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by David P. Greisman - Boxing didn’t need Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather to save it. Boxing didn’t need to worry about heavyweight unification, mainstream attention or mixed martial arts as competition.
All it needed was a year like 2007.
The wars between Rafael Marquez and Israel Vazquez. The ascent of young stars, be it in America with Miguel Cotto, Chad Dawson and Juan Diaz, or in foreign markets with Lucien Bute and Koki Kameda. Golden Boy and Top Rank ending their promotional war. And, most importantly, the best facing the best.
Juan Manuel Marquez got his long-awaited shot at Marco Antonio Barrera. Jermain Taylor stepped into the ring with his consensus top challenger, Kelly Pavlik. Joe Calzaghe unified the super middleweight championship against Mikkel Kessler. Miguel Cotto will go at it with Shane Mosley on Saturday, and Floyd Mayweather-Ricky Hatton follows four weeks later.
Despite the sanctioning bodies and their politics, throughout the bad decisions and the cementing of boxing as a niche sport, the Sweet Science has always come down to two men lacing up gloves and throwing punches.
Taylor-Pavlik was 20 minutes of electricity, from Taylor scoring an early knockdown to Pavlik rising from the canvas and rallying to score a come-from-behind victory. They will meet again come February in one of the most anticipated rematches since Diego Corrales-Jose Luis Castillo 2.
Calzaghe-Kessler brought a massive 50,150 people to Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. They roared, and Calzaghe reacted, throwing 1,010 punches over 12 rounds, boxing in a high gear with energy that carried through into his post-fight interview. One thing stood out in Calzaghe’s conversation with HBO analyst Max Kellerman: his desire to step up seven pounds and challenge the man holding the “Ring Magazine” championship belt. [details]
All it needed was a year like 2007.
The wars between Rafael Marquez and Israel Vazquez. The ascent of young stars, be it in America with Miguel Cotto, Chad Dawson and Juan Diaz, or in foreign markets with Lucien Bute and Koki Kameda. Golden Boy and Top Rank ending their promotional war. And, most importantly, the best facing the best.
Juan Manuel Marquez got his long-awaited shot at Marco Antonio Barrera. Jermain Taylor stepped into the ring with his consensus top challenger, Kelly Pavlik. Joe Calzaghe unified the super middleweight championship against Mikkel Kessler. Miguel Cotto will go at it with Shane Mosley on Saturday, and Floyd Mayweather-Ricky Hatton follows four weeks later.
Despite the sanctioning bodies and their politics, throughout the bad decisions and the cementing of boxing as a niche sport, the Sweet Science has always come down to two men lacing up gloves and throwing punches.
Taylor-Pavlik was 20 minutes of electricity, from Taylor scoring an early knockdown to Pavlik rising from the canvas and rallying to score a come-from-behind victory. They will meet again come February in one of the most anticipated rematches since Diego Corrales-Jose Luis Castillo 2.
Calzaghe-Kessler brought a massive 50,150 people to Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. They roared, and Calzaghe reacted, throwing 1,010 punches over 12 rounds, boxing in a high gear with energy that carried through into his post-fight interview. One thing stood out in Calzaghe’s conversation with HBO analyst Max Kellerman: his desire to step up seven pounds and challenge the man holding the “Ring Magazine” championship belt. [details]
Paul Williams and Kermit Cintron are Champions, not Contenders. I will put those TWO against MayWeather Jr. any given Saturday and bet on THEM. Paul got the size and the Speed. Kermit got the size and the Power. 
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