CHAMP: Rules for me filling this are: A) unify three belts OR B) #1 and #2 fight. This is similar to The Ring’s rule, except that I’m not gonna bend to HBO’s demands to make guys champ (see also: Klitschko, Vitali)

1 ) Wladimir Klitschko : A win over Rahman does little for Klitschko other than give him another W.

2 ) Alexander Povetkin

3)  Vitali Klitschko

4 ) Ruslan Chagaev

5 ) Juan Carlos Gomez 

6) Samuel Peter

7 ) Nicolay Valuev: I drop him a little because, hey, if there was funny business, he still looked bad and you couldn't give a guy credit for being worse than you think he really is.

8 ) John Ruiz 

9 ) Sultan Ibragimov

10 ) Eddie Chambers 

11 ) Vladimir Virchis

12 ) Tony Thompson 

13) Chris Arreola: First big mover for the month.

14 ) Oleg Maskaev

15 ) Taras Bidenko

16) Fres Oquendo: Another big mover north off a "loss".

17 ) Alexander Dimitrenko

18) David Haye: How much does a KO win over Barrett mean? Answer: Not much unless you are crazy.

19 ) James Toney

20 ) Lamon Brewster

21) Ray Austin

22) Matt Skelton

23) Shannon Briggs

24 ) Kali Meehan

25 ) Jameel McCline

26 ) Kevin Johnson

27 ) Sergei Lyakhovich

28 ) Hasim Rahman

29 ) Odlanier Solis Fonte

30) Jason Estrada

31 ) Monte Barrett

32 ) Andrew Golota

33 ) Timor Ibragimov

34 ) Malik Scott

35 ) Travis Walker

36 ) Luan Krasniqi

37 ) Davarryl Williamson

38) Dominck Guinn

39) Cedric Boswell

40 ) Chazz Witherspoon

41) Friday Ahunanya

42) Zuri Lawrence

43) Evander Holyfield

44) Brian Minto

45) Francesco Pianeta

46) Sinam Samil Sam

47) Manuel Quezada

48) Oliver McCall

49) Albert Sosnowski

50) Michael Sprott

ANOTHER RBR: Guzman/Diaz

I've got Television Dominica, so here goes a RBR of this event.

Event starts really suddenly. No idea who is even fighting in this first fight and we are starting uh, midway through a mystery round. I don't speak Spanish, so no help here. Arena is empty too. No note as to who is who (one guy is wearing blue, another black) and all I know is that neither is Guzman. Given my complete inability to find out what the hell is going on, I fast forward to the end of the bout without watching, but listen to the announcer. Oh, wait, he's inaudible. Oh well. 

Wait! Now I can figure it out thanks to the interview. Kendal Mena is being interviewed after beating Rafael Romero. Maybe I'll watch it another day.

Long interview with some dude who I think was that guy who won a medal for them at the Olympics. Note: I have an internet feed of Canal 4 open and its way, way ahead of the one on DirecTV. Like a minute ahead.

Yup, it was indeed Felix Diaz. Expect him to turn pro sooner rather than later.

Jose Amaro Guzman/Cristian Martinez is next on the card.

ROUND 1:

Facially, looks similar to Joan because, hey, its his brother. Martinez decides to push him into the ropes and take him out and being a horrible fighter, fails miserably. Lesser Guzman is able to get him against the ropes and eradicate the 2-15 fighter with body shots about a minute in.

Guzman, just for the record, has fought opponents with a combined record of 7-62-1.

Next fight is up! And I don't know who is fighting here. I decipher it as Melvin Betancourt and Eduardo Mercedes.

ROUND 1:

Betancourt is in the red shoes I think. Both have gold trunks. The announcers can't tell, honestly. Whoever has the red shoes has a good jab. Wild punching by the dark skinned dude. Nothing really landing hard by either man. 

Red Shoes 10-9

ROUND 2: 

The guy with the red shoes is putting on a clinic right now. He's got more dimensions, can jab, move, etc. Hurt his opponent later in the roung with a nice combination. Only major flaw from the person I believe is Betancourt is the lack of a body assault. 

Red Shoes 20-18

ROUND 3:

I can understand enough to know that Betancourt is wearing the red shoes now. Hooray for my ever increasing Spanish vocabulary. He's able to cut down the ring and force Mercedes into the ropes pretty regularly. He does markedly little with that though. All head hunting too. Nearly drops Mercedes with some shots that throw him into the ropes but is forced to clinch in a resulting flurry. 

Betancourt 30-27

ROUND 4: 

Betancourt lands a hard combination and Mercedes almost goes out of the ring. KO win for the kid, bringing him to 4-0 with 2 KOS. 

Next fighters are in the ring now, and honestly, I have no idea who it is again. Oh, wait: Argenis Mendez/Arturo Gomez!

ROUND 1

Mendez is much bigger physically and they start swinging early in the round after Gomez is bothered by a punch. Good exchanges in the first with Gomez often working off the ropes. Lots of head hunting here. Monster right hand turns Gomez's head but doesn't drop him. Right now its looking like either Mendez will have a short night or that Gomez will drag him into deep waters and smash him. Good comeback for Gomez at the end of the 1st and Mendez returns with a near knockdown of Gomez.

10-9 Mendez

ROUND 2

Gomez is taking a beating and then suddenly makes a short comeback over and over again in the span of merely seconds. Good action in the early parts of the round. Mendez gets Gomez against the ropes and is looking for a stop. Lots of fast hands from Mendez, but Gomez has heart. Gomez is dropped with a right hand but the ref doesn't jump in fast enough and doesn't count it. Both men are trading almost the entire round. It only slows near the bell.

20-18 Mendez

ROUND 3

This is definitely not HBO production as the start of the round sees a long shot being left on waaaay too long. 

The two have slowed greatly and that's in Gomez's favor. Mendez may actually be punched out. Gomez is on offense in this round and looks effective. Hooks to the body are landing and Mendez is letting himself get pushed around. Mendez is getting a little wild with his punching, but almost turns the fight around with one crazy counter. Gomez weathered the early storm and he's landing now. Crowd is pretty quiet.

29-28 Mendez

ROUND 4

Gomez returns to offense in this round, pushing Mendez into the ropes and body punching. Good uppercuts inside too. Mendez gets off the ropes and starts moving a little with the jab and is somewhat effective with it, and again gets Gomez into the ropes. Mendez is getting better blocking stuff against the ropes but he's not really countering when in that position. He's letting Gomez look good doing it and when he does land its enough to basically hand the round to the guy. Mendez turns his back at one point and you get the feeling that he's taking a beating.

38-38, draw

ROUND 5

Gomez is briefly affected in this round by Mendez's power advantage but otherwise its another Gomez round. Mendez looks bad constantly ending up in the ropes and flat our running from the journeyman mexican. I mean, Gomez is literally springint after him in the ring at times. Mendez might not make it the distance.

48-47, Gomez

ROUND 6

Better round thus far for Mendez. He's staying off the ropes in this one and not holding as much, so he's able to use his handspeed and reach. Gomez is still able to force his way inside more often than not and land shots. Final minute is all Mendez.

57-57, draw

ROUND 7

Gomez is rocked on a few occasions in this round by right hands thrown by Mendez, who looks like he's got his second wind. He's really establishing the middle of the ring. Second half of the round and Gomez is nearly dropped with a monster right hand and fights his way back off the ropes. 

67-66, Mendez

ROUND 8

Another really good round. Gomez is trying to spark another comeback in this round and Mendez is letting it happen by sticking around on the ropes. Gomez is just going to town when that happens with combination punching. Its generally just shoe shining but looking good is half the battle.

76-76 Draw on my card. Apparently we're going to the official cards.

No surprise, Mendez gets the win in his hometown. Couldn't hear the cards.

Long interlude before what I assume is the main event. Meanwhile boxing is now suddenly on the DirecTV schedule. Figures they just throw it out there randomly when I finally change the channel. 

Carlos Fulgencio vs. Francis Ruiz is next up.

ROUND 1

Fulgencio has the nicer record but is way smaller. At least I think he's the dude in the silver. Oh, no, he isn't. Ruiz throws more but you'd swear these are different weight classes.

Ruiz 10-9

ROUND 2

Lots of static from the mics. That is the major news here. Good thai clinch from Fulgencio. Didn't know that was legal here. 

19-19 

ROUND 3

Ruiz knocks down Fulgencio twice really, really hard in this round early on. I'm surprised the ref let it continue after a rubber legged Fulgencio got up the first time. Fight is stopped after the second knock down.

Its time for the main event! Finally.

ROUND 1

Guzman clowns poor Diaz. All sorts of Roy Jones channelling.

10-9 Guzman

ROUND 2

Guzman is landing some power punches here and there but its a lot of style and flash with not nearly as much actual substance. In other words, I smell decision.

20-18 Guzman

ROUND 3

The highlights are generally good enough to watch. Diaz comes forward being much bigger, Guzman gets super low and is gone after landing a couple pitter pat shots. Repeat over and over and over.

30-27 Guzman

ROUND 4

AND1 boxing, thanks to Joan Guzman. Diaz is putting in effort, sure, but that's about it. My stream is cutting in and out now and the TV is about 5 minutes behind, sadly, so I am not getting the best look at this, but I don't know that its really necessary. Guzman has his hands by his knees by the end of the round. 

ROUND 5

Guzman was a monster at 122 because he was so big and powerful for that weight. At 135, he's got feather fists that happen to be fragile to boot. It sucks because you want to see someone like him be able to actually stop someone and no matter how clean he's landing, it seems far out of reach. Diaz actually lands a punch that forces Guzman back but Guzman is able to recover on the ropes and land about 5 counters with the right hand. 

50-45 Guzman

ROUND 6

Big update: Guzman's tape was coming loose. Other than that, more of the previous 5 rounds. Less flash, perhaps. 

60-54, Guzman

ROUND 7

I remember watching Guzman's fight with Antonio Davis some time ago. It was boring. This is not much better. Sure, it was impressive to see him use his talents but the lack of competition was such that you were lured to sleep.

70-63, Guzman

ROUND 8

I'm basically gonna stop scoring because I've honestly lost interest in this fight. Guzman will win a decision and we can spend another year wondering when he'll rise to the top of whatever division he's in.

LIVE BLOG: Holyfield/Valuev

I came to the party late on this show and missed the tail end of Pianeta's exhibition of mediocre skills. At the moment, Its Mads Larsen against some Italian kickboxer I've never seen before with 0KOs. Yeah. Not too exciting. Right now its 3-0 for Larsen in terms of rounds. I'll pick it up in Round 4.

Round 4:

Larsen is handling Cocco in pretty much all respects here. Cocco wants to press and his best bet at the moment is to just headbutt the former contender. Its kinda funny to watch Cocco because he fights like a Filipino: Very compact, arms in, big looping rights.

40-36 Larsen

Round 5:

The reason people hate buying PPVs like this is because the undercards are generally so rough. Cocco is throwing one jab at a time and has no real defense for a right hook lead to the body. I repeat: no defense for lead right hooks to the body. I don't care if Larsen's a southpaw, you shouldn't land that under any circumstances. Even guys who lead with hooks like Wladimir Klitschko at least hook off the jab.

50-45 Larsen

Round 6: 

Cocco looks like a second rate journeyman against Larsen, who is definititely a second rate journeyman. I think that speaks volumes of the quality of bout presented here. Maybe Larsen could fight a guy like Lacy? That wouldn't be half bad as far as faded ex contenders go.

Cocco is soldiering on and he's just getting tore up. Around the 1:15 mark in the round he takes about 4 body shots in combination, with nothing coming back. His plan is clearly to withstand the punishment and, uhh, do something afterwards. Thing is, Madsen isn't really using up lots of his energy. The announcers (Al Bernstein and Nick Charles) then discuss Jeff Lacy and his overreliance on physical talent over actual skills. Maybe it was good matchmaking too, you know.

60-54 Larsen

Round 7

They're really putting over Larsen as a legitimate contender and while I suppose there's worse things to happen, does anyone really want to see Larsen/Froch? Honestly? 

Cocco is "probably losing this fight" which is an understatement to say the least. Larsen knocks down Cocco and the ref decides not to count it. Cocco is getting ruined in this round with uppercuts and is sent stumbling and stops the bout. Not a bad performance for Larsen. On second thought, forget Lacy. We know he has nothing left. Bute would be good. Kessler should be fighting better but its probably a money fight.

And we get something on tape! Oh joy! Too bad its women's boxing for some flyweight title.

Eileen Olzsewski is from Hawaii by way of NYC and is 40. Nadia Raoul apparently is German and good or something.

Round 1

Olzsewski is fighting tall and has a pretty impressive right hand. Raoul is pretty wild coming in, but the fight is, uh, okay. Passable, I suppose. I give the first to the American.

Olezsewski 10-9

Round 2

Bernstein and Charles talk about how great women's boxing while alternately talking about how there are no decent fighters but that the crowd seems to like it. In other words, they say nothing about the fight. I try to pay attention but my cat is trying to climb into my christmas tree. I'll let it do its thing. Meanwhile, Raoul(e?) is dominant in the round as the American can't seem to deal with the always challenging advanced technique of jab/right hand.

19-19

Round 3

Wild swinging that reminds one of low level MMA. Talk of the Sanders/Holm PPV that 5 people bought. Raoul is just brawlin' away and damaging her American foe with relative ease. Olezsewski's jab is useless.

29-28, Raoul

Round 4

Olezsewski's just not capable of handling the pressure fighting style of her German foe. She lacks the technical skill to keep Raoule off her and is caught with all sorts of looping shots as she pulls straight back. Mr. Sauerland gets some TV time. I am thinking about reheating pizza.

39-37, Raoul(i? e?)

Round 5

Good 'ol Willy Sauerland is credited by the announcers for helping make boxing huge in Germany and Europe as a whole in recent years. How nice of them.

Olezsewski's counter punching is so light but she's got a pretty good chin. She pushes all her punches while the German girl at least puts her body into them. Additionally, Raoule is landing at a far better rate.

49-46, Raouley

Round 6

Olezsewski is trained by her husband who she met while she was apparently a dancer for the Knicks. Also: She would be the ugliest Knicks dancer EVER.

Olezsewski is now circling a little and trying to use movement to gain the advantage after being outworked the last 5 rounds. Every exchange is won by Raoule. Olezsewski's hands are way down, a stark contrast to the beginning of the fight. She's wearing down. 

59-55, Rauoli

Round 7

Apparently Maskaev has been promised a shot at the winner of Vitali Klitschko/Gomez. I think that would matter more if I believed Gomez/Vitali Klitschko was ever gonna happen. I say this because its more important than a P4P for this fight.

Raoule is starting to grunt when she punches. That's the next piece of news I can reasonably give. Also: Raoule is still outlanding and hitting harder.

69-64, Reuli

Round 8

Olezsewski ends up taking a bunch of punches to the grill the second the round starts. You know, that pugilist nose is not something this girl needs to look her best. Her punches are hella slow and she doesn't seem to land them unless she is timing Raoul. Some nice uppercuts from Raoul in this round when she gets inside. Honestly, Olezsewski's husband/corner should think about packing this up.

79-73, Raeouli

Round 9

Somewhere in the background, the Simpsons theme plays. Sounds like a cellphone. Fight is at a good clip, sez Charles, and I agree. Its pretty one sided though. 

89-82 Reyouli

Round 10

10th and final round! Hooray! Admittedly, this will be better than Valuev/Holyfield unless it turns out to be a fixed fight, which there's some signs pointing to it perhaps being in favor of Commander 'Vander. 

Good action in this round with both just throwing bombs and Raoul being much more effective. Actually not a bad fight. Raoul wins on my card 99-91 in a blowout.

96-95 for Olezsewski

96-96 Draw

98-92 for Raoul

Bizarre scorecards, honestly. Among the worst of the year.

Now they're prepping for the main. Lots of talk about how Evander keeps talking about how he can't get off and has been doing that for like, I dunno, a decade.

Grandiose entrance time and the string group doing the anthems. Oh, Germany.

Round 1

Valuev has thrown next to nothing early on, which is like the opposite of his reputation. Just sayin'. Holy is moving pretty decently. Nothing on Valuev's shots either. Holyfield with round 1.

10-9 Holyfield

Round 2

Valuev is on the take, folks. He is giving this fight away. No effort whatsoever.

20-18 Holyfield

Round 3

More of Valuev doing nothing. Best punch is a Holyfield right hand. I think Valuev is gonna end up "koed".

30-27 Holyfield.

Round 4

Case study, kids. Case study. You'll talk about this for years for the wrong reasons.

40-36, Holyfield

Round 5

I'm sitting here considering what's going on. Switzerland has no commission and some interesting banking rules. Valuev hates boxing and a big payday from this would allow him to retire. Sauerland wants Chagaev to hold onto his belt for as long as possible, and Holyfield/Chagaev would do lots fo help that. Don King wants one more payday for Holyfield. All around, this is crap. Holyfield won this round off a single right hand.

50-45, Holyfield

Round 6

Awful.

60-54, Holy

Round 7

Valuev's best round. Holyfield lands about 2-3 overhand rights though that are better than anything done by Nikolay.

70-63, Holyfield.

Round 8

Holyfield maybe throws 5 punches, so Valuev wins.

79-73, Holyfield.

Round 9

There are people who believe this is legit. LOL. How deluded.

89-82, Holyfield

Round 10

Nick Charles: "Valuev has done nothing to win it, and done everything to lose it."

99-91, Holyfield

Round 11

Charles and Bernstein haven't broached the question of whether or not something illegal was at play, but they've done a great job of burying Holyfield. At least there is some honesty. Valuev wins the round thanks to Holyfield throwing less than ten punches.

108-101, Holyfield.

Round 12

No urgency from Valuev. Holyfield gets cornered easily when Valuev seems to not even try, which tells you everything you need to know. 

117-111, Holyfield.

116-112, 115-114, 114-114 for Valuev? LOL. Oh my god.

Holyfield can't form a coherent sentence and you come away from this fight thinking that Carl King must be furious dealing with someone even better at "the game" than he. If you buy into the idea that Valuev was legitimately trying to win, then it was the worst performance of his life. If you think it was all fraudlent, you're wondering where the time went.

TIME DELAY LIVE BLOG: TYC Sports 12/19/08

I have decided to watch this tonight because there is so desperately little on TV. Tonights bouts are from some place in Buenos Aires with a blue and white paint job that is just darling. It is also hella empty. Lots of ads during this telecast for Whitfield/Narvaez already, which is coming in February. Its actually a really good fight. 

Carlos Baldomir video on right now, and it says something about an exclusive tomorrow. Oh, wait, holy shit he's fighting in Belgium tomorrow. Wait, I get to watch Baldomir/Bonsu tomorrow? Hooooooly fuck TYC. It'll probably be highlights only though.

PABLO GODOY/CESAR CUENCA

Godoy is 16-4-1 and I don't have any idea how good he is, though his name is mighty familiar. Cuenca has been pro 6 years like Godoy and has a record of, get this, 34-0 with ONE knockout.

As one might expect, Cuenca is on the outside sorta boxing but he's not like some amazing slickster. He just looks sorta small for the weight he's at. Additionally, he's the one jumping in pretty much all the time. This is a tough as hell round to score also just because both guys are not landing with anything. The best show in the opening round is a low blow by Godoy. Solid uppercut splits the guard of Godoy, and its effectiveness is added to by a headbutt. 

2nd round sees the difference in hand speed being apparent. Another thing that is apparent is that no dude I've ever seen hits as soft as Cuenca. Its like Godoy's face/body are trigger pads and as long as he taps it and registers the hit, it counts as much to him as if he was smashing the shit out of it while everyone in the crowd thinks he's a pussy. 

From this point on, we enter a comfortable rhythm for all: Cuenca circles, throws punches on occasion, lands, Godoy does nothing or flails. Repeat that over and over again. Things change starting in round 7 with Godoy learning to time Cuenca and landing shots in 7 and 8 that actually rock the little man version of Zuri Lawrence. Its just not enough though and Cuenca just keeps on truckin with his game plan in the final two rounds. I think he won by a truck load and so does everyone else. Cuenca wins the Argentine light welterweight title as a result by UD.

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS! Klitschko/Rahman is shown to the stirring sounds of Symphony of Destruction. Boxeo De Primera lurves Megadeth. They show long ass highlights too, like 5 minutes worth. Adamek/Cunningham is also shown. 

RODOLFO MARTINEZ/SERGIO BENITEZ is next. Benitez is from PR and has a not so stunning record of 11-18-3 with only 2 KOs. Martinez is 31-2-1 with 11KOs and comes out to No Sleep Till Brooklyn. I have my pick here.

Martinez just walks down his opponent and beats him up. He's cut up like crazy but still way too wild. Visions of Julio Cesar Garcia rush toward me. Some dude is interviewed briefly and I have no idea who it is or care. Shows over, hooray.

Michael Grant: The Present

You know, in recent boxing history, there's been some pretty amazing reclamation projects. Guys like Glen Johnson, Oleg Maskaev, and even Wladimir Klitschko have all been totally written off by some only to return to greater success than they had previously enjoyed. I say this because I recently paid witness to such an attempt at a reclamation project. 

When touring through my upcoming programs, I noted with shock and surprise that Michael Grant's most recent fight against Paul Marinaccio was to be televised on some of the FSN affiliates. Naturally, I recorded it, and unlike so many of the other events that are shown in two hour blocks, actually viewed it (Jean Paul Mendy/Jason Naugler is among the others, to give you some idea). I skipped over the opener and got right to the meat and potatoes. By round 8 I fell asleep, but I reconvened the next day and picked it right back up again. 

What's been so apparent about those other comebacks is that the guys involved showed aspects that were entirely missing from earlier parts of their careers. Maskaev found the focus he needed just before his physical gifts fell totally apart. Johnson learned enough about how to not get killed coming in and was better than ever doing so, getting him to elevate from being lumped up by Derrick Harmon to knocking out Roy Jones. Wladimir Klitschko stowed away his offense and instead became robotically consistent with his piston jab and right hand combinations. Michael would probably need to show something along the lines of what Maskaev had, matching his brain to his physical abilities here at the end of the line physically for him. 

Instead, Grant is more gunshy than ever. You have to wonder how long it'll be before his promoters cash him out on ESPN2 fighting one of the lower end prospects in the game like Cedric Boswell or Donnell Holmes. To say that a guy who was, just a few short years ago, the HBO heir apparent is in such a position is disheartening but entirely accurate. The undersized southpaw he fought, a guy stopped by CHRIS BYRD, easily walked through Grant's limited arsenal and actually appeared to win at least 4-5 rounds. He might have won 6 of the 12 en route to losing, in large part due to knockdowns created by rabbit punching. 

That motivation, that want to win, that need to be better than his opponent: All of it was vacant. There was simply nothing that made him want to win. He's destined for something along the lines of Abraham/Taylor, IMO, and since Arreola's management is apparently claiming that Klitschko/Arreola is already set in stone for May 12th of next year, I guess using Grant in the capacity of punching bag isn't the worst idea in the world to hype the fight up. Looking at the rankings, I suppose I could get behind the fight along with a February setup card with both men in separate bouts (Klitschko would probably need a tomato can too: why not Maskaev or Chambers?), pull off the May fight, and then have Wlad take that fight with Povetkin in the fall, as they've both apparently been talking about now.

fuck you, fat james toney

that is all

We return! Versus 12/11 w/Adamek-Cunningham

Joseph Agbeko Vs William Gonzalez

SS: Alright. I missed the airing of this due to my ungodly sleep pattern (this come along with working nights, like a creep) so I'm watching a digital copy. I was informed this is a really good card so i look forward to watching the two fights that aired. I know nothing of either guy really but the small guys almost always deliver.

AC: Two nondescript little guys fighting for a title. ESPN and the like have ignored these fights for years for reasons I simply do not emotionally understand. Then I remember how they're all run and it comes back to me in spades. Gonzalez was on HBO Latino a couple years back getting murdered by Jhonny Gonzalez. Agbeko was beyond a no-name when he gought Luis Perez over a year ago and stopped him en route to winning a belt. Both guys have huge KO ratios too.

SS: Agbeko controls the first round with his right hand. Gonzalez is landing some body punches and one ends up straying low but Agbeko barely takes any time to recover. That seemed to slow Agbeko down a little. This turns into a nice little war at the start of the 2nd. This is a really good fight but the momentum is mostly going to Agbeko after round 2. hes landing the bigger more powerful shots. Gonzalez is more than just a live body though. Godbless little guys that beat each other into early death for our entertainment. Things pick way up again in round 9. Gonzalez making a big comeback in this round, arguably winning it. Agbeko is starting to fade at the end of round 10 and things are looking like they are making a turn in favor of Gonzalez. Gonzalez looks way better in the second half of the fight but i don't think he did enough to take Agbeko's title. Agbeko rightfully keeps his title.

AC: I will rewatch this show soon because A) it was great and B) I want to score the rounds. I was too captivated to do that here and I think tht Wally Matthews announcing sorta affects the mentality of some to both fights. Gonzalez comes on very strong in 10 and 11 after we hear forever that he is "wearing down" even as he often out throws Agbeko. Both guys soak up tons of punishment in this. Gonzalez's face is a mess and I really wouldn't mind a rematch given the way 118 looks in the post Jhonny era. Penalosa/Agbeko on the undercard of the next Pacquiao fight would be awesome and entirely plausible.

Steve Cunningham vs. Thomas Adamek

SS: I've been looking forward to seeing Steve Cunningham fight ever since i saw him as a guest on Friday Night Fights this past year. He's a guy that has essentially been forced to fight abroad because of the lack of a cruiser weight division in the US.

AC: About 2006, the Cruisers were red hot. There was a champion again and Showtime was televising numerous events featuring these hard punchers like Braithwaite, Mormeck, Bell, and Jones. Then, as suddenly as it came, it ended. The much demanded Bell/Guillermo Jones showdown was cancelled repeatedly due to problems with Jones, and the division ended up in free fall. Bell and Mormeck rematched in France on a telecast carried by MSG that probably cost them about $5 and some string. Great fight, by the way, especially through 8.

Mormeck soon lost to some British guy who in turn beat a Welsh guy and became a bit of a sensation overseas. Maybe you've heard of that chap? His departure to heavyweight after big game has left a hole in the division and for once in its history, it was immediately filled. Think about that: A new Ring champ was crowned in a few months of the old one bouncing. There were 20 years between Bell and Holyfield.

SS: This is an incredibly hot crowd and all for the Polish fighter Adamek. Cunningham is a man who enjoys jabbing as he should considering Adamek doesn't move his head much. Adamek knocks Cunningham down as round 2 ends and Versus inexplicably goes to commercial. As we come back from commercial it would appear he survived to fight another round. Cunningham keeps his hands very low. its like watching Roy Jones without the talents that allow someone to fight like that. Cunninghanm hurts Adamek bad at the start of the 4th but he wont go down. Adamek knocks Cunningham down again at the end of the round. WOW. This is crazy and awesome. Adamek hammers Cunningham untill the bell ends the round. Adamek knocks him down again near the end of round 8. Cunningham is going to go out on his sword if this is it. But he somehow survives. Adamek has a Margarito chin or something. He eats big shots but never stops. Cunningham is really starting to put the pressure on in round 10 carrying over into 11 but again Adamek manages to come back and hit Cunningham and even things out. Round 12 is another awesome back and forth round. Incredible fight that i feel went to Adamek. Two of the judges agree with me. Split decision victory.

Everyone needs to see this. A definite fight of the year candidate. This is the kind of boxing you show to MMA fans who think boxing can't be exciting or compelling.

AC: Like the last fight, the announcing is way too much in favor of one fighter, in this case Adamek. Cunningham actually outthrows and lands him by a pretty big margin in the fight and thus it'ss as close as it was, though hardly ridiculous to score it for Cunningham in my opinion. Still, it was a great fight and there's little doubt about who the best cruiserweight in the world is. Rematch or Guillermo Jones fight to follow, good things will happen either way.

A new post! Semi-liveblog of TyC Sports Boxing 11/29

I'm doing this on the fly as I watch it post HBO boxing high. 

DIEGO LEDESMA is in the ring in our opening bout. He is 6-3 and came in to some Iron Maiden song I don't recognize. If I don't know it, that means it is new, and I fear change, so it is bad. His opponent has a hype video even and some funny tattoos. He is Hugo Chavez, I am told. I think. Or that's someone else's name. People in the crowd clap during a fast cut. He has bad highlights. Oh, it is DIEGO CHAVES, pro one year, 22 years of age. Record is 4-0 with 4KOs. I have a feeling about this one.

REPLAY OF GLOVES BEING TOUCHED. TYC SPORTS IS YOUR HOME FOR ACTION

Chaves lacks defense and throws really nice left hooks to the body. I would like to see more of him already. They are those glorious kind of left hooks that you only ever see in kick boxing when like Lebanner throws them. You know the kind, with all the leverage and stuff. He does, however, lack Lebanner's wonky and disgusting nose. My fiancee hates his nose. Even I find it physically repulsive. As great a figure as he is, I can never root for him to win the GP unless he gets it fixed. Or maybe if he promised to retire and have plastic surgery?

While I typed, the guy who is supposed to lose was knocked down into the ropes and given a standing 8. Oh well. I can rewind it. I have the powar (holla dude on kaiju that was "fat powar" you were my fav that was not andrew). Upon closer inspection, it was a standing 8 count. God I hate that. Figures Argentina still has it. Second round starts after some fastforwarding and the guy drops the mouthpiece even before getting hit. This is a part of the world where they whistle for displeasure. I think I like it more than happy whistling. This fight annoys me because it continues to exist, and as I type that sentence, the dude who should lose is dropped and can't beat the count. KNOCK OUT KNOCK OUT KNOCK OUT says the announcer man who is losing his shit while everyone in the gymnasium is just okay with it. Diego Chaves has t-shirts with a very simple glove logo and some sort of cartoonish bubble font. Low overhead means low costs to the commoners.

I admit interest as to how TyC Sports pays their bills. There are never commercials for anything but TyC programming. Apparently they are big in their homeland. MOLITOR/CABALLERO highlights. My compadre here is cry. TYC suggests I watch Sportiva, which is some sort of poor Sportscenter or something. I shall pass. I am reminded that I did watch TV Peru's election night coverage. There were two people in a small studio with a black curtain and a flat screen TV looking at like electoral-vote.com. Seating is shown on the floor: It is white plastic lawn chairs. The stackable kind. PROMO VIDEO for Casanova/Acosta. I will go on a limb and say that is the main event. 

And it is! Hector Casanova and Ruben Acosta is the headliner (?). RUBEN ACOSTA prefers the sound of new AC/DC it seems. Pro 6 years, he's 19-3-5 with 5 KOs. Oh, he's about 165lbs, so I guess this is a super middleweight fight. I didn't bother trying to do conversions with the prior fight but I think it was featherweights or something. HECTOR CASANOVA comes in second and has a title belt making him super middleweight champion of Argentina. Pro 12 years, his record is a more lengthy 22-11-0 with 9KOs. Having seen Argentine 168lb fighters previously (notably Valentin Antonio Ochoa), I expect little.

The fight starts and Acosta almost falls over on the ring canvas. It is because the corner is wet. Clearly, needs more Shamwow. Casanova is like twice as big as this dude. I'm guessing Acosta's weight is all a old school steel hip implant. This fight is also boring. It resembles a heavyweight bout in the speed and activity of the combatants. Naturally, a win here probably makes one a top contender to fight Joe Calzaghe (zing!). The basic underlying issue with this thus far is that Casanova's jab is controlling the action to the pont where his opponent is afraid to do anything, and so Casanova can't counter. So there is staring. Casanova lands something and Acosta fires back and hurts his opponent. The last 90m seconds feature a lot of both men throwing hyper wild and missing. Its like watching a pair of dudes from D-League see who can sink the most half court shots.

ROUND 3! I forgot to not use shift and so it came out as "ROUND #" the first few times I typed. The ref looks like the dad from Addams Family. MOAR swinging and missing. Acosta lands and Casanova goes back into the ring. Half of the effectiveness of his attack now involves rushing in after his wild right hand punches with the crown of his head. Mouthpiece falls out of Acosta's mouth due to the heavy duty clinching. Casanova tries to do something approximating combination punching. Acosta is throwing haymakers like all get out. It is like watching someone play Fight Night Round 3 in slow motion. Casanova with some solid shots at the bell. My ass hurts from sitting in one place. 

Round 4 and no one is still reading. Acosta moves his head and the announcer is calling jabs that are not there. He is still excited, perhaps because someone is paying for his input re: this event. Acosta's wild swinging has been dulled by punches to the face in repetition. Not that there were tons, but apparently he doesn't have enough in him to continue with such a game plan. Casanova plods some more and wins the round. 

Round 5: 

Acosta, no jab

'Nova inept, on canvas

bedsore on my ass?

There is excitement! Casanova has no defense and is hurt by a counter left hook thrown by an off balance Acosta, who follows it with a short right uppercut. My hope that the fight would end is dashed by the minimal time remaining in the round. Casanova is warned of headbutts in round 6 even though the other guy is leading with his head. Acosta is still throwing Street Fighter 2 punches, and a right hand/left arm throw drops Casanova again. Another set of haymakers leads to a standing 8. Acosta is all sorts of wild. Big left hook drops Acosta again and its TECHNICO TECHNICO TECHHHHHNICO. Oh thank god. I've been in the car for like 5 hours today and sitting at slot machines and tables for another 2. Being this inert just loses value after feasting like I and everyone else in the country had. 

Stretching/Fast forwarding/drinking some water: swing bout time! FABIO SASTRE SILVA is pro two years going, 5-3-1, 3KOs, and hails from the boxing hotbed of, uh, Montevideo, Uruguay. He promotes subaltur.com, which apparently sells houses for tourist rental. Well. WELLLLLLLL. Right up my alley, fo sho. Next dude is very popular. He is JAVIER MACIEL, is reppin' Florida and has a record of 8-0 with 4 KOs. Why is he in Argentina? No idea.

Maciel may have actually lost the first because he didn't do anything. He fights with the fluidity of C-3PO. Seriously, I wonder if the names given were wrong. Maciel fights like this is points fighting. He is better skilled and more athletic but seems to lack connecting his movements to fighting. Silva probably scraps for free at his local pub or cantina or whatever. Round 3 starts and all I can think is that Maciel raped someone and is avoiding capture. He begins to do things that enthrall as this round starts to end, landing some nice uppercuts. The sorta white guy is hurt with such an uppercut about midway through round 4 but hangs tough. INSERT POP REFERENCE. 

JESUS TE DA LORD says a ringpost. Separation of church and sport? Apparently not here. This is a god that's an awesome god because he's way into pugilism. TRADING OF PUNCHES! LACK OF DEFENSE! Dana would tell you that if boxing wasn't broken, this is what would excite the masses. Then again, I think the masses don't give a shit about Nate Quarry. Could be just me. Meanwhile, the rapist is walking down the guy who can't really box well and then just drops his hand and gets hit and then backs off before reestablishing the chase (which is, unlike what some would claim, is not necessarily better than the catch). Its not that this is bad, just wholly ordinary. 

In the 6th, the punches of the floridian land with graet accuracy. Pretty much everything makes contact, but the second the Uruguian throws punches, Machiel stops. Fight ends because apparently it was only a 6 rounder. Thank goodness. Maciel wins a unanimous decision, crowd is happy.

Heavyweight Top 50

I'm doing this somewhat privately. There will be one probably almost exactly like this posted on Total-MMA prior to the Wladimir Klitschko/Alexander Povetkin bout.

CHAMP: I haven’t had one listed in years. Rules for me filling this are: A) unify three belts OR B) #1 and #2 fight. This is similar to The Ring’s rule, except that I’m not gonna bend to HBO’s demands to make guys champ (see also: Klitschko, Vitali)

1 ) Wladimir Klitschko (-): No change.

2 ) Alexander Povetkin (+1)

3)  Vitali Klitschko (NEW):  To be honest, I hate doing it this way. I find it difficult to justify anything else though. Here is why:

-Vitali Klitschko beat a guy ranked one higher than Povetkin, and did so in splendid fashion....but its his first win over a top ten ranked fighter since I saw the Sanders fight in a hotel room in Kileen, TX. That was April 2004. Furthermore, its only his third win over a top ten ranked heavyweight ever in his 12 year (w/4 year layoff) career. 

-While Povetkin has not faced a fighter that was ranked as high as Peter, he has beaten a pair of top 50 heavyweights (Donald and Ahunanya), a top 15 heavyweight (Byrd) and a top 10 heavyweight (Chambers) in the last 2 years. Combining all that, its far more impressive than a single win.

-Peter is deeply flawed. Yes, he beat McCline, but did he look good? Sure, he beat James Toney twice on my card, but was it impressively done the first time? Does it matter anymore now? Chambers, Donald, and Byrd may all be flawed, but Byrd beat Vitali Klitschko during their meeting, Donald went ten rounds with him (not to mention the Valuev fight), and Chambers has looked fairly solid since.

4 ) Nicolay Valuev (+1)

5 ) Ruslan Chagaev (-1) This is an enormously tough choice as well. Chagaev beat Valuev and was pretty decisive about it, to boot. Valuev then went and looked horrible against Bergeron and it looked all over for the giant. Wins over John Ruiz (the #6 heavyweight last time I did the list) and Sergei Lyakhovich (who was somewhere in the top 20) are far better than Chagaev's comparative resume of numerous cancelled fights and Matt Skelton. 

6 ) Juan Carlos Gomez (+7): You know what beating a top 10 heavyweight does for you? A lot. Gomez beating Virchis shocked some, but I wasn't in that boat at all. He's 35 and grossly over his best fighting weight of about 200-205, and yet he's smoking a lot of the guys he's fought. He's the WBC mandatory for Vitali Klitschko but I can't imagine that fight actually happening. Defines "risk/reward" in the sport and everything. Maybe he can fight Peter for a vacant belt?

7 ) Samuel Peter (-5): If Gomez is talent and potential realized, Peter is the opposite. He argurably lost three of his last five.

8 ) John Ruiz (-2):  You may be surprised to see Ruiz still here. Its not as if Valuev smoked him in their second fight (though it was a better fight for Valuev) and he's still a threat to anyone at the upper end. 

9 ) Sultan Ibragimov (-2): Where is this guy?

10 ) Eddie Chambers (-): Eddie recently beat Livin Castillo at some card at the Blue Horizon. I'm not really sure what his career has in store but he's sadly one of the best this country has for the weight.

11 ) Vladimir Virchis (-3)

12 ) Tony Thompson (-3): Both recently picked up Ls against better fighters. Thompson's performance was as much impressive as it was depressive about Wladimir Klitschko. Virchis ended up fighting someone who's basics are far improved.

13 ) Oleg Maskaev (-2): Beat Robert Hawkins since the Peter loss. Nothing I can say because I've not seen it. Hawkins isn't a bad fighter though and to come back and take a good placeholder like that makes it appear that Maskaev has some sort of future. Not a bright one, mind you.

14 ) Taras Bidenko (+1)

15 ) Lamon Brewster (+3): Wait, Alan...Lamon Brewster is finished! You keep saying that, right? Well, I did. But:

-his record in the last 4 years is pretty damn good outside of, you know

-he stopped Batchelder, even if he was getting outboxed virtually the whole fight.

16 ) James Toney (-)

17 ) Hasim Rahman (-)

18) Shannon Briggs (-4) : Heavyweight graveyard.

19 ) Alexander Dimitrenko (-)

20 ) Chris Arreola (-): Neither man has stepped up at all. Arreola's next big fight is against Travis Walker. Honestly, if Walker can do what he's capable of, Arreola is fuuuucked. Problem is that Walker can easily be outworked.

21 ) Matt Skelton (-)

22 ) Kali Meehan (-)

23 ) Jameel McCline (-)

24 ) Fres Oquendo (-)

25 ) Sergei Lyakhovich (-)

26 ) Kevin Johnson (-)

27 ) Monte Barrett (-)

28 ) Andrew Golota (-)

29 ) Odlanier Solis Fonte (-)

30 ) Travis Walker (-)

31 ) Ray Austin (+1)

32 ) Luan Krasniqi (-1)

33 ) Jean Francois Bergeron (-): Virtually no significant wins among this pool. Ray Austin beat Domonic Jenkins and Solis has beaten Chad Van Sickle and Chauncey Welliver in the closest everyone from #21 to #32 had to beating others since July.

34 ) Jason Estrada (-): Wasted talent.

35 ) Danny Williams (-): Notable, as he has two opponents in November. He hopes to KO John McDermott quickly so he can fight Frans Botha with no ill effects.

36 ) David Tua (-)

37 ) Davarryl Williamson (-)

38 ) Timor Ibragimov (-)

39 ) Malik Scott (-): More mediocrity.

40) Cedric Boswell (NEW): For a good portion of his fight with McCline, looked like the future. Then he was KOed. Recently was brought in as a sacrifice for Roman Greenberg and ruined that dude in 2.

41 ) Michael Sprott (-1)

42 ) Denis Boystov (-1)

43 ) Francesco Pianeta (-1)

44 ) Chazz Witherspoon (-1)

45 ) Sinan Samil Sam: 

46 ) Oliver McCall 

47 ) Friday Ahunanya 

48 ) Michael Grant 

49 ) Brian Minto

50) Evander Holyfield (NEW) : Again, very few changes.

Juan Manuel Lopez vs. Cesar Figueroa (WBO Junior Featherweight Title) 10-04-08

Lopez is a guy i first saw on the under card of that fucking pointless Lockett/Pavlik PPV. He absolutely obliterated Ponce De Leon inside of 1 round. I have been looking forward to seeing him fight again ever since. Epic intro from Lopez complete with pyro straight from 1998 WCW. I know nothing about Figueroa (bare with me here). I'm going to assume hes been brought in to give Lopez an easy win.

Round 1: ohhhhhh man, jab followed by a big right hand and Figueroa is down. first punches of the fight. I don't think hes getting up. And he doesn't. WOW. Dude has some serious power in his hands. 47 seconds of the first round. KO Victory for Lopez and he didn't take one punch.

Content...

Or lack of it on my part. I'm going to start picking up the pace here soon and adding more content to this, the only way for me to get better is to watch and write more about both sports. I think Alan has a few things in the works as well, if I'm not mistaken.

Telefutura: 8/29 & 9/5/08

Okay, I actually watched these last week, but I take notes, you know? One of these days, I'll sit with the laptop in front of the TV. I prefer to be as unencumbered as possible though when watching boxing these days.

8/29:

Latif Mundy vs. Rudy Cisneros: Rudy's only professional loss was to Norberto Bravo over 5, whereas Mundy is a guy who's gotten decent TV time this year out of Philly. Good even fight on paper, and it was that way in reality also. Each round was extremely close, and I was often scoring rounds on single blows that appeared to be the best of their respective rounds. Cisneros won the 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 7th in the 8 rounder to win the fight on my card 76-75. The deciding factor was a point deduction in the 8th round against Mundy due to a low blow. Following that, Mundy sensed something was needed to secure a win, and he attacked Cisneros with everything he had. It simply wasn't enough. Cisneros won a unanimous decision, officially.

Pedro Martinez vs. Reshawn Scott: Two nondescript fighters at the cruiser limit.

Scott was taller and had slightly better skills than Martinez, but was hurt in the first round during an exchange. In round 2, he was dropped hard and the fight was waived off. Not a great TV debut for him.

-CALDERON/CAZARES HYPE TIME!-

WHO? Mike Jones vs. Juliano Ramos: Jones has been given a slew of pretty easy opponents thus far in his young career. His 14-0, 12KO record displays this. Its not at all outlandish to say that his prior two opponents were the best fighters that he had faced in his career (Germaine Sanders & Gilbert Venegas). Ramos, on the other hand, is a young 15-1 fighter from Brazil, hardly a hotbed of boxing. He lost to Jonathan Tubbs, which generally isn't a good sign.

The first 3 rounds were a pretty horrible sight: Jones treated this as a sparring session, merely doing just enough to win but nothing to try and bring the fight to an end. Ramos did nothing, on the other hand. Jones finally began to put the pedal down a little in the 4th, hurting Ramos and keeping him offbalance most of the last minute. Ramos went to try and win it in the 5th, landing a good right hand of his own on Jones' chin, and found that it had no effect whatsoever. Ruh-roh. Jones took it out on Ramos in round 6, hurting him early on and putting him away in brutal fashion as Ramos tried in desperation to hold on. A good one for a highlight reels, but what I'll remember most is Jones' workman like attitude early on. It reminded me of Jermain Taylor and his terminal inability to push the pace offensively in all the wrong ways.

9/5:

I was really excited for this card. It was headlined by a favorite prospect of mine and had an interesting collision on the undercard.

Ray Sanchez III vs. Joaquin Zamora: Sanchez is a huge fraud, with a glossy record, close calls against the Patrick Thompsons of the world, and a stoppage loss to Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Zamora seems like a perfect Sanchez opponent, with a loss to a totally nondescript opponent, then a draw later to an equally noteworthy foe, and then a second loss to Elco Garcia, a fairly well known journeyman/tomato can. He has racked up most of his wins in New Mexico, like Zamora, and had built up a fairly decent 15-2-1 record. My crack research also tells me he was ranked by the WBC for a second or two prior to this bout.

The opening round was close and competitive, but went to Sanchez on my card. It was totally overshadowed by round 2, in which Sanchez was nearly stopped as Zamora began to use the jab to set up his right hand. Sanchez suffered a cut that would cause the fight to be stopped in the following round. A bit unfortunate, but Zamora's win was totally legit. Sanchez, hilariously for a guy who's been on Telefutura numerous times, has middle school level spanish skills. He looks paunchy however, and given his last few performances, he may want to find another career.

Marcos Acosta/Ricky Vasquez: Local boys with records that don't inspire in a 4 round fight. The two men fouled each other numerous times, especially with headbutts and use of the shoulders, as well as displaying little defense or significant offensive skill. Vasquez won the decision.

Daniel Attah vs. Urbano Antillon: Antillon really hit the scene when he bombed out Bobby Pacquiao in a mere round. He's a strong puncher with great offensive skills and tight defense. Attah is a product of Nigeria, and he's fought for a world title on Showtime many moons ago agaisnt Acelino Freitas. He's not done very well in recent years, and was coming back from a long layoff following his loss to Mario Santiago.

Antillon and Attah just go on offense against one another right away, and Attah pays the price. Antillon was true to his form in the Pacquiao fight, forcing Attah to a knee in the third and to a ref stoppage in round 4. Attah was just outgunned by the larger man, who used a full array of punches to put him down and out.

Robert Marroquin vs. Gino Escamilla: I think I've seen Marroquin before on Telefutura in a similar role of being the swing bout. He was on the undercard of two different events they've televised this year. Escamilla I know nothing about and his 5-3-1 record indicates I need to do no serious research.

Marroquin won every single round of the fight on my card and was a clean 59-54 sweep on the judges cards. Escamilla was down in round 3, but Marroquin couldn't take him out. He looked like a poor finisher, to be frank.

Yutaka Niida vs. Roman Gonzalez (WBC Minimumweight Title)

Yutaka Niida vs. Roman Gonzalez (WBC Minimumweight Title 09-15-2008)

I haven't heard of either guy. This popped up on the boxing torrent site i use and i decided to give it a download seeing as how the little guys usually deliver in a big way. I also needed to kill time before the Arce/Conception Solis/Samudio torrent was finished downloading.

Round 1: Roman shows his power early and has Niida backing up for most of the round. Niida counters here and there but Gonzalez is lighting him up with clearly more powerful punches. 10-9 Gonzalez

Round 2: A hard right hook from Gonzalez gets Niida's attention early. Niida again is mostly on the defense here. Nice ripping shots to the body from Gonzalez. Niida doesn't land much of anything and his face is getting marked up already. 10-9 Gonzalez

Round 3: Gonzalez turning the pressure up very early and they start trading punches, Niida is up for it it seems. Things slow down after the initial flurry from both. Niida on his bike now avoiding Gonzalez. Gonzalez is an animal always coming forward landing big body shots and uppercuts. Nidda is not looking good at all. 10-9 Gonzalez

Round 4: Gonzalez must know Niida is ready to go. hes chasing him all over the ring, Niida letting a few combos off but it does little to discourage Gonzalez. Niida is really getting beat up now, his corner should think about stopping it. They stop it to check on a cut above Niidas eye and the Dr halts the bout in round 4.

Niida looked overmatched and Gonzalez showed why he's 21-0 with 19ko's.