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From ESPN Boxing Notebook
Junior flyweight titlist Omar Nino (24-2-1, 10 KOs) of Mexico will defend his belt in a rematch with Brian Viloria (19-1, 12 KOs) on the Nov. 18 Manny Pacquiao-Erik Morales III HBO PPV undercard, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum told ESPN.com. Viloria, a 2000 U.S. Olympian, was making the second defense of his 108-pound belt when the unheralded Nino shockingly outclassed him to win a lopsided decision on Aug. 10. Arum also said that newly-signed 21-year-old junior lightweight prospect Juan Carlos Salgado (15-0-1, 12 KOs) of Mexico will open the pay-per-view broadcast in six- or eight-rounder. If Salgado is as good as the hype, he could be special. His adviser, Cameron Dunkin, who has worked with numerous world champions, including Diego Corrales, Stevie Johnston, Johnny Tapia, Danny Romero and Bones Adams, says Salgado could turn out to be the best fighter he's ever been involved with. Also on the Nov. 18 PPV: Ricardo Torres vs. Mike Arnaoutis for the junior welterweight belt Miguel Cotto is vacating in order to fight Carlos Quintana for a welterweight belt on Dec. 2.
Female boxing star Laila Ali (22-0, 19 KOs), the daughter of Muhammad Ali, will face Shelley Burton (8-2-1, 2 KOs) in an apparent mismatch at New York's Madison Square Garden on Nov. 11 on the undercard of heavyweight titlist Wladimir Klitschko's first defense against Calvin Brock. Ali's super middleweight bout, however, will not be part of HBO's coverage. Ali, who will fight in the legendary arena where her father fought eight times, is now being trained by Floyd Mayweather Sr.
Weight watchers
In the wake of the recent failures of Diego Corrales and Jorge Barrios to make weight -- failures that caused the fighters to be stripped of their titles on the scales -- more attention is being paid to fighters as they come down in weight.
In the case of the Nov. 4 welterweight championship fight between Carlos Baldomir and challenger Floyd Mayweather Jr., weight doesn't appear to be an issue.
Both fighters completed their 30-day prefight weigh-in and both were within the limit prescribed by the WBC.
Mayweather weighed 150 pounds on Oct. 3 and Baldomir was 161 pounds on Oct. 4. Both must get down to 147 pounds by the weigh in on Nov. 3.
According to the WBC rules, the maximum the fighters could weigh was 162 pounds. The WBC will conduct another pre-fight weight check a week before the bout. The fighters are supposed to be no heavier than 154 pounds.
Diaz ready for Casamayor
Interim lightweight titlist David Diaz watched last Saturday's rubber match between Diego Corrales and Joel Casamayor with great interest because he knew he would be facing Casamayor next whether Casamayor won or lost.
As an interim titlist, Diaz is also the mandatory challenger for the full title. That title was stripped from Corrales after he failed to make weight the day before the fight, meaning Diaz would either face newly crowned champion Casamayor or they would face each other for the vacant belt in the event of a Casamayor loss.
As it turned out, Casamayor won a split decision to become the new champion, and Diaz is looking forward to facing him.
"I congratulate Joel on his win over Diego," Diaz said. "They both fought well and it was a very close fight. Joel now has the WBC lightweight belt and I'm ready to fight him. I've been back in the gym now for a few weeks and as soon as we set a date, I'll dial it up."
Diaz, who is from Chicago, would love for the fight to be in his hometown.
"The [White] Sox last year, the Bulls for six years in the '90s, maybe the Bears this year. It's the city of champions," Diaz said. "Last [Saturday] night there were almost 14,000 at the Allstate Arena for the HBO show, and last year there were massive crowds for Fernando Vargas' fight and the two cards at the United Center with the heavyweight title fights. We should definitely do the fight here. This is truly a fight town. Joel would feel at home in Chicago also. There's a big Cuban population here and fantastic Cuban restaurants."
Diaz claimed the interim belt in dramatic fashion in August, rallying for a 10th-round TKO of Jose Armando Santa Cruz.
From ESPN Boxing Notebook Dan Rafael (not full news)
Might as well post since nothing else special is up.
Junior flyweight titlist Omar Nino (24-2-1, 10 KOs) of Mexico will defend his belt in a rematch with Brian Viloria (19-1, 12 KOs) on the Nov. 18 Manny Pacquiao-Erik Morales III HBO PPV undercard, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum told ESPN.com. Viloria, a 2000 U.S. Olympian, was making the second defense of his 108-pound belt when the unheralded Nino shockingly outclassed him to win a lopsided decision on Aug. 10. Arum also said that newly-signed 21-year-old junior lightweight prospect Juan Carlos Salgado (15-0-1, 12 KOs) of Mexico will open the pay-per-view broadcast in six- or eight-rounder. If Salgado is as good as the hype, he could be special. His adviser, Cameron Dunkin, who has worked with numerous world champions, including Diego Corrales, Stevie Johnston, Johnny Tapia, Danny Romero and Bones Adams, says Salgado could turn out to be the best fighter he's ever been involved with. Also on the Nov. 18 PPV: Ricardo Torres vs. Mike Arnaoutis for the junior welterweight belt Miguel Cotto is vacating in order to fight Carlos Quintana for a welterweight belt on Dec. 2.
Female boxing star Laila Ali (22-0, 19 KOs), the daughter of Muhammad Ali, will face Shelley Burton (8-2-1, 2 KOs) in an apparent mismatch at New York's Madison Square Garden on Nov. 11 on the undercard of heavyweight titlist Wladimir Klitschko's first defense against Calvin Brock. Ali's super middleweight bout, however, will not be part of HBO's coverage. Ali, who will fight in the legendary arena where her father fought eight times, is now being trained by Floyd Mayweather Sr.
Weight watchers
In the wake of the recent failures of Diego Corrales and Jorge Barrios to make weight -- failures that caused the fighters to be stripped of their titles on the scales -- more attention is being paid to fighters as they come down in weight.
In the case of the Nov. 4 welterweight championship fight between Carlos Baldomir and challenger Floyd Mayweather Jr., weight doesn't appear to be an issue.
Both fighters completed their 30-day prefight weigh-in and both were within the limit prescribed by the WBC.
Mayweather weighed 150 pounds on Oct. 3 and Baldomir was 161 pounds on Oct. 4. Both must get down to 147 pounds by the weigh in on Nov. 3.
According to the WBC rules, the maximum the fighters could weigh was 162 pounds. The WBC will conduct another pre-fight weight check a week before the bout. The fighters are supposed to be no heavier than 154 pounds.
Diaz ready for Casamayor
Interim lightweight titlist David Diaz watched last Saturday's rubber match between Diego Corrales and Joel Casamayor with great interest because he knew he would be facing Casamayor next whether Casamayor won or lost.
As an interim titlist, Diaz is also the mandatory challenger for the full title. That title was stripped from Corrales after he failed to make weight the day before the fight, meaning Diaz would either face newly crowned champion Casamayor or they would face each other for the vacant belt in the event of a Casamayor loss.
As it turned out, Casamayor won a split decision to become the new champion, and Diaz is looking forward to facing him.
"I congratulate Joel on his win over Diego," Diaz said. "They both fought well and it was a very close fight. Joel now has the WBC lightweight belt and I'm ready to fight him. I've been back in the gym now for a few weeks and as soon as we set a date, I'll dial it up."
Diaz, who is from Chicago, would love for the fight to be in his hometown.
"The [White] Sox last year, the Bulls for six years in the '90s, maybe the Bears this year. It's the city of champions," Diaz said. "Last [Saturday] night there were almost 14,000 at the Allstate Arena for the HBO show, and last year there were massive crowds for Fernando Vargas' fight and the two cards at the United Center with the heavyweight title fights. We should definitely do the fight here. This is truly a fight town. Joel would feel at home in Chicago also. There's a big Cuban population here and fantastic Cuban restaurants."
Diaz claimed the interim belt in dramatic fashion in August, rallying for a 10th-round TKO of Jose Armando Santa Cruz.
From ESPN Boxing Notebook Dan Rafael (not full news)
Might as well post since nothing else special is up.
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