25 stories on BoxingScene are published under the Sergio Martinez byline.
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By Sergio Martinez - On July 14, 2007, HBO brings us a tripleheader featuring three completely different pugs in three completely different fights as Antonio “Tony” Margarito, Kermit “Killer” Cintron, and Arturo “Thunder” Gatti all will lace up their guns with leather and do battle.
By Sergio Martinez - "That’s why they fight the fights", a phrase that was uttered by HBO commentating legend Larry Merchant, regarding one of the many "the favorite is supposed to win" fights that resulted with the spoiler coming out on top.
I have been closely following the career of Chicago based super middleweight prospect Don “Da’Bomb” George with great interest because his flamboyant, black flipping, knockout punching style is the type of attraction that leads to public excitement which breeds new fans.
On February 16, 2007, Cestus Management’s 168-pound prospect Donovan George made his Top Rank debut a memorable one as he blasted out tough veteran fighter Kendall Gould in less than two minutes of the first round. The fight, which took place in Cicero, Illinois, was part of a Top Rank promoted show. There were many “Da’Bomb” fans in attendance and they were not disappointed with his performance.
This was a common utterance many made in 2006 when former nineties star, “Sugar” Shane Mosley destroyed another nineties icon, popular boxing warrior “El Feroz” Fernando Vargas, twice last year. After those two encounters most observers noted that Mosley, who prior to the victories was considered a fighter on the decline, looked every bit like a rejuvenated pug.
As reported this past Thursday here at Boxingscene.com, WBO 147-pound champion Antonio Margarito and his team had not yet decided to vacate the title and were planning to make a final decision last Friday.
Earlier today, Francisco Espinoza, who is part of Antonio Margarito’s management team, spoke to BoxingScene.com regarding the recent reports of his charge’s decision to vacate the WBO 147-pound title.
“Boxing’s Evil Empire” is a term I use to refer to fighters that are beyond comprehension regarding their lust for pain and larger than life personas. There are few fighters throughout history that have had this kind of combination which qualify them for my own “River Bottom Nightmare Band” lineup. Fighters like Jake LaMotta, Mike Tyson, Roberto Duran, Julio Cesar Chavez, Jose Luis Castillo, Erik Morales and Arturo Gatti are but a few who have, at one time or another, topped my list of wickedness. I know what you are thinking: “Where are guys like Micky Ward and every other tough-as-nails fighter? Why are they not on the aforementioned list?” My answer to those questions is that although toughness is obviously a criterion, it is not the only one. The fighters on my list all had personalities that were larger than life at the time of their prominence. From alcoholism, to whore mongering, to just being such an incredible badass that their auras consumed the general public and elevated their mythical figure status. At the present time, “The Empire” has a ruler who keeps the tradition intact by running his domain with an iron fist. His name: Jorge “Travieso” Arce. Arce is as brutal and vicious inside the ring as he is entertaining and flamboyant outside of it. The Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexicans persona is of such magnitude that he has managed to garner the attention of boxing’s “Status Quo,” despite the fact that he weighs all of 115-pounds in the super flyweight division that is normally ignored.
Life is said to be about experiences, and that one can only benefit from experiencing both the euphoria of triumph along with the melancholy of tragedy. It is hard to understand this concept if you are one that has never really taken a risk at any point in your life, but it is a truism which applies to all without exception. Sometimes, although passing up wealth is not something most want to do, it is necessary to accept when there are limitations or liabilities that in the end will damage one more than the worth of money. Case in point: Jose Luis “El Temible” Castillo and his “weight incident.” In May of 2005, Castillo, a veteran of fifty-nine fights, entered contest number sixty both an unexplainably underrated and unappreciated lightweight champion. His prior accomplishments of slaying the likes of Stevie Johnston, Cesar Bazan, Juan Lazcano, Joel Casamayor, Julio Diaz, and making Floyd Mayweather, Jr. act like Mrs. Mayweather, Jr. in their rematch after Jose Luis was robbed in their first fight, appeared to go completely unnoticed. Castillo’s opponent on that night was media darling Diego Corrales, who was seen as a fighter that had redeemed himself since losing horribly to Mayweather, Jr. and coming back from a stint in the joint for domestic abuse. Corrales was saying all the right things and was heavily backed by most of the boxing media; his stature coming in to the fight was at an all-time high. We all know that what happened next has become a piece of boxing history.
It is about 3:15 A.M and I just have not been able to sleep. It has been like this for a few days now. Just cannot seem to get down to bottom of what is keeping me up. So many things on my mind that there just seems to be no mind left for rest. Got myself some orange juice and decided to put something down and see if I can turn this insomnia into production.