The Army Boxing Thread

[binnie]

Manny looked sensational, and I wouldn't want to take anything away from him. However, Ricky lost that fight as much as Manny won it: he completely abandoned the game plan, hell, he completely abandoned basic boxing skills - no jab, no head movement, jumping in.......he was asking to get knocked out, and he did.

Ricky has been found wanting at the very, very top of the game, but he dominated his division for four years, beat a P4P great, and won titles in two divisions. He is a very, very good fighter. It is clear that he is shot though - the punch resistance just isn't there any more, as was clear in the Lazcano fight. All of those pies and pints between fights, bloating up 50lbs, has weakened his body irreparably. Time to retire now - that brutal KO was nature's wake up call. Thanks for the memories, Hitman, you've been in some barnstormers over the years and are unquestionably one of boxing's all time greatest body punchers.

Manny is a great fighter, and I look forward to seeing what he does next. Not too sure what that win over a very faded Oscar De La Hoya meant, nor am I that sure how much of the 'Hitman' was left in Ricky Hatton after Mayweather schooled him, but a guy can only beat what's put in front of him. With the exception of Juan Manuel Marquez - who he's never comprehensively beaten - Manny has demolished every elite fighter who's gotten in the ring with him.

Mayweather beckons...........

[redblkwht]

NEW YORK -- When Floyd Mayweather Jr. walked away from boxing, he was widely considered the pound-for-pound king, the mythical mantle bestowed upon the best in the game.

Now that he's back, at least one person believes Mayweather still is: lightweight champ Juan Manuel Marquez, whom he'll face in his highly anticipated return.

"I'm expecting the best Floyd Mayweather ever," Marquez said Tuesday, at a news conference on the 80th floor of the Empire State Building to help launch the fight. "I'm putting in my mind that he never retired, so I'm expecting the best."

The two will meet July 18 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, where tickets are scheduled to go on sale Friday. They'll fight at a catch-weight of about 143 pounds, eight more than Marquez has ever fought and the lightest that Mayweather has been since 2005.

Neither believes the weight will make much difference.

Mayweather already has been in the gym a couple of months, ever since giving his adviser Leonard Ellerbe the green light to screen potential opponents. Mayweather claims he's close to 147 pounds and pronounced himself fit after a run through Central Park on Tuesday morning.

Marquez has been packing on muscle while training in the mountains of central Mexico.

He said the brutal regimen, which has included several weeks of lifting boulders, has given him confidence that he'll be the one to finally dethrone the king.

"I always prepare myself to win," Marquez said quietly, sitting a few feet from where the outgoing Mayweather held court with dozens of reporters. "He's not a machine, he's a human being, and human beings can be beat."

Mayweather, the former five-division champ, hasn't stepped in the ring since knocking out Ricky Hatton in December 2007, when he was still basking in the aura of his transcending victory over Oscar De La Hoya. He'd cashed in his "Pretty Boy" nickname for one more befitting his agenda -- "Money" -- and was showing up everywhere from "Dancing with the Stars" to WrestleMania.

That's when Mayweather abruptly called it quits, turning his attention to show business.

Mayweather's year away from the ring opened the door for Manny Pacquiao to step through, and the charismatic Filipino icon did it in destructive fashion. Where Mayweather needed 12 rounds to beat De La Hoya, Pacquiao needed eight; where the flamboyant welterweight needed 10 rounds to stop Hatton, the smaller Pacquiao needed only two earlier this month.

Now, much to Mayweather's chagrin, many consider Pacquiao the best.

"I respect him for what he does, I respect him in the fight game, but I've never been beat," Mayweather said of Pacquiao, who's lost three times, the last in 2005. "Nobody has the antidote for Floyd Mayweather."

While most presume the two will eventually settle the pound-for-pound dispute in the ring, Mayweather (39-0, 25 KOs) must first deal with Marquez, his hand-picked opponent.

Marquez (50-4-1, 37 KOs) lost a slugfest by close split-decision to Pacquiao in 2008, a bout that Mayweather and many others believe the Mexican fighter won. Five years ago, Marquez rallied from three first-round knockdowns to earn a bloody draw with Pacquiao in their first bout.

Marquez's stunning knockout of Joel Casamayor last year and his brutal knockout of Juan Diaz in February entrenched him as one of the most electrifying fighters available. More importantly, they produced an opponent that intrigued Mayweather enough to return to the ring.

"Marquez is a warrior," he said, conferring rare praise upon one of his foes. "He's a hell of a fighter. I don't have to come here and bad-mouth anybody."

Mayweather paused for a moment, then added: "They say to be the best, you got to beat the best. I think they got Marquez in the dark and somebody has to give him a shot. Why not me?"

[redblkwht]

I would absolultley love to see Juan Manuel Marquez kick the shit outta
mayweather for good..watch the espn link, he makes me sick if
marques doesnt win, Manny will totally beat his ass. after this interview,
I think Floyd's is looking past Juan, i hope that motivates him!

[binnie]

Juan Manuel Marquez is my favourite fighter - I think that he was robbed against Manny in both of their matchups. I love Pacman, but JMM is his nemesis, and his achievements over 130 are also more meaningful in my book - beating two of the elite lightweights in Casamyora and Juan Diaz, and KO'ing them brutally, is a lot more impressive than Pacman's defeat of David Diaz and the ghost of ODLH (the demolition of Hatton was unbeliveable though )

I find it hard to like Mayweather as a person, but I've got to admire his abilities and achievments as a fighter. A lot of people are slamming him for picking a 'smaller' guy, but most people forget that Floyd isn't really a welter either - both of these men were at their best at around 130lbs.

That been said, 147lbs really has to work against JMM. He's never fought above 135lbs, and we really don't know how that will effect his speed. We also don't know what the layoff has done to Floyd - he will have to be his sharpest to win this fight convincingly, but even the Pretty Boy has to have some ring-rust after an 18 month layoff.

I'd love JMM to win, but I can't see it happening. Given that both guys are counter-punchers, there's a good chance that we're in for a snooze fest, and one which I imagine that Mayweather will win on points. If he's still the Mayweather of old, he'll be too good.

[sonrisa salvaje]

Any fans of Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero here?

[binnie]

Yup - lots of potential waiting to be realized there....

[sonrisa salvaje]

Yup - lots of potential waiting to be realized there....

Cool. He already has another title fight on 8/22 on HBO - undercard of Juan Diaz and Paulie Malignaggi. Hopefully, he will get title number 2.

Any predictions on this Saturday night - Joseph Agbeko vs. Vic Darchinyan?

[binnie]

Darchinyan by late TKO. I'd say rounds 8-10.

Vic is in another league, but he needs a rematch with Donaire....

[sonrisa salvaje]

Definitely. He sure doesn't seem in too much of a hurry to try and avenge his only loss does he?

[binnie]

Nope, beause he'd probably be beaten again. It would be a great fight though.

[binnie]

The really exciting news this week is that Showtime are going to do a Supermiddleweight tournament staring this Autumn and going through to 2011.

It will feaure:

Carl Froch (WBC Champ)
Jermain Taylor
Mikkel Kessler (WBA Champ and widely regarded as the Man in the division)
Arthur Abraham (WBA middleweight champ, undefeated and moving up)
Andre Ward
Andre Dirrell.

This will force some great fights: Froch-Kessler, Taylor-Abraham, etc. Like boxing used to be - the best facing the best.

[sonrisa salvaje]

The really exciting news this week is that Showtime are going to do a Supermiddleweight tournament staring this Autumn and going through to 2011.

It will feaure:

Carl Froch (WBC Champ)
Jermain Taylor
Mikkel Kessler (WBA Champ and widely regarded as the Man in the division)
Arthur Abraham (WBA middleweight champ, undefeated and moving up)
Andre Ward
Andre Dirrell.

This will force some great fights: Froch-Kessler, Taylor-Abraham, etc. Like boxing used to be - the best facing the best.

Man this will be great. I would just be happy with a Froch - Taylor rematch. That was a classic. But yeah, throw any combo of Froch, Taylor, Abraham and Kessler together and it would be the fire. It's funny to have only one American in there. Back in the days of Hagler, Hearns, Leonard, Duran it was only one non-American in there. Funny how things change.

[sonrisa salvaje]

Of course, by the time Andre Ward gets done, he may fight all 4 and be undefeated. He has so much promise and talent it is ridiculous.

[sonrisa salvaje]

Well, Arturo Gatti was found dead today. Now we have lost 2 boxing legends in a week. Another very sad day for boxing.

[binnie]

Its very sad indeed, as he always came across as a stand up guy. Seems that mysterious circumstances are involved. Man, 37 is no age to go....

In other news Darchinyian lost! Didn't see it (as there is now NO channel which shows boxing in the UK) but it sounds like he got frustrated and fought the wrong fight.