Boxing News
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. retained his WBC middleweight title with a twelve round unanimous decision over tough Marco Antonio Rubio. Scores were 118-110, 116-112, and 115-113. Chavez Jr. struggled to make weight - and then put on nearly 22 pounds in the 30 hours between the weigh-in and the fight - but looked strong throughout and did not fade down the stretch. However, he reportedly skipped a mandatory post-fight drug test so there may be more to this story. Combine this with his arrest for drunk driving just two weeks prior to the fight and it looks like the 25-year-old Chavez still has a lot of maturing to do before he's ready to face the real middleweight champion Sergio Martinez.
Punch Stats: Total Punches - Chavez Jr.: 237 of 560 (42%); Rubio: 201 of 962 (21%). Power Punches: Chavez Jr.: 209 of 429 (49%); Rubio: 157 of 653 (24%).
In the co-feature, Nonito Donaire, a top five pound-for-pounder, moved up in weight to claim the vacant WBO super bantamweight title with a tougher than expected twelve round split decision over former champ Wilfredo Vazquez Jr.. Donaire dropped Vasquez in round nine with an uppercut, left hook combo but Vasquez popped right up and remained competitive until the final bell. Donaire hurt his left hand early in the bout and - unlike many fighters who claim an injured hand to excuse a poor performance - the tape on Donaire's hand was soaked with blood when his glove was removed after the fight. Scores were 117-110 twice for Donaire and an atrocious 115-112 for Vasquez from judge Ruben Garcia, who somehow only gave four rounds to Donaire. Add Garcia to the long list of judges who should find another line of work.
Punch Stats: Total Punches - Donaire: 231 of 556 (42%); Vasquez Jr.: 163 of 548 (30%). Power Punches: Donaire: 147 of 245 (60%); Vasquez Jr.: 56 of 163 (34%).
Nonaire, Chavez Jr. Win Decisions originally appeared on About.com Boxing on Sunday, February 5th, 2012 at 14:30:07.
Andre Berto suffered a ruptured left biceps while training yesterday. The injury will require surgery and forced the indefinite postponement of his rematch with Victor Ortiz, which had been scheduled for February 11 in Las Vegas. The entire card, which was also slated to include Erislandy Lara vs. Ronald Hearns and Gary Russell Jr. vs. Dat Nguyen, has been canceled.
Depending on how long Berto is sidelined, Ortiz may take an interim bout before the rematch is rescheduled.
Berto Injured; Ortiz Fight Postponed originally appeared on About.com Boxing on Tuesday, January 31st, 2012 at 22:33:31.
A Fighter Abroad - by Brian Phillips, Grantland.com
Tom Molineaux: Important Figure in Boxing History originally appeared on About.com Boxing on Sunday, January 29th, 2012 at 16:45:22.
After a quiet start to 2012, boxing will really begin to heat up in February with the following fighters all scheduled to be in action: Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., Nonito Donaire, Andre Berto, Victor Ortiz, Vitali Klitschko, Paul Williams, Chris Arreola, Marcos Maidana, Devon Alexander and Adrien Broner.
Check out our complete fight schedule for more details.
Boxing Schedule Heats Up in February originally appeared on About.com Boxing on Wednesday, January 25th, 2012 at 13:46:24.
Freddie Roach, widely regarded as the best trainer in boxing today, is the subject of HBO's six-part series "On Freddie Roach", which premiered this weekend.
The 51-year-old, who trains Manny Pacquiao, Amir Khan and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., suffers from Parkinson's disease.
HBO does a great job with sports documentaries and this one is no exception. Be sure to check it out.
On Freddie Roach: Preview HBO's behind the scenes look at the day-to-day life of boxing's top trainer.
New HBO Series: On Freddie Roach originally appeared on About.com Boxing on Saturday, January 21st, 2012 at 16:39:38.
How did Ali prove his greatness? By taking on the very best fighters of his era. Ali fought Sonny Liston, Floyd Patterson, Jerry Quarry, Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, Ron Lyle, Earnie Shavers, George Foreman, Leon Spinks and Larry Holmes a combined total of 18 times!
Today, fight fans will feel lucky if Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. face each other once ...
The Greatest Turns 70 originally appeared on About.com Boxing on Wednesday, January 18th, 2012 at 09:47:32.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. was able to get the start of his jail term pushed back so he can fight on May 5 and now he's calling out Manny Pacquiao. So we're finally going to see the super fight that every boxing fan has been waiting years to see, right? Not so fast.
When Pacquaio was steamrolling Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto, it looked like Mayweather was ducking Pacquiao with his requests for Olympic-style drug testing. Now that Pacquiao has looked increasingly vulnerable while winning his last four fights by decision, Mayweather suddenly wants the fight. Pretty Boy turning 35 in February and facing jail time (87 days) are also undoubtedly factors in his apparent willingness to finally risk his undefeated record in order to secure the biggest payday in boxing history.
Unfortunately, now it looks like Pacquiao (or at least his promoter Bob Arum) is the one responsible for avoiding the fight. Over the past few days, Arum has offered a series of excuses for why the fight can't happen in May:
* Pacquiao's cuts from his November 12 bout with Juan Manuel Marquez will not be healed in time. Not buying it.
* Fight fans want to see a fourth fight between Pacquaio and Marquez. No they don't, not compared to Pacquiao vs. Mayweather.
* Let's wait until Las Vegas finishes building a 45,000 seat boxing arena so everyone can make even more money. Somewhat plausible.
What do you think? Will Manny and Floyd finally get it on this year? Or maybe next year? Or will we never see the two best pound-for-pound fighters of this generation face each other in the ring? Vote in our poll.
Poll: Will Pacquiao vs. Mayweather Ever Happen? originally appeared on About.com Boxing on Thursday, January 12th, 2012 at 15:25:54.
2011 was another up-and-down year for the sport of boxing with a number of memorable bouts, a heavy dose of controversy and - once again - no super fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr.. With the year almost over and no big fights remaining on the schedule, it's time to start handing out annual awards.
For each category, we'll offer a group of finalists. First up is 2011 Fighter of the Year, and the finalists are:
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Jorge Arce (3-0, 3 KOs)
Lucian Bute (3-0, 2 KOs)
Miguel Cotto (2-0, 2 KOs)
Nonito Donaire (2-0, 1 KO)
Hernan Marquez (3-0, 3 KOs)
Manny Pacquiao (2-0)
Brandon Rios (3-0, 3 KOs)
Orlando Salido (3-0, 3 KOs)
Brian Viloria (2-0, 1 KO)
Andre Ward (2-0)
Honorable mention goes to Bernard Hopkins for his age-defying decision win over Jean Pascal in May. Hopkins was left off the list because, in his only other bout of the year, he looked like he was going to be in for a long night against Chad Dawson before the bout ended in controversy.
Poll: 2011 Fighter of the Year originally appeared on About.com Boxing on Wednesday, December 28th, 2011 at 12:03:04.
The full sentence was actually for six months, but three months were suspended (and he received credit for three days already served). As expected, Mayweather's attorney asked for a home detention program and - surprisingly, and to her credit - Judge Melissa Saragosa denied the request, saying "No matter who you are, you have consequences to your actions when they escalate to this level of violence".
Even if Mayweather is released after just 45 days for good behavior, he would still have just over two months to prepare for a tentatively scheduled May 5 bout against the always tough TBA. If anyone could prevent a prison stint from being a distraction in his fight preparation, it's Mayweather. Nevertheless, expect that date to get pushed back to at least June or July.
Mayweather Sentenced to 90 Days in Jail originally appeared on About.com Boxing on Friday, December 23rd, 2011 at 14:52:45.
Mayweather, who was acquitted in October of other misdemeanor harassment charges, will continue to avoid punishment for his actions as long as he can afford the best lawyers money can buy.
Mayweather Takes Plea Deal originally appeared on About.com Boxing on Wednesday, December 21st, 2011 at 13:48:59.
