I saw this on another SB blog (behindthesteelcurtain) and thought id just put it here.  I thought this could be fun. Lots of new names have been popping up here recently and a bunch of old names nobody really knows anything about. I changed the questions to apply to boxing of course. 

*About You*

Name:

Age:

Occupation:

Place of Residency:

Have you boxed before. if so provide any details on your success/lack there of:

*Boxing specific questions*

Favorite current fighter:

Favorite all-time fighter:

Best boxing memory:

Favorite Fight:

Hey People,

Im going to be in Chicago the weekend of the UFC 103 and the Mayweather fight for the Steelers/Bears game.  I really have no clue about the area and where to go other than what I've seen on the man v. food episode. I was wondering if anyone was from the Chicago area that knows of a bar or goes to a bar in the downtown area that shows UFC ppvs and Boxing ppv's.

Any help or advice will be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

His son doesn't think so.  Here's an excerpt of the story from Fanhouse:

More than eight weeks have passed since boxing legend Alexis Arguello allegedly shot himself in the chest with a 9mm pistol. It was a suicide, declared Nicaraguan government officials, and they closed the case almost as quickly as they shut his casket.

But in an exclusive interview with FanHouse, Alexis Arguello, Jr., the son of the Hall of Fame great, says he plans to fight the government's findings and prove that his father was the victim of foul play.

"This was not a suicide. My dad had been through so much in his life, but he did not kill himself," the younger Arguello (pictured above in the black shirt) says. "My dad had been through three failed marriages, alcoholism, crack, the worst things someone could go through. But he would not do this."

Arguello, 57, was found dead July 1 in his home just outside of Managua, where he was the mayor. His life had been filled with adventures and paradox: he was a triple crown champion and one of the world's most acclaimed boxers in the 1970s and 1980s; he was a soldier, a freedom fighter for the Contras who dodged bullets from the Sandinista National Liberation Front, before later running for public office on the Sandinista ticket; he was a loving father and grandfather, a womanizer, a millionaire born into abject poverty who blew his fortune and nearly went bankrupt, a drug addict who was forever writing checks to charity and using his celebrity platform to crusade against injustices in his homeland and in Miami, his adopted city. He was El Caballero del Ring -- "The Gentleman of the Ring" -- incapable of belittling an opponent. Outside the ropes, Nicaragua's most acclaimed athlete never quit battling demons.

FanPost promoted by SC

Some good news being reported by BoxingScene and UK Press:

David Haye's WBA heavyweight title challenge against Nikolay Valuev will go ahead on November 7 after former champion John Ruiz agreed to end his campaign to scupper the fight.

The contest was agreed earlier this summer but some doubt surrounded it after mandatory challenger Ruiz threatened to force Valuev to fulfil his obligations and fight him, rather than the Englishman.

However in a statement, Chris Meyer, general manager of Valuev's promoter Sauerland Events, said: "There is absolutely no problem with the Valuev-Haye bout. Everything has been sorted out."

He added: "We have struck a deal with Team Ruiz for him to step aside. Our attorneys are just putting it in writing.

"Once this contract has been signed, we will submit the necessary papers to the WBA by the end of this week.

"German TV ARD and UK's Sky Box Office have booked the November 7 date in their schedules. We are just discussing the dates for the press conference."

Notes from SC: This is mildly unexpected, as I thought Ruiz was quite serious about wanting his shot soon, but you can also never discount John Ruiz and his lawyers. What they were looking for instead -- since I doubt this was some blowaway offer they couldn't refuse -- was just some step-aside money. They saw an opportunity at free cash while they sit on a mandatory and took it. Given all the crap sanctioning bodies pull, good for Ruiz.

More sad news from Fightnews:

Nick Charles, the respected television journalist and veteran ShoBox: The New Generation play-by-play announcer, is taking a leave of absence from SHOWTIME, effective immediately, due to Stage IV urothelial carcinoma. Charles has been an integral part of SHOWTIME Sports and the highly acclaimed ShoBox series since its debut in July 2001. He has called hundreds of fights on SHOWTIME and other networks throughout his illustrious broadcasting career. "All of us at Showtime are behind Nick and his family in this difficult fight," said Ken Hershman, Senior VP and General Manager of SHOWTIME Sports. "We look forward to his full recovery and return to ShoBox telecasts."

"Having bladder cancer is clearly the greatest challenge of my life," said Charles. "Now it’s time for a face-first assault. Like a fighter, just give me one round at a time and I’ll eventually win. I have a positive attitude, a strong Christian faith, and an amazing support system especially within the boxing family."

Another blow to the boxing community here.  My thoughts and prayers are with Nick on a speedy recovery.

More from SC: Nick Charles is a staple of Showtime boxing and one of those voices we are extremely familiar hearing associated with the sport. Bad Left Hook and I'm sure the entire boxing community sends our best wishes for a quick recovery and a return to the commentary booth. Get well soon, Nick.

Was there any doubt this was coming?

Here goes his latest courtosy of BoxingScene.

“There has been a recent press release quoting David Haye as claiming that he has come to an agreement to fight Nicolai Valuev for the WBA title this coming November. I am writing to inform the WBA Championship Committee that John Ruiz, the WBA Heavyweight Official Challenger, will not stand by and allow such a bout to take place.

“First, Valuev must honor his mandatory obligation to John Ruiz.

“Valuev won the title on August 30th, 2008 and had an interim title fight against Evander Holyfield last December, when the WBA ranked Holyfield out of nowhere to accommodate Valuev and his promoter. Following that Holyfield bout, Valuev was scheduled to fight (Ruslan) Chagaev last April to clear up the heavyweight title situation. On behalf of Mr. Valuev, Mr. (Pat) English claimed that the Chagaev fight was the equivalent of a mandatory bout, requiring Mr. Ruiz to wait a year for a chance. Chagaev was, however, medically declared unfit. Since, he then fought, in violation of specific WBA rules, for the IBF and WBO championships, and lost. Therefore, he no longer may be considered the WBA champion.

“Accordingly, with a year since his last championship victory about to pass, Valuev must fight his next bout as his mandatory against Mr. Ruiz. John Ruiz will not sit by and permit another delay so that Valuev can have another interim fight, especially against another opponent who is not even rated by the WBA. If the WBA Regulations are to have any meaning, there can be no other result. Put simply, John Ruiz has not agreed to permit any bout for the WBA Heavyweight Championship unless he is one of the participants, and he will take any and all legal action necessary to protect his interests.”

[Note: Fanpost promoted by Brickhaus]

From Fightnews:

Bernd Bönte, the managing director of Klitschko Management Group, has commented on reports that WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko could be facing WBA heavyweight champion Nikolai Valuev in a heavyweight unification fight later this year. "We are at the moment not interested in a fight against Valuev," Bönte said via email. "Vitali has other options which make more sense and are more intersting for the fans and the media (eg.Haye, Arreola). Valuev had the chance to fight Wladimir last weekend but he declined contrary to Chagaev. Should Valuev beat Ruiz in his mandatory we can maybe think about a fight with Wladimir or Vitali beginning of next year. And the WBA title is not a big deal anymore, because Wladimir beat the WBA champion in recess Chagaev by knockout and Chagaev had beaten Valuev. The win of the Ring Magazine championship belt means way way more to us!"

He makes great points about the lack of appeal of a Vitali/Valuev fight now as well as the irrelevance of the WBA title.  Does anyone on the face of the earth want to see Valuev fight anyone? I sure don't. Then theres the WBA title which is about about as worthless as gift of sand to an Iraqi.

Update: According to Dan Rafael, Valuev's promoter is also denying that they ever agreed to a unification with Vitali Klitschko.  Also, rumor has it that the WBA is going to enforce Valuev's mandatory against John Ruiz. 

Of course, this entire rumor started because of something that came straight out of Vitali's mouth and something else that came straight out of Valuev's mouth.  Maybe they were jumping the gun, but I feel like the denials are a little too vehement.  This wasn't just some stupid internet rumor, and the way that people are denying it, they're trying to make it sound like one. 

From Dan Rafael's Blog.

Though I don't have a strong opinion one way or another, I understand HBO's decision not to pick up the June 20 Wladimir Klitschko-Ruslan Chagaev fight. It comes down to money, and HBO is in no mood to spend a lot of it for a fight in Germany (meaning no live U.S. prime-time telecast) that few have high expectations for in the ring, even if the bout is significant. If HBO spends its cash on this fight, there won't be anything left for a better Klitschko fight in the fall, or some other big fight. I don't love the decision, but I get it and respect it after Klitschko's intended opponent, David Haye, pulled out because of an injury. At least we'll get to see the fight here in America. It will broadcast live on ESPN Classic.

Kinda strange its just mentioned in passing and I haven't seen this picked up anywhere else yet, but what the hell, at least its on TV and we dont have to watch an internet feed in German.

Note by SC - Good news all around, the fight gets American TV (I'm not surprised that ESPN grabbed it) and it's not some last-minute PPV no one would have wanted to buy. This is easily a big enough and significant enough fight that it truly deserves to be televised. Like most everyone, I get why HBO passed, but I would've been pretty annoyed if we had gotten to the fight where the Ring title is on the line and a stream was the only way to see it, after we sat through Klitschko's fights with Austin and Rahman and the rest.

Rampage just tweeted (twittered?) that he is on his way to vegas to coach TUF.  Say it aint so.

Did he just let the cat out of the bag too early?

Here goes the tweet. 

Rampage4real about to watch myself in the movie midnight meat train & packing my stuff to move to vegas to coach TUF!!

This puts the LHW strap on hold till the end of the year.  So tired of it. He said himself that he wouldn't make the same mistake about taking off so long between fights.

Saw this posted on Fightnews.com

Talks between the camps of IBF/WBO/IBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko and David Haye appear to have collapsed. Coupled in the cancelation of a Los Angeles press conference to announce the April 11th clash between Chris Arreola and Jameel McCline, Eastern European media is running wild with reports that Wlad may now defend against Arreola on June 20. Team Klitschko has made no official announcement on who Wladimir’s next opponent will be.

Looks like Arreola vs. Klitchko June 20th instead.

I was just reading checking up on what was going down so far at the big show on Sherdog and it mentions that right before the event go underway, Gesias "JZ" Cavalcante went into the ring and told the fans his fight with Dream Lightweight Champion, Joachim Hansen has been canceled and that Hansen has been taken to the hospital with a possible head injury. 

My thoughts are with Hansen and hope he is ok but this a bummer. I was really looking forward to this rematch.  Hopefully "Hellboy" checks out ok and will be back in the early part of 2009.