Our First Pound-For-Pound Top 20 List Of 2009

By Tim Starks

As usual, my criteria includes, in approximate order of importance: recent activity, career achievement and overall ability.

1. Manny Pacquiao (junior welterweight): Some might make an argument for Pacquiao’s rival Juan Manuel Marquez to take the spot, and I wouldn’t put up too much of a fight, but it’s not the argument I’d make. It’s my personal opinion that Pacquiao and Marquez should be 1-1 against each other right now, but the record says Pacquiao’s 1-0-1 against Marquez. And as good as Marquez was this weekend, Pacquiao still has an overall better career resume. Only losing to Ricky Hatton in May can drop him from the #1 spot, really, and winning would put more distance between #1 and #2. Manny’s the best. He’s likely going to stay that way at least until he fights Floyd Mayweather, Miguel Cotto, Marquez again or Shane Mosley, and even then he could just as easily sweep that fearsome foursome. Which is not the same as saying it would be easy. read more

Filed under: Bernard Hopkins, Israel Vazquez, Jermain Taylor, Juan Manuel Marquez, Kelly Pavlik, Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao, Miguel Cotto, Nate Campbell, Rafael Marquez, Ricky Hatton, shane mosley, Vic Darchinyan

Top Rank Goes It Alone

By Thomas Hauser

Don’t get carried away by the title of this article. It would be a stretch to liken Bob Arum to Gary Cooper in High Noon. But in recent weeks, there has been talk of a new economic model in boxing. And Arum, in tandem with Todd DuBoef (his stepson and the president of Top Rank) might be charting a path out of the wilderness that the sweet science has wandered through in recent years.

Arum is an old-time promoter who is adapting to today’s economic and technological realities. “I don’t look back,” he says. “I’m seventy-eight years old. If I look back, I’d stumble and fall, so I just look forward.” Then he adds, “Boxing needs to move into a new era. We have to face realistically what’s going on in the world and present our product in different ways.” read more

Filed under: Bob Arum, Erik "El Terrible" Morales, Erik Morales, Floyd Mayweather, Freddie Roach, Kelly Pavlik, Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao, Miguel Cotto, Oscar de la Hoya, top rank promotions

Doghouse Boxing’s Top 20 Pound-for-Pound Fighters

By German Villasenor

1. Manny Pacquiao (Super Lightweight – 140 lb.)
Heir to Floyd Mayweather, spot further solidified with domination of De La Hoya, retirement of Calzaghe.

2. Juan Manuel Marquez (Lightweight – 135 lb.)
Recent stoppage of lineal champion Casamayor in first bout at lightweight, along with close fight with Pac-man last year, clearly deserving of number two on my list.

3. Bernard Hopkins (Light Heavyweight – 175 lb.)
Fought about even with Calzaghe (formerly number 2 on my list) though in a losing effort, went on to dominate previously unbeaten Kelly Pavlik.

read more

Filed under: Antonio Margarito, Bernard Hopkins, Israel Vazquez, Juan Manuel Marquez, Kelly Pavlik, Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao, Rafael Marquez, Ricky Hatton, shane mosley, Vic Darchinyan

British lambs to the slaughter

by Mark Gregory

Let me first of all preface this article by saying that ultimately boxing is all about levels, and that at Madison Square Garden on the 21st of February, Miguel Cotto demonstrated – as most expected – that he was a clear level or two above Manchester’s Michael Jennings. Let me also say that British fighters are no more prone to being the victims of one-sided ‘world’ title defeats than fighters of any other nationality.

The purpose of this article is to explore some potential reasons why the likes of Michael Jennings and Gary Lockett – the two most recent examples of Brits being outclassed in overseas ‘world’ title fights – find themselves beaten without even having the chance to steal a round or two from their more celebrated opponents. read more

Filed under: Antonio Margarito, Kelly Pavlik, Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao, Manny Pacquiao, Miguel Cotto, Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton, Ricky Hatton, shane mosley, Sugar Shane Mosley, top rank promotions

Cotto, Pavlik victorious in return, now what?

by Ricardo Lois

A pair of young stars coming off deflating losses, welterweight Miguel Cotto and middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik, notched knockout victories Saturday night. Separated by 349 miles, Cotto outclassed chippy Brit Micheal Jennings via fifth round technical knockout at Madison Square Garden in New York City and Pavlik took nine rounds to make Marco Antonio Rubio call it a night on his stool in Youngstown, Ohio. read more

Filed under: Antonio Margarito, Golden Boy, Kelly Pavlik, Manny Pacquiao, Miguel Cotto, shane mosley, top rank promotions

Cotto Crushes Jennings in Five

By David Kolb

NEW YORK – In what turned out to be nothing more than an overhyped sparring session against an unproven and unknown Michael Jennings, Miguel Cotto pasted the Chorley, England product in five quick rounds at Madison Square Garden Saturday night.

Jennings, who was touted as a “top rated contender” by the publicists, proved to be nothing of the sort as he was crushed before the fight even hit the halfway point.

Cotto, who undoubtedly has had a myriad of emotions since losing to Antonio Margarito last year, looked like he had little trouble getting back in the ring after his career’s longest layoff. read more

Filed under: Bob Arum, Kelly Pavlik, Marco Antonio Rubio, Michael Jennings, Miguel Cotto, top rank promotions

Pavlik Returns to Stop Rubio on his Stool

By Gabriel Montoya

Coming into to Saturday night’s showdown at the Chevrolet Centre in Youngstown, Ohio between challenger Marco Antonio Rubio (43-5-1, 37 KOs) and Middleweight Champion Kelly Pavlik (35-1, 31 KOs), the question was what kind of set back, if any, would Pavlik following his one-sided loss to Bernard Hopkins last year. After nine one-sided rounds from a returning to middleweight form Pavlik against a reluctant Rubio, we still don’t have the answer. What we got was a better than average opponent for a tune-up fight where Pavlik boxed patiently behind a double, sometimes triple jab that set up his telephone pole of a right hand all night. Rubio for his part, fought back in sporadic spurts, offering little resistance and getting off his firepower rarely.
read more

Filed under: Bob Arum, Kelly Pavlik, Marco Antonio Rubio, Michael Jennings, Miguel Cotto, top rank promotions

A Necessary Evil

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By Steve Kim

I’ve gotten more than a few emails from you loyal readers of Maxboxing, stating that you absolutely will not be forking over your hard-earned money for this weekend’s pay-per-view featuring the return of Miguel Cotto and Kelly Pavlik. Folks, I feel your pain, these are hard times (cue RUN DMC). And both Cotto and Pavlik, two stars of the Top Rank promotional stable, are facing opponents that are considered heavy underdogs as they are brought back judiciously from their first professional blemishes. read more

Filed under: Antonio Margarito, Kelly Pavlik, Manny Pacquiao, Miguel Cotto, pacman, pacmonster, Ricky Hatton, top rank promotions

ATE: Hand-Wrap-Riddle, Barrera-Khan, Mosley-Hatton-Pacquiao, Williams-Wright, Jermain’s Mouth, Calzaghe Retires and More

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secondsout.com

In today’s edition of Ask The Editor (ATE), we take an in-depth look at the Antonio Margarito hand wrap scandal, question what might happen if Amir Khan does beat Marco Antonio Barrera and consider if the winner of Ricky Hatton vs. Manny Pacquiao would be the right fight for Shane Mosley. We look at Paul Williams vs. Winky Wright for the first time, critique what Jermain Taylor is saying about Carl Froch, continue to analyse Joe Calzaghe’s retirement and close Michael Norby’s backyard window. read more

Filed under: Amir Khan, Jermain Taylor, Joe Calzaghe, Kelly Pavlik, Manny Pacquiao, pacman, pacmonster, Paul Williams, Ricky Hatton, Winky Wright

Miguel Cotto Talks Jennings, Antonio Margarito, More

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boxingscene.com

Bob Arum: We have Miguel Cotto on the line. He is fighting for the vacant WBO welterweight championship on Saturday, February 21st. On the same card will be a fight between John Duddy and Matt Vanda. And then after those fights have taken place we will go to Youngstown, Ohio for Kelly Pavlik’s defense of his middleweight title against Marco Antonio Rubio. The fights are being shown on Pay-Per-View television for a suggested price of $44.95. read more

Filed under: Antonio Margarito, Bob Arum, Kelly Pavlik, Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao, Manny Pacquiao, Miguel Cotto, top rank promotions