What is going on here? Why is a 3rd boring fight needed between these two fighters? I know, why doesn't Valuev take the "championship" he won and fight another "champion"? Do these fighters not care about the sport? Why does madness seemingly rule the day in boxing.
SERIOUSLY.
Besides, doesn't Valuev need to get back in the ring with the guy who beat him? Why fight a fighter you already beat twice. Guess what, Nikolai, nobody cared the first 2 times.
C'mon. It's time the fighters in our sport start doing what is right for the sport.
You can find Valuev and Ruiz comments at www.fightnews.com.
Nikolai Valuev (49-1, 34 KOs) reclaimed the vacant WBA heavyweight title with a twelve round unanimous decision over fellow former titleholder John Ruiz (43-9-1, 29 KOs) to solidify himself as resident heavyweight freak show.
Still, at least we don't have to see John Ruiz again any time soon.
The giant Russian fought comfortably early before inevitably tiring late. Ruiz was able to get inside and bang the bigger man late in the fight, but it was too little and too late.
In other boxing news, Unbeaten WBO jr flyweight champion Ivan 'Iron Boy' Calderon (3-0, 6 KOs) won a seven round technical decision over former champion Hugo Cazares (26-6-1, 19 KOs) after a headbutt forced the end of the fight. Calderon was dominating the action with his boxing ability before the bell (he might just be the best fighter no one ever gets to see).
Next weekend is the Juan Diaz-Michael Katsidis fight. These all action fighters should give boxing fans a real treat, which is more than I can say for any John Ruiz has ever been in.
According to ESPN, Oscar De La Hoya will announce his next fight will be against the best pound for pound fighter in the sport Manny Pacquiao. The fight is set to take place on Dec. 6 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Las Vegas, here I come...
Look, I wonder why Oscar chooses to fight a midget, but the thought of Pacman upsetting, and maybe even knocking out the larger opponent really makes me want to be there to see it.
Dan Raphael from ESPN seems to think it's a good fight for boxing. Raphael argues that it will be the sport's most popular fighter versus the sports best, and that it will give boxing another opportunity to showcase itself.
Agreed.
However, this is not the best fight that could be made for De La Hoya. Despite its circus like appeal to casual viewers, real followers of the sport would most likely much rather see a De La Hoya-Margarito or De La Hoya-Williams fight.
What do both of those fights have in common?
You guessed it, both fighters are equal in size.
Regardless, the way the media as covered the fight before it was signed tells me that overall it will be good for boxing, regardless of the outcome.
So I'll be there, hopefully. Las Vegas, here I come!
Forget a good fight? Thinking of a fighter but can't remember his last name? Google Suggest is a new feature that allows you to be forgetful and still find what you're looking for on the internet. Sure, you may still need to eat some brain food, but now you don't have to remember all the good fighters that went by the monikor "Sugar" all by yourself.
In honor of Olympic bite master Dzhakhon Kurbanov, who decided to literally take a bite out of his opponent, Yerkebulan Shynaliyev, in their light heavyweight bout.
Neeldess to say, Kurbanov was disqualified. The kicker to the story is that former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield was in attendance!
Let's relive the infamous Bite Fight in all it's unique glory.
Wow. What a moment in sports history.
Interestingly enough, Holyfield was also involved in the infamous Fan Man fight. Let's check it out and relive the madness.
Reading is fun, fun, fundamental, but I see no one's reading The Ring Magazine (or The Boxing Stop, for that matter). Still, ESPN made the cut, and their boxing page is pretty decent these days. Maybe Obama and McCain check out Eric Raskins articles like they should.
The last American boxing olympian is heavyweight Deontay Wilder. Wilder, the least experienced fighter on the team, made it to the semifinal round after decisioning opponent Mohammed Arjaoui.
Wilder will face Italian fighter Clemente Russo on Friday. Does he have a shot? Think about it. If Wilder wins Friday and goes on to grab gold, he won't just be the Olympic savior but the American Heavyweight saviour, too!
With virtually no legit American HW contenders in the professional ranks right now, winning the next 2 fights in the Olympics would make Wilder the most famous American heavyweight fighter in the world.
Talk about pressure.
Still, it'd be nice to have a little bit of hope for the future, and it'd sure help Wilder fill up his pockets in the meantime.
Ok, so I am absolutley HATING this Olympics. Bogus scoring in EVERY SPORT. Thirteen year olds competing as sixteen year olds. Fake Fireworkds. Fake cute kids singing fake songs.
What garbage.
Oh, and let's not forget the history of human rights abuse the nation is known for....
Pacman calling the fight off with the Golden Boy is actually a good thing for Oscar. For a guy so obsessed with his legacy, Oscar sure seems intent on going out with a relatively easy fight.
First, he wanted Hatton. Sure, Hatton's a good fighter, but why pick on someone who was knocked out cold by Floyd Mayweather? Hatton's the best 140 pounder in the world, but DLH hasn't seen 140 in years.
Next, he decided to fight an even smaller fighter. Manny Pacquiao is itsy bitsy next to DLH. What would a win prove there? That Oscar's a bully? A coward?
No, DLH needs to do something big to secure his place in history. There is one man (now that Floyd is retired) that can make that happen: Antonio Margarito.
Make the right move, Oscar. If not, you'll NEVER be considered a great fighter.
American boxer Rau'shee Warren danced, danced, danced his way to defeat.
Sure, the Olympic scoring system stinks (we've covered that), and yeah the scoring of this particual Olympics seems to biased towards Chinese fighters (hmmmmm, wonder why?), but Warren has no one else to blame but himself.
Arguably America's best chance at capturing a gold medal in this year's boxing, Warren found himself on top of his "De La Hoya Bicycle" ( in honor of DLH's tactic against Trinidad) trying to just squeak by his opponent.
Warren, listening to the crowd instead of his coach, moved himself right out of the Olympics and right back home with nothing to show for it. Warren swears he heard the crowd tell him to "Move", but what kind of fighter listens to the crowd over his coach?
A losing fighter, that's who.
ESPN is running a story that questions the scoring rather than holding the fighter accountable. The Boxing Stop will not follow suit.
Rau'shee Warren, you lost because you thought you could win a fight by running away.
Oh, and here's a compilation of Lennox Lewis knockouts just for fun. Anyone remember how he did at the Olympics?
BTW, Lewis finised 5th in his first Olympics (1984) and won the gold in his second try. Fun fact: Lewis defeated future heavyweight champ Riddick Bowe in the Gold medal match in 1998.
Teddy Atlas hit the nail right on the head as he and HBO's Bob Pappa covered Olympic boxing yesterday on NBC. The scoring system stinks.
Teddy Atlas was frank enough to offer a candid observation when he said the scoring disparity of the day could be attributed to one of two things: incompetence or corruption.
He's right on both accounts.
Incompetent judging is something that plaques the professional game as well. How often have you seen the bigger name fighter get a gift decision? It happens all the time.
And corruption just seems to go with the territory.
It's truly sad to see the same hold true for amateur fighters as they struggle to represent their countries.
If you don't know, here is how Olympic scoring is supposed to work:
A point is awarded for a scoring hit with marked part of the glove on the opponent's head (side or front) or body (above the belt).
A panel of five judges decides which hits are scoring hits.
Judges each have two buttons before them, one for each boxer, and they press the appropriate button when they believe a boxer delivers a scoring hit.
An electronic scoring system registers a point whenever three or more judges press the button for one boxer within a second of each other. No point is awarded for a hit unless three of the five judges agree.
It sounds reasonable enough, but I saw at least 20 punches per fight that landed cleanly without being counted as a point. What garbage.
The old way was more similar to the professional method of scoring fights, and though not perfect, at least it made more sense.
The Olympic scoring system awards fighters with fast hands and feet who don't necessarily have to have power. That's why a lot of medal winners never make it in the pro game.
Still, I'll be watching because I support the sport, but we need to change this stupidity. The present system offers no accountability system, no award for fighters who plod forward and fight, and no reason for the lay person to keep watching.
Way to call it like it is, Teddy. I hope you don't get kicked out of China.
Anthony Bonsante, former participant on the Contender, tried to fake out his opponent Adonis Stevenson on ESPN's Friday Night Fights by pretending to be knocked out.
Zab Judah faces off against Joshua Clottey Saturday night for a chance at a welterweight title belt, but more importantly for a chance at a boxing future. Judah, known to be long on talent but short on accomplishment, is one of the most fascinating athletes in the world today.
HBO On Demand is currently running the "Best of Zab Judah" this month. A look at the film reveals a a lot of memorable fights, but not alot of impressive wins.
Judah has speed, quickness, power and he's a southpaw. He's fights technically sound and mixes it up enough to be both dangerous and exciting.
But he always seems to implode.
Judah's physical gifts allowed him to win 3 of the first 4 rounds against Mayweather in their fight, but Mayweather's skill level and mental toughness carried him to an easy win.
Judah had Miguel Cotto hurt early in their fight last year, but a couple of low blows knocked all the starch out of Zab's initiative, and Judah was eventually KO'd.
Super Zab's career is littered with moments like this. Loss after loss despite the limitless potential, but now Judah has another chance.
A win Saturday makes Super Zab Judah a super again, and helps him lay claim to being a contender. A win Saturday opens up possibilities for bigger paydays against the likes of Sugar Shane Mosley, Antonio Margarito or even Oscar De La Hoya.
But another loss, another implosion, leads Judah straight back to were he is right now: rapidly falling to being just another palooka on ESPN2.
Hey, maybe he can fight Jose Luis Castillo!
(I really like Zab, so good luck to him on Saturday night!)
