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Written by Kelsey McCarson
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Monday, 15 April 2013 08:50
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 As another Texas-sized boxing event approaches with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez vs. Austin Trout, TSS looks back at last year’s middleweight battle between Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. and Andy Lee. Did the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation’s Combative Sports division do their job? Did journalists do any better? Is there anything we can learn from what did (or didn’t) happen last summer in El Paso? Last summer, middleweights Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. and Andy Lee agreed to face each other in El Paso, Texas in a 12-round bout for Chavez’s WBC middleweight title belt. The contest would help determine which talented up-and-comer would earn a lucrative opportunity against linear champion and pound-for-pound superstar, Sergio Martinez. What ended up happening in Texas that summer was more than just a fight. What happened... Read more...
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Written by Springs Toledo
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Monday, 15 April 2013 00:00
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 When Nonito Donaire left his corner to face Guillermo "El Chacal" Rigondeaux at the first bell, he took two steps forward and spread his legs. That was the first hint as to what he was in for. The Boxing Writers Association of America's 2012 Fighter of the Year fought more like John "the Beast" Mugabi than the celebrated boxer-puncher he is. In failing to apply an intelligent strategy or a sustained attack, he was undone. The Jr. Featherweight throne, which is set above the belts and the nonsense by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, has been seized by a master counterpuncher. That wide stance you saw Donaire assume in round one indicated primitive thinking. When Mugabi tried to seize the throne of Marvelous Marvin Hagler back in 1986, Mugabi stood pat as if to say "move me." Hagler, his bald head steaming under... Read more...
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Written by Michael Woods
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Saturday, 13 April 2013 23:09
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 This was no Bradley-Provodnikov or Rios-Alvarado but that doesn't detract from the superior effort put forth by ultra-skilled Guillermo Rigondeaux in the main event at Radio City Music Hall in New York on Saturday night, and on HBO. His slickness, his hand speed, his movement, the whole package was too much for Nonito Donaire, who looked passive from the start, and for most of the rest of the way. Nonito scored a knockdown in the tenth, but that was one of his sole high points; after twelve rounds, the judges scored it 114-113, 115-112, 116-111, for Rigo. This was a display of the sweet science par excellence by the Cuban; the crowd booed regularly, but you had to tip your cap to the victor even if you didn't care for the manner in which he did it. Rigo said after to Max Kellerman that those who know boxing know he... Read more...
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Written by Michael Woods
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Saturday, 13 April 2013 08:30
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 Who do you like, fight fans? Do you see the Filipino-American superstar Nonito Donaire having his hand raised at the end of the night in NY, or will the Cuban defector Guillermo Rigondeaux, an amateur legend, get the nod at Radio City Music Hall, and on HBO? What sort of fight will unfold? Will both men wait for that perfect opening for a few rounds, or will a firefight break out from the get go? Can Rigo find a home for that slingshot left hand? Will Donaire be able to touch Rigo with his nasty hook? Do you suspect that his jab will play a large part in piling up points? Will Rigo concentrate more on defense than offense if he feels Donaire's power early on? Some shots that usually work for Nonito (seen above left, with Rigo, right, in Chris Farina-Top Rank photo) likely won't against the... Read more...
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Written by Michael Woods
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Friday, 12 April 2013 11:59
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 Apart from a bout of seasickness on a boatride from Hong Kong to Macau, trainer Freddie Roach reports that his trek to oversee Zou Shiming was a smashing success. The Massachusetts-born tutor told @Woodsy1069 that the facilities in Macau blew him away. "Like Vegas on steroids," he said. The gambling tables were four deep, Freddie said, and the crowd at the arena was "knowledgable." Manny Pacquiao's trainer (seen with Zou in background in Chris Farina-Top Rank photo) was happy to see a good number of Filipinos present at the April 6 event, with three Filipino fighters on the Top Rank card, which ran on HBO2. "I was told 300 million people watched the Zou fight on TV, it being free in China," he said. "Zou did OK for his first pro fight. He was a little nervous, in that... Read more...
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Written by Michael Woods
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Friday, 12 April 2013 09:35
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 Gosh, are major, multinational companies dropping the ball not throwing fat endorsement deals at Nonito Donaire, I found myself thinking on Thursday evening at the luxurious Capitale in NYC, at the 88th annual Boxing Writers Association of America awards dinner. Yeah, sorry, I gotta admit that business thoughts intruded where they shouldn't, but one and all in the room were feeling the waves of emotion and gratefulness emanating from Donaire as he received his award as 2012 Fighter of the Year. He spoke about being the runt of the litter growing up in the Phillipines, about how he was taunted, bullied and beaten, and lived in fear. Breaking into a nervous grin, and admitting he felt ill at ease giving this speech, as wife Rachel and his Top Rank team, led by Bob Arum, looked on, Donaire (above, in Chris... Read more...
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Written by Bernard Fernandez
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Thursday, 11 April 2013 12:24
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 If there’s one thing Nonito Donaire has learned over these past 13 years, it’s that you can’t stand tall if you’re sitting down. Nor can you achieve your dreams if you become frustrated and simply give up on them. Now 30, the “Filipino Flash” is at or near the pinnacle of a likely Hall of Fame boxing career that still appears to be on the ascent. Already a fixture on most experts’ pound-for-pound lists, Donaire (31-1, 20 KOs; seen in above Chris Farina-Top Rank photo) puts his WBO super bantamweight championship on the line against two-time Cuban Olympic gold medalist and WBA super bantam titlist Guillermo Rigondeaux (11-0, 8 KOs) Saturday night in New York’s iconic Radio City Music Hall. Should he add Rigondeaux’s strap in the much-anticipated 122-pound unification showdown, Donaire – coming off... Read more...
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Written by Michael Woods
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Wednesday, 10 April 2013 14:05
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 Nonito Donaire admitted to me that people who are thinking he might be vulnerable at the hands of Guillermo Rigondeaux on Saturday night in New York City have a point. He's at a high point, ready to accept the Boxing Writers Association of America's Fighter of the Year award at the BWAA dinner on Thursday night in NYC, and he and the wife are expecting their first child in July. So he's got things on his mind, apart from ring matters, and he's done the ascent of a monumental mountain. His foe, though, has enjoyed amateur accolades, but desires to get that same acclaim as a professional. Nevertheless, Donaire (seen in above Chris Farina-Top Rank photo, with Rigo) told TSS at the Wednesday press conference held at Madison Square Garden to hype his Saturday clash, which will run on HBO (11... Read more...
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Written by Michael Woods
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Wednesday, 10 April 2013 08:19
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 Most fight fans are keen on seeing if Manny Pacquiao can bounce back from the KO loss to rival-for-the-ages Juan Manuel Marquez last December. But that fifth scrap between the Congressman and the Mexican counter-punching ace hinges on Marquez. He's either negotiating skillfully, and actually wants the tussle, while pretending to be uninterested, or is truly set on conquering other territory. I asked Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach if he thinks we'll see Pacquiao-Marquez 5, in September. "My gut instinct on what is next? I want it to be Marquez, Manny wants Marquez, but Marquez wants a lot, lot, lot of money," Roach (seen with Pacquiao in above Chris Farina-Top Rank photo, before the fourth bout) told me. "I think it's a little outrageous. It may not happen. We might have to... Read more...
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Written by Michael Woods
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Tuesday, 09 April 2013 14:48
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 On a Tuesday conference call to bang the drums for the Saturday clash between 2012 Boxing Writers Association of America Nonito Donaire and Cuban technician Guillermo Rigondeaux, Donaire (seen in above Chris Farina-Top Rank photo), a Filipino-born California resident who holds the WBO super bantamweight title, said that while he used to dismiss Rigo as a foe, he came around to the idea because the more he watched him, the more impressed he became. The bout, to unfold at Radio City Music Hall and on HBO, is being promoted by Brooklyner Bob Arum's Top Rank. HBO's presentation will begin at 11 PM ET. On the call, Arum said he was happy to be back in his native city. He put on a card in Macau last week, and was pleased to say that Radio City would be... Read more...
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