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Written by The Sweet Science
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Tuesday, 25 October 2011 19:23
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 Drivers see them all the time. They’re bumps in a roadway (typically painted yellow, three-to-four inches high, six-inches-or-so deep) designed to reduce the speed at which cars are driven. Think of Nonito Donaire as a finely-tuned Porsche with Bob Arum revving up the engine for a test drive toward super-stardom.Donaire is charismatic in and out of the ring. The WBC-WBO 118-pound champion is on virtually every pound-for-pound list. His record is 27-and-1 with 18 knockouts (the loss came ten years ago in his second pro fight). In the age of Manny Pacquiao, it doesn’t hurt that Nonito’s nickname is The Filipino Flash.On October 22nd against Omar Narvaez at Madison Square Garden, Donaire hit a speed bump. He didn’t careen off the road, but it slowed him down a bit.Donaire was born in the Philippines on November 16, 1982; the third of four children. “We were poor,”... Read more...
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Written by Frank Lotierzo
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Tuesday, 25 October 2011 08:59
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 Now that the WBC has ruled that light heavyweight Bernard Hopkins will retain his title after momentarily losing it to challenger Chad Dawson via a second round stoppage on October 15th, there's only one thing that remains. Hopkins must offer Dawson a rematch after he's healed and recovered from being tossed to the canvas by him late in the second round of their bout. Dawson's toss, throw or shove of Hopkins, call it what you want, is what caused the fight to end with a plethora of unfinished business and unanswered questions. Since their fight both Hopkins and Dawson have said that the fight was unfolding in their favor, which is laughable on both parts. And they've both vehemently accused the other of looking for a way out of the fight because of the fear they had of losing it or being embarrassed during it. Fans and media are pretty much split. There's a faction that believes... Read more...
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Written by David A. Avila
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Tuesday, 25 October 2011 01:31
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 Never judge a fighter by his size.Though Eloy “The Prince” Perez normally enters each and every fight with a height disadvantage, the revved up junior lightweight with ties to Oaxaca, Rochester, Washington and Salinas, California has yet to be tamed.All he asks is “who’s next?”Stepping up to face undefeated NABO junior lightweight titleholder Perez (22-0-2, 6 KOs) will be hard-hitting Ira Terry (24-6, 14 KOs) of Memphis, Tenn. The regional title match takes place at the Sherwood Inn, at Salinas on Friday Oct. 28. It will be televised on Telefutura.Ever since Perez entered his pro career in 2005 the ever critical boxing media ignored the quick punching boxer because of a lack of knockouts on his record. Because fans prefer KOs to decisions, the Salinas boxer seemed to be overlooked by many.Wins over Roger “Speedy” Gonzalez, David Rodela and Derrick Campos who are all... Read more...
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Written by The Sweet Science
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Monday, 24 October 2011 13:26
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 The first installment of HBO's stellar 24/7 series focusing on the third Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez debuted on Saturday night."Supremacy remains very much unresolved," narrator Liev Schrieber intoned with the heft of gravity that makes me want to buy the damned pay-per-view three times. The show kicked off with a look at Baguiao City, where that city's "most famous part-time resident," Pacquiao, worked out at the Shape-Up boxing gym. Pacman is in the midst of a ten week camp to get ready for his eternal rival Marquez."Everything in Manny Pacquiao's life is because of boxing," his trainer Freddie Roach says, implying that the Congressman hasn't taken his eyes off the prize, and is still as committed as can be to his ring duties. His S & C coach Alex Ariza says that this camp is "unique" because this fight is personal, because Manny wants to prove Marquez is a liar... Read more...
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Written by The Sweet Science
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Monday, 24 October 2011 08:45
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 When I worked full-time at The Ring magazine’s editorial office from September of 1997 through February of 2005, we received a phone call at least once every couple months from someone asking to speak with Bert Sugar. This despite the fact that Bert hadn’t worked for The Ring since 1983. Bert only edited the magazine for about five years, but as a talented writer, a renowned historian, a great self-promoter, and a magnetic personality, Sugar made his name is almost as synonymous with The Ring as Nat Fleischer’s.I’m quite well aware that my name does not carry the same enduring weight as Bert’s. But somewhat similarly to Sugar, many people have assumed for the last six-plus years that I still worked full-time for The Ring. And over the past six weeks, since my working relationship with the magazine was terminated completely, I’ve received plenty of tweets and emails... Read more...
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Written by Michael Woods
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Saturday, 22 October 2011 23:20
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 It was a George Benton special for Nonito Donaire in the main event at the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night. In other words, as the old Philly sage used to say, Win this one, look good in the next one.Donaire had in front of him a crafty defender in Omar Narvaez, who was content to keep Donaire from landing, but wasn't too inclined to get offensive. The judges scored it, 120-108 times three for Donaire, who will now exit the bantamweight class, and move to junior feather. He had to cut weight the day of the weigh in, his trainer Robert Garcia said, so he is looking forward to the jump in weights.The WBC and WBO bantam champ Donaire (living in California; now 27-1 with 19 KOs) was 116 1/4 pounds on Friday, while Narvaez (from Argentina; 35-1-2 just 19 KOs) was 117. The attendance was 4,425. Nonito talked to Max Kellerman after. He said sorry to all,... Read more...
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Written by Michael Woods
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Friday, 21 October 2011 09:18
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 The competition among fighters is fierce, that's a no brainer. But the competition among strength and conditioning gurus can get pretty down and dirty as well. Alex Ariza, the man who oversees S & C for Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan, and Victor Conte, who advises Nonito Donaire and Andre Berto on proper training methods and supplement intake, got at each other pretty good a couple days ago. I wrote a lengthy look at Conte's status as a hot S & C guy in boxing for ESPN.com. Check that out here http://es.pn/n237WY. I was interested in Conte's interest in Ariza, as I'd noticed that the ex BALCO badboy tweaked Ariza regularly on Twitter. He insinuated that maybe Ariza took shortcuts to help prep his fighters. Conte, who said he thinks illegal PED use in boxing is "rampant," said he is indeed skeptical of Ariza, because of Pacquiao's late-age performance spike and ability to... Read more...
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Written by Ron Borges
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Thursday, 20 October 2011 14:24
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 Donaire doesn't have an easy target to take down in Narvaez (right). The young bomber will need to work annd think hard to take out the crafty, slick Argentine. Nonito Donaire knows why he’ll be in Madison Square Garden Saturday night and it’s not simply to defend the WBC and WBO bantamweight titles he unified in February by knocking Fernando Montiel cold. He’s here to knock New York cold because if he does he’ll be hot.Boxing is more than the manly art of self-defense. It’s more than A.J. Liebling’s Sweet Science or the dark craft of hitting without being hit. Boxing at the level in which Donaire plies the trade is a business and the business of boxing is to become a phenomenon, which is what promoter Bob Arum hopes to turn Donaire into.Arum did the same for another Filipino fighter named Manny Pacquiao, who difficult though it may be to believe... Read more...
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Written by David A. Avila
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Thursday, 20 October 2011 01:49
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 Nonito Donaire goes by the nickname the “Filipino Flash” but he’s more than just flash, he could possibly be the most deadly puncher in the boxing world today. But he won’t tell you that.“I am always thankful for the blessings God has given me,” Donaire, 28, said.Northern California’s dynamic Donaire (26-1, 18 KOs) defends the WBO and WBC bantamweight titles against Argentina’s never-been-beaten Omar Narvaez (35-0-2, 19 KOs) on Saturday Oct. 22, at Madison Square Garden’s WaMu Theater. The Top Rank fight will be televised on HBO along with Mikey Garcia’s fight with Juan Carlos Martinez.Inch for inch Donaire and all 68 inches of his wire thin body frame can generate enough crackling power to deliver a knockout with frightening force. Since childhood the Filipino blaster has been exorcising consciousness from most of his opponents.“Even in the... Read more...
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Written by Frank Lotierzo
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Wednesday, 19 October 2011 09:05
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 For the last few years we've witnessed Chad Dawson 31-1 (18) fight and appear detached and complacent during certain bouts. And though no one has ever questioned his wealth of physical talent, which is on display every time you see him fight and can't be missed, you just can't help but imagine what kind of fighter he might be if he fought with a sense of urgency and as if winning really meant something to him. Which is not saying that it doesn't, just that it looked as if some fighters stayed with him longer than they should've due to him never really stepping on the gas and opening up for more than spurts during particular fights. Well, based on his last fight against Bernard Hopkins this past weekend, it looks as if that may be a thing of the past. Forget for a moment that Dawson fouled Hopkins and the fight should've been declared no-contest. The point is, Dawson knew Hopkins... Read more...
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