BOXING: Nikolay Valuev v John Ruiz

Nikolay Valuev   v   John Ruiz

high risk

no selection

Updated: Nikolay Valuev UD 12 John Ruiz

All Boxing Lines

With Graham gone, Hatton may want Floyd Sr.

The Sun reported the shocking news that longtime Ricky Hatton mentor Billy Graham (pictured in the middle) abruptly retired on Monday. The Hitman’s next fight is Nov. 22 against Paulie Malignaggi. Initial reports said that Graham’s assistant Lee Beard would step in for the Malignaggi fight but now rumors are swirling that Hatton may bring on Floyd Mayweather Sr. to run his team.

Retirement is a nice word to cover up what many think is a firing. A rift between ‘The Preacher’ Graham and Hatton began after the loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. Many felt that Graham was overmatched as a tactician and uncomfortable in the spotlight. Hatton’s brother Matthew had parted ways with Graham earlier this month. 

Preacher worked together for 11 years. Graham never had a signed contract. In an odd twist, Graham is reportedly moving to Georgia in the U.S. where he’s said to invested in real estate.

If Floyd Sr. does come on board where will Hatton set up camp? He has never trained outside of Manchester, U.K. but one has to wonder if Floyd Sr. would go all the way to England for a camp.

All Boxing Lines

Team Pacman is ready for De La Hoya

Manny Pacquiao jumped up five pounds to fight at lightweight with such ease that the buzz around a move to 147 lbs. to face Oscar De La Hoya is quickly becoming a reality. We know the Filipino media and fans want the fight. The possibility is getting major coverage. Recent Philippines newspaper headlines include:

Arum says Pacquiao-De La Hoya possible

Roach wants Pacquiao-De La Hoya

Dangerous Pacman

Pacquiao’s promoter, Bob Arum, appeared on Manila’s DZSR Sports Radio this morning. Arum said Pacman and his family are in Las Vegas for a few days starting on Wednesday. Top Rank and Pacquiao advisers will decide what’s next for the the new WBC lightweight champ.

Arum wants Pacquiao to face the Golden Boy:

"Hopefully that will result in a plan. And if he wants to go ahead with the De La Hoya fight then I’ll contact Richard Schaefer and will start that negotiations. It’s gonna take maybe a week or so, but there’s no reason for undue haste. It’s a very important decision for Manny’s career. There’s a lot of money involved and we’re gonna go slowly."

You can hear the entire interview here.

Arum also said Antonio Margarito’s next fight will be in November, possibly against the winner of Saturday’s Joshua Clottey-Zab Judah fight. He repeatedly said that De La Hoya said he won’t face Margarito in what could be his final fight. De La Hoya may want to change his stance for some added leverage in possible Pacquiao negotations.

Arum is leaving for Macau later in the week to try and finalize a venue for an October fight involving Top Rank flyweight Nonito Donaire.

All Boxing Lines

BOXING: Billy Dib v Zolani Marali

Billy Dib v Zolani Marali

high risk

no selection

Updated: Billy Dib UD12 Zolani Marali

All Boxing Lines

BOXING: Anthony Mundine v Crazy Kim

Anthony Mundine v Crazy Kim

high risk

no selection

Updated: Anthony Mundine  UD10  Crazy Kim

All Boxing Lines

The Good Cigar (Hardcover) newly tagged “cigar”

The Good Cigar

The Good Cigar (Hardcover)
By Kevin Gordon

49 used and new from $0.01
 Customer Rating:

First tagged “cigar” by maxies_books
 Customer tags: , , , , , , , ,

All Boxing Lines

New pound-for-pound rankings

Antonio Margarito forced his way into Y! Sports Top 10
with his TKO victory over Miguel Cotto on Saturday night. Margarito
debuted at No. 6; Cotto, after the first loss of his career, fell six
spots to No. 9.

Where do you think the new WBA welterweight
champion should be ranked? How about Cotto? And who is your No. 1? Tell
us what you think about the pound-for-pound rankings.

All Boxing Lines

Sports Illustrated scribe inaccurately heaps praise upon himself

You gotta love the media. For every correct prediction we deliver on, we probably miss on five. It’s odd though, you’ll never see a story headlined, ‘I’m an idiot.’ SI.com’s boxing writer Chris Mannix was in self-congratulatory mode after Antonio Margarito’s victory over Miguel Cotto.

"Ever since I first learned about Miguel Cotto-Antonio Margarito, I’ve felt alone on an island. Why? Because I think I’m the only one who believes Margarito can win. ‘I think you are,’ said Ed Keenan, one of the PR coordinators for this event, in the press room a few hours before the fight. ‘Everyone out here seems to like Cotto.’

I wouldn’t quote Mr. Keenan as the research king of boxing. I love the guy but I’ve talked to Ed dozens of times at events, it’s 50-50 if he gets my name correct!

Chris was definitely in the minority with his selection but if he checked the local Las Vegas paper or walked around radio row, he would have seen that he wasn’t alone.

In Saturday’s Las Vegas Review Journal media poll seven of 27 media folks chose the ’Tijuana Tornado.’ Here are the seven who nailed Margarito: Dave Cokin - ESPN1100, Octavio Gallegos - ESPN Deportes, Nat Gottlieb - HBO.com, Steve Cofield - ESPN1100/Yahoo! Sports, Robert Morales - LB Press Telegram, George Willis - N.Y. Post and Steve Kim - Maxboxing.com.

Plus Yahoo! Sports posted a story about MaxBoxing’s Kim, the leader of the Margarito brigade. Steve picked a Margarito KO and nailed the way it would come down.

"With the style and physical matchup, Margarito can do some things in the second half of the fight that other guys weren’t able to (against Cotto). I think he’s going to be relentless, heavy-handed and has a great a chin. Unlike a Shane Mosley, who’s a little older, Margarito is going to come at a steady pace and build momentum."

My radio partner, Cokin has stated on the air just about everyday for four weeks that he was picking Margarito. And he also did the unheard of from the brass-balled media, he put his money down on Margarito as well. Aside from the lack of research on the fight picks, Mannix did a nice job on his fight blog. He turned in some funny lines.

11:03 p.m. — Obligatory Make Fun of Michael Buffer Comment: I see Buffer went with the white suitcoat tonight. I’m also told he went with L’Oreal instead of Maybelline. I swear, I’ve dated women who use less makeup.

I love it. Buffer drives me nuts. Lazy radio guys turn to him for guest spots as if he’s some sort of boxing expert. The ringcard girls are at every fight too, let’s turn to them for analysis.

11:14 – Stephen A. Smith in the house. I mention that because that seems to be the only "celebrity" in attendance tonight. Apparently, Warren Buffett and Bill Gates thought last night’s USA-Canada exhibition was a better ticket

I will say SAS’s seat sucked. He was two rows behind me in the media section. You lose out to Cofield in the seat lottery, that’s a slap in the face.

12:02 a.m. – I hate to say I told you so, but … I told you so! Margarito is the new WBA welterweight champion.

Wow, this guy is the Barry Horowitz (WATCH AT :24 OF VIDEO) of the media!

All Boxing Lines

Was ‘Money’ a big winner with the Margarito TKO?

 

The Floyd Mayweather watch was on during the pre-fight for the Antonio Margarito-Miguel Cotto battle. Would the retired former pound-for-pound king show to watch two guys duke it out for welterweight supremacy? Mayweather was not on hand but his Escalade (pictured at the front entrance to the MGM Grand) was and rumor has it that so was some of his entourage.

The story flying around the MGM Grand media room was that Floyd sent some of his associates to try and get money down on a Margarito KO. Apparently, the MGM would not take thirty large on the 5-2 bet. With the Margarito 11th round TKO of ‘Money’ would’ve won $75,000. MGM Sports Book management refused to deny or confirm that the Mayweather camp tried to place the Margarito bet.

The 75 dimes may not matter much to Mayweather if he decides to face Margarito down the road. It looks like an immediate fight against the ‘Tijuana Tornado’ is unlikely. But with another big Margarito win, a potential Mayweather-Margarito fight could build to a crescendo and pull ‘Money out of retirement for a $20+ million payday. So maybe Mayweather was a big winner on Saturday night.

All Boxing Lines

Boxing gets an adrenaline shot from a true fighter

You could see the fear in their eyes on Friday before the big Antonio Margarito-Miguel Cotto fight. It wasn’t the fighters who were freaked out but the folks around boxing. Between the casino officials, the promoters and the media, they’re are all the folks who make a living off the sport to varying degrees.

After just 8,362 fans showed for the Manny Pacquiao-David Diaz fight last month and an even more disappointing 250,000 pay-per-view buys, you could feel some tension in the media area at the MGM Grand before Cotto-Margarito. It was a terrible sign if the sport’s new pound-for-pound best, Pacquiao was generating that little interest.

No one wanted to tell us if this fight would sellout or give PPV projections. Jim Lampley, the voice of HBO boxing, couldn’t do an interview without making some snide remark about "the enemy" mixed martial arts.

In many ways, it’s the fault of boxing that a guy like Antonio Margarito hadn’t risen to the top in the past. The ‘Tijuana Tornado’ isn’t pretty and he’s not an English-speaking trash talker but sports fans don’t give a damn about that stuff if you hand out beatings with a relentless will. That’s exactly what he did to Cotto with an 11th round TKO.

Ed Graney from the Las Vegas Journal-Review indicates why Margarito was such a big hit with the crowd at the MGM Grand Garden Arena:

"He threw nearly 1,000 punches. He took 280. One scorecard had the fight even when Cotto’s people called it off, and two more had Margarito ahead 6-4 in rounds. But no matter how many times sweat sprayed from his head as a Cotto uppercut or jab landed, Margarito plunged ahead. Nothing was going to deny him the win, the belt, the moment."

Coming from the rough streets of Tijuana, Mexico, Margarito’s life story is pretty amazing:

Somewhere in Tijuana, Mexico, a father who has never seen his son fight live professionally smiled and probably shed tears of pride. Antonio Margarito Sr. doesn’t have a passport, but he was watching. So, too, the son believes, was Manuel, the brother who was murdered in 1999 on the night before Antonio Jr. fought Buck Smith.

Hopefully HBO takes note of the passion in the stands and from the media. It’s time to get into the Margarito business and begin to shy away from the De La Hoya, Mayweather and Klitschko businesses.  

All Boxing Lines

Margarito starting to gain steam with boxing media

Miguel Cotto was a prohibitive favorite with the bettors and media a few weeks ago. But like any other sporting event, once the media spin starts going round and round, things change. There’s a lot of pro-Antonio Margarito talk now for this fight. You’re even seeing it reflecred in the betting which went down 60 cents on Friday from Cotto -280 to -220.

MaxBoxing’s Steve Kim is one of the most astute guys who covers the fight game and he’s down with the Tijuana Tornado.

"With the style and physical matchup, Margarito can do some things in the second half of the fight that other guys weren’t able to (against Cotto). I think he’s going to be relentless, heavy-handed and has a great a chin. Unlike a Shane Mosley, who’s a little older, Margarito is going to come at a steady pace and build momentum. "

CLICK BELOW TO HEAR THE ENTIRE KIM INTERVIEW (w/Cofield on ESPNRadio1100):

The big worry for Cotto backers is that he won’t fight his type of fight. The Puerto Rican is the shorter fighter at only 5-foot-7 but he’s the guy who needs to box and keep this fight at a distance. The thought is that Margarito can win the fight if he can sucker Cotto into a brawl.

The Las Vegas Review Journal media poll has Cotto by a 20-7 margin.

All Boxing Lines

BOXING: Raymond Joval v James McGirt Jr

Raymond Joval v James McGirt Jr

selection: James McGirt Jr

Updated: James McGirt Jr  won

All Boxing Lines

BOXING: Felix Flores v Antonio Diaz

Felix Flores v Antonio Diaz

selection: Felix Flores

Updated: Felix Flores  lost

All Boxing Lines

BOXING: Raul Martinez v Isidro Garcia

Raul Martinez v Isidro Garcia

selection: Raul Martinez

Updated: Raul Martinez  won

All Boxing Lines

BOXING: Jean Marc Monrose v Merick Roberge

Jean Marc Monrose v Merick Roberge

selection: Jean Marc Monrose

Updated: Fight canceled

All Boxing Lines

BOXING: Giovanni Segura v Cesar Canchila

Giovanni Segura v Cesar Canchila

high risk

no selection

Updated: Cesar Canchila UD12 Giovanni Segura

All Boxing Lines

BOXING: Mike Alvarado v Cesar Bazan

Mike Alvarado v Cesar Bazan

selection: Mike Alvorado

Updated: Mike Alvorado won

All Boxing Lines

BOXING: Chris John v Jackson Asiku

Chris John v Jackson Asiku

selection: Chris John

Updated: Fight canceled

All Boxing Lines

Taebo, a huge diamond & death threats … must be a Tyson story

This is an odd one. The former Ohio mansion owned by Mike Tyson is vacant. It’s currently held by the Feds since the most recent owner Paul Monea is under criminal investigation.

Monea, who made much of his fortune from selling Billy Blanks’ Taebo tapes, bought the house from Tyson for $1.3 million in 1999. Eventually the home made its way to EBay and didn’t sell. This is where the story takes off according to IllicitOhio.com:

Paul had a diamond. A really really big one. So big that it had its own website. It was a 40 Carat Diamond (ACTUALLY 43)… yes you’re reading that correctly… 40 Carat. HUGE! So Paul decides he’s going to sell both the Diamond and the property. Unfortunately the buyer was an FBI agent working undercover. What’s the problem with that you may be asking… well at some point the buyer (aka agent) decides to inform Paul that he will be buying the home with Drug money. According to reports Paul advised the agent that he didn’t want to know where the money was coming from and even feigned a hearing problem.

Monea’s defense is that the FBI agent threatened to kill his family. I’m guessing this notion is going to fall flat.


Last year, Monea met undercover agent John Tanza in Las Vegas to discuss the sale of the diamond. During the recorded conversation, the agent told Monea that the prospective buyers were drug dealers.

The defense said the agent also told Monea that the drug dealers would kill Monea and his family if Monea backed out of the deal. Defense witnesses pointed to a click on the recording during the conversation and a perceived change in the quality of the background noise as proof of an edit.

William Whitaker argued that the government removed the agent’s threat because it was evidence of entrapment. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Bulford denied the accusation, and Tanza said he never threatened Monea.

The multi-million dollar house sits vacant with the doors open. Nice snooping by the IllicitOhio.com!

All Boxing Lines

Did Mayweather suffer a debilitating injury in rumored fight?

It’s been a rough week on the web for Floyd Mayweather. On Thursday Mediatakout.com reported that Mayweather was laid out in a Las Vegas club.

Say it ain’t so Floyd. MediaTakeOut.com just caught wind that Floyd and fellow boxer Edner "Cherry Bomb" Cherry got into a fight at a Las Vegas club. Word on the street is that Edner was one of Floyd’s sparring partners and had a problem over some back pay. And that when he confronted Floyd in the club, the two got into it and Floyd ended up asleep. We put out word to Floyd’s peeps for a comment.

His peeps weren’t about to speak with this "reliable" news site. Mayweather’s manager Leonard Ellerbe did speak with Steve Carp of the Las Vegas Review Journal:

"Edner Cherry is 135 pounds," Ellerbe said. "He’s going to come into a Las Vegas nightclub, knock Floyd out and live to tell about it? C’mon. That’s one of the most ridiculous rumors I’ve heard in 10 to 12 years. Floyd wasn’t involved in no fight."

If you’ve seen the Mayweather entourage it doesn’t seem believable. In an odd coincidence, Yahoo! Sports saw Mayweather and his crew the next night at an Applebees in Las Vegas. He was surrounded by at least 8-10 young males. He’s normally surrounded by giant bodyguards at the clubs. If Cherry did land a KO blow, how did he get away unscathed?

There is one slight hesitation in discarding the story completely. There may have been a Mayweather back or leg injury in the rumored fight.

A vigilant Las Vegas resident, spotted "Money" using a handicapped parking spot for his Mercedes (pictured) on Sunday at the Vegas NBA Summer League at the Thomas & Mack Center. At least Floyd was inconspicuous in parking his whip Cade McNown-style with his moniker and last name above the license plate.

Now there is no official confirmation that it was Floyd driving the "Money" Mayweather Mercedes. Maybe it was his uncle Roger.

All Boxing Lines

One Step EZ Hygrometer Calibrating Kit (Kitchen) newly tagged “cigar”

One Step EZ Hygrometer Calibrating Kit

One Step EZ Hygrometer Calibrating Kit (Kitchen)
By Humidi Pak

Buy new: $5.00
$3.99
6 used and new from $0.99
 Customer Rating:

First tagged “cigar” by Daniel J. McGarigle
 Customer tags: (3), (3), , , , , , , , , ,

All Boxing Lines

Xikar Cutlery 100 XI1 Cutter, Titanium (Misc.) newly tagged “cigar”

Xikar Cutlery 100 XI1 Cutter, Titanium

Xikar Cutlery 100 XI1 Cutter, Titanium (Misc.)
By Xikar

Buy new: $59.00
$35.99
 Customer Rating:

First tagged “cigar” by J. Harris
 Customer tags: , , ,

All Boxing Lines

BOXING: Andy Lee v Willie Gibbs

Andy Lee v Willie Gibbs

selection: Andy Lee

Updated: Andy Lee won

All Boxing Lines

BOXING: Yuriolkis Gamboa v Al Seeger

Yuriolkis Gamboa v Al Seeger

selection: Yuriokis Gamboa

Updated: Yuriokis Gamboa won

All Boxing Lines

BOXING: Bernard Dunne v Damian David Marchiano

Bernard Dunne v Damian David Marchiano

selection: Bernard Dunne

Updated: Bernard Dunne  won

All Boxing Lines

BOXING: Wladimir Klitschko v Tony Thompson

Wladimir Klitschko v Tony Thompson

high risk

no selection

Updated: Wladimir Klitschko KO11 Tony Thompson

All Boxing Lines

25-cigar Humidor Cherrywood Finish (Kitchen) newly tagged “cigar”

25-cigar Humidor Cherrywood Finish

25-cigar Humidor Cherrywood Finish (Kitchen)
By Humidor Supreme

Buy new: $23.99
 Customer Rating:

First tagged “cigar” by Jonathan Cotter
 Customer tags: (4), (4), (2), (2),

All Boxing Lines

Visol Wood and Brass Punch Cigar Punch Cutter (Misc.) newly tagged “cigar”

Visol Wood and Brass Punch Cigar Punch Cutter

Visol Wood and Brass Punch Cigar Punch Cutter (Misc.)
By Visol

Buy new: $23.00
 Customer Rating:

First tagged “cigar” by Slim Portly
 Customer tags: , ,

All Boxing Lines

BOXING: Enrique Ornelas v Daryl Salmon

Enrique Ornelas v Daryl Salmon

selection: Enrique Ornelas

Updated: Enrique Ornelas won

All Boxing Lines

BOXING: Sinan Samil Sam v Paolo Vidoz

Sinan Samil Sam v Paolo Vidoz

high risk

no selection

Updated  Sinan Samil Sam v Paolo Vidoz  PTS 12  12

All Boxing Lines

BOXING: Herbie Hide v Nuri Seferi

Herbie Hide v Nuri Seferi

high risk

no selection

Updated: Herbie Hide UD12 Nuri Seferi

All Boxing Lines

25-50 Cigar Dark Cherry Finish Humidor (Kitchen) newly tagged “cigar”

25-50 Cigar Dark Cherry Finish Humidor

25-50 Cigar Dark Cherry Finish Humidor (Kitchen)
By Humidor Supreme

Buy new: $19.99
 Customer Rating:

First tagged “cigar” by Chris B.
 Customer tags: (4), , , , , , ,

All Boxing Lines