“We‘ve been talking about Ortiz Mayweather fight for weeks now and Friday you just happen to run into Victor. How cool is that,” said Big Steve as we embarked on the uphill run towards a Hollywood Sign in Griffith Park: “I heard what Victor had to say. I heard Floyd’s take as well as what HBO guys felt about the fiasco, but what about some one who is not connected to the fight in anyway, like some one from Showtime.”
“ Funny , you should mention it,” I replied:” Because on Friday Night while covering a ShoBox card at Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez, California, I ran into a boxing historian, Steve Farhood who is on the air analyst for Showtime.”
“Mr. Farhood knows boxing. He probably forgot more about it than what I will ever learn,” exclaimed Big Steve:” What did he have to say about the fight?”
“Much a do about nothing,” said Farhood during our brief interview on Friday:” I am no big fan of Floyd Mayweather, but I thought what he did in that fight was legal and absolutely fine. I don’t think he did anything wrong. I thought the issues and the problems in that fight were created by Ortiz, who totally unraveled mentally and that’s what led to controversial ending, not controversial in my mind.” Read more…
“Money is like oxygen that fuels Floyd’s mouth,” pondered Big Steve during our Saturday morning coffee at Starbucks on Glenoaks:” But no matter of his riches or what he says and how much, the fact still remains, Mayweather beat Ortiz with a sucker punch.”
“You are just a regular poet,” I replied:” But referee, Joe Cortez, Nevada Athletic Commission and most of the ringside observers agreed that it was perfectly legal punch, two punches to be exact.”
“It might have been legal,” exclaimed Victor during our chance meeting in Burbank yesterday: “But at the end of the day, if you are really that great of a fighter you could at lest respect the fact that somebody wasn’t ready and let him get ready. It’s like two kids in the karate class; they go to the center and do this (Victor bows) and one just kicks him in the face. Hey man! It’s just unfair. You are really not holding that title with integrity. And if you are, you are low; you are just a person of no sportsmanship or class.” Read more…
Donaire vs Narvaez Live Streaming
Donaire vs Narvaez Live Streaming
Watch Nonito Donaire vs Omar Narvaez Live Streaming. WBC / WBO bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire (26-1, 18 KOs) will fight unbeaten WBO super flyweight champion Omar Narvaez (35-0-2, 19 KOs) on October 22 on HBO, according ringtv to news. I like this fight, but remains a match-up that is tilted in favor of Donaire. He is 5’7 “and 5’3 Narváez is a” super fly. Narvaez is a guy who likes to get into the battle and the guys inside. I do not think he’ll be ready to Donaire on Oct. 22. This is like putting a smaller version of Fernando Montiel Donaire and expect to do well. Read more…
A World title fight will be held in Atlantic City between a formidable champion from Argentina and a little-known challenger from the UK is not going to cause a commotion at the box office.
But that’s the predicament that middleweight ruler Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez and unbeaten hopeful Darren Barker, who comes from the Barnet district in the outer rim of London, finds themselves in for their HBO bout this Saturday night.
Nerves in the Martinez camp are raw from criticism of this pairing. Lou DiBella blasted the media for “disrespecting” the Englishman and Sampson Lewkwicz rapped fight scribes for playing matchmaker. Read more…
Barker vs Martinez
Darren Barker isn’t well known outside of the UK but the 29-year-old middleweight is more capable than odds makers have made him out to be going into his title challenge against RING champ Sergio Martinez on Saturday.
Darren Barker (23-0, 14 knockouts) brings more than just a nice record to the big dance. The native of London, England, is a smart, 6-foot boxer who utilizes his height well with solid technique, smart footwork and good timing.
Barker is young, hungry and undefeated, the kind of opponent Martinez (47-2-2, 26 KOs) says he enjoys fighting. However, the middleweight champ’s HBO-televised title defense from the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N. J., is not the caliber of fight he wants at this stage of his career.
Martinez, the 2010 Fighter of the Year, wants a fight worthy of his elite status in the sport. His main targets are the only two fighters rated above him in both THE RING and Yahoo! Sports pound-for-pound rankings, Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather. Read more…
Through his manager, Rolando Arellano, Victor Ortiz has issued what he clams is his final statement regarding the ending to his fourth-round knockout loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. that cost him his WBC welterweight title on Sept. 17.
With referee Joe Cortez nearby, Ortiz (29-3-2, 22 KOs) failed to protect himself when Mayweather (42-0, 26 KOs) nailed him first with a jarring left hook and then a powerful, straight right hand that sent Ortiz sprawling to his back.
Ortiz rolled to his right and reached his hands and knees but did not rise in time to beat Cortez’s 10-count.
At the time of the finishing blow, Ortiz’s hands were down at his sides after attempting to embrace Mayweather for a third time as a means of apologizing for a headbutt.
Feeling that he was dethroned unfairly, Ortiz makes a final plea for a rematch from Mayweather, saying that he will move on if that does not happen. Read more…
Hopkins vs Dawson
RING and WBC light heavyweight titleholder Bernard Hopkins hasn’t had a knockout since September of 2004, when Oscar De La Hoya was stopped for the first time in his career thanks to a ninth-round body shot.
The 46-year-old Hopkins (52-5-2, 32 KOs) says that he’s about due for another stoppage victory, and that there is no better time to go for it than against former WBC and IBF beltholder Chad Dawson (30-1, 17 KOs) when they meet at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Oct. 15.
“Fans like knockouts, and I think that the last time I had a knockout was in 2004, so I’m about due. That’s what they want in the sports world,” said Hopkins.
“That’s what fans consider to be more eye-catching than going 12 rounds and winning every round or whatever. I think that they would rather see that, especially when you’ve got a 46-year-old guy fighting a 29-year-old guy. You know, there’s a risk in that.” Read more…
We find it impossible to understand why Joe Cortez who to all intents and purposes messed up the recent Floyd Mayweather Jr – Victor “Vicious” Ortiz WBC super welterweight title fight has been appointed as referee for the WBO light flyweight title fight between Mexico’s world champion Ramon Garcia Hirales and former WBO minimum weight champion Donnie Nietes.
We understand that Cortez was assigned as referee even before the Mayweather-Ortiz fiasco by none other than WBO president Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel.
While no malice can be ascribed to Mr. Valcarcel’s appointment of Cortez, we recall that pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao also suffered at the hands of Cortez in his first fight against Erik “El Terrible” Morales for the vacant WBC and IBA International super featherweight title at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on March 19, 2005.
In the fifth round Pacquiao suffered a nasty gash over his left eyebrow following an accidental clash of heads but Cortez to the consternation of Pacquiao and his corner ruled the cut was caused by a legitimate punch. Read more…
A conference call today between Rolando Arrellano, Oscar De LaHoya and Victor Ortiz was no laughing matter. With no contest made on the night Floyd Mayweather Jr knocked out Victor Ortiz now it seems they have recovered from the shock of it all and decided that they would like a rematch. Arrellano said ” If Floyd doesn’t give us a rematch his legacy will be tainted and charred by a cheap shot for the rest of his life.”
Shifting the blame to the other opponent is not surprising as it was Ortiz who was the one who fouled in the first place. Cortez clearly told both fighters to box on and Ortiz without guard was rambled to the floor by Mayweather’s leather. There were also complaints from them about elbows, now we can say this is a new one in the mixing pot as this was not complained about before.However, sometimes when you watch the replay’s from different angles you can sit there and consider justification and bring forward a reasonable explanation, and this conference call we can say was unreasonable, clearly still in shock and bewilderment on how the occurrences took shape on the night they beg to differ on the outcome and Ortiz went on to examine how Cortez and Mayweather were friends trying to arouse some suspicion at this stage. Read more…
Although final numbers have yet to be tallied, sources close to the information have informed us that last Saturday’s clash between undefeated pound-for-pound champion Floyd Mayweather and former WBC welterweight champion Victor Ortiz is expected to do a minimum of 1.3 million pay-per-view buys. Keep in mind that the price of the pay-per-view event was $59.99 for standard definition and $69.99 for high definition, so with an already guaranteed purse of $25 million, and considering that over 50% of households in the United States own HD TVs, Mayweather has likely earned a minimum of $40 million for his 4th round knockout victory. Read more…
Martinez vs Barker
Upcoming middleweight championship challenger “Dazzling” Darren Barker tells Sky Sports that he doesn’t think champion Sergio Martinez is invincible, and definitely expects that he’ll beat him on October 1 in Atlantic City:
“I haven’t stopped watching him, his strengths and weaknesses, his opponents and what they’ve done well. And we’ll come up with a plan which we believe will beat Martinez and one I believe I can execute on the night. … I wouldn’t say he’s invincible, but he’s in this position for a reason. … Me fighting Sergio Martinez in Atlantic City shows I’ve been doing everything right in my career. I owe it to myself to go out there now and show the world what I can do. Me fighting top of the bill in the States feels like my time.” Read more…
By Rich Mancuso
Victor Ortiz admits he made a mistake Saturday night in that fourth round WBC welterweight title defense against Floyd Mayweather Jr. Even if a fighter is supposed to protect himself, at all times, as Ortiz supposedly did not follow, he admits that Mayweather is not good for boxing and that referee Joe Cortez mishandled the entire situation
It may sound like sour grapes coming from Ortiz. He wants the rematch that his promoters at Golden Boy have been petitioning since that awkward ending. Mayweather did consent for the return bout but is the new and undefeated controversial champion going to consent or take another 16-month hiatus from the ring?
“Golden Boy is pressing for the rematch but it is not classy for him to not give me the rematch,” said Ortiz about Mayweather in an interview with this reporter early Thursday evening. The former champion is relaxing and reviewing went wrong in Oxnard California. He says the championship belt will be his again even if means not meeting Mayweather in the near future. Read more…
By Gabriel Montoya, SecondsOut.com
The main event this past Saturday at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Victor Ortiz was supposed to be the return of a master boxer to the arena he was born to fight in. More than that, it was intended to be a counterpoint to the kinds of soft, tailor-made matches chief rival Manny Pacquiao has engaged in for his last few fights. Ortiz, though only 24- and much less experienced than Mayweather- was sold to pay-per-view buyers and casual fans as a young, hungry, dangerous champion, the kind, which a 34-year-old, semi-retired fighter should avoid at all costs. Mayweather was sold as a great fighter who rises to any challenge and who sought out this opponent to prove he is indeed the ruler of the roost.
For three rounds, Mayweather proved just that. In the fourth round, Mayweather was beginning to show every fight fan and writer what we’d always wanted to see from him, the willingness to engage in a firefight. Finally, we were seeing him deal with a fearless fighter who would rough him up, take his punches and keep coming.
Ortiz, only was awarded the first round on Jerry Roth’s scorecard, was behind in the fight. He was, as expected and most likely why Mayweather chose him as an opponent, eating right hands repeatedly but seemed to be walking through them. Like all punchers, Ortiz seemed to believe if he could just manhandle Floyd while unloading his power, the fight would be his. In the fourth, Ortiz began to throw caution to the wind and attempt to employ just that. Read more…
By Coyote Duran
Floyd Mayweather Jr. is and always will be a complex individual, a living, breathing contradiction. The annoying brat one day, the charitable, contemplative champion the next. For all the good and bad, we in the media- print, internet and television- are mostly to blame for the nurturing of the fighter fans love to hate…or hate to love. From bloggers to full-fledged veteran scribes to premium cable vehicles like HBO’s “24/7,” the phrase “We’ve created a monster” has never held more weight. At the same time, no other individual in boxing today has captured our attention like Mayweather, save for Manny Pacquiao.
The villainous Mayweather we know today, the brashest he’s ever been, faces Ortiz tonight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and to most, a simple-as-usual night’s work for Mayweather seems the forgone conclusion. Despite everything the media has done in either bashing or lifting the man known as “Money,” give credit where it’s due. And despite his most recent lengthy layoff, you’d be hard-pressed to use “Floyd Mayweather Jr.” and “ring rust” in the same sentence. Read more…
The reigning WBC Diamond middleweight champion, reigning 2010 Fighter of the Year, and top three pound-for-pound elite fighter, Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez will return to the ring October 1 from historic Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Martinez (47-2-2, 26 KOs) will collide with the unbeaten “Dazzling” Darren Barker (23-0, 14 KOs), the über popular product of London, England, and current European middleweight champion. Read more…
Tickets for Donaire-Narvaez bout are now on sale. Don’t miss this very exciting fight between the two warriors as they will show their boxing skills in the ring this October 22, 2011 in the Theater at the Madison Square Garden.
Nonito Donaire vs Omar Andres Narvaez Official Tickets for Sale…
Click View Tickets in the banner below to buy the Donaire vs Narvaez Tickets and watch the fight live.
Tickets to Donaire vs. Narvaez, priced at $200, $100, $50 and $25, including applicable service charges, go on sale Tomorrow! Thursday, September 15, at Noon ET, and can be purchased at the Madison Square Garden box office, online at www.thegarden.com, and all Ticketmaster outlets.
Click View Tickets in the banner below to buy the Donaire vs Narvaez Tickets and watch the fight live.
Floyd Mayweather launched into a furious tirade at legendary television analyst Larry Merchant in the immediate aftermath of his controversial knockout victory over Victor Ortiz on Saturday night.
After Mayweather ended the fight in the closing seconds of round four with a two-punch combination, Merchant, the HBO Pay-Per-View commentator, challenged him over the fairness of his winning blows. Mayweather unloaded with both fists a split-second after the fighters had hugged following a headbutt for which his opponent was deducted a point, and Ortiz was unprotected and unaware when the strikes landed.
Merchant suggested that his tactics may have been either illegal or outside the spirit of the fight game, and then Mayweather vented his ire, referring to the 80-year-old broadcaster by an expletive and barking that he should be fired from his television position.
“You never give me a fair shake, all right, so I am going to do you a favor and let you talk to Victor Ortiz,” Mayweather said. “You never give me a fair shake. You are [expletive] and HBO should fire you. You don’t know [expletive] about boxing. You ain’t [expletive].” Read more…
Manny Pacquiao said he saw nothing criminal in what Floyd Mayweather did in knocking out the inexperienced Victor Ortiz on Saturday night (Sunday noon in the Philippines) in Las Vegas.
But Pacquiao pointed out that Mayweather’s deadly left-right combination that sent Ortiz down for the count was a flagrant foul.
“There was nothing illegal in what Floyd did but it was unsportsmanlike,” said Pacquiao, noting that he acknowledged the fact that referee Joe Cortez had signaled the fight to continue, something a lot of ringsiders said they never saw.
Ortiz had been slapped a one-point deduction by Cortez for intentional head-butting and the 24-year-old Ortiz had apologized for his misconduct by embracing and touching gloves with Mayweather. But as soon as Ortiz was backing away, the 34-year-old Mayweather immediately unleashed a two-punch assault that floored Ortiz, sending a cascade of boos to the ring at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Read more…
Victor Ortiz saw his welterweight dream turn into a nightmare last night when he was spectacularly–and paranormally–knocked out by Floyd Mayweather Jr. in the fourth round of a scheduled 12 at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The official time of the stoppage was 2:59, although how that figure was arrived at can only be a subject for guesswork, since referee Joe Cortez once again seemed to slip through some sort of stargate and into another dimension. When Cortez separated the fighters to deduct a point from Ortiz, he half-heartedly gave a signal for the fight to resume, and an unprepared Ortiz was drygulched by Mayweather for a brutal KO loss.
That is one bad mojo Cortez possesses, and if he can somehow bottle its essence, witchdoctors all over the world will never have to worry about missing another square meal again. These may be harsh words, but Cortez simply cannot be allowed to put the lives and livelihoods of boxers in danger any longer. He should be fired, and the Nevada State Athletic Commission should take this action immediately to avoid further weakening the confidence of bettors, spectators, and, most of all, fighters, who toil long and hard only to be faced with the possibility of having a rubber-stamped addlepate send them hurtling into disaster.
Read more…
Saul Alvarez’s knockout of Alfonso Gomez came suddenly near the end of the sixth round of their junior middleweight title bout at Staples Center on Saturday.
Many ringside observers thought referee Wayne Hedgepeth’s technical stoppage at 2:36 of the round was premature. A legion of boxing insiders and hardcore fans watching the fight on the Floyd Mayweather-Victor Ortiz pay-per-view broadcast cried foul on Twitter and other social media websites.
One can’t help but wonder if Alvarez (38-0-1, 28 knockouts) could have ended matters earlier and in more decisive fashion had he fought in character throughout the entertaining bout.
After controlling most of the first round with quick and accurate combinations, Alvarez dropped Gomez with a well-timed counter hook. The knockdown established what most fans knew coming into the fight, that Alvarez is the faster, stronger and harder punching fighter.
So why did the 21-year-old Mexican star spend so much of rounds two, three, and four counter punching from a defensive posture? The answer is simple. The young student of the game was practicing different boxing techniques against his game opponent.
However, the gym is where a fighter should practice various maneuvers, not during the actual fight, and certainly not against a tough fighter as experienced as Gomez, who has fought the likes of Miguel Cotto, Jose Luis Castillo and Arturo Gatti. Read more…
