Hey guys!

I've recently received my boxing passport for amateur boxing but had my last match canceled (well, my first boxing match) b/c the opponent didn't show. Here's my last kickboxing match which took place on Feb. 25th and I'm slated to have a kickboxing match on June 23rd. Here's a vid of my last match:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Q9qJArM7Js

Different angle:

http://youtu.be/LTs9baqhm6Q
http://youtu.be/UR6EYEKSJuU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6c0nejOXxrI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXGRX-4666E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mAXSW4hhiU

I've been officially training in boxing since January, and will probably try my best to compete in boxing and kickboxing as often as possible. At some point I'll train more jujitsu and wrestling with friends to get into mma. But the sweet science is definitely of my favorite sports. Here's my first fight, but I was uber nervous. :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2A12u0LB25c&feature=youtu.be

Also, the recent fight I'm way sloppier than I'd like, but I guess a big part is nerves. I only remember like 3 exchanges in the whole fight. Hahaha... Have a nice day! Lemme know what you think! I know my hands were down and I didn't move my head enough, and that I sometimes stick out my chin when I attack without knowing. Pc!

Hey guys,

So we got Adrien Broner, Mikey Garcia, and Gary Russell Jr. at featherweight. All three great talents with speed, accuracy, and their own strengths. What do you think of them? Where do you think they will go?

Unfortunately Gamboa is leaving that division when it was about to get red hot, but his fighting Rios is a real fun fight. You add JMM wanting to fight Mercito Gesta (a great filipino lightweight) at 135, things can mix up and get ugly!

Other featherweight title holders or worthy mentions are Salido, Juanma, Ponce De Leon, Gonzalez, and maybe Cabellero and Hasegawa. Do you think everyone will mix it up at one point to a very beautiful soup? Will Donaire ever move up to 126 or 135 any time soon to mix it up? Things can erupt in the lower divisions in a way that 147 or 154 hasn't lately.

I'm very excited about all these talents.

I'd say Broner is like a tricky, slick offensive fighter with some good counters, and good hand and foot speed. A very good athlete. Garcia is a very methodical, careful, and powerful boxer puncher. He waits and finds openings and pieces his opponents apart. Russell is an offensive powerhouse who overwhelms opponents with speed, angles, and volume. Mercito Gesta to me sort of fights like Garcia... intelligently and carefully, and strikes with great power and accuracy.

Let the good times roll!

Hello Everyone! I was just rewatching Cotto-Torres today and thought, damn! This is one of my favorite fights of the last 10 years. So what are yours?!

In no particular order:

1.) Cotto-Torres

Cotto gets strafed and keeps coming back with that left hook. His conditioning and his heart really came through in a way that the more talented Victor Ortiz didn't against Maidana. A real classic.

2.) Casamayor-Katsidis

LOOVVE this fight. Katsidis was such a warrior, and Casamayor just went through the meat grinder. I love the back and forth and I got to really like Katsidis after this fight. Too bad he's always been just shy of the world title, but I hope he gets it someday.

3.) Berto-Collazo

Still one of my favorite fights. I loved the back and forth, and thought Collazo really outworked him on the inside and eventually outboxed him on the outside with skill and timing.

4.) Pacquiao Morales 3

I thought this fight showed the evolution of Pacquiao into a two handed fighter, and his right hook and superior footwork were on display in this fight.

5.) Ward-Miranda

I've always been an Andre Ward fan since 2004 when I read an article about him on Men's Health magazine. Edison Miranda represented his first step up agst a named opponent and he fought through a cut via headbutt in the first round and dominated Miranda.

6.) Mosley-Margarito

Many people like to downplay Mosley's last dominant and great performance, but I'd say everyone and their mamas were betting against Mosley that night, and thought he'd go down Ali-Foreman/Balboa-Drago style that night, and he really shined. You can state all you want about the hand wraps and Margarito's "state of mind", but Margarito was really agst an older figher on the downside who hadn't had a great career victory in years, got beaten by Cotto in a close fight two years back, and was smaller. Margarito by all accounts should have steamrolled through Mosley, except Mosley, who was going through a divorce and a change of trainer at the time came strong with his new head coach Nazim Richardson and boxed beautifully, slowed down Margarito's momentum, and outslugged him without getting hit ("swim without getting wet"). Though Mosley usually doesn't get credit for this, he beat a better Margarito than Pacquiao fought and that Cotto rematched. He's also the only person in recent history to legitimately knockout Margarito.

I'll probably add more later. And of course I didn't become a hardcore boxing fan until about 2006 b/c I didn't grow up with cable. Have a nice day!

	1	Juan Manuel Marquez		53-6-1 (39)	42
2	2	Brandon Rios		29-0-1 (22)	42
3	3	Miguel Vazquez		29-3 (13)	42	01-28 vs Ameth Diaz
4	4	Antonio DeMarco		26-2-1 (19)	18
5	5	Jorge Linares		31-2 (20)	42
6	6	Ricky Burns		33-2 (9)	7
7	7	Kevin Mitchell		32-1 (24)	22
8	8	Urbano Antillon		28-3 (20)	42
9	9	Michael Katsidis		28-5 (23)	13
10	10	Gavin Rees		35-1-1 (16)	15

So, remember when 147 was the "red hot" division before Mayweather came out of retirement and took a big dump on it? (Williams, Margarito, Cintron, Berto, and other fighters couldn't get good fights while Floyd took the division hostage and moved up or fought no-name contenders) Also, when 126 was the "red hot" division with a promise of a super fight at feather weight between Juanma vs. Gamboa in the January of 2010 when the Mtagwa and other contender double header to set up the mega fight... except Gamboa looked a little "too exceptional" against Mtagwa... and the fight "that's been brewing" got axed once Salido knocked out Juanma and now Gamboa will move up to 135. Beauitiful! To add to that beautiful BLH Rankings list up there, we can add Gamboa and Mercito Gesta (who I think fights beautifully, has a nice right hook, and fights sort of compact, smart, and powerful like a Mike Garcia at 135).

Here's a short clip of Gesta:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoxcvQD6rso

And now will promoters or networks choose to capitalize on this hot division by pitting these contenders and titleholders against each other? We can have a four person tournament, or simply more promotions by Golden Boy like Latin Fury and Lightweight Lightning. This division is scalding hot, and offers expire soon! Fighters could always move up in weight, duck each other, or simply take long lay offs and get exposed. I hope this division stays active in 2012. Can't wait to see what they decide to do! Pc!

Hello everyone. Here's my vouch for Timothy Bradley. Overall, my assessment is that he has all the skills needed to be a reigning champion and has the complete package. Many will disagree or will say negative things about him. This is how I feel and here's why:

Bradley has great speed. His handspeed is above average, and though he's no Khan, he's definitely above average and probably in between above average and top of the elite as far as speed/explosivenes. Next, his footwork and footspeed are quite good, and are comparable to Khan's in my opinion. On top of that he uses his feet effectively which means he uses it to evade attacks and counter/box, and he uses it to get in or out of battle/exchanges effectively.

Bradley has decent power. Does he have KO power? Nope, but he's hurt most of the good opponents that he's been against and has knocked down Junior Witter and Lamont Peterson. He had also made Kendall Holt look like he did not want to fight, and Holt has never been the same afterward. If you want to talk about power at 140 then Randall Bailey and Kendall Holt and Ricardo Torres come into the conversation. Even though Bradley doesn't have their "pop" he is still a better fighter than all three of them, and was relentless and aggressive enough to outwork Holt, Alexander, Witter, and Peterson.

Bradley is slick. What? You mean with his headbutts? No. He has great head movement and blocks and picks off a lot of shots. He rarely gets hit flush and usually sees punches coming. His foot speed also helps him move effectively when he's being attacked and his overall sense of boxing and lateral movement helps him to defend and efficiently go straight back to attacking or countering.

Bradley can in fight. Bradley likes to take opponents on the inside and wail hooks on their body and head. Though people say his hooks are wide they also land and land often. His body attacks wear down his opponents' strength and will. His rounds 3 and 4 with Peterson were admirable because they traded body shots for those rounds.

Bradley is not a runner, he's an offensive fighter with good defense. He's quick to bring the fight to the opponent which makes me wonder why some people think "Timothy Bradley fights are boring." How are they boring? He punches in high volume, brings the fight to the opponent, punches hard enough to hurt or keep opponents honest, and usually wins on will and relentlessness as much as he does on skill and guile. I think every time he fights it's a great display of skill and fighting aggression (except for the Casamayor fight in which he was going for the one punch KO in every punch, which made him load up and not throw as many effective combinations, nor did he move his feet enough etc.).

Bradley has a high Ring IQ. I feel this is his most valuable asset and the reason I'd put him as being better or able to outdo most elite fighters between 135-147 today minus the guy who is called Floyd (mugshot!). I feel he could easily outbox, and later on outwork Khan. I feel he could out guile, out box, and out counter Manny Pacquiao. His speed will give Pacquiao trouble, and his lateral movement, his beautiful jab, and his body work/stamina would wear Pacquiao down.

Bradley has great timing. He can gauge his distance well, he can time his opponents well and the fact that he's fast also makes him able to be an accurate volume puncher.

To me, Bradley has all the tools, and despite what people say about his "boring fights/style" or "his cheating headbutts" I feel Bradley has all the tools and guile that make up "The Sweet Science" which is to "hit and not be hit." (not to KO and absorb punishment along the way). See ya!

Sooo... like it or not, Lamont Peterson is now the Unified IBF and WBA Jr. Welterweight World Champion. So what's next? Some people including Lamont Peterson himself believes he should give Khan an immediate rematch. Sure, why not? He will make another generous payday and he's a game fighter (like Shane Mosley) who would (and has) fight any fighter at any time. However, here's the long and short: if Lamont Peterson fights Khan again he will make a good paycheck, but if he loses to Khan he will fall back into contender obscurity and who knows when he'll get another shot?

If the roles were reversed here's what probably would have happened: Khan would have moved up to 147 all along bragging about how good he was and how though it was a tough fight he never wanted to stay at 140 or fight smaller fish like Peterson who are good but not good enough to give him a challenge or a paycheck. He would cite how he's always been after Floyd and the big fish and would want to fight at Welterweight. And in essence, he would never rematch Peterson until years later if the money is right (and his team would carefully protect him from certain fighters) such as the case with Maidana and Prescott.

Right now Peterson is on the thrown. He has two belts, world acclaim, and the chance to make millions for years to come. If it were up to me I'd say he should hold off on Khan because he took so long to get where he was. He should make a few title defenses to earn money and acclaim. Then meanwhile he can sit and wait on the winner of Maidana vs. Alexander, Ortiz vs. Berto, maybe Pacquiao vs. Mayweather (even though it was sparring he did apparently beat up Floyd in a two day sparring session while Floyd was preparing for Marquez in Las Vegas), or make a few defenses and unify with Timothy Bradley in a rematch (okay, not a money maker but name/glory maker). I feel Peterson has earned the right to make millions, to be on the best p4p list, and to pick and choose his opponents for a little while.

Some fighters are given a red carpet (De La Hoya, Leonard, Khan) and some have to earn it the hard way (Hearns, Hagler, Pryor). Peterson belongs to the latter and should hold on and work smartly as long as he can. The fighter in me LOVES Shane Mosley. He never backed down from a challenge. When he was on top of the world he DIDN'T have to fight Vernon Forrest, a tall rangy boxer with power and HIGH ring IQ, and he certainly didn't have to fight him twice. The same goes with Winky Wright. And no one would have forced him to fight a Prime Cotto (something Floyd, Pacquiao, and any modern "Great" hasn't done) and even after that fight Mosley had called him out for years for a rematch. However, Mosley didn't know how and/or did not want to stay on top of the mountain for long the way Floyd does (market himself, pick and choose his competition, and look spectacular while doing it). In the end many fans ridicule him for having nothing and having "losses." ( An aside: Mosley has fought Winky, Oscar twice [better version that fought Floyd and Pacquiao], Cotto [better version that fought Pacquiao], Vargas, Mayorga, Collazo, Margarito... and grant it these are top fighters that are 1 or 2 generations apart!) Peterson can learn from Mosley and milk a cow for what it's worth for now, and then cash out later. Or more so Peterson can take a page out of Floyd and Khan's book and bask in the limelight while carefully guiding their career and business. That's just me. Whaddaya think??

So... Lamont Peterson is a huge underdog against Amir Khan this weekend. People will cite Amir Khan's speed (both feet and hands) as his advantages for victory and his athleticism and still others are enamored with his charisma and superstar appeal. However, I am one to stand up for Lamont Peterson as not just a "tough cookie", but with a legitimate chance at an upset. I am also a DC native, so that might be a small factor but I've seen some real evolution in Lamont's game. Here's the basic breakdown:

Khan:

Khan has extremely fast hands. They were on display against Marcos Maidana and also against Zab Judah. The opponents did not see the punches coming and he is able to mix up his punches enough so that they do not know where they're coming from. Also, in an interview Rashad Holloway (who is the chief sparring partner of Manny Pacquiao at the Wild Card Gym) said that he felt Amir Khan has faster hands than Pacquiao and Pacquiao had the faster feet. Amir Khan is tall for his weight, he has that long and fast jab, and he has a high volume. He also has power in both hands and is a lot more rugged than people have gave him credit for after the Prescott loss. His going 12 rounds with Maidana and daring Maidana to hit him on the ropes speaks to his heart and warrior mentality. Khan is tall, rangy, long, and fast as hell. He's a tough nut to crack for anyone.

Peterson:

Peterson first jumped on the World scene in a Unanimous Decision against Timothy Bradley in the December of 2009. Bradley was on the rise and Peterson was hoping to meet him at this crossroads and take away his glory and his belts. Peterson lost a clear victory, and despite what people say about his "being game" in that fight, in all honesty I felt Peterson was visibly nervous and tentative in the fight. Also, he admitted to have thrown his game plan out the door when he was hurt by the right hands in the 1st and 2nd round, and Timothy Bradley beat him to the punch almost every time. Also, with every body shot Peterson landed Bradley returned 2 or 3. I did not score a close round at all for Peterson. To add, Peterson used to have 20-30 second lulls when he didn't throw punches at all and just seemed tentative at the elite level. However, then came the Victor Ortiz fight. Ortiz had his way with Peterson early and scored two knockdowns on him in a 10 round fight. A real gimme right? Then Ortiz had flashes of Maidana and ran away the rest of the fight. As that happened Peterson stepped up to the plate and battered and outboxed Ortiz the remaining rounds. Peterson sort of found his "voice" that fight and in the title shot eliminator against Victor Cayo he had his coming out party:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKn0a5NgfxI&feature=related

He was able to up his volume, up his aggression, his defense was in place, and he went HARD to the body and had thudding shots to the head (left hooks and overhand rights). Lamont's thudding power in my opinion is a testament to his work on the heavybag and the "punch shield:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4o_xtGhbCSo 3:48 on the video.

What I truly liked was when Lamont gauged Cayo's timing, he was able to shoulder roll the punch and come back HARD with a right hook to the chest. His commitment to the body, his defense, and his increasing volume in fights as well as speed could smell upset against Amir Khan.

**IN ADDITION***

People still might cry "speed kills" in this matchup and that's the end all and be all of boxing. However, as we witnessed in the last Pacquiao fight: timing nullifies speed. Peterson is the more skilled boxer between the two and Peterson has fewer holes and weaknesses than Khan. Here's another breakdown:

Khan:

Athleticism: A

Hand Speed: A+

Foot Speed: A (though he has happy feet sometimes, and runs without boxing)

Power: A

Defense: C

Ring Generalship: B

Fundamentals: B-

Heart/Grit: A

Chin: C+

Endurance: A-

Ring IQ/Ability to Adapt: C, He never really had an answer for Maidana's uppercut, and sitting on the ropes with the middle open between his gloves and asking for more was not adapting.

Countering Ability: B, Not the best and not the worst. His hand speed helps in this area.

Body Punching: A, However, it's under utilized. He was able to drop Maidana in the first round. He does not commit to the body so that he has A ability, but a C or D when seen how it's used across a fight.

Corner/Trainer: A+, Freddie Roach, the general. He makes great game plans and gives good advice in between rounds. He's also top at conditioning athletes in training camp.

Peterson:

Athleticism: B

Hand Speed: B+

Foot Speed: B

Power: B

Defense: A+

Ring Generalship: B+

Fundamentals: A+

Heart/Grit: A+

Chin: B+

Endurance: A

Ring IQ/Ability to Adapt: B+, He's sometimes slower to adapt, but he does eventually (citing the Ortiz fight and the Cayo fight).

Countering Ability: A-, He uses his shoulder roll when he gauges his opponent's timing. He's sharp and can find holes in an opponent's armor.

Body Punching: A, He has thudding body punches and he always commits to it every time.

Corner/Trainer: B+, Barry Hunter. Seems like he knows what he's doing. I'm not completely bought on him yet, but Lamont is improving in every fight so this could change my opinion.

**

As we see, if people put too much weight on Amir Khan's "hand speed and athleticism" and/or flashier style and "wow" factor than yes it looks like Khan will dominate. But Lamont Peterson has the ring IQ and fundamentals to break down Khan's style. Khan has a tendency to run and not box. He has holes in his defense (the uppercut) and he has problems adapting sometimes. I feel because of those factors, Peterson has a REAL chance of picking Khan apart and making Khan look bad in the championship rounds.

Anyone want to bet/wager crow on this one?

See ya!

1.)  Marquez stepped on his foot!  Response:  It's part of boxing.  It might be borderline dirty, but it's a boxing tactic.  How come the corner nor the referee or even Pacquiao caught it or complained about it.  It's also a common occurrence between orthodox and southpaw fighters.  I read someone also saying that Pacquiao did it just as many times to Marquez.

2.)  Marquez had mysterious liquid!  Response:  It's Pedialyte, and it was preapproved by the commission.

3.)  Pacquiao was the aggressor!  Response:  Yes, he walked right into looping right hands, the air, left hooks to the body, and counter left uppercut/right cross combos. 

4.)  Boxing points are award to those that move forward!:  Response: Yes, b/c Pacquiao was losing the fight against Hatton before he knocked him out, or Pacquiao was getting "outpointed" by the aggressor Margarito throughout the fight, or Cotto until the fight got stopped.  Also, Sergio Martinez lost to Paul Williams, Muhammad Ali fights like a sissy (b/c he fights on his back foot), and counterpunching in general is a form of running and should not be scored or rewarded!

5.)  Even though Pacquiao looked terrible, he still won the fight and he should retire because he's slowing down!  Response:  Umm... huh? 

6.)  Look at the numbers, Pacquiao landed the most shots and threw the most punches and was the aggressor!  Response:  Compubox is a load of crap.  They awarded Pacquiao for shots that grazed, that were partial connects, or shots that never landed.  Compubox from my understanding is consisted of three people (who can very well be influenced) who click a button every time a punch is landed.  It's not 100% accurate, and in this case, not even 50% accurate for that matter.  HBO crew and compubox was bunk that night. Also, I honestly thought Pacquiao landed about 3-5 clean shots on Marquez the whole fight!  I dare someone to count for me how many shots Pacquiao actually landed (it wasn't over 100, I'll tell you that!).  Holler!

Well, in my opinion Pacquiao could still do well against Floyd if they ever faced.  I'd like to first preface this with the fact that for the past 2 years I've stated that the fight is NOT going to happen.  They've actually went into negotiation in the DECEMBER of 2009!  So one or the other have dicked the fans over for the past 2 years, and now that one or both are faded we MIGHT get a fight.  I think if it does happen it would happen too late.  Maybe it'll have the relevance of Bhop vs. Roy Jones someday.

Either way I feel Pacquiao could still do well against Floyd.  Yes his foot speed and volume have diminished a bit, but he still has the hand speed.  Also, Floyd doesn't do well against southpaws (Judah, Corley, Ortiz).  If Pacquiao throws at high volume and improves (or learns!) his ability to cut off the ring then we might see fireworks.  Last Saturday's performance is not necessarily a telling sign of how Pacquiao would do against Floyd.  Marquez has Pacquiao's number and can: neutralize his offense, counter his shots, time him, and miraculously take his shots without getting hurt (is Marquez on PED's??!  haha).  As someone on this forum pointed out: a shell defense is very different from stepping off the line to set up the counter.  A shoulder roll  is only a good counter for a straight right hand, not a left cross.  Pacquiao's right hook will go over top the lowered left hand, and his left hand will hit Floyd on the button when he leans away or dips down.  In the same way Marquez did well agst Pac, Martinez would do well agst Pac even if Sergio were smaller.

There's talk from Ariza of Pacquiao taking his last few fights lightly.  If that's the case (and we can agree we didn't see Pac on his toes, side stepping while throwing 5-8 punch combos, throwing punches from all directions, the endless endurance and beastliness, his clapping his gloves for more, his Manilla Ice) then we may see another dazzling Pacquiao performance.  All he needs is a tune up fight in early 2012, and by then people will forget the Marquez controversy and May 5 will roll around the corner.  But now I think Pacquiao's team is protecting him.

It's ironic how he ring walks to Eye of the Tiger when he's obviously lost it.  Maybe Rocky 3 was just a good movie and that's why he likes it.  And this is coming from a Pacquiao fan who had decided to cheer for Marquez this time around b/c I thought he deserved some recognition.  Holler!

So a great night of boxing has passed, and I felt in my opinion Marquez decisively beat Pacquiao.  I felt the HBO crew (it was loud in the bar, so what I heard of the crew) were really going Pac-crazy, and Harold Lederman sounded senile.  There were some clear rounds in which Marquez out-punched and out-countered Pacquiao, and Chump-U-Box numbers had Pacquiao OUTLANDING Marquez because he threw a few sloppy flurries and all of them were counted (or maybe he sneezed and Chump-U gave him two power punches landed). 

So here it goes:  I felt Marquez stunned Pacquiao early with his movement and his counter punching.  The looping right found it's home, the dodging and slipping of the left hands, and Marquez took the few left hands that landed very well.  After about 3 rounds I saw the look in Pacquiao's eyes that "this is going to be a looong night!  I shouldn't have signed up to be a Senator!"  I also thoroughly enjoyed JMM's left hooks to the body, and the counter left uppercut -right cross combination.  Marquez neutralized Pacquiao's offense earlier on, and simply had Pacquiao and his corner at a loss for solutions.  

Also, I felt Pacquiao's legs looked to be slowing down.  Gone are the days like the fights against De La Hoya, Clottey, and Cotto when he was light on his toes, moving to the right while throwing 5-8 punch combinations in succession, and then slipping and pivoting off the line.  Gone are the days when he could face a larger, and slower foe with limited defense and boxing skills.  Gone are the days when he could really tough a fight out with pure volume, speed, offense, and beastly fighting spirit (again, I don't know if it's his part time schedule, his age, ring wear-and-tear). 

Going back to Chump-U-Box and the HBO crew: they were certainly fellating Pacquiao hard throughout the fight.  All Pacquiao had was his jab cross, or his jab-jab-cross, and when they failed, he would reload, and continue attacking in a straight line.  Pacquiao has shown against Mosley and Marquez that he can't handle a fighter that circles away from his left hand, and that he doesn't know how to step over to the right and cut off the ring. 

Styles make fights:  So in my opinion Pacquiao still has or had a good chance of beating Floyd, then Floyd can beat Marquez easily, and Marquez beats Pacquiao.  What figures?  How does that make sense.  I feel Marquez has the best style match up out of all the fighters that can, will, or have faced Pacquiao.  He knows when to duck, when to slip, how to frustrate Pacquiao, when to fight and trade, and when to side step and counter.  People thought the weight and speed would affect the fight, but again, in my opinion the only reason why Pacquiao was so effective in the higher weight classes besides that his power came up well was that he fought good and larger opponents, but also opponents that were tailor made for his style:  limited defense, endurance problems, not a pure boxer and/or lacking of boxing ability (Hatton, Cotto, Margarito), come forward and aggressive fighters, and older fighters (De La Hoya, Mosley).  Even if Sergio Martinez was  147 fighter the Pacquiao team would definitely avoid him, and this is exactly the reason I feel Bradley COULD and might outbox Pacquiao: he can box, he's durable, he doesn't have endurance problems, he's in his prime, he is slick and has good defense, he has a good jab, good speed, he has enough power to keep anyone honest, and he has great foot speed to name a few things. 

Too add on this whole style match up:  I honestly feel ANY good welterweight could walk through and beat up Marquez (besides Floyd).  I feel Cotto and Margarito would walk through him and knock his block off.  It just so happens that Marquez has the perfect style and formula at any weight to neutralize Pacquiao's offense and the tenacity to take Pacquiao's punches at ANY weight division and still prevail.  However, it must be said that the likes of Hatton, Cotto, Mosley, and De La Hoya were hit with dozens of clean power punches from Pacquiao every round or few rounds whereas Marquez IMO was only hit by about 3-5 clean punches that whole night.

Post-fight:  Pacquiao didn't raise his hand after the fight.  All he did was pray for the victory!  He had fear and shame in his eyes.  I was fully expecting "and the NEW WBO WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPION...", but you know how boxing is.  Pacquiao knows deep down that he got beat up, and he took his position for granted and has been spoon fed for the last 3-4 years.  If we go back to Max Kellerman's and Manny Stewards' methods of assessing the fight: "who would you rather be at the end of the round?" and "judging by the body language of each fighter at the end of the round"... we could assess who was winning or got the better of their opponent after each round or at the end of the early, middle and championship rounds. 

If I have time I'll rewatch the fight to double check the scoring of the fight.  I remember earlier on giving Pacquiao rounds 1 & 3 and Marquez 2 & 4, while Lederman gave Pacquiao 3 rounds to 1 (how terrible!).  Okay, that's it.  This started out as a coherent rant, but got my thoughts and emotions a little jumbled when reading you guys comments and having time to be thoroughly upset about the decision once again.  Good to know others are mad and think Marquez won too.  This time, I won't feel the way I did when I thought Clottey beat Cotto (and Pakinpower, he did!  and that WAS a body slam!  haha...)  Unfortunately, I will be unable to grill and serve crow from last night's fight, but I will eat mine begrudgingly.  Holler!

After a heated debate in the Angulo vs. Kirkland aftermath, I thought I'd take a shot at comparing the two sports and its fanbase.  First and foremost, I'm a martial artist and kickboxer who is a big fan of boxing, and use my experience to analyze fights and fighters and the sports in general.  I do admit I do not know much about wrestling and jujitsu besides a spectator interest and having learned a few basics with friends.  I feel MMA and Boxing are similar ONLY because they are fighting sports and that both are on TV.  Besides those two similarities I feel they are as different as night and day.  I've seen both sides of the fence: MMA fight fans who think they know a thing or two about boxing (they know nothing about the sport except that it is a form of "MMA" without the kicks and take downs and ground fighting), and then Boxing fans who think they know a thing or two about MMA (it's simply a rough form of boxing with take downs, you know, some ugly punches with no jab, some wrestling in tights and hugging, and oh yeah, those kicks, but it's pretty much the same thing as Boxing but not as good or as old, Boxing is not dead!!). 

First, let me break down some of their differences.  MMA is about 3-4 degrees removed from Boxing.  If we were to start from one side of the spectrum- boxing - then the next type of fighting sport that we would find similarities with would be kickboxing and/or Muay Thai.  The main organization that champions that sport is K-1 in Japan (or did).  Kickboxing allows all the main punches in boxing (Jabs, Hooks, Uppercuts), along with kicks (Side Kicks, Front Push Kicks, Roundhouse Kicks), knees (to the head, body, and legs), and I believe they allow elbows too.  This is similar to boxing in that they fight in a square ring with ropes, they have 2-3 minute rounds, they have a referee and they have standing 8 counts and 10 counts on the ground, and the fights are fought primarily on the feet.  There is room in Kickboxing to employ lateral movement, ring generalship, jabbing, but the difference is kicking allows for a huge diversity of ranges for striking and makes one think twice about slipping, bobbing and weaving, and ducking because one could receive a knee or kick in the head under the wrong circumstances (not to say they shouldn't do it because they are very important defensive maneuvers).  Kicks, knees, and elbows also allow for a larger range of combinations.  This also means that their punches are usually not as fine tuned as boxers simply because there are more weapons to cultivate and sometimes their strategies are not as refined as well.  Another difference is that in kickboxing or any stand up martial art requires at least 2-3 years to develop the strength and flexibility in the legs to throw competent kicks, and about 5 years to throw them with fluidity with the hands and feet, and 10+ years to simply be good at the martial arts in general.

The next degree removed from boxing I would LIKE to say would be wrestling and jujitsu: the stand up, the take down, and what transgresses next on the ground.  However, that is not the case.  The next degree in my opinion is the Chinese Kickboxing Sport called "Sanda" or "Sanshou".  Sanshou does not allow elbows or knees, but they allow full contact punches and kicks to the head, body, and legs, and also fighters get extra points for a throw or take down.  This extra element forces fighters to be alert on securing take downs (single and double leg take downs as well as take downs off of a grabbed kick or punch which turns into a throw) and also defending take downs while they are trying to knock each other's block off. 

The third degree removed from boxing would be wrestling as the competitors start on their feet and attempt to wrestle each other down and then secure a dominant position for points.  In addition, from my knowledge there is Olympic style wrestling, shoot wrestling, submission wrestling, catch wrestling, and Greco Roman wrestling.  I don't assume to know the next thing about wrestling besides the basics and what some of them represent.  Some would put the Japanese art of Judo in this category too as it requires using the moment of the opponent to toss or throw them to the mat from a standing position. 

The fourth degree would be Brazilian Jujitsu, Jujitsu, Submission Wrestling, and any other type of ground fighting or submission type of fighting.  This type of fighting is the furthest away from my knowledge base, but I will say I have great respect for this discipline and that anyone without formal training who takes a Jujitsu guy to the ground is bound to get submitted or choked out within 2 minutes.  It is deadly and something to be weary of (I "rolled" or sparred on the ground with a Jujitsu guy last week and got choked out 4 times in 5 minutes). 

Then the 5th degree removed from Boxing would be MMA which is a blend and mix of all these types of fighting which can be each a discipline within themselves (not to mention the addition of more Traditional arts too such as Kung Fu, Escrima/Kali [Filipino stick fighting], Capoeria, Karate, Aikido [think Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida with their last KO's on their opponent via snap kick to face which was taught by Steven Segal] ).  To add, many MMA fighters today including Nick Diaz, Anderson Silva, George St. Pierre, and Jon Jones have formally studied boxing and have boxing coaches.  Are they the best boxers as a whole?  Of course not, but when you combine that with all the other arts they have to learn: kickboxing, wrestling, jujitsu etc., they are quite impressive. 

All I'm trying to say is that Boxing and MMA are very different and I could easily go on a rant the other way around  towards MMA fans.  There are too many differences in the sport that many people cannot form an educated opinion about the other without personal experience in at least two or more disciplines because you simply will not have the proper perspective, angle, or knowledge base to comment on them.  With regards to MM and KK, I'm sorry I came of as pretentious in the previous posts, the comments were aimed from a MMA slant, I know you know your boxing.  That is it.  Holler!

Okay, so about 3 years ago, Antonio Margarito ("The Tijuana Tornado") was running over opponents and on an almost 11 fight KO streak against top notch opponents.  Then the unthinkable happened: before and after the Mosley fight in January of 2009- when Margarito was on top of the world after beating Cotto and the #1 Welterweight and superstar in boxing- we find out that he may have attempted to load up his gloves in this fight and maybe previous fights.  On top of that Mosley gives him the whooping of his life with a career reviving performance.  That kind of thrashing and controversy pretty much sealed Margarito career or at least his superstar status.  Along the way we hear about another up and coming prospect named Alfredo Angulo who has also been mauling through opponents with his pressure and rough style a la Margarito at a higher weight class.  We hear that they've been having legendary sparring sessions with each other and are pretty cut from the same cloth.  In 2010 I had a prediction that Timothy Bradley, Andre Ward, Victor Ortiz,  Alfredo Angulo, and perhaps Juanma Lopez were the future of boxing and the future P4P fighters in 2-3 years.  I believe my list was a little longer, but we know what happened with some of those guys now.  I thought Victor was going to be the second coming of Cotto except instead of a killer left hook he'd have power in both hands and is quicker.  How wrong I was!  But staying to the point: here comes Brandon Rios- a fighter I've only heard about in the Pacquiao Margarito buildup.  Brandon Rios was the same way as the two other fighters: towering over his opponents, builds endless pressure, has a lot of endurance, and breaks down his opponents with body shots and has a helluva heart/chin.  Also, Brandon Rios was on the "B side" of Victor Ortiz- always calling him out, talking trash about the future champion, and "trying to make a name out of himself."  Little do we know between him and Ortiz he was the first to secure a World Title and to beat top notch opponents.  Brandon Rios has slightly better defense than Margarito: he doesn't slip or bob and weave or move his head a lot but he blocks shots with his gloves and peek-a-boo like stance.  He has good timing and throws hard shots and combinations.  His punches are straighter than Margarito.  Also, we found he can handle some of the best boxers in the world and break them down.  Between the three, Rios seemed to have excelled the furthest despite what some people feel are a limited style or a style that equals to a short career.  Also, for some fighters a straightforward pressure fighter is made to order for some styles and boxers or a style that can be easily exposed.  Only time will tell, but we have a LOADED 135 lb.  division now (remember when 147 was once the hot division [ahem Floyd Mayweather], then 126 [ahem Juanma Lopez], then 118).  Now we have 135.  Look at the division:  Linares, Katsidis, Marquez (maybe), possibly Gamboa, DeMarco, Acosta, Ricky Burns, Rios, Antillon.  I'm sure I'm missing a few names, but Brandon Rios is now in the hottest division in boxing and edging towards the peak of his career.  Perhaps he can accomplish what neither Margarito and Angulo could accomplish.  I am waiting in anticipation!

Anyone agree?  High drama.  Power vs. speed/skill.  Powerful exchanges.  High skill coupled with high heart.  Some serious damage.  An even round up to the end.  Sorry if this is late, I've been so busy with work.  I have to admit it's one of the best rounds I've seen in a long time. Also, where does this leave Linares now?  I'd like to see DeMarco vs. RIos down the line.  Yep yep.  Have a nice day!

Though I've read everywhere on how "Floyd was doing a job" on Ortiz and how Floyd's dominance was never better displayed, I'd like to throw in a few cents.  First, I thought Ortiz was fighting the best fight of his life.  He was setting his pace and rhythm, he was walking Floyd down, and to his very credit: he was able to negate Floyd's left hand.  He is the first boxer I've ever seen at 147 to dodge and time Floyd's lead left hook and his jab.  I've only watched the fight once live, but from my memory, Victor was able to slip right on the jabs, and come over top with the right hook over the shoulder roll.  The only other person to throw effective right hooks over the shoulder roll and muscle Floyd along the ropes was Oscar De La Hoya.  Victor's team took a page out of that book.  Next, Victor blocked and slipped a good amount of right crosses too, and even made Floyd miss on the series of combinations that Floyd threw in the beginning of the 3rd or 4th round.  Yes, Floyd was starting to find his target, but in my opinion so was Victor.  I felt as the fight wore on past the 1st round, the fight seemed to look more and more like an Ortiz fight.  His speed was underrated, his defense was underrated, and his aggressive spurts surprised Floyd and made him feel uncomfortable.  What I'm saying is I feel part of the reason why Floyd wanted to get him out of there the quick way was because no matter if Ortiz's punches were grazing, partial connects, or just thudding body shots, they were getting to Floyd.  I personally feel Victor is one of the if not the hardest punchers at 147 now.  He hurts everything he touches.  However, it was his lack of professionalism that got to him.  He over apologized in a situation in which it's a GD fight, not a bromance sparring match.  He should have took a page from Miguel Cotto: look apologetic, wink at the opponent, and foul him again at the earliest opportunity.  He should never have let down his guard.  I was feeling uneasy when Ortiz was all smiles in the lead up to the fight.  I'd rather see him sneering and insecure and hostile.  That Victor would not have lost the way he did.  I felt Victor's southpaw stance, his right hook up top, his body shots, and his short and quick compact shots gave Mayweather something to think about it.  That's just me.  Disagree with me as you will, but you won't hear the same mumble jumbo you've heard in other boxing sites.  Have a nice day!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1WVKq2qW3s&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utbz1wxD24A&feature=related

Unlike most Peek a boo artists (Tarver, Penalosa, Clottey, Abraham etc.) he does not fight in spurts.  He's aggressive, a sharp counter puncher, has a right hand from hell that usually almost lifts his opponents off the ground, is an experienced amateur, goes very well to the body, is reasonably fast, good timing, good at finding range... he seems to be someone exciting I'd like to watch in the near future. 

While we're on 147-154, anyone know much about Rashad Holloway?  I know he recently decisioned a Jhon Berrio, except that Kirkland knocked him out in 1 round a few months ago.  But I am a fan of Rashad Holloway, anyone know when he'll get his big break?  Thanks!

http://www.youtube.com/user/513TeamHolloway

sparring with Alfredo Angulo.  Pc!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-6HGFqEvF4

I don't know how good he is for sure, but he is making interesting news by being a computer science major at N. Michigan University, and being a tough guy at 126.  He's also a former kickboxer from Vietnam.  Any thoughts?  I think he looks strong, goes to the body, defense is average, not great not bad, has decent power, high volume, big heart, and a real fighter, I think he might make for some exciting fights man.

So I watched Mikey Garcia's performance on Saturday, and I have to say he looks like an awesome fighter.  He had such good leverage on his punches, he was patient, he can counter punch, he's reasonably quick, he has good defense, he has a cool head, and he has no problem closing the show.  I say Gonzalez or Ponce De Leon would be a good step up for him.  What do you think?