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Best of 2012 Divisions, Champions & Pound-For-Pound Links and Info Upcoming Televised Fights - Full Schedule at Bad Left Hook Friday, March 8th - Magomed Abdusalamov vs Victor Bisbal (ESPN2) Saturday, Mach 9th - Bernard Hopkins vs Tavoris Cloud (HBO) Saturday, March 9th - Darren Barker vs TBA (Sky Sports) Saturday, March 9th - Juan Carlos Salgado vs Argenis Mendez (Televisa) Saturday, March 16th - Timothy Bradley vs Ruslan Provodnikov (HBO) Friday, March 22nd - Don George vs David Lopez (ESPN2) Saturday, March 23rd - Arthur Abraham vs Robert Stieglitz (ARD) Saturday, March 23rd - James DeGale vs TBA (WealthTV, Channel 5) Friday, March 29th - Grzegorz Proksa vs Osumanu Adama (ESPN2) Saturday, March 30th - Brandon Rios vs Mike Alvarado II (HBO) Saturday, March 30th - Tony Bellew vs Isaac Chilemba (Sky Sports) Saturday, March 30th - Gennady Golovkin vs Nobuhiro Ishida (TBA)  2012 was a really good year for the sport of boxing in a lot of ways. We saw boxing finally return to network TV, witnessed the rising careers of new, young and talented fighters, got plenty of elite matches contested at the top level of the sport, and felt those emotions of shock, surprise and awe that only a knockout can deliver. Even considering the slow times, controversies, travesties and tragedies that are ever-present in boxing (and 2012 had plenty of them), it was a year to celebrate. Since I’m usually pretty lazy making these threads and keeping them updated, I’m doing something a little bigger this time around, to memorialize the last year of the sport and set up some of the next year. There’s a lot I want to talk about and highlight, and so this OP will have a lot of discussion that I hope people weigh in on. If you’re new to the sport or haven’t followed it in a while, this will be a post all about the biggest current fights and fighters. Boxing is a sport soaked in history and glory, and its past always overshadows the present. But even today boxers are making history, putting on good fights and displaying new talents and wrinkles that would have stymied the legends of thirty years ago. The sport isn’t as popular as it used to be, but it still has that same charm and magic as it did when Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson were heavyweight champions. That magic may be harder to find, but it’s still there, and there’s still nothing like it out there today. --- Upcoming Events  Saturday, March 9th HBO Bernard "The Executioner" Hopkins vs Tavoris Cloud - light heavyweight (175 lb) IBF title fight Keith Thurman vs Jan Zaveck - welterweight (147 lb) The oldest man to ever win a world title, Bernard Hopkins is attempting to break his own record this week by going for Tavoris Cloud's belt. Can he do it? Uhh, I'm not sure, to be honest. It's hard to count out the 48-year-old legend, whose career has been full of unexpected turnaround performances just when people have started counting him out, but it's also not like Hopkins is getting any younger. The crafty veteran fighter's greatest strength has always been his ability to out-trick and out-rough his way to a dirty but comfortable victory. His controlling style keeps Hopkins competitive even against faster, stronger and younger opponents, provided he can get in their head enough to throw them from their game. Hopkins couldn't quite get it going against "Bad" Chad Dawson, either in their abrupt first fight or their sleepy rematch, but Tavoris Cloud isn't Chad Dawson, either. Cloud's last fight came against Gabriel Campillo a year ago, and in that fight he was largely inactive and allowed himself to get outworked by Campillo. Though he "won" via decision, most people thought Cloud robbed Campillo heavily. Cloud's best shot at winning is simply to exploit his age and make Hopkins have to work hard to stay even, but I don't know if he is a busy enough fighter to give Hopkins problems. He's a good enough boxer (even mediocre boxers like Jermain Taylor have given Hopkins good fights) but if he doesn't up his workrate here I'll expect Hopkins to get in his kitchen, clinch it up and do some shoe-shining on the inside and against the ropes to gut out an ugly decision. Unfortunately the Arreola-Stiverne undercard fight got rescheduled, so the co-feature here instead showcases Keith Thurman, an exciting young welterweight prospect that HBO has been developing lately. He's a thumping puncher who likes mixing it up and ending fights early. He takes a step up in competition against Jan Zaveck, an experienced former welterweight titleholder. Zaveck is a good enough fighter to give Andre Berto issues before that fight was stopped, and he could likely do the same for the still-young Thurman. Truth be told I imagine most people will expect Thurman to make it through the gatekeeper Zaveck, but I can't help but wonder if HBO is doing Thurman a disservice by pushing him so quickly.  Saturday, March 16th HBO Timothy "Desert Storm" Bradley vs Ruslan Provodnikov - welterweight (147 lb) WBO title fight Jessie Vargas vs Wale "Lucky Boy" Omotoso - welterweight (147 lb) After being out of the ring for nearly a year since his controversial victory over Manny Pacquiao, Tim Bradley finally makes his return. Bradley and Top Rank struggled to get him back in the ring, originally planning for December but eventually pushing it all the way back to March. At this point I think Tim just wants to fight anybody. He's said he would like to fight much more often, at least 4 times in 2013. The issue may be that Top Rank doesn't have too many named welterweights for him to fight, compared to Golden Boy's roster. Ruslan Provodnikov is quite the step down from fighting Pac-Man, a scrappy fighter who has made a bit of a name for himself in exciting Friday Night Fights matches. Not too many people are going to pick him to win against the adaptable, technically solid Bradley. However, Provodnikov does have a puncher's chance, and he'll certainly be motivated to win his highest profile fight to date. I expect this fight to be very one-sided in favor of Bradley, but I also expect a lot of activity and perhaps even some prolonged brawling, similar to Bradley's fight with Lamont Peterson. The co-feature is an intriguing clash of two undefeated welterweight prospects. Jessie Vargas was recently acquired from Floyd Mayweather's promotional company, and it's a little surprising to see Top Rank putting him in a tough fight so early. Vargas hasn't really shown himself to be a special fighter yet, so perhaps this is Top Rank's way of finding out what he has. His opponent, Wale "Lucky Boy" Omotoso, is a Nigerian boxer who learned to fight on the streets. He's a hard-hitting KO artist but like Vargas he is stepping up his level of competition here. From what I know of both these fighters I would favor Omotoso to win here, but it's hard to tell with two prospects who are both stepping up. The Ninth Layer fucked around with this message at Mar 8, 2013 around 00:25 |
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 My 2012 Best of Boxing Awards These are all my opinion, feel free to dispute them and post your own! I chose recipients of these awards primarily on the event’s significance to the sport. There may have been more explosive knockouts than the one I chose for KO of the Year, for example, but I chose what I felt made for the biggest of the year. --- Fighter of the Year Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire (31-1-0, 20KO) - super bantamweight (122 lb) world champion  These days it’s rare for elite fighters to step into the ring more than twice a year, at least against other top-ranked competition. Nonito Donaire was an exception, and managed to fight four times this year, all against guys ranked among the top ten of their division. Though he didn’t always look so flashy in matches against Wilfredo Vazquez Jr., Jeffrey Mathebula, or Toshiaki Nishioka, he still dominated those three men in the ring, and then finished the year off with a quick dispatching of Mexican legend Jorge Arce. An established top-five pound-for-pounder, Donaire has set a strong example in boxing by electing for stringent random drug testing 24/7/365 just for himself, leaving little doubt that his skills and accomplishments in the square circle are all-natural. There are a lot of ways that Donaire could end up going in 2013. He’s paid his dues as a hard-working boxer with proven talent and gained plenty of exposure by fighting so often on HBO, so it’s time to set up a big fight for him at super bantamweight (122 lb). Donaire’s expressed an interest in fighting both Abner Mares and Guillermo Rigondeaux, the other belt-holders at super bantamweight, and they would both be stern challengers for Donaire. Abner Mares made his name by winning Showtime’s four-man super bantamweight tournament, and winning it roughly, with plenty of low blows uncalled for by the referee, and it hasn’t been the last time he won a fight that way. Guillermo Rigondeaux meanwhile is a Cuban amateur legend, regarded as one of the best amateurs of all time with over 400 fights and a win streak going as far back as 1998. A fight with Mares would be difficult to make, as Donaire is promoted by Top Rank and Mares is promoted by Golden Boy, and the two companies aren’t on the best of terms. Rigondeaux is a Top Rank fighter, though, and recent reports suggest the company will set him up against Donaire in April. Donaire has other options too, if those fights can’t be made. His original breakout win came when he was fighting heavy-handed Vic Darchinyan and managed to knock the “Raging Bull” out with just one punch, opening the world’s eyes to the “Filipino Flash.” It’s been some years since, but Darchinyan has always been vocal about wanting the rematch, and it’s possible he could maneuver himself into that one with another impressive performance. Donaire is no stranger to moving up in weight, and could always choose to move up to featherweight (126 lb). He could make for some good fights with Jhonny Gonzalez, Orlando Salido, or JuanMa Lopez there, and would likely he’d be the favorite in all of them. He’s even suggested taking on Chris John, an undefeated fighter who has held onto his featherweight title since 2004 If Donaire’s smart, he’ll try to make the Rigondeaux and Mares fights happen first. He’s at the point in his career where one big win of a 50/50 or even 60/40 fight will mark him as a huge talent. If he clears out both Mares and Rigondeaux, and he does it convincingly, he will have a strong argument for being the best fighter in any division south of welterweight. He may lose those fights too, but even losses can bring opportunity if they’re hard-fought. It could be that Donaire may find his career rival in Mares or Rigondeaux. In my opinion, Abner Mares is the fight to make. I think Donaire has the style to beat him, and he has the leverage to prevent Mares from exploiting some bad officiating. Mares-Donaire would be a dream fight for Top Rank and Golden Boy to make, if they can put aside their feud long enough to make it happen. If the Filipino Flash does end up fighting Rigondeaux next, he’ll need to bring some great conditioning and sharpness, and perhaps a fair helping of grit, to overcome the savvy Cuban counterpuncher.  Honorable Mention: Danny Garcia (25-0, 16KO) - jr. welterweight (140 lb) world champon Danny Garcia was pretty close to this winning this award for me, and he could have gotten it with a better win at the end of the year than an unnecessary rematch with Erik Morales. I thought he made a good name for himself beating Erik Morales the first time, as it was a win against a name guy who was on a comeback, if a somewhat tepid one. Then Danny Garcia did something I didn’t expect at all: he stopped Amir Khan inside of four rounds. It was a big win that legitimized him as perhaps the best man at jr. welterweight (140 lb). He followed that knockout up with a blasting knockout of Erik Morales, but it was a joke of a rematch in which Erik Morales tested positive before the fight and looked awful, and where no belts were on the line. Garcia plans to take on Zab Judah next and it’s a fight he should be favored to win, if not a complete walkover, but there are better opponents out there for him and he could make some big fights with Lucas Matthysse or an Amir Khan rematch. --- Knockout of the Year Juan Manuel Marquez KO6 Manny Pacquiao  It took four fights and two sledgehammer counter-rights to do it, but Juan Manuel Marquez finally got his win over Manny Pacquiao, in a way that left no room for debate. The first two rounds saw a quick and aggressive Pacquiao outworking Marquez and getting away from him before the Mexican counterpuncher could hit him cleanly. That dynamic changed in the third round when Marquez feinted a lead uppercut and instead threw a vicious, unexpected and perfectly timed overhand right that connected and sent Pacquiao down to the canvas. It was the first time Pacquiao had (legitimately) been sent there in years, and it would not be the last. Pacquiao came back strong and reckless in the next few rounds, with a clear chip on his shoulder and the intention to knock Marquez out, and appeared to be taking the fight over. But in the last second of the sixth round, Juan Manuel Marquez again unleashed a perfect right hand, catching Pacquiao out of position with a shot he never saw coming. Pacquiao fell face-first onto the canvas and stayed there for a full minute, and the whole world wondered if Marquez had actually killed him. This was the kind of knockout that happens only a few times a decade: a one-punch KO of an elite fighter. Marquez left no dispute as to who won the fourth fight, and went a long way toward legitimizing his argument that he won the other three as well. He also undoubtedly secured his legacy as one of the greatest Mexican fighters to ever step into the square circle. Julio Cesar Chavez fought an absolute army of opponents, set numerous records for title fights and defenses, and reigned pound-for-pound lists for years. Juan Manuel Marquez has never accomplished any of those things, but he still managed something that makes him equally as great: he defined himself by the belief that he was better than an All-Time-Great in the making, and then he proved it with a single punch. For all the weight Marquez threw behind that shot, it had the weight of history as well. It was the perfect punch in every way, punctuating on one of the greatest stories in recent sports history. Juan Manuel Marquez had always felt overlooked among his featherweight countrymen and contemporaries Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales, who had an epic trilogy of their own in the early 2000s, and fought for recognition as a counterpuncher in a country that preferred gutsy warriors. When he stepped up to the world stage in 2004 against another elite featherweight, Manny Pacquiao, he was dropped to the canvas three times in the first round and had to fight his way back to a draw. Again he felt shut out of bigger opportunities as Pacquiao and Morales fought each other in a notable trilogy, and again he experienced a knockdown against Pacquiao in their 2008 rematch, losing on the scorecards by a hair. He chased Pacquiao for rematches up four weight classes in total, and still had to watch as Pacquiao grew into an international superstar. He fought in several grueling fights, including the 2009 Fight of the Year back-to-back with a match against Pacquiao’s press rival Floyd Mayweather (who was a hilarious physical mismatch for the smaller Marquez). Finally Marquez got the third fight he wanted against Pacquiao in 2011, made it through without getting knocked down, and even won most of the rounds clearly... yet he was robbed of the victory by the judges. With the fourth fight, he knew he would need an even bigger win, and so he set out to do it, and trained himself to knock Pacquiao out, a strategy that would backfire if he could not execute it. Indeed, it looked like the fight was going that way, but Juan Manuel found the perfect moment to make his mark, and he didn’t hesitate. The Pacquiao-Marquez story is probably not over. It’s almost a sure thing that the two boxers will fight again, and the fifth fight has been discussed for September.. It’s a good idea and I think everybody wants to see it, though opinions remain split on how competitive it will be. Plenty of Pacquiao fans still somehow think Marquez landed a lucky punch or two, and plenty of people besides them think that Pacquiao was looking sharp despite the shots Marquez caught him with. But Marquez has always insisted he’s had Pacquiao’s number, and it certainly looked like he still had it last December. I’m picking Marquez to win their fifth fight, but I think it will go to a decision unless it turns out Manny was seriously affected by that shot.  Honorable Mention: Randall Bailey KO11 Mike Jones This was not only a great knockout on a PPV undercard but one of the bigger upsets of the year too, in a year full of big upsets. Mike Jones had experienced problems against Jesus Soto-Karass in the past but had otherwise looked like a solid, if undistinguished and mediocre welterweight contender. Randall Bailey was largely regarded as a limited, one-punch fighter who had a big right hand and nothing else, and there was no reason for anyone to expect he would make good use of it against Jones. Yet he proved late in the fight that he could be quite effective with that right hand, and in the 11th round he sealed the deal and closed the show on Mike Jones. --- Upset of the Year Josesito Lopez TKO9 Victor Ortiz  There were a few other surprising results this year, but for me none topped Josesito Lopez spoiling Victor Ortiz’ road to a fight with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. A career junior welterweight (140 lb), Lopez jumped up seven pounds to welterweight to take on Ortiz in what almost everybody figured was a stay-busy fight for Vicious Victor. Nobody really expected the smaller Lopez to come at him strong and take the fight to Ortiz, but that’s exactly what he did. It was a great back-and-forth battle in a year full of them, with Lopez and Ortiz firing at each other and never giving an inch. As the fight progressed, it looked less and less likely that Ortiz would win the fight, let alone be able to recover in time for Alvarez in September. Josesito Lopez secured that position for himself by breaking Ortiz’ jaw late in the fight, forcing Victor and his corner to stop the fight. It was a stirring upset, and just one of several great fights we have seen around the welterweight (147 lb) and super welterweight (154 lb) divisions where two hungry young guys have scrapped it out for the chance to fight a big-name, big-money opponent. There are only a few boxers in the entire world who can command large crowds and pay-per-view buys, and most of them fight in one of those two divisions. Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather, and Canelo Alvarez have separated themselves from the rest of the pack by a wide margin, but the next level of fighters are not so greatly separated, and it only takes one big win over another contender to give a fighter enough exposure to be a PPV opponent. These second-tier fighters have extra incentive to win at all costs: if they do, they’re next in line for a big payday, even if it comes against a far superior fighter. Josesito Lopez distinguished himself by beating Victor Ortiz, and it was enough exposure to net him a shot at Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, a shot everyone knew he earned even if it was a huge mismatch both on paper and in practice. Victor Ortiz is no stranger to this kind of fight, having stayed just on the cusp of the elite level throughout his career, and neither is Andre Berto, the fighter who Ortiz fought in 2011in a move up to welterweight of his own. Ortiz had been criticized as a fighter with no heart and was underwritten by most hardcore boxing fans, while Berto was viewed as overpaid, overhyped, and without a significant win to define him. The match was figured to be a sort of “money-fight eliminator” where the winner would fight Floyd Mayweather, who had been inactive that year and still needed a good opponent. There wasn’t much excitement about the match, but come fight night both men gave it their all and it produced a modern boxing classic. Ortiz won with a gutsy performance and earned his big shot against Floyd Mayweather, although he made an embarrassment of himself in that fight. Victor Ortiz and Andre Berto both took similar “money fight eliminator” matches in 2012, and it turned out the same way for both of them. But they were all great fights in part because of how hungry the fighters were for the exposure and notoriety, as well as opportunity, that would come from victory. There may have been bigger upsets this year in terms of skill difference between fighters, but this was my pick because it’s a great lesson about the folly of looking past an opponent. Victor Ortiz was so focused on a September match with Saul Alvarez that he let himself forget about the man standing in his way, Josesito Lopez. Fighting is a sport where it can go one of two ways, and while there are plenty of factors that keep most matches from being 50-50 fights, there is still always a chance for anyone to win. It is also a sport of high stakes, where men battle for their livelihoods and for their futures, and will fight at all costs if the stakes are high enough. Whether those stakes are personal or financial, boxers make for great fights when they have something which motivates them to win no matter what the odds are against them.  Honorable Mention: Danny Garcia TKO4 Amir Khan Perhaps this one doesn’t look so surprising in hindsight, now that Danny Garcia has established himself as perhaps the best fighter at jr. welterweight (140).. At the time I thought it was really shocking, though. Amir Khan was coming off a loss against Lamont Peterson, but the loss was very close and somewhat controversial, and it was made more controversial when Peterson would later test positive for performance enhancing drugs. Danny Garcia had just won a title from Erik Morales, but hadn’t looked like a monster or anything in that one, so he seemed like a good opponent for Khan to fight, outclass, and get himself a win. It appeared to be going that way in the early rounds, as Khan used his superior speed to pick at Garcia, but Garcia quickly changed that in the third round, landing a strong counter punch to drop Khan, who barely made it out of the round. Garcia came out strong in the fourth round, and put Amir Khan down two more times, stopping the fight. It was a very unexpected and exciting ending, exposing Amir Khan’s recklessness as a real weakness in his gameplan and elevating Danny Garcia from titleholder to legitimate champion at jr. welterweight. --- Robbery of the Year Timothy Bradley SD12 Manny Pacquiao  There were plenty of bad decisions for me to pick from this year. Richard Abril, Gabriel Campillo, and Steve Cunningham were among the many boxers shafted by unfair decisions going to A-name fighters. Unfortunately, the sad fact of boxing is that these kind of decisions happen all the time. My pick for this year’s worst robbery instead came against the A-side fighter, in his established fighting hometown too. It was a decision that stunned almost everyone who saw it, and it ignited arguments among the boxing community and its casual followers. It even drew attention from U.S. senators who suggested boxing should be investigated for corruption. It’s definitely a fight I’d like to discuss in some detail. Coming into this as the world’s biggest Bradley fan (and possibly his only remaining fan), I thought Tim Bradley had a great shot at upsetting Manny Pacquiao. And indeed, he had a great opening round or two that saw him finding success behind the jab and a good workrate. However, as the fight entered the middle rounds it was Manny who began taking over with some good exchanges that sent Bradley reeling and regrouping, even looking as if he would finish Bradley in the fifth round. (Tim would later claim injuries in both feet as the fight progressed, taking his relied-upon movement away from him). In the second half of the fight, Bradley spent the early portions of rounds trying to chase down openings while keeping himself safe behind the jab, while Pacquiao took it easy until the last thirty seconds or so of every round, when he attempted to steal those rounds with eye-catching flurries and punches in bunches, Ali-style. At the time watching the fight and really looking for chances for Bradley to win, I thought it was a 9 rounds to 3 rounds kind of fight for Manny Pacquiao, with a lot of close rounds that could have gone either way, but probably not close enough for Bradley to have nicked them. When the cards were read aloud, even hearing 115-114 Pacquiao was a stunning score to hear. I immediately knew something was up, and when the 115-114 Bradley card was read, I knew that the unbelievable had happened. The last card read 115-114 Bradley, and it was clear that the judges had robbed Manny Pacquiao. Yet I didn’t feel it was a massive robbery at the time, and felt a lot of close rounds could have gone to Bradley and given him the fight. In my opinion, and having rewatched the fight, Bradley was driving the pace of the fight and actually looking to engage with Pacquiao, who mostly conserved energy until the last moments of rounds. Bradley probably won the first two minutes of a lot of the later rounds, while Pacquiao won those last minutes clearly. If I’m honest, rewatching the fight I have it 8 rounds to 4 for Manny Pacquiao. He deserved to win this fight. As a fan of Bradley’s I would like to say that he fairly won the fight, but I know he didn’t. So instead I’ll say first that this was still a closer fight than the people screaming “robbery!” would like to believe. But it’s also an important lesson about the ways a fight can go if left to the hands of judges. There’s no way to tell how anybody is going to see any kind of fight. Judges score fights, but they are also scoring a sport with established rules. It is their job to figure out who “won” a round, and even what “winning” a round means. Does Bradley’s driving the pace of the early two thirds of a round mean that he has secured the entire three minutes? Or is Pacquiao taking off those minutes as a tactic to gather energy to put the hurt on Bradley later in the round? It’s tough to know what the judges might have seen and liked. Boxing is a fickle sport, and there’s only one sure way to win a fight, as Juan Manuel Marquez proved later in the year.  Honorable Mention: Tavoris Cloud SD12 Gabriel Campillo This happened pretty early in the year but it’s still stuck with me as one of the worst decisions I’ve seen. I sort of figured that Tavoris Cloud, who is promoted by Don King, would get the decision by default, and knew little about Gabriel Campillo. As the fight progressed, I was really impressed by the combinations Campillo was throwing and landing. He didn’t seem to be throwing especially hard shots, but they were clean, eye-catching, fast and significant. Tavoris Cloud looked lethargic in comparison, throwing one or two punches at a time and never with any real conviction. In the end Cloud was given a split decision despite having done almost nothing to win the fight. Campillo was an exciting fighter who deserved to win against Cloud and get bigger opportunities, but instead he was shafted by the Don King judges. --- Event of the Year & Round of the Year Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez vs Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. - Round 12  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfqV-xejW2M This was a huge fight for me, probably my most anticipated of 2012. The build-up was great, the fight itself happened at the perfect time in the careers of both Sergio Martinez and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., and the main event managed to deliver on all the anticipation and then some. The world champion of the middleweight division (160 lb) Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez chased after Chavez Jr. for nearly a year and a half, demanding a chance to fight for Chavez’ unearned WBC middleweight title, the one Martinez had rightfully won from Kelly Pavlik and defended against Paul Williams. When he finally got that chance, he put in a boxing clinic against Chavez Jr, boxing circles around him, taunting him and occasionally walking him down. It was a cathartic, uncompetitive rear end-beating, and Martinez savored it — a bit too much, it turned out, as Chavez Jr. rallied in the twelfth round and dropped Martinez to the canvas. With the fight coming to a close, Martinez got up shakily and was clearly tired and hurt. But instead of running or grabbing Chavez Jr. to survive the round, he dug deep and traded fire with the young challenger. He looked ready to go down at any time, but Sergio Martinez fought his way out of that round like a champion, and won the fight by a wide margin on the scorecards. It was a fantastic ending that I think made almost everybody glad they bought this fight. I’m not sure exactly how well this fight did PPV-wise (my best googling tells me it did 475k buys) but by all accounts it was a big success for a main event that didn’t feature Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather. There was a sort of atmosphere around Chavez Jr. and Martinez, a momentum behind the match that had been built up in the previous year and a half. Both boxers were opposites in a lot of ways, from their outspoken personalities and contrasting backgrounds to their accomplishments and strategies in the ring. Two years ago there was no doubt as to who the better fighter was; Chavez Jr. was a joke who had yet to fight anybody at middleweight, and Martinez was fresh off knocking out elite fighter Paul Williams in one punch. They both kept fighting often on HBO and I kept telling people about these guys, at first about their own exploits and reputations, and then about their developing rivalry. HBO invested a lot in both boxers, kept them active, and developed them smartly. Martinez took fights against skilled boxers to keep himself established as a pound-for-pound athletic talent and true middleweight champion, and Chavez Jr. took proving-ground fights where he could assert his size while improving his technique and slowly emerging as a contender. When this fight was announced for Mexican Independence Day weekend, one of the biggest weekends in boxing, it felt like the perfect moment for it to finally happen. This was a big legacy win for Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez, and could be enough to make him a serious draw on his own. There’s no underestimating the Mexican audience, and undoubtedly Julio Cesar Chavez Jr’s name sold a lot of PPV buys, bur Martinez definitely won himself some fans by fighting his way out of the twelfth round. It was perhaps the most dramatic round of the entire year, one that Martinez was lucky to survive on his feet. Certainly his win gives him a lot of leverage in the middleweight division, where he now has free reign. He’s already signed to fight in April against Martin Murray, a solid middleweight challenger, and is already talking trash for the Chavez Jr. rematch. Opinion is pretty divided on a Martinez-Chavez Jr. rematch, but I’m of the opinion that the rematch should happen and that it would be a good fight. Chavez Jr. fought a lethargic and uninspired fight the first time but found a spark of success in the the final round, and he knows that spark is waiting there for him again. Sergio Martinez knows it too, and will probably try to fight with more caution, but he may give Chavez Jr. more confidence and breathing room in the ring by doing so. Judging by the 24/7 footage of Chavez Jr. sleeping in and loafing around, and by Chavez Jr. testing positive post-fight for marijuana, he probably didn’t have the most disciplined training camp. I would expect his father (at the very least) to make sure the same embarrassment doesn’t happen twice . I would still have Martinez winning the rematch, but in my opinion Chavez Jr. breathed a lot of life into the rivalry and asked enough questions of Martinez in that twelfth round to make a rematch interesting and competitive.  Honorable Mention (Event): Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr. vs Miguel Cotto You could probably say that Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez put on a better event than Mayweather-Cotto turned out to be, but in my opinion this was a good fight for my money considering I knew exactly what I was getting. Miguel Cotto was never expected to win this fight or even be particularly competitive, and the general sentiment was that this fight was a couple years too late, but it was still an intriguing matchup between two fighters who had circled around each other through their careers. Floyd Mayweather remained respectful of Cotto during the build-up, perhaps somewhat humbled by his upcoming incarceration, and came to fight night fully prepared for Miguel Cotto. For his part, the Puerto Rican challenger took the fight to Mayweather in a fashion that no one had in years, swarming Floyd on the inside and pressuring him relentlessly. Mayweather’s defense was always one step ahead, of course, but Cotto did better against him than any recent Mayweather opponent, and made for the most exciting show against Mayweather since perhaps Floyd’s first fight with Jose Luis Castillo.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQea8guo0Lo Honorable Mention (Round): Orlando Salido vs Juan Manuel Lopez II, Round 9 I had high hopes for this fight but even I was blown away by how it ended. Juan Manuel Lopez, considered one of Puerto Rico’s most promising boxing prospects, was hyped for years as a sensational boxer-puncher, and it was a huge upset when Mexican brawler Orlando Salido managed to lure him into a firefight and stop him. It also exposed Lopez as a bit of a reckless fighter with a lot of technical holes on the inside and the outside, and that stayed true in his 2012 rematch with Salido. He found himself out of rhythm against Salido on the outside, and then resorted to all-out brawling the heavy-handed Mexican. It culminated into a full-out sustained barrage of attacks in the ninth round, with momentum shifting between both men in dramatic fashion. Salido ended up securing the fight for himself a round later, proving his previous win over Lopez had been no fluke. --- Fights of the Year  I’m not doing a poll like last year for Fight of the Year, and I’m not picking a winner for this category either (although I’m very partial to Brandon Rios vs Mike Alvarado, which I was lucky enough to see live). There were a lot of great matches in 2012 worth watching. I’ll list some of my favorites here and provide a link to each fight if I can find one. I don’t know how long these links will last so you might have to do some youtube searching if any of them are down. A lot of these fights look like they can be found at allthebestfights.com too. There were plenty of other great fights that happened in 2012 so feel free to mention them! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqhLErw4mGA Juan Manuel Lopez vs Orlando Salido II - March 10th, 2012 on Showtime Full fight courtesy of HBO (click the “Best of 2012” video) Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs Miguel Cotto - May 5th, 2012 on HBO PPV http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=My1cvBT5HYQ Carl Froch vs Lucian Bute - May 26th, 2012 on Showtime Video embedded at allthebestfights.com Victor Ortiz vs Josecito Lopez - June 23rd, 2012 on Showtime Video embedded at allthebestfights.com Amir Khan vs Danny Garcia - July 14, 2012 on HBO (no video available) Lucas Matthysse vs Olusegun Ajose - September 8th, 2012 on Showtime (no video available) Marcos Maidana vs Jesus Soto-Karass - September 15th, 2012 on Showtime http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MH8kq8wGOo Brandon Rios vs Mike Alvarado - October 13th, 2012 on HBO Full fight courtesy HBO (click the “Best of 2012” video) Andre Berto vs Robert Guerrero - November 24th, 2012 on HBO Full fight courtesy of HBO (click the “Best of 2012” video) Manny Pacquiao vs Juan Manuel Marquez - December 8th, 2012 on HBO PPV The Ninth Layer fucked around with this message at Jan 27, 2013 around 05:22 |
| # ? Jan 19, 2013 23:45 |
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 Boxing Divisions and World Champions Ring Magazine World Champions - Link to Current Champions Minimumweight / Strawweight (limit 105 lb) - Vacant Jr. Flyweight (108 lb) - Vacant Flyweight (112 lb) - Toshiyuki Igarashi Jr. Bantamweight (115 lb) - Vacant Bantamweight (118 lb) - Vacant Super Bantamweight (122 lb) - Nonito Donaire Featherweight (126 lb) - Vacant Super Featherweight (130 lb) - Vacant Lightweight (135 lb) - Vacant Jr. Welterweight (140 lb) - Danny Garcia Welterweight (147 lb) - Vacant Super Welterweight (154 lb) - Vacant Middleweight (160 lb) - Sergio Martinez Super Middleweight (168 lb) - Andre Ward Light Heavyweight (175 lb) - Chad Dawson Cruiserweight (200 lb) - Yoan Pablo Hernandez Heavyweight (201+ lb) - Wladimir Klitschko There used to be only eight weight classes in boxing: flyweight, featherweight, bantamweight, lightweight, welterweight, middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight. Nowadays there are 17 weight classes in boxing, and I occasionally hear talk about forming a “super heavyweight” division. For the most part the “glory divisions” in boxing are still the eight original weight classes, which have more history than the newer intermediate divisions, and the bigger divisions from welterweight up tend to get more attention than the lower ones do. It’s worth noting that many of the intermediate divisions are known by more than one name; for example, the 154 lb division can be referred to as either super welterweight or junior middleweight. Each weight class has a weight limit that must be met at a weigh-in the day before a fight happens; fighters must weigh in at or under the limit to compete in that division. Because of the day between the weigh-in and fight night, boxers often have time to rehydrate a great deal of weight, with some rehydrating nearly 20 pounds overnight before their fights. For this reason there’s still a lot of variability in fighter size when it comes to fight night; two men who weighed the same at their weigh-in could be as much as 15 pounds apart when they enter the ring. Occasionally two fighters of different weight classes will agree to a “catchweight” when fighting each other, a sort of compromise limit to accommodate the difference in fighter sizes. However, most fans are disdainful of catchweights since they disadvantage bigger fighters by forcing them to weigh far below their division limit. There are four separate sanctioning bodies (the WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO) in boxing that offer world titles in each weight class. Each organization has their own way of ranking fighters and their own rules as to who is eligible for a title, and for the most part the rules they follow are self-serving and arbitrary at best. Sanctioning bodies have been known to strip their titles from fighters for no reason (often to keep a fighter from unifying two different titles), invent new and bogus extra titles in divisions, award their titles to name fighters who took on some chump, and play favorites depending on who will pay them the most in sanctioning fees. People should be wary of fighters claiming to be “world champions” since more likely they are one of possibly four (or more!) titleholders in their division. Why do fighters and fight fans bother with all those silly belts? Simply put, the belts benefit everybody involved in boxing except for boxing’s fans, and there aren’t enough boxing fans to make anybody in boxing care what we think, so we have no choice but to put up with the belts. Sanctioning bodies love having lots of titles because they can charge sanctioning fees to boxers for the right to fight for those titles. Fighters benefit from the added promotional value of being able to call themselves “world champions,” and from the attention their fights will get just because they have a belt. Titles add to a boxer’s narrative, and they create drama by raising the stakes of his fights, which gets people watching even when those fights are against mediocre competition. The system is around because it works to a degree, and thankfully titles do tend to end up in the hands of good fighters, but it’s always important to remember that it is the fighter who makes his title worth something, and not the other way around. To be considered a true world champion, instead of just a titleholder, a fighter must generally be regarded as the undisputed best in his weight class, or must fight and beat the consensus best fighter. Essentially this is called “being the man who beat the man” or being the lineal champion. However, there is no universally accepted way of deciding the lineal champion, so most people go by the next best thing: The Ring Magazine championship title. The magazine awards its title only to 1) fighters who beat the current Ring titleholder, or 2) the winner of a fight between the #1 and #2 ranked fighters of a division if the title is vacant. Though this system of figuring out world champions isn’t perfect (The Ring is owned by Golden Boy, which likely biases a lot of its rankings), it’s the closest thing we have to an objective way to determine world champions.  My Pound-For-Pound Rankings In boxing, pound-for-pound (P4P) refers to the idea that boxers who fight in vastly different weight classes can still be compared in terms of physical talent, technical skill, prior accomplishments, and entertainment value. Bigger fighters will always be favored over smaller fighters in practice, but pound-for-pound ratings acknowledge that the biggest fighters are not always the most skilled. Similar to All Time Great ratings which attempt to compare boxers of all times and weight classes, pound-for-pound ratings are only concerned with where active fighters stand at this moment. Many boxers considered pound-for-pound talents are not only dominant in their own weight classes, but have fought at and dominated divisions as well, demonstrating their class of skill regardless of fighting weight. The closest to an official pound-for-pound ranking is The Ring’s ratings, but keep in mind that The Ring is a magazine owned by Golden Boy and that their rankings might be biased toward Golden Boy fighters. Pound-for-pound lists and ratings get a lot of attention within boxing, but they are very subjective. Every boxer’s career path is unique, and every weight class has its own talent pool, and it can be hard to compare the records of fighters that had very different opportunities and challenges coming up. Evident fighting talent seems like an obvious quality to spot, but boxing is full of hyped talents that end up folding when they are finally tested. Fighter age is another factor that complicates ratings, as younger fighters will be faster and sharper than older ones, if less accomplished. Activity, fighter trajectory, entertainment value, hot wins, and pure hype all play into how fighters are ranked. Pound-for-pound rankings are sort of meaningless and reflect more opinion than fact, but they do say something about where people feel certain fighters stand in the sport of boxing, and they can be fun to talk about. To that end I’ve put together my own P4P list of who I feel are the top boxers of the world and where they stand when compared to each other. I’ve ranked fighters on three factors, with priority given to past accomplishments and performance, followed by evident fighting talent, and lastly by how exciting they are in the ring. Keep in mind that as an American I’m probably going to be biased toward American fighters. I also don’t watch most of the smaller weight classes where there are plenty of world-class boxers who could be considered pound-for-pound talents. This list is entirely my own opinion. If you think there’s someone else who should have made this list, or disagree with my choices, feel free to post your thoughts!  10. Austin “No Doubt” Trout (26-0, 14KO) - super welterweight (154 lb) WBA titleholder There are plenty of other guys who could have gotten this spot. Brian Viloria fights at flyweight (112 lb) and I haven’t seen his fights, but a lot of people feel he is somewhere on this list. Adrien Broner was controversially ranked by The Ring but I could see the argument based on raw talent alone, though I still think he is missing a signature win to establish himself. In the end I gave the tenth spot to Austin Trout, who outboxed Delvin Rodriguez and then outfought Miguel Cotto to storm the super welterweight division (154 lb). He’s got a better record than anybody else at that weight including Canelo Alvarez, and I think he would have a chance at upsetting Canelo if that match happens. Next Opponent: Maybe Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in May. Austin Trout certainly wants that fight, and Saul Alvarez has expressed interest in fighting the man who beat Miguel Cotto. However, there’s been talk of a Mayweather/Canelo co-feature in May with the intention of setting up those two for a September fight, and if that’s the case then Golden Boy may not want to risk a Trout upset. “No Doubt” could always end up fighting somebody like Perro Angulo or James Kirkland if Canelo decides to go another way.  9. Carl “The Cobra” Froch (30-2, 22KO) - super middleweight (168 lb) IBF titleholder Carl Froch has definitely earned his way onto the list. He may not be the most talented boxer ever, but he’s a sensational and exciting athlete and fighter who is always ready to take on anybody. He’s got the best and toughest list of recent opponents of any active fighter, and he’s still winning tough matches. He took a fight with Lucian Bute right after losing the Super Six super middleweight tournament to Andre Ward, and completely dominated the touted Canadian champion by taking the fight to him and eventually stopping him. The Cobra is a true world-class boxer in every sense of the term; he has fought everywhere and against everybody, and has always come back from his losses even stronger than before. Next Opponent: Last I heard, Froch is set to rematch Mikkel Kessler on May 25th. Their first fight was perhaps the best boxing match in the Super Six tournament, with a lot of back-and-forth action, and the rematch should be similar. My early thoughts are that Froch should win it either by around a 4-round win margin or by knockout.  8. Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley (29-0, 12KO, 1NC) - welterweight (147 lb) WBO titleholder I’ll bet Bradley never dreamed he would regret getting a win over Pacquiao, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s regretting that win now. I thought he fought a good fight against Manny, if not a great one, but it was not enough to win the fight that most spectators saw. It was a good attempt to beat Pacquiao compared to many of Manny’s other recent opponents, during a fight where Bradley also sustained injuries to his feet. In my opinion, even though Bradley lost, he didn’t lose by much and still showed the skills of a top-notch boxer. He’s versatile, has a consistent workrate, and has great ring movement, and I think he remains a serious threat to anybody at welterweight (147 lb) and jr. welterweight (140 lb), including Pacquiao, Mayweather and Marquez. Next Opponent: No idea, honestly. Top Rank frankly doesn’t seem to have much for Bradley. I thought they might match with with Brandon Rios or even Mike Alvarado, but nope. I’ve heard Ruslan Provodnikov mentioned as a stay-busy opponent but so far word has been quiet about that matchup. I’ve also heard wild rumors that Floyd Mayweather would like to fight Bradley, but I would be very surprised if there was any truth to them.  7. Wladimir “Dr. Steelhammer” Klitschko (59-3, 50KO) - heavyweight (201+ lb) world champion The heavyweight champion is the best boxer on the planet, forget pound-for-pound, and that honor has been held for a long time now by Wladimir Klitschko, with his brother not far behind. It’s easy to hate on these guys for beating up chumps and sometimes taking their time about it, and in fact Wladimir took plenty of lovely title defenses last year. But I think everyone still acknowledges that nobody else in the division comes close to having a chance against Wladimir Klitschko’s measured jabs and giant right hands. There’s just nobody else developed enough to put up a challenge against him, even on paper, and it is entirely likely that he might retire without finding such an opponent. Next Opponent: Hopefully Alexander Povetkin, but who knows. Povetkin has been “readying up” for the Klitschkos for years now and the WBA has finally mandated Povetkin as Wladimir’s next challenger. However, I haven’t heard anything about the fight being negotiated or signed yet. Povetkin would be a good challenger if the fight gets made, but I don’t think he has what it takes to win against Klitschko.  6. Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez (54-2-2, 28KO) - middleweight (160 lb) world champion Sergio Martinez sort of came out of nowhere to dominate the middleweight division over the last few years. I first took notice of him when he and Paul Williams put on an action-packed, back-and-forth classic in 2009, and became a big fan when he first outboxed and outclassed Kelly Pavlik to win the lineal middleweight title, and then knocked out Paul Williams with one punch in their rematch in the same year. Since then he’s cleaned out the middleweight division, with only a few potential threats lingering around. Sergio Martinez takes great pride in his status as middleweight champion, a title once held by his countryman and middleweight legend Carlos Monzon, and conducts himself like a champion both inside and outside of the ring. His slick southpaw fighting style makes him a tricky puzzle for anyone to solve, and his punching power and athleticism are enough to end fights early if he’s determined to do it. Next Opponent: Set to fight Martin Murray on April 27th. I don’t know much about Martin Murray as a challenger, but I heard he’s a good fighter and a fair opponent for a stay-busy fight. After that I’d expect Martinez to fight Chavez again in the fall as a big favorite, with the rematch being much closer than the first fight.  5. Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire (31-1, 20KO) - super bantamweight (122 lb) world champion The Filipino Flash has a very strong claim to this pound-for-pound rank. For one, he’s one of the few fighters in boxing to actually dominate and clear out multiple weight classes, in short order. For another, he’s fought all kinds of top-ranked challengers from flyweight (112 lb) to super bantamweight (122 lb), where he currently fights. Watching Nonito Donaire fight, it’s easy to see how he got his nickname. Inside the ring, he brings constant movement and blurring hand speed, along with sizable power and a fighter’s mentality. His style has proven so efficient that he is now running into the issue that his countryman Manny Pacquiao did: he’s outboxing his opponents to the point that they are scared to try fighting him. Next Opponent: Recently announced to be Guillermo Rigondeaux for April 27th. It’s a tough and risky fight for Donaire, although I would have to give the edge to his greater experience as a professional. I expect they’ll have a close, tactical chess match sort of fight, but I’ll still enjoy seeing it.  4. Manny “PacMan” Pacquiao (54-5-2, 38KO) - welterweight (147 lb) Manny Pacquiao had a rough year, with back-to-back losses and perhaps the biggest knockout loss to happen to anybody since Roy Jones Jr. was laid out by Antonio Tarver in 2006. But I don’t feel it was rough enough to knock him out of consideration as one of boxing’s premier talents. He looked sharp against Bradley, sharper than he had looked in his previous fights, especially in the middle rounds. He was winning against Marquez too, even if two big punches turned that one around. Pacquiao is still the world’s best offensive talent in my eyes. Maybe he’ll come back from his knockout loss a different fighter, but until he does I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt. Next Opponent: Probably straight to a fifth fight with Juan Manuel Marquez in September. Top Rank was considering a Pacquiao/Marquez double-header in April with both of them in stay-busy fights, but recently said that Manny won’t be fighting in April. I would not be surprised if Pacquiao retired by the end of this year or early next year.  3. Andre “S.O.G.” Ward (26-0, 14KO) - super middleweight (168 lb) world champion Whether or not Andre Ward will ever become a mainstream star in the way that Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao have, he’s already secured a legacy in the sport of boxing, and has plenty of time to build on it. He holds the distinction of being the last man to win an Olympic gold medal in boxing for the United States, and has maintained an undefeated record in his professional career. His adaptable style and rough infighting tactics got him through Showtime’s Super Six super middleweight (168 lb) tournament without trouble, and his last two wins over Carl Froch and Chad Dawson, two world-class fighters themselves, were one-sided and dominating. At this point I’m not even sure what Ward has left to prove. Next Opponent: Nobody right now. Andre Ward had to cancel a signed fight with Kelly Pavlik last year after injuring his shoulder in training camp, and only just recently had surgery to repair the injury. He’ll need some time recovering, but once he does there will probably be some big names ready for him out of the Froch-Kessler II winner, the Pavlik-Bute winner if that fight happens, or even somebody like Sakio Bika. Ward has said he intends to fight twice in 2013.  2. Juan Manuel “Dinamita” Marquez (55-6-1, 40KO) - light welterweight (140 lb) WBO titleholder I don’t know if I’ll be ranking him so high this time next year, but I had to give the number 2 spot to Juan Manuel Marquez. Setting aside that Marquez just accomplished the greatest feat of his career, he’s still a terrifically skilled fighter with a counterpunching style that would give anybody problems, especially anybody at lightweight (135 lb) or light welterweight (140 lb). Even though he spent the last year and a half fighting at welterweight (147), I feel Marquez would struggle against most of the young welterweights, but only due to the size difference. He spent most of his career fighting at featherweight (126 lb) and lightweight, after all. Juan Manuel Marquez will most likely be remembered mostly for his epic rivalry with Pacquiao, but hopefully he will also be remembered as a true champion who tested himself against all challengers and usually came out ahead. Next Opponent: Probably a tune-up opponent set for April, so that Marquez can keep himself sharp for Pacquiao later in the year. I’ve heard Vyacheslav Senchenko’s name mentioned, and in my opinion that fight makes a lot of sense with Senchenko having just ended Ricky Hatton’s comeback. I’ve also heard Jessie Vargas’ name brought up, but he’s just a prospect really and would be out of his depth if Top Rank decided to feed him to Marquez.  1. Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr. (43-0, 26KO) - welterweight (147 lb) WBA titleholder, super welterweight (154 lb) WBC titleholder In my opinion, Floyd Mayweather’s top pound-for-pound spot is his to lose or let slip from him. I don’t see anybody else making the sort of argument for the spot that he has. Money Mayweather is the highest-paid athlete in the world, and can count the millions he earns each fight by the dozen. He got to that position by winning, and winning, and winning again, and winning big each time. His list of opponents is a who’s-who of boxing stars, and it keeps growing every year. Though he has only fought once a year for the past four years, he’s managed to either clean up or scare away all credible threats at welterweight (147 lb), and even poked into the super welterweight (154 lb) division against Miguel Cotto last year. Floyd Mayweather is the consummate defensive fighter who uses the shoulder roll technique to block and dodge a lot of punches. He is also a supreme counterpuncher, better even than Marquez, and his straight right hand is still one of the fastest and hardest punches in the sport. Next Opponent: Unknown for now, though it will probably be announced soon. The two big names people are floating around are Robert Guerrero and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, and right now it seems like Guerrero is probably the favorite for May. He’s an easier fight for Floyd largely because he would challenge Mayweather at welterweight, his preferred weight division, while Canelo Alvarez is a big super welterweight who Floyd would have to move up to fight. I’ve heard that Floyd wants to fight Tim Bradley because Bradley got a win over Pacquiao, and I’ve heard some things to suggest that match was being explored, but I’d be very surprised (and very happy) if it happens. The Ninth Layer fucked around with this message at Jan 19, 2013 around 23:48 |
| # ? Jan 19, 2013 23:45 |
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Links and Info News and Articles: FightNews - All kinds of boxing news as it comes, with short summaries for each. BoxingScene - Boxing news and occasional views with headlined links leading to stories Bad Left Hook - The best boxing blog around, with news summaries, fight previews and a lot of opinion pieces. FightHype - Some news, a lot of opinion articles and a fair amount of fighter interviews, especially with Floyd Mayweather. MaxBoxing - Mostly articles, usually fairly detailed and well-written Ratings/Rankings: Fight News Rankings - rankings for every division for the four major sanctioning bodies, plus FightNews’ own rankings The Ring Ratigs - The Ring’s own ratings for pound-for-pound and each division Schedule: Bad Left Hook’s boxing schedule - The schedule I use. AFAIK it’s the most up to date anywhere How can I watch boxing? For the most part, the biggest fights in boxing are found on the premium channels HBO and Showtime, who both invest a lot of money into fights they think will draw a lot of viewers. As far as cable TV goes, ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights show is still going, and NBC Sports airs fights occasionally too, usually of much higher quality than can be found on FNF. I know Fox Sports used to have the occasional boxing card, but I don’t know if they still do. Showtime also occasionally runs a Friday night show called ShoBox, intended mostly as a way to showcase prospects at the verge of contention. The best way to watch fights online is probably youtube. Most classic fights and plenty of recent ones can be found uploaded on youtube if you search diligently enough. I’m sure there are plenty of torrent sites that archive boxing videos too. I’m not sure how kosher streaming is to talk about, I’ll simply say that boxing streams are pretty common and easy to find. I’m new to boxing, where’s a good place to start watching? Boxing is definitely a sport that is easier to appreciate with prior knowledge about its active fighters and their situations. Honestly the best way to pick up that knowledge is just to watch a lot of fights! If you see a boxer that has a style you particularly like, you’ll probably also enjoy watching his other fights, and along the way you might run into some other quality boxers he fought whose fights interest you. End-of-the-year lists are great resources for finding good recent classics, and Ring Magazine’s Fights of the Year is a good list of just a few of the hundreds of fantastic fights throughout history. There are plenty of boxers that almost everybody has heard of, like the heavyweights Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Joe Frazier, and Mike Tyson, and their fights are worth checking out for any boxing fans. Among other recent fighters I’d recommend watching are Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, Pernell Whitaker, Erik Morales, Julio Cesar Chavez, Roy Jones Jr, Marco Antonio Barrera and Kostya Tsyzu. How about getting into boxing training, you know anything about that? I just watch the sport, and don’t know much about training, but there’s a really good Boxing training thread over on YLLS maintained by mewse. It’s got a lot of great info for anybody getting started, and there are a bunch of people who post there and here that have a lot of experience with boxing training.
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| # ? Jan 19, 2013 23:46 |
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Good OP. I particularly enjoyed the photos of sexy Sergio.
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| # ? Jan 20, 2013 00:04 |
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Excellent OP man! You always bring the boxing love.
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| # ? Jan 20, 2013 00:09 |
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I noticed while google image searching that apparently a lot of people search for pictures of fighter wives and girlfriends. It's almost always the next highest searched term after the fighter's own name.
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| # ? Jan 20, 2013 00:10 |
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Great OP as usual, 9th.
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| # ? Jan 20, 2013 00:27 |
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Nice work. Robbery of the year (and one of the worst I've ever seen) I'd have to give to Rios v Abril though. There is literally no measure which a judge could score that for Rios. You'd have to make an argument for him winning a single round.
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| # ? Jan 20, 2013 00:43 |
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Pavlik retired today.
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| # ? Jan 20, 2013 00:48 |
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Anybody watching the Curtis Stevens fight? Just knocked the dude out in the first and then some people stormed the ring or something, hahah.
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| # ? Jan 20, 2013 02:20 |
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I just saw the replay. That was a sick stoppage.
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| # ? Jan 20, 2013 02:26 |
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This is something boxing related happening right now http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwfDooL-HlI
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| # ? Jan 20, 2013 02:48 |
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is ggg next?
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| # ? Jan 20, 2013 03:48 |
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thehappyprince posted:is ggg next? I think/hope so. I didn't pay much attention to this fight but HBO is crying about the draw.
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| # ? Jan 20, 2013 03:50 |
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thehappyprince posted:is ggg next? Yeah. First HBO fight of the year and already a questionable decision, nice.
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| # ? Jan 20, 2013 03:50 |
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Well glad to see Burgos get over the WHAT?????
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| # ? Jan 20, 2013 03:50 |
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139 body shots landed
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| # ? Jan 20, 2013 03:52 |
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Haha boxing's hosed. I was switching back and forth with the UFC so I didn't really watch it, was it that bad a decision?
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| # ? Jan 20, 2013 03:52 |
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Never bet against a Puerto Rican in a WBO title fight.
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| # ? Jan 20, 2013 03:52 |
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lol awesome scorecards
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| # ? Jan 20, 2013 03:55 |
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golovkin's gloves are mint
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| # ? Jan 20, 2013 03:56 |
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Is this a test for GGG??
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| # ? Jan 20, 2013 03:57 |
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Well that's quite a...beardlike thing in Rosado's corner.
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| # ? Jan 20, 2013 03:59 |
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Dang Genady's gloves are slick as gently caress.
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| # ? Jan 20, 2013 04:01 |
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Rosado bleeding already welp.
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| # ? Jan 20, 2013 04:07 |
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I don't know that I've heard an amateur experience advantage played up this much before. I mean I think Golovkin's better, but that angle seems a little weird to me with a guy like GGG.
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| # ? Jan 20, 2013 04:08 |
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Because there's not that many guys with such little amateur boxing experience as Rosado. It's always mentioned when there's a huge difference like this.
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| # ? Jan 20, 2013 04:11 |
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KidDynamite posted:Because there's not that many guys with such little amateur boxing experience as Rosado. It's always mentioned when there's a huge difference like this. Ah, so it's more about Rosado than Gennady then? Yeah that would make sense. I was thinking a dude who knocks guys out at Golovkin's rate isn't someone you typically hear about amateur experience when you talk about them.
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| # ? Jan 20, 2013 04:14 |
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Rosado is a mad man throwing lead right uppers like that. Huge balls on him.
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| # ? Jan 20, 2013 04:18 |
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Yeah he's making it a fight, even if he's still losing.
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| # ? Jan 20, 2013 04:19 |
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Good lord that is a lot of blood. Rosado has a lot of heart though.
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| # ? Jan 20, 2013 04:24 |
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Those awesome gloves got a little bit dirty. Seriously that's a lot of blood for a guy who I get the feeling is doing more or less ok. e: I mean he's losing, but he's not done at all.
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| # ? Jan 20, 2013 04:24 |
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Rosado's done, this should be stopped really.
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| # ? Jan 20, 2013 04:25 |
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That poo poo should be stopped imo
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| # ? Jan 20, 2013 04:26 |
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AHAHA at smoger facepalming GGG
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| # ? Jan 20, 2013 04:28 |
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Thank you for stopping that
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| # ? Jan 20, 2013 04:28 |
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KidDynamite posted:That poo poo should be stopped imo Yeah I thought he was fine because he was still moving around pretty well and fighting back until that round. There ought to be some way to make damned sure the ref sees that someone is trying to stop the fight. I guess you could hop in the ring.
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| # ? Jan 20, 2013 04:29 |
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"I gotta stop this man. You're son's gonna die" 
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| # ? Jan 20, 2013 04:29 |
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| # ? May 18, 2013 21:29 |
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hahahah triple j
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| # ? Jan 20, 2013 04:31 |
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