing fans because Guerrero was talking about a Mayweather fight even before he’d fought at welterweight. Now that Guerrero has beaten two of the top welterweights in Selcuk Aydin and Andre Berto no one is laughing anymore. They have to take Guerrero seriously, because he’s winning decisively and looking pretty sharp.

Guerrero gave Berto a real beating last Saturday night in a 12 round decision, swelling both of his eyes in the process. After the fight Guerrero declined an offer from Max Kellerman to fight a rematch against Berto, and instead said he wanted Mayweather next.

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Broner wants Pacquiao fight: Can this bout me made?

Broner wants Pacquiao fight: Can this bout me made?By Rob Smith: WBC lightweight champion Adrien Broner let HBO analyst Max Kellerman know last Saturday night that the fight that he wants next is against Manny Pacquiao in early 2013, saying “There’s a fight that can happen – me and [Manny] Pacquiao.” The interview took place before the Andre Berto vs. Robert Guerrero fight, which Broner attended in order to see his friend Berto fight.

A fight between Broner and Pacquiao would appear to be one that likely will never get made due to the two fighters not being from the same promotional stable. Normally this probably wouldn’t matter, but in this case it does because Pacquiao fights for Top Rank and Broner for Golden Boy Promotions. But perhaps the biggest reason why a fight between Broner and Pacquiao can’t get made right now is because Pacquiao is a proven pay per view star, whereas Broner has yet to establish himself as a PPV fighter.

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum would be doing Broner and Golden Boy Promotions a huge favor by agreeing to match Pacquiao up with Broner at this early stage of Broner’s career. It would be an interesting fight because of Broner’s resemblance to Floyd Mayweather Jr. when fighting, and the fight would definitely do well in terms of money.

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Malignaggi loses chance for big money Hatton rematch

Malignaggi loses chance for big money Hatton rematchBy Michael Collins: There’s no question that Ricky Hatton (45-3, 32 KO’s) is feeling pretty bad right about now after being stopped in the 9th round last Saturday night by former WBA World welterweight champion Vyacheslav Senchenko (33-1, 22 KO’s) in front of his own fans in Manchester, England. That had to be painful experience for Hatton in more ways that one.

However, one person who was probably hurt even more by Hatton’s loss is WBA 147 lb champion Paulie Malignaggi, who was hoping to give Hatton a chance at his title in a rematch. This was going to be a big money fight for Malignaggi and the money that he could have gotten for that fight would have likely set him up for life. Now that opportunity is gone due to Hatton losing to Senchenko and then immediately retiring rather than choosing to try and learn something from the defeat.

If Malignaggi still wants the fight with Hatton he’s going to have to try and convince him to still make the fight, although I don’t see there being much interest in the fight outside of the UK and the hardcore boxing community. Malignaggi wouldn’t be able to have his WBA title on the line, and the fight would be like an exhibition bout rather than a real fight.

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