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Frank Warren: "The Americans have been doing a job on us recently..."
I was hoping Gary Lockett would cause an upset by beating Kelly Pavlik last weekend in the States - but he never got going in Atlantic City.
Instead middleweight World Champion Pavlik stopped him in the third round, and was just too big and too strong.
Joe Calzaghe's win over Bernard Hopkins aside, the Americans have been doing a job on us recently, with Junior Witter, Clinton Woods and Ricky Hatton all losing to Yanks in the last six months.
But unlike Witter and Woods, Lockett was an underdog.
There's no shame in losing to a good fighter, and I believe Gary even hurt Pavlik with a body shot early on. He couldn't capitalise on it though.
Pavlik now wants a fight with Calzaghe, it now has the makings of a huge fight.
As a result of the win, Pavlik's promoter Bob Arum has gone into promotional overdrive, claiming his man is better than Marvin Hagler.
That remains to be seen and is doubtful - Pavlik is good, but he still moves in straight lines and is easy to hit.
He's certainly near the top of the current P4P ratings though, especially now Floyd Mayweather has announced his "retirement".
Don't expect Floyd to stay retired for long though - it's probably a negotiating stance.
He loves gesture politics, and has also gone on record to say that he won't fight Miguel Cotto because he'll have to work with Bob Arum. That's shorthand for not wanting the fight.
At the moment, he's furious that he wasn't offered as much money as Oscar De La Hoya for their proposed rematch in September.
De La Hoya is very popular in America, but having won their first fight and then destroyed Hatton, Mayweather is also in a strong position.
I've got some sympathy for him, and it's a bit like Roy Jones Jnr demanding equality with Calzaghe for a possible fight later this year. It just isn't going to happen.
To me, Mayweather is the only realistic option for Oscar.
That was underlined by the fact that De La Hoya this week cancelled his September show, and said he would now box in December.
Without Mayweather it will be difficult to find a credible opponent, and on Monday, Ray Hatton turned down the chance to be in the opposite corner.
It's a sensible move by Ray because fighting De La Hoya would be nothing more than a money-making exercise.
He showed against Mayweather that he's no welterweight, so moving up to light-middle to challenge Oscar would be professional suicide.
***
A future star was born on the under-card of Lockett-Pavlik, with Juan Manuel Lopez beating Daniel Ponce de Leon inside a round to capture the WBO super-bantamweight title.
Despite his name, Ponce de Leon was a quality champion, but became the 20th man to be knocked out by Lopez. Only two opponents have gone the distance with him.
The win for Lopez was another set back for Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy outfit - Ponce de Leon was their man. They've not had much luck recently.
Kevin Mitchell also fought in Atlantic City, and got the job done against dangerous southpaw Walter Estrada, who came in at the last minute. It was a good learning fight for Mitchell.
***
I was inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame on Sunday in upstate New York, and it was a great experience - as well as an uncomfortable one in 100 degree heat.
One of my all-time heroes, Larry Holmes, was also part of the Class of 2008, and made a lengthy speech.
He never fought George Foreman, he claimed George ducked him.
Holmes even encouraged people not to buy one of Foreman's grills, claiming that there was nothing better than a burger covered in fat.
"Who'd buy a grill from a man who names his eight children George" asked Holmes.
Amazingly, Larry, who turns 60 next year, had his last fight just six years ago - and won it.
***
Congratulations to Joe Calzaghe who has been honoured in Queen's Birthday Honours list. He will receive a CBE for services to sport and voluntary services to Wales.
***
Four-time heavyweight world champion Evander Holyfield is in financial difficulties, and his 109 room $20million home is up for foreclosure in the States.
Holyfield earned tens of millions of dollars from the sport, and rather than getting ripped off by those involved in it, has made bad financial decisions outside of the ring.
Married a number of times, alimony payments to his many children total a whopping $45,000 a month.
***
Everyone knocked the Contender when it first came out, but last weekend it produced a world champion when Sergio Mora beat Vernon Forrest to lift the WBC light-middleweight title.
Speaking like a man well aware of his own financial worth, Mora immediately described light-middleweight as a "horrible" division and announced he was going back up to middleweight.
Instead middleweight World Champion Pavlik stopped him in the third round, and was just too big and too strong.
Joe Calzaghe's win over Bernard Hopkins aside, the Americans have been doing a job on us recently, with Junior Witter, Clinton Woods and Ricky Hatton all losing to Yanks in the last six months.
But unlike Witter and Woods, Lockett was an underdog.
There's no shame in losing to a good fighter, and I believe Gary even hurt Pavlik with a body shot early on. He couldn't capitalise on it though.
Pavlik now wants a fight with Calzaghe, it now has the makings of a huge fight.
As a result of the win, Pavlik's promoter Bob Arum has gone into promotional overdrive, claiming his man is better than Marvin Hagler.
That remains to be seen and is doubtful - Pavlik is good, but he still moves in straight lines and is easy to hit.
He's certainly near the top of the current P4P ratings though, especially now Floyd Mayweather has announced his "retirement".
Don't expect Floyd to stay retired for long though - it's probably a negotiating stance.
He loves gesture politics, and has also gone on record to say that he won't fight Miguel Cotto because he'll have to work with Bob Arum. That's shorthand for not wanting the fight.
At the moment, he's furious that he wasn't offered as much money as Oscar De La Hoya for their proposed rematch in September.
De La Hoya is very popular in America, but having won their first fight and then destroyed Hatton, Mayweather is also in a strong position.
I've got some sympathy for him, and it's a bit like Roy Jones Jnr demanding equality with Calzaghe for a possible fight later this year. It just isn't going to happen.
To me, Mayweather is the only realistic option for Oscar.
That was underlined by the fact that De La Hoya this week cancelled his September show, and said he would now box in December.
Without Mayweather it will be difficult to find a credible opponent, and on Monday, Ray Hatton turned down the chance to be in the opposite corner.
It's a sensible move by Ray because fighting De La Hoya would be nothing more than a money-making exercise.
He showed against Mayweather that he's no welterweight, so moving up to light-middle to challenge Oscar would be professional suicide.
***
A future star was born on the under-card of Lockett-Pavlik, with Juan Manuel Lopez beating Daniel Ponce de Leon inside a round to capture the WBO super-bantamweight title.
Despite his name, Ponce de Leon was a quality champion, but became the 20th man to be knocked out by Lopez. Only two opponents have gone the distance with him.
The win for Lopez was another set back for Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy outfit - Ponce de Leon was their man. They've not had much luck recently.
Kevin Mitchell also fought in Atlantic City, and got the job done against dangerous southpaw Walter Estrada, who came in at the last minute. It was a good learning fight for Mitchell.
***
I was inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame on Sunday in upstate New York, and it was a great experience - as well as an uncomfortable one in 100 degree heat.
One of my all-time heroes, Larry Holmes, was also part of the Class of 2008, and made a lengthy speech.
He never fought George Foreman, he claimed George ducked him.
Holmes even encouraged people not to buy one of Foreman's grills, claiming that there was nothing better than a burger covered in fat.
"Who'd buy a grill from a man who names his eight children George" asked Holmes.
Amazingly, Larry, who turns 60 next year, had his last fight just six years ago - and won it.
***
Congratulations to Joe Calzaghe who has been honoured in Queen's Birthday Honours list. He will receive a CBE for services to sport and voluntary services to Wales.
***
Four-time heavyweight world champion Evander Holyfield is in financial difficulties, and his 109 room $20million home is up for foreclosure in the States.
Holyfield earned tens of millions of dollars from the sport, and rather than getting ripped off by those involved in it, has made bad financial decisions outside of the ring.
Married a number of times, alimony payments to his many children total a whopping $45,000 a month.
***
Everyone knocked the Contender when it first came out, but last weekend it produced a world champion when Sergio Mora beat Vernon Forrest to lift the WBC light-middleweight title.
Speaking like a man well aware of his own financial worth, Mora immediately described light-middleweight as a "horrible" division and announced he was going back up to middleweight.
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