Mayweather Will Return And Here's The Most Likely Path

He'll surely deny it. In fact he'll even go as far as to say that it misses him more than he misses it. But the evidence offers layers of undeniable proof that former pound-for-pound top dog Floyd Mayweather misses being the main man in professional boxing. Then again, maybe you can say Mayweather is still the main man in the sport in that his routine tweets stimulate more conversation and debate than most high profile bouts that air on HBO and Showtime.

Mayweather 49-0 (26) retired from boxing as the number one pound-for-pound boxer in the world after beating Andre Berto last September. And since he's been retired there's been continued speculation that his return is imminent. Most, myself included, do not believe for a minute that Mayweather will not come back and fight for a 50th time and look to eclipse Rocky Marciano's iconic 49-0 record which has stood since 1955.

Since he's been gone, Floyd has managed to keep himself in the news via presidential candidate Donald Trump's favorite method of communication; twitter. For months Floyd has been tweeting pictures of himself buying new exotic cars, being on dates and sitting poolside with sexy women and hanging out with rappers. He's also gone at it via the media with former friend and current WBA super lightweight title holder Adrien Broner. We've seen pictures of Mayweather sitting court-side at Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks games. In addition to all of that, he's shot down reports that he's going to fight Manny Pacquiao in a rematch and hasn't passed up an opportunity to tweak MMA combatants Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey who both lost their last fight.

Oh yes, Mayweather misses the spotlight. So what he's done in a roundabout way is purchased his own light. I said a few years ago that Floyd would be a week old ghost seven days after he retired. And if it wasn't for Floyd going out of his way to keep himself in the news, that would be the case. Mayweather can talk about living the life in retirement and counting his money all he wants, but Floyd is still a fighter first, and he looked like an elite one in his last two bouts versus Pacquiao and Berto. There's no doubt Floyd misses the accolades that Terence Crawford, Gennady Golovkin, Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev are now getting.

Mayweather hasn't said he's returning to the ring but according to Golovkin's trainer, Abel Sanchez, he just seems to be fixated on fighting Golovkin. "I've seen three or four pieces in the last couple of weeks where he's talking about beating Golovkin,” he told Yahoo Sports. “It looks like he's laying the groundwork for something, whether it's Golovkin or somebody else. Floyd is laying the groundwork for a comeback."

And as most know, Mayweather referred to Golovkin as "easy work.” Adding speculation is the fact that Golovkin said back in July that he'd drop weight to make a fight happen. "Look at me, I'm not big, I'm not fat," Golovkin said at the time, via Boxingscene.com."My couple of last fights, I was 158, 159. It's possible for me [to go down to fight him]. I would go to 154 just for Floyd. I understand that this is biggest fight in the world. This would show who is who, the best fighter in the world."

Last week Mayweather commented on Golovkin...saying there are two things Golovkin needs to do to earn the right to challenge him: "He's gotta call out Andre Ward, beat Andre Ward, and then I'll fight him. I haven't seen him call out Andre Ward yet."

That sounds real authoritative, however it illustrates that Mayweather wants no part of Golovkin and wants Ward to take the risk first. If Golovkin loses to Ward then there's no need for Floyd to fight him, which is what Floyd's counting on.

I say Mayweather's return goes more like this...

He'll wait until after Golovkin beats Dominic Wade next month and Canelo Alvarez beats Amir Khan in May. If things go according to the alleged script, Alvarez and Golovkin will begin negotiations for their awaited showdown shortly afterward. In the eyes of most boxing aficionados, Alvarez-Golovkin is one of the most anticipated bouts, right up there with Kovalev-Ward. Soon after the Alvarez-Golovkin hype begins, Mayweather will announce that he'd like to fight Alvarez for the lineal middleweight title. For Mayweather, the setting couldn't be better. Alvarez is the real middleweight champ because he beat the man who beat the man and he doesn't even fight as a middleweight. Like Floyd and Miguel Cotto before him, Alvarez is the new "catch-weight diva" and never fights above 155, which serves Mayweather perfectly.

Mayweather's ego will swell even more having knocked the Alvarez-Golovkin bout off the schedule and in the process he will have made the fight that's most winnable for him being that he has already out-boxed Alvarez. Floyd needs a story as to why he's coming back for his 50th fight, and the thought of becoming the first junior lightweight title holder in history to win the middleweight title is a great motivating factor for him. He also knows Alvarez will jump at the chance to fight him again and push back fighting Golovkin as long as he can. And that's because it's the smartest move Canelo could make.

For starters, Alvarez has improved since he fought Mayweather two and a half years ago. Canelo surely must believe that it would be different this time with Mayweather being two and a half years older and him being two and a half years more experienced. And let’s face it, going down as the first fighter to beat Mayweather is surely more of a legacy enhancer than being remembered as the first fighter to beat Golovkin. Another reason why he would be best served fighting Mayweather is, under the best case scenario if he loses, it'll be by decision and he won't get beat up, hurt, knocked out or embarrassed. On the other hand, a loss to Golovkin could bruise more than his ego and there's a chance (although I don't think that's the way it'll go) that he could be humiliated in the process.

And lastly, above all else, fighting Mayweather would probably net Alvarez three times more money than he'd make fighting Gennady Golovkin. Alvarez can rebuild his career if he lost to Mayweather again. The re-branding process would begin with the notion Mayweather simply owned the style matchup between them just as he has every other opponent he's faced. Whereas, against Golovkin, Alvarez could be out-manned in a memorable fashion and that would be harder for Alvarez to shake down the road.

I've yet to speak with anyone who is even a quasi-boxing fan who doesn't believe Mayweather will fight for the 50th time. Once Alvarez-Golovkin and Kovalev-Ward start to dominate the talk in boxing circles, I think Floyd will want to blow it up as only he can. And fighting Alvarez for the lineal middleweight title couldn't be more perfect as far as providing Mayweather everything he craves -- attention, money and legacy enrichment.

Frank Lotierzo can be contacted at GlovedFist@Gmail.com

Mayweather Will Return And Here's The Most Likely Path

Ward's Mastery Of Barrera Clears Way For Kovalev Showdown

By Frank Lotierzo

When pound-for-pound champ Floyd Mayweather retired last September, boxing lost perhaps the most elite boxer in the world. However, all is not lost because the fighter who most considered to be Mayweather's equal as a technician made his light heavyweight debut this past Saturday night. That's right, former super-middleweight champ Andre Ward 29-0 (15) fought as a light heavyweight for the first time in his hometown of Oakland, California against the IBF's number one contender Sullivan Barrera 17-1 (12).

There was a lot of interest in the fight because Barrera wasn't just an opponent showing up for a check. Barrera, a Cuban defector living in Miami, Florida, was looking to build his name and reputation by being the first fighter to beat Ward as a pro and then parlay that into a title bout with either WBA/IBF/WBO title holder Sergey Kovalev 29-0-1 (26) or WBC titlist Adonis Stevenson 27-1 (22). As for Ward, he's already tentatively scheduled to fight Kovalev sometime this year in what would be the most anticipated light heavyweight title bout since the Roy Jones vs. Antonio Tarver rematch back in 2004.

Prior to the fight Ward was in a tough spot. If he won too convincingly and took Barrera apart, it would be said after the fight that Sullivan hadn't fought anybody and his undefeated record was the result of careful management looking to land him a title shot. On the other hand, had Ward struggled and absorbed a lot of punches on his way to a one or two point decision win - most would be saying he's lost it as an upper-tier fighter and has no chance to beat Kovalev and capture the light heavyweight title.

As it turned out, it was an easy win for Ward. He jogged to a unanimous 12-round decision in which all three judges scored the fight overwhelmingly in his favor. For the entire bout Ward did whatever he wanted to and had an answer for everything Barrera tried in his attempt to swing the fight in his favor. Ward showed during patches of the bout that he was Barrera's master and could out-box, punch or out-think him on a moment's notice. When it was over, it was clear that Ward and Barrera were fighting on different levels.

After the bout Ward graded his performance a B-minus. I'm not much for giving fighters a letter grade after a bout but here is what I observed.......Ward is fighting more flatfooted now than he did before, but he's just as efficient as ever. He's starting to remind me of Mayweather--in that he only needs to do a few things to dominate his opponent. The fight was one-sided and dull, which served Andre's interests well. Andre jabs, feints, jabs, moves inside and controls the inside, and once in a while will throw a sneak left hook or right lead and he still throws in a little dirty fighting too. He dropped Barrera in the third round with a short left hook that didn't travel more than six inches--a real thing of beauty. Between that and the feints, he kept Sullivan honest. There was a second knockdown in the eighth round that the ref called a low blow (might have been), but even that served to make Barrera a little gun shy. Ward looked very natural and at ease at the weight and really wasn't challenged. I sensed that if Barrera tried to pick it up and really go after Ward, Andre had another gear and would've raised him one.

Perhaps the aspect of Ward that stood out the most was his ability to not give Barrera much of a target to hit. His ability to do that stymied Barrera's offense, and with less coming at him, it was much easier for Ward to take his liberties with Sullivan offensively. The mirage-like target which he presented forced Barrera to think his way through the rounds and once that happened Barrera was fighting uphill and it was over.

Now with Barrera out of the way, Kovalev-Ward is closer to becoming a reality. And based on what Ward showed this past weekend, it's really hard to make a case for either fighter being a predominant favorite over the other. Then again, maybe it's not so difficult after all. With the reason being, if Ward isn't too bothered or thrown off his game by Kovalev's aggression and power, Andre will win a decision by controlling the action simply because Sergey hasn't a prayer to out-box Ward. Kovalev's offense is reliant on his jab. Without the jab finding the designated mark, the right hands and short hooks will become less of a weapon.

The question as of this writing is, can Andre Ward neutralize Sergey Kovalev's jab when they finally touch gloves? Answer that and you have the winner!

Frank Lotierzo can be contacted at GlovedFist@Gmail.com

Ward's Mastery Of Barrera Clears Way For Kovalev Showdown

‘Rone Incident’...” from a draft of a manuscrpit titled "The Darker Side of B oxing."

Maybe someday some boxing commissioner in some obscure state will say, “Hey hold on a minute. This one reminds me of the ‘Rone Incident’...”


The Circumstances

On July 18, 2003, Bradley Rone a 5’10” 259-pound heavyweight met Billy Zumbrun in Cedar City, Utah. Rone was fighting on short notice in order to collect the $800 winner’s purse which Rone needed to buy airfare back to Ohio to attend and help pay for the funeral of his mother who had died of heart failure the day before back in Cincinnati.

Rone fought Zumbrun less than a month earlier (on June 30) with Zumbrun having won an uneventful UD over six rounds. The two had become friends. It then developed that Zumbrun, who was scheduled in one of the featured bouts in Cedar City, needed an opponent. As fate would have it, a despondent and broke Rone found the financial opportunity he was looking for. He quickly volunteered for the fight with Billy in Utah, after which he planned to fly to Ohio in time to make arrangements for his mother’s burial.

Four years earlier (June 3, 1999 to be exact), a 215-pound Rone beat one Kevin Rosier in a four-round bout in Michigan. Thereafter, he would go winless in his next 29 fights losing his last 26 in a row. However, despite meeting top opposition, Rone managed to go the distance some 23 times and racked up a large number of grueling rounds.

Going into the Zumbrun fight, Rone’s record was a dismal 7-43 but his penchant for survival meant he fought a lot of rounds against a lot of very tough hombres, and that undoubtedly took a heavy toll on him perhaps even rendering him shopworn. In one stretch, he fought the likes of Cliff Couser, Jorge Luis Gonzalez, Kelvin Davis, Maurice Harris, Siarhei Lyakhovich, Willie Chapman, Orlin Norris, Sinan Sam, DaVarryl Williamson, Robert Davis, Danny Eaton and Adolpho Washington. He bookmarked this stretch upfront with fights against the likes of Fres Oquendo and against Javier Mora, Dale Crowe, Chauncey Welliver, and Eric Kirkland toward the finish. Rone had been banned from boxing in Nevada, but the former sparring partner of both Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield fought several times in California, as well as in Idaho and Texas.

The Fight

The first round was totally non-eventful and the two clinched near the end of the round. Zumbrun tapped Rone and the referee separated the two as the round ended. Rone took a step towards his corner and then suddenly collapsed. Ring doctors quickly came to his aid, and he was immediately taken to Valley View Medical Center where he was declared dead apparently of a massive heart attack.

In a tragic twist of fate, Rone’s body was flown home in the cargo section of a plane and buried alongside his mother in a double funeral in Ohio. Brad left a girlfriend and two children behind and was also survived by nine siblings. Reportedly, the Utah Athletic Commission refused to forward Rone’s $800 purse to his family, so the Dr. Theodore A. Atlas Foundation stepped in and donated the money for Rone’s body to be shipped back home.

It’s not for me to say whether a commission may have made some mistakes. That’s for the courts to sort out. In this connection, his family members say he had no business stepping into that ring, even though he was licensed as a boxer by the Utah Department of Commerce’s Athletic Commission, which had regulated the fight.

The Suit

In a wrongful-death suit filed against the event organizers and the state of Utah, Rone’s sister, Celeste Moss, said athletic commission officials broke several of their own rules in allowing Rone to fight. Among the rules allegedly broken were the fact that Rone had lost more than six consecutive fights, did not have an exam conducted by a physician, and no written certification was provided by a doctor saying Rone was fit to compete, despite being visibly overweight.

The case was appealed to the State Supreme Court which affirmed the district court’s order dismissing Moss’ claims against the Athletic Commission. Under governmental immunity in Utah law, there are narrow exceptions in which a person must prove gross negligence or blatant disregard for safety. The high court found that Moss failed to show that.

Perhaps despondency over his mother’s death, worry about money, his poor physical condition, and a possible congenital heart condition had coalesced to end his life. What is not debatable, however, is that a fighter who had lost 26 straight fights was allowed to tempt fate when he stepped in the ring on short notice under terribly tragic and dangerous circumstances.

Hopefully, this incident will find traction as the “Rone Incident” which will serve as a red flag to prevent other such tragedies from occurring under similar circumstances. Maybe someday some boxing commissioner in some obscure state will say, “Hey hold on a minute. This one reminds me of the ‘Rone Incident.’ This guy is way out of shape and has lost too many fights in a row. I’ll vote to ban it.”

‘Rone Incident’...” from a draft of a manuscrpit titled "The Darker Side of B oxing."

Was The California Boxing Commission Nuts to Approve This Match?

Our West Coast Bureau Chief David A. Avila, who covers the robust California boxing scene like a blanket, was at last night’s show at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles. One of the undercard fights was a 4-round heavyweight affair that pitted 46-year-old Laura Ramsey against 60-year-old Keela Byars. The victorious Ramsey (TKO 4), weighed in at 216 and Byars at 220.

Laura Ramsey has been active since 2004, winning nine of her previous 15 fights. As for Byars, this was her second pro fight. In May of 2014, at a show in Montebello, California, Byars out-pointed a woman in her forties who weighed 295 pounds.

One guesses that the California commission consented to license a 60-year-old woman for fear of legal reprisals if they turned her application down. In our litigious society, the scent of trial lawyers lurking about often dictates the actions of government bureaucrats. In theory, denying Keela Byars a boxing license would have opened up the state to a lawsuit on grounds of age and/or gender discrimination. (There are two attorneys on the California commission, Martha Shen-Urquidez and Mary Lehman, the latter of whom is a former professional boxer.) It should also be noted that the commission promised to be extremely vigilant in seeing that Ms. Byars was properly matched.

Female boxing is here to stay. The number of competitors is growing in leaps and bounds, as is the overall skill level of the ladies that compete. But does the sport take a step back when a 60-year-old woman is granted a boxing license? Just asking. You tell me.

Was The California Boxing Commission Nuts to Approve This Match?

Boxers and Motorcycles: Fatal Attraction

By BERNARD FERNANDEZ

They are, or were, superbly conditioned athletes, adept at moving quickly, hitting hard and taking risks. For some, the risk-taking part is merely an occupational hazard, part of a job description that by definition entails some degree of personal peril. For others, those who know the exhilaration of staring into the face of disaster and making it blink, it might be easy to feel as if they are indestructible, somehow impervious to the possibility of instant tragedy. Courting danger, conquering one’s fear in the process, can almost be an aphrodisiac. Hurtling down a highway at a high rate of speed provides the kind of rush that not even participation in the most physically challenging of sports can furnish.

Boxers and motorcycles have always gone together, like a right cross off a left jab. But there is often a high price to be paid for the attraction certain fighters have for land rockets that offer them scant protection from the kind of horrific collisions that make bikers 25 times more likely to suffer death or serious injury than those involved in car crashes.

All of which makes former two-time world champion Paul “The Punisher” Williams one of those fortunate enough to have been involved in such a motorcycle accident and live to tell about it. Just a week after signing for an HBO Pay Per View fight with Canelo Alvarez that, had he won, might have made him incredibly rich and a certifiable superstar, Williams was in Atlanta, where he was to serve as best man at his brother Leon’s wedding. The date was May 27, 2012.

But Williams, who was more accustomed to dishing out punishment than receiving it in the ring, never made it to the nuptials. Driving a modified Suzuki 1300 Hayabusa, a recent gift to himself, Williams was going too fast (an estimated 75 mph) when he swerved up a steep roadside embankment to avoid a collision and was catapulted 60 feet into the air. His body landed with such force that his spinal cord was severely damaged, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. Williams was later told by workers at Kennestone Hospital in Marietta, Ga., where he arrived by ambulance, that there had been three motorcycle accidents in the Atlanta metropolitan area that weekend, and that he was the only rider among them who had survived.

Initially clinging to the hope that he could be rehabilitated to a point where he could resume his boxing career, Williams understandably slipped into periods of depression when it became obvious that he would forever be confined to a wheelchair. But the Aiken, S.C., native is an optimist by nature, and he makes his much-anticipated return to the fight game, as a trainer, on Friday night at the Buffalo Run Casino in Miami, Okla., when his protégé, super welterweight Justin DeLoach (13-1, 7 KOs), takes on Dillon Cook (16-0, 6 KOs) in the opening eight-round bout of a ShoBox: The New Generation quadrupleheader, the 10-round main event of which pits super lightweight knockout artist Regis “Rolugarou” Prograis (16-0, 13 KOs) against Aaron “The Jewel” Herrera (29-4-1, 18 KOs).

“What’s happened has happened,” Williams said of his altered circumstances. “It is what it is. This is my first time stepping back into the world. I love boxing.

“What I don’t want to see is a fighter getting hurt. This is a hard sport. I know when I was in there I was always going for broke. But I want Justin – all fighters, actually – to come out of the ring the same way they came in. Win or lose, I don’t want to see anybody get hurt.”

But despite his fervent hope that those in his potentially damaging profession remain safe inside the ropes, there is a part of “The Punisher” that will always regret that he can never again know the joy of taking to the open road on his supercharged motorcycle and feeling the wind in his face. Like the character played by Tom Cruise in Top Gun, he wistfully still feels the need for speed, like other adrenaline junkies who weigh the benefits of that feeling of freedom against the sobering statistics and decide that the risk is worth taking.

“There’s nothing like being on a bike and it’s just you and the road,” Williams told writer Jason Langendorf of Vice Sports for an article that was posted in January 2015, 32 months after the accident that forever changed his life. “Peaceful. That was some of the best time, clearing my head. The fun. It’s a whole different world.

“Of course, you’ve got people who say, `Oh, he’s stupid. He should’ve never got on that bike.’ Hey, you know me. I don’t have no regrets. I don’t mean to be selfish, but if I had my legs again, I’d bike to the house right now.”

The allure of motorcycles to the adventurous and those who reject conformity is, of course, a matter of long-standing. The silver screen has romanticized the image of the biker as rebel. Think of a leather-jacketed Marlon Brandon in The Wild One, Peter Fonda in Easy Rider, Steve McQueen in The Great Escape, Cruise as hotshot jet fighter pilot “Maverick” in Top Gun. It is one of the reasons milquetoast CPAs and librarians in Las Vegas pack the Harley-Davidson apparel store on the Strip, loading up on cool-looking gear, whether or not they actually ride bikes, that allows them to channel their inner Brando. It is also the reason thousands of spectators were drawn to the daredevil antics of the late Evel Knievel, who used to jump his chopper over long rows of parked buses and 18-wheelers. Sometimes he even made it all the way over. And when he didn’t … well, seeing him bounce off pavement like a rag doll on failed attempts was part of the show, too. We could not turn away because the constant possibility of death or grievous injury was as much of a reason for watching as Knievel’s chances for actually pulling off feats that seemed nearly impossible.

Williams is hardly the first fighter or noted athlete to have risked so much on a motorcycle, and lost, nor will he be the last. Perhaps the most notable example in recent years is former IBF super featherweight and WBC lightweight champion Diego “Chico” Corrales, winner of perhaps the most spectacularly action-packed fight of the 21st century, on May 7, 2005, at Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay, in which he somehow rallied from two 10th-round knockdowns at the hands of Jose Luis Castillo to win by a stoppage in the very round in which he appeared to be all but finished.

“You can vote now,” Gary Shaw, Corrales’ promoter, excitedly said at the postfight press conference after his guy had staged the comeback to end all comebacks. “This is Fight of the Year, Fight of Next Year, Fight of the Decade. I don’t believe you’ll ever see anything like this again.”

Added Joe Goossen, Corrales’ trainer: “In my 35 years (in boxing), that was the greatest fight I’ve ever seen.”

Exactly two years to the day after registering the victory that forever shall be the cornerstone of his boxing legacy, Corrales died on a Las Vegas highway when the 29-year-old, depressed over a downturn in his fistic fortunes and aboard his newly purchased racing bike, ran into the back of a car and was then struck by another from behind. Corrales – who police said had been “traveling at a high rate of speed,” estimated at 100 mph – was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of one of the two cars involved sustained minor injuries.

“The guy was a true warrior. Simply by the way he fought he should be in the (International Boxing) Hall of Fame,” a somber Shaw said of Corrales, a father of five, who left behind a wife who was six months pregnant. “Believe me, if he could’ve got off that cold pavement, he would.”

Ironically, Corrales had discussed his motorcycle riding the previous summer in a Las Vegas Review-Journal story.

“I’m only young once and, unless someone hasn’t told me something yet, I only get to live once,” he said. “If I couldn’t do this stuff now, stuff I always wanted to do, I would never get a chance to do it.”

Corrales’ cautionary tale is very similar to that of heavyweight Young Stribling, a 1996 inductee into the IBHOF who posted a 224-13-14 record, with 129 victories inside the distance, in a career that spanned from 1921 to ’33. Sometimes criticized for being overly cautious in the ring, Stribling was famously reckless outside of it. He was obsessed at traveling at breakneck speeds, whether it was behind the wheel of a car or on a motorcycle. But it was on his bike that Stribling’s life was cut short, at 28, when he was involved in a terrible crash that left him with internal injuries that ultimately proved fatal. He was rushed to a hospital in Macon, Ga., where he died on Oct. 3, 1933.

The list of fighters killed or seriously injured in motorcycle-related accidents has continued to mount. Former WBO light heavyweight champion Julio Cesar Gonzalez, 35, was killed in a motorbike accident in Mexico on March 10, 2012, following a hit-and-run involving a drunk driver. Australian women’s amateur titlist Donna Pepper was 30 when she died in a crash on Feb. 13, 2012, in Cambodia while on a five-month Asian holiday. Former WBC super middleweight champ Anthony Dirrell, who was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma in 2006, not only overcame cancer but a 2012 motorcycle crash that resulted in a broken leg and a four-hour surgical procedure to repair the damage. Dirrell again was able to resume his career and is set to take on Caleb Truax on April 29 at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City.

The Philadelphia metropolitan area has been especially hard-hit by fatal incidents involving fighters on motorcycles. Middleweight contender James “Black Gold” Shuler was only 26 when, on March 20, 1986, his red Kawasaki collided with a tractor-trailer and he died at the scene. Undefeated light heavyweight prospect Andre “Thee” Prophet – who will be posthumously inducted into the Pennsylvania Boxing Hall of Fame on May 15 was even younger, 20, when he and a woman companion, 19-year-old Tres Kelly, both succumbed from massive injuries suffered on Aug. 13, 1988, when the borrowed bike Prophet was driving was struck by a hit-and-run driver. Former super middleweight contender Tony “The Punching Postman” Thornton, of Glassboro, N.J., who fought three times for world titles with losses to Chris Eubank, James Toney and Roy Jones Jr., was retired and 49 when he died on Sept. 10, 2009, 11 days after he was involved in a bad collision.

But boxing is not the only sport, or occupation, that has lost members to motorcycle accidents. Baltimore Ravens cornerback Tray Walker, 23, died on March 18 of this year, the day after he was critically injured in a dirt bike crash in Liberty City, Fla. Other famous people who met their end on cycles include T.E. Lawrence, better known as “Lawrence of Arabia,” rock star Duane Allman and 69-year-old retired astronaut Pete Conrad, the third person to walk on the moon.

It should be stipulated here that hundreds of thousands of individuals drive or ride safely on motorcycles, which can be legally operated in every state and throughout the world. There also are no laws prohibiting usage of tobacco products and alcoholic beverages by those who meet age requirements, or for those who choose to join the military, skydive, swim in the ocean with sharks and barracudas or bungee-jump off high bridges. Acceptance of risk is a part of everyday life, and there can be no faulting those who voluntarily enter the danger zone if they are cognizant of the possible consequences.

The chips always fall where they may.

“I know I can’t change time, but I do think about that day (of his accident),” said Williams in an interview with Joseph Santoliquito of The Ring magazine in January 2015. “What if I was going a little slower? What if that car in front of me wasn’t there? There’s a million of the, all of those `What ifs.’ I’ve seen both worlds, being a world champion and now being paralyzed.

“If I could change time, I would. But I can’t, so I have to deal with it. If I wasn’t able to deal with it, I probably would have committed suicide by now or would be angry and depressed all of the time.

“I have my bad days and my good days. I do feel there are two sides of me: who I was and who I am. I had all this money, all this fame, I was on top of the world. Everyone loved me.”

Williams received the Bill Crawford Award for Courage in Overcoming Adversity at the 89th annual Boxing Writers Association of America Awards Dinner in Las Vegas in 2014, at which time he received a standing ovation and the realization that, while he had lost so much, he had not lost everything.

Boxers and Motorcycles: Fatal Attraction

TMZ is reporting that an arrest warrant has been issued for Adrien Broner

TMZ Sports is reporting that a warrant has been issued for the arrest of Adrien Broner relating to a "violent robbery" that occurred at a Cincinnati bowling alley on Jan. 21.

Broner allegedly used his fists and a gun to recoup gambling losses from a man with whom he was bowling against for high stakes.

The 26-year-old Broner, nicknamed "The Problem," is scheduled to defend his WBA "Super World" 140-pound title against Ashley Theopane at the DC Armory on Friday, April 1.

TMZ is reporting that an arrest warrant has been issued for Adrien Broner

Lucas Browne Test Results Leaked; Beware Deontay Wilder

Late on Monday night news outlets started reporting that Australia's Lucas Browne has tested positive for Clentbuterol, a banned substance. Browne captured the WBA World Heavyweight title with a tenth round knock out of champion Ruslan Chagaev in Grozny, Russia back on March 5th and the test puts that title victory in jeopardy. Browne had been basking in the glory of his win, returning to his home country as their first ever heavyweight champion. It does appear now however, as if the party is over.

Browne has expressed shock in his statements, saying that he had never heard of Clenbuterol and that he was not a drug cheat. The agency that administered the testing, VADA (Voluntary Anti-Doping Association) sent notice that Browne had failed a post-fight urine test, and Browne was quick to point out that it was his party that requested the testing from VADA in the first place.

Browne is seeking further legal advice, and his next procedural step could be to accept the personal cost of requesting the testing of a "B" sample that was also taken. If the "B" sample is negative, the "A" test is thrown out and the fight results of the March 5th engagement with Chagaev would stand. Only on rare occasions has the "B" sample ever come back different than the "A" sample.

Here is where things get interesting. The BBC's piece on the situation quotes Browne saying "My team and I were well aware of the many risks involved in going to a place like Chechnya to fight a reigning champion and believed we had taken sufficient precautions."

Browne is promoted in the United Kingdom by Ricky Hatton, and Hatton Promotions released a statement backing Browne and stating that they were inititiating their "own investigation".

All of this comes in light of Russia's recent scandal involving PED use and drug testing that alleged wholesale cheating backed by the government. I have not read all of the details involving that scandal, but there were some incredibly serious allegations, including the replacement of laboratory personnel by agents of the FSB (the old KGB) duirng the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games. Russia is currently banned from the 2016 Olympic Games, however in the convoluted world of international cloak and dagger, there is a good chance that the Russian team will compete.

Browne is not the first fighter to express concerns about fighting in Russia. The German Boxing Association is said to have requested the test, but that group has it's own nefarious reputation when it comes to drug testing. Chagaev is based out of Germany.

Back in November, Tyson Fury was facing Wladimir Klitschko in Germany, and Fury and his team were very public about the "precautions" they took. This included very publicly not accepting any water or post-fight replenishment for fear that they may have been tampered with. Did Browne's plan include that level of detail? Would it have made a difference?

The fact of the matter, is that the Deontay Wilder camp is probably going to have to pay attention to all of this. The WBC Champion has come to a verbal agreement to fight mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin in Russia. This came after Povetkin's promoters submitted a purse bid that assures Wilder more than $4 million to fight.

Wilder was against fighting in Russia throughout the build-up, but simple circumstances and economics made him re-think his stance.

The current situation dictates that Wilder re-think the fight in Russia yet again. Wilder is accused of using PEDs in some circles because of his body type already. He should be extra cautious heading east of the old "iron curtain" going into foreign territory appears to be more complicated and risky than originally thought.

The Lucas Browne scandal is bad for boxing, because the chances that he is exonerated are quite low statistically. If it plays out that Browne is stripped, the process will likely see Chagaev given the belt back. If the end result is that Deontay Wilder versus Alexander Povetkin falls apart and does not happen, then it will have been a disaster for the Heavyweight division.

Lucas Browne Test Results Leaked; Beware Deontay Wilder

Money Money

How's everybody doing? I hope everyone is doing great as well as those they care about. I've been gone for a while but now I'm back. Let's get to business, I have felt that this forum is one of the better ones on the internet, but I cannot get over the feeling of being duped from still not getting paid and its been over 8 months since i Was moderator. I spent a lot of time when it was my turn to be moderator and was promised compensation. Any reasonable adult should understand that this is not ethical in any way shape or form. If the purpose of the contest was just to get more people on the site I understand, but do not lead people on with empty, elaborate promises. If i am in the wrong please let me know, but I think it is not right that this method was used. hope to hear feedback from all you soon and wish you and yours the best.

Money Money

David Gonzalez --From a book in draft stage titled: "The Dark Side of Boxing"

David Gonzalez

He is a name from the past and only serious boxing fans and/or aficionados will recall him but at one time David Gonzalez was a solid amateur —some even called him a five star prospect. He first started out as a pro in Houston in 1985 (he later moved to San Jose) and eventually beat many fine boxers including Tracy Sneed, Anthony Jones, “Saigon” Skipper Kelp,. Cassius Clay Horne, a prime and undefeated Dwayne Swift—and had a controversial draw with Ernie Landeros. However, when it came to training, it was rumored that he was undisciplined, often struggling to make weight. Moreover, his personal life was one filled with tragedy and death (albeit accidental), both before and after he came to the south Bay area. In any event, his final record was a solid 40-6-1 with his only title bid, a ninth round TKO loss to the great Terry Norris in September 1995.

Rico Velasquez (1988)

"Velazquez was too gutty, too brave for his own good. He couldn't hit Gonzales hard enough to keep him off of him." Jack Fiske of the San Francisco Chronicle,

On August 19, 1988, and in what looked to be a possible mismatch, the skilled David (17-1-1) fought Rico Velasquez (16-4) for the USA California State lightweight crown at the Civic Auditorium in San Jose, California, his home. There were rumors that Rico, the defending California lightweight champion, came into the fight with two slightly blackened eyes indicative of a broken nose. Whatever the case, Rico was mugged, mauled and mangled in a one-sided beat-down that --for all practical purposes--left him dead in the ring in the eighth round in a fight that, according to ring side observers, could well have been stopped much earlier. Velasquez would officially be declared dead two days later, after life-support measures were removed. Dr. Jeff Gutman, who helped care for Velazquez after a two-hour operation, said the injury was caused by a sharp, sudden motion and may have resulted from a single blow.

1992

When he lost a razor thin SD to Anthony Stephens in 1992, Gonzalez’s record was 29-1-1-and he had won the USA California State lightweight title as well as the vacant NABF welterweight title in 1991. However, back on May 28, 1990, while he was the WBC’s sixth ranked lightweight, he was shot in the back outside a Los Angeles lounge. After he recovered, he resumed his winning ways until the Stephens loss. He then beat tough, exciting, and undefeated Skipper Kelp in Phoenix in 1992 and ran off five more wins until losing to slick Kenny Gould (25-2) in 1993, and for the first time, it appeared his great potential may have been topped off and that he was now on the wrong side of the Bell-shaped curve.

Robert Wangila (1994)

"There will be a burial without professional riches, without accolades, without anything he [Robert Wangila] came to the United States six years ago to acquire."—LA Times. July 29, 1994.

After three more wins, he fought 1988 Olympic Gold Medallist from Kenya Robert “Kidd Gender” Wangila at the Aladdin in Las Vegas on July 22, 1994. After a brutal beatdown in which David did a "Marciano" on Robert by pounding every visible spot, the fight was finally stopped by Referee Joe Cortez in the ninth round. Wangila, in an all too familiar and scary scenario, then collapsed in the dressing room and soon fell into a dreaded coma. Doctors at the University Medical Centre later said that he had a blood clot on the right side of his head. He was operated on but passed away 36 hours after the match. Though he never fulfilled his professional promise, Robert remains a legend in Kenyan boxing circles and his legacy lives on in the Robert Wangila Memorial Boxing Cup.

As for David Gonzalez, he retired after a comeback of sorts in May 1997 when he lost to Danny Garcia (27-16) in Costa Rica. Reportedly, he has now moved on with his life, but one can only conjecture as to his thoughts and memories.

“Those of us who don't box -- even if we watch -- cannot ever understand it. But as we hurl ourselves down the freeway like suicidal maniacs, poison ourselves with tainted water, tainted air and edibles of questionable health value and drive ourselves to mental and physical exhaustion in pursuit of financial goals, suddenly, the dream of a $22 million payday doesn't seem so foolish after all.” Reprinted from San Jose Metro, December 1988 http://ift.tt/1SaeFDk

David Gonzalez --From a book in draft stage titled: "The Dark Side of Boxing"

Alphabet Soup

The Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wisconsin will host "Mid Town MayHem World Championship Boxing" on Saturday, May 7. In the main go, featherweight Duarn "The Storm" Vue (8-0-2, 3 KOs) will oppose TBA in a match sanctioned for the WBF World Championship, the ABO National Championship, and the UBF All American Championship. Tickets are scaled from $35 to $100.

Alphabet Soup

Dr. Joel Wallach's Credentials Speak For Themselves

Wow! The notorious troll has now gone on an attack and mockery of things that he knows not. What a desperate soul for control. But in this day and time, his juvenile con jobs are quickly exposed to anybody who has a brain and wants to know the truth. Nonetheless, that doesn't deter him. He will come at you with tons of circumlocution and run-on sentences calling you various animals while mocking various religions such Voodoo/Santeria in a bizarre belief that he is hurting you. [I wonder how he likes that run-on sentence. Hehehe!] OMFG! Dude is out there. And doesn't have a clue or care how bigoted and racist he is. Plus dude is still hallucinating that he is a moderator up in this Universe.

Dr Wallach, a retire U.S. Army Lt. Colonel, has won award after award for his work. Things that he has discovered are BIG TIME health benefits in boxing and all of sports nowadays. His SPORT drink REBOUND is on the sports' map of the whole world. What has the cyberspace troll contributes but bullsyet and chaos?

You can holla at Dr. Wallach's background and credentials. http://ift.tt/1pHWOds.

The troll has claimed to be all types of professions. Now let him post it up, or shut it up.

Meanwhile: Don't sleep on the T-Brad/Pac Scrap. Holla!

Dr. Joel Wallach's Credentials Speak For Themselves

R.I.P. Gilberto Mendoza of the W.B.A.

Francisco Gilberto Mendoza, the long time President of the World Boxing Association passed away in Venezuela on Friday, March 11th at the age of 72.

The WBA is the oldest of the current sanctioning bodies, and Mendoza was the WBA's guiding hand since 1982 when he stepped into the Presidency, taking over for American Robert Lee. He left the top spot in 2015, announcing at the WBA's annual convention in Panama that he was resigning due to ill health. The reigns of the WBA were handed to his son, Gilberto Jesus Mendoza.

He headed the WBA for 33 years and he established many initiatives within the boxing community, such as his successful "KO to Drugs" events sponsored throughout the world. Mendoza was known for his care for the sport and love of the athletes.

It was under his watch that the WBA adopted their current structure of title belts. The creation of "interim" titles, multiple regional titles and "Super" titles all started with the WBA. In retrospect, that direction has been to the detriment of boxing and to the repsect of the WBA itself.

Rest in Peace to a man who has been a fixture in the boxing world for more than three decades. A TSS moment of silence for Gilberto Mendoza.

R.I.P. Gilberto Mendoza of the W.B.A.

Amir Kahn vs. Canelo Alvarez Is Not a Mismatch

By David A. Avila

When the match between WBC middleweight titlist Saul “Canelo” Alvarez of Mexico and Amir “King” Khan of Great Britain was announced a collective double gasp of surprise was let out around the world.

First, because Khan had refused Kell Brook. Second, because Khan is taking on literally a bigger challenge.

Fans in the United Kingdom had been riding Khan as some kind of coward. He’s anything but that.

“I’ve really lost only two fights in my career,” said Khan. “This is the first time I’m the underdog.”

Alvarez defends the WBC middleweight title against Khan in the brand new T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on May 7. It’s the classic scenario of power versus speed but it’s much more than that. It’s two elite prizefighters.

E-L-I-T-E.

Khan has won world titles as a super lightweight, competed as a welterweight and now he’s leapfrogging all the way to middleweight. Only elite prizefighters are capable of even contemplating that feat.

Fans already are poo-pooing the fight as another Bolton Massacre with Khan having no chance whatsoever. Bolton incidentally is where Khan calls home. Back in 1644, Royalist troops massacred hundreds of its denizens.

This is prizefighting. Anything can happen.

“I wouldn’t take this fight if I didn’t think I could win,” said Khan.

Who can forget Buster Douglas knocking out the seemingly unbeatable Mike Tyson? Or what about Hasim Rahman surprisingly stopping Lennox Lewis in South Africa? Ok, those are heavyweights, what about Paul Malignaggi nearly defeating Adrien Broner? The world called me crazy for predicting Malignaggi would give Broner fits a few years ago. The Brooklyn Italian nearly hung a loss on Broner if not for some sketchy scoring.

Khan has the tools to give Alvarez great pause when they meet. This is not a club fighter moving up two divisions. This is one of the fastest prizefighters on the planet. More than one journalist outside of England knows that speed and movement can trouble the not-so-nimble Alvarez; though the Mexican redhead has improved dramatically in every phase of the fight games since starting his pro career at 15 years old.

Mexico’s Alvarez will and should be the favorite to win. He’s bigger, stronger and hits harder than the more slender Khan. But speed-wise those blistering combinations zipping in from the Bolton boxer can make even the most experienced fighter wince.

People forget that Khan defeated Marcos Maidana one of the more dangerous fighters around. That fight stays fresh in my mind as a clear display of what his speed can accomplish against a slugger.

“I’m not underestimating Amir Khan,” said Alvarez who seemed perturbed by the media’s labeling it an easy fight.

I wouldn’t bet the house on Alvarez, especially those picking a win by knockout. Khan has plenty of weapons to use.

That left hook to the body put Maidana down and made Zab Judah quit when they met. Sure Miguel Cotto was unable to score on Canelo with that body shot, but this is the much faster Khan.

“Khan can throw one vicious body shot,” said Golden Boy’s Oscar De La Hoya who knows a thing or two about the subject.

Anything can happen when two elite fighters meet in the ring.

Remember Roberto Duran had no problem beating welterweights including Carlos Palomino and Sugar Ray Leonard when he moved up two weight divisions.

Don’t bet the house.

Amir Kahn vs. Canelo Alvarez Is Not a Mismatch

Avantandil Khurtsidze -- I Can't Wait To See This Guy Fight Again

At the age of 36 – soon to be 37 – Avantandil Khurtsidze became an overnight sensation. Okay, that’s overstating it, but his bravura performance vs. Antoine Douglas in the Showtime-televised show from the Sands Events Center in Bethlehem, PA on Saturday, March 5, had viewers lusting to see more of him. TSS ringside correspondent Bernard Fernandez called the Khurtsidze-Douglas bout the “most fan-friendly, action-packed bout of 2016” and made it the early favorite for Fight of the Year.

A stumpy 5’4”, Khurtsidze has a face that only a mother could love. As one wag said, if we could graft his head onto the body of a 250-pound bodybuilder, we would have a WWE superstar. He should have been named Igor, not as in Igor Stravinski, the pianist and composer, but as in Igor the stock character in those old black-and-white horror films.

Khurtsidze is a throwback to fighters of yesteryear, or rather our perception of fighters of yesteryear. The opening round of a boxing match tends to be a “feeling out round.” Against Douglas, who was eight inches taller, Khurtsidze was in a seek-and-destroy mode from the opening bell.

Douglas gave a gutsy performance, but Khurtsidze's buzzsaw attack wore him down. The bout was stopped in the 10th frame but could have been stopped sooner. Douglas, who was thought to be a rising star in the middleweight division, took the sort of beating that can shorten a boxer’s career.

I feel sorry for Antoine Douglas who was undefeated (19-0-1) and had a heart-warming back story. The child of drug-addicted parents, Douglas spent his formative years in foster and group homes. His initial opponent was the 42-year old Australian, Sam Solomon, but that match fell out when the Aussie suffered a knee injury. It's likely that Douglas would still be undefeated if that match had gone off as scheduled.

As for Khurtsidze, he was 24-1 in his last 25 fights heading in, but most of those fights were in Europe, primarily the Ukraine, and his name didn’t register with American fight fans. He was slated to fight the last man to defeat him, Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam, in Paris last year but that show was cancelled in the wake of the mass shooting by Islamic extremists. If Khurtsidze had avenged that loss, Douglas’ management would have likely rejected him as an opponent, so things just didn’t break right for Antoine Douglas, who was dealt a bad hand by the fickle finger of fate.

Khurtsidze’s nickname is Tazman. He needs a better nickname than that, ideally one that alludes to his swarming offense. Any suggestions?

By the way, we were curious if any prominent middleweight of years past was shorter than 5’4.” Offhand, we couldn’t think of any. Among middleweights enshrined in the Hall of Fame, the shortest is Laszlo Papp who checks in at 5’5”.

Avantandil Khurtsidze -- I Can't Wait To See This Guy Fight Again

Hanna Gabriels: A Torchbearer In The Rising Tide Of Female Boxing

By ARNE K. LANG


In Costa Rica, a country of 4.6 million, reigning WBO World female super welterweight champion Hanna Gabriels is a well-known personality. Strangers stop her on the street and ask for a selfie. In the United States, where she is currently residing, she’s anonymous. But that may change. Female boxing, which has enjoyed a few brief spurts of enrichment, appears poised to emerge from the shadows and become firmly entrenched in the public eye, a stable component of the sporting mosaic. And Ms. Gabriels, who currently owns a 15-1-1 record, is in the vanguard of those pushing the envelope. She’s very good at what she does, she’s photogenic, and she’s bi-lingual, as comfortable conversing in English as in her native Spanish.

As a schoolgirl in Costa Rica, Gabriels attracted notice for her prowess in track and field. At age seven, she was competing against girls four years older. At age 11, she competed in the novice division in the Central American games in El Salvador. Equally adept at running, jumping, and throwing, she had the makings of a world class pentathlete. But at age seventeen she was sidelined with a herniated disc that left her bedridden for six weeks – doctors questioned whether she would ever walk normally again – and that put an end to her budding career in track and field.

After graduating from high school, Gabriels spent a year in Oakland, California helping a friend manage a hair salon. While there she developed a fondness for doritos. “In Costa Rica,” she said, “my family was poor. We didn’t have money for snacks; only the basics.”

With money to afford the luxury of junk food (and a hearty appetite born of homesickness), Gabriels predictably put on weight, ballooning to 206 pounds. But there was an upside to her sojourn. She became fluent in a second tongue -- and for an athlete in a global sport, being bi-lingual can pay big dividends. Oscar De La Hoya transcended his sport, “building his brand” on both the English and Spanish talk show circuits. On the flip side, the career earnings of the great Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. were stunted by his failure to learn English.

Hanna Gabriels took up boxing at age 20 as part of a comprehensive program to lose weight. Four years later, she embraced boxing with a more serious purpose and had her first professional fight. Her father had boxed as an amateur, so there was boxing in the family genes.

At a gym in the provincial capital of San Jose, Gabriels honed her craft sparring with men; the alternative was no sparring whatsoever. The number of registered women boxers is increasing in leaps and bounds, but they are scattered around the globe and dispersed among the various weight classes. “What Hanna has accomplished,” says an admirer, “she has accomplished on her own. There are no great trainers in Costa Rica.”

On Jan. 9, 2011, Gabriels advanced her record to 11-0-1 with a 10th round knockout of Melisenda Perez at Punta del Este, Uruguay. Stablemate Bryan Vasquez, a future WBA World super featherweight champion, was also on that card. A nodding acquaintance between them blossomed into something more as they hunkered down to complete their training in Uruguay. They are now husband and wife.

Women athletes are subject to all the complications that disrupt the careers of their male counterparts, plus one. It’s called pregnancy. A 22-month period of ring inactivity that began in March of 2013 was punctuated by the birth of her daughter, Mia. The toddler may be the answer to a trivia question: name the only person whose parents – both of them – held world boxing titles.

Bryan Vasquez currently trains in Big Bear, California, under the watchful eye of the noted trainer Abel Sanchez. Hanna is with him in Big Bear, as is her mother, who watches the baby while Hanna does her roadwork. Sanchez and his associate Ben Lira will work Hanna’s corner in her next fight, the opponent, date, and venue as yet undetermined.

Gabriels hopes to someday land a rematch with Oxandia Castillo, the woman from the Dominican Republic who saddled her with her only defeat. The bout was stopped in the second round.

That match took place during one of the gloomiest periods of Hanna’s life. Her focus was clouded by the recent death of her dog, the faithful companion that nudged her into getting out of bed on those days when she was inclined to slough off in her training and would then tag along with her on her early morning runs. “Oxandia beat me fair and square,” concedes Gabriels, “but she isn’t better than me.”

Gabriels laughs when discussing her most recent fight, a lopsided 10-round decision over Rhode Island’s Kali Reis in Liberia, Guanacaste, Costa Rica. As the bout played out, the ring became smaller.

Well, not exactly. What happened is that rain started falling in sheets, soaking the crowd in the outdoor arena. Patches of the canvas became dangerously slick, forcing the referee to use his body language to maneuver Hanna and her opponent away from the affected areas. The province of Guanacaste was then experiencing a drought, making the incident more bizarre.

The female boxers attracting the most buzz right now are Cecilia Braekhus and Claressa Shields. Raised by adoptive parents in Norway -- where boxing is illegal – the undefeated (28-0), Columbia-born Braekhus recently broke with her German promoter and signed with Los Angeles-based K2 Promotions. Her stated goal is to win over North American boxing fans. Female boxers have a higher profile in Europe and other parts of the world than in the U.S., but American promoters have deeper pockets and can offer larger purses.

At the age of 17, Claressa Shields, a high school junior, was the star of the very first U.S. Olympic female boxing team. She won gold in London and hopes to repeat at the forthcoming summer games in Rio. She fights out of Flint, Michigan, where she was born and raised, which makes her story more compelling. The beleaguered citizens of hardscrabble Flint (if you go there, don’t drink the water) could use a positive role model to uplift their spirits.

A match between Gabriels and either of these ladies would be a big attraction, but the likelihood of either happening any time soon is remote. Cecilia Braekhus is a natural welterweight; Hanna is seemingly too big for her. Claressa Shields is in Hanna’s weight class, but it isn’t known if she will turn pro and, if she does, her management likely won’t rush her into a match against a strong opponent.

When her career is finished, Gabriels plans to work in some field of social work, ideally running a gym for people with handicaps and victims of domestic abuse. Despite her busy schedule she managed to earn a degree at Universidad Santa Paula in San Jose where she specialized in respiratory therapy. But she has more worlds to conquer before that day arrives.

Gabriels, who turned 33 in January, is younger than most of the top names in her sport. Female boxers that stay in shape tend to age more gracefully than the men, in large part because they go to war less often. Barring time off for another blessed event, Hanna Gabriels figures to win legions of new fans in the next few years.

Hanna Gabriels: A Torchbearer In The Rising Tide Of Female Boxing

Celestino Caballero Busted with 10 Kilos of Cocaine

Celestino Caballero, a former WBA and IBF World super bantamweight champion and former WBA World featherweight champion, was arrested today after a traffic stop in Panama City. According to news reports, 10 kilos of cocaine with an estimated street value of $600,000 in U.S. dollars were found in his vehicle. Caballero was driving alone in a Toyota Corolla and reportedly headed to his hometown of Colon City.

The rail-thin 5'11" Caballero first attracted notice in 2005 when he upset then-undefeated Daniel Ponce De Leon, a future WBO world titlist. Four fights later he won the WBA super bantamweight title with a third round knockout of Somsak Sithchatchawal in Thailand. He retired in November of 2014 with a detached retina, leaving with a record of 37-6 (24).

Late in his career, Caballero changed promoters, hooking up with the team of Curtis Jackson (50 Cent) and Floyd Mayweather Jr. Now 41 years old, he was affiliated with the WBA in an administrative post at the time of his arrest and was planning on a career as a boxing referee. He is regarded as one of only two Panamanians to hold a unified title, the other being the legendary Roberto Duran.

Celestino Caballero Busted with 10 Kilos of Cocaine

45 Years Later, Joe Frazier Still Doesn't Get Full Credit for Winning the Fight of the Century

By Frank Lotierzo

It's hard to fathom it's been 45 years since the "Fight of the Century" between heavyweight champion "Smokin" Joe Frazier 26-0 (23) and former champ Muhammad Ali 31-0 (25). The FOTC remains the sporting event, not just boxing match, against which all others are measured. Frazier-Ali I was and remains the most anticipated fight in history - there was nothing like it before or after. It was one of the rare mega-fights in which the realization exceeded the expectation.

I'm not going to get into the political or cultural ramifications of the bout. I'll just say that Ali was exiled from boxing for refusing military induction because he was a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War. On April 27, 1967 he was stripped of his undisputed title and exited boxing with a perfect record of 29-0 (23), after making nine consecutive title defenses.

During Ali's absence he was succeeded by Joe Frazier, who looked every bit as impressive on the way up the ranks as had Ali four years earlier. Ali, who hadn't lost the title in the ring, returned to boxing as "The Peoples Champ" on October 26, 1970 and stopped top contender Jerry Quarry due to eye cuts after the third round. Six weeks later he fought Oscar Bonavena, another top-5 contender, and TKO'd the rugged Argentine for the only time in his career, stopping him in the 15th round. Finally on December 30, 1970, after nearly four years of hype and ballyhoo, Frazier and Ali agreed to fight on March 8 1971 at Madison Square Garden for the undisputed heavyweight title for a then record $2.5 million dollars apiece guaranteed purse.

As fighters, Joe and Muhammad were polar opposites.....one's strength was the other’s weakness and vice-versa. Ali was greater and more physically gifted than any other fighter Frazier had ever fought, and Frazier was more aggressive and determined than any opponent Ali ever fought. Frazier won the bout via a 15 round unanimous decision by the scores of 8-6-1, 9-6 and 11-4 to become the undisputed champ. Joe nearly had Ali out on his feet late in the 11th round and even dropped Ali in the 15th round, decking him with a massive left hook to the jaw. Frazier and Ali went on to fight two more times, in 1974 and 1975, with Ali winning both. However, neither bout, not even "The Thrilla In Manila," was fought at nearly the warp speed and skill level as super-fight I.

In my opinion Muhammad Ali is the greatest heavyweight champ in boxing history. But there is one thing in which my conviction is even stronger - and that is, Joe Frazier never got his due credit for conclusively beating Ali the first time they met in the biggest fight of both of their careers.

All these years later -- and it's still repeated by Ali partisans – is how he only lost to Frazier the first time they clashed because he was coming off a 43 month forced layoff. Yes, that's a fact, but if you watched the fight and didn't know Ali only had two bouts in four years prior to meeting Joe, you would never have guessed it by the way he fought. What is often overlooked is that Ali returned to the ring more filled out physically. He was stronger in the seventies than he was during the sixties, which he stated after fighting Quarry and Bonavena. When Ali was exiled in 1967 he was only 25 years old; when he fought Frazier the first time he was a fully matured man who just turned 29. Granted, he wasn't quite as fast as he was during the sixties, but he was still much faster than Frazier.

For the first five rounds of Super-fight I, Ali never looked better. He hit Frazier with some of the swiftest combinations he ever landed on any other opponent before or afterward. Prior to the bout Ali reiterated that he was punching harder after coming back to the ring than he ever had in his career. The problem was Ali's plan for a quick execution of the notoriously slow starting Frazier didn't work as he was being forced to fight harder than he ever had before just to keep Frazier from getting inside on him.

Joe Frazier understood long before he ever fought Ali that he had the perfect style, temperament, stamina and punch to become a living nightmare for him. Joe said repeatedly before the fight, it's a lot different backing up on your own than it is when you're being forced to go back. He fully grasped that he could go faster moving forward than Ali could going backward. Frazier also knew his elusive head and upper-body movement along with his ability to cut off the ring and inch closer to Ali at the same time would offset Muhammad's lighting quick jabs and combination punching.

Over the years some have inferred how Frazier attacked in a straight line and only moved in the direction his opponent moved. That's cookbook analogy. How can a fighter move his feet before he knows the direction in which his foe is moving? Don't take my word for it, just watch the fight. You'll see Ali only moved and circled the ring in spurts because he was physically drained trying to fight Frazier off of him because Joe intercepted him and cut off his escape route at virtually every turn.

Remember, Ali of the sixties and seventies was faster than Frazier, it's just that Joe's aggression and ability to force the fight on the inside often nullified Muhammad's speed advantage. And when Ali went to the ropes and clowned around it was because he was tired and needed a breather. Knowing that he wasn't going to stop Frazier inside the distance, he was forced to pace himself and conserve his energy so he could go 15 rounds. Again, this was a result of Frazier's non-stop bell-to-bell effective pressure while forcing Muhammad to fight when he didn't want to.

When watching the bout it's abundantly clear that while doing combat with Joe Frazier, Ali was forced to pick one of three options to deal with Joe....(1) hold him and endure body punches on the inside (2) fight it out with him with the hope of preventing Frazier from getting inside or (3) dance away if he could in order to disrupt the exchange. It just so happened that Frazier could live with any of those three options; in turn they forced Ali to use up his energy and stamina. In addition to that, Frazier knew that once he was on the inside, Ali couldn't successfully exchange hooks and uppercuts with him. Another thing, Frazier was cognizant that Ali only threw hooks and uppercuts from outside in order to prevent his opponent from getting inside. Joe knew once inside, Ali didn't really punch that hard and ignored going to the body, which resulted in him getting the better of the exchanges.

During the entire 15 rounds, Frazier was able to get inside and close enough to land his vaunted left-hook on Ali's jaw almost routinely. Ali, who is supposed to be one of the greatest boxers and technicians ever, never figured out how to block Frazier's biggest weapon and finishing punch, the left hook. Frazier's pressure and ability to cut the ring off and force Ali into a corner or against the ropes while working over his body with both hands was something Muhammad never confronted before. Ali was convinced before ever facing Frazier that he could move and box Joe the way he did Ernie Terrell and Zora Folley in 1967. However, Frazier’s bobbing and weaving forced him to rush his punches, thus made him miss with his left jab, which in turn made Ali more judicious when it came to throwing his right hand. Furthermore, Ali couldn't pick his spots to flurry and score against Frazier and then get out. In reality he was under duress the entire fight and had he not been such an incredibly strong man mentally and physically, he may have succumbed to Frazier's pressure and body attack all three times they fought. In their second and third fights, in a bit of irony, Ali actually out-toughed Frazier more than he out-boxed him.

Joe Frazier was a tireless non-stop aggressor who made Ali miss and then made him pay every time they faced each other. To fight the swarming style in which Frazier fought, a fighter has to be in spectacular condition, and Joe was a monster when it came to being in condition. He was one of the few fighters in history who actually got stronger and better as the bout progressed. On March 8, 1971 Joe Frazier was better prepared mentally, physically and stylistically for Muhammad Ali than any other fighter who has entered the ring for a big fight. Joe's intense pace took a lot out of Ali and that's why Muhammad only won one round legitimately after the 10th round, and that was the 14th. And that may have been the case against vintage Ali of 1964-67 just the same. Some observers and fans forget that George Chuvalo, who wasn't as aggressive, fast or powerful as Frazier, nor could he cut the ring off half as good, had success forcing Ali to the ropes and corners while working over his body in 1966. Sure, sometimes Ali went there on his own, but that was because he needed to rest and it was easier to allow Chuvalo to whack him to the body than it was to use himself up physically trying to move away. And that applied three-fold when he fought Frazier in 1971.

If you think about it, Ali really never solved Joe's style. During their rematch he had to resort to holding and tying up a less formidable Frazier behind his neck as a defensive tactic and that resulted in a close decision win for Ali. After their final meeting, the "Thrilla In Manila," Ali said due to Frazier coming after him non-stop, it was the closest thing to dying that he ever experienced in the ring. Ali was so tired that he collapsed in his corner after Joe's trainer Eddie Futch prevented Frazier from coming out for the 15th round due to him not being able to see because both of his eyes were nearly swollen shut.

What has been overlooked during the many years since is how great a fighter Ali was the night he met Frazier for the first time. He was more experienced and physically stronger than the Ali who beat Sonny Liston in 1964, and less ring worn at 29 than he would be at almost 33 when he defeated George Foreman in 1974. Frazier beat a great version of Ali in 1971 and there's no way to get around that. Ali didn't do what he needed to or wanted to because Frazier prevented him from doing it. Ali didn’t go into the bout wanting to fight flatfooted or with his back to the ropes, it’s just that he didn't have a choice. No, it wasn't easy for Joe and there's a great case that he was never the same fighter again due to the bout being so tough and closely contested.

Yes, Muhammad Ali is the greatest heavyweight of all time, but in all honesty, I'm not sure any version of him that I ever saw, would've defeated "Smokin" Joe on Monday night March 8, 1971. I also have reservations as to whether Ali would've defeated Frazier the first time they fought regardless of when it took place. And that's because Ali wouldn't have been prepared to be roughed up and forced to fight with his back to the ropes or in one of the four ring corners as Frazier made him. Once he experienced fighting Frazier the first time, he had a better read on what he was in for, but Ali still endured a bad going over to the head and body in their two subsequent fights that he won.

Joe Frazier was the victor in the biggest fight of all time, and Muhammad Ali came in second place. Frazier was at his brilliant best and refused to be denied victory. If you chose to rank Ali above Frazier historically, which I do, that's fair. However, denying Frazier his due credit and making excuses as to why Ali lost is dishonest and simply denying the obvious! It’s very plausible that no other heavyweight in fistic history would’ve bettered Ali that night……… other than the one who did.

Frank Lotierzo can be contacted at GlovedFist@Gmail.com

45 Years Later, Joe Frazier Still Doesn't Get Full Credit for Winning the Fight of the Century

Ezzard Charles is #1: Ranking The Modern Light-Heavyweight Greats

By Thomas Hauser

Ranking great fighters from different eras, when done seriously, is a daunting task. It’s easy to sit down and put together a shoot-from-the-hip list. But that doesn’t do justice to the fighters.

In recent years, I’ve sought to quantify ring greatness in a credible way. I’ve compiled lists of great champions who reigned at 135, 147, and 160 pounds and matched them against each other in round-robin tournaments with the results of each fight being predicted by a panel of boxing industry experts.

This time, it’s modern 175-pound greats.

The light-heavyweights chosen for the tournament in alphabetical order are Ezzard Charles, Billy Conn, Bob Foster, Roy Jones, Sergey Kovalev, Archie Moore, Matthew Saad Muhammad, and Michael Spinks.

Six of these fighters tested the heavyweight waters in a meaningful way. Charles and Spinks claimed the legitimate heavyweight championship of the world. Jones bested John Ruiz for the WBA belt. Conn fought Joe Louis twice. Moore vied for the title against Rocky Marciano and Floyd Patterson. Foster fought Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali.

Charles never won the light-heavyweight title. But he’s included in tournament because many people believe he was at his best at 175 pounds. Here, I should note that Charles fought Archie Moore three times and won each time.

I didn’t include fighters who plied their trade prior to the mid-1930s because there’s not enough film footage available to properly evaluate them. Where Sergey Kovalev is concerned; his proponents have complained that none of today’s elite fighters will fight him. Now is his chance.

The panelists were asked to assume for each hypothetical fight that both fighters were at the point in their respective careers when they were able to make 175 pounds and capable of duplicating their best 175-pound performance. One can look to side issues such as same-day weigh-ins versus day-before weigh-ins. And there’s a difference between going twelve rounds as opposed to fifteen. But at the end of the day, either a fighter is very good, great, or the greatest.

Twenty-six experts participated in the rankings process. Listed alphabetically, the panelists were:

Trainers: Teddy Atlas, Pat Burns, Naazim Richardson, and Don Turner

Media: Al Bernstein, Ron Borges, Norm Frauenheim, Jerry Izenberg, Harold Lederman, Paulie Malignaggi, Dan Rafael, and Michael Rosenthal

Matchmakers: Eric Bottjer, Don Elbaum, Bobby Goodman, Brad Goodman, Ron Katz, Mike Marchionte, Russell Peltz, and Bruce Trampler

Historians: Craig Hamilton, Bob Mee, Clay Moyle, Adam Pollack, Randy Roberts, and Mike Tyson

If each of the eight fighters in the tournament had fought the other seven, there would have been 28 fights. And there were 26 panelists. Thus, 728 fight predictions were entered into the data base. Fighters were awarded one point for each predicted win and a half-point for each predicted draw (too close to call). A perfect score would have been 182 points.

One matchmaker said that he never saw Moore, Charles, or Conn fight and didn’t feel comfortable predicting outcomes for their matches based on film footage. A weighted average from the other electors was used to fill in the fights at issue in his tournament grid.

In the end, Ezzard Charles was the clear choice for #1.

The final rankings and point totals are:

Ezzard Charles 156 points

Archie Moore 120

Roy Jones 104.5

Bob Foster 103.5

Michael Spinks 88

Billy Conn 66

Sergey Kovalev 48

Matthew Saad Muhammad 42

Sixteen of the 26 panelists thought that Bob Foster would have beaten Roy Jones. Nine picked Jones, while one said the match-up was too close to call. But Jones’s record against four of the other six fighters in the tournament was superior to Foster’s. That gave Roy a one-point edge in the final rankings.

Thirteen of the 26 panelists thought that Charles would have won all of his fights. Four thought that Jones would have prevailed in all seven of his bouts. One elector gave Michael Spinks a perfect score.

Among the comments made by electors were:

“The old guys were better boxers. The new guys are better athletes. It’s called boxing, isn’t it?”

“There are some big punchers in this tournament. But it took Rocky Marciano 23 rounds to knock Ezzard Charles out, so I don’t think any of these guys would have done it . . . Moore had a greater career at 175 pounds than Charles did. But Charles had his number . . . I hate to pick against Archie Moore at 175 pounds. But I can’t rewrite history, so I’ll pick Charles over Moore.”

“Archie Moore didn’t have the best chin in the world, but he knew how to protect it and he knew how to disarm punchers . . . No modern-day fighter beats Archie Moore at 175-pounds. He knew all the tricks, and fighters today don’t know those tricks . . . I know Charles beat Moore three times. But a fighter has to prove himnself every time. On Moore’s best night, I’m going with Moore.”

“Jones is the most athletically-gifted one in the group. He would have given all of the others trouble . . . The question about Roy is his chin. He’d be beating a lot of these guys until he got hit. Then, who knows . . . Roy wouldn’t have been able to fight these guys with his hands behind his back.”

“Some of these fighters – especially Jones and Foster - had questionable chins. And all of them could whack. So the guys with questionable chins could have gotten knocked out at any point.”

“I don’t care who you were. If you weighed 175 pounds and Bob Foster hit you on the chin, you were in trouble . . . Foster lost to some great fighters. How many great fighters did he beat?”

“People don’t realize how clever Michael Spinks was. He was old-school in a lot of ways.”

“Billy Conn fought 76 times. He got stopped by some guy right after he turned pro. And the only fighter who knocked him out after that was Joe Louis. Most of the guys on your list could punch. But none of them could punch as hard as Joe Louis . . . Billy Conn had great footwork. He knew how to control distance with his legs, and his legs were great. Styles make fights, and Conn had the style to beat a lot of these guys . . . Conn weighed in at 169 pounds and was ahead of Joe Louis on the scorecards after twelve rounds.”

“Kovalev hasn’t shown that he’s ready for this level of competition yet.”

“I love Matthew Saad Muhammad. He was the most courageous fighter I‘ve ever seen, but I don’t see him doing well in this tournament. He took what he had to take and always came back punching. But he was too easy to hit, and I don’t think he could have taken the punishment that these guys were capable of handing out . . . Saad Muhammad was life and death with opponents who weren’t nearly as good as the fighters on this list.”

“They’re in good company; all of them.”

Charts #1 and #2 contain underlying statistical data from the tournament.

Chart #1 shows that the trainers, matchmakers, media representatives, and historians all ranked Charles in the #1 slot. There was a divergence of opinion after that.

Chart #2 shows how the panelists thought each fighter would have fared against the other seven.

INSERT CHARTS HERE

Thomas Hauser can be reached by email at thauser@rcn.com. His most recent book (A Hurting Sport: An Inside Look at Another Year in Boxing) was published by the University of Arkansas Press.

Ezzard Charles is #1: Ranking The Modern Light-Heavyweight Greats

Arum offers olive leaf!!

We were just talking about this. The ultra savvy and pragmatic Bob Arum just released a video on FightHype explaining his desire to do away with the cold war and to start doing business with AL Haymon. This is fantastic if the Haymon camp is open to the idea. Arum floated the suggestion of placing newly minted star Jesse Vargas in with the solid meat and potatoes grinder, Danny Garcia.

Variety is always better than watching Pac vs Bradley #5 or Rios vs Alvarodo #4.
I personally would like to see full on "league" competition.
But I'd settle for the above mentioned icebreaker,.... Make it Happen.

Arum offers olive leaf!!

Congrats to Lucas Browne, but let's not forget Australia's Uncrowned Heavyweight Champion

Lucas Browne went into enemy territory and got off the deck to claim a piece (okay, a little shard) of the world heavyweight title. He now owns the distinction of being the first heavyweight titlist from Australia.

Congrats to Browne who showed a lot of grit, but let's not forget Australia' first great heavyweight, Peter Jackson, who undoubtedly would have beat Lucas Browne to the punch (pun intended) if John L. Sullivan hadn't drawn the color line.

Jackson was born in St. Croix in what was then the Danish West Indies, but arrived in Australia as a schoolboy and had his early fights in Sydney. There was a lot of hooey written about him, but one fact that is absolutely true is that he engaged future heavyweight champion Jim Corbett in a fight that lasted four hours and three minutes -- and he did it with one of his legs swaddled in bandages, having injured his leg several weeks before the match when a carriage he was riding in overturned. Jackson was favored to beat Corbett, notwithstanding his physical ailment. For the record, the fight was stopped by the referee and declared a draw, by which time, it appears, most in the audience had fallen asleep.

The prominent boxing historian Tracy Callis wrote "Jackson was more scientific than Jack Johnson, was faster and smoother than Joe Louis but hit just as hard and possessed footwork similar to Muhammad Ali."

I'm not willing to go that far, but "Prince Peter" was obviously a great talent. He got knocked out in his last two fights, but by then he was in his late thirties and likely already afflicted by the tuberculosis that would kill him at age 40.

Congrats to Lucas Browne, but let's not forget Australia's Uncrowned Heavyweight Champion

"MMA is bull***...boxing is the ultimate combat sport," says Tyson Fury

This was Fury's reaction to Conor McGregor's loss last night at the big UFC show in Las Vegas. One would think that Fury would feel a kinship to McGregor -- they're both Irishmen -- but it appears that Fury's ego is too big to allow another big dog to share his kennel.

Say what you will about Fury, but he's brilliant at using social media to keep his name in the news.

The UFC lost their two biggest stars last night when McGregor and Holly Holm were both defeated, but strictly from an odds standpoint, these weren't exactly shocking upsets. McGregor and Holm opened in the vicinity of 7/2 favorites in man-to-man betting.

"MMA is bull***...boxing is the ultimate combat sport," says Tyson Fury

Canelo-Khan Fight Inspired by Trump, says De La Hoya

By David A. Avila

LOS ANGELES-Blame it on Donald Trump.

Mexico’s Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (46-1-1, 32 KOs) will meet England’s Amir “King” Khan (31-3, 19 KOs) for the WBC middleweight title on May 7 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. HBO pay-per-view will televise.

Oscar De La Hoya says he was inspired by Republican presidential candidate Trump - who does not want Muslims to enter the U.S. and wants to build a wall to keep Mexican immigrants from crossing – in sparking the idea for the match.

“Thank you Trump,” said De La Hoya with a smile.

The president of Golden Boy Promotions had been seeking a willing partner to share the spotlight on Cinco de Mayo weekend with “Canelo” Alvarez. It had to be someone with recognition and respect.

One day while on Twitter, the thought hit him as he looked at political mishmash on the social media outlet and also ran across Khan commenting to others on the site about his own boxing future.

“I was sitting on the couch wondering what could make the biggest event,” De La Hoya said when the idea hit him. “We like thinking outside the box. When has Amir Khan been in a dull fight?”

De La Hoya said he immediately messaged Khan through Twitter and was told by the British prizefighter to give him a little time. Two days later he accepted the fight with Alvarez.

For De La Hoya it’s all about building an event interesting enough to lure fans to Las Vegas or to shell out money for the pay-per-view.

Alvarez was able to attract several thousand fans to Universal City Walk. The first arrivals waited four hours, from 2 p.m. until 6 p.m. on Wednesday, for the fighters to arrive. With Mexican flags in tow and many adorned with Canelo t-shirts, the fans crowded into the staging area anxious to see their hero.

“Ninety-nine percent of the people are here for Canelo,” said Khan, 29.

He wasn’t far off in his estimate.

Post Cotto Win

The Mexican redhead just captured the most significant victory in his career when he defeated Puerto Rico’s Miguel Cotto last November.

Most sports fans are unaware of the significance of Alvarez’s victory. With the win over Puerto Rico’s best fighter, the Mexican pugilist follows in the footsteps of others like Salvador Sanchez, Julio Cesar Chavez and Ricardo “Finito” Lopez. For Mexican fans, beating a Puerto Rican super star is one of the greatest achievements a Mexican fighter can attain.

Now it’s time for Alvarez to build on that accomplishment and Khan is the first step.

But as De La Hoya kept reminding, the first step could be a misstep.

“Anything can happen,” De La Hoya said. “Amir Khan could throw one of his vicious body punches.”

Is it a mismatch?

Khan does not think so.

“I wouldn’t take this fight if I didn’t think I could win,” said Khan, who had been criticized for not accepting a fight with fellow British welterweight Kell Brook. “This fight has me in the role of the underdog. That’s really motivation for me.”

Few contest that Khan is one of the speediest prizefighters in the world today above 135 pounds. For years his blinding combinations have bewildered and pummeled opponents throughout his amateur and professional career.

But can he defeat Alvarez who is accustomed to fighting near 155 pounds, the bare minimum weight allowed for a middleweight fight?

“I’m naturally a 147-pound welterweight,” admitted Khan. “This fight at middleweight could not work out for me so well.”

Canelo Alvarez was not too bold about his own capabilities. Almost as if he did not want to set himself up for absolute failure.

“People can say whatever they want, that’s my problem,” said a testy Alvarez, 25, when asked about fighting the thinner looking Khan. “I will prepare hard for Amir Khan; I’m not going to underestimate him.”

Enough intrigue remains for fans to want to see this fight. Also, for most fans in the Southwest region it’s an opportunity to crack open some beers and celebrate Cinco de Mayo while watching a prizefight.

For De La Hoya it all fits perfectly.

“Canelo’s Mexican and Khan is Muslim,” said De La Hoya about Trump’s sideways contribution to the matching. “Let me just say, let's thank Donald Trump for making this fight happen because we are getting a Mexican and Muslim together to have this fight on Cinco de Mayo!”

Canelo-Khan Fight Inspired by Trump, says De La Hoya

Jessie Vargas Promises to Bust Up Sadam Ali

Boxers are expected to observe a certain protocol at media confabs. Promising to inflict great mayhem on their opponent is considered obligatory. Sometimes these declarations are more than loosely scripted bombast; sometimes they are sincere.

With that as a preamble, here are fresh quotes from former WBA super lightweight champion Jessie Vargas who opposes Sadam Ali for the vacant WBO World welterweight title on Saturday at the Washington, DC Armory in the main supporting bout to the heavyweight tilt between Luis Ortiz and Anthony Thompson:

"I am going to bust up anyone who gets in my way....I am going to make a statement while winning the fight. I have a new team in my corner starting with my new chief trainer Dewey Cooper who grew up with me (in Las Vegas). He has developed a technique which gives me more firepower. We are not looking at this fight going to the scorecards."

Vargas is 26-1 (9 KOs). His lone setback came in his most recent fight, a 12-round contest with Timothy Bradley that ended in controversy when referee Pat Russell inadvertently waived the fight off with seven seconds remaining in the final round on the mistaken assumption that he had heard the timekeeper ring the bell. Shortly before the stoppage, Vargas put Bradley on queer street with a vicious overhand right.

Vargas finds himself in the role of the underdog vs. the undefeated Ali (22-0, 13 KOs), a former U.S. Olympian from Brooklyn. For more on Vargas-Ali, check out Miguel Ituratte's interview with Ray Flores on the Boxing Channel.

Jessie Vargas Promises to Bust Up Sadam Ali

WBA Names Rigondeaux Frampton's Mandatory

The World Boxing Association has ordered WBA Super Bantamweight champion Carl Frampton to face Guillermo Rigondeaux of Cuba by June 27th.

The WBA's own website released the news late on March 1st, in a release called "A Tale of Two Jackals", a reference to the nickname shared by both Frampton and Rigondeaux. The WBA considers the undefeated Rigondeaux (16-0) there "Champion in Recess". Rigondeaux held the WBA's "Super World" title until his inactivity saw the WBA change his status.

The WBA's own bi-laws state that a "Champion in Recess" is named when "a Champion is unavailable to timely defend the title due to injury or other legal impediment".

Of course, Rigondeaux is making his debut in front of the English audience this upcoming March 12th when he faces James Dickens (21-1) at the Echo Arena in Liverpool on a card promoted by Frank Warren. Rigondeaux is expected to defeat Dickens, which would leave him open to making the fight with Frampton in June. Dickens could play spoiler, but the 24 year old has exclusively regional experience going in against the all-world Rigondeaux.

The other proposal Frampton will face is from his American promoters who will want him to move up in weight and face Leo Santa Cruz.

It will be interesting to see if the Santa Cruz offer and the appeal of the American market are enough to convince Frampton to leave home. With the state of boxing in America, it is even unclear if Frampton would not just make more money staying at home to fight.

Then there is the fact that Frampton may find Rigondeaux a more appealing match style -wise than the bigger Santa Cruz. For all his prowess, Rigondeaux is 35 years old and he lists at 5'5 tall, the same as Frampton. Frampton defeated Quigg on February 27th, but Quigg's length and height troubled Frampton in the later rounds, and by almost anybody's eye test, Santa Cruz will be considered a superior figthter to Quigg.

The TBRB.org Boxing Rankings has Rigondeaux rated as their Super Bantamweight titleholder while Frampton is ranked first behind him. Perhaps Frampton has unfinished business there before moving up in weight class.

WBA Names Rigondeaux Frampton's Mandatory