By Alphonso Costello
Recapping “America’s Last Line of Defense,” an American still holds one-fourth of the heavyweight championship. And no, James Toney’s International Boxing Association world title reign does not count.
Oleg Maskaev’s knockout win over Hasim Rahman turned out to be a real pay-per-view stinker.
Did Bob Arum really believe he would turn a profit for a fight that should have been on one of his OLN cards?
Evander Holyfield’s drawing power was more impressive than his punching power. The former champ’s comeback victory over Jeremy Bates was devious at best. Yes, Holyfield stopped Bates with crisp power punches, but Bates is not on the same level as Larry Donald.
Much like pro-wrestler Terry Funk, Holyfield doesn’t know when to quit. He should be humbled and honored that so many people care about his well-being. Holyfield’s delusional chase of the undisputed heavyweight championship can’t last forever…
James Toney should be commended for putting his WBC heavyweight title shot on the line against Samuel Peter this Saturday night. His pre-fight behavior leading up the Peter fight has been wildly amusing. Toney tends to be more dangerous at his press conferences than he is in the ring.
However, Toney may have turned the corner by channeling his anger and frustration into his training sessions, instead of nourishing his gluttonous appetite…
NEWS FLASH: Sasquatch sightings have been reported in New York, but there is no need to worry. The 7 foot 320 pound giant was identified as WBA heavyweight titleholder Nicolay Valuev. The undefeated “Beast From The East” arrived in the United States for his October title defense against Monte Barrett.
Valuev-Barrett is nothing more than a freak show. Don King and HBO are satisfying the American public’s fascination and infatuation with large oddball creatures. Nevertheless, it should be interesting to see Big Foot box a non-deserving “championship” contender.
Hasim Rahman wasn’t America’s last line of defense, it was Jay Nady…
FYI: A press release is a form of free advertising. Promoters utilize these prepared statements to publicize and reinforce their agendas. Boxing websites that disguise press releases as news articles lack journalistic integrity.
What’s more, boxing websites should employ correspondents that deliver the fight news and shoot photographs, not people…
The International Astronomical Union (IAU) redefined the term planet during a 10-day conference in the Czech Republic. The IAU says a celestial body must meet three requirements to be considered a planet. Under the new definition, a planet must be a round object orbiting the sun. It must have sufficient mass for its self-gravity and it must clear the neighborhood around its orbit.
Unbeknownst to the public, James Toney was in danger of becoming a planet since he had his own gravitational pull in his last fight…
Evander Holyfield will capture the undisputed heavyweight title when George W. Bush is elected to a third consecutive term as President…
Thanks to Bob Arum’s impeccable advertising campaign, Antonio Margarito has become the most glorified fighter in the welterweight division. Labeled as the most feared and underrated fighter in the world, Margarito’s reputation soared when Arum’s working agreement with Floyd Mayweather Jr. came to an abrupt end.
Arum’s ability to manufacture “the next big thing” is well documented. Yet, Arum seemingly failed to promote Mayweather as boxing’s next box office superstar.
As an alternative, Arum developed Margarito’s reputation at Mayweather’s expense. Top Rank flexed its marketing muscle and created “The Most Feared Man in Boxing.”
A blog is an electronic diary, nothing more…
The city of Houston designated August 15 as Juan Diaz Day. Houston Mayor Bill White presented Diaz with a proclamation for his contributions to the local community and to the world of boxing.
Surely, it was a nice gesture for the city of Houston to honor one of its hometown heroes. But what would the city do if Diaz beat a significant opponent?
DID YOU KNOW? Nausea is a sensation usually brought on by strong feelings of disgust. The very same feelings one gets when John Ruiz dances with his opponents inside the squared circle…
After battling the toughest opposition the lower weight classes had to offer, Floyd Mayweather Jr. seems content on facing weak opponents. Moving up in weight and capturing worthless trinkets along the way, Mayweather has avoided the best challengers between 140 and 147 pounds. Over the last four years, Mayweather has fought less than stellar opposition.
At this moment, Mayweather is mimicking Roy Jones Jr. by rejecting lucrative fights against dangerous and ambitious challengers. The careers of Mayweather and Jones contain several similarities. Both men hold the distinction of being the best pound-for-pound fighter in their respective eras. Both men have held world titles in at least four different weight classes. Finally, both men have been criticized for avoiding dangerous opponents.
Perhaps, Mayweather is protecting his undefeated record because he believes his legacy as an all-time great is etched in stone.
For that reason, boxing enthusiasts and internet writers scrutinize every move he makes. However, patience must be exercised since Mayweather’s road will eventually lead to a career-defining spectacle in 2007. That spectacle will not come against IBF junior middleweight titleholder Cory Spinks.
Claiming a Mayweather-Spinks fight was “99 percent done,” Spinks’ trainer/manager Kevin Cunningham was seething when Mayweather backed out of the proposed fight. Instead, Mayweather signed on to fight welterweight champion Carlos Baldomir. Clearly upset and disappointed Cunningham said Baldomir is a club fighter from Argentina.
That’s a harsh statement coming for a man who trains a Soul Train dancer from St. Louis…
The middleweight division is bursting at the seams with heavily hyped undefeated fighters. Arthur Abraham, John Duddy, Kelly Pavlik, Edison Miranda, Giovanni Lorenzo and Yuri Foreman are seen as the future of the middleweight division.
In all probability, the above-mentioned fighters are not as tough and exciting as “El Elotero” Jose Luis Zertuche. In his last fight, Zertuche stopped Carlos Bojorquez in an exciting and wild slugfest. Zertuche’s record (19-2-2, 14 KO’s) may not be that impressive, but his rugged, gun-slinging style would pose a serious threat to any undefeated middleweight prospect/contender.
Zertuche will be featured on a Top Rank OLN Fight Night card in September. He is set to take on hard-hitting Fulgencio Zuniga in a rematch of their 2005 slugfest that ended in a draw. In all likelihood, these two rugged sluggers will put on another crowd-pleasing brawl.
BREAKING NEWS: Ricky Hatton gets mugged in China! And no, a sanctioning body didn’t strip him of a championship belt…
“Irish” John Duddy is scheduled to face Yory Boy Campas on September 29 in the Theater at Madison Square Garden. This fight may be a stepping-stone for Duddy, but his chin will be tested by Yory Boy’s potent power punching.
Campas has been one of Mexico’s most prolific and underrated boxers. He enters the bout with a remarkable record of 88-8 (72 KO’s). On the other hand, some people might say the 19-year veteran is an underachiever. Nevertheless, Duddy should not take this fight lightly, he faces a tough challenge against the 34-year old chato-nosed slugger.
Boxers shouldn’t be allowed to drink Gatorade or other sports drinks during fights. A punch may ignite a catastrophic event known as spontaneous human combustion…
The immensely talented and cocky flyweight Jorge Arce said it best when uttering his opinion of Brian Viloria a few months ago. “No tiene nada, no tiene nada,” quipped Arce.
Viloria has nothing indeed, now that his WBC light flyweight title is around the waist of Omar Nino Romero. Suffering his first career defeat against Romero earlier this month, Viloria said he had an off night.
Boxing is the one sport where the competitors cannot afford to have an off night. There is no room for error, not when a boxer fights at least two times a year at a world-class level…
Attending a crash-course on fight promoting is wildly hysterical. It comes as no surprise that boxing promoters have found another way to fleece gullible boxing enthusiasts...
GOOD LUCK CHARM? Winky Wright recently attended a Tampa Bay Devil Rays home game and his presence may have motivated the hometown team. The Devil Rays stepped up their defensive play by not committing an error against the Texas Rangers. Despite that, the Devil Rays still lost the game...
Joe Calzaghe’s next title defense against Sakio Bika is a huge disappointment. A career defining mega-fight against Winky Wright would have been a scintillating boxing match-up.
Will Diego Corrales ever pick on someone his own size? We will have to wait for the aftermath of his rubber match with Joel Casamayor to find out…
Has Jermain Taylor found a suitable opponent for his next title defense?…
NEWS FLASH: “The Contender” season finale will take place on September 26 in Los Angeles. The next “contender” should be a fresh up-and-comer, not a former titlist past his prime…
How can a fighter with a 15-3-2 record be considered a star?
The outrage over Jose Luis Castillo’s failure to make weight appears to have subsided. The Nevada Athletic Commission handed down the maximum monetary penalty allowed by fining Castillo $250,000 and suspending him for the rest of the year. However, the suspension was an insignificant punishment since Castillo’s license could have been revoked for one full year.
As a result, Bob Arum and Castillo can now pursue a mega-fight with junior welterweight champion Ricky Hatton in the spring of 2007.
It would have been a disgrace if Nevada took itself out of the running for such a lucrative event…
Chump of the Month: Hasim Rahman.
Aside from his one punch knockout of Lennox Lewis in 2001, Rahman can’t win a big fight. He is the Greg Norman of boxing.
Alphonso Costello can be reached at acostello@boxingscene.com