Could Jerry Quarry Have Won
a Piece of the Heavyweight Title
in This Era? 

The Square Ring 

by Howie Reed, THE PATTAYA MAIL

The most honorable Jeeves, manservant to the Lord of the Manor, has been notified that many new readers of TSR are unfamiliar with the cast of non-boxing characters that appear each week. A point well taken.

His Lordship, or Lord of the Manor, is of course the no-talent individual masquerading as a boxing writer and self proclaimed “icon” whose name appears at the top of the page. No not “Friday July, 11, 2008,” but the proper name.

Sir Frog in real life is restaurateur Patrick, of Patrick’s Belgian Restaurant on Pattaya Road 2 at Moo 10. He’s a retired professional box fighter, ski diver and belongs to the Hash House Harriers, which should explain everything you need to know.

Being a sky diver, and almost French, the terribly clever folks of the HHH named him the Flying Frog. He became Sir Frog after he explained to The Lord of the Manor that anyone with the number of professional fights he had deserved to be called ‘Sir’. When that was agreed upon Sir Frog removed his frog legs from around the breathing area of the Lord of the Manor. MORE

Johnny Lira

by Jim Amato

The city of Chicago has produced its share of outstanding professional fighters. One of them was a tough as nails lightweight who campaigned in the late 1970's and early 1980's. His name was Johnny Lira and he fought his way into the top echelon of the lightweight rankings.

Lira turned pro in 1976 and quickly gained notice by winning his first twelve fights. In 1977 he drew with Manuel Lopez but defeated Lopez in a return bout. Johnny hit the big time in 1978 when he received a shot at the United States Boxing Association lightweight title. His opponent was the highly ranked southpaw bomber Andy Ganigan. Johnny was a decided underdog going in but he shocked the boxing establishment by stopping Ganigan in round six. Lira then went to New York's Madison Square Garden to outscore the talented Larry Stanton. Lira was now high in the ratings and in 1979 he received a shot at the World Boxing Association's version of the lightweight title. Their champion was a hard hitting bomber from Venezuela named Ernesto Espana. It was a gruelling fight but Espana emerged victorious stopping Johnny in nine rounds. Lira would suffer a broken jaw for his gallant effort. MORE

The Square Ring

by Howie Reed, THE PATTAYA MAIL

Happy 4th of July to all the American expats that have played a part in making the Pattaya Mail and The Square Ring a huge success. To think that it all started with tossing some tea in the Boston harbor while old loud mouth Paul Revere yelled, “The British are coming, The British are coming.” Boggles the mind.

It has been fairly smooth sailing for the USA in terms of boxing since then. It’s generally agreed (incorrectly) that “as the heavyweight division goes - so goes boxing” and for years that division was ruled by one Yank after another. That’s no longer the case though as Eastern European heavyweights have emerged triumphant. Check the names of current heavyweight champions and you come up with Chagaev and Klitschko along with a transplanted Nigerian (now living in Las Vegas) called Samuel Peter.

WBA champ Ruslan Chagaev was set to defend against 7-foot Nikolai Valuev in Germany on Saturday but that’s now off. Chagaev has “suffered a complete tear of the Achilles tendon in his left ankle” in his last sparing session.

Gee, a Ruskie heavyweight hurt in training? What a surprise. MORE

"Ragin' Cajuns" Win Two!

Kevin Anderson lines up his right hand for the finishing blow to Byron Mitchell in Lake Charles Saturday night

Lake Charles, LA. Lafayette's Ragin' Cajun Boxing Club had two winners at Burton Coliseum on Saturday night.

Kevin Anderson (181 lbs.) won an exciting heavyweight bout over Lake Charles native Byron Mitchell. Anderson controlled the first round with his jab and came out throwing bombs in round two. A hard right hand to the chin of mitchell floored him and the referee, Floyd Baker, stopped the bout to save Mitchell further punishment. MORE

Mustafa Hamsho: If Not For Hagler… 

by Jim Amato

He may have been the second best middleweight in the world in the late 1970's through the mid 80's. The "Hagler Era". he was twice defeated by the Marvelous one in title fights but no one other then Hagler could seem handle him.

Mustafa Hamsho was born in Syria in 1953. He turned professional in 1975 sometimes fighting under the moniker of Rocky Estafire. He lost his first pro fight in Binghamton, N.Y. to Pat Cuillo. After eight bouts it would have been hard to foresee Hamsho as a future contender as his ledger stood at 4-2-2. Mustafa would go on to win his next 27 bouts and firmly establish himself as a legitimate title threat. MORE

WBC Rules in Action

The WBC is extremely happy because our two newest rules, the 4th and 8th open scoring and the use of instant replay, have a great response and usage in the last few days.

Juanito Rubillar

Juanito Rubillar, from the Philippines, was behind on all three score cards when the 8th round official score was announced.

His closing performance in the last 4 rounds earned him a split decision against Omar Niño, from Mexico in a final elimination bout.

This also proves that the neutrality of ring officials is a most in world events regardless of where the fight takes place. MORE

The Square Ring

by Howie Reed, THE PATTAYA MAIL

One boxing story that might have been big news two weeks ago is now being viewed as “so what.” The retirement, yet again, of Floyd Mayweather jr. is now an officially “non-story.” The only impact is on the re match with Oscar De La Hoya on September 20. TSR thought the cancellation would be an excellent time for Ricky Hatton to step into the breach, fight Oscar and become a major player again on the world stage. Not going to happen. Ricky’s father has put the ‘kybosh’ on that. He told the BBC, “‘The Hitman’ is focused on a November fight with IBF jr welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi.”

Boxing fans had anticipated Calzaghe facing Kelly Pavlik on October 18 - but now? “I think it’s unlikely,” Calzaghe said. “I’m not sure if Pavlik really wants to face me at the moment. He would have little to gain because I believe I would definitely beat him and, with respect to Gary Lockett, I would be a step-up too far for Pavlik.”

What fight does Calzaghe want? He wants Roy Jones jr. It’s “the right fight for me at the moment,” he said. As mentioned here last week in TSR, Pavlik would have gone through Calzaghe like a Teelock goes through a punter’s pockets during nap time. There’s two things ‘old geezers’ love - and one is a nap. MORE

Hombretv.com to Support The World Boxing Council (WBC) and to Expand Coverage of the Sport of Boxing

- Hombre Media, Inc. announced today that it will be supporting the work of the World Boxing Council, (WBC), and expanding Internet and broadcast coverage of high-quality boxing and boxing related programming world-wide.

The WBC, headquartered in Mexico City, is the largest and most prestigious sanctioning body in the boxing industry. With affiliations in 161 countries and associations with 9 Continental Boxing Federations, the WBC is the leading institution in the World of Boxing. They have initiated changes and reforms that have lead to unprecedented levels of safety, fairness, medical research, the fight against drugs, opportunities for boxers and decisive leadership against apartheid for human equality for the betterment of boxing. MORE

Giovanni Lorenzo - Raul Marquez
IBF Middleweight Mandatory
Eliminator 

Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, FL
Showtime to Broadcast Live
Issue #3 

MIDDLEWEIGHT MELEE:  The Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, FL will serve as the site for a Showtime World Championship Boxing middleweight doubleheader.  The 12 round non-title main event bout will feature a rematch between Edison Miranda (30-2, 26 KO’s) and undefeated IBF middleweight champion Arthur Abraham (26-0, 21 KO’s).  In the co-feature undefeated IBF #4 ranked contender Giovanni Lorenzo (26-0, 18 KO’s) challenges IBF #13 ranked contender and former world champion Raul Marquez (40-3-1, 29 KO’s) in a 12 round IBF Mandatory Eliminator bout.  IBF champion Abraham is mandated to fight the winner of Lorenzo-Marquez in his next bout.  SHOWTIME’s June 21 broadcast will begin at 9pm ET / PT.  Tickets, priced at $202, $152, $102, and $52 are now on sale and may be purchased at the Hard Rock Live Box Office or TicketMaster.com.

LOYALTY:  Lorenzo’s cut man Sid Brumbach is getting married today.  He has put off his honeymoon until after the Lorenzo fight so he can be in Lorenzo’s corner on Saturday night . . . No word on whether he has informed his bride of this yet . . .

PREDICTIONS:  An e-mail was sent to the boxing media and to boxing insiders asking their predictions for Saturday’s Lorenzo-Marquez bout.  Surprisingly, of the 33 people who responded, 29 selected Lorenzo.  Below are the predictions. MORE

In Rusty’s Corner

Three interesting stories hit our wire in recent days, Evander Holyfield and Thomas Hearns in deep financial trouble and Floyd Mayweather Jr. announced his retirement. An athlete in financial trouble is certainly nothing new. People tend to live far beyond their means, which might be okay if the economy was doing well, but in the USA, it has not, and doesn’t figure to anytime soon.

As for Mayweather retiring, he’s done it before. My guess is that he’s trying to up the price on his rematch fight with De la Hoya. Problem is fans don’t have the big money they had when they first met, and far less people will buy the PPV.

Here’s another great book for our friends to read and enjoy, “Boxing in the Los Angeles Area 1880-2005. Great pics of some great fighters, and very well written and produced by Tracy Callis and Chuck Johnston. It’s published by “Pastime Memorabilia”.

One big fight this weekend, in Florida, where we’ll see a rematch on Showtime between the great battle between King Arthur Abraham and Edison Miranda. MORE

The Square Ring 

From Tomorrow’s Pattaya Mail

TSR is a great believer in the theory that boxers improve their skills first in the gym then hone them with meaningful opposition in the ring. Today’s heavyweights and 99% of all Thai boxers do neither. Heavyweights neglect to do this because they’re flat lazy in the gym and can make big bucks by fighting ‘tomato cans.’ With Thai fighters once they get to a certain level they stop all progress. That’s the way it is.

Undisputed cruiserweight David Haye may be ready to break the mold though. He’s made the decision to move up to heavyweight and chase the big money and also to broaden his opportunity to improve. There’s a history of cruiserweights moving up with some success: Michael Moorer and Evandler Holyfield to name but two.

Most UK heavyweights stay home, fight the ‘usual suspects’ and never become complete fighters. MORE

Giovanni Lorenzo - Raul Marquez
IBF Middleweight Mandatory Eliminator

MIDDLEWEIGHT MELEE: The Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida, will serve as the site for a Showtime World Championship Boxing middleweight doubleheader. The 12 round non-title main event bout will feature a rematch between Edison Miranda (30-2, 26 KO’s) and undefeated IBF middleweight champion Arthur Abraham (26-0, 21 KO’s). In the co-feature undefeated IBF #4 ranked contender Giovanni Lorenzo (26-0, 18 KO’s) challenges IBF #13 ranked contender and former world champion Raul Marquez (40-3-1, 29 KO’s) in a 12 round IBF Mandatory Eliminator bout. IBF champion Abraham is mandated to fight the winner of Lorenzo-Marquez in his next bout. SHOWTIME’s June 21 broadcast will begin at 9pm ET / PT. Tickets, priced at $202, $152, $102, and $52 are now on sale and may be purchased at the Hard Rock Live Box Office or TicketMaster.com. MORE

Tony Alongi

He did not receive much press but he was a very fine heavyweight from the 1960s. Tony Alongi amassed 46 fights from 1959 to 1967. Tony won nine straight fights in his maiden year of 1959. He followed that by winning twelve more in 1960. In 1961 he stepped up the quality of his opposition and proceeded to win seven more contests. Among his victims were Tod Herring, Jefferson Davis and George Logan. In 1962 Tony suffered his first setback being stopped in ten rounds by Rodolfo Diaz. He came back to stop Joe DeGrazio in four but in 1963 he was stopped in five by the talented Billy Daniels. MORE

Pernell Whitaker

Pernell Whitaker is inducted into the International Boxing Hall Of Fame. This is an honor he richly deserves. His storied amateur career along with his " Who's Who " list of boxers he met in the professional ranks surely entitles him to this honor. What a career he had!

Within two years after turning pro Whitaker was beating the likes of John Montes, Rafael Williams and former champion Alfredo Layne. In 1987 he outpointed the highly regarded Roger Mayweather. He garnered his first title shot in 1988 and he lost a decision that has to be rated among the most unjust of all time. Tough Jose Luis Rameriz had "retained" his WBC lightweight title. It was quite a gift.

Pernell regrouped in 1989 and proceeded to give rugged Greg Haugen a boxing lesson to win the IBF version of the lightweight title. Later that year he avenged his " loss " to Rameriz and picked up the WBC title too. Pernell was awesome at 135 pounds beating back the challenges of men like Freddie Pendleton, Azumah Nelson, Juan Nazario and Jorge Paez. In 1992 he moved up to the 140 pound division and captured the IBF crown with a win over Rafael Pineda. MORE

African American Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame Annual Induction

OAKLAND – The African American Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame, which is dedicated to honoring black and other ethnic sports legends, will induct Alex (The Bronx Bomber) Ramos along with nine others at The Adam Clayton Powell State Building on Saturday, August 16, 2008.

The luncheon will begin with a "VIP Reception with the Stars" at 12 p.m., followed by lunch at 1 p.m. and the induction ceremony at 2 p.m. The Adam Clayton Powell State Building is located at 163 West 125^th Street.               

Alex Ramos has over 30 years of experience in the sport of boxing, dating back to training at 11 years old in the Bronx, New York. He was one of the most celebrated amateur boxers ever to come from the State of New York, winning four New York Golden Gloves titles, PAL National Champion, Empire State Games Champion, Junior Olympic Gold Medalist, AAU National Champion, and a member of the USA Boxing Team from 1978-1980. Ramos became the USBA middleweight champion and the 1986 California middleweight champion. MORE

Pavlik vs. Lockett Report

Whoever said success breeds complacency certainly didn’t have Kelly Pavlik in mind. Pavlik said he wasn’t taking Gary Lockett lightly and would prove it in the ring. Last night, Pavlik was true to his word, blitzing the overmatched Lockett in three rounds in front of a feverish Atlantic City crowd. From the opening bell, Lockett was determined to go to toe. For his troubles, he managed to land an impressive left-hook, right-hook combination that slightly jarred the defending champion. There was only one problem for the Welshman—they were his best shots and the Youngstown hero hadn’t even warmed up yet. Midway through the first round, Pavlik found his groove, landing crisp jabs followed by his trademark sledgehammer right hand. Later in the round, another right from the undefeated Pavlik sent Lockett reeling into the corner covering up to survive the first anxious moments of the fight.

The second round was target practice for Pavlik, as he opened up unleashing right hand after right hand, mixing in body shots to boot. Pavlik must have been smiling on the inside, as Lockett’s lack of movement was making him a human piñata. Lockett was inexplicably languishing on the outside and offering no feints or head movement. Later in the round, Pavlik set the tone with a blistering one-two combination as Lockett appeared intent on walking into a barrage of combinations. A punishing body shot—followed by consecutive rights—forced Lockett to a knee to escape the assault. Pavlik would score again with a picture perfect right hand through the guards, dropping the challenger to one knee for the mandatory eight from referee Eddie Cotton. MORE

The Square Ring 

by Howie Reed, THE PATTAYA MAIL

Before we get to the fight of the week, which is Kelly Pavlik and Gary ‘The Rocket” Lockett on Sunday in Atlantic City, it’s of interest to read Sir Frog’s take on Ricky Hatton’s return to ‘Merry Ole England’.

Croaking from his lily pad, cleverly disguised as Patrick’s Belgian Restaurant on Moo 10, with an assist from Simon at Shenanigans for taping the action he writes: “IBO light welterweight champion Ricky Hatton (44-1, 31 KOs) won a twelve-round unanimous decision over Juan Lazcano (37-5-1, 27 KOs). Good fight all the way with Hatton in front on points. He was wobbling in the 8th round and in the 10th round from a left hook. What was weird was when Hatton didn’t respond to the punches from Laszcano in the 10th. The referee stopped the fight for almost 1 minute, put Laszcano to his corner, said something, what? I don’t know, and told Hatton to tie up his shoe laces? Good for Hatton, saved by the referee!”

Sir Frog was more impressed with the Malignaggi fight than was TSR.
“In a re-match, IBF junior welterweight Paulie Malignaggi (25-1, 5 KOs) won a twelve-round split decision over former champion Lovemore N’dou (46-10-1, 31 KOs). Malignaggi was very fast the first six rounds, but then broke his right hand and the last six rounds there was much holding and slapping. Also, I never saw that, somebody to get a haircut in the ring, ha ha, bye-bye dreadlocks after the 8th.”

TSR thinks Malignaggi is a fraud. Malignaggi had his right hand, which was broken, operated on last week with several rods inserted and a cast applied. This is the fourth time Malignaggi has broken the same right hand. Although it would be very difficult for him to break a different right hand, wouldn’t it? MORE

Haye May Get his Waye, but Not
Stay with the Heavyweights!

Klitschko vs. Haye

I recently caught a clip of cruiserweight champion David Haye calling out heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko at a shopping mall. Wladimir looked to be rather amused by Haye's bold challenge. He had a " you've got to be kidding me ' look on his face. Wlad said something to the effect that David needed to put on some weight. He also told Haye to " get in line " for a title shot. MORE

Martinez, Scott Back in Action!

A couple of Keeppunching Entertainment prospects were in action Saturday night at Fair Park in Dallas, Texas, as junior middleweight Mike Martinez (7-2-1, 3 KOs) fought to a four-round majority draw with the much heavier Joey Dumoodie (2-1, 1 KO) and heavyweight Herman "Skip" Scott (2-1, 2 KOs) battled to a disappointing two-round no-contest with veteran Douglas Robertson (2-15-2).

The highly skilled Martinez learned an important lesson against Texas super middleweight Dumoodie, as his slow start in the bout cost him the victory. After clearly losing round one and fighting fairly evenly in the second, Martinez took over in the final two rounds. It was not enough, as two of the judges called it even at 38-38.

Improving rapidly, the 6’ 8” Scott overwhelmed Robertson in round one, dropping him with a straight right hand. Scott was on the way to a KO in round two when he 
dipped low and caught a vicious headbutt on the top of the head. With the severity of the resulting gash, the fight was immediately stopped. 

When fully healed, Scott will be looking for a rematch.

The Square Ring

by Howie Reed, THE PATTAYA MAIL

If you were looking for a vintage Ricky Hatton in his first fight since the loss to Floyd Mayweather jr. you were probably disappointed. ‘The Hitman’ of the tremendous win over Kostya Tszyu is long gone. What effect the devastating knockout at the hands of Mayweather had on Hatton is up for debate.

With more than 56,000 fans packing the City of Manchester Stadium, Hatton won a lopsided 12-round decision over “The Chosen Juan” Lazcano. Juan was “chosen” for his boxing style, which should have, and did, fit right in the Hatton wheelhouse.

With the exception of rounds 8 and 10 when he was rocked with left hooks it was all Hatton. In the 10th Lazcano landed a left hook that had Hatton wobbly when referee Howard Foster stepped in to save the day. First he lectured Lazcano for some imaginary discretion then called time out to have Hatton’s shoe tied. In all Foster wasted about a minute which gave Hatton ample time to recover. There were times during the fight when one could imagine that Foster was auditioning for the Old Vic rather than refereeing a box fight.

The semi main was supposed to showcase Paulie Malignaggi as Hatton next opponent. TSR has always considered Malignaggi the usual Brooklyn, New York punk with some talent, a big mouth and no punch. Now add to that assessment “stupid." MORE

Lajuan Simon: a "Rising Star" 

Undefeated USBA titleholder finding it difficult to get a big fight!  

By Mike Indri
Retired Boxers Foundation

This Saturday night Lajuan Simon, 18-0 (9 KO's), headlines a Rising Star Promotions fightcard at the Showboat Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, taking on Indiana native James Morrow, a loser in four of his last five bouts.

Morrow, to his credit, compiled an 8-0-1 record before getting knocked out by former Olympian Dante Craig (TKO2) in August of 2005.  Since that time the thirty-one year-old Hoosier has managed three wins, to go along with nine losses, one draw and a no-contest.

"No one wants to fight Lajuan," notes Rising Star Promotions president Greg Azar."Lajuan is ready to take on anyone, and the worst part is, the guys in the IBF's (International Boxing Federation) top 15 won't fight Lajuan, nobody will fight him." Azar added "We might have to take the long road, but at 18-0 I think the middleweight division will be forced to reckon with Lujaun Simon very soon." MORE

Ticketmaster is now the Place to Go for Historic Times Square Show on June 11^th 

Two weeks to Go Before Powell and Quillin Take
the Stage at Hard Rock Café 

Hollywood, FL, May 28 – Due to popular demand, tickets for June 11th’s historic show at the Hard Rock Café in New York City’s Times Square, featuring young guns Sechew Powell and Peter Quillin in co-featured bouts, are now available at Ticketmaster.

But you’ll need to get there fast, because with only 300 seats available, a sell out is expected. Tickets for this once in a lifetime event are limited to just 500, and will include food and soft drinks.

In the main event, Powell, the number one ranked junior middleweight in the world, will take on St. Louis’ talented Deandre Latimore in a ten round bout. The unbeaten Quillin will be tested by Colombian knockout artist Dionisio Miranda in the ten round middleweight co-feature. MORE

Former Middleweight Contender
Tony Licata Passes Away

One of the better middleweights of the 1970's died recently. Tony Licata was a victim of a heart attack at the age of 56. The smooth boxing Licata turned professional in 1969 and was undefeated in his first 52 fights. ( 49-0-3 ). During that streak he defeated the likes of Mike Pusateri, Luis Vinales, Jose Chirino, Art Hernandez, Denny Moyer, Emile Griffith, Cubby " Top Cat " Jackson, Mike Baker and Vinnie Curto. He suffered his first loss in 1975 on an upset decision to Argentina's Ramon Mendez. Tony came right back to outscore Mendez in a rematch. On June 30, 1975 Licata met another native of Argentina, the great Carlos Monzon. This was for the middleweight title and they fought at New York's Madison Square Garden. It would be Monzon's only appearance in the United States. Licata fought gamely but was overpowered by King Carlos in round ten.

Licata would go on to lose five more times in his career to Jean Mateo, Mike Colbert, Alan Minter, Fred Johnson and Tony Chiaverini. After the loss to Monzon he did defeat Mike Rossman, Mike Nixon and Mel Dennis. Tony retired in 1980 after 72 fights. His overall record was an outstanding 61-7-4 with 27 knockouts. He was halted on four occasions. He met four world champions. May he rest in peace.

International Boxing Hall of Fame Welcomes Eddie
“The Globetrotter “Perkins 

In a career that spanned from 1956 to 1975, Eddie Perkins engaged in 99 professional fights. He won seventy five of those contests. He met opponents in over twenty different countries. He truly was a " world " champion.

Eddie lost three of his first five bouts but rallied to win seven straight. In 1958 he lost to Cleveland, Ohio's Cecil Shorts. He stopped Shorts in a rematch and then he outscored rugged Franke Ryff. In 1959 Eddie won a decision over Paul Armstead but lost to Carl Hubbard and was then halted by Al Urbina. It would be the only stoppage loss of Eddie's career.

1960 was a good year for Perkins as he beat Larry Boardman, Paolo Rosi and Joey Lopes. In 1961 Perkins lost a verdict to Youngstown, Ohio's L.C. Morgan. He would bounce right back to outscore the hard hitting Carlos Hernandez. That would lead to Eddie's first title shot and on October 21st he met defending WBA junior welterweight champion Dulio Loi in Milan, Italy. After fifteen rounds, the bout was judged a draw. They would meet again eleven months later and this time Eddie won the decision and captured his first world title.

Perkins reign lasted only three months as Loi won a decision in their rubber match. Loi decided to retire and on June 15th, 1963 Eddie won his second title with a decision over Roberto Cruz for the WBA and WBC titles. MORE

The Square Ring

by Howie Reed, THE PATTAYA MAIL

Back in the day, John L Sullivan would walk into a bar and yell, “I can whip any man in the house.” If he were alive today upon entering a beverage establishment he’d have to state, “I can whip any man, women or anything in between in the house.”

John L was a guy that could and did back up what he said. He fought from 1879 to 1892 fighting almost everywhere including an 1888 bout in Cardiff against William Samuells. Sullivan’s only loss came in his last bout when he was KO’d by Gentleman James Corbett in 21 rounds at the Olympic Club in New Orleans, or N’Awlins as locals call it. Mr. J. Brown claims that the fight was actually held in Metairie, Louisiana, which is next door to N’Awlins.
John L’s bragging ways have carried on in today’s boxing. There are those though that subscribe to the theory that, “if you say it and deliver, then it ain’t bragging.”

Just shut up…Please!

WBA super-middleweight champion Anthony Mundine is one of those whose “big mouth” usually overloads his talent. Now that usually isn’t a major problem as the sport has come to expect “donkeys and jackasses” braying at the moon, with the moon being played by boxing writers and fans. MORE

Powell and Quillen Look to Continue Road

HARD ROCK CAFÉ IN TIMES SQUARE TO HOST
WEDNESDAY NIGHT FIGHTS ON JUNE 11

HOLLYWOOD, FL, May 23 – They’re two of the boxing world’s brightest young stars, and on Wednesday, June 11th, Sechew ‘The Iron Horse’ Powell and Peter ‘Kid Chocolate’ Quillin will light up the Hard Rock Café in the heart of Times Square in separate ESPN2 Wednesday Night Fights showdowns that they hope will lead them closer to world title shots.

In the main event, Powell, the number one ranked junior middleweight in the world, will take on St. Louis’ talented Deandre Latimore in a ten round bout.

The unbeaten Quillin will be tested by Colombian knockout artist Dionisio Miranda in the ten round middleweight co-feature.

This night of world-class professional boxing, presented by Seminole Warriors Boxing and Gotham Boxing association with Bad Dog Promotions will be aired live on ESPN2’s Wednesday Night Fights beginning at 9pm ET / 6pm PT. MORE

The major fight this weekend takes place in Manchester, England when two seasoned veterans meet.

Ricky Hatton, the hometown favorite goes up against Juan Lazcano. Both these fighters are getting up in years, and neither is that big a puncher, although Hatton tends to inflict a bit more damage.

Picking a winner here looks to easy, as both fighters have good chins, but Hatton has refused to lose at home. That being said, the logical choice is Hatton by decision, although I wouldn’t rule out a TKO. MORE

Brawlin N' Nawlins Results!

Brawlin N' Nawlins was not just a clever name… It was exactly what it was billed to be. Last Saturday night at the Pontchartrain Center in Kenner, Louisiana Will "Kid Fire" McIntyre (40-4-1) reached the 40 win plateau and captured the IBA Americas light heavyweight title in the process.

Will ran into a slight road block on his way to the title called Zane "The Train" Marks (17-4). Zane came out on fire looking to end the night early and that sent that crowd of over 2,000 people into frenzy. McIntyre started settling down in the 4^th round as Marks seemed to fade, but every time McIntyre flurried Marks would come back to keep the fight close.

Round 6 saw McIntyre credited with a knockdown when Marks' upper body went through the top and second rope (which was not secured with a rope divider). In round 7 McIntyre was also credited with a knockdown when Marks went thought the top and second rope again, although this time McIntyre scored a blow while Marks' upper body hung off the second rope.

The final rounds saw both fighter exchange vicious shots. After the final bell the judge's scorecards read 114-113, 115-111 and 114-112. The fighters were treated to a standing ovation before the cards were read.

Promoter Les Bonano stated "I knew the fight was a 50/50 bout but had no right to expect such a great match." When asked about the match.

A rematch is in the works. MORE

A Giant in the Shadow of Ali

Who was the second best heavyweight around during the first title reign of Muhammad Ali ? A strong argument could be made for Chicago's Ernie Terrell. Why ? Because he earned it. He was even good enough to hold the WBA version of the heavyweight title but everyone knew who the "real" champ was.

Terrell turned professional in 1957. At 6' 6'' he learned early how to use his height and reach to his advantage. He developed a good jab and learned how to tie up his opponents on the inside. It wasn't pretty but it was effective. He won eighteen of his first twenty contests losing two eight round split decisions to Johnny Gray. In 1960 he was outscored by the capable Wayne Bethea. In 1962 Ernie suffered a major set back when he was halted by the powerful Cleveland Williams.

Terrell began his march to the top in 1963 defeating Williams in a return match and top contender Zora Folley. In 1964 Big Ernie beat Gerhard Zech, Jefferson Davis and stopped a young Bob Foster. When the WBA stripped Ali of his title recognition they matched Terrell with perrenial contender Eddie Machen. It was an ugly fight with a lot of wrestling and little punching but Terrell did what he had to do to win the "vacant" title. MORE

Cotto-Margarito a
Classic Waiting to Happen!

It’s tough to be a Boxing fan sometimes. As a fanatical fan of the sweet science for over 30 years, I often find myself defending the sport that I have this great passion for. Too often I hear how Boxing is not what it once was. While most of my friends sit around the dinner table discussing the NBA draft or pondering who is on the juice in Major League Baseball, I’m wondering what would happen if Marvin Hagler would have gotten the rematch against Sugar Ray Leonard. If only Larry Holmes could have stepped in the ring against Ali when they where both at their best is a thought that crosses my mind quite often. I could spend days thinking about the “what ifs” of our beloved sport. As we continue forward searching for the next big fight, often times we are left disappointed and fifty dollars in the hole.

Even your friendly neighborhood scribe gets frustrated with the sport of Boxing on occasion. After all, I grew up watching fights on network TV. Not a weekend passed that I didn’t have at least one fight to watch on one of the big three networks. My man Tim Ryan and the Great Gil Clancy would be ringside on CBS at least two weeks a month. If not them, the not so great team of Marv Albert and Dr Ferdie Pacheco would be calling the action on NBC. The granddaddy of them all, ABC’s Wide World of Sports would televise Heavyweight Championship fights, LIVE! MORE

Adamek Returns to Chicago on July 11
Espn2 “Friday Night Fights” to Broadcast 

CHICAGO, IL (May 19, 2008) – IBF #1 ranked mandatory challenger Tomasz Adamek will return to the Windy City on July 11 when he headlines an exciting fight card at the Aragon Ballroom against veteran brawler Gary Gomez, it was jointly announced today by Main Events CEO Kathy Duva and 8 Count Productions President Dominic Pesoli. ESPN2’s “Friday Night Fights” broadcast begins at 9:00 pm ET/8:00 pm CT.

“It was very important to Tomasz to fight once more prior to his showdown against Steve Cunningham,” said Duva. “What better place for him to fight than in Chicago where he was warmly welcomed by his Polish brethren the last two times he fought here?”

“We're very happy to once again work with Kathy Duva and the Main Events team to co-promote this event,” said Pesoli. “Chicago fight fans will be thrilled to see former world champion Tomasz Adamek once again after his two ‘Fight of the Year’ wars he won over Paul Briggs in the last few years in Chicago." MORE

Deirdre Gogarty Is Still Blazing Trails

by Ron Borges
The Sweet Science

Boxers fight alone. No one has known that loneliness more clearly than Deirdre Gogarty.

Banned from boxing in her native Ireland because she was a woman, she fought the good fight against the Irish Boxing Union before finally making her pro debut in London in 1991. She would go on to win the WIBF featherweight title from then undefeated Bonnie Canino six years later after moving to Louisiana to train with an at-first reluctant Beau Williford, but she never got to live out her dream and defend that title back on the old sod because soon after winning it a shoulder injury forced her into an early and unwanted fistic retirement.

For most people that would have been enough pioneering for one lifetime but Gogarty had only just begun. After working with young amateurs at Williford’s Ragin’ Cajun Gym in Lafayette, La., Gogarty became the first woman to become a member of the Louisiana Boxing Commission, where she served for four years. But a commission seat was not close enough to the sweat, the joy and the tears boxing so often produces and so today she has embarked on another singular role as the only known full-time female trainer of a professional fighter in the U.S. MORE