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By now everyone has read and heard about Mike Tyson getting choked up or Sylvester Stallone declaring “Yo, Adrian! I did it!” as they gave their induction speeches this past weekend at the International Boxing Hall of Fame. It was a spectacular event and for many the highlight of the weekend, but for some of us that didn’t have the opportunity to stay for the ceremony the rest of the weekend was just as exciting.

I have been to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in the past but never for their induction weekend which typically falls on the same weekend as the Puerto Rican Day parade in New York City. In past years I always seemed to be booked covering a Miguel Cotto fight at Madison Square Garden on the eve of the parade.

This year provided the perfect opportunity to attend. A high profile list of inductees that included Mike Tyson, Julio Cesar Chavez, Kostya Tszyu, Nacho Beristain, Joe Cortez, Sylvester Stallone and no major boxing events to cover paved the way for my first induction weekend.

The weekend begins on Thursday and runs through Sunday. Thursday through Saturday include a variety of events such as ringside lectures, celebrity workouts, fist casting ceremony, 5K run, golf outing, boxing autograph card show, dinners and other special events all of which are complete with several opportunities to meet current and retired boxers. The weekend ends on Sunday, beginning with a parade which includes all the attending boxing celebrities and finishes with the Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

My plan was to arrive Thursday evening and attend events all day on Friday and Saturday. I went into the weekend knowing I would be missing the highlight of the weekend by not being able to stay through Sunday. Although I was a bit disappointed to not have that opportunity, my feelings were quickly dismissed after experiencing all the events on Friday and Saturday. More...

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Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Juan Diaz looked to upset Juan Manuel Marquez in their rematch of the 2009 Fight of the Year but even his new game plan was not enough against the future hall of famer Marquez.

Both fighters opened the bout with furious exchanges, landing often. Diaz utilized more of a boxing approach and had success with his jab and left hook early in the fight which began to close the right eye or Marquez by the middle rounds.

However, Marquez, ever the tactician, was able to successfully land counter punch combinations over the jab of Diaz which slowed the “Baby Bull’s” approach. Marquez became the aggressor, landing vicious combinations which lead to a bad cut on the lower lip of Diaz in the late rounds. More...

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Today at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, NV the fighters weighed in for tomorrow night’s “Fight of the Year: The Rematch” featuring the Unified Lightweight World Championship fight between Juan Manuel Marquez 50-5-1 (37) and Juan Diaz 35-3 (17).

The bout will be televised live on HBO Pay Per View Saturday, July 31 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas, NV.

WBA and WBO Lightweight Championship – 12 Rounds

Juan Manuel Marquez 133.5 lb
Juan “Baby Bull” Diaz 135 lb More...

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Wednesday in the lobby of the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Golden Boy Promotions held a final press conference to promote “Fight of the Year: The Rematch” the Unified Lightweight World Championship fight between Juan Manuel Marquez, 50-5-1 (37), and Juan Diaz, 35-3 (17).

The bout will be televised live on HBO Pay Per View this Saturday, July 31 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas, NV.

During the press conference, Oscar De La Hoya presented both fighters with their trophies from their 2009 Fight of the Year. "Their first fight was an epic battle back and forth which is why the Boxing Writers Association of America chose their fight as the best fight of 2009,” said De La Hoya. More...

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Yesterday at the lobby of the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, the fighters featured in Saturday’s pay-per-view event made their grand arrivals. The festive mood complete with a mariachi band was highlighted by the arrival of main event fighters Juan “Baby Bull” Diaz and Juan Manuel Marquez.

The fans in attendance were treated to an autograph session and had the opportunity to take photos with their favorite fighters.

Marquez and Diaz appeared relaxed and excited in anticipation of their rematch Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

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Often, when people are first introduced to one another they politely say, “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” They may not mean it all the time but once in a while you come across someone that is truly a pleasure to meet.

Willie Savannah is that individual.

Although it was not my first time speaking with Savannah it was my first opportunity to visit him at his boxing club in Houston, Texas. He is an outgoing person who puts others before himself and says what’s on his mind.

Most people may recognize Savannah as the manager of former three-time Lightweight World Champion Juan Diaz but his success and influence can be seen every day just by spending a few hours at the Savannah Boxing Club.

We spoke for hours about a variety of topics not only closing up the gym but staying well after hours. Just after closing time as you looked out into the gym area it had a look of being well utilized for the day with full spit buckets, sweat on the floor, empty water bottles and a carpet peppered with lint and dirt after heavy use from students working the bags.

As we sat in Savannah’s office I was amazed to see the last dozen or so kids ranging from ages ten to eighteen begin cleaning up. No one asking them, no one telling them just systematically each of them chose a role; dumping out the spit buckets, mopping the floor, filling and refrigerating water bottles, vacuuming the floor and even cleaning the bathrooms. More...

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Saddoboxing had the unique opportunity to visit Juan “Baby Bull” Diaz at the Savannah Boxing Club in Houston, Texas as he prepares for his upcoming rematch against Juan Manuel Marquez. They will face each other on July 31 at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino and be broadcast on HBO Pay Per View.

Diaz 35-3 (17) was stopped in his first outing with Marquez 50-5-1 (37) which was Ring Magazine’s 2009 Fight of the Year and is anxious to write a new chapter with a different outcome in their rematch.

During my two day stay in Houston the temperature reached about 101 degrees each day. Walking to and from the car was enough to cause me to bead up and sweat and after a few hours of taking photos during training was enough to cause my entire shirt to be drenched.

For me and possibly most people the heat would be enough to make you want to just sit in air conditioning and try to stay cool, but for Juan Diaz it seemed to drive him even harder towards his goals. After a morning aerobic and strength training session and then an early afternoon session of sparring and training Diaz was tired, exhausted, covered in sweat but at the same time excited, motivated and ready for more.

We had a chance to sit and talk after a training session to discuss his motivation and preparation for his rematch. More...

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Saturday night at Madison Square Garden in New York City WBA Super Lightweight Champion Amir Khan made an impressive debut in America by stopping Paulie Malignaggi at 1:25 of the eleventh round. In what started as a back and forth verbal war since their first press conference Khan made fight night a one-sided event.

During media week I looked forward to the event on Saturday, as Khan had never fought in America before television coverage on him had been somewhat limited in the States and I had only seen him fight on one or two occasions. Although he was the favorite I thought Malignaggi’s speed may give him some difficulty but could not have been more off base. More...

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On Saturday May 15, 2010 WBA Super Lightweight Champion Amir Khan, 22-1 (16), will make his U.S. debut when he steps into the ring at Madison Square Garden in New York City, the “Mecca of Boxing”.

He will defend his title against local favorite and former lightweight champion Paulie Malignaggi, 27-3 (5).

In the co-feature, former world champion Nate Campbell, 33-5-1 (25), will face rising star Victor Ortiz, 26-2 (21).

Ortiz looked relaxed as he addressed the media, “As far as the fight it will speak for itself on Saturday night. I’m ready to go, as I’m sure Nate is to. I’m ready to get home with a nice victory.”

Campbell is returning to the ring after a bit of a lay off since his bout with Timothy Bradley last August, which was ruled a no-contest. “I don’t have a whole lot to say, I’m not going to make any idle threats, I’m going to let my hands do the talking,” said Campbell. More...

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© Jim Everett / Saddo Boxing

Jed Weinstein Presents hosted BOX NYC on Thursday night at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City. The evening was headlined by local undefeated prospect Will Rosinsky against Ariel Espinal and also featured the elegance of a supper club, a charity poker tournament and the bawdy comic energy of a downtown cabaret.

The evening was a pugilistic carnival where fights were mixed with musical and burlesque acts and the vaudeville- inspired emcee "Gazillionare" provided entertainment and introductions of the various acts.

Also hosting the event was NFL linebacker Dhani Jones from the Cincinnati Bengals and Travel Channel’s Tv series "Dhani Tackles the Globe".

The light heavyweight main event was dubbed a turf war with Queen’s Rosinsky putting on a dominating performance over Brooklyn local Espinal. Rosinsky, 11-0 (6), did not give up a round, winning by scores of 80-72 on all three judge's score cards. More...

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This Saturday December 12, Juan “Baby Bull” Diaz will face Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi in their highly anticipated rematch at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois. Their first fight took place in the hometown of Diaz where he received a controversial unanimous decision victory.

Malignaggi 26-3 (5) told anyone that would listen before stepping in the ring in Houston, Texas that he had already lost the fight due to local Texas referee Laurence Cole and judge Gale Van Hoy both assigned to the match providing Diaz 35-2 (17) with a hometown advantage.

Although it was a close match that many feel could have gone to either fighter, the judges score cards gave Diaz a unanimous decision with scores of 115-113, 116-112 and 118-110. The outlandish score of 118-110 came from local judge Gale Van Hoy which seemed to validate Malignaggi’s claims of a hometown decision.

The location of their rematch was set in the neutral location of Chicago, Illinois. In addition the officials for the bout are also neutral hailing from Illinois, Ohio and Florida.

Saddoboxing had the privilege of speaking to Diaz in an exclusive interview to discuss his upcoming rematch with Malignaggi. More...

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© Jim Everett / Saddo Boxing

Thursday at Madison Square Garden in New York City, Top Rank held a press conference to announce their upcoming world championship doubleheader featuring Juan Manual Lopez, 27-0 (24), who will move up in weight to challenge WBO Featherweight champion, Steven Luevano, 37-1-1 (15).

Also featured is WBA Featherweight champion, Yuriorkis Gamboa, 16-0 (14), against Rogers Mtagwa, 26-13-2 (18). Both championships will be televised on HBO’s Boxing After Dark on Saturday, January 23, 2010 at Madison Square Garden.

Last October it was Lopez who faced Mtagwa in what turned out to be a difficult fight for him. After Lopez built an early lead on the score cards both fighters began trading power punches and throwing bombs. Lopez staggered but did not go down showing tremendous heart to get through the final rounds as Mtagwa was on the attack. Although Lopez won a unanimous decision Mtagwa felt he had won the bout and was robbed of the victory. More...

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Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing hosted a live fight card televised on the Versus Network last night at the Manhattan Center’s Grand Ballroom in New York City. Headlining the event was “Mighty” Mike Arnaoutis who lost a controversial twelve-round split decision against Tim Coleman for the vacant USBA Light Welterweight belt.

Arnaoutis 22-4-2 (10) was only one fight removed from his TKO loss to Victor Ortiz earlier this year and had rebounded nicely with a unanimous decision victory over Doel Carrasquillo in June as he had hoped to regain his USBA Light Welterweight title against Coleman.

Arnaoutis had appeared to do enough to win the fight and seemed to be the more active fighter during the bout. Coleman 17-1-1 (4) launched a good offensive but he seemed to tire in the middle-late rounds before coming on strong again in the championship rounds. More...

© Jim Everett / Saddo Boxing

This Saturday on August 22, Juan “Baby Bull” Diaz will return to the ring to face Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi at the Toyota Center in his hometown of Houston, Texas. The bout will be at a catch-weight of 138.5 pounds and for some is being considered a cross-roads fight for the two fighters.

Malignaggi 26-2 (5) is one fight removed from a one-sided TKO loss to Ricky Hatton which was stopped by his trainer Buddy McGirt. After a unanimous decision against lightly regarded Christopher Fernandez in April the “Magic Man” was scheduled to face Mike Alvarado who pulled out of their proposed show down. With limited options available, Malignaggi accepted an offer to fight Diaz at a catch-weight of 138.5 which is the first time he has fought under the junior welterweight limit for some time.

Diaz 34-2 (17) is coming off the second loss in his career when he was stopped last February by pound-for-pound champion Juan Manuel Marquez. The “Baby Bull” was applying pressure well and winning the early rounds of the Marquez showdown until he was cut badly in the eighth round and later knocked down twice in round nine, where the fight was waved off by the referee.

Saddoboxing had the privilege of speaking to Diaz in an exclusive interview to discuss his upcoming bout with Malignaggi. More...

© Jim Everett / Saddo Boxing

Upon hearing the tragic news about Arturo Gatti’s death, like many, I was devastated. As the details began to unravel in the days that followed, disbelief was replaced with reality in what a senseless death it was.

Unlike many fans of the sport, I became a Gatti fan later in his career. I didn’t jump on the bandwagon per se, I was just not aware of him until becoming a more avid boxing fan.

I have been a casual fan of boxing for as long as I can remember. I would watch what people consider the “big fights” and knew most of the mainstream fighters. 2003 is when I truly became a serious fan, courtesy of Arturo Gatti. More...