Mikey Garcia officially joins the one percent league of elite fighters in the sport, making former two time champion Juan Manuel Lopez like a club fighter. Garcia stops Lopez in round 4, after knocking him down in the second round. The official time of the stoppage: 1:35 in the fourth round.

Both fighters started the first round cautious, trying to figure its other out. But the snapping jabs of Garcia were dominating. Just in the second round, Garcia perfectly thrown a quick-as-a-cat one-two combination that Lopez never saw it coming. Boom! Down went Lopez on his butt. He never saw it coming.

The knockdown came from a very treacherous attack. Garcia was so calm, seems not willing to engage at that time and content with his jab connecting well on Lopez's face. But all of the sudden Garcia unleashed a cracking one-two punch.

Lopez, not badly hurt, got up and continued the fight.

In the third round, Garcia is landing at well, beating the former champion form Puerto Rico by the punch. Lopez was totally off in his counters, he is just swinging in the air, not able to touch Garcia.

With the win, Garcia will make the title vacant. He was not able to make the division limit 126 pounds coming in during the weigh-in two pounds over at 128 pounds and did not bother to make the weight, because according to him it might affect his health. Mikey said after the weigh-in that his body seems like 'shutdown'.

I think Garcia's win will be put into question somehow for not making the contractual weight. He had two hours to get the right weight but instead of shedding the extra poundage he give Lopez several thousands of dollars.

Maybe those two pounds might not matter at all, but those division limits, were being set for a reason. Two pounds is two pounds.

However, looking into Lopez performance tonight, do you think he will not get knockout by Garcia, if he (Garcia) make the right weight?

I think Garcia will still knockout Lopez even if he weighed the same. Or even if they were both above the featherweight limit. The execution of Lopez was never near his level before he was knockout by Salido. He looked old and sluggish. He was totally wrecked from the two battles he endured against Salido.
 
Meanwhile, Garcia was ask if he will fight at 130, he said that If he feel comfortable fighting at 130 come next fight, he will stay there. But if not, and 126 still his division, he will go back down.

Maybe Garcia’s explosive win will be question, but the kid has a very bright future ahead of him. A fight with Rocky Martinez is inevitable for another classic Puerto Rico vs. Mexico rivalry.

Garcia vs Lopez Weigh-in Result:

Garcia came in on the scales at 128 pounds, two pounds over the featherweight limit. Garcia looks so drain in the weigh-in. It seems he is having difficulty making the division limit. I hope this will not be a big factor in the fight outcome.

I believe he should move up to super-featherweight division after this fight.

Juan Manuel Lopez came in at 125.25 pounds and look ripped. 
    
The featherweight showdown between undefeated WBO champion Mikey Garcia and Puerto Rican star Juan Manuel Lopez will be televised live on HBO Boxing After Dark at the American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas, USA.

Garcia did not bother to make another try to make the weight that might pose health problems. This means that he lost his WBO Featherweight title without even setting his foot in the ring.

Lopez at 125.25 will be contesting the title that he once held.

For my preview of the bout you will find it here on THESCUFFLE.COM.

Weigh-In Result:

Mikey Garcia - 128 pounds
Juan Manuel Lopez - 125.25

Follow Retech Son on twitter @RetechSon

Originally posted on THESCUFFLE.COM
Undefeated WBO featherweight champion Mikey Garcia will face former two-division champion Juan Manuel Lopez at the American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas, USA on Saturday, June 15.

Mikey Garcia was coming from a technical decision victory over Mexican banger Orlando Salido in January wresting the title once held by Juan Manuel Lopez that he will defend on HBO’s “Boxing After Dark”

Garcia, 31-0 (KO 26), is a young and fast rising star that graduated from being simply called prospect, now making way to become member of the sports elite. He is a kind of fighter despite being young; He thinks like a veteran in the ring.


He is very patient and picks his punches very well with total precision. He tends to be very cautious in the ring. And has the tendency to be boring against fellow counter puncher. But against puncher/brawler, it will be very interesting to watch and that should be the case against Lopez.

A win against Lopez would help solidify his claim in the featherweight division and would get his self ready for another potential bigger name in the division, perhaps against brawler, fellow undefeated Abner Mares—WBC champion.

Lopez, 33-2 (KO 30) is coming from two consecutive victories against, Aldimar Santos and Eugene Lopez. He is trying to get back into the winning column after he suffered TKO losses against Orlando Salido.

Lopez is a two fisted fighter who wanted to slug it off punch by punch. He is a fighter that one’s get himself into a brawl stops thinking about defense and just throwing bombs after bombs, not caring if he gets hit as long as he hits. If you are in the opposite corner against Lopez be sure you can absorb wicked punches to your body, or you will drop to your knee.

Lopez cannot afford to lose this fight, if he wants to go back to the status he left before losing from Salido. A win against Garcia would make him beat the man, who beat the man that beat him. It’s a redemption against those TKO loses in his career.

Against common opponent—Orlando Salido

Garcia vs. Salido – Garcia scored a total of four knockdowns against Salido, twice in the very first round and once in rounds three and four. In round eight Garcia suffered a broken nose from an accidental head butt. The fight was stop and Garcia was awarded the title.

Mikey Garcia was a bit criticized for not continuing the fight. He was accused of quitting from the fight after the head butt. Robert Garcia, Mikey’s trainer, being aware that his fighter was way ahead in the judges’ scorecards, insisted that his fighter cannot continue. He knows that it is very dangerous for his fighter to continue fighting, having a broken nose, against a guy who is noted to be very strong in the closing rounds.

However, the blame cannot erase the fact that the 25 years old, fast rising prospect was schooling the veteran Orlando Salido. Salido was out boxed and was beaten by the punch all night long. He was always a recipient of well timed counters from a technically savvy Garcia.

Salido vs. Lopez (twice) – Lopez was defeated by Salido twice via technical knockout. It is a fight that Lopez believed he can defeat Salido into a slugfest. In the first bout, although up on his feet but unable to answer several punishing shots from Salido, the fight was stop by the referee. Lopez pointed out that the fight was stop prematurely.

In the rematch, Lopez didn’t learn the lesson in his first defeat. He met Salido head-on again. And even if he was wobbled several times, he chose to trade bombs after bombs. But Salido’s more powerful and devastating punches prevailed.

Prediction

Looking into each gentleman's performance against a common opponent, it is easy to say that Garcia has the edge, which I believe is the case for this fight.

However, I also believe that Lopez learned from the mistakes he made from the two defeats in his record. I think he will not rush to engage Garcia in a slugfest because he knows he will be walking ahead to Garcia's precise counters. I think he will fight intelligently this time around.  If Lopez considers plan B, I like to see him slug it out in the latter rounds and to find out how much Garcia can absorb from his power.

Nevertheless, I still think that the skills and slickness of Mikey Garcia will prevail and he will cruise into a unanimous decision.

Follow Retech Son on Twitter @RetechSon

The second installment of Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s 6-fight deal with Showtime against Saul "Canelo Alvarrez will stage 11-city, two-country media tour that will kick off on June 24 in New York City and will culminate Phoenix and Los Angeles according to Golden Boy Promotion Press release forwarded to me via email.

You can read full details of the schedule here.

I've been a freelance writer for Yahoo! Contributor Network (YCN) submitting content for possible publication on Yahoo! websites, for almost a year now. Being a boxing fan that loves to write about the sport, having my work published on Yahoo! is very much fulfilling. As a starter, it is a confidence booster to have my articles posted on their site.

One thing I learned in submitting contents to yahoo is about timing. YCN editors review submitted contents four to ten days after submission. And because of this, it is not favorable to write boxing results. HBO and Showtime stage boxing bouts every Saturday night.


Granted you submit your article right after the fight--it will be published the earliest on Wednesday, which is too late for a news story to be published after four days.

One example is the article I wrote regarding Hopkins-Cloud result. I submitted the article right after the fight, (Saturday night) but it was published after four days (Wednesday). Most of the related stories are already online right after the fight. Anyway, I can handle that because I am not a Yahoo! sport news correspondent (just an aspiring contributor/writer).

I decided to ditch news stories. I tried writing fight and future match-up predictions. This is better; all I need to do is choose a match-up, know when it will happen, and submit the prediction a week before, just to make sure it will be published two or three days before the fight.

However, when I wrote a piece predicting two possible opponents of Floyd Mayweather Jr, yet the timing was off. I can't help but to laugh at the result.

I submitted the article on May 28, but to my surprise Mayweather announced his opponent on May 30. That made my article totally useless. I wanted to blame Mayweather (lol...) for that early announcement.

I have option to delete it before it will be published, but I choose to keep it. I wanted to see if Yahoo! Contributor Network editors will notice it. But to my surprise it was published after five days. So, I told to myself, "better late than never". I kept the article and submitted another one with a headline "Mayweather Jr. Vs. Canelo: Is Floyd Pressured to Fight Alvarez"

Now I understand that timing is very essential in everything we do. I do hope YCN editors will shorten the number of days for reviewing contents. Let say at a day or two.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. posted in his twitter account on Thursday that he will fight Saul “Canelo” Alvarez on September 14 at the MGM Grand.

“I chose my opponent for September 14th and it's Canelo Alvarez. I'm giving the fans what they want. It will be at the MGM Grand.”

Before even a heated discussion for this match-up begun, Mayweather gave his decision to fight the most dangerous opponent in boxing today.

I can’t help, but to get so excited about this decision Mayweather just took. This is a fight that salvages the most anticipated fight for almost half a decade, the Mayweather-Pacquiao super-fight. But what comes to my mind is that why Mayweather took the decision so soon. I’m not saying it is a bad decision; in fact it is good for the fans and for the sport of boxing.

However, looking into the past decisions of Mayweather in picking opponents, it seems to me that his decision to fight Alvarez is too soon. I anticipate that he will delay this fight and will look for other opponent on his second fight for his Showtime 6-fight deal. This is to build-up more hype and to entice the fans. I am expecting that a Canelo fight will be the finale on his contract.

I can’t hold my gut to say that, is Mayweather took a lot of pressure to fight Canelo now than fighting him last?

We can’t deny the fact that the Mayweather-Guerrero didn’t met expectation. The pay-per-view buys didn’t hit the million mark, which is always a Mayweather number--every time he fights. According to Forbes magazine, Showtime lost $ 12 million. To salvage the contract, I think Mayweather took tremendous pressure to fight Canelo which I believe could bring the most number of Benjamin’s than any other fighter including Pacquiao. In fact, Mayweather agree to fight Canelo above the welterweight limit.

With the above being said, true or not, Canelo, not truly worthy but also dangerous for Mayweather. At 22, Canelo is strong, hungry and experience at 44-0. He has the skill and heart to face the uncanny defense system of Mayweather.

Let the discussion begin that boxing has to offer courtesy of the world’s best—Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Source: www.theroar.com

Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s started contractual obligation to his massive 6-fight deal with Showtime with a fight against Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero in May. The undefeated Mayweather won with ease via unanimous decision. The ongoing question is who he will fight next?


Here are my top three possible opponents for the highest paid athlete for two consecutive years.

Devon Alexander

Before the Mayweather-Guerrero fight, boxing insiders were already talking that Guerrero deserves the jackpot to fight Mayweather because of his gutsy performance against Andre Berto.

However, to the surprise of many, Mayweather tweet that negotiations for a fight with Devon Alexander are almost done.

“The negotiations for my fight are almost done. The front runner is IBF Champion Devon Alexander. It’d be a unification bout at welterweight.” 

Nevertheless, Mayweather-Alexander fight did not materialize because Alexander was already under contractual obligation to defend his IBF title against Kell Brook. And Alexander also injured his biceps during training that made it uncertain if he will be able to fight on Cinco de Mayo.

Mayweather and Alexander won their last fight and the obvious interest of the former to fight the latter; I don’t see any reason for this fight not to happen.

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez

The Mayweather-Guerrero fight originally had Alvarez-Trout bout as part of the undercard.  Alvarez, marketing wise could add his Mexican fan for Showtime’s Cinco de Mayo boxing event.
 
However, Alvarez pulled out from the card because Mayweather Jr. refuse to put into writing a verbal agreement to fight Canelo next.

“I'm tired of being accessible to fight him, since he never was real in what he was talking. The truth is he does not want to fight me. I will continue doing my own history."

With the above being said by Alvarez doesn’t mean it erased the fact that sharing spotlight with Mayweather Jr. will give him the richest paycheck so far in his career.  Money being a proven motivator could lure Canelo to fight Mayweather Jr.  And agree to all his (Floyd) conditions.

Manny Pacquiao has been reelected in the Philippine Congress uncontested. He is the representative of the lone district in Sarangani. His wife Jinky also won as Vice Governor in Sarangani in her first attempt to politics.

During the period of political campaign, I seldom heard Pacman talking boxing. His focus at that time was politics. A good thing he must do: to focus on something what he actually doing at hand.


Now that Manny Pacquiao won and reelected as congressman, what will be his next move? Where he will focus his attention now? Is it show-business, preaching or boxing?

Pacquaio, a man who like to do multiple things while in a training for a fight. Some boxing insiders admired him how he handle distractions. But that was before his back to back losses.

Pacquiao's devastating loss to long-time rival, Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez in December some blame for his lack of focus and having too many distractions. It is noted that he skipped Alex Ariza's conditioning training. And show up in the Wild Card Gym two weeks late for the scheduled training due to pressing matters outside boxing.

If Pacquiao wanted to regain his faded glory in the ring, he should shift focus to boxing. He must start to assess himself if there is still fire in him that would fuel him in the ring.

Philippine front-line boxers were not having a good start this year. It actually started late last year with the devastating defeat of Philippine boxing icon Manny Pacquiao to his long time rival Mexican master counter-puncher Juan Manuel Marquez.

Transnational Boxing Ranking Board (TBRB) number 10 pound-for-pound boxer Brian "Hawaiian Punch'' Viloria 32-3 (KO 19) will defend his WBO and WBA flyweight title against Juan Francisco Estrada in Cotai Arena, Macau, China on Saturday night.

I can not watch this fight on Saturday evening because I will be traveling to Manila for a vacation from Kuwait. But before I finally pack my things tonight, I will give my prediction of this fight.

I pick Viloria to win this fight via knock out in the middle rounds. Viloria at 32 has become better and stronger in his previous last six wins and knock out four of them--Veerapol, Segura, Romero and Marquez.

After his three losses many believed that Viloria is done in boxing. I have also that same feeling. Vilorias' losses except that lone KO was by a decision. It is a fight wherein I thought he could win if he had the proper conditioning.

Viloria look so tired, breathing from his mouth and with his hands low. Those two losses could have been salvaged if he was able work more in the championship rounds.

However, after his last loss against Carlos Tamara, three years back, Viloria came back strong, sweeping six opponents.

Juan Francisco Estrada at 22 years old (10 years younger than Viloria) is coming from a 12-round UD loss against Roman Gonzalez in November last year. It seems that Estrada has problem also going into the distance. He is not used to finish 12-rounds and win a decision. Most of his wins are TKO/KO.

Estradas' 75% KO percentage is a testament that he is a very good knockout puncher. And he has a punchers luck against Viloria who also loves to trade punches.

Nevertheless, I picked Viloria to win because of his experience coupled with his decent power. I think Viloria could systematically break down Estrada and finally release that power shot that will turn the lights off.

I may not be able to add the predictions of my favorite boxing sites and writers because as I mention above, I am going to prepare my baggage for a vacation in Manila. I will post my fight results once I get there and probably watch a replay there.
 

With the latest removal of Brandon Rios's precious 'O' in his record courtesy of Mike 'Mile High Mike' Alvarado on Saturday, I welcome Adrien Broner 26-0 (KO 22) to my undefeated boxers list.

A reader once ask why I did not include Broner in my undefeated boxers list when I update it on March 2013. Actually, when Sergio Martinez defeated former undefeated Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. I need to choose between Bradon Rios and Adrien Broner.


I chose Rios over Broner on my March update simply because of quality opponent and the risk Rios took on Alvarado.

Both Rios and Alvarado where undefeated when they first meet in October last year. Now, with Alvarado even up the score against Rios, it is time for Broner to shine on my list.

In the next update Adrien Broner will be included.

With the existing alphabet belts (sanctioning bodies) in boxing, no one can tell who the real champion is, in every weight division. Each sanctioning bodies has its own version of world champion. The creation of TBRB or TRANSNATIONAL BOXING RANKING BOARD is viable, not as an alternative but as a definitive organization that will determine real boxing rankings.    

What's the use of a boxer called the 'welterweight world champion' if yet there is another four champions who shared the same title on four different alphabet belts?

There is a need to have a organization, that will rank boxers . A ranking board that oversees the entire sport of boxing. Unlike the existing alphabet belts who ranks only their own roster of fighters that pay their sanction fees.

However, there is already an alternative for the alphabet belts that exists for a long period--"The Ring Magazine", that first published in 1922. But in recent years had been drag into questionable changes in their policies on how to rank and crown champions.

"But what do you do when you need an alternative to the alternative?" said Eric Raskin a former managing editor of The Ring magazine and co-hosts the twice-monthly boxing podcast Ring Theory, in his article on ESPN.

In this article, Raskin also explains how TBRB work. As a boxing fan I support TBRB for their effort for the betterment of boxing. I hope, once this board become a solid source of boxing ranking, will not end up being eaten by corruption.

(Full disclosure: I became a member of Transnational Boxing Ranking Board in July 2013, two months after I posted this article.) 

Let me quote Ralph Waldo Emerson, an American essayist and poet, “Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood.”

Mike “Mile High Mike” Alvarado, 34-1 (KO 23) clearly understood the mistakes he made in the previous fight, and made necessary adjustments with his style, to even the score against Brandon Rios, 31-1 (KO 23) to win the vacant interim WBO Light welterweight title, on Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.


Alvarado sticks the plan, which is to box from the distance, move side-to-side, look for more angles, but engages whenever, is necessary.

"It was that movement I was talking about," Alvarado said.

Alvarado also intelligently ties Rios from the inside to limit Rios’s output from close quarter situation—the place where Rios’s more successful during the first match.

I predicted Alvarado to win this fight, and will not abandon the strategies mention above. In the first match, he was effective with those movements but was lured by Rios for a brawl.

Alvarado tweaking his style never slips from the expectation of another war in this rematch. In fact the only calm round—was the fifth round when an accidental blow from Rios—opt Referee Tony Weeks to stop the fight—for Alvarado to recover. He just put more legs into the fight not to clash head-on to Rios.

"The difference this time was that Mike had better legs”, his trainer, Henry Delgado said.

However, these adjustments don’t save Alvarado’s face from Rios’s aggression. He looks like the loser after 12 rounds. He’s bloodied early, from a cut over the left eye.

Alvarado headed to the hospital after the fight.

Round 8 was terrific, that let me up on my feet. Alvarado halts Rios from his track, with a big right hand—that Rios admits after the fight that he didn’t get rocked, but instead got rocked, and wobbled.

Rios is a ‘superman.’
How many hooks landed on Rios’s chin? It staggered him but not stopped him. I come to a conclusion that it is not only ‘Superman’ that is made of steel, or ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson. Please include Brandon Rios.

I want a trilogy.
With Alvarado clearly understood the experience he learned from the first match and successfully adjusted his style that paid off a win to even the score. I am too excited to see how Rios will adjust his own style for a possible trilogy.

There is nothing wrong to do it again because Rios and Alvarado like to do it.

What I love about trilogy: is that it is all about adjustment in all aspects, from training, strategy till fight night’s real-time.

Rios-Alvarado rematch was a win-win card for the sport of boxing: from fighters, officials, promoters and specially the fight fans. A fight card that you will never see happens every Saturday Night.

Photo via Google Images

Rios vs. Alvarado II needs not to be hyped as much as the first match. The outcome from the first encounter was pure advertisement that promised nothing, other than action packed entertainment from start to end.

HBO Boxing After Dark features rematch on Saturday night, Mar. 3, 2013 the anticipated high octane action between Brandon "Bam Bam" Rios, 31-0-1 (KO 23) and Mike Alvarado, 33-1 (KO 23) at the Mandalay Bay, Resort and Casino, Las Vegas Nevada.

In the previous encounter, Alvarado was ahead on the scorecards before the referee stopped the fight. Alvarado was the fighter who mixed it up, looking for angles and was moving around the ring. While Rios was a one dimensional fighter, that walked straight away towards Alvarado.


Rios used head movement to evade incoming punches from Alvarado.
That being said, Alvarado was able to land crisp combinations from the outside--snapping Rios's head left and right with those hooks.

However, when Rios felt those combinations from Alvarado, it made him wake up to press more forward and landed his own punches from the inside--with real bad intention. And once Alvarado got hit from those counters from Rios, Alvarado was lured to fight toe-to-toe from the inside--abandoning his side to side movement and engaged Rios in close quarter battle, which doesn't work well for him.

In Round 7, Alvarado was hurt with a big right hand through the ropes, while retreating from Rios's barrage of head blowing punches. Rios then followed up with more powerful combinations to a wobbly Alvarado and just in time the referee halted the fight.



My Prediction:
 I think Alvarado will obviously learn from the mistakes he made from the previous fight. Abandoning his control from the distance and angles by circling around, was never a good idea.

In this rematch, I think Alvarado will try to fight smartly looking for more angles and controlling the distance. He will try to outbox Rios early on and build points on the scorecards like the early going of the first fight. And he will cruise for a unanimous victory that will lead to a trilogy.

Don't get mistaken that the bout will be with lesser action compared from the first bout. No, it will still be the same--action packed fight because Rios said that he was training for power and I expect him to come forward, as always forcing the action against a more systematic and smarter Alvarado.

Predictions around the web:

Tims Starks - The Queensberry Rules - Rios by TKO below Round 7.
The fight Score Collector - Rios between Round 5 and 7 TKO/KO

BadleftHook Staff:
Scott Christ - "Rios by ninth round stoppage"
Tom Craze - "Rios by decision."
Kory Kitchen - "I'm taking Rios by stoppage in 10."
Dave Oakes - "Rios by a one-sided 6th round stoppage."

Boxing.com Staff:
Adam Berlin - "When the smoke clears, Brandon Rios will have his hand raised, his points victory carved out of relentless, joyful violence.”
Cheekay Brandon - "I see another controversial decision, with Rios winning on the cards but losing by two rounds between ropes.”
Teron Briggs - "I like Rios to win a close and disputed decision."
Mike Casey - "My pick is Alvarado after about four or five brutal rounds.”
Ben Hoskin - "I see it being a war of attrition with Rios getting a decision or a late stoppage on cuts."
Norman Marcus - “I haven’t seen Alvarado too many times but I think Rios has faced the better opposition. Provided Rios makes weight without any issues, I like him by a late KO.”
Robert Mladinich - "Alvarado TKO 7."
Ezra Salkin - "I like a mid-to-late round stoppage for Alvarado.”
Ted Sares - “This one is a toss-up, but I’ll go with Rios ... "
Michael Schmidt - "Rios by stoppage, on the canvas type, in eight or nine. Sorry that one of these guys has to lose!!!!”
Peter Wood - “Rios wins by decision. But his battered face looks like he lost.”

Andrew Garewal - Boxingnews 24 - "Alvarado will be more cautious and keep Rios off him for a while, but Rios will score a KO in the later rounds. Rios via KO 9th round

Dennis “D’Source” Guillermo and Joey S. Villar had an ongoing twitter and facebook beef. It started when Guillermo posted the following lines on twitter,

“Is it just me, or do you find this story comical? Why can't Sports Writers understand why a fighter chooses to... http://fb.me/2PbJMwtcp”. 

The link will lead to an article posted on sports.inqiuirer.net entitled Donaire snubs PSA award.


Then Joey Villar, which I believe the writer of the above linked article replied,“@dRealSource You're an asslicker I guess. Can't Donaire just say he can't attend and not leave the PSA hanging?

Then a series of back and forth bashing continued on both social media that went too ugly.

Guillermo, a sportswriter that covers NBA.com Philippines, boxing and MMA, is trying to justify why boxing champion Nonito Donaire not able to show-up PSA ceremony in Manila.

Donaire is in deep training in the US prior to his April bout with slick Cuban boxer Guillermo Rigondeaux, which is considered his toughest foe.

In the other hand, Joey Villar a sports writer for The Philippine Star, is trying to stress out why Donaire, if chose not to show up because of the very obvious reason, was not able to at least send email, or any means of communication whatsoever to inform that he cannot attend.

Renowned sports writer Ronnie Nathanielsz also expresses the same idea on tweeter saying, “Nonito should have sent a message to PSA that he couldn't attend the awards because he is deep in training. Understandable.”

Donaire then replied, “Ronnie, I never received an official letter from anyone stating I was awarded so those writers who informed me”… “w/o the letter I did not know who to address my nonattendance to.”

After Donaire’s reply Ronnie expresses agreement on Donaires situation saying, “Don't worry Nonito.Its no big deal.You can't fly halfway around the world to pick up an award when training”.

However, Joey Villar and Dennis Guillermo continued their battle on twitter which I think would not be necessary. We can agree to disagree and move on from there.

Bottom line is we need more athletes’ that will move to greater heights and that will continue to inspire more people. That is, what it is.

Photo via Google Images

Timothy Bradley will defend his WBO welterweight title against Russian challenger Ruslan Provodnikov on March 16, 2013 live on HBO at the Home Depot Center, Carson, California USA. This will be Bradley’s comeback fight after a controversial win over Manny Pacquiao in June 2012.

This will be Bradley’s return after nine months of limbo of whom and when to fight again after Pacquiao dumped a supposed rematch.


Bradley, 29-0 (KO 12) is a fighter who thinks and adjusts in real time during a fight yet does not have the needed sting on his punches to back off an aggressive opponent. His 12 KO’s against 29 wins is a testament to that.

Desert Storm, is a technically sound boxer that looks for angles to a surging opponent and fighting on backpedal that neutralizes aggression to compensate his lack of power.

Bradley used this technique against Pacquiao in the last six rounds which I believed was effective because he could not match Pacquiao’s power. But for the untrained eye to judge, it can be mistaken as merely running and avoiding.

Many believed that Bradley won most of the rounds in the second half of the fight but not enough to win the fight, not even close.

Ruslan Provodnikov, 22-1 (KO 15) is a very insistent slugger that overpowers his foe. He needs to be tough in order to impose his fighting style. He has better chances with a fighter who loves to trade punches and fight toe-to-toe. For a fighter that looks for angle and fight scientifically, he needs to be fast and sneaky.

Provodnikov’s key of winning against Bradley I think would rely upon the approach he will adjust in executing his attack. If he will just walk straight through Bradley; he will be greeted with combinations from an angle that will keep him out of balance for his own counters. He needs to cut the ring, corner Bradley to the ropes and let go bombs after bombs.

My prediction:
Although, Provodnikov could be successful at times to corner Bradley against the ropes but I think Bradley’s tough chin (Pacquiao’s left straight is a living witness) and head lead could be a factor. Bradley’s lack of power is well compensated also by his mental toughness and desire to win that he showed against Peterson. I pick Bradley to win via unanimous decision.

Here are the predictions from writers and sites around the web:

D'source Guillermo - Bradley UD 12
Bad Left Hook Staff - Ryan Bivins - Bradley UD 12
                                 Scott Christ - Bradley by shut-out type decision
                                 Kory Kitchen - Bradley by Decision (117-111 vicinity)
                                 David Oakes Bradley by wide decision
ESNEWS - Alber Alvarez - "I’m picking The Desert Storm Bradley to win by late stoppage or by Unanimous Decision."
Noel Clubb - Boxing Trainer, via MMA Crosfire - Bradley by UD 12
Tim Starks - The Queens-berry rules - Bradley UD 12

Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins at 48 years old executed supreme performance and schooled the younger champion, Tavoris Cloud to win the IBF heavyweight world title.

"I have a history of destroying young champions and you never see them again," Hopkins said. "I don't know if you'll see Tavoris Cloud again."

Cloud joined the list of young champions that tasted defeat from Grandpa Hopkins, including Pascal and Pavlik.

Hopkins not just win the IBF light heavyweight title but also breaks his own record set in 2011 as the oldest boxer to win major world title.


Hopkins just proved doubters who believed that he is more of dirty tricks now than skills. He probed that he can win real clean. Hopkins throws more often combinations rather that pot shooting which he did in his previous two fights with Chad Dawson. This time he outworked a 17 years junior, strong and hard hitting champion, who was slightly favored to win before the fight.

The fight started very slow in the first three rounds. It seems to me that, Hopkins really gets through the head of Cloud. Many anticipate that Cloud would immediately jump into Hopkins to impose his power and agility. But to the contrary Cloud was just too hesitant to engage.

In the fourth, Cloud tries to dig more to the body but that never stops Hopkins or slows him down to move around the ring to avoid Cloud’s charge.

In the sixth Cloud was cut on left eyelid that the referee ruled out as an accidental head butt. But it turns out from the replay that it was Hopkins left hook that opened the cut.

Hopkins was comfortably ahead of the scorecards entering the second half of the fight. When the final bell sounded, the scorecard reads 117-111, 116-112 and 116-112 all for Hopkins.

With his blockbuster performance I think Hopkins could still continue fighting till he reaches 50 years old. His record will be setting in the history book for a very long time, I believed. He even becomes more popular now than his reign in the middleweights.

Nigel Collins said in his tweet “B-Hop is far more popular now than when he was in his prime & kayoing his foes. I guess he's mesmerized fans the way he does his opponents”.

Photo via Google Images

Bernard Hopkins, 52-6-2 (KO 32) will try to get once again on top at the age of 48 vying for the IBF Light heavyweight world title held by Tavoris Cloud on Mar. 9 at Barclay's Center, Brooklyn, New York. The event is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Don King Productions.

If you look back Hopkins back-to-back losses against Jermain Taylor, you could think that it is the ideal time to quit for a fighter already at his 40 at that time. But that is not the road Hopkins has taken. Instead, Hopkins left the middleweight division where he was once the monarch that ruled for a decade and move up to light heavyweight division with a debut fight against his conqueror‘s conqueror, Antonio Tarver.

“The Executioner” got past Tarver, and kept on fighting. Since then, Hopkins had won five, from his last nine bouts, (defeating the likes of Wright, Pavlik, Pascal, and avenging his loss to Roy Jones Jr.) lost two close decisions, drawn once and one no contest.

Hopkins fighting the undefeated harder hitting champion, Tavoris Cloud, 24-0 (KO 19) is something you will think of; how Hopkins will defy father time with his almost golden age? Tavoris, physically strong that hits harder and perhaps on his prime right now, will definitely will have his hands full come Saturday night. Tavoris with a mission in mind to retire an aging veteran for good, beating him decisively or stopping him in the fight that his previous 62 opponents have failed to do.

It could be easier said than done for Tavoris, because Hopkins might have the physical attrition but the vast experience that he brings to the table could be enough to strip his belt. Not to mention the craftiness and the out of the book tricks that Hopkins for sure may employ once he feel the champion will try to impose athleticism to overwhelm him.

Prediction
Tavoris has youth with his side and physically stronger than Hopkins but if you look at the tale of the tape, it is Hopkins that has the advantages. Hopkins being the taller and longer reach would capitalize this advantages and look to fight from the outside, keeping Tavoris at bay and impose a one-two-if-miss-hug combination to avoid in-fighting situation that would let Tavoris sneak his short right hook. If this scene will work on Hopkins, my prediction is that once again Hopkins defies father time and cruise to unanimous decision victory.

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You may add your prediction below via comment.

Here are the prediction around the web:
Fightinsight.com - Tavoris UD 12
Boxing Philosophy - John Apocalypse - Hopkins UD 12
Bleacher Report Boxing - Hopkins UD 12
Boxing News Online - Tris Dixon - Hopkins
Bleacher Report Featured Columnist - Ralph Longo - Cloud TKO 10
The boxing Tribune -  Tim Harrison - Hopkins - 115-113 Split Decision
Bad Left Hook - Scot Christ - Hopkins by Decision
                        Tom Craze - Cloud UD 12
                        Kory Kitchen - Cloud UD 12 (Close)
                        Dave Oakes - Cloud Split Decision 12
The Queensberry Rules - Tim Starks - Hopkins by Decision
Jean Pascal via Twitter - Hopkins by TKO
CompuBox - Cloud by Decision            
Saturday Night Boxing - Cloud UD 116-112
ESPN Analyst Teddy Atlas - Cloud UD 12

The first two month for this year headlined a lot of very good fight cancellation. Most cancellation were due to injuries during training. However Chris Arreola's case was bronchitis.

This month of March I will cover only one fight. This month seems to me a slack month for boxing. That is why I choose only one for this month. The IBF light heavyweight title fight between ageless veteran Bernard "The Executioner" Hopkins 52-6-2 (KO 32) against undefeated young lion Tavoris "Thunder" Cloud 24-0 (KO 19) at Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York, USA.


Can Hopkins defy age and come out victorious against undefeated young blood that seeks his own spot in this sport? Will experience and crafty tactics would carry Hopkins for another title in his long storied career? This and many more questions that surround this fight will be answered on Saturday, 9th March 2013.

Update:

I need to update this post. Initially, I decided to have Hopkins-Cloud covered for March but It was a mistake. Not considering Bradley-Provodnikov and Rios-Alvarado II only means I don't want pure action.

Bradley will comeback after his controversial win over Manny Pacquiao in June 2012. He was left hanging in the air when Pacquiao did not demand for a rematch. After nine months Bradley will defend his WBO welterweight title against Russian challenger Ruslan Provodnikov on March 16.

Meanwhile, who will forget Rios-Alvarado I? Who will forget that all around aggression that both fighters showed? My March will never be complete without this card on March 30 covered here in this blog.

Alvarado seems slightly ahead to all scorecards all the way to the start of round 7, when Rios turned the tide landing the biggest shot that sent Alvarado back on the ropes. From there he was peppered with bombs after bombs that opted the referee to stop the contest.

On March 30, we will witness the continuation of what have been a strong contender as fight of the year for 2012. Will Alvarado avenge his lone lost? and even the score for a possible trilogy?

When I arrived Kuwait in 2006, what came first to my mind was, to look for something that worth doing during day-off. As an OFW, I’ve got no relatives to visit, no alcoholic beverage to drink to unwind (at least occasionally) and the worst of all—no family to spend for the remaining hours of the day after a long-day of work here in Kuwait.

I understand that it is a must to do something worthwhile--to ease stress, boredom and homesickness. I think of hanging around in a mall. But at times, a mall is not even the safest place to go. And besides it cost you money to stay in a place where in every corner you will see a red tag that says “sale up to 70% off”.

I first think of boxing as a good thing to do. Boxing is my all-time favorite compare to any other sports but I presume that this is mamno (not-allowed) in Kuwait. Fast track: I look for basketball court and it become my past time in Kuwait for almost five years.

However, my love for boxing did not stop. I watch over and over fights of my favorite boxers from my CD/DVD collection or from live PPV subscription. I also read a lot of boxing articles in the web and never missed to leave my opinion and comments.

In 2011, my reading brought me into writing. I am now blogging about boxing—like this, in my personal blog here. I am also a member of yahoo! contributor network. You may read my first article published on yahoo here.

Nevertheless, I found out that writing about something very far from the place where boxing happened is somewhat difficult. I am not able to get first hand information. It is best if you are in the place where boxing event happened. How I wish, I am residing in Nevada (just day dreaming) and watch big boxing fight cards, live every weekend and write every bit of it.

I may not be granted to reside in the boxing capital of the world, but I finally discover that boxing is never ‘mamno’ in Kuwait. In fact, it is an accepted sport here in Kuwait. It just that I presumed it was not allowed.

How I discover it?

Mr. Tony Trono (sited 1st from right) with some of the pioneer clinic members

A friend handed me a leaflet that reads “Kamao laban sa Kamao” (fist vs. fist) boxing training and workshop clinic.

When read the above lines, I get so excited and called one of the organizer--Mr. Tony Trono, OFW-BAK Founder/Chairman and confirmed that they launched a two-month boxing clinic ‘Kamao laban sa Kamao’ in Kuwait starting on Friday, Feb. 8, 2013.

Below is the full excerpt from an article posted in pilipinosakuwait.blog.com site written by Ben Garcia for Panorama Balita.

KUWAIT: The OFW-Boxing Association in Kuwait (OFW-BAK) in cooperation with the Kuwait Boxing Federation and Kuwait Olympic Committee launched a two-month boxing clinic ‘Kamao laban sa Kamao’ in Kuwait last Friday. The event was held at Khaifan Sporting Complex, (in front of Kuwait News Agency and back of Platinum Gym) with Captain Adnan Radda, Captain Bader Atiyyah head and deputy of Khaifan Boxing Department respectively and Dr Mohammad Al-Bannay of Kyokushin Karate Club as their chief guests. The opening ceremony was attended by various Filipino community leaders including Mario Adones of Catsclaw, Buboy Aguilar of FCAK, Allan de Castro (Guardians) and Captain Cyril Mansueto of Filipino Sailors Club in Kuwait.

Speaking during the event, OFW-BAK Founder/Chairman Antonio ‘Tony’ Trono said boxing will be the next famous sports for Filipinos in Kuwait. “In the Philippines, the second famous sports is not volleyball not even badminton or tennis but boxing. Boxing is second to basketball so I thought of introducing boxing in Kuwait because Filipinos love this sports,” Trono mentioned. He said boxing made many Filipinos famous in the international scene such as Manny Pacquiao and Nonito Donaire. “It was a dream come true for all us Filipinos because at first, we knew it was ‘mamnu’ ‘haram’ (forbidden) in Kuwait, but eventually we found out from Kuwait Olympic Committee they have their own boxing federation here, so we immediately coordinated with them and we’re all happy to finally have boxing clinic,” Tony opined. Adnan Radda, head of boxing committee at Khaifan Sports Complex said: “We welcome everyone in this sports arena, this is for you and we hope to cater as many Filipinos who love this sports. We already have Filipinos here undergoing training in taekwondo..and now boxing; if we have more venue to accommodate your community, we’ll love to welcome you all here,” Adnan noted.

The boxing training and workshop will be held every Friday with the guidance of professional boxing trainers/coaches provided by the OFW-BAK and Kuwait Boxing Federation. The boxing clinic is open to male participants only from 17-45 years old. Women are also welcome as spectators and they can also sponsor their own players (boxers). Trono encourages all Filipinos in Kuwait to join their boxing clinic especially since they plan to organize a title/amateur bout in the coming months. “We plan to bring Manny Pacquiao or Nonito Donaire as our guest in the next months or so, we are working hard for their upcoming visit,” Trono revealed. Khaifan Gym Boxing Arena is open to Filipinos from 1-5pm. Trainers, coaches are available in the gym including boxing gloves and all related boxing gears. For details please contact Tony at Tel no. 66476918, Buboy Tel 66032010. Training/workshop is sponsored by McDonalds, Zain Telecommunications, Al-Alamia Manpower Services, Waleed Supermarket, Sebamed, Kuwait Times, Filipino Panorama, DTA Rockstars Kuwait (of Aim Global), Oman Exchange Company, Universal Arwa Printing Press and Fonz International.

On Friday, I visited the boxing clinic with my friend Engr. Joel Alcantara because we plan to enroll. We met personally Mr. Tony Trono and talked about how to enroll and the future plans of the clinic. In my next post I will write what we discuss during our visit.

Here are the following photos I took during our visit.

Joel hit the bag with his bare knuckles

Heavy bags in the gym

The boxing ring that I love to climb very soon

Club members sparring