Billy’s Boxing Blog

By William Trillo
Photo-Chops: Bret “The Threat”

Okay, I was wrong about referee Lupe Garcia interfering in the Chavez Jr. vs. Rubio fight this weekend but that does not mean I still don’t think the deck was heavily stacked by Jose Sulaiman and The WBC in that fight. First I want to apologize to Garcia who had his hands full of Rubio low blows and Chavez Jr. elbows all night long. All things considered he did a fine job.

But when it comes to stacking the deck any hardcore cheater will tell you it’s better to load the deck with more than a few Wildcards (no pun intended).

As it turns out Rubio pointed out more indiscretions by the WBC when he said there never was a urine sample submitted by Chavez Jr. for drug testing, a blatant violation of WBC rules. That’s right, the Texas commission never got a urine sample from Chavez Jr. When asked about the oversite, WBC President Jose Sulaiman, who I am told is Chavez Jr.s legal Godfather, (another wildcard), casually said, “We forgot!”

Seriously?

With that said…

Marco Antonio Rubio has no one to blame for this loss but himself. If ever there was a time that a Champion was there to be beat it was Saturday night. Considering the up and down weight of Chavez Jr., the skipped drug test and a drunk driving arrest 12 days earlier, Chavez Jr. should have been an easy mark for Rubio. Instead of concentrating on the fight Rubio spent the entire week complaining. That was most likely Rubio’s last chance and all the protesting in the world won’t change that.

Donaire Fight Coverage

I was really hoping that one of the big changes we would see and hear at HBO, now that Ken Hershman is at the helm, would be the end to the HBO commentators shilling for whatever fighter they deemed to be their future star.

Larry Merchant excluded, HBO went out of their way to tell us how great Nonito is and how powerful he is when the fact of the matter is he looked pretty damn ordinary against Wilfredo Vasquez Jr. It’s amazing how mediocre a fighter looks once he starts fighting guys his own size. Now that Donaire is going to stop having to fight Munchkins, HBO might want to stop trying to shove him down our collective throats. At least they can wait until he proves himself, and he did not on Saturday night.

Jim “Swifty Lazar” Lampley

Do you remember when Jim Lampley was a young and hip commentator who was on the cutting edge of sports journalism and it was always a treat to have him taking lead anchor for all our top sporting events?

Those days are long gone my friend.

If there was any chance for “Lamps” to gain the sports fans confidence and trust again it was shot to hell when Lampley decided to wear those leopard skin eyeglasses in front of the camera on Saturday night.

It was no sooner than Lampley’s first appearance Saturday night that I got a message on Facebook saying, “Holy crap, where in the hell did Lampley get those glasses and did he lose a bet to have to wear them?”

Moments late I received a text message on my phone saying, “Tell Lampley to give those glasses back to his girlfriend!” That was followed by another text asking, “What the hell is Lampley wearing Leopard glasses for?”

I have a suggestion for Hershman that would not only end the shill label HBO has been branded with but it will bring a quick and grinding halt to leopard skin eyeglass frames as well.

Wanna guess what that suggestion is?

Cotto Training Regimen

Miguel Cotto’s training schedule has for whatever reason been released to the media. It looks like Miguel will begin his training very soon in Puerto Rico. I am told from a very reliable source that Cotto is taking on a new strength and conditiong program for this fight. I am not at liberty to say what this new exercise program is but by the time Cotto hits Florida for camp he could already be in the best shape of his career.

Three Champs For Bob

By the end of the weekend Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., Nonito Donaire and his beloved “G-Men” the New York Giants all held world champion titles. It’s safe to say Bob Arum woke up a happy camper on Monday morning.

Check out www.Pound4Pound.com for all the latest boxing news

By William Trillo

As defined by thefreedictionary.com
stack the deck:
to arrange something in a way that is not fair in order to achieve what you want

This Saturday night in the San Antonio Texas Alamodome, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. will put his WBC middleweight belt on the line when he faces Marco Antonio Rubio in a bout that puts not two but three Mexicans in the ring. The third Mexican is referee Lupe Garcia and Rubio is not very happy about the appointment. In fact when Rubio first heard who would be the third man in the ring he immediately filed a protest demanding Garcia be removed. Rubio’s fear was that Garcia would still have the great and revered father of Chavez Jr. on his mind and would favor the son of the legend Julio Cesar Chavez Sr.

Protest denied!

WBC President Jose Sulaiman confirmed he received the letter from Team Rubio but went on to say he was very comfortable with Garcia’s appointment. “The appointment of Lupe follows an agreement that we had with Dick Cole, director of the Texas Commission. They agreed that from now on referees from other countries are able to work WBC title fights in Texas. This is a great opportunity. That is why, in agreement with Cole, we carefully chose Lupe. The truth is, this is the first time that someone rejected a referee with international experience in world championship fights,” Sulaiman said.

Wait a minute! What did he say?

The appointment of Lupe follows an agreement that we had with Dick Cole? Excuse me for thinking out loud but hasn’t the Cole name come up in some other very suspicious goings on in Texas before? And what does El Presidente mean when he says, “They agreed that from now on referees from other countries are able to work WBC title fights in Texas. This is a great opportunity. That is why, in agreement with Cole, we carefully chose Lupe.”

Who is “they”? Apparently Team Rubio is not part of that group.

And to say, “from now on refs from other countries are able to work WBC title fights in Texas,” suggests to me this is the first time this has happened…quite the coincidence….NO?

Am I suggesting blatant impropriety?

You will have to decide that for yourselves.

But if Rubio should get penalized 2 or 3 points for borderline low blows and Chavez Jr. wins a close split decision, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Or if Rubio should go down and take a standing eight count only to see Garcia wave the fight off even though Rubio appears OK, it won’t be the first time Garcia has waved a fight off too early. It was Garcia who was in the ring the night Oliver McCall dropped heavyweight champ Lennox Lewis. Though staggered Lewis got up and took the eight count only to see Garcia controversially wave the fight off.

One person who should not be displeased with the Garcia appointment is Bob Arum. The Top Rank Chief just lost his major Cash Cow Miguel Cotto to free agency and there is no doubt he does not want to see another money maker bite the dust. I am sure this stacked deck in Texas does not bother Arum at all.

Check out www.Pound4Pound.com for all the latest boxing news

By William Trillo
Photo-Chop: Bret “The Threat

The boxing fans with broken hearts who saw their Las Vegas St. Valentines Day weekend hopes dashed when Andre Berto pulled out of the Victor Ortiz rermatch,(and I was one of them), can feel a sense of relief now as they mark the next big boxing holiday weekend in Sin City down on their calendars. I could be getting way ahead of myself here but if Miguel Cotto does in fact defend his 154 pound title against Floyd Mayweather Jr. on May 5th at The MGM Grand in Las Vegas we could easily see one of the biggest live gate and PPV bonanza’s in boxing history.

That’s right!

I, William Trillo am 100% for this fight and I am of the belief the final figure$ could be in the upper stratosphere. Of course there is another fight everyone would rather see, but we don’t talk about that fantasy here.

First of all, I seriously doubt for one moment that anyone would have given a horses rear if Floyd used “his” May 5th date to take on the likes of Robert Guerrero, Saul Alvarez or whatever other boring stiff they may have been able to dig up. Likewise, another installment of Cotto vs. Pacquiao had all the appeal of a second spoonful of Castor Oil. There was no reason to do that again, not without dire and unpleasant consequences.

But Floyd vs. Miguel….hmmmm…I believe we have some serious intrigue here.

Floyd just dusted off a young and strong Champion when he blind sided Victor Ortiz and walked away with his belt. There are a lot of people who would like to see Floyd pay for that “sucker-punch” that got him that 147 pound strap.

Meanwhile, Miguel Cotto just decimated boxing’s newest villain Antonio Margarito. With the beatdown he put on the “Tijuana Tornado”, Cotto’s stock and fan base has risen greatly. And let’s be honest here, the man is never in a bad or dull fight and his PPV numbers are consistently high. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the majority of the boxing public will be hoping Cotto can dispose of another perceived villain.

Next you have to bet that HBO’s new boxing Honcho, Ken Hershman, is going to go balls to the wall on this fight, his first high profile battle on the network…this will be an all out promotion.

I am no math major but I can do the arithmetic here.

Floyd + Cotto x HBO/Hershman = Cha-Ching

Of course, I have to remind myself that the last time I was salivating this much over a Floyd Mayweather fight I was brought back down to earth when Mayweather became “Dr. Floyd” and went all Olympic Style drug test on us. So it’s what bated breath that I give this fight my Billy’s Boxing Blog Seal of Approval.

So far Floyd is saying all the right things. He says he will meet the Champ Cotto at his weight so I hope I don’t hear any catch weight demands coming in the future. This fight needs to be at 154 pounds and not one ounce less.

Cotto has accepted the good doctors drug testing demands so there should be no problems there.

Bob Arum and Top Rank are out of this one since Cotto is a Free Agent now . Bob says he will forget about this fight and focus on whatever Pacquiao decides to do. The last thing I need to see is Top Rank filing some paperwork in court claiming some rights to anything to do with Cotto or this May 5th fight. I understand they have no intentions of doing so. I hope that’s true.

My hope is there will be none of the recurring stumbling blocks that seem to get in the way of a number of marquee boxing events. Anything less than smooth sailing to the finish line on May 5th will be unacceptable.

As to the fight itself, I see it like this, Cotto has the first 6 rounds to do some major damage and get Floyd in trouble, if he can do that we have a fight. If he can’t Floyd will run away with this one and will stop Cotto late or win an easy unanimous decision.

Lastly, I know there are websites out there who slobber all over themselves to get news up before it really is news just to close the half baked story with the line, “remember where you heard it first.” Personally I don’t know who had the ealry “scoop” on this Mayweather vs. Cotto Mega fight but you might want to take a look at the following link posted in July of 2010.

http://pound4pound.com/BillysBoxingBlog/2010/07/26/floyd-mayweather-jr-miguel-cotto-set-to-face-off-in-puerto-rico/

Check out www.Pound4Pound latest boxing news

By William Trillo

As I stepped off the apron after taking final posing shots of the victorious Guillermo Rigondeaux I was asked by someone from Team Ramos what happened to their now former WBA Super Bantamweight Champ Rico Ramos. For once I engaged my brain before speaking and I asked, “Do you really want to know my opinion?” The Ramos team member said, “Of course I do!”

So I did.

I told him, “I thought Rico tasted that punch that sent him to the canvas early and made a decision he did not want any more of that.”

With a somewhat sullen look he replied, “Yeah, I think you are right.”

That’s pretty much all I have to say about that bout other than Rigendeaux is the real deal and as pathetic as that fight turned out to be he is one to watch in the coming years.

The undercard was anything but pathetic and I think the fans were treated to some real hard fought and exciting battles.

Undefeated young Super Feathers Joel Diaz Jr. and Guy Robb fought their hearts out. It was a real test for both men. Yes, maybe it was stopped a tad too early but Robb had taken a lot of punishment and I can’t say I am up in arms about the stoppage.

Super Flyweight Matt Villanueva kept his win to KO ratio at 100% as he stopped a very game Mike Ruiz Jr. Villanueva was impressive but he got cracked by Ruiz numerous times and his somewhat accessible chin will need to be worked on. Tighten up that defense Matt!

The off TV bouts proved to be a great warm-up for the crowd at Palms Casino and leading the way was Welterweight Javier Molina vs. rugged Albert Herrera. This was the perfect fight for Molina to build his confidence as he had to wok hard to earn a 6 round unanimous decision. This bout was anything but a “gimme” for Molina.

In a four round heavyweight bout big Romanian Razvan Cojanu racked up his second victory with a unanimous decision over Rodney Hernandez. I’d like to see Cojanu throw his hands more and work behind his long left jab in the future. With his size he has the potential to do some damage on his way up the ladder.

In a four round Junior Middle opener Yosami Abreu did enough to take a unanimous decision over Marcus Robinson.

All in all it was a fine night of boxing on Showtimes ShoBox card that was promoted by Goossen Tutor. With the exception of the Main event of course…but really, that was not anyone’s fault but the former Champion Ramos who seemed to be looking for a way out after he got dropped early with a punch to the top of his cranium.

Check out www.Pound4Pound.com for all the latest boxing news.

By William Trillo

I don’t know about you but I have personally had it with all the Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. hype. At this point it can not even be referred to as “Pre-Fight” hype because it seems there will never truly be a fight in the ring. Instead this has become nothing more than a never-ending war of words that has become dull and tedious at best.

After having a discussion with my associate Bret Newton we have decided to boycott anything related to Manny vs. Floyd until an official announcement is made one way or another. As Bob Arum has so eloquently said, “It’s time to fish or cut bait.”

In other words, do something or go away!

I’d like to put out a call to arms to all my boxing writer brethren and ask everyone to boycott this never ending stream of mindless minutia. I know it’s a lot to ask but in the name of all that is good for boxing, please stop giving anyone involved in this disaster any ink at all until they lay down some ink of their own, on an official contract to fight that is!

I can’t speak for the masses but from this point on Pound4Pound promises not to give these guys the time of day until the fight is signed.

Here are a few examples of things we will not post:

• Tweets from Oscar De La Hoya blaming Bob Arum for the fight not being made.

• Quotes from Arum saying he is convinced Floyd does not want the fight.

• Tweets from Floyd calling out Manny to fight on any date, (realistic or not).

• Quotes from anyone in the Philippines saying they just talked to Manny and he will fight under any circumstance, drug tests, catch weights etc. etc.

• Videos on YouTube of Floyd calling out Manny in a foul mouthed dissertation where he shows he doesn’t know one Asian race from another.

Those are but a few examples of material we will boycott but we are not limiting ourselves, because you never know what kind of nonsense is lurking around the corner.

Elections, pending court dates and/or jail time will be considered on a per incident basis, but not if an election is delaying said fight or a supposed fight date is being used to sway a judge to give the convicted criminal more free time.

Of course, if either fighter goes ahead with their plans to fight inferior competition we may grumble about it, but we will post relevant press releases and stories in regard to those scheduled snoozers.

It is our sincere hope that this fight gets made, but until then, Mum’s the word!

Check out www.Pound4Pound.com for all the latest boxing news (well almost all of it).

By William Trillo
Photo-Chop: Bret “The Threat”

Bait advertising defined:
Bait advertising is an alluring but insincere offer to sell a product or service which the advertiser in truth does not intend or want to sell.

I am not sure when Twitter became a form of journalism but considering how many boxing websites ran with the Floyd Mayweather Jr. tweet yesterday…well you get the picture. Furthermore I want to say that any ape that just copied the Mayweather Tweet and pasted it on their front page…well you should be ashamed of yourselves.

Look, if anyone thinks there is one ounce of sincerity in Floyd all of a sudden calling out Manny to fight on May 5th only days after “Pretty Boy” was given a reprieve on his 90 day jail sentence, you are gravely mistaken.

With the announcement pending that Mayweather will most likely be fighting Robert Guerrero on May 5th, (and this apparently has been in the works for a while), calling out Manny, who made it clear he will not fight until June at the earliest is nothing more than Mayweather setting the bait for the soon to be disgruntled boxing fans.

When the fans shout that it should be Pacquiao on that May 5th date, Mayweather can point to his Tweet and say, “I called him out and the chump don’t want to fight. What more can I do?”

Seriously?

After umteen months of haggling with no progress whatsoever in “Thee Super Fight” talks, suddenly the fight should get made in just a few days?

Get real.

As ridiculous as that is, all fingers of blame should not get pointed in Mayweather’s direction as Manny along with Top Rank are doing their own version of the bait and switch with the likes of Lamont Peterson being proposed as Pac’s June opponent.

As I wrote a few days ago, this circus is now off the charts and it’s time to put an end to it.

I am appalled at everyone who has bought into this Mayweather Tweet!

Have you been paying attention to this real life soap opera star?

Apparently not!

Check out www.Pound4Pound.com for all the latest boxing truth.

By William Trillo

Am I the only one that chuckled when Super Middleweight Champ and Super Six Winner Andre Ward said Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. was a fight he would consider in 2012?

That’s right.

As reported by Boxingscene.com while Ward was accepting his belt in Mexico he fielded a question about Jr. by stating, “In 2012 I hope to continue having big fights and beating the best. Among the opponents that I can have is Julio Cesar Chavez. I know about his career, and what would be better than fighting him in Mexico. I know he’s the world champion at middleweight, but there is not a big difference between his division and mine,” Ward said.

In fairness to both Ward and Boxingscene they did later report a note saying: Ward has stated that he was misquoted in the Mexican press. Ward told the Mexican media that he was “open” to a future fight with Chavez, but never said he was targeting Chavez or looking to fight him in Mexico.

That’s all well and good but if Ward was asked about Chavez Jr. as he claimed, his response should have been more along the lines of, “Look, Chavez Jr. is a middleweight champion but he is inferior competition for me and he doesn’t even appear on my radar!” He did not say that or anything close.

To even acknowledge a Chavez Jr. fight after completely dismissing a fight with Lucian Bute is disturbing to me…to say the least.

I don’t know who is advising Kelly Pavlik but the fact that he plans on getting ready for a fight in the spring, considering his recent trouble,(again), makes no sense at all. I wish there is someone who could talk some sense into this young man. And then I wish he would listen and take the advice.

The Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fiasco is beyond circus-like now and I just wish they would officially scrap the idea and move on. Whether you blame Manny or Floyd, Arum or Oscar, this has just gone to far now.

Check out www.Pound4Pound.com for all the latest boxing news.

By William Trillo

I just happened to jump on the internet (www.tmz.com) with enough time to watch a Nevada judge grant a reprieve to Floyd Mayweather Jr. and instead of having to turn himself into Nevada authorities today to serve a 90 day jail sentence, Floyd will now get a 5 month reprieve with the notion that he will be fighting a big money fight in May. The judge also noted that part of his sentence was for domestic violence counseling and on that matter Mayweather would not be let off the hook and would have to perform the Domestic Violence counseling on a weekly basis. “Fight or no fight”, the judge said, “Mr. Mayweather will have to perform that duty with no excuses. If he misses one day he will be subject to his 90 sentence immediately!”

If all goes according to this plan Floyd will turn himself in on June 1 of this year….(cough).

As to that big money fight in May, if any of you think it’s finally going to be Floyd vs. Manny…guess again.

In his request to postpone Mayweather’s sentence his attorney said it was, “…to give Floyd time to train for a massive fight on May 5th against an undetermined opponent at the MGM Grand.”

Undetermined opponent?

Talk about opening the door counselor!

Although most of us would love to believe that means the fight with Pacquiao is right around the corner it would be highly suggested that no one holds their breath.

My guess is Manny will fight someone like Lamont Peterson in May or June and Mayweather will either fight someone like the Berto/Ortiz winner, a “Ghost” or a “Ginger Kid” in May. After that talks will begin that Manny vs. Floyd could possibly happen in November. (Although I doubt it ever will).

That should give Mayweather’s attorney another carrot to dangle in front of the Nevada judge and ask for another postponement of that 90 day sentence until 2013, which will most likely be granted as long as Floyd follows through with his court ordered counseling and stays clear of any trouble.

On the bright side, for Mayweather fans, this could be the start of some consistent activity for Floyd who I am sure would rather fight every 6 months as opposed to spending time in Cell Block C.

On the downside, for those not so keen on Floyd, this will be viewed as another high profile celebrity getting preferential treatment and “bucking” the system.

It’s pretty clear the judge in this case could not care less about boxing, and rightly so. But to postpone this sentence for a so called “Massive fight” is ill-advised and haphazard at best.

First, I personally doubt we will ever see Floyd vs. Manny, there are too many issues, personalities and $$$ going into this thing and negotiations will be a veritable nightmare, no one is going to budge.

Second, considering the “Posse” Floyd rolls with it’s hard to believe he will stay clear of trouble and one way or another the judge will have no choice put to throw him in “The Hoosgow” for a yet to be determined stretch of time.

In fact…if you listen closely you can hear Champagne corks popping in Las Vegas right now as calls are being made to every Strip Club in “Sin City” to reserve a table and a case of “Dom” for Pretty Boy and a party of 10. Floyd’s gonna be makin’ it rain up in here tonight!

http://www.tmz.com/2012/01/06/floyd-mayweather-turns-himself-in-jail/#.TwdLszXWZDQ

Check out www.Pound4Pound.com for all the lates boxing news.

By William Trillo

I would like to start by wishing everyone a Happy New Year, may 2012 be a prosperous one for all. As you may or may not know, I took a bit of hiatus once the holiday season got into full swing but there are just a few things I wanted to get off my chest so I could start out 2012 with a clean slate.

First, there is the WBC and the situation with their Middleweight title (Gold, Silver, Diamond or otherwise). If I am not mistaken Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. is presently their champion and although the number one contender, Marco Antonio Rubio keeps winning, somehow the WBC has found a path for Chavez Jr. that takes a detour around Rubio. Personally, I don’t know how this keeps going on but it’s time for Junior to face the music. Much to my dismay rumblings have been heard that Sergio Martinez will be next in line for Chavez Jr. There is also noise that Junior will finally face Rubio and that winner will get a shot with Martinez. The latter makes more sense to me and I hope that is what transpires. No more excuses…PLEASE.

Speaking of Middleweights, although it wasn’t awe inspiring, I think the time off and the move back to 160 pounds is just what the doctor ordered for Jermain Taylor. I will be the first to admit he is far from the form that saw him beat Bernard Hopkins twice but I saw glimpses of Taylor on Friday night that reminded me of the Taylor we knew back in the day. Yes, I know beating Jessie Nicklow does not put him in title contention, but with a couple more fights to shake off the rust I think Jermain and that jab could once again be a force at 160 pounds.

On the same Friday night card we saw the return of Super Middleweight Andre Dirrell. “The Matrix” looked fine, but he too was facing second rate competition as he KO’d Darryl Cunningham in 2 less than memorable rounds. My only trouble with this victory is that the WBC, (them again), have put Andre back in the number one spot in their rankings. That seems very premature to me. We are talking about a guy who claimed neurological damage after his fight with Arthur Abraham. I really think giving him the number one slot to face the Champion Andre Ward is…well…ridiculous. Especially since it seems pretty apparent the Andre’s really don’t want a fight to get in the way of their friendship.

In regard to Ward, although I didn’t see his victory over Carl Froch, from all accounts I heard he put a good beatdown Froch and I congratulate him for that. It took three calendar years but finally we have “Super Six” Champion. I tip my hat to Ward.

What comes as no surprise to me is the fact that Ward shows little or no interest in fighting IBF 168 pound champ Lucian Bute. I am not suggesting that Ward is ducking Bute either. I had heard for a while that a few involved in the “Super Six” took offense to the fact that Bute saw it as some kind of “fight-off” to get the right to fight him, and quite frankly, I don’t blame them. Although I think Lucian is a premier 168 pounder I thought it was a tad arrogant for him to suggest the ” Super Six” winner would somehow be worthy to get a shot at him… I mean really, who does he think he is?

On Bute, it looks like there is a two fight deal in the works for him to take on Carl Froch, with the first fight in Montreal. This comes as no surprise to me as Lucian’s promoter, Interbox’s Jean Bedard was recently quoted as saying he was glad the Andrade vs. George bout was postponed as it would give him time to make another fight for Bute before he had to face Andrade or George who would be Lucian’s mandatory defense. “We have no interest in fighting Andrade again,” said Bedard.

Mr. Bedard, if you are looking for the “Promoter’s Reason Not To Fight Andrade” line you will have to get in the queue right behind Leon Margules.

In closing I would like to tell Raider fan that settling for 50 yard field goals, lousy special teams and piss poor clock management will never get you into the playoffs. Have fun hanging your hat on that most penalties by a team in one year record you set yesterday…see ya’ next year.

Check out www.Pound4Pound.com for all the latest boxing news.

By William Trillo & Tim Donaldson

Happy New Year to everyone. Another year has come and gone and it’s time reflect one last time on 2011 before we move on. I asked our ace reporter from Philly, Tim Donaldson if he would like to start out the New Year by going over his Top Ten fighters of 2011 and then follow-up quarterly with an update. Tim was more than up for the difficult task and I commend him for that. If there is any sport that leaves itself open for argument when it comes to the best of the best…it’s boxing.

With thank Tim for taking up the challenge…so without further ado:

Looking Back on 2011 With An Eye Toward
Those Who Will Be Remembered in the Future
By Tim Donaldson

As I sit in my office, pondering the past year and wondering what I should write, my eyes fall on some of the boxing memorabilia that I have collected over time. Jack Dempsey, Gene Tunney, Muhammad Ali, Rocky Marciano, and Smokin Joe Frazier stare back at me, inspiring me. They are remembered and will be remembered as some of boxing’s greatest champions. I start to wonder. Who, out of those I have watched fight this year, will be remembered 50 years from now? Who will I be talking about when I am a toothless old man?

So I got to work on a list. I asked friends and family their thoughts as well. And what I have found is that we all have our own favorites, and we all put them in our own order. So this is my list and my reasons, starting with number ten.

10. Andre Ward. I have included Ward for a few reasons. I got to see Ward fight live for the first time at the Super Six Final, and I have to say I was impressed. For me, boxing is as much a sport about out-thinking your opponent as it is a sport of brute force. Ward controlled the fight against Froch from beginning to end. Most of the British press realized this, even though the judges failed to see it. And beyond this one fight, you have to give Ward credit for making it through the Super Six tournament undefeated.

9. Yuriorkis Gamboa. Despite the fact that Max Kellerman seems to think that Gamboa simply is not exciting enough (does Max actually watch all the fights aired on HBO? There are many worse fighters getting exposure on your network, Mr. Kellerman.), Gamboa continues to win fights in a convincing way. Will he be the next Pacquiao as some suggest? Only time will tell. But if his career continues on the current path, I do expect that he will be remembered years to come.

7 & 8. Vladimir and Vitali Klitschko. No disrespect to the Klitschko brothers, but too many of us in the United States, we see them as the two headed giant that rules the Heavyweight division. So many here like to complain that they are boring and only remain on top because of their size. However, this is a weak argument. Every fighter has a weakness, this includes Vladimir and Vitali, but no one currently in the Heavyweight division has been able to exploit their weaknesses. Size might get you to the top of the heap, but it will not keep you there.

6. Miguel Cotto. Maybe I am partial, or maybe my wife is making me put him in the list, but I do believe he belongs here. Cotto seemed unstoppable until Antonio Margarito did exactly that back in 2008. But Cotto has now put that demon to rest. Truly, the two Cotto, Margarito fights will be talked about for years. Unfortunately for Cotto, just like Ali cannot be mentioned without Frazier, Cotto’s name will be forever linked with his arch enemy Margarito.

5. Sergio Martinez. Martinez will be remembered for many reasons. What boxing fan can forget the way Martinez knocked out Paul Williams in the second round of their second fight? However, the real reason he belongs here is his fighting style. For most fighters, fighting with hands down would be a dangerous strategy, but for Martinez it seems to be a strength. Not only does he fight hands down, but he likes to stick his chin out there, just taunting his opponent to hit him. When his opponent does attempt to hit him, he manages to land his shot. As he himself has said, he would not be “Maravilla,” marvel or wonder, if he did not fight with his hands down.

4. Floyd Mayweather. Floyd and Floyd fans will be upset that I put him at number 4, but as I said this is my list. Floyd Mayweather is a great fighter, no doubt, but he will be remembered as much for his antics outside of the ring as those in the ring. But so is Muhammad Ali and many other great fighters. Mayweather is a great defensive fighter, who can dictate a fight to his opponent. For you doubters, I am sure you are saying what about Ortiz? Yes, it seemed like a cheap shot to me, but he got away with it and he won the fight. For Mayweather, it is all about winning.

3. Manny Pacquiao. Now I have made the Pacquiao fans mad. What? How can this be? Manny not at number one? Pacquiao truly is one of the great fighters of our time. He has beaten nearly everyone put in front of him, and he almost always makes it look easy. There is one thing that will plague his reputation, however. Floyd Mayweather? No. It is the man in the number two slot.

2. Juan Manuel Marquez. Even without fighting Pacquiao, I would consider Marquez one of the greatest fighters of our time. He consistently chooses the best opponents to fight. How many fighters can we say that about? And then there are the three fights against Pacquiao. Yes, I do believe Marquez was robbed in the last fight. It is not the first time either. The really great thing about Marquez is that you know that if he fights again, he will once again choose the best.

So, now you are asking yourself who I picked for my number one. As I said before, this is my list, and I admit, it is quite arbitrary. I could have put the top five at any order and been happy. But since I am from Philadelphia and in my forties, I am going to let my bias come through.

1. Bernard Hopkins. I put Bernard Hopkins at the top of the list for one reason. In two weeks he will be turning 47. How many of the fighters on this list will still be fighting when they are 46 or 47? However, Hopkins is not simply fighting, he is winning. He is one of the most consistent fighters in boxing, and he just keeps proving this to us. Sure he likes to show off, doing pushups between rounds at the Pascal fight. But why shouldn’t he show off? Typically if a fighter fights into their 40’s, they simply end up embarrassing themselves. But not Hopkins. So that is why I believe Bernard Hopkins deserves the number one spot.

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