Boxing Scoop

[wp2003]

wasn't cotto ranked higher?

[Ol' Buzzard]

It would have made a good point on who judges favor: technical fighters (that run) or aggressive fighters (that are wild/sloppy).

[ibleedpurple]

'The Battle' a classic war!
Margarito usurps Cotto for welterweight crown

There are fights and then there are wars.

Saturday, July 26, featured the latter. The highly anticipated war between welterweights Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas was exactly what boxing needed—an instant classic that gave boxing fans all over the world all they could handle . . . and then some. When the dust and debris settled, Margarito had usurped the WBA welterweight title with a grueling 11th round TKO victory in front of a near capacity crowd of Mexican and Puerto Rican supporters who’d witnessed a bout that was one for the ages.

It was only appropriate that Mexican legend Julio Cesar Chavez was on hand to witness this true war of attrition. Eighteen years ago, Chavez won his own war of attrition by defeating the faster and more fleet of foot Meldrick Taylor by pounding him out every minute of every round until he knocked him out in devastating fashion at the last second of the last round. Although not as dramatic as that encounter, Margarito looked as if he may be outfoxed by Cotto’s superior boxing abilities early on. But as the rounds went by, an increasingly relentless Margarito closed the distance and, with every thudding uppercut and devastating body punch, took a chunk out of the usually durable Cotto.

By the 11th round, Cotto had been so mercilessly bludgeoned by his opponent that his corner threw in the towel to save their fighter from further punishment.

Early on, Cotto looked brilliant as he stuffed his jab in Margarito’s face and kept his opponent off balance with an excellent showcase of hand speed and footwork. The exceptional quickness was evident early as Cotto reeled off multiple combinations and, just as Margarito would get close, Cotto would squirrel away and shuffle to the opposite end of the ring. In the fifth round, it looked as if Cotto would be too much for the Mexican as he closed the round slipping six straight punches with bad intentions.

Puerto Ricans went wild but Margarito would be undeterred. Cotto may have been piling up the points in the first five rounds by delivering a boxing lesson in what was reminiscent of Ali’s “rope-a-dope” style, but slowly and surely, the stalking Margarito closed the distance.

Margarito took Cotto’s best and shrugged it off as if it were merely a speed bump on his path to destruction. By the sixth round, Cotto wasn’t fighting Margarito for twelve rounds—he was fighting for his life. It was a valiant attempt by Cotto but the war was wearing on Cotto. Every second that passed made Margarito stronger, and Cotto wilting away.

By the 10th round, Margarito was stuffing Cotto full of uppercuts and vicious body punches that the Puerto Rican just couldn’t get away from any longer. It seemed that the expressionless Cotto was being dismantled right before the crowd of half-Mexican and half-Puerto Rican. Cotto’s heart wouldn’t allow him to quit–but his body could take no more.

Round eleven found Margarito on the prowl again as Cotto did everything he could to keep Margarito from catching him on the ropes. Unfortunately, Cotto's big heart could not make the body do what it couldn’t. A left uppercut followed by a right uppercut sapped all the life Cotto had left, and he took a knee to avoid any further punishment.

Cotto’s will pulled him to his feet but the shark smelled the blood in the water. With the Mexican fans erupting, Margarito launched another violent barrage at Cotto and the former champion sank to a knee again. This time, Evangelista Cotto couldn’t watch his nephew take the brutal beating any longer and threw in the towel at 2:05 to save him from further damage.

The Mexican fans went wild as Margarito and his corner broke into a raucous celebration as the fighter long known for being ducked finally got the respect he deserved. In the process, he turned the entire world of boxing upside down with one helluva performance.

“Obviously, Cotto is a very strong fighter,” said Margarito, who improves to 37-5 with his 27th KO. “I told my corner during the fight that I would knock him out and it did come he never hurt me but that was the game plan - to come out strong and knock him out. I got him with body shots, then hit him in the head and knocked him out.”

Cotto – who falls to 32-1, 26 KOs, vacated the ring immediately after the loss but spoke from his locker room before being taken to the hospital.

“I am very proud and very happy I was able to give the fans a great fight,” said Cotto, who’d taken the emotional and physical beating of his life.

“Life continues. It’s not over for me. I’m going to take a long rest, decide what to do next. This night was Margarito’s night. He’s an excellent fighter. He did his job better than I did.”

Margarito was up 96-94 on two of the judges’ scorecards going into the eleventh while the third had the fight even. An eye opening statistic found Cotto connecting on 280 out of 655 punches thrown – a 43% clip. But comparing that to Margarito launching 987 punches of his own and landing 267 (27%) and 237 of those being power shots, was just staggering and showed exactly how Margarito wore down his game opponent

[ibleedpurple]

[Ol' Buzzard]

damn! How big is that freakin' animiated GIF...
they should have just made a MOVIE!

[xlobo]

LOL! No shi+ right...LOL! Still a good hit...

[ibleedpurple]

patron, when can i collect?

[chilledpatron]

no mames wey. . whenever u want! pinche cotto didnt attack the body early on. .heck at all for that matter!!
margarito aint got nothin on me!

[ibleedpurple]

Margarito would beat him again.

[chilledpatron]

uhm.. .who cares.. .i wouldnt bet on it again!!
wheres rpm. . i owe him from a loooong time ago. . but he cant hang with weslaco boys!!

[ibleedpurple]

lol.. rpm, what happened to your boy Chavez Jr?

[ibleedpurple]

A battle for respect
Judah and Clottey fight for respect, belt vacted by welter king Margarito

Joshua Clottey and Zab Judah have a lot to prove.

Clottey is fighting to gain the respect he feels he deserves and Judah is looking to regain the respect he has lost over the years. The two will put their respective boxing futures on the line in a clash between welterweights on August 2nd at the Palms Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

This is a bout that could have serious implications—on not only the division but both Judah and Clottey’s careers–especially considering how Antonio Margarito has recently shaken up the boxing world with his astounding 11th round TKO over Miguel Cotto. The two combatants held a press conference at The Palms’ lounge to begin the hype for their Saturday fight.

“The welterweight division is the hottest in boxing right now,” Top Rank Promotions founder Bob Arum stated to being the media event.

Clottey (34-2, 24 KOs) has proven to be a bruiser by going blow for blow with Margarito before hurting his left hand and costing him a victory against the Mexican.

“I don’t want to talk about that fight because it makes me feel bad,” is all Clottey wants to say about that fight.

Clottey’s only other loss came by disqualification due to headbutts against Carlos Baldomir. He also been dominant in his victories, most notably the roughing up of the late Diego Corrales to win a ten round unanimous decision as well as the majority decision he earned against previously unbeaten Richard Guitierrez back in 2006.

“This is my time for me to be a champion,” Clottey says. “I’m not going to lose this fight. No way!”

Former two division champion Zab Judah (36-5, 25 KOs) certainly has been in his fair share of wars. The fight with Clottey is no different but Judah expects the big fight environment to swallow his opponent whole and leave Judah to pick him apart.

“I’ve been in this type of environment before,” states Judah. “I know what it takes before and I know what happens after and it’s my time to take it. I kind of miss (the spotlight) and on August 2nd I’m going to get it back.”

Judah interestingly alluded to sparring with Clottey years ago when speaking with media following the press conference. But when Fightnews.com asked Clottey about the sessions, Clottey vehemently denied that he has ever been in the ring with Judah.

“I never sparred with him before,” explains Cottey. “I challenged him to a fight in the gym before but he wanted to fight me in the streets and I told him ‘No, because if I fight you in the streets I will beat you.’ Because of that I left the gym but I have never been in the ring with him before. Never!”

Regardless, with Clottey fighting now out of the Bronx and Judah – who now resides in Las Vegas – calling Brooklyn his home, he referred to an old Hip Hop expression to summarize what will happen Saturday night.

"I have known Joshua Clottey for a long time and I respect him. But as the old saying goes: 'The Bronx keeps on making it and Brooklyn keeps on taking it!' I am taking it August 2nd!"

[ibleedpurple]

[ibleedpurple]

Rahman-Toney result changed!

Monday, July 28 2008

The result of the July 16 James Toney vs. Hasim Rahman bout at the Pechanga Resort in Temecula, California, has been changed following an appeal by the Rahman camp. Originally ruled a technical knockout win for Toney, the California State Athletic Commission has now changed the result of the bout to a no-decision. Armando Garcia, Executive Director of the California State Athletic Commission, said ".....I have reviewed (Rahman's) appeal and have determined that the wrong decision was rendered on the night of the event. Therefore, the bout will be ruled a No Decision." Bob Arum of Top Rank called it a "true and just result. I want to commend the California Commission and particuarly its Executive Director, Armando Garcia, for handling this situation so expeditiously and for having the courage to reverse a decision made the night of the fight." Rahman said "....I am gratified. It is the right thing to do and I appreciate Mr. Garcia's efforts."

[xlobo]

Patron lost the bet??LOL! How much???

[ibleedpurple]

wasnt much. it will prolly end up being an entry fee to a poker game or something.

[ibleedpurple]

Hatton trainer retires!

Tuesday, July 29 2008

Billy Graham, long time trainer of Ricky Hatton, has decided to retire, leaving "The Hitman" without a trainer for his November clash against Paulie Malignaggi. There had been speculation that the pair would split after Hatton's brother Matthew recently left Graham's Gym and things came to a head on Monday.

[ibleedpurple]

Pacquiao-De La Hoya Update!

Hall-of-Fame promoter Bob Arum said there is no reason to hurry things up in sealing a deal for Manny Pacquiao's next fight. Interviewed by "Sports Chat" Tuesday morning Arum said Pacquiao and his family will stay in Las Vegas for a few days and in between, talks will commence to determine the Filipino four-division champion's opponent. "Hopefully that will result in a plan if he wants to go with the De La Hoya fight. I'll contact Richard Schaefer and will start that negotiations," said Arum "It's gonna take maybe a week or so, but there's no reason for undue haste. It's a very important decision for Manny's career. A lot of money involved and we're gonna go slowly."

In a recent get together with writers and editors of Philippine sports last week Pacquiao revealed his readiness in becoming the farewell opponent of Oscar De La Hoya, acknowledged as the top superstar of the sport. "It's an honor to fight a legend like De La Hoya. If this fight pushes through, I will give my very best in preparing for this fight," said Pacquiao. "I believe Freddie when he said I can beat De La Hoya. Freddie once trained De La Hoya so he knows the strengths and weaknesses of De La Hoya."

Arum said Pacquiao was set to arrive yesterday in Los Angeles and will have the Filipino star board a private jet from the Santa Monica airport to fly to Las Vegas. Though Pacquiao seemed eager to face De La Hoya in an intriguing but highly-anticipated bout, Arum said everything depends on what decision will the Mexican-American poster boy takes

[ibleedpurple]

Gold medalist needs help

Tuesday, July 29 2008

Hurricane Dolly, which ravaged the southern part of Texas, claimed the house and possessions of a former Olympic boxing champion. Former world title contender and 1988 Olympic Gold medalist "Boxing" Andrew Maynard lost pretty much everything and his house is still submerged in Harlingen, TX near the Mexican border. Maynard is now living in his gym that he was using to train young boxers and he needs help in the worst way. If you would like to send a donation to help him out, please send it to this address: Andrew Maynard, 516 W. Van Buren Avenue, Harlingen, TX 78550

[realjwann]

I just read that, dude needs help, but so do so many other people out here...