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Written by David A. Avila
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Friday, 25 November 2011 19:25
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 Both men made weight, scaling 154 pounds on the dot Friday. Popular redhead Saul “Canelo” Alvarez steps back into the ring to defend the WBC junior middleweight world title and this time faces always dangerous but quirky Kermit “The Killer” Cintron. It’s Mexico versus Puerto Rico once again. Mexico’s Canelo (38-0-1, 28 Kos) makes the third defense of the world title against Puerto Rico’s Cintron (33-4-1, 28 Kos) on Saturday at the Plaza del Toros in Mexico City. Golden Boy Promotions hopes the bull beats the matador in this confrontation. HBO will televise. Most fight fans don’t understand the importance of this match up. What they don’t understand is that Mexico versus Puerto Rico has a never ending running battle for supremacy in the boxing world. This has more meaning than simply Canelo versus Cintron. Bragging rights are at stake. Recently Mexico has been on a winning... Read more...
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Written by Michael Woods
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Thursday, 24 November 2011 23:57
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 You just plain have to give the man credit. All of us are shaking off the tryptophan and Dan Rafael is breaking news. Rafael writes that Victor Ortiz will take on Andre Berto in a rematch of their April scrap, on either Jan. 28 or Feb. 11. Rafael says the bout will run on Showtime, not HBO, which is a surprise, because Berto is an HBO fighter. You'll recall that Ortiz and Berto took turns hitting the deck in the first tussle, and Ortiz emerged the victor, via UD12. Berto seeks revenge, because that win gave Ortiz a shot at Floyd Mayweather and his career best payday. As Rafael pointed out, this is a splashy move for the new Showtime captain, Stephen Espinoza. Boxing fans could be the beneficiary if a bidding war between him and ex Showtime boss Ken Hershman, who starts at HBO on January 9, becomes a regular thing. Espinoza used to work at Golden Boy, so we could see more... Read more...
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Written by Michael Woods
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Wednesday, 23 November 2011 22:57
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 Gentlemen and ladies, today in the US we celebrate Thanksgiving. The day is, truth be told, seen by many as an occasion to stuff themselves like Kobayashi. Perhaps not enough time and energy is spent actually pondering things we are grateful for. I don't exclude myself in this finger pointing, by any means. So I want to use this space to offer my thanks to all the readers who visit TSS, and all the fighters who do what they do so we can do what we do. Thank you for the bounty of skill, and strength and desire and courage you display throughout the year, pugilists. I will raise a glass today to you readers, and fighters, and also the staff of keyboard tappers who give of themselves to make TSS what it is, and say a silent toast to you all. Thanks for reading, and happy Holiday, Editor Mike Tags:ThanksgivingThe Sweet ScienceTss... Read more...
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Written by David A. Avila
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Wednesday, 23 November 2011 12:24
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 From left to right: Kat Rodriguez, Liz Parr, Kaliesha West. Female professional boxing gave three shots in the arm of competitive prizefighting in Las Vegas. More than 800 fans including middleweight world champion Sergio Martinez and UFC president Dana White saw three women’s boxing fights at the Texas Station Casino on Sunday. Two of the fights had world title implications. In all three bouts there was fierce fighting especially in the main event that saw IBF junior featherweight titleholder Ada Velez retain her belt with a majority decision over Las Vegas prizefighter Melinda Cooper after 10 rounds. All of the women bouts were televised both nationally and internationally which is a rarity in the sport. Several male bouts also took place with Sampson Boxing promoting the entire card. Despite competing with NFL football on a Sunday afternoon, the lure of women’s boxing... Read more...
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Written by Michael Woods
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Tuesday, 22 November 2011 19:17
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 The New York State Athletic Commission decided to grant boxer Antonio Margarito a license to box in NY, paving the way for the Mexican to battle Miguel Cotto at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 3. The Commission this afternoon held a hearing at their Manhattan headquarters, and received the recommendation of Manhattan-based opthamologist Dr. Michael Goldstein. Goldstein examined Margarito on Monday afternoon, and pronounced him an acceptable risk to box in NY. All present, including Margarito attorney Daniel Petrocelli, Top Rank president Todd DeBoeuf, VP Carl Moretti, and about 12 boxing media persons, were on the edge of their seats as they waited for 1 1/2 hour for the commission committee to reach a verdict. Chair Melvina Lathan let deputy Edwin Torres announce, after a closed-door executive session, that the commission would listen to the medical evidence collected,... Read more...
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Written by The Sweet Science
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Tuesday, 22 November 2011 10:35
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 DeMarco and daughter following his win over Linares. A Woman Who Loves Boxing lobbies persuasively that we should make darned sure young kids can handle the brutality in the sport that adults might be desensitized to. (Hogan Photos) Boxing is a beautiful craft but a brutal sport. Sometimes even the most knowledgeable observers and ardent fans find it hard to watch. Recently, I could not help but cover my eyes during the latter stages of Antonio DeMarco’s cruel eleven-round pore-by-pore surgical destruction of Jorge Linares’s once-beautiful face. Linares was the better quicker boxer and had clearly won most of the rounds. But he was cut on the bridge of his nose, then over one eye, then seemingly everywhere. Eventually, DeMarco’s white trunks were stained with Jorge’s blood. Linares was being hit on the same cuts again... Read more...
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Written by Frank Lotierzo
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Monday, 21 November 2011 17:17
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 Howard Cosell to Muhammad Ali 9/20/72 in the ring after Ali stopped former heavyweight champ Floyd Patterson in their rematch: Cosell: Muhammad, you couldn't put Floyd down, is there anything left of your punch? Ali: No Howard, I can't punch, I only punch hard enough to win. As most know, former heavyweight champ Muhammad Ali wasn't known for his knockout power. Ali may perhaps be the greatest overall heavyweight fighter/boxer in history, but he certainly wasn't a life-taker like Sonny Liston, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Ron Lyle and Earnie Shavers. Incidentally, in eight fights against those feared killers, Ali went 7-1 (5). Former champs Larry Holmes and Gene Tunney also weren't known as punchers, yet they convincingly beat beasts named Shavers and Dempsey. When Ali fought Foreman in 1974 for the title, the prevailing thought was he couldn't tickle... Read more...
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Written by Michael Woods
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Monday, 21 November 2011 13:38
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 A lighter weight standout from the near past who has battled weight woes and a heavyweight contender from the fairly distant past notched wins this past weekend. Joan Guzman, not that long ago on a pretty short list to get a crack at Manny Pacquiao at 130, remained unbeaten, as he ran over Florencio Castellano in the Dominican Republic on Saturday night. The Colombian loser ate an uppecut in round one, hit the deck and didn't beat the count. Guzman (now 31-0-1) made the welterweight limit for this one, but says he will get down to 140, and wants a showdown against a name in that class. Castellano drops to 17-5. The event took place at the Hotel Jaragua in Santo Domingo, DR. The right uppercut got started at the beer stand, but Flo didn't see it coming in time to slip it. He was on his back, and was counted... Read more...
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Written by Michael Woods
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Monday, 21 November 2011 11:56
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 An HBO 24/7 doesn't have to feature Floyd Mayweather or Miguel Cotto to be compelling. The Saturday debut of the Cotto-Margarito episode one cemented that. Liev Schrieber, aka The Voice, told watchers that the Dec. 3 rematch between the Puerto Rican and Mexican-born hitters is a battle between the good guy and the bad guy, the guy who has never been and will never be accused of being anything less than a principled professional, and the guy who quite possibly has cheated his way to prominence. "He used it, he used the plaster the night of the fight with me. He looks and he acts like a criminal," Cotto says. "I'm a clean fighter, there was nothing illegal," responds Margarito, looking like he should play Tony Montana in a "Scarface" remake, of the circumstances of their 2008 clash. In Cocoa Beach, FL, we see Cotto, having come from Orlando, working out. Cotto said... Read more...
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Written by David A. Avila
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Sunday, 20 November 2011 22:56
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 LAS VEGAS-In a nip and tuck battle, Puerto Rico’s Ada Velez (20-3-3, 6 KOs) made adjustments from their first encounter to win by majority decision over hometown Las Vegas fighter Melinda “La Maravilla” Cooper (21-2, 11 KOs) at Texas Station on Sunday. Cooper could not avenge her loss last March to Velez in a fight that looked lopsided in the Las Vegas girl’s favor. This fight was close. Combinations by Cooper landed early and Velez landed some good single right hands in round one with neither fighter needing to get warm. It was a very busy first round as it looked like Cooper was going for the knockout early. Even exchanges took place in round two as Cooper looked to be landing the big shots and Velez was countering with her own. Both landed big blows with neither backing up. Left hooks by Cooper were followed by... Read more...
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