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Written by Michael Woods
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Wednesday, 01 February 2012 13:44
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 Sorry, folks. The prospect of Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao in May is dead and buried. Mayweather will indeed fight May 5, but he will take on Miguel Cotto. Pending Nevada commission approval, the WBA 154 pound champ Cotto will meet the WBC 147 pound champ Mayweather at the MGM Grand. The fight will be contested at 154 pounds. It was rumored that Pacquiao wanted to give Cotto a rematch, but sought that fight only if Cotto were to weigh 150 pounds or less. Pacman beat Cotto via TKO12 in November 2009. The Puerto Rican looked sharp in his last outing, in December, though foe Antonio Margarito seems to be on the downside in his career. Cotto is 31 years old, and has a record of 37-2. Mayweather will be 35 years old on Feb. 24, brings a record of 42-0 to the table, and is looking to make a statement against Cotto before he begins a jail stint for... Read more...
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Written by Frank Lotierzo
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Wednesday, 01 February 2012 09:55
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 Fans of Floyd and Manny have been fed gimmick and catchweight fights, and fights such as this one, against faded stars recently. Pacquiao and Mayweather should feel shame, and act like Leonard and Duran back in the day, Lotierzo says. (Hogan) Have you been following professional boxing closely for the last two or three years? If you have, you've no doubt heard about how great the two best pound for pound fighters/boxers on the planet (Floyd Mayweather, 34 and Manny Pacquiao, 33) are. So great that some have wrongly suggested that they're among the elite great fighters in history, even going as far as to suggest that Mayweather is Sugar Ray Leonard's equal or better and Pacquiao is Roberto Duran's equal or better. Are you kidding me? Mayweather and Pacquiao would have to pay admission just to watch Ray and Roberto watch a fight. Forget about the waste of time it would... Read more...
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Written by Ron Borges
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Tuesday, 31 January 2012 10:37
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 Certified good-guy Goody in 2008, at a book signing event for the late George Kimball's "Four Kings." Signing took place at McGreevy's Saloon in Boston, Sept. 28, 2008. (Photo courtesy of photog Dick Haley, of Haley Booksellers in Boston.) The first thing he’d say when you walked into his gym was, “You still doing your roadwork?’’ Goody Petronelli had the keen eye of a man who trained fighters for a living so he knew the answer whether you lied or told the truth but he always had the grace to nod in agreement regardless of how you answered. Rock hard and reed thin, Petronelli had the lithe body of a long distance runner, which he was almost to the end of his days. He made his name in boxing developing and training Marvin Hagler, the two of them and Petronelli’s brother Pat forming what Hagler used to call The Triangle. They were three strong-willed men who stood up to forces in boxing... Read more...
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Written by Michael Woods
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Monday, 30 January 2012 15:34
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 Goody, far right, exulting on April 15, 1985, after Marvin Hagler beat Thomas Hearns at Caesars. Ref Richard Steele, far left, raises Hagler's hand and Pat Petronelli raises a fist in delight. It was after Robbie Sims' last fight. Goody Petronelli was in the dressing room of Marvin Hagler's half brother, taking off his gloves following his eight round unanimous decision victory over Burt Burgos at the Bayside Expo Center in Boston. I tiptoed into the locker room, looking to get a quote from Robbie's trainer, the man who also crafted Marvin Hagler into an all-time middleweight great, with an assist from good genes. I entered and Goody appraised my husky build. "You ever fight? You a heavyweight?" That was on Sept. 20, 1996. My chest swelled with pride. Imagine Marvin Hagler's trainer looking at me, and seeing a promising pugilist, a hunk of marble ready to be sculpted into another Brockton... Read more...
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Written by Frank Lotierzo
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Monday, 30 January 2012 13:24
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 Doesn't look much like Dawson was buyin' what Hopkins was sellin' in this weigh-in pic. Note Dawson's bemused expression...Can Hopkins get into Chad's head, or is there no vacancy? (Hogan) Now that WBC light heavyweight champ Bernard Hopkins 52-1-2 (32) has agreed to meet former title holder Chad Dawson 30-1 (17) in a rematch this coming April 28th in Atlantic City, I suppose those who were quick to jump on Hopkins saying he was looking for a way out of their last fight have to walk that sentiment back. Because there are other fights out there for Hopkins to take with a lower degree of difficulty attached to them. Yet he's going to clash with Dawson again despite not being paid a king's ransom. If Dawson was on his way to breaking Hopkins' will and heart when they last fought, he'll have to start over on April 28th. What's been lost since the first fight... Read more...
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Written by Springs Toledo
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Monday, 30 January 2012 09:54
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 Middleweight Bert Lytell meets light heavyweight Archie Moore, 1950 PART 6: “THE WORLD’S MOST FEARED MIDDLEWEIGHT” Rocky Graziano’s manager stood in a gym in a Massachusetts mill town watching Johnny Eagle train and was impressed enough to pick him to upset Bert Lytell. It was wishful thinking. Bert took a unanimous decision, snapping Eagle through the ropes along the way. There might have been a message in that. Bert had been spouting off to the press about Graziano, accusing him of “repeatedly refusing to sign for a match.” He believed he would eventually “force” the Italian bomber to reconsider. That too would prove to be wishful thinking. In April 1947 Bert faced Sam Baroudi in New York. French superstar Marcel Cerdan was there scouting for his third match on American soil. Baroudi was a dangerous boxer-puncher coming up like a “like a house a fire” and Bert took... Read more...
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Written by Michael Woods
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Saturday, 28 January 2012 23:42
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 Emmanuel Lucero came to the ring at Resorts Casino wearing a luchador mask, a Mexican wrestling mask, and that was apt. He had no problem hugging Patrick Hyland, leading with his head and employing other tactics frowned upon in the rulebook and at home in the WWE. But Lucero, while a tough nut to crack, is at this point a spoiler type, someone who can give a contender rounds and make him sweat in doing so. Hyland stayed undefeated, by scores of 77-75, 78-74, 79-73 in the main event, which was the debut event for Team Snooki Boxing, in Atlantic City on Saturday night. The diminutive diva of reality TV was in the house at Resorts, watching the action while dad Andy Polizzi and promoter Mike Pascale did the nuts and bolts work. The event was dubbed “The Irish Invasion” because the three Hyland brothers, Patrick, Paul and Eddie, had spots on the seven-bout... Read more...
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Written by Raymond Markarian
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Saturday, 28 January 2012 00:07
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 Only the endless bickering of Republican Presidential candidates can rival the arguments spewed between some of boxing’s best. Because whether they are trying to gain a title or defend one, fighters always need an opponent. And after beating Carl Froch last month to win the Super Six Tournament, super middleweight champion Andre Ward has yet to find his next foe. Worthy contenders Mikkel Kessler and Lucian Bute await a shot at the undefeated Ward. In the spirit of debate, TSS enters the mind of perpetual boxing wisdom of Ward’s trainer Virgil Hunter. With Hunter, Ward has risen up the pound for pound boxing rankings. Hunter gives thoughts on potential fights with Bute and Kessler, and from the generally recognized 2011 trainer of the year we received an education on boxing business. In our discussion, Hunter tells us copious reasons... Read more...
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Written by David A. Avila
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Friday, 27 January 2012 17:13
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 Next weekend, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. clashes with Marco Antonio Rubio in a middleweight clash for the so-called WBC middleweight title. Hmmm. I thought Sergio Martinez was the true middleweight world champion? Not according to WBC jefe Jose Sulaiman, who says Chavez is the real middleweight champion of the world. Huh? Seeking to find out what the real world champion Martinez had to say, four of us took a road trip on Thursday from Riverside, Calif. to Port Hueneme, where the Argentine southpaw gentleman works his trade. Few work out more strenuously or with more focus than Martinez. Around 3 p.m. we arrived early in hopes of catching Martinez before he engaged in his various physical routines. The weather was a perfect 80 degrees, the skies were crystal blue and the nearby ocean breezes left the air freshly coated with a scent of early spring. An hour passed before Martinez... Read more...
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Written by The Sweet Science
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Friday, 27 January 2012 14:22
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 Mayorga (r) talks trash a wee bit better than he fights. (Hogan) We all heard it as small children: “Sticks and stones will break your bones, but words will never harm you”. But anyone who has been verbally abused, whether it was at home or on the playground, knows this isn’t true. The bite of a slap often goes away more quickly than the sting of a word. Our minds bruise just as easily as our bodies. Trash talking is a sports staple. It is used to gain, with varying degrees of success, psychological advantage over an opponent. Boxers are the kings of trash talk. Since the days of Jack Johnson many boxers have used their mouths in tandem with their fists. It is as much a part of the sport as swift feet and hard punches. Muhammad Ali was seen to have perfected the art of trash talking early in his heavyweight ascendancy. When he rhymed predictions... Read more...
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