Boxing Scoop

[ibleedpurple]

I will be posting boxing news on this thread. Most of the news will come from fightnews.com & Boxingscene.com!!!!!!

[ibleedpurple]

Pacquiao proves pound-for-pound best
Pacquiao annihilates WBC lightweight champ Diaz to claim 4th title in as many divisions

“Dangerous” David Diaz is no pushover.

But against Manny Pacquiao, he was.

Winner of 34 professional boxing matches, the Chi-town southpaw has paid his dues and earned his respect. A world champion who won the interim belt in a hard-fought, come-from-behind victory, then claimed the undisputed WBC lightweight title by defeating the legendary Erik Morales, a date in the ring with Diaz is no walk in the park.

But Saturday night inside the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, the Philippine sensation known as “Pacman” thoroughly and unquestionably dispatched the aforementioned Diaz in spectacular fashion.

Known to give up early rounds on the judges scorecards, Pacquiao broke that pattern by coming out with his foot on the gas as the crowd of 8,362 filled the arena with chants of “Manny-Manny!”

Diaz covered up for most of the opening round, allowing Pacquiao to get off and begin to leave an imprint that would last the entire bout. Pacquiao continued to throw and land combinations during the first round as Diaz missed his counters, always appearing a step behind as Pacquiao won the round.

The second round started with fireworks as both fighters traded to begin with Pacquiao landing many more shots while Diaz’s few punches landed with authority. Pacquiao threw and landed his signature straight left, Diaz covered up and took more punches from the one time flyweight fighter. Before Diaz could begin to counter, Pacquiao slipped away and fired back landing combinations in quick succession. With the round growing one sided that arena stood on their feet as Diaz began to see a mouse grow on his right eye along with a small cut and Pacquiao continued to land as the second round, scored by two judges 10-8 for Pacquiao came to an end.

Pacquiao threw combinations while Diaz settled with single jabs, single hook counters, seldom two punches in a row. Pacquiao landed several hard right hooks to the face of Diaz whenever the champion would throws a left jab. Clearly unable to get off fast enough Diaz, bleeding and beginning to bruise, was digging himself a deeper whole as Pacquiao was using his speed to break away.

Diaz entered the fourth round with an accelerated pace, after the cut to his right eye brow was examined by the ringside physician and cleared to continue. Pacquiao smothered Diaz with punches not allowing him to do anything more than cover up and take the beating. Growing more bloody and beaten by the second, Diaz stayed game and battled back, although his best efforts were without reward. On target, Pacquiao combinations continued to feed the ravenous crowd as the swelling on Diaz’ right eye grew and his cut grew deeper.

Diaz showed heart in the fifth, getting off a couple body shots as Pacquiao did his trademark dance with both hands in the air showing fans he’s unhurt. Pacquiao stretched the gap between the two fighters even more in the fifth, landing with pinpoint marksmanship.

Up to this point the bout had been no contest. Although far from capacity, the arena made the floor rumble. Two and three punches landed at a time by Pacquiao doing incredible damage to Diaz who bled from the bridge of his nose and a large gash over his right brow.

Blood continued to flow from Diaz’s right brow away from his eye and down the side of his face. Pacquiao slowed significantly in the sixth round, heeding the advice of his corner to slow down and relax. Although taking his foot off the gas peddle, Pacquiao still battered Diaz in the middle of the ring. Referee Vic Drakulich again called time to have cut examined; again the cut was checked ok by the doctor and the beating continued.

Entering the seventh surely aware of being down six rounds knowing he needed a knockdown to get back in the fight, Diaz began swinging for the fences—and missed every one of them. Pacquiao was clearly proving all doubters wrong at this point, making the world champion Diaz look bad—real bad.

Pacquiao was relentless in his attack, battering Diaz with multiple combinations and making the swelling and bleeding get worse with every punch. It began to seem as the fight would not make it to the scheduled 12 rounds.

Looking like he fought ten men in an alley, Diaz stayed game and in front of his faster, stronger adversary during the ninth round. Pacquiao dug deeper and deeper, landing cleaner and harder blows as the fight wore on. Diaz wobbly, bruised and beaten, traded with Pacquiao and paid every time.

A phenomenal left hand from Pacquiao slipped in between the two fighters, landing powerfully on the swollen, bloody face of Diaz. Immediately Diaz fell face first to the canvas in a knockout movie producers would be hard pressed to reproduce.

At 2:24 of the ninth round, Pacquiao claimed a world title in a fourth different division, proving the doubters wrong and truly cementing his legacy and reputation as the worlds best pound-for-pound fighter.

“I feel much much stronger and more powerful at 135,” said a victorious Pacquiao after the bout. “Diaz is a nice person and he did not give up but I did not I kept fighting and I fought good. I am happy.”

Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach agreed:

“I think Manny is at his absolute best at 135 and he showed that tonight. The game plan was not to stand or trade Diaz is too dangerous to do that. The plan was to go in and out.”

That game plan worked perfectly as Pacquiao appeared to landed numerous punches before Diaz could even raise his glove. According to CompuBox statistics Pacquiao, now 47-3-2 (36), landed 230 of 788 punches thrown, 29% as well as landed a total of180 power punches, the last of which ended the contest is spectacular fashion. In his dominance, Pacquiao won every single round on all three scorecards, with the scores at the end of the 8th reading 80-71 twice and 80-72 in his favor.

Diaz, 34-2-1 (17), stated he will rest for a few month before going back to the gym and preparing a come back, always a gentlemen Diaz was gracious in defeat.

“He was faster than I expected,” he said. “I could deal with his power—it’s his speed I couldn’t deal with. I want to thank Manny and all the people of the Philippines. You win and you lose . . . tonight we lost but we’ll be back.”

Questions of a possible move to 140 lbs to face Ricky Hatton or a third fight against Marquez at lightweight were avoided by Pacquiao.

“I am the fighter,” he said at the post-fight press conference. “That is what I do. That is the job of my trainer and my promoter I don’t pick who I fight.”

[ibleedpurple]

[ibleedpurple]

Margarito ready for Cotto!

June 30, 2008

Last week Fightnews sat down with two time welterweight champion Antonio Margarito as he took a short weekend break from his Los Angeles based camp in preparation for his much awaited July 26th challenge of undefeated Miguel Cotto for the WBA 147 lbs title billed as "La Batalla/The Battle" promoted by Top Rank and being held at the MGM in Las Vegas, NV. Margarito was in his hometown of Tijuana, MX, enjoying the fight card that was held last Saturday night in the city's Municipal Auditorium. Surrounded by his wife Michelle and an assortment of friends and family, Margarito looked happy and in shape as a multitude of well wishers paraded in front of him in hopes of getting a photo or an autograph with the always amiable Margarito. "I am very happy. I don't want to disappoint my people and I am bringing the title back to Tijuana and I am proud to have all these people show their support."

Margarito, who is coming off from his second annihilation of Kermit Cintron last April where he captured the IBF title, knew that he had all it took to beat the once defeated Cintron again, "I always trust in my preparation. By preparing yourself to the fullest, I believe that fights can be easy. I didn't plan for a knockout but the KO came. I did mention that I was going to knock him out but only because I knew I had prepared myself correctly."

In the pre fight promotion, Cintron seemed confident that he was going to be able to reverse his first and only loss in his pro ledger that came from the hands of the "Tijuana Tornado". So sure of it Cintron was that he had no qualms in disrespecting his conqueror with comments and hand signals such as the hand across the neck which he performed at the official weigh in towards Margarito. Such antics did not go unnoticed, "It did bother me. It wasn't like the first time that we fought. He started to make his remarks, giving me the blade under the chin sign, and I am sure you noticed that when he went down I was waiving my arms for him to get up because it upset me that he had gone down." Margarito continues, "truthfully that is not me, but it came to me naturally to want him to get up so I can keep punishing him for what he had said and done."

But a true gentleman recognizes a gentleman as Margarito stresses to point out, "I do want to mention that after the fight he was a true gentleman because when we were in our dressing rooms and he asked if he could visit me in mine. He apologized for the things he had said and done and he said that I was too strong that he had thrown everything at me and couldn't hurt me and he wanted to wish me luck against Cotto."

In late June when his mega fight with Cotto was announced, Margarito had the opportunity to get up close and personal with his future rival in promotional tour that took them to L.A., Mexico City, New York, Las Vegas and Caguas, Puerto Rico. "Its very important to promote the fight and to go on that mini tour. We all know that this is a big fight. We all know that there is a great rivalry between Puerto Rico and Mexico. Cotto is not a fighter who talks a lot. He also likes to do his talking in the ring just like me and I think its going to be a great fight."

During that tour, Margarito had some choice words for his opponent. Margarito mentioned that he hoped that Cotto prepared himself extra well for their fight in which in turn Cotto responded that he did not need to prepare himself any more for Margarito that he had done for previous opponents. "Maybe it was an error in my part to tell Cotto to prepare extra hard for our fight. The reason I said that was for him to bring a good fight into the ring and for there not to be any excuses after the fight in case he loses and he says that he didn't have a good camp. Maybe I was wrong in making that comment. He says that he always gets well prepared. I am glad that he comes in at one hundred percent so that we can give the fans a great fight."

Likewise Margarito states that he is not overly preparing himself for the fight "I have always prepared myself for two months. It's going to be the same length for this camp like any other. I think that two months is enough." He continues, "I see this fight just like any other despite the big promotion that is being made. I don't think that I am fighting my toughest opponent but I do think that this is the most important fight of my career. I don't want to disappoint my people. I am happy to be a part of this great fight and all the promotion that it has gotten but in reality I am focused in Cotto just like I have focused on my previous opponents."

Now with truly one of the most anticipated fights this year if not since Cotto made his debut in the welterweight ranks, Margarito is back in the Montebello, CA area where he has prepared himself since being under the tutelage of his manager Sergio Diaz getting ready for the bout that many boxing fans and critics will give Vazquez-Marquez III a run for its money for fight of the year.

"My preparation is going great for Cotto. We have preparing ourselves about a month in Los Angeles. I feel that I have the right sparring partners. I know that it is a tough fight but we are going to come out with our hand raised." Antonio continues, "we are using different type of sparring partners that in the past, about the same height as Cotto and very similar in style. I think that the base of the fight is in the preparation. We are going to get prepared to the fullest and we are going to come back to Tijuana with that title."

Despite Cotto being undefeated and having had a great run at welterweight so far with his triumphs over Quintana, Judah and Mosley, Margarito feels he is much more of a threat than those fighters especially in the 147 limit "I don't like to pat myself in the back. The only thing that I can say is that the fans know and I will say that he has made a great career at super lightweight but for me, he has never fought a natural welterweight. All those that he has beaten have come from lower weight classes. Mosley was a lightweight and Zab Judah a super lightweight. I think that I will be the first natural welterweight that he has fought." But Margarito is fully aware who Miguel Cotto is "I think that I do have the advantage for being a natural welterweight. But I am not over confident. I don't take any opponent for granted. The only thing that I have confidence in is my preparation."

Margarito is confident that likewise Cotto fully understand who he will be stepping into the ring against on July 26th, "I don't know what he is thinking or how he sees me but I think that deep down they know that they are going against a tough fighter. I am sure his trainers have told him that. But like I have said before, its all in how you get ready, how you prepare yourself and I am sure that I will get to the fight at more than one hundred percent for this fight."

Always a boxing fan, Margarito has his hand on the pulse of the sport. Although concentrating on his upcoming challenge, Margarito is always aware of the going ons in boxing, "sincerely, I don't know if Mayweather Jr. is retiring although supposedly this time he made it official. Like everybody knows he didn't want to fight me and he was still considered the best pound for pound. I respect Cotto and his team because he is willing to fight me and Mayweather Jr. didn't. If he is gone, well, let him go and if he returns, then we will be here in case he wants to fight."

"I never believed that the fight was going to end in one round. In the first fight, Paul Williams displayed that he isn't a solid champion since they took his title in his first defense. I don't know what happened to his rival in the second fight. i don't know if Quintana didn't prepare himself well or if truly Williams was able to hurt him but I never thought that it would end in the first round." But while Williams now holds once again the title that hung around his waist for five years, the WBO strap, Margarito has not given thought in seeking revenge for his most recent loss, "I am not thinking in any of that, I am focused on Cotto one hundred percent. First is Cotto and then they will begin to make plans but at this point I don't know what they have planned for me."

With the winner of Margarito-Cotto rumored to be near the top of the list for a possible bout versus the "Golden Boy" Oscar De La Hoya in what would be his farewell fight, such murmurs have reached the ears of the "Tijuana Tornado", "There has been a lot of talk about me possibly facing De La Hoya in December. Oscar has even mentioned it. There has been talk of the winner of my fight with Cotto possibly facing him. If he wants to make one more fight before retiring, I think it will be a great fight."

But Margarito is no stranger to De La Hoya as Margarito has been in between the ropes with the "Golden Boy", "I have sparred with De La Hoya in about three or four different camps of his. I was relatively young, I wasn't a champion yet. To his face I once mentioned to him that he should give me an opportunity to face him. He would always laugh it off and he would say that maybe in the future. Then he would tell me for me to beat somebody that he had beaten and I knocked out David Kamau in two rounds just like he did and he knows that we had this conversation."

[realjwann]

Soto got Roy Jones Jr'd in that fight on saturday....it was on the undercard of manny pac v. diaz fight...

[ibleedpurple]

what did you think about the DQ?

[ibleedpurple]

Casamayor vs. Marquez Sept. 13 At MGM Grand

LOS ANGELES, June 27, 2008 - Mexico celebrated its independence from Spain on the historic date of September 16, 1810 and over the years, this day has grown to become a special day of celebration, especially in the world of sports and entertainment. This year, the boxing world will celebrate Mexico's Independence Day when reigning Ring Magazine World Lightweight Champion Joel “El Cepillo” Casamayor meets former two-division World Champion Juan Manuel Marquez Saturday, Sept. 13 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas , Nev. in a 12-round championship bout that celebrates the best of the sweet science and two of its greatest practitioners.

In professional boxing, this day or the celebrated weekend has always been home to the largest boxing events in the history of the sport. Some of the most memorable Mexican Independence Day fights were: Sept. 18, 1998 when the “Golden Boy” Oscar de la Hoya faced Mexican icon, Julio Caesar Chavez; Sept. 18, 1999 when the “Golden Boy” faced Puerto Rico's Felix “Tito” Trinidad ; and Sept. 14, 2002 when De La Hoya faced Fernando “Ferocious” Vargas.

Casamayor vs. Marquez, a 12-round bout for Casamayor's Ring Magazine World Lightweight Championship, will headline a night of world-class professional boxing presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Romanza Boxing and sponsored by Cerveza Tecate and Cazadores Tequila. The world title bout will take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and will be produced and distributed live on HBO Pay-Per-View, beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

Tickets priced at $300, $200, $125 and $75 go on sale Saturday, June 28 at 10 a.m. and may be purchased at any MGM Grand box office outlet and all Las Vegas Ticketmaster locations (select Smith's Food and Drug Centers and Macy's West at the Fashion Show Mall). Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at [phone]. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

“I'm very excited for this great fight and I'm happy that Golden Boy gave me this opportunity,” said Casamayor. “It is going to be a war between two legends but one of us will be finished after this and I know I'm going to retire Juan Manuel Marquez on September 13.”



Marquez commented, “This is the most important fight of my life because I'm putting my career on the line to go up in weight to fight Joel. He is the best at 135 and a very dangerous fighter. It's a huge fight for me and I'm very excited to fight in front of all of my loyal fans in Las Vegas on Mexican Independence Day weekend.”



De La Hoya, president of Golden Boy Promotions, said, “This match-up continues the great tradition in boxing to hold championship bouts on Mexican Independence Day weekend. When Joel Casamayor, a legendary Cuban fighter and an Olympic Gold Medalist, meets a very dangerous two-division World Champion and future hall of famer in Juan Manuel Marquez, the fans will get their money's worth of skill, heart and action. This fight is an exciting way to kick off the Fall boxing season and there is no doubt that this will be one of the best fights of 2008 as both fighters are looking to win after coming off dramatic battles.”

Richard Sturm , president of Sports and Entertainment of MGM MIRAGE, said, “The fans in the Grand Garden Arena will be treated to a sensational event. We look forward to celebrating Mexican Independence Day weekend with Golden Boy Promotions and HBO Pay-Per-View.”

HBO PPV's Mark Taffet said, “Casamayor-Marquez is a marquee matchup in a division that continues to turn out one great fight after another. It's the kind of 'best vs. best' battle that boxing fans love.”

The greatest Cuban fighter of the last 30 years, 1992 Olympic Gold Medalist and current Ring Magazine Lightweight World Champion Casamayor (36-3-1, 22 KOs) has unquestionably stamped himself as a future Hall of Famer with world titles in two weight classes, along with a resume that many experts believe should contain no losses. Owner of wins over Nate Campbell, Diego Corrales (twice) and Roberto Garcia, Casamayor's only defeats have come via highly disputed decisions against Acelino Freitas, Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo, fights most believe “El Cepillo” deserved to win. In his last fight in March though, Casamayor refused to leave things in the hands of the judges and knocked out the previously unbeaten Australian warrior Michael Katsidis in the 10th round



A wizard of the ring who mixes technical prowess with a warrior's heart and a willingness to go to war, Marquez (48-4-1, 35 KOs ) already has secured his legacy as one of the greatest Mexican fighters of all-time. However, he is not satisfied - thus his pursuit of a world title in a third weight class. A former Featherweight and Super Featherweight World Champion, Marquez has fought the best of this era including Manny Pacquiao (twice), Marco Antonio Barrera, Rocky Juarez and Manuel Medina. With his only loss in the last two years being a controversial split decision at the hands of Pacquiao in their classic rematch in March, it is clear that like a fine wine, the 34-year-old Marquez is getting better with age.



The Casamayor vs. Marquez pay-per-view telecast, beginning at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT, will be produced and distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View and will be available to 71 million pay-per-view homes. The telecast will be available in HD-TV for those viewers who can receive HD. HBO Pay-Per-View is the leading supplier of event programming to the pay-per-view industry. For Casamayor vs. Marquez fight week updates, log on to www.hbo.com.

[realjwann]

Jun 30, 2008 10:00:16 GMT -6 ibleedpurple said:

what did you think about the DQ?

I think it was a bad call by an otherwise great Joe Cortez....it was his fault Lorenzo was hit, a ref has to intervene as soon as the fighter goes down, he had a responsibility to push Soto away before he landed that punch, he didnt and Soto was penalized for it...

I was confused about Lorenzo getting the title or not....Soto even said the opposing corner was telling their fighter to stay down to try to win by DQ, that is just wrong...punch didn't look like it had too much steam on it too...

Soto should get a rematch though, immediately, he was on his way to a spectacular ending....

Who you got on Casamayor v. Marquez?

[realjwann]

IMO Manny Pac took the easiest route to his 4th title, Diaz was the easiest target with a belt in the 135 division...and then he gets praise for beating up the less skilled 135 champ....

Marquez is trying to get a rematch, which i dont think he needs (i had him winning both fights with pac) is chasing Manny to the 135 division by fighting the best at that weight, Casamayor, and now Manny wants to move to 140....Manny doesnt wait until the fight to get on his bike.

[ibleedpurple]

i got JUAN MANUEL MARQUEZ!

[ibleedpurple]

Man, what’s there to say other than Pac looked amazing at 135! His speed was evident as he dominated WBC Champ David Diaz for nine one-sided rounds, and then brutally finished him with a face-first KO. The severe ending showed Pac lost none of his lethal power in his move to Lightweight.

Pac’s win cements his status as the pound-for-pound best, and will hopefully set up a superfight with former 140lb Champ Ricky Hatton in the near future.

[ibleedpurple]

oh yeah, i had marquez winning in both the pacman fights as well.

[wp2003]

the DQ was BS

[wp2003]

the comment after they asked the guy if he wanted a rematch was priceless. "al otra le voy a tumbar la cabeza" or something like that. i couldn't stop laughing.

[JRG]

lmao, but yeah he was robbed.

[JRG]

It's funny how Cortez refused the interview lol.

[ibleedpurple]

its cause he knew he f'd up. Wonder if he is still gonna say "Remember guys, im firm and im fair"?

[JRG]

No kidding!

[ibleedpurple]

Diaz purse was originally 500,000 Dollars... Pacquiao requested it to Arum to make it 800,000 and finally Pac requested yesterday to make Diaz purse 1 million Dollars.

[ibleedpurple]

Jun 30, 2008 13:37:44 GMT -6 wp2003 said:

the DQ was BS

Poor Humberto, guy can't catch a break to save his life. Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy, Soto is probably the nicest guy in boxing IMO. Well, aside from Glen Johnson.