Valero Retains Crown
With 3rd Round TKO
USA-banned knockout artist Edwin Valero (23-0) added anotherovermatched victim to his resume this past Saturday, scoring a 3rd
round stoppage over Zaid Zavaleta (16-3). Zavaleta was dropped in the first
round and succumbed to a right hook to end the night. With the win, Valero
retains his WBA 130 pound title and perfect knockout percentage (19 of those KOs
have come in the first round). The fight marks an increase is visability for
Valero, who showcased his talents this weekend on a PPV card co-promoted by Lou
DiBella and Akihiko Honda. Valero’s handlers are working around the clock to
get his license reinstated in America. Since the ban back in 2004 (due to
motorcycle head trauma), Valero has built a name through word of mouth and the
internet.
Barring no lingering health issues, I like Valero’s chances
of getting reinstated. He’s an exciting albeit unpolished fighter at this time.
The longer it takes, the more risk there is of his skills eroding due to lack
of good competition,
Better Late Than
Never? Jones vs. Trinidad about Six Years Too Late
Remember back in 2001 when many thought Roy Jones was
unbeatable and Bernard Hopkins was just a stepping stone for Tito’s
middleweight supremacy? Fast forward six
years; Jones still struggles with accepting his mortality after two crushing
knockout losses, while Trinidad has already tied Sugar Ray Leonard for most
comebacks after “retirement.” When the boxing world was hot with rumors of
Trinidad moving up to challenge Jones at a catchweight a, both men were atop
the pound for pound rankings with a combined record of 83-1. In their last six
bouts, Jones has managed a .500 record of 3-3 (2 of those losses being
knockouts), and Trinidad has gone 4-2, but only fighting two bouts in the last
three years. Nevertheless, both men are name fighters, and Trinidad will bring
his Puerto Rican faithful to MSG for the big fight atmosphere that only he can
bring.
In this matchup, I favor Jones by close UD. Trinidad even in
his prime struggled with boxers and gets befuddled when his punching rhythm is
disrupted by movement. I expect Jones to keep his now porcelain chin far away
from Tito’s left hook by boxing on the outside and showing sporadic flashes of
his once renown hand speed. Trinidad will be game, but combine the fact that
he’s coming off a near three year layoff, and won’t have the benefit of a wild
come forward slugger like Mayorga in front of him, swings the “intangibles”
factor enough in Jones’ favor. The two
aging legends square off on January 19th.
Hatton Ponders His
Future
Ricky Hatton recently told UK reporters that he would
consider a rematch with Floyd Mayweather. Despite the lopsided scorecards and
being introduced head first into a turnbuckle, Hatton feels he did quite well
for most of the bout.
“A
rematch could be in the offing, and there are fights at light-welterweight,”
Hatton states. “My best attribute is I am fearless. I think it was working
up to the six-round stage…there was not much in it then I lost my way a bit. I
lost my rag and had a point taken off. But I’ve got lots of ‘positives’ to take
from the fight.”
Hatton
should stay far away from Mayweather, and head back to 140 to fend off
challenges from Pauli Malignaggi and Junior Witter. The Malignaggi fight would
be a toss up, and a great way to guage where both men are at in their careers.
We know from the Cotto fight the Malignaggi is tough, and won’t be intimidated
by Hatton’s mauling tactics. For personal reasons, Hatton has ignored (or
ducked, depending on who you ask) Witters’s requests for a UK grudge match for
years. With his American marketability
down at the moment, Hatton may now look favorably at a lucrative showdown back
home.
Larry Holmes Honored
With Hall of Fame Induction
Last week the “Easton Assassin” Larry Holmes was voted into
the International Boxing Hall of Fame. The ceremony will commence in June 2008.
Holmes, sandwiched between heavyweight superstars Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson,
has remained unappreciated since his final retirement in 2002. Holmes made 20
defenses of the heavyweight title, second only to Joe Louis. Of those wins,
eight were against young undefeated fighters.
He did not lose the title until a controversial SD decision to Michael
Spinks, at the age of 36. Holmes would fight for 17 more years; challenging
Evander Holyfield in a competitive losing effort , and outsmarting young
contender Ray Mercer. Holmes’ final record is 69-6 (44).
War of Words Between
Calzaghe and Hopkins Continues
Joe Calzaghe promoter Frank Warren has weighed in on
Hopkins’ comment last week that he’d “never lose to a white boy.” Speaking with
www.doghouseboxing.com, Warren
commented on the pass he feels Hopkins received for his words.
“I’ve
heard some disgusting trash talk in my 30 years in boxing but that’s the lowest
of the lows. If Joe said ‘I’d never lose to a black man’ – which he’d never
dream of saying, he’d be nicked by the race relations people, and quite rightly
so,” Warren fumed. “There is no need for racial slurs and to say those
derogatory things is diabolical. He should know better and his comments show a
lack of class.”
Hopkins
was unapologetic in his response, stating that his words were appropriate in
light on the disrespect British fans showed during the Mayweather-Hatton fight.
“They already gave me something to work with. They booed the national anthem.
Once they booed the national anthem I knew I had to get them back. I’ll take
care of that come April of next year.”
Negotiations
are moving along for the superfight. Calzaghe made in known that he plans to
fight twice more before hanging up the gloves. “It’s my intention to have two
more fights in the next year and then retire as an undefeated champion like
Rocky Marciano. I want one of those fights to be against Bernard Hopkins in Las
Vegas. I have just had a taste of Las Vegas out here at the Ricky Hatton-Floyd
Mayweather fight and I’d like to see my name up in lights. I only want two more
fights, then it will all be over. I don’t want to go on and on like some boxers
do. I’d like the fight to be here if we can make it, and I’ll execute ‘The
Executioner’.”
Don King Screws Another One
Fresh
off his impressive win over Julio Diaz, lightweight champion Juan Diaz finds
his momentum being stopped from an opponent that no man has been able to
conquer yet. Diaz was scheduled to face contender Michael Katsidis on February
9th. The problem is that Katsidis is promoted by Golden Boy, who won
the purse bid for the fight. Juan is promoted by Don King, who must sign off on
the contest. As you’ve guessed, King is refusing to sign off and not returning
any correspondence from Diaz’s manager. King’s contract with Diaz does not
expire until March 31st, which effectively means Diaz can be frozen
out of this opportunity to fight again on HBO. Diaz’s manager Willie Savannah
vented his frustration to ESPN.com.
“We sent
King letters telling him has to make a fight before March 31. Besides Katsidis,
we told him [King-promoted mandatory] Nate Campbell or [titleholder] David
Diaz, but he doesn’t respond or nothing,” Savannah told ESPN.com. “As
far as I am concerned, he’s made no attempt to make a fight. My mind tells me
he passed on the fight and he shouldn’t be involved in anything … He’s trying
to screw a 24-year-old college kid.”
Well Done, Hank
Rest
in peace to boxing historian Hank Kaplan. Kaplan was nicknamed the “Lord of the
Ring” due his vast boxing knowledge and work over the years. He served as a
consultant to various entities such as ESPN, HBO, and Showtime. Kaplan was also
the technical director for the famous computer fight between Muhammad Ali and
Rocky Marciano. He was 88.
Next
week I’ll be weighing in on Pacquiao-Marquez II, Taylor-Pavlik II, and
Vasquez-Marquez III
Until
next week boxing fans…..
RING
Magazine Rankings as of December 9th
Ratings
For Period Ended December 9, 2007
HEAVYWEIGHTS
Weight Unlimited
Champ: Vacant
This
week
Last
Week
Weeks
in
Ratings
Fighter
Record
1
1
133
WLADIMIR
KLITSCHKO
49-3
(44)
2
2
136
SAMUEL
PETER
29-1
(22)
3
3
70
OLEG
MASKAEV
34-5
(26)
4
4
56
RUSLAN
CHAGAEV
23-0-1
(17)
5
5
104
NICOLAY
VALUEV
47-1
(34)
6
6
28
SULTAN
IBRAGIMOV
22-0-1
(17)
7
7
89
SERGEI
LIAKHOVICH
23-2
(14)
8
8
28
VLADIMIR
VIRCHIS
24-1
(20)
9
9
22
TONY
THOMPSON
31-1
(19)
10
10
7
ALEXANDER
POVETKIN
14-0
(11)
CRUISERWEIGHTS
Weight Limit: 200 pounds
This
week
Last
Week
Weeks
in
Ratings
Fighter
Record
C
C
104
DAVID
HAYE
20-1
(19)
1
1
182
STEVE
CUNNINGHAM
20-1
(10)
2
2
300
JEAN-MARC
MORMECK
33-4
(22)
3
3
324
O’NEIL
BELL
26-2-1
(24)
4
4
130
KRZYSZTOF
WLODARCZYK
38-2
(28)
5
5
64
ENZO
MACCARINELLI
28-1
(21)
6
6
59
FIRAT
ARSLAN
28-3-1
(18)
7
7
54
MARCO
HUCK
19-0
(14)
8
8
76
VADIM
TOKAREV
24-1-1
(17)
9
9
41
DARNELL
WILSON
22-5-3
(18)
10
10
57
JOHNATHON
BANKS
18-0
(13)
LIGHT
HEAVYWEIGHTS
Weight Limit: 175 pounds
This
week
Last
Week
Weeks
in
Ratings
Fighter
Record
C
C
79
BERNARD
HOPKINS
48-4-1
(32)
1
1
199
ZSOLT
ERDEI
28-0
(17)
2
2
225
CLINTON
WOODS
41-3-1
(24)
3
3
482
ANTONIO
TARVER
26-4
(19)
4
4
235
GLEN
JOHNSON
46-11-2
(31)
5
5
80
CHAD
DAWSON
25-0
(17)
6
6
168
PAUL
BRIGGS
26-3
(18)
7
7
409
JULIO
GONZALEZ
41-4
(25)
8
8
31
ADRIAN
DIACONU
24-0
(15)
9
9
27
STIPE
DREWS
32-1
(13)
10
10
113
HUGO
GARAY
30-3
(17)
SUPER
MIDDLEWEIGHTS
Weight Limit: 168 pounds
This
week
Last
Week
Weeks
in
Ratings
Fighter
Record
C
C
553
JOE
CALZAGHE
44-0
(32)
1
1
158
MIKKEL
KESSLER
39-1
(29)
2
2
273
ANTHONY
MUNDINE
29-3
(22)
3
3
88
LUCIAN
BUTE
21-0
(17)
4
4
159
JEFF
LACY
23-1
(17)
5
5
130
LIBRADO
ANDRADE
26-1
(20)
6
6
79
CARL
FROCH
22-0
(18)
7
7
66
ALLAN
GREEN
25-1
(18)
8
8
36
SAKIO
BIKA
25-3-2
(15)
9
9
61
DENIS
INKIN
32-0
(24)
10
10
10
JEAN
PASCAL
20-0
(14)
MIDDLEWEIGHTS
Weight Limit: 160 pounds
This
week
Last
Week
Weeks
in
Ratings
Fighter
Record
C
C
54
KELLY
PAVLIK
32-0
(29)
1
1
136
WINKY
WRIGHT
51-4-1
(25)
2
2
147
ARTHUR
ABRAHAM
25-0
(20)
3
3
235
JERMAIN
TAYLOR
27-1-1
(17)
4
4
221
FELIX
STURM
28-2-1
(12)
5
5
74
JAVIER
CASTILLEJO
61-7
(41)
6
6
122
SEBASTIAN
SYLVESTER
27-2
(13)
7
7
80
AMIN
ASIKAINEN
22-1
(15)
8
8
8
RANDY
GRIFFIN
24-1-3
(12)
9
10
4
RAYMOND
JOVAL
37-4
(16)
10
–
1
JOHN
DUDDY
23-0
(17)
JR.
MIDDLEWEIGHTS
Weight Limit: 154 pounds
Champ: Vacant
This
week
Last
Week
Weeks
in
Ratings
Fighter
Record
1
1
75
CORY
SPINKS
36-4
(11)
2
2
126
ROMAN
KARMAZIN
36-2-1
(23)
3
3
84
OSCAR
DE LA HOYA
38-5
(30)
4
4
71
VERNON
FORREST
40-2
(29)
5
6
23
JOACHIM
ALCINE
30-0
(19)
6
5
106
SERGEI
DZINDZIRUK
34-0
(22)
7
7
49
TRAVIS
SIMMS
25-1
(19)
8
8
129
IKE
QUARTEY
37-4-1
(31)
9
9
278
VERNO
PHILLIPS
41-10-1
(21)
10
10
6
SERGIO
MARTINEZ
40-1-1
(21)
WELTERWEIGHTS
Weight Limit: 147 pounds
This
week
Last
Week
Weeks
in
Ratings
Fighter
Record
C
C
88
FLOYD
MAYWEATHER
39-0
(25)
1
1
54
MIGUEL
COTTO
31-0
(25)
2
2
81
PAUL
WILLIAMS
33-0
(24)
3
3
44
SHANE
MOSLEY
44-5
(37)
4
4
335
ANTONIO
MARGARITO
35-5
(25)
5
5
187
ZAB
JUDAH
36-5
(25)
6
6
176
KERMIT
CINTRON
29-1
(27)
7
7
139
LUIS
COLLAZO
27-3
(13)
8
8
36
JOSHUA
CLOTTEY
32-2
(19)
9
9
20
JACKSON
BONSU
26-1
(23)
10
10
133
OKTAY
URKAL
38-4
(12)
JR.
WELTERWEIGHTS
Weight Limit: 140 pounds
This
week
Last
Week
Weeks
in
Ratings
Fighter
Record
C
C
243
RICKY
HATTON
43-1
(31)
1
1
147
JUNIOR
WITTER
36-1-2
(21)
2
2
26
PAUL
MALIGNAGGI
23-1
(5)
3
3
21
GAVIN
REES
27-0
(13)
4
4
264
VIVIAN
HARRIS
28-3-1
(18)
5
5
88
SOULEYMANE
M’BAYE
36-2-1
(21)
6
6
199
LOVEMORE
NDOU
45-9-1
(30)
7
7
75
JUAN
LAZCANO
37-4-1
(27)
8
8
72
DEMETRIUS
HOPKINS
28-0-1
(11)
9
9
15
RICARDO
TORRES
32-1
(28)
10
10
7
KENDALL
HOLT
22-2
(12)
LIGHTWEIGHTS
Weight Limit: 135 pounds
This
week
Last
Week
Weeks
in
Ratings
Fighter
Record
C
C
155
JOEL
CASAMAYOR
35-3-1
(21)
1
1
191
JUAN
DIAZ
33-0
(17)
2
2
75
DAVID
DIAZ
33-1-1
(17)
3
3
62
JOSE
SANTA CRUZ
25-3
(14)
4
4
191
JULIO
DIAZ
34-4
(25)
5
5
62
NATE
CAMPBELL
31-5-1
(25)
6
6
43
MICHAEL
KATSIDIS
23-0
(20)
7
9
61
YURI
ROMANOV
20-2
(13)
8
–
–
AMIR
KAHN
15-0
(12)
9
8
118
ZAHIR
RAHEEM
28-2
(16)
10
10
29
ANTHONY
PETERSON
24-0
(17)
JR.
LIGHTWEIGHTS
Weight Limit: 130 pounds
Champ: Vacant
This
week
Last
Week
Weeks
in
Ratings
Fighter
Record
1
1
130
MANNY
PACQUIAO
45-3-2
(35)
2
2
39
JUAN
MANUEL MARQUEZ
48-3-1
(35)
3
3
65
JOAN
GUZMAN
28-0
(17)
4
4
71
EDWIN
VALERO
22-0
(22)
5
5
42
HUMBERTO
SOTO
43-6-2
(27)
6
6
298
JORGE
BARRIOS
47-3-1
(34)
7
7
32
ALEX
ARTHUR
25-1
(19)
8
8
19
YODSANAN
NANTHACHAI
50-3-1
(39)
9
9
12
MZONKE
FANA
27-3
(10)
10
10
10
CASSIUS
BALOYI
34-3-1
(18)
FEATHERWEIGHTS
Weight Limit: 126 pounds
Champ: Vacant
This
week
Last
Week
Weeks
in
Ratings
Fighter
Record
1
1
176
CHRIS
JOHN
40-0-1
(21)
2
2
42
ROBERT
GUERRERO
21-1-1
(14)
3
3
213
INJIN
CHI
31-3-1
(18)
4
4
84
HIROYUKI
ENOKI
27-0-1
(19)
5
5
57
JORGE
SOLIS
32-1-2
(23)
6
6
36
NAOKI
MATSUDA
27-7-3
(10)
7
7
22
STEVEN
LUEVANO
34-1
(15)
8
8
21
JORGE
LINARES
24-0
(15)
9
9
53
MARTIN
HONORIO
24-4-1
(12)
10
10
82
NICKY
COOK
27-1
(15)
JR.
FEATHERWEIGHTS
Weight Limit: 122 pounds
This
week
Last
Week
Weeks
in
Ratings
Fighter
Record
C
C
309
ISRAEL
VAZQUEZ
42-4
(31)
1
1
41
RAFAEL
MARQUEZ
37-4
(33)
2
2
144
CELESTINO
CABALLERO
28-2
(19)
3
3
106
DANIEL
PONCE DE LEON
34-1
(30)
4
4
110
STEVE
MOLITOR
25-0
(10)
5
5
91
SOMSAK
SITHCHATCHAWAL
53-2-1
(43)
6
6
140
SERGIO
MANUEL MEDINA
29-1
(17)
7
7
78
TAKALANI
NDLOVU
27-4
(17)
8
8
25
POONSAWAT
KRATINGAENGGYM
30-1
(20)
9
9
16
KIKO
MARTINEZ
17-0
(14)
10
10
32
REY
BAUTISTA
24-1
(18)
BANTAMWEIGHTS
Weight Limit: 118 pounds
Champ: Vacant
This
week
Last
Week
Weeks
in
Ratings
Fighter
Record
1
1
137
HOZUMI
HASEGAWA
22-2
(7)
2
2
635
VEERAPOL
SAHAPROM
58-3-2
(42)
3
3
74
WLADIMIR
SIDORENKO
20-0-2
(7)
4
4
266
SILENCE
MABUZA
20-2
(16)
5
5
18
GERRY
PENALOSA
52-6-2
(35)
6
6
40
JHONNY
GONZALEZ
35-6
(29)
7
7
25
RICARDO
CORDOBA
31-1-2
(20)
8
8
11
JOSEPH
AGBEKO
25-1
(22)
9
9
66
SIMONE
MALUDROTTU
25-1
(10)
10
10
23
LUIS
PEREZ
25-2
(16)
JR.
BANTAMWEIGHTS
Weight Limit: 115 pounds
Champ: Vacant
This
week
Last
Week
Weeks
in
Ratings
Fighter
Record
1
1
392
MARTIN
CASTILLO
33-2
(17)
2
2
298
ALEXANDER
MUNOZ
31-2
(27)
3
3
73
NOBUO
NASHIRO
10-1
(6)
4
4
65
CRISTIAN
MIJARES
33-3-2
(14)
5
5
278
FERNANDO
MONTIEL
35-2-1
(26)
6
6
64
JORGE
ARCE
48-4-1
(37)
7
7
176
KATSUSHIGE
KAWASHIMA
32-6
(21)
8
8
9
DIMITRI
KIRILOV
29-3
(9)
9
9
158
JOSE
NAVARRO
26-3
(12)
10
10
28
Z
GORRES
27-2-1
(15)
FLYWEIGHTS
Weight Limit: 112 pounds
Champ: Vacant
This
week
Last
Week
Weeks
in
Ratings
Fighter
Record
1
1
23
NONITO
DONAIRE
19-1
(12)
2
2
85
DAISUKE
NAITO
32-2-2
(20)
3
3
352
PONGSAKLEK
WONJONGKAM
65-3
(34)
4
4
139
TAKEFUMI
SAKATA
31-4-2
(15)
5
5
278
OMAR
NARVAEZ
25-0-2
(16)
6
6
217
VIC
DARCHINYAN
29-1
(23)
7
7
54
ROBERTO
VASQUEZ
24-2
(17)
8
–
1
DENKAOSAN
KAOVICHIT
40-1-1
(16)
9
9
41
JOSE
LOPEZ
35-7-2
(29)
10
10
20
KOKI
KAMEDA
16-0
(11)
JR.
FLYWEIGHTS
Weight Limit: 108 pounds
This
week
Last
Week
Weeks
in
Ratings
Fighter
Record
C
C
16
IVAN
CALDERON
30-0
(6)
1
1
189
ULISES
SOLIS
25-1-2
(19)
2
2
134
HUGO
CAZARES
25-4-1
(19)
3
3
27
GIOVANNI
SEGURA
18-0-1
(14)
4
4
47
EDGAR
SOSA
30-5
(16)
5
5
70
OMAR
NINO
24-2-1
(10)
6
6
37
DANIEL
REYES
39-5-1
(30)
7
7
342
NELSON
DIEPPA
24-4-2
(13)
8
8
118
BRIAN
VILORIA
19-2
(12)
9
9
64
OMAR
SALADO
17-0-2
(9)
10
–
1
BRAHIM
ASLOU
23-2
(9)
STRAWWEIGHTS
Weight Limit: 105 pounds
Champ: Vacant
This
week
Last
Week
Weeks
in
Ratings
Fighter
Record
1
1
223
YUTAKA
NIIDA
22-1-3
(8)
2
2
23
FLORANTE
CONDES
22-3-1
(20)
3
3
37
OLEYDONG
SITHSAMERCHAI
24-0
(8)
4
4
201
EAGLE
KYOWA
18-2
(6)
5
5
189
MUHAMMAD
RACHMAN
61-6-5
(31)
6
6
137
KATSUNARI
TAKAYAMA
18-3
(7)
7
7
6
ROMAN
GONZALEZ
15-0
(15)
8
8
11
DONNIE
NIETES
22-1-3
(13)
9
9
138
RODEL
MAYOL
23-2
(18)
10
10
16
OMAR
SOTO
13-1-1
(6)
POUND-FOR-POUND
This
week
Last
Week
Weeks
in
Ratings
Fighter
Weight
Class
1
1
467
FLOYD
MAYWEATHER
Welterweight
2
2
210
MANNY
PACQUIAO
Jr.
Lightweight
3
3
39
JUAN
MANUEL MARQUEZ
Jr.
Lightweight
4
4
79
BERNARD
HOPKINS
Lt.
Heavyweight
5
5
93
JOE
CALZAGHE
Super
Middleweight
6
6
19
ISRAEL
VAZQUEZ
Jr.
Featherweight
7
7
27
MIGUEL
COTTO
Welterweight
8
8
133
RICKY
HATTON
Jr.
Welterweight
9
9
192
WINKY
WRIGHT
Middleweight
10
10
101
RAFAEL
MARQUEZ
Jr.
Featherweight