by Jim Amato

Greatness, like beauty is really in the eye of the beholder. Since 1965 I've followed the careers of so many wonderful fighters. Over the past couple of decades it has become increasingly more difficult to judge a fighters true worth. With so many titles and weight classes involved sometimes we as fans never really know who is the best fighter in their weight division. At times when a fighter does emerge who looks like he is the cream of his division, he promptly moves up a weight class. Floyd Mayweather Jr. is a good example. Manny Pacquiao too.
 

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photo Tom Hogan/Goldenboy

SERGIO MORA vs. VERNON FORREST II
TO CO-HEADLINE SEPTEMBER 13^TH
MEGACARD AT MGM GRAND
LIVE ON PAY-PER-VIEW

Mexican Independence Day weekend will be celebrated this year with the rematch of one of 2008’s most hotly contested world title fights when former World Champion Vernon Forrest looks for redemption against a young World Champion Sergio Mora, who is looking to solidify his spot amongst the top junior middleweights in the world.  On Saturday, September 13^th, Sergio “The Latin Snake” Mora takes on the man he won his first world title from, former two-division World Champion Vernon “The Viper” Forrest at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Mora-Forrest II is the 12-round co-featured bout to the highly anticipated Joel Casamayor vs. Juan Manuel Marquez showdown.  The fight is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Tournament of Contenders, Gary Shaw Productions and Fight Knight, LLC.  Casamayor vs. Marquez – “The Challenge”, a 12-round bout for Casamayor’s Ring Magazine World Lightweight Championship, is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Romanza Boxing and sponsored by Cerveza Tecate, Cazadores Tequila and Southwest Airlines.  The world title bout will take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and will be distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View, beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.
Tickets priced at $300, $200, $125 and $75 are on sale and may be purchased at any MGM Grand box office outlet and all Las Vegas Ticketmaster locations (select Smith’s Food and Drug Centers and Macy’s West at the Fashion Show Mall).  Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person.  To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (702) 474-4000.  Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

Longtime Ricky Hatton trainer Billy Graham has told the Manchester Evening News that he wanted to continue to train 'The Hitman,' but was terminated against his wishes. "I was sacked," stated Graham bluntly, "but if Ricky wants to finish with me that's entirely up to him. As a result I have decided it is a good time to retire. I'm not going to get into a slanging match with Ricky because we've been through too much together. I always said I would retire when Ricky finished and I had hoped to stick it out right to the end....it's a fantastic story and I'm not going to ruin it by bad-mouthing him. And I wish him all the best for his next fight."
 

Don King has lost his $2.5 billion libel suit against ESPN. On Monday, a Florida state court judge ruled that King failed to prove that the network acted with malice in a May 2004 broadcast of ESPN’s Sports Century which featured the famed promoter, according to the Bloomberg news network. “While ESPN could have perhaps done a more searching investigation and contacted additional sources,” Judge Robert A. Rosenberg stated, “it was not reasonably required to continue its investigation until it found somebody who would defend the plaintiffs.” King filed his suit in 2005 in response to the documentary in which he claimed he was defamed by statements made on the program which portrayed him as con artist and bully, and included several false statements - that King allegedly issued death threats to sports journalists and to boxers he promoted. The program also purported that King cheated his fighters out of millions of dollars. King will appeal said one of his lawyers, Tricia Hoffler who stated: “They did a hatchet job on Don King. Definitely the fight has just begun!”
 

The welterweight debut of former two-time WBC lightweight world champion Jose Luis "Temible" Castillo (56-9-1, 48 KOs) was not a successful one as he was outworked by former title challenger Sebastian Lujan (29-5-2, 20 KOs) on Wednesday night at the Sycuan Resort in El Cajon, California (a suburb of San Diego). Scores were 98-92, 99-91, 99-91 for Lujan who threw 1,208 punches in the 10 round fight.
Prior to the fight Castillo had told ESPN2's Teddy Atlas that if he lost this fight he would retire, ending a 19 year career and 2 world title reigns.

photo Chris Farina/Top Rank

Two-time world champion Zab Judah hits the mitts with father/trainer Yoel Judah during training for his upcoming vacant IBF welterweight championship clash against #1 world-ranked Joshua Clottey on Saturday at the Pearl Theater inside the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.
The fight will be televised on HBO's Boxing After Dark and will be preceded by the replay of the Miguel Cotto-Antonio Margarito fight from last Saturday.

WILL MEET ANOTHER CONTENDER ALUMNI

Two participants in The Contender reality television series, "The Pride of Providence" Peter Manfredo, Jr. (Season One finalist) and Donny McCrary (Season Three participant) will battle for the NABF interim super middleweight title in the 12-round main event on August 22 at Twin River Events Center in Lincoln, Rhode Island. Manfredo (30-5, 15 KOs) is rated #18 by the WBC. McCrady is 24-7-2 with 13 KOs. "We put our fighters in with real fighters," promoter Jimmy Burchfield said. "This is what boxing's supposed to be all about. People don't want to know the winners before the fights. Peter Manfredo, Jr. and these other guys are like fighters from old warrior days when they'd fight anybody." In the co-feature, super middleweight Joey "KO Kid" Spina (22-1-1, 15 KOs) takes on Jim Strohl (27-6, 21 KOs) in a six-round bout. Tickets are priced at $40-$150. Call 401-724-2253/2254.
 

On August 6th, Joe DeGuardia's Star Boxing will be co-promoting two shows in New York City at the same time. Star Boxing is teaming up with Sal Musumeci's Final Forum to promote ESPN2's "Wednesday Night Fights" telecast from the Aviator Sports and Recreation Center in Brooklyn, NY, headlined by junior welterweight prospect Ali "Hurricane" Oubaali (21-3, 17 KOs) against Christopher "Kid Kayo" Fernandez (15-4-1, 9 KOs) with heavyweight Albert Sosnowski (43-1, 26 KOs) vs. Kevin Burnett (13-1-1, 8 KOs) in the co-feature. That same night Star Boxing, in association with DiBella Entertainment, are putting together a card at the B.B. King Blues Club in New York City featuring fan favorite knockout artist Vinny Maddalone (29-4, 20 KOs) versus Joe Stofle (11-13-2, 10 KOs). "On August 6th I am teaming up with not one, but two of the top promoters in the New York Area to put on two great shows," said DeGuardia. "This is what boxing needs, for us promoters to work together to put together exciting shows and give the fans what they want to see. Each show is loaded with top level talent, along with some of the top young prospects to hit the boxing world in a long time."
 

Looks like WBC super lightweight world champion Timothy Bradley (22-0, 11 KOs) will be defending his world title against Edner Cherry (24-5-2, 12 KOs) on the September 13 SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING card. It will be the first defense for the unbeaten Bradley, who dethroned Junior Witter for the title in May. Still no official venue for the card, which will be co-promoted by Don King Productions and Gary Shaw Productions. Headlining that show will be the lightweight championship clash between champion Nate Campbell (32-5-1, 25 KOs) and former two-division champ Joan Guzman (28-0, 17 KOs).
 

The #1 rated welterweight in the world, Joshua Clottey of Accra, Ghana, today said he will "...destroy Judah, way worse than how Cotto did it last year."
Judah, a former undisputed world welterweight champion who has been in 15 world title bouts, shrugged it off.
"I'm on a much higher skill level than he is," said Judah.
Judah vs. Clottey is this Saturday, August 2, at the Palms Hotel-Casino in Las Vegas. The new welterweight king, 'Tijuana Tornado' Antonio Margarito, will be at ringside.
Clottey said he plans to pressure Judah, back him up, and attack at all times.
"Just the way Margarito fights," said Clottey, "and after beating Judah, I want to go into the ring again against Margarito."
Clottey battled Margarito for 12 rounds in December, 2006 in Atlantic City, N.J. "I pounded on him, then hurt my right hand, then my left," Clottey said. "I was hurt but I refused to quit. I went the full 12 rounds."
First, however, Clottey must deal with Judah.
Bob Arum of Top Rank says Clottey vs. Judah is a scorcher.
"The welterweight division is the hottest in boxing today," Arum said.
Judah vs. Clottey for the vacant IBF Welterweight Championship will be broadcast on HBO After Dark.

Following his fight against UFC champion Anderson Silva on July 19th in Las Vegas, James Irvin failed his drug test. The results showed Methadone and Oxymorphone in his system. Both of these are unapproved pain killers. Irvin now has 20 days to respond to the complaint and request a hearing. Commission executive director Keith Kizer stated that there could be a fine and/or a suspension or revocation of his license.

photo Eoin Mundow/Cleva Media

Former cruiserweight king David ‘The Hayemaker’ Haye has once again reiterated that he’ll be big enough and hit hard enough to shatter the jaw and reign of heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko – despite the Ukrainian’s concerns that the Bermondsey man needed to “grow a bit”.
“I’ve only just started to get back into serious training and I’m currently at a lean and mean 16 stone 8 pounds (232 lbs; 105 KG),” explained the former WBC/WBA and WBO cruiserweight titleholder Haye. “Klitschko was worried that I wouldn’t be big enough to face him, but the scales don’t lie and I’m well over the 16 stone mark and in great shape already. I’m eating well, living well and doing some serious training. My body fat is at 12 per cent and I’m currently in better shape than the majority of the division even at this early stage.”
Not only that, Haye, in his current state, significantly outweighs previous Klitschko challengers Sultan Ibragimov (15’9; 219 lbs; 99 KG), Lamon Brewster (16’4; 228 lbs; 103 KG), Calvin Brock (16’; 224 lbs; 101 KG) and Chris Byrd (15’3; 213 lbs; 96 KG). He’s also substantially heavier than Corrie Sanders (16’1; 225 lbs; 102 KG), the South African who obliterated Klitschko so dramatically back in March 2003.

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HOW GOOD WAS VITALI KLITSCHKO ?

by Jim Amato

With Vitali Klitschko on his way out of retirement to fight Sam Peter, below is what I felt about Vitali's career.

*****

He had walked away from the most prestigious prize in all of sports. I was shocked but Vitali Klitschko is his own man and for whatever reasons he had, the decision was made.
How good was Vitali Klitschko ? Where will he fall when rating him against the other great heavyweights of all time? It will be quite difficult to judge with the abrupt end to his career. Vitali had only 37 fights. He won 35 with 34 stoppage wins. The numbers are impressive. Let's look at the quality of his opposition.

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Casamayor y Marquez protagonizaran El Duelo en el desierto de Las Vegas
Por Jaime Estrada

Juanma siempre fue tratado de segunda categoría a pesar de sus memorables hazañas y por azares del destino en su ultima derrota contra Pacquiao se le dio el pincelazo de ídolo en todo México, a consecuencia de su valentía que tuvo su sello de calidad certificada cuando se levanto de la lona en malas condiciones y en vez de amarrar, eludir, soportar, tratar de huir o hacer contacto con el suelo, se puso al toma y dame con el tagalo quien al parecer ya no quiere ni escuchar su nombre como contrincante.

Historia Completa
 

Popular Mexican fighter and former WBC lightweight world champion Jose Luis “El Temible” Castillo (56-8-1, 48 KOs) will get back in the ring against Argentine Sebastian “Iron” Lujan (29-5-2, 20 KOs) in a 10-round welterweight battle on Wednesday, July 30, live on ESPN2 at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.
Both Castillo and Lujan weighed in at 146.5lbs.
The co-feature showcases undefeated welterweight prospect Luis Carlos “El Potro” Abregu (22-0, 19 KOs) against Thomas Davis (12-7-2, 7 KOs).
The evening of boxing is promoted by Sycuan Ringside Promotions and will take place at the Sycuan Indian Reservation in El Cajon, Calif. (suburb of San Diego).
 

SOME THOUGHTS ON DE LA HOYA -VS- PACQUIAO
by Jim Amato

JOSHUA CLOTTEY TO WEAR COV GLOVE THIS SATURDAY NIGHT
IN WORLD TITLE BOUT

This Saturday night in Las Vegas, history will be made as the newest and innovative product in boxing; Cov Glove will be worn in a world title bout as Joshua Clottey will wear the product as he battles Zab Judah for the vacant IBF Welterweight title on a bout that can be seen nationally on HBO. Judah has said that he will not use the item.
“I am thrilled that the Cov Glove will be used for this very important fight” said Cov Glove Founder, David Price
“We went to the ABC Convention a few weeks ago and the commissions gave us a ringing endorsement so hopefully this will be the first in a long line of big matches where the Cov Glove will be worn.”
"The product has been worn in some ESPN 2 fights and this is the next logical progression for the product."
Cov Glove is the brainchild of former professional fighter, Associate Pastor and successful entrepreneur David Price.
Cov Glove is a product that is designed to keep the action of a fight flowing as well as a safety measure in boxing.
Cov Glove is a synthetic material that is placed over the tape of the glove on the wrist. Price became extremely frustrated when a fighter would get an opponent hurt and then there was a halt in the action due to the unraveling of tape.

SECOND CARD THIS SATURDAY
IBF TITLE FIGHT

IBF junior bantamweight champion Dimitri "The Baby" Kirilov (29-3-1, 9 KOs) will defend his title against former IBF flyweight champion and knockout artist Vic "Raging Bull" Darchinyan (29-1-1, 23 KOs), Saturday, Aug. 2, live on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING at 9 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the west coast). In the co-feature, U.S. Olympian and undefeated prospect Andre "The Matrix" Dirrell (15-0, 10 KOs) puts his flawless record on the line against fellow unbeaten Mike "The Persecutor" Paschall (17-0-1, 4 KOs) in a 10-round super middleweight brawl. The telecast will originate from the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, Wash., and is promoted by Gotham Boxing, Inc.

UFC in Chicago Oct. 25
Tickets on sale Aug. 18!

Sports fans in Chicago unite! The UFC® is coming to town and it is bringing the world's greatest pound for pound fighter, Anderson "The Spider" Silva, for a middleweight title fight against his number one contender, Patrick "The Predator" Cote. The UFC will make its historic first trip to Chicago this fall when it presents UFC 90: SILVA vs. COTE live from Allstate Arena on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2008 . . . . . Click here for more.
                    _______________________

UFC 89 to air on Spike TV!
Bisping battles Leben in headliner!

Spike TV heads across the Atlantic Ocean for the third time to telecast a UFC fight card with middleweights “The Ultimate Fighter 3” champ Michael Bisping and “The Ultimate Fighter 1” standout Chris Leben headlining on Saturday, October 18 at 9:00pm ET/PT (same-day tape delay) from The National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, England . . . . Click here for more
 

Billy Graham, long time trainer of Ricky Hatton, has decided to retire, leaving "The Hitman" without a trainer for his November clash against Paulie Malignaggi. There had been speculation that the pair would split after Hatton's brother Matthew recently left Graham's Gym and things came to a head on Monday.

SULAIMAN URGES HONESTY AT OLYMPICS

WBC President Jose Sulaiman has urged Dr. Ching-Kuo Wu, the new President of AIBA (International Amateur Boxing Association), to get rid of corrupt officials. "I am suggesting to President Wu that he take a very important step in the history of amateur boxing," stated Sulaiman, "which is to warn the ring officials that will work in the coming Olympic Games in Beijing, China, to devote themselves absolutely to the principles of honesty, impartiality, competency, and loyalty to the AIBA institution, and that those who do not should be eliminated from the Olympic Games and never be appointed officially by the AIBA again. I believe strongly in Dr. Wu's honesty and integrity, and am confident that he will work very hard to erase the apparent corruption that has existed in the past with some of AIBA's ring officials and hurt many innocent boxers and nations who have deserved to win medals with their actions in the ring only to see them given to others because of the judges."
 

JUDAH VS CLOTTEY CARD IS FULLY LOADED WITH UNBEATEN FUTURE STARS
AND TOP PROSPECTS!

The Zab Judah vs. Joshua Clottey hot undercard is packed with future stars and top prospects including undefeated lightweight Anthony Peterson of Washington, D.C.
Bob Arum made the announcement today. Judah and Clottey will rumble for the vacant IBF welterweight title this Saturday, August 2, at the Pearl Concert Theater inside of the Palms Hotel-Casino in Las Vegas.
Undefeated fighters on the undercard include:
Unbeaten lightweight Anthony Peterson, 27-0, against Javier Jauregui, 53-14-2.
Unbeaten featherweight Mikey Garcia, 12-0, against Jose Hernandez, 11-6-1
Unbeaten bantamweight Michael Franco, 12-0, against Felix Flores, 14-8-1
Unbeaten Omar Chavez, the Son of the Legend, 10-0-1, against Jeremy Marts, 4-2
Unbeaten Diego Magdaleno, 4-0, against Scott Furney, 3-4-1
Unbeaten Joseph Judah, brother of Super Zab, 2-0, vs. Javier Sanchez, 1-1
Judah and Clottey have both promised victory. The two are fighting for the IBF world welterweight title vacated by Antonio Margarito.

Judah vs. Clottey will be broadcast on HBO Boxing After Dark. In its 13th year on the air, HBO Boxing After Dark will telecast the event with announcing duties held by blow-by-blow announcer Bob Papa, commentator Max Kellerman and expert analyst Lennox Lewis. The HBO broadcast will be at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT.
Tickets for Judah vs. Clottey are $88.00, $178.00 and $253.00, plus any additional service. Please visit any Ticketmaster location, call 702-474-4000 or visit www.ticketmaster.com to purchase tickets. The Pearl Box Office is open from noon - 7 p.m. daily. Doors will open at 4:30 p.m. and first bell is 5:00 p.m. the HBO televised portion begins at 6:30 p.m. PST and will be tape delayed to the West Coast.

The recent Hasim Rahman vs. James Toney heavyweight fight has been declared a 'No Decision' by the California State Athletic Commission.
Although the fight went only three rounds, Toney was announced as a TKO winner on July 16. Rahman and Toney had an accidental headbutt which resulted in a cut above Rahman's left eyebrow at 2:31 of the third round.
Armando Garcia, Executive Director of the California State Athletic Commission, said ".....I have reviewed (Rahman's) appeal and have determined that the wrong decision was rendered on the night of the event. Therefore, the bout will be ruled a No Decision."
Bob Arum of Top Rank called it a "true and just result."
"I want to commend the California Commission and particularly its Executive Director, Armando Garcia, for handling this situation so expeditiously and for having the courage to reverse a decision made the night of the fight."
Rahman said "....I am gratified. It is the right thing to do and I appreciate Mr. Garcia's efforts."

SERGIO MORA-VERNON FORREST II SET FOR SEPTEMBER 13^TH
AT MGM GRAND LIVE ON PAY-PER-VIEW

Mora vs. Forrest II, is the 12-round co-featured bout to the highly anticipated Joel Casamayor vs. Juan Manuel Marquez showdown.  The fight is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Tournament of Contenders, Gary Shaw Productions and Fight Knight, LLC.  Casamayor vs. Marquez – “The Challenge”, a 12-round bout for Casamayor’s Ring Magazine World Lightweight Championship, is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Romanza Boxing and sponsored by Cerveza Tecate, Cazadores Tequila and Southwest Airlines.  The world title bout will take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and will be distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View, beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

Jim Wilkes, Jeff Lacy's attorney and adviser, has confirmed to St. Peterburg Times boxing writer John Cotey that Lacy will return to the ring against Jermain Taylor on November 15. "I'm telling you, as Jeff's attorney, a deal has been reached," Wilkes said. "It took a lot of work, a lot of effort, a lot of discussion, but we got it done."

One of the biggest punchers in boxing today, as well as one of its most exciting practitioners, former undisputed cruiserweight world champion O’Neil Bell is ready to introduce some of that excitement into a new division – heavyweight.
“The heavyweight division needs a savior, and I’m applying for the job,” said Bell, 26-3-1 with 24 knockouts.  “I hate to say it, but the division is a mess and it needs cleaning up by a dynamic and exciting fighter like myself.”
“This is great news for O’Neil Bell and for all of boxing,” said Leon Margules, Executive Director of Seminole Warriors Boxing, Bell’s promoter.  “Not only will O’Neil get to shine at a weight where he is comfortable at, but the world will finally get to see him at his best – putting on exciting fights and knocking people out in the sport’s glamour division.”
World cruiserweight champion for almost two years, the 33-year old Jamaica native has thrilled fight fans ever since his pro debut in 1998, and over the course of his decade in the game, he has knocked out the likes of Jean-Marc Mormeck, Ezra Sellers, Kelvin Davis, Sebastiaan Rothmann, and Arthur Williams.  But now he believes it’s time for him to pursue bigger game.
“Making the cruiserweight limit has sapped me of my strength over my last couple of fights and took away what got me to the world championship in the first place,” said Bell.  “Now at heavyweight, I feel better than ever and I can’t wait to smash everyone in my path on the way to the championship.  This is the most excited I’ve ever been in my career, and that’s bad news for whoever gets in my way.”

Former WBO light welterweight champion DeMarcus “Chop Chop” Corley is in a crossroads fight Wednesday night against Ashley “Treasure” Theophane (21-3, 7 KOs) in Rochester, New York.
Corley (31-8-1, 17 KOs) is out to snap a four-fight losing streak and go back to the future, working with a new team in hopes of getting back into title contention. “This is a great opportunity for me,” Corley said. “I had a great run with Don King, but, ask any fighter, and the only way to stay sharp is to be in the ring. I was fighting every 8-12 months, but I’m older now, and need to be fighting every 3-4 months. I’m fighting young guys who are fast and hungry. I need to be busier.”
Now a promotional free agent, the 34-year-old Corley is now managed by Egis Klimas (E Point K Consulting), and trained by veteran Don Turner. “We have a game plan and I’ll be fighting another way than fans have seen the last few years,” Corley explained. “I’ll show a different style working with Don, but what he’s really done is add to the fighter I was when I became world champion. People are going to see a better fighter, one who is more complete and has added to his arsenal. They haven’t seen me punch like they will Wednesday night. I’ve watched a lot of tape with Don, particularly Sugar Ray Robinson, and Don’s showed me that they all had their feet closer together and threw combinations. I’m doing that and putting my feet closer together hasn’t taken any power away. It’s added power.
“Don’s taught me that the body is programmed for five hard rounds and after then it’s about will and skill after that. If a fighter goes as hard as possible for five rounds, like Floyd Mayweather fights, it’s only a matter of time before the opponent is broken down.”
 

Robbie Lawler used a punishing attack to the body to stop Scott Smith and retain his EliteXC middleweight title on Saturday at the Stockton Arena.
The first meeting between the two heavy-handed mixed martial artists, which took place on EliteXC’s May 31 debut on CBS, had ended as a no contest after Lawler accidentally poked Smith in the eye. EliteXC and CBS brought the pair together again for another entertaining, somewhat abbreviated battle.
This time, however, the ending was decisive.
The fight started slow but picked up midway through the first. After backpedaling for the first minute, Lawler backed Smith against the cage, measured him with a jab and landed a straight left. Two good kicks to the body followed and visibly hurt Smith. Yet Smith, 29, fighting of Elk Grove, Calif., rallied late with a right hand down the pipe that caused Lawler to retreat. Smith pursued with more punches and won the round.
“In the first round, he was pretty much dictating the pace,” said Lawler, now 18-4 with one no contest. “I was taking my time, but man, he was coming after me.”
The second round also started well for Smith. He sliced Lawler open early with a series of forearm smashes on the inside. As blood began to leak out of Lawler, though, the cut fighter launched a pair of left hooks that tore through Smith’s defense. Lawler then trapped Smith against the fence and went to work.
“The thing is, I got cut and I knew that I had to step it up and not give the ref anytime to stop it,” said the 26-year-old Lawler. “So I just kept the pace up and kept pushing forward.”
The middleweight champion hammered away on Smith’s body with punches, though his knees did the greatest damage and dropped Smith to the mat. Smith rose, but Lawler stayed on him and kept smashing home knees and kicks until referee Herb Dean stopped the fight 2:35 of round two.
“I made a mistake,” said Smith, who fell to 13-5 with one no contest. “I knew I cut him with an elbow. Like an idiot, I sat around and waited for the ref to maybe look at it. And he went to work on me, went to work on my midsection with those knees. You live and you learn.”

Full Story and Results

Former IBF super middleweight Jeff Lacy has revealed that he's retiring from boxing because he is insulted by a $550,000 offer to fight Jermain Taylor. "What do I look like fighting a fight of that caliber for $550,000 when I have more to risk than anything?" Lacy commented to the Tampa Tribune. "I feel like Taylor needs me more than I need him and what do I look like fighting that fight for $550,000 and risking my life in there like I did Wednesday night because the referee is not on top of this guy hitting me in the back of the head?"

“Margarito Too Tough For Cotto!”

by Frank Gonzalez Jr.

What a GREAT fight! Will beat skill. Brawler beat boxer. Stamina beat speed. Underdog beat favorite. Styles make fights and on paper, Cotto was rightfully the favorite because he’s the better boxer, has good power and commanding ring generalship. But it came down to who could take a punch better. The story of this fight was Margarito’s tremendous stamina and durability in a classic comeback victory.

Full Story

IF I WAS ANTONIO MARGARITO...
WHAT WOULD I DO ?

by Jim Amato

Well Antonio Margarito is on top of the boxing world. He has earned it. Let him take a little time off to savor the flavor. Eventually though he is going to climb through those ropes again. Who should his opponent be ? Who should Margarito go after and who should he avoid ?
 

Full Story

Full Story

This fight will open the telecast of HBO's Boxing After Dark show featuring the IBF Welterweight fight between Zab Judah and Joshua Clottey live from the Palms Hotel in Las Vegas.
 

Historia Completa

photo Chris Farina/Top Rank

Two-division champ Zab Judah (35-5, 25 KOs) and former title challenger Joshua Clottey (34-2, 20 KOs) announced that they are in peak condition during a press conference held Saturday morning at The Lounge at The Palms in Las Vegas. "This is my time to be a champion," declared Clottey. "I am not going to lose this fight. No way!" Judah said: "I have known Joshua Clottey for a long time and I respect him. But as the old saying goes: 'The Bronx keeps on making it and Brooklyn keeps on taking it!' I am taking it August 2nd!" Judah's comments were in reference to Brooklyn being his hometown and that Clottey - who is a native of Ghana - fights out of the Bronx. Judah and Clottey will headline an HBO Boxing After Dark card next Saturday night for the IBF welterweight title vacated by Antonio Margarito.

©2008 by Mary Ann Owen

by Butch Gottlieb

Finally, a fight lives up to it's hype. Tonight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Antonio Margarito did what he said he was going to do and that was to hand WBA welterweight champion, Miguel Cotto his first loss and take the title back to Mexico.
Margarito stopped Cotto in round eleven when Cotto's corner threw in the towel after Cotto had been down twice in the round and was bleeding from his nose, mouth and left eye.
Cotto had won four of the first five rounds but Margarito took over in round six and was leading on two scorecards 96-94 with the third scorecard having the fight even at 95-95 at the end of the tenth.

 Photo Gallery and Full Story

In a bout for the WBA interim light flyweight championship, #2 rated Cesar Cancila (27-1, 21 KOs) defeated previously unbeaten #1 rated Giovanni Segura (19-1-1, 15 KOs), getting off the canvas in round two and dominating the next ten rounds winning a unanimous decision by the scores of 115-112, 117-110, 117-110 victory.
*****
Unbeaten super lightweight Mike Alvarado (22-0, 15 KOs) impressively knocked out former world champion Cesar Bazan (48-11-1, 31 KOs) in round four. A brutal Alvarado combination sent Bazan to the canvas for the count at 2:46.
*****
WBC #5/WBO #8 super bantamweight Bernabe Concepcion (26-1-1, 15 KOs) showed his class as he demolished Adam Carrera (19-4, 8 KOs), flooring Carrera twice in round three before referee Joe Cortez waved it off. Time was 2:14. Carrera said that he was not hurt at all the first knockdown but never saw the knockout punch
*****
Unbeaten super bantamweight Jesus Rojas (13-0, 10 KOs) dropped Anyetei Laryea (16-5, 9 KOs) in round three, but was forced to go the eight round distance. Scores were 77-74, 78-73, 78-73.
*****

A bout between super featherweights Brian Ramirez (5-1, 3 KOs) and Luis Cervantes (7-3-3, 2 KOs) ended in a no-contest after a third round accidental head butt.

*****
Featherweight Benjamin Flores (19-3, 6 KOs) scored an eighth round technical decision over former #1 rated Vernie Torres (27-12, 15 KOs). An unintentional head clash in the eighth cut Flores and sent the bout to the cards where Flores prevailed 78-73, 79-72, 79-72.
*****
Unbeaten featherweight Luis Cruz (7-0, 5 KOs) scored a first round TKO over Jaime Villa (5-6-1) After dropping Villa, Cruz finished him at the 2:59 mark.
*****

A attractive bout between IBF #13 lightweight contender Kid Diamond (a.k.a. Almazbek Raiymkulov) and Ivan Valle was cancelled after Diamond arrived at the arena late.
 

Cotto vs. Margarito – Fists Will Indeed Fly
by Rob Scott

Leading up to Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo’s classic first bout, I wrote an article titled, “Light the fuse and wait, Corrales and Castillo are about to explode”. It was my version of prophecy, if you will, because, like some of Nostradamus’ predictions, in my eye sight, when these two met, I knew a war would definitely be in their future.  In turn, it developed into an unforgettable encounter that had left all who viewed in awe.
This Saturday, July 26, 2008, Top Rank, MGM Grand, along with HBO pay-per-view, brings us what has rightfully been named ‘La Batalla’ (‘The Battle’), because when Puerto Rico’s, Miguel Cotto 32-0 (26) and Mexico’s, Antonio Margarito 36–5 (26) meet, a true fight is definitely going to take place.
 

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At a ceremony held Friday, July 25, at the Police Athletic League in Harlem, New York, Governor David Paterson officially announced the appointment of longtime boxing judge Melvina Lathan as head of the New York State Athletic Commission replacing long time chief Ron Scott Stevens.

Former IBF super middleweight champion Jeff Lacy, expected to face former Olympic teammate Jermain Taylor on November 15, now says he's retiring. "There will be no fight between me and Jermain," Lacy told the Tampa Tribune. "I'm just retiring," he said. "I'm done. This business is dirty. That's all I have to say. This is a very dirty business. I would advise anyone who has kids not to ever let them fight in this business." Lacy (24-1, 17 KOs), who won a hard fought ten round majority decision over Epifiano Mendoza on Wednesday, did not go into specifics.
Golden Boy Promotions (Lacy's promoter) COO Dave Itskowitch was shocked, saying he had yet to hear from Lacy. "I really have no comment until I speak to Jeff," Itskowitch said.
Lacy's trainer, Roger Bloodworth, was another caught off-guard by the news.
"I don't know. I haven't talked to him," he said. "If there has been anything to upset him, he hasn't told me. I don't know."
 

AMIR KHAN has confirmed that JORGE RUBIO has been appointed as his new trainer.
The undefeated star of British boxing, currently world-rated No. 2 by the World Boxing Organization and No. 4 by the World Boxing Council, recently went to America and met with a number of top trainers but gelled best with Rubio.
The Cuban taskmaster has already started work with the 21-year-old hot-shot at his Bolton training headquarters as he prepares for his Commonwealth lightweight title defence on September 6 at the M.E.N Arena in Manchester, England. The event will be promoted by Frank Warren's Sports Network.
Khan (18-0, 14 KOs), said, "I'm delighted that Jorge is now my trainer and I look forward to working with him towards winning the world title. I met with a lot of trainers when I was in America and had plenty of training sessions with everyone and they were happy to come and work with me in Bolton. But I was impressed most by Jorge and his set up and more importantly I felt comfortable working with him and his training methods will give me a new dimension."
Rubio said, "It's fantastic to be given the opportunity to work with such a natural talent like Amir and I believe that I can bring the best out in him. I'm really impressed by what I've seen of him so far and I know that we still have a lot of work to do."

photo Chris Farina/Top Rank

Hall of Fame Top Rank promoter Bob Arum (cntr) is honored as Sportsman of the Year Friday night at the 3rd Annual 24-hour ESPN radio 1100 Benefit for The Caring Place at the Palms Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. Posing with Arum is Al Bernstein (L), The Caring Place Vice Chairman and Mitch Moss of ESPN radio

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