Now as long as boxing has been on the forefront of American sports, interviews with the media and documentaries for the fans  have always seem to exist  .Knowing ur pugilist inside the ring was easy if you followed the sweet science well  .But It was always fascinating to discover the humor and intensity of boxings best over the years outside the ring as well. Boxing can be comedic at times. It can also be inspiring.The honesty and humbleness of Joe louis,and the legendary gab of"  The Greatest" Muhammud Ali. And sometimes... just the flatout blunders that come out of others mouths (John Rocker type moments) that definitley had people scratching their heads for years to come.. Now I don't expect my favorite fighter to talk like Leo Tolstoy, but at least keep from embarassing yourself. From Tyson's "I want to eat his children" (Referring to Lenox Lewis' children)  to "I'll never let a white boy beat me" shouted by Bernard Hopkins prior to his fight with "Super" Joe Calzaghe last year.(By the way he lost). To James Toney's endless portrayal of an absurd idiot.. So boxing fans,What is the most embarassing, most absurd or funny thing you heard a boxer say??    I'd love to hear em!!

Now many of you heard of the recent lashing of Brian Kenny to Pretty Boy Floyd Mayweather in their interview a short time ago.ESPN'S  Brian Kenny,an obvious Pac man fan, kept bringing him up when interviewing Floyd. He was making blatant suggestions on how Mayweather is dodging Pacquiao.He even introduced Floyd by saying he was the "former" pound for pound champion in the world. Claiming he lost that title the day he retired.Knowing Mayweather's massive ego, I knew it was gonna get ugly from that point on..And Kenny kept making a stong case for the Phillipino fighter throughout the interview. Now alot of people don't like "Money May" for his brash arrogance and his crafty defense and popshot techniques(as opposed to wars), but I felt that Kenny was kind of wrong for attacking him that way.

 Yes Floyd is coming off a 21 month layoff and his last two opponents,Paquiao seemed to steamroll over. And yes Pacquiao's fights do seem more action packed. But all those attacks aside, How can you debate that there's anybody out there better than Mayweather?? HE is a tactioner ,the ultimate chess player, a strategist to  almost the line of perfection. 39 opponents couldn't seem to break his guard and limit his preciseness.. He's a defensive genius!! With superior fast hands and his arm cross and crab defense, while tucking his chin behind his shoulder reducing his opponents target to a very small window  ,  by using weird and elusive angles but maintaining perfect balance with a  wide stance. He IS the ultimate test in the welterweight division. 

Now I am a big fan of Manny's too.With his unorthodox ferocity to his weird and explosive punching,and his ability to keep fighting when pressure is on him.He is undoubtedly the most exciting fighter out there right now.To see these two  go at it is like Nirvana on a Saturday. An offensive militia vs a defensive scientist. Perhaps the fight of the century on my part. But  there are flaws in Manny.His defensive skills have dramatically improved, but instead of being smart, Pacquiao fights with his heart sometimes being prone to big shots he must absorb.I have seen Manny hurt,but his detrmination will never let him "quit".And I admire him for that. But....Who has really touched Floyd or even hurt Floyd?? And until Floyd has a 1 in in his loss column, there is no debate. 39-0 and 25 kos. Nuff said!!

His uptempo nonstop lashing to the 37 year old Winky Wright  back in April is a prime example why you need a real great strategy when you step into the ring with  boxing's most avoided fighter.  Paul Williams caught my attention the night he jumped on Antonio Margarito in the early rounds of their bout a couple years ago.With practically every punch in his bag of arsenal,how do you stop this 6'2 phenomenon who can drop as low as a welterweight and with one of the longest reaches in the lower weight divisions ever??Perhaps somewhere..someone knows.

Now I heard of the critics saying Williams chin is questionable.(The first Quintana fight).But personally I think he can absorb a punch with the best of them.Whatever you dish out to Williams,it seems he can dish out twice as much.First off,you can't stay on the outside because of his incredible long arm reach. (The longest arm reach I seen since Dahlsim from Street fighter lol jk). But seriously stay out on the outside? Okay if you do that.You must change the position of your body and feet when coming in and the angles of ur punches when u let off.  And most boxers can't adjust to such drastics. Oh ok ?How bout the inside?? If u stay in and don't slip n move  , it is very unlike
ly you will match "The Punisher"s punch output. He is liable to throw up to 120 punches in any given round of the fight. (incredible stamina and endurance). His combinations alone can have any have any of thr greats stagger back.Not with tremendous power,Paul is still very effective the combinations he puts together.He can throw non stop and very good defensive skills.And if you get too close for his vulnerabity, he is liable to wrap up with you with ease. My fight I would love to see is Paul vs Chad Dawson.I think it will be a grreeat matchup. And nevermind the Quintana fight,he was sluggish and off that.I guarantee you you will never see that again. So if you were a trainer,how would you have your fighter approach Paul Williams?? What would be effective??

Now I love boxing,from every different culture and different styles they display. From Ghana's body armor defense and strong jab and patience.To Cuba's aggresive attack, to Europe's wide stance and long reaching jabs to catch you off balance and to set up everything else in the bag. But when I think of a Mexican fighter, one thing comes to mind.... a proud warrior.

Mexican fighters have always been exhilarating.With theier pride on their sleeve and the ability to slug and make fans stand up and cheer in ovation some nights(but any boxer can do that,.. I'm just saying). You can count on one thing from most of these great warriors when you watch their bouts:  That It's gonna be exciting and a full out fledged war!!. Now Marquez is the golden child currently for the country of Mexico. With his patient and precise punching ,he is undoubtedly of the greatest counterpunchers I've ever seen.Ahas a great fanbase. With his epic battles with Pacquiao and Barerra.  And his recent dismantling of Casamayor and Juan Diaz. But think back boxing fans of all the great Mexican fighters, and all the excitement in the ring,and I ask you :Who was ur favorite Mexican warrior of all time  and why??

Floyd Mayweather Sr was in Ricky Hatton's corner on May 2nd, the night he fought Manny Pacquiao. For months,Mayweather was braggin about how he was sculpting Ricky into a new fighter. Whhat?? . His changes: more head movement and fighting outside and ussing the jab more. WHHHAT???

  First off, for anybody who knows how Ricky Hatton fights, you would look at the very idea of this strategy as nothing less than ludacrousI understand the concern of inhancing his defense, But  Hatton is a brawler. An inside bully. He's a natural inside fighter. He relies on elbow use and constant forearm shoving to make space for his arsenal attack. Only 5 6" and a short reach, why would you have him outside leading with his jab??Ricky's a bulldozer. That's what he's always been.And that's what he always will be.' The night of the Pacquiao fight,I seen him early on the outside.I seen his reaching jab and his terrible awkward head movement. Ur gonna pull out new tricks the night your fighter fights considerably the best pound for pound fighter in the world???It was destined for disaster and that's exactly what happened.

It always seems to haunt me why the great and in this this case the decent fighters don't know when to say goodbye to the sport. Maybe it's to feed their ego?? Maybe it's for the purse (Hence Evander Holyfield) What the case is,it's always wincing to see a good contender stay in too long. Now, I have studied Antonio Tarver's career, and I know many boxing fans dislike him, I found him to be a good prizefighter. He didn't have tactition the knockout power or speed the lighthevy weight division surely needed.   He could be sluggish and sometimes downright boring to watch. But nevertheless, he was a contender. But he has to know that his window of getting another shot at the belt is closing.

The flat footed seemingly one dimensional fighter with his pawing jab,  over hand left , and his uppercut which he would use every 4-5 rounds it seemed. Now he wants to be remembered. The 40 year old's 27-6 record doesn't scream Hall of Famer, but I must say I enjoyed watching him on a couple of occasions.With his ok performance against Elvir Muriqui and sluggish fight with Clinton Woods, I noticed that more and more people were tuning off to"The Magic Man".  In fact he's anything but "Magic" lately. The two losses to Chad Dawson was the nail in the coffin for me. An aging fighter with too much ego and pride to just bow.

Whatever Antonio will accomplish in the future, his legacy will be best known for one thing,and that his he is the man that took down the giant: Roy Jones Jr. So Antonio please step aside and letthe young wolves get a shot. And yes.. You WILL be remembered. Should Antonio Tarver retire??

         The mid 90s saw the rise of a super sensation  of that 20 year old kid  phenom of the  '92 olympics. Of course 
 I'm talking about the 'Golden Boy" Oscar De La Hoya.  Let's face it..He had the looks, the excitement and ferocity in the ring,He also had the skill and determination to be one of the"Greats". He first  caught everyones eye and  attention with his manslaughter of an aging Julio Caesar Chavez in June 1996.Then came the tough chess battle in the fight vs Pernell Whitaker in April 1997. Then mandhandling Hector Camacho  and remained undefeated until September 1999 where he was 30-0.when he faced  Felix  Trinidad.This was the first sign of skepticism and criticism towards De la hoya on my part    when he sent a gift wapped victory to the Puerto Rican  phenom by practically running the last four rounds. Was Oscar scared?? Is he not the warrior like those great Mexican legends he had been compared to most of his career ? Where was his heart? I think that loss forever haunted Oscar. Cause he knew how important that fight was legacy wise. Then followed a loss to Sugar Shane Mosley in June 2000 giving him consecutive losses. I think he fought his heart out that night personally. Shane was just the better man that night. Then came the Fernando Vargas Saga and the heated turmoil that came with it..  This was a chance to redeem himself partially . And did so with a 10 th round knockout !!  But the second loss to Shane really hurt in September 2003.where Mosley beat him to the punch all night.But nevertheless Oscar was still putting fans in seats.and he is still a household name. With his new passion in singing at the time, you could see he was losing focus at this point..

    He lost alot of fans with his music career and his long hiatus in between matches.   And you seen how out of shape he was with the Felix Sturm when he was doughy, slow and dull like a butter knife. Felix Sturm gave him more than he bargained for. He was lucky to walk out with that win.He was forced to dig deep.But Oscar don't like that. He likes comfortablity and control.Oscar doesn't move his head much and he likes it that way. Then in September 2004, He decides to fight Bernard Hopkins .He was frustrated from the elusive target and is kayoed by a sneaky right kidney punch that sent him crumbling in the 9th. Again, a great opportunity to prove himself by beating a great legend but failed.

He goes on a 20- month layoff and fights Mayorga. And defeats him with ease.(Mayorga is the easiest target to hit around by the way).  Then Oscar goes on another year layoff and fights what would be the biggest fight of his career...Floyd Mayweather Jr. on May 5th,2007. the agressive Oscar waisted no time going after Floyd with his lead jab and combinations he built behind it. In midfight though,Oscar abandoned his jab that was landing consistency on Floyd's body and the right breaking his guard occasionally up top. He lost in a decision.

Again!!  Oscar let another one slip from his hands? How could this be?? Does he flop on all the big fights?? Or is everybody just a purely a better fighter than he is? Then the fight with Steve Forbes a year later was less than impressive.  Does Oscar have enough for one last shot in proving authenticism in his legacy??.....

On December 6th, 2008.Oscar stepped in to the ring with Manny Pacquiao and was pummeled for 8 looong rounds where he took the worst beating of his career. Oscar wasn't missing punches.Oscar couldn't get off a punch.The 36- year looked every bit of his age. The sixth time he failed to pull off a victory  in the ring.

So my question is this: How will you remember Oscar??  The young Phenom who dominated in the late 90s? Will you remember him as a great fighter who always seemed to lose to greater fighters??Or the boxer who overstayed his welcome and got embaressed on his curtain call??.Or is  it a combination of all of them?  Whatever you may think there was no denying Oscar in his prime.